Afro-Cuban Jazz Project, Paula Cole and More Added to Yoshi's San Francisco Spring 2013 Lineup

Yoshi's SF has announced newly-added shows now on sale for Spring 2013.

Afro-Cuban Jazz Project
Featuring the 88.1 FM KJZZ Latin Jazz Artists of the Year
(Sat, Mar 23, 8pm $30 & 10pm $25)
Direct from Cuba, via the United States, the AC Jazz Project aka Afro-Cuban Jazz Project is arguably one of the most versatile Allstar contemporary Cuban bands of today. Led by trumpeter / bandleader JOSIEL PEREZ HERNANDEZ, and composed of extracts from Maraca, Grupo Afro Cuba, Hernan Lopez Nussa, Alberto Tomayo, Rumbankete, and NG La Banda, their outstanding repertoire is a nice blend of TIMBA and Afro-Cuban Jazz. Read more here.

The Gypsy Allstars feat. The Gipsy Kings Family
Gipsy Kings rumba meets Indian Alap
(Sun, Mar 24, 7pm $25 & 9pm $20)
Yoshi's is excited to welcome Cedric Leonardi and Mario Reyes and the Gypsy Allstars for a vibrant and passionate evening of Indo-Gypsy fusion as Gipsy Kings rumba meets Indian Alap. The South France gypsies meet San Francisco's premier jazz venue and neither will be the same again! The evening will also include some of the finest LA based musicians from Cuba, Spain and India and will see Flamenco's foremost modern stars -- Manuel Gutierrez and Arelen Hurtado -- weave their flamenco magic into the music. Read more here.

Manzarek-Rogers Band
Iconic co-founder of The Doors & master slide guitarist's collaboration
(Thu, Mar 28, 8pm $30 adv, $35 doors)
Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers have formed a new ensemble and recorded a hard driving blues/rock project that is a stirring and masterful collaboration. The iconic co-founder of The Doors and the master slide guitarist/producer are seemingly an odd pairing - but their new recording unleashes a stunning musical recording. Ray Manzarek needs no introduction and has been inducted in to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He still performs with Robbie Krieger and together they have had an ongoing odyssey of The Doors music - in addition to new collaborations of their own respectively. The Doors music continues to be one of the most revered rock song catalogs of the 20th century. Read more here.

Leszek Mozdzer
(Wed, Apr 10, 8pm $24)
Poland's top jazz pianist, composer and producer
An outstanding pianist, composer and producer, Leszek Mo?d?er is widely considered to be the greatest revelation of the Polish jazz of the last decade. Born in 1971, he has been playing the piano since the age of five. On many occasions Leszek Mo?d?er recorded music with Zbigniew Preisner (Requiem for my friend, 10 easy pieces for piano). He also works on regular basis with Jan Kaczmarek, polish composer living in LA, while recording music score (for 20th Century Fox and Mira Max). He has been invited to perform jointly with the most gifted and renown polish jazz musicians, such as: Tomasz Sta?ko, Janusz Muniak, Micha? Urbaniak, Anna Maria Jopek, Adam Piero?czyk and Piotr Wojtasik. Mo?d?er also performed and recorded with many internationally acclaimed musicians, including Arthur Blythe, Buster Williams, Billy Harper, Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, David Gilmour and Archie Shepp. Read more here.

Raquel Bitton CD Release Rhythm of the Heart
w Special Guest Rebeca Mauleon
Havana meets Paris - with full Orchestra
(Fri, Apr 19, 8pm $30 & 10pm $24)
Accompanied by a 21-piece orchestra led by a hot Afro-Cuban band and including members of the San Francisco Symphony, Raquel Bitton sings (in French) sambas, bossa novas, cha-chas, merengue, danzon, tangos, milongas, and boleros of legendary Latin singer Tino Rossi. Rhythm of the Heart is co-produced and engineered by 11x GRAMMY-award winner Rafa Sardina. It features the great virtuoso Ramon Stagnaro on acoustic guitar (Andrea Bocelli, Enrique Iglesias) and Rebeca Mauleon on piano (Santana, Cachao). The Afro-Cuban Rhythm section is led by Carlos del Puerto Jr. on bass (Alejandro Sanz, Arturo Sandoval), Jimmy Branly on drums (Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chucho Valdez), Cuban timbalists Orestes Vilato (Celia Cruz, Rubén Blades), Jesus Diaz on congas (Tito Puente, Pete Escovedo...). The CD cover illustration is by the award-winning Martin French (Los Lobos, The Chronicle of Narnia). Read more here.

VOENA: Voices of the River
Multi-cultural children's choir
(Sun, Apr 26, 6pm $12 children 14 and under, $22 adults)
VOENA = Voices Of Eve 'N Angels
VOENA is a captivating, multi-cultural, world music experience that redefines "choir" the way Cirque du Soleil redefines "circus." Director, Annabelle Marie inspires over 140 children from ages 6-18 to celebrate music through voice, sound, rhythm and movement. Singing in over 23 languages, VOENA has performed around the globe bringing their message to unite the world with children's voices. VOENA has performed at the 2012 London Olympics, as repeat guests at the White House, for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in Rome and as goodwill ambassadors to Ireland, China, Japan and Italy. VOENA was the first American Choir to sing at the Soweto Festival in South Africa. Read more here.

Booker T. Jones
Legendary Hammond B3 player
(Sat, May 4, 8pm $35, 10pm $28)
Booker T. Jones is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Musicians Hall of Fame inductee, GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and arguably the most famous Hammond B3 player in history. As leader of the legendary Booker T and the MG's, this pillar of soul music collaborated with Otis Redding, Albert King, Eddie Floyd and Sam and Dave during his tenure at the renowned Stax Records label. Since then, Booker has lent his trademark keyboard chops to artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Neil Young and produced classic albums such as Willie Nelson's triple platinum hit "Stardust" and Bill Withers' "Just As I Am" featuring the hit song "Ain't No Sunshine." Booker's 2009 solo release on Anti Records, "Potato Hole" won a GRAMMY for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2010. Booker followed "Potato Hole" with "The Road From Memphis," a soulful return to the classic Memphis sound recorded with The Roots and released in 2011 with Anti Records. Read more here.

Paula Cole
Music, poetry & prose, surrounded by an eclectic, jazz-influenced, heartfelt delivery
(Thu, May 9, 8pm $28 adv, $32 door)
GRAMMY winner and seven-time GRAMMY nominee Paula Cole has released six solo albums spanning an 18-year career. In April, she will release her seventh solo album titled Raven. The release comes on the 20th anniversary of her performance debut on Peter Gabriel's "Secret World Live" tour/album (1993-1994) and her solo debut Harbinger (Imago Records). Paula has sold approximately three million albums and has performed with icons in many genres of music from Peter Gabriel to Dolly Parton (and many more.) Cole's emotionally deep and thrilling performances are a trademark. Poetic and fiercely touching, intelligent writing makes Cole stand apart. Her compositions have been covered by Herbie Hancock, Annie Lennox, Katherine McPhee to name a few. As the first woman in history to solely produce and receive the best Producer GRAMMY nomination for her work, This Fire, Cole has broken boundaries with a searcher's spirit. From her top ten hits of the 1990s to her more recent critically acclaimed albums, Paula Cole continues to write, produce, record and perform heartfelt, meaningful, lasting music that defies categorization. Read more here.

The Gospel Gates of San Francisco State University
(Sun, May 26, 7 & 9pm $20 adv, $25 door)
The SF State Gospel Choir was founded by current choir director Ja Ronn Thompson in the Spring of 2004. At that time he didn't expect anyone to take him seriously. He was only a freshman and not even a music major. But he was determined to bring gospel music to our campus. When he expressed interest in starting the choir, music professor Dr. Dee Spencer told him to "Make it happen." Therefore, Ja Ronn toured the campus handing out fliers and encouraging people to try out. There were seven members at their first rehearsal, singing without sheet music or a band to accompany them from one musical transition to the next. They also didn't have a regular practice room, so they used various classrooms and sometimes hallways in order to perfect their songs. The San Francisco State gospel choir, a student-run group, became a one-unit music course in its second semester. Now in it's 15th semester, the group is comprised of 90 singers and seven musicians of different backgrounds and majors; there is plenty of diversity in this group. Having grown exponentially over the past seven years, their big sound has only gotten better. Read more here.

This Week's Backstory:
Patricia Gums, Private Events Manager & Assistant Restaurant Manager

"I have always been fascinated by people. What drives them? What unites them? Why are we different and how? What makes people happy and how can I contribute? I was born and raised behind the Iron curtain in East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, I decided to travel the world and learn as much about people and places as I possibly could. I worked as an Au Pair in NYC and San Francisco and pursued a job as an International Flight Attendant for Lufthansa and traveled the world for three years.

"I learned about food, wine, new cultures and new countries. I always joked that my stint as a flight attendant served as my Psychology degree, which I eventually made a reality. I moved to the United States and completed my Undergraduate (B.A., magna cum laude) and Graduate degrees (M.A.) in Social Psychology at San Francisco State University. While a student, I worked as a Peer Counselor and as a Teaching Assistant in Cross-Cultural Psychology.

"While studying, I always worked in restaurants to support myself and to continue to share my passion for food and drinks. During my travels I developed a love for Japanese food and culture. I worked at Sushi Groove South for Martel Toller and Nabiel Museleh for eight years, which had live DJs spinning each night and was an institution for night dwellers for many years. When I was asked to join the team of Tim Selvera at Bar Crudo, I happily accepted and learned how to shuck oysters, pair them with selected beers and gain deeper knowledge and appreciation for wine by working with wine director Alex Fox.

"With its rare combination of nightly live music and some of the best Japanese food and Sake selections in this foodie town, Yoshi's was only a logical continuation in my journey. I quickly developed a passion for Private Events. Throw parties and talk about food and wine? Make people happy? Sign me up?!?! I was privileged enough to be mentored by our Director of Private Events, Jim Wallace, who has taught me that attention to details, reading your guest and going the extra mile are the base ingredients for a successful event. No matter if you have a small birthday party, work function, tech company sales kick-off party or elaborate galas and fundraisers, our amazing versatile venue space can cater to every need. I additionally work as Assistant Manager with Restaurant Manager Will Nunez, who has shown me that outstanding service and a tight collaboration and communication with the kitchen are of utmost importance."