The Pyramids to Tour San Francisco Bay Area, Beginning 2/10

Cultural Odyssey & the James Irvine foundation in association with Floyd Pellom's 57th Street Gallery, Jazz Heritage Center, San Francisco State University, African American Art & Culture Complex, & Brava Theater Center present LEGENDS OF AFRICAN JAZZ, MEMBERS OF THE PYRAMIDS featuring IDRIS ACKAMOOR, KENNETH NASH, MARK HESHIMA WILLIAMS & Special Guests.

In celebration of Black History Month, as well as the release of "OTHERWORLDLY", their first album since 1976, members of THE PYRAMIDS will perform throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Performances will take place on the following dates and locations:

• Floyd Pellom's 57th Street Gallery, Sun., Feb. 10 at 3 PM - 5701 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland

• San Francisco State University, Wed. Feb. 13 at 1 PM, Knuth Hall, Creative Arts Building 1600

  Holloway Ave, San Francisco (The Public is welcome to attend!)

• Jazz Heritage Center, Fri. and Sat., Feb. 15 & 16 at 8 PM - 1320 Fillmore St, San Francisco

• African American Art & Culture Complex, Thursday, Feb. 21 at 8 PM - 762 Fulton Street, SF

• Brava Theater Center, Fri., Feb. 22 at 8 PM - 2781-24th Street at York, San Francisco

All performances are FREE with the exception of Floyd Pellom's 57th Street Gallery. Tickets for the Gallery are $15 with the proceeds benefiting the community of musicians who perform there! For information call 415-292-1850, for tickets to the 57th Street Gallery call (510) 654-6974.

The concerts are supported by the James Irvine foundation and their Exploring Engagement Fund, which was designed to help nonprofit arts organizations experiment with new ways of engaging audiences and participants. The grant will allow Idris Ackamoor & Kenneth Nash of THE PYRAMIDS to conduct concerts, music workshops, and rehearsals to build the "Music is the Healing Force" community orchestra composed of low-income, African American, and nonprofessional musicians culminating in concert presentations in nontraditional arts venues in San Francisco. Come prepared to sign up for the community orchestra and a chance to perform in OCTOBER 2013.

THE PYRAMIDS have just returned from a whirlwind tour of Europe performing throughout Europe before thousands of audience members and amazing critical acclaim! In January 2012 they celebrated their UK debut with a fantastic two-night-residency at London's legendary CAFE OTO and a stint at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards Show (THE PYRAMIDS' spiritual and musical leader, IDRIS ACKAMOOR, was honored with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the show!). Idris Ackamoor co - founded THE PYRAMIDS in the summer of 1972 with two other Antioch College students. Subsequently after the founding of the band in Paris, France, performances throughout Holland and a cultural odyssey throughout Africa, the group independently produced three albums "Lalibela" (1973), "King of Kings" (1974), and "Birth Speed Merging" (1976). The band migrated to San Francisco in 1974 to perform in the arts ecology there for several years and disbanded in 1977 after a final performance at the UC Berkeley Jazz Festival. All three albums as well as a brand new double vinyl album and CD entitled "OTHERWORLDLY", and a 3-CD Box Set of the albums entitled "THE PYRAMIDS 1973 - 1976" have been released on the Munich, Germany Disko B Record label to widespread acclaim and Internet raves!

Otherworldly album EPK (Streams, Bio, Pics, etc): www.diskob.com/otherworldly. Band Page: http://culturalodyssey.org/pyramids. 2012 European Tour Page: http://culturalodyssey.org/postcard/050112otherworldlytour.