STREAMING LIVE from Piedmont Piano Company
The Human Animal Orchestra
The Human Animal Orchestra showcases the folky-jazzy-poetic music of Sarah Gettys, arranged by Peter Barshay. They are delighted to be joined by Javier Santiago on piano.
This performance is also a special virtual gathering to announce One For All Arts, a new organization helping to reimagine how the arts will exist going forward as a result of the current social, economic, and environmental crises that are occurring globally.
Watch the LIVE STREAM on youtube.com or facebook
Donations/tips accepted via venmo.com/sarahgettys or paypal.me/sarahgettysmusic
Sarah Gettys is a singer and composer deeply influenced by jazz, folk-rock, feminism, spirituality, and poetry. Her music brings together melodies informed by decades of classical piano study and harmony and improvisatory qualities drawing from the jazz tradition, combined with the simplicity and direct storytelling qualities of folk music. One of her mentors, Theo Bleckmann, describes her music as “sophisticated folk with a hook.”
A native of Northern California, she grew up in a small town in Mendocino County and began studying classical piano at age four. Her love of music and words inspired her to double major in Music (Classical Piano) and English Language Literature at UC Santa Cruz, and she is still currently weaving together these two passions in her songwriting. She went on to study jazz singing and harmony at the School for Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa. After returning to the Bay Area in 2014, she started teaching voice and piano lessons at her private studio, writing music for her current project, and is currently working on a Master of Divinity degree and Certificate of Sexuality and Religion at the Pacific School of Religion (Graduate Theological Union). Her mentors include Laurie Antonioli, Theo Bleckmann, Dar Williams, Erin Fishler-Branam, Jason Smith, Lucas Mattson, Nicholas Roth, Dena DeRose, Murray Low, and Peter Barshay.
Her music has a captivating, quirky beauty, with honest, provocative lyrics, and her band features some of the finest jazz musicians in the Bay Area. sarahgettys.com
Peter Barshay is a veteran bassist who has established a strong reputation over the years from his sideman work on both the New York City and San Francisco Bay Area jazz scenes. He has performed with such jazz luminaries as Kenny Barron, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Stitt, Kenny Werner, Shirley Horn, Woody Shaw, Pharoah Sanders, Blue Mitchell, Tony Williams, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, Johnny Griffin and Bobby McFerrin.
Barshay’s numerous appearances at clubs and jazz festivals have taken him around the world, helping to establish his reputation as a solid, reliable bassist. Having soaked up a lifetime of sounds on both coasts -- everything from salsa and straight ahead to funk-fusion, avant garde and music derived from the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian traditions -- he brings a wealth of experience to the musical table. oneforallarts.org
Hailing from Minneapolis, MN, Javier Santiago is a pianist with a diverse set of influences - ranging from classical and jazz to hip-hop and world music. Inspired by his father, a drummer, and mother, a jazz vocalist, Santiago began studying piano at the age of 5. Upon graduating high school, he was selected by the great Dave Brubeck and a panel of judges to study music at the Brubeck Institute in Stockton, CA - where he studied with some of the greatest musicians in the world such as Christian McBride, Robert Glasper, Nicholas Payton and Joshua Redman. Then in 2009 he attended the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in Manhattan, where he studied with jazz greats like Reggie Workman, George Cables, Billy Harper and Jane Ira Bloom. Outside of his college studies, Santiago also was selected to participate in the 14th Annual Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in 2011, and was a finalist in the 2015 American Jazz Pianist Competition. After releasing several beat tapes showcasing his music production skills, Santiago independently released his 5-song debut EP of all original compositions, Year of the Horse in 2015. This release marked the end of his 5-year stay in NYC, where he performed regularly at venues like Smalls Jazz Club and 55 Bar.
In 2016, upon moving back to his hometown of Minneapolis, MN, Santiago became a recipient of the 2016 McKnight Fellowship for Musicians. He returned to the studio to record his debut LP of all original compositions entitled Phoenix with a sextet including his former east coast trio consisting of drummer Corey Fonville and bassist Zach Brown - as well as saxophonists Dayna Stephens and Ben Flocks and guitarist Nir Felder. It features guests such as trumpeter Nicholas Payton, John Raymond and vocalist J. Hoard.
Santiago spends his time between Minneapolis and the Bay Area, CA, where he performs and composes regularly and is also an accomplished educator, arranger and producer. javiersantiagomusic.com