"Some people find the term world music condescending, but there’s no better way to describe the terrain of Rupa & the April Fishes, simply because the band’s music encompasses so much of the globe. Founded by San Francisco physician Rupa Marya, who was born in the Bay Area and raised mostly abroad, this ensemble is at home playing Mexican waltzes, Indian ragas, French chansons, and Gypsy jazz. With so many cultures represented, the group’s debut CD could sound like a dilettante’s travelogue, a kind of sketchbook of tourist scenes. But Marya inhabits the languages she sings in (English, French, Spanish, and Hindi) with remarkable grace and sensuality. Her band—cellist Ed Baskerville, trumpeter Marcus Cohen, bassist Safa Shokrai, drummer Aaron Kierbel, and accordionists Adrian Jost (on the CD) and Isabel Douglass—is equally accomplished, moving comfortably from the ethereal balladry of 'Yaad' to the bouncy carnival jazz of 'Plus Que Moi' to the sultry tango of 'Maintenant.'" --San Francisco Magazine

Brass Menažeri (pronounced "Menagerie") is the San Francisco Bay Area's Balkan Romani ("Gypsy") powerhouse Brass Band. We cascade through the music of the Serbian, Macedonian, Greek & Rajasthani Roma with wild rhythms, soulful vocals & hot improvisations. The energy is infectious—toes tap, bodies slam, sweat flies as vital energy radiates from the dance floor. The Brass Menažeri is a shining example of traditional Balkan repertoire combined with new sensibilities, innovative arrangements & original compositions at the hands & lips of American devotees.

One zurna, one davul, three clarinets & a riqq. 1 million decibels. Processional band in & out of the Turkish Mehter tradition, featuring Peter of Brass Menazeri and other local musicians.