Freight & Salvage
2020 Addison St. Berkeley
Click for Venue page

The Beth Custer Ensemble

Celebrate the re-release of the The Beth Custer Ensemble CD ‘Respect as a Religion’ with it’s underground hit/political tirade ‘Empire of the United States.’ Long out of print, Respect as a Religion was voted in WNYC Top 200 Listener’s Poll and received critical acclaim and alternative radio play internationally. The Beth Custer Ensemble will perform the CD in an evening sprinkled with more recent gems including covers of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Carey’, Nelson Cavaquinho’s ‘Juizo Final,’ Steely Dan’s ‘Monkey in Your Soul,’ and Paolo Conte’s ‘Aguaplano.’ Hailed in is a veritable crème de la crème of Bay Area musicians including Jan Jackson on drums, (Will Bernard’s Motherbug, Black Pole), guitarist/vocalist David James who also composes and arranges for BCE (AfroFunk Experience, The Coup, Spearhead), Chris Grady on trumpet (Tom Waits, Grassy Knoll, Jewel), Lisa Mezzacappa on bass (Graham Connah, Bait & Switch), vocalist Diana Mangano (Jefferson Airplane) and Beth Custer, clarinets/vocal (Club Foot Orchestra, Trance Mission, Eighty Mile Beach, Clarinet Thing). Very special guests will include Daria Johnson (vocals) and Alan Williams (trombone). Recent BCE projects include a commission by San Francisco Cinematheque to compose and perform live scores Alexandre Hammid’s films at SF MOMA; performing live for The Joe Goode Performance Group’s dance/theatre productions at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; premiering new work at Davies Symphony Halls After Hours Series; Go Left Festival at Yoshi’s. The Beth Custer Enesemble delights audiences with a wide ranging repertoire in the US and abroad. With three CDs and a DVD released (Roam, Respect as a Religion, Dona Luz 30 Besos, My Grandmother) BCE has a solid and varied repertoire of songs and instrumentals by Custer and a few by bandmate David James. A set might include a funky political song followed by a lilting country waltz, then an Afro-fusion odd-metered driving instrumental. If an Olympics decathlon is ever staged for musicians put your money on Beth Custer for the gold. -Derk Richardson, SF Examiner A woman for all seasons. -John Walters, The London Guardian A virtuoso of collaborations. -Andrew Gilbert, SF Chronicle Buy Tickets More information

Audio samples in which musicians at this event play:

Videos featuring musicians playing at this event