Composed of some of the Bay Area’s finest musicians, Jazz Mafia was established by musician and composer Adam Theis in 2000. The Jazz Mafia performs as a whole group, or in many sub-groups including The Shotgun Wedding Quintet, Realistic Orchestra, Spaceheater, and Supertaster.

The Composition and Ensemble
Brass, Bows, & Beats is a 45-piece orchestra is formed around a traditional Big Band instrumentation, with singers, MCs, a full string section, added percussion and a turntable/DJ.

The Project and Fundraising Goal
A group of supporters is working to raise funds to support a national tour and professional recording of Theis’ critically acclaimed composition, “Brass Bows & Beats – A Hip Hop Symphony” via support from individual donors, corporate cash and in-kind contributors, and grants.

Where: Tour Dates/Cities
Jazz Mafia has been invited to perform “Brass Bows & Beats” at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and several key jazz festivals on the East Coast, the West Coast, and Europe. Invitations and opportunities are coming in daily, but as of  January 2010:

Confirmed performances for Brass, Bows & Beats:

• April 25, 2010:  Yoshi’s San Francisco, CA
• May 8, 2010:  Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV
• June 13, 2010:  Playboy Jazz Festival, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA
• June 27, 2010:  Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreal Canada
• Aug 7, 2010:  Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, RI
• Aug 8, 2010:  Litchfield Jazz Festival, Litchfeild, CT
• Aug 14, 2010:  San Jose Jazz Festival, San Jose, CA
• Sept 17, 2010:  Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA

Strong Leads for Brass, Bows & Beats:

• June 19, 2010:  Benefit Concert for The Jazz School in Richmond w Bobby Mcferrin
• July, 2010:  Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
• Aug 15, 2010:  Levitt Pavilion, Pasadena, CA
• Nov 12, 2010:  Leehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
• Feb 20-28, 2011:  Portland Jazz Festival, Portland, OR

Estimate of East Coast Tour Costs For Each Jazz Mafia Member

• Compensation for 5 days on the road: $500-1000
• Airfare: $400 – $600
• Hotel: $300 (each musician will share a double room)
• Local Transport: $150
• Per Diems: $200-300
• Total Estimate: $1550-$2350, depending on city and time of year.

Personal Message From Composer Adam Theis

Adam Theis

Hello fellow music lovers, musicians, supporters, family, and all you other Jazz Mafia comrades!

We had an incredible year of music here in SF, which feels like it is still going judging from how busy it’s been. There’s too much to put in this email, but let me say that one of the major highlights was when Stevie Wonder sat in with Supertaster. If you haven’t heard of that, then get online and check out some of the videos floating around.

SO WHAT’S NEXT?

Would you believe we’ve gotten offers to perform Brass, Bows, & Beats all over the country, including Carnegie Hall and Newport Jazz Festival this summer?! This has inspired me to assemble a team of some amazing Jazz Mafia supporters to help fundraise in order to make a tour for the Jazz Mafia Symphony Orchestra possible. As you can imagine, touring with even a smaller group of 20 core musicians would be almost impossible to pull off, so even with the good paying shows that we have been offered, we will have to supplement the tours with tens of thousands of dollars for plane flights, bus rentals and hotels. To us, this is without a doubt worth it, because if there ever was a perfect band to musically represent the sound of San Francisco and the Bay area- THIS IS IT!

We’ve been doing fundraising meetings for the past 6 months, putting a lot of thought into the process. We are starting with a series of Bay Area intimate concert/talks where the audience gets to hang out with members from the Jazz Mafia and learn how the music evolved, as well as hear some great music in an intimate, acoustic setting. The next fundraiser is at Yoshi’s in April, but if you can’t make that then donations or album purchases are appreciated as well.