Peter Apfelbaum Multikulti Trio featuring Jeff Cressman

Peter Apfelbaum (tenor sax/flute/piano/percussion)
Bo Freeman (electric and acoustic bass)
Josh Jones (drums/percussion)
Jeff Cressman (trombone)

Legendary trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist and world music pioneer Don Cherry made his first guest appearance with Peter Apfelbaum's Bay Area-based big band the Hieroglyphics Ensemble in 1988. A fruitful musical relationship was born, with Cherry relocating from New York to San Francisco the following year and enlisting Apfelbaum and fellow Hieroglyphs Bo Freeman and Josh Jones to form Multikulti, which would become his main touring group until his death in 1995.

Cherry's final studio album (also titled Multikulti, from 1990) brought together an array of musicians and styles representing the broad scope of his career, from Apfelbaum compositions performed with the Hieroglyphics Ensemble to Zimbabwe and Mali-based grooves with longtime associates Ed Blackwell and Nana Vasconcelos. Similarly, the Multikulti group's performances offered a wide range of music, including pieces by Thelonious Monk, Abdullah Ibrahim and Ornette Coleman along with Indian ragas, reggae grooves and Apfelbaum originals.

Since Cherry's passing, Apfelbaum and Jones have continued to perform together in a variety of musical situations, most often as a duo, appearing at The Back Room several times over the years. Since 2023, they have reunited with longtime colleague Freeman to celebrate their beloved, departed mentor, revisiting and offering fresh takes on material from their time as 3/4ths of Multikulti.

For this performance they invite their longstanding bandmate from Hieroglyphics and renowned Bay Area trombonist Jeff Cressman to join them.

Born in Berkeley, California and based in Brooklyn, New York since 1998, multi-instrumentalist and composer Peter Apfelbaum is best known as leader of the genre-mashing big band, Hieroglyphics, which he formed while still in high school in 1977. The ensemble attracted international attention in the 1980's for its unique fusing of elements of world music with the aesthetics of the jazz avant-garde and has remained Apfelbaum's primary vehicle for composing throughout his career. In 2013, he formed the electronica-based, vocal-driven sextet Sparkler, which released its debut EP, "I Colored It In For You," on Bill Laswell's MOD Technologies label in 2017. Apfelbaum has worked with many of the leading figures in contemporary music, including the late Don Cherry, Kronos Quartet, Cecil Taylor, Harry Belafonte, Omar Sosa and Phish. He currently performs with Dafnis Prieto's various bands - he received a Grammy award in 2018 as part of Prieto's album "Back To The Sunset" - and Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra, among others. Since 2017 he has been an Artistic Director of the Woodstock, NY-based Creative Music Studio; in July 2023 he took over as conductor of the late CMS founder Karl Berger's 25-piece Creative Improvisers Orchestra, which performs monthly at the Shirt Factory in Kingston, NY.

Josh Jones has been a Bay Area fixture since the 1970's and a longstanding member of Apfelbaum's various groups. In addition to leading the Josh Jones Latin Jazz Ensemble, he has worked with artists as diverse as Steve Coleman, Tupac Shakur, Omar Sosa, David Murray, Arthur Blythe, Yosvany Terry, Jacqui Naylor and AfroCuba de Matanzas. He has long been a much-respected educator, in recent years leading the student-based Josh Jones Salsa Big Band.
Bo Freeman first gained attention in 1983 as bassist/vocalist for Bill Summers' Summers Heat, penning and co-producing the hit single "It's Over". He has played with a wealth of Bay Area artists over the years including Pete and Sheila Escovedo, Joni Haastrup, The Freaky Executives, Abel Zarate, and Strictly Roots, in addition to Apfelbaum's Hieroglyphics Ensemble and Cherry's Multikulti. His reggae band, BoZone, was a Bay Area staple throughout the 80's and 90's. He currently lives in Napa and leads the Ska Rockets.

Jeff Cressman's association with Apfelbaum spans over 50 years, having first met as students in the Longfellow Elementary School Jazz Band under Phil Hardymon in 1970. Apfelbaum started his first band the following year featuring Jeff on trombone, and a lifelong musical relationship was born.

From 2000 to 2016, Jeff was a member of the Carlos Santana Band, touring worldwide and appearing on multiple CDs with the band, including the multi-Grammy winning "Supernatural." He has also toured and recorded with the Trey Anastasio Band, Groundation,Tito Puente, Poncho Sanchez, Sheila E., Pete Escovedo, Ray Obiedo, Peter Apfelbaum & the Hieroglyphics Ensemble with Don Cherry, Jai Uttal and the Pagan Love Orchestra, Kamikaze Ground Crew, John Santos and the Machete Ensemble, and Jon Jang and the Pan Asian Arkestra. Some of Jeff’s most personal musical work can be heard on recordings with Free Dive, Que Calor, and with his wife Sandy Cressman & Homenagem Brasileira.

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door general admission; $15 in advance, $20 at the door for students with ID/low-income individuals. Children under 12 are free. Advance tickets are available here, or if the show is not sold out, you may purchase your tickets at the door before the show.

Doors open one half hour before show time. We accept cash or Venmo only at the door.

The Back Room is an all-ages, BYOB (for those 21+) space, dedicated to (mostly) acoustic music of all kinds. You are welcome to bring your own food and beverages. The venue is ADA accessible. If you need more information or have any questions, please call us: #510-381-1997.

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Please note: Although masks are no longer required, we strongly encourage their use to keep everyone safe in our intimate space.

Host or Publisher Sam Rudin