Composer, performer, vocalist, bass clarinetist, and bandleader Beth Custer and her ensemble enchant us with an evening of original jazz/funk/Latin/rock fusion. This group of expansive genre-busting Bay Area virtuosos includes Beth's voice and clarinets, guitarist/vocalist David James (Sila, Spearhead), vocalist Diana Mangano (Jefferson Starship), Chris Grady, trumpet (Tom Waits, Jewel), Lisa Mezzacappa (Duo B, Bait & Switch) on bass, and Beth's long-time collaborator Jan Jackson on drums (Will Bernard's Motherbug).

The late Bay Area Jazz and blues critic Phil Ellwood lauded Beth as "synonymous with the best and most adventurous of the Bay Area's cutting-edge musical sounds." Tonight Beth spotlights tunes from her most recent CD, Roam, also sampling tunes from her soundtrack for the documentary A Trip Down Market Street, the silent film My Grandmother, and gems created with her other musical groups Eighty Mile Beach, Dona Luz 30 Besos, Clarinet Thing, and Trance Mission.

Conspiracy of Venus, a San Francisco-based women's a cappella group, opens with original arrangements of contemporary music. Under the direction of Joyce Todd McBride, the 40-voice chorus dazzles with their technical verve and inventive, daring arrangements of classic songs ranging from Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen tunes to the cutting edge of Bjork's "Possibly Maybe."

Visit Beth's website

Visit the Conspiracy of Venus website

Listen to a track from the Beth Custer Ensemble: