The Beth Custer Ensemble features a who’s who of outstanding Bay Area musicians playing a unique musical mélange of beguiling melodies, surreal lyrics, and sophisticated orchestrations that draw from a wide range of genres and inspire a multitude of moods. They’ve released three albums and a DVD, provided soundtracks for several films, including the documentary A Trip Down Market Street and the classic Soviet silent movie, My Grandmother, and collaborated with playwright Octavio Solis on several productions at Campo Santo, as well as with such dance companies as the Joe Goode Performance Group. A typical set might offer a song or two that gets funky and political, a lilting country waltz, and an Afro-fusion instrumental improvaganza.
 
Beth is a composer, bandleader, vocalist, and clarinetist whose other bands include Club Foot Orchestra, Eighty Mile Beach, Clarinet Thing, Vinculum Symphony, and Trance Mission. Andrew Gilbert, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, describes her as having “a musical palette that seamlessly blends vivid shades of jazz, funk, Afro-Caribbean, contemporary classical, and American roots music” and calls her “one of the Bay Area’s most versatile musical talents.” The ensemble provides the perfect showcase for that versatility. Jan Jackson on drums has played with Will Bernard and Black Pole, David James on guitar and vocals has played with Afro Funk Experience and Spearhead, Chris Grady on trumpet has played with Tom Waits and Jewel, Vicky Grossi on bass has played with Mitch Marcus and Bitches Brew, and Diana Mangano on vocals has performed with the Jefferson Starship. The Beth Custer Ensemble makes music that gets into your head and under your skin and keeps on tickling your synapses long after the show is over.

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Listen to a track from the Beth Custer Ensemble:

Photo by Federico Cusigch