Lua Hadar with Twist: Jazz Without Borders

Lua Hadar’s jazz without borders blends global styles and languages into a unique jazz voice. Both chanteuse and raconteuse, Lua peppers her cosmopolitan jazz with funny stories, connecting the global dots between her influences and her songs. The concert performance with her band Twist features original compositions and songs from samba to swing in a musical world voyage. Twist members are Jason Martineau on piano, Sascha Jacobsen on bass and Shawn Myers on drums. Lua has charmed audiences in New York, Los Angeles, Europe and Bangkok. Bay Area shows include Yoshi’s Jazz Club, Feinstein’s at the Nikko, and the Fairmont Hotel.

Artist Biographies

Lua Hadar

Lua Hadar is a multi-lingual vocalist, emcee, comedienne, songwriter, independent producer and arts educator. She has charmed audiences around the world in San Francisco, New York, LA, Paris, Lille, Verona, Lisbon, and at the Bangkok International Festival. Lua is a language geek, and has brought songs from diverse cultures into her jazz without borders, recording and performing with music director Jason Martineau since 2005. She currently splits her time between San Francisco and Lisbon, writing and producing her blog and podcast, Nomad Notes. Lua was a founding member of the comic girl trio, The Kitchenettes, with whom she appeared in the States and at the Italian National Festival of Comic Song.

Jason Martineau

Jason Martineau is an award-winning composer, pianist, arranger, and instructor, and has been active in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1995. He has composed numerous works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo piano, and chorus, as well as a full-length musical, and over 200 songs, both instrumental and vocal. He has released over twenty albums across multiple genres, and has also been featured on numerous other artists' recordings as pianist, music director, vocalist, and producer. He provides arrangements, original compositions, soundtracks, sound design, accompaniment, private instruction, and musical direction for a diverse and eclectic client base. https://www.jasonmartineau.com

Sascha Jacobsen

2022 Latin Grammy Nominee, Sascha Jacobsen was born into a musical family, going as far back as his great, great, great, great-grandfather, who was a bassist for the Moscow Opera. Sascha has performed with Kronos Quartet, Rita Moreno, Hugh Jackman, Martin Short, Mandy Patinkin & Patti LuPone, Marc Shaiman, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Josh Groban, Kristin Chenoweth, Andrew Lippa, Eddie Duran, Dave MacNab, Tim Weed, Tango masters Tanghetto, Pablo Estigarribia, Raul Jaurena, Pepe Motta, and Maria Volonte, Flamenco greats Chuscales, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Juanito Pascual, and many others. He was a founding member of the Classical Revolution movement, which has spread around the world, has performed with Adam Theis and the Jazz Mafia, and has toured the world with the Argentine Tango group Trio Garufa. He is the founder of the Musical Art Quintet and Los Tangueros del Oeste which perform his original works. He completed a Master's degree at the University of Southern California and has served on the faculty at The California Jazz Conservatory, Humboldt State University, Laney College, Golden Gate Bass Camp, and the Sequoia Chamber Music Festival.

Shawn Myers

Fascinated with the rich history and tradition of drumming, Shawn Myers has found himself digging deep into the past while simultaneously cultivating sounds of the now. He played in Leyla McCalla's Band touring across the world for over 6 years. Spending many of his formative years in New Orleans, Shawn connected with "Fanfan," a Haitian Master Drummer and Hougan, who eventually took Shawn to Haiti to be initiated into the Vodou Drumming Tradition. Through performing with Leyla McCalla and in many other settings, Shawn hopes to uphold “Fanfan’s” legacy and spirit in the music and beyond. He also has performed with many national and international luminaries, including Evan Christopher, Nduduzo Makhathini, Ed Petersen, Dave Liebman and Kenny Werner. He has studied drums and percussion with Billy Hart, Jamey Haddad, Damas “Fanfan” Louis, and in Haiti, Ghana, Togo, and Benin. The Silent Life, Shawn’s debut album, was released in February of 2019. The album features a diverse cast and sound from New Orleans’ top musicians. Shawn has since then relocated to the SF Bay Area, maintaining an active local and touring schedule.