On Wednesday, December 17, 2025, 6-8:30pm “The Annex Sessions” will continue our music series held at The Annex (El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company Prepared Food Annex), 10387 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito.
The Last Annex Sessions of 2025!
Javier Navarrette Presents “The Last Modupue Wednesday of 2025”
Featuring:
Kai Lyons- tres, guitar, bass, vocal
Anthony Blea- violin
Hector Lugo – Percussion/ Vocals
Marco Diaz – piano
Javier Navarrette – Percussion/ vocals
And Special Guests!
“Modupue” means thank you in Yoruba from West Africa
Javier Navarrette curates shows with various artists from different cultures in the Bay Area, as well as presenting his own global music projects at Modupue Events.
Musician Bios
Kai Lyons: Tres, Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Kai Lyons is from the Excelsior District of San Francisco and was surrounded by music and community from an early age. He completed his studies at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in 2012 as the first to graduate from the acclaimed Classical Guitar Program, directed by Scott Cmiel. From 2012-2014, on full scholarship, Kai attended the prestigious jazz program at William Paterson University of New Jersey, directed by Mulgrew Miller. He studied with Vincent Herring, Gene Bertoncini, Harold Mabern, Rich Perry, and Hal Galper. Kai received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from San Francisco State University where he studied with Andrew Speight, Michael Zisman and Hafez Modirzadeh.
Ever since returning to the Bay Area in 2015, he has freelanced extensively and also traveled frequently to New York City, New Orleans, Brazil, Cuba and the Caribbean on music trips. In 2018 he participated in Master Class: Orff-Afrique 2018 in Ghana, Africa.
Besides working with his own trio, Kai has performed with Mike Clark and Donald Harrison of Herbie Hancock’s Original Headhunters, The San Francisco Ballet and the 2024 production of Carmen composed by Arturo O’Farrill, Karl Perazzo, John Santos, award-winning organist Wil Blades and Larry Vuckovich.
Anthony Blea: Violin
Anthony Blea began studying the violin at age 8 and was awarded a full scholarship to attend the San Francisco Conservatory of Music at age 11. While a student in Joan Murray’s Aptos Jr. High Orchestra, Anthony discovered the joy of playing chamber music, as well as having solo experience with an orchestra.
Upon completion of his preparatory music studies, Anthony traveled to New York City to continue his musical and academic enrichment at the Manhattan School of Music where he received his Bachelor’s degree. His formidable skill on the violin landed him work with many international legends such as Israel “Cachao” Lopez, Ray Charles, Boz Scaggs and Leonard Bernstein to name a few. Most notably Anthony has played with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. Anthony’s 8-piece salsa band has been in existence for ten years and their debut CD has enjoyed critical acclaim. Anthony received his Master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, concentrating on String Quartet.
Héctor Lugo: Percussion, Vocals
Héctor Lugo is a percussionist, singer, songwriter, and educator. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 to pursue graduate studies in sociology at UC Berkeley. Shortly thereafter, he began to perform with some of the great bands and artists in the local Latin, Jazz, and Afro-Caribbean music scenes, dedicating himself to what would become the lifelong study and teaching of Latin American and Caribbean music, history, and culture.
Lugo has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists such as Bobby Céspedes and Conjunto Céspedes, Louie Romero and Grupo Mazacote, Modesto Cepeda and Cimiento the Puerto Rico, Luis “Chichito” Cepeda and the Los Cepeda Ensemble, Jackeline Rago and the Venezuelan Music Project, Larry Vuckovich, the John Santos Sextet, Salsa legend Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez, Los Pleneros de la 21, Cuban son ensemble Pellejo Seco, Chuchito Valdés, Mono Blanco, Edgardo Cambón y Candela, and Zimbabwean traditional dance troupe The Chinyakare Ensemble, to name a few.
Lugo is the founder and director of the Latin-Roots band La Mixta Criolla, producing its debut album AfroTaíno (RoundWhirled records, 2011), and a founding member of the bomba ensemble Grupo Aguacero. He has written music for two plays — “Living in Spanish” and “Burnt American Dreams” — and numerous children’s and youth performances. His compositions and arrangements have been featured in the documentary film “Dolores,” about the life of the great labor organizer and feminist leader Dolores Huerta, and the acclaimed compilation “Salsa de la Bahía,” vol. 2 (Patois Records, 2015).
Lugo has designed, managed, and implemented educational and cultural arts programs in collaboration with SFJAZZ, the San Francisco Symphony, Stern Grove Festival, Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, Oakland Youth Chorus, San Francisco Community Music Center, and the San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland Unified School Districts. He has also developed classes and workshops for children and youth at community centers such as La Peña Cultural Center, Mission Cultural Center, the San Francisco Boys and Girls Club, Youth Art Exchange, and Loco Bloco, among others. He is the founder and co-director of the Bay Area Bomba y Plena Workshop which since its creation in 2000 has promoted the appreciation, study, and performance of Puerto Rican folkloric music through regular classes and workshops, master classes with visiting artists, concerts, class recitals, and music festivals. He is the founder and co-director of Las Quenepas Youth Ensemble, dedicated to the study and performance of traditional Puerto Rican bomba and plena music and dance, and has coordinated and led study trips to Puerto Rico for groups of children and youth from the Bay Area.
Lugo has done extensive research on Latin American history, politics, and culture, with particular emphasis on the sociology and historical foundations of Latin-Caribbean music, literature, and culture. He has lectured at UC Berkeley, Stanford University, UC Santa Cruz, San Francisco State University, Mills College, City College of San Francisco, and Humboldt State University. Mr. Lugo has a B.A. in Sociology and Latin American Literature from Haverford College, an M.A. in Sociology from UC Berkeley with specializations in social theory and the political economy, history, and culture of Latin America, and has done extensive Ph.D. level coursework and research as a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California at Berkeley’s Sociology Department. In his spare time, he likes to read, cook, work with wood, and travel.
Marco Diaz: Piano
Marco Diaz was born and raised in San Francisco and was introduced to the trumpet in the fourth grade at E.R. Taylor Elementary School. His formal training in both piano and trumpet began at the age of 14. He earned a scholarship from the Community Music Center in San Francisco, and began playing professionally at the age of 17 throughout the Bay Area with various Latin Jazz, Salsa, Reggae, and R&B bands. Upon graduating from high school, he continued his studies at San Francisco State University pursing a Bachelors of Arts in Popular Music and a minor in Economics.
In addition to his studies Marco has been influenced by Afro-Cuban music through world renowned musicians, such as, Jesus Diaz, who he played and recorded with for eight years, John Santos, Orestes Vilato, Edgardo Cambon, and Carlos Caro.
Today, Marco is part of the faculty at the Community Music Center in San Francisco and has been a part of the SFJAZZ teaching artist program since 2017. He is an accomplished recording musician who has shared the stage with Grammy Award winning artist, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, Nelson Gonzales, Jimmy Bosch, Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez, Ska Cubano (Europe), Tito Rojas, Nino Segarra, Anthony Cruz, Anthony Blea, Jovino Santos Neto, Joe Santiago, and is an integral member of the John Santos sextet, and the musical director for Bobi Cespedes. Marco has participated in the San Francisco Symphony AIM program since 2000 and currently produces records and performs music throughout the country while also co-leading Vission Latina, an Afro-Caribbean dance band, and director of his own quartet, The Marco Diaz Quartet.
In 2011, Marco Diaz was part of the faculty at Jazz Camp West. He toured the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State with Bobi Cespedes, teaching children and adults the roots of Afro-Cuban music. Marco also performed at the San Francisco, Tanglewood, and Monterey Jazz Festivals, and the Smithsonian Museum with world renowned ethno-musicologist, John Santos and his Sextet. In the Fall, Marco began his ninth season with the San Francisco Symphony’s AIM (adventures in music) program.
Javier Navarrette: Percussion, Vocals
Javier Navarrette has had the honor to perform with such greats as Poncho Sanchez, Los Van Van, the “Conga Kings” (Francisco Aguabella, Carlos “Patáto” Valdez, Armando Peraza and Milton Cardona), as well as with Jon Faddis, Jerry Gonzalez, Trini Lopez, Nestor Torres, Jimmy Heath, and Bobi Cespedes. In addition, Javier has had the privilege of recording with world-renowned artists Giovanni Hidalgo,Anthony Carillo, Sandy Perez, Jimmy Bosch, José Fajardo, Orestes Vilató, Carlos Del Puerto, Dafnis Prieto, Pedrito Martinez and Andy Gonzalez. He also recorded on three Grammy nominated albums with John Santos’ Machete Ensemble and El Coro Folklorico Kindembo.
More recently, Javier has had the honor to perform on stage with Jerry Gonzalez, at the John Santos Concert, “Not In Our Name” at the Brava Theater in San Francisco. He has also had the opportunity to be a guest musician for the Stanford University Big Band.
Javier is frequently involved in a myriad of projects such as the featured artist in “Proyecto de Congueros” at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in San Franciso, and organizing Bomba y Plena workshops and performances with Los Pleneros de La 21, Aguacero, and La Mixta Criolla as part of the “Caminos de Mi Cultura” series at the Brava Theater in San Francisco.
Javier’s musical ventures have included touring with Los Mocosos, Bobi Cespedes, Josh Jones’ Latin Jazz Ensemble, Hector Lugo and Cacique y Congo, to name a few. Javier is currently a percussionist with Jesus Díaz y su QBA, Anthony Blea y Su Charanga, Carne Cruda, La Mission Band, Hector Lugo and La Mixta Criolla, The Cuban Cowboys and Los Mocosos. Javier is currently working on a new project, Machina Sol, along with three other San Francisco Bay Area artists. Javier continues to create new musical ideas, in order to expand his musical knowledge. He also enjoys teaching music to the next generation.
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The Natural Grocery Company is proud to present this series in partnership with SunJams and Javier Navarrette Music Productions.
SunJams is committed to funding children’s music education in underserved public elementary schools. Your donation will help support this ongoing program.
All of the proceeds will go directly to our network of local musicians, each of whom have been severely impacted by the lack of events during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whether you donate $10, $100, or $1000 – any amount helps and will allow us to keep bringing music to our community! As always, your donation to SunJams 501(c)3 may qualify as tax exempt.
Javier Navarrette Music Productions continues to bring live music to several venues around the Bay Area. Javier has been a professional musician and music educator in the Oakland Unified School District for the past 20 years. Over the past few years Navarrette has produced outdoors events that have proven instrumental in enabling musicians to deal with some of the fallout of the pandemic and shutdown that followed.
COVID RELATED SAFETY MEASURES
Please be safe. Feel free to wear a mask if you prefer.
TICKETS
Tickets are NOT required for this venue, you can simply come in, order food and beverages at the Annex counter and pay at the registers.