“The Annex Sessions” will continue our music series held at El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company Prepared Food Annex (The Annex), 10387 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 6-8:30pm with
Pedro José Pastrana Trio
Pedro José Pastrana – cuatro
Ayla Dávila – bass
Colin Douglas – drums
With special guest Miguelito Martínez
The Pedro José Pastrana Trio is a dynamic instrumental ensemble known for its innovative approach to Latin Jazz centered around Puerto Rico’s national instrument the “Cuatro”. Seamlessly blending intricate melodies and groove-driven rhythms with folklore and improvisation.
Pedro José Pastrana
A music creator re-thinking the concept of Puerto Rican music, Pedro crosses over invisible frontiers with an (extra)ordinary approach to music. He aims at fusing the earthy quality of folk music with forward looking compositions and live performances, reflecting the mixed identities of his heritage and influences.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Pedro José Pastrana grew up in the “jíbaro” music tradition and surrounded by the vocabulary of other popular sounds. His work has been reviewed and play-listed by LatinJazzNet, KCSM Jazz, Puerto Rico Jazz and PRPop. As a sideman Pedro has redefined the versatility of the Puerto Rican Cuatro in Latin Jazz by performing and recording with artists like John Santos, Barrio Manouche, Jerry Medina, Juango Gutierrez, Orestes Vilató, Atabal, Gary Nuñez, Andy Montañez, among others.
His 2022 debut album, “Crónicas de la Pierna Inquieta”, selected by prpop.org among the top 20 best recordings of that year, consists of eight original tracks, serving as snapshots of self-discovery, inspired by the coming of age events of the past 13 years. This work combines incisive, Cuatro generated groove based songwriting with the sounds of Puerto Rico as the color palette.
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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.