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Brittany

Isabel

Nicole

Ariela

Cameron

Gaucho welcomes some of the
best talent around to sit in and
bring their own spice to the mix.
If you haven't heard of them yet,
we’re pretty sure you will soon.

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Brittany
Haas
fiddle

Great-great granddaughter of a Missouri fiddler, young Brittany Haas's phenomenal rise as a fiddle prodigy results from her astonishing command of a number of styles, including Old Time, bluegrass and jazz. She plays with the vivacity and depth of feeling of great players many years her senior. To learn more about Brittany, pay a visit to her Web site at www.brittanyhaas.com

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Isabel
Douglass
accordion

Isabel Douglass, a Bay Area native, taught herself accordion at the age of 17. A couple of years of playing on the streets of Europe familiarized her with the diverse range of accordion traditions that thrive there. A special love of Romanian Gypsy music led to two trips to Romania to take private lessons with Bela Berki and Ion Sherban. She also performs with Tango Number 9 and The Japonize Elephants. Other California ensembles she has worked with include Amaldecor, Fitzcock Follies, Nanos Operetta, Faun Fables and Dandelion Dance Theater.

Singing in a variety of styles and languages has afforded Nicole a diverse range of experiences. Her background is strongly rooted in jazz, but she has delved into Brazilian, Latin, rock, and various forms of electronica, including house – she is, after all, from Chicago. Nicole’s affection for gypsy jazz became quite an obsession when she met Alfonso Ponticelli and began performing with his band Swing Gitan at places like the legendary Green Mill. Nicole recently relocated to San Francisco and is thrilled to have found her gypsy fix with the very talented Gaucho.

Ariela Morgenstern, mezzo-soprano, has been steadily gaining recognition in operatic, art song, new music, and cabaret repertoires. Her most recent roles included the Vocalist in the West Coast premiere of Pulitzer-prize winning playwright, Seamus Heaney’s modern adaptation of
Antigone, The Burial at Thebes, and Jenny in The Threepenny Opera with West Bay Opera. Ariela continues to collaborate with the vaudevillian political satire theatre company she co-founded, Rococo Risqué, which won the 2005 "Best Theatre Ensemble" award from the SF Weekly. In addition to solo recital work, Ariela sings regularly with the international a capella "nerdy, commie, girly," vocal trio, Charming Hostess, as well as with the cabaret group, Girlkulture, which features Weimar-era burlesque, Andrews Sisters Big Band, and contemporary cabaret music. http://www.arielamorgenstern.com/

A veteran of the Va Va Voom Room cabaret at the Plush Room in San Francisco, Cameron Shaw (aka Rudy LaPelle) can sing with a romantic clarity or a saucy swagger. He has performed gospel, rock, and jazz locally and internationally but particularly enjoys the early swingin' sounds of Fats Waller, Cab Calloway and Hot Jazz. With his charismatic croon, some even say he was born from the horn of a Victrola.