Abolish the Death Penalty - Free Jarvis Jay Masters Benefit

Come Dance to Free Jarvis! A benefit concert to celebrate the work of California
death row inmate and Buddhist writer Jarvis Jay Masters
with Hot Buttered Rum String Band & the Bluegrass Intentions
February 22nd, 2004, 7:30 pm
Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center
1317 San Pablo Avenue (near Gilman Street) in Berkeley
Suggested donation: $10-20
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Jarvis Jay Masters is a Buddhist writer living on death row in San Quentin prison.
His stories and essays have been published widely. He is the author Finding Freedom:
Writings from Death Row. Information about Jarvis’ life and the status of his
appeal can be found at http://www.freejarvis.org.

This unusual dance-concert features two great Bay Area acoustic bands: the high
altitude bluegrass of Hot Buttered Rum String Band and the unstoppable old-time
groove of the Bluegrass Intentions. In recent years members of both bands, Zac Matthews
and Alan Senauke, have been working closely with Jarvis as friends and supporters.
Booking inquiries, contact Dan Carlstrom
The Hot Buttered Rum String Band’s music nods to the past and sits squarely in
the present. The music appeals to traditional bluegrass aficionados as well as the
most discerning folk audiences and dance-hungry jam-band fans. A truly multi-generational
audience is growing around this group of musicians who deliver a fresh sound grounded
in tradition. Their first studio album \"In These Parts\" was just released.
Swallow Hill Music Association producer Grant Landsbach writes, \"The Hot Buttered
Rum String Band is quickly establishing itself as one of the finest young bluegrass
bands around.\"

The Bluegrass Intentions combine impeccable musicianship with a superb command of
harmony to create roots-based bluegrass music that brims with ebullience and sparkles
with creativity. Whether re-working material from a Library of Congress field recording,
adapting a Cajun two-step, or reinventing a Flatt & Scruggs classic, these genre-bending
traditionalists love making music together, and it shows. They cook up a truly unstoppable
old-time groove. Dave Briggs of WPLN-FM has this to say about the Intentions\'
debut album Old As Dirt: \"What a mesmerizing blend of the old and the new!
Ancient primeval tones played with modern precision; tough, gritty vocals; sparkling
instrumentation creativity and a bouncing, buoyant groove that just doesn\'t quit.\"

Proceeds will be used to donate Jarvis\' book, Finding Freedom to middle and high
school students. Jarvis\' books, information about his case, and the bands cd\'s
will be available. For information about Ashkenaz and this show see http://www.ashkenaz.com.