More an extended clan than a band, the 11-piece soulapalooza known as Alma Matters taps into decades of East Bay musical history, drawing on a welcoming array of African-diaspora musical traditions.
Flutist, drummer and vocalist Jeff Weinmann started the project around the turn of the decade when he was looking for a way to record with his elementary school buddy Peter Apfelbaum, the multi-instrumental world-jazz wizard he grew up with in Berkeley. Santana trombonist Jeff Cressman, another friend from grade school, was also there on the ground floor as a player and recording engineer.
Grabbing bits of studio time when Cressman wasn’t on tour, Weinmann spent six years creating the multigeneration 2017 album “Alma Matters,” a double-entendre referring to both school ties and the project’s soul (as in “alma”)-infused sound.
Turning an extended series of studio encounters into an expansive working band has been a major logistical challenge, but Weinmann has presented Alma Matters several times since the album’s release.
The group makes its Yoshi’s debut Tuesday with a stellar cast of musicians joining Weinmann, Apfelbaum and Cressman. Regulars include Jeff’s wife, vocalist Sandy Cressman; trumpeter Erik Jekabson; guitarist John Schott and drummer Josh Jones. The siblings Colin and Steve Hogan, on keyboards and bass respectively, and Jazz Mafia trombonist Adam Theis are recent additions. With special guests John Santos on percussion and vocalists Tony Lindsay, Terrance Kelly and Chris Burger, Alma Matters is a veritable soul academy.
“That mixture of horns improvising with percussion playing all the different rhythms from the diaspora, soulful vocals and the whole social activism part too, those are the pillars of what we’re about,” Weinmann says. “We’re able to bring the strengths of all the different players with all that shared history and family. It’s a pretty powerful thing.”
Details: 8 p.m. Nov. 20; Yoshi’s, Oakland; $23; 510-238-9200, www.yoshis.com.