Kaila Flexer presents an evening of culture-bridging music benefiting the Middle East Children's Alliance, a non-governmental organization that works for peace and justice in the Middle East by supporting projects that aid and empower communities in the region, with a special focus on the rights of children. One of the great musical minds of the Bay Area, violinist Kaila is known for her compelling original take on folk music that borrows from klezmer, contemporary classical music, and jazz. In her work with groundbreaking groups like Fieldharmonik and Next Village, Kaila's compositions twist and turn in and out of continents, time zones, centuries and genres, with a refreshing twist of irreverent musical humor thrown in. Joining Kaila tonight are an impressive array of local talents: Moldovan accordion virtuoso Nikolai Prisakar, bass/cimbalom player extraordinaire Stuart Brotman (Brave Old World), and everyone's favorite string wizard, Mike Marshall. Featured also as a special guest is Aziz Herawi, an expatriate Afghani master of the dutar (long-necked 14-stringed lute) and rubab (short-necked lute). Well known in Afghani classical music circles, Aziz plays Hindustani-influenced versions of Persian folk songs, employing a dramatic range of rhythms and dynamics in short, intense pieces in the style of his native city, Herat. His most recent album is Memories Of Herat: Instrumental Music Of Afghanistan (Latitudes/Music of the World, 1999).