Arguably the biggest event in jazz each year takes place on Thurday, April 30th. That’s just one of Cultural Attaché’s Best Bets: April 27th – May 3rd. The best thing about it is you can watch it anywhere in the world. And there’s more to explore in this week’s picks.
INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY ALL-STAR GLOBAL CONCERT – Streaming April 30th – 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
You won’t have to be in Chicago, site of the 15th annual International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert, to see this truly all-star event. You’ll be able to watch It on YouTube, jazzday.com, Facebook, UN Web TV and more.
And why wouldn’t you want to? Check out this line-up: Melissa Aldana, John Beasley, Terence Blanchard, Kris Bowers, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Till Brönner, Bobby Broom, Terri Lyne Carrington, James Carter, Mino Cinélu, Emmet Cohen, Jacob Collier, Ernest Dawkins, Mandisi Dyantyis, Kurt Elling, Bia Ferreira, Béla Fleck, James Genus, Robert Glasper, Herbie Hancock, Marquis Hill, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Christian McBride, Marcus Miller, James Morrioson, Tiger Okoshi, Gregory Porter, Dianne Reeves, Joel Ross, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Antonio Sánchez, Jahari Stampley, Helen Sung, Francisco Torres, Bobby Watson and Lizz Wright.
Click on the links above to watch and enjoy!
MILLENNIALS ARE KILLING MUSICALS – Colony Theatre – Burbank, CA – April 30th – May 17th
OPENING NIGHT: May 2nd
This new musical by Nico Juber (who wrote the book, the lyrics and the music) and is described as a “funny look at identity in the age of social media.” The story is centered around a single mother and her pregnant daughter. The mom wants to be better at being a parent and the daughter has no idea how to even begin facing the reality of being a mother.
Emma Hunton plays Brenda, the single mother and Diana Huey plays Katrina. The cast also features Aynsley Bubbico, Matthew Thomas Grant, Mitchell Gerrard Johnson, John Krause, Lana McKissack and the always amazing Jennifer Leigh Warren.
Kristin Hanggi (Rock of Ages) directs this pre-New York run.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
HOW SONDHIEM PLAYS WITH TIME: COMPANY, MERRILY, FOLLIES AND BEYOND – 92nd Street Y – Online – April 30th, May 7th and May 14th.
I don’t often recommend classes, but this is one I think fans of Stephen Sondheim will want to explore. Gail Leondar-Wright examines how Sondheim uses time in his musicals beginning with Company. The second session moves on to Follies, Pacific Overtures Merrily We Roll Along. The third and final session looks as Assassins and Sunday in the Park with George.
Leondar-Wright has been teaching Sondheim’s work for years and she regularly works with theater companies in presenting lectures accompanying their productions of his shows.
The classes will take place via Zoom and will allow for Q&A in real time. Each class is 90 minutes in length.
To enroll in this course or to get more information, please go HERE.
FROM CLIBURN TO KANTOROW: A CELEBRATION OF TCHAIKOVSKY – Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra – Kalamazoo, MI – May 1st
When the first International Tchaikovsky Competition took place in Moscow in 1958, American pianist Van Cliburn stunned the world by winning first prize. He went on to global fame as one of the premiere classical pianists of his time.
Composer Evan Mack and librettist Mark Campbell have written what’s called a one-act melodrama about this event called American Sputnik. It has its world premiere in this concert.
The work features two soloists taking on the role of Cliburn: baritone Joseph Lattanzi and pianist Stanislav Khristenko.
The second half of the concert features Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 44. Interesting that they aren’t performing the 1st which is one of the concertos Cliburn played in the final round of competition.
Alexandre Kantorow is the soloist. He, too, has won the Tchaikovsky Competition (in 2019). He is giving a recital on May 2nd as part of this year’s Gilmore Festival and you’ll be able to stream it and other events from the festival by going HERE.
Julian Kuerti leads the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
SYMPHONIC CINEMA: THE PLANETS – Sydney Symphony Orchestra – Sydney, Australia – May 1st – May 3rd
Gustav Holst’s The Planets is one of the most performed pieces in classical music. So that alone is not reason enough to find a place on Cultural Attaché’s Best Bets for this, or any other, week.
What makes this unmissable is the world premiere of a silent film by Dutch director Lucas van Woerkum that will accompany the performance.
Van Woerkum’s film stars Emma Thompson and Greg Wise.
That’s how the concert ends. It begins with Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question and is followed by the world premiere of Nigel Westlake’s When The Clock Strikes Me: Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra (revised 2025). This new version, along with the film for The Planets, was commissioned by Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Benjamin Northey conducts.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
SCARAMOUCHE – City Lit Theater Company – Chicago, IL – May 1st – June 14th
Rafael Sabatini’s novel becomes a new musical featuring music and lyrics by Kingsley Day with a book by Day and James Glossman
When lawyer Andre-Louis Moreau’s best friend is murdered by an aristocrat, he dons multiple personalities to exact revenge.
Having seen other City Lit productions, I’m interested in seeing how a musical works in their space, particularly one with such a large cast and swashbuckling as part of the storytelling.
The cast is Alicia Berneche, Matthew Benenson Cruz, Rushil Byatnal, Emma Jean Eastland, Laura Michele Erie, India Huy, Brian James, Kent Joseph, Shea Lee, Henry Michael Odum, Connor Ripperger, Ed Rutherford, Ryan Smetana, Ethan Smith and Alex Stetkevich.
Beth Wolf directs.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
SANTA MONICA INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL – Multiple Venues – Santa Monica, CA – May 1st – May 9th
Stanley Clarke has long wanted to create this festival and now his dream is being realized. This inaugural festival will celebrate 100 years of John Coltrane; 100 years of Miles Davis and 100 years of Route 66 (which ends in Santa Monica).
There are four concerts:
May 1st Hiromi’s Sonicwonder takes place at downtown Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre.
The May 3rd concert takes place on Santa Monica’s Third St. Promenade. It features: Instant Alter, Genevieve Artadi, Aidan Farrrell, Elijah Fox, Billy Mohler, Varada Sahasrabudhe, Samohi Jazz Combo and Duffy X Uhlmann.
The May 8th concert is being held at BroadStage and the headliners are Lakecia Benjamin and Isaiah Collier. Also on the program is Tenor Madness which features Stanley Clarke, Hubert Laws, Emilio Modeste, Eric Reed, Aaron Shaw and Marvin “Smitty” Smith. This concert celebrates Coltrane.
The final concert is May 9th on Tongva Park. Kamasi Washington headlines. The other acts are Stanley Clarke & Friends (Stewart Copeland, Kiefer and Keyon Harrold); Knower, Miles Electric Band and Sam Smylie.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
That’s all of Best Bets: April 27th – May 3rd.
Have a great week and go see a show!
Main Photo: The line-up for the 2026 International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Millennials Are Killing Musicals was headed to Broadway. The show is headed to New York, but not on Broadway. Cultural Attaché regrets the error.