In the music world the three Bs traditionally stand for Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. For jazz singer José James they stand for Billie, Bill and Badu (as in Holiday, Withers and Erykah).

His most recent album, On & On, was released at the beginning of this year and finds James putting his own vocal stylings to the songs of Erykah Badu. In 2015 he released Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday and in 2018 he released Lean On Me, a selection of songs by Bill Withers.

This Saturday James concludes his summer US tour in support of On & On at The Ford Theatre in Los Angeles. This will be the first and only show of the tour that will feature his entire band that appeared on the album performing with him live.

Earlier this week I spoke with James about Erykah Badu and her music, lessons he’s learned over the years of his career and the challenges he faces as a jazz singer. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity. To see the full interview, please go to our YouTube channel.

What does this music that you’re performing mean to you now that is perhaps different than what it meant to you when you first recorded it or when you first started playing it live?

I first approached it from what it meant to me. To me, Erykah Badu is kind of like the Joni Mitchell of my generation. She changed the game with her songwriting, with her musicality, with her presentation, with the way that she effortlessly blended all these genres. So I think I first made the album and thought about it in terms of wanting to respect what she had created and find a way in. Now that I’ve been performing it for quite a while, the songs have sort of become mine.

There’s this beautiful moment where the ownership transfers to the performer. That happened with the Bill Withers project, too. You start putting your own thoughts and feelings and emotions into these songs. It really becomes a deeply powerful way to bring a piece of yourself to these songs that are so familiar to all of us. We’ve been kind of taking it in different directions every night. So now what you have is this deeply personal and deeply creative world that exists alongside Badu’s world.

What is the story you want to tell about yourself through her music? 

I think there’s a degree of deep seriousness these days around what jazz singers can do. Why is hip hop and R&B this impenetrable place that jazz singers can’t go? So to me, it’s really about breaking new ground. I’m always excited when it’s something that nobody’s really done before because it feels fresh and it feels like there’s a discovery here. That’s the most powerful thing we can do as artists.

I played Erykah Badu’s songs and I don’t think what you’ve done is a huge leap. This makes complete sense to me.

It’s not a huge leap. We didn’t completely take apart her stuff and make it atonal or something. That’s part of the history of jazz singers, too. When Ella did her celebrated songbook series, she sang the melody, she sang the songs, but it’s the way that she did it, with the phrasing and the rhythm and the inflection and her history that made it jazz to me. Some of the songs I didn’t really change one note of the melody, but in order for me to get inside of her phrasing and then make it my own.

What I was referring to mostly was the fact that I heard a lot of jazz in what she was doing. 

That is so true, especially on her first two albums. There’s like upright bass on there, you know, like Appletree. Maybe it sounds like she’s performing with the jazz trio, which is so cool.

You’re a huge fan of Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane’s collaboration. I think you’ve said that’s the best male jazz vocalist album. Hartman did an interview with the New York Times in 1982, and he said, “The more you sing a song, you are apt to change it. It reflects the moods that you’re in.” Do you share that opinion about the many songs that you’ve recorded, whether they’re your own or somebody else’s? 

Jazz is Shakespeare. This is the classical repertoire. As you mature, hopefully, and deepen, hopefully, and go through some life experiences, then all of a sudden the words in the text become more relevant to you. Definitely when I first sang it, you know, this idea of being touched either physically or emotionally by this other person and kind of reminiscing about that moment, the times was much closer. But now that I’m 45, I can really think of a lot of different ways. For example, like a mentor who opened my world to jazz or to poetry or art kind of changes the feeling of it for me. Even though it’s ostensibly a romantic song, in my mind it’s turned into something else, which I hope comes across in the interpretation.

Should an artist have just a narrow range of interest and a way of expressing his or herself? Does it frustrate you that people seem to want you to be one thing because that’s easiest for them?

It has been frustrating in the past. I think I’ve sort of made peace and found my happy medium with how much I need to explore and how much we exist in service to people. That was a big shift in the pandemic for me. A lot of time to think about why I do it and when I would hopefully come back to jazz singing and performing would I do anything differently. The shift for me was I think I’ve artistically pushed the boundaries as far as I want to. Now my challenge is how creative can I be within sort of like the parameters that my fans enjoy because I definitely pushed it at some points past what my fans enjoy. For the hip hop kids who are like, why are you doing a duo with the jazz pianist? Or for the jazz purist you’re doing trap drums with autotune? There’s beautiful space in the middle, which I love. I think part of getting older is finding what you do best and figuring out how to explore that infinitely.

In an interview that you did in 2012 with the MinnPost you said, “If I could do jazz the way I wanted to, I would, but I just can’t. I can’t do it with the freedom I want or the audience development I want.” Along with your own perspective that you just expressed changing, has anything else changed for you in the 11 years since that comment that makes that less true today?

I think what’s changed is seeing people who have done both and in talking to some of them. Hearing the frustration of some people [who] feel like they’re in golden handcuffs and they can’t write songs or do things or produce that they want to. Then other people who spent their whole career just throwing paint against the wall but now want to sort of hit this commercial high. They’re not able to because they’re all over the map. Being at peace with your choice, no matter what the result is, that’s the challenge.

McCoy Tyner gave you great advice to just be yourself when you were touring with him. Knowing how much Coltrane means to you and how much McCoy Tyner means to you, which was more important, the advice or the man who was giving it to you?

The advice coming from him had a lot more weight. The thing about McCoy, which I found with a lot of living legends across genres, is that they are never looking backwards. McCoy was never telling people how to play. He was always positive. He was always uplifting. He really was in service to the music, to the audience and to his musicians. Never met another musician who was more generous with compliments or energy on stage. 

If you could go back in time to when you were in an a-cappella group called Cerulean and give yourself advice that you think your 16-year-old self really needed to hear to help him navigate his way through the life and career that you’ve had, what would that be?

I can’t believe that you found out about Cerulean, but I love it. I think I would just tell him that everything you believe about music and yourself right now is absolutely true. No matter what comes and goes, you don’t have to worry about anything. The cliché thing is true. The highs and the lows can knock you down. I remember when I was doing Letterman and Conan O’Brien, that was a bit too overwhelming for me. I wasn’t really ready for it. The downs, I haven’t sung in two years because of COVID. I wasn’t ready for that either. In both of those times I definitely did tap into how I felt about music back then because sometimes just putting on your favorite album and remembering this is why I do it is the most important thing.

To see the full interview with José James, please go here.

All photos by Janette Beckman/Courtesy Rainbow Blonde Records

The post José James and The Three Bs appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Topping this week’s list is AMPLIFY a gala fundraiser event by and for Maestra, an organization that supports and helps develop women composers, writers and musicians working in musical theatre. This is a great organization and they have an excellent event planned.

So here are my Four Days of Best Bets: March 26th – March 29th:

*TOP PICK* BROADWAY VOCALS: Amplify 2021 – Maestra – March 29th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Maestra is an organization founded by songwriter/composer Georgia Stitt. On Monday night they are having a gala featuring Ashley Park, Nikki M. James, Brandon Victor Dixon, Tanya Birl, Kenita Miller, Shelley Thomas, Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney, along with appearances from Anaïs Mitchell (Tony Award-winning creator of Hadestown), Kirsten Childs (OBIE Award-winning creator of Bubbly Black Girl), Helen Park (Lortel Award-winning creator of KPOP), Rona Siddiqui (Larson Award-winning creator of Salaam Medina: Tales of a Halfghan), Britt Bonney, Kristy Norter, Dionne McClain-Freeney, Meg Zervoulis, Kat Sherrell, Nicole Rebolledo, Stitt, and a special appearance by Bernadette Peters. Shoshana Bean will sing an original song with music, lyrics and orchestrations by Maestra member Lynne Shankel (Allegiance) for the finale of the event.

The event will be hosted by Brooks Ashmanskas (The Prom) and Andrea Burns (In the Heights). The event is produced and directed by Kate Baldwin (Hello, Dolly!). Baldwin appears on Stitt’s 2020 album A Quiet Revolution. You should check out her song, The Water Is Wide, and the entire album.

Tickets range from free to $500. Those who are able to pay for the higher-priced tickets will have access to post-show events with Gavin Creel & Celia Keenan-Bolger; “Chers” Stephanie J. Block, Teal Wicks & Micaela Diamond; Chaplin co-stars Jenn Colella & Rob McClure; Book of Mormon original stars Nikki M. James & Michael James Scott; Mean Girls Ashley Park & Erika Henningsen; and The Prom stars Caitlin Kinnunen & Isabelle McCalla. If you are interested in purchasing one of those tickets, you must do so by 5:00 PM EDT/2:00 PM PDT on Sunday, March 28th.

MUSICAL: BKLYN – The Musical – Stream.theatre – Now – April 4th

Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson collaborated on this musical based on his own experiences as a street musician. From personal experience to Broadway where Brooklyn opened in the fall of 2004.

The musical depicts a group of homeless musicians performing a show about a girl from Paris searching for her father. She gets discovered when performing with the group under the Brooklyn Bridge and becomes a big star, but one still trying to find her dad. It’s actually structured as a play-within-a-play.

Sejal Keshwala, Emma Kingston, Newton Matthews, Jamie Muscato and Marisha Wallace staged in this filmed production from Ugly Duck, London Bridge in England.

You’ll have a choice of either a specific showtime or an on-demand purchase to watch the musical. Tickets are £18 which includes service charges. That’s approximately $25.

VOCALS: Giles Terera in Black Matter – Now – March 31st

Just as Leslie Odom Jr. won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, Giles Terera won the British equivalent, The Olivier, for his performance in the same role in London.

During the pandemic, Terera took to expressing his feelings and experiences during the pandemic and with all the social upheaval by writing songs. He performs that song cycle, Black Matter, in a concert filmed at Crazy Coqs in the Soho area of London.

Terera received rave reviews for Black Matter. Tickets are £13 (which includes service charges) which equals approximately $18.

PLAY: The Thanksgiving Play – Spotlight on Plays on Broadway’s Best Shows – Now – March 29th

Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse received a MacArthur “Genius” Grant in 2020 and it was largely due to her well-received and often performed The Thanksgiving Play. As part of their Spotlight on Plays series, Broadway’s Best shows is streaming a reading of the play with Bobby Cannavale, Keanu Reeves, Heidi Schreck and Alia Shawkat.

The premise finds four white people trying to put together a culturally-sensitive Thanksgiving play to be performed in schools.

Jesse Green, in his New York Times review, said of FastHorse’s play:

“Just because a target’s too easy doesn’t mean it won’t make a satisfying meal. Take turkeys, or the holiday they stand for. In Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play, which opened on Monday at Playwrights Horizons, the familiar, whitewashed story of Pilgrims and Native Americans chowing down together gets a delicious roasting from expert farceurs.”

Tickets are $15. This play will only be available through Monday at 6:00 PM EDT.

MUSICAL/DANCE: Tango the Musical – Center Theatre Group – Now – March 28th

The music of Astor Piazzolla serves as the foundation for this show from Argentina. Eleven dancers perform Argentina’s most famous dance while accompanied by a 10-piece live orchestra. Tango the Musical is set during Argentina’s Guerra sucia (“Dirty War”).

This was a period of enormous conflict from 1976-1984 that found crackdowns on anyone considered or rumored to be a socialist or dissident. As many as 30,000 people went missing during this time.

Tango the Musical is directed by Sergei Tumas and choreographed by Argentinians Iván Leonardo Romero and Silvana Nuñez.

I’m not sure that anyone truly sings, so I’m not sure how much this show is a musical or a dance, but if you love this music, this should be quite entertaining.

There are performances available Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT and 11:00 PM EDT/8:00 PM PDT and on Sunday at 4:00 PM EDT/1:00 PM PDT and 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT. Tickets are $10.

JAZZ: Voices of Freedom – Jazz at Lincoln Center Virtual Season – March 26th – March 31st

Singers Betty Carter, Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln and Nina Simone will be celebrated in this concert by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra under the baton of Chris Crenshaw.

Joining them as guest vocalists are Melanie Charles, Shenel Johns, and Ashley Pezzotti who will perform songs the women wrote and made famous.

All four women were powerhouse singers who left everything they had on the stage. I was lucky enough to see Carter, Lincoln and Simone in concert. These are four women well worth celebrating.

Tickets are $20.

CONVERSATION: Virtual Halston with Lucie Arnaz – March 26th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

Lucie Arnaz joins Julie Halston for this Friday’s Virtual Halston on the Cast Party Network. Arnaz has been in the news recently with the start of production on Being the Ricardos, a feature film about the relationship between her parents, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are playing the two television icons.

When fans got upset about the casting, Arnaz, who is an Executive Producer on the movie, took to Facebook and said, in part, “Stop arguing about who should play it – ‘she doesn’t look like her, her nose isn’t the same she isn’t as funny’…Just trust us. It’s going to be a nice film and p.s. the voting is over.”

Now that should make for some great conversation!

JAZZ: Jane Monheit – SFJAZZ – March 26th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

While we’re celebrating great women of jazz with the Voices of Freedom concert listed above, let’s also acknowledge The First Lady of Song Ella Fitzgerald. That’s precisely what singer Jane Monheit does in this concert that is part of SFJAZZ’s Fridays at Five series.

Monheit’s 2016 album, The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald features her performing such songs as Somebody Loves Me, Ill Wind and This Time the Dream’s on Me. Will Mack the Knife be part of this concert? I don’t know, but as good as Monheit is, nobody could swing that song (or screw it up) quite like Fitzgerald.

Seriously Monheit is terrific. It would be impossible not to enjoy this show. Joining Monheit for this concert are Andy Langham on piano; Rick Montalbano on drums; Dave Robaire on bass and Jamey Tate on percussion.

Tickets are $5 for a one-month digital membership or $60 for an annual digital membership.

CHAMBER MUSIC: Gil Shaham Plays Boulogne – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – Debuts March 26th – 9:30 PM EDT/6:30 PM PDT

Violinist Gil Shaham joins the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for their Close Quarters series. In this film he will perform Arvo Pärt’s Fratres and Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ Violin Concerto No. 9.

If you are accustomed to seeing classical music performances with the camera on the periphery of the orchestra, this will be different. According to Shaham the cameramen were working their way in and around all the musicians during the performance. It’s certain to give a more up-close look at performance than we usually get to see.

Margaret Batjer leads the LACO in an approximately 33 minute film. There’s no charge and the film will be available for viewing at any time.

DANCE DOCUMENTARY: Twyla Moves – American Masters on PBS – March 26th (check local listings)

Whether you love or hate what choreographer Twyla Tharp does (and I know people in both camps), she is arguably one of the most independent and intriguing figures in modern dance. Which probably is what interested filmmaker Steven Cantor to create this documentary on Tharp.

Her work has been performed on stages around the world and includes ballet, modern dance and Broadway musicals. She’s also choreographed for feature films including Hair, Ragtime and Amadeus.

The documentary includes interviews and never-before-seen footage of Tharp at work and in performance. As with all PBS programming, check your local listings for exact airdate and time.

WORLD MUSIC: Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion – CAP UCLA – March 26th – 10:00 PM EDT/7:00 PM PDT

Zakir Hussain is a master table musician. Tabla is a pair of hand drums indigenous to India and Pakistan. He has performed with a diverse range of artists that includes George Harrison, Charles Lloyd, Yo-Yo Ma, Van Morrison and Pharoah Sanders.

For this filmed concert he will be joined by Pezhham Akhavass on tombak and Iranian percussion; Marcus Gilmore on drums and Abbos Kosimov on doyra and Uzbek percussion with special guests.

Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion was immensely popular when this program was performed at UCLA during the 2018-2019 season. There’s no charge to watch this concert.

OPERA: Götterdämmerung – San Francisco Opera – March 27th – March 28th

Conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles; starring Daniel Brenna, Iréne Theorin, Greer Grimsley, Andrea Silvestrelli, Melissa Citro, Brian Mulligan and Falk Struckmann. This revival of Francesca Zambello’s 2011 production is from the 2017-2018 season.

The final opera in Der Ring des Nibelungen had its world premiere in 1876 in Bayreuth as part of the first-ever performance of The Ring Cycle.

Alberich’s curse placed on the ring and its owners comes to haunt the characters in this final opera in the Ring Cycle. Siegfried, having fallen in love with Brunnhilde, is convinced to consume a potion that renders him without memory. That lack of remembering finds him proposing to another woman, Gutrune. Her brother consents as long as Siegfried will allow him to marry Brunnhilde. The ring changes hands and with Alberich’s son, Hagen, manipulating the action, ruin comes to all, including the gods whose glory has come to an end leaving Valhalla in flames.

For this production, Zambello has set the story in the American West. The cycle began during the gold rush and ends with Götterdämmerung in present-day America.

Lisa Hirsch, writing for Classical Voice San Francisco, raved about the orchestra’s performance under the baton of Runnicles:

“No Ring production can succeed without a fine orchestra and strong leadership, and as long-time operagoers know, Donald Runnicles and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra make a splendid team. Runnicles, a great conductor of long and complex works, led a performance of breadth, subtlety, and beauty, full of telling detail. The orchestra played tirelessly and beautifully, with a warmly blended and layered sound, over the many hours of the cycle. The brass sections were especially impressive, given the demands Wagner makes on them, playing with unforced power.”

JAZZ: Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet – Snug Harbor Jazz Revival – March 28th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

If you can have a show with one Marsalis brother this week, why not have two? Trombonist/composer/producer Delfeayo Marsalis is performing from Snug Harbor in New Orleans in this concert on Sunday.

In addition to performing with his brothers, his late father, Ellis, and countless other musicians, Delfeayo Marsalis has produced recordings by such artist as Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick, Jr., the Preservation Jazz Hall Band and has worked with filmmaker Spike Lee.

Tickets to watch his concert are $15.

PLAY READING: SQUEAKY – Guild Hall – March 28th – 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT

Jessica Hecht, Marc Kudisch, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Ben Shenkman and Harris Yulin are lined-up for this reading of SQUEAKY by playwright Jeff Cohen.

The play is an autobiographical comedy that stars Kudish and Shenkman having a hard time agreeing on the best course of action for their father (Yulin) who is nearing the end of his life.

Throw in a caretaker (Jackson) and Squeaky’s estranged wife (Hecht) and you’ve got the makings for plenty of familial conflict and loads of opportunities for humor.

Bob Balaban directs. Tickets are free, but donations are encouraged.

PLAY: Pedro Páramo – Goodman Theatre – March 29th – April 11th

Juan Rulfo’s 1955 novel of the same name is the inspiration for this play by Raquel Carrió that was part of the Goodman Theatre’s Latino Theatre Festival in 2013. Pedro Páramo is performed by Cuba’s Teatro Buendía and directed by Flora Lauten.

As in the book, Juan Preciado returns home to honor his dying mother’s wishes of settling old scores with his father, Pedro. What Juan soon realizes is everyone in the town he has returned to is a ghost. It is through this realization that the full story of Pedro Páramo (both the character and the play) becomes fully revealed.

Tony Adler, in his review for the Chicago Reader, said of the play:

“Rulfo’s story is like Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol without the redemption, and like Edgar Lee Masters’s Spoon River Anthology—a collection of poems written from the points of view of people buried in a small Illinois cemetery—without the nice distinction between life and afterlife. Rulfo’s reality allows for a free conflation of bodies and souls, places and times. It isn’t magic, but a simple apprehension of the resonances that wait in all things.”

Tickets are free, but registration is required.

CABARET/CONVERSATION: Pajama Cast Party One Year Anniversary Show – March 29th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Two weeks ago I highlighted Jim Caruso’s 50th Pajama Cast Party show. But this week is the real anniversary: one year of doing online shows. Caruso is pulling out all the stops for this celebration. But I don’t know who or what that will be.

All I know is the VIP guest list is being kept very hush hush. But between his stellar guests for both the live version at Birdland and this full year of shows, this is going to be one swellegant party.

Those are my official Four Days of Best Bets: March 26th – March 29th. A couple reminders before I close out this weekend’s listings.

OPERA: The Metropolitan Opera is streaming two productions this weekend for the first time. On Friday they are streaming Mozart’s Idomeneo from the 1982-1983 season. That production stars Hildegard Behrens, Frederica von Stade and Luciano Pavarotti. This was the first-ever production of that opera at the Met. On Saturday Mozart’s Don Giovanni from their 2000-2001 season with Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming is being streamed. On Sunday they are showing their 2019-2020 season production of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer.

And here’s a preview of next week’s streaming operas: love triangles is the theme and the week opens with the 2017-2018 season production of Bellini’s Norma with Sondra Radvanovsky and Joyce DiDonato. Check back on Monday for our preview of the full week of programming.

Finally, it’s always a good idea to check back at the last two or three weeks of Best Bets as some of the programming I write about is available for longer than just the weekend. If you don’t find something you like here, perhaps the most recent two or three weekend lists will have something you’ll like.

That does it for my Best Bets: March 26th – March 29th. Have a great weekend and enjoy whatever you watch!

Photo: Georgia Stitt and Kate Baldwin (Photo by Kristin Pulido/Courtesy Maestra)

The post Four Days of Best Bets: March 26th – March 29th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Actor Keith David serves as the narrator. Samuel L. Jackson, Delroy Lindo, Derek Jacobi and Harry Connick, Jr. are amongst the additional voices. Footage and interviews with the biggest names in jazz music are incorporated throughout the documentary.

There are ten episodes in Jazz:

Gumbo (Beginnings to 1917) – Airing January 7th

As you would expect with a title like Gumbo, the series begins in New Orleans, a melting pot of a city in the late 1800s and early 1900s that gave rise to Jelly Roll Morton, Buddy Bolden and Sydney Bechet who took that rich brew of culture and began creating what we now call jazz.

The Gift (1917-1924) – Airing January 14th

The period known as the “Jazz Age” plays like a tale of two cities: Louis Armstrong moving from New Orleans to Chicago and Duke Ellington moving from Washington, D.C. to Harlem.

Our Language (1924-1928) – Airing January 21st

In the “Roaring 20s” not only do we follow Armstrong and Ellington, but are introduced to Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Bessie Smith and famous jazz venues like New York’s Cotton Club.

The True Welcome (1929-1935)- Airing January 28th

The Depression hits, but jazz has taken on a life of its own. With New York as the hub of jazz, Fats Waller and Art Tatum are fast-rising stars; Ellington is writing more serious music and bandleader Chick Webb adds a young female singer to his band by the name of Ella Fitzgerald.

Swing: Pure Pleasure (1935-1937) – Airing February 4th

The Depression is ongoing and people want and need entertainment. They want to dance and swing music offers them exactly what they crave. Benny Goodman becomes the “King of Swing” and Billie Holiday starts to make a name for herself.

Swing: The Velocity of Celebration (1937-1939)- Airing February 11th

The depression finally comes to an end, but the second world war is looming. Swing music loses a little of its momentum until Count Basie and his band enter the scene. By the start of the war in Europe, Coleman Hawkins is creating quite a stir.

Dedicated to Chaos (1940-1945) – Airing February 18th

The United States enters the war and bandleaders like Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw are entertaining folks at home and the troops overseas. Back in New York, with a cabaret tax hitting jazz clubs that have dancing pretty hard, club owners find a way around the tax by embracing ensembles that are smaller and don’t play music that inspires dancing. Be bop is born with artists like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

Risk (1945-1955) – Airing February 25th

The war is over and the cold war is beginning. Amidst it all young artists like Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk are making names for themselves and changing forever the direction of jazz.

The Adventure (1956-1960) – Airing March 4th

Early jazz pioneers are dying off and a new breed is capturing the spotlight: Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Sarah Vaughan. While Davis continues his rise to superstar, Ornette Coleman is experimenting with free jazz.

A Masterpiece by Midnight (1961-The Present) – Airing March 11th

It’s tough to imagine wrapping up what was then 40 years of history in a single episode, but Burns does that in the final episode with the introduction of Dexter Gordon and Wynton Marsalis; the unlikely bumping of The Beatles off the pop charts by Louis Armstrong and the deaths of some very significant pioneers of the music.

When it first aired, Ben Ratliff, writing for the New York Times, had mixed feelings about the success of the series, but nonetheless said, “jazz is presented as part of American history — not just artistic history, but the history of our wars, social programs, taste in clothing, civil laws, migrations, economic ups and downs. It sometimes seems that there is more film in the documentary containing no jazz musicians than film that does. But nonmusical moments in Jazz build up to demonstrations of how Americans felt in their bones about jazz.”

As with all PBS programming, be sure to check with your local listings for exact air times and dates in your city.

Photo: Louis Armstrong, Newport 1955 (Photo ©Herman Leonard/Courtesy PBS)

The post The 20th Anniversary of Ken Burns’ JAZZ appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Quite a few of this week’s offerings are concerts. We have jazz, classical, Broadway vocals and one jazz/dance combination.

I’ve made a change to help you navigate my listings. Before each title there is a category that defines the genre of the listing. So if you only want to find jazz concerts, just look for JAZZ. For ballet or dance, look for DANCE. And in the case of our hybrid event, you’ll find DANCE/JAZZ combined. All listings are in order of when they become available.

Topping our list this week is the world premiere of a new work by composer Nico Muhly that is being performed by organist James McVinnie on Saturday.

Here are my choices as your Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th.

PLAY: The Night of the Iguana – La Femme Theatre Productions – Now – December 6th

Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana gets an all-star reading from New York’s La Femme Theatre Productions.

Williams based the play on his own short story that in and of itself was inspired by his cousin. The Night of the Iguana had its Broadway debut in 1961.

Reverend Shannon has been forced out of his church after a sermon where he demonized God. He’s relegated to serving as a tour guide and accused of statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl.

While escorting a group of women to Acapulco and staying at a cheap motel, Shannon battles the pressures from the outside world and the demons within himself.

Dylan McDermott stars as Reverend Shannon; Phylicia Rashad plays Maxine; Roberta Maxwell as Judith Fellowes; Austin Pendleton as Nonno and Jean Lichty as Hannah, with Keith Randolph Smith, Carmen Berkeley, Eliud Kauffman, Julio Macias, Stephanie Schmiderer, Bradley James Tejeda and John Hans Tester. Emily Mann directs.

Tickets are range from $10 – $250 depending on your ability to pay. This reading serves as a fundraiser for The Actors Fund.

DANCE: in the absence of things – Baryshnikov Arts Center – Now – December 15th

In this ten-minute experimental dance short film, Somi Kakoma explores the impact the pandemic is having on her and her creative process.

Instead of being on the road, she returned home to Illinois and found herself wrestling with the the desire to create and perform and the need to just live.

Movement, art songs, spoken word and more are utilized to tell her story. Kakoma’s mother provides some of the film’s narration. There is also music from a recent live album, Holy Room – Live at Alte Opera with Frankfurt Radio Big Band in the film.

CLASSICAL: Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus – The Philharmonia Orchestra of London – Beginning December 4th – 2:30 PM EST/11:30 AM PST

In February of this year, the Los Angeles Philharmonic had one of their most exciting concerts when Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simon McBurney and Gerard McBurney collaborated on The Weimar Republic: Salonen Conducts The Seven Deadly Sins.

Starting on Friday, Salonen and Gerard McBurney are once again collaborating on a concert. The Philharmonia Orchestra of London is performing Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus.

Most concertgoers are familiar with the work’s overture; far fewer are familiar with the complete score Beethoven composed for this ballet that had its world premiere in Vienna in 1801.

McBurney has written a new script for this concert. There will be animation by Hillary Leben whose work has been seen in performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Silk Road Ensemble and more.

When you add that the narration will be performed by Stephen Fry, what else do you need?

The link takes you directly to The Philharmonia Orchestra of London’s YouTube page where this performance can be seen.

DANCE/JAZZ: waiting – 92nd Street Y – December 4th – 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Dancer/choreographer Sidra Bell was working on waiting in anticipation of its world premiere performance in June of this year. That was postponed due to the pandemic.

The work is a collaboration with jazz composer/saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins.

Wilkins’ debut album, Omega, was named the Best Jazz Album of 2020 by the New York Times this week.

What is being shown is a work-in-progress of waiting. Sidra Bell and Immanuel Wilkins will participate in a post-performance Q&A.

Tickets are $10.

JAZZ: Christian McBride – Village Vanguard – December 4th – December 5th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Bassist Christian McBride is joined by Marcus Strickland on saxophone; Josh Evans on trumpet and Nasheet Waits on drums for these two performances from New York’s Village Vanguard.

McBride’s most recent album is The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons.

On this record McBride celebrates Rosa Parks, Malcom X, Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King, Jr.

He just received two Grammy Award nominations recently for Round Again (which finds him recording with Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau and Brian Blade) and also for Trilogy 2 (which is a live recording with Chick Corea and Blade). He can’t win both awards unless there is a tie – he’s competing against himself.

Tickets are $10 for each performance.

JAZZ: Robert Glasper Acoustic Trio – The Kennedy Center – December 4th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM EST

Composer, pianist, producer Robert Glasper is equally comfortable working in the hip-hop world (Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, Maxwell, Common) and the jazz world (Terence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride).

He has released albums that find him collaborating with such artists as Kamasi Washington, Terrace Martin, Phoelix and Herbie Hancock.

For this concert at The Kennedy Center he’s working in the trio configuration with Vicente Archer on bass and Justin Tyson on drums. As befits an artist who works in multiple genres, the trio will be joined by DJ Jahi Sundance.

I believe Glasper is one of our most interesting musicians and this should be a terrific concert.

After the performance, Glasper will be joined by Jason Moran for a conversation. Moran is the Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz.

Tickets are $20 and the program will remain available for renting beyond this premiere showing.

PLAY/MAGIC: The Future – Geffen Stayhouse – December 4th – January 31st

It seems like only yesterday that magician Helder Guimarães just concluded his run of The Present with the Geffen Playhouse. He’s back with a new show and given its title I’m wondering if a trilogy is being planned.

The Future finds gambling at the core of Guimarães’ storytelling and perspective is the fulcrum through which we will view the story and guide its direction.

Frank Marshall returns as director. Will there also be a show next year called The Past?

Tickets are $95 with a majority of the performances already sold out. If you’re interested, act quickly. To do otherwise might gamble away your chance to get a look into The Future.

JAZZ: Pink Martini – SFJAZZ – December 4th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

This week’s Fridays at Five concert from San Francisco Jazz is a holiday concert by Pink Martini that was performed at the venue last December.

This seventeen-member ensemble successfully blends musical styles to create a sound all their own. For instance, did you ever think this rhythm would be part of “We Three Kings?”

Having watched many a concert from this Fridays at Five series, I’m always pleased with how good these shows look and how great they sound.

The concert will air only at this one time. Tickets are $5 for a one-month subscription or $60 for a one-year subscription.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Vanessa Williams: Live from the West Side – Segerstrom Center – December 5th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

In the third and final concert from the Women of Broadway series Live from the West Side, Vanessa Williams take to the stage.

Williams was a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominee for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as The Witch in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods revival from 2002.

She made her Broadway debut when she joined the cast of Kiss of the Spider Woman as Aurora/Spider Woman in 1994. Her other Broadway credits include 2010’s Sondheim on Sondheim and the 2013 revival of The Trip to Bountiful.

Beyond her Broadway career she’s had best-selling albums and singles including The Colors of the Wind from the Disney animated film Pocahontas.

Tickets are $30 and allow for additional viewings for 72 hours.

JAZZ: Arturo Sandoval Live from the Broad Stage – The Broad Stage – December 5th – December 13th

In October of this year, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and a small ensemble of musicians came together to film a live concert at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. The end result is 60 minutes of Latin jazz sure to entertain.

Sandoval is a 10-time Grammy Award winner who was born in Cuba. There isn’t enough space to list all the recordings he’s made and all the musicians with whom he’s recorded. But perhaps the names Bennett, Estefan, Keys, Monk and Sinatra might sound familiar.

Joining him are Will Brahm on guitar; Ricard Pasillas on percussion; Johnny Friday on drums; John Belazaguy on bass and Max Haymer on piano.

Tickets are $10 for non-members. Free for members.

JAZZ: Barbara Morrison: Standing on Their Shoulders – The Wallis – December 5th – 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST

No jazz vocalist can claim not to have been influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. Singer Barbara Morrison is no exception.

In this concert, part of the virtual version of The Sorting Room from The Wallis, Morrison will put her own stamp on the songs these women made famous.

Tickets are $25 and allow for viewing for 24 hours. There are more concerts in this series and package deals are available for viewing either half or all six of The Sorting Room series.

CLASSICAL: James McVinnie Live from Concert Hall ‘Latvija’ in Ventspils – December 6th – 12:00 EST/9:00 AM PST

In February of 2018 I saw and heard organist James McVinnie give the world premiere performance of Register by Nico Muhly. It was an amazing performance of truly fascinating music.

It wasn’t their first collaboration. Muhly wrote 2013’s Cycles for McVinnie. Muhly and McVinnie have collaborated again on Nativity Cycle.

This music was written specifically for this concert and for McVinnie by Muhly.

The composer was inspired by plainsong. That term refers to unaccompanied church music sung in medieval modes and free rhythm. The text is taken from liturgical material.

Each of Muhly’s pieces will include the plainchant at the end, but expect him to transform the original music into something that is at times, much simpler and at other times, much more complex. All of which suits McVinnie’s talents.

Tickets are €8 which is just under $10 as of press time. This does not include any service charges. There is a note on the website that says ticket prices will increase as the concert dates get closer.

JAZZ: Billie Holiday: A Concert Celebration – 92nd Street Y – December 6th – December 9th

On November 21st, the Emmet Cohen Trio was joined by singers Catherine Russell and Veronica Swift for a celebration of the music of Billie Holiday filmed at New York’s 92nd Street Y. That concert will start being available on Sunday at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST and remain available for renting through December 9th.

Also joining the concert is saxophonist Tivon Pennicott who joins for a special tribute to the collaborations Holiday had with Lester Young.

I wasn’t familiar with Swift before reading about this concert. She’s quite good. It will be exciting to see where she goes with her career.

The members of Cohen’s trio are Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Kyle Poole on drums. (Cohen, of course, plays piano.)

Tickets are $15.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Eva Noblezada Live from Adelphi – Adelphi PAC Concert Hall – December 6th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

Eva Noblezada has appeared on Broadway in two musicals: She played Kim in the 2017 revival of Miss Saigon. She originated the role of Eurydice in the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown. She was Tony nominated for both performances. In other words, she’s gotten a nomination for every role she’s performed on Broadway. She hasn’t yet snagged one of the trophies, but just you wait.

You’ll be able to see what makes her so engaging in this live concert on Sunday. I’ve seen her in Hadestown. She’s very talented and this should be a great opportunity to see her shine.

Tickets are $15.

CLASSICAL: McGill/McHale Trio – Shriver Hall Concert Series – December 6th – 5:30 PM EST/2:30 PM PST

Clarinettist Anthony McGill and his flautist brother Demarre met pianist Michael McHale when they were artists-in-residence at Bowling Green University. The trio first performed together in 2014 and they’ve been making music together ever since.

For this program, which took place at New York’s 92nd Street Y last December, the trio will celebrate dance. The concert features works by Chris Rogerson, Francis Poulenc, Antonin Dvořák, Guillaume Connesson, Claude Debussy and Paul Schoenfield.

There will be a post-performance Q&A with the artists available after the concert.

Tickets are $15 and allow for continued viewing through December 9th.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Ana Gasteyer with Seth Rudetsky – December 6th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Columbia, Elphaba and Mrs. Peachum are all familiar characters to fans of musicals. Martha Stewart, Celine Dion and Hillary Rodham Clinton are familiar to most people.

Saturday Night Live veteran Ana Gasteyer has played them all.

Her Broadway debut came in the 2001 Broadway production of The Rocky Horror Show. Several years later she played that oh-so-green woman in Wicked after having appeared in a new production of The Threepenny Opera with Alan Cumming.

She joins Seth Rudetsky for his concert series this weekend. The live performance takes place on Sunday. If you are unable to watch that performance, it will be re-streamed on Monday, December 7th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST.

Tickets for either performance are $28.50 (which includes service charges).

That concludes my selections of the Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th. But there are always going to be a few reminders:

Ute Lemper’s Rendezvous with Marlene has a final streaming performance on Saturday, December 5th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST.

Larry Powell’s The Gaze…No Homo continues with new episodes at The Fountain Theatre’s website.

Greenway Court Theatre’s If I Should Wake makes both parts available for the first time beginning on Friday. The show ends its streaming on December 10th.

All concerts that are part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Sound/Stage series remain available for streaming. The Solitude episode, featuring works by Thomas Adés and Duke Ellington, will only be available through December 15th.

The Metropolitan Opera concludes its Stars in Signature Roles week with Elīna Garanča in Bizet’s Carmen on Friday; Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle and Tatiana Troyanos in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos on Saturday and Shirley Verrett, Luciano Pavarotti and Cornell MacNeil in Puccini’s Tosca on Sunday.

Now we’ve truly come to the end of the Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the culture!

Photo: James McVinnie (Photo ©Magnús Andersen/Courtesy of McVinnie’s website)

The post Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

If you love Broadway, we’ve got several stars appearing in readings, live concerts and more.

If you love jazz, we have an advance screening of a documentary about one of jazz’s most legendary singers and a great concert from 2017 that introduced a new tentet to the world.

Classical music fans have everything from Baroque music to contemporary music to watch and hear.

If you love Verdi and opera, we’ve got that for you, too.

Theater fans have a new translation of a classic play and a documentary born out of a highly-acclaimed show from 2013. There’s also our featured selection: The Gaze, a 12-part series from playwright Larry Powell.

Here are your Best Bets at Home: November 20th – November 22nd.

Uncle Vanya – Spotlight on Plays – Now – November 23rd

Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya gets a new translation by playwright Neil LaBute in this Spotlight on Plays reading from Broadway’s Best Shows.

Vanya and Sonya manage the property owned by an old professor and his second wife, Yelena. Vanya is the professor’s late first wife’s brother. Sonya is his daughter with his first wife.

Sonya has romantic feelings for Dr. Astrov, a local doctor, who is smitten with Yelena. Vanya, too, has become enamored with Yelena. With unrequited love ensnaring the characters, Vanya and Sonya are shocked when the professor announces he plans to sell the home they have been managing for him. They are appalled when the old man announces why he’s selling the house Vanya and Sonya have called home for so long.

Starring as the title character is Tony Award-winner Alan Cumming (Cabaret). Joining him for this reading are Constance Wu, Samira Wiley, K. Todd Freeman, Anson Mount, Mia Katigbak, Manik Choksi and Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore). Narration is by Gabriel Ebert. Overseeing the production is director Danya Taymor.

For me, this reading had me at Ellen Burstyn. Add Alan Cummig to the mix and what’s not to love?

Tickets are only $5 to watch Uncle Vanya. Proceeds will benefit The Actors Fund.

Citizen Detective – Geffen Stayhouse – Now – February 7th

In their continuing series of newly-produced Zoom shows, Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse offers up a brand new virtual murder mystery called Citizen Detective.

Written and directed by Chelsea Marcantel, Citizen Detective finds best-selling crime author Mickie McKittrick (Mike Ostroski) enlisting the audience’s help in trying to solve a mysterious Hollywood murder from the 1920s.

Either as one large group or broken out into smaller rooms, audience members while have to find evidence and see where that might lead them. No two shows are going to be the same.

Also in the cast is Paloma Nozica as Andrea. The show runs 85 minutes without an intermission.

Citizen Detective‘s original announced run sold out. The show has been extended through February 7th with those tickets going on sale on November 27th. There are only 24 tickets available for each performance. Tickets are $65 per household.

Finales – LA Philharmonic Sound/Stage – November 20th – continuing

Earlier this week the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced that there will be a second season of Sound/Stage starting in February. For anyone who has seen the previous eight episodes of the inaugural season, you’ll know this is good news.

Like any season, it has to wrap up with a grand finale. This week the final episode of Sound/Stage will do just that.

This new show finds Gustavo Dudamel back on the podium leading the LA Phil. On the program are the Finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7; Ritual Mind – Corporeous Pulse from Gabriela Ortiz’s Corpórea and Maurice Ravel’s The Fairy Garden from Mother Goose.

If you have missed some of the previous eight shows, they are still available and will remain so for one year. The only exception is the episode Solitude which will only be available through December 15th. They are all worth checking out.

All episodes of Sound/Stage are free. (Not that a donation to the LA Philharmonic would go amiss.)

TaReKiTa – Los Angeles Master Chorale – November 20th – 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST

Composer Reena Esmail composed TaReKiTa in 2016 for Los Angeles-based Urban Voices Project. She has revised the work and it will have its premiere in this video performance from the Los Angeles Master Chorale. 24 singers will be joined by choreographer and dancer Shalini Haupt.

The piece does not use words, but rather sounds.

Esmail explains it on her website as “based on sounds the Indian drum, the tabla, makes, called ‘bols’ — they are onomatopoeic sounds that imitate the sound of the drum. The result is something like a scat would be in jazz – ecstatic, energetic, rhythmic music that feels good on the tongue.”

I’ve heard the original version and can’t wait to hear it expanded for so many more voices. Esmail’s composition is short and the entire performance runs two minutes.

Virtual Halston – Cast Party YouTube Channel – November 20th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

I’ve written several times about the delightful Julie Halston and her Friday happy hour virtual salons. The reason for writing again is that her guest this week is the phenomenally talented Gideon Glick.

Glick made his Broadway debut in the original production of Spring Awakening in 2006 after launching the show off-Broadway. He survived Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark when his role was cut during previews of the troubled musical. He played the lead role of Jordan Berman in Joshua Harmon’s Significant Others both off-Broadway and on. His most recent Broadway appearance was in the Aaron Sorkin adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. He received a Tony Award nomination for his performance. Last year he appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors as Seymour.

At 32, Glick is an actor to watch. You should follow him on Twitter where his pithy comments make it abundantly clear he’ll make a great guest with Halston.

There is no charge to watch the show, but donations are encouraged with proceeds going to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation

Angela Hewitt Performs Bach – 92 Street Y – November 20th – 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST – December 4th

In 2018 pianist Angela Hewitt culminated a four-year journey through the works of Johann Sebastian Bach at New York’s 92 Street Y with performances of the Goldberg Variations, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I and The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II. All three performances will be available for streaming starting on Friday and continuing through Friday, December 4th.

Hewitt has recorded all three works twice. With the Goldberg Variations she recorded them first in 2002 (in a recording that started around 11 PM at night and was captured live with just a few retakes the next day) and she revisited the work in 2015.

BBC Music Magazine raved about the later recording by saying, “Sixteen years on, the fingers are as formidably on the ball as ever—capable of the most tender translucency, of staccato leaps that ‘ping’, and able to differentiate and characterise several voices simultaneously with jaw-dropping felicity.”

She recorded The Well-Tempered Clavier (both books) in 1998-1999 and again in 2008. The earlier recording was named by BBC Music Magazine as Best of the Year. The later recordings were named a Gramophone Magazine Editor’s Choice.

All three performances become available simultaneously. There is a $15 fee to watch each performance. You can also purchase all three performances for $35. Links to each performance can be found in the opening paragraph of this preview.

Laura Osnes & Tony Yazbeck – Caramoor – November 20th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

The music of composer George Gershwin will be celebrated by Broadway stars Laura Osnes (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Anything Goes) and Tony Yazbeck (On the Town, Finding Neverland) in this live-streamed benefit concert for the Caramoor Center for Music & the Arts in Katonah, New York. Fred Lassen serves as accompanist and music director.

In 2017, Osnes and Yazbeck worked together on a concert version (with dance) of the musical Crazy for You at Lincoln Center. That 1992 musical featured Gershwin’s songs and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

They have also performed Gershwin together in cabaret settings since Crazy For You. In other words, they know their way around a Gershwin tune.

Two very talented Broadway stars, great Gershwin music, who could ask for anything more?

Tickets range from $50 – $125 and are tax-deductible. The two-hour show will remain available for 24 hours after its conclusion.

Anat Cohen Tentet – SFJAZZ – November 20th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

This week’s Fridays at Five concert from SFJAZZ features clarinetest Anat Cohen in a concert from December 2017.

The concert was in support of the first release by the Anat Cohen Tentet called Happy Song. Amongst the members of the ensemble are guitarist Sheryl Bailey, pianist/accordionist Vitor Gonçalves, trumpeter Nadja Noordhuis and vibraphonist James Shipp.

The music director/arranger is Oded Lev-Ari.

Last year the Anat Cohen Tentet released a follow-up album called Triple Helix.

Watching this concert requires the purchase of either a one-month digital membership ($5) or an annual membership ($60). The show streams only once at 5:00 PM PST (thus the program’s name Fridays at Five).

The Gaze…No Homo – Fountain Theatre – November 20th – December 31st

Actor and playwright Larry Powell (The Christians, The Legend of Georgia McBride) has adapted his Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference finalist play THE GAZE…(NO HOMO: PART ONE) into a twelve-episode series that begins streaming this week.

Powell has created stories that examine the lives and stories of queer people of color within what are traditionally white spaces.

The Gaze stars Eugene Byrd (Star Wars, 8 Mile), TC Carson (God of War, Star Wars:The Clone Wars), Yvette Cason (Dreamgirls, A Wrinkle in Time), Jason Green (The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo), Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue, Shameless), Devere Rogers (Will & Grace, My Spy) and Galen J. Williams (Pose, Motown The Musical).

Each week three of the episodes will be released on the Fountain Theatre’s website.

Powell directed three of the episodes. The other directors of The Gaze…No Homo are Satya Bhabha, Reginald L. Douglas, Amber A. Harris, Bianca Laverne Jones, Zhailon Levingston, Jonathan McCrory, Joanna Strapp and Leland Durond Thompson.

This digital series should be both thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining.

If I Should Wake – Greenway Court Theatre – November 20th – December 10th

As long as we’re on the topic of playwright Larry Powell, let’s take a look at another project in which he’s involved.

If I Should Wake is a play in two-parts featuring eight different monologues that explore the impact of the upheaval we’re experiencing in the world today and how that might alter our existence in the afterlife.

It’s a continuation of a program that launched Greenway Arts Alliance back in 2000. That series of monologues was written by José Rivera and was centered around the millennium.

There are eight different playwrights involved with If I Should Wake. In addition to Powell, they include Alex Alpharaoh, Boni B. Alvarez, Arianna Basco, Diana Burbano, Inda Craig-Galván, Yehuda Hyman and Grace McLeod.

The first part begins streaming on November 20th at 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST. Part one includes The Waiting Room by McLeod, Body Quakes by Basco, The Reclamation of my Black Ass Imagination: An Awakening by Powell and Francis by Alvarez.

Part one will be available from November 20th – November 27th. It will be available again December 4th – December 10th.

The second part will feature Quicksand: A Bardo Monologue by Burbano; They Say My Name by Craig-Galván; Cassandra by Alpharaoh and The Let Go by Hyman.

Part two will be available from November 27th at 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST and will remain available through December 10th.

Both parts of If I Should Wake will be available on Greenway Theatre’s Twitch.TV page. There is no charge to watch the play.

Gershwin & Dvořák– Pasadena Symphony – November 20th

The final concert in the Pasadena Symphony’s Pasadena Presents series finds a performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Antonin Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 “American” on the program.

The soloist for Rhapsody in Blue is pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner. The musicians performing the Dvořák are Carrie Kennedy and Joel Pargman on violin; Aaron Oltman on viola; Ryan Sweeney on cello and James Lent on piano.

Music Director David Lockington conducts.

Tickets are $25 to watch the concert.

Border Crossings Continued – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – November 20th – 9:30 PM EST/6:30 PM PST

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra continues their Border Crossings series with Close Quarters Episode 2. Once again, Patricia Mabee leads the performance from the harpsichord.

On the program are Joseph Pla’s Sonata III; Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Assobio a Jato, Gaspar Sanz’s Jácaras and Pastoreta Ychepe Flauta by an anonymous composer.

As these films combine performance and visuals (under the curation and supervision of James Darrah), the artists whose work appear in Close Quarters Episode 2 are Yuki Izumihara and Yee Eun Nam. Choreography is by Chris Emile and the dancer is Rosalynd LeBlanc.

The musicians are Josefina Vergara and Susan Rishik on violin; Armen Ksajikian on cello; Ben Smolen on flute; Jason Yoshida on theorbo/baroque guitar and Peter Corpela on percussion.

The performance lasts approximately 30 minutes. If you missed Episode 1, you can find it on LACO’s YouTube channel.

Rigoletto – San Francisco Opera – November 21st – November 22nd

Conducted by Nicola Luisotti; starring Željko Lučić, Aleksandra Kurzak and Francesco Demuro. This revival of the 1997 Mark Lamos production is from the 2012-2013 season and was directed by Harry Silverstein.

Victor Hugo, the author of Les Míserables, was also a playwright and it was his play, Le roi s’amuse, that served as the inspiration for Giuseppe Verdi’s opera. Francesco Maria Piave, who regularly collaborated with the composer, wrote the libretto. The opera had its world premiere in Venice, Italy in 1851.

The title character is a jester who serves the Duke of Mantua. The Duke is a seductive man who, upon learning that the woman with whom Rigoletto lives is his daughter and not his wife, makes the young woman, Gilda, his next target. Curses, assassination plots and more leave this clown without much to smile about.

For this production, San Francisco Opera had two casts in the three lead roles and Rigoletto was performed on back-to-back nights its opening weekend.

In Joshua Kosman‘s review for the San Francisco Chronicle he said there was one definitive revelation: “Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, whose company debut Friday night as Gilda was nothing short of remarkable. In a role that is often sung with silvery, laser-like precision and naivete, Kurzak opted instead for a full-throated sound and an air of emotional assurance that made her plight all the more poignant.”

There is no charge to watch Rigoletto. The opera becomes available at 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST and remains available until just before midnight PST on Sunday, November 22nd.

Circus Kid – Center Theatre Group Digital Stage – November 21st – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

Seven years ago Lorenzo Pisoni brought his show, Humor Abuse, to the Mark Taper Forum. The play explored his life growing up in the circus. Filled with humor, pathos and some daring maneuvers, it was a thoroughly entertaining evening of theatre.

Pisoni has now taken that story further with a film called Circus Kid. This 2016 documentary finds him in search of the man behind the clown make-up who was his father. Pisoni grew up in and around the Pickle Family Circus. From a young age, he was made a regular performer as part of the circus.

Center Theatre Group will stream the documentary just this one time.

Following the documentary there will be a conversation between Pisoni and one of our finest actors and clowns: Bill Irwin (more about him later.)

The film runs 1 hour and 47 minutes. There is no charge to watch Circus Kid.

Jeremy Denk Recital – Philharmonic Society of Orange County- November 22nd – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

If you’ve been reading Cultural Attaché for some time, you know how strongly I feel about pianist Jeremy Denk. I’m not alone in that assessment. He’s the recipient of MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, he’s had his recordings top the classical music charts and critics regularly try to find new superlatives to describe his playing.

On Saturday, he’ll be performing a recital live from the stage of the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The program includes Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457; Clara Schumann’s Three Romances, Op. 22; Rzewski’s Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111.

Tickets are $20 and allow for viewing through November 28th.

Billie – 92 Street Y – November 22nd – 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST

In advance of its release theatrical and online release, the 92 Street Y is hosting a free screening of James Erskine’s documentary Billie. His subject is, of course, the legendary Billie Holiday.

If what you know about Holiday can be summed up in one or two sentences, or is based on the film Lady Sings the Blues, this documentary sheds new light on all the factors that lead to Holiday’s trouble with drugs and the law. This includes battles with racism, the exploitation of her as an artist, how politics factored into her daily life and, of course, her addiction.

The film makes use of interviews with Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Charles Mingus and others that were conducted in the 1970s.

You need to register in advance to watch the screening.

Jarrod Spector & Kelli Barrett: Funny How It Happens – Adelphi Theatre – November 22nd – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

Tony Award-nominated actor Jarrod Spector made his Broadway debut at the age of 9 in the long-running original production of Les Misérables as Gavroche. He joined another long-running musical, Jersey Boys, as Frankie Valli. He originated the role of Barry Mann in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and received his Tony nomination. He also originated the role of Sonny Bono in The Cher Show.

As an adult he’s taken on some pretty iconic men in music. He’s also taken on a more important role as husband to another Broadway star, Kelli Barrett.

Barrett first appeared on Broadway in the 2009 production of The Royal Family. She followed that by playing two different roles in the musical Baby It’s You. Next up was a turn as Nessarose in Wicked in 2014. The short-lived musical adaptation of Dr. Zhivago followed. Her most recent Broadway role was as Dani Franco in Gettin’ the Band Back Together.

With their show Funny How It Happens, Spector and Barrett will explore, through stories and song, how two people can fall in love, get married, keep busy performing and filming schedules and still remain the best of friends.

Tickets are $20.

Adam Pascal with Seth Rudetsky – November 22nd – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST – POSTPONED DUE TO TECHNICAL ISSUES. RESCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 20th.

Broadway fans, and particularly Rent-heads, know Adam Pascal from his role as Roger in the original production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent. His other Broadway credits include the Elton John and Tim Rice musical, Aida, Cabaret, Chicago, Memphis, Something Rotten! and most recently, Pretty Woman.

He’s Seth Rudetsky’s guest for this week’s concert and conversation.

Pascal knows Rudetsky well. He appeared in his musical, Disaster!

If Sunday’s live stream doesn’t work for you, they will re-stream the concert on Monday, November 23rd at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST.

Tickets are $25.

Those are my Best Bets at Home: November 20th – November 22nd. But it wouldn’t be one of my weekly columns if I didn’t offer up a reminder or two.

Earlier I mentioned Bill Irwin. Don’t forget that there are four more opportunities to stream his show, On Beckett/In Screen from the Irish Repertory Theatre.

Metropolitan Opera‘s celebration of Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin continues with Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites on Friday (very strongly recommended); Puccini’s Turandot on Saturday and Berg’s Wozzeck on Sunday.

Long Beach Opera’s 2020 Songbook remains available through Sunday for viewing. (See last week’s Best Best at Home for details.)

I suppose if you add these four reminders, you actually have almost as many options from which to choose as you have hours in a day. Luckily you have three days to watch them all.

That’s the complete list of Best Bets at Home: November 20th – November 22nd.

Enjoy your weekend!

Photo: Galen J. Williams in The Gaze (Photo courtesy Tell Me a Story Productions)

Update: This post has been updated to include the Sunday morning announcement that the Adam Pascal concert with Seth Rudetsky is postponed until December 20th due to technical issues.

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Dan Tepfer/Aaron Diehl Two Piano Concert – July 15th – 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT

Strictly speaking this is not going to be just a jazz concert. The program by these two pianists will include original compositions by each musician, works by Philip Glass and György Ligeti, plus selections from the Great American Songbook.

I’ve written about Diehl before. He’s equally comfortable playing classical music and playing jazz. I’ve seen him as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and as part of Cécile McLorin Salvant’s band.

Dan Tepfer I wasn’t familiar with before hearing about this online concert. But a quick review of his recordings makes it easy for me to say he’s a very good musician whose ability to create complex arrangements that still fully let the theme of a given song stay out front makes him quite interesting.

Diehl and Tepfer have performed two-piano concerts before. This will be the first time they do it virtually from separate locations.

Tickets for the concert are $5 and must be purchased in advance in order to get the link to the live event.

Dezron Douglas, Cyrus Chestnut & Victor Lewis Live at Smalls – July 15th – 7:45 PM EDT/4:45 PM PDT

Bass player Dezron Douglas reunites his one member of his trio from the 2012 Venus Records album Walkin’ My Baby Back Home. That trio included pianist Cyrus Chestnut and drummer Lewis Nash. Drummer Victor Lewis will be joining Douglas and Chestnut as they perform live from New York jazz institution Smalls on Wednesday, July 15th.

Douglas, who has long been a member of Cyrus Chestnut’s band, is an in-demand bass player. He has four recordings of his own that have been released. Additionally he has performed and recorded with such artists as Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Mulgrew Miller, Lewis Nash, Kevin Mahogany, Kenny Garrett, Eric Reed and The Marsalis Family.

I first became aware of Cyrus Chestnut when I picked up his 1996 album Earth Stories. I’ve been a fan ever since. In addition to his 22 albums under his own name, he’s performed with Gerald Albright, Kathleen Battle, Dee Dee Bridgewater, James Carter, Elvis Costello, Roy Hargrove, Bette Midler, Jimmy Scott and many more.

Lewis has four albums as a leader. He has performed with countless other musicians including Chestnut, John Abercrombie, Andy Bey, James Carter, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Abbey Lincoln, Cedar Walton and more people than could be listed here.

All three musicians also teach. No doubt they’ll teach us a few things with this performance. The performance is free, but does require registering your e-mail and opening an account with Smalls.

Billie Holiday’s “Lady in Satin“ – Jazz Record Art Collective – July 16th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

1958’s Lady in Satin proved to be the next to last recording made by Billie Holiday in her lifetime. How one perceives the album is predicated on their view of Holiday and her life. Either the album reflected her status as a broken woman whose finer singing days were behind her or it is viewed as an album where she puts every ounce of pain and tragedy into her vocals.

The track list on Lady in Satin includes “I’m a Fool to Want You,” “For Heaven’s Sake,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” “For All We Know,” Violets for Your Furs,” “You’ve Changed,” “It’s Easy to Remember,” “But Beautiful,” “Glad to Be Unhappy” and “I’ll Be Around.”

On Thursday, July 16th, Mardra and Reggie Thomas will perform live the complete Lady in Satin album. Mardra is a vocalist who has portrayed Holiday in concert and in staged productions. Reggie Thomas is an acclaimed pianist and organist. They won’t be working with a full orchestra and Ray Ellis’ wonderful arrangements. It will be interesting to hear how they approach this album that has critics and fan sharply divided.

The performance will take place on Jazz Record Art Collective’s Facebook page.

Jazz Stream is a new feature at Cultural Attaché. I will be posting weekly jazz updates for you under this name. Weekend events will still be part of Best Bets at Home. I hope you enjoy!

Photo of Dezron Douglas courtesy of his website.

Update: This post has been updated to correct the name of the drummer playing with Dezron Douglas. It is not Lewis Nash, but rather Victor Lewis. Cultural Attaché regrets the error.

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These events are not free, but they are not expensive at all. For a mere five dollars, you can get an entire month’s worth of Friday performances. In other words, for approximately the same price as your daily coffee, you can get a month of jazz. That’s a bargain in my book!

When you see the line-up announced so far for Fridays at Five, you’ll realize exactly how great this offer is.

May 22nd is the first of three celebrations of saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Shorter, who spent time as part of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet before fully launching his solo career, has been battling serious health issues and medical bills since early 2019. When he was unable to perform at SFJazz, a series of celebrations of him were put together. These concerts are from January 2019.

The first of those celebrations features Los Angeles-based musicians Kamasi Washington (saxophone), Terrace Martin (saxophone/keyboards) and Shorter’s touring musicians Danilo Pérez (piano), John Patitucci (bass) and Brian Blade (drums).

May 29th features Afro-Cuban jazz pianist, composer and arranger Chucho Valdés with his backing band Irakere 45. This performance took place in February of 2019. Valdés has six Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards.

June 5th finds the Marcus Shelby Quintet teaming up with Angela Davis in a program centered on her book Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. The book puts three jazz and blues legends front and center: “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday.

This clip is from a different concert, but will give you an idea of the musicianship involved.

Shelby, a bass-player, is joined by saxophonist Tia Fuller, pianist Tammy Hall and drummer Terri-Lyne Carrington. There are also special guests vocalists at this concert which took place May 24, 2019.

June 12th‘s concert features Rhiannon Giddens in one of the final series of concerts before SFJazz had to suspend performances earlier this year.

Giddens is the Grammy-wining singer/composer/violinist and banjo player whose most recent release was There Is No Other on Nonesuch Records.

Joining her for this concert were pianist/instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi and bassist Jason Sypher.

June 19th finds Gypsy swing taking center stage with the ensemble Paris Combo. The ensemble features Belle du Berry on vocals, David Lewis (trumpet/keyboards), Benoît Dunoyer de Segonzac (bass), François Jeannin (drums), Rémy Kaprielan (percussion) and Potzi (guitar.)

Paris Combo performs a hybrid version of Gypsy swing all its own by added Spanish, French and German elements to their arrangements.

June 26th will be the Wayne Shorter Celebration Pt. 2. Joining his band for this performance are the legendary Herbie Hancock, composer/musician Terence Blanchard and Terrace Martin.

Additional performances will be announced, but we do know that Part 3 of the Wayne Shorter Celebration is scheduled for July 31st and will feature Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard.

To help support the musicians, there is a virtual tip jar you can use just as you might in a club. In the case of the Shorter Celebrations, 100% of those tips will go to his ongoing medical bills.

As more Fridays at Five performances get announced, we’ll keep you updated!

Photo of Wayne Shorter courtesy of his Facebook Page.

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2004 was a pivotal year for singer Catherine Russell. As one of David Bowie’s regular back-up singers, she was accustomed to life on the road. When he stopped touring, she asked, “Now what?” With careful guidance, thoughtful consideration and an opportunity to use a recording studio in Chicago, she made the choice to record her first solo album.

Sixteen years later and with six more albums re-leased, she will be celebrating music old and new when she performs Saturday night at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Russell sings jazz and blues and she loves to bring attention on her recordings to songs that aren’t well-known. Her most recent album, Alone Together, finds her singing such classic songs as I Only Have Eyes for You and Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby. They are mixed with lesser known songs like He May Be Your Dog But He’s Wearing My Collar and When Did You Leave Heaven.

Last week I spoke by phone with Russell about life not just as a singer, but as a bandleader. Here are edited excerpts from that conversation.

When you look back to the decision you made in 2004, do you now wonder what took so long?

I had and have a very good career as a backup singer and worked with wonderful singers, but it was the right time. I was not looking to be a solo artist and bandleader. But I was convinced that was the thing that I had not done. 

What have you learned that’s been most important to you about who you are as a singer in those 16 years?

It’s a combination of things. The singing part is not separate from the growth as a bandleader and being comfortable on the stage and making the transition to the center of attention and having my name on the ticket. It’s a combination of what that role entails. It’s not just singing. It’s really personal growth into the role.

What’s been the hardest part of that transition?

I didn’t see myself in that role. That isn’t what I had imagined – making all the decisions, running the band. When you are the leader, everything is up to me: how I run the show, how I put it together, the length of the show, the material, the flow, how I will talk to the audience telling them about the tunes. That’s all up to me.

When you do an album or a concert with songs sung by other artists for years, now do you approach those songs without letting the history of previous performances hang over you?

It is the story you are telling. The lyric speaks for itself. If the song is well-written, that speaks for itself. You keep the song alive by expressing yourself through it. A lot of the songs I pick are not as well known as others. There will be 50-60% of the show where people will tell me they’ve never heard the song before. I mix it up.

He May Be Your Dog… is a song recorded by Rosa Henderson. What stood out to you about these lyrics that made you say, “That’s a song I have to record?”

I like funny material. I like the material of early blues women. That’s a category I look into because the songs are well-written. It adds some levity to the show. The early blues tunes are picked for those purposes. To lighten up the vibe. Just like life we don’t stay in one mood. We like to react to different things. 

Bettye LaVette told me that Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life is a song that required more work than any other song. What are the songs that challenge you in equally profound ways?

Well Lush Life is one that I don’t include because it is a very dense serious tune. I’ll pick something like Abbey Lincoln recorded a song called No More. She recorded that on her first album. There are songs written in the 1950s I’ll include because they are harmonically complex.  It takes your ear on a journey with different chord changes. I like to challenge myself that way.

Billie Holiday once said, “I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That’s all I know.” Do you agree with her and is there any other way to sing?

She may be referring to molding a melody to how she wanted it because she had a way of, if you want to know what the melody of the tune is, often times she is not going to be doing that. I think she was absolutely groundbreaking in how she molded a melody to her liking and to her phrasing. That I think may be what she’s talking about.

I have to, of course, when I’m learning a song, find my own rhythm and my own way of expressing it. But I do like to know what the melody is and then see how I want to work with it as the song progresses.

In January there was a post on your Facebook account discussing a week where you sang Bowie at The Cutting Room, sang with a vocal trio and then participated in Jazz Congress 2020. How important is it for you as an artist not to be pigeon-holed as doing just one thing?

People can pigeon-hole me if they like, but I like doing things I enjoy doing. It’s fun to rock out and I was a big fan of David Bowie’s music long before I worked with him. I love the fact that we are still paying tribute to David Bowie and I’m doing it with people who worked with him.

I like rock’n’ roll, I like classic rock as much as jazz, blues, classic country, classical music. You may find me in very opposing musical situations. Of course, I have to make a living and jazz is a great way to do that for me. I love the music and the musicians I work with.  I’m glad that’s the category I’m in. I love jazz.

Photos of Catherine Russell courtesy of the artist.

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