There’s lots to see and savor for arts fans in the Bay Area this weekend. Here’s a partial rundown.
Smuin returns, playful and defiant
Smuin Contemporary Ballet is back with another program that showcases the artistry and versatility of the popular company. Titled “Dance Series 2: P.S. Forever Smuin,” the show marks the revival of two acclaimed but very different works. One is Val Caniparoli’s positively playful “Confessions” (originally titled “If I Were a Sushi Roll”), a series of mirthful vignettes on all manner of topics tied together by some seriously impressive modern choreography. The other is Amy Seiwert’s powerful “Renaissance,” a piece inspired by a 2019 protest by women in Kerala, India, who formed a 385-mile “wall” to call attention to gender inequality in their country. The work is set to an a cappella score recorded by acclaimed vocal group Kitka. Also on the bill is an updated series of works created by company dancers Tessa Barbour and Brennan Wall.
Details: May 5-7 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco’; May 19-22 at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, May 27-28 at Sunset Center in Carmel; $25-$84; www.smuinballet.org
— Bay Area News Foundation
Jazz prodigy back in Bay Area
Joey Alexander got hooked on his dad’s jazz album collection as a youngster and taught himself to play the piano by age 6. Three years later, he won his first major competition, the Master-Jam Fest, and soon he was playing at frontline music festivals and venues around the world, including Lincoln Center, at the invitation of Wynton Marsalis. He dropped his first full-length album, “My Favorite Things,” at age 11, becoming the youngest musician to earn a Grammy nomination in jazz and the first Indonesian to land an album in the Billboard Top 200 album. He has racked up additional milestones since then but the main thing that has endeared Alexander to jazz fans is that the kid can really play, exhibiting lots of technical flair and stunning interpretive skills. You can see and hear for yourself when Alexander, who released his sixth studio album, “Origin,” earlier earlier this year, brings his trio to two Bay Area venues.
Details: 7:30 p.m. May 6 at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts; $37-$62; www.lesherartscenter.org; 7 p.m. May 7 at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz; $34-$68.25; www.kuumbwajazz.org.fore you go.
— Bay Area News Foundation
Classical picks: Composer Florence Price and more
The classical music calendar has plenty of events to choose from this week; here are some of the highlights.
Price at S.F. Symphony: Music organizations are still catching up to the music of the acclaimed African American composer Florence Price (1887-1953); this week, the American composer’s Piano Concerto gets its first San Francisco Symphony performances, conducted by Xian Zhang and featuring pianist Aaron Diehl. Also on the program, and new to the Symphony: Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s “Primal Message.” Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony completes the lineup.
Details: 2 p.m. May 5 and 8, 7:30 p.m. May 7; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $35-$165; sfsymphony.org.
Fit for an “Emperor”: Beethoven’s Concerto No. 5, “Emperor,” highlights the program when award-winning pianist Jon Nakamatsu returns to Symphony San Jose for two performances this weekend. Conducted by Tatsuya Shimono, Beethoven’s mighty concerto is the centerpiece of a concert that also includes Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, and Ravel’s “Mother Goose” Suite, and “Pavane for a Dead Princess.”
Details: 8 p.m. May 7, 2:30 May 8; California Theater, San Jose; $55-$115; symphonysanjose.org.
Concert of Compassion: Artists including composer Jake Heggie, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, musicians from the San Francisco Symphony and others will take the stage Monday evening in a “Benefit Concert for Ukraine.” Organized by the Resonance Project, with remarks by Dmytro Kushneruk, the Ukrainian Consul General to San Francisco, the 90-minute concert features works by American and Ukrainian composers.
Details: 7:30 May 9; Congregation Sherith Israel, San Francisco; $40-$100; eventbrite.com (search for Concert of Compassion).
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
Jazz meets country
Staci Griesbach has found a calling blending two American music genres that usually keep their distance — jazz and country.
The Los Angeles singer has earned acclaim for her series of recordings featuring jazz interpretations of Great American Songbook of Country Music standards, including those from Dolly Parton, Shania Twain and Patsy Cline. Now she’s touring behind her latest project, “My George Jones Songbook.” The album was released last year, as many in the country music community were marking what would have been the late legend’s 90th birthday.
The collection includes jazz re-imaginings of such Jones classics as “The Grand Tour,” “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “Walk Through This World Me” and more.
Griesbach brings her “Jones Songbook” tour to Oakland’s Sound Room on Saturday night.
Details: 8 p.m.; $30-$35; www.soundroom.org, www.eventbrite.com (search for Staci Griesbach).
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Source: www.mercurynews.com