Calendar of Events Tammy L. Hall salutes Shirley Horn at Kuumbwa Jazz
This May marks what would have been the 90th birthday of jazz great Shirley Horn. Paying tribute to her at Kuumbwa Jazz Thursday will be another modern jazz great: Tammy L. Hall.
An accomplished vocalist and pianist, Horn released her debut album “Embers and Ashes” in 1960, which caught the attention of Miles Davis who invited her to perform with him at the Village Vanguard in New York, leading to Horn being signed to Mercury Records. For the next 40 years, she would work with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae and Wynton Marsalis in addition to recording her own material, winning a Grammy for her Davis tribute album “I Remember Miles” and performing at the White House several times. She died in 2005, and was subsequently recognized by Congress for her achievements and contributions to the world of jazz and American culture.
Paying tribute will be Hall, who has played piano since she was 4 and performed with the likes of Darlene Love and Melba Moore. She received a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle award for Best Musical Direction for Pamela Rose's theatrical concert “Blues is a Woman,” celebrating the history of female blues artists, in 2017 as well as a Pleasant-Leidesdorff Community Stalwart award from the Human Rights Commission's San Francisco chapter. She will be joined by bassist Kevin Goldberg and drummer Jason Lewis to make up the Tammy L. Hall Trio.
The concert is 7 p.m. Thursday at Kuumbwa Jazz, 320 Cedar St. Doors open at 6. Tickets are $26.25 in advance, $31.50 at the door and $15.75 for students. For more information, go to KuumbwaJazz.org.
Best-selling author Ernest Cline to present at Bookshop Santa Cruz
Thirteen years ago, Ernest Cline released his debut novel, the dystopian virtual reality science-fiction epic “Ready Player One,” which became a New
York Times bestseller and was adapted by Steven Spielberg for a 2018 movie that was also a success. His other works include the sequel, “Ready Player Two,” and the standalone “Armada,” which was also a success.
With this momentum, Cline has shifted gears and written his first middle-grade novel, “Bridge to Bat City,” and will be hosting a signing at Bookshop Santa Cruz Friday.
“Bridge to Bat City” tells the story of 13-year-old Opal who moves in with her uncle Roscoe after losing her mother. Not only does she bond with her uncle over music but also a colony of orphaned bats who respond to music. However, the bats' cave is destroyed by a large mining company, which also seeks to expand into Roscoe's farmland. Opal and her bats find solace in the musicrich city of Austin — also the home of Cline — but she has to convince its residents not to be afraid of bats.
Cline will be signing and personalizing copies of the book in addition to one backlist book brought from home or purchased at the store.
The free event is 5 p.m. Friday at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave. People can register in advance at BookshopSantaCruz.com.
Bee Gees tribute to bring a little Saturday night fever to Rio
Much like the disco clubs of the late '70s, the Rio Theatre Saturday night will be a place to forget your troubles and dance. Fittingly, the soundtrack will be provided by a tribute to a group that used to do just that. Bee Gees tribute
You Should Be Dancing will provide an evening of thumping beats, soulful arrangements and unmatchable falsettos performing some of the bestknown pop songs of all time.
One of the best-selling musical acts of all time, The Bee Gees — consisting of brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb — already found success as a blueeyed soul group in the late '60s and early '70s, but once the popularity of disco took hold, the brothers Gibb wisely hopped on the bandwagon and recorded some of the most beloved hits of the genre: “Jive Talkin',” “Night Fever,”
“You Should Be Dancing,” “Stayin' Alive,” “Tragedy” and so on. They achieved additional success after contributing heavily to the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever,” and their matching satin suits have become one of the most common associations with the disco aesthetic.
You Should Be Dancing, consisting of three vocalists and a five-piece rhythm section, faithfully recreate The Bee Gees' sound in a way that will have audiences feel like they have been transported back to the floor of Studio 54. When you get re-creations of iconic disco songs like this, you should be dancing.
The concert will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave. Tickets are $39.75. For more information, go to RioTheatre.com.
Local reggae group Pacific Roots to play Catalyst
With a name like Pacific Roots, the reggae quintet is clearly proud of their California heritage, and that includes their Santa Cruz heritage. They
might as well be named Pacific Avenue Roots, so it is fitting that they should play a show at Pacific Avenue's premier music venue the Catalyst Club Saturday.
Pacific Roots released their self-titled debut in 2017 and then reformed with a new lineup a year later. In addition to reggae, they also combine elements of punk, hiphop and even metal for a sound that is uniquely Californian. They have shared stages with the likes of Steel Pulse, UB40, Sly and Robbie, Black Uhuru, Tomorrow's Bad Seeds and The Expendables, but they have also returned to their hometown to play at venues such as Moe's Alley and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Opening will be Hijinx and the Rise Up Reggae Band.
The concert begins at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave. Tickets are $17 in advance,
$20 at the door and $15 for a four-pack. For more information, go to CatalystClub.com.