‘Simon & Garfunkel Story’ comes to S.F.
It seems unlikely that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel will reunite anytime soon, but fans of the iconic folk duo can catch what’s probably the next best thing this weekend in San Francisco, when “The Simon & Garfunkel Story,” a multimedia concert/ stage show, hits the SHN Golden Gate Theatre. The production, utilizing large projection photos, original film footage and a live band, tells the story of Simon & Garfunkel, the fruitful if occasionally stormy musical marriage that gave us such indelible songs as “Mrs. Robinson,” “Cecilia,” “The Boxer,” “Sounds of Silence” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The story follows the duo’s Queens, New York, beginnings (they were originally billed as “Tom & Jerry”), their ascent into musical stardom as one of the bestselling and acclaimed popular music acts of the 1960s, their bitter 1970breakup and the famed 1981reunion at the “Concert in Central Park” in front of half a million people. And, of course, the band will deliver many of the duo’s best-loved hits. Taylor Bloom performs as Paul Simon, Benjamin Cooley is Art Garfunkel. BroadwaySF (formerly SHN) is presenting three performances of the show Friday and Saturday. Details: 8p.m. Friday, 2and 8p.m. Saturday; $56$226(prices subject to change); www.broadwaysf. com.
Classical picks: Oakland Symphony gets ‘Hot’
Here are three classical music programs that should be on your radar.
Morgan mixes it up: Throughout his tenure as music director of the Oakland Symphony, Michael Morgan has proven adept at integrating opera and jazz, orchestral music and new works. He’ll do it again Friday at the orchestra’s season-opening concert. Titled “Hot as Hell/Cool Jazz,” the program features Boito’s Prologue to “Mefistofele,” with bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum as vocal soloist, and Billy Strayhorn’s jazz classic, “Lush Life.” Pianist Taylor Eigsti will play compositions from his upcoming album, “Tree Falls”; works by Josiah Woodson and Ronnie Matthews complete the lineup. Details: 8 p.m.; Paramount Theatre, Oakland; $25-$90; 510444-0802, www.oaklandsymphony.org.
A trip to ‘Shanghai’: Founded at the Shanghai Conservatory in the wake of China’s Cultural Revolution, the Shanghai Quartet comes to San Jose this weekend. Brothers Weigang (violin) and Honggang (viola) Li, along with Yi-Wen Jiang (violin) and Nicholas Tzavaras (cello), will play string quartets ranging from Haydn’s beloved Op. 20, No. 4, to Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1, “From My Life,” and Tan Dun’s 1982 “Feng Ya Song.” Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; Hammer Theatre Center, San Jose; $35-$45; 408-924-8501, www. hammertheatre.com.
San Jose Chamber world premiere: Spanning eras and styles, classics and new works, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra opens its 29th season with “First Impressions.” Maestra Barbara Day Turner conducts Telemann’s “Don Quixote Suite” and Clarice Assad’s “Impressions,” then brings the program up to the minute with the world premiere of Durwynne Hsieh’s “Memoir of an Ordinary Man.” Details: 7p.m. Sunday; Santa Clara University Recital Hall; $50-$70, $10 under age 22; 408-2954416, www.sjco.org. — Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
SV Jazz Fest is all about youth
Eager to provide Peninsula students more access to jazz, guitarist Pascal Bokar launched the Silicon Valley Jazz Festival in 2017“to bring in middle and high school bands and give them a sense of what it is to play this music in a festival setting,” he says. “We alternate them with professional bands and national acts.”
This year’s clinician and Saturday headliner is veteran trumpeter Carl Saunders, a consummate musician who’s worked with everyone from Stan Kenton and Gerald Wilson to Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. The Saturday program also features bands from Redwood City’s Sequoia High School and San Carlos’ Tierra Linda Middle School alongside pianist clarinetist Scott Dailey’s trio with vocalist Bernadette Soubirou and the SV Jazz Festival All-Stars.
The Sunday program includes bands from Belmont’s Ralston Middle School and Menlo-Atherton High School, surrounded by pianist Dave Miller with vocalist Rebecca Dumaine, Bokar’s 13-piece Afro Blue Grazz Band and the Jazz Divas featuring Ann Mack, a deeply versed song stylist since the 1950s “who shows you why this is an art form that gets better with age,” Bokar says.
Details: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Fremont Park, Menlo Park; free; www.svjazzfest.com. — Andrew Gilbert, Correspondent