Blumenstock and the 3 B’s
Bay Area audiences have gotten to know violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock chiefly through her stellar performances as a longtime member of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. But Blumenstock has multiple musical irons in the fire. This week, she appears in three Bay Area concerts with the Ars Lyrica Houston Chamber Players. An offshoot of the Ars Lyrica Chamber Players, the trio also includes director and harpsichordist Matthew Dirst and gambist Mary Springfels. The program promises an exploration of the “fantastical style” of Italian and German composers of the 17th and 18th centuries, with works by Bach, Biber and Buxtehude among the highlights. Details: 8p.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church, Palo Alto; 7:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Berkeley; 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco; $12-$45; 510-528-1725, www. sfems.org.
A blues-rock tradition
Those riffs. Those guitar solos. Those beards!
ZZ Top turns 50this year demonstrating a remarkable adherence to the musical blueprint that made the trio of musicians — singerguitarist Billy Gibbons, singer-bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard — stars in the first place: a loud, revved up blues-boogie sound that seemingly never gets old with classic rock fans.
Oh, sure, the guys dabbled in new wave and dance-rock flirtations during the band’s commercial heyday in the 1980s, when their music videos, against all odds, became hipster staples on MTV.
But that’s all water under the bridge for blues-rock lovers, who turn out to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band deliver such favorites as the John Lee Hooker riff-swiping “La Grange.”
As Gibbons puts, it, “We’re the same three guys, bashing out the same three chords.”
And the band is bringing its three-chord attack to San Jose this weekend.
Details: 8p.m. Sunday; City National Civic, San Jose; $65-$110; sanjosetheaters.org. — Randy McMullen, Staff
Seva celebrated by famous friends
Seva, a Berkeley nonprofit dedicated to fighting the leading causes of blindness in impoverished communities around the world, is celebrating 40 years with “Sing Out for Seva,” a fundraising concert Saturday at Oakland’s Fox Theater. The star-studded lineup features longtime supporters Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Osborne, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and Friends, and Native American blues singer Pura Fé with guitarist Cary Morin.
The Dead were among the first musicians to embrace Seva. Approached by old friend and official Grateful Dead clown Wavy Gravy (aka Hugh Romney), Hart “took it to the band, and they jumped all over it,” he says.
For the Fox performance, Hart says, “I’m going to work a more meditative musical spell using the Beam,” a 13-string percussion instrument famously used on the soundtrack for “Apocalypse Now.”
Details: 8p.m.; $75-$159.50; 510-845-7382, apeconcerts. com, www.seva.org. — Andrew Gilbert, Correspondent
Steinway Society hosts rising star
Born in Singapore, pianist Kate Liu has taken awards in multiple international competitions, including the bronze medal and best mazurkas in the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2015. At that event, she also received the audience favorite award selected by Polish Radio listeners.
Currently based in Chicago, the 24-year-old artist studies with Robert McDonald at the Curtis Institute and was named a 2018-19 Rising Star by the Gilmore Keyboard Festival.
She comes to San Jose this weekend as part of the Steinway Society series, with a program of sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms and Scriabin.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Trianon Theatre, San Jose; $40$60, with $10student rush tickets at the door; 408-990-0872, www.steinwaysociety.com. — Georgia Rowe, Correspondent