Events Search
Joe Lovano & Us Five
Sun., March 21, 4, 8 & 10 p.m.Jazz
Joe Lovano took two spills over the course of a few days and broke both his arms. He had to cancel the rest of that tour as well as some stateside dates with Us Five—the excellent band from his most recent album, last spring's Folk Art (Blue Note)—but now that he's healed up those U.S. shows are back on. Arguably the most adventurous reedist in contemporary mainstream jazz, Lovano has already made recordings documenting many of his diverse interests—big-band music, third-stream experiments, free jazz, bebop—and on Folk Art he continues to give free rein to his restless aesthetic curiosity. The songs often swing fiercely, but they're deliberately loose, their open-ended structures focusing players and audience alike on the group's high-level ensemble interaction. Lovano sounds moody and introspective, even during the most intense passages, and the band's two drummers—Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela—use their overlapping rhythms to create elastic tempos and diverse textures, not to crank up the momentum. Pianist James Weidman, who released the terrific Three Worlds (Inner Circle Music) last year, provides an accommodating backdrop for Lovano's rangy solos with his plush post-McCoy Tyner harmonies and heavy use of the sustain pedal. Everyone in the quintet (with the exception of Brown) is also a bandleader, and superstar bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding actually sounds better here than she does on her own somewhat slick and vocal-driven records—in this strictly instrumental setting her chops and empathy are front and center. Us Five are fresh from a week at New York's Village Vanguard, and I bet they've already found nuances in the music above and beyond what they explored on Folk Art. —Peter Margasak
$25Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Thu 3/18, 7:30 PM, Fri-Sat 3/19-3/20, 8 PM, Sun 3/21, 3 PM,
312-850-9744Dance
Still in his first year as artistic director,
Glenn Edgerton is maintaining HSDC's international profile with the company premiere this weekend of 27'52", by Nederlands Dans Theater choreographer Jiri Kylian--the first time Kylian has set the piece on a U.S. troupe. Things fall apart at the seams in this chilling work: the dancers sometimes peel back or split apart a floor covering consisting of six rubber strips spanning the width of the stage. White on top, black underneath, the strips reinforce a sense of a shadowy menace in the sextet, which opens with a woman standing limply before a man who seems to sculpt her. Her eyes half-closed, she's like a sleepwalker at the mercy of an incubus. Dirk Haubrich's music--whines, booms, creaks, bubbly underwater sounds--enhances the horror-flick atmosphere. Two world premieres by company members will also be performed: Alejandro Cerrudo's First Light, danced by Hubbard Street 2, and Terence Marling's At 'em (Atem) Adam, set to a pastiche that samples Billie Holiday, violinist Mark O'Connor, and street musician Louis Thomas Hardin (aka Moondog). Susan Marshall's Kiss completes the program. --Laura Molzahn
$25-$90
Body Heat: an Erotic Exploration
Sun 3/21, 3 PM,Spoken Word/Poetry Slams/Open Mikes
Femmes Write Porn presents this show of spoken word, dance, and song. $12
Cascades of Orchids
Sat-Sun 3/20-3/21, 10 AM-5 PMOther Stuff
The Illinois Orchid Society hosts a spring show and sale, with vendors from as far away as Ecuador and Colombia competing for "best of class" ribbons in 22 orchid classes.
Duncan Dance Chicago
Sun 3/21, 12:30 PMDance
Performing the dance-art of Isadora Duncan. Brunch with the company follows.
The Rainbow/Shoe Tie Affair
Sun 3/21, 4-9 PM 773-530-8603Other Stuff
This fund-raiser for Performers or Writers for Women on Women's Issues (POW-WOW) includes an awards presentation, DJs, a cabaret and dance, and more. $25-$50
Transistor Radio Live Webcast
Open run: Sun 6 PMTheater & Performance
A showcase for artists, performers, and comedians, broadcast on the Internet.
March Madness at LaSalle Power Co.
Sun., March 21, 11 a.m.Drink Events
LaSalle offers expanded hours, food and drink deals and features coverage on the bar’s one-of-a-kind 167-inch plasma video wall and 10 50-inch flat-screens. The bar will be open for all day and night games, including the championship game on Monday, April 5. $12 all-you-can-eat game day buffet (offered during games only), $15 mix-and-match buckets, $4 all draft beers
My Mothers Song - art exhibit by Valentyna Sanina at the Ukrainian National Museum
Sun., March 21, 11 a.m.Museums
“My Mother's Song” - art exhibit by Valentyna Sanina on Friday, March 5th and continues through March 21st.
Born in Ukraine, and formally educated, she became a celebrated muralist and was elected a fellow of the prestigious Art Society. The nature of Ukraine fostered her esthetic education; the blooming flowers of summer, the subtle nuances during thaws, the wondrous winter frost on windows. Her work has been published and exhibited throughout the United States and as far away as Japan.
The Ukrainian National Museum is located in the heart of the Ukrainian Village, at 2249 West Superior Street in Chicago. Hours: Thursday through Sunday, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm Admission: Adults $5.00, Children under 12 - Free.
Free Parking beside the museum. Driving instructions, visit the Museum's website at www.ukrainiannationalmuseum.org. For info, call (312) 421-8020 or e-mail Admin@UkrainianNationalMuseum.org
Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant
Sun., March 21, 2 p.m.Literary Events
DeBerry and Grant read from their jointly written novel Uptown.
Sisi Donald Mosby
Sun., March 21, 2-4 p.m. 312-745-2080Literary Events
Mosby (Black Holocaust: Children of God) signs his self-published Black Holocaust: The Fred Hampton Murder Case.
Evanston Symphony Orchestra featuring Wendy Warner
Sun., March 21, 2:30 p.m.Classical
Lawrence Eckerling, conductor (Dvorak).
Escape to...the Light of the Moon
Sun., March 21, 3 p.m.Miscellaneous
Bask "In the Still of the Nite." The night has long been a favorite of poets and composers and these songs will take you on a passionate journey celebrating "The Music of the Night."
