Friday, March 16, 2012

Upcoming--LOTS!!!

Jazz-wise, the next couple of weeks are going to be pretty busy ones in Humboldt County. As far as we're concerned, the wave crests with the next show in our own spring season: a visit from vocalist Kitty Margolis and her trio at the Morris Graves Museum of Art on Friday, March 30th. More on that in a minute.

But you should also save your dollars--and block out dates on your calendar--for:

A return visit from San Francisco-based jazz/folk singer Meklit Hadero at the Arcata Playhouse on March 21,
The 22d annual Redwood Coast Jazz Festival in Eureka, March 22-25,
The Branford Marsalis Quartet at Center Arts on March 25,
And--back at the Playhouse--the Honey Ear Trio (with special guest Jenny Scheinman) on April 1 (no foolin'!).

That last group is a co-operative trio featuring drummer Allison Miller, who wowed an RJA audience with her avant-groove-based quartet "Boom Tic Boom" last October. As it happens, Allison is also an old friend of Kitty Margolis, and she'll be holding down the drum chair in Kitty's trio when they play the Morris Graves on March 30. (On piano: Murray Low; bass: John Schifflett.) We always love putting on shows at the Graves: "live" yet intimate, it's a great space for small-group acoustic music. But it's also relatively small: we can only guarantee a seat to the first 130 arrivals (RJA members, as always, will have an opportunity to reserve a seat in advance), and after that it will be standing room only. So: buy your tickets ($15 General Admission/$10 Students & Seniors) in advance--at Wildberries, Wildwood Music, People's Records, and The Works--and plan to arrive early!


If you don't know Kitty Margolis's music, please check out the links at http://www.redwoodjazzalliance.org/margolis.html. She's a musician's singer with a full-throated tone, a knack for phrasing, and a penchant for breathtaking scat. She's also a warm, funny, and absolutely mesmerizing performer. We haven't hosted anybody quite like Kitty before, and we think this is going to be a brilliant night. Thanks so much to our partners at the Humboldt Arts Council for co-sponsoring this show. See you Friday, March 30 at 8:00 p.m. at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, 636 "F" Street, Eureka.