the TO-DO list
VINCENT SOYEZ
OXFORD AMERICAN PRESENTS: FRED HERSCH TRIO THURSDAY 1/30. SOUTH ON MAIN. 8 P.M. $35-$54. The more you learn about Fred Hersch, the more onerous a task it is to single out the most gripping fact about his life. Is it that he became, in 2006, the first solo pianist to get booked for a weeklong engagement at the revered Village Vanguard? That he broke that record as one of the first openly gay, HIV-positive jazz musicians in the nation? That he used heroin exactly once, and it was with Chet Baker? Or that Hersch’s nimble hands recovered their endless facility after he’d been held in a medically induced coma for seven weeks? That he then turned his torpor into a piece called “My Coma Dreams”? Or is it that, when he puts his hand to the keys, all of that biographical background floats away anyway, and you’re left realizing you’re bearing witness to one of the greatest jazz pianists in the world? This will be one for the books; grab a ticket to this installment of Oxford American’s Jazz series at oxfordamerican.org and find out why The New Yorker lauded Hersch’s trio for its “high lyricism and high danger,” or why All About Jazz declared that “when it comes to the art of solo piano in jazz, there are two classes of performers: Fred Hersch and everybody else.” SS
TEMPLE GRANDIN THURSDAY 1/30. REYNOLDS
PERFORMANCE HALL, UCA. CONWAY. 7:30 P.M. $15.
LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO TUESDAY 1/28. UA PULASKI TECHNICAL COLLEGE CHARTS (CENTER FOR THE HUMANITIES AND ARTS). 7:30 P.M. $10-$65.
If the African songs you know by heart come mostly from the record “Graceland,” there are a couple of things you can do to expand the breadth of that knowledge. The first? Get hip to the locally produced BantuNauts Raydio, a program on KABF-FM, 88.3, that plays music from African countries — and from all over the world — between 10 p.m. and midnight every Saturday. The second? Go hear this concert from Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the five-decade ensemble tradition whose harmonies, charisma and cultural scholarship have established them as de facto and official ambassadors of South Africa — and yes, who lent gravity, vibrancy and texture to that seminal 1986 Paul Simon album. Get tickets at uaptc.edu/charts. SS
20 JANUARY 2020
ARKANSAS TIMES
COURTESY OF UCA/REYNOLDS PERFORMANCE HALL
For someone who considers words her “second language,” Temple Grandin’s done an awful lot with them. Her books about autism have altered the way doctors and educators approach people on the autism spectrum. Her TED talks about “neurodiversity” have helped rekindle interest in vocational education. Her blueprints for cattle restrainment systems are used in livestock yards everywhere to facilitate a humane approach to slaughter. And, if you caught the 2010 biopic about her life and work, you know that she invented the “hug machine,” a device that calms anxiety in hypersensitive people by applying deep pressure. Grandin appears at Reynolds Performance Hall following the release of her book “Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like An Inventor.” Get tickets at uca.edu/publicappearances. SS
‘ANN’ TUESDAY 1/28-SUNDAY 2/16.
ARKANSAS REPERTORY THEATRE. The Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s spring 2020 season marks the first under Executive Artistic Director Will Trice, and it’s a darling of a trinity. First up? “Ann,” an unblinking look at silver-haired, silver-tongued powerhouse Ann Richards, the 45th governor of Texas who ruffled feathers and raised eyebrows for her brash leadership style as much as for her status as a liberal running in ultra-conservative Texas. Holland Taylor’s play about the legendary (and consummately quotable) Texas governor, in The Rep’s production, passes the torch to Tony Award winner Elizabeth Ashley (“Russian Doll,” “Evening Shade,” “Treme”), with Michael Wilson directing. Completing the trinity: “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and “Bye-Bye Birdie.” Get tickets at therep.org. SS