DANCE D2
TOP-NOTCH PERFORMANCES ARE COMING TO OUR STAGES.
CLASSICAL D3 A STRONG ROSTER OF ARTISTS IS BOOSTING
AUDIENCE ATTENDANCE.
POP MUSIC D4 FROM BAD BUNNY TO THE ROOTS PICNIC, TOP CONCERT PICKS.
DINNER AND A SHOW D6
STAGE AND RESTAURANT PAIRINGS TO WHET YOUR APPETITE.
LISTENING ROOMS D8
VINYL IS ALIVE AND WELL DESPITE THE POPULARITY OF ONLINE STREAMING.
QUALEASHA WOOD D11
THE ELUSIVE ARTIST IS NOW VERY MUCH IN THE SPOTLIGHT.
ART D13
MARY CASSATT WAS
10 dance performances to get excited about
By Ellen Dunkel Staff WriterPhiladelphia has a good amount of top-notch dance coming to our stages this spring. There is no one standout this time, but lots of great options.
Want something new? Check out BalletX, Rennie Harris, or Koresh. A classic or modern classic? Philadelphia Ballet has two programs of favorites and MOMIX is bringing a selection of its quirky works from over the years. A jukebox evening? What the world needs now is Mark Morris’ tribute to the music of Burt Bacharach.
Dance Masterpieces (March 14-16)
Philadelphia Ballet’s March program features the work of three influential choreographers: Alvin Ailey, William Forsythe, and Twyla Tharp. Ailey’s The River is set to music by Duke Ellington and speaks to birth, life, and rebirth. Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated is a contemporary masterpiece that Rudolf Nureyev commissioned for the Paris Opera Ballet. Tharp set In the Upper Room to music by Philip Glass, and it has been performed by companies all around the country. Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St. Tickets start at $25. 215-8931999 or ensembleartsphilly.org
Dance Iquail! (March 22-23)
Mantua native Iquail Shaheed is bringing his company back to Philadelphia for the first time in years with a program of three world premieres, including his own work and pieces by Christian von Howard and Maleek Washington. The company says its mission is to use “the art of dance as a conduit for combating issues of social injustice primarily experienced by the disadvantaged.”
Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. Tickets are $33. brownpapertickets.com/event/6190775
Rennie Harris Puremovement (March 22-23)
Rennie Harris is one of the finest choreographers in Philadelphia, but his work is only on stage once or twice a year, and sometimes not at all. So it’s worth seeing any time you can catch it. His company, Puremovement, marked its 30th anniversary last year, but the celebration continues with a retrospective of his work, as well as some newer pieces. Harris’ street dance takes on topics such as gun violence and gangs in a deeply moving way.
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St. Tickets start at $29. 215-898-3900 or pennlivearts.org
Philadanco ... Director’s Choice (April 12-14)
In Philadanco’s 50-plus years, it has commissioned many works, including a handful that founder and executive artistic adviser Joan Myers Brown considers to be masterpieces created by “African American choreographic geniuses.” This spring, Brown chose to highlight four: Christopher L. Huggins’ Blue Ronald K. Brown’s Gate Keepers Talley Beatty’s Pretty Is Skin Deep, Ugly to the Bone, and Harold Pierson’s Roots & Reflections Perelman Theater, 240 S. Broad St. Tickets start at $29. 215-893-1999 or ensembleartsphilly.org
MOMIX (April 19-20)
MOMIX’s work is breathtaking, bizarre (in the best possible way), inventive, and trippy. Moses Pendleton’s company comes to the Annenberg every year or so, and it’s always worth seeing what sort of magic is up his sleeve. This program is called “Back to MOMIX” and it includes excerpts of some of the company’s greatest hits.
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St. Tickets start at $29. 215-898-3900 or pennlivearts.org
‘Breath Into Air’ (April 19-20)
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers’ home season addresses dealing with grief on a personal and global level. The program includes four pieces: the world premiere of Lin’s Breath Into Air, an excerpt from his 2011 Mandala Project, Evalina Carbonell’s Koyl from 2016, and Weiwei Ma’s 2023 Dragon FringeArts, 140 N. Christopher Columbus Blvd. Tickets start at $25. kyld.org/2024
Koresh Dance Company (April 25-28)
Roni Koresh premieres his latest work, Hollow Apple , an evening-length piece, which the company says is “inspired by the endless desire to be liked and loved by strangers, only to reveal our fears and unworthiness.” It will be set to original music by Sage DeAgro-Ruopp and poetry by Karl Mullen.
Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. Tickets start at $20. https:// myptc.philadelphiatheatrecompany. org/events/88396
BalletX (April 26-27)
Ballet under the stars is something special, and BalletX is bringing it back this spring at the Mann, this time with live music. The program includes a world premiere by Natasha Adorlee, with live music by singer Jac Ross; the Philadelphia premiere of Takehiro Ueyama’s Heroes, with live music by composer Kato Hideki; and Jamar Roberts’ Eros & Psyche, set to music by Philip Glass, performed by ensemble132. There will be dance and live music before the main show begins, and visitors are welcome to bring along their picnic baskets. TD Pavilion at the Mann, 5201 Parkside Ave. $15. 215-225-5389 x250. balletx.org
‘The Dream’ (May 9-12)
Philadelphia Ballet wraps up its season with a two-part performance: Frederick Ashton’s The Dream and Balanchine’s Prodigal Son The Dream is Ashton’s condensed version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but it gets in all the comedic highlights: the lovers, the comedy of errors, fairies, and the donkey. Prodigal Son, on the other hand, is one of Balanchine’s iconic pieces, a dramatic story of sin and redemption. Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St. Tickets start at $25. 215-8931999 or ensembleartsphilly.org
Mark Morris Dance Group (May 31-June 1)
The spring dance season wraps up with Mark Morris’ tribute to the music of Burt Bacharach. The Look of Love is a joyful piece set to songs such as “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Walk on By,” and “Always Something There to Remind Me.” Mark Morris Dance Group is one of the top companies that visits Philadelphia most years and is always worth seeing. Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St. Tickets start at $29. 215-898-3900 or pennlivearts.org
edunkel@inquirer.com 215-854-2253 t edunkel
By Peter Dobrin Classical Music Critic
Five seasons into the pandemic/ post-pandemic era, some classical concerts are finally selling out. It’s not happening across the board, but attendance at a number of recent performances has been significantly healthier than post-pandemic lows.
This spring promises to continue the trend, especially given the strong roster of artists and works on the way and a noticeable return of artistic ambition. A new weeklong citywide organ festival has popped up. At the Kimmel Center, a revived visiting orchestra series is off to a strong start.
The incandescent pianist Mitsuko Uchida is slated for three programs this spring — in a song cycle, a four-hand piano recital, and a concerto. Blockbusters like Carmina burana, Schubert’s Trout Quintet, and Mozart’s piano concertos might not be novelties, but they all arrive with maverick artists or unusual twists. What this means in its most hopeful reading is that arts groups are figuring out how to widen the appeal while still being true to themselves.
This may or may not be the full recovery for which everyone has been waiting. But whatever it is, it sure feels good to sit in a hall again some nights with nary an empty seat in sight.
Mark Padmore and Mitsuko Uchida, March 12 Schubert’s song cycle Die Winterreise appears locally every few years — Sanford Sylvan, Gerald Finley, and Randall Scarlata are among the singers who have taken it on — but here it will be performed by an unusually charismatic duo. Uchida, masterly as she is, can be an unpredictable pianist. And when Padmore sang Schubert’s Schwanengesang here in 2017, the tenor painted sound beautifully in various textures and light, but he is older now. All of which only makes this performance of Schubert’s 24-song meditation on the winter of the soul even more alluring. Limited tickets remaining. March 12, Perelman Theater, pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080 ‘Carmina burana,’ March 15-17
Whether or not you’re a fan of the famous work by Orff, the insights of conductor Fabio Luisi are good reason to hear this Philadelphia Orchestra performance with the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia and other vocal forces. It’s paired on a program with Emanuel Ax in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25, featuring a kind of local debut. Ax will be playing an unusual piano designed by the late Kimmel Center architect Rafael Viñoly fabricated by Belgian piano maker Chris
Maene — with a curved keyboard. March 15-17, Verizon Hall, philorch.org, 215-893-1999
Philadelphia Organ Festival, March 15-23
Florence Price’s works performed on a 1927 Möller organ by Alan Morrison at Tindley Temple. The 1926 Colombian silent film Garras de Oro accompanied live by Parker Kitterman playing a 1928 Austin at Rodeph Shalom on North Broad Street. Organs in houses of worship, organs in gardens, and organs in concert halls add up to the Philadelphia Organ Festival making its debut with nine concerts by a flock of organists at various venues in the region. March 15-23, Various locations, phillyorganfestival.org
The Brothers McGill, March 28
Anthony McGill and Demarre McGill — principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic and principal flutist of the Seattle Symphony, respectively — appear with harpist Charles Overton and the Catalyst Quartet. The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society program includes a world premiere by former Imani Winds hornist Jeff Scott. March 28, American Philosophical Society, pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080
András Schiff, April 4-6
Gorgeously and good-heartedly, the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 lives a secret life as a rule-breaker. All is serene, but consider this: a development section with 55 measures — a full two minutes — elaborating on the thematic material without ever settling into a key for more than a few notes. Rarely is such daring so deftly managed. Pianist and conductor András Schiff plays and conducts the concerto three times with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the first night of which presents the work (along with Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D Major) in the orchestra’s new “Orchestra After 5” format — a shortened concert that includes a post-performance chat hosted by conductor Tristan Rais-Sherman. The two remaining performances come in the regular two-hour concert format. April 4-6, Verizon Hall, philorch. org, 215-893-1999
Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss, April 5
Four-hand piano music doesn’t get heard much in the concert hall, and yet the genre is a trove of enormous beauty. Here, two exquisite pianists sample some of the best — all Schubert, including the serene Rondo in A Major, D. 951 and raging Allegro in A Minor, D. 947, Lebensstürme. Limited tickets remaining.
April 5, Perelman Theater, pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080
Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, May 1
Mahler’s driving, demonic, serene, deeply worrisome, sardonic, chillingly dark, triumphant, despondent and ultimately devastating Symphony No. 6 is the sole work on the program for this third visiting ensemble in the revived international orchestra series at the Kimmel. On the podium: the one who got away, Simon Rattle, who was once hotly pursued as Wolfgang Sawallisch’s successor at the Philadelphia Orchestra.
May 1, Verizon Hall. ensembleartsphilly.org, 215-893-1999
‘The Cunning Little Vixen,’ May 2-5
You can follow the journey of the vixen in this comic strip-inspired story, or you can sit with eyes closed and marvel at Leos Janacek’s rich, uniquely piquant compositional voice. Curtis Institute of Music alum Vinay Parameswaran leads students from the school’s opera department, its orchestra, and the Philadelphia Boys Choir. May 2-5, Perelman Theater, curtis. edu, 215-893-7902
Brentano Quartet and Friends, May 12
The Trout Quintet — need we say more? Schubert’s thrilling Quintet in A Major, D. 667, the Trout, is performed by three members of the Brentano Quartet with double-bassist Joseph Conyers and pianist Jonathan Biss. It is paired on the program with the Brentano in Beethoven’s Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130. Limited tickets remaining. May 12, Perelman Theater, pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080
Evgeny Kissin, May 15
At his 2007 Kimmel Center recital, the reliably original Russian-born pianist played 10 encores (or was it 11?). Kissin returns to the Kimmel with the classic repertoire of Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev — but that’s just the printed program; afterward, anything is possible.
May 15, Verizon Hall, ensembleartsphilly.org, 215-893-1999
‘Daphnis et Chloé,’ May 16-18
Ravel’s vast and sensuous orchestral canvas is presented here by the Philadelphia Orchestra led by an exacting colorist, Esa-Pekka Salonen. Also on the program: Saariaho’s Lumière et Pesanteur and Salonen’s own Sinfonia concertante for organ and
By Dan DeLuca Music Critic
Spring concerts mark the transition from indoors to outdoors.
Early in the season, the calendar is full with club and theater shows like the ones highlighted below, plus other gigs of note.
Wayne “The Train” Hancock is at Kung Fu Necktie on March 24. Alejandro Escovedo plays the Sellersville Theater on April 12, and Richard Thompson is at the Scottish Rite Auditorium that same night. Girl in Red does two shows at the Met April 17-18. Robyn Hitchcock plays World Cafe Live April 24.
Stiff Little Fingers is at Brooklyn Bowl May 2, Yung Gunz throws a hip-hop party at the Fillmore May 3, and Grace Cummings is at Arden Gild Hall May 8.
And then as the weather warms, festival and amphitheater season beckons. That means the Avett Brothers at the Mann Center on May 16 and Hozier headlining the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden on May 25.
Besides those, here are 25 chronologically ordered shows not to miss, leading up to the outdoor music schedule kicking into gear.
1. Jon Batiste, March 17
Since winning a Grammy for We Are in 2022, Jon Batiste’s ambitions have gotten grander. Last year, the former Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader released World Music Radio, which blended global sounds into his New Orleans
gumbo, and also starred in the Netflix documentary American Symphony. March 17, Fillmore Philadelphia, https://www.thefillmorephilly.com/
2. Sleater-Kinney, March 18
Little Rope is the second album Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of post-riot grrrl band Sleater-Kinney have recorded without drummer Janet Weiss. It’s their best since 2015’s No Cities To Love Its urgency is in part a response to grief: Brownstein’s mother and stepfather died in a car accident while it was being recorded. This should be cathartic. March 18, Theatre of Living Arts, tlaphilly.com
3. María José Llergo, March 19
María José Llergo makes music that respects tradition, and messes with it in creative ways. Born in Andalusia, Spain, she’s a classically trained musician who grew up on flamenco, but added electronica and R&B to the mix on Ultrabelleza, her stunning 2023 debut. March 19, City Winery, citywinery. com/philadelphia
4. Emmylou Harris, March 22
Emmylou Harris has made everyone she’s sung with sound better, going back to Gram Parsons in the early 1970s. The Queen of Country
Harmony is headed to the Xcite Center in her first Philly appearance since she opened City Winery in 2019.
March 22, Xcite Center at Parx Casino, Bensalem, Pa., ParxCasino. com
5. Nicki Minaj, March 29
Save Pink herself, nobody’s Pinker than Nicki Minaj. The Trinidad-born rapper’s 2010 debut Pink Friday turned her into a star, and she followed it with Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012, and The Pinkprint in 2014. Last year, she teamed with Ice Spice for “Barbie World,” and released Pink Friday 2 March 29, Wells Fargo Center, WellsFargoCenterPhilly.com
6. Buzz Zeemer, March 29
Philly band Buzz Zeemer made two albums of classic 1990s power pop before the group fronted by songwriting savant Frank Brown, and featuring guitarist Tommy Conwell, split up. Last year, the band issued Lost and Found, a collection of top shelf unreleased recordings. They’re back for their first show in 17 years. March 29, Ardmore Music Hall, ardmoremusichall.com
7. Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, March 30
The Messthetics are Joe Lally and Brendan Canty of legendary Washington, D.C., post-punk band Fugazi, plus experimental jazz guitarist Anthony Pirog. For their self-titled album, the trio is joined by saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. March 30, Solar Myth, SolarMythBar.com
SPRING ARTS
Pop concerts
11. Bad Bunny, April 19
In 2022, Bad Bunny transformed Made in America into a Latinx dance party. Now the Puerto Rican rapper is coming to South Philly on his “Most Wanted Tour,” in support of his 2023 release Nadie Sabe Lo
Que Va a Pasar Mañana
April 19, Wells Fargo Center, WellsFargoCenterPhilly.com
12. Bongwalk Empire, April 20
If Boardwalk Empire got high it might sound like this hip-hop (and ska) bill, whose name plays on the HBO drama set in Atlantic City. Headliners are Los Angeles rappers Cypress Hill, plus Action Bronson, Sublime with Rome, and Souls of Mischief.
April 20, Mark G. Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com
13. Madison Cunningham & Juana Molina, April 23
Madison Cunningham won a best folk album Grammy in 2022 for Revealer and is recommended to fans of Joni Mitchell and Aimee Mann. Juana Molina is an Argentine songwriter with a background in sketch comedy who uses loops to bring her layered songs to life. April 23, Ardmore Music Hall, ArdmoreMusicHall.com
14. Leslie Odom Jr., May 1
Fresh from starring in Ossie Davis’ Purlie Victorious on Broadway, East Oak Lane-raised singer and actor Odom returns for a show at the Miller Theater, down the street from where a plaque marking his induction into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame was unveiled last year. May 1, Miller Theater, EnsembleArtsPhilly.org
15. Sing Us Home, May 3-5
Roxborough-raised songwriter Dave Hause’s Sing Us Home festival made a delightful debut in 2023. This year, it’s back in Manayunk, expanded to three days. The lineup includes Hause, Langhorne Slim, Amthyst Kiah, The Jayhawks, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, and a reunion of Hause’s punk band The Loved Ones. May 3-5, Venice Island in Manayunk, singushomefestival.com
16. Laufey, May 6
Laufey Lin Jónsdóttir joined Samara Joy and Domi and JD Beck in bringing jazz to a fresh audience with her 2023 album Bewitched. The Grammy-winning Icelandic Chinese singer broke through, thanks in part to singing Billie Eilish songs on TikTok. May 6, the Met, metphilly.com
17. The Black Crowes, May 4 and 7
Chris and Rich Robinson’s brotherly battles are documented in Steve Gorman’s 2019 book Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of The Black Crowes . But these days, the Southern band is alive again with a new album, which makes light of their squabbles, called Happiness Bastards
May 4, Ocean Casino Resort, Atlantic City, theoceanac.com, May 7, the Met, themetphilly.com
18. Sheer Mag, May 10
Philly hard rock quartet Sheer Mag have released Playing Favorites , their much anticipated debut for Third Man Records. The Tina Halladay-fronted band specializes in hooky 1970s hard rock. May 10, the First Unitarian Church, r5productions.com
19. Kelly Clarkson, May 11
The original American Idol winner and talk show host’s 2022 EP Kellyoke covered Whitney Houston and Radiohead. Last year she followed it with her 10th album, Chemistry
May 11, Mark G. Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com
20. Morgan Wallen, May 11
What was the most consumed album in U.S. in 2023? Taylor Swift’s Midnights ? Nope. In album equivalent sales, it was country singer Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time , which moved 5.3 million units, beating out Swift’s 3.2 million. Wallen’s Citizens Bank Park show is a makeup for a postponed 2023 show. May 11, Citizens Bank Park, mlb. com/phillies
21. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, May 12
It’s been over half a century for Neil Young & Crazy Horse, his most raggedly glorious backing ensemble. For the “Love Earth Tour,” the band is touring behind a live album recorded in 2022. May 12, Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, livenation.com
22. Mannequin Pussy & Soul-Glo, May 22-23
A double bill of uncompromising Philly bands. Mannequin Pussy mixes sweetness with aggression on the new I Got Heaven . Soul-Glo brings an all-out attack that never lets up. May 22-23, Union Transfer, utphilly.com
23. Khruangbin, May 22-24
The Texas psych funk band Khruangbin is a true phenomenon, a highly disciplined jam band fronted by stylish bassist Laura Lee Ochoa. They’re playing not one but three shows at the Met Philly. May 22-24, the Met, themetphily. com
24. Camera Obscura, May 29
It’s Scottish indie pop season at Union Transfer, with Belle & Sebastian on April 26, and Camera Obscura, much-missed band led by Tracyanne Campbell on May 29. Their bittersweet Look to the East, Look to the West is their first in 11 years. May 29, Union Transfer, utphilly. com
25. Roots Picnic, June 1-2
It’ll still be spring when the Roots Picnic gets underway on the Mann Center campus. Lil Wayne and Trombone Shorty will join the Roots in a New Orleans celebration, Method Man and Redman go toe-to-toe with Black Thought. Jill Scott, Victoria Monét, Nas, Fantasia, Cam’ron and Amerie, and many others are on the bill. June 1-2, the Mann in Fairmount Park, RootsPicnic.com
ddeluca@inquirer.com
t delucadan
Where to catch a show and grab a bite nearby
By Rosa Cartagena and Jenn Ladd Staff WritersIt’s the season for epic, largescale storytelling in Philly’s theater scene. Parables abound as the gods have come to play, whether they’re from Greek mythology (Hadestown, Hurricane Diane), China (The Good Person of Setzuan ), or the French Antilles (Once on This Island ). Three-hour dramas (The Lehman Trilogy, Father Comes Home From the Wars) will be tests of endurance for the actors and the audience. Here’s all the exciting work coming to stages in and around Philly this spring, and some suggestions for where you can grab a bite and a drink near the theaters.
‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’
Arden Theatre
Oppenheimer meets Wolf of Wall Street in this epic Tony-winning drama told over three hours about the rise and fall of the Lehman brothers. Just a trio of Philly actors — Akeem Davis, Charlie DelMarcelle, and Scott Greer — play Mayer, Emanuel, and Henry Lehman, as well as dozens of other characters in this Olympic-level stage challenge. March 7 to April 7, Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St., Philadelphia, 215922-1122 or ardentheatre.org
For dinner: If you think a fancy meal pairs well with a play about an investment firm, Old City has options. There’s Northern Italian stalwart Panorama wine bar, stylish sushi-maker Tuna Bar, exacting-yetfun French staple Forsythia, and the perpetually excellent Fork, of course. Too rich for your blood? Try Olea, a classic BYOB.
‘FROZEN’ Academy of Music
Prepare to have “Let It Go” stuck in your head yet again as the icy kingdom of Arendelle descends on Philadelphia. The musical stays close to the blockbuster film about two estranged sisters who rediscover their unbreakable bond, with additional tracks from the same songwriters. Keep an eye out for Sven the reindeer and the goofy snowman Olaf, who come to life as puppets. March 21 to April 7, Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, 215-893-1999 or ensembleartsphilly.
org For dinner: The real question here is, where can you eat with kids in Center City? This may hinge on how old (or well-behaved) they are. Parc has a reputation for being surprisingly family-friendly. Bud & Marilyn’s is closer, with a cozy vibe and a very approachable menu. Seorabol could be a lot of fun, too. Sahara Grill is more casual (and couldn’t kabob pass for nuggets?). If that’s all too nerve-wracking, there’s always IHOP.
‘BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL’
Walnut Street Theatre
The legendary Carole King is in the spotlight in this jukebox musical spanning decades of her singing and songwriting career, from “Natural Woman” to “You’ve Got a Friend.” It’s a jam-packed show with more than 24 songs underscoring King’s lyrical talent and following her journey partnering with her husband Gerry Goffin before breaking out and going solo. March 26 to May 5, Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St., Philadelphia, 215-574-3550 or walnutstreettheatre.org
For dinner: You’re a stone’s throw from the new High Street here, so that’s a no-brainer. If it’s mobbed try Kanella for a shareable Mediterranean feast or Hi-Lo Taco for laid-back Tex-Mex with a full bar.
‘THE GOOD PERSON OF SETZUAN’
Wilma Theater
Renowned German playwright Bertolt Brecht penned this parable set in China in 1941, though he had never set foot in the country. In the play, three gods want to know whether people can truly be good. After a young woman shelters them for a night, they reward her to see whether she can remain charitable — and her life only becomes more complicated. Full of cross-dressing and critiques of capitalism, this interpretation from director Justin Jain promises a “radically reclaimed” version using Tony Kushner’s adaptation.
April 2-21, Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, 215-5467824 or wilmatheater.org
For dinner: You could try to get in at buzzy newcomers Kiddo or Miss Saigon, or go somewhere slightly more established (and maybe less besieged by crowds). How about some tabletop barbecue and soju towers at Jomon Japanese BBQ? Or Thai tapas — think pork dumplings and curry puffs — at Grandma’s Philly?
‘TICK, TICK… BOOM!’
Theatre Horizon
Thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2021 film adaptation starring Andrew Garfield, Jonathan Larson’s semi-autobiographical musical has seen a renewed surge of popularity. It centers on a struggling playwright in New York striving to be recognized for his talent, reflecting Larson’s life before he wrote the smash-hit emotional roller coaster Rent. This rock musical is more upbeat. Broadway veteran (and Philadelphian) Robi Hager codirects and stars in this fresh production.
April 4-14, Theatre Horizon, 401 DeKalb St., Norristown, Pa., 610283-2230 x1 or theatrehorizon.org
For dinner: Norristown’s two food-centric claims to fame — the Zep at Lou’s Sandwich Shop and tomato pie from Corropolese — lend themselves better to takeout. For a sit-down dinner close to the theater, try longtime town staple Taqueria La Michocoana, which has a full bar and a vast menu of Mexican delights.
‘HADESTOWN’ Academy of Music
Two Greek myths — the love and loss between Eurydice and Orpheus, and the reason-for-theseasons marriage of Persephone and Hades — collide in this stunning retelling through a hauntingly exquisite songbook by indie folk lyricist Anaïs Mitchell. We already know how it ends (tragically), but this Tony-winning trek to the underworld is worth taking all over again.
April 10-14, Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, 215893-1999 or ensembleartsphilly.org
For dinner: Stay on theme with close-by Greek options like Estia, Effie’s, and Kanella. (Budget more time for a walk and you could try the new Almyra in Rittenhouse.) Or go Greece-adjacent with another long-running Philly classic, La Viola (Italian by way of Albania).
‘HURRICANE DIANE’
People’s Light
What if a Greek god was one of us? Meet Diane, a.k.a. Dionysus, a butch gardener who comes to the Jersey Shore (Red Bank, technically) on an environmental mission that starts with enlisting suburban housewives. The gender-bending god — played in this sitcom-like production by nonbinary actor Rami Margron — brings that signature bacchanalian whirlwind of chaos, wine, comedy, and, in this case, climate conservation.
May 1-19, People’s Light, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, Pa., 610-6443500 or peopleslight.org
For dinner: The now-classic, wood-fired fare and sprawling Italian wine list at Restaurant Alba might pair well with this one. For something new, check out Joey Chops, the family-friendly steakhouse in the overhauled Stove & Tap. For something more casual and affordable, try Fattoush Mediterranean Grill.
Proscenium Theatre at the Drake
Prolific local playwright R. Eric Thomas — who also writes best-selling books and television scripts — delivers endlessly funny and incisive queer stories. His latest work, billed as “Succession meets Audre Lorde” and produced by Azuka Theatre, follows a queer activist invited to a big company’s first Pride event. But she’s not there to be a compliant token or corporate shill, and the result is far from celebratory.
May 2-19, Proscenium Theatre at the Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Philadelphia, 215-563-1100 or azukatheatre.org
For dinner: The Gayborhood’s trove of restaurants and bars is just across Broad Street, but keep in mind: At least three hot new(-ish) bars — Andra Hem, Superfolie, and Enswell — are basically right here, not to mention the unbeatable beer bar, Monk’s Cafe.
‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’
Arden Theatre
This loose adaptation of The Little Mermaid set in the French Antilles centers on Ti Moune, a young Black orphan who was saved by the gods of the island as a child. Raised by so-called peasants, she falls in love with a light-skinned, wealthy man from the other side of the segregated isle but neither of their fam-
215-9221122 or ardentheatre.org
For dinner: Maybe this show’s setting will put you in the mood for seafood. Plenty to be had in Old City, however you like it. There’s sushi at Tuna Bar, oysters at the Olde Bar or Royal Boucherie, shrimp and grits at Cray Taste, and jumbo lump crab cakes at Amina.
‘FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS’
Quintessence Theatre
Pulitzer-winning playwright SuzanLori Parks’ critically acclaimed Civil War play is a
By Earl Hopkins and Dan DeLuca, Staff Writers Photographs by Yong Kim, Staff Photographer
CONCEPT BEHIND THE BAR is plainly stated in a mission statement: “To Get People Together To isten To Records.” The new cocktail lounge and vinyl ening room in Old City, the bar is modeled after Japbars and coffee shops known as jazz kissas, where hiles gather for deep listening to LPs. means as many kinds of records as we can and as s of people as we can,” says Joey Sweeney, the creor of 48 Record Bar, the cozy 35-seat space above assafras. g bar concept has been making its way around the d in Philly in 2022 with the Listening Room, e back room space at Stephen Starr’s O on the border between Kensingwas more uptempo and DJ-oriditional listening room, but in b announced its “temporary been no update on when or if ecord stores have survived reaming age. Vinyl signifies d experience in an algorithbrands itself as vinyl at heart. Center City called Vinyl that vinyl — it books cover bands. ord Exchange in Fishtown, Upper ords, Cratediggaz Records in Queen in Street Music in Manayunk, among e spirit of vinyl alive. untain Porter and Solar Myth keep turntables spinhe bar, and vinyl is the focus with DJ nights at the al and the Trestle Inn, where Women’s History Month ebrated with a lineup of all female DJs, many drawn Vinyl Tap 2015 collective. coming up on April 27 and 28, vinyl lovers can celespring at Vinylcon!, a weekend-long marketplace at the d Street Armory that promises “a zillion records, tons f vendors, vinyl DJs, full bar, food trucks, and more.” Adam Porter owns Milkcrate Cafe, a record store that offers “coffee, food, booze, and wax” with locations in Fishtown and West Philly. Porter, too, has experimented with a “record bar.”
music that people haven’t heard,” Porter said. He stopped doing record bar nights in January, but has future plans for pop-up events. “We’re a city filled with amazing selectors and record collections, but we’re underserved as an artistic community.”
48 Record Bar opened in December after a long gestation period. Sweeney, a musician and creator of the blog Philebrity began kicking ideas around six years ago with Donal McCoy, who co-owns Sassafras and formerly the Tin Angel, the Old City folk club just down the street that closed in 2017. The idea was to convert the upstairs storage room “into a listening room not unlike you would find in Japan but with our own take on it, that combines the legacy of cocktail culture that Sassafras represents with a really amazing sound system and well curated music. It would be unlike any other space in the city.”
Old City’s 48 Record Bar and Vinylcon! are signs that vinyl is alive and well in these times of online streaming.
Sweeney and McCoy tested the concept in popups at various locations last year, and have succeeded in creating that unique space, down to the surprise sight of a comfy couch in the bathroom.
On a recent Thursday night, every seat and padded banquette was taken in the intimate room during an evening themed around British folk music of the 1960s and 1970s. Sweeney cued up LPs by Iain Matthews, John Martyn, and Richard and Linda Thompson. In a special event, there was live music as well, with Hannah Taylor and James Everhart of the Philly band Cosmic Guilt singing Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, and Shirley Collins songs.
“This is a major metropolitan city, so there have to be purveyors of good taste and champions crusading for good
48 Record Bar club members can pay $12 a month, where on Wednesday nights they can bring their own LPs to play, as well as getting first crack at ticketed events. For $40, they get that plus an LP of the month to take home. This month’s selection is Eccentric Boogie, a collection of rare funk from the highly regarded Numero Group label. Deep listening events are also part of the 48 Record Bar experience. Last month, two $15 sittings on a Sunday morning sold-out, with vinyl lovers listening to OutKast rapper André 3000’s instrumental flute music album, New Blue Sun. Coffee and pastries from Center City cafe Thank You Thank You were included in the price of admission. “That was an amazing sight,” says Sweeney. “And the music was almost creating a sound bath over folks. People were meditating, or writing, or drawing, or passing notes to one another. And as people were leaving, they were saying, ‘I’ve never been to anything like this before. Please keep doing this.’”
Black female artists are heralding the arrival of the season at the ICABy Amy S. Rosenberg Staff Writer
To walk into a room filled with the work of artist Tomashi Jackson is to see, first off, the urgency of the work. The beauty, the bold strokes of color and texture, the art expanding the boundaries of the frame, the layering and depth. How do you take it all in?
Jackson’s stunning art is collected this spring at Penn’s Institute of Contemporary Art in what is the first mid-career survey of the artist’s works, entitled “Tomashi Jackson: Across the Universe.”
“I don’t have to know what it’s going to look like,” Jackson said during a preview of her exhibit, which brings together more than 30 works with her signature color and layering, speaking to topics of social justice, voting rights, and oppression of Black and Indigenous people throughout U.S. history.
“I don’t have to control the aesthetic outcome of the image,” Jackson said. “But if I do the research work, what comes out, I’ll just be able to trust it.”
Behind every painting is a research-based process and a gathering of materials, some valued for their tactile and aesthetic qualities, others for their historical significance. Jackson’s Still Remains, for example, uses charcoal, gouache, Georgia red clay on postal congressional election fliers, and brown paper bags.
Another work, I see Fields of Green (Put the Ball Through the Hoop), from 2022, is comprised of acrylic, Yule Quarry Marble dust, and paper bags on canvas with PVC marine vinyl mounted on a handcrafted wood awning structure with brass hooks and grommets.
Upstairs is the “Sargasso Sea” exhibit, a tactile collection of provoking sculpture and multimedia that explores the “dualities of the sea’s transformative powers, as a site that disrupted colonial voyages as well as a metaphorical place of regeneration.”
She recalled going to England and being taken to the edge of the coasts, where there are pits and quarries. “The history of English stoneware is on that coast.” “And the history, the first ships that left with wool to trade for wine, to trade for people,” she said. “So now I know I can go to a place and seek out earth and material. What is the landscape? What is the role of architecture? It’s all of this. Generally all these spaces have some sort of tension around who gets to be free and who doesn’t get to be free.”
The Sargasso Sea, north of the Caribbean, is the only body of water defined by oceanic currents rather than shorelines. This is another exhibit with sharp intellectual underpinnings, with the two artists, Dominique White and Alberta Whittle, contemplating Black feminist theory and the transatlantic slave trade.
Like Jackson, the artists use natural and man-made materials. A large scale work, Can We Be Known Without Being Hunted, features giant rusted and bent-iron harpoons entangled with rope and twine suspended from the ceiling.
Meanwhile, the ICA’s facade has been transformed by artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti into a 2,000-squarefoot work incorporating patterns of ironwork and African hair-braiding designs. It is on view through December and visible from the outside and inside. It is the first in a planned series of commissions to activate the facade on North 36th Street.
Mutiti’s pattern incorporates braids with decorative architectural features first created by enslaved blacksmiths from West Africa. A series of gold barrettes are arranged throughout the pattern. The installation is in partnership with Maharam, a creator of textiles. “Tomashi Jackson: Across the Universe” and “Sargasso Sea” are on view through June 2. Nontsikelelo Mutiti’s “Entryways” is on view through December. Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 118 S. 36th St., Philadelphia
arosenberg@inquirer.com 215-854-2681 t amysrosenberg
Nontsikelelo Mutiti’s “Entryways” has transformed the facade of the front of the Institute for Contemporary Art in West Philadelphia. Constance Mensh
Philly artist in the spotlight, sharing space with greats in a Brooklyn Museum show
By Rosa Cartagena Staff WriterPhiladelphia textile artist
Qualeasha Wood was at the Cheesecake Factory, hiding away from her booth at Miami’s famed Art Basel in 2021, when her phone began buzzing, buzzing, buzzing. She didn’t pay much attention; she was with family and had skipped the event for the day. At art fairs, Wood prefers to be incognito and eavesdrop on viewers’ honest reactions (from haters, especially) but she couldn’t pull it off in the Basel crowd. Finally, she picked up the call from her gallerist: Celebrity art collector Swizz Beatz loved one of her large woven jacquard tapestries and wanted it for his and his wife Alicia Keys’ star-studded collection.
The elusive artist couldn’t stay in the shadows much longer — and today, she’s very much in the spotlight. Three years after that purchase, Genesis (2021) has landed a spot in “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,” the first major exhibit of the couple’s holdings, running at New York’s Brooklyn Museum through July 7. The tapestry is a mesmerizing self-portrait of Wood in a red dress, encircled by a gold halo, cru
cified among the clouds and surrounded by her webcam selfies. At 27, Wood shares display space with Gordon Parks, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Amy Sherald, and other major historical and contemporary Black artists — people she read about in high school. “I never would’ve imagined we’d all be in the same room,” she said. Wood grew up in Long Branch, N.J., and moved to Callowhill last year. Her elaborate and frenzied fabrics — desktop landscapes of emojis, cursors, and screenshots — have continued to gain traction, acquired by museums across the country, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she’s one of the youngest artists in the collection. “She is celebrating herself, but also critiquing society [and asking,] ‘Is the internet our new religion?’” said Kimberli Gant, the “Giants” curator. “She’s having these conversations within a tapestry, it’s not using the same technology to critique that technology — it’s unexpected.”
Chronically online, Wood has a love/hate relationship with social media that has fueled her curiosity about language, surveillance, worship, and, crucially, herself. It’s
where she’s learned about her own body dysmorphia and expressed her struggles with mental health. The internet is Wood’s muse, a source of creative inspiration, self-reflection, and, in some cases, terror.
As a student at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2016, Wood and some friends infiltrated a Tomi Lahren fan page on Facebook and swapped the main photo for Michelle Obama. For that, she was doxxed by conservative trolls and received a barrage of racist and sexist harassment, including death and rape threats, making her afraid to leave her dorm. Wood emerged hardened, understanding that nothing in her life would be private — so she embraced it. She channeled that fear into her tapestries, spinning a defiant portrait with some of the hateful comments in works like Clout Chasin’ (2023). “It’s an example of the internet’s real-life impact,” she said. “People who don’t navigate the internet with any sort of fear or precaution just don’t think about these things happening.”
She had haters at RISD, too. In her first semester, a sculpture professor doubted her talent and told her she should drop out. The critique stunned, but didn’t deter her. Initially she studied illustration, thinking it could be more profitable as a career, but printmaking was her passion; a brief encounter with legendary quilter Faith Ringgold convinced her to pursue what she really wanted and Wood switched her major to printmaking. Later, inspired by her family’s knitting and crocheting hobbies, she began weaving tapestries interrogating the fetishization and objectification of Black women. “My audience is by default white men and really rich white women. That’s not at all who I make work for, but I have to be aware of who’s in galleries,” said Wood. “I can’t make it easy for them. I have to create moments that disrupt their idea of safety, or ownership of a space.”
Putting “ebony” — the popular term for porn featuring Black women — on the prestigious walls of the Met was one way to accomplish that. Chat boxes in The [Black] Madonna/Whore Complex (2021) ask: “are you ready? young hot ebony is online” with a button to “enter salvation.” Wood is at the center of the glitching halo holding a sacred heart on fire, inviting and indicting.
While the display in the Met’s 2021-22 “Alter Egos | Projected Selves” exhibit was a career highlight, the experience reminded her why she hated museums as a kid. When talking to high schoolers about the work at the museum, Wood was repeatedly scolded for being too loud. The same thing happened when her family visited. The unspoken etiquette of silence brought forth a sharp dissonance: She was acceptable enough to be showcased, but still deemed a problem for being herself.
Continuing to push boundaries, Wood is on the cutting edge of craft arts, which fine art institutions have only recently embraced. Tufting, an intensive process of rug making, has skyrocketed in popularity in the last five years, thanks to Philly artists Tim Eads and Tiernan Alexander, who founded the teaching and supplies company Tuft the World. (It’s also a huge TikTok trend.) Wood began experimenting with the fluffy medium during pandemic lockdown and last year she was on the jury of Tuft the World’s TuftCon. “Qualeasha is carving her own path, [taking] this 100-year-old craft and really doing something with it that has never been done before,” said Eads.
The tufted pieces move away from self-portraiture and emphasize the internet’s omnipresent surveillance using multiple large eyes that echo the eyes emoji. Wood says the “back-breaking” process is a challenge of endurance that takes dozens of hours, but it’s like therapy. In December, she collaborated with Tuft the World to make the special edition rug To Catch a Predator (2023): Eyes and hands surround a computer user overwhelmed by sleazy DMs. Now that she moved her studio to Philly — after a stint splitting her time between here and New York — Wood has reintroduced herself in the local arts scene. A few years ago, she was abruptly uninvited from an exhibit because the Philly gallery (whose name she can’t remember) found her work inappropriate for children. “My feelings were so hurt. I was really excited because I don’t always get to show in places where everyone I care about can access,” said Wood, whose family lives near Cherry Hill, N.J. Wood has expanded into sculpture with furniture making, returning to the very medium she was once told she wasn’t talented enough for. She is currently working on forthcoming
The first major American museum show of Alexey Brodovitch’s work is coming to the Barnes
“All designers, all photographers, all art directors, whether they know it or not, are students of Alexey Brodovitch.”By Rita Giordano Staff Writer
If you haven’t heard of artist and photographer Alexey Brodovitch, a new exhibition this spring at the Barnes Foundation is setting out to change that.
Running March 3 through May 19, “Alexey Brodovitch: Astonish Me” is the first major United States museum exhibition to explore the significance of the legendary former art director of the fashion bible, Harper’s Bazaar. The show explores both his own work and his influence on some of contemporary photography’s most celebrated names. “We hope that the exhibition not only affirms Brodovitch’s legacy, but also perhaps astonishes visitors who recognize that so much of what is common practice in modern photography and design stems from the vision of this selftaught artist,” said Katy Wan, who curated the exhibit. Wan, a curator for London’s Tate Modern, said she hopes the exhibition leaves its visitors “with a renewed appreciation of
photography and print culture as beautiful objects in their right,” as well as the impact of a man who changed the course of 20th-century photography and design.
As the great fashion photographer Irving Penn said, “All designers, all photographers, all art directors, whether they know it or not, are students of Alexey Brodovitch.” Born to an aristocratic Jewish family in the former Russian Empire, Brodovitch dreamed of becoming an artist. After serving in the Russian Civil War, he was exiled to Paris where he was exposed to many artistic movements. An intense interest in photography and typography developed. His first design success was in 1924 for a Grand Prix poster contest for the Bal Banal, beating out a young Pablo Picasso.
In 1930, Brodovitch came to the United States and moved to Philadelphia to work at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art — now the University of the Arts — where he created the Department of Advertising Design. He also introduced his students to the best in magazines and European design work.
In 1934, Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief Carmel Snow became aware of Brodovitch’s work and set the wheels in motion to hire him as art director. Brodovitch pioneered surrealist devices in his magazine layout, creative use of white space, and other unconventional and
experimental designs. He continued to pursue his photographic projects, some of which are in the Barnes exhibition. He collaborated with celebrated photographers such as Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Penn, Richard Avedon, Eve Arnold, and Hans Namuth.
Namuth had at first not wanted to photograph Jackson Pollock, Wan said.
“The visit that Brodovitch insisted he make resulted in the spellbinding photographs of Pollock at drip-painting in his East Hampton studio in 1950, which might never have existed were it not for Brodovitch’s foresight,” she said.
The exhortation “Astonish me!” was one that Brodovitch made to his students and photographers.
“Alexey Brodovitch was regarded by his peers as the father of modern art direction,” Wan said. Though he is not a household name, she added, his influence is firmly in evidence in the work of those he mentored and in his own innovations.
“Our hope is that this exhibition affirms his legacy in modern photography and design.”
“Alexey Brodovitch: Astonish Me,” March 3 – May 19, Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Phila. https:// www.barnesfoundation.org/ brodovitch-astonish-me rgiordano@inquirer.com 609-217-8357 t rgiordano725
Exhibit takes a deeper look at Mary Cassatt’s intentions
Art Museum show probes whether the artist’s brush makes a more pointed statement about the value of women’s work.
ByPainter Mary Cassatt’s time as a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts was brief but rebellious.
Though the renowned school admitted women in the 1860s, the fiercely independent artist and her female friends were forbidden from drawing live models, regardless of whether they were nude or dressed. But that didn’t stop Cassatt. Instead, the women organized their own sessions, posing for each other to practice drawing the human figure.
It was just one rule among hundreds that Cassatt broke in her life and career, and with dazzling results.
Born to a wealthy family in Pittsburgh, she was both privileged and constrained but knew from a young age that she wanted to be a working artist, not someone’s wife. Today, Cassatt is renowned as the sole American to join the mostly male French impressionism movement; counting Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, and Camille Pissarro as contemporaries.
She painted odes to the daily domestic life of women around her — reading, sipping tea, embroidering, and, most prominently, mothering. These realistic and romantic portrayals provided visions of the idle recreations of the upper class, but a new exhibit
ByScottHoganandKatieHale EditedbyWillShortz ACROSSat the Philadelphia Museum of Art troubles that perspective: Did Cassatt’s brush make a more pointed statement on the value of women’s work?
“Perhaps we’ve read Cassatt’s scenes too much as scenes of leisure,” said Laurel Garber, the Park family assistant curator of prints and drawings at the museum. “For me, they have come newly visible as various kinds of work and overlooked forms of feminized activity — everyday scenes of routine care and feminized labor.”
Opening May 18, “Mary Cassatt at Work” contains more than 130 paintings, prints, and pastels, including works that have never been displayed publicly before.
It’s the first major exhibition of Cassatt’s work in the United States in 25 years.
There’s a particular emphasis on the labor not just of her portrait subjects but of Cassatt’s, too. A trove of her letters in the PMA collection informed this approach: In her own words, she described long, messy days in her Parisian studio while her family compared her work ethic to a beaver’s. One notable missive came from her father, who was progressive enough to let his daughter move to France to study art but refused to pay for her studio or supplies. She was determined to be self-sufficient, anyway.
To underscore Cassatt’s constant experimentation, the PMA show takes a closer look at her printmaking process, mounting proofs side by side to see what tweaks she made between versions before arriving at the final edition. It’s like stepping into the studio and watching her tinker: The Bath series features 13 prints and drawings that each differ slightly. As an impressionist, Cassatt
has not been given the same close study as her male counterparts. In preparing this exhibit, Art Museum experts conducted scientific analyses of her works with X-rays and infrared light photography. “We’ve never done that before, despite the richness of our holdings,” said Garber. “We’ve done all sorts of imaging and analysis of the other impressionists in our collection, but she has been overlooked as a woman artist — and that includes even institutionally the way that we have attended to her works.”
Revisiting Cassatt this way provides a fresh look at the trailblazing artist through a contemporary lens at a time of increasing calls for house and care work — typically done by women — to be valued more. Cassatt surely would have agreed.
“Mary Cassatt at Work” runs
May 18 to Sept. 8 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy., Philadelphia, 215-763-8100 or philamuseum.org
rcartagena@inquirer.com
t _RosaCartagena
Jazz shows to feature older and younger voices
By Shaun Brady For The InquirerThe Philly jazz calendar this spring and summer embodies the torch-passing nature of the music. The season is highlighted by still-thriving octogenarians (and one notable centenarian!) and a host of younger voices reshaping the genre for the future. The offerings below include classic swing sounds done to perfection, as well as excursions into the experimental, veering between poles of opera, punk, roots rock, and gospel influences. Each of the presenters and venues noted feature full calendars, so take the following as a guide to investigate further.
Goldings, Bernstein & Stewart, March 15 and 16
Some of the most revered bands in jazz were together for only a short time — the classic Coltrane Quartet and Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet both enjoyed productive but brief four-year histories. The trio of organist Larry Goldings, guitarist Peter Bernstein, and drummer Bill Stewart has remained together for three decades now, and even if they haven’t changed history quite like those earlier artists, they’ve remained one of the most beloved bands on the scene; their music is charged by equal parts virtuosity and camaraderie. March 15 and 16, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, chrisjazzcafe.com
Julian Lage, March 21
Since joining the Blue Note records roster, guitarist Julian Lage has taken the label’s wide-ranging history as inspiration for expanding his own music into diverse realms, incorporating elements of blues, folk, gospel, country, and roots rock into his agile playing. He’ll no doubt dig deep into those sounds at the Ardmore with a new quintet featuring longtime bassist Jorge Roeder, drummer Rudy Royston, saxophonist Levon Henry and keyboardist Rob Burger. March 21, Ardmore Music Hall, ardmoremusichall.com
The Messthetics + James Brandon Lewis, March 30
Over two nights at this year’s Winter JazzFest in Manhattan and Brooklyn, I caught tenor sax phenom James Brandon Lewis on three separate sets — sparring with punk jazz legend Marc Ribot, exploring the spiritually searching
music of Pharoah Sanders, and burning through a raucous outing with the ferocious Mendoza Hoff Revels. One of the most lauded of modern voices carrying the tradition forward, Lewis is unique in weaving together so many diverse strands. At Solar Myth, he’ll join forces with the Messthetics, which teams guitar wizard Anthony Pirog with the rhythm section from hardcore icons Fugazi. March 30, Solar Myth, arsnovaworkshop.org
Terence Blanchard, April 7
While Terence Blanchard’s foundations will always remain jazz, the trumpeter/composer’s vision has long expanded beyond any simple genre definitions. His music has scored the films of Spike Lee for decades, and with his second opera, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, he became the first Black composer to have his music performed at the Metropolitan Opera. With his electroacoustic E-Collective band and the adventurous Turtle Island String Quartet, Blanchard will reinterpret the music from that Grammy-winning opera in a jazz context at the Kimmel Center. April 7, Verizon Hall, ensembleartsphilly.org
Mat Maneri Ash Quartet, April 7
Violist Mat Maneri describes the music of his Ash Quartet — featuring pianist Lucian Ban, bassist Brandon Lopez, and drummer Randy Peterson — as stemming from nostalgia, but the group’s ethereal, uneasy sounds suggest memories at their haziest and most haunting. Maneri’s memories evoke his past work with lamented greats like Paul Bley, Cecil Taylor, and his father, microtonal saxophonist Joe Maneri, laced with hints of classical melodies and spy movie scores. April 7, The Perch, firemuseumpresents.com
Steve Turre Sextet, April 19 and 20
Steve Turre has spent nearly 40 years on Saturday Night Live, his ponytail and goatee making him nearly as recognizable as any cast member. That’s just a small part of the veteran trombonist’s storied history, which includes stints with Ray Charles, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and McCoy Tyner, among many others. He’ll be joined by his daughter, vocalist Andromeda Turre, and no doubt will play a tune or two on his trademark conch shells. April 19 and 20, South Restaurant & Jazz Club, southjazzkitchen.com
Philadelphia Summit,
April 20
The Clef Club brings together two Philly jazz legends for this special performance. Saxophonist Odean Pope made meaningful contributions to the music of legendary drummer Max Roach and the enigmatic pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali, and led his own horn-heavy Saxophone
Choir and the pioneering fusion group Catalyst. Reggie Workman is one of the most influential bassists in the genre, best known for his work with John Coltrane and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, stretching from bebop to the avant-garde with a who’s who of collaborators. April 20, Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, clefclubofjazz.org
Ruth Naomi Floyd, April 25
Philly-based vocalist Ruth Naomi Floyd has always placed her music in service of faith and social justice, so Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral is an ideal venue for her new multimedia piece, making its world premiere as part of Penn Live Arts’ season. “Are We Yet Somehow Alive?” sets the accounts of enslaved Africans in America to a hybrid of jazz, gospel and blues, with projected artwork adding further layers to the experience. April 25, Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, pennlivearts.org
Sun Ra Arkestra, May 24
This May, maestro Marshall Allen will mark 100 trips around the sun, the vast majority of those orbits traveling the spaceways as a member — and in recent decades, the stalwart leader — of the dazzling Sun Ra Arkestra. Since its opening in late 2022, Solar Myth has provided a regular home for the indefatigable Allen’s small group experiments (including in April, a collab with electronic noisemakers Wolf Eyes), but Ars Nova Workshop returns to its nomadic ways for this rarer-than-Halley’s-Comet celebration at Union Transfer. May 24, Solar Myth, arsnovaworkshop.org
Chucho Valdés Royal Quartet, Aug. 25
The concert is later than spring, but we couldn’t not include this great. The name of Chucho Valdés’ current band may be a bit redundant, as any group becomes royalty merely by the Cuban piano legend’s presence. Valdés began his career by founding the pioneering fusion group Irakere, and has gone on to meld jazz and Cuban traditions in innovative fashion over more than 50 years, hauling in seven Grammy Awards along the way.
Aug. 25, Longwood Gardens, longwoodgardens.org
Marshall Allen performing during the Sun Ra Arkestra: Marshall Allen Birthday Celebration at the Lounge at World Cafe Live in 2023. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Youcanrearrangethe lettersin“twelveplus one”toget“elevenplus two,”butnomatterhow youlookatit,youneed 13trickstomaketoday’s contract.
North’sbidof2NTwas aconventionalforcing
grandslamwhenNorth showedtwoaces.IfSouth hadcontinuedwith5NT toaskforkingsandfound Northwithnone,hemight havestoppedatsixhearts. Still,Northcouldhave heldQ9,10973,AQ74,AQ7, andchancesfor13tricks wouldhavebeenexcellent. Westledthejackof spades,anddeclarerwon, tooktheaceoftrumps, shruggedandledaclub tofinessewithdummy’s king.Downone.
“Don’tbidsevenunless youcancount13tricks,” wasNorth’scomment. Couldyoumakeseven hearts?
By
Hax Washington Post Carolyn Hax is away. The following first appeared Jan. 24 and April 21, 2010. Question: I’ve always considered myself an independent person. I am a married, full-time working mother of two young children, so I’ve got my hands full, but I’ve always prided myself on striking a balance between work and family. I’ve always had a strong opinion that there is no place in a marriage for cheaters — that if my husband ever cheated on me, there would be no lingering, I’d be out the door. My mother stayed in her marriage after my father had an affair. I saw how that affected her, and I never wanted that for myself. Well, now I’m in the same situation. My husband of seven years just revealed to me that he had an affair for
five months with a woman he works with. He says that it was purely physical, and that he loves me and our children and will do anything to make our marriage work. He has volunteered to go to counseling.
The problem is I still love him. He is a great father, my best friend, and I can’t imagine my life without him. I also don’t want my boys to grow up with a weekend father. How do I reconcile my feelings of hypocrisy if I choose to stay with him?
Answer: There are lots of problems here, but loving your husband isn’t one of them. If anything, it’s helping you with the solution. Labels, on the other hand, are a problem, here and always.
Fortunately, they’re shallow enough — and our nimble language is deep enough — that you can always push one aside with another. Where you say “hypocrite,” I can say “naive” (in your view of your parents’ marriage), or “rigid” (in your application of those youthful life lessons), or “enlightened” (in your current, postapocalyptic state).
It’s all in how you process your facts.
And since labels are so fungible, you might as well reject them entirely in favor of facts: Your husband cheated. He says he wants to make amends. He could just be saving his butt. You love him. He’s a good father. He’s your best friend. You are not interested in ending the marriage.
Just because these facts come as a complete surprise to you doesn’t mean you should ignore or distrust them. There are some other facts that explain why: Life is complicated. You are not your mother. Your husband is not your father. Plans are nice, but reality gets the last word.
Please take this and any other relevant information and make your best decision. No one is making you fit into your outdated, preconceived notions of marriage or family or your “independent” self, except you — and so it’s OK to declare yourself independent of formulaic thought.
If it helps to weave all this new information into a coherent theme, here’s a
new lesson to take from your parents’ foibles: You do your best with the life you’ve got.
The specifics of what that means are entirely yours to decide, because no one’s experience is exactly like anyone else’s. When the unthinkable happens, there’s beauty, not shame, in growing up, wising up and finding new ways to think.
Question: All my good friends are friends with my recent ex, whose mention is still pretty painful for me. I’ve tried telling them I’m not ready to talk about him yet, but they can’t help mentioning him in passing when he’s so relevant to everyone’s lives still. I know he sees them when I don’t, and I don’t want to be possessive, but I feel uncomfortable with that.
Time for new friends? Or am I being unreasonable to think my close friends could join me in pretending this heartbreaker doesn’t exist for a while, till I get over him?
Answer: It’s perfectly reasonable to ask friends to spare you detailed reports on your painfully recent ex. They owe you that.
To ask them not to mention him “in passing,” though, when he’s still their friend, is to make your problem into everyone else’s.
Life is really painful sometimes. Sometimes you have to watch other people enjoy something you recently lost. Sometimes you have to accept there are limits to what your community can do, and there are things you must face on your own, even when you’re in agony.
Facing your loss, in turn, means there’s no place for “pretending” — not for your friends, and definitely not for you. He exists. He interacts with your friends. He laughs. He will love again, maybe soon. He didn’t evaporate.
But neither did you. So, tell yourself this until you believe it: “I want us both to be happy again.” Then figure out conscious steps you can take to hold up your end of that deal.
Chat with Carolyn Hax online at noon Fridays at www.washingtonpost.com.
tellme@washpost.com
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