Above, top row: Thalma de Freitas, Steve Reich, Andy Summers. Bottom row: Anoushka Shankar, Harold Mabern, Billy Childs.
As we recover from the busy holidays and regroup ourselves for 2017, I wanted to alert Rhythm Planet readers to a number of upcoming January concerts that I thought might be of interest (and worth the effort to catch).
- Anoushka Shankar will perform her father Ravi Shankar’s Second Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra with the very same conductor Ravi debuted it with, Zubin Mehta and the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra. Both Ravi’s first and second concertos were epochal, boundary-breaking works, a true fusion of east and west. The work will be performed on three successive nights at Walt Disney Concert Hall – January 13, 14, 15. A second work by Richard Strauss is also on the bill. Click here for information and tickets.
- Next up is an unusual concert by father and daughter Brazilian duo, singer-actress Thalma de Freitas and her father, pianist Laercio de Freitas at the historic Union Station in L.A. on Friday, January 13 at 8:30 p.m. Thalma is well known in Brazil for her roles in various telenovelas, and her father is a much recorded respected pianist. It will certainly be cool to see their L.A. debut in the wonderful environment that is Union Station. Best of all, the show is free. Click here for information and RSVP here on the Metro Art Presents Facebook page.
- As I’ve said many times, The Blue Whale in Little Tokyo is a great place to hear jazz music — lots of incredible talent and easy-on-the-pocketbook cover charges. I’d like to recommend these shows on their January calendar: Veteran pianist Harold Mabern this Thursday, January 5 in a rare L.A. visit, Grammy-award-winning pianist-composer Billy Childs‘ Prophecy on Friday, January 20, and famous Police drummer Andy Summers with cellist/bassist Artyon Manukyan on Tuesday, January 31. Click here for more information and the full January calendar.
- Finally, for minimalist fans, there is an all Steve Reich concert, part of the L.A. Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella series, on Tuesday, January 17 at 8 p.m. Works on the program include Reich’s Mallet Quartet, the West Coast premiere of Pulse (a co-commission by the L.A. Phil), and Reich’s religious song cycle Tehillim. Click here for details and tickets.
