Tag Archives: music

Kurt Weill Retrospective w/Diane McNaron and Thomas Bagwell, Unitarian Universalist Church

Soprano Diane McNaron‘s Kurt Weill Retrospective, not heard in Birmingham in nearly a decade, will be presented with New York pianist Thomas Bagwell. Bagwell, a Birmingham native who has not appeared here in fifteen years, will open the program with the rare and atmospheric Berg Piano Sonata. These two consummate performers will then take the audience on a musical odyssey through the controversial lives and the turbulent times of Berlin/American composer Kurt Weill and the woman he married twice, the chanteuse Lotte Lenya.

Featuring songs from Threepenny Opera, Happy End, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, little known and expressive art songs and Broadway hits.

Cost: $15 (table seating, by reservation only) BYOB Click here to buy tickets through Paypal. You may also purchase row seating (walk-in only) for $8 or email dianemcnaron@aol.com or call 205.838.1391 to make other arrangements.

Location:
Unitarian Universalist Church
4300 Hampton Heights Drive (directions)

1040 Fest, 24th Street and 3rd Avenue North

The IRS tax deadline is approaching, and that means it’s time for 1040 Fest.

The event is an annual music festival sponsored by Birmingham’s Central City Neighborhood Association & held across the street from the city’s downtown post office each year on tax day.

The residents and their event partners take advantage of the branch’s extended hours (due to the many late filers) and the media coverage that follows because of it to show off just how great the downtown area is to be in.

Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, food and drink… and their tax returns if they haven’t filed them yet Smile

Cost: Free

Location:
Intersection of 24th Street and 3rd Avenue North

Jazz Jam Fest featuring Cleve Eaton, Carver Theatre

Jazz JamFest features special jazz performers each fourth Sunday of the month at the historic Carver Theatre. The stage becomes yours as you lead your own jam session with the band.

This month’s special guest is Cleve Eaton, a recognized name in the jazz world, as a producer, composer and arranger. Eaton is known for his incredible performances with the Ike Cole Trio, Donald Byrd-Pepper Adams Quintet, the Larry Novak Trio, and over thirty recordings in his ten years with the Ramsey Lewis Trio, which included four gold singles, including Hang on Sloopy and Wade in the Water. Eaton’s numerous honors include his induction into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (this February), the Playboy Jazz Poll, Canada’s Cultural Enhancement Award and the Achievement Award at the Count Basie Tribute Concert. He received the Governor’s Arts Award 1995 (Alabama) and the Don Redman Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

Cost: $5

Location:
Carver Theatre/Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
1631 4th Avenue North

Collective Perspectives: Way Down South in Birmingham, Vulcan Park

Led by Daniel Western, director of jazz studies at Miles College, this week hear Milestones perform hot jazz from the 1920s, when the quintessential American art form underscored dancing and fun on Birmingham’s west side, along with “Tuxedo Junction” and other circa 1940 big band classics.

Part of the Collective Perspectives 2008 series.

About the series: 

Vulcan Park and Museum is proud to present Collective Perspectives 2008 in honor of Black History Month, a series of non-traditional programs designed to educate, entertain, and enlighten participants on the cultures that have made Birmingham the culturally diverse, compassionate and flourishing city that we are today. The Terminal is happy to be serving as a partner in presenting this series.

Join us every Tuesday in February from 5 – 7 p.m. and enjoy African-inspired foods during an energizing social hour and then explore the fabric of our neighborhoods during a one-hour program. Learn about the experiences of black Americans in our society, the vital role this community has played throughout our shared history and draw inspiration from their important messages.

Cost:
Free for Vulcan Park Foundation members; $5 for non-members

Location:
Vulcan Park and Museum
1701 Valley View Drive (directions)

related post:
Collectives Perspectives continues at Vulcan Park

Over on Timetable: music and dive bars

They’re usually a pretty good combination once you get to thinking about them…

Check out some picks for where to go catch some of the best shows in Birmingham this weekend as well as a primer to area dive bars (a la Terri) over on Timetable.

Introducing r3vrb destinations

That’s right folks… Sam George is hopping on board this train and joining the gang over on Timetable. He currently writes a local music blog, r3vrb.com. Beginning today (actually about 30 minutes ago), you’ll find his reviews about our local music scene for the upcoming weekend  on our arts and culture section.

Check out his first installment of r3vrb destinations, let him know what you think and welcome him aboard.

OK, stop sitting over here, get reading

Are you enough in the know about our local scene?

We freely admit that we’ve been slow to complete the transformation of our own arts and culture section into what we hoped it would be in the beginning (though we’re thinking that you might like the direction it’s appearing it will be going in).

A bulletin and blog post on MySpace yesterday though that made us begin to wonder about the local area’s web presence.

Which of course, leads to today’s Magic City Question.

We really want to know what you’re thinking on this one ( I think all of us websites are). Hopefully you’ll be able to give us an answer or two.

Or maybe even a suggestion or two about how to fix it.