Singers Bettye LaVette and Madeleine Peyroux team up for a double bill at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., tonight at 8pm. Bettye LaVette is hailed by the New York Times as “one of the great soul interpreters of her generation.” An R&B artist in the 1960s and ‘70s, LaVette has enjoyed something of a second act the last couple of decades, often performing soulful renditions of rock classics by the likes of Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Who, Led Zeppelin, the Moody Blues, and the Rolling Stones. Peyroux, a native of Athens, Ga., spent her teen years in Paris, where she began her musical career as a street singer. The singer-songwriter deftly interweaves jazz, folk, and chamber pop on original compositions and well-chosen covers. (Fri, May 16)
Vocalist Natalia Bernal brings her talented quintet and her unique blend of Latin American jazz and South American folkloric music to the Linde Center at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., tonight at 7pm. Her music also incorporates influences from blues and rock. Bernal, who sings in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, is a native of Chile and received training at Berklee College of Music. Her band includes guitarist Jason Ennis and drummer Conor Meehan. Kids 4 Harmony -- a Berkshire-based youth string ensemble -- will also perform with Bernal. (Fri, May 16)
Acclaimed clarinetist Anat Cohen and guitarist Marcello Gonçalves, both Grammy Award nominees, join forces at St. James Place in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday at 5pm, as part of the Jazz and Classics for Change series. The duo will play groove-based Brazilian music, blending jazz, classical, and folkloric. Both musicians have been hugely influenced by a native idiom called choro. Their most recent recording together received a 2017 Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. Gonçalves is considered to be one of the finest 7-string guitarists in South America. (Sat, May 17)
Alexander Turnquist and 75 Dollar Bill share a bill at the Clark in Williamstown, Mass., on Sunday at 5pm. Turnquist is a Kingston, N.Y.-based multi-instrumentalist and composer most known for his use of the twelve-string acoustic guitar. 75 Dollar Bill is a musical duo featuring Che Chen on guitar and Rick Brown on drums. Their music blends various forms of improvisational music with hints of jazz and psychedelia. (Sun, May 18)
Also of note:
Close Encounters with Music will re-create early 20th century Parisian ‘salon’ music at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday at 4pm. The ensemble will perform works by Ravel, Stravinsky, César Franck, and others.
Scottish ensemble Cantrip brings its unique blend of traditional folk, funk, metal, bluegrass, jam-band, and swing to the Foundry in West Stockbridge, Mass., on Sunday at 7:30pm.
The Sage City Symphony will perform a free concert featuring works by Dvořák, George Gershwin, Copland, Valerie Coleman, and Charlie Love at Greenwall Auditorium on the campus of Bennington College in Bennington, Vt., on Sunday at 4pm.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
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