Choices for May 17–19, 2024

The middle of next month will be busy. What is probably most important is the breadth of diversity among the choices. The full breadth of the specifics is as follows:

Friday, May 17, 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., Joe Henderson Lab (JHL), SFJAZZ Center: Pianist and flutist Gaea Schell will lead a quartet. Her selections will be taken from her latest Saphu Records release, In Your Own Sweet Way. The other quartet members are guitarist Jordan Samuels, who serves as leader, John Wiitala on bass, and drummer Greg Wyser-Pratte. This is the second event in a series entitled Generations, but tickets are already sold out for the Thursday performances. As a result, it seems appropriate to provide readers with a “heads-up” account of two few remaining events that are not sold out. Tickets for all events may be purchased through the hyperlinks attached to the dates and times.

1. Saturday, May 18, 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: The leader of the Todd Cochran Trio is the pianist whose previous work included collaborations with Bobby Hutcherson and Freddie Hubbard. The other members of his trio are John Leftwich on bass and drummer Lyndon Rochelle. JazzTimes has described Cochran’s repertoire as a “deliciously complicated mix of classical influences, free-jazz innovation, progressive fusion complexity, angular art rock, quiet-storming R&B, and Black consciousness.” He has prepared a program that will celebrate his home town (which is San Francisco).
2. Sunday, May 19, 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.: Telemakus is a young pianist from Santa Cruz that will be making his JHL debut. He took his name from Greek mythology and his jazz influences come from Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Robert Glasper. His debut album Calantha, which was released in 2018, took its name from the off-world colony in Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?  Since that time he has released two further albums, and his debut here will present music from his forthcoming release.

Friday, May 17, 7:30 p.m., Center for New Music (C4NM): This will be a full weekend at C4NM, which will begin with a solo recital by violinist Sarah Saviet. She will perform a new work, along with recent compositions by Lisa Streich and Tim McCormack. Her program will also include a performance of music by Iannis Xenakis: “Miika.” For those that do not already know, C4NM is located at 55 Taylor Street, about half a block north of Market Street. Admission will be $15 with a $10 rate for C4NM members and students. As usual, tickets may be purchased in advance through an Eventbrite Web page. The remaining two performances for the weekend (and, as of now, the rest of the month) are as follows, with Eventbrite links attached to the dates:

1. Saturday, May 18, 7:30 p.m.: David Michalak will return with another program of films. This time he will share the program with a quartet that calls itself the TRI-CORNERED TENT SHOW. Philip Everett leads with a diversity of synthesizers and percussion, along with the electric lapharp and the Xlarinet. Rhythm will be provided by Ray Schaeffer (electric basses), percussionist Anthony Flores, and vocals by Valentina O. Admission will be $15 with a $10 rate for C4NM members and students.
2. Sunday, May 19, noon: This will be the latest monthly installment of G|O|D|W|A|F|F|L|E|N|O|I|S|E|P|A|N|C|A|K|E|S. This offers the usual opportunity to enjoy vegan pancakes while listening to “bleeding edge” music. As usual, general admission will be $10 with a $6 rate for members and students. Music programming is scheduled to conclude by 2 p.m. The contributing performers and composers will be Heartworm, Dominic Cramp, Liver Cancerr, Ava Koohbor, and Brian Day.

Friday, May 17, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre: The Chamber Music San Francisco season will conclude with a solo recital by Bruce Liu, who will be making his San Francisco debut. He has prepared an imaginative program in which tradition rubs shoulders with bold innovative strokes. He will begin with Haydn’s only sonata in B minor, Hoboken XVI/32. This will be followed by Chopin’s Opus 35, his second sonata in the key of B-flat major. Probably the most unique offering will be Nikolai Kapustin’s Opus 41 set of variations. This will be followed by six pieces from Jean-Philipe Rameau’s Pièces de clavecin collection. The program will conclude with Sergei Prokofiev's Opus 83, his seventh piano sonata in B-flat major. For those that do not already know, the venue is located at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street and directly across Van Ness from City Hall. Tickets are available from a City Box Office event page for $35, $45, and $60.

Sunday, May 19, 2 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall: Daniel Stewart will conduct his final concert in his capacity as Wattis Foundation Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. The program will be devoted entirely to a performance of Gustav Mahler’s fifth symphony. This symphony is probably best known for its overall architecture, with a prodigiously long scherzo as the central movement, flanked by pairs of shorter movements on either side. Davies is located at 201 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of Grove Street. (The entrance to both the Box Office and the hall itself is on the south side of Grove.) Tickets are available online through a Web page, which allows for reserved seats in the Loge and Side Boxes for $55 and general admission for $20.

Percussionist and composer Haruka Fujii (photograph by Eriko Watanabe, courtesy of SFGC)

Sunday, May 19, 3 p.m., Concert Hall, San Francisco Conservatory of Music: The San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) will continue its 2023–2024 season with a performance by the SFGC Premiere Ensemble. As usual, Artistic Director Valérie Sainte-Agathe will lead the ensemble. They will be joined by percussionist Haruka Fujii, whose new work, “Dareno Chikyu,” will be given its world premiere performance. The program will also include a revival performance of “Belong Not” by Aviya Kopelmann, Moira Smiley’s arrangement of Huddie Ledbetter folksongs, entitled Bring Me Little Water, Silvy, Akira Miyoshi’s “Letters to God,” Michael Barrett’s arrangement of the South African prayer song “Ndikhokhele Bawo,” and the world premiere of Mokale Copeng’s “Toro Ya Alkebulan.” This program will precede an upcoming tour of South Africa. The Concert Hall is in the building at 50 Oak Street. Tickets are available from an Eventbrite event page. General admission is $35, and Supporters will receive special seating with a $45 admission. Students with valid identification will be admitted for $20.

Sunday, May 19, 4 p.m., Calvary Presbyterian Church: The San Francisco Bach Choir, led by Artistic Director Magen Solomon, will give a complete performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 245 St John Passion setting. The tenor role of the Evangelist will be sung by Kyle Stegall, and the worlds of Jesus will be sung by bass Chung-Wai Soong. The other vocalists (who provide “poetic commentary”) will be soprano Michele Kennedy, mezzo Heidi Waterman, tenor David Kurtenbach Rivera, and baritone Nikolas Nackley. The church is located at 2515 Fillmore Street, on the northwest corner of Jackson Street. General admission will be $40 with discounted rates for seniors ($35) and students ($15). There will be no admission charge from those under the age of eighteen. Ticketstripe has created a single Web page for online purchases. [added 5/3, 4:45 p.m.:

Sunday, May 19, 4 p.m., Chez Hanny: This will be the second of this month’s two jazz performances. The program will present the Kerry Politzer Quartet. Politzer, who is based in Portland, will lead from the piano. Harvey Wainapel will divide his time among clarinet and saxophones, presumably of different sizes. Rhythm will be provided by Aaron Germain on bass and drummer Deszon X. Claiborne.

The venue is Frank Hanny’s house at 1300 Silver Avenue, with the performance taking place in the downstairs rumpus room. Those planning to attend should think about having cash for a preferred donation of $25. All of that money will go to the musicians. There will be two sets separated by a potluck break. As a result, all who plan to attend are encouraged to bring food and/or drink to share. Seating is first come, first served; and the doors will open at 3:30 p.m.]