Author: Alex V. Cipolle

Straight-A students: The A3 Group

Music
The Coup

Straight-A students: The A3 Group, an advanced nine-piece instrumental music ensemble from the Springfield Academy of Arts and Academics, will fill the Wildish Theater with the sounds of “Bass Folk Song,” “Django’s Castle” and other music by A3 student composers 7:30 pm Friday, Feb. 28; $5 students and seniors, $7 general. Local favorite Mood Area 52 takes the stage next, performing its signature blend of jazz, American folk, Brechtian cabaret and classical music. The groups will cap off the night with a joint performance of “St. Continue reading →

Almost Famous

Connecting 2014 Best Picture nominees to Oregon

Film

As a nod to our age of narcissism, EW is celebrating this year’s Oscars by seeing what they have to do with us. In true Hollywood fashion, we used the most fitting methodology — Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, ahem, Separation (although you will find Kevin Bacon in the chart) — to trace each Best Picture nominee back to Oregon. We left Portland and Portlanders out of the mix because that would be, well, too easy. Continue reading →

All Art And No Business?

News
Jerry Ross. Photo by Todd Cooper

“Who’s going to pay for the arts?” artist Jerry Ross asked at a Feb. 12 meeting at the Eugene Public Library. That was the question of the hour at the meeting hosted by the Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene (ABAE) and the Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA). Continue reading →

La Femme, Le Jazz

Jazz star Cécile McLorin Salvant comes to The Shedd

Music
Cécile McLorin

Cécile McLorin Salvant has gone from rising to shooting star in the world of jazz. The New York Times has heaped praise on the vocalist, declaring her the heir to the legacy of the “Big Three,” Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. The 24-year-old French-American jazz singer won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in 2010, and her first distributed album, 2013’s WomenChild, was a 2014 Grammy nominee. Now, she comes to Oregon for the first time, performing her debut concert at The Shedd Feb. 21. Continue reading →

Forget The Tortoise and the Hare

Music

Forget The Tortoise and the Hare, The Tortoise and The Crow is the hot, faster-paced new duo. That’s the name of The Grouch & Eligh’s latest project, a triple album featuring a solo Grouch disc, a solo Eligh disc and a third disc with both indie rappers. The Grouch & Eligh will drop this expansive collaboration on Eugene with a little help from their friends, Madchild, Pigeon John and DJ Fresh, 9 pm Sunday, Feb. 23, at WOW Hall. The pair released the album in February 2014 with the help of a $90,000 Kickstarter infusion. Continue reading →

A Revolutionary Spring

Music
Agnieszka Laska Dancers perform The Rite of Spring, Chris Leck © 2013

Not many people associate classical music or ballet with scandal, but that’s exactly what The Rite of Spring was on an early summer evening in Paris 101 years ago — a white-hot scandal. A near-riot shook the Théatre des Champs-Elysées as the discordant sounds of Igor Stravinsky’s Spring, accompanied by Vaslav Nijinsky’s jarring choreography, filled the hall. American novelist Gertrude Stein said of the fateful performance, “No sooner did the music begin and the dancing than [the audience] began to hiss.” Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

At 36, Seattleite and dancer Savannah Fuentes has spent half her life studying flamenco. “Flamenco is a lifelong commitment,” she says. “It’s hard. It’s really hard.” Fuentes brings her show “El Sol de Medianoche, Flamenco en Vivo” to Cozmic 8 pm Monday, Feb. 24; $20 general, $10 students, $7 kids 12 and under. The Spanish dance is unique, Fuentes says, because while other Latin dances — salsa, tango — are social or with a partner, flamenco is mostly for soloists, and the footwork is particularly complex. Continue reading →

Valentine’s Day Roundup

Music
Concrete Loveseat

Valentine’s Day Roundup: Whether this day makes you groan or swoon, whether you have zero or 10 sweeties, at least there’s some good music to put you in the mood or take your mind off the faux holiday. The jazzy poppers of Concrete Loveseat present “Moonglow Valentine” in two shows, 7 pm ($10) and 9 pm ($8) Friday, Feb. Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

Just announced: The Bali Arts Festival has invited LCC’s Balinese dance troupe Tirtha Tari to perform in the capital of Denpasar June 21, 2014. The troupe, consisting of six LCC students led by dance instructor Bonnie Simoa, will study the Legong dance form with master teacher Sang Ayu Ketut Muklen. See Tirtha Tari perform for the Asian Celebration 1:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 15, and 10:55 am Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Lane County Fairgrounds. Erin Elder of Balinese dance group Tirtha Tar  Photo by Michael Brinkerhoff Continue reading →