In Brief: Music and theater
Jazz
DOWNTOWN CONCERT
SALUTES GYPSY JAZZ
Legendary gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt may be gone, but he’s hardly forgotten – as the title of Saturday evening’s “DjangoVegas!” concert attests.
A celebration of gypsy jazz, past and present, “DjangoVegas!” spotlights three bands at downtown’s Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St.
The 6 p.m. show features the all-acoustic Gonzalo Bergara Quartet. Led by lead guitarist Bergara, a native of Argentina, the quartet’s music displays the influence of Reinhardt, along with traditional jazz and Argentinean music. The result is “a new kind of gypsy jazz,” according to Vintage Guitar magazine.
Sharing the concert program: the Euro-American quartet Fishtank Ensemble, which performs a variety of traditional music beyond gypsy jazz, from klezmer to flamenco to Japanese folk and Roma music; and Hot Club of Las Vegas, featuring Noybel Gorgoy , which adds Latin rhythms and jazz ballads to a repertoire that also includes (who else?) Django Reinhardt.
Starting at 5 p.m., the G String Band will entertain in the courtyard during a preconcert cocktail hour, where food and beverages will be available for purchase. The G String Band also is scheduled to play during intermission.
For tickets (priced at $10) and more information, call 229-3515 or 229-6469. Food and beverages also will be available for purchase.
Theater
BONNIE SPRINGS SALOON
HOSTS MUSICAL REVUE
Most reminders of Southern Nevada’s wild Western past have ridden off into the sunset.
Except at the Saloon at Bonnie Springs Ranch, where the toe-tapping “Bonnie’s Old West Musical Revue” takes the stage Saturday and Sunday evenings this summer.
The show transports audiences of all ages back to the golden age of vaudeville, accented by a few current lyrics and satirical references to the contemporary Las Vegas show scene.
The Strip connection makes sense, considering that the revue’s husband-and-wife creators – Jonathan and Marisa Paull Gorst – work there, performing in The Venetian’s “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular.” (He’s assistant conductor, she plays a ballet dancer.)
“Bonnie’s Old West Musical Revue” is presented at 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at Bonnie Springs Ranch, 16395 Bonnie Springs Road. (That’s about 10 miles west on Charleston Boulevard from the Las Vegas Beltway.) Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Tickets for a chuck wagon dinner and the show are $36 for adults and $26 for children 4-11; show-only tickets are $26 and $16, respectively. (Children 3 or younger are admitted to the show at no charge; group and senior discounts are available.)
Tickets may be purchased by telephone at 318-6530 or online at www.ticketleap.com, or by calling 318-6530. Seating is limited, so buying advance tickets is suggested. More information on the show is available online at www.oldwestmusical.com.
Music
CONES OF FURY BLASTS INTO CABARET JAZZ
Talk about brass.
That’s what Sam Pilafian and JD Shaw are all about.
Pilafian (a founder of the Empire Brass Quintet) plays tuba, Shaw (a founder of the Boston Brass) plays French horn.
The two musicians are exploring new repertoires in their joint project, Cones of Fury.
Touching on musical genres from classical to jazz to Latin, Cones of Fury will perform Tuesday at The Smith Center’s Cabaret Jazz.
Highlights include Shaw’s arrangement of Bach’s Two-Part Inventions for Horn and Tuba and Wilder’s Trio for Horn, Tuba, and Piano, plus arrangements of “Sweet Georgia Brown,” Fats Waller’s “Black & Blue,” Piazzolla’s “Tres Tangos” and an arranged excerpt from Bellini’s “La Sonnambula.”
Accompanying the duo: pianist Barbara Riske , a music faculty member at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and drummer Mike Mechem .
They’ll perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave. Tickets, priced at $14.50, are available by phone at 749-2000 or online at www.thesmithcenter.com.
– Carol Cling
