THURSDAY, JAN. 29
JAZZ
PHILIP GELB
Back in Oakland after a long, productive stay in Thailand, Philip Gelb checks into Wyldflowr Arts for a three-night residency, starting Thursday with his first Bay Area shakuhachi performance in more than a decade. For many years he was a leading new-music practitioner of the ethereal Japanese end-blown bamboo flute and a mainstay on the Bay Area scene. Newly inspired by collaborations in Thailand, he’s playing solo traditional and modern pieces for shakuhachi along with Buchla modular synthesizer. Friday’s concert features his new improvisation ensemble, Kra Pa. It’s a talent-packed group designed for electronic and acoustic sonic explorations. Saturday he celebrates the music of his late mentor, Pauline Oliveros, with a 25-piece orchestra. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, Wyldflowr Arts, 809 37th St., Oakland. $10-$20. 510.842.5055.
THURSDAY, JAN. 29
AMERICANA
POKEY LAFARGE
A seductive crooner and facile guitarist, LaFarge makes a person yearn to travel. Not on a jet, but in an old Chevy or maybe a 1990s Ram pickup that never sheds the dust of a dirt road despite rainstorms and wind. His solo tour suggests the show has him picking up his guitar and swinging his sweet voice into the air while “reimagining songs from his nine-album catalog as well as new interpretations of gospel, rock & roll, and country classics.” The captivating performer has a new EP and is joined by flatpicker Julian Davis and the Situation. Astonishing command of their bass, banjo and guitar strings is just one feature to love with this quartet. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Thu, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $44-49. 510.644.2020.
THURSDAY, JAN. 29
AMERICANA
JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT
Jason Isbell refuses to be pigeonholed, either as a musician or as a person. The six-time Grammy winner comes from Deep South roots in Northern Alabama, and his music salutes his origins, but he cites Bob Dylan as his major influence, is proudly and vocally left-wing, and released a solo album last year, Foxes in the Snow, that’s just him and his acoustic guitar. This is to say that fans of his huge 2013 success Southeastern and/or his critically acclaimed 2017 album with the 400 Unit, The Nashville Sound, can likely expect to hear some of their favorite songs at the Fox Theatre show—but don’t expect just “greatest hits” from this artist. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $83-$138. 510.302.2250.
FRIDAY, JAN. 30
JAZZ
DUO-B
The protean partnership of bassist Lisa Mezzacappa and drummer Jason Levis formed the rhythmic core of a dazzlingly disparate series of albums released over the past year on Mezzacappa’s Queen Bee Records, but they’ve also honed their own volatile body of music as Duo-B. They’re celebrating the release of the fifth Duo B. album, Incomplete, Open, with a three-hour, nonstop Royal Rumble improv marathon, where they’ll be joined by a dozen challengers at timed intervals throughout the evening. It’s a murderers’ row of improvisers, including reed wrangler Cory Wright, cello champions Ben Davis and Crystal Pascucci-Clifford, guitar insurrectionists Liberty Ellman and Myles Boisen, and ROVA saxophonist Steve Adams. – AG
INFO: Fri, 7pm, Temescal Art Center, 511 48th St., Oakland. $15.
FRIDAY, JAN. 30
JAZZ
GARETH PEARSON
Drawing upon influences like Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, Merle Travis and his personal mentor, jazz guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, it’s easy to see why Gareth Pearson is called, “The Welsh Tornado.” Pearson combines jazz, pop and country for a cool, mellow, rippling sound that makes it seem like his fingers are moving in a whirlwind across the strings. His newest album is A Tweak on Antique from 2018, but Pearson has released several singles over the years. His latest, “Tiger Rag,” exemplifies Pearson’s style, with as many notes squeezed in as possible while still keeping in the “jazz guitar” genre without crossing over into experimental, noise or some form of acoustic black metal. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Fri, 7pm, The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $25. 510.654.3808.
FRIDAY, JAN. 30
ROCK
MATTEO MANCUSO
Matteo Mancuso’s playing is a reset on what the electric guitar can do. Raised in Palermo and trained in classical guitar from childhood, Mancuso uses a fully developed fingerstyle technique instead of a pick, letting him articulate rapid lines, wide intervals and dense chords with a smoothness and control that feels closer to piano phrasing than standard rock lead guitar. He has toured with his own trio, centering shows on original compositions that swivel between jazz, rock and classical. He’s a guitarist shaping his own musical vernacular. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Fri, 8pm, UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $33. 510.356.4000.
SATURDAY, JAN. 31 CORRECTION: SUNDAY, FEB. 1
CLASSICAL
STEVEN BANKS AND XAK BJERKEN
This weekend, experience a meeting of the minds when two jazz virtuosos—and college professors—team up for a duo of sax and piano. Classical saxophonist Steven Banks will reimagine favorite classical music originally written for cellos and bassoons. For years Banks’ mission has been to bring classical saxophone to the forefront of the classical music world, and this weekend’s performance showcases this with works by Beethoven and Barber, along with Carlos Simon and John Musto. Banks will be joined by pianist Xak Bjerken, a professor of music at Cornell University who has played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Schoenberg Ensemble. – MW
INFO: Sat, 3pm, Cal Performances at UC Berkeley, Hertz Hall, Berkeley. $67-$82. 510.642.0212.
SATURDAY, JAN. 31
PODCAST
FOLK & FUNKY
Signup for a meet-and-greet VIP ticket or go mainline and participate in Folk and Funky’s first live, interactive podcast. Originally created and co-hosted by Yuba City’s Simran and San Jose’s Amrin—they are cousins and are often joined by Slamz—this stop at Cornerstone features G Sidhu and JK. The taped session opening the show pulls from stories behind their new releases, Punjabi World Order and Art of Punjab. When the podcast is a wrap, back-to-back performances by G Sidhu and JK follow. In the “third act,” DJ Slamz keeps the momentum going pell-mell with Punjabi-powered music. Check out the podcasts to get acclimated to the team’s approachable, deeply invested conversational style. – LF
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $50-106. 510.214.8600.
TUESDAY, FEB. 3
ROCK
DRINK THE SEA
Talk about international. From Olympia, Washington, to England, Iceland, Brazil, Chile, Spain and Joshua Tree, the supergroup Drink The Sea has been getting its musical act together all over the world. Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age), Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees), Peter Buck (R.E.M.) and pal Duke Garwood (Mark Lanegan Band) have now released two albums. The oud, sitar, gamelan, marimba and kalimba all make musical contributions on this new music, which Drink The Sea will feature at the Freight along, it is promised, with “a few songs from their former bands.” They’re figuring it out on the fly, but what a fly. – JH
INFO: Tue, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $49-$74. 510.644.2020.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4
ALTERNATIVE
NICK HEXUM
Nick Hexum, longtime frontman, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for 311, has used his solo EP trilogy, Waxing Nostalgic, Full Memories and Waning Time, to strip things back and write closer to the bone. He steps away from stadium grooves and into Americana-tinged terrain, picking up mandolin, pedal steel and guitar textures. Hexum’s voice, familiar but newly open, guides each track through careful reckonings with midlife, fatherhood and loss. The sound is steeped in Hexum’s new influences—k.d. lang, Patsy Cline, Duke Ellington—and sharpened by collaborations with friends and family—like “Please Explain” with Ben Kweller. – SBB
INFO: Wed, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $45. 510.214.8600.
