The granddaddy of them all, as the Monterey Jazz Festival is known, has lately added a venerable jazz tradition to its esteemed résumé.
The festival produces an all-star event on the level of the old Norman Granz Jazz at the Philharmonic tours. The Granz concerts and tours, which ran from 1944 to 1983, featured a who's who of jazz with artists such as Nat "King" Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker participating.
The Monterey Jazz Festival, one of the world's longest running jazz events, has taken up the concept with its own all-star band and tour, Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour 55th Anniversary Celebration.
The group comes to the Mondavi Center tonight featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater on vocals, Christian McBride on bass, Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, Chris Potter on tenor saxophone, Benny Green on piano and Lewis Nash on drums.
As with any all-star group there is a range of styles and influences in the band. Potter and Akinmusire represent the edgier new wave of jazz, while Green and Nash are more swinging traditionalists, with McBride a bridge between the two.
The multitalented Bridgewater is not only a Broadway Tony winner for "The Wiz" but also hosts NPR's popular "JazzSet With Dee Dee Bridgewater," which showcases jazz performances recorded live around the world.
The spirited band will likely lean toward an accessible hard-bop repertoire, but expect a historic sampling of top-flight jazz compositions. 8 p.m. today, Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center. Tickets $12.50-$54. For information, call (866) 754-2787 or go to www.mondaviarts.org.
Davis "Follies"
Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" has had just about as many admirers as detractors, but the breadth of great songs ultimately makes it one of the essential modern musicals. "Broadway Baby," "I'm Still Here," "Too Many Mornings," "Losing My Mind" and "Could I Leave You?" have all become American songbook standards.
The story by James Goldman deals with the reunion of past performers of Weismann's Follies (a musical revue based on the Ziegfeld Follies) in a dilapidated Broadway theater. The show has morphed through numerous changes as Sondheim and the late Goldman adapted the show for its many revivals around the world.
Steve Isaacson directs the show for Davis Musical Theatre Company. "Follies" continues at DMTC Performing Arts Center, 607 Peña Drive Suite 10, Davis. 8:15 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:15 p.m. Sundays, through Jan. 27. Tickets $16-$18. For information, call (530) 756-3682 or go to dmtc.org.
Acoustic extravaganza
Sacramento's own flat-picking virtuoso Kathy Barwick is joined by vocalist Pete Siegfried for acoustic duets at 151 Union Square, Grass Valley.
Special guest Bruce Johnson joins on the fiddle and trio harmonies, and Barwick will break out the banjo along with guitar, dobro, and mandolin.
The $7 fee gets you in and buys a glass of wine. 6-9 p.m. Saturday, 151 Mill St., Grass Valley. Go to www.151unionsquare.com or call (530) 205-9513 for more information.
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