The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire and Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
December 2-4, 2022
With so much going on culturally speaking in our greater Berkshires/Hudson Valley region, this is my highly selective, curated snapshot of some of the most promising-looking upcoming events …
J. HOARD BELTS BROADWAY-FUNK MAGIC at MASS MoCA
Just off a tour with the funk-tacular Brass Tracks, Grammy Award-nominated J. Hoard brings his blend of R&B, gospel, and Broadway to Club B10 at MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday, December 3, at 8pm. Melding the core of the Black church and the allure of Broadway, J. Hoard’s original compositions and arrangements easily shift genres to articulate his vivid songwriting. J. Hoard has been heard on works by Chance the Rapper and Meshell Ndegeocello. (Sat, Dec 3)
LAO TIZER QUARTET BRINGS JAZZ to THE CLARK
The Lao Tizer Quartet kicks off Williamstown’s Holiday Walk Weekend at The Clark on Friday, December 2, at 6pm. The group’s latest album, Songs from the Swinghouse, includes original compositions and heavily stylized covers of songs by U2, Cat Stevens, and Led Zeppelin. Led by pianist, keyboardist, and composer Lao Tizer, the Oasis Jazz Awards “Jazz Group of the Year” nominee also includes Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Eric Marienthal, drummer Joel Rosenblatt, and Senegalese bassist Cheikh N’Doye. (Fri, Dec 2)
KRIS DELMHORST and ELIZABETH & THE CATAPULT BRING FOLK-POP to EGREMONT BARN
Singer-songwriter Kris Delmhorst is the featured artist performing with Session Americana at the Egremont Barn in South Egremont, Mass., on Friday, December 2 at 7:30pm. Delmhorst combines the achy vulnerability of her vocals with rootsy, folk-rock-based arrangements. Delmhorst also once recorded a tribute album to the Cars, featuring haunting, acoustic folk-rock versions of the New Wave group. Session Americana is a kind of touring house band that performs behind am ever-changing cast of singer-songwriters, who have included Jennifer Kimball, Peter Wolf, Patty Griffin, Rachael Price, and Aoife O’Donovan. New York City-based pop-folk artist Elizabeth and the Catapult follows Delmhorst at the Barn on Saturday, December 3 at 7:30pm. (Fri, Dec 2 and Sat, Dec 3)
CANTILENA CHAMBER CHOIR PERFORMS CAROLS in LENOX
The Cantilena Chamber Choir performs its annual Christmas at Trinity concert at Trinity Church in Lenox, Mass., on Sunday, December 4, at 3pm. The program features traditional carols, including some in new settings by John Rutter, Paul Halley, Gabriel Jackson, and Philip Stopford. Also on the program will be choral music by William Byrd, Tomas Luis de Victoria, Edvard Grieg and Ralph Vaughan Williams. (Sun, Dec 4)
BERKSHIRE BACH QUARTET PLAY BAROQUE FAVORITES
The Berkshire Bach Players present their annual Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas concert at the First Congregational Church in Stockbridge, Mass., on Saturday, December 3, at 7pm. The program features Baroque favorites performed by a quartet of violin, viola, cello, and harpsichord. (Sat, Dec 3)
COMEDY FESTIVAL at SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY in LENOX
An evening of comedy at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass., stars Kevin Bartini of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel fame along with fellow comedians Jim Mendrinos and Carole Montgomery on Saturday, December 3, at 7:30pm. (Sat, Dec 3)
STEPHANE WREMBEL BRINGS PARISIAN SWING to THE LINDA
Stephane Wrembel is one of the greatest living exponents of Django Reinhardt’s so-called Gypsy jazz style of guitar playing, which he will feature along with his septet at WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio the Linda on Saturday, December 3, at 8pm. Wrembel has headlined Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and New York City’s Town Hall, toured with master violinist Mark O’Connor and shared stages with the likes of Sam Bush, Esperanza Spalding, and Al Di Meola, and contributed music to several Woody Allen films. (Sat, Dec 3)
JUNCTION TRIO PLAYS ZORN, IVES, RAVEL at UNION COLLEGE
Capital Region Classical presents the Junction Trio at Union College’s Memorial Chapel in Schenectady, N.Y., on Sunday, December 4 at 3pm. The eclectic program by the adventurous young trio includes John Zorn’s Ghosts, Charles Ives’s Piano Trio, and Ravel’s Trio in A Minor. The trio includes violinist Stefan Jackiw, pianist Conrad Tao, and cellist Jay Campbell. (Sun, Dec 4)
ZĒLOS QUARTET BRINGS SAXOPHONE SOUNDS to BRIDGE ST THEATRE
The Zēlos Quartet brings its saxophone-based sounds to Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y., on Saturday, December 3, at 7:30pm. The program by the youthful foursome features works by William Grant Still and Astor Piazzolla. (Sat, Dec 3)
DAVID BROMBERG BRINGS BIG-BAND to TROY SAVINGS BANK MUSIC HALL
Roots-music artist and singer David Bromberg – celebrating a half-century since the release of his debut solo album -- brings his Big Band to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (in Troy, N.Y.), on Sunday, December 4, at 7pm. The quirky, eclectic Bromberg has a devoted fan following but is almost as well known for the who’s who of artists with whom he has collaborated, including Bob Dylan, Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nelson, Jorma Kaukonen, and Jerry Garcia. Bromberg co-wrote the song “The Holdup” with George Harrison, who played on Bromberg’s self-titled 1972 album, and saw Harrison returning to one of his favorite topics: complaining about taxes, as in the Beatles’ song, “Taxman.” (Sun, Dec 4)
ELIO VILLAFRANCA BRINGS AFRO-CUBAN SOUNDS to THE FALCON
Cuban-born pianist/composer Elio Villafranca brings his Cinqué program to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., on Sunday, December 4, at 7pm, as part of the Jazz Coalition Series. Villafranca’s Cinqué is a five-movement suite inspired by the story of Joseph Cinqué, who in 1839 led a successful revolt aboard the slave ship La Amistad, days after being sold and transported to a sugar plantation in Cuba. Villafranca’s Cinqué showcases the cultural diversity of the five Caribbean islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, while simultaneously highlighting the African traditions woven into the fabric of each of these nations. Joining pianist Villafranca are Sam Dillon on tenor sax, Edward Perez on bass, and Ferenc Nemeth on drums. (Sun, Dec 4)
‘THE NUTCRACKER’ and ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’ GET UPDATED TREATMENT at BARD FISHER CENTER
Leon Botstein leads the 80-piece Bard Conservatory Orchestra in a symphonic concert performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at Bard Fisher Center in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, December 3, at 8pm, followed by the world premiere of SITI Company’s reimagining of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol -- inspired by listening to Orson Welles’s 1939 Christmas Eve show with Lionel Barrymore and reading Dickens’s original novella -- running for three performances, Friday through Sunday, December 16-18. (Fri-Sun, Dec 16-18)
UPCOMING
Indie-rock group Deer Tick performs at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Friday, December 9, at 8pm. Izzy Heltai warms up the crowd for Deer Tick. (Fri, Dec 9)
The world’s premiere modern klezmer group The Klezmatics – the only klezmer band to have won a Grammy Award – bring their Yiddish world fusion to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., on Saturday, December 10, at 7pm. (Sat, Dec 10)
Close Encounters with Music chamber series presents Beethoven’s Grand Piano Trios — the “Ghost” and the “Archduke” – at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday, December 11, at 4pm. A virtual symphony for three musicians, expansive and noble, the great “Archduke” is more than a trio. It offered Beethoven the perfect vehicle for the development of his compositional techniques and the exploration of instrumental brilliance and virtuosity with three independent, powerful voices. In the “Ghost” Trio, conjuring up images from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Beethoven plays with strangeness and eeriness. Performers are Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano; Hye-Jin Kim, violin; Yehuda Hanani, cello. (Sun, Dec 11)
Legendary guitarist and folk-country bluesman Jorma Kaukonen – a founding member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna – performs at the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Tuesday, December 13, at 7:30pm. (Tues, Dec 13)
Legendary jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette -- whose credits read like a history of modern jazz, celebrated for his work with Miles Davis Bitches Brew Band, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Evans, and as a band leader and composer -- will be joined by pianist Jon Batiste, bassist Matthew Garrison, and Roy Wood Jr., at UPAC in Kingston, N.Y., on Thursday, December 15, at 8pm. (Thurs, Dec 15)