#5: Alternating Currents Live at Woodland Pattern Book Center.
Why? Because your ears are still thrumming and your eyes wide after the Unruly Music Festival two weeks ago, and you want more music, both unruly and sublime. Unruly grand poobah Christopher Burns returns with one of his favorite collaborators, the Milwaukee legend Steve Nelson-Raney. He’ll start the concert with his own brand of solo saxophone improvisations. And Burns will join him on guitar and laptop for the second set. As always, the concert will be carried live on WMSE-FM. But you’ll want to see this up close and personal.
#4: Renaissance Theatreworks’ El Nogular at the Broadway Theatre Center.
Why? Because Tanya Saracho, who performed a few years ago in Renaissance’s production of Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig, is one of the country’s premiere playwrights, and her adaptation of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard was called “fresh and visceral” when it was recently staged at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. Saracho shifts the scene from Russia to northern Mexico, and transforms the play into a contemporary meditation on class and the travails of the 21st century. Renaissance presents a staged reading of the play with discussion afterward.
#3: Jacky Terrasson at Alverno Presents.
Why? Because this Paris-born jazz pianist has dazzled the music world since he won the coveted Thelonious Monk Competition in 1993, but lately, his playing has taken on a more soulful, less flashy quality. And that’s a fine thing. His latest album mixes standards with some not-so-standard fare, including a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” His trio will perform in Alverno’s Wehr Hall, a great venue for the chamber-like intimacy required by music like this. Though Terrasson won’t hesitate to let some thundering block chords shake the chandeliers a little.
#2: Million Dollar Quartet at the Marcus Center.
Why? Because eavesdropping on a bit of music history is always a good thing, even if it’s recreated Broadway-musical style. Don’t worry –there are no tap-dancing choruses in this much-celebrated recreation of a gathering of rock ‘n’ roll legends. Just four guys, a producer, and a groupie or two. Since the guys in question are Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and some guy named Elvis, you can be sure the songs will be familiar. But the hot-blooded energy the performers bring will almost make you forget about the originals from over a half-century ago.
#1: Maria de Buenos Aires at Calvary Presbyterian Church.
Why? Because Milwaukee seems to be discovering Tango-Nuevo master Astor Piazzolla in the last year, with performances of his music at Present Music, the Milwaukee Symphony, and elsewhere. But the intense drama of Piazzolla is never so palpable than in this tango operito (“little tango opera”), composed with Uruguayan poet Horacio Ferrer. Courtesy of the combined forces of Danceworks Performance Company, Milwaukee Opera Theatre and the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, it boasts some of the outstanding theater, musical and dance talent in the Milwaukee area. And who wouldn’t like an imaginary trip to Buenos Aires just as the chilly November winds begin to blow.
