MUSIC Jack DeJohnette, a major architect of fusion jazz and the main drummer on Miles Davis’ landmark album “Bitches Brew”, will be joined by sax player Ravi Coltrane and bassist Matt Garrison. That’s right, no instruments that play chords—even at 73, DeJohnette is such a dynamo, all he needs is a sax and a bass for accompaniment. Dig.
Jack DeJohnette Trio
Friday, 8 p.m.
Berklee Performance Center
136 Mass. Ave., Boston
$30-$48, 617-876-4275
www.worldmusic.org
Vanessa Carlton, Buyer and Cellar and 9 other things to do this weekend
Eddie Chacon
Goli
Friday, 8 p.m.
Cafe 939
939 Boylston St., Boston
$8-$12, 617-747-6042
Goli is a duo of classically-trained musicians who’ve played in world folk groups, rock bands and symphonies, lending them an eclectic, difficult-to-pin-down chamber music sound. This is their record release show for their new album, “This is Not a Love Song”. They’ll be joined by the theatrical New York band Jaggery and the local folk act SKiM.
THEATER
Black Nativity
Friday, through December 20
Paramount Center
559 Washington St., Boston
$32-$45, 617-824-8400
Boston’s annual production of this Christmas pageant by Langston Hughes, which weaves scripture, poetry, music and dance into a uniquely African-American telling of St. Luke’s Nativity story, is the world’s longest-running. Its traditional venue has been Tremont Temple, but the reverent, uplifting show, dedicated to all people of good will, should be no less powerful at the Paramount Center.
Buyer and Cellar
Friday through January 3
Lyric Stage
140 Clarendon St.
$31-$65, 617-585-5678
Local acting star Phil Tayler tackles a multitude of characters—many of them real-life celebrities—in this comedy from Jonathan Tolins about an unemployed Los Angeles actor who lands a peculiar gig managing the contents of Barbara Streisand’s basement, which is arranged like a shopping mall that never sees any customers. Weird? Definitely, but wait till Babs herself shows up!
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
Sunday through January 3
Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle St., Cambridge
$25-$110, 617-547-8300
Described by American Repertory Theater as an “electropop opera”, this new musical by Dave Malloy dramatizes a section of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”. Our heroine, Natasha, with her husband-to-be off fighting Napoleon’s armies, takes up with the charismatic Anatole, whom she meets at the opera. The production’s immersive set obliterates the fourth wall—don’t expect a normal night at the theater.
TALKS
The Nachtigall Convolute: Metempsychotic Figuration and the Matter of Lost Objects
Thursday, 6 p.m.
Harvard Art Museums
32 Quincy St., Cambridge
Free, 617-495-9400
Is this a hoax? From the synopsis, we’re not sure what to make of it: Princeton’s D. Graham Burnett and artist Sal Randolph will discuss the weird papers of an alleged mid-20th century society of scholars and artists known as Order of the Third Bird. You’ll have the chance to experiment with the esoteric techniques described therein—if you dare.
ART
Blue
Through January 5
Kathryn Schultz Gallery
25 Lowell St., Cambridge
Free, 617-876-0246
The Cambridge Art Association presents 80-plus New England artists, juried by Katherine French of Vermont’s Catamount Arts. We’re not sure why it’s called “Blue”, but you can’t go wrong with the color of the sky, right? Work will be shown at both the Kathryn Schultz Gallery, listed above, and the University Place Gallery. Check the website for full details.
MOVIES
Wim Wenders: Portraits Along the Road
Friday through December 13
Brattle Theater
40 Brattle St., Cambridge
$9-$11, 617-876-6837
The Brattle presents the work of German director Wim Wenders, whom they describe as “cinema’s preeminent poet of the open road.” We’re accustomed to thinking of the road trip as a classic American existential journey (Kerouac), but Wenders didn’t find it hard to transpose to Germany, with its long tradition of existential searching and its long, fast highways.
The Art of Alfred Hitchcock
Through December 27
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
465 Huntington Ave., Boston
$11, 617-267-9300
As artistic and intellectual as his style could be, Alfred Hitchcock’s chief concern as a filmmaker was to manipulate the emotions—supposedly, he once said he’d have preferred to just be able to do this directly, and not have to make movies. We’re glad he was forced to make movies, and you’ll be able to catch some of the best here.
HOT TICKETS
Pile
Thursday, 9:30 p.m.
Great Scott
1222 Comm. Ave., Allston
$8, 18+, 800-745-3000
The noisy, contorted indie rock act Pile begins a residency at the Great Scott tonight. Staples of the local underground scene, they’re one of the few bands who can still surprise and excite with the old loud-quiet-loud dynamic. They released a new album, “You’re Better Than This”, in March on Brooklyn label Exploding in Sound records.
Rebirth Brass Band
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
The Sinclair
52 Church St., Cambridge
$25, 18+, 800-745-3000
This New Orleans brass ensemble, familiar to fans of HBO’s “Treme”, has carved out their own unique niche since their formation in the early 80’s, mixing funk and hip-hop with the grand tradition of brass bands in their home city. If they can’t get you on the dance floor, or at least bobbing your head, probably nothing can.
Vanessa Carlton
Monday, 8 p.m.
Brighton Music Hall
159 Brighton Ave., Allston
$15, 800-745-3000
Remember Vanessa Carlton, whose piano pop hit “A Thousand Miles” seemed ubiquitous back in 2002? To many she’s a one-hit wonder, but the singer-songwriter’s muse has continued to evolve and deepen ever since. Her latest, “Liberman”, dropped in October. Those who remember her early 00’s work will find her current sound more introspective and subtle, less dramatic but perhaps more substantive.
