|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
This week, hear author Tara Tai discuss their debut novel at Books Inc. Mountain View; catch shows with jazz ensemble Jahari Stampley Family Trio; singer, composer and producer Arooj Aftab and Bay Area bands The Sound Ones and Bigelow’s Treehouse; and see a classic drama with “The Glass Menagerie” at Los Altos Stage Company. Plus, Coast Live Music launches its second season of classical concerts, with pianist Amy Yang and Palo Alto-born violinist Alexi Kenney.
Tara Tai
Tara Tai’s debut novel “Single Player” is an enemies-to-lovers workplace romance about two video game creators – Cat, a romantic dreamer who takes a job writing love stories for the new game “Compass Hollow” and her boss Andi, an avowed romance hater who wants to be taken seriously. Sparks fly between the two, who have to work together when Cat discovers a nefarious plot to ruin Andi’s career. Library Journal calls the book “A must-read for fans of queer romance” and Tai will discuss it in conversation with Bay Area writer Taleen Voskuni at Books Inc. Mountain View.
Jan. 28, 7 p.m., Books Inc. Mountain View, 317 Castro St., Mountain View; free; booksinc.net.
Jahari Stampley Family Trio
Chicago-born jazz pianist, composer and educator Jahari Stampley, whose debut album “Still Listening” is a mix of solo and ensemble pieces, won first place in the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute International Competition and was also named 2023’s Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz, just two of many accolades establishing him as a master musician at a young age. The Jahari Stampley Family Trio, also featuring drummer Miguel Russel and the celebrated saxophonist D-Erania Stampley (Jahari’s mother), performs at a Stanford Live show co-presented by San Jose Jazz.
Jan. 23, 7 p.m., The Studio, Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen St., Stanford; general admission $15-$45; live.stanford.edu.
‘The Glass Menagerie’
Tennessee Williams’ 1944 play “The Glass Menagerie” follows members of the Wingfield family of St. Louis – protagonist Tom, who wants to be a writer; his mother, the ex-Southern belle Amanda; and his fragile sister Laura (she who collects the titular glass animals) – as they receive a mysterious gentleman caller for dinner whose presence, they hope, may change their situation for the better. Los Altos Stage Company’s production of the classic family drama features mother-son duo Kristin Walter and Max Mahle, plus Christian Vaughn-Munck and April Culver.
Jan. 23-Feb. 16, 97 Hillview Ave., $28-$51; losaltosstage.org.
Arooj Aftab
Singer, composer and producer Arooj Aftab blends jazz, South Asian classical music, pop, and blues and Urdu poetry influences, creating something special that, according to her website, she calls “global soul.” Aftab spent her adolescence in Pakistan and moved to the U.S. at age 19, where she earned a degree from Berklee College of Music. She won a Grammy Award in 2022 for her song “Mohabbat” and has performed internationally. Her four solo albums include 2024’s “Night Reign,” which has been nominated for Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Global Music Performance at this year’s Grammy Awards. She performs at Stanford, with special guest singer/songwriter Zsela.
Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m., Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen St., Stanford; $15-70; live.stanford.edu.
Alexi Kenney and Amy Yang
Coast Live Music, the Portola Valley-based music nonprofit focused on bringing high-quality musical performances to the community, presents “An Evening with Stars: Violinist Alexi Kenney and Pianist Amy Yang.” Palo Alto-born Kenney, who is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and acclaimed pianist Yang, who received the Parisot Award for Outstanding Pianist from the Yale School of Music, will perform selections from Witold Lutosławski, Clara Schumann, Arvo Pärt and George Enescu.
Jan. 25, 7 p.m. (reception at 6:15), Portola Valley Town Center, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley; $75; coastlivemusic.com.
The Sound Ones and Bigelow’s Treehouse
The Hub RWC hosts live music on Saturday afternoons. This week, catch two Bay Area bands in action: The Sound Ones (“surfy garage rock band,” according to their Instagram) and Bigelow’s Treehouse, who, the band’s website states, has long been “redefining dad rock for a generation of slackers who still look to bands for answers to questions that nobody asked.”
Jan. 25, 3-6 p.m., The Hub RWC, 2650 Broadway St., Redwood City; no cover; thehubrwc.com/bands.
