arts@tech Jazz Benefit

Herbie Hancock to headline WCLK fundraiser

By Shandra Hill Smith

For its annual fundraising event, Jazz 91.9 WCLK will mark two firsts – a headlining performance by iconic jazz giant Herbie Hancock, and that very concert marking WCLK’s first performance at Atlanta Symphony Hall. The 43rd anniversary fall benefit concert featuring Hancock will take place Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m.

With a career spanning five decades, the 77-year-old Hancock is the recipient of 14 Grammy Awards and known for such hits as his dance club instrumental “Rockit” and such albums as “Maiden Voyage” and “River: The Joni Letters.”

2017-2018 season professional artists series

The 26th season brings you great performances in music, dance and theater that cross genres and exemplify the innovative and inspiring work at the intersection of art, science, and technology.

Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company

September 16, 2017

Spencer Ludwig

September 29, 2017

Spanish Harlem Orchestra

October 13, 2017

SIRO-A

October 27, 2017

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

November 4, 2017

Adam Ben Ezra

November 16, 2017

RAIIN Dance Theater: in Human

November 17, 2017

Moscow Ballet: Great Russian Nutcracker

November 26, 2017

Miguel Zenón Quartet

January 27, 2018

Nufonia Must Fall by Kid Koala

February 12-13, 2018

Rebirth Brass Band

February 24, 2018

Thaddeus Phillips and Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental: 17 Border Crossings

March 3, 2018

Kaki King: The Neck Is A Bridge To The Body

March 10, 2018

Atlanta’s Dance Canvas: 10 Years of World Premieres

March 23-24, 2018

An Evening of SEAD Artists

April 21, 2018

WCLK General Manager Wendy Williams says the station – licensed to Clark Atlanta University – has worked for around four years to try to bring Hancock to Atlanta. When they learned he would be coming to Atlanta Symphony Hall, they were able to form a presenting partnership.

“We think Herbie is certainly the gold standard of jazz musicians that we air on our station,” says Williams. “He has something he can parlay in terms of his musical genius to young and old. He’s been internationally and nationally recognized. We feel like it is a major accomplishment for us to highlight him in the Atlanta market and to celebrate with this fall anniversary concert.”

WCLK, a National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate that has been on air for 43 years, also has other reasons to celebrate these days. In August, the station took home four 2017 GABBY Awards presented by the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, including two for excellence in broadcasting and for social media and website.

The Public Radio International station also is excited about the kickoff of its upcoming fall campaign, which runs Oct. 4 to 15. For the fall campaign, it has partnered with Atlanta Community Food Bank.

“In general, public radio pledge drives are a necessary tool that are more challenging to put on,” Williams says. “We’ve been seeing where our campaigns are more successful because we’ve been adding incentive programs like the one we have with the Atlanta Community Food Bank. We think the message we’ve been teaching our audience about the value of what the station brings to the community is getting across.”

Perhaps that’s evidenced in part by the news that WCLK has reached and exceeded its fundraising goals for fiscal year 2017, according to Williams.

For details on supporting the station or the fall benefit concert, visit WCLK.com.

Your family’s most comprehensive online guide to arts and cultural entertainment Visit AtlantaPlanIt.org for more upcoming events.

Visual Arts

Decatur Book Festival: The largest independent book festival in the country, and one of the five largest overall, returns to downtown Decatur with art, books and more. Sept 1-3. Free. decaturbookfestival. com

Dragon Con: Explore the massive artist market, walk of fame, contests, workshops and more at Hyatt Regency Atlanta and various other locations. Sept. 1-4. Prices vary by event. dragoncon.org

Almost Grown: Visit Jackson Fine Art to see an exhibit by Joseph Szabo, who became one of the most venerated documentarians of suburban, disaffected youth while teaching high school art classes in Long Island in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Closes Sept. 16. Free. jacksonfineart. com

Frank Webster: Paintings from Iceland: Frank Webster’s strong concern for contemporary environmental issues permeate his recent work on Iceland on view at HATHAWAY | Contemporary Gallery. Closes Sept. 16. Free. hathawaygallery.com

Beverly Buchanan — Ruins and Rituals: Beverly Buchanan (1940–2015) produced landmark bodies of work, including cast concrete and mixed media sculptures. See her work at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Opens Sept. 14. Free to $3. museum.spelman.edu

Fast Forward // Rewind: MOCA GA showcases works by 19 of Atlanta Celebrates Photography’s Ones To Watch artists from the 1970s until now. Tuesday through Saturday. $5 to $8. mocaga.org

Fernbank Forest: Designed By Nature: See Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Fernbank Forest as never before through this collection of more than 40 full-color photographs by award-winning National Geographic photographer Peter Essick. Daily. Free to $18. fernbankmuseum.org

It’s All Superficial: Kimber Berry masterfully integrates elements of digital reproduction and pure paint in her works exhibited at Alan Avery Art Company. Tuesday through Saturday. Free. alanaverartcompany. com

Kim Anno: Wonder: Marcia Wood Gallery presents a mini retrospective of the work of Kim Anno, including oil paintings on wood and metal from 2012 through 2017, video, and the debut of a tapestry edition. Opens Sept. 13. Free. marciawoodgallery.com

Technicolor: Enter the vibrant world of Technicolor, an immersive installation in the High Museum’s Anne Cox Chambers Wing featuring dramatic new works by Jaime Hayon. Tuesday through Sunday. Free to $14.50. high.org

Threads of Time: Tradition and Change in Indigenous American Textiles: Michael C. Carlos Museum’s exhibit shows the staggering breadth and depth of indigenous American fiber arts, from weavings in cotton and camelid hair, to feather work and items made from plants. Tuesday through Sunday. Free to $8. carlos.emory.edu

Text Me: How We Live In Language: Museum of Design Atlanta’s new exhibit showcases the many ways in which text influences art, design, literature, music and all forms of visual communication in culture today. Opens Sept. 16. Free to $10. museumofdesign.org

Venus: Visit Atlanta Contemporary Art Center to see Anna Betbeze’s most significant body of work to date, in which she utilizes shag carpets as an uncanny support for her paintings. Tuesday through Sunday. Free. atlantacontemporary.org

Performing Arts

Momma’s Boy: What happens when a mother holds on to her son too long? Find out in this show at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Sept. 8 and 9. $44.50 to $76.50. cobbenergycentre.com

The Cranberries: Visit The Tabernacle to see the Cranberries, one of the more successful groups to emerge from the pre-Brit-pop U.K. indie scene of the early ‘90s. Sept. 13. $74.30 to $89.99. tabernacleatl.com

Cirque du Soleil: Luzia: Smoothly passing from an old movie set to the ocean to a smoky dance hall or an arid desert, LUZIA at Atlantic Station cleverly brings to the stage multiple places, faces and sounds of Mexico taken from both tradition and modernity. Opens Sept. 14. $35 to $265. cirquedusoleil.com steps up to the pulpit to share a new belief - a stunning revelation that leaves the entire church community rocked to its core. Opens Sept. 13. $20 to $37. actors-express.com

The Taming of the Shrew: The wild and unwed Katherine is thrown together with the boisterous and charismatic bachelor Petruchio in the beginning of Shakespeare’s fiercest and most controversial battle of the sexes on stage at New American Shakespeare Tavern. Closes Sept. 17. $15 to $39. shakespearetavern.com

Million Dollar Quartet: Visit Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center to see one of the greatest jam sessions of all time - with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash in 1956brought to life. Sept. 20 and 21. $39 to $79. cobbenergycentre.com

Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams: Join the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for an encore presentation of “Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams” at Verizon Amphitheatre in Alpharetta. Sept. 16. $29.50 to $190. vzwamp.com

Charlotte’s Web: Center for Puppetry Arts adapts E.B. White’s award-winning tale of unlikely friendship in a show that will have you cheering, “Terrific, terrific, terrific!” Opens Sept. 19. $11.25 to $19.50. puppet.org

Darius Rucker: As the frontman of Hootie & the Blowfish, Darius Rucker was one of the most popular frontmen in mainstream pop/rock during the mid’90s. Sept. 23. $29 to $272. vzwamp.com

Peppa Pig’s Surprise: This live show at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre encompasses the charming, colorful nature of the incredibly popular television series and features brand-new songs and life-size puppets that walk, talk, dance, and jump up and down. Sept. 24. $29.50 to $56.50. cobbenergycentre.com

The King and I: Set in 1860s Bangkok, this musical at the Fox Theatre tells the story of the relationship between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher. Sept. 26 through Oct. 1. $30 to $135. foxtheatre.org