Calendar of Events

20 – 27 February 2020 MONTECITO JOURNAL50 “God forbid I should live long enough to ferment and rot and fall to the ground in a squash.” – Josh Billings FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21

Harvard Historian on Healing – Jill Lepore, the author of several bestselling books including The Secret History of Wonder Woman and Joe Gould’s Teeth, is coming to town to talk about bridging the divide in our polarized nation. The Harvard historian and New Yorker magazine staff writer’s most recent sweeping narratives, These Truths: A History of the United States and This America: The Case for the Nation explore our past, particularly the history of America’s polarization, in order to understand the present and prepare for our future. In her public lecture titled after the second book, Lepore will offer a magisterial account of the rise of America and an urgent reckoning with the tragedy and beauty of our divided nation. Lepore, whose scholarship largely explores absences and asymmetries in the historical record, is the recipient of many honors, awards and honorary degrees and has been a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Magazine Award, and the Pulitzer Prize – twice. The Washington Post has been suitably impressed, calling Lepore “the most prolific, nimble, and interesting writer of American history today, vigorously kicking at the past until she dislodges it from the ossifying grip of received wisdom.” WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Campbell Hall, UCSB campus COST: $20-$35, students $10 INFO: (805) 893-3535 www. ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu? FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21

Simon Says – Ladysmith Black Mambazo had already been performing in South Africa for nearly two decades when Paul Simon put the a cappella group front and center on his seminal Graceland album back in 1986. Since then, the outfit founded by Joseph Shabalala has surely made the most of that exposure, taking their shows featuring uplifting and exquisitely timed vocal harmonies that reveal “undulating rhythmic phrases that push and pull”, as one critic noted, plus a series of signature dance moves and charming onstage banter to venues all around the world. With a deep respect for both their cultural and personal history, Ladysmith Black Mambazo continues to both evolve and keep contact with their long musical legacy as the original members have welcomed a younger generation in their mission, passing along the tradition of storytelling and spreading a message of peace, love, and harmony to millions of people the world over. Now led by Shabalala’s four sons, Ladysmith continues to serve as “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world,” so designated by Nelson Mandela. Five-time Grammywinners, Ladysmith won its most recent award in 2017 for Shaka Zulu Revisited, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of their first award-winning album. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $36 & $46 INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21 Piano Prof Plays – Natasha Kislenko, keyboard instructor at UCSB and 15-year veteran of Music Academy of the West, presents a solo piano recital on campus tonight. Kislenko, a prizewinner of several international piano competitions who has performed extensively in Russia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Turkey and across the Americas, also has served as a resident pianist of the Santa Barbara Symphony since 2010, where she has been a featured soloist for the Shostakovich, Grieg, Clara Schumann, de Falla, and Mozart piano concerti. Tonight’s program will include Mozart’s Six Variations in F Major on “Salve tu, Domine” by G. Paisiello, K.398; Chopin’s Souvenir de Paganini; Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Corelli, Op. 42; and Schnittke’s Variations on One Chord; plus a duo-piano work by Witold Lutosławski (Variations on the GH theme by Paganini, for two pianos) featuring fellow UCSB teaching professor Sarah Gibson. WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Karl Geiringer Hall, UCSB campus COST: $10 general admission, $5 students, free for children under 12 INFO: (805) 893-2064 or www.music.ucsb.edu SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Listening at the Library – After a succession of largely solo or small combo works, the Santa Barbara Music Club goes big for the latest episode of its free bi-weekly concerts downtown. Flutist Sherylle Englander, clarinetist Per Elmfors, horn player Johann Trujillo, and harpist Laurie Rasmussen kick things off with Debussy’s well-known and much-beloved Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune followed by Livewire! by American composer Christopher Lowry – which the then-21 year old composer said was inspired by “electrical issues” that “sparked” the idea for the piece – and French composer and horn player Georges Barboteu’s Esquisse. Then violinist Nicole McKenzie and pianist Betty Oberacker team up to perform Strauss Sonata for Violin and Piano in Eb Major, Op. 18, to close out the afternoon of sumptuous music from local players. WHEN: 3 pm WHERE: Faulkner Gallery in the downtown Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu St. COST: free INFO: www. sbmusicclub.org SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Grand Granada Get-together – The Granada Theatre and more than half of its resident companies are all partnering up for a special benefit performance of Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev’s enchanting musical tale of adventure and bravery that has been a young person’s orchestral favorite for more than 70 years. Community Arts Music Association (CAMA) of Santa Barbara, Opera Santa Barbara, State Street Ballet, and the Santa Barbara Symphony are teaming up for the production, which features the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony – comprised of musicians ages 12-18 from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties – playing under the baton of the Santa Barbara Symphony’s music and artistic director, maestro Nir Kabaretti. Simon Williams, the UCSB emeritus professor and prolific author whose publications include editing the prestigious Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stage Actors and Acting, not only directs the show but will also serve as narrator, while brief programs featuring Santa Barbara Youth Opera singers and Gustafson Dance Students from State Street Ballet will open the event. Peter and the Wolf, a story about a boy and his animal friends, has become a family favorite for its distinctive instrumentation as each character is represented by a particular instrument and musical theme. Though generally considered a children’s tale – the work was commissioned by the Central Children’s Theatre in Moscow – it was composed during Stalin’s Great Purge, and barely survived Soviet censorship before finding an unlikely champion in the person of Walt Disney, who produced an animated version in 1946. Today’s pre-concert activities include a demonstration of orchestral instruments used in Peter and the Wolf, a children’s activity area in the downstairs lobby and a photo booth with animal imagery. Tours of the Granada Theatre will be offered following the performance while a post-concert reception in the Granada Theatre Founders Room for sponsors and VIP guests will include notable local philanthropists donning attire corresponding to the characters in Peter and the Wolf. Proceeds benefit the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts. WHEN: 2 pm WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: Free for children ages 17 and under, $10 for adults ($100 VIP includes the reception) INFO: (805) 899-2222 or www.granadasb.org Armchair Travel Lecture – Mara Papatheodorou, a culinary expert and former travel editor at Bon Appétit, takes the audience on a virtual journey to French Polynesia to learn about Tahitian culture and cuisine, tastes and traditions, fact and folklore. A popular guest lecturer, commentator, panelist/judge, and presenter about food, travel and entertaining, Papatheodorou lectures regularly about the history of cuisine and culture and consults for and travels on a number of cruise lines. She contributes to National Geographic Traveler magazine and is the author of the coffee table book, Moments in Time, The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. Today’s talk promises to transport guests across the Pacific Ocean to the islands of French Polynesia to

Miloš Makes Debut at MAW – Miloš Karadaglic, the young star who has revitalized the role of the guitar in classical music, makes his long-awaited Santa Barbara debut in a special program featuring a string quartet and double bass. Karadaglic has been called one of the “champions of the classical guitar who have shaped its sound in the last century” by BBC Music Magazine and “The hottest guitarist in the world” by the London Sunday Times. Karadaglic has won praise for his skillful and imaginative arrangements for both classical works as well as popular music including a full album tribute to the Beatles. Miloš has appeared in recital at almost all major concert halls and festivals around the globe and has worked with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors and is also the first ever classical guitarist to have performed in solo recital at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Today, he’ll appear at the decidedly intimate space of Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West, where the program will include works by J.S. Bach, Villa-Lobos, Piazzolla, Granados, Duplessy, Radiohead, Paul Simon, and Lennon & McCartney. WHEN: 4 pm WHERE: Hahn Hall, Music Academy of the West campus, 1070 Fairway Road COST: $35 INFO: (805) 893-3535 or www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

GranadaSB.org 805.899.2222

Peter and the Wolf THE GRANADA THEATRE presents Sun FEB 23 2 pm

explore its rich culinary history and culture. WHEN: 3 pm WHERE: Mary Craig Auditorium at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State Street (entrance in the rear) COST: $10 general, free for museum members INFO: (805) 963-4364 or www.sbma.net

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26

Going Souther – Over his half-century-plus career, singer-songwriter JD Souther has penned or co-written a whole lot of songs, many of which became hits for the Eagles (“Heartache Tonight,” “Best of My Love”), Linda Ronstadt (“Faithless Love”) and James Taylor (“Her Town Too”), as well as Roy Orbison, Don Henley, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks and Dunn, and others. While Souther briefly enjoyed some hits of his own with the early ‘70s supergroup trio with Chris Hillman (Byrds, Flying Burrito Bros) and Richie Furay (Buffalo

Springfield, Poco), these days he is something short of a household name. Still he has enjoyed some success as a solo artist – including a No. 7 smash in “You’re Only Lonely” in 1979 – while being so respected as a song creator that he was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2013. On his latest studio album, Tenderness, Souther creates a perfect balance of understated jazz with the ineffable pop narratives that have been the backbone of much of his greatest work, which includes his classic albums John David Souther, Black Rose, and Home by Dawn, which have all been released as expanded reissues by Omnivore Recordings. Now 74, Souther is still pouring out his heartsparked treasures in concerts across the country, including tonight at the Lobero. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $46 INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com •MJ

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents GRUPO CORPO BACH & GIRA Tue FEB 25 8pm

Goldenvoice presents HERB ALPERT & LANI HALL Fri FEB 28 7:30 pm

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents BILL BRYSON THE BODY: A GUIDE FOR OCCUPANTS Mon MAR 2 7:30pm

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25

Border-crossing Ballet – Brazil’s leading contemporary dance troupe Grupo Corpo returns to town with a phenomenal double bill of works that together showcase the 21-member group’s extraordinary range, power and stamina that has had audiences and critics straining for superlatives. In Bach, the baroque world of the famed composer is made modern in a score by Marco Antônio Guimarães, with dancers in brilliant shades of gold, regal blue and black dropping from a set of enormous organ pipes as employed by house choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras. In Gira, Pederneiras – who is able to mix classic ballet and folk dances and then set into motion bodies that push the limits of technical rigor – constructs a powerful glossary of gestures of praise and movement inspired by Afro-Brazilian religious rituals, set to music by the Brazilian fusion group Méta Méta. Taken together, the two works illustrate the prowess of a company that caused reviewers to exclaim “It is the sheer physical virtuosity of the company that is so impressive – the sinuous, athletic bodies seemingly inexhaustible” (The U.K. Guardian) and “The virtuosic dancers of the Brazilian troupe Grupo Corpo carry fire in their veins and history in their muscles” (The Boston Globe). WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: $35-$50 INFO: (805) 899-2222/www. granadasb.org or (805) 893-3535/www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

The Broadway In Santa Barbara Series presents BUDDY THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY Tue MAR 3 7:30pm Wed MAR 4 7:30pm

CAMA presents LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC Fri MAR 6 7 pm (Early Start Time)

Mixologist Eric treating imbibers to his theatrics at the Mercury Ballroom Supper Club (photo by Priscilla)

John Palminteri, the voice “on air” (photo by Priscilla)

Texas-smoked turkey and a butterscotch dessert, guests joined the cast on the floor to dance the night away to the 20-member Blue Note Jazz Orchestra from Citrus Community College in Glendora, playing classics from Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and many others. A night to rememberworthy of Fred Astaire... Merv Griffin, creator of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, just a few feet away. In due course, presumably, the gravestone will feature his names and dates. But, taking a cue from Tom Hanks at the Oscars, might I suggest “I Am Spartacus” as a fitting epitaph.

Remembering Chip

Broadway star Nathan Madden performs with the Blue Note Jazz Orchestra (photo by Priscilla)

Statement Piece Montecito actress Natalie Portman made quite a statement on the Oscars red carpet with her Christian Dior cape embroidered with the names of women who directed movies last year – and weren’t nominated for the 92nd Academy Awards.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences received criticism for its failure to nominate any female directors this year.

In the history of the Oscars only five women have been nominated for best director, with only one – Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker – winning.

Just one of the best picture nominees was directed by a woman, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.

Visiting Kirk While I was in Los Angeles on another matter, I took time out to pay my respects to my late Montecito neighbor, Hollywood acting icon Kirk Douglas, at his final resting place at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park.

The two-time Oscar nominee, who was 103, is buried with his standup comedian son, Eric, who died in 2004 at the age of 46. I knew him well when I lived in Manhattan, but his career was tragically overshadowed by numerous run-ins with the law and problems with alcohol and drugs.

Kirk is in good company, given the locale is the last resting place of TV and movie stars like Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Rodney Dangerfield, Karl Malden and TV talk show host

On a personal note, I remember Santa Barbara realtor Chip Lawson, who has moved to more heavenly pastures at the all too early age of 62. A jovial soul, we first met at Cafe Del Sol, the former popular local bar hangout by the Andree Clark Bird Refuge, now the Magic Castle.

Chip, a former successful equestrian, kept me up to date on home sales in our rarefied enclave, announcing himself as my “mole with the martini.” He will be missed...

Sightings: TV talk show host Conan O’Brien getting his Java jolt at Pierre Lafond... Singer Miley Cyrus checking out the Rosewood Miramar... Movie director Andy Davis and wife, Adrianne, noshing at Opal

Pip! Pip!

Readers with tips, sightings and amusing items for Richard’s column should e-mail him at richardmin eards@verizon.net or send invitations or other correspondence to the Journal.

To reach Priscilla, e-mail her at pris cilla@santabarbaraseen.com or call 805-969-3301 •MJ