From Adam Theis\u2019 stellar Jazz Mafia to rapper Cardi B and Livermore Valley Opera\u2019s take on the classic \u201cCosi fan Tutte,\u201d there is a lot to see and do in the Bay Area this weekend and beyond.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a partial rundown.<\/p>\n
Jazz Mafia takes over local clubs<\/p>\n
Trombonist Adam Theis and his Jazz Mafia organization have always been smooth operators, finding creative ways to bend the often treacherous Bay Area music scene to their will.<\/p>\n
By forging alliances with friendly venues, the Jazz Mafia has knuckled their way into two Bay Area residencies, playing monthly at Oakland\u2019s Sound Room and North Beach\u2019s Keys Jazz Bistro. A six-piece Mafia outfit featuring heavyweights Mike Olmos on trumpet and Colin Hogan on piano plays the Sound Room Feb. 27 and Keys Feb. 28 with soul-steeped jazz vocalist Tiffany Austin. With the whole year mapped out, the Mafia has already announced themes for upcoming shows featuring their original arrangements: exploring Herbie Hancock: \u201970s and Beyond at Keys March 20 and the Sound Room March 21; and The Beatles Reimagined at the Sound Room April 24 and Keys April 25, featuring drummer and prolific composer Otis McDonald.<\/p>\n
Details: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Sound Room in Oakland and 7 and 9 p.m. Feb. 28 at Keys Jazz Bistro in San Francisco; $32-$40; keysjazzbistro.com<\/a>, and www.soundroom.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Andrew Gilbert, Correspondent<\/p>\n Classical picks: American Bach Soloists, \u2018Cosi fan Tutte,\u2019 more<\/p>\n This week, artists from around the Bay and beyond are set to perform works honoring diverse and longtime traditions. Here\u2019s a look.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Harmonic Labyrinth\u201d:\u00a0That\u2019s the title of American Bach\u2019s new concert devoted to Pergolesi\u2019s 1736 \u201cStabat Mater\u201d; company director Jeffrey Thomas leads four performances of the work featuring soprano Maya Kherani and mezzo-soprano Sarah Coit. Works by Bach and Scarlatti complete the program.<\/p>\n Details: 8 p.m. Feb. 27 at St. Stephens Church, Belvedere; 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at St. Mark\u2019s Episcopal Church, Berkeley; 4 p.m. March 1 at St. Mark\u2019s Church, San Francisco; and 7 p.m. March 2 at Davis Community Church, Davis; $44-$111; AmericanBach.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lunar New Year works: This month, the San Francisco Symphony celebrates The Year of the Horse in its annual Lunar New Year concert with a program featuring Asian traditions. Under conductor Mei-Ann Chen, the symphony will perform works by Asian composers including Huang Ruo, whose opera \u201cThe Monkey King\u201d thrilled audiences this season across the street in San Francisco Opera\u2019s capstone production.<\/p>\n Details: 5 p.m. Feb. 28; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $125-$150; sfsymphony.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Piano thrills:\u00a0Chamber Music SF presents Hong Kong-born pianist Tiffany Poon, who has been lauded for her recording of Schumann piano works, titled \u201cDiaries, Schumann.\u201d She\u2019s set to arrive at Herbst Theatre for an upcoming recital presented by Chamber Music San Francisco.<\/p>\n Details: 3 p.m. March 1; Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; $42-$76; cityboxoffice.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Livermore\u2019s sublime \u2018Cosi\u2019: Livermore Valley Opera opens this weekend with \u201cCosi fan Tutte,\u201d one of Mozart\u2019s most sublime comic masterworks \u2014 a special blend of love, loyalty and mistaken identity and an opera filled with expertly timed humor. The production, directed by Robert Herriot and conducted by Alex Katsman, will be performed\u00a0in the great-for-opera Bankhead Theater and sung in Italian with English supertitles.<\/p>\n Details: 4 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28, 2 p.m. March 1, and 2 p.m. March 7-8; Bankhead Theater, Livermore; adult tickets $65-$115 and $25 aged 20 and younger; Livermorevalleyopera.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Georgia Rowe, Correspondent<\/p>\n Quakes to debut new jerseys<\/p>\n Two great Bay Area institutions \u2014 the San Jose Earthquakes and\u00a0the Grateful Dead\u00a0\u2014 are teaming up for something that should appeal equally to soccer aficionados and classic rock fans.<\/p>\n The Major League Soccer club is celebrating the\u00a060th anniversary of the birth of the Dead\u00a0\u2014 which, for this purpose, is defined by when the band performed for the first time under\u00a0the Grateful Dead moniker on Dec. 4, 1965, in a home located at 38 S. Fifth St., San Jose \u2014 with a brand new themed jersey.<\/p>\n The jersey pays tribute to the band\u2019s influence on psychedelic music and the Bay Area\u2019s counterculture history. It features a vibrant mix of colors \u2014 night navy, powder plum, blue dawn and trace royal \u2014 as well as an Earthquakes-style black-and-blue version of the band\u2019s legendary \u201csteal your face\u201d skull logo.<\/p>\n The Earthquakes will debut these cool new jerseys \u2014 or, in soccer speak, kits \u2014 when the team hosts Atlanta United for Grateful Dead Night at PayPal Park on Saturday.<\/p>\n Beyond seeing the Earthquakes (hopefully) triumph over the United, fans will also get to watch a live band perform and pick up a special commemorative poster designed by famed artist Stanley Mouse (while supplies last).<\/p>\n Details: Game is 4:30 p.m. March 1; tickets start at $38; sjearthquakes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jim Harrington, Staff<\/p>\n Here comes Little Miss Drama<\/p>\n Cardi B\u00a0is bringing the Drama to the Bay Area.<\/p>\n And, really, we wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n So, get ready to experience the supremely talented hip-hop star\u2019s Little Miss Drama Tour, which hits Chase Center in San Francisco on Feb. 27.<\/p>\n The Little Miss Drama Tour is Cardi B\u2019s first-ever arena headlining trek. The road show supports last year\u2019s \u201cAm I the Drama?\u201d \u2014 the long-awaited follow-up to Cardi B\u2019s debut, 2018\u2019s \u201cInvasion of Privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAm I the Drama?\u201d features a bevy of guest stars, including Selena Gomez, Kehlani, Lizzo, Cash Cobain, Janet Jackson, Tyla and Megan Thee Stallion. The\u00a0sophomore set \u2014 like Cardi B\u2019s first album \u2014 debuted at No. 1 on the charts.<\/p>\n Details:\u00a0Showtime is 7:30 p.m.; tickets start at $118; ticketmaster.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jim Harrington, Staff<\/p>\n New name, same old fun<\/p>\n It was formerly known as the Drag Me to the Cinema festival, but don\u2019t let the name change fool you. Filmmakers and movie fans of all backgrounds will be welcomed at the Emeryville International LGBTQ+ Film Festival on Feb. 28 at the AMC Bay Street movie theaters. <\/p>\n The program gets divided into blocks with each showcasing an array of queer-themed shorts. As a bonus, there\u2019s a world premiere of festival director Robby Kendall\u2019s feature debut, \u201cSweet Nothing.\u201d That hot ticket item, unfortunately, has sold out, but plans are in the work for future screenings. A couple other titles that pique our interest include Nana Duffuor\u2019s 16-minute \u201cRainbow Girls,\u201d about three Black trans women in San Francisco fighting against gentrification in a novel way, and Bay Area film critic and journalist Sean Au\u2019s 13-minute narrative short \u201cWhat We Said in the Blackout,\u201d which revolves around two ex-lovers who wake up naked together during a blackout. <\/p>\n Details: Noon to 10 p.m. Feb. 28; AMC Bay Street movie theaters; $15-$50; tickets and more information are at fishnetsfilm.org.<\/a><\/p>\n \u2013 Randy Myers, Correspondent<\/p>\n \u2018Lehman Trilogy\u2019 plays in San Jose<\/p>\n Why would anyone in their right minds want to go see a 3\u00bd-hour play about a bank? The answer is \u201cwhy not\u201d when that bank is the former Lehman Brothers financial company and the play is \u201cThe Lehman Trilogy,\u201d now playing at San Jose Stage Company. Stefano Massini\u2019s intensely captivating drama about how the stunning collapse of the 158-year-old financial institution helped bring about the 2008 subprime-mortgage-fueled collapse is way more than a recounting of financial principles and theories. The 2013 play, which was nominated for eight Tony Awards and won five (including for best play) digs into the three brothers who founded the company and how they were propelled by the American Dream, only to eventually trigger what came close to being the destruction of the global economic order. The play came to American Conservatory Theater in 2024 \u2013 fresh off its smash London and Broadway runs \u2013 and was the talk of the San Francisco theater scene. San Jose Stage is featuring a different production and a different cast, but it\u2019s the I-can\u2019t-believe-this-happened story line that will keep you glued to your seat past two intermissions.<\/p>\n