Summerfest presents \u201cRide into the Sun \u2013 The Music of Elliott Smith,\u201d featuring Brad Mehldau & Chris Thile<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not too unusual that there are two concerts on the same night in the greater San Diego area that, proximity allowing, prompt me to calculate the feasibility of rushing from one to the other \u2014 or to lament that it is only possible to attend one of them.<\/p>\n
But next Thursday, Aug. 27, offers a triple treat that is also a triple dilemma. The very enticing options include: Talking Heads co-founder and veteran solo star David Byrne at SDSU\u2019s Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheatre, Nas, The Roots and De La Soul teaming up for the hip-hop triple-header of the year here at Gallagher Square at Petco Park; and piano great Brad Mehldau leading a tribute to the music of the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith at the Balboa Theatre with an all-star band that includes San Diego-born mandolin marvel and Nickel Creek co-founder Chris Thile, the sublime guitarist Blake Mills, ace drummer Matt Chamberlain, bassist John Davis and the 17-piece USC Thornton Chamber Virtuosi.<\/p>\n
Their performance will feature music from Mehldau\u2019s wonderfully absorbing \u201cRide Into The Sun.\u201d The Grammy Award-nominated album, which features Thile on several tracks, juxtaposes Mehldau\u2019s heavenly versions of \u201cColorbars,\u201d \u201cSweet Adeline,\u201d \u201cThe White Lady Loves You More\u201d and other Smith gems with similarly fresh takes on Nick Drake\u2019s \u201cSunday\u201d and Big Star\u2019s \u201cThirteen,\u201d a song Smith also covered, and four gorgeous new Mehldau originals that seamlessly fuse jazz, folk, chamber music and more.<\/p>\n
The result is a deeply felt homage to Smith that captures and extends the spirit of his music.<\/p>\n
With any luck, I can jog from the Balboa Theatre to Petco Park to at least hear some of Nas and The Roots.<\/p>\n
Since Byrne\u2019s concert at SDSU has long been sold out and is too far to get to quickly from downtown, it is the one I may reluctantly pass on. Or not.<\/p>\n
7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27. Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Gaslamp Quarter. $42-$124. theconrad.org<\/a><\/p>\n The Steve Kovalcheck Trio, featuring Jeff Hamilton<\/p>\n Speaking of standout guitarists, Nashville native Steve Kovalcheck is a talent well worth checking out.<\/p>\n A former rock and heavy-metal player who turned to jazz, Kovalcheck plays with a supple fluidity and harmonic sophistication that would surely make George Benson and the late Joe Pass beam and nod with approval.<\/p>\n His terrific new album, \u201cBuckshot Blues,\u201d teams Kovalcheck with drum great Jeff Hamilton and bassist Jon Hamar \u2014 the same group that will perform with him here this weekend.<\/p>\n The trio\u2019s members shine equally whether playing Kovalcheck\u2019s arresting originals, classic jazz songs, Tin Pan Alley standards or transforming Johnny Cash\u2019s \u201cI\u2019ve Been Everywhere\u201d into a briskly swinging delight.<\/p>\n Their performance here is the second installment of the Westgate Hotel\u2019s new Jazz on The Terrace series. It will continue \u00a0next month with the Peter Sprague Quintet.<\/p>\n 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22. Westgate Hotel, 1055 Second Avenue, downtown. $75 (includes a chef-crafted dinner buffet, a welcome glass of wine or champagne, and concert) Reservations: 619-238-1818, westgatehotel.com\/event\/jazz-on-the-terrace-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n Tab Benoit, The Zak Schulze Gang<\/p>\n Louisiana music mainstay Tab Benoit has long been a rock-solid performer whose blues-drenched concerts are guaranteed to deliver a romping good time.<\/p>\n His performance here next Thursday \u2014 the same night as David Byrne, Brad Mehldau and the Nas\/Roots\/De La Soul triple-header \u2014 will feature the area debut of The Zac Schulze Gang, an English blues-rock power trio that is creating buzz for its high-octane performances.<\/p>\n Schulze is an adept guitarist and enthusiastic singer whose band performs with infectious spirit. Although he is only 26, Schulze draws considerable inspiration from the music of Rory Gallagher, whose death in 1995 predates Schulze\u2019s birth by five years, and from the English band Dr. Feelgood, whose leader died in 1994.<\/p>\n What the Zak Schulze Gang\u2019s music thus far lacks in originality is made up for in sheer velocity.<\/p>\n