March 3 Metro Arts

Atlanta Ballet, in collaboration with Hong Kong Ballet and Queensland Ballet, will co-produce a ballet about fashion icon Coco Chanel. The ballet will debut in Hong Kong this month, followed by its North American premiere in February 2024 with Atlanta Ballet. The ballet will also be produced in Australia by the Queensland Ballet in fall 2024. The choreographer, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, aims to delve into the complex life of Coco Chanel, exploring her influential fashion career as well as her collaboration with the Nazi intelligence service during World War II. Atlanta Ballet plans to partner with the Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum and the Savannah College of Art and Design's SCAD Fash Museum of Fashion and Film to provide educational resources and programming that will contextualize Chanel's story. The ballet will feature set and costume designs by Nancy Meckler and Jerome Kaplan, with an original score by Peter Salem. In other news, Elizabeth Remy Johnson of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestr This program is intended for a print-impaired audience and is brought to you by the Georgia Radio Reading Service, GARS. Welcome to Metro Arts for Friday, March 3, 2023. This is Kristen Moody for the Georgia Radio Reading Service. Metro Arts is brought to you by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. For our first article, we go to the Arts ATL publication for Breaking News, Atlanta Ballet will co-produce work on the life of Coco Chanel by Arts ATL staff. The Atlanta Ballet, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Ballet and Queensland Ballet, is co-producing a work about fashion icon Coco Chanel. The piece will debut this month in Hong Kong and then receive its North American premiere next February with Atlanta Ballet. It will be produced in Australia by the Queensland Ballet in the fall of 2024. The ballet was choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, the Belgian-Columbian dancer maker who has created more than 100 works for companies around the world. Her piece, Requiem for a Rose, was produced by Atlanta Ballet in 2013. More recently, Ballet Hispanico performed her work, Linea Recta, Straight Line, at the Rialto Center for the Arts in 2019. Coco Chanel, the life of a fashion icon, will delve into the complex life of one of fashion's most intriguing figures. The French-born Chanel built a fashion empire and became one of the most recognized people in the world. She was the only fashion designer included in Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. But she was also anti-Semitic, and a recent book found declassified documents from World War II that revealed she collaborated with the Nazi intelligence service during the German occupation of France. Ochoa's full-length narrative ballet will chronicle Chanel's life and polarizing reputation. I'm interested in telling stories about strong historical women, Ochoa said in a press release. Within the surface of a strong woman, there is always a hidden emotional story full of hardships and flaws. Atlanta Ballet artistic director, Genedy Nedgiven, said it is an honor to present the North American premiere of the piece. Annabelle is a brilliant choreographer and thoughtful storyteller, he said in the release. The ballet portrays a historical figure with a past that was both inspiring and problematic, so we want to go beyond the stage with meaningful partnerships and educational resources to help contextualize Chanel's story. The ballet will partner with the Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum for programming that will explore the impact of Chanel's anti-Semitism and collaboration with the Nazis. There will also be programming developed with the Savannah College of Art and Design's SCAD Fash Museum of Fashion and Film to look at Chanel's impact on the fashion industry. In addition to Ochoa, artistic collaboration was provided by Nancy Meckler and Jerome Kaplan, designed the set and costumes. The original score is by Peter Salem, who composed the music for Helen Pickett's acclaimed Camino Real for Atlanta Ballet's world premiere of that work in 2015. The Atlanta Ballet Orchestra will perform Salem's music live at the North American premiere. That was breaking news, Atlanta Ballet will co-produce work on the life of Coco Chanel by arts ATL staff. Next up, review, ASO's Elizabeth Remy Johnson performs with Emory's Orchestra by Jordan Owen. While Paul Bassin has enjoyed considerable publicity in light of his appointment as conductor and musical director of the Cab Symphony Orchestra, it was his primary haunt with the Emory University Symphony Orchestra that demanded attention on Saturday. The well-attended event, held in the Emerson Concert Hall at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, showcased a set of works by English composer Edward Elgar, along with a world premiere of Second Sight by Laura Schwendiger, and it featured the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Elizabeth Remy Johnson on harp. For their opening salvo, Elgar's Introduction and Allegro, Opus 47, the Emory University Symphony Orchestra was joined by the Vega Quartet, Emory's own artist-in-residence. It was a spirited, if somewhat imbalanced affair, with the Vega Quartet maintaining refined elegance, while the orchestra itself seemed to touch overly enthusiastic. The Emory Symphony is a student orchestra, and may well have just been too lost in youthful frivolity and the tactlessness it often begets. The result was a piece that was played impeccably from a technical standpoint, but lacked the finesse of more seasoned players. The evening's second work, the world premiere of Schwendiger's Second Sight, was a piece centered around the harp, a promising development for lovers of the instrument. While Johnson's performance on the harp was impeccable, the piece itself left much to be desired. Like so many avant-garde works, it eschews melodic development for something else, a kind of tense, throbbing, sonic tableau that never seems to really go anywhere. Instead of being carried away on the wings of a captivating melody, or at the very least cycled through a hypnotic chord progression a la Philip Glass, the listener instead was lifted a few feet in the air, made to experience a mild panic attack, and dropped unceremoniously back on the ground. Works like Second Sight are essentially the auditory equivalent of abstract painting. The modernist may appreciate the color gradient of the bold textural contrast, but the romantic will still be asking, what exactly am I looking at? None of that is to say that Schwendiger's work was wholly without merit. There were some truly interesting and even innovative ideas layered into the sonic texturing, particularly the manner in which the bowed percussion seemed to capture the overtones of the woodwinds and carry them off in ethereal directions. Such intricate and challenging touches make for interesting listening regardless of context, but the work as a whole just failed to be more than the sum of its parts. Schwendiger certainly has an answer for how she does what she does. Now she just needs a composition that answers the question of what and why. The third and final work of the evening, another work by Elgar, was easily the Clairaut's favorite. His variations on an original theme, Opus 36, Enigma, was full of life and mercifully melody. The students seemed more at home on this one and flowed in and out of one lush passage after another with an up-tempo sense of passion that still stayed within the prescribed limits of the music itself. Bassin himself seemed more energetic as well, so much so that he inadvertently lost his grip on the baton and sent it soaring out into the audience where it was quickly located by a spectator, the classical music equivalent of catching a foul ball in the stands. All in all, the evening was a robust showing for the Emory Orchestra and one that serves to elevate their presence out of the erudite halls of academia and into the realm of real artistic accomplishment. They still have much to learn, but that's what they're there to do. That was Review, ASO's Elizabeth Remy Johnson Performs with Emory's Orchestra by Jordan Owen. Next, muralist Drew Borders talks about race, anime, and the power of black women by Arthur Rudick. Given her stellar role in the Atlanta street art scene, you would never guess that illustrator, muralist, and animator Drew Borders graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design a mere two years ago. She recently landed a prestigious commission to muralize the Ormwood Avenue Bridge for art on the Atlanta Beltline. Her work was featured at the 44 Murals Project and at the Stack Squares Festival in Cabbagetown. Borders recently sat down with Arts ATL to discuss her influences, how her interest in murals developed, and what advice she would give to fledgling artists. Arts ATL, tell me about your formative years and their influence on your work today. Drew Borders, race had a lot to do with the evolution of my work. I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood. I also went to predominantly white schools. I talked about race with my family all the time. It was a regular dinner table discussion. It was strange for me to go to school and realize that most of my friends or classmates avoided the subject, yet I still had to pretend as if daily microaggressions, prejudice, and general ignorance didn't bother me. I fell in love with drawing very early on. It was a good escape for me, and it also gave me something to associate me with other than my skin color. It wasn't until my teenage years that I started making more of a statement with my work. I stopped thinking about what made my white classmates comfortable and started making work that was important to my identity and background. As I got older, my friend group diversified, and my voice became louder. Arts ATL, what drew you to animation? Borders, I watched animation all the time with my siblings when we were little. Every day after school, we'd finish our homework and then draw for hours while we watched cartoons. Most of the cartoons we watched were anime. I loved the big sparkly eyes, long flowing hair, and funky outfits they wore. A lot of that has leaked into my work today. Animation was like an escape. These characters lived in fantasy worlds and did whatever they wanted. That kind of freedom was unknown to me. Even though I had never animated anything before, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do once I went to college. Arts ATL, what led you to add muralism to your skill set? It was actually a family member. One of my aunts asked if I'd paint orchids in her bathroom. I'd just graduated college a couple months prior at the start of the pandemic. I was frustrated because it was hard to find work in my field. Barely anyone was hiring. I thought that if I started accepting jobs that didn't fit my degree perfectly, then it was all just a huge waste of time and money. I thought it made me a failure. I accepted her job anyway and ended up really enjoying the process. After that, I became more open to new opportunities that came my way. Arts ATL, in what way does your approach to murals differ from your approach to animation and illustration? Borders. For murals, I plan them in a logistical sense instead of just what looks cool. For animation and illustration, all I have to worry about are my fundamental principles. But with murals, there are so many variables that affect a job. I'm often pushing my body to its physical limits with murals while still having to think critically about the overall design. So for that reason, I try to make the execution as easy as possible. Murals are always a learning experience and that's why I like them. Arts ATL. Tell me about the dramatic mural you created as part of the Stack Squares Mural Festival in Cabbage Town. Borders. The piece is less about a story and more about the feeling that it evokes. The woman in the piece gives off a strong sense of power but still wears a solemn expression on her face, like she knows there's more work to be done. The interpretation is pretty much left up to the audience. For me, it's a reminder of my own ambition and those of other women of color as we attempt to make our work in a world full of adversity. Arts ATL. Why was it important to represent the three faiths from Greek mythology as black women in your recent Ormwood Avenue Bridge mural? Borders. Often when you see work about black women or black people in general, it's about the beauty in the struggle. But I don't like that. I feel that only focusing on the pain and trauma that we and our ancestors experienced normalizes it too much in our society today. It's almost like we are expected to struggle and that there's something heroic about it instead of it being a commentary about the flaws in our society. This bridge mural was specifically about putting power and control in the hands of a marginalized group of people. Arts ATL. Do you have any advice for young people who are thinking about art as a career? Borders. I'm understanding more and more that life is so unpredictable. If I hadn't struggled to find work after graduating, I probably would have never turned to murals as another alternative. I probably wouldn't have made the same friends that I've made today in this community. I would have missed out on so many opportunities. So take a leap of faith. You never know where it will lead you. That was muralist Drew Borders talks about race, anime, and the power of black women by Arthur Rudick. Next, from rock to opera, tenor Victor Ryan Robertson comes home for Candide by Mark Thomas Ketterson. Victor Ryan Robertson's musical journey has been unique. The young tenor from Atlanta originally went to college on a tennis scholarship but subsequently turned in his locker key to pursue a busy livelihood as a rock singer. Fate brought him together with Mary Ann Hill, professor of voice at Georgia State University, who led Robertson to realize that his vocal gift might take him much further than he imagined. Robertson honed his skills at Georgia State and then in the young artist program of Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, New York, and as a chorister in Atlanta. Atlanta audiences will have an opportunity to see Robertson with the Atlanta Opera where he will portray four different characters in Leonard Bernstein's Candide. Performances start March 4th at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center and run through March 12th. Since turning to opera professionally, Robertson has enjoyed a burgeoning career throughout the United States and Europe in an eclectic repertory ranging from the Italian bel canto to classical musical theater and the most cutting edge of contemporary vocal work. In the space of one year, Robertson debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in Lehar's The Merry Widow, jumped into the cast of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, and made his Kennedy Center debut as Benny Kidd Parrott in Terrence Blanchard's Champion. He has won particular acclaim as Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il Barber de Sevigny and as Sportant Life in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Robertson was the recipient of the coveted Ovation Award for his performance in Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme in Los Angeles and recently scored a Grammy nomination for his work in the new recording of Anthony Davis's The Life and Times of Malcolm X. Arts ATL caught up with Robertson after a rehearsal to discuss his rather unorthodox career trajectory and his upcoming performances of Candide. Arts ATL, you began your career as a rock singer. How did the transition to opera happen? Victor Ryan Robertson, I had a full tennis scholarship but was getting burned out playing five to six hours a day. I was always singing and I joined rock bands. At first, I thought it was something I could do to earn money on the side, but before you knew it, I was singing all over the southeast. I was living in Atlanta and ended up meeting Mary Ann Hill, who was a professor of voice at Georgia State. She saw me in a concert and came up after the show and told me I should be singing opera. I thought, oh, hell no, but I was smart enough to know that I needed to work to expand my vocal range. I called her the next week and she said if I was really serious, she might be able to find me some money to train in the program there. So I became a student of Georgia State. Before long, I got another scholarship, then another. I bypassed some things. She got me connected to the Young Artist Program at Tri-Cities Opera. Usually, by the time you get to a Young Artist Program as an opera singer, you already have an undergrad degree and your master's. I kind of took the Nureyev route and skipped the corps de ballet, arts ATL. A move from rock to opera is not unheard of, bass, baritone, yevny, nicotine comes to mind, but it isn't typical. Were there particular vocal challenges involved? Robertson. It all came together like a script. Most of the time when I was in rock bands, we didn't have monitors, so I had to project in order to hear myself. I needed to hear if I was in tune. For whatever reason, I was doing that correctly. I was using decent technique. I don't know how, it just came naturally. When Mary Ann heard me, she asked who I had trained with. I said nobody. Come on, I was singing Led Zeppelin. But she said my basic technique was solid, so the transition to a different discipline was not difficult. You sing off the voice in rock. You use chest voice, straight tone. You do whatever you have in your arsenal to make the line work. Bing sings in all straight tone, but then you hear Robert Plant, who has this very open sound. He really opens up. I was mimicking these legends, but somehow I did it without sacrificing my vocal cords. I easily could have killed my voice, but I didn't. Arts ATO. Do you think you would have harmed your voice had you continued in rock? Robertson. I maybe would have. The rock musical Rent was the biggest hit on Broadway at that time. They were auditioning singers for the troupe all around the country, including Atlanta, so I went down. They chose me. I sang for them in New York, and I was going to do it. When I told my teacher, she said, if you do that show, you will have no voice in a year. I was upset, but I knew she was right. I've wondered if I would have killed it, since I had already done so many years in rock, but I took her advice, and several of the original cast members in Rent destroyed their voices. The Rent producers were pissed, and I was too embarrassed to give them an explanation. Three years later, Baz Luhrmann was looking for singers for his production of La Boheme on Broadway. Somebody pushed me to audition, and when I walked in, they yelled, Bic, where the hell you been? So it came full circle. I ended up doing La Boheme in L.A. I would have rather done that anyway. Same story as Rent, but the fuccini is so much more beautiful. Arts ATO. Has your rock background informed your approach to opera in any way? Robertson. It helps tremendously, especially in English operas. In The Life and Times of Malcolm X, I have two characters. One is called Street, who is a jazzy character. Then there's Elijah Muhammad, who is more of a Straussian tenor, but with Street, some of his lines are very much what I was doing on the road in rock. If you get a standard opera singer to sing those lines, it would be fine, but it wouldn't have life. It wouldn't have Street in it. Little things like that add up in an aria, and the next thing you know, you have a character. I did an opera by Carly Simon called Romulus Hunt. It's a hybrid of opera and musical theater. The conductor noted I didn't change my technique much. That was a great compliment, because so often when an opera singer does rock, it's just uncomfortable and vice versa. Because I've lived in both worlds for 20 years, I am able to blend it so it doesn't sound like one or the other. Arts etia. Tell us a bit about your four characters in Candide. Robertson. Well, every version of Candide is different. The last one I did was in Paris. In Atlanta, I am doing the Baron, a speaking role. Then I do the Governor, who marries every woman he meets and sings the exquisite aria, My Love. Then I play a Dutch villain, Van Der Denner, who has a great aria, Bon Voyage. That one is a lot of fun. You get the chorus right there thumping with you. Then I do Rogatski, the guy who houses ladies at the night. This production is going to be special. The Atlanta opera has found the perfect singer for every character. I was sitting in the first musical rehearsal thinking, my God, these people are amazing. Just stunningly good. And I don't usually say that. You will be taken on a fantastical journey. The orchestra is huge. It's going to be a great watch. Arts etia. You are an Atlanta resident who came up through the ranks, and now you sing all over the world. What is it like to come home to perform? Robertson. It's crazy you ask that, because just today, I was driving home from rehearsal and remembering all those times I drove these same roads when I was struggling as a rock singer, just hoping I could get a gig, that I could get into a young artist program. Those feelings run deep. I began to get a little tearful because it hit me that I wish I could go back and tell my younger self, who was struggling so much, that I would be where I am today. Being a part of this production is fantastic. I'm going back to the Met next season in the life and times of Malcolm X. I love to sing Bel Canto rep, but after the pandemic, I find I want to do things that relate to issues we are currently dealing with in the world. Things like the Central Park Five and Malcolm X. Audiences want to relate to the characters, so it's good to hear things in English. I love doing Candide and Porgy. It's a good year. I want Atlanta audiences to know that they have a hometown boy who is doing well. That was From Rock to Opera, tenor Victor Ryan Robertson Comes Home for Candide by Mark Thomas Ketterson. Next up, Jackson Fine Art, renowned photography gallery, moves to new, larger location by arts ATL staff. Jackson Fine Art, the 33-year-old Atlanta gallery known for its exhibits of 20th century and contemporary photography, will move to a new location in March. The new 4,000-square-foot custom-built space is located at 3122 East Shadow Lawn Avenue across the street from the gallery's current location. It will include larger exhibition, office, inventory, library, and meeting spaces for both artists and collectors. The official opening on March 24th will launch a weekend of events organized around inaugural exhibits of work by Cooper and Gorfer, Sheila Pree Bright, and Francesca Woodman. It will be the first gallery exhibition in the United States for Stockholm-based artists Cooper and Gorfer, highlighting the gallery's tradition of recognizing local, national, and international artists who define and redefine the medium of photography. The gallery's current exhibit, Steve Shapiro, Warhol, and Ali, closes on March 18th at the old location. Other recent exhibits include Tabitha Sorin's three series, Running, Surface Tension, and Relief, and shows by Julie Blackman and William Eggleston. Jane Jackson founded the gallery in 1990. When she became director of the Sir Elton John Photography Collection in 2003, she sold the gallery to Anna Walker Skillman, who had been Jackson's director for six years. The gallery is currently led by Skillman and co-owner Andy Heyman. Jane Jackson recently opened a new gallery, the Object Space, located on the west side in a shared space with Sandler Hudson Gallery. That was Jackson Fine Art, renowned photography gallery, moved to a new, larger location by art's ATL staff. Next, What to See, Do, and Hear, Johnny Mercer, Little Women, Geometric Shapes, and More, by the art's ATL staff. Theater. Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, Little Women, will appear on the stage as a musical for its final weekend at Act Three Playhouse. This production features lyrics by Mindy Dickstein, book by Alan Knee, and music by Jason Howland. Debuting with Act Three for the first time are Kayla Perry, Lizzie Stone, Katie Jennison, and Ellie Schwartz of the unforgettable March Sisters. Tickets are $31.25 each, with discounts available. Are you looking for a mystery that you can't solve easily? This weekend is your last opportunity to watch Women in Jeopardy at Georgia Ensemble Theater. This comedy, thriller, and mystery all about the power of the sisterhood skips becoming a glaringly obvious whodunit and, according to arts ATL critic Benjamin Carr, offers Hitchcock-like style, a cast with terrific chemistry, and even a hilarious and suspicious dentist. Tickets start at $32 and depend on seating. Glass or drums? Lemon, pepper, or garlic parmesan? Whatever your preference, don't miss the final weekend of Alliance Theater's Hot Wing King. Written and directed by Pulitzer winner Katori Hall, the performance is one of the best plays you'll see this year, according to arts ATL critic Benjamin Carr, who additionally praises the technical achievement, fun vibe, and likable, fully developed characters. Tickets start at $30 and depend on seating. Music. The Rialto Center for the Arts presents a tribute to Savannah songwriter Johnny Mercer Saturday night, hosted by local jazz legend Joe Granson and featuring vocalist Robin Lattimore. As arts ATL's Mike Shaw details in his story about the show, Mercer's papers are housed at Georgia State University and the lyrics to three unrecorded Mercer songs were uncovered. Jazz pianist Louis Harraveau has set the lyrics to music and they will be premiered at Saturday's concert. Tickets start at $20.40. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performs Joan Tower's 1920-2019 Thursday and Saturday at 8 p.m., a piece that marks 100 years of women's history from voting rights to the Me Too movement. Associate conductor Jerry Ho will lead the program. It will also feature pianist Awadagan Pritt performing a new piano concerto by composer Jesse Montgomery. Saturday's concert will celebrate the impact of historically black colleges and universities with the Atlanta HBCU Alumni Alliance. Tickets start at $36. Georgia native Sonia Lee will mark the release of her new single, Thin Ice, Saturday at Eddie's Attic. Lee has a long association with the Zac Brown Band and co-wrote two of their number one hits, Goodbye in Her Eyes and Sweet Annie. Her own music ranges from hip-hop to pop and rock. Lee released her first album in 2011 and is at work on a new full-length album due out later this year. Show is at 9 p.m. Tickets are $22.76. Art and Design. Atlanta artist Mitchell Biggio's exhibit, Forms in Exchange, opens Friday at Echo Contemporary Art. This exhibition navigates the interaction between geometric elements to depict moments of change. Biggio's work has been exhibited previously at White Spec at White Space Gallery and in the 2021-22 Gathered Juried Exhibit at MoCA Georgia. Opening reception is 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Hannah Ehrlich will give an artist talk on Saturday at the Swan Coach House Gallery in connection with her exhibit of fiber sculpture works, Clearing a Fertile Exhale. The show is curated by Makeda Lewis. It's at 3 p.m. and it's free. Mint Gallery will host an opening reception on Saturday for two exhibits, one by photographer and leap year artist Jose Ibarra Rizzo, The Price of This Dream, and the other by Mint open call artist Noah Reyes, titled Galazzo Way, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. That was What to See, Do, and Hear, Johnny Mercer, Little Women, Geometric Shapes, and more by the Arts ATL staff. Next, Joe Gransdon leads a Johnny Mercer tribute with three new Mercer songs by Mike Shaw. Joe Gransdon has been a key part of annual Johnny Mercer tributes since 2010, but Saturday's Mercer concert at the Rialto Center for the Arts is special. I'll be singing Johnny Mercer songs no one else has ever performed, says the Atlanta trumpeter and singer. Gransdon will lead the Georgia State University Jazz Band in the tribute to the Savannah-born Mercer. It features three new songs, unearthed in the Mercer archives at Georgia State, with music provided by jazz pianist Louis Hariveau. It's the kind of gig you'd expect Gransdon to direct. He's been playing Atlanta with jazz from trios to big bands since he moved here in 1991. I was on tour with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, but wanted to finish college, says Gransdon. My parents had moved here from Buffalo, and I decided to come here and enroll for my final two years at Georgia State University. The next decade was something of a tug-of-war between Atlanta and New York City. Gransdon, who was born just north of the city, returned there after graduating to work as a freelance trumpeter. Then he came back to a more family-friendly Atlanta, which also proved work-friendly. His trio, that included double bassist Neil Starkey, worked virtually every night and a weekly brunch through the mid-'90s. Then it was back to New York for one more stint in the late-'90s that ended in 2001 with the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center. I had to make a decision about where to plant my roots, says Gransdon. Perhaps it was Carissa, whom he met and married here, who settled him for good. But it was also that torrent of work that Atlanta was providing, near nightly club gigs and more, parties, weddings, socials. His quartet and quintet were working 200-plus gigs a year. Phil, I wanted to do something different, he says, which was to share his passion for those early 20th-century standards we know as the great American songbook. I thought there was room in Atlanta for a big band. Enter Wes Thunderbrook, trombonist and arranger. Together they wrote arrangements and created a sound big and jazz-infused. It attracted many of Atlanta's best players and standing-room-only audiences for big band Mondays at Johnny Scatina's Cafe 290 in Sandy Springs. We were constantly adding new arrangements to the books and new players, says Gransdon. We had a huge base of musicians and even recorded live there. The Cafe 290 performances led to more work, a score of engagements for holiday parties, corporate events, and an assortment of other private functions. It was a dream come true, Gransdon said. And it lasted 11 years until COVID-19 took Cafe 290 and pretty much shut down live music in Atlanta and everywhere else. The early 2000s had already been tough on jazz in Atlanta, including the club every jazz musician wanted to play, Churchill Grounds, which closed in 2016. I'm so grateful to Sam Yee and Chris Dean, Churchill Grounds' owners, says Gransdon. They brought in the best jazz had to offer, some of the best jazz musicians in the world. Those nights were not only inspiring, but had a huge impact on my ability to play. Gransdon and his Georgia State associates, including Funderburk, who, like many of Atlanta's most accomplished jazz musicians, teaches at the University School of Music, have been producing Johnny Mercer tributes since 2010. Each has featured a special guest vocalist, the likes of Carmen Bradford, Francine Reed, Maria Howell, Kathleen Bertrand, Tierney Sutton, and Atlanta's beloved Teresa Hightower. Saturday, the special guest will be Robin Lattimore, and the music will include three new, yes new, Mercer songs. The songs come from the manuscripts of hand-scribed and unpublished lyrics from the GSU Mercer Archive, for which jazz pianist Louis Hereveau has created song titles and melodies and scored the night's arrangement. For Hereveau, it's like he and Mercer are collaborating in different decades, or even different centuries. One of the joys of being a jazz musician in Atlanta has been the weekly jam sessions that have popped up over the years. Gransdon frequently led the Tuesday night sessions at Bankman's, another COVID victim, but as music venues have re-emerged, Gransdon's gig schedule is once again full, so have the and Gransdon's new home will be Monday's at Napoleon's Grill in Decatur. It's a great location, he says, a great stage, and a wonderful sound man and sound system. As a young trumpet player in New York, I went to jam sessions that were very cutthroat. I promised myself that if I ever hosted my own sessions, they would be friendly. This music is about community, and everyone who wants to play will be given a chance. That was Joe Gransdon Leads a Johnny Mercer Tribute with Three New Mercer Songs by Mike Shaw. Next, Seven Stages Pinocchio Combines Artistic Disciplines for Adults Only Retelling by Jim Farmer. The multidisciplinary collaboration between Maryam Khalid and Michael Haberty on their interpretation of Pinocchio started well before COVID. It was back in 1523, 500 years ago. Well, not really, but it certainly feels that way to the artist. Two years ago, the pair made a film from the first 16 chapters of the famous book, and now a stage version opens this week at Seven Stages, running March 3 to 12 with the remaining take of the story. Patrons will receive the filmed first half, running 30 minutes, before they see the conclusion. It seamlessly fits together, promises Haberty. Both artists knew they wanted their own spin on the classic. We always talked about what it would be like to create Pinocchio on film, says Khalid. Another aspect would be immersive, and we always played with those aspects. Then COVID happened, and we thought, what if we laid it out in this way? Their collaborative effort, both artists wrote and directed the piece, incorporates puppetry, dance, video, and projection. The story is episodic, and when patrons enter, the immersive aspects are located in three different spaces. Pinocchio begins in the Seven Stages lobby, which is the puppeteer's theater, then moves into the main stage for several episodes, and then heads backstage for the finale, in the belly of a whale, where Pinocchio will wound up. It's me and Miriam bringing what we each do well together, so it's equal amounts of all those elements, says Haberty. It's a show of surprises that doesn't stop moving and changing. We each try to use those elements to point up and lift up the elements of Carlo Collodi's original book, and the story interweaves sophomoric humor with some weighty contemplation of big themes. This take of Pinocchio also involves sensory sensations. With every immersive piece, there is an aspect of that, touch, taste, says Khalid. In this case, we are guiding the audience through a few of those moments. It has to make sense for the story. Some places, you get hints of a scent, and others, you get a hint of taste. In other places, we encourage you to feel the surroundings, to be immersed in all three at the same time. Khalid and Haberty started chatting about this project back in 2019. They had known each other and worked together before that, with Khalid being the founder and artistic director of SIA Arts International, and now leading Sky Creature Production. Haberty, meanwhile, is the artistic director of the Object Group. Collodi's book speaks both of these visionary. It was one of those stories that was always fascinating for me, a story that I came back to time and time again, says Khalid. We wanted to do something together, and the more we explored it, the more we realized how relevant Pinocchio is to what is happening in our world right now, and with our communities. We kept finding connections. Haberty calls Pinocchio a story of love and family. It's about children and the child within. Are you going to suppress the child or release it? That feels very present now. We are all considering what we are doing in this life, this society, and that is what the story is all about, he says. In the planning stages, the two had no idea so many people would be producing Pinocchio right now, including director Guillermo del Toro, whose animated film version is favored to win an Academy Award. Everybody is doing it now, says Khalid. It feels like a shift in the air that everyone wants to do it. Yet Haberty is not surprised it's all the rage again. The book has been around for so long. I think it's the most translated book in the world, over the Bible. We've talked in rehearsals about why that is, why it is so popular, and why it has lasted so long. There is a tenderness to the story that is rather healing to be a part of, I think in terms of why. We need a bit of that feeling after the last few years, and we're hoping that will provide a whirlwind that we've faced. For Khalid, Pinocchio is about someone wanting something so desperately that they make the wrong choices, with all the consequences appearing in a very visceral, immediate way. It's almost a journey through grief for us, and we are exploring that in a way, with the relationship between Geppetto and Pinocchio, she says. Different takes on the classic appeal more to young audiences, while others are geared more toward adults. There are so many different versions out there, says Haberty. So many weird versions, including a Nazi version. Khalid recalled a Ukrainian version, a surreal one with a piece of wood instead of a puppet. They both agree their Pinocchio is most definitely appropriate for adults and older teens. Whatever mental state you want to go down, it's ripe for exploration, says Khalid. Haberty himself appears in the show as Harlequino, while the performer playing Pinocchio is female. I've not been thinking of Pinocchio as any gender. He is called a boy throughout, but that stands for child. There is not a lot of gender going into the character. It's not a choice in any direction. Pinocchio is the best person in human flesh, and her name is Rachel Wankster. She had the character. She's a professional clown, has worked with refugee communities, and has this kindness and exuberance and wackiness. We hardly have to direct her. She has this character down. That was Seven Stages Pinocchio Combines Artistic Disciplines for Adults Only Retelling by Jim Farmer. Next, we move to the March edition of the Creative Loafing Publication for Obituary, Marion Degler, 1953-2023 by Hal Horowitz. Longtime Atlanta-based blues promoter Marion Degler passed away suddenly on February 24th. Perhaps best recognized for her blues and roots music shows on WRFG, Degler, a native Georgian, tirelessly supported local and lesser-known nationally touring acts. She interviewed them on WRFG to support their local gigs and hosted house parties where they played for tips when booking in area clubs wasn't available. She was a fixture at Blind Willie's for decades, known and respected by the blues community for her kindness, humor, generosity, and passion for the music. Marion assisted veterans in the genre as well as younger artists starting to make ripples by getting the word out to her many contacts in and out of the Atlanta Blues Society. Degler was scheduled to celebrate her 70th birthday at Blind Willie's on March 26th. That event will now be a remembrance of her life. That was Obituary, Marion Degler by Hal Horowitz. Next, Blues and Beyond, Marvelous Marvin's music mission. Marvin Mahaney brings the blues south of I-285 by Hal Horowitz. There is so much that needs to be achieved by blues musicians in order to move from local unknown to area hero to the national spotlight. You have to understand the history of the music, learn your instrument, secure bookings, fine tune a stage presence, and play live. Lots and lots of playing live. Then maybe, just maybe, those who get some breaks and perfect their faculties can graduate to a larger commercial audience. But it takes time and plenty of shows in front of less than enthusiastic audiences to make that materialize. It can happen, though, as the varying degrees of success generated by the Atlanta-based Sean Costello, Oliver Wood, Tinsley Ellis, and to a lesser degree, Colonel Bruce Hampton, all proved. All had clubs, mostly in the city of Atlanta, willing to book them as they struggled and honed their craft. From the well-known, even legendary Northside Tavern and Blind Willie's to Fat Matt's and any number of long-defunct joints, the city's root scene has been a key factor providing an audience and a venue for nascent acts to sharpen their skills and acquire homegrown followings. Those that facilitate this, those who book the clubs, bars, and music rooms, are essential to the operation and to an artist's progression. Historically, at least for the blues, these stages have been located inside the perimeter, ITP. The bottom or southern end of I-285, especially outside the perimeter, OTP, removed from the metro Atlanta area, has been a wasteland for reputable regional acts playing blues and roots-based material. Luckily, that has changed, thanks to Marvin Mahaney. The 69-year-old Fayetteville resident and bassist for blues rockers The Troubletones, winner of this year's Atlanta Blues Challenge, found himself bored and directionless after retiring from his full-time job, the pre-COVID passing of his wife, and the knockout punch of live music's disintegration during the pandemic years. As a musician, he already knew most of the roots players who frequented the Atlanta locale. In December 2021, he pitched the idea of presenting them in Fayetteville, about 30 miles south of Atlanta, to a friend who owns the old Courthouse Tavern there. Mahaney began booking blues bands every Saturday night, eventually drawing substantial crowds who welcomed the influx of semi-professional talent to their area. Mahaney had been doing this unofficially for the outfits he played in for years, so he understood the basics. Established local groups and artists have been hungry for post-pandemic places to play. Over the past year, well-known ITP performers like the Catsanovas, Skylar Softly, and the Garrett Collins Project jumped at his offers. Admission is free, tip jar gets passed around, and Mahaney isn't paid, but it gets me out of the house, he laughs. He has expanded his services to another Fayetteville location, La Fayette's Bon Temps, where he also books solo acts on Sunday afternoons. As usual, the Atlanta Blues Society has helped by holding an occasionally monthly meeting at Fayetteville location and listing Mahaney's bookings. But promoting these shows is still one of the most frustrating aspects of the job. While it's unlikely Fayetteville will become an OTP go-to place for known names such as the one great Darwin's in Marietta was, Marvelous Marvin, as he's known, has created a mini-blues revival in Fayetteville that's growing in popularity for both audiences and talent. In the future, he's hoping to expand operations by booking shows every night in Fayetteville, turning the old Courthouse Tavern into Blind Willie's or Northside Tavern South. And Marvelous Marvin is the guy to pull it off. The whole reason I did this was to get my musician friends back playing, putting money back in their pocket, and helping build up the cloud and lift the town up. I figured if I could lift all these people up, maybe I'll be lifted up with them. Old Courthouse Tavern, Fayetteville, March 4th. Skylar Softly, March 11th. Sweet and Salty Band, March 18th. The Trouble Tones, March 25th. The Garrett Collins Project. These shows are free and at 8.30 p.m. Old Courthouse Tavern is at 105 West Glynn Street, Fayetteville, 30214. Call 678-489-3888 for more information. La Fayette Bon Tempe Tavern, Fayetteville, March 5th. Mandy Straccata, March 12th. Garrett Collins, March 26th. Heath Williams. These shows are free at 5 p.m. La Fayette Bon Tempe Tavern, 119 Stonewall Avenue East, Fayetteville, 30214. For more information, call 678-545-3149 or visit LaFayetteBonTempeTavern.com. March into March with these Blues and Beyond shows. Friday, March 3rd. Joshua Ray Walker, The Vandaliers Vinyl. Dallas, Texas-based country singer-songwriter Walker has released three albums in three years, creating a trilogy about honky-tonk bars and those who frequent them. Yet his clear vocals, his strikingly crafted lyrics about dumpster diving and gas station roses, among other topics, and his tangy, twangy tunes never demean his subject. Opening as a harder rockin' country outfit, The Vandaliers, making this an impressive roots music double bill. Tickets are $20. That's 8 p.m. at Vinyl, 1374 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, 30309. Call 404-885-1365 for more information. Also Friday, March 3rd. Southern Avenue, Keith Sleetdahl, Smith's Old Bar. Blues, funk, and soul mix together in the music of this rugged Memphis-based group. It's ignited by the killer lungs and boundless energy of lead singer Tyra Nee Jackson and the intensity of her drumming sister, Takira. Expect tunes from all three of their albums, each with a handful of keepers you'll be singing along with, even if you don't know them. $15 to $25. That's 8 p.m. at Smith's Old Bar, 1578 Piedmont Avenue Northeast, 30324. Call 404-875-1522 for more information or visit sobatl.com. Also Friday, March 3rd. Dawes Variety Playhouse. This Taylor Goldsmith-fronted California quartet has released eight albums since 2009, all mining a dreamy melodic Americana with an occasional edge. Their latest from 2021 pushes the boundaries by expanding three tracks to over eight minutes without falling into repetition or pretension. It's billed as an evening with, so expect two long sets. Tickets are $35 to $79.50. That's 8 p.m. at Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Avenue, Atlanta, 30307. Call 404-504-7354 or visit variety-playhouse.com for more information. Emmylou Harris with the Red Dirt Boys, Symphony Hall. Nothing more needs to be said about Harris' influence on the Americana genre and her storied career in country, folk, bluegrass, and even roots pop. She's an undisputed living legend. Her backing band, the Red Dirt Boys Quartet, just released their debut. Expect original music from them as well. Harris, whose stunning voice and classy five-plus decades of music have made her an American icon, doesn't need to worry about being overshadowed. Tickets are $49.50 to $80. That's at 8 p.m. at Atlanta Symphony Hall on Friday, March 3rd. Symphony Hall is at 1280 Peachtree Street, 30309. Call 404-733-4900 or visit aso.org for more information. Saturday, March 4th. Joe Bonamassa, Fox Theater. Blues rocker Bonamassa returns for his annual visits, which were interrupted during the pandemic years, with new songs in his arsenal. His band is top-notch, as is his guitar work, but he has been criticized for overly polished performances that are emotionally staid. Regardless, fans flock to the increasingly higher-priced gigs. He's doing something right. His most recent studio album, Time Clocks 2021, finds him stretching into more progressive rock territory. Tickets are $43 to $253. That's 8 p.m. Saturday, March 4th at the Fox Theater, 660 Peachtree Street, Northeast, Atlanta, 30308. Call 404-321-5000 or visit foxtheater.org for more information. Sunday, March 5th. The Shoutouts, Eddie's Attic. This Akron, Ohio-based outfit sounds like they're Texas born and bred with their easygoing yet compelling combination of twang, strong, honky-tonk rockability, and reverb-laden country. A new album, Stampede, produced by Asleep at the Wheels Ray Benson, adds guests like Marty Stewart, Raul Malo, and Buddy Miller to the mix, bringing veteran Americana talent to their third release. This will probably be the last time you'll be able to see them in a place this intimate. Tickets are $10. That's 8 p.m. Sunday, March 5th at Eddie's Attic, 515B, North McDonough Street, Decatur, 30030. Call 404-377-4976 or visit eddiesattic.com. Tuesday, March 7th. The Beths, Sydney Gish, The Masquerade. New Zealand indie rockers The Beths play strummy, melodic pop rock with rootsy charisma. Frontwoman songwriter Elizabeth Stokes channels Crowded House with a bit of Breeders influence and plenty of attention to the charming sweeping hooks that made those bands international sensations. Add bengal-styled harmonies for a slightly retro girl group sound floating with edgy sweetness. Tickets are $22. That's 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 7th at The Masquerade, Kenny's Alley at Underground Atlanta. Parking and entrance at 75 MLK Jr. Drive, Atlanta, 30303. Uber Lyft drop-off pick-up is at 92 Pryor Street, Southwest Atlanta, Georgia, 30303. Call 404-577-8178 for more information or visit masqueradeatlanta.com. Wednesday, March 8th. The Bodine's, City Winery. The harmonies so integral to the initial Bodine sound are M.I.A. with the exit of founding member Sam Lanas gone for over a decade. But frontman Kurt Newman has kept the face and catalog of ringing Americana roots pop alive, releasing spirited albums dedicated to the Midwestern rock that has always defined the band. Thankfully, the title of 2022's For the Last Time has proven to be false. Tickets are $40 to $50. That's 8 p.m. at City Winery, 650 North Avenue Northeast, Ponce City Market, Atlanta, 30308. For more information, call 404-596-3791 or visit citywinery.com forward slash Atlanta. Thursday, March 9th. Crypt 24, The Mystery Men, The Sideburners at Star Community Bar. They may not be the immortal cramps who can be, but Rome George's Crypt 24 carries on the zombie rockabilly tradition well enough as they crank out creepy garage rock originals like Monster in the Closet and Bride of Frankenstein. Both openers help set the surf and voodoo monster mash mood. Tickets are $10. That's 8 p.m. at Star Community Bar, 437 Moreland Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, 30307. Call 404-390-3062 or visit starbaratl.com for more information. That was all the time we have for this article, which is entitled Blues and Beyond, Marvelous Marvin's Music Mission. Marvin Mahoney Brings the Blues South of I-285 by Hal Horowitz. That concludes today's Metro Arts program, which is brought to you by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. This has been Kristen Moody for GARS, the Georgia Radio Reading Service. Thank you for listening to GARS. www.gars.gov