TODAYJAZZSuspiciously loud piano stylingsRather than exploring the...

L.A. Times Archives

March 30, 2006 12 AM PT

TODAY

JAZZ

Suspiciously loud piano stylings

Rather than exploring the Great American Songbook of the 1920s to ‘60s, the Bad Plus -- a jazz trio featuring Reid Anderson on bass, Ethan Iverson on piano and David King on drums -- has mined more contemporary pop-rock repertoires. Their albums have featured such tunes as Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” Queen’s “We Are the Champions” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” as well as original numbers. And although an acoustic ensemble, the Bad Plus has been noted for playing more loudly than more traditional piano trios. They

released their latest

CD, “Suspicious Activity,” last fall.

The Bad Plus, Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. 8:30 and 10:30 tonight. $18 to $30. (323) 466-2210.

* Also 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

FRIDAY

THEATER

Easter perennial in all its glory

“The Glory of Easter,” the annual theatrical spectacular reenacting the Easter story, features a cast of hundreds, live animals, flying angels, a soundtrack recorded by the London Symphony and Seattle Symphony orchestras and special effects that include lightning, thunder and earthquakes.

“The Glory of Easter,” Crystal Cathedral, 12141 Lewis St., Garden Grove. Opening weekend: 7:30 p.m. Friday to Sunday. $30 to $40, except next Thursday and April 11 and 12, $18. (714) 544-5679. www.crystalcathedral.org* Runs 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Exceptions: 7:30 p.m. April 7, dark Tuesday and Wednesday; ends April 15.

MOVIES

Fighting the devil within

You might have an inkling of who Daniel Johnston is if you watched MTV back in the day, when he appeared in a special about the Austin, Texas, music scene. A cult figure acclaimed by David Bowie, Tom Waits and Kurt Cobain, Johnston is a singer-songwriter who is also a proficient visual artist exhibited around the world. Jeff Feuerzeig’s documentary “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” chronicles the artist’s battles with mental illness and his fight to maintain his creativity.

“The Devil and Daniel Johnston,” PG-13 for thematic elements, drug content and language including a sexual reference, opens Friday in selected theaters.

MUSIC

Terry Riley, pre-’In C’

Although California composer Terry Riley is best known for launching the Minimalist movement with his classic “In C” in 1964, he was writing music before that. As part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Minimalist Jukebox series, Riley will play his Keyboard Studies, composed in 1963. The Calder Quartet will play his String Quartet, written in 1960, and members of the quartet will play his String Trio, written in 1961. It’s an eye in to the evolution of the style that had such a great effect on contemporary music.

Minimalist Jukebox, Williams Auditorium, Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. 8 p.m. Friday. $10. (310) 440-7300. www.getty.edu

SATURDAY

MUSIC

Wagner, Liszt and Rach too

Although Minimalism is capturing a lot of attention these days, for contrast you can turn to Liszt, Wagner and Rachmaninoff. All three composers filled their scores with as much music as possible. Jorge Mester will conduct the Pasadena Symphony in the “Prelude and Love Death” from Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde,” Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff’s large-scale Symphonic Dances. Lisa de la Salle, first-prize winner in the 2004 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York and the 2003 European Young Concert Artists Auditions in Paris, is the Liszt soloist.

Pasadena Symphony, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. 8 p.m. Saturday. $15 to $69. (626) 584-8833. www.pasadenasymphony.org

ART

He’s where Europe and Peru meet

Fernando de Szyszlo spent a good part of the 1950s in Paris, making friends with artists and intellectuals like Andre Breton and Octavio Paz. When he returned to his native Peru, he incorporated his newfound European sensibilities, interest in pre-Columbian textiles and magical realism influences into a unique brand of Latin American abstract art. “Szyszlo: Recent Paintings” features new figurative and abstract works with selections from his 2005 retrospective at Palacio de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires.

“Szyszlo: Recent Paintings,” Latin American Masters, 264 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. (310) 271-4847. Opens Saturday.

* Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Ends May 6.

EVENTS

Fun to

be fooled

For the Sacred Fools Theater, April 1 is a hallowed day, when the foolishness should be giddily exalted in several events that will surely outpace even the most blathering and tireless of fools. The Fools’ Entertainment Marathon begins with a Iron Chef Contest, moves on to slam poetry and spoken word, switches tracks to magic tricks and illusion, then crashes into the Fools’ production of their musical, “Bukowsical.” Other events include a karaoke contest, monologues and scenes with Shakespeare’s beloved fools and a fool’s lottery for $1 million. OK, so the last one’s not true, but for a second you believed it, right?

The Fools’ Entertainment Marathon, Sacred Fools Theater, 660 N. Heliotrope Drive, Hollywood. 6 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday. $25. (310) 281-8337.

SUNDAY

DANCE

Take five, everybody

Get up close and personal with Benita Bike’s locally based DanceArt Company in another free “Double Take” program. Not only do you get to see performances of “A Few American Songs” (danced to traditional folk music), “Overlapping” (music by Dean Wallraff) and “VIDA Songs” (set to recordings by Moira Smiley’s a cappella group), the program also gives you plenty of chances to talk with the choreographer and dancers about what you see, think and feel. Insights about the creative process are especially valuable when contemporary work is presented -- and “Double Take” is the proof.

Benita Bike’s DanceArt Company in “Double Take,” Madrid Theatre, 21622 Sherman Way, Canoga Park. 3 p.m. Sunday. Free. (818) 353-5734, (818) 347-9419.

TUESDAY

THEATER

This ‘SVU’ is a killer

“Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit” is the latest edition of Gerard Alessandrini’s spoof of iconic musicals and their stars. A 2005 Drama Desk Award-winner for best musical revue, the show is a Southern California premiere.

“Forbidden Broadway,” Theatre in Old Town, 4040 Twiggs St., San Diego. Opens 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. $31 to $43. (619) 688-2494; www.theatreinoldtown.com

* Runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 5 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays; ends June 4.

WEDNESDAY

THEATER

Trolling

for laughs

UCLA Live presents the West Coast premiere of off-the-wall British comedian Bill Bailey in “Part Troll,” a collage of comedy, anecdotes and musical parodies, including a German rendition of the Commodores’ hit “Three Times a Lady.”

“Part Troll,” Macgowan Little Theater, UCLA (Parking Lot 3), Westwood. Opens 8 p.m. Wednesday. $20 and $25. (310) 825-2101. www.UCLALive.org

* Runs 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays; ends April 23.