The 55th annual Monterey Jazz Festival runs from September 21 to 23, with a terrifically varied roster of mainstage performers, from soignée chanteuse Melody Gardot, to iconic figures including Tony Bennett and Bill Frisell, to the Agenda’s pick for the most entertaining contemporary jazz musician on the touring circuit, Trombone Shorty. Over 500 artists will perform on 8 stages throughout the weekend-long event

On Thursday the 20th, the night prior to the festival opening, Jack DeJohnette will be honored at the non-profit festival’s fundraising Jazz Legends Gala. The evening’s host will be the Invisible Chair Whisperer himself, former Carmel mayor Clint Eastwood. The gala festivities will take place at the Hyatt Regency Monterey, home to one of SF Agenda’s favorite Bay Area escapes, the Accista Spa.

The deluxe couples’ suite at the Accista Spa in Monterey

If you like to feel jazz hands all over your bod, its well worth taking a break from the weekend’s concerts to treat yourself to a customized Accista massage. You’ll be asked to sample four different scents—from an almost medicinal herbal blend to a warm, sunny citrus—and select an aroma that matches your mood and the tone of the treatment you’d like to receive.

The spa’s most extraordinary offerings are its lavish couples suites, with private sitting areas, fireplaces, side-by-side massage tables, wine and cheese service available, and—in the largest suite—a hydrotherapy tub with room for two. Even if you don’t reserve a suite of your own, Accista’s hushed, sprawling post-therapy relaxation areas are arrayed with comfortable daybeds, encouraging dreamy naps to extend the spa experience (If you look drowsy, an attendant will likely offer you a soft blanket to snuggle up in, you little jazz kitten, you.)

Wake up! There’s a fierce Trombone Shorty video after the jump! Read more…

Matt Yee comes in from the sea this Saturday night

If you’ve ever been on an Atlantis gay cruise, odds are you’ve found yourself drawn in the the very corny, slightly porny and utterly irresistible whirlpool of musical energy that is a Matt Yee singalong.  Pounding the keyboards in his signature muumuu, moving through a succession of wild wigs, whipping out punny props and hit-or-miss gags with the relentlessness of Carrot Top, Yee tosses away his own inhibitions—and it’s utterly infectious. Any shyness you have about singing in public will be wiped out by Yee’s overwhelming tsunami of silliness. You will sing. You will dance. You will make synchronized hand gestures.

A Hawaiian native—and still a resident when he’s not off floating the seven seas (Yee performs frequently on mainstream Royal Carribean cruises as well as on GLBT charters), the seafaring songster makes a rare shoreside appearance for a 10:30 pm. late show at the Rrazz Room this Saturday night. Cancel your Martuni’s plans pronto! (Or head over there afterwards if you’ve still got the music in you!). The evening’s repertoire is likely to swing frantically from TV theme songs, to Broadway tunes, to pop hits; a maniacal mash up, masterfully orchestrated by a man who makes it all look incredibly offhand and casual. However the rest of your week is going, you can guarantee yourself a big smile this Saturday night.

 Video of Matt with Idina Menzel, after the jump

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You’re doubtless familiar with the Blue Man Group. Well, take a gander at White Man Group, better known as VocaPeople, the Israel-based singing ensemble now performing at the Marines’ Memorial Theater through June 17.

VocaPeople on tour in Spain

Their musical is tied together by a thin, rather extraneous plot line about alien visitors to earth (hence the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence cosmetics and bleached out wardrobe), but its really all about spotlighting the group’s remarkable vocal talents and ingenious song arrangements and mash-ups.  The show is performed entirely a cappella, but spans genres from classical, to funk, to metal (with a dollop of doo-wop, of course). If you’re looking for a lighthearted, utterly entertaining evening out over the week ahead, VocaPeople’s got the white stuff.

Check out cool Voca video after the jump Read more…

SFGMC Executive Director Teddy Witherington is "unplugging"

The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus will present two evenings of pure vocal talent in their acapella Unplugged concerts on June 15 and 16. Unaccompanied by any instrumentation, the choir will be joined by Deke Sharon, of NBC Television’s The Sing Off  and beatbox master Kid Beyond [video gets impressive at 0:13] in a program that will mix pop hits—à la Glee—with contemporary and classic choral compositions.

The June concerts’ entertaining repertoire may lean to the lighter side, but expect emotions to run high at these shows in the wake of Executive Director Teddy Witherington‘s May 29 announcement that he will be stepping down after six years in July. Plans are underway to begin a search for a new executive director who can help uphold the levels of organizational energy and success that Witherington has fostered during his tenure.

During the period of Witherington’s leadership, the SFGMC has brought on Dr. Tim Seelig as artistic director and conductor, begun collaborating with Broadway composer Andrew Lippa on an original multimedia stage production about Harvey Milk (debuting next year), and doubled its annual budget in the face of the recession.

Celebrate the final San Francisco concert’s under Witherington’s leadership by purchasing tickets to Unplugged here.

Video of SFGMC celebrating the Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary, after the jump

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Susan Werner (Photo: Asia Kepka)

Trust us on this: Treat yourself to a pair of tickets to singer-songwriter Susan Werner’s gig at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley on Sunday, March 25th.

Haven’t heard of her? Chicago-based Werner hasn’t become  a huge star over the course of her two-decade,  seven album career because she’s just too smart, too curious, and too adventurous to stick to the brand centric self-repetition that makes musicians blow up on the pop cultural scene in the 21st Century .

Well, too bad for the masses, we’ll take her!  Originally trained as an opera singer, the Iowa-born Werner has been called “the empress of the unexpected” by NPR. In live performances, serves up a sly blend of pop, folk, jazz, cabaret, made effortlessly coherent thanks to a dry wit and warm, hummable humanism that infuses all of her work, regardless of genre.

More on Werner, and a performance video after the jump

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