ON the Beat | Grand Jazz, Meditative Harp, and Other Music Buzz

The Grand on State | Credit: Josef Woodard

Overheard at Grand on State

The exciting new jazz venue in town, Grand on State, is in soft opening state — now with a chef in line and hopefully grandly open in May. Brian Mann, the co-owner (with his wife Jenna Berg), keyboard wizard, and bon vivant, could be heard holding forth last weekend. On Friday night, I popped by during intermission at the spectacular Danish String Quartet/Danish National Girls’ Choir concert at The Granada Theatre, conveniently located next door. A full-ish house was being serenaded by Mann at the room’s centerpiece Steinway, with singer Leigh Vance and reliably man-about-the-low-end bassist Randy Tico.

The latter two are a couple, as Mann pointed out, between a Jobim tune and a standard. “There have been other happy couples in music,” he joked, “like Ike and Tina Turner.” He suddenly peered at me, lurking in the doorway, and said, “Is that Joe? That’s Joe, the famous writer. Who’s another famous music couple, Joe?” I scratched my head and offered up Darlene and Jonathan Edwards.

Everyone needs to know about this quirky joke couple concept, pseudonyms conjured up by the actually fabulous Jo Stafford and her husband, Paul Weston, who later recorded as “Jonathan and Darlene” and became a cult classic. They turned out campy, quirky versions of the standards — often out of tune and out of time (hear here). Their wackadoodle, satirical approach is the antithesis of what we’re promised at Grand on State. Stay tuned, and pop by Thursday through Saturday, with a full plate and slate coming soon.

Harp as Meditation Channeler

Laurie Rasmussen, Music Academy of the West 2026 | Photo Josef Woodard

For last Friday afternoon’s third installment of the inviting and cooling “Music & Meditation” series, co-founders pianist Antonio Artese and meditation guide Jessica Kolbe invited Santa Barbara’s harpist-of-choice, Laurie Rasmussen, who duly transformed Music Academy of the West’s intimate Weinman Hall into a place of contemplative grace and mostly Irish folk ambiance. She came equipped with both the gilded pedal harp, suitable for classical occasions, and the smaller, folkier wooden lever harp.

Rasmussen called on a set ranging from Fauré and Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter” (from The Planets) to Irish music, and, to close, a pleasing new duet with Artese on his piece “Quiet at Dusk.” Harp is generally a warm and friendly, meditative instrument by nature (unless being reconsidered by an artist like avant-harpist Zeena Parkins), and Rasmussen’s work here beautifully validated the ampersand in the series title. She ideally fulfilled the series’s mission — emphasizing the innate connection of music and meditation, in an applause-free environment.

Finalizing the first phase of what is becoming a popular and ongoing series, noted flutist Jill Felber is featured at the May 12 meeting. Artese spoke about ambitious plans for the series, which has struck a strong chord and apparently filled a need.

Chamber Music Notes, Continuing

Santa Barbara Chamber Players(SBCP)is still a newcomer on the established block of the local classical music scene, and is building momentum, as seen and heard at its latest concert, last Saturday at Hahn Hall. Growing out of the long-standing Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, the young organization brings together musicians from the area’s ample talent pool, currently conducted by Emmanuel Fratianni.

Saturday’s fare found Debussy (Petite Suite) and Beethoven’s Symphony No.1 flanking the literal centerpiece piece, composer/guitarist Tulio Cremisini’s Guitar Concerto. Opening the evening, the Debussy, cleanly rendered here, ushered proper impressionistic and sensual graces into the Hahn. Beethoven’s kindly Haydn-esque symphony was given a serviceable reading, growing stronger as it went.

Tulio’s concerto is an unabashedly romantic and melodic score, tinged by the stuff film scores are made of (Tulio has written scores for screens, large and small). A certain Italianate character runs through it, with touches of Spanish guitarisms — tapping his Italian and Venezuelan heritage. Played assuredly by its composer, the Concerto is an attractive work, and a valuable addition to the still-slender ranks of guitar-orchestra music in the known, performance-ready classical world, worth playing and hearing.

And with this, the SBCP story moves forward, concert by concert.

Pop Goes the Choir

Santa Barbara Master Chorale | Photo: Josef Woodard

The Santa Barbara Master Chorale (SBMC) has covered its share of serious choral repertoire in its day, which dates back to 1984, and the leadership of Phillip McClendon. But even serious choirs need to take a holiday, maybe pay a visit to the kid-friendly kitschy turf of Disneyana, which they did gamely at the Trinity Lutheran Church last weekend. This was the moment when SBMC went pop, and specifically went Disney, with an entire program of music from the Disney film library.

They stayed largely in the latter section of that library, only briefly touching on the classic legacy of the Sherman Brothers’ music, with that Louis Prima–featuring classic “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song).” We heard snippets of Randy Newman’s evergreen “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story and the candied idealism of “A Whole New World.” Medleys from Frozen, The Lion King, and Coco swirled about, and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” injected some Latin cred into the program.

Unfortunately, the very real-time, meshed voices were accompanied by canned prefab instrumental music, except when pianist Heather Levin-White graced us with some fine in-house piano on “Songs of a Disney Villain,” a refreshing live musical reality check. All aboard gave it their all and were neatly outfitted, led by current director David Lozano Torres, who reportedly has an impressive collection of Disney jerseys in his closet.

An added bonus: The sanctuary housed a higher percentage of children than I’ve ever seen at a choral concert. Maybe they’ll come back someday to hear a Bach oratorio.

Italiana Strikes at the Central

Jessica Guideri and Jacopo Giacopuzzi for La Piazza at the Faulkner Gallery | Photo: Josef Woodard

It was inspiring to see packed houses in the Faulkner Gallery last weekend, to the tune and taste of classical and other music with an Italian connection, greeting the inaugural edition of the new event in town, La Piazza: Italian Music and Food Festival. Concerts in the gallery kept the Central Library abuzz, and food vendors offered savory wares in the Towbes Courtyard, creating an atmosphere steeped in cultural and gustatory goodness, free to the public. Encore.

TO-DOINGS:

The Santa Barbara Symphony marches forward into the final two concerts of a strong season, this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, with an all American (and all-American) program, peering towards the big 250 come July 4. It’s a tasty and intelligent package of a program, with Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Charles Ives’ Three Places in New England (listen here), and a contemporary concert opener, Jennifer Higdon’s 1999-vintage blue cathedral. (See story here).

When I think of the wink punk/nerd rocky splendor of the Nerf Herder, I think about leader Parry Gripp crashing through his wannabe girlfriend’s window on acid, behavior described in the hit song “Sorry,” and hope he’s ok. Of course, it’s only a song, and Gripp’s wiseguy wit takes him places the Goletan wouldn’t personally go. The Herder, celebrating 30 years since its career-launching, eponymously titled album, steps up to the bigger house than their recent clubbing dates to play the Lobero Theatre on Saturday, on a bill with fellow local ‘90s sensations (here and in the outer world) Summercamp (see story here) and Ridel High.

Hear “Sorry,” “Down on Haley,” and other loveable numbers, redone in mostly acoustic style on their new album NERF HERDER (redux) on Fat Wreck Records, and hear the band in its live glory in a room fit to worship and rock in, down on Canon Perdido. (See story here).