A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Berkshires region, including an avant-jazz ensemble at Williams College, led by an alumnus; a new Jack Kerouac-inspired dance program at MASS MoCA; a world-renowned string quartet playing for free at Williams College; and the queen of Tex-Mex at Club Helsinki Hudson.
Bigmouth
JAZZ GROUP BIGMOUTH PERFORMS at WILLIAMS COLLEGE
(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.) – Avant-jazz ensemble Bigmouth, led by bassist-composer Chris Lightcap (Williams ’93), performs a free concert in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall at Williams College on Wednesday, April 20 at 8 pm. Bigmouth’s music is characterized by the twin tenor saxophones of Tony Malaby and Chris Cheek, Craig Taborn’s keyboards, Gerald Cleaver’s musical drums, and Lightcap’s own fleet bass melodies and rhythms.
ZviDance (photo Stephan de las Heras)
NEW KEROUAC-INSPIRED ZVIDANCE PROGRAM at MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – New York City-based contemporary dance company ZviDance will present in a work-in-progress showing of “On The Road” in the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA on Saturday, April 23, at 8pm. Inspired by Beat author Jack Kerouac’s novel by the same title, “On the Road” is an evening-length, multimedia dance piece that contemplates the general upheaval of the 1960s and the Beat generation’s startling notions of social rebellion. The program is a co-presentation by Jacob’s Pillow and MASS MoCA.
Emerson String Quartet (photo Lisa Marie Mazzucco)
EMERSON STRING QUARTET to PLAY at WILLIAMS COLLEGE
(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.) – The Emerson String Quartet will perform works by Beethoven, Brahms, and Shostakovich in a free concert in Chapin Hall at Williams College campus on Monday, April 25, at 8pm. The Emerson String Quartet — Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violins; Lawrence Dutton, viola; and Paul Watkins, cello – will perform String Quartet in B-flat Major, op. 18, No. 6 by Beethoven; String Quartet in A flat Major, op. 118, No. 10 by Shostakovich; and String Quartet in A Minor, op. 51, No. 2 by Brahms.
Carrie Rodriguez
CARRIE RODRIGUEZ BRINGS NEW TEX-MEX SOUNDS to HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Austin-based Americana singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez brings her new Tex-Mex sound to Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday, April 30, at 9pm. The acclaimed Austin-based roots-music artist recently released the album “Lola,” on which the Chicana singer/songwriter realizes her dream of presenting her deeply personal take on the Tex-Mex music of her ancestors.