ROUTES OF SLAVERY The Routes of Slavery: Memories of Slavery (1444-1888) unites more than two dozen musicians from 10 countries on four continents, in a celebration of the influence of enslaved Africans on the culture of the Americas and Europe. The program will be performed at Zellerbach Hall on Saturday night, part of Cal Performances’ RADICAL programming initiative (RADICAL stands for Research And Development Initiative in Creativity, Arts and Learning). Viol player and early music specialist Jordi Savall has brought together vocalists from the Canada, Mali, Colombia, Brazil, Guadeloupe, and Catalonia, with instrumentalists from Europe, South America, and West Africa. Sponsored by UNESCO, this massive cross-cultural musical reconciliation serves as a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. Saturday, Nov. 3, 8 p.m., Zellerbach Hall.
DMITRI MATHENY This performance of “Jazz from the Silver Screen” (which could be a very cheesy idea) had me when it listed Black Orpheus as one of the works featured. I can feel the tears welling up just thinking about the boy sitting on the hilltop overlooking Rio, playing that great film’s plaintive theme. But there are plenty of other beloved movie tunes planned in flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny’s Saturday night concert: music from The Wizard of Oz, An Affair To Remember, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Days of Wine And Roses, and much more on. I’m a bit more sceptical about The Empire Strikes Back and Blade Runner, but perhaps that’s just me. Matheny will be playing with Matt Clark on the piano, Ron Belcher on bass, and Greg Wyser-Pratt on drums. Saturday, Nov. 3, 8 p.m., Rendon Hall/Fiddler Annex, California Jazz Conservatory, 2040 Addison St.
CARIBBEAN ALLSTARS If you follow the Bay Area reggae scene, you’re sure to be familiar with the Caribbean Allstars (left), long-time regulars at Ashkenaz. The ensemble, with roots ranging from Jamaica and South America to West Africa and the U.S., began playing together in the early 1970s. Trinidad-born drummer Hugh “Sweetfoot” Maynard is the long-running head of the group. The Allstars play Jamaican reggae, but also add steel drums to provide some South Caribbean calypso and soca styles of Trinidad and Tobago. Saturday’s performance at Ashkenaz is being billed as the “Sweetfoot” birthday bash, and promises “‘Pat Wah’ and special guests.” Saturday, Nov. 3, 9 p.m., Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave.
TELEGRAPH QUARTET The Telegraph Quartet won the 2016 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. They’ll be playing at Crowden Music Center on Sunday afternoon in a concert that includes Mozart’s Quartet No. 21 in D Major, K. 575, and Dvorak’s Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major, Op. 51. Sandwiched by the two classics, the quartet will play Erwin Schulhoff’s 5 Pieces. Schulhoff was a Czech pianist and composer who studied at a young age with Dvorak. He died in the Holocaust. Children under 18 are admitted free. Sunday, Nov. 4, 4 p.m., Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St.
UC JAZZ CONCERT If you slightly extend your weekend cultural forays to Monday, check out the fall concert by UC Jazz Ensembles at the Freight. The Jazz Ensembles have kept up the jazz performance tradition at UC Berkeley for 50 years (that’s as many years as the Freight has been around), giving student musicians opportunities to study, appreciate and perform jazz. Monday, Nov. 5, 8 p.m., Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St.
Don’t miss this other event covered on Berkeleyside:
