If you can’t figure out what to do this week based on this overflowing buffet of events, well… (As my late Swedish mother told me, it’s usually better to say nothing at all …) Whichever you choose, get out and experience something. (Mom will be happy, and I will too.)
Wednesday, March 9
Barnes & Noble, Bob Odenkirk | 6 p.m. Virtual. 513-972-5146. DETAILS: In his memoir, “Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama,” the star of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” opens up about the highs and lows of showbiz, his cult status as a comedy writer, and what it’s like to reinvent himself as an action film ass-kicker at age 50.
stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/3408
College-Conservatory of Music, “The Music of Chick Corea” | 7:30 p.m. Corbett Auditorium, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: Craig Bailey leads the CCM Jazz Lab Band in an exploration of the artistry and legacy of the late pianist and composer, one of the most prolific and loved jazzmen of all time.
Thursday, March 10
American Sign Museum, Signs and Songs | 7 p.m. 1330 Monmouth Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45225. 513-541-6366. DETAILS: The Matt Tolentino Band brings the nostalgic sounds of hot jazz and swing to Camp Washington’s palace of memories. Slip into the time warp and immerse your eyes and ears in decades past.
The Barn / ARTFlix | 7 p.m. 6980 Cambridge Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45227. 513-272-3700. DETAILS: This PBS documentary, “Wyeth” (2018), has been rescheduled from January. According to PBS, this film was made possible thanks to “unprecedented access to Wyeth’s family members, including sons Jamie and Nicholas Wyeth, and never-before-seen archival materials from the family’s personal collection and hundreds of Wyeth’s studies, drawings and paintings.” Quite the treat for any fan of great American painting.
The Point ARC, “Straight, No Chaser” Exclusive Weller Raffle | 7 p.m. Hotel Covington. DETAILS: Here’s your 1-in-1000 chance to win complete set of six Weller Bourbons, a hand-crafted Kentucky state bourbon display shelf and a set of four etched bourbon glasses. Tickets: $100. Live drawing. All proceeds benefit The Point ARC whose mission is to provide opportunities to individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities to reach their highest potential.
Friday, March 11
The Carnegie, Two Exhibits | 5-8 p.m. 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, KY 41011. 859-491-2030. DETAILS: “A Thought is a River,” a new group exhibition of artists from the Greater Cincinnati and Louisville areas, featuring works by Kiah Celeste, Matt Coors, Adrienne Dixon, Albertus Gorman, Chris Hammerlein, Dale Jackson and Letitia Quesenberry, curated by LA-based John Knuth. As these two cities are connected by the Ohio, so are these works connected in a variety of ways. “The Reds,” featuring works by John Knuth, explores the borders between abstraction and representation via objects that present as monochrome paintings, but reveal deeper texture and context as they are inspected. Curator tour at 5:30 p.m. These shows continue until Aug. 20.
Gift of Mary E. Johnston, 1955.73
Cincinnati Art Museum, “One Each: Still Lifes by Cézanne, Pissarro and Friends” | 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 953 Eden Park Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-721-2787. DETAILS: focuses on still life paintings by five French painters (Cézanne, Pissarro, Manet, Bazille and Monet), all created in the mid-1860s, the formative years of Impressionism. This single-gallery special exhibition, organized in partnership with the Toledo Museum of Art, will be on view at the Cincinnati Art Museum through May 8.
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, “Mozart & Mazzoli Premiere” | 7:30 p.m. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-381-3300. DETAILS: This program could be dubbed the “3 Ms,” with Mozart, Mazzoli and the May Festival Chorus all front and center. The splendid violinist Jennifer Koh opens with a new concerto, “Procession,” by the prodigious and highly-respected comtemporary composer Missy Mazzoli. This is a CSO co-commission. After intermission, Louis Langrée leads chorus and orchestra in one of Mozart’s true masterpieces, his Great Mass in C minor, premiered when the composer was only 27. Program repeats Saturday evening.
Eisele Gallery of Fine Art, “A Charmed Life” | 6-9 p.m. 6936 Madisonville Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45227. 513-791-7717. DETAILS: Owner David Smith continues to expand the brand of this venerable gallery, this time with an exhibition curated by Sandy Eichert, which features colorful abstract paintings by M.P. Wiggins, rooted in memory, and biomorphic shapes by Celene Hawkins, laser cut from acrylic and wood. Exhibit remains on display until April 9.
Lebanon Theatre Company, “110 in the Shade” | 7:30 p.m. 10 S. Mechanic St., Lebanon, OH 45036. 513-932-8300. DETAILS: A rare chance to experience this under-appreciated gem from the composers of “The Fantasticks.” Some seriously excellent songs and a story based on Richard Nash’s 1954 play “The Rainmaker.” Repeats Saturday evening, Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. and again next weekend.
Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum, Founder’s Day Event | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 1763 Hamilton-Cleves Rd., State Route 128, Hamilton, OH 45013. 513-868-1234. DETAILS: This annual Founder’s Day event – in honor of founder Harry Thomas Wilks’ birthday – means that admission to the park and museum on this day will be free to all guests. Pyramid Hill is known for its blending of art and nature, and Mother Nature is giving you a 50-50 chance of not getting wet. Rain or shine, if you can break free, take advantage and enjoy the beauty of this treasure.
Visionaries & Voices, “Cherished” | 5-8 p.m. 3841 Spring Grove Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45223. 513-861-4333. DETAILS: Rockstar Cincinnati photographer Michael Wilson collaborated on a new body of work with the Visionaries + Voices community. His process, using a 4×5 format camera led to a series of intimate black and white portraits of artists with the possessions they hold most dear. Exhibit runs through May 27.
Saturday, March 12
American Heart Association, Heart Mini-Marathon and Walk | 6:30 a.m.-noon. Fifth Street at Lawrence St., Cincinnati, OH. DETAILS: Join 20,000 of your closest friends downtown (beginning of Columbia Parkway) to raise $3 million to fund heart research. It will be brisk, but great running/walking weather, and a great cause. (Hearts are pretty important, right?)
Caffe Vivace | 7 & 9 p.m. 975 E. McMillan St., Cincinnati, OH 45206. 513-601-9897. DETAILS: Jazz supergroup alert! Rick VanMatre, saxes; Steve Schmidt, piano; Justin Dawson, bass and Dan Dorff, drums. WA night of mostly original compositions by Schmidt and VanMatre in the top jazz venue in town.
College-Conservatory of Music, Faculty Artist Series | 2 p.m. Werner Recital Hall, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: Cellist Alan Rafferty, CCM faculty and CSO member, is joined by Timothy Lees, violin; Philip Marten, violin; Catharine Lees, viola; Rictor Noren, viola; and Sarah Kim, cello,
in music tracing Antonin Dvorak’s nationalism and his influence on American composers. Program includes Dvorak’s Sextet for Strings, his “American” String Quartet and music by African American composer William Grant Still.
(Photo by Scott Dittgen)
Wave Pool Gallery, “Life is Drag” | 5-8 p.m. 2940 Colerain Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45225. DETAILS: Artist-in-residence Rachel Rampleman creates multimedia works that explore subjects such as gender, artifice and spectacle. Utilizing lens-based processes ranging from directorial to anthropological, she showcases personalities who revel in challenging clichés associated with masculinity and femininity. The opening reception features performances by Betty Page Turner, Delusiona Grandeur, Dandy Lyin, Bleu Vomit, Dahlia Divine and Seymour Hiney, plus special surprise guests. Should be a hoot. Exhibit closes April 30 with another evening of performances.
Sunday, March 13
Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas, In Concert | 3 p.m. Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, KY 41011. 513-831-2052. DETAILS: Haven’t been able to make it out to Terrace Park for this outstanding group’s monthly Bach Vespers services? Here’s your chance to hear them in the visual splendor that is the Covington Basilica, performing music by Bach predecessor Heinrich Schütz, plus instrumental and vocal works by the master himself: Overture from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D, BWV 1068; “Jesu, meine Freude,” BWV 227; “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied,” BWV 190.
Cincinnati Youth Choir and Visionaries + Voices, “We Are Not Alone” | 4 p.m. Corbett Auditorium College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: We love cross-pollinating collaborations like this, in which organizations inspire each other. V+V is a nonprofit that provides studio space, supplies, and exhibition opportunities to visual artists with disabilities in the Greater Cincinnati area. For this project, V+V artists created artwork as they listened to recordings of CYC rehearsals, inspired by the music and its message. The artwork will be available for purchase before (3 p.m.) and following the concert. Donations can also be made to support V+V programming.
Ilya Finkelshteyn, cello; Michael Chertock, piano
Linton Chamber Music, The Healing Power of Music | 4 p.m. First Unitarian Church, Avondale. 513-381-6868. DETAILS: Bedřich Smetana‘s Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15 was written amidst his grief at the loss of his daughter. “Two Black Churches,” a song in two movements by CCM alum Shawn Okpebholo, reflects on separate tragic events perpetrated by white supremacists: the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama (1963), and the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston (2015). Also on the program is Beethoven‘s Horn Sonata in F Major, Op. 17.) Repeats Monday evening, 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Adam near Loveland.
Monday, March 14
Memorial Hall, Jazz at the Memo | 7 p.m. 1225 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-977-8838. DETAILS: Spruce up your Monday evening with The JJJ Trio as these three talented women perform music from the American songbook, Latin and Brazilian jazz and original compositions. Learning the trio’s member names will make it crystal clear how they chose their name: Emily Grace Jordan (vocals), Jordan Pollard (piano), Jubilee O’Connor (bass).
Tuesday, March 15
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, The Freedom Film Series | 6 p.m. Harriet Tubman Theater, 50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-333-7500. DETAILS: “Hold Your Fire” details the 1973 incident when four young Black men stealing guns for self-defense were cornered by NYPD officers. In panic, the four men took twelve hostages. The film centers on the actions of police psychologist Harvey Schlossberg who convinced his superiors to do the unthinkable – negotiate with “criminals” and prevent a violent bloodbath. Nearly 50 years after the incident, the film has the power to revolutionize American policing.