Multimedia art and homegrown jazz: Shows to see in metro Detroit this weekend
While Detroit’s Concert of Colors, Riverfront Music Festival and the Ann Arbor Art Fair are the big game in metro Detroit this weekend, there are art and jazz events more than deserving of attention if you’re looking to avoid the heat and larger crowds. Here are a few shows to check out.
An icon’s farewell
Celebrated Korean American artist and designer Dominic Pangborn will be featured in an exhibition at Keego Harbor’s Le Shoppe Modern from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday. More than 100 multimedia pieces from his recently closed Detroit studio will be on display in the show, his last before leaving Detroit and moving to Southeast Asia to begin a new chapter of his life.
Over the years, Pangborn’s clients included Kmart, Sears, General Motors, Chrysler, and Procter & Gamble. In addition to graphic arts, he launched a line of neckwear that was sold at retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. Along with the neckwear, Pangborn designs furniture, home accessories and textiles. Pangborn's fine art includes painting and sculpture.
Le Shoppe Modern, 3325 Orchard Lake Road, Keego Harbor. 248-481-8884. leshoppemodern.com. Free to attend; registration at website recommended.
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New Orleans brass party
Straight outta NOLA, the Soul Rebels will play Ferndale’s Magic Bag on Sunday with doors opening at 7 p.m. The Soul Rebels started with an idea: to expand upon the pop music they loved on the radio and the New Orleans brass tradition they grew up on. They took that tradition and blended funk and soul with elements of hip-hop, jazz and rock, all within a brass band context. The band has built a career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and drums in a party-like atmosphere. The Soul Rebels continue to chart new territory as they feature in major films, tour globally and combine top-notch musicianship with songs that celebrate dancing, life, funk and soul.
The Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward, Ferndale. 248-544-1991. themagicbag.com. Tickets for all ages $30.
Homegrown Detroit jazz
Marcus Elliot, 2020 Kresge Artist Fellow and current director of the University of Michigan’s Creative Arts Orchestra, will play two sets at Ann Arbor’s Blue Llama Jazz Club on Saturday night. In addition to being a fellow of the Geri Allen Gathering Orchestra, Elliot also serves as director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Ensembles. He is a disciple of the Detroit music scene, with mentors including Rodney Whitaker, Marcus Belgrave, Robert Hurst, Karriem Riggins and more. Elliott’s sets begin at 6 and 8:30 p.m.
Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200. bluellamaclub.com. Tickets starting at $35.
A classic crooner
Detroit native Chris Plum is a genre-flexing jazz singer, songwriter, performer, and “blue balladeer” who’ll sing for two sets at Cliff Bell’s in Detroit on Sunday evening at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Raised on the big band and jazz vocal sounds of the '30s, '40s, and '50s on his parent’s Victrola. He has crafted a sound that is indebted to the jazz vocal greats while showcasing his ability to craft original compositions.
Plum has performed around the world at iconic venues including Ronnie Scott’s and Royal Albert Hall in London, as well as international festivals such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, Reading and Leeds in Britain, South by Southwestand Denmark’s Roskilde Festival. He has had music featured in indie films and commercials and has performed on late-night television. He recently assembled a band of Detroit jazz musicians to record and release a new album of original compositions titled “The Small Hours.” Pressed at Third Man Pressing in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, the record has been well received and was recently nominated for Outstanding Jazz Recording at the Detroit Music Awards.
Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543. www.cliffbells.com. $20 admission.
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Art, jazz shows to see in metro Detroit this weekend
