Wiliam Gottlieb via Library of Congress

Dizzy Gillespie

UNM professor Glenn Kostur takes up the baton Thursday, Nov. 2, helming the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra and world-renowned trumpeter—and local resident—Bobby Shew for the Dizzy Gillespie Centennial Tribute concert. Shew's had a long and lauded career among jazz greats including stints in Benny Goodman's band, as well as work as a sideman in ensembles led by Art Pepper and Bud Shank. A powerful soloist, Shew says Gillespie's skills as a trumpet player “far exceeded what players were able to do back in his early days on the scene … he and Charlie Parker took the challenge of spontaneous creative skills to another level with their development of a style called bebop. In addition, Dizzy and Cuban congero Chano Pozo were basically the first to merge Latin music with jazz, thereby developing what is now known as Afro-Cubano. Dizzy is also know for his prolific skills as a composer. A multitude of his tunes are jazz standards which are played by almost every jazz musician, worldwide." Come hear this wondrous musical history brought to life at one of the city's premier jazz outfits Outpost Performance Space for only $25-$30.

via Pixabay

This Thursday, Nov. 2, musician and composer Vanessa Võ brings the unique sounds of the Vietnamese dan tranh zither to the South Broadway Library, for free. Võ has been playing this 16-string zither since she was 4, and she now performs and teaches on this and other traditional Vietnamese instruments in Fremont, Calif. Võ is also performing with the Chatter Ensemble at the Outpost Performance Space on Saturday, Nov. 4, presenting several songs that she wrote for the Kronos Quartet (more info at outpost.org).