Friday and Saturday: Brazilian Guitar Masters Festival at Miracle Theatre and Catholic University

This weekend offers an opportunity to hear Brazilian masters of guitar from two different generations, who each bring their own unique songcraft touches: Yamandu Costa and João Bosco. Costa, 44 is a Latin Grammy-winning instrumentalist who plays a seven-string acoustic guitar rather than the customary six-string model. Raised in the southern grasslands area of Brazil, not far from Uruguay and Argentina, Costa, who initially was taught by his dad, has become acclaimed for his speedy, high-pitched finger work on tuneful, leisurely Brazilian samba and bossa nova, as well as on upbeat tango, Roma jazz, and swing jazz. Costa—who has played with orchestras, but will be solo on Friday at Miracle Theatre—is fond of flashy staccato runs up and down the strings with his fingernails moving in multiple directions. While such pyrotechnics helped establish his reputation, his playing is often most affecting when he slows down and lets the melodies sink in. On his recent duet album, Helping Hands, his picking and strumming alongside that of his classical guitarist wife, Elodie Bouny, is downright pretty. 

Bosco, now 77, has a college degree in civil engineering, but his passion was singing and playing guitar. Bosco was raised in a family of musicians, and in college he began listening to Miles Davis alongside the samba and bossa nova he was already familiar with. Soon after, while living in Rio de Janeiro, he began writing gorgeous and passionate songs with acclaimed lyricist Vinícius de Moraes. For decades now, Bosco has been writing joyous sing-alongs, busy but beautiful rhythmic sambas, and tender slow songs. Bosco is adept at playing percussion-like rhythms on his guitar as well as sweet, picked notes. On an early composition of “Vida Noturna,” his sentimental guitar chords are joined by jazzy piano and a romantic melody that he whistles and sings. Some of his compositions have taken on a greater meaning in Brazilian culture. He and the recently passed psychiatrist turned lyricist Aldir Blanc wrote a song “O Bêbado e a Equilibrista” that served as an amnesty anthem calling for the return of the Brazilians who were forced into political exile by Brazil’s then-military government. Bosco will be appearing with a band featuring Ricardo Silveira on electric guitar, who will only enhance the lushness of some cuts and the bouncy cadence of others. Yamandu Costa plays at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 31, at Miracle Theatre, 535 8th St. SE. educarteinc.org. $50–$70. João Bosco plays at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, at the Catholic University Hartke Theatre, 3801 Harewood Rd. NE. educarteinc.org. $40–$50. —Steve Kiviat

Saturday: Children of the Gospel Choir’s 30th Anniversary at Lisner Auditorium

Over the past 30 years, thousands of students in grades 4 to 12 from the DMV have become members and alumni of the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir. After a competitive audition, selected students participate in a year of choral training, intensive workshops, and a variety of performance experiences. “The roots of the Gospel Choir was to give a platform to the young people of the District of Columbia and the larger DMV area where they could express themselves and bring gospel music as an art form to these main stages,” shares WPA’s artistic director Michele Fowlin. Over the years, the Choir has performed at the White House and the Washington National Cathedral, for major events—such as President Barack Obama’s first inaugural prayer service and the national memorial service for South African President Nelson Mandela, and it has sung with noteworthy musicians such as jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker and Broadway and pop singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. In celebration of COTG’s 30th anniversary, this grand concert will feature former artistic directors Evelyn Simpson–Curenton and Dr. Thomas Tyler, as well as choreographer Diedre Neal, joining Fowlin, and this year’s cohort of Children of the Gospel Choir members, and more than 50 returning alumni. Fowlin, a public educator for more than 25 years, knows the importance of investing in arts and music education, citing studies showing that students involved in such programs earn higher grades, are more likely to complete high school, and likelier to attend and finish college. She notes that while some alumni of the program are now acclaimed artists such as opera singer Solomon Howard (who performs with the Metropolitan Opera), and Broadway star Stephen Scott Wormley, COTG has touched many more lives. “We’ve had those who have started their foundation here, and they’re now doctors, lawyers, and politicians,” she says. “They gained their confidence, speaking ability, and their discipline, right here in the arts.” Written by COTG’s first director Simpson-Curenton, who will direct the piece, the song “There’s a Dream/The Impossible Dream” has been performed by COTG since 1993, uniting 30 years of singers into one shared voice. Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir starts at 7 p.m. on June 1 at Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. washingtonperformingarts.org. $30-$40. —Colleen Kennedy

Saturday: Shannon and the Clams at the Black Cat

Shannon and the Clams are rock ’n’ roll lifers, but they still feel like the next big thing. Now seven albums into a 15-year career, they are riding the line between the buzzworthy bin and a legacy act. The four-piece are able to consistently release music that will make you want to dance and start a band, regardless of your musical proficiency or age. Their newest album, The Moon Is in the Wrong Place, is one of their deepest. It’s centered around the sudden death of the fiance of lead singer and bassist Shannon Shaw. While the group’s first six records may have more in common sonically with Guided By Voices and the Detroit Cobras, fellow band lifers that have a healthy appreciation of all things original in rock ’n’ roll, Shannon and the Clams’ latest album should satisfy those aural cravings, but it also offers some lyrical catharsis on par with Mount Eerie or Songs: Ohia. Just listen to the opening lines of the album’s closer, “Life Is Unfair,” (“How do you expect me to understand/ That the love of my life was taken away from me/ All the blossoms blooming/ Twilight looming/ Without you on this earth/ Life is unfair/ Yet beautiful”), and you’ll understand how their new stuff is deeper. But you’ll still want to dance. Shannon and the Clams play June 1 at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St NW, blackcatdc.com $25-30. —Brandon Wetherbee

Saturday and Sunday: Bill Evans at Blues Alley

Bill Evans, whether by way of a blessing or a curse, shares the same name with one of the most famous and influential jazz musicians of all time. The elder Evans, a pianist, who died in 1980, made his breakthrough working with trumpet titan Miles Davis. And would you believe it? The younger Evans, a tenor and soprano saxophonist (who is very much alive), did, too. In otherwords, this Evans has had to work that much harder to make a name for himself in jazz, what with that other guy’s shadow falling on him. Evans’ work with Miles came in the jazz legend’s 1980s electric era, which turns out to have been a boon. The work immediately identified Evans with the fusion movement, and in that regard he’s never been out of work very long. After Miles, he was a member of Mahavishnu Orchestra and of Elements; he also worked with Herbie Hancock, Randy Brecker, Medeski Martin & Wood, and most of the other major fusioneers. Yet he has never, in his 40-plus-year career, touched down at our own Blues Alley. That long-overdue engagement finally happens this weekend, which also serves as a release party for his 26th album, Who I Am, and a reintroduction to American audiences after years of working internationally. Evans leads an all-star fusion quartet with keyboardist Kevin Hays, bassist Gary Grainger, and drummer Dennis Chambers. Watch out: They burn. Bill Evans performs with Kevin Hayes, Gary Grainger, and Dennis Chambers at 7 and 9 p.m. on June 1 and 2 at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. $50 (plus a $7 fee). bluesalley.com —Michael J. West

Ongoing: Spring in a Moon Jar at the Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial

The Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial is located in the lobby of the Silva apartment building, but it’s far beyond the average lobby art. Latela has a multipronged practice that advises individuals, businesses, and organizations building their art collections, offers support and resources to artists, and curates exhibitions. Latela has often worked with area apartment buildings and frequently draws from a well of local artists, a way of reinforcing and supporting the local creative ecosystem in its own backyard. The latest show at the Silva is from D.C.-based artist Julia Chon, who works under the moniker Kimchi Juice. Chon has been visible around town with several large-scale murals, a collaboration with the Phillips Collection for its 100-year anniversary, and exhibitions of her painted earthenware kimchi pots. Much of her work pulls from Korean mythology and symbolism, and her mural work often leans toward the epic, in both size and subject matter. Spring in a Moon Jar shows a different mode of work for the artist. The paintings here are smaller and more intimate, focusing on Korean floral arrangements called “cocoji” and domestic scenes of women resting, washing, or fixing their hair—the picture of relaxation and being alone but not lonely. The floral arrangements feel suspended in their dark backgrounds, like pieces of nature plucked and preserved first in a vase and then in paint. What better respite could there be from a hot summer day than popping into an air-conditioned gallery and being surrounded by serene, restorative art? Spring in a Moon Jar is on view at the Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial through June 30, open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon until 5 p.m. latelacurtorial.com. Free. —Stephanie Rudig

Opening Tuesday: New York City Ballet Presents George Balanchine’s Treasured Jewels at the Kennedy Center

The Georgian American choreographer’s name belongs right before any mention of his more-than-half-century-old, mineral-rich ballet Jewels. That’s largely because of the kaleidoscopic walk-through of brilliant stones that are still shining behind the windows of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry store on Fifth Avenue in New York. The three-part 1967 premiere of Jewels at the New York City Ballet allowed audiences to look into those emeralds, rubies, and diamonds as George Balanchine saw them. When the show first hit the stage, theatergoers were confused. Although it has since been performed at dance companies across the world, including stints on renowned stages for the Royal Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet, the storyline wasn’t easy to follow. Decades into his career as a dancer and choreographer, Balanchine had a penchant for readapting fantasy novels and narratives that could play out in dazzling theatricality on stage. But the plot behind Jewels isn’t as linear; it’s an ode to the personalities and lives of those gemstones inside the window displays. They don’t speak, but rather glimmer. Next week, that storied ballet will come to life at the Kennedy Center. Although the standard version performed worldwide is based on choreographic revisions to the first act of the ballet, “Emeralds,” in 1976, it still resonates with those displays that caught Balanchine’s eye. “New York City Ballet’s production of Jewels is performed as George Balanchine choreographed it and remains true to his vision,” according to a NYCB spokesperson. New York City Ballet will perform Jewels at 7:30 p.m. from June 4 to 9 at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW. kennedy-center.org. $39.–$139. —Heidi Perez-Moreno