Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead. It’s the please-no-more-stuffing-and-mashed-potatoes B9:
➤ Let no one claim that the Kuumbwa Jazz Center does not know how to celebrate its amazing heritage. The Kuumbwa has been marking its 50th year as one of California’s greatest jazz spots all year long, and it’s all set to culminate Saturday evening with two huge back-to-back shows. Set to help Kuumbwa blow out its 50 candles will be many of the club’s greatest friends over the years, including pianists Gerald Clayton and Billy Childs, sax man Joshua Redman, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, flute player Elena Pinderhughes, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. You could call it the Kuumbwa dream team, some of the finest musicians alive coming together to mark what’s been a remarkable journey for what started as a modest little jazz society back in the 1970s. Kuumbwa’s story has always been about the pursuit of the finest in jazz for its audiences. And once the hubbub has died down from Saturday’s celebration, and Kuumbwa goes dark for its annual end-of-year break, the club will pick up again in early 2026, poised for another storybook 50 years. Consider this my standing-o for one of Santa Cruz’s finest cultural treasures. Long may she wave.
➤ Next Thursday, there’ll be a touch of magic that will settle into the seats at UC Santa Cruz’s Music Center Recital Hall. On that day, “Thomaseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas” will re-create a beautiful Irish Christmas tradition with storyteller Foley leading the way, Santa Cruz’s master guitarist William Coulter leading the band in live music, and gorgeous Celtic dancing on top of it all. And you don’t have to get on a plane to experience it.
➤ The name is Tietjen, but sisters Chloe, Erika and Rachel are quite content to be known as simply The T Sisters. Together, the real-life sisters from Oakland have cultivated some goose-bump-inducing blood harmonies in their spirited folk music. They’re a blast as performers, and they’re coming to the Felton Music Hall on Saturday.
➤ Sure, you can settle for your Spotify playlist. But if you really want a big blast of holiday music that will echo in your soul for a while, go see the Santa Cruz Symphony’s Holiday Pops concert with – this might one day be a novelty – live, human players performing in real time. Saturday and Sunday at the Santa Cruz Civic.
➤ She is no doubt one of America’s greatest musical treasures. Singer-songwriter Carole King is the subject of a tribute evening, courtesy of the magnificent local vocalist Lori Rivera. With three-piece accompaniment, Rivera sings the best of King in a show presented by Chadeish Yameinu: Jewish Renewal in Santa Cruz. Sunday afternoon at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center.
➤ The longtime Santa Cruz rockabilly trio The Chop Tops have reunited for the first time in a decade. But it’s a temporary thing, and they’re ready for one final show. Fortunately, they’re going out with a bang. It’s a two-date appearance at Moe’s Alley on Friday and Saturday. For 20 years, these guys were one of the biggest draws in town. For one weekend, they’re counting on a return to that dominance.
➤ Meet Robert Lopez, or, as you might know him better, “El Vez: The Mexican Elvis.” For decades now, Lopez has electrified audiences with his unabashed celebration of Mexicano culture through the guise of a Chicano Elvis impersonator. El Vez visits Moe’s Alley on Wednesday with his band The Centuries for a bit of holiday-themed mayhem. Merry MeX-mas, everyone!
➤ It’s cold and flu season, and it’s also wild mushroom season. On Saturday at the London Nelson Community Center in Santa Cruz, mycologist Christopher Hobbs explores what answers that mushrooms have for coughing and sneezing season, combining ancient wisdom with cutting-edge science. Though, it’s wise to leave the foraging to experienced mushroom hunters.
➤ He’s still everybody’s favorite doctor, if we don’t know his first name. Dr. Seuss is still very much alive in spirit, at least at the Colligan Theater in Santa Cruz, where “Seussical Jr.” opens this weekend. The Grinch is not invited to the party, but you can expect to see Horton the Elephant and The Cat in the Hat, along with various Whos of Whoville.
