Thursday 8
LEGAL PARLEY. The long arm of the law gets dissected in a seminar entitled, What Role Has the Judiciary Played in the Preservation and Transformation of Culture?
That's longhand for a short question: How does the legal system affect the lives of Native Americans today?
Sponsored by the UA College of Law, the seminar will include Robert Williams Jr., a UA professor who'll tackle "The Rehnquist Court's Assault on Indian Rights in America"; Jim Zion, solicitor for the Navajo Supreme Court, discussing the "Reception of Traditional Indian Law Under the Rules of Evidence"; and Gloria Kindig, a judge on the Navajo County Superior Court, UA law professor Barbara Atwood, and Violet Po-Lui Frank, chief judge for the San Carlos Apache Tribe, round out the evening's speakers.
The symposium continues from 2 to 6 p.m. For cost and location, call 626-2400.
TRIBAL TALES. Bookman's dishes up African enchantment with Djenaba Faal, a 20-year veteran of the storytelling tradition. Faal's specialty is traditional and contemporary African folklore and mythology. He'll blend his rich stories with music, song and dance in a free event from 11 a.m. to noon at Bookman's Used Books, 1930 E. Grant Road. Call 325-5767 for information.
Friday 9
GRANGE GREATS. The fledgling New Grange string band, hailed as a "supergroup" of modern acoustic players, rolls through town tonight en route to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. (See this week's music feature on page 40 for details.)
The celestial ensemble (we hear their playing constitutes "modern string band heaven") consists of former Hot Rize member Tim O'Brien on vocals, mandolin, guitar and fiddle; banjo playing Alison Brown, a long-time member of Alison Krauss' Union Station; David Grisman Quintet alums Darol Anger on fiddle and Mike Marshall on mandolin and mandola; Nashville mainstay and string bassman Todd Phillips; and Windham Hill pianist and accordion player Philip Aaberg.
Show time is 8 p.m. in the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Tickets range from $18 to $22, with a $2 discount for seniors and In Concert! members, available at Hear's Music, the Folk Shop, Antigone Books, or by calling 327-4809.
CUBA GROOVE. After jamming with Bamboleo, guitar legend George Benson said, "That group just about killed me...The horn players, the funk of the drummer, was really amazing."
Now one of Cuba's hottest bands, Bamboleo combines sizzling dance grooves with the island's funk and rock-rooted timba. The 14-piece ensemble formed in 1995, and soon created a powerful impact on the world-music scene. The Los Angeles Times says they're "a band that may well typify the music of the coming century--music that starts with tradition, then reaches out to the world."
"Stylish and hip," says Beat Magazine, "Bamboleo is one of the most talented and entertaining of Cuba's new generation."
Catch them at 8 p.m. in The Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Advance tickets are $20, available at Hear's Music, the Congress Street Store, Zip's University, CD Depot, Guitar's Etc., Yoly's Music Shop, or by calling 1-800-965-4827. Tickets will be $25 at the door.
Saturday 10
SOARING SUDS. Enjoy the world's finest brews and vintage aircraft at the Pima Air and Space Museum's third annual Flight Line Food and Beverage Tasting.
Sample beer and chow from local businesses including Nimbus Brewing Co., Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort and Trader Joe's. Then feast your eyes on old aircraft in the museum's World War II hangars, where docents will dish out info and explain endless artifacts. For an extra $5, guests can traverse terrain in the virtual reality Morphis, a full-motion flight simulator. There will also be live music with the Determined Luddites and Elvis. Proceeds benefit the museum's educational programs for kids.
The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Pima Air and Space Museum, 6000 E. Valencia Road. Tickets are $30, available at the Rumrunner, Box Seats, The Shanty, Plaza Liquors, Magee Road Liquors, and at the museum. Call 618-4802 for details.
NORTHERN CADENCE. Canadian-born pianist Pamela York arrives in the Old Pueblo for the Tucson Jazz Society's Summerset series, and she'll be joined by two of the West Coast's finest players. Bassist Bob Magnuson and drummer Joe LaBarbera are two of the most highly regarded jazz musicians west of the Mississippi.
The concert runs from 8 to 11 p.m. in St. Philip's Plaza, on the southeast corner of Campbell Avenue and River Road. Admission is $14, or a mere $7 for TJS members. For information, call 743-3399.
Sunday 11
HEARTFELT CHORDS. Tucson's Reveille Gay Men's Chorus has been touching hearts and changing lives for going on five years. Today they celebrate that tradition with Yes! We Know the Way to San Jose, a special concert at the PCC West Campus.
The troupe is fine-tuning for its debut at Gala Festival 2000 in--you guessed it--San Jose, CA, come the end of July. They'll be one of 124 gay and lesbian ensembles making the trek for eight days of live music. The Tucson performance will feature songs slated for the event, plus plenty of old favorites.
Show time is 3 p.m. in the PCC Center for the Arts, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Advance tickets are $10, available at Antigone Books, Tucson Trunk, the PCC Center for the Arts box office, or by calling 617-3100. Tickets are $12 at the door.
TEXAS TENSION. The Lone Star State is ripe for tension and humor in Live Theatre Workshop's The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia, an irreverent comedy which enjoyed an appreciative full house at its opening performance last weekend.
Written by Preston Jones and directed by James Mitchell Gooden, the first of Jones' "laugh out loud" Texas trilogy tackles racial prejudice in a small western town.
Show time is 3 p.m. in the Live Theatre Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, through July 2. Tickets are $11, with reservations strongly recommended. Call 327-4242 for tickets and information.
Monday 12
DESERT ROYALTY. The desert's reigning (and bulldozer-besieged) monarch is celebrated in Saguaro: Popular Image and Cultural Icon, now on exhibit in the Tohono Chul Park Exhibit Hall.
This important show visually explores several ways the saguaro symbolizes southern Arizona's threatened habitat. Called hahshani in the Tohono O'odham language, the towering cactus plays a vital role in the cultural traditions of the Desert People who inhabit the reservation west of Tucson. In fact, the O'odham begin their calendar year in late June with the ritual gathering of saguaro fruit. The show takes note of that custom and others, featuring work by several Tohono O'odham artists. Media include basketry, silverwork and paintings illustrating the saguaro and its harvest.
Traditional baskets and pottery used in the harvest are on display, along with long saguaro-rib sticks used to knock fruit off the tall cactus. The exhibit also includes paintings, drawings, quilts and other crafts that explore and exploit the saguaro's distinctive shape.
At a children's corner, kids can make their own saguaro-decorated postcards, read tales of the tall cacti, and enjoy a variety of other educational activities.
The Saguaro: Popular Image and Cultural Icon runs through July 23 at Tohono Chul Park, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte. Gallery hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. A $2 donation is suggested. Call 742-6455 for details.
Tuesday 13
WARBLING RANCHANDS. Music of the frontier gets a thorough dusting with How the West was Sung, an ongoing dinner show at the Hidden Valley Inn.
The "rootin', tootin' Crystal Palace Revue" stars Miss Crystal, Songstress of the Sagebrush, and a talented cast of players complete with a "leather-legged singin' cowboy, beautiful saloon gals, the bartender who put the 'wahoo' in whiskey, and piano playin' and guitar strummin' to boot!"
Don't that just beat all?
The real-life players include Glenda Young, Jack Neubeck, Erin Booth, Katherine Byrnes, Missie Hinske and Drew Humphrey, with direction by Carol Calkins and Linda Ackermann, and choreography by the talented Stuart Moulton (whose currently on stage in a hilarious show at the Invisible Theatre, 1400 N. First Ave.).
Performances continue through Tuesday, June 20, in the Hidden Valley Inn, 4825 N. Sabino Canyon Road. Dinner show tickets are $30, $15 for children ages 12 and under, and are available by calling 299-4941.
Wednesday 14
NATIVE PERSPECTIVES. The way mainstream America depicts its native sons and daughters seems to have come full-circle, from romanticized and fictionalized to rebellious and troublesome. Now the romantic version is back in vogue, with a certain chic attached to all things indigenous--and not to mention more than a few slot machines.
Through all this ebbing and flowing of favor, however, remain the people themselves. Just like the rest of humanity, they fail to fit into neat slots. Offering a more accurate version of the continent's original dwellers is the task of the Arizona State Museum, and its ongoing Paths of Life: American Indians of the Southwest exhibit.
The display depicts Indian cultures as living societies rather than dusty anachronisms, vividly capturing their struggle to protect ancient traditions against a split-second world. One photo depicts the Tohono O'odham yucca harvest; another describes the O'odham's recent battle for water rights. Apaches are shown in traditional villages, and at their Sunrise Ski Lodge. A vibrant mural captures the Yaqui creation myth, followed by a photo of Tucson's New Pascua Yaqui Village.
This unadorned juxtaposition of past and present lends the exhibit not only a unique perspective, but an understated power from stories told from both indigenous and Anglo perspectives. "We tried to break stereotypes," says curator Bruce Hilpert. "We wanted (Natives') views on their origins, history and lives today."
Today, the ASM hosts a starry evening of fun and education with Sacred Traditions: Celebrating the Solstice, part of the Tucson/Pima Public Library's Read Arizona family summer series.
Folks are encouraged to come learn about age-old solstice traditions through native stories about the creation of the stars by storyteller Gerard Tsonakwa; demonstrations on sun-dial making by artist John Carmichael; a discussion of ancient planting cycles by Native Seeds/SEARCH; a discussion of the Hopi Kachina cycle by ASM Associate Director Hartman Lomawaima; and stellar observations with Starizona and UA astronomers.
The free event runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the ASM lawn, on the UA campus southeast of the main gate east of Park Avenue. For details, call 621-6302. Paths of Life is open regularly from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
