Tower Theatre hosts four nights of top-shelf instrumental music

Published 3:45 pm Tuesday, November 30, 2021

If instrumental music made by excellent musicians is on your wish list this holiday season, the Tower Theatre’s calendar this coming week is a stuffed-too-full Christmas stocking spilling over with treats.

Starting Monday evening, the historic theater in downtown Bend will host four consecutive nights of concerts featuring guys who not only play very different styles of music, they do so very well. Here’s what’s on the Tower’s docket:

• Jake Shimabukuro is a world-class ukulele player, but he’s also much more than that. The Hawaii-born artist pushes his instrument well beyond its established boundaries, using it to play jazz, blues, bluegrass, rock ‘n’ roll and even classical music. He is a rare combination: A technical wizard who also possesses an understanding of how to make the ukulele appealing to a wide range of people. His new album, “Jake & Friends,” reflects Shimabukuro’s crossover success, with guests including Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffet, Vince Gill, Ziggy Marley, Jack Johnson and Billy Strings.

On Sunday, he’ll bring the highly anticipated holiday show “Christmas in Hawai’i” to the Tower stage. Expect some of Shimabukuro’s best-known tunes, songs from “Jake & Friends,” renditions of holiday classics such as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “O Holy Night” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” and plenty of island vibes.

Jake Shimabukuro’s “Christmas in Hawai’i”: $40-$60; 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

• Alongside Darlene Love, Bing Crosby and Mariah Carey, any great collection of Christmas music should include jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi’s classic soundtrack to the animated 1965 TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Few tunes set a more festive mood than “Linus and Lucy,” and few evoke a peaceful evening, a crackling fire and snow falling outside more than “Christmas Time is Here.”

On Monday, Portland-based jazz-and-pop saxophonist Patrick Lamb will return to Central Oregon to bring Christmas to life for the whole family by playing Guaraldi’s music. A member of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame, Lamb will be joined by Dan Gaynor, Dan Balmer, Adam Carlson and a local children’s choir.

Patrick Lamb’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas”: $30-$55; 7:30 p.m. Monday.

• Aaron Meyer has carved out a nifty little musical niche for himself. The popular Portland-based “rock violinist” combines virtuosity on the violin with well-known tunes by artists ranging from Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd to Mozart and Vivaldi. The guy’s high-energy performance style has made him a favorite in Central Oregon for many years.

On Monday night, Meyer will return to the region, and he’ll bring his “Rock the Holidays” show with him. He’ll play rock songs, classical music and, of course, beloved holiday tunes, backed by a nine-piece rock band and special guests The Brown Sisters, a gospel quartet. Expect an eclectic presentation of sounds with a distinctly festive feel!

Aaron Meyer’s “Rock the Holidays”: $30-$50; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

• If Hawaiian music, vintage jazz and rock ‘n’ roll violin don’t sound like your kind of holiday vibe, you’re in luck: Wednesday night brings local Latin/flamenco guitarist Todd Haaby to the Tower stage, backed by his full six-piece band. Their show is called “Nuevo Navidad,” a reference to Haaby’s nuevo flamenco style, which combines the traditional sound of flamenco music with rock, pop, jazz, blues and beyond.

If The Bulletin’s website is to be believed, back in 2014 I wrote that Haaby’s music is “something like a muggy August night spent dancing and drinking in a Spanish coastal town until you collapse in a sweaty heap.” Now, that doesn’t sound very Christmas-y, but you can bet Haaby and his band will find a way to celebrate the season in their unique way.

Todd Haaby’s “Nuevo Navidad”: $30-$50; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

All shows at the Tower Theatre,

835 NW Wall St., Bend; towertheatre.org

or 541-317-0700.

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