Arts briefs: Jazz, blues, classical

Jazz

Vocalist JANE MONHEIT MIXES CABARET, JAZZ

The Smith Center's Cabaret Jazz lives up to its name this weekend with vocalist Jane Monheit, who navigates each territory with equal aplomb.

After more than a decade winning applause in the jazz and cabaret worlds, Monheit's an established figure in both, continuing to explore the great American songbook from various angles. (Her most recent recording, "Home," does just that with renditions of such chin-up standards as "A Shine on Your Shoes," "Isn't It A Lovely Day" and "Look for the Silver Lining.")

Among her influences: Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland and Broadway babies Bernadette Peters and Barbara Cook - who coincidentally follows Monheit into Cabaret Jazz next week. (As for Monheit's future gigs, after Las Vegas she's got a "Legends of Jazz" concert next week in East Amherst, N.Y., and a June 3 appearance - in Slovakia.)

She'll perform at 8 and 10 tonight and at 8 p.m. Saturday in Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave. Tickets, priced from $38 to $51, are available by phone 749-2000 or www.TheSmithCenter.com.

Blues

BUDDY GUY BRINGS A BUDDY TO REYNOLDS HALL

Buddy Guy's anguished vocals and electrifying guitar artistry have earned the Chicago blues giant a permanent place in music history.

He's got six Grammys to prove it. Rolling Stone put him at No. 13 on its list of all-time guitar greats. Speaking of Rolling Stone, the Rolling Stones' not-so-shabby guitarist Keith Richards gave Guy his own guitar to thank him for his music. And Guy's just-released autobiography, "When I Left Home," recounts his Louisiana childhood, his move to Chicago - and how he got to be a key figure in the Chicago blues realm.

Clearly, Guy stands alone. But when he performs Saturday night at The Smith Center's Reynolds Hall, he'll have company: 12-year-old blues phenom Quinn Sullivan.

Guy met Sullivan in 2007 and was so impressed he invited the youngster to play on his Grammy-nominated CD "Skin Deep." That began a collaboration that saw Guy independently releasing Sullivan's first album, "Cyclone" - and inviting him on tour.

As Guy commented during a recent PBS interview: "You don't come across talent like this every day." And he should know.

Buddy Guy and Quinn Sullivan perform at 8 p.m. Saturday in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave. Tickets, priced at $29-$85, are available by at 749-2000 or www.TheSmithCenter.com.

World, classical

SPEKTRAL QUARTET,

DRUMMER PERFORMING

The Winchester Cultural Center's alive with the sounds of music - all kinds of music - this weekend.

At 7 tonight, Nigerian master drummer Dele Adelfemi leads a drum circle that includes guest drummers from various cultural backgrounds.

Adelfemi also will spin stories and explain the cultural significance of drums and other percussion instruments in cultures around the world. Tickets are $7.

And if you missed the Spektral Quartet on Thursday at the West Charleston Library, you've got one more chance to catch them - at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Winchester Center - before they head home to Chicago.

With violinists Aurelian Fort Pederzoli and J. Austin Wulliman , Doyle Armbrust on viola and cellist Russell Rolin, the quartet comfortably combines old and new, with Haydn and Beethoven alongside Philip Glass and George Crumb. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 on concert day.

The Winchester Cultural Center is at 3130 S. McLeod Drive. For more information, call 455-7340.

- By CAROL CLING