July 11, 2003

Looking for something to do on a lazy summer day? Search no more as SFSU faculty members are the answer. Dozens of faculty members, particularly in the College of Creative Arts, are active, working professionals who draw strong crowds and critical praise. Whether it's a live musical performance, play, art exhibit or film screening, these events prove that SFSU faculty do more than conduct research and prepare for the next semester during the summer months. The following are just a handful of the free or affordable Northern California events involving faculty.

Music
The Hafez Modir Quartet, led by Jazz and World Music Studies Co-Director Hafez Modirzadeh on tenor saxophone and featuring Lecturer Akira Tana on drums, will celebrate the release of its new CD "Dandelion" with performances at Yoshi's in Oakland at 8 and 10 p.m. Monday, July 28.

Tana will also lead a special percussion concert at the Stanford Jazz Festival at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 19. A free rehearsal for children ages 12 and under will precede the concert at 3 p.m.

Pianist and vocalist Dee Spencer, the other co-director of Jazz and World Music Studies, performs with The Wizzard MC from 8:30 p.m. to midnight every Monday at Rassela's on Fillmore, located at 1534 Fillmore St. in San Francisco. Admission is free to these open-mike sessions where aspiring instrumentalists, vocalists and spoken word artists jam with the band.

While you may recognize Lecturer Andrew Speight's face from programs and bus-stop advertisements for the 2003 Stern Grove Festival, he isn't playing that venue this year. But you can catch him and his band every Sunday evening at the Dogpatch Saloon, located at the corner of Third and 22nd streets in San Francisco. An alto saxophonist who won the Australian equivalent of a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Album of 1999, Speight is also scheduled to play at the Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival on Saturday, Aug. 9, and the Stanford Jazz Festival on Wednesday, Aug. 6, and Friday, Aug. 8.

Speight's good friend, fellow alto saxophonist and SFSU Artist-in-Residence Branford Marsalis, also performs at the Stanford Jazz Festival on Tuesday, Aug. 5.

Ready to whet your palette for some crazy Latin-flavored rock ‘n' roll? Raza studies Professor Jose Cuellar performs as his alter ego Dr. Loco on lead vocals, flute and saxophone for Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeño Band, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 24, at the Music and Market Series in Concord and Sunday, Aug. 17, at the Cotati Accordian Festival. Founded by Cuellar in 1988, Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeño Band plays covers of Motown and Santana interspersed with salsa, mariachi, funk and blues styles.

Dance
Interested in new dances inspired by biblical scripture? Dance Lecturer Cathleen McCarthy, in collaboration with composer Daniel Feinsmith, has choreographed a performance based on Leviticus in the Old Testament. The performance will be performed as part of the West Wave Dance Festival's Choreographers and Composers Consortium, which begins at 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday in McKenna Theatre in the Creative Arts building on campus.

Theater
Associate theatre arts Professor Rhonnie Washington, a well-known Bay Area actor with the Thick Description company, is playing two roles in this year's Shakespeare Santa Cruz festival. He portrays Aegeon in "The Comedy of Errors," which runs from Wednesday, July 16, to Sunday, Aug. 24. He portrays Polonius in "Hamlet," which runs from Sunday, July 27, to Sunday, Aug. 24.

Art
Art Professor David Kuraoka, a master ceramist named a "living treasure" in his native state of Hawaii, has several items on display at the Art Object Gallery, located at Fifth and Jackson streets in San Jose. But if you want to see them, you better hurry. Saturday is the exhibit's final day.

"Valuables: Jewelry in the New Millennium," an exhibit on display through Friday, Aug. 29, at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco, features work by Julia Turner, a lecturer in art. One of 13 artists featured, Turner explores the relationship between artistic and commercial value in contemporary jewelry by combining the use of durable, expensive materials such as steel and sterling silver and inexpensive materials such as wood and synthetic thread.

-- Matt Itelson and Ariane Bicho

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Last modified July 11, 2003, by the Office of Public Affairs