Wednesday • 13
Quincy Troupe: Little Stevie Wonder
LITERATURE
Biographer, memoirist and poet Quincy Troupe has joined the ranks of children’s authors. His latest book, Little Stevie Wonder, is a children’s biography on the life of the Michigan-born pop star. Spanning Wonder’s life from the age 11 (when he first signed with Motown) to today, this easy-to-read bio highlights the spirit and tenacity that made the sightless prodigy the artist he is today. Meet the author at 7-9 p.m. at Book Beat, 26010 Greenfield, Oak Park; 248-968-1190.
Thursday • 14
Pierre Bensusan
MUSIC
Algerian-born, Paris-raised guitarist Pierre Bensusan has been called an acoustic visionary. The six-string aficionado combines elements of ethereal jazz, worldbeat and classical melodies for a gossamer offering of truly luxurious music. With a passionate style, uncommon intensity and remarkable polyrhythmic capabilities, Bensusan is one of the most interesting (and we must say, underrated) musicians of our time. At 8 p.m. at the Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor; 734-763-8587.
Thursday • 14
& Saturday • 16
Dianne Reeves and
Jean Carne
Music
A big week for fans of jazz vocalists. Dianne Reeves, who plays the Max on Thursday, pulled off a first-rate tribute to Sarah Vaughan a couple of years ago with the Grammy-winner The Calling. She then had the good taste not to overplay the Vaughan card, and got back to her own bag to cop another Grammy for her next disc, last year’s A Little Moonlight. Meanwhile, Jean Carne makes a rare appearance at Baker’s Keyboard. An underground ’70s sensation with then-husband Doug Carn, Jean has worked with bands from Duke Ellington to Earth, Wind and Fire, and hit it big with the ’80s single “Closer than Close.” Orchestra Hall is in the Max M. Fisher Entertainment Center, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-576-5111. Baker’s Keyboard Lounge is at 20510 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-345-6300.
Friday • 15
Woodward Lounge
FUN FOR ALL
Back in the early ’90s, a sect of music-loving scenesters embraced the retro fabulousness of ’40s and ’50s Americana. Replete with live swing bands and vintage garb, a night on the town with these dilettantes was always a blast. Alas, a slew of Gap ads, pedestrian rip-offs and copycat marketing tactics ruined the once-underground counterculture. But this week, the Detroit Historical Museum resurrects the dead scene with the Woodward Lounge. The event — a night of jumpin’ tunes, (courtesy of the Swinging Suits), gambling and booze — promises to be fun way to blow off some steam. Partygoers are encouraged to dress in “Rat Pack” fashions. Revisit an era when the five-martini lunch wasn’t cause for rehab. At 5401 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-1405.
Friday-Saturday • 15-16
Garth Fagan Dance
DANCE
The best dancers seem weightless, have boundless energy and move fearlessly; but spirit makes the difference. Dancers who love what they do can reintroduce you to your own body. This is how Garth Fagan, the Tony Award-winning choreographer of The Lion King, has built his company. The Jamaican-born Fagan, whose collective is nearly 35 years old, boasts a dance vocabulary blending Afro-Caribbean torso-centered movement, classical precision and postmodern experimentation. “My women do leaps and turns other companies don’t think women should do. I want little girls to come in the theater and not see women pushed into the corner,” Fagan says. The Detroit performance features 25-minute pieces including “Prelude and Jubilee Technique Study: Discipline is Freedom,” “…Ing” and “Translation Transition.” At 8 p.m. at Music Hall, 350 Madison, Detroit; 248-645-6666.
Friday-SUNday • 15-17
Defined Confusion
ART
In response to a lack of networking opportunities, the Detroit-based Poor Man’s Art Collective has taken matters into its own hands. The grassroots organization’s main purpose is to bring to the masses art that would otherwise be ignored. This week it offers Defined Confusion, a collection of abstract art that curator Geno describes as “dynamic and thought-provoking, but hidden from the public due to a lack of information and access to venues.” Support underground art at the Poor Man’s Art Collective, 227 Iron St., Ste. 201, Detroit; 313-259-4886.
Saturday • 16
International Pilates Day
HEALTH
Now that we know Jane Fonda was a bulimic-anorexic and that the low-carb thing is a one-way ticket to fatsville, it’s time to move on to a more holistic approach to keeping our bodies healthy. It’s a practice that’s been around since the 1920s, but pilates has achieved mass popularity in the United States in just the last few years. The practice — much more than just exercise — is a series of physical movements focused on improving flexibility and strength without adding bulk. Celebrate International Pilates Day with the Pilates Method Alliance, 1-4 p.m., at Freedom Hill County Park, 14900 Metropolitan Parkway, Sterling Heights; 586-268-7820. Attendees will learn more than 100 non-strenuous movements associated with the pilates workout regimen.
Saturday-Thursday • 16-21
Seventh Annual Global Nonviolence Conference
ISSUES & LEARNING
For $25 each, conscientious Detroiters can attend the 7th Annual Global Nonviolence Conference preview on April 16. Workshop topics include “Becoming the Change You Want to See” and “An Introduction to Nonviolent Communication.” For a few dollars more, the public may also attend Interfaith Day on April 17, when various religious organizations are to hold exhibits detailing their faiths’ perspectives on peace. The conference will host a Peace Jam on April 20, featuring musicians such as Amp Fiddler and Proof, with special guests 3rd Eye Open, Versiz, Njeri Earth, Tone Tone, Dynomite and Karyl. At Cobo Center, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit; 313-758-0748, nonviolenceeducation.org.
Sunday • 17
Windy and Carl
MUSIC/FUNDRAISER
You might know Windy and Carl from their record store, Stormy Records in Dearborn, but this musical duo can do a lot more than sling vinyl. The troubadours’ style of swirling guitar-meets-droning synths has been entertaining lovers of ambient music for more than a decade. Joined by friends Track and the Sleep Disorders, and multimedia collaborators Potter-Belmar Labs, Windy and Carl will perform a benefit concert at Roeper School, 1051 Oakland Ave., Birmingham; 248-613-4301. Proceeds will go to Camp Mak-a-Dream in Montana.
Ongoing
Going Dutch
ART
With such featured artists as Gon Buurman, Carla van de Puttelelaar and Inez van Lamsweerde, it’s easy to tell where Pontiac’s Museum of Modern Art’s latest exhibition, Going Dutch, gets its name. But this installation features more than a simple installation of photographs taken from urban and rural areas of the Netherlands. It homes in on the uniquely subtle beauty that has made Dutch art a favorite among art lovers for centuries. Curated by Wim van Sinderen, of Fotomuseum Den Haag (The Hague Museum of Photography), at 7 N. Saginaw, Pontiac; 248-210-7560. Ends May 7.
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