thursday18
Thursday18
Joe Lovano & Us FiveYoung Jeezy
Friday12
Los LobosJoe Lovano & Us FiveLarry McCrayScout Niblett
Saturday20
The ExNorah JonesLos LobosJoe Lovano & Us FiveOmar PeneWhite Mystery, Other Minds
Sunday21
Joe Lovano & Us Five
Monday22
Seijiro Murayama
Tuesday23
GunslingersSeijiro Murayama
Tuesday24
Justin BieberGolden TriangleGunslingers
YOUNG JEEZY I’m generally a fan of the major aesthetic renovations hip-hop has undergone over the past few years—unlike the many salty dudes who greet such developments with horror, I’m fully into Kanye dabbling in Krautrock, Jay-Z listening to chillwave, and half-Jewish former child actors becoming major rap stars. Still, I feel it’s important to have somebody like Young Jeezy around to keep the music grounded. Every year since Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 in 2005, he’s dropped one of the top ten rap records of the year—whether aboveground releases like 2008’s The Recession or mix tapes like last year’s Trappin’ Aint Dead. With each one he provides the slightest of updates to Dirty South synth beats plus a bunch of brilliant rhymes about coke dealing and conspicuous consumption, delivered in his inimitable spine-chilling rasp. There’s not much that crusty conservative hater types and I can find to agree about, but we’re all pretty sure he should continue doing so for at least the next decade. Jay-Z headlines; Young Jeezy and Trey Songz open. 7 PM, United Center, 1901 W. Madison, 312-455-4500 or 312-559-1212, $39.50-$129.50. —Miles Raymer
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LOS LOBOS Even if I didn’t know that Los Lobos had signed to Shout Factory last year, signaling the imminent end of their days with the Disney-owned Hollywood label, their recent Goes Disney (Disney Sound) would smell a little like a throwaway release to fulfill a contract. (On the other hand, back in 1988 the veteran LA band contributed a tune to Stay Awake, a Hal Willner-produced collection of Disney songs, so maybe they’ve been itching to do more ever since.) Los Lobos work hard to transform a slew of songs from Disney movies (and a few from the theme parks) with their trademark sound, and though I personally find it hard to stomach any version of “Heigh Ho,” they at least manage to make theirs surprising, singing it in Spanish and giving it a brisk, clattering Tex-Mex beat. Their renditions of “Not in Nottingham” and “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”—an unlikely candidate for a tolerable rock remake if there ever was one—are so lovely I wouldn’t mind if they made it into the band’s regular sets. Backyard Tire Fire opens; see also Saturday. Los Lobos members David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas also play with the Experience Hendrix tour at the Chicago Theatre on Thursday, March 18, alongside Joe Satriani, Ernie Isley, Robert Randolph, and many others. 8 PM, the Hemmens, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin, 847-931-5900, $25-$35. —Peter Margasak
JOE LOVANO & US FIVE See Thursday. 8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, 312-360-0234, $30.
saturday20
OMAR PENE Though Youssou N’Dour is unquestionably the greatest Senegalese singer on the world stage, for decades he had serious competition on the home front from Omar Pene. Pene emerged in the mid-70s as front man of Super Diamono, a group that also produced important figures like singer Ismael Lo and keyboardist Adama Faye. The band addressed contemporary issues like corruption, unemployment, and the evils of polygamy with its thoroughly modern mbalax, which used bits of funk, jazz, and reggae to color the style’s signature elements—soaring, heartrending Islamic-sounding vocals and galloping massed hand drums. To this day Pene is one of Senegal’s best-loved vocalists, though lately he’s focused on a solo career, often backed by former members of Super Diamono. Last year’s fine Ndam (Aztec) cradles his remarkable voice—muscular and sweet, declamatory and agile—with largely acoustic instrumental arrangements dialed down to a restrained simmer, making the occasional flare-ups hit that much harder. Acoustic guitar, accordion, horns, and electric bass weave in and out of layers of percussion, and sometimes the distinctive accent patterns of mbalax, played on sabar drums or talking drums, pop out of the percolating mix. Pene stays serenely cool on ballads, and on more kinetic tunes he brings an enthralling sophistication to his phrasing and rhythms, trying out different permutations with every repetition; no matter what he sings, he demonstrates the mastery of tone and vibe that’s kept him a star in his homeland for almost 40 years. 9:30 PM, Martyrs’, 3855 N. Lincoln, 773-404-9494 or 800-594-8499, $25. —Peter Margasak
