Spring has sprung, and with all the excitement over upcoming shows, music festivals and new releases, ASD almost forgot to tell you about one of the more interesting local concerts this season: The Roots at Davies Symphony Hall on May 30th. We'll be the first to say that when we saw this show announced on SFJAZZ' Spring 2009 lineup, we thought it was a typo. After all, who in their right mind would invite a bunch of hip-hop and soul-heads from the mean streets of Philadelphia (gasp!) to play at the same venue which normally features opera, ballet, and classical music? Oh, the horror.
SFJAZZ may be insane, but they're not crazy. The organization has been widening the boundaries of what jazz is for a while now (hint: it's no longer just some old guy in a porkpie hat), and the Roots--the house band for Jimmy Fallon's new talk show and "one of the twenty greatest live bands in the world," according to Rolling Stone--are the perfect band to take hip-hop to a symphonic level. Tickets, which range from an affordable $25 to a patron-level $60, are available here.
