Intersections at Park & Market Concert Series presents Slavic Soul Party!
It’s unclear exactly how many brass bands in New York City bill their music as BalkanSoul GypsyFunk, but it’s difficult to imagine any as simultaneously rollicking and thought-provoking as Slavic Soul Party! JazzKlezmer could be added to that description although doing so still wouldn’t quite cover all the bases.
Led by percussionist Matt Moran — not to be confused with the Australian celebrity chef and TV personality of the same name — Slavic Soul Party! will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year. Its virtuoso accordionist, Peter Stan is a third-generation Romanian who joined the group in 2003 and is the only member with Balkan roots. But no matter.
Moran and his eight band mates mix and match genres with skill and daring. Together, they create a zesty sonic gumbo that salutes and extends stylistic traditions with equal verve, wit and propulsive vigor.
One of the few musicians anywhere whose credits include drumming with big band legend Lionel Hampton and free-jazz bassist William Parker, Moran formed Slavic Soul Party! in 1999 as a quintet. He expanded its instrumentation four years later. The band now includes two percussionists and six brass and wind players.
Slavic Soul Party’s 2002 debut album, “In Makedonija,” was recorded at a concert in the Macedonian capital of Skopje. It includes a romping version of “Blue Pepper,” a choice cut from Duke Ellington’s classic 1967 album, “Far East Suite.”
The ante was upped considerably with the 2016 release of “Slavic Soul Party! Plays Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite.” A song-by-song reinvention of the Ellington opus, it is both reverent and bold. What results at times suggests what Ellington might have sounded liked if he and his 15-piece ensemble had teamed up with Ivo Papasov & His Bulgarian Wedding Band.
In any language, the rousing music of Slavic Soul Party! lives up to — and beyond — its name. The group’s long-overdue San Diego debut concert should be a dance-happy celebration.
7 p.m. Thursday. UC San Diego’s Park & Market, 1100 Market St., downtown. $25-$35. parkandmarket.ucsd.edu/events/
Hayden Pedigo
Had he not lost his 2019 election bid for a city council seat in Amarillo, this unassuming Texas guitarist might currently be embroiled in municipal-funding disputes now rather than on tour as the opening act for Devendra Banhart.
Pedigo now 29, lost his quest for office (as chronicled in the 2020 film documentary, “Kid Candidate”). His delicate six-string reveries seem better suited to an intimate concert venue than the 1,110-capacity Observatory North Park, where he and Banhart perform Wednesday.
But Pedigo’s light touch and airy, vocal-free songs may provide a soothing aural tonic for listeners in an increasingly fraught world. His gentle finger-picking suggests a cross between Windham Hill Records’ founder Will Ackerman and — in their more restrained moments — Leo Kottke and John Fahey.
Let’s hope the often-chatty Observatory audience will pipe down for Pedigo’s performance.
7 p.m. Wednesday. Observatory North Park, 2891 University Avenue, North Park. $32-$53. livenation.com
Jimi Hendrix Birthday Celebration
No other rock guitar legend’s posthumous album sales can even fractionally match those of Jimi Hendrix, who was just 27 when he died in 1970. And none has had more live albums posthumously released (the latest, “‘Jimi Hendrix Experience: Hollywood Bowl August 18, 1967,” came out Nov. 10).
In honor of the six-string icon’s 81st birthday, which was Nov. 27, San Diego guitar mainstays Jeff Moore, Bob Bucciarelli and Isaiah Mitchell are teaming up for an annual Hendrix salute.
Each will be accompanied by a different rhythm section. The repertoire will feature various Hendrix classics and some deep album cuts, including “Drifting,” “Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)” and “1983… (A Merman I Should Turn To Be).”
7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Belly Up, 143 South Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. $15. (must be 21 or older to attend) (858) 481-8140. bellyup.com