Mad Art Gallery, NMC will present "Guitar Circus"

OK, now - just imagine this with
guitar players instead of lions and tigers.

As mentioned in this space before, Mad Art Gallery in Soulard has a new performance series, curated by Dan Rubright and featuring "local jazz, experimental and world musicians performing monthly in a unique gallery setting." The most recent show in the "Mad Jazz" series featured bassist Tom Kennedy and his Trio last Friday night; the next offering, scheduled on Friday, March 24, will spotlight the Vince Varvel Trio.

Meanwhile, as also mentioned here before, when New Music Circle announced their season schedule for 2005-06, some of the programs included did not have dates or venues attached. One of those was "Guitar Circus," described as "St. Louis guitar players Bill Lenihan, Dave Black, Liam Christy, Todd Mosby, Walter McClellan, Farshid Soltanshahsi and Tom Byrne converge for an electric guitar–based little Big Band."

You see where this is going, right?

Yes, if you guessed that the aforementioned "Guitar Circus" will take place at Mad Art Gallery beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 28, give yourself the proverbial gold star. (Admission is $12 for the general public, $6 for students. For more information, call 314-995-4963 or you can email NMC at info@newmusiccircle.org. )

NMC has also firmed up the date for the spring edition of the "Circle Cinema" film-and-music series. This program (number 17, for those who are keeping track) will feature an ensemble led by flute player and composer Fred Tompkins performing a live soundtrack for Beyond the Rocks, a 1922 silent film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino. The screening will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 3 at the St.. Louis Art Museum Auditorium. Admission is $5 at the door. .

IMDb describes the plot of Beyond The Rocks thusly: "A young woman marries an older millionaire and then falls in love with a handsome nobleman on her honeymoon." and notes that "Long thought to be lost, a copy of this film was discovered in April 2003 in Haarlem (The Netherlands) in a private collection. The film is being restored by the Amsterdam Film Museum and will be screened in 2005, complete with English dialogue screens."