Things to do this week: Concerts with Carmen Staaf, The Record Company; ‘California Dreaming’ in Palo Alto

Carmen Staaf
Jazz pianist and composer Carmen Staaf comes to the Palo Alto Art Center as part of a West Coast “preview tour” of her upcoming record “Sounding Line,” due out Sept. 19. According to Staaf’s website, she will be joined at the performance by ​​Ben Goldberg on clarinet; Dillon Vado on vibraphone and Hamir Atwal on drums, who all also play on the new album. “Sounding Line,” her website states, explores the common threads and connections between two seminal pianists, Thelonious Monk and Mary Lou Williams. She serves as the pianist and musical director for Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Dee Dee Bridgewater, and will be touring with her nationally and in Europe this fall.

Sept. 3, 8 p.m., Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto; $23.18; eventbrite.com. 

The Record Company
Blues rock band The Record Company – Chris Vos (guitar, lead vocals, harmonica), Alex Stiff (bass, backing vocals), and Marc Cazorla (drums, backing vocals) – have been around since 2011, releasing several albums and even nabbing a Grammy nomination along the way. The trio comes to the Guild Theatre, along with singer-songwriter Garrett Howell. Howell’s inaugural single, “Born In The Summer,” was released this May. 

Sept. 4, 8 p.m., The Guild Theatre, 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park; $46-$115; guildtheatre.com. 

‘California Dreaming’
The September group exhibition in Pacific Art League’s Ramona Gallery, “California Dreaming,” features works in a variety of media highlighting artists’ depictions of what the Golden State means to them. “From coastal fog to desert skies, tech utopias to redwood cathedrals, California emerges not just as a location, but as a layered state of mind,” Pacific Art League’s website states. The juror for the exhibition is Marguerite Gong Hancock, a Palo Alto native who was recently tapped to be the president and CEO of the Palo Alto Museum.

Sept. 5-23, opening reception Sept. 5, 5:30-8:30 p.m, regular gallery hours Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday-Monday by appointment, Pacific Art League, 668 Ramona St., Palo Alto; free; pacificartleague.org. 

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