Do It: Bob James, Ada Vox, Bamboo Ridge, ‘Churchill’

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

>> Smooth jazz pioneer plays the Blue Note

Bob James is known as one of the creators of smooth jazz, but his repertoire goes far beyond that.

The two-time Grammy Award winner, who appears at Blue Note Hawaii this weekend, has produced more than 50 albums over the last half century, beginning with free-jazz stylings that caught the ear of Quincy Jones, who produced his 1963 debutalbum “Bold Conceptions.” Even at that stage, James showed extraordinary versality. The album contains songs by Miles Davis, Leonard Bernstein, John Coltrane and Oscar Hammerstein.

With his pioneering work on electronic keyboards, his work has served as a bridge between old and new. His tune “In the Garden” was based on “Canon in D” by Pachelbel, the 17th century work that is now a wedding standard; it was sampled by rapper Coolio on “C U When U Get There.” Other James’ tunes have worked their way into rap music, among them “Angela,” theme song for the sitcom “Taxi” — sampled for “Cab Fare” by Souls of Mischief.

Add in collaborations with with pop stars like Neil Diamond, Paul Simon and Kenny Loggins and entire classical albums of Bach, Rameau and Scarlatti, and there isn’t much left in Western music that James hasn’t touched. He’s looked eastward too, with his group Fourplay, which joined with Chinese students on Chinese instruments for a tour in 2007.

He performs with drummer Billy Kilson and bassist Michael Palazzolo.

SATURDAY

>> Ada Vox, ‘American Idol’ finalist, leads pride festival

“American Idol” finalist Ada Vox headlines the Honolulu Pride Festival, which comes to Waikiki on Saturday with a colorful parade and series of performances at the Kapiolani Park bandshell.

Vox originally entered the reality show/singing contest in 2013 as Adam Sanders, winning acclaim from the judges but receiving taunts from some viewers. Competing again this year — but this time in drag — Vox won support from both judges and fans, reaching the top 10.

See Vox perform at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, closing out an afternoon of entertainment that includes a welcome and opening at 12:45 p.m., the Gay Men’s Chorus of Honolulu at 1:30 p.m., country music and line dancing by Jared Ming & Friends with Blazing Saddles Hawaii at 2:15 p.m., a dragshow at 3 p.m., Emmy Award winning comedian Bruce Vilanch at 4 p.m. and Hawaiian performer Sasha Colby at 5 p.m.

The festival follows the popular Pride Parade, which starts at Magic Island at 11 a.m. and continues down Kalakaua Avenue to the park. Kalakaua Avenue will be festooned with banners for the parade. More than 80 businesses and community groups are expected to march or support a float.

SATURDAY

>> Bamboo Ridge gala honors local writers

Celebrate 40 years of local literary achievement on Saturday when Bamboo Ridge Press holds its annual gala fundraiser, this year themed “Not Pau Yet.”

A highlight will be authors’ readings from influential Bamboo Ridge titles: Lee Cataluna, a Star-Advertiser columnist, reads from “Folks You Meet in Longs”; Eric Chock reads “Growing up Local”; Darrell H.Y. Lum reads “Pass On, No Pass Back!”; Wing TekLum reads “Expounding the Doubtful Points”; Lee Tonouchi reads “Da Word”; and Lois-Ann Yamanaka, pictured, reads “Saturday Night at Pahala Theatre.”

“They mark milestones for the press,” said Bamboo Ridge managing editor Joy Kobayashi-Cintron, pointing to Yamanaka’s book, a collection of poetry published in 1993, as an important work. Yamanaka portrayed everyday people whom the authorknew from her days growing up in Hilo, Kobayashi-Cintron noted, and used pidgin to dramatic effect.

Tonouchi also earned mention: “His book was a turning point for us because it is entirely in pidgin,” Kobayashi-Cintron said.

The evening includes an auction of works by artists whose works have appeared in the journal, including Satoru Abe, Harry Tschidana, Ann Asakura and Marques Hanalei Marzan.

“It will be an incredible chance to meet people who care about local literature,” Kobayashi-Cintron said.

THURSDAY

>> Winston Churchill is portrayed in Outreach College production

The compelling figure of Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister during World War II, comes to life on Thursday with “Churchill,” a one-man show by actor Ron Keaton, presented by the University of Hawaii-Manoa’s Outreach College.

The play portrays Churchill one year after war’s end, after he had been surprisingly defeated in his bid to continue his administration. He is invited to the U.S., where he is to give the famous “Iron Curtain” speech that would signal the advent of the Cold War; before the speech, Churchill shares his life story with some of the guests.

Keaton, a veteran stage actor in Chicago who is respected for his versatility, inaugurated the show four years ago. It was a surprise summer hit, garnering invitations to tour and playing to sell-out crowds off-Broadway.

“What makes the late, great wartime British prime minister interesting in theater terms is not his bombast or strong leadership — that we already know — but his ideas, his mortality, his response to failure, his vulnerability,” wrote the Chicago Tribune, praising the production.