Pick of the Week ♦ Monday, December 1

Only Aretha Franklin has been as magnificent and consistent an R&B, blues and soul interpreter as James, and at times not even Aretha has sung with as much authority and intensity. James doesn’t just cover blues or soul material, but rather is the embodiment of heartache testifying. Born Jamesetta Hawkins, she left the gospel world in 1954, changing her name and becoming a teen sensation with “Roll With Me, Henry,” an earthy workout that was far too hot—and overtly sexual—for white America in the mid-’50s. The follow-up, “Good Rockin’ Daddy,” might have been even more torrid, but those two records hardly detail the full scope of James’ appeal or prowess. She sings show tunes and pre-rock ballads with flair and grace, and has shocked jazz purists convinced that a bawdy blues and R&B singer can’t do masterful versions of “Green Dolphin Street” or “Lush Life.” But while James is magnificent at sophisticated stanzas, there’s no one better at turning listeners and songs inside out the way she has done on anthems like “I’d Rather Go Blind,” “All I Could Do Was Cry” and “Stop the Wedding”—as well as on the scorching soul classic “Tell Mama.” James cut one of the all-time great live soul albums here in 1963 (Etta James Rocks the House), although there remain old-time partisans of the New Era club who swear they heard better sets by James that didn’t get recorded. Recently, she’s won raves for a marvelous tribute LP to Billie Holiday and other works displaying her less demonstrative side, but her current album, Let’s Roll, is frenzied and hard-hitting. She’s appearing along with the Roots Band for what’s sure to be an unforgettable night of blues and soul. Ryman Auditorium

—Ron Wynn

Music

Saturday, 29th

Oro Solido Merengue, the torrid dance music of the Dominican Republic, has flirted with the pop mainstream ever since the Latin music craze of the late 1990s. Over the past year, the Nolensville Road nightclub Coco Loco has succeeded in bringing world-class merengue orchestras to Nashville, and Oro Solido may be its biggest coup yet. (The show actually takes place at Kache on Third Avenue South, which is also owned by Santos Gonzalez, the owner of Coco Loco.) Led by New Jersey-raised Raul Acosta, whose nickname “El Presidente” says something about the group’s stature, the band’s Puerto Rican and Dominican musicians have been performing together for almost 10 years. They’ve had several international singles, albums and hits compilations, but in the U.S. they got the widest exposure from their single “La Paleta,” which appeared in the recent remake of Shaft. Whether as bandleader, as label chief of 24K Records or as an activist who has performed to secure wheelchairs for impoverished citizens in the Dominican Republic, Acosta may be merengue’s most visible ambassador in the U.S. Seeing him and his high-energy band here in a relatively small club is a rare opportunity; tickets are $35 and can be purchased in advance at Coco Loco restaurant and dance club, which sounds wise. Kache

—Jim Ridley

Super Madrigal Brothers Any fan of Elizabethan music who spent the early ’80s pouring quarters into Galaga and Asteroid arcade machines will recognize the Super Madrigal Brothers’ influences. On their debut, Shakestation, Sir Fashion Flesh and Oliver Cobol, a.k.a. John Taglia and Adam Bruneau, use scratchy, eighit samples—like those on primitive video games—to give 16th and 17th century madrigal hits the full Atari treatment. Indie figurehead Momus, who was designing a Shakespeare-themed video game for Sony Playstation, first brought the duo together. The Brothers’ blipping, buzzing versions of madrigal classics like Thomas Morley’s “Good Morrow, Fair Ladies of the May” aren’t nostalgic, but rather involve Dada-inspired juxtapositions of a sentimental bourgeois idiom with an unsentimental one—an incongruous yet satisfying mix. Bruneau will be present at this evening’s installation, which brings to a close the Ruby Green center’s Superheroes exhibition; Taglia, who’s on tour with Momus, will participate via Webcam projection. Ruby Green Contemporary Arts Center

—Paul Griffith

David Mead Mead creates dazzlingly intelligent pop-rock at a time when radio and the rest of the media focus on groove or angry bombast. But should the success of Fountains of Wayne’s hit “Stacy’s Mom” initiate a pop renaissance, Mead stands poised to join those artists who could lead the charge. His two outstanding albums for RCA—Mine and Yours and World of a King—repeatedly have drawn comparisons to Squeeze, Crowded House, Elvis Costello and other melodic-rock monarchs. Mead’s soaring, emotional voice, inventive ideas and cheeky grasp of popcraft deserve all the attention and praise he can get. He recently finished a short tour as an opening act for Joe Jackson and, after too long a break, will release his third album, Indiana, early next year. Expect Mead and his band to be sharp and ready to present some new tunes in their final performance of 2003. 12th & Porter