Jazz Peter Hum
Merrickville’s Jazz Fest, held in various venues in that village an hour south of Ottawa, turns five as it takes place beginning Thursday through Sunday. Its almost 20 concerts feature a diverse range of musicians from Toronto, Ottawa and elsewhere, including the contemporary jazz of the Allison Au Quartet, retro singer Alex Pangman and her Alleycats, plus Ottawa’s Steve Berndt and Brian Browne and the Miguel de Armas Quartet. Full details are at merrickvillesjazzfest.com.
Theatre Patrick Langston
Is Negro Creek a racist name for a long-established black community? That’s among the questions about race, history, faith and love that playwright Djanet Sears explores in The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God kicking off the new NAC English Theatre season Oct. 21. The show features a 22-member cast, a cappella song and a comedic thread coursing through its serious intent. Tickets: NAC box office, 1-888-991-2787, nac-cna.ca
Funk Lynn Saxberg
The hot Toronto funk band K.C. and the Live Revolution bring their high-energy show to the Rainbow Bistro, 76 Murray St., on Oct. 15. The seven-piece band is sure to fill the dance floor with original music that’s soulful, funky and charged with hip hop and electronic beats. To make it even more of a party, they’re sharing the bill with Michigan’s Third Coast Kings and the Astrosymphonics. Tickets are $15 at the door. Showtime is around 9 p.m.
Big Beat Peter Simpson
John Mlacak was admired as both a politician and an artist, which is no easy duality to pull off. When the former reeve of March Township and Kanata pioneer died last year, he left behind a large collection of loving paintings of the forests and cities of Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes. Many of those oil paintings are on exhibition during a retrospective Oct. 17 to Nov. 1 at Koyman Galleries (1771 St. Laurent Blvd.) The vernissage is 1 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 17 at the gallery. See more images at ottawacitizen.com/bigbeat.
Classical Steven Mazey

Pianist Kirill Gerstein, who performs with the NAC Orchestra Oct. 17.
As part of the NAC Orchestra’s Roaring ‘20s Festival, Alexander Shelley conducts the orchestra Oct. 17 in an evening of much-loved pieces by Ravel and Gershwin, including Ravel’s Bolero and Gershwin’s An American in Paris. American pianist Kirill Gerstein will solo in Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. 8 p.m. Tickets start at $25, at the NAC box office or through TicketMaster (1-888-991-2787).
