Chilean saxophone star performs tribute to Frida Kahlo in San Jose
Saxophonist Melissa Aldana performs a tribute to Latinx women artists -- especially Frida Kahlo -- at Hammer Theatre in San Jose.
With a major new exhibit on Frida Kahlo due to open at San Francisco’s de Young Museum in two weeks, Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana is ready to serve up a heartfelt appetizer of sorts this weekend in San Jose.
As part of the Black Cab Jazz series, the New York based tenor sax star will showcase her 2019 album “Visions,” which she says is a tribute to Latin artists who paved the way for her success — particularly Kahlo. Aldana has said that as a woman saxophonist who broke through in a male-dominated musical landscape, she feels a close kinship with Kahlo, the 20th-century Mexican artist and feminist icon.
A major exhibit at San Francisco’s de Young Museum, “Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving,” which reportedly includes a wide variety of the artist’s personal effects that been locked up for more than 50 years.
At the same time, San Jose author Celia Stahr has recently published “Frida in America,” which explores the profound impact the artist’s time in America had on her life and career.
Born in Chile in 1988, Aldana has been based in New York since 2009, with jazz legend George Coleman serving as a mentor. She’s previously played the Monterey Jazz Festival and San Jose Jazz’s Winter Fest. In 2013, she became the first South American to capture the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition.
She brings her quartet to San Jose’s Hammer Theatre Center on March 8.
Details: 7 p.m.; $20-$25; sanjosejazz.org, hammertheatre.com.