Bass legend lands in Bay Area

Christian McBride keeps right on crafting what is no doubt one of the greatest careers for any bassist in jazz music history.

Having already won eight Grammy Awards — and performed with such illustrious figures as Paul McCartney, McCoy Tyner, James Brown, Sting, Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Kathleen Battle and James Brown — McBride is hardly resting on his laurels, but rather forging ahead to create wonderful new music with a variety of collaborators.

Jazz fans can hear what we mean by checking out the bassist’s current quintet — Ursa Major — on Friday and Saturday at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco and Sunday at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz.

Christian McBride’s Ursa Major features Oakland-born drummer Savannah Harris (who has spent much time on the road with Cécile McLorin Salvant), tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover (who has performed with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra), pianist Mike King (who has toured with Dee Dee Bridgewater) and guitarist Ely Perlman (who is studying at Berklee College of Music).

Details: SFJAZZ showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday; tickets start at $35; sfjazzcenter.com; Kuumbwa Jazz Center times are 7 and 9 p.m. Sunday; tickets start at $23.50; kuumbwajazz.org.

— Jim Harrington, Staff

Opera blasts off in S.F.

Are you into music that’s REALLY out there, as in, in space? Oakland is holding a performance of a science-fiction opera that deals with love, loss and galactic colonization — and naturally, it’s taking place inside a planetarium.

“Xixoxa’s Spaceship: A Space Opera” is premiering on Saturday at the Chabot Space and Science Center’s full-dome and state-of-the-art planetarium. Composed by Victoria Young, and produced by Opera on Tap, the two-act story follows a young university student who leaves Earth after the death of her father on a doomed mission to Nebula X-3 — a “mysterious and mostly unknown region in distant space rumored to be the physical manifestation of human afterlife.” Along the way she meets Captain Samara, a Proxima Centauri spaceship pilot who offers solace, and becomes stranded in space before ultimately finding a possible road to redemption.

The opera features live singers and music, an electroacoustic score with surround-sound enhancement, and is accompanied by the planetarium’s wow-worthy HD images of space. If you’re not sold by all that — need we mention there’s an intergalactic cantina and space pirates?

Details: Doors open at 7 p.m., show runs 7:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday; 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland; $25 for adults (18-plus); chabotspace.org

— John Metcalfe, Staff

Cinequest rolls on

Silicon Valley’s massive Cinequest film festival wraps up its in-theater experience this weekend, with several screenings and presentation of the Maverick Spirit Award to Gillian Armstrong.

Here are three events not to miss.

“Gunman”: Argentine director Cris Tapia Marchiori knows how to jangle all of your nerves with his one-shot wonder inspired by a true story. A hitman in Buenos Aires gets takes on an assignment for an old boss in what seems like an easy-peasy job that spins way out of sweaty control (9:30 p.m. Friday at California Theatre; 2 p.m. Sunday at 3Below Theaters).

“The Summer Book”: Any film featuring Glenn Close in a starring role is worth seeing, including Charlie McDowell’s enriching drama. It’s based on Tove Jansson’s poignant novel about the relationship between a 9-year-girl and her ill grandmother (7:15 p.m. today at California Theatre).

“The Salt Path”: Armstrong gives another multi-layered performance opposite “The White Lotus Season 3” star Jason Isaacs in a moving adaptation of Raynor Winn’s memoir. It’s gorgeous to behold as it follows a suddenly unhoused couple that takes a trek for 630 miles along the southwest English coastline. Armstrong will receive her Maverick Spirit Award after the 5:45 p.m. screening on Saturday at the California Theatre.

Details: Most screenings $8-14; special events and screenings, $15-$30; cinequest.org

— Randy Myers, Correspondent

Classical picks: Cal Symph, McGegan returns

The Bay Area’s classical music scene has the best kind of busy weekend coming up, including performances of a new work at the California Symphony, a Bach cantata conducted by Nicholas McGegan, and the return of the sublime pianist and Mozart specialist Mitsuko Uchida.

Haddad’s premiere: Composer Saad Haddad, the California Symphony’s composer-in-residence, is known for his artful blend of Western music and Middle Eastern traditions; his works have been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Composers Orchestra, the JACK Quartet and many others. Now he’s unveiling a new work in Walnut Creek. Titled “Fantasia for Strings,” the work will be performed by California Symphony under music director Donato Cabrera; the program that also includes Grazyna Bacewicz’s Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, “Pathetique.” Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday; Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek; $25-$50; californiasymphony.org.

Bach in Berkeley: Early music specialist Nicholas McGegan returns to Berkeley this week to lead the Cantata Collective for a special event commemorating Bach’s 340th birthday; he’ll lead the orchestra and chorus, members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus and star singers including Thomas Cooley and Sherezade Panthaki in the composer’s indelible “St. Matthew Passion.” Details: 7 p.m. Friday; First Congregational Church, Berkeley; $33-$101; cityboxoffice.com.

Uchida plays Mozart: The brilliant pianist Mitsuko Uchida continues her multi-year project traversing Mozart concertos this weekend at Cal Performances; appearing with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, she’ll bring her unique artistry to the composer’s Concertos in B-flat major, K456, and C major, K467. Details: 3 p.m. Sunday; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $90-$185; calperformances.org.

— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent

Baseball on the big screen

Carson Lund’s nostalgic home run of a feature-length film debut is an underdog unto itself, a low-fi indie that’s like a scrappy team that comes back in the bottom of the ninth.

Lund has played various positions himself — as a critic, a cinematographer and a filmmaker. With “Eephus,” he strikes a tone-perfect balance, toggling between mirth and wistfulness. Positioned entirely during a single game — the final contest between two adult recreational New England league teams, the River Dogs and Adler’s Paint on a field slated for closing — “Eephus” introduces us to an eccentric batch of mostly middle-aged players and hangers on, such as ultra-tenacious score keeper Franny (Cliff Blake) and River Dogs pitcher Troy (David Pridemore) who starts to chug down beers and actually seems to perform better. But Lund is not looking to ridicule such characters for easy laughs, he instead focuses on their human and relatable foibles for a gentle story that touches the heart and adds comfort to our nostalgia-thirsty souls. Even famed Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee joins in the fun.

As with most baseball games, nothing much happens in “Eephus.” Look under the surface, though, and you realize everything about life is pretty much playing out on that diamond. Go see it!

Details: Opens Friday at the Rafael Film Center, San Rafael and the Metreon in San Francisco; opens March 28 at the New Alamo Drafthouse, San Francisco.

— Randy Myers, Correspondent