Variegated Vocals

One of the institutions on the classical music scene, Los Robles Master Chorale officially begins its concert season Saturday, a season that will include Handel’s Messiah in December, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in February and a chamber festival in April.

The kickoff concert, though, will be in less than strictly high-brow mode.

A program called “Musical Mosaic: A 20th-Century Retrospective” might seem intimidating to those disinclined toward the more complex and intellectual movements in the 20th century, but have no fear: The menu will include the music of Duke Ellington, Scott Joplin, the Beatles, Queen and a touch of “Oklahoma!”

For good contemporary classical measure, the chorale will also sing music of French composer Olivier Messiaen and the recently popularized Polish composer, Henryk Gorecki.

The operative word here is eclectic, and that’s a fine thing.

DETAILS

Los Robles Master Chorale at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Scherr Forum Theater at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Tickets are $18 general admission, $14 senior citizens, and $10 for students and children; 497-0386.

Pricey Songbird: At $38, the ticket price is a bit daunting, but the opportunity is golden for anyone who has fallen under the spell of Cleo Laine, who is making her only Southern California appearance in the intimate setting of the Lobero Theater.

The venerable British singer has neatly crossed over from jazz to pop and back and lured fans from both camps with her remarkably limber, four-octave voice and effortless scatting skills.

Laine, now 72, also epitomizes the notion of a successful working marriage: She began her career as a 25-year-old in Johnny Dankworth’s band.

They married in 1958 and have been working together ever since.

Along the way, Laine has racked up a following on both sides of the jazz / pop divide and garnered awards, including a Grammy and the British honor as “Dame Commander.” Dankworth’s band will back up Dame Cleo in Santa Barbara in a theater suitable for up-close-and-personal musical expressions.

DETAILS

Cleo Laine, with the John Dankworth group at 8 tonight at the Lobero Theater, 33 W. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara. Tickets are $38 general admission, $100 for patrons; 963-0761.

Thrills on a Budget: For something completely different, check out the bill at the small but powerful and charismatic Mercury Lounge in downtown Goleta on Thursday. The California Guitar Trio, a tight, fancy-fingered acoustic guitar group, will be joined by Tony Levin, famed bassist and player of the Chapman Stick.

Levin has worked with King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Pink Floyd and countless others.

The link is King Crimson founder Robert Fripp, in whose legendary and now-defunct “Guitar Craft” program of guitar instruction and philosophical guidance the members of the trio met.

Reportedly Levin, finding a bit of time on his hands, offered to do a few dates on the trio’s current tour, including such notable venues as the Bottom Line in New York City.

It so happened that one of the other locales was the Mercury Lounge, this humble haven for good, offbeat music in Goleta.

Who woulda thunk it? On one hand, it’s not surprising, in that the Mercury Lounge has hosted a heady list of out-of-towners, including a recent show by the jazz-funk-improv group Ponga, featuring Wayne Horvitz, Bobby Previte, Skerik and Dave Palmer.

It’s a fancifully fitted little watering hole well worth watching.

DETAILS

California Guitar Trio, with special guest Tony Levin, at 9 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Mercury Lounge, 5871 Hollister Ave., Goleta. Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door; 967-0907.

Josef Woodard, who writes about art and music, can be reached by e-mail at joeinfo@aol.com