Arts & Entertainment SPICY JAMBALAYA Back for its third year, the JAMbalaya Street Festival comes to downtown Pontiac 4 p.m.-midnight Friday, 11 a.m.-midnight Saturday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, June 24-26, with a spicy lineup of food from 17 local eateries, concerts, a carnival, arts and crafts and the return of the NBA Rhythm 'n Rims Tour, an interactive two-acre basketball showcase featuring NBA talent from the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Shock. Admission is free to hear national and local music groups, including the Average White Band, Koko Taylor and her Blues Machine and Jagged Edge, as well as Impact Seven; Saoco and Zydecrunch. The only ticketed concert ($22.50) is the Isley Brothers, who kick off the festival 7:30 p.m. Friday on the newly refurbished Phoenix Center Stage. "We had a great event last year and pretty amazing attendance," says festival promoter Jonathan Witz about the 250,000 people who attended in 2004. Proceeds from food and beverage sales will benefit sev- eral local charities. For additional information about activities at this year's event, visit www.pontiacfestivals.com ALL THAT JAZZ The lawn of the Southfield Civic Center will once again be the site of the V98.7 Smooth Jazzfest, a three- day festival featuring top local and national contempo- rary jazz recording artists and taking place 4:30-11 p.m. Friday, 2-11 p.m. Saturday and 2-10 p.m. Sunday, June 24-26. Friday's performers include Thornetta Davis; Gene Dunlap; Special EFX featuring Chieli Minucci; and Jazz Attack featuring Rick Braun, Peter White, Jonathan Butler and Richard Elliot. Saturday's lineup features Marissa Rose; Blackman and Arnold; Tim Bowman; Nestor Torres; Yellowjackets; and David Sanborn. Celebrity Jews NATE BLOOM Special to the Jewish News `Soprano' Notes The fifth season of the hit HBO series The Sopranos is now out on DVD and features two Jewish actors not previously seen on the show. Veteran actress POLLY BERGEN, 75, has a juicy role as the former mistress of Tony Soprano's late father. Bergen converted to Judaism before marrying a Jewish man in the 1950s. Although the 20-year mar- riage ended in divorce, the actress has said she still "remains Jewish." Young actor WILL JANOWITZ plays Finn DeTrolio, the boyfriend of Meadow Soprano (played by Jewish actress JAMIE LYNN DISCALA — for- merly Sigler). Meanwhile, Discala has just been cast in 6/23 2005 38 Best Bets On Sunday, the festival hosts David Lee contemporaries, the Art Gallery of Windsor and the Edge featuring Deb Alane; Joyce presents an exhibition from June 25-Oct. Cooling Alexander Zonjic and Friends with 30 titled "A Screen of Trees: Looking special guest Kevin Whalum; Kirk Through the Landscape." Whalum; and Norman Brown's Summer Questioning the romantic notion of Storm 2005 starring Peabo Bryson, Brenda Canada that has been encouraged by many Russell and Everette Harp. artists and scholars, the selected works from GAIL ZININIERNIAN Ticket prices are $20 in advance/$30 at 1910-1950 portray a more balanced view of Arts Editor the door for Friday performances; $35 in life in the first half of 20th-century Canada advance/$45 at the door for Saturday and by revealing the absence or presence of spe- Sunday performances. Food and beverages will be cific economic, social and cultural realities as seen in available from local vendors. painting. Themes include industrialization, life in large For further information and tickets, call (248) 796- Canadian cities, modern technology, the Depression 2120 or charge by phone at (248) 645-6666. and the world at war. Tours and other activities take place noon-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 25-26. CANADA, OH CANADA For more information, call (519) 977-0013 or go to wwvv. agw. ca. In 1920, a group of Canadian artists — billing themselves as the Group of Seven — put on their first exhibit. The artists included J.E.H. MacDonald, LAUGH ALONG Franklin Carmichael, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, A week of laughter is in the works in the upcoming Lawren S. Harris, Frederick Varley and A.Y. Jackson. week as three well-known comedians visit Detroit-area During the 1920s, the group established itself as venues. • uniquely Canadian in style. Its members are historical- Political humorist Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real ly recognized as the first group of European descent to Time with Bill Maher and former host of Politically capture the feel of the Arctic on canvas, and their Incorrect which aired on Comedy Central and then paintings of ABC, performs 8 p.m. Friday, June 24, at the State uninhabited Theatre in Detroit. $27.50-$45. (248) 645-6666. wilderness have Funnyman Cedric "The Entertainer," now a busy become icons of comic actor in Hollywood ( The Honeymooners and Canadian iden- Madagascar are now in theaters) brings his comedic tity. The stylings to Detroit's Fox Theatre 8 p.m. Saturday, June Toronto-based 25. $35-$65. (248) 433-1515. collective dis- Comedian and actor Howie Mandel, whose latest banded in project is the Bravo Network's Hidden Howie: The 1932. Private Life of a Public Nuisance, a behind-the-scenes Focusing on , look at his life, takes the stage 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the Group of Lawren Harris (1885-1970): A Side June 30, at DTE Energy Music Theatre. $35.50 pavil- Seven and their Street 1919-1920, oil on canvas. ion/$10 lawn. (248) 645-6666. ❑ the film Homie Spumoni, as the "Jewish princess girl- friend" of a guy (Scrubs'Donald Faison) raised as a Caucasian Italian-American who discovers he's African-American when his birth parents appear. Since Faison is unmistakably black, the film's prem- ise appears to be as ludicrous, say, as a movie about Scrubs Jewish star ZACH BRAFF being raised by Chinese-American parents, only to realize that he isn't Chinese when his Jewish birth parents appear. Rockin' Maidels A leading rock critic recently wrote: "[At their Los Angeles show], Sleater-Kinney staked its claim for the best trio title with a blistering, nearly 90-minute set. Since the release of its self-tided debut a decade ago, the Portland, Ore.-based female trio has earned critical accolades for its punk-infused indie rock. With the recent release of its new CD, The Woods, inspired largely by the band's stint opening for Pearl Jam, Sleater-Kinney has grown up, stretched out and learned to rock out like never before." You can catch the two-thirds Jewish act (drummer JANET WEISS and guitarist Sleater-Kinney: Two-thirds Jewish CARRIE BROWNSTEIN) on Late Show with David Letterman on Monday, June 27th. Summer Sedgwick Summer is when the cable networks premier many new shows. An interesting one is the TNT series The Closer, starring KYRA SEDGWICK, which began on June 13. Sedgwick plays a former CIA profiler who's made FYI: For Arts and Life related events that you wish to have considered for Out & About, please send the item, with a detailed description of the event, times, dates, place, ticket prices and publishable phone number, to: Gail Zimmerman, JN Out & About, The Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034; fax us at (248) 304-8885; or e-mail to gzimmerman@thejewishnews.com Notice must be received at least three weeks before the scheduled event. Photos are appreciated but cannot be retumed. All events and dates listed in the Out & About column are subject to change.