In 2009, the Beth Custer Ensemble shared a bill at the Go Left Fest at Yoshi’s with such free-jazz pioneers as Roswell Rudd, Michael Allen, Sunny Murray and others. Doing as the Romans do, Custer pushed the borders of jazz in an experimental performance that wiggled, twisted and quaked. Three years later, Custer has premiered her latest song “For the Grace of Any Man,” possibly the world’s only gospel-tinged danceable pop sing with a bass clarinet solo. In other words, Custer is always searching. This week, her ensemble accompanies the 1929 Russian surrealist film My Grandmother, which was suppressed by the Russian government for its depiction of public officials as comically inept. Custer’s music suits the movie perfectly; see it on Saturday, May 26, at Tres Sabores Winery. 1620 S. Whitehall Lane, St. Helena. 7:30pm. $15–$35. 707.967.8027.
