Charo has carved out her slice of Latin music fame as a singer and musician. She received a Female Pop Album of the Year award at the Billboard International Latin Music Conference for her 1995 flamenco-inspired album, “Guitar Passion.”
Charo performs Thursday at the Skagit Valley Casino in Bow.
Born in Spain, she’s known for her flamenco guitar (she learned from the father of modern classical guitar, Andres Segovia) and her “Cuchi-Cuchi” pronouncements.
Twice she’s been voted Best Classical Flamenco Guitarist in the World by Guitar Player Magazine. With her 1978 international hit “Dance a Little Bit Closer,” Charo created a new bilingual salsa style, the Charo Rhythm, that has been emulated by many performers.
Steve Harris &Friends: Two CD release parties celebrate “Here on Island Time.” Expect original folksy pop, country and jazz songs with harmonies from this Camano Island quartet. Harris and Mark Dodge play a variety of fretted instruments, Wende Hulyard adds harmonies, and Thomas Kemper is the percussionist. While this is the second CD for Harris and Dodge, it’s the first for the SH&F band. Today in Everett; Saturday in Stanwood
Rory Corbin, Dave Flett: Corbin said he didn’t know that he could sing until his senior year in high school and he didn’t play an instrument until 1999. Now he’s turning out original acoustic pop music, helped in part by attending a songwriting class by Heart songwriter Sue Ennis. Corbin also hosts a weekly open mic in Snohomish. Singer-songwriter Flett’s music is influenced by James Taylor, Paul Simon and Jackson Browne. Saturday, Snohomish
Soweto Gospel Choir: On a roll with a 2007 Grammy win for the Best Traditional World Music album (“Blessed”), the choir brings a new show with that name. The group’s shows are an inspiring combination of colorful costumes, expressiveness, athletic dance moves, rich harmonies and an exploration of tribal, traditional and popular African gospel in eight languages. Sunday, Seattle
Claudia Schmidt: With 32 years of professional experience, Schmidt has racked up many appearances on “A Prairie Home Companion,” played in North America and Europe, starred in an hourlong documentary called “I Sing Because I Can’t Fly,” and performed in the movie “Gap-Toothed Women.” She plays the acoustic guitar and dulcimer, has written an award-winning score and created 13 albums while exploring folk, blues and jazz. Tuesday, Seattle
Jay Ungar &Molly Mason: Whether Irish or Finnish or Yiddish, the duo taps into a variety of musical traditions that allow them to sing from a repertoire of Appalachian, Cajun and Celtic fiddle music, Civil War classics, sassy swing songs and a variety of other tunes.
Filmmaker Ken Burns hired them for many projects, and Ungar’s “Ashokan Farewell” was the main theme for Burns’ “The Civil War,” which led to an Emmy nomination for Ungar and a Grammy for the soundtrack. Saturday, Seattle
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