Also this issue: Austin Power Philly bands look for big breaks at SXSW. —Maura Johnston Laying It Bare Dashboard Confessional jams on the breaks. —Brian Howard Fiddle Sticks Laurie Lewis says the bluegrass craze is for real this time. —Mary Armstrong Clinic —Sam Adams Martha Argerich —Andrew Ervin

April 4-10, 2002

musicpicks

Bobby McFerrin

Some months ago, a T-shirted Bobby McFerrin sat at a table in a midtown Manhattan club, pretending to enjoy a show. The artist onstage, a trumpeter who'll go unnamed, was slogging through an unconscionably desultory performance. Then he thrust the mic into McFerrin's hands, and the whole room seemed to lift. It was a small moment, no big deal. Because this is what Bobby McFerrin does with music routinely, whether he's crooning a falsetto "I've Got the World on a String" on a barstool or conducting Rimsky-Korsakov in blue jeans. Listen to his new disc Beyond Words (Blue Note) and you'll hear it: The Voice. Blowing smoke rings, sparrow songs, delicate curlicues. Floating over a tailor-made ensemble (featuring pianist Chick Corea and bassist Richard Bona, kindred spirits both). Take away the multi-tracking and the band, and his gift is no less impressive; see The Voice, on Elektra, for proof. Or see this week's performance, a sort of Œwelcome to the neighborhood' (since the singer, born in New York City, now calls Philly home). Like João Gilberto, who periodically sells out Carnegie Hall, McFerrin has that mysterious ability to single-handedly captivate a full house. Only Bobby does it without the guitar.

Sun., April 7, 7:30 p.m., $16-$57, Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce sts., 215-893-1999, www.kimmelcenter.org.

—Nate Chinen