Hit Pick

Many members of the local music community regard Dick Weissman, Friday, April 7, in the King Center Recital Hall on the Auraria Campus, as a wise man: A professor at the University of Colorado at Denver and author of the indispensable text, How To Make a Living in Your Local Music Market, he's instructed many a local player through the hilly terrain of the music business. But on Pioneer Nights, Weissman's recently recorded collaboration with violinist Gary Keiski, the good professor proves that his talent as a banjo player is what makes him such a special part of Front Range music. An instrumental trek through traditionally flavored folk and jazz arrangements, Pioneer Nights is infused with a compositional energy that transcends easy labels. Though now officially a resident of Astoria, Oregon, Weissman is still a regular fixture in local classrooms; the chance to see him perform live, however, is slightly less common. Friday's performance, with Keiski, Bob Revholz and Harry Tuft, is not to be missed.