By Francisco Peyret
When you hear a gospel or blues singer tear the roof off a performance space, it is a safe bet that the singer received her formative musical training in church. This is true of the woman who calls herself Lady Zen, one of the most talented musicians ever to reside in San Miguel, the city she has called home for the past few years.
But no other singer has a biography quite like hers. Born Alzenira Quezada in Brazil, on May 10, 1971, she was plucked from an orphanage by Christian missionaries, and raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as Sheri Joy Glick.
By the time she was learning to speak, Sheri Glick was the star vocal attraction at the Church of the Nazarene, singing at tent revivals, church concerts, and county fairs all over the South, winning over sixty vocal competitions in the process. By age 17, she was studying opera on a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Arkansas.
But Sheri Joy changed course when she heard the likes of Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin. She went on to restore her birth name, adopt the stage name Lady Zen, and sing jazz, gospel, blues and soul –all with a formidable three-and-a-half-octave opera-trained voice.
For the past several years, Lady Zen has been putting together a large-scale concert devoted to soul music —a genre, she says, that “moves me in a way no other music can.” She adds, “Soul music has been referred to as secular testifying, and that’s exactly how it feels to me, another kind of poetry.”
Lady Zen’s Soul Special, on Saturday, February 26, at 6:30pm, will be presented at the exquisite Obraje amphitheater (Calzada de la Presa #50). There is a large parking lot just around the corner.
This will be Lady Zen’s first public performance with the Royal Court Band, a group of virtuoso musicians specifically chosen for this concert: Ken Bichel on keys, Armando Cuevas on guitar, Aaron Romo on bass, Raúl Vallejo on sax (and backup vocals) and Isidro Capilla on drums.
Lady Zen and her band will be performing songs of Luther Vandross, Rick James, Stevie Wonder, Grace Jones, Stylistics, Eryka Badu, and Lady Zen herself.
In keeping with Covid safety protocols, the seating in the amphitheater has been grouped in pairs and singles, with spaces between. Comfortable seat cushions are provided for everyone in Center Left, Center Right, and Side; chairs are provided for the Center section; and sofas for the VIP section.
Tickets are available online at boletocity.com, or at the Boleto City box office on the first floor of Mercado Sano, Ancha de San Antonio 123, Monday through Saturday, 11am to 5pm.
Lady Zen’s Soul Special
Saturday, February 26, at 6:30pm,
Obraje amphitheater: Calzada de la Presa 50
