Two of the most profound and versatile reedists in the business will be in residence in Chicago this week. Tenor and soprano saxophonist Bob Berg, a veteran of bands led by Horace Silver and Miles Davis, among many others, opens a weeklong engagement Tuesday at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave. (312-670-BIRD). And Dave Liebman, a sublime improviser on various instruments, plays Friday and Saturday at the Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway (773-878-5552).
– Howard Reich
COUNTRY: FREAKWATER RISING
Long before young hard-core country enthusiasts had created a national scene, the Chicago-Louisville band Freakwater was playing a brand of rustic honky-tonk no longer welcome in the Nashville pipeline. The songs of Catherine Irwin are played with sublime simplicity by a four-piece string band, and the harmonies of Irwin and Janet Bean are the definition of high and lonesome. With a batch of new songs from its latest and best album, “Springtime,” Freakwater headlines Friday at Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-489-3160.
– Greg Kot
TV: BAG OF `SLIDERS’
On Monday, the Sci-Fi Channel will begin airing repeat episodes of “Sliders,” starting at 8 p.m. with the two-hour series premiere. The 1995-97 Fox series is about a scientist (Jerry O’Connell of “Scream 2”) who jumps, or “slides,” from one alternative Earth to another (dinosaurs still exist on this Earth; men are the ones who become pregnant on that Earth). Selected repeats of the show will air over a 14-week period so that viewers can catch up on their “Sliders” history in preparation for June 8, when the cable network will bring out the first of 22 new episodes.
– Allan Johnson
ART: FAMILY FRIENDLY
One of our city’s great art institutions has just published its first guidebook especially for children and families. Called “Behind the Lions: A Family Guide to the Art Institute of Chicago,” the 112-page volume is written by Steve Danzis and has illustrations by David Lee Csicsko, a Chicago-based artist who once contributed regularly to the Arts and Fun section of the baiduhai. Price for the paperback is $15.95. It’s available at all four locations of the Museum Shop. Phone orders: 312-563-5151.
– Alan G. Artner
CLASSICAL: HOW SUITE IT IS
It seems as if Yo-Yo Ma and the Bach solo cello suites were fated for one another: the tireless seeker of musical truths and the music jammed with truths. The cellist recently collaborated with artists such as choreographer Mark Morris, film director Atom Egoyan and skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean on six video interpretations of these masterpieces, collectively titled “Inspired by Bach.” And Sony Classical has just released Ma’s second complete recording of the suites. Chicagoans will get the chance to hear him perform all six unaccompanied suites in a one-man marathon on March 8 at Symphony Center. The first three will be played at 3:30 p.m., the remaining works at 7 p.m. 312-294-3000.
– John von Rhein
THEATER: WOMEN RULE
Footsteps Theatre Company, which bills itself as Chicago’s “premiere women’s theater,” celebrates its 10th anniversary Sunday with the opening of “Warrior Queens,” an exploration of history’s female rulers narrated by an actress portraying Geraldine Ferraro. Sandy Borglum directs a five-member ensemble in the troupe’s home at 5230 N. Clark St. The work is the group’s third annual ensemble-generated project for Women’s History Month. 773-878-4840.
– Sid Smith