JACKSON: Heads blues revue.

Legendary R&B singer Millie Jackson will headline a mega-lineup of singers in the All Star Blues Revue on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Barton Coliseum.

Joining Jackson are Sir Charles Jones, Clarence Carter, Denise LaSalle and former Tower of Power lead singer Lenny Williams.

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The show starts at 6 p.m., and doors open at 5 p.m.

Tickets are $25 (reserved) and $30 (floor and box seats) and are available through Ticketmaster (975-7575, www.ticketmaster.com, most Harvest Foods stores). Proceeds benefit the Arkansas Broadcaster’s Foundation.

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Jackson, whose entertaining show is known to get somewhat risqué, is famed for the song “Young Man, Older Woman,” which she turned into a long-running play that toured the country. She’s released a string of hit albums, including “Get it Out Cha System,” “Feelin’ Bitchy,” “Hard Times” and “A Moment’s Pleasure.”

Sir Charles Jones toured with Marvin Sease for five years before branching out on his own, and the Jackson (Miss.) Music Awards named him Best Male Vocalist of the Year in 2002. He recorded the hit “Is Anybody Lonely.”

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The blind, guitar-playing Clarence Carter is famed for R&B hit “Slip Away.” Denise LaSalle has been dubbed “The First Lady of the Blues” and is one of the most sought-after performers in the blues scene. Her newest CD is “Smokin’ in Bed.” Lenny Williams’ voice is heard on such Tower of Power hits as “So Very Hard to Go” and “What Is Hip?” His most recent solo album was “Layin’ in Wait,” and he was the featured vocalist on Kenny G’s single “Don’t Make Me Wait for Love.”

ASO’s ‘Yuletide Spectacular’

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Maestro David Itkin and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra present their annual holiday gift to Little Rock: the “Yuletide Spectacular,” featuring several local and national performers.

Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at Robinson Center Music Hall. Tickets range from $16 to $67 and are available through the ASO ticket office at 666-1761.

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The holiday show covers everything from festive and colorful dance steps to traditional carols to Klezmer tunes, along with a visit from Santa. Itkin always spices up each new holiday show with special touches.

Guest performers include vocalists Leslie Harper, Matt Newman, Mary Ann Robinson, Mary Katelin Ward and C.E. Smith; jazz pianist David Glaze; and the “Rockette-style” dancers of Shuffles and Ballet II. In addition, the 20-voice, all-professional ASO Yuletide Chorale, Parkview High School Drum Corps and the 60-voice UAPB Vesper Choir will also perform.

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The program includes such audience favorites as “Little Drummer Boy,” “Leroy the Redneck Reindeer,” “The Prayer,” “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” “Many Moods of Christmas,” and many others.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, the ASO will hold a free pre-concert Children’s Fair in the Robinson lobby. The festivities will include an instrument “Petting Zoo,” which offers concertgoers a chance to see and hear the musical instruments up close. Also, the ASO Society Guild will offer crafts, coloring books and refreshments.

Big rock show at Clear Channel

Memphis-based hard rock band Saliva will headline a show with Shinedown and Hoobastank at the Clear Channel Metroplex on Thursday at 7 p.m. All tickets are $25. Saliva had to postpone a show here earlier in the fall when singer Josey Scott was hurt in a car wreck, but the singer is back in form now. Saliva’s new single is “Ladies and Gentlemen,” from their upcoming CD release “Blood Stained Love Story.” Saliva is best known for the hit “Click Click Boom” and the Grammy-nominated “Your Disease.”

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Tickets are available at Area 51 or by calling 219-5000.

Basketball triple play

College basketball fans can have an overdose of hoop activity on Saturday.

The Arkansas Razorbacks make their lone Central Arkansas appearance of the season Saturday against Texas Tech and famed coach Bob Knight. The game at Alltel Arena tips off at 1 p.m., and all seats are $25 through Ticketmaster.

The UALR men’s and women’s teams are in action at the Jack Stephens Center on the UALR campus against Sun Belt Conference rival Denver. The women tip off at 4:30 p.m., and the men’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 565-8257.

Quick hits

The R&B group Manhattans will provide the entertainment along with Gerald Austin and Blue Lovett at Celebrate the Moments of the Season, a fund-raiser for the Tidwell Project’s scholarship program, set for 7 p.m. Sunday at the Peabody Hotel. Call 665-0478 for tickets or more information … “An American Daughter,” by Wendy Wasserstein, concludes its run at the Weekend Theater with shows at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Call 374-3761 for tickets … Park Hill Baptist Church will hold its “Christmas Celebration,” complete with children’s choir, sanctuary choir and 32-piece orchestra, on Sunday at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. The event is free; call 753-3413 for complimentary tickets … There is one more chance to catch the famed Cate Brothers when the blues-rock band films a concert for AETN on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. at the AETN studios in Conway. The public is invited; call 800-662-2386.

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