THE TOLEDO SHOW

The Toledo Show comes to Harvelle’s Santa Monica with Toledo at the helm: a performance built around his soulful voice, spoken word, dance and choreography. The listing describes a mix of speakeasy jazz, funky bass lines and horns, with stories and movement folded into the music rather than presented as a conventional band set. It is a late-night show shaped as much by Toledo’s stagecraft as by the songs.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Toledo began dancing at 15 and went on to choreograph and dance for artists including Janet Jackson, Sammy Davis Jr., Paula Abdul, Diana Ross, Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, George Michael, Smokey Robinson and Toni Braxton. His choreography for Us3’s “Cantaloup” received an MTV Video Award nomination. He later developed his music on the underground poetry circuit, improvising alongside Angelo Moore of Fishbone, Trulio Disgracious and Macy Gray. The Los Angeles Times called him “The coolest Cat working in Hollywood,” while the listing describes his work through phrases including “avant jazz,” “funked-up spoken word” and “gangsta jazz.”