SHOWCASE

SHORT TAKES

China Condensed Doing e-mail rounds since late November, a “Hu’s on first” variation of the old Abbott and Costello routine features the U.S. president, clueless about China’s new leader. It’s clever and funny—but how many of those cyber-wags have a grasp of who’s who and what’s what in the People’s Republic? Anyone baffled by that country’s tortuous history can find enlightenment at the Hoover Memorial Exhibit Pavilion (next to Hoover Tower) through February 22. “Enter the Dragon: The History of China in the Twentieth Century” deftly sorts out plotlines and characters in chronological displays. Besides its well-written texts, the exhibit rivets attention with colorful posters, rare photos, candid letters and diaries, and a wealth of memorabilia from the Hoover collection. The pavilion is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 to 4. Good Chemistry Old-timers will know most songs on jazz vocalist Jen Shyu’s debut CD, For Now (www.jenshyu.com), but they won’t have heard “Nature Boy” or “Summertime” done like this, or found a poignant Taiwanese folk song tucked in with Sondheim, Kern and Ellington. Shyu, ’00, brings years of classical music training, along with her Asian heritage and a stint in Cuba, to these intriguing arrangements. Her rapport with saxophonist Francis Wong, ’79, pianists Dee Spencer and Art Hirahara, electric bassist John-Carlos Perea and Jimmy Biala on percussion is seamless.