Max Raabe and Palast Orchester

The 26th annual San Francisco Jazz Festival began its five-week run last
week, with performances by Miles from India -- a group that fuses Indian
elements into songs originally recorded by trumpeter Miles Davis -- and the
a cappella vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. Sunday's show at the
Paramount Theatre (2025 Broadway, Oakland) features German baritone Max
Raabe, leader of the twelve-piece big band, PalastOrchester. Raabe is a
colossal opera singer with a glassy vibrato tone. He emulates the
well-preened German cabaret singers of the 1920s and '30s in a style that
borders on being camp, were it not for Raabe's classical training and
rigorous technique. Yet Raabe isn't merely besotted by the past; he's also
famous for flirtatious covers of Britney Spears and Tom Jones. Sunday's
concert marks the first SFJAZZ show in Oakland since 2000, so it'll be a
noteworthy event. 8 p.m., $25-$75. SFJazz.org

Rachel Swan