Josef Škvorecký was born in Czechoslovakia in 1924 and died in Toronto earlier this year. He was a novelist, film critic, jazz critic, and jazz musician. He wrote weird stories that combined European literary modernism with American jazz modernism. He had a great sense of humor and a deep philosophical sensibility. Tonight, Town Hall presents the Škvorecký documentary Rhythm on My Heels, featuring music by Czech jazz pianist Emil Viklický. If you’ve never heard of this Škvorecký character, here’s the perfect introduction. (Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, www.townhallseattle.org, 7 pm, $20)

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...