“This is a real Afro Cuban band!” So joked Camaroon-born bassist Richard Bona, who after serving with the likes of Mike Stern, Pat Metheny and Joe Zawinul, has created his own person sound through his trio with Cuban exports Jesus…
Category: Concert Reviews
San Lyon @ The Grape Ventura 01.11.25
“We all need to get out and have some fun in the midst of this crazy time” So said bassist Katie Cavera before counting off the beat as a clarion call to get the packed house at The Grape on…
Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin @ Catalina’s 01.10.25
“Music is a good healer” Thus spoke birthday boy Lee Ritenour in explaining why he and longtime friend Dave Grusin felt an evening of musical festivities was needed to counteract the trauma of the local fires that has consumed so…
Mike Stern @ The Baked Potato 12.13.24
Legendary guitarist Mike Stern came to the Baked Potato Friday night that was stuffed like a stocking on the mantle, and the audience was treated to a night that reflected the allure of improvisation, in more ways than one. First,…
Marcus Miller@Catalina’s 12.12.24
When Marcus Miller comes to town, the question seems to always be which part of his illustrious career as a bassist/producer is he going to emphasize? The good news for the packed house at Catalina’s is that the Grammy Winning…
George Kahn’s Holiday Soiree’@The Grape Ventura 12.07.24
Celebrating the Christmas and Chanukah season with the release of his timely album Holiday Soiree’, local mainstreamer George Kahn brought his swinging Jazz & Blues Review to The Grape and got the room into the festive spirit that would have…
Rock Candy Funk Party @The Baked Potato 12-06-24
There’s a valid reason that guitarist Joe Bonamassa takes off his shades and changes from his shark skin suit to don sweats and a baseball camp when making his annual trip to the Baked Potato under the name “Rock Candy…
BEAT @ BAPAC Thousand Oaks 11.18.24
“I haven’t used this guitar for 40 years” Like all great monarchies, the reign of Robert Fripp’s King Crimson has had various epochs. In a stroke of genius, members of the 1980s kingdom in bassist Tony Levin and guitarist/singer Adrian…
Pritesh Walia CD release @ Sam Fist Bar 10.31.24
Instead of delving into the Halloween world of ghosts and goblins, jazz fans were given the chance to hear the debut album of a different kind of spirit, that coming from the guitar of Indian born, LA local Pritesh Walia.…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: Centennial-The Music of Thad Jones
Directed by Dick Oatts, the venerable Vanguard Jazz Orchestra gives tribute to the jazz orchestra that essentially set the standard for all followers, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. Essentially created in order to give a bit of complexity and modernity…