At 73, Van Morrison is going through a musical renaissance, and like the original Renaissance, he is accomplishing it by returning to the foundations and “first love” of his musical civilization, the jump blues of the 50s. With a swinging…
Category: Concert Reviews
The Wrecking Crew Remembers Glen Campbell @ Bogie’s Bar 01.27.19
“Usually, we travel to go and see history. How often does a piece of history come to see you? Apt was the introduction by Bogie’s Bar owner Ken Greene as he set the tone for the 90 minute tribute to…
Gilad Hekselman Trio @ The Blue Whale 01.25.19
Guitarist Gilad Hekselman’s returned from over a year absence from The Blue Whale, using the occasion to celebrate the release of his latest album Ask For Chaos. Teamed with bassist Dave Robaire and album-mate drummer Jonathan Pinson, Hekselman showed the…
George Garzone w/ Peter Erskine Trio@Sam First 01.18.19
It’s not often that you get to witness the creator of a style of music, but the packed house at Sam First got the opportunity to hear Boston-based tenor saxist and educator George Garzone, the initiator of the “Triadic Chromatic”…
Daniel Rotem Ensemble featuring John Beasley@The Blue Whale 01.11.19
With two new albums recently released, local tenor saxist Daniel Rotem refuses to sit still. He demonstrated the fertile ground of the local LA jazz scene Friday night by presenting a whole fresh batch of material and a new group…
Denny Seiwell Trio@Bogies Bar 01.08.19
“It’s magic when we play together” So gleamed drummer and leader Denny Seiwell, best known for his work with Paul McCartney’s Wings as he brought together his jazz organ combo of guitarist John Chiodini and Hammond man Joe Bagg for…
John Legend’s “Legendary Christmas” @ Microsoft Theater 12.23.18
So, my 29 year old daughter reprimands me, “Dad, you’ve got to get out of your narrow horizons and check out John Legend. He’s like a perfect combination of Nat “King” Cole and Marvin Gaye, with a dash of Sam…
Walter Smith III Group@The Blue Whale 12.21.18
Walter Smith III reunited with old Angeleno friends with a set at the Blue Whale that was impressive in that it reflected his growth not only as a composer, but as also a tenor sax player, as his sound and…
Mike Stern/Dave Weckl Band@Catalina’s 12.13.18
The sparks were flying at Catalina’s Thursday night as the powerful front line provided by guitarist Mike Stern and drummer Dave Weckl gave the packed house 100 minutes of rocking modern jazz. Both gents are formidable leaders in their own…
Steve Gadd Band@Catalina’s 12.06.18
At 73 years young, drummer Steve Gadd continues to drink from the musical fountain of youth, as his band of Walter Fowler/tp-fh, Kevin Hays/key, Jimmy Johnson/b, Michael Landau/g and recent addition Duke Gadd/perc create music that brims over with fresh…