There are certain jazz artists that when you see them, you’ll think, “Even my friends that hate jazz would like this.” Then, you have artists like Freddy Cole, who, even if your friend hates LIFE, he would like an evening…
Category: Concert Reviews
Alfredo Rodriguez Quartet@The Blue Whale 05.17.16
At the Blue Whale Tuesday night, pianist Alfredo Rodriguez demonstrated that there is a vast difference between “Cuban music” and music played by a Cuban. Instead of replicating sounds of the Buena Vista Social Club or Ricky Ricardo, the pianist/composer…
Take 6@Smothers Theatre Pepperdine 05.14.16
“Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with the Lord in your heart” Ephesians 5:19 If you wanted a hint of heaven, even the beaches at Malibu paled in comparison to the sounds…
Brian Bromberg’s Full Circle Acoustic Band@ Catalina’s 05.13.16
Somehow, bassist Brian Bromberg has been always labeled under the “smooth jazz” category. Well, if Bromberg proved anything Friday night with his Full Circle Acoustic Band, it’s that there’s a world of difference between “smooth” jazz and “jazz that’s played…
Bill Charlap Trio@Catalina’s 05.06.16
There aren’t many mainstream jazz pianists around anymore; they all seem to have gone to either the dark side of dissonance or to meditative navel gazing. Bill Charlap with his long time trio of Peter Washington/b and Kenny Washington/dr keep…
Jon Anderson & Jean-Luc Ponty (or was it Jean-Luc Ponty & Jon Anderson?) Band @ Canyon Club 04.30.16
As Jon Anderson goes on tour with jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty to promote their recent album, music fans are beginning to discover who the adventurous members of the jazz/rock band Yes actually were. While the legendary band tours around the…
Cecile McLorin Salvant@Campbell Hall UCSB 04.27.16
While most vocalists make the mistake of either strictly adhering to the American Songbook or flailing away in improvisations, Cecile McLorin Salvant showed that it is possible to embrace both worlds of tradition and art as she deftly demonstrated at…
Kenny Barron Trio@Lobero Theatre 04.18.16
Kenny Barron’s trio of Kiyoshi Kitagawa/b and Johnathan Blake/dr has been together for ten years, but the legendary pianist took until now to finally record everyone together. This Monday night at The Lobero, Barron’s lyrical touch lead the team through…
Mack Avenue SuperBand@Lobero Theatre 03.31.16
“If someone told me as a kid I’d be playing with these guys, I wouldn’t have believed it” So beamed drummer Carl Allen, no lightweight of his own, as he summed up the feeling of the energy emitted from the…
Jazz Bakery’s “Moveable Feast” Presents: The Bill Laurance Project 03.21.16
If jazz is going to get a foothold in the present generation’s ipod, it is not going to be through mindless and endless cacophonic solos, but through the type of accessible yet swinging music delivered by bands like Snarky Puppy.…