There’s a reason that keyboardist Jeff Lorber calls his band “fusion” and not “smooth.” While his music has been unfairly associated with ‘smooth jazz’ due to his one-time having Kenny G in his band, the fact is that Lorber has been…
Category: Concert Reviews
Jersey Boys@Civics Arts Plaza 02.23.16
The Thousand Oaks production of Jersey Boys took the audience back to the last period of American pop music that was completely joyous. The musical story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons was delivered in an energetic 2 ½…
Gregory Porter and Dianne Reeves @ Disney Concert Hall 02.20.16
Two Grammy winners got together for a soul fest at Disney Hall, mixing past present and future. The hip team of Peter Martin/key, Romero Lubambo/g, Reginald Veal/b and Terreon Gully/dr got the Disney Hall into the mood for soul with…
Jason Moran’s Fats Waller Dance Party@Valley Performing Arts Center 02.09.16
Pianist Jason Moran created a bona fide dance party at CSUN, even preparing a dance pit for the audience join in on the celebration of Fats Waller’s music Tuesday night. Opening with his trio of the snappy Charles Haynes/dr and…
AMEN! The Jones Family Singers@Smothers Theatre 02.05.16
Well, the Smothers Theatre may not have been completely filled with people on Friday night, but it sure was filled with the Holy Spirit, as the Jones Family Gospel Singers came into town and created a mighty army that would…
Dave Weckl Acoustic Band@Catalina’s 01.28.16
The name of Dave Weckl’s band may be called “acoustic,” but the 100 minute set by the drummer’s team of Gary Meek/ts-ss, Makoto Ozone/p-B3 and Tom Kennedy/b sure didn’t seem lacking in electricity, as the band delivered material that swung…
Lee Ritenour@Catalina’s 01.21.16
About to embark on a European tour, legendary guitarist Lee Ritenour filled Catalina’s with a set that included material from his latest album A Twist Of Rit, which also summarized the attitude of the evening, as the leader mixed up…
Tommy Emmanuel@Smothers Theatre 01.19.16
Tommy Emmanuel’s latest album is called It’s Never Too Late, and the famed guitarist demonstrated how appropriate that title is, as he welcomed the packed Smothers Theatre into his world of music and worldview. The opening act, The Wisherkeepers was…
Jazz Bakery’s “Moveable Feast” Presents: Jeremy Pelt’s Power Quintet@Moss Theatre 01.10.16
Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt put the “POW” into his “Power Quintet” on a crisp Sunday night at the Moss Theatre. Promoting his upcoming album #JIVECULTURE, he delivered a sneak preview with the all star lineup of Steve Nelson/vib, Danny Grissett/p, Peter…
Gilad Hekselman Trio@ The Blue Whale 01.08.16
For guitar fans, Gilad Hekselman showed his bridge linking the past to the future of the six strings as he showed up with the simpatico team of Dave Robaire/b and Jonathan Pinson/dr to deliver material from his latest album Home…