There has essentially been only one period in American history when the most popular music was also the best, during the 30s to the 50s, and Saturday night there was a celebration of one of the chief purveyors, Nat “King”…
Category: Concert Reviews
Jazz Bakery Moveable Feast Presents: Regina Carter “Southern Comfort Quintet” @ Zipper Concert Hall 04.19.14
Violinist Regina Carter has explored her musical roots with albums dedicated to music from her mother’s era, her own upbringing in Detroit, and even her African heritage the past few years. This time around, she’s exploring the sounds and music…
Diana Krall Glad Rag World Tour@CSUN 04-04-14
When she first stepped out in the early 90s, Diana Krall shifted the paradigm by bringing a younger audience back to the Great American Songbook and has influenced countless female vocalists in her wake. At this stage in her career,…
60th Anniversary All Stars@Disney Hall 03.15.14
Like a vintage wine, some things age to perfection, and the pair of 3 score anniversaries from 2 famous concerts celebrated timeless aspects of jazz. The famous Massey Hall concert that cemented the fiundarion of bebop was revisited by having…
Anthony Wilson’s Guitar Quartet@The Edye 03.07.14
Guitar fans were in fret heaven at The Edye Friday night as Anthony Wilson brought together some of the best pickers around for a quartet’s worth of picking, strumming, tapping and plucking. Wilson’s 2013 Season’s album which debuted the 4…
Fatoumata Diawara@The Broad Stage 02.28.14
If you wanted to get a good overview of where American music’s heart and soul originated, the place to be on the rainy last day of February was at the Broad Stage, where Malian singer/songwriter Fatoumata Diawara and her band…
Pat Metheny Unity Group@CSUN 02.25.14
Pat Metheny is probably the only artist around that would have one band that he leads open up for the SECOND band that he also is in charge of, but that’s what he did at CSUN’s Performing Arts Center Tuesday…
Guitar Passions w/ Sharon Isbin, Stanley Jordan & Romero Lubambo@CSUN 02.23.14
Fans of the guitar and a fretful feast at the Valley Performing Arts Center at CSUN. Three diverse artists ranging from the classical Sharon Isbin to the string tapping jazzer Stanley Jordan with Brazilian Romero Lubambo rounding out the sounds…
Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride & Dianne Reeves@Disney Hall 02.09.14
“This is no longer Disney Hall,” joked vocalist Dianne Reeves as she began the 10th year anniversary show for the acoustically adroit theatre. “This is our living room,” she declared, as she turned the hall into an intimate setting in…
Bela Fleck and Brooklyn Rider@Valley Performing Arts Center 02.08.14
“What is a banjo doing with a string quartet, and vice versa?” was a question poignantly asked by violinist Jonathan Gandelsman and answered during the 2 hour concert at CSUNs Performing Arts Center with banjo extraordinaire Bela Fleck and the…