As Andy McKee demonstrated during his 90 minute concert at the sonically adroit Smothers Theatre at Pepperdine, the acoustic guitar is still able to have new sounds , approaches and stylings derived from it. Like an explorer from the 16th…
Category: Concert Reviews
Tatiana Parra & Vardan Ovsepian@The Blue Whale 12.29.13
Pianist/composer Vardan Ovsepian regularly performs locally and is making waves not only as a solo pianist but as a creator of some intriguing chamber jazz. His latest foray may be his most successful, as he has found a singing partner…
Bruce Forman w/ Pat Senatore@Vibrato 12.12.13
‘Twas two weeks before Christmas, and all through Vibrato Forman and Senatore were serving it hot-o Ah, just another day at Herb Alpert’s upscale jazz club. Bassist Pat Senatore, who toured with Herb Alpert before thousands of fans in…
Bill Cunliffe Quintet & Big Band w/ Harry Allen @ Vitellos 12.07.13
Grammy award winning pianist/composer Bill Cunliffe decked the halls of Vitellos with some swinging Christmas small group jazz and a stocking stuffer followup of big band Brazilian sounds that warmed up a cold winter night for a packed house of…
Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band w/ Johnny Mathis @ Catalina’s 12-03-13
So, how do you get into the Christmas spirit in Los Angeles? You could do a lot worse than hearing Gordon Goodwin who Tuesday night started the season off by bringing his Big Phat Band to Catalina’s and taking songs that cover both…
Jazz Bakery’s Moveable Feast Presents: Randy Weston & Billy Harper@Nate Holden Performing Arts Center 11.22.13
It’s shows like these that should make you contact the Jazz Bakery and make a donation to speed up the construction of the new site, as only Ruth Price could get together a show so intimate, so wondrous and so…
Arturo Sandoval’s Big Band @ The Broad Stage 11.15.13
This is the third time I’ve seen Arturo Sandoval in a matter of little more than a year, and each concert has had a completely different feel. This one, at the acoustically wondrous Broad Stage in Santa Monica, had the…
Laurence Hobgood Quintet@The Blue Whale 11.09.13
Better known as the pianist & arranger for vocalist Kurt Elling, Laurence Hobgood occasionally steps out in front to perform his own material, and for good reason. His solo albums include a fascinating series of duets with bassist Charlie Haden…
Bill Holman’s Big Band@Vitello’s 11.08.13
“It’s very confusing, but what else are we here for?” So joked 87 year old bandleader Bill Holman about the music between songs at Vitello’s where he revisited the sounds from his 1997 Grammy winner album of wildly exciting big…
The Moody Blues@Nokia Theatre 11-01-13
They may sing a song that says that they’re “just singers in a rock and roll band,” but progressive rock band Moody Blues betrayed those lyrics during their two hour set before an appreciatively packed Nokia Theatre. (On a side…