Vocalist Giacomo Gates came to town this weekend to justify my disdain (or at least indifference) to singers like Michael Buble’. As the people-pleasing pop performer delivers a show that is as polished as his nails, in a perfectly generic…
Category: Concert Reviews
Sacha’s Bloc@Catalina’s 06.20.13
You get the hint that something special is in the air at Catalina’s when a) the show starts RIGHT ON TIME (this is a jazz club?!?) and b) the set begins with a guy having his back facing you (no,…
Lisa Hilton@Catalina’s 05.16.13
This past month has been filled with trios coming through LA. From Brad Mehldau & The Bad Plus to Jason Moran, as well as Bill Cunliffe and Emily Bear, it seems like paradise for fans of intimate jazz. So, do…
Jazz Bakery’s Moveable Feast Presents: Emily Bear@Musician’s Institute 05.08.13
So, as a Sunday School teacher for the 5th and 6th grade class at my church, and having raised two daughters that took in so many hours of piano lessons that I would calculate their recitals at about 50 cents…
Jazz Bakery’s Moveable Feast Presents: Jason Moran’s Bandwagon@Musician’s Institute 05.07.13
When he’s not busy being the heart and soul of Charles Lloyd’s quartet, pianist Jason Moran continues a 10+ year relationship with his own Bandwagon with Tarus Mateen/b and Nasheet Waits/dr which came to the Musician’s Institute and mixed a…
Brad Mehldau Trio & The Bad Plus@The Lobero Theatre 05.03.13
If you’re a fan of the piano trio, you sure got a full evening of it at The Lobero Theatre on a beautiful Friday evening out of the direction of the fire a few towns away. Brad Mehldau’s team with…
The Paris Combo@The Broad Stage 04.27.13
Let’s face it, most music is either about dancing or love. Returning to America after a too long hiatus, the swinging 5 piece Paris Combo mixed infectious and irresistible rhythms and melodies (guaranteed to get you to grab your partner)…
Marcus Miller’s Tribute To Miles Davis with Wayne Shorter & Herbie Hancock@Disney Hall 04.22.13
Bassist Marcus Miller pointed out how quickly time marches on when he told the packed house at Disney Hall that the impetus for his concert tribute to Miles Davis was realizing that it’s been 20 years that his former boss…
Jimmy Cobb’s “So What” Band@CSUN 04.20.13
If jazz is “America’s Classical Music,” then Miles Davis’ 1959 album Kind of Blue has to be considered his 9th Symphony. As the only living member of that iconic session, 80 year old drummer Jimmy Cobb has been touring the…
Clarke/Corea/Gilmore Trio with Guest Hubie Laws@Catalina’s 03.10.13
If you had told me back in the fusion-dominated 70s, while I was sitting on my couch listening to my Return to Forever and Stanley Clarke School Days albums, that in two score years these same guys would be putting…