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…
Category: Concert Reviews
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…
ACS: Allen, Carrington, Spalding@The Broad Stage 10.27.13
The trio of Geri Allen/p, Terri Lyne Carrington/dr and Esperanza Spalding/b first got together in the summer as a tribute to jazz icon Wayne Shorter. Their Hollywood Bowl concert was quite impressive, and here at the tail end of their…
Mark Knopfler@The Wiltern 10.26.13
This review of Mark Knopfler has to begin with a disclaimer. He first became popular at a time that I had abandoned rock music in order to cross the Jordan for the Milk and Honey of jazz. Eschewing any type…
Jeff Beck & Brian Wilson@The Greek Theatre 10.20.13
Yes, you’re reading that right. Legendary guitarist Jeff Beck and Beach Boy singer/songwriter Brian Wilson found common ground with Baby Boomers and beyond during a 2 ½ love and song fest. Incongruous? So were ice cream and waffles at one…
Lorraine Feather CD Release Party@Vitellos 10.10.13
Before a packed crowd at the upstairs and upscale Vitellos, vocalist/songwriter Lorraine Feather delivered a concerto/advertisement for her latest album release Attachments. Teamed up with LA all stars Charlie Bisharat/violin, Russell Ferrante/p, Michael Shapiro/dr, Michael Valerio/b and Grant Geissman/g, Ms…
Roger McGuinn & Marty Stuart@Smothers Theatre 10.10.13
Before “McGuinn & McGuire kept getting higher” in the 60s, there was no such thing as the now ubiquitous genre of what was then termed “country rock.” The interesting thing is that a good number of those progenitors (which included…
Roberta Gambarini w/ Kenny Burrell @ Catalina’s 09.12.13
I don’t know what you’re looking for in a jazz singer, but if you’re left cold by introspective chanteuses, and your blood vessels flow with the swing and style of Ella Fitzgerald, you need look no further than Roberta Gambarini. The…
Wayne Shorter 80th Birthday Celebration@The Hollywood Bowl 08.28.13
So, what keeps 4 score’d Wayne Shorter looking and sounding so young? ATTITUDE, BABY! Two bands gave tribute to his forward thinking style of music, and yet for his own set, he showed that even the younger “kids” still sounded…