If you want to get a sense of modern jazz history, an excellent place to start would be to hit the Baked Potato the third Wednesday of every month, and drummer Charles Ruggiero will give a Master Class workshop on…
Category: Concert Reviews
Maria Schneider Orchestra @ Broad Stage 03.03.23
Let’s just all start off by admitting that there simply aren’t a lot of big band concerts that… Have accordion and guitar players, and not doing French songs Put poems to orchestrations Use Morse Code as messages in the rhythm…
Eric Johnson @ The Majestic Ventura 02.22.23
The loss of guitar icon Jeff Beck reminds us all of the dearth of six stringers who resist resting on their laurels and continue to advance their musical craft, hopping their loyal fans will join with them in the journey.…
Samara Joy@The Annenberg Theater 02.19.23
If you are looking for a stock tip, you might want to check in with Mark Davis and Tracy Conrad, who had the prescience of booking vocalist Samara Joy 18 months ago, way before she won two Grammys for New…
Stick Men@The Baked Potato 02.18.23
You know a band can be labeled “progressive” when two of the three members have to create their own custom instruments in order to play their music. Such is the case of Stick Men, with King Crimson alumnus Tony…
Melissa Aldana @ Onstage Jazz Club CSUN 02.08.23
Having delayed for performing at CSUN for 3 years due to the COVID lockdown, tenor saxist Melissa Aldana was finally able to bring her Quartet to perform as part of the Jazz at Naz festival. Both artist and audience were…
Graham Dechter Trio @ The Baked Potato 02.06.23
One of the “regulars” at The Baked Potato, Graham Dechter, took a night off from his usual Lineage Trio to team up with Hammond specialist Larry Goldings, also playing hooky from his long time threesome, and brought in drummer Mark…
Andy James with Alex Acuna’s Le Coq All Stars@Catalina’s 01.29.23
Having missed last year’s Le Coq All Star gig here in LA due to contracting COVID, vocalist Andy James and percussionist legend Alex Acuna more than made up for their absence in this return of the label’s concert with a…
Mark Lettieri at Scherr Forum 01.18.21
One of the most difficult aspects of being a musician in today’s guitar-dominant world is to actually have a distinctive voice. While holding down the guitar chair for the acclaimed band Snarky Puppy, Marj Lettieri showed the audience at The…
Blind Boys of Alabama with Charlie Musselwhite @ Pepperdine’s Smothers Theatre 01.17.23
“Are you ready to be happy?” Thus officially began the travelling musical revival team, also known as the multi-Grammy winning Blind Boys of Alabama. Sure, they’ve gone through various changes over the decades, but the message of God’s love has…