Arturo Sandoval returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall tonight to help everyone get into the holiday spirit in his own Latin-infused jazz style. Last week, funk/jazz musician Matt TC Lucas and I had the pleasure to chat with the legendary trumpeter about the concert and more. Here is much of that conversation: ————— CK Dexter … Continue reading
Music is in very good hands whenever Kamasi Washington is around. Last week at the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles native showed off his artistic depth and breadth to go along with undeniable technical virtuosity and bold creativity. He led his band through an evening’s worth of his eclectic yet approachable compositions that showed his … Continue reading
Hello everyone and Happy Day-After-Christmas (aka Boxing Day, for the Anglophiles amongst you). I hope you had a very Merry Christmas — even if you didn’t celebrate — and that you spent it doing what you wanted with the people you wanted. As you chillax from your reveries, please allow me to share the best … Continue reading
Thirty-five years ago today, New Order released their seminal New Wave dance hit, “Blue Monday.” The song — along with its iconic packaging for the 12″ vinyl single as an over-sized floppy disc — represents a key moment in time for the band, the clearest indication that it had moved beyond its more austere roots … Continue reading
The multi-talented Arturo Sandoval, best known as a jazz trumpeter, is in the middle of a four-day residency at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. He plays a concert tonight, but the bulk of the “Sandoval Jazz Weekend” at The Wallis is devoted to showcasing and engaging young jazz talent … Continue reading
It’s been a fun and interesting week. I’ve been spending a few days in Las Vegas for the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, checking out the endless forest of 100″ 8k super-mega-ultra-uber-HD TVs, robots that sing and/or play beer pong, and acres of other mind-blowing/mind-numbing technology that will grace our homes, offices, and bodies (“wearable technology” … Continue reading
A tip of the hat to Shannita Williams (LA Opera’s Associate Director of Communications, Social Media) for pointing me towards “Weird Al” Yankovic’s latest release, “Word Crimes,” an absolutely spot-on ode to proper grammar and word usage, set to the tune of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” I’m a little sad he didn’t skewer “very unique” in his rant, and … Continue reading
Preservation Hall Jazz Band returns once again to Southern California tonight, this time for their inaugural visit to the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. This makes about a half-dozen visits to the area since they released That’s It!, their first-ever album devoted exclusively to new compositions (notwithstanding the special editions that include some live versions of classics such as … Continue reading
Yesterday was Canada Day (aka “Canada’s Birthday”), and I trust my Canadian friends spent the day doing appropriately Canadian-ish things — you know, like singing “O Canada” and drinking an appropriately Canadian alcoholic beverage. With that in mind, the good folks at Molson Brewing honored Canada Day by sharing the most ingenious and wonderful kind … Continue reading
Bruce Springsteen singing Lorde’s hip-hop-influenced pop tune “Royals?” Believe it. As a matter of fact, both song and singer hold up very nicely, thank you very much. Actually, it makes perfect sense that the quintessential blue-collar bard from New Jersey would cover the working-class 17-year old girl from New Zealand to offer this unlikely take on the anthem which thumbs its … Continue reading
“Golden Brown” by the punk/new-wave/post-punk band, The Stranglers, from their 1981 album, La Folie. In addition to the liberal use of harpsichord, you’ve gotta love the time signature alternating between 6/8 and 7/8 in the main riff. Given that the song’s title refers to obsession with heroin, a girl, or both, the occasionally disjointed rhythm is perfect. You have … Continue reading
In honor of Fat Tuesday 2014, I offer you the magnificent Preservation Hall Jazz Band with one of the oldest Mardi Gras songs around: “Tootie Ma is a Big Fine Thing.” In fact, since I’m feeling generous, here are two different versions of “Tootie Ma . . . ” The video above features a pared-down … Continue reading
George Gershwin is one of my favorite composers, easily in my top three if not my absolute favorite of all time. His classical music compositions, harmonically and rhythmically complex yet thoroughly lyrical and organic-sounding, were so inimitable and uniquely formed that both Maurice Ravel and Arnold Schoenberg refused to give him composition lessons on … Continue reading
David Warren Brubeck, legendary jazz pianist/composer and native Californian known better to the world as “Dave,” was born on December 6, 1920. If he were still with us, he would have turned 93 years old today. Sadly, he passed away last year just one day shy of his 92nd birthday. Earlier in 2013, an all-star … Continue reading
All is Yar 