I love Summer. The longer days and warmer weather facilitate more outdoor activities in Southern California. We can enjoy the plethora of al fresco high- and low-brow choices without the annoyances of mosquitos, high humidity, or thunderstorms to ruin the fun. Musically, the Hollywood Bowl looms large over the scene, and with the top-notch multi-genre … Continue reading
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
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra finally returned to the stage this past week. And there was much rejoicing (yaaaaay). These weren’t the first classical music concerts in Southern California since the US began emerging from the haze of the Covid-19 crisis. The Los Angeles Philharmonic made that happen, playing two orchestral concerts at the Hollywood … Continue reading
Big news from the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra: First, the orchestra, led by Music Director Jaime Martin, will begin playing again this summer The initial concert on Saturday, June 26, will be at Walt Disney Concert Hall It will be the first performance for a live audience at WDCH since the venue closed for the … Continue reading
Norman Pearson played his first concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1982 as a substitute on 2nd tuba. Simon Rattle conducted The Rite of Spring. Not a bad start. He’d go on to spend most of his professional career with the LA Phil, including many more concerts as a substitute before becoming an official … Continue reading
I touched my lips to the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ. Kinda. OK, perhaps not quite, but I came close. More on that in a minute . . . This weekend’s concerts at WDCH were the latest salvo in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the debut of the venue’s famed … Continue reading
When is an organ recital more than that? When the entire LA Phil brass section joins the fray, as it will this coming Sunday, October 12th, at 7pm, for a tenth birthday party of sorts. Continue reading
Walt Disney Concert Hall is now officially ten years old. Within that decade, a lot has happened, and off and on during the past few weeks, I’ve been pondering the impact — both profound and innocuous — of the hall’s addition to the cultural landscape of the city and beyond. I figure I’d share them … Continue reading
Got a pleasant surprise in my inbox this morning: an email from the Los Angeles Philharmonic saying that Bob Mould and some special guests, including Dave Grohl and Ben Gibbard, would be appearing at Walt Disney Concert Hall in November. Wait. Bob Mould, Dave Grohl, Ben Gibbard, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Walt Disney Concert Hall, … Continue reading
All is Yar 