John Scofield jazz combo at cozy Theatre Raymond Kabbaz
Oct
5
2018
John Scofield, the creative, distinctive and versatile guitarist and composer first burst on the scene playing with greats like Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Billy Cobham in the late ’70s . Possessed of a distinctive sound and stylistic diversity, Scofield is a masterful improviser whose music falls between post-bop, funk edged Jazz, and ...
Disney Hall, in living color, as L.A. Phil turns 100
Wow, wow, wow. This is fabulous. Our symphony orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic (founded in 1918), is blasting into its centenary season in high style. It is converting its Frank Gehry-designed building, a happy pile-up of undulating stainless-steel surfaces, into a huge projection surface. Disney Hall will pop with crazy purples, blues, pinks and other psychedelic ...
Jimmy Webb, in Pepperdine season opener, to honor Glen Campbell
Sep
11
2018
Legendary Grammy-winning songwriter Jimmy Webb (with hits including “Wichita Lineman,” “MacArthur Park,” “Up, Up, and Away,” and “Highwayman”) will perform in a prestigious season opening night at the intimate Smothers Theatre, one of our favorite places to attend concerts and performance. In a touching tribute to Webb’s close friend and artistic partner, the late Glen ...
Vijay Iyer/Teju Cole ‘Blind Spot’ syncopates jazz, photography, text
The intriguing image above represents the visual component for “Blind Spot,” a much-anticipated live performance soon presented by CAP UCLA at The Theatre at Ace Hotel. The collaborative effort showcases two artists at the top of their respective fields: jazz pianist/composer Vijay Iyer and writer/photographer Teju Cole. A familiar face on the covers of Downbeat ...
Doors history: Jim Morrison’s boorish, then better, behavior (part 3)
ed. note: Harvey Kubernik’s book, The Doors: Summer’s Gone (Otherworld Cottage Industries, 2018) includes the following chapter by arts·meme contributor Kirk Silsbee. Serialized on arts·meme in three parts. Enjoy! London transplant Sally Stevens had never heard of The Lizard King when she took a waitress job at Thee Experience that summer. She had come to ...
The valleys are alive with the sound of gibberish, courtesy of artist Paul McCarthy
Maria, pictured above and played by Julie Andrews in the syrupy Hollywood movie-musical, The Sound of Music (1965), delivers her iconic hilltop anthem, but in a bizarro version created by visual artist Paul McCarthy, her scale runs do ti la so fa mi re do. McCarthy created cisuM fo dnuoS ehT / The Sound of ...
Pavilion ‘Levitt-ates’ our city, says Mayor Eric Garcetti
I love the Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles. But don’t listen to me. Listen to Mayor Garcetti, who calls it a “spark” and a “community asset” whose “vitality is a model of urban revitalization.” According to Garcetti, “We can have all the best clean-up in the world, but if there’s nothing in between that keeps people ...
Doors history: ice cream dreams at Thee Experience (part 2)
ed. note: part 2 (of 3) author kirk silsbee’s coverage of the scene at thee experience the short lived sunset strip psychedelia club. part 1 here. One of the people who visited the kitchen at Thee Experience was Owsley Stanley. The little man who dosed the whole West Coast with purple LSD traveled with the ...
Doors history: Thee Experience where Jim Morrison hung out (part 1)
ed. note: Harvey Kubernik’s book, The Doors: Summer’s Gone (Otherworld Cottage Industries, 2018) includes the following chapter by arts·meme contributor Kirk Silsbee. Serialized on arts·meme in three sections. Enjoy! After the Doors had tasted success, Hollywood was Jim Morrison’s playground. The Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, which launched the band, showcased all the ...
The art of the jazz song: Tadd Dameron for Sarah Vaughan 3
Ed. note: Guest writer Mark Miller deconstructs a jazz standard, “If You Could See Me Now,” for our appreciation. Music: Tadd Dameron Lyrics: Carl Sigman Jazz panist Tadd Dameron was known for his lyricism, an ironic attribute for an important bebop musician. Widely recognized as the bop era’s definitive arranger/composer, Dameron concocted this distinctive ballad ...