Influential Brazilian-beat album recreated in CAP UCLA concert, That Bad Donato
In 1970, two landmark recordings changed the world. On Bitches Brew, Miles Davis infused jazz with the rhythms and textures of cutting-edge pop, exemplified by James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. The fusion genre sprang from that album. Concurrently, keyboardist and composer João Donato thrust electronics and the cross-rhythms of funk into Brazilian jazz with A ...
Luminario Ballet’s festive winter’s tale at the California Club
For those who have loved and lost. For those for whom great art can assuage life’s forays into the forlorn. For those who love wine, a great meal, live chamber music and dance in a singularly splendid setting: the Luminario Ballet Viennese Winter Gala is the thing. Good cheer, live art and companionship go far, ...
Jason Moran, in a Monkish mood @ CAP UCLA
“The horn is blowing according to what the drummer is playing, you know?” –Thelonious Monk to Hall Overton, 1959 Thelonious Monk’s 1959 Town Hall concert was an artistic landmark and a personal triumph for the iconoclastic pianist and composer. His pieces, conceived for the small ensemble format, had been orchestrated for the evening by the ...
REVIEW: Golden-voiced Jack Jones, a golden performer
Oct
31
2017
Irvine Barclay Theatre, where we have enjoyed so many wonderful dance performances, hosted a super-special treat Saturday evening, a show by the master pop and jazz song stylist, Jack Jones. Jones was in his living room. A boffo performer, the guy settled into the theater’s intimate quarters with an ease and control that reflected his ...
Awake to the world, with Jacaranda
Oct
11
2017
The onslaught of bad, breaking news has us numbed. Howling winds, gushing waters, marauding mass murderers, predators of pretty movie stars, all pummel our sensitive souls. That’s where the artistic director of Jacaranda music has stepped into the breach. In launching AWAKE, Jacaranda’s 15th season, Patrick Scott is pushing back against the bad noise, and replacing ...
Motown magic to Malibu: Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves @ Pepperdine 1
Sep
17
2017
It’s difficult to witness the decay of present-day Detroit and reckon that the city was a booming factory town in the 1960s. While Detroit’s auto manufacturers put America in the driver’s seat, Motown Records flooded dance floors and came as close to dominating Top 40 radio as any domestic record label in history. Berry Gordy, ...
Jack Jones: a lot of livin’ (and singin’) to do
Aug
31
2017
Frank Sinatra called Jack Jones, “one of the major singers of our time.” Mel Torme said he is “the greatest ‘pure’ singer in the world.” George Chakiris who himself recorded four memorable albums at Capitol Records recently said, “He has a wonderful voice and he never stopped working on it. The last time I saw ...
The friendship of cowboy singers
The arts “get to us” in so many different ways. There may be something about the turbulence of the past week, a time of saber-rattling, that has particularly touch our nation at the passing away of a gentle spirit named Glen Campbell. Here in Los Angeles, the Autry Museum of the American West issued a ...
Review: Glen Campbell Goodbye Tour, Hollywood Bowl 2012
Aug
10
2017
editor’s note: Guest writer Richard Ginell contributes a Daily Variety review (published June 24, 2012) of the final concert at the Hollywood Bowl by Glen Campbell (1936 – 2017). One correction; “Ghost On The Canvas” would not be his last album; two more were to follow. Presented by Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.Band: Glen Campbell (TJ ...