To a ‘Babalu’ish 2023!
Dec
27
2022
There’s always the guy who did it first — and did it great. Then there’s the guy who ‘covers’ the song, as did Desi Arnaz on October 19, 1946, recording this marvelous, if somewhat tamped down, version of Babalú years after the seductive anthem was associated with the original “Mr. Babalú,” Miguelito Valdés. What on ...
Divas of our lifetime! Dionne Warwick, Chita Rivera on stage
stellar ladies of the arts, one singer, one dancer She’s a beloved American cultural icon. She’s beautiful and well preserved. AND she has a new movie, a documentary. Dionne Warwick began singing professionally in 1961. Discovered by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the marvelous songbird went on to record 18 consecutive Top 100 singles (Don’t ...
Warmth, beauty, diversity: ABT’s ‘The Nutcracker’ at Segerstrom Center 1
From Act I of Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker. Photo: Rosalie O’Connor. The world has started to feel at tad more normal, right? One key way that is so important for us all, but especially for our children is the return to the theater. Yes, the careful among us still wear face masks — totally fine. ...
Composer Inon Zur: symphonic scores for video games
noreen green, inon zur, emily bear (at piano)photo courtesy los angeles jewish symphony When The Grammys™ added a brand-new category earlier this year—‘Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media’—it was in acknowledgment of musical excellence. But it also had to do with business. Big business. In 2022, video gaming is primed to ...
A ‘Titan’ic debut for the Israel Philharmonic at The Soraya
Nov
7
2022
Ed. note: This story by arts journalist and artsmeme founder Debra Levine, commissioned and originally published by the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, is reprinted with permission. An invitation to perform at the Berlin Festival is an unassailable honor for a symphony orchestra. But in 1971, it caused heated internal debate at ...
REVIEW: A look at Mark Morris’s ‘The Look of Love’ 1
The tenderness, the tenacity, the yearning, and the joy burnished in the lilting melodies composed by Burt Bacharach, so perfectly paired with the high-flown romance of Hal David‘s lyrics, formed the basis for “The Look of Love,” a new hour-long dance work that had its world premiere this weekend at the Broad Stage in Santa ...
Cubanísimo! at The Soraya
malpaso dancers / arturo o’farrill Ed. note: This story by dance critic Debra Levine, commissioned and originally published by the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, is reprinted with permission. The havoc Hurricane Ian wreaked on the Caribbean and Florida, in an indirect way, nearly extended all the way to The Soraya’s stage. ...
The people’s Peabo, at Pepperdine
Oct
3
2022
He’s right up there — one of the big seventies crooners– along with Al Green, Barry White, Teddy Pendergrass, and Luther Vandross. These heartthrob-inducing balladeers sent soulful glissandos down our spines in densely produced R&B recordings of the 1970s. So I am delighted that Peabo Bryson (“Feel The Fire, “I’m So Into You”) will appear ...
‘People-wearing-color’ honor composer Allee Willis @ ‘Night of Wonders’ 1
It was all kinds of people, of all kinds of colors, wearing all kinds of colors — notably hot pink, fiery orange, neon chartreuse, and Princely purple — mixed into the same outfit. This passel of arty party people wended their way to Valentine in the Los Angeles arts district on September 21, for a ...
Back to Jefferson High School for Central Avenue jazz, with MUSE/ique
They got their high school diplomas and hit the ground running. By living adjacent to the rich cultural offerings of Central Avenue in South Los Angeles in its heyday, the kids of Jefferson High School discovered the arts in the classroom and in the neighborhood. They made careers, big ones. A recent thrilling Sunday-afternoon showcase ...