As the clock ticks, time well spent on ‘The Day’
Who can resist the alluring image, above, from a new theatrical production, THE DAY, presented at CAP UCLA and featuring two strong women of the performing arts, former New York City Ballet dancer Wendy Whelan (she is now associate director of the company) and cellist Maya Beiser, described as “a force of nature” by The ...
Dance finale, dance party & dance season to come, all @ CAP
Jun
1
2019
Oh the seasons, they come and they go. That’s easy enough for us mortals to say. But for a monster-scaled live-arts presenter like the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, it takes both brains and brawn to pull off a full season. You live it, breathe it, push it, pamper it, and promote ...
Cunningham, 100, at CAP
Mar
29
2019
We’ve heard of the Land of 1,000 Dances. But what is the ‘Night of 100 Solos‘? It is a global celebration of the centennial of a great dance genius, Merce Cunningham, the exceptional dance-advancing artist who was born on April 16, 1919, in Centralia, Washington. Mighty Los Angeles is part of it! In Night of ...
Is Naharin’s “Venezuela” about Venezuela?
Mar
10
2019
photo: Meridith Kohut for The New York Times Rarely does dance put its proverbial toe into a tempest, but if there was a choreographer to do so, it would be Ohad Naharin, in his dance swan-song for Batsheva Dance Company, soon at Royce Hall, entitled “Venezuela.” Once Latin America’s richest country and one of its ...
Batsheva Dance Company at Royce Hall: A must. Go.
Mar
7
2019
The sound of the Kyrie, eleison juxtaposed with the word ‘Venezuela’ pierces my heart. And I didn’t even cross the threshold into Royce Hall’s cathedral-like lobby yet. That’s how affecting a performance by the game-changing Israeli dance maker, Ohad Naharin, can be. Israel’s esteemed dance company, Batsheva, returns to Royce with a new evening-length work, ...
A singer’s love of language: Luciana Souza comes to Royce Hall
It’s been a recurring pleasure to chart the creative arc of Brazilian singer and songwriter Luciana Souza through her SoCal appearances over the years. We remember Jazz Bakery evenings where she held the room spellbound with a tempered vocal delivery on jazz-rooted arrangements and musical interaction. Souza’s clear soprano uses volume judiciously: she can send ...
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 ...
Fran at the Ace: fresh, frank … fraught!
Of her many accolades and achievements, what we find most cool and enviable about essayist/raconteur Fran Lebowitz is Vanity Fair having named her as one of the most stylish women of the year. She obviously presents well, so she’ll fit right into Los Angeles at her upcoming “Fran Lebowitz in Conversation” event presented by the Center ...
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 ...
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 ...