At the Three Deuces with Art Tatum
May
18
2023
Well, he was a genius. But that didn’t stop the yahoos in the audience from talking and smoking and drinking while he was playing. Here’s a chance to get a front-row seat on the great Art Tatum, as, in all good cheer, he pulverizes a little ditty with his inimitable rollicking harmonic deconstruction. 43/12/5, NYC., ...
Charles Lloyd’s ecstatic melody on his 85th
On the cusp of Charles Lloyd’s 85th birthday—we’ll join the master in celebration at Saturday’s live performance at The Soraya—the acclaimed tenor saxophonist and flutist stands at the summit of jazz. A master improviser whose musical ethos was forged in the crucible of 1960s musical freedom, Lloyd has been a restless and unpredictable explorer on ...
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 ...
Pianist Jamael Dean, jazz virtuoso, to tap spiritual vein @ Piano Spheres
Jul
5
2022
‘Sick.’ “Dig.’ ‘Respect.’ ‘Space Music.’ ‘Wow.’ ‘Just Wow.’ ‘Lovely.’ ‘Jamael is a beast.’ ‘That drummer is on fire.’ These and other laudatory comments are posted on youtubecom in response to a 2020 video, “Kronos” streaming above. The man behind this music, the keyboard cat in the long braids, is Jamael Dean, a jazz prodigy whose ...
To San Diego, for Fosse’s Dancin’!
bob fosse’s dancin’ in rehearsals. Photo by julieta dervantes It will be a reckoning. I have been researching Bob Fosse through his several biographies and of course, critically, through his movies. So, the advent of a major revival of Dancin‘ the original Broadway production created, directed, and choreographed by Fosse, this time directed and staged ...
Martha Graham’s ode to nature, ‘Canticle,’ re-imagined for 21st-C
jacob larsen, so young an, martha graham ‘moon’ ed. note: This story by dance critic Debra Levine, commissioned and published by the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, is reprinted with permission. When Martha Graham premiered a new, full-company work with a poetic title, “Canticle for Innocent Comedians,” it was the Spring of ...
Gifted Cuban pianist López-Nussa to bring Soraya jazz fest to smoking finale
ed. note: The trio of concerts over a single weekend—Gerald Clayton Sextet (Feb 17), Gretchen Parlato (Feb 18), and the Harold López-Nussa Trio (Feb 19)—are the grand finale of the Soraya’s jazz festival, Jazz at Naz. This interview, conducted by artsmeme jazz writer, Kirk Silsbee, was commissioned by The Soraya and first appeared on the ...
Highwire jazz interplay: Branford Marsalis Quartet soon at The Soraya
photo: Branford Marsalis Quartet by Palma Kolansky, courtesy of The Soraya ed. note: This story by jazz writer Kirk Silsbee was commissioned and originally published by the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts. Excerpted with permission. The timeless swing of the Count Basie Orchestra, the pure vocals of Lizz Wright, and the vibrant ...
Jazz trombone man, Richard Nash, in conversation 1
Sep
6
2021
One of the most sought-after trombone players in Hollywood, Dick Nash played with Henry Mancini, Billy May, Lalo Schifrin, Pete Rugolo, Quincy Jones, and the list goes on. Most associated with swing and big band music, he is admired by the best trombone players all over the world. Richard Taylor Nash is celebrating his 93rd year. ...
Broadbent & Mancio, a musical partnership by intuition & osmosis 2
One of the most sublime vocal albums of this, or any recent, year was released a few months ago. London-based singer and lyricist Georgia Mancio and pianist Alan Broadbent committed duets of nine of their own songs onto Quiet Is The Star (Roomspin). The collaboration is one of the all-too-rare instances where voice, text, piano ...