By Michael Katz Most of us long-time jazz fans remember the first jazz album we ever bought – not a gift or a hand-me-down, but the first time we actually pulled soiled, hard-earned bills from our pocket at a neighborhood record store and greedily pawed the cellophane off an LP. For me, it wasn’t Coltrane… Read More Quincy Jones Tribute and Monterey Jazz Festival 59 Preview
Impressions from MJF 56, Sunday By Michael Katz Sunday brought its share of legendary virtuosos to the Monterey Fairgrounds, but before we go there, a word about the kids. Jazz education is the mission of the MJF, and Sunday afternoon demonstrated how successful they have gotten at it. The Night Club had healthy audiences to… Read More Live Jazz: Sunday at the Monterey Jazz Festival 56
Impressions from MJF 56, Saturday By Michael Katz. Saturday at MJF is a sprawl of music, food, and a friendly wave of humanity washing over everything. After years of vacillating between the supposedly bigger names in the sun-baked arena and the fun of the Garden Stage, I opted this year to grab a bench seat… Read More Live Jazz: Saturday at the Monterey Jazz Festival 56
Impressions from MJF 56, Friday Night By Michael Katz If you are the type of person whose entertainment values revolve around baseball and jazz, you could be forgiven for thinking that there are Cubans everywhere. Baseball has recently given us young stars such as Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers, Yoenis Cespedes of the A’s and… Read More Live Jazz: Friday at the Monterey Jazz Festival 56
By Michael Katz Every year I head up to the Monterey Jazz Festival with a battle plan for seeing as much of the three days and over 500 artists as reasonably possible, and every year that plan gets shredded almost from the opening notes. Musicians whom I’d intended to sample (like Gregory Porter last year)… Read More Preview: The 56th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival
By Michael Katz Hollywood, CA. “I’m 74 years young,” sings Buddy Guy, “and there ain’t nothin’ I haven’t done.” After a few verses, Buddy admits to being 77, but the extra few years haven’t diminished anything, most importantly his ability to engage an audience. Dressed in his trademark polka dot shirt, Guy’s voice is clear… Read More Live Blues: Buddy Guy, the Funky Meters and Quinn Sullivan at the Hollywood Bowl
By Don Heckman It’s a short week of Picks, largely impacted by the end-of-Summer distractions and the frequent August closure of jazz clubs around the world. But there’s still a lot of music happening. Los Angeles – Aug. 21 (Wed.) Buddy Guy and the Funky Meters. The veteran blues great matches classic riffs with the… Read More Picks of the Week: August 21 – 25
By Michael Katz There is nothing like driving around in a remote area to underline the virtues of good music. So I’d like to say a few kind words about Sirius XM. And also Avis, whose rental car was equipped with it. I recently spent a week in Yellowstone National Park, the setting for my… Read More Radio Jazz: Time To Get Sirius?
Review by Michael Katz Photos by Bonnie Perkinson Hollywood CA. One happy problem with an eight hour music fest that runs uninterrupted through the shifting temperatures of a near-summer’s day at the Hollywood Bowl is a lineup so strong you don’t want to leave your seat. That was the occasion on Saturday, Day 1 of… Read More Live Jazz: The 35th Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, Day #1
By Michael Katz Today, in preparation for the June 1st release of my new novel Dearly Befuddled, I’d like to say a few words about book giveaways. Since I am a proud holder of an MBA in finance from the University of Wisconsin, I approach this topic with a good deal of reticence. It violates… Read More Books: Giveaways and Ruth Brown — “If I Can’t Sell It, I’m Gonna Keep Sittin’ On It”
The International Review of Music 