By Devon Wendell It’s hard to believe it’s that special time of year again. Yet another annual Playboy Jazz Festival has come and gone. And with it, memories of drunken conga lines, the smell of cheap weed in the summer air, and a plethora of musical acts ranging from actual jazz, r&b, rock, and even… Read More Live Jazz: Highlights From the 37th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival At The Hollywood Bowl.
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – June 12. (Fri.) Peter Frampton and Cheap Trick. A pair of rock icons turn up the juice when Grammy winner Frampton encounters the high voltage of Cheap Trick. Click HERE to read a previous iRoM review of Frampton in action. The Greek Theatre. (323) 665-5857. – June 12. (Fri.)… Read More Picks of the West Coast Weekend: June 12 – 15
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – June 12. (Wed.) Julian Coryell. He’s received an impressive guitar-playing legacy from his father, Larry Coryell. But Julian has thoroughly developed a creative style of his own. Vitello’s. (818) 769-0905. – June 13. (Thurs.) Cindy Lauper. 30th Anniversary: She’s So Unusual Tour. The inimitable Cindy Lauper celebrates the anniversary… Read More Picks of the Week: June 12 – 16
By Devon Wendell Now I must push through those big barriers that keep a thinking/nerdy musician like myself stagnant and trapped in one or two musical eras or genres, far from today and far from this exact moment in history. I must dissolve the bitterness and the frustration, and the notion that it’s all nothing… Read More A Twist Of Doc: Devon “Doc” Wendell’s Musical Highlights of 2012
By Michael Katz At about a quarter to eight last night, a line snaked down the midway at the Monterey Fairgrounds leading to the Coffee House, the smallest of the grounds venues at the Monterey Jazz Festival. I have been attending this festival since the mid-nineties, and as much as I love the sound and… Read More Live Jazz: Monterey Jazz Festival Notebook; Day #1
By Mike Katz Every year the Monterey Jazz Festival program features a Top Ten list from Artistic Director Tim Jackson, and I always think that’s interesting, but what does he tell everybody else? And how can he not mention (your favorite here). So I figured I’d take a stab at my own Top Ten, but… Read More Live Jazz: Mike Katz’s Monterey Jazz Festival Top Ten
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Sept. 5. (Wed.) Blues Night: B.B. King and the Tedeschi/Trucks Band. A great program, with a banquet of blues running the gamut from the masterful B.B. King to the Tedeschi/Trucks Band, with their spicy servings of blues, soul, rock and funk. The Hollywood Bowl. (323) 850-2000. – Sept. 5.… Read More Picks of the Week: Sept. 4 – 9
By Devon Wendell To many, it would seem to make perfect sense to have Latin jazz pioneer Eddie Palmieri and Latin pop music, movie star, and political activist Ruben Blades both on the same bill, but it proved to be an odd mish mash at The Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday night. This was mainly due… Read More Live Latin Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl: The Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra and Ruben Blades
Eddie’s Space By Devon Wendell Very few people in the history of Latin music and jazz have blended those two genres as successfully as pianist, composer, and band leader Eddie Palmieri has over the past 50 years. The New York born offspring of Puerto Rican parents, Palmieri has fearlessly broken down musical cultural barriers throughout… Read More Profile: Eddie Palmieri
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Aug. 14 & 15. (Tues. & Wed.) Michael Jackson the Immortal World Tour. Cirque du Soleil. The music and lyrics of Michael Jackson are the foundation for a show that “immerses audiences in Michael’s creative world and literally turns his signature moves upside down,” performed by the incomparable artists… Read More Picks of the Week: Aug. 14 – 19
The International Review of Music 