By Norton Wright Los Angeles, CA. It was SHOWTIME at Disney Hall on Saturday night as Gordon Goodwin’s 18-piece Big Phat Band performed like an inextinguishable stick of dynamite, exploding number after number in its featured hour-long set marking KJazz Radio’s third annual benefit concert. The recipient of the 2015 GRAMMY Award for “Best Large… Read More Live Jazz: Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band At Walt Disney Concert Hall
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 Don Heckman Los Angeles – Mar. 13. (Tues.) Willie Nelson and Family. Legendary is a word that actually has some veracity when applied to the music and the career of superstar Nelson. He makes his first appearance at Disney Hall on a bill that also includes his family members, as well as a group… Read More Picks of the Week: Mar. 13 – 18
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Jan. 16. (Mon.) Clare Fischer Big Band. The multiple Grammy-winning composer/arranger/pianist (and more) has a resume reaching from Dizzy Gillespie and Donald Byrd to Prince and Paul McCartney, with numerous stops in between. His own groups have reached from small to large, covering a brilliantly eclectic array of creative… Read More Picks of the Week: Jan. 16 – 22
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Nov. 30. (Wed.) Sting. One of the iconic masters of popular song makes a rare Southland appearance as part of his extended, “Back To Bass” tour. The Wiltern. (877) 686-5366. – Nov. 30. (Wed.) The Ron McCurdy Collective. Trumpeter/educator McCurdy blends his soaring trumpet sounds with the lush harmonies… Read More Picks of the Week: Nov. 29 – Dec. 4
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Nov. 2. (Tues.) John Pisano’s Guitar Night. Brasil Night. Pisano expands his usual two-guitar format into an evening simmering with the irresistible rhythms of Brazil. With Federico Ramos, guitar, Jose Marino, bass, Enzo Todesco, drums. Vitello’s. (818) 769-0905. – Nov. 3. (Wed.) Ornette Coleman. Jazz in the post-bebop era… Read More Picks of the Week: Nov. 1 – 7
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Sept. 14. (Tues.) Michael Bolton. One World One Love Tour. The title says it all for the music of the two-time Grammy winner, Bolton, whose soft-rock style has been appealing to romantics since the ‘80s. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. (562) 915-8501. – Sept. 14. (Tues.) John Proulx… Read More Picks of the Week: Sept. 14 – 19.
By Don Heckman It was Gershwin night at the Bowl on Wednesday. And there wasn’t a moment’s doubt about the identities of the real stars of the show. Although the line up embraced a collection of singers ranging from BeBe Winans, Monica Mancini and Jason Mraz to Annie Clark and Nancy Wilson, I’m sure that… Read More Live Music: Gershwin Across America, with Nancy Wilson, Monica Mancini, BeBe Winans, Jason Mraz and Annie Clark at the Hollywood Bowl
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Sept. 1. (Tues.) Herb Alpert and Lani Hall. Trumpeter Alpert and vocalist Hall discuss their remarkable careers (individually and as a couple) and offer a few of the new slants on standards that make up the program in their impressive new live CD, “Anything Goes.” Grammy Museum. – Sept.… Read More Picks of the Week: September 1 – 6
“Act Your Age” (Immergent) By Devon Wendell We jazz purists in pursuit of the next revolutionary original sound sometimes forget to curb our obsessive-compulsive enthusiasm and simply enjoy some fun music. Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band’s multi-Grammy nominated album “Act Your Age” is simply fun – which may be exactly what we need during these turbulent times. Produced by… Read More CD Review: The Big Phat Band
The International Review of Music 