By Brian Arsenault I started getting happy listening to Van Morrison’s Duets:Re-Working the Catalog” (RCA) about the time George Benson was singing as smooth as he always is on “Higher Than The World” and I was downright grinning through Van and Georgie Fame’s “Get On With The Show.” Pure 50s jukebox. Drifters, Coasters, gratuitous but… Read More CD Review: Van Morrison’s “Duets: Re-Working the Catalogue”
By Don Heckman (Because of a software glitch there are no photos this week.) Los Angeles – Dec. 4 – 9. (Tues. – Sun.) Roy Hargrove Quintet. Versatile trumpeter Hargrove moves easily from big bands to small groups. This time out, he’s leading his fine young quintet. Catalina Bar & Grill. (323) 466-2210. – Dec.… Read More Picks of the Week: Dec. 4 – 9
By Don Heckman There was a celebratory mood in the air at Vitello’s Saturday night. And with good reason. Cheryl Bentyne – one of the four vocal stars in the Manhattan Transfer constellation – was returning to action after successfully confronting a life threatening illness. In characteristic fashion, she did it in full out, take… Read More Live Jazz: Cheryl Bentyne and Mark Winkler at Vitello’s
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – April 17. (Tues.) Robert Davi. The warm, expressive sound, brisk rhythms and lyrical phrasing recall Frank Sinatra. But Davi is no Sinatra imitator. Inspired by Ol Blue Eyes, Davi has taken the style and shaped it into his own creative identity. Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc. (310) 474-9400. – April 17.… Read More Picks of the Week: April 16 – 22
The International Review of Music 