by Michael Katz Sunday at the Monterey Jazz Festival is always a mixed bag of styles, from the high school big bands to the closing headliners, with jazz variations on everything from salsa and bluegrass to the traditional Hammond B3 blowouts. Given that the mission of MJF is jazz education, I always like to check… Read More 60th Monterey Jazz Festival Day 3
By Devon Wendell I’ve had this deep, lifelong obsession with the trumpet. I’ve written about some of the greatest musicians to ever pick up the instrument like Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Fats Navarro, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, Art Farmer, Clifford Brown, and Wild Bill Davison, to name a few. I’d trade my right foot and… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Hard-Bop Trumpet: Donald Byrd’s ”Byrd In Hand” (Blue Note)
By Devon Wendell Many jazz aficionados like myself have been waiting for a live box set like this one for most of our lives and it’s finally here. Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 consists of 4 CDs featuring 20 years of Miles Davis performances (8 shows in total) showcasing Miles… Read More CD Review- Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (Columbia/Legacy)
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 Devon Wendell 2014 was a strange year for music. I recall thinking to myself halfway through The Playboy Jazz Festival in June; “Okay, so everyone is going funk now. Wynton Marsalis’ head would explode!” To many jazz purists, funk is considered to be sellout music. Critics and fans freaked out when Miles Davis, Freddie… Read More 2014 Remembered: A Year Of Funk
By Don Heckman Hollywood, CA. The 2014 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition came to a dramatic conclusion Sunday night in a All-Star Gala event at Dolby Hall in Hollywood. This year, the Competition was for trumpet players. And the three finalists each offered a display of their considerable skills in a setting that allowed each… Read More Live Music: The Thelonious Monk 2014 International Jazz Competition Gala
By Bonnie Perkinson On November 3rd, a rare event took place in West Hollywood. The kind and welcoming staff of Book Soup had an In Conversation event with two giants of jazz: the singular genius, Herbie Hancock; and the soft spoken, elegant, musician and music critic Don Heckman. The aisles were filled with people of… Read More In Conversation: Herbie Hancock and Don Heckman at Book Soup
By Don Heckman – Nov. 6 – 9. (Thurs. – Sun.) Steve Tyrell. Add an amiable Texas twang to a jaunty sense of swing and a convincing way with a lyric, and that still doesn’t add up to the magic that happens when Tyrell digs into the Great American Songbook. Catalina Bar & Grill. http://www.catalinajazzclub.com… Read More Picks of the Weekend in Los Angeles: Nov. 6 – 9
By Fernando Gonzalez Miami, Florida Puerto Rican percussionist Sammy Figueroa is a versatile, resourceful player whose extraordinary career includes performing, recording and touring with a dizzying list of jazz, pop and rock stars and groups, including trumpeter Miles Davis, saxophonist Sonny Rollins (his current employer) and the Brecker Brothers but also David Bowie, David Lee… Read More Jazz With An Accent: A Conversation with Sammy Figueroa
The International Review of Music 