AN OLYMPIC CARNAVAL AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL By Don Heckman What a great weekend. A remarkable synchronization , featuring performances of two remarkable Brazilian events . One is at the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro. As much as we’d all like to fly down to Rio, few Olympics fans will have ample funds for… Read More HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEKEND IN LOS ANGELES
By Don Heckman The Hollywood Bowl and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Wilkins, offered another Hall of Fame, season-opening program Saturday night. And once again did it with the class and creativity that have characterized these annual events. I’ve been covering the season-opening nights at the Hollywood Bowl for years now and each… Read More Live Music: The 2014 Opening Night at the Hollywood Bowl
By Don Heckman It’s a light, holiday week, with 100-plus temperatures here in L.A. But there’s still some very fine music to hear in various parts of the world. Los Angeles – Sept. 4 – 8. (Wed. – Sun.) The Roy Hargrove Quintet. Trumpeter Hargrove has appeared frequently with his big band lately. But this… Read More Picks of the Week: Sept. 4 – 8
By Don Heckman It’s no mystery that singer Natalie Cole has followed in the musical footsteps of her extrordinary father, pianist/singer Nat “King” Cole. Along the way, she’s won nine Grammy Awards after 21 nominations. Her 1991 album Unforgettable, which included an interactive duet, with her late father, on the song “Unforgettable,” triggering the granting… Read More Live Music; Natalie Cole and Chucho Valdes at the Hollywood Bowl
Sometimes a Reviewer’s Just Lucky Three Very Different Albums Connected Only by Their Excellence By Brian Arsenault Spin Doctors If the River Was Whiskey (Rufus Records) If you’re a ‘90’s kid, chances are you can still remember the words to Spin Doctors’ “Pocket Full of Kryptonite” and that favorite guy anthem to the… Read More Record Rack: Spin Doctors, Bracher Brown and Quattro
By Mike Finkelstein On a balmy Friday night still throbbing from a blazing L.A. heat-wave, The Brian Setzer Orchestra played the first of a three-night stand of shows at the packed Hollywood Bowl for the closing Fireworks Finale. Very early in their set the band played “This Cat’s on a Hot Tin Roof,” and it… Read More Live Music: The Brian Setzer Orchestra and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Sept. 11. (Tues.) Sarah Chang. A gifted child prodigy, violinist Chang has matured into a superb interpretive artist. In this far-reaching program, she performs a suite from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Bramwell Tovey. Also on the bill – works by Copland… Read More Picks of the Week: Sept. 11 – 16
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
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – June 20. (Wed.) Jane Harvey. The remarkable Jane Harvey’s career dates back to gigs with Benny Goodman in the ‘40s. Now well into her ‘80s she continues to draw critical raves for her performances. Click HERE to read a recent iRoM review of a Harvey appearance. Catalina Bar… Read More Picks of the Week: June 20 – 24
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Sept. 13. (Tues.) Mozart’s Requiem. The Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by Bramwell Tovey, perform the masterpiece work, appropriately, two days after the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Hollywood Bowl. (323) 850-2000. – Sept. 14. (Wed.) Carol Chaikin quartet. Saxophonist/flutist… Read More Picks of the Week: Sept. 13 – 18
The International Review of Music 