By Devon Wendell Having covered The Playboy Jazz Festival for Don Heckman & The International Review Of Music for many years, I had met Hugh Hefner a few times.I didn’t get out of it what most might think. Growing up I was one of the few nerds who really did read Playboy for the articles… Read More Remembering Hef
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
JAZZ AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL: ”YES WE CAN CAN” AN ALLEN TOUSSAINT SALUTE By Don Heckman a NIGHT AT THE Hollywood bowl is always a night to remember. And never more than during the musically exciting performances at the steart of a new season. Like this one, the kick off of the 2016 Jazz Season,… Read More LOS ANGELES MUSIC HIGHLIGHT of the WEEK: Wednesday July 20
By Devon Wendell Phil Woods was not just a musician; he was a force of nature to be reckoned with. He was tough, full of grit, and always ready to defend the music that he loved and played so effortlessly with all of his might. I’ve seen Phil reduce mere mortals to ashes when they… Read More An Appreciation: Phil Woods
By Devon Wendell Los Angeles. It was a night of sheer “crossover” bliss with Gregory Porter and Diana Krall with The L.A. Philharmonic at The Hollywood Bowl on Friday night. Diana Krall took the Bowl stage with her current touring band (Anthony Wilson, guitar/arranger, Stuart Duncan, violin, Patrick Warren, keyboards, Dennis Crouch, bass… Read More Live Music: Diana Krall, Gregory Porter and The Los Angeles Philharmonic at The Hollywood Bowl
By Devon Wendell On Saturday, June 13th; Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and young players from The Monk Institute Of Jazz Performance Ensemble will be performing at the 37th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival taking place Saturday and Sunday at The Hollywood Bowl. I recently had the amazing opportunity to interview Wayne Shorter on his upcoming performance… Read More Q&A: Wayne Shorter and Daniel Rotem At The Playboy Jazz Festival
By Jane Rosenberg If you like a little flash and dazzle with your Marriage of Figaro, Los Angeles Opera’s production, opening March 21, has it. After all who wouldn’t enjoy a pyrotechnical display at the end of one’s wedding festivities? And that’s exactly what Figaro and his bride Susanna have in store. Following the scheming… Read More Backstage Magic Tricks at LA Opera’s “The Marriage of Figaro”
By Don Heckman Hollywood CA. The Hollywood Bowl‘s diverse set of Wednesday night programs – from jazz and pop to blues and soul – hit a peak this week with an entertaining tribute to the incomparable James Brown, timed, no doubt, to the recent release of the Brown biopic, Get On Up. Given the “Godfather… Read More Live Music: “Get On Up: A James Brown Celebration” at the Hollywood Bowl
By Don Heckman There was a strikingly diversified array of jazz at the Hollywood Bowl Wednesday night – a program signifying the L.A. Phil’s desire to present America’s improvisational music in its many varied manifestations, all of them intriguing in one way or another. Appropriately the headline act was veteran pianist/composer Herbie Hancock, who has… Read More Live Jazz: Herbie Hancock, Gregory Porter and the Robert Glasper Experiment at the Hollywood Bowl
By Devon Wendell Many music purists and snobs might balk at the mere mention of Gloria Estefan and dismiss her as being just another celebrity pop-star. But Estefan proved to be a stellar musician with the chops, versatility, and stage presence of a great jazz singer at The Hollywood Bowl Saturday evening. Estefan performed two sets consisting… Read More Live Music: Gloria Estefan and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in an “America & Americans” Concert at the Hollywood Bowl
The International Review of Music 