By Devon (Doc) Wendell In my late teens, my goal was to find the ultimate bop recordings. I was an obsessive “completist” of the works of Bird, Sonny Rollins, Bud Powell, Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Dexter Gordon and of course Miles Davis. The harder and more complex the music was, the better. There are… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Ultimate Bop: “Miles Davis/Collectors Items”
By Devon Wendell When it comes to purchasing an essential jazz recording, one often only has to look at the group of musicians listed on that specific record sleeve to know that the music is going to be incredible. That’s one of the great joys of being obsessed with this music; looking for that perfect… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Bop Bone: The Curtis Fuller Sextette’s “Imagination” (Savoy)
By Don Heckman Ashland, Oregon. The Siskiyou Music Project performance at the Old Siskiyou Barn Wednesday night was an unlikely combination of elements on several counts – all of them musically fascinating. Start with the group: Musette Explosion, – which included Matt Munisteri on guitar, Will Holshouser on accordion and Marcus Rojas on tuba. An… Read More Live Music: Musette Explosion, A Parisian Musette Trio at Ashland’s Old Siskiyou Barn
By Mike Finkelstein For years, it seems that I’ve brushed up to a nice bushel or two of “keeper” songs from Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals. These tunes are the good stuff, the type of songs people use in their weddings, and the band’s reputation as performers is similarly top shelf. Still, I never… Read More Live Music: Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Greek Theatre
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 Brian Arsenault Freeport, Maine. (With apologies to Dostoyevsky, but you’re long winded anyway. Sorry to everyone else for the gratuitous remark about D.) OK, I’m done. Finito. Kaput. I will not be monitoring my time in the sun this summer. It’s a natural place to be. I may not even… Read More Notes From Otherground
By Devon Wendell I just cannot process the fact that B.B. King is no longer on this earth. How can it be? It’s like trying to imagine life without oceans, trees, and air to breathe. No one in history changed the approach and sound of the electric guitar like B.B. King. Sure, there were T-Bone… Read More An Appreciation: Remembering The King
By Don Heckman Ashland, Oregon. The Elias String Quartet was the headliner Friday night at the SOU Music Recital Hall — the last ensemble in the Chamber Music Concerts 2014-2015 schedule of stellar string quartet performances. And the CMC couldn’t have made a better choice to top off their string quartet season. The string quartet… Read More Live Chamber Music: The Elias String Quartet at the Southern Oregon University Music Recital Hall
By Mike Finkelstein Hollywood, CA On Monday evening the buzz was in the air above Hollywood Boulevard. LA’s favorite sons, Van Halen, were shooting a live mini-concert in support of their new live album, Tokyo Dome Live In Concert . This show was in front of easily a thousand or so of their most connected/lucky… Read More Live Music: Van Halen Make It Interesting As They Rock Hollywood Blvd. For The Jimmy Kimmel Show
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Mar. 23 & 24 (Mon. & Tues.) Manhattan Transfer and Take 6. The two most masterful vocal ensembles of the past few decades get together for the first time. No wonder it’s called “The Summit” as they perform at the start of a national tour. Catalina Bar & Grill… Read More Picks of the Week in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City, London, Copenhagen and Tokyo
The International Review of Music 