By Don Heckman Oct. 1 – 4. (Thurs. – Sun.) IMMORTAL BEETHOVEN. Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a remarkable, four night tour de force program devoted to all nine of the Beethoven symphonies: #1 and #2 on Thursday; #3 and #4 on Friday; #5, #6, #7 and #8 on Saturday; and a… Read More Highlights of a Long Weekend: Oct. 1 – 4 in Los Angeles
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Sept. 23. (Wed.) Laura Dickinson. She’s probably your nine year-old daughter’s favorite singer, her voice familiar from the Disney Channel’s animated hits Phineas and Ferb and Sofia The First. But Dickinson’s vocal skills also include far-reaching jazz abilities, as well. She will offer them in an evening that celebrates… Read More Picks of the Week: Sept. 21 – 27 in Los Angeles, Oregon, Chicago, New York, London, Copenhagen, Milan and Tokyo.
By Don Heckman Talent, Oregon. Singer/pianist Jennifer Scott drove through the forest fire smoke in southern Oregon Sunday to perform a memorable evening of jazz versions of Great American Songbook classics – and a lot more. Her Trio included her husband, bassist Rene Worst, and guitarist Ed Dunsavage. As the creative director of the Siskiyou… Read More Live Jazz: The Jennifer Scott Trio in a Siskiyou Music Project performance at the Paschal Winery.
By Brick Wahl In my heart of hearts, my favorite jazz festival ever has always been the one held every year on Central Avenue in the shadow of the Dunbar Hotel. It’s close to the roots of jazz in this town, it has band after swinging band, the musicians play like their lives depended on… Read More The Central Avenue Jazz Festival This Weekend
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – July 10 and 11. (Fri. & Sat. Barbara Morrison. She’s been busy around town lately, but Barbara Morrison is always a musical pleasure to experience. Here’s another welcome opportunity to hear her up close in action. Steamers. (714) 871-8800. – July 10 and 11. Fri. & Sat. Jack Jones.… Read More Picks of the Weekend in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York City
By Don Heckman Eliane Elias is back in L.A. tonight, performing at the Moss Theatre in Santa Monica. And that’s great news for lovers of fine jazz vocalizing. And lovers of fine jazz piano. And lovers of both talents in the same artist. Which is what audiences experience at an Eliane Elias performance. Wish we… Read More Vocal Jazz Highlight of the Week In Los Angeles: Eliane Elias in a Jazz Bakery Movable Feast Tonight
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 Don Heckman Los Angeles June 5. (Fri.) Eddie Daniels and Roger Kellaway. The clarinet hasn’t been one of the lead jazz instruments since before the bebop era. But when it’s in the masterful hands of Eddie Daniels, lucky listeners have a chance to hear the full potential of the instrument that Mozart loved so… Read More Picks of the Weekend: June 5 – 7 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, London, Paris and Milan
By Don Heckman Ashland, Oregon. In a fast happening program Wednesday night, a full collection of jazz perspectives were showcased in an entertaining evening of music reaching from small groups to the Rogue Valley All-Star Big Band. Topping it off, there was the stellar presence of veteran, award-winning clarinetist/tenor saxophonist Ken Peplowski and the briskly… Read More Live Jazz: Ken Peplowski and the Ed Dunsavage Trio in a Siskiyou Music Project Concert
The International Review of Music 