Of One I Expected to Simply Love And One I Didn’t Expect to Like So Much By Brian Arsenault Halie Loren Simply Love (Just In Time Records) On the opening classic tune on Simply Love, “For Sentimental Reasons,” Halie Loren sings the line about “giving you my heart.” It seems to me she always does… Read More Record Rack: Halie Loren and Will Lee
By Devon Wendell On Saturday, June 15, Gregory Porter will be headlining the 35th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival at The Hollywood Bowl. The trailblazing jazz vocalist and songwriter has become one of the most important male jazz singers to come along in decades since the release of his debut album Water (Motema) in 2010, which… Read More Q&A: Gregory Porter at the Playboy Jazz Festival
And So Should You By Brian Arsenault An 8-year old is headed for her 29th surgery in a few days. That’s 29th surgery, I said. Eight years old. Doesn’t that just piss you off, make you want to throw something, yell and scream and wish you could do something for her and all the bald… Read More Brian Arsenault Takes On: The Melodic Caring Project
By Devon Wendell I was saddened when I learned that Hugh McCracken passed away of leukemia yesterday – March 28th, 2013 – in New York City. While working at Donald Fagen’s recording studio in New York in the 90s, I was constantly surrounded by the top session musicians of the world on a constant basis,… Read More An Appreciation: Hugh McCracken — A Fond Remembrance
By Cathy Segal-Garcia Los Angeles. Michal Feinberg, writes All About Jazz, “is a vibrant young bassist/composer whose voice conveys a distinct musical vision, (he) continues to bring fresh ideas to life with music that incorporates jazz, hip hop, and rock, as well as influences from his Middle Eastern and Eastern European heritage.” At this time… Read More Live Jazz: Michael Feinberg at The Blue Whale
By Brian Arsenault OK, OK, I know this first take isn’t really short but Long deserves some attention: Losing My Brotherhood: A collection of poems by Bobby Long (Music Publishing LTD) . I don’t know singer-songwriter Bobby Long’s music so I come to his poetry fresh. Fresh like the poetry itself in Losing My Brotherhood,… Read More Short Takes: Of Poetry and Mortality and Angel Pirates
By Don Heckman Call it an odd event at the Hollywood Bowl last night. Even though it didn’t exactly start out that way. Any appearance by Liza Minnelli is usually a big draw. And this one was no exception — the Bowl jammed with her devoted followers and cries of “We love you, Liza!” echoing… Read More Live Music: Liza Minnelli at the Hollywood Bowl
By Don Heckman Dave Frishberg brought his one man show to L.A. last week for a nonstop performance of nearly two hours in a Jazz Bakery Movable Feast. Seated at a darkly shining piano positioned in solitary splendor at the center of the vast, enveloping stage of the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the balding, bespectacled Frishberg… Read More Live Jazz: Dave Frishberg in a Jazz Bakery Movable Feast
David Basse Uptown (Cafe Pacific Records) By Brian Arsenault Uptown opens with another (yawn) jazz ode to Manhattan which is made more curious by the fact that David Basse is the acknowledged “leader” of the Kansas City jazz scene. In fact, two of the first three tracks are New York-centric which would be a little… Read More CD Review: David Basse’s “Uptown”
Ross Barbour, last original singer of the ionic jazz vocal ensemble, Four Freshmen, died last Saturday at 82, at his home in Simi Valley. Mr. Barbour, who arranged and sang with the group, described his long, lush voicings as “purple chords.” By Bill Eaton I will raise a glass tonight for Ross Barbour. His passing is a heart-wrench.… Read More An Appreciation: Ross Barbour
