By Michael Katz It’s 5:30 Friday night; a light breeze cools off a balmy mid-September evening at the Monterey Fairgrounds. The line of folks waiting to get in snakes all the way down the street, almost to the rear gate. Inside, a few of us scrivener types sit at picnic tables, observing the calm. In… Read More DAY ONE, 60th Monterey Jazz Festival
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
By Devon Wendell 2014 was a strange year for music. I recall thinking to myself halfway through The Playboy Jazz Festival in June; “Okay, so everyone is going funk now. Wynton Marsalis’ head would explode!” To many jazz purists, funk is considered to be sellout music. Critics and fans freaked out when Miles Davis, Freddie… Read More 2014 Remembered: A Year Of Funk
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Dec. 3. (Wed.) Corky Hale and Eloise Laws. Pianist/harpist and all around music master Hale gets together with the engaging, Laws family vocalist Eloise for an evening of prime time music making. Her appropriate title for the evening is “Sisters! A Salute to the Great Women of Jazz, featuring… Read More Picks of the Week: December 1 – 7 in L.A. and Beyond
By Don Heckman – Nov. 6 – 9. (Thurs. – Sun.) Steve Tyrell. Add an amiable Texas twang to a jaunty sense of swing and a convincing way with a lyric, and that still doesn’t add up to the magic that happens when Tyrell digs into the Great American Songbook. Catalina Bar & Grill. http://www.catalinajazzclub.com… Read More Picks of the Weekend in Los Angeles: Nov. 6 – 9
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Aug. 5. (Tues.) John Pisano’s Guitar Night. The official release party for Pat Kelley‘s new CD, Overtones 4 Two Guitars. With Pisano, Kelley, Kendall Kay, drums, and John Belzaguy, bass. Viva Cantina. (818) 845-2425. – Aug. 5 & 6. (Tues. & Wed.) The Gypsy Allstars. If you like the… Read More Picks of the Week: August 4 – 10 in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, New York City, London, Berlin, Stockholm, Moscow and Tokyo
By Don Heckman It’s another hot week, with a lot of venues still in the midst of their Summer hiatuses. But there’s still some fine, selective music to hear. Los Angeles – July 29. (Tues.) Amanda McBroom and George Ball. Musical theatre and cabaret star Amanda McBroom and actor/singer George Ball present a program of… Read More Picks of the Week: July 29 – Aug. 3 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York City, London, Paris and Tokyo
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 a short week of Picks, largely impacted by the end-of-Summer distractions and the frequent August closure of jazz clubs around the world. But there’s still a lot of music happening. Los Angeles – Aug. 21 (Wed.) Buddy Guy and the Funky Meters. The veteran blues great matches classic riffs with the… Read More Picks of the Week: August 21 – 25
By Michael Katz There is nothing like driving around in a remote area to underline the virtues of good music. So I’d like to say a few kind words about Sirius XM. And also Avis, whose rental car was equipped with it. I recently spent a week in Yellowstone National Park, the setting for my… Read More Radio Jazz: Time To Get Sirius?
The International Review of Music 