By Don Heckman Studio City CA. There was no doubt in my mind that Cheryl Bentyne would deliver a memorable performance at Vitello’s Saturday night. I just didn’t know how memorable it would be. Fully returned to performing action after recovering from a life threatening illness, Cheryl was in peak condition. She had been a… Read More Live Jazz: Cheryl Bentyne at Vitello’s
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – March 6. (Thurs.) Betty Bryant. Singer/pianist Bryant’s engaging style recalls an era of briskly swinging, warmly interpretive jazz cabaret. Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc. (310) 474-9400. – March 7. (Fri.) Savion Glover’s StePz. Tap dancer Glover has brought more jazz qualities to contemporary tap dancing than anyone since Fred Astaire. Valley… Read More Picks of the Week: March 5 – 9
By Don Heckman Studio City CA. A loudly expressive full house crowd was waiting for singer Lauren White when she came on stage Saturday night at Vitello’s. Which was somewhat of a surprise, given White’s still emerging visibility as a jazz artist. But, although she hasn’t yet found the full audience her singing deserves, she… Read More Live Jazz: Lauren White at Vitello’s
By Don Heckman Los Angeles, CA. Judy Collins was back in town Friday night for her second major Southland appearance in less than a year. This time, she was performing at CSUN’s beautiful almost-new Valley Performing Arts Center. Once again, her performance was a virtual spoken memoir with songs. Collins’ musical and personal history has… Read More Live Music: Judy Collins at the Valley Performing Arts Center
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – July 10 (Tues.) The Los Angeles Philharmonic. The summer classical at the Hollywood Bowl opens with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 conducted by Leonard Slatkin. Also on the program — a trio of new works by female composers – Anna Clyne, Anne Lebaron and Cindy McTee. The… Read More Picks of the Week: July 10 – 15
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
“FOLLIES“ By Don Heckman I finally got around to seeing Follies last Thursday night. I’d had some reservations about what to expect from a revival of what is, by almost any standard, one of the seminal American musical theatre pieces. But when our dear friend Susan Watson Wright, an enchanting member of the cast, offered… Read More Theatre Review: “Follies”
By Norton Wright On Gotham’s frigid December 31, a sold-out house of 250 or more at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village (131 West Third Street) was treated to a dazzling performance by Grammy Award winning jazz trumpeter Chris Botti and his band. It was an hour and a half of sonorous beauty, a vivid… Read More Live Jazz: Chris Botti on New Year’s Eve at NYC’s Blue Note
By Don Heckman Who would have thought that Tuesday night’s Disney Hall performance by jazz guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli would wind up in a singalong with the entire audience joining in on “The Twelve Days of Christmas?” The answer is anyone who’s ever seen Pizzarelli, his trio, and his wife, singer Jessica Molaskey, in… Read More Live Jazz: John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey at Disney Hall
The International Review of Music 