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Jazz Pick of the Week – Taylor Eigsti Quartet

May 12, 2011 11:51 pm By

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Bay Area-raised jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti was already a seasoned veteran when he moved to Los Angeles at 18 to study music at USC, with several albums to his credit and numerous high profile gigs under his belt. Now based in New York City, he returns to LA on Sunday for a performance at Catalina’s with his extraordinary quartet featuring vocalist Becca Stevens, bassist Rueben Rogers and drummer Kendrick Scott. He’ll be focusing on music from last year’s Concord Jazz release “Daylight at Midnight.” While always responding to jazz’s improvisational imperative, the 26-year-old Eigsti has found inspiration in contemporary pop songs by artists such as Elliott Smith, Bjork, Coldplay, and Nick Drake, essentially building on a jazz tradition that dates back to Louis Armstrong’s stunning reinvention of Tin Pan Alley tunes in the 1920s.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Jazz Pick of the Week, Music

Celebrating Orphan Films: Bringing the Obscure to Light

May 12, 2011 4:24 pm By

We are very fortunate to live in a city that is home to some of the finest film preservation and screening organizations in the country. This month, two of these local film institutions, the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Los Angeles Filmforum, in cooperation with NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, present a program called Celebrating Orphan Films, an eclectic mix of screenings and discussions at the Billy Wilder Theater.

Filed Under: Art, Entertainment, Film, History, UCLA

The National Grilled Cheese Invitational Is Back!

April 22, 2011 8:36 pm By

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If you’ve been following my posts throughout the week, you know that I’ve profiled several really great events happening around the LA area this weekend. One more I want to tell you about is the 2nd 8th Annual National Grilled Cheese Invitational (coming back for seconds?), where amateur and professional chefs compete side-by-side in a grilled cheese cook-off to become Grilled Cheese Champion.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Family Friendly Activity, Food, Outdoor Activities

Nick Didkovsky’s electric guitar mashup

April 21, 2011 6:25 pm By

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If you’re into electric guitar and fascinated by the intersection of music and technology, there is a lot to love about this upcoming event. Tomorrow evening, Machine Project hosts Nick Didkovsky at their Echo Park gallery and performance space. Didkovsky is a New York based composer, guitarist, bandleader and principal author of the computer music language Java Music Specification Language who teaches computer music composition at NYU and Columbia. He’s also well known for his Black Sabbath guitar lessons on YouTube.

Filed Under: Art, Entertainment, Music, Technology

Art and Music Amidst the Dead

April 20, 2011 5:38 pm By

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For many people, cemeteries are places to visit occasionally, and then only to pay respects to dead friends or family members. The owners of Hollywood Forever Cemetery make a concerted effort to give people more reasons to spend time on their grounds and expand their visitor base by hosting a variety of events not typically associated with cemeteries. This Saturday is one such happening.

Filed Under: Art, Entertainment, Music, Outdoor Activities

Black Talkies on Parade Presents – Imitation of Life

April 20, 2011 1:00 am By

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On the last Saturday of every month, the African American Cinema Society (AACS), which is part of The Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum, presents rare and historically significant films by and/or about African Americans. This weekend the AACS is hosting a screening and discussion of Imitation of Life (1934). Directed by John M. Stahl, the film tells the story of the friendship between Bea Pullman (Claudette Colbert) and Delilah Johnson (Louise Beavers) as they start a business together that earns them a fortune. Although Delilah has financial success, her teenage daughter, Peola, rebels and uses her light skin to pass as white and experience a different life.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Film, History, Museums

Kurt Elling – Consummate Jazz Vocalist

April 17, 2011 9:33 pm By

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This week jazz lovers in Los Angeles have the opportunity to hear Kurt Elling, one of the foremost male vocalists working today, perform with longtime pianist Laurence Hobgood at Catalina Bar & Grill. Their three night stand celebrates the release of “The Gate”, a new album produced by Don Was on which Elling explores contemporary rock and pop tunes.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Music