Exploring the people, places & culture of greater LA
For those Edward Gorey admirers out there, here is an event that is sure to please. Billed as “an elegant and whimsical celebration of art, music, theatre, fashion, technology, circus, and the beloved creations of the late, great author [and illustrator] Edward Gorey” (1925-2000), the Edwardian Ball is coming to Los Angeles this weekend for only the second time.
A mainstay on the Southern California jazz scene for three decades, reed player Kim Richmond is a supremely versatile musician who has also worked extensively as an arranger and composer. He’s toured and recorded as a member of numerous jazz orchestras, from the exploratory free improv of Vinny Golia and the brass heavy thunder of Stan Kenton to the relentless swing of Louis Bellson and the vigorously inventive charts of Bill Holman.
ProjectFresh is hosting a Sneak Peak of the acclaimed documentary HAPPY. After the screening there will be a Q+A with Academy Award® Nominated director Roko Belic (Genghis Blues, Beyond the Call, Indestructible), Dr. Darlene Mininni, author of The Emotional Toolkit and creator of the UCLA LifeSkills course and multi-award winning composer Mark Adler (Food Inc., Bottle Shock).
If you read my post about the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library last November, you know how much I enjoyed my visit. It is truly one of the underappreciated and little known treasures in the City of Los Angeles.
In addition to its incredible collection of rare books and manuscripts, its fascinating history and beautiful building, it is also the home of The UCLA Center for 17th – & 18th – Century Studies’ Chamber music series, which takes place in the Clark’s drawing room. With concerts scheduled throughout the year, you have many opportunities to listen to a variety of music and experience the library in person.
On February 9th three friends and I headed into downtown LA to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Yes, we all knew that the actual holiday was still a few days away, but since Lucha VaVoom was in town, we didn’t want to miss their My Kinky Valentine show at the Mayan Theater.
If you haven’t heard of Lucha VaVoom, it’s a show that combines Mexican wrestling (that’s the “Lucha” part of the name) with burlesque (you guessed it – that’s the “VaVoom”). Lucha VaVoom likes to call it “Sexo Y Violencia”!
Talk about getting an early start. At the ripe old age of 39, Hammond B3 master Joey DeFrancesco has already logged more than three fruitful decades on the jazz scene. The son of “Papa” John DeFrancesco, a respected, hard-swinging Philadelphia organist, he started playing piano and organ at four and by six was good enough to sit in at one his father’s gigs. He hadn’t graduated from high school yet when Miles Davis recruited him in 1988 for his band, a gig that took DeFrancesco out on the road with the trumpeter for several months.
When it came to evaluating other musicians, Miles Davis was better known for caustic putdowns than effusive praise. But when a cat had something to say, the legendary trumpeter didn’t hesitate to hand out props. “All these young guys are doing is playing somebody else’s shit, copying all the runs and licks that other guys already laid down,” Davis said in his autobiography. “There are a few young guys out there who are developing their own style. My alto player, Kenny Garrett, is one of them.”
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