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Jazz Pick of the Week – Kenny Burrell and Friends

March 17, 2011 5:19 am By

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With Kenny Burrell’s 80th birthday fast approaching, it’s an apt time to appreciate this elegant and seemingly ageless jazz master. A mainstay on the Southern California scene for more than 30 years, the guitarist taught the first university course on Duke Ellington at UCLA back in the early 1970s. Now head of the school’s jazz program, Burrell leads a jam session at the Fowler Museum on Saturday with a glittering roster of fellow faculty, including trumpeter Bobby Rodriguez, vocalist Barbara Morrison, trombonist George Bohanon, drummer Clayton Cameron, saxophonist/flutist Justo Almario, bassist Roberto Miranda, and pianist Llew Matthews.

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

Jazz Pick of the Week – A Weekend with Sheila Jordan

March 11, 2011 7:19 pm By

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Sheila Jordan is proof that practice, dues and sheer will are essential ingredients for the making of a great improviser. At just about every performance she improvises on a blues to tell her life story, tracing her development from her birth to an unmarried 16-year-old girl through hanging with Charlie Parker and marriage to the bebop pianist Duke Jordan. It’s quite a tale, and by the end you realize that she’s willed herself into one of this era’s great jazz vocalists. Without possessing either a large vocal range or a luxuriant sound, she can take a well-known melody and transform it while endowing her improvisations with a straightforward soulfulness that transcends the limitations of her voice.

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

Jazz Pick of the Week – Chick Corea and Gary Burton

March 3, 2011 11:29 pm By

Chick Corea and Gary Burton continue their long time musical collaboration and conversation with upcoming performances in Los Angeles and Costa Mesa. You can learn about the pianist and vibraphonist in Andrew Gilbert’s article and related blog post, which appeared today in the print and online editions of the Los Angeles Times. Details related to the two performances are listed below.

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

Musical Theater Museum Struggles To Preserve Archives

March 3, 2011 2:03 am By

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As I drove around town this afternoon, I heard a fascinating and moving story on the NPR program All Things Considered about an LA based museum / archive that seeks to preserve the history of the American Musical. Run for 30 years out of a duplex by a gentleman named Miles Kreuger, this non-profit organization is struggling to raise the necessary funds to preserve and properly display its incredible collection.

Filed Under: History, Music

Music, Architecture and Cops N’ Robbers in Downtown LA

March 2, 2011 11:24 pm By

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This past Sunday afternoon my family and I attended a fantastic program put on by The Da Camera Society of Mount St. Mary’s College. Billed as the Civic Center Festival, this one day event featured a walking tour of downtown highlighted by three showcase performances, the screening of silent film classics with live music accompaniment by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, and a post-concert reception.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Family Friendly Activity, Film, Historic - Cultural Site, Music

Get Ready for a Gorey Night Out – The Edwardian Ball is Coming Back to Los Angeles

March 2, 2011 1:03 am By

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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.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Family Friendly Activity, Music, Theater

Jazz Pick of the Week – Kim Richmond Concert Jazz Orchestra

February 25, 2011 5:48 am By

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.

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