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Jazz Concert Review: MIHO HAZAMA & M_UNIT (Tour at Samueli Hall, Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa)
AN EVENING OF CACOPHONOUS DELIGHT Grammy-nominated composer/performer/arranger Miho Hazama and her 13-piece jazz chamber orchestra m_unit landed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts on October 28, 2023, kicking off the U.S. West Coast Tour showing off her vibrant new album celebrating the 10-year anniversary of her ensemble, m_unit: Beyond Orbits. Adding about six minutes to…
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Highly Recommended Jazz Album: A SHADE OF BLUE (Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio)
Veteran pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto debuts on prestigious Japanese label evosound with A Shade Of Blue, out on CD and vinyl now, and digitally on December 8, 2023. Famed for his light touch, exquisite musical sensitivity, and hard-swinging approach to the piano, master Yamamoto has enjoyed a long and storied career that has yielded over 50…
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Highly Recommended Album: SUMPTUOUS PLANET (by David Shapiro; performed by The Crossing Choir)
SUMPTUOUS ALBUM On Friday, November 10, 2023, The Crossing, one of our greatest choirs, will release SUMPTUOUS PLANET, a virtuosic and spectacular concert-length work by composer David Shapiro based primarily on the writings of the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins (famous, in part, for his defense of atheism). Sumptuous Planet is an expression of belief about the nature of life and the joy we can find in understanding it, paradoxically told through a Christian Mass and…
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Music & Film Review: THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA (Theatre at the Ace Hotel)
STITCHED TOGETHER WITH BRILLIANCE For Halloween this past weekend, LA Opera‘s hugely popular annual celebration of horror and live music at the breathtaking Theatre at Ace Hotel featured James Whale’s 1935 gothic horror classic The Bride of Frankenstein, accompanied by the LA Opera Orchestra. The Bride of Frankenstein with Live Orchestra was another resounding success…
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Music Review: HADELICH AND MENDELSSOHN (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra)
It’s always fascinating to come for a headliner and be completely bowled over by other parts of the program. The draw for Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s two performances last weekend was Augustin Hadelich, one of the world’s greatest violinists, performing Mendelssohn’s melodic Violin Concerto in E minor at The Alex Theatre. I have seen the…
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Highly Recommended Concert: AN ALPINE SYMPHONY WITH SALONEN (LA Phil at Disney Hall)
A WORLD PREMIERE AND ONE OF THE GREATEST TONE POEMS EVER WRITTEN I never knew this until researching the upcoming LA Phil program this weekend, but the connection between Nico Muhly and Philip Glass became established in the mid-2000s, when Glass employed Muhly as an assistant! Muhly certainly soaked up minimalism but he has never…
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Highly Recommended Concert: 40! (The Verdi Chorus Fall 2023 Concert in Santa Monica)
The Verdi Chorus’ 40th Anniversary season continues with its landmark Fall 2023 Concert, 40! Led by Anne Marie Ketchum, who is celebrating forty consecutive years as Artistic Director of the organization (now THAT deserves an exclamation point!), the Verdi Chorus is the only choral group in Southern California that focuses primarily on the dramatic and diverse music…
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Music Review: SIBELIUS AND SWAN LAKE (LA Phil; Hilary Hahn, violinist; Alpesh Chauhan, conductor)
Yesterday at Walt Disney Concert Hall conductor Alpesh Chauhan, making his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut, began with Saad Haddad’s new piece, Aysheen (عايشين), or “living” in Arabic, an LA Phil commission which received its first performances over the weekend. Aysheen begins with the bass drum thumping a soft heartbeat, soon joined by droning cellos and basses,…
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Opera Review: STAR CHOIR (World Premiere by The Industry at Mount Wilson Observatory in Los Angeles)
WHAT’S NEXT, TURANDOT AT THE SPHINX? Space pageantry reaches new heights inside Mt. Wilson Observatory’s 100-inch telescope. The experimental opera company The Industry is known for their innovative productions, held in unconventional locations. There was Hopscotch — a “mobile opera” that ferried audience members between the LA River, Bradbury building, an Airstream, and in…
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Music Review: STRAVINSKY AND SHOSTAKOVICH WITH DUDAMEL (Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason; Conductor Gustavo Dudamel; LA Phil at Disney Hall)
AN UNEQUIVACABLE TRIUMPH FOR LA PHIL… AND MY MOTHER The strains of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 have forever held a special place in my heart. It is a sentimentality rooted in a rather extraordinary moment of my own origin, an occurrence forever entwined with the ethereal melodies of this masterpiece. On that fateful December…
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Event | Music Review: 66th MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL (September 22-24, 2023)
With five stages going strong, the 66th Monterey Jazz Festival was in full swing September 22-24, 2023. And I do mean “swing”! As if to celebrate Artistic Director Tim Jackson, who steps down as artistic director after 33 years, the crowd socialized like it was a block party. With a superb combination of old-school pros…
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Highly Recommended Concert: BEETHOVEN’S NINTH (Boston Baroque)
Ludwig van Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 9 is not only Beethoven’s final complete symphony but also one of his most well-known works. The piece’s fourth movement includes adapted text from “Ode to Joy,” a poem by Friedrich Schiller, and Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” melody has become a popular humanist anthem (so catchy it was used as the theme for…
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Opera Interview: ANTHONY LEÒN (Now Appearing in LA Opera’s “Don Giovanni”)
Anthony Leòn, a 27-year-old tenor of American-Cuban and Columbian descent, hails from Riverside, California. His journey into the world of opera is nothing short of remarkable, marked by a childhood infused with musical influences. Leòn’s early connection with music blossomed when, at the tender age of two, he memorized Luciano Pavarotti’s iconic aria “La Donna…
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Chicago Opera Review: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (Lyric Opera)
HAUNTED DUTCHMAN HERALDS HALLOWEEN SEASON A bold choice with which to open the opera and Halloween seasons, Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman hits all the right notes and sets a spooky tone. From the composer’s magnificent and moody overture to the opera’s mythological subject (inspired by the Wandering Jew of legend), this Lyric production packs a…
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Recommended Jazz Music: BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB AND THEATER (October, 2023)
WHERE THE RHYTHM SWOOPS AND SWIRLS, THIS IS THE JAZZ CORNER OF THE WORLD There is so much excitement this month at Birdland Jazz Club on 44th near Times Square — it’s becoming even more of a hotspot than it used to be. Now when I attend, shows are PACKED. This sophisticated, intimate club hosts…
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Opera Interview: GUANQUN YU, SOPRANO (Now Appearing in LA Opera’s Don Giovanni)
Renowned Chinese soprano Guanqun Yu has firmly established herself as a frequent guest performer on the grand stages of opera houses across Europe and America. Her remarkable journey from studying the accordion and aspiring to become a music teacher in her homeland of China to gracing the world’s most prestigious opera venues is nothing short of…
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Opera Interview: LUCAS MEACHEM (Now Appearing in LA Opera’s DON GIOVANNI)
HE’S SMOOTH. HE’S A BARIHUNK. HE’S DON JUAN. MEET LUCAS MEACHEM. Baritone Lucas Meachem, now appearing in LA Opera’s Don Giovanni, was born on June 11, 1978, in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. He initially pursued his passion for singing through Karaoke before venturing into the world of opera. Meachem’s educational journey in music took him…
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Music: SETTING THE STAGE: SPEAKER PLACEMENT AND ACOUSTICS FOR KARAOKE
Karaoke parties are a great way to have fun with friends or family! However, don’t let the excitement of singing along to your favorite songs overshadow the importance of setting up the perfect sound stage. From finding an appropriate spot to set up speakers to taking acoustics into consideration, there are plenty of important details…
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Opera Review: DON GIOVANNI (Los Angeles Opera)
A DON GIOVANNI FOR THE #METOO ERA Mozart‘s Don Giovanni — which opened last night at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion — is considered a masterpiece due to its exceptional musical composition, complex characters, well-crafted dramatic structure, emotional depth, cultural relevance, enduring themes, and its influence on subsequent operatic works. Its ability to engage audiences both…
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Jazz Concert Review: BUDDY GUY & CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM (The Hollywood Bowl)
BLUES NIGHT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL On a Wednesday night, the Hollywood Bowl showcased two giants of the blues, representing its storied past and its potential future. Buddy Guy, the last of the veteran greats, was the main attraction while Christone Ingram (known as Kingfish) showed that the blues will not run out of gas…
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