Music & Musicians
75 posts found
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Made in New Orleans
It's 2 a.m., and there's a crowd on St. Peter's Street in New Orleans' French Quarter; people are waiting to see the Stanton Moore Trio play Preservation Hall. Midnight and early morning shows during Jazzfest are part of a new tradition initiated by Benjamin Jaffe, Preservation Hall's creative director, the man charged with safeguarding New Orleans' musical traditions, managing the Preservation Hall Jazz band and preserving Preservation Hall itself. The weekend I was there, the hall featured midnight performances by… -
Elvis at the crossroads
Elvis is back in the building. On March 14 at the Cinerama Dome, Elvis will return, one more time, in a special 40th anniversary screening of the “Singer Presents Elvis†special from 1968, or “The Comeback Special†as it is more popularly known, as the kickoff event of the Paley Center for Media’s PaleyFest 2008. A panel discussion afterwards will feature Priscilla Presley, his widow; as well as Steve Binder the producer and director of the special – which is… -
The Great Wall of Bernstein
Over the course of a year, I collect books I should read and books I want to read, but -- should have/would have/could have -- many I never get around to reading. Over the last few months, as last year came to a close and this new one began, and as a side benefit of watching less TV during the strike, I decided to tackle a stack of them. As is often the case, the books I read could be… -
The Genesis of Early Dylan
When it comes to Bob Dylan, I think it's fair to say that I'm a fan of long standing -- my wife still teases me about the time, shortly after we'd moved to Los Angeles, when in her car, radio on, she was surprised to hear me as a call-in contestant to KSCA's "Lyrically Speaking" correctly identify the author of the verse in question as, "My man, Bob Dylan." So you might think that I would be excited to see… -
Rivers of Music
Producer, songwriter and musician Larry Klein is having a good year. In a way, one could say his current success is the culmination of a process of recontextualizing his background, his experience, his talents and his interests. Two records he produced have just been released on Verve Records: "River: The Joni Letters" by jazz great Herbie Hancock, an exploration of the songs of Joni Mitchell (who is Klein's ex-wife); and "The New Bossa Nova" by Brazilian-born singer and composer Luciana… -
Walk Like A Mom/Rockstar (Susanna Hoffs)
"Hannah Montana," a Disney Channel program I watch on occasion with my daughter, features a 14-year-old girl with a secret identity: she's actually a rock star. This is an absurd fantasy. In real life, the rock star at my daughter's school is a mom. Although she leads a double life, it is no secret. Her name is Susanna Hoffs, her band The Bangles has a long history (hits, breakup, back together again), and she also has a very enjoyable new… -
Zade's Road
How does an idea come to life? How is it that someone has an idea -- an idea that he or she believes will help change the world -- and it actually takes flight? I'm not sure anyone really knows how that process occurs, only that it does. Just ask Zade. Zade Dirani, 26, is a composer and musician who created the International Musicians Assembly, an internationally diverse group of musicians and future leaders from conflict-ridden countries who have recently… -
A Graham of Rock
Here's a strange coincidence: Both my doctor and my rabbi share the same leisure pursuit: They are passionate about attending rock concerts. U2, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen -- If they perform, my good doctors of the body and the soul will attend. They both say it's their way of relaxing from the stress of their respective jobs (and let's face it, being in charge of my physical and spiritual well-being is some daunting task). It's not that I… -
A World of Music
A few weeks ago, the Paris-based world music ensemble Les Yeux Noirs performed at Royce Hall as part of UCLA Live. Led by brothers Olivier and Eric Slabiak, violin virtuosos who are the Paris-born grandchildren of Polish Jewish immigrants, Les Yeux Noirs played improvisations on Russian, Yiddish, Romanian and Roma songs, as well as their own eclectic compositions (including one that puts Baudelaire's poem "Invitation au Voyage" to music.). What a trip it was! This concert just confirmed a feeling… -
Missing New Orleans
I’ve always kept a mental list of places about to disappear, such as the ruins of Angor Wat in Cambodia. Never — ever — was New Orleans on that list. My first visit to New Orleans was as a college student, driving 36 hours straight from Vermont to attend Mardi Gras. I kept returning — with the annual Jazzfest becoming the ritual adult vacation for me, my wife and a gathering of friends. On that first trip so many years… -
Was Is Back (Don Was and the return of Was/Not Was)
A few weeks ago, Sweet Pea Atkinson stood on the stage of the Los Angeles House of Blues, dapper in a red double-breasted, collarless suit, wearing a red fedora and red leather shoes. The occasion was the historic reunion of seminal groove band Was (Not Was) after a 14-year hiatus. Sweet Pea grabbed the microphone and proceeded to move the time continuum backward and forward for the better part of a rousing two-hour set. Turns out Was (Not Was) was,… -
Playing in Uketopia (Jim Beloff and the ukelele)
It’s Sunday night and a half-dozen people are onstage at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. Jumpin’ Jim Beloff and his wife, Leapin’ Liz, are leading the sold-out crowd as they strum their ukuleles and sing "Farewell." This is the climax to Uketopia, Beloff’s annual celebration of that four-stringed wonder: the ukulele. It is an evening in which almost a dozen performers, from 20s to 90s, including the self-declared "Mr. Ukulele," Charles "Soybean" Sawyer, Fred Sokolow and "King Kukulele," played…