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SoCal Jazz
Sometimes poignant.... sometimes humorous....always about jazz. The musings of a lifetime jazz listener in stories, concert reviews, profiles, interviews, and more.
Chick Corea Trio Live: Food For Thought
An all-you-can-listen-to two and a half-hour buffet was generously served up Wednesday night October 2nd, 2019 at the Balboa Theater in San Diego. Head chef Chick Corea prepared a tasty assortment of selections to be sampled and delightfully devoured throughout both courses of the evening. His sous chefs, Christian McBride and Brian Blade, brought their own seasonings and accoutrements to spice up the many decadent and sumptuous delicacies. Improvisational jazz requires no recipe. The Chick Corea Trio, instead, ...
read moreBob James, David Sanborn, and Marcus Miller: The Lost Tour
Backing a new record with a live tour is, of course, standard practice. So, a tour in support of Double Vision (Warner Brothers, 1986) would be nothing out of the ordinary. The Bob James and David Sanborn classic, that also features Marcus Miller and Steve Gadd, proved to be visionary in its scope and profound in its significance. So much so, that it won a Grammy for Best Improvisational Jazz Album in 1986. The tour seems like it was only ...
read moreLydia Pense & Cold Blood: The Endless Summer of Love
Fifty years ago, the Woodstock Festival blazed the music scene and put modern society on the map. Yes, it was the era of hippies, counterculture, peace, love, and dope. The west coast made its own lasting impression with the far-out, peaceful, yet happening, streets of San Francisco. The rich music scene was as potent as the LSD doled out at Haight-Ashbury. People were turning on to Bay Area artists such as the Jefferson Airplane, Carlos Santana, The Grateful Dead, Elvin ...
read moreSam First: L.A.'s Hottest and Coolest New Jazz Haunt
Architecturally designed as a listening room, Sam First has created its own vibe in west Los Angeles. From the time you are greeted and clued in by the doorman, before you even enter the club, there is a sense of something special or unique about to happen. While listening to and watching the Sam Hirsh Quartet play two sets, it was quickly apparent that it was all about the music. The acoustics are sensational, and the ambiance of the room ...
read morePeter Erskine: Up Front, In Time, and On Call, Part 2
Part 1 | Part 2 This past February Peter Erskine greeted me at his studio with a warm smile and welcoming handshake. Nearly two hours later we had discussed many aspects of his long and storied career. We talked at length about his experiences with Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul in Weather Report, and his subsequent book, No Beethoven, that chronicles and fuses it in time. Even the amusing aside as to how that title came ...
read moreAlvas Showroom: The Art of Listening
Allan Holdsworth was a giant, a genius, a gifted guitarist who had a great gauge for sound. An upper level musician can become less than that playing in a room, club, or hall that is beneath the caliber of their artistry. Holdsworth played the intimate and superbly sound engineered Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, CA many times. The coastal town of San Pedro can be found some thirty-five miles southwest of jny: Los Angeles. The uniquely conceived Alvas Showroom is ...
read moreHouse of Waters: The Fresh Fountain of Fusion
Fascinating is the first word that comes to mind, followed by insightful, sophisticated, adventurous, engrossing, and perhaps even astounding. Am I making reference to House of Water's most recent record, Rising (GroundUP, 2019) or am referring to a conversation with the three accomplished and notably bright musicians who comprise House of Waters? The answer is yes. Moto Fukushima is a melodic and rhythmic bassist beyond borders. Drummer Ignacio Rivas-Bixio traverses on imaginative percussive journeys. Then there is Max ZT. What ...
read moreEliane Elias: For The Love of Jazz
Grammy award winner. Child prodigy. Internationally renowned artist. Sophisticated and improvisational jazz pianist. A vocalist of style and grace. A woman of beauty and integrity. Yes, I am speaking of Brazil's gift to the jazz world, Eliane Elias. To be so fortunate to recently speak with this remarkable woman was a treat and memorable moment in time. We spoke about the past, present, and future. We certainly talked about her superb, and soon to be released, new album. We spoke ...
read moreMaureen Choi: A Fusion of Passion and Intent
Maureen Choi is certainly not the first musician to find their way into the improvisational jazz world after years of training as a classical violinist. It was an unlikely direction for a woman who grew up with formal classical training and further had never really listened to jazz. Fast forwarding to the present, we now have the Maureen Choi Quartet. A nothing-short-of-brilliant ensemble of musicians who play and compose with intense and fiery passion. Choi's music is a seamless symmetry ...
read moreMike Stern: Different Orbits
Having arrived in jny: London from jny: New York City to play two nights at legendary Ronnie Scott's with Dave Weckl, Tom Kennedy, and Randy Brecker, Mike Stern was understandably jet lagged. The revered guitarist and composer has no doubt become used to it. Traveling the world for many years now, the gifted artist can be found annually in Poland, Switzerland, Italy, China, Morocco, Japan, France, England, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Germany, Czech Republic, and, well the list goes on. Darting ...
read moreMaureen Choi Quartet at BacchusLIVE
We live in an era where chit chatting now, most annoyingly, rivals actual listening to the music at many concerts. It is with supreme delight then, that I share my enthralling experience of an evening of musical brilliance that was free of any such boorish clutter. You could have heard a pin drop at Bacchus' Kitchen in Pasadena, California during the Maureen Choi Quartet performance. A virtuoso violinist, Choi, and her bandmates treated an attentive and appreciative audience to two ...
read moreDouye: At Last, A Sophisticated Lady
On a quiet night if you listen very carefully you can still hear the timeless echoed voices eminating from the golden age of the jazz songstress. Perhaps it is the lingering tone of Sarah Vaughan, or the still haunting expressions of Billie Holiday, or the pure magic of Ella Fitzgerald. Or maybe, just maybe, there is a fresh voice that is the embodiment of that greatness past. Emerging on the jazz scene in 2017 with Daddy Said So and furthering ...
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