Staff Blog Entries

Rob Thorsen Trio: Live

There is a special, exploratory chemistry happening with these three.

Veteran double bass artist Rob Thorsen celebrated the recent release of his CD, Rob Thorsen Trio: Live on May 18, ...

Ben Wanicur Quartet live at Dizzy's

Wanicur's charts are tricky, but with Peter Sprague, Ian Tordella and Charles Weller in the band, easy to digest.

San Diego bassist Ben Wanicur held a CD release party May 17, at Dizzy's celebrating his new disc The Excluded ...

Ian Tordella : Twin Tenors @ 98 Bottles, May 24

This is Vol.III in the series, pairing Tordella with LA sax man Joe Berry

Saxophonist Ian Tordella continues his Twin Tenors series, which spotlights up-and-coming saxophone talent (as well as established players) in the ...

Parker Trio live in the East Village

The creative Chicago/ Southern California guitarist brought his tight trio to town for some jagged explorations on the jazz aesthetic.

Concert promoter Bonnie Wright's importance to the music and arts community received some rare public acknowledgement on May 14, when ...

The shape of jazz to come: Dresser Quintet at Dizzy's

Jazz should always be like this: exciting, connected to the blues, swinging, grounded in tradition while surging into the future.

When jazz is hitting on all of its cylinders, there is no more important art form on this planet. On ...

Jeff Parker Trio: May 14

The Chicago guitarist returns to Fresh Sound @ Space 4 Art with his longstanding trio.

Bonnie Wright closes out her Spring String Theory concert series with a bang on May 14 by way of a ...

Jason Moran & The Bandwagon live at TSRI

Moran, bassist Tarus Mateen and especially drummer Nasheet Waits laid it down.

The May 8 Athenaeum Jazz concert featuring Jason Moran & The Bandwagon was a fascinating conceptual affair that's reach occasionally ...

Ben Wanicur: The Excluded Middle

The bassist's brand new disc features Ian Tordella, Peter Sprague and Charlie Weller.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/may/07/45158/ Although he hasn't been in San Diego long, bassist Ben Wanicur has been making waves on the jazz scene, ...

Dresser unveils new quintet May 10 at Dizzy's

Introducing new members Ben Schachter on saxophone and Kjell Nordeson on drums, Dresser, Joshua White and Michael Dessen pack a big punch.

Friday, May 10, contrabass master Mark Dresser will debut the latest version of his West Coast Quintet, which features new ...

Jason Moran and The Bandwagon: May 8, in La Jolla

Moran is one of the most highly regarded pianists of his generation.

Internationally acclaimed pianist Jason Moran returns to San Diego May 8, at TSRI under the auspices of Athenaeum Jazz, produced ...

Rich Halley 4: Crossing The Passes

Tenor man Halley leads a veteran ensemble through some wicked free-bop.

Oregon based tenor saxophonist Rich Halley has been producing superior free-jazz music for many years and his group, the Rich ...

Danny Weller Quintet does Ella at 98 Bottles

Weller led a superb ensemble through the music of vocal icon Ella Fitzgerald.

Young double-bass virtuoso Danny Weller is back in town for a week or so, and he somehow found time to ...

Anthony Smith CD release party at 98 Bottles

The vibraphonist led a stellar sextet celebrating his new music in front of a sold-out house.

Vibraphonist Anthony Smith celebrated the CD release of two new discs on April 27 at 98 Bottles, leading an all-star ...

White, Schachter & Biggs at the Westgate

Endlessly inventive and swinging, White really shines in the small room.

San Diego pianist Joshua White continues to demonstrate that he is ready for virtually any high-profile gig. I can see ...

Exploring the solo guitar with Gyan Riley

Alternating between the classical instrument and a highly processed electric, Riley impressed on both axes.

I really had no idea who Gyan Riley was before attending his Fresh Sound @ Space 4 Art debut on ...

Fresh Sound: Gyan Riley solo guitar April 25

The guitarist brings his diverse and exploratory music to the East Village.

Concert promoter extraordinaire Bonnie Wright continues her quest to expand the ears of the San Diego listening public on April ...

Janklow Quintet live at Dizzy's

The LA saxophone virtuoso delivered a smoking set.

Alto saxophonist Danny Janklow made his San Diego performance debut as a bandleader on April 20, teaming up with fellow ...

White, Price & Smith: burning at Dizzy's

Pianist Joshua White brought drum icon Marvin "Smitty" Smith, bassist Hamilton Price and tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter into the Pacific Beach venue.

April 18 represented a special day in the evolution of piano master Joshua White. Drum legend Marvin "Smitty" Smith made ...

Danny Janklow Quintet comes to Dizzy's April 20

The young LA alto saxophonist makes his San Diego bandleading debut.

Brace yourself for some "alto-madness," jazz fans. On April 20, young LA saxophone master Danny Janklow comes to Dizzy's, sharing ...

Tonga Ross-Ma'u Sextet live at Dizzy's

Ross-Ma'u led a tight ensemble of veteran and younger players through an ambitious program of original material and lesser known standards.

One of Chuck Perrin of Dizzy's greatest attributes is his fondness for showcasing emergent or lesser known talent to the ...