The upright bass is in some ways the most essential instrument in a jazz ensemble. The trouble is that there just aren’t enough bass players to go around, and the really good ones end up ...

I’ll start out with a confession: I hate crowds. I get pretty stressed out at a sold-out concert, which is why I’ll do just about anything to arrive early enough at a general admission show ...

There are plenty of stories about drummers who got their start while still in their teens or even earlier. But not many involve someone with the talent and potential of Young Lions Jazz Conservatory phenom ...

“I’ve been playing sax for seven and half years,” says Nick Caldwell, a 17-year-old high school senior who attends the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts in Paradise Hills, and who is also ...

On May 11, the Federal Department of Health and Human Services will end the Covid public health emergency. But the bureaucratic behemoth is a slow-footed beast; John Q. Public knows the pandemic ended some time ...

There are so many musical venues on the gargantuan campus of UC San Diego, it’s hard to pick a favorite for catching a memorable show. My first concert at UCSD was an astonishing performance by ...

As much as I was looking forward to the 2023 debut of the Fourth Friday Jazz Series at the La Jolla Community Center, I have to admit that, due to the relentless deluge of doomsday ...

San Diego drummer Justin Joyce released his debut album as a bandleader, Story Tales, last year, although he actually cut it back in 2019 — in one day (May 6) up at LMP Studios in ...

Drummer Matthew Smith has been a fixture in San Diego for quite a few years, playing with the Matt Smith Neu Jazz Trio, Juice Box, and Fresh Veggies Micro Brass. He gigs often enough around ...