Jeff Kaiser, Phil Skaller : Endless Pie
Wicked trumpet meets prepared piano in this intense and hilarious pairing of twisted minds.
Trumpet + piano duos are a relatively rare commodity in jazz — and this collaboration between Jeff Kaiser and Phil Skaller is not going to remind anyone of Wynton Marsalis and Marcus Roberts. For that matter Endless Pie is a …
Castellanos explores the music of Wayne Shorter
Gilbert Castellanos and Las Vegas saxophonist Charles McNeal investigated the deep book of Shorter's music with Joshua White, Rob Thorsen and Dan Schnelle.
The music of saxophonist Wayne Shorter has served as a rich source of inspiration for jazz musicians since the 1960s. Last night, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos enlisted the aid of Las Vegas reed man Charles McNeal to celebrate that music with …
Joshua White, Mark Dresser & Dan Schnelle live in La Jolla
Sparks always fly when White and Dresser hook up. LA drum phenomenon Schnelle completed the explosive trio.
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library drew a packed house for their noon-time presentation of the Joshua White Trio-- this time featuring bassist Mark Dresser, and LA drummer Dan Schnelle. This concert marked the third Dresser appearance in San Diego …
Mundell Lowe live at the new Dizzy's
Age is just a number for the remarkable guitarist, who keeps it real, relevant, and in the moment.
At 90 years sold, and a veteran of the swing and bebop era's of jazz, I'll bet guitarist Mundell Lowe isn't often placed in the free-jazz category. But after catching his show last night at the new Dizzy's, I couldn't …
Johnson Trio returns to 98 Bottles
Steph Johnson continues her musical journey with the expert support of bassist Rob Thorsen and drummer Fernando Gomez.
Steph Johnson photo by TOM HARTEN The Steph Johnson Trio returned to 98 Bottles last night, filing a new progress report on the singer/guitarist's incremental ascension into the jazz world--and earning high grades in the process. The trio is an …
Tom Harrell Chamber Ensemble in La Jolla
Harrell augments his working group with string and woodwind players to interpret the works of Debussy and Ravel.
The blending of chamber music with jazz has been an ongoing experiment for many years. Trumpet master Tom Harrell brought the ideas and music of Ravel and Debussy into the Athenaeum at TSRI last night for two sets of lushly …
Mark Dresser: defining the solo contrabass at UCSD
Dresser used the acoustically supreme Conrad Prebys concert hall as a duet partner in his creation of vivid sonic worlds.
"When you try to describe the indescribable,"warned British jazz guitarist John McLaughlin, "the indescribable will get you every time." That may be, but here we go. Last night, contrabass magician Mark Dresser performed a solo concert at Conrad Prebys Music …
Joshua White Trio at the Lyceum
Joshua White, in trio with bassist Mark Dresser and tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter, tore through a set of re-imagined bebop and original material in a mid-day concert.
In a special, one hour noon-time concert at the Lyceum Theater, pianist Joshua White and bassist Mark Dresser welcomed tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter to San Diego for a trio performance that celebrated and extended the jazz tradition before a substantial …
Gregoire Maret at The Loft
Swiss-born Gregoire Maret is a chromatic harmonica virtuoso who rolled into town for this season's inaugural Art Power concert last night at The Loft. Leading a band loaded with ringers like bassist Matt Penman, pianist Federico Gonzalez Pena, and powerhouse …
Castellanos, White & Thorsen at the Westgate Hotel
Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos continued his Friday-night-at-the-Westgate Hotel series, Some Of My Friends Are Piano Players, last night with local piano phenomenon Joshua White and bass stalwart Rob Thorsen in front of another standing-room-only crowd that cheered on two sets of …
Mark Dresser, Joshua White: alone, & together
The excitement I feel at being able to report that bassist Mark Dresser will perform three times in seven days in San Diego is only topped by the reality that two of those performances will be as a sideman in …
Philippe Manoury, Miller Puckette & Juliana Snapper @ Space4Art
Bravo to Bonnie Wright! The fearless promoter of cutting-edge music scored again last night with her presentation of composer Philippe Manoury's works performed by soprano Juliana Snapper and electronics pioneer Miller Puckette in a concert that succeeded beyond expectations. Manoury's …
National Fingerstyle Guitar Champ Chris Proctor: Oct. 24, @ McCrea Music
Guitar virtuoso Chris Proctor winner of the National Fingerstyle Championship in 1982, comes to town next week on Oct. 24, for a Dizzy's production held at McCrea Music Company, 8361 Allison Ave in La Mesa. Is this a solo gig, …
Sketchy Black Dog rocks The Back Room @ 98 Bottles
Photo by TOM HARTEN Born in Russia, now living in NYC, Misha Piatigorsky is a piano virtuoso with an original concept: melding a jazz piano trio with a string-quartet, playing music that reflects his geographic roots with large doses of …
Zlatkovich soars at Dizzy's grand opening
Mikan Zlatkovich photo by TOM HARTEN Mikan Zlatkovich brought an all-star sextet to inaugurate the grand opening of the new Dizzy's, in the showroom of San Diego Jet Ski, in Pacific Beach last night to a packed-house. The new venue …
Castellanos, Wofford & Price: dazzling at the Westgate
Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos held the second show of his every-Friday-until-New Years concert series, Some of my friends are piano players last night at the Westgate Hotel--this time featuring jazz piano hero Mike Wofford and LA bass monster Hamilton Price in …
Chuck Perrin christens new venue with JazzMikan Trio+, Oct. 13
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/12/33454/ The most important San Diego jazz supporter for years has been Dizzy's owner Chuck Perrin. The man is responsible for literally hundreds of superb concerts. He has been looking for a permanent home for the club ever since he …
Karl Berger live at UCSD
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/11/33405/ Last night's concert at UCSD featuring improvising icon Karl Berger with vocalist Ingrid Sertso, contrabassist Mark Dresser, saxophonist David Borgo and the UCSD Improvisers Orchestra was pitifully attended-- maybe 50 people in the acoustically superb Conrad Prebys Music Center--which …
Dresser Quintet + Bobby Bradford @ Angel City Jazz Festival
Last Sunday, I made the trek up north to Los Angeles to catch a performance by one of creative music's greatest contrabass virtuosos, Mark Dresser, appearing at the Angel City Jazz Festival with his East Coast Quintet, featuring reed master …
Joshua White Quintet live at 98 Bottles
San Diego jazz pianist Joshua White continued his inexorable quest of self-realization last night in a stunning performance with his quintet at 98 Bottles. The JWQ may be the most exciting small group performing in Southern California right now. Trombonist …