Smokin' in the East Village: the Erik Deutsch Band
Fusing the rhythms of rock with the improvisational skills of jazz, Deutsch even brought a very special surprise guest to ice the cake.
The power of music to revive long dormant memories and bring them into laser focus, as well as its celebratory ritual ties with the universal concept of motion we call groove burned brightly in a knockout Fresh Sound (by Bonnie …
Reka Parker Quartet, + Joe Marillo & Derek Cannon
Parker has a great touch and serious arranging skills.
Pianist Reka Parker headlined her first gig at the new Dizzy's in Pacific Beach last night, fronting a veteran quartet featuring guitarist Dwight Love, bassist Jeff Blanco and drummer Bob Daniels. Ratcheting the excitement quotient up several notches were the …
Free jazz double-bill at USD
The Christopher Adler Trio improvised from scratch, while the Michael Vlatkovich Quartet tore into charts for two equally compelling sets.
Bassist Scott Walton was the unifying factor in two wildly divergent presentations of "free-jazz" last night at the University of San Diego. Together with pianist Christopher Adler and drummer Nathan Hubbard, a dense, kinetic, wholly improvised set unfolded--and, with trombonist …
David Borgo asks "Why Music" @ UCSD
Borgo asked heavy questions, answered some of them, and played some great music last night.
UCSD professor, ethnomusicologist, saxophonist, and composer David Borgo presented a wide-ranging talk last night called Why Music to a full-house at Conrad Prebys Music Center. Utilizing written material, audio and visual examples, and most importantly, live instrumental demonstrations, Borgo posed …
Erik Deutsch Band: Jan. 20, Fresh Sound @ Space 4 Art
These guys have some pretty heavy credentials. Plus, it's a Bonnie Wright production.
Bonnie Wright's Fresh Sound concert series continues on Jan. 20, at Space 4 Art in the East Village with a performance by the Erik Deutsch Band arriving from NYC. Keyboardist Deutsch has worked with vocalists Norah Jones and Roseanne Cash, …
Adler Trio, Vlatkovich Quartet: Jan. 17, at USD
Bassist Scott Walton will play with the Christopher Adler Trio and Michael Vlatkovich Quartet this Thursday. Starts at 7. Free!
USD will host an evening of cutting edge jazz on Jan. 17, a double-bill concert that features former San Diegan Scott Walton in both ensembles. At 7 pm, the Christopher Adler Trio opens, featuring Adler on piano with Walton on …
Castellanos, White & Price at the Westgate Hotel
The small room, pristine acoustics and masterful playing make the Westgate the place to be on Friday nights.
Some of my friends are piano players, the concert series curated by trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, held each Friday night at the Westgate Hotel continues to be the jazz spot in San Diego. The premise is solid: a different pianist every …
Bennink, Dresser & Oliver: live Fresh Sound
A full house for a riveting concert at Space 4 Art.
Fresh Sound, the adventurous concert series curated by Bonnie Wright, began its 2013 season with a superb show by the ageless Dutch percussion legend Han Bennink last night, with string virtuosi Mark Dresser and Mary Oliver before a standing-room-only crowd …
Steve Swallow/ Carla Bley tribute at Villa Musica, Jan. 12
The music of the iconic jazz couple will be celebrated in the first concert of the year by the San Diego Center for the Arts.
"The idea behind this series was to provide an additional venue for local musicians to perform music of their own choosing," says guitarist Nate Jarrell of the San Diego Center for the Arts, an organization founded by drummer Jeanette Kangas, …
Sinne Eeg delivers at the new Dizzy's
The Danish vocalist dazzled in her inaugural SD showcase, floating on the accompaniment of Sprague, Biggs and Weller.
Danish vocalist Sinne Eeg played her SD debut last night, a hastily organized but spectacularly successful concert that found her hooking up with guitarist Peter Sprague, bassist Gunnar Biggs and young drum phenomenon Charles Weller for the first time to …
Standout jazz releases from 2012
Each of these 14 releases still resonate with me.
2012 was a banner year for recorded jazz, if the more than 100 CD's that arrived in my mail box are any indication. Even still, I'm sure I missed a few that might have bowled me over--but that's o.k., since …
Brian Levy / Mikan Zlatkovich Group: 'Traneing In at the new Dizzy's
The saxophonist's original material draws upon the inspiration of one of jazz's most revered icons.
Tenor saxophonist Brian Levy set the spirit of jazz behemoth John Coltrane into motion last night with a set that toggled between blistering power and velvet warmth to offset the chilly air at the new Dizzy's, joining forces with pianist …
Han Bennink, Mary Oliver, Mark Dresser @ Space4Art, Jan. 10
Bennink is a master of conventional and free jazz improvisation who has played with everyone from Sonny Rollins to Eric Dolphy to Derek Bailey.
Concert promoter Bonnie Wright kicks off her cutting-edge music series Fresh Sound this week with a bang, bringing the Dutch drumming legend Han Bennink to San Diego with violinist/violist Mary Oliver and our own contrabass virtuoso Mark Dresser on Jan. …
Jason Robinson: Tiresian Symmetry
I'm still mulling over my top-ten jazz releases for 2012, but here's an advance tip: Tiresian Symmetry is number one.
Tenor saxophonist/composer Jason Robinson represents the best hopes one could have in the generation of players entering their maturity in this age where cookie-cutout, music-factory sameness seems to dominate the plethora of jazz releases. Robinson is a schooled musician who …
Mundell Lowe, Jaime Valle, Jim Ferguson and Ramon Banda
Lowe continues to take chances, improvising in the moment in a sublime and swinging concert at the new Dizzy's.
There is something magical, and instructive about watching guitar great Mundell Lowe perform. Years of living "in-the-moment" have been honed into a personal improvising aesthetic where the proof of virtuosity involves what he doesn't choose to play as much as …
Castellanos reunion concert at the new Dizzy's
Featuring a core group of Gerald Clayton on piano, Hamilton Price on bass and Kevin Kanner on drums, the trumpeter invited tenor saxophonists Ben Schachter and Brian Levy to celebrate a group that dominated the Onyx for ten years.
It is difficult to imagine the San Diego jazz landscape without the Herculean amount of energy that trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos has infused it with since he came here 20-some years ago. Among the many things we have to thank him …
Tribe of D at the new Dizzy's
Alto saxophonist David Negrete joined forces with like-minded improvisers for a hypnotic and compelling set of original music.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/29/37610/ Alto saxophonist David Negrete returned to San Diego last night with Tribe of D, a quartet featuring NYC bassist Danny Weller, local piano hero Joshua White and LA drummer Dan Schnelle for a long set of riveting and spiritual, …
Chuck Perrin ends 2012 with a triple
Perrin closes out the year in style, with three excellent concerts beginning this Friday with David Negrete, continuing Saturday with Gilbert Castellanos and concluding on Sunday with Mundell Lowe.
As the year 2012 winds down, the San Diego jazz scene heats up this weekend for a slew of must-see concerts. As it often does, this Friday begins with a conflict. The Gilbert Castellanos curated series at the Westgate Hotel …
Twin Tenors heat up 98 Bottles
Ian Tordella and Gerard Nolan lit fires and swung like crazy.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/22/37327/ Local tenor sax man Ian Tordella teamed up with musician Gerard Nolan Thursday night at 98 Bottles for a concert billed as Twin Tenors, evoking a time in jazz history ('50s & '60s), when such pairings were commonplace. There …
Best jazz concerts for 2012
Last year, it was Jeff Kaiser's massive 23 piece "big band" that earned top honors. This year, it's a solo concert for contrabass.
The San Diego jazz talent pool is deep, very deep. So much so that after attending more than 200 shows this year, and taking days to sort through them all for this list of the top-twenty, 18-time Grammy winning guitarist …