Concert Reviews (851)
Nothing beats experiencing live jazz music as its being created right in front of you. Stop here for reviews of your favorite jazz artists live and in concert.
The cozy confines of the Chrome Showroom located inside the Santa Fe Station Hotel and Casino provided the stage for a stop on the annual summer tour of jazz's premier performers they simply call "Guitars and Saxes". Smooth jazz fans in Las Vegas were treated to a musical feast of supreme sensory satisfaction and non-stop excitement as the lineup this year is equal to the marvelous pairings of past years. Featured were guitarists Jeff Golub and Peter White, saxophonists Gerald Albright and Je
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It is easy for a jazz writer to get jaded with the sheer quantity of music he/she is subjected to. Our only hope of salvation is the occasional performance that reaches rare levels of brilliance. So I was especially grateful to hear Luciana Souza and her quartet at the Kennedy Center in May. Everything seemed to just fall perfectly in place for this performance. It was the last night of a tour to promote Souza's new CD The New Bossa Nova, she was due to fly to Brazil the next day to se
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The Art of Jazz Celebration is an amazing event. This year, the theme was about a Global Jazz Village and it lived up to the name in spirit, music, musicians and audience participation. The inaugural year, 2006, I considered this a spring jazz festival, and a great one at that. It was much more; it was enlightenment for many, including myself. I felt like I was in jazz heaven that first year, witnessing performances by jazz giants, famous names like Hank Jones, Kenny Barron, John Hand
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Return To Forever is more than a novelty act. It's four matured musicians together again after 25 years of development as instrumentalists, as bandleaders, as composers and as producers. It's not the original lineup, but instead the classic lineup that recorded three albums between 1974 and 1976. Guitarist Al DiMeola was only 19 when he linked up with three musicians who were already legends. DiMeola's advancements since 1974 are remarkable and he unquestionably propels Return To Forever to
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Starting out on electric piano Hermeto Pascoal the 2008 Art of Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, introduced his music to the audience in layers, as if pulling open the pages of a dynamic novel, the performance opened up to reveal more of the fascinating imagination of this spectacular master multi-instrumentalist performer. In the first song of the evening Pascoal would give the audience a taste of his versatility. Switching from the electric piano to electronic wind synthesizer and add
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The Boiler House is an upscale dining establishment in the Historic Distillery District, it is not a great jazz venue for a powerhouse jazz quartet, it’s better than being outside in the rain, but not by much. The room has a very good lay out for a dining establishment with nice private booths and a 2nd floor balcony for intimate dining. The non-obstructed seating amounts to about forty seats, the obstructed view seating, about one hundred seats. People were in the aisles; they were peaking arou
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What a mix of spirit, a joy of life, the gift of humour and a soul that swings. That is Sheila Jordan and she performed an afternoon show that was a delight, with her a wonderful accompanist, Steve Kuhn who also took to the daylight for one incredible set of touching piano reminisces, that was emotionally charged. The songs that Sheila Jordan sang were put out in wonderful fashion with a bebop style, songs with beautiful melodies, "Gentle Thoughts", "Lucky To Be Me" and songs with melancholy
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Randy Weston and Billy Harper - Duo Series Randy Weston took to the stage and seemed all about business, he announced the evening’s performance would be dedicated to the blues. He proceeded to hammer out powerful chords that resonated wildly in the dim and dark cavernous Fermenting Cellar of the Historic Distillery District. Billy Harper came on equally as strong with a muscular tenor tone, stirring the soul and captivating the listener with his intensity. The first blues tune was a tradition
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"The communal experience of playing live - that's why I became a musician in the first place," "It's exciting and liberating. It never gets old for me." ~ Boney James The soulful, seductively silky-smooth sax stylings of Boney James were on display Saturday May 3rd inside the sold-out, extremely intimate setting of the Railhead Showroom located in Las Vegas's Boulder Station Casino. The twice Grammy nominated, Soul Train Award winning, numerous Smooth Jazz Awards and NAACP Image Award
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One of the most exciting concerts to have ever come to the Verizon Wireless Theater hit the stage with an incredible array of talent on Saturday night. The most enduring aspect of the event was the overall mystique surrounding the group who performed. After a 25-year hiatus, four of the finest musicians ever known mesmerized their audience as a style of music known as fusion jazz made a Return to Forever. During the 1970s and beyond, this group was one of the driving forces behind
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Over the weekend of May 23 and 24, 2008. Over 22,000 people traveled from around Europe to attend the third Hague Jazz festival, held in the World Forum. This festival has replaced the world famous North Sea Jazz Festival, which has now moved onto Rotterdam. The Hague has been and always will be the number one for Jazz in Holland and as they lost the North Sea festival, three years ago the Hague Jazz was born. It was popular and almost sold out in its first year. Two years later an eclectic m
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Famed blues guitarist Buddy Guy made his annual concert appearance at Massey Hall in Toronto, Saturday night, April 5, 2008. Buddy’s rhythm section has been part of his band for several years now. All are seasoned pros from the Chicago blues scene. On 2nd lead and rhythm guitar is Ric ‘Jaz Guitar’ Hall, with Orlando Wright on electric bass, Tim Austin
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The junior jazzers turned out in full force for Jumpin’ at Roy’s a performance at Roy Thompson Hall this past Thursday backing up Jon Hendricks, the master of jazz vocalese. They were also all for helping out The Art of Jazz quintet. The young 240 member group proceeded to serenade an eager audience, whom for the most part, looked to be friends and relatives of these young crooners. The Art of Jazz Community Voices are nearly seasoned pros now, as this is their second big show staged in Toron
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As our capital city, Washington D.C. is home to many events of national importance. This applies to the arts generally -- Washington is home to the National Symphony, the National Theater, The National Gallery, etc -- and is also reflected in the jazz world. A recent flurry of activity saw several jazz masters visiting the area. April is Jazz Month at the Smithsonian Institution, resulting in a full program of concerts, lectures and symposia, taking place at the Kennedy Center, The
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In the latter half of 2007, one of Houston’s most revered venues re-opened its doors once again. Considered by many to be the city’s best entertainment location for live performances, the H Town Arena Theater closed its doors approximately 4 years ago after 30-plus years of presenting quality attractions. When walking the hallway of the Arena, there are numerous pictures of luminaries on the walls that have graced the stage of the Arena. The list reads like a "Who’s Who of Entertainmen
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Visitors to London interested in hearing good jazz are greeted by a rich and diverse scene. There are, as in the US, too many good musicians chasing too few gigs, but while this may be bad for musicians it provides many good choices for jazz fans. Tourists tend to gravitate towards Ronnie Scott's club (www.ronniescotts.co.uk) and Pizza Express (www.pizzaexpresslive.co.uk) in the West End. While these are fine venues, Ronnie's has become rather corporate since Scott's
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The T. S. Monk Sextet is making its first-ever San Francisco appearance at the Great American Music Hall. Its bandleader, the ebullient and loquacious drummer T. S. Monk, is the son of legendary pianist Thelonious Monk who would have been ninety years old this year. He last performed the previous year, together with pianist Jason Moran, in a tribute to his father's appearance at Town Hall. This time around, he's appearing at a more intimate venue and with his band, many of whose membe
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One of jazz’s most enduring artists is guitarist Pat Metheny. In the minds of some, he is one of the genre’s premier musicians. As a fusion practitioner, Metheny has been on the cutting edge of his craft for more than 30 years. Since 1975, he has recorded and collaborated on more than 45 albums. In addition, he has toured hundreds of cities throughout the world and has garnered an immense following for himself. His latest CD entitled ‘Day Trip’ is yet another journey into sound, on
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Miami Gardens, Florida came alive for the third year in a row when the City welcomed an average of ten thousand patrons for the two-day festival Jazz In The Garden. Jazz In The Garden is not just a concert, over the past three years it has vastly become a major stop for old school and new school artists and fans. This two day event took place on March 15 16, 2008 at the Dolphins Stadium grounds. Unlike the Miami Dolphins, Jazz In The Garden was definitely a winner. The
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There was an all-star musical tribute to the one and only John Lennon Beatle/painter/music icon, at Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse in Toronto on Sunday, December 9, 2007. This is the second great Lennon Tribute show this writer has attended, hosted by all-time Beatle fan and rock/blues artist extraordinaire Greg Godovitz (Goddo/ex-Ronnie Hawkins). This show also featured Godovitz's Rock Talk/STRO
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Cassandra Wilson stood on stage and confessed that she wanted to sing in one place for a year. The audience answered by making the case for San Francisco to be just the spot to realize that wish. The acclaimed singer had the crowd from her opening tune, "Caravan." Known for her adventurous repertoire, Wilson performed a stellar, although short, set that stretched from jazz standards to an old blues number. The show was part of Wilson’s six-night run at the splashy new Yoshi’s in San Franci
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There is something fresh and exciting about the Tierney Sutton band and it is captured on their new recording On The Other Side a Telarc release for 2007 and one of my favorites of the year. I jumped at the chance to come out and see the band at one of the most intimate nightclubs in Toronto, The Old Mill Inn. The show, put on by the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival and coinciding with the International Association of Jazz Educators, IAJE conference that took place in Toronto, Jan
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Influenced by the sound of Benny Goodman and the Stray Cats, the Neo-Swing Jazz style of The Rock and Rule Swing Band is a fusion of big band swing, rockabilly, and even SKA. They appeared like fish out of water at this years annual San Pedro Country Music Festival in San Pedro Argentina and stole the show. The high energy eight piece band electrified the crowd; many of whom appeared to have never heard this style of music before. Smoke was continually sweeping across the stage in an ebb and tid
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His new CD is titled Raise Your Hand, and the members of the audience at Demitriou’s Jazz Alley in Seattle Washington did just that on Friday, December 28th, as they were feeling the Latin vibes of percussionist Poncho Sanchez and his band. Although Jazz Alley does not have a dance floor, that did not stop the crowd from getting up and doing the mambo, salsa and cha cha in the aisles. The evening was an experience that those in attendance will not soon forget, as Sanchez kicked off his
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The cheers go up on recognition of the first song of the concert, "Don’t Be That Way" a huge sound fills the concert hall, with a gorgeous clarinet tone leading the way and sounding as sweet as can be. The orchestra is playing with passion, layer upon layer of fine silky like tones radiate out towards the smiling faces. A typical big band, a full sound that can’t go wrong? This big band is different, you have your trumpet section, your trombones, but add to that a twenty plus member string secti
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