November 25, 2012 Hearing the news of Austin Peralta’s passing, at just 22, is beyond incomprehensible. At 13, Peralta had already established himself as a jazz pianist bearing the burden of comparisons to giants like McCoy Tyner. At 15, he was playing alongside giants like Ron Carter. This kid, from West Los Angeles, this progeny […]
November 2, 2012 Grace Potter and the Nocturnals played to a packed Wiltern in the midst of her Fall “all request” tour. The generous set was in the audience’s sweet spot with many sing-alongs that had GP working the front of the pit to connect with as many fans as she could. Potter and the Nocturnals […]
October 26-28, 2012 As an unabashed Jazzfest vet, I approached my first Voodoo with excitement and a hint of fear. The mix of rap, EDM, and the often indefinable, sprinkled with the best of New Orleans contemporary and traditional, on a bed of arena headliners, eclectic rockers, funk and blues artists, is uniquely Voodoo. Look, […]
October 4, 2012 Since I last caught up with Red Baraat in February, the self described “Brooklyn dhol’n’brass” by way of a second line, has been to the White House, played Bonnaroo and High Sierra, performed at the TED conference, toured Europe and the UK, and returned to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. This is a busy […]
September 18, 2012 Tuareg guitarist Omara “Bombino” Moctar was born in a nomadic encampment in Niger in 1980. Some 26 years later he was playing alongside Keith Richards and Charlie Watts in California. The here to the there and now is an amazing life of cultural and political conflict, creativity and inspiration that speaks to […]