By CHARLES ANDREWS
THE RESURRECTION OF CURIOUS CITY NEXT FRIDAY!
Expect miracles, wisdom of the ages to lead us all from this dark place!
… right.
Maybe a better bet is Mahler’s “Resurrection” symphony on Tuesday.
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So what’s goin’ down in old LA this week that you don’t want to miss?
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
Tonight – KAMASI WASHINGTON – Inglewood’s own jazz sax master has become a recognized force with his expansive, spiritual, innovative compositions, recordings, and concerts, and his work with so many, including Kendrick Lamar and George Clinton. But the treat, the thing really, is to be there up close when he goes where he goes on stage, and we now have the classy new Blue Note in Hollywood, where he/we have had the privilege of his run of 24 shows, two a night through the end of this coming weekend. I caught him on Saturday and was swept away by the imagination of his songs and the musicianship of his large ensemble. All had a chance to shine (but I wish Kamasi had taken more front time), and energetic bassist Miles Mosley really knocked me out, as did drummer Mike Mitchell, and you’ve got to praise the flute/sax man Kamasi credited with putting an instrument in his hands, his dad, Ricky Washington. This long run is a rare opportunity. You may want to go two or three times, so go tonight. Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun, 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m., Blue Note, Hollywood, $66-100.
Tonight – LA OPERA’s “WEST SIDE STORY” – They extended the run! Lucky us! It hit Broadway 9/27/57 as a musical, hit very big, and now also two high-profile films, but this is how it was meant to be experienced. The large ensemble sings, dances, and acts at a very high level, but without diminishing Kim Duke’s strongly-voiced “Tony” or the rest of the cast, the powerful and “lusciously colored” voice of Nicaraguan-American soprano Gabriella Reyes’ “Maria” soars over it all. You might say, how could it miss, with Leonard Bernstein’s masterpiece composition (still sounding “modern,” even edgy at times), moving lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and the unmistakable choreography of the great Jerome Robbins, brought to the LAO stage intact. Give all involved great credit for inhabiting these genius and oft-examined elements. It continues to thrill audiences despite some antiquated settings and language, daddy-o, and it is unnervingly a tale for this moment in history, probably more so than at any time in its endless run. This gritty mid-20th-century West Side New York update of “Romeo and Juliet” again demonstrates how timeless were The Bard’s plays, but don’t give him too much credit. This was the magical convergence of so much great creativity that it changed the course of American theatre and music. A very high bar that his production scales. You have no excuse for missing this: it has been such a smash out of the box that LA Opera has added several performances, a rare thing. Wed, Sat 7:30 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LA, $114-370.
DUDAMEL, LA PHIL, MAHLER #2 “RESURRECTION” – Now I am at a loss for words, beyond what you see the program to be. Mahler was a composer of prodigious sensibility and execution, and my personal top of the mountain. Gustavo Dudamel is considered by many to be the most gifted interpreter alive of Gustav Mahler. “Resurrection” may have been only his second symphony, but he took on the weightiest questions of human existence, of life, death, hope. The finale, with thundering full orchestra and choir plus vocalists, will leave you dazzled and drained, in a good way. The next time he takes this masterpiece on will likely be leading the New York Philharmonic, worth the flight, but this is closer. Thurs, Sat 8 pm., Fri 11 a.m., Sun 2 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $135-420.
PETER ERSKINE TRIO – I previously had the excuse of writing briefly about any Peter Erskine performance because I had written so many times before, but now there is a new readership that may not know that I hold him to be one of the very finest musicians, any instrument, any genre, on the planet. The prestigious Berklee School of Music awarded him an Honorary Doctorate. The immensely virtuosic and influential 1970 “supergroup” Weather Report had some star drummers and percussionists in their early years, but none (seven of them) lasted even two years, until Peter came along. He has performed on more than 100 film soundtracks and more than 600 albums – one of which, full disclosure, was my wife’s recent “Diane Michelle Sings Billie Holiday” (available free on any platform – yes, shameless spouse promotion, but no money involved) – but I had been singing Erskine’s praises in print for years before. He is what I call a “musical” drummer, rather than just a beat keeper. He loves playing in a very wide variety of contexts and has performed with several great symphony orchestras. He has authored books, is a professor at the Thornton School at USC, has his own label, produces, has several Grammys, and is in more than one musicians’ Hall of Fame. Started on drums at age four, his first professional gig, just out of high school, was with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. 10x winner of Drummer of the Year at Modern Drummer magazine, he has been with his trio (Alan Pasqua, Darek Oles) for decades, and Sam First is an intimate, class venue. I always tell people, if you can get to a Peter Erskine performance without taking an airplane, go. Sat 7:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., Sam First, LAX, $35.
HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – You can go to the Cinema Bar any Monday night, 9-11:30, free, for almost 14 years now, and hear these hot players run through Django Reinhardt-style ‘30s jazz. This amazing ensemble is a treasure. Mon 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, free.
LA PHIL GALA, DUDAMEL’S FIESTA, BEETHOVEN, DVOŘÁK, REVUELTAS, more – An early-in-his-final-season-here celebration of our adventurous Venezuelan Maestro, presents mostly finales, from Falla, Beethoven, Dvorak, Ravel, and finally Revueltas, a Mexican composer I never knew until The Dude introduced me, years ago, and I became an instant fan. This is a very different curation of an LA Phil concert, and should be exciting and memorable. Tues 7 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $169-410.
RECOMMENDED
LOS STRAIGHTJACKETS – A fantastic instrumental band, a great band by any measure. They sputtered briefly in ‘88 in Nashville as rockers and got nowhere. On a subsequent trip to Mexico City, they picked up handknit wrestling masks worn by La Lucha, wore them on stage, played only instrumentals, mostly surf music (they remain the best surf band I’ve ever heard), spoke only in rapid-fire Mexican radio DJ Spanish to introduce songs, and became a smash. Hit albums, world tours, and – guess how many original members there are? You can never know because of the masks. Like the eyeball-topped Residents, they can keep substituting members and go on for another hundred years. You may be reluctant to see an instrumental band, but let me tell you, you will not be bored, but probably amazed. Another brilliant booking by Wayne at Santa Monica’s lil ole folk music club. Sun 8 p.m., McCabe’s, Santa Monica, sold out, but you know the drill…
THEATRICUM BOTANICUM: – Outdoors in the Topanga Canyon woods, now in their 50th year, it is one of the very best theatre companies in LA, with a mastery of The Bard, and moving, thought-provoking, topical productions. You had all summer, but it’s not too late. Two more are left, “A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM” and “WINE IN THE WILDERNESS.” “Wine” takes a few mind-bending turns, a well-acted, satisfying performance well worth seeing. “WINE” Sat 7:30 p.m., “MIDSUMMER” Sun 7:30 p.m., Will Geer’s TB, Topanga Canyon, $15-60.
TY SEGALL – I haven’t caught this monster guitarist for years, but he’s one of those artists that you know if someone drops a guitar in his lap at age 80 and cranks up the volume, he will not only amaze you but probably go somewhere no man has tread or shred before. Bellwether, 10/10
“HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU” – Panel game show format takes on politics and current events, but it’s more important to be funny than right. Often hilarious. The chaos is overseen by one of my favorites, Roy Wood Jr., but his two team captains, Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black, dish up the biggest laughs, most of them spontaneously. Every Sat, 9 p.m., CNN
TOLEDO DIAMOND – His decades-long Sunday night residency at Santa Monica’s Harvelle’s, the oldest blues bar in LA (almost a century!), is a treasure that you shouldn’t assume will always be there. Toledo choreographs (literally) a truly unique show, a blend of ‘50s hipster jazz and his dancing dames and a most modern smokin’ hot band that gets better all the time. Every Sunday, 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $12.
COMING ATTRACTIONS (also recommended): “WEST SIDE STORY,” LA OPERA, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 10/11, 12; THEATRICUM BOTANICUM: “WINE IN THE WILDERNESS” 10/12; TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s Santa Monica, 10/12, 19, 26; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 10/13, 20; KAMASI WASHINGTON, Blue Note, 10/8-12; DENGUE FEVER, Alex’s Bar, 10/9; DUDAMEL LA PHIL, MAHLER #2 “RESURRECTION,” Disney Hall, 10/9, 10, 11, 12; TY SEGALL, Bellwether, 10/10; PETER ERSKINE TRIO, Sam First, 10/11; LOS STRAIGHTJACKETS, McCabe’s, 10/12; LA PHIL GALA, DUDAMEL’S FIESTA, BEETHOVEN, DVOŘÁK, REVUELTAS, more, Disney Hall, 10/14; CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM, Ford, 10/16; ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, McCabe’s, 10/17; OZOMATLI, Venice West, 10/17, 11/14, 12/12.
DOWN THE ROAD (also recommended): LIBRARY GIRL, Ruskin Theatre, 11/9, 12/14; BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET, Blue Note, 10/21, 22; BOZ SCAGGS, Disney Hall, 10/25; MARIANNE WILLIAMSON, Saban Theatre, 10/25; TIM BURTON’S “THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS” in concert, Hollywood Bowl, 10/25, 26; ITZHAK PERLMAN, Disney Hall, 10/28; SIMON MOULLIERE QUARTET w/ GERALD CLAYTON, Sam First, 10/29; Halloween “HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME,” film + organ music, Disney Hall, 10/31; QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, Dolby, 11/11; PATTI SMITH, “HORSES,” Disney Hall, 11/15; LA TRIO, Sam First, 11/15; ROBERT PLANT, United Theater on Broadway, 11/22, 23; LA OPERA’s “LA BOHEME,” Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 11/22, 30, 12/4, 6, 10, 14; DENGUE FEVER, Venice West, 12/5; JACKSHIT, McCabe’s, 12/9, 10, 11; LA PHIL, MOZART, SIBELIUS, Disney Hall, 12/12, 13, 14; CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET w/ GERALD CLAYTON, Blue Note, 12/15.
Charles Andrews has listened to a lot of music of all kinds, including more than 3,500 live shows. He has lived in Santa Monica for 39 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or hate mail to: therealmrmusic@gmail.com
