By CHARLES ANDREWS
I have been mocked for using that “title” to describe Santa Monica. It is partly aspirational, in our being known that way (blame our troglodytic City functionaries for more often getting in the way than promoting – I can cite many examples).
Over the weekend, I attended the opening of “Typeland,” a show by Milan artist Lorenzo Marini at the Bruce Lurie Gallery in downtown Santa Monica. I liked it, and I briefly said hello to the artist who was very much in demand, but more interesting to me was a conversation with Lurie, who told me he was interested in seeing an art district take shape here, as he has spearheaded in other cities. Stay tuned.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
STANLEY CLARKE – I haven’t seen the NEA Jazz Master bassist, co-founder of Return to Forever, for some time; it may have been an unannounced appearance at The Getty, but that’s on me. He has been hanging around Santa Monica for quite a while, mostly associated with SMC and The BroadStage and occasionally at the Bowl. His genius will be all over the international jazz festival he is setting up here for next summer, and that should be exciting. But now you have a chance to see his own performance, likely on both electric and acoustic basses, at the beautiful Blue Note jazz club in Hollywood. Thurs-Sun 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m., Blue Note LA, $66-77.
HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – Not to worry, the earth is back on its axis, HCOLA is back at their decades-long Monday night gig at The Cinema Bar. Their website calendar now shows them booked through at least 2027. This is the place where you can literally get very close to the music. I mean, seriously, these guys are virtuoso musicians, and they rock out in a ‘30s kinda way, and for free, here on Mondays. Cool crowd, reasonably priced drinks. If you’ve never made the minimal effort to catch them, why don’t you just move back to Akron or Albuquerque and see what you can find. Who says Santa Monica(-adjacent) is not a City of the Arts? Sundays 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, always no cover.
RECOMMENDED:
IVES, ADAMS, HARRIS, COPLAND, LA PHIL – Fantastic evening of American music, conducted by one of our best, LA Phil Creative Chair John Adams, also presenting the premiere of his newly commissioned piano concerto “After the Fall.” Leading off with Charles Ives’ most famous work, the poetic “The Unanswered Question,” you’ll also get Roy Harris’ “Symphony No. 3 in One Movement” (Jascha Heifetz may not have liked it, but I did, when Dudamel previously performed it) and finishing with Aaron Copland’s iconic “Appalachian Spring Suite for Orchestra.” Fri, Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $67-232.
“HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU” – They’re back for a new season, just in time! To make us all laugh at the headlines rather than sticking our heads in the oven or moving to Antarctica over the evil results of Stephen Miller’s latest Donald-whisperings. Roy Wood Jr., ex-“The Daily Show” traffic reporter (who never got around to even mentioning the traffic) and brilliantly funny MC of the 2023 Washington Correspondents’ Dinner, is the ringmaster of this kind-of game show based on the news, but it’s much more important to be funny than correct. Aided hilariously by team captains Michael Ian Black and Amber Ruffin, each with some celebrity teammate, usually struggling to keep up. Based on the immensely popular UK version, but come on, except for Monty Python, Ricky Gervais, and Jimmy Carr, Yanks are much funnier. Sat 9 p.m., CNN.
TOLEDO DIAMOND – Who’s been showing up even longer than the Hot Club, with a very different but also virtuosic show? His decades-long Sunday night residency at Santa Monica’s Harvelle’s, the oldest blues bar in LA (almost a century!), is the stuff of myth. Toledo choreographs 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. Who says Santa Monica is not a City of the Arts? Sun 9 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $13.
COMING ATTRACTIONS (also recommended): TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s Santa Monica, 1/25, 2/1, 8, 15, 22; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 1/26, 2/2, 9, 16, 23, 30; STANLEY CLARKE, Blue Note LA, 1/22-25; IVES, ADAMS, HARRIS, COPLAND, LA PHIL, Disney Hall, 1/23-25; “HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU,” CNN Sat 9 p.m., 1/24, 1/31, 2/7, 14, 21, 28; MAHLER, BARTÓK, RAVEL, LA PHIL, Disney Hall, 1/29-2/1; JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT, Orpheum Theatre, 1/31.
DOWN THE ROAD (also recommended): JIM KWESKIN & FRIENDS, McCabe’s, 2/7; LIBRARY GIRL, Ruskin Theatre, 2/8, 3/8, 4/12, 5/10, 6/14, 7/12, 8/9, 9/13, 10/11, 11/8, 12/13; DUDAMEL, BEETHOVEN, LORENZ, SCHUMANN, Disney Hall, 2/12-15; ALBERT LEE, McCabe’s, 2/13; HILLERMAN’S “DARK WINDS,” Season 4, AMC/+, 2/15; WARREN HAYNES Solo, Blue Note LA, 2/17, 18; DAMN WELL PLEASE ORGAN TRIO, Harvelle’s, 2/17; KAUKONEN The Final Tour, McCabe’s, 2/20, 21, 22; GUSTAVO, BEETHOVEN “MISSA SOLEMNIS,” Disney Hall, 2/20-22; BEETHOVEN, ORTIZ, DUDAMEL, Disney Hall, 2/26-3/1; LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO, BroadStage, 2/27; BRANDI CARLILE, Kia Forum, 2/27; GLASS “AKHNATEN,” LA OPERA, 2/28, 3/8, 11, 14, 19, 22; BILL FRISELL TRIO, Blue Note LA, 3/4, 5; DUDAMEL, “Dante,” BEETHOVEN 6, Disney Hall, 3/5, 6, 8; CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO, Blue Note LA, 3/9; THE BAD PLUS POTTER TABORN, Blue Note LA, 3/10, 11; MADELEINE PEYROUX, Blue Note LA, 3/17, 18; “VERTIGO” in concert, Disney Hall, 3/21; SAMARA JOY, Blue Note LA, 4/15, 16; VERDI “FALSTAFF,” LA OPERA, 4/18, 26, 30, 5/2, 6, 10; TAKE 6, Blue Note LA, 4/30-5/3; SANTA MONICA INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL, BroadStage, 5/1-9; MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO, Blue Note LA, 5/4, 5; LA SANTA CECILIA, Fonda Theatre, 5/7; MOZART “THE MAGIC FLUTE,” LA OPERA, 5/30, 6/6, 11, 14, 17, 21.
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 40 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or hate mail to: therealmrmusic@gmail.com
