ENTERTAINMENT
By B.W. Cook | March 13, 2014
It's hard to imagine, given the spectacular weather of the past week, that for a brief moment California was being soaked by torrential rain at the beginning of the month. The downpour did not deter the dedicated volunteers of the Ocean Institute from producing the 2014 Jazz Festival at their headquarters in Dana Point over the weekend of Feb. 28 through March 2. Docents with yellow and blue striped umbrellas greeted patrons arriving for the Friday and Saturday night outdoor concerts and dinners.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Michael Miller | March 11, 2014
As the seconds pass before Wynton Marsalis picks up the phone in his Portland, Ore., hotel room, the mind sends a decree to the body: Be on guard. And have the recorder running too, because a few choice quotes are bound to be in the offing. Marsalis, the man often heralded as the ambassador of jazz (or jazz czar, or Ronald Reagan of jazz, or whichever title you prefer), isn't known for grunting one-sentence responses in interviews. He is known for expressing sharp opinions - sometimes, apparently, at the volume of a John Coltrane solo.
ENTERTAINMENT
February 10, 2014
On the weekend of Presidents' Day and Valentine's Day, the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa will celebrate a uniquely American art form that has provided the soundtrack to more than a few make-out sessions. The 14th Annual Newport Beach Jazz Party will take place Thursday through Sunday. It will feature four nights of music, a Saturday and Sunday Jazz Brunch and a Valentine's Jazz Dinner on Friday. Among the acts scheduled to perform are the Byron Stripling Quartet, the Jeff Hamilton Trio, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and Barbara Morrison.
ENTERTAINMENT
By B.W. Cook | January 16, 2014
Society tends to label people based on their profession. With these labels comes the inevitable value judgment, and what follows is a tendency to pigeonhole folks into social categories. There should be no surprise when a person breaks the mold. Why is it shocking for a doctor to also be an artist or a farmer to be an engineer who invents a tool that revolutionizes an industry? In Newport Beach this week, a man known to the community as a longtime successful real estate peddler will step in front of the microphone and, backed by an A-list of Hollywood musicians, sing his heart out. Bill Coté will join the Tamir Hendelman Trio on Saturday evening in concert at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Corona del Mar, introducing to the world his first CD recording of some of the classic songs from the 20th-century American jazz songbook.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Michael Miller | October 23, 2013
The first time Esperanza Spalding played at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, she was a young jazz bassist and singer who was steadily building a following. Since then, she's played at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Concert and scored an upset Grammy win for Best New Artist, beating out such high-profile contenders as Justin Bieber and Mumford & Sons. But when Spalding returns to Segerstrom this weekend, she won't return as a headlining pop star. Rather, she'll come back as S. That's the final letter of ACS, the jazz trio that consists of Spalding, pianist Geri Allen and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Michael Miller | October 23, 2013
It's just six years and a couple of months until the '20s - the 2020s, that is - which may inspire a reflection or two from jazz aficionados. Nearly 100 years ago, the musical form so dominated society that it became a euphemism for an entire decade: the Jazz Age, memorialized in "The Great Gatsby," flapper dresses and other symbols of the time before the Great Depression laid America's fortunes low. A quarter century later, jazz played an...
ENTERTAINMENT
By Terry Markowitz | April 17, 2013
Bistango has been around for 26 years and is still going strong, perhaps even better than ever. This could be attributed to its chameleon-like nature. By day, it is a power lunchtime gathering place, located in the atrium of a tall office building. By night, it is a grown-up, fine-dining restaurant (but not stuffy) that also features a bar area with a happy hour and tapas, as well as live music and a dance floor. It has always been a very attractive venue. The large space is divided into several areas by curved walls, so the noise level is manageable.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Rhea Mahbubani | February 7, 2013
Practice. That's the core of Kenny G's mantra as a musician. No matter the myriad possibilities a day in his life might bring, at least three hours are dedicated to practicing the saxophone. "I keep at it every day," he said. "I work hard, practice a lot and things get better, little by little. " This New York-based saxophone-wielding maestro of adult contemporary and jazz will perform at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall next week. Kenny G will take the stage Thursday through Saturday and regale the audience with numbers like "Songbird," "Silhouette" and "Midnight Motion.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Heather Youmans | August 23, 2012
Jazz aficionados gathered at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa this week to listen to the hard-swinging Jeff Hamilton Trio. Hamilton's trio was a hit at the indoor Newport Beach Jazz Party in February. But during Wednesday's Sunset Jazz in Newport, the more intimate rose garden venue, which accommodated 240 guests, pulled the audience into the action. The venue was pleasant and relaxing, except when airplanes flying overhead disrupted the music. Hamilton acknowledged the disruptions humorously.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Heather Youmans, Special to the Daily Pilot | July 16, 2012
The award-winning trombonist Wycliffe Gordon will headline Wednesday night's Sunset Jazz show in Newport Beach with a concert paying tribute to Louis Armstrong. The third season of the 11-show summertime jazz series at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa kicked off on July 11 with an opening concert by the Ernie Andrews Quartet with special guest Ricky Woodard. Gordon will perform his "Hello Pops!… A Tribute to Louis Armstrong" concert indoors at the Seaview Terrace, a larger venue in the hotel that will accommodate more attendees, Sunset Jazz organizers said.