Disney delight
At this point we would like to see soon-to-disappear maestro Gustavo Dudamel waving the baton every time, but, as I often point out, it IS the LA Philharmonic, and they don’t ever slouch. I almost skipped last Sunday, even though I’m a big fan of 20th Century Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. Sure glad I didn’t. I was unfamiliar with conductor Karina Canellakis, but she was a marvel. Energetic, focused, and in control, even on the Bartók “Concerto for Orchestra” where his goal was to have the orchestra play as one instrument. They did, maneuvering rapidly among powerful passages. It may be the best Bartók I’ve ever heard.
I was also unacquainted with pianist Inon Barnatan, but he tamed Mozart’s difficult 25th piano concerto with the required vigor without any loss of feeling. But the best was to come, as he came out for an encore of a Mendelssohn (composed when he was 14, probably from his Piano Concerto in D Minor) that was gorgeous and thrilling. He got a near-screaming ovation for it.
Highly Recommended
Jacky Terrasson Trio – “A piano player of happiness,” according to Telerama magazine in France, “an exhilarating musician, one of those who play their public straight to euphoria.” So if you’re bummed because the Lakers lost, or your kid just got expelled from Columbia the day after you sent the tuition check, cancel that expensive therapy session Monday and let great jazz take you away. Born in Berlin, he grew up in Paris, moved to the US to study at Berklee and in ‘93, after winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk Award, began touring with Betty Carter, and later, Cassandra Wilson. He moved to NYC and signed with Blue Note, and won Best Jazz Album of the Year, for Smile. He’s been compared to Bud Powell and Ahmad Jamal, no faint praise. Mix in his deep knowledge of the great French composer savants, such as Ravel, Fauré and Debussy, and you have a unique sound. Sun 7pm, Jazz Bakery, Moss Theater, Santa Monica, $40, free parking.
Hot Club of Los Angeles — You can go to the Cinema Bar any Monday, 9–11:30pm, for more than a decade now, and hear these hot players run through Django Reinhart-style ‘30s jazz. This amazing ensemble is a treasure, just over the border from SM. Mon 9pm, Cinema Bar, Culver City, no cover.
Next Thurs — Dvořák, Dudamel, Ortiz, LA Phil — It’s Dudamel! (See above.) And another of my favored Slav composers, Czech Antonin Dvořák. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard his oh-so-popular 9th Symphony, “New World.” But of course there are a lot of good reasons for that popularity. Don’t miss the Ortiz, before intermission. This is an LA Phil commission, and other such pieces I’ve heard of hers were a delight. Thurs 8pm, Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $87-259.
Recommended
Tonight — Mike Randle, Amilia K Spicer, James Combs/Erin Hawkins — this sounds like a good time, in a very different venue and in the round, music and storytelling, right here on Main Street, and with a very good chance at very good music. This is a one-off, but I have heard Amilia K for a long time on the LA country-folk scene, and she is a great show both for her distinctive vocals and her songwriting. Randle is a Santa Monica legend, many years at True Tone Music, and for his band Baby Lemonade, which is so good they tour with Love founding guitarist Johnny Echols as Love Revisited, playing note for note the well-known and tricky catalog of the great LA ‘60s band Love, led by the late Arthur Lee. They played his last dates (I was lucky enough to see them in Hollywood), and have toured the world recreating that unique Love sound. A lot of knowledgeable rock people put Love’s Forever Changes on their short list of best albums ever. I sure do. So if Mike Randle can do that, I can’t wait to hear his acoustic show here. Thurs 7pm, Cabin Creek Crystals, Santa Monica, $10.
Toledo Diamond — Unique, riveting, first class act. There’s nothing like it, it is high performance art and great decadent fun. Degeneracy is rarely so well disciplined. And the band is smokin’! Don’t. Miss. Toledo Diamond. Sun 9:30pm, Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $12.
Coming Attractions (also Recommended): Jacky Terrasson Trio, Jazz Bakery, 5/5; Toledo Diamond, Harvelle’s, 5/5, 12, 19, 26; Hot Club of Los Angeles, Cinema Bar, 5/6, 13, 20, 27; Dvořák, Dudamel, Ortiz, LA Phil, Disney Hall, 5/9, 10, 11, 12; Library Girl, Ruskin Theatre, 5/12; Marcus King, Wiltern, 5/14; 62nd Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest & Folk Festival, King Gillette Ranch, Calabasas, 5/19; Pearl Jam, Kia Forum, 5/21, 22; Kraftwerk, Disney Hall, 5/21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30; John McEuen, McCabe’s, 5/24; Tedeschi Trucks Band, Little Feat, Greek, 6/9; Chris Stapleton, Hollywood Bowl, 6/26, plus Grace Potter 6/27; Rolling Stones, Sofi Stadium, 7/10, 13.
Charles Andrews has lived in Santa Monica for 38 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else.