GERALD CLAYTON -courtesy photo
AM I ONLY tossing in these occasional political announcements because I no longer write my CURIOUS CITY column on a regular basis? No. Trump’s chaos directly affects the arts. One example: he fired the board at the Kennedy Center in D.C., a preeminent arts institution nationally, and put himself in charge. Will we now see honors go to the likes of Carrie Underwood, Lee Greenwood, Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, 3 Doors Down, Billy Ray Cyrus? Ted Nugent, the Village People? Will Roseanne Barr be singing the national anthem? Stay (out of) tuned.
For reference, these were the 2024 honorees: Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval, Grateful Dead and the Apollo Theater. One more sandbox for the bully baby to kick apart.
Republicans have introduced a bill to withdraw all funding for PBS and NPR, apparently overlooking the latter’s drift to the right for years. Trump said he thinks that’s a good idea.
GLOBAL PROTEST AGAINST TRUMP AND MUSK – SAT, APRIL 5 – You can find more info lots of places. I’m so glad we’re finally seeing Americans take to the streets to protest great wrongs b y their government, the way Europeans have for decades. It is effective. You can do something. And this is only the beginning.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
Tonight! - MOZART’S “COSI FAN TUTTE,” LA OPERA – There’s no question that Wolfgang A. was one of the most inspired and popular composers of all time. His music will live forever. He loved operas and wrote 22 of them (10 while still a teenager). Most experts name “Figaro,” “Don Giovanni” and this one as his three best. Stage and Cinema just declared,"LA Opera’s exceptional ‘Così’ production seduces with wit, beauty, and the unsettling aftertaste of truth, lingering long after the final note fades." The LA Times outstanding critic Mark Swed complained about Amadeus’ story line, but I find I sometimes have to ignore that flaw in the libretto of some operas. Hey, they are often centuries old, no quick cuts or short attention spans. You go more for the music, which you likely won’t hear live anywhere else. Thurs 7:30 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LA, $49-400.
HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – You can go to the Cinema Bar any Monday night, 9-11:30, for almost 14 years now, and hear these hot players run through Django Reinhart-style ‘30s jazz. This amazing ensemble is a treasure. Mon 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, free.
“WE L.A.!,” DUDAMEL, LA PHIL – I’m not a fan of classical music written for movies, and it’s all John Williams after intermission. BUT – the first half is killer. Leading off with “The Star-Spangled Banner” played by the Palisades Charter High School Band, then “Kauyumari” by Gabriellla Ortiz, a composer I now love but never knew until Gustavo commissioned and programmed her work several times, Mahler’s “Adagietto” from his Fifth Symphony, which knocked me out at Disney a few weeks ago, and perhaps best of all, variations on Gerdshwin’s “I Got Rhythm” performed by Christina Aguilera and the three incomparable mostly-jazz pianist Gerald Clayton. If that was the only number on the bill, I would still fight the cross town traffic on a Tuesday night, Tues 8 p.m., Hollywood bowl,
RECOMMENDED:
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): MOZART’S “COSI FAN TUTTE,” LA OPERA, Dorothy Chandler, 3/27, 30; TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s, 3/30, 4/6; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 3/31, 4/7; “WE L.A.!,” DUDAMEL, LA PHIL, Hwd Bowl, 4/1; CARMEN LUNDY, Jazz Bakery, 4/5; TONY GILKYSON & RICK SHEA, CINDY LEE BERRYHILL, McCabe’s, 4/6; LA OPERA Presents TERENCE BLANCHARD QUINTET, TURTLE ISLAND STRING QUARTET, Soraya, 4/6; POPAGANZA, Pacific Opera Project, Ebell, 4/7.
DOWN THE ROAD (also recommended): VIVALDI “4 SEASONS,” MOZART, HAYDN, LA PHIL, Disney Hall, 4/10, 11, 12, 13; DUDAMEL, LA PHIL, GREEN DAY, CHARLI XCX, otherrs, Coachella, 4/12, 19; MIGUEL ZENON QUARTET, Jazz Bakery, 4/13; LIBRARY GIRL, Ruskin, 4/13, 5/11, 6/8, 7/13, 8/10, 9/14, 10/12, 11/9, 12/14; TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s, 4/13, 20, 27; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 4/14, 21, 28, 5/5, 12, 19, 26; PUSSY RIOT, Lodge Room, 4/20; ALBERT LEE, McCabe’s, 4/26; LIGHT UP THE BLUES! NEIL YOUNG, STEPHEN STILLS, more, Greek, 4/26; LUCKY STARS, Broadstage, 4/26; LA OPERA’S “AINADAMAR,” Dorothy Chandler, 4/26, 5/3, 4, 7, 15, 18; PATRICE RUSHEN, Disney, 5/2; BEETHOVEN with ESA-PEKKA, Disney, 5/2, 3, 4; BEACHLIFE FESTIVAL, PRETENDERS, JACKSON BROWNE, ALANIS MORISSETTE, MARCUS KING, more, Redondo Beach, 5/2, 3, 4; JACK WHITE, Hwd Palladium, 5/12, 13; WILLIE, DYLAN, others, Hwd Bowl, 5/16; JON BATISTE, Disney, 5/19; GERSHWIN, “Also Sprach Z,” LA PHIL, Disney, 5/23, 24; DIEGO FIGUEIREDO/KEN PEPLOWSKI, Jazz Bakery, 5/24; LOVE, Echo, 5/31; RICKY GERVAIS, Hwd Bowl, 5/31; BLUE NOTE JAZZ FEST Day 2, GRACE JONES, STANLRY CLARKE N.4EVER, others, Hwd Bowl, 6/15; RHIANNON GIDDENS, STEVE MARTIN, others, Hwd Bowl, 6,18; JOHN FOGERTY, Hwd Bowl, 7/6; PAUL SIMON, Disney, 7/7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16; ALISON KRAUS, UNION STATION, Greek, 7/13; FATHER JOHN MISTY, LUCINDA WILLIAMS, Greek, 7/25; TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND, Greek, 8/13; FLAMING LIPS, MODEST MOU SE, Greek, 9/4; NEIL YOUNG, Hwd Bowl, 9/15; NINE INCH NAILS, Kia Forum, 9/18, 19; ORIANTHI, Canyon Agoura Hills, 10/3.
Charles Andrews has listened to a lot of music of all kinds, including more than 3,000 live shows. He has lived in Santa Monica for 39 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Not even Kauai. Send love and/or hate mail to: therealmrmusic@gmail.com
