Hesitation Blues #8
Why does LA
only have free outdoor shows in the summer?
This is sunny, Randy Newman hollering LA. You could have an outdoor show
on New Year’s Day and people would be comfortable. I guess musicians have
sensitive fingers though. Nobody likes chapped hands but if you like free jazz
and unbearable traffic, you are in luck.
LACMA
resumes their usual Friday night freebies. They always have interesting
bookings over there. Who’s doing those? Give me a job! Drummer Alphonse Mouzon
is there on the 1st of June and saxophone legend Ernie Watts follows
him a week later. But Ernie Watts is everywhere.
Watts can
play alongside the tasteful Charlie Haden but was also just handy alongside the
less-than-tasteful Frank Zappa. Aside from LACMA he is also doing the 3rd
Street Farmer’s Market free jazz night on Thursday, July 12th. That
series has a pretty great lineup plus old people eating donuts and lots of
Price is Right fans. Multi-reedist Katisse Buckingham is there on the 7th
of June and Josh Nelson is there with his group the following Thursday.
As they have
done the last few years, the Hollywood and Highland center will be offering up
free jazz concerts every Tuesday night. The evening as build as wine and jazz
so, yes, the music is wine jazz. It’s the usual rotation of local jazzbos but
Pete Escovedo is playing on July 8th and he’s bringing an orchestra.
That should at least get your toes tapping. If he can’t do it, maybe his
daughter can. She’ll be performing for a
boogalooing Hugh Hefner on June 16th.
The 34th
Annual Playboy Jazz Festival is happening on June 16th and 17th
at the Hollywood Bowl. Amid the crowd-pleasing ticket sellers like Ozomatli, Sharon
Jones and the Dap Kings and the aforementioned Ms. E. are a few more
challenging acts like the Global Gumbo All-Stars which features drummer
Francisco Mela and guitarist Lionel Loueke and Spectrum Road which features
Vernon Reid and John Medeski. I got to go to the Playboy mansion this year and
dig on the free bar and strange, angry jokes from Bill Cosby. They have
peacocks just roaming around over there but very few women roaming around.
On June 10th
the annual Vibe Summit is happening at the Remo Recreational Music Center in
North Hollywood. I could never figure out who plays the vibes. How do you get
into that? Do you have to own a van? Expect every mallet-wielding swinger in
town to make their way to that regular event. This is the 19th one!
Good old
reliable Blue Whale is offering a June residency from Nine Winds records, who
are happily celebrating their 35th year. Every Wednesday the label
will present some of the artists that label founder and multi-instrumentalist
Vinny Golia helped to nurture. Golia himself will play the last two Wednesdays.
Challenging stuff that proves the West Coast can compete with any of those
cities with better public transportation.
I usually
like to point out a good show in Orange County for this column too but their
ain’t shit. Soka University, whoever those guys are, put on a few good shows
earlier in the year. I guess once the kiddies skedaddle for the summer there is
no point because no one else is going to haul ass down to Aliso Viejo at 6
o’clock on a Friday night. Maybe in September? In the meantime, dig on Yanni at
Segerstrom Hall on July 18th and catch up on your rest.
Hesitation Blues @ LA Record
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