Now that our jazz band’s gotten settled in and the music’s been passed out (like Ellington’s In a Sentimental Mood and a Gordon Goodwin commission, Principal of the Thing), we’re left with a few more things to do, including: (a) rehearsing quite a bit, and (b) arranging a local trip to some awesome jazz concert so we can get to know jazz (and each other) a bit better. So with a mix of inspiration and insomnia, I looked up some jazz concerts and festivals that we (and you!) could check out later this year:
1. Lexus of Valencia’s Jazz & Blues: The Tom Nolan Band (Friday, August 28th)
If you’re in the Santa Clarita/Valencia/Stevenson Ranch area, check out the last show of the Lexus of Valencia’s Jazz & Blues series, the Tom Nolan Band. I went to last week’s show of Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps and it was so much fun — go check it out!
2. Jazz Bakery Fundraiser (Saturday, August 29th)
Unfortunately, LA’s only nonprofit jazz venue, The Jazz Bakery, closed down a few months ago — but hey, they’re working to relocate somewhere soon! Tickets to this event are $40, which’ll go towards getting this fantastic place a new location. (Actually, this was where our jazz band went last year for our mini-jazz-trip to see Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band.)
3. Long Beach Funk Fest (Saturday, August 29th)
Unlike a lot of other festivals, this one’s strictly out on the streets of Pine & Broadway in Long Beach — it’s hosted by radio station KKJZ 88.1, featuring ten “100% funk” bands.
4. Pasadena Summer Jazz Concert Series: Jazz Jam Grand Finale (Sunday, August 30th)
5. Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White with special guests Chaka Khan, Jean Luc Ponty and Bill Connors (Wednesday, September 2nd)
6. Long Beach Blues Festival (Saturday and Sunday, September 5 & 6)
This is KKJZ 88.1′s annual fundraiser — tickets are about $40 if you buy them ahead of time.
7. Angel City Jazz Festival (Sunday and Monday, September 6 & 7)
8. Monterey Jazz Festival (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, September 18-20)
If there’s one jazz festival you check out, go to this one — it’s the second-oldest jazz festival in the world. If you’re under 18, 3-day tickets are only $45 and 1-day tickets are $15. Some notable jazz players are going to be there:
Friday: Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano
Saturday: Hank Jones/Joe Lovano, Wynton Marsalis
Sunday: The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Chick Corea/Stanley Clarke/Lenny White, Joe Lovano’s Usfive, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Vijay Iyer
A lot of these players are the same ones that played at NPR’s Jazz at Newport — some of them are even legends.
9. Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (Friday, October 2)
Wynton Marsalis is often reknowned as a leader in popularizing and promoting jazz in the the late-20th and early-21st century. If you’re anywhere near UCLA, check this out — it’s being held in Royce Hall on the UCLA Campus.
10. Esperanza Spalding at the Samueli Theater (Friday and Saturday, November 6 & 7)
11. West Coast, Left Coast: A Night of the Beats (Tuesday, December 8)
12. Pat Metheny at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (Monday, April 19)
13. Sonny Rollins at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (Sunday, May 16)
Check out this previous post on Sonny Rollins to learn about the magnitude of his influence on yesterday and today’s jazz.
Hope to see you guys at some of these fantastic events!
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like That)/Digable Planets/Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
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I can see how this website takes up a lot of time. It is truly amazing and I hope to come back in a few years and see this site still up and running. :D
See you tomorrow for another day of Early Jazz with Mr. Babko.