HERBST THEATRE, SAN FRANCISCO — SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2010 Henry Threadgill stood alone at center stage, listening intently to the gathering murmur of sound from the seated musicians around him. His concentration was almost palpable as he remained there, head bowed and with his hand on his chin, swaying gently to the groundswell of overlapped [...]
YOSHI’S, SAN FRANCISCO — WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 29, 2010 — 8:00 P.M. The spirit of John Coltrane still looms large over jazz. Forty-three years after the sax titan’s death, legions of followers continue to grapple with his incendiary music, trying to assimilate his legacy while extending it through their own stylistic contributions. Drummer Anthony Brown has [...]
Two generations of jazz met at Yoshi’s San Francisco, as pianist McCoy Tyner teamed up with trumpeter Roy Hargrove for the first time. But something was amiss in what turned out to be an uncomfortable pairing between the two stars.
As the Charles Lloyd Quartet began the second half of a two-night engagement at Yoshi’s Oakland on Thursday evening, their music seemed to coalesce from nothing, gathering itself and rolling into the room like billowing fog from a gray, choppy sea…
Performing for a sold-out crowd in his home town, Ambrose Akinmusire took confident command of the stage at Yoshi’s in Oakland in advance of a studio recording session for Blue Note.
In the festival’s climactic weekend (Feb. 26-28), three acts from the vanguard of Norway’s rich scene shared top billing with more familiar stars, creating an effective mix of the comfortable and the cutting edge.
Mainstream cool met primordial fire at Yoshi’s San Francisco. But would this unlikely pairing of divergent musical personalities work?
Toshiko Akiyoshi celebrates her “idiosyncracies” while Lew Tabackin dazzles in an exhilirating set at Yoshi’s San Francisco.
Aaron Novik’s new sextet Thorny Brocky tosses unlikely musical elements into a compelling modern-jazz stew, stirring up richly varied, unfailingly gripping sounds.
The latest project from polymorphic trumpeter Dave Douglas takes its inspiration from Lester Bowie. But don’t make the mistake of labeling this a mere tribute band.
With more than 50 film scores under his belt, Terence Blanchard is a master of capturing a scene, but to call his music cinematic is not enough. Blanchard is an auteur.
What is it that makes a great singer? That rare ability to walk into a room, take a microphone and instantly own it all: the music, the audience, the moment, time itself.
