Jazz Reviews
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Carolina Chocolate Drops at UCSB
Banjo and Fiddle Music Is Surprising and Delightful
The Carolina Chocolate Drops brought Piedmont-style banjo music into the 21st century on Friday night. Read story.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at the Arlington Theatre
Wynton Marsalis and Co. Join In on Thelonious Monk
The main set by Wynton Marsalis and the JLCO was all Monk in preparation for an upcoming radio broadcast. Read story.
Dave Brubeck at the Lobero
A Virile Visit by California's Composer Laureate
An enthusiastic crowd greeted the Dave Brubeck Quartet at the Lobero for their nearly annual S.B. appearance. Read story.
Ron Carter Trio
At the Lobero Theatre, Thursday, March 26.
While the work of fellow jazz king and former bandmate Herbie Hancock grows bigger and bigger by way of pop collaborations, bassist Ron Carter’s late-career work whittles the genre down to its bare essentials. Read story.
The Keys to New Orleans, featuring Jon Cleary, Henry Butler, and Allen Toussaint
At UCSB’s Campbell Hall, Wednesday, March 4.
New Orleans piano is one of the most mesmerizing musical forms. Read story.
Jazz Dodges a Bullet
Fringe Beat
Last Saturday in Portland (Oregon), a celebratory triple whammy was under way. Read story.
Kurt Elling at the Lobero
Jazz Singer Revisits Coltrane Ballads Record
Kurt Elling and Ernie Watts played Hartman and Coltrane to an enthusiastic Jazz at the Lobero audience on Thursday. Read story.
The Blue Note 7
At UCSB’s Campbell Hall, Wednesday, January 21.
Like the S.F. Jazz Collective, the Blue Note 7 re-creates the excitement of the classic post-bop of the 1950s and 1960s with tremendous integrity and soul, and without slavish imitation or heavy-handed remixing. Read story.
Ahmad Jamal Quartet at the Lobero
Jazz Pianist Ahmad Jamal in Concert
Hip-hop’s favorite jazz man. Read story.
Review of the Solvang Jazz Festival
Swing at the Solvang Veterans Hall, Friday, September 26
A big band, a singer, and some dancing kick off festival in Solvang. Read story.
Gatsby Jazz Festival
At the Santa Barbara Polo and Raquet Club, Saturday, August 30.
In a nutshell, at the first Gatsby Jazz Festival Saturday at the Polo Grounds, technical bugaboos threatened to undermine the well-laid plan, but the smooth jazz party prevailed. Read story.
David Sanborn
At the Lobero Theatre, Saturday, August 16.
It's a waste of words to discuss how well David Sanborn plays saxophone; his career of nearly 50 years, the 24 albums he’s released, and the high demand he's in from countless other big-name artists who want only the finest sax on their tracks testify that the man can play. Read story.
Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea, and Jack DeJohnette.
At the Granada Theatre, Tuesday, April 15.
This jazz supergroup functions quite differently from what one would expect given the individuals involved. Read story.
SFJAZZ Collective
At the Lobero Theatre, Thursday, March 20.
“Armageddon” may not sound like a very auspicious beginning to an evening, but when the “Armageddon” in question is Wayne Shorter’s 1964 composition of that name, the arranger is Dave Douglas, and the group is the 2008 edition of the SFJAZZ Collective, things are off to a good start. Read story.
Bobby Bradford and the Mo’Tet.
At the UCSB MultiCultural Center Theater, Saturday, February 9.
Bobby Bradford and his Mo’Tet delivered a jazz history lesson in an unofficial, whole ’nother West Coast cool. Read story.
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