I have never understood Stravinsky. He's one of the those composers who just hasn't done it for me. Prokofiev? Got it. Ravel? Totally. Shostakovitch? For sure. Mahler? All day. Why has Stravinsky eluded me? I know I'm supposed to get …

Alyssa Jacey is presently house hunting and having her sixth album mastered in the same city: Nashville. Her CD release party for last year’s Here's to Change was hosted at the Belly Up. But she advises that fans looking forward …

Expressions represents a sublime collaboration between two of San Diego's best kept secrets: vocalist Leonard Patton, and pianist Geoffrey Keezer. Patton's regular gigs include teaching and performing musical theater, he's been featured in the Lamb's Players production of miXtape, for …

I have been convinced to create an addendum to I am Woman (3 of 3)* in order to clarify the text and the YouTube clip. The text of the final movement of the Gorecki is taken from a folk song …

Laura Roppé has surpassed a million YouTube views of the costume and dance-filled video for her cancer survival anthem “I’m Still Here,” which had over 13,000 views during its first 12 hours online. The achievement caps a banner year for …

Mark your calendars for Nov. 2, when UCSDs lauded music program will bring technology and music together in a collaboration that must be experienced to be believed. Inspiralling 2011: Telematic Jazz Explorations is the event. Telematic concerts involve the Internet …

This weekend is a little thinner than last for classical music. However, The La Jolla Symphony is opening its season of Stravinsky. It's a novel idea and I like it. There will be several concerts throughout the season that feature …

Vokab Kompany's collaborative song "Burn It Down" (with Crush Effect, a local trio of dub step DJ/beat producers) is being served as the soundtrack to a new national TV commercial for Southern Comfort's new liquor flavor Fiery Pepper . (Amusingly, …

San Diego pianist Joshua White has reached a stage where his musical development is growing so fast--that if it were a virus--we'd all be under quarantine...or dead. Ninety minutes elapsed in the seeming blink of an eye last Tuesday night …

Guitarist Peter Sprague played a rare South Bay gig at the Liberty Hall Theatre in National City on Sunday, even more rare was the inclusion of his multi-instrumentalist brother Tripp Sprague, along with bassist Gunnar Biggs, drummer Duncan Moore and …

Gorecki's Symphony No. 3: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs is a feminine composition. It is necessary to go over the "sacred masculine" and "sacred feminine" characteristics in order to reach a deeper understanding of this music. Sacred Masculine /Sacred Feminine History …

The fourth studio full-length from Angels & Airwaves, Love Part 2, will finally arrive November 11 (postponed from Valentines Day), available on its own or in a variety of packages, including both part one and part two. A deluxe version …

Kevyn Lettau is celebrating the release of her brand new CD, Drawn To You, at Anthology in Little Italy at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 27. The new disc features pop-jazz superstar Russell Ferrante of the fusion group, The Yellowjackets on …

Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 2: The Four Temperaments isn't necessarily about women or men. It's about--temperaments. The traditional four temperaments are based on four fluids of the body. Yellow Bile: choleric temperament. Phlegm: phlegmatic temperament. Black Bile: melancholic temperament. Blood: …

Armed with rookie drummer Jake Morris, Stephen Malkmus and his Jicks returned to the Belly Up in support of their new album Mirror Trash. The band garnered a solid turnout for a Thursday night, even though the crowd did seem …

"Our second full-length album The Lament of Tumbleweed Hawk is currently being mixed and should be ready for release in December," says Jesse LaMonaca. The album's twelve songs feature trumpet, saxophone, banjo, pedal steel, harmonica, violin, upright piano, organ, whistles, …

On Friday evening, The Grossmont Symphony put together a solid concert of 20th Century music. The theme was "I am woman" and the opening piece of music was Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1 by Joan Tower. This fanfare …

Who doesn't miss the staple-infested LP bins of Off The Record's late lamented Hillcrest locale? Those beat up bins survived hundreds of live concerts, with both bins and shows dating back to the store's original College Grove location. Phil Galloway …

How has life changed for Thelonious Monk Piano Competition finalist (second place), Joshua White, who brings a trio into Dizzy's on Oct. 25 ? "It was definitely a great experience, and I've received a lot of opportunities to explore different …

After months of chemotherapy, ace keyboardist Mighty Joe Longa of Joey Harris and the Mentals has been "catching up on a lot of sleep." The Mentals have been playing around town with a little help from friends like Mojo Nixon …

“I’ve always been seeking out exploratory music,” says Santino (or Sonny, like in the Godfather) Romeri, a Golden Hill via Chula Vista experimental beat musician (Illuminauts), promoter, and overseer of boutique vinyl and cassette label Kill Quanti. “I’d run my …

Local guitarist, composer and educator Nate Jarrell has just released a brand new CD, titled, The Next Chapter. Recorded at Dirty Boulevard studio in San Diego, the disc was engineered and mixed by saxophonist Ian Tordella. The Next Chapter is …

"No communication, no respect, no reason to show up and play," says Scottie Blinn about his decision ("not lightly taken...I was making a loud and clear statement," he says) not to appear onstage at Patrick's II downtown on Friday, October …

“I’ve sold more guitars in New Jersey than I have in San Diego.” Ian Anderson, luthier, says this by phone from his shop in San Marcos more as an observation than a complaint. “Nobody locally really knows about me,” which …

"On Sunday night, I finally get to play a gig with my brother Tripp! We've got the quartet assembled for this one and we'll be playing my new tunes at a first rate theatre," said San Diego guitarist Peter Sprague, …

“I literally haven’t thought about food or my body since this began,” said local harpist Kelsea Little (the Wrong Trousers) from the Occupy San Diego demonstrations downtown. “It’s like I finally remembered there are things much larger on this Earth …

"We asked Tron what the idea behind the pig imagery and blood was about and the response is that it is meant to symbolize government corruption in Mexico,” says Bobby Bray aka DJ Freak Sauce, who curates the experimental/dance/punk monthly …

After taking a year off, the International Squeaky Wheel Tour is finally back on the road in a cross-country jaunt from Los Angeles to New York and back. A major component of the publicity arm of the GINA for Missing …

This coming weekend carries some quality concert opportunities to hear local artists. For Friday, The Grossmont Symphony has prepared a concert for those who love and appreciate the sacred feminine. Local soprano Anna Belaya joins the orchestra for Gorecki Symphony …

By the time Astronautalis finished a six-minute freestyle that weaved together a fable about Louisiana BBQ, an invincible dog, and harpoons, any residual doubters in the Casbah were definitively silenced. This Minneapolis-based wordsmith, consistently one of folk rap's finest showmen, …

When two throwback acts such as Blitzen Trapper and Dawes split a bill at Belly Up, everyone who missed being a teen in the ’70s gets a little Almost Famous for a night. Of course, no one in 1974 would …

On Wednesday, October 26, the band Roxy Jones will perform the music of Ludacris, to headline the Halloween Grab Bag show at Soda Bar, a free concert with three local bands forming offbeat and unexpected tribute acts, for one night …

The next installment of the Athenaeum Jazz at the Neurosciences Institute takes place on October 24 with the long-awaited return of the pioneering chamber jazz/world music ensemble Oregon. The founding members of the group met in 1970, when several of …

"Man, what a week," says Escondido guitar godling Greg Douglass. "Did five shows in seven days with David Bennett Cohen's band, doing a lot of piano-based New Orleans, blues, roots music. Amazing musicians, vine-ripened at their peak. Cohen OWNS that …

Local choral impresario, Krishan Oberoi, invited me to the symphony on Saturday night. I accepted. The concert started off heavy and maneuvered to increasingly buoyant pieces of music. Richard Strauss composed Metamorphasen: A Study for 23 Solo Strings, in the …

When famed Spinal Tap guitarist Nigel Tufnel famously displayed his amplifier with settings that went to 11 in the film This Is Spinal Tap, he couldn't have guessed that 25-plus years later the world would celebrate Nigel Tufnel Day on …

The Palomar College Performing Arts Department is putting on a free Drum Set Clinic with internationally acclaimed, Grammy Award winning drummer / percussionist Mark Walker, on Oct. 22, from noon-2 p.m., in Room D-6. Walker, a Chicago native, now resides …

“We're still striving to bring this blossoming beat scene the most progressive and experimental sounds from around the world,” says Theo Adams of experimental beat and art collective Liquid Geometry, which curates a monthly showcase at the Kava Lounge every …

They call it “48 Hour Freak Out.” It’s a film short of the band Hocus performing whirlwind gigs over the space of one weekend in San Diego. “I thought,” says singer/guitarist Lando Martinez, “wouldn’t it be cool if we filmed …

Violinist Jamie Shadowlight brought a San Diego All Star group into Dizzy's, on Oct. 15, for a celebration of [mostly] Brazilian music, particularly that of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto. Ably supported, though at times overwhelmed, sonically, by Mikan …

You may need a shovel for this one because it could get deep. "Music is thus by no means like the other arts, the copy of the Ideas, but the copy of the will itself, whose objectivity these Ideas are. …

"Thanks for coming out. This is the New Gary Burton Quartet. I think this is my third or fourth New Gary Burton Quartet," said the vibraphonist, setting off a ripple of laughter across the aisles of the sold out Neurosciences …

A lot has happened at Nug Radio since their one year anniversary in July. For one thing, they severed ties with Nug Magazine. Michael ‘Ras’ Callahan, owner of Nug Radio says Nug the station was never actually affiliated with Nug …

Tonight, SxDx NOISE and analog projectionists Operation: MINDBLOW kick off a three night music series based on improvisational sound and visuals. Thursday, October 13 @ The Tin Can Ale House- 8pm - $5 MICHAEL TRIGILIO vs. KYLE WRIGHT NICEY NICE …

Pianist and composer Oscar Hernandez brought his Latin jazz ensemble, the NY-LA Connection to the Saville Theatre on Oct.11, as a part of the KSDS Jazz 88 fall concert series. Hernandez is a two-time Grammy Award winner for his work …

I did listen to the students sing at Point Loma. All together, I'd say there were about 20 students and seven of them sang. The students who sang were: Anthony Whitson-Martini, Jon Lacayo, Krista Wilford, Katie O'Gorman, Justin Hsu, Christen …

For aficionados of the contrabass, Dizzy's was the only place to be on Oct. 9. The Fourth Annual Bass Summit gathered nine of the county's most valuable bassists for a wildly ambitious and diverse celebration of the instrument. In support …

A phoner with Mike Keneally is a bit like calling on the wacky professor. His normal 9-to-5 is a brainy whirlwind of creativity with no apparent scope or limit, and, he’s funnier than you’d think. Time Out New York called …

I was given the chance to interact with a group of young singers yesterday at Point Loma Nazarene. Every Monday from 4:00 to 5:30 in the afternoon, the voice students gather with their voice teachers for an informal vocal forum. …

“We were all there,” says Hargo, “waiting for Phil. The film crew was there. Everybody involved in the production was there.” The place was Phil Spector’s Alhambra mansion and the timing was tight. It was only three weeks before the …

This weekend was thin on classical music in San Diego. Last weekend we feasted on fresh, local, produce. This weekend had more per-packaged, mass-consumption fare, aka mp3's and YouTube. Since I was so impressed with the horn playing of Benjamin …

When Jesse Davis plays Humphrey's on October 20, the gig will also serve as an all-star birthday bash. "We're expecting guest singers and musicians to pop in," says his wife Diane Davis, "all hinging on if they do not have …

Taylor Guitars and Guitar Center have announced their Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter contest, an artist discovery program which aims to find the nation's best unsigned talent. One prize package will go to the top singer-songwriter; a three-song EP with Grammy Award-winning …

The Athenaeum Jazz At The Neurosciences Institute kicks off their autumn concert series on Oct. 12 with an appearance by the New Gary Burton Quartet, in support of their new CD on the Mack Avenue record label, Common Ground. Burton …

Today, Nathan Williams, front man for Wavves, announced on Twitter that he is one step closer to releasing his own video game. "Remember when I said we were making a video game? I wasn't lying," he tweeted. Williams included a …

Organizer and doublebass maestro Rob Thorsen presents the Fourth Annual Bass Summit on October 9 at Dizzy's. San Diego is deep in doublebass talent. Four of the world's best players live here and three of them will be featured performers. …

La Cura – The Cure – started, stopped then started again recently. When I ask Vista conguero Ernie Becquer about this he corrects me. “We never really ended. It’s just, we were like in hover mode.” Becquer, with timbalero Giancarlo …

In what certainly must be considered a highlight concert event of 2011, Anthology brought the co-op quartet James Farm to the stage on Oct. 2, to the delight of a packed, enthusiastic crowd. James Farm is obviously aiming toward a …

Today, San Diego-based boutique vinyl labels Art Fag Recordings released Boston-gone-Oakland/LA artist Colleen Green’s 12”Cujo EP, six tracks of stoned, blasé, far away, ‘verby fuzz pop ex-love songs. Pitchfork called the EP “coffee for your ears,” but Green’s disconnected demeanor …

Erasure hasn't toured for a while, so the raucous crowd at the House of Blues could be excused for it's boisterous display of adoration toward Andy Bell and Vince Clarke. The crowd was so effusive in its joy to share …

The San Diego Symphony is on fire. Their opening weekend was an orchestral tour de force. The Symphony put three masters of orchestration on the program and handled their business. The first half of the program was Berlioz's Roman Carnival …

The 91 year-old sitar master Ravi Shankar will perform at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido on October 9. Shankar is considered the world’s master player of the sitar, a 19-stringed instrument made of gourd and teak. He …

The cans were cracked, and after the steep $15 cover and being mildly entertained by the opening two bands of the night — mainstream scream-punk blah that most missed — Wooly Mammoth surprised with rapid chord changes and wild, ranting …

“Our BAJATON monthly in SD [is] a project that I've personally been working on bringing to fruition (convincing U31/everyone to let me do) for almost 6 months and it's a concept that's very near and dear to my heart,” writes …

UCSD's the Loft will host a special appearance by the Tulsa, Oklahoma born band Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey at 8 p.m., Oct. 5. The band is touring the US in support of their new release, Race Riot Suite, (inspired by …

During the lunch break of The San Diego District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, one of the accompanists asked me my opinion about the singers we'd heard so far. I was at a loss. 10 singers had presented themselves during …

The Drowning Men will be hitting the road next month, bringing their anthemic indie rock on a 23-date North American tour supporting previous tour mates the Airborne Toxic Event, plus some headlining shows along the way (dates below). They'll hit …

"I feel great about the gig...Keezer and I have a great musical chemistry together. He's truly on a level of musicianship that most people only dream of. I love the challenge of walking the tightrope with a musician like him …