Vocalist Fran Hartshorn made one of her final San Diego appearances last night, performing the music of songwriting legend Harold Arlen in front of a packed house of devoted listeners in The Back Room at 98 Bottles. The singer has …

Elena Obraztsova survived the siege of Leningrad as a young girl and managed to become number four of five on this impromptu list of unique and beautiful singers. She also became one the first Russian singers to emerge from behind …

One of the cool things about the SD jazz community is the opportunity to witness the ongoing evolution and development of key players like tenor saxophonist Ian Tordella, guitarist Joey Carano, bassist Ben Wanicur and drummer Richard Sellers, who came …

The Array Orchestra recently posted a new video featuring instruments designed by inventor Bill Wesley. Wesley’s most successful creation is the Array Mbira, an African thumb piano laid out in Wesley’s unique Array tuning matrix. Notable players of the Array …

You ask me, "Was it worth it all?" I say "Yes" with all my might 'Cause I live in a Lakeside trailer park and everything's gonna be all right. -- Country Dick Montana How the band name Trailerpark Rockstar came …

Blues guitar virtuoso Billy Thompson, a former San Diegan who has since relocated to West Virginia, returned to play Jazz Live at City College, the excellent concert series sponsored by KSDS Jazz 88. Thompson was supported in this endeavor by …

"I'm in the middle of getting a police report for our stolen gear." It's Kevin Martin on the phone. Some may remember him from Get Back Loretta. "I still play with them once in a while." Otherwise, Martin's a solo …

San Diego/Albuquerque occult bass imprint Elk Beats just dropped a 4-song self-titled EP from enigmatic roster member Midivan - most likely a hijacked Soviet artificial intelligence construct housed in the attic of the Scottish Rite Center and fueled by a …

Pictured: Improvisers Summit by TOM HARTEN Last night, a Chuck Perrin/ Dizzy's production held in The Back Room at 98 Bottles, featured a spectacular performance by four masters in the field of free improvising--under the aegis of the Improvisers Summit. …

“With this instrument you are going to change the world.” Jose Abreu was talking to 11 children who had gathered in a Caracas, Venezuela parking garage to learn classical music in 1975. This is the story behind the love. This …

Tijuana/Las Vegas freak folk troubadour Late Nite Howl (Paul Dodero) recently released his debut, self-titled EP. Evoking Syd Barrett circa Madcap Laughs, a minimalist Nick Drake, and the more haunting aspects of Mark Kozelek, the Late Nite Howl EP was …

I watched a complete performance of Mahler’s Symphonie No. 2 on the YouTube. It was from last year’s Proms. The performance was by the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and the conductor was Gustavo Dudamel. I’d seen the name "Simon Bolivar …

"We just concluded a really successful month long west coast tour," says songstress Lindsay White, who with her partner Veronica May is one half of the Lovebirds. "By successful, I mean we only got robbed once and we didn't lose …

"We're looking for musical acts with at least two sibling members," says Josh Herbst, Casting Producer for an upcoming MTV series co-produced with Randy Jackson (America's Best Dance Crew, etc.). Are you, or do you know someone who's part of, …

"Back in the day," the guitarist says during a break between songs "the blues was the real deal, and it had soul, and there were the greats playing it like Lightnin' Hopkins and Albert King and Muddy Waters." Humphreys Backstage …

Pictured: Joshua White Quintet. Photo by TOM HARTEN Last night, the seeds that pianist Joshua White has been sowing since he put together his Southern California quintet came to bear fruit of gargantuan and delectable proportions. Drummer Dan Schnelle, for …

Continuing our list of distinct and beautiful singers, I propose the late Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau died this year in May at the age of 87. To many, Fischer-Dieskau was the consummate artist. He brought the craft of lieder singing …

Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez made a triumphant return to San Diego after an absence of 11 years last night as a part of the excellent, ongoing, Athenaeum Jazz at the Library series, brought back by jazz programming coordinator Dan Atkinson. …

Instead of a single artist BETAMAXX pays tribute to an entire decade, in this case, the '80s. On a sunny Friday afternoon in summer, three of the members explain. "Our competitors call us an '80s tribute band," says guitarist Eric …

"I play Flea, the short guy with the gap in his teeth." Bassist Jonathan Savage, a surfer who uses the handle fourstringsavage on Myspace, found the first round of members for his Red Not Chili Peppers tribute band some time …

If I were still playing and studying music, I don't think there would be a more intense place to spend a summer week than the 10th Annual UCSD Jazz Camp, which starts on June 25 and concludes on June 29. …

Two years after setting himself to the task, one-man band Toothless George is nearing completion on his book Band Together: The Definitive Entry Level Guide to Forming a Rock Band. The 200 page opus includes advice from prominent voices in …

"It's a celebration of St. John the Baptist." Tommy Rosas explains Dia de San Juan, which is also the name of his salsa and bachata festival. "It's celebrated in most Latin countries. It's been most important in Puerto Rico for …

Bluesy rocker Jon Goodhue hails from Gloucester, Massachusetts. A longtime guitar player and vocalist, he spent time in several bands before working on a solo project, whereupon he moved to San Diego and formed the Jon Goodhue Band. Logging so …

The merits of multi-instrumentalist, composer Anthony Braxton have been the source of much debate, and considerable derision in the jazz community for more than 40 years — but never in my house. To me, Braxton is an irrefutable genius and …

Comprised of members between the ages of 8-12, the Universal Language Orchestra will be preforming their experimental compositions at the Community Center of the Sweetwater Summit Regional Park this Friday. The group will use graphic scores they made, highlighting innovative …

This Thursday, hyperspace bass ambassadors Liquid Geometry teleport Warp Records boogie monster Eprom of the Portland nebula back to the Kava Lounge. Said soundform recently opened a portal to the end (or beginning) of time at the New Year’s Eve …

On June 21st, anyone who can get to Times Square is invited to sing in a world premier piece of music. NPR has commissioned Philip Glass to compose a piece of music that is accessible to singers of all abilities. …

The Del Mar Summer Concert series started in 1994 and has since hosted 128 free (for race attendees, $20 otherwise) concerts including Devo, Weezer, ZZ Top, Billy Idol, Gnarls Barkley, Ziggy Marley, Matisyahu, Violent Femmes, Jason Mraz, and Jack Johnson. …

Slightly Stoopid's 7th full-length Top of the World (due August 14 on their own Stoopid Records label) will feature guest players Barrington Levy and Don Carlos of Black Uhuru, Fishbone frontman Angelo Moore, Karl Denson, G. Love, and Dumpstaphunk’s Ian …

Besides Kathleen Ferrier, who were the other five voices that were distinct and beautiful in the 20th Century? For the record, there probably more than five. The hinge is beautiful. For instance, Callas had a voice that no one ever …

"We played more than 130 shows in 2011, touring the U.S. and Canada with some absolutely amazing bands and crews," says Drowning Men guitarist James Smith. "We met so many incredible people, many of whom let us eat their food, …

Piano virtuoso Joshua White is gearing up for a slew of gigs next week, starting with a free Father's Day concert tomorrow afternoon at the Scripps Ranch Library as a member of the Rob Thorsen Quartet. That group will also …

Contrabass master Mark Dresser was the featured artist for the opening night of the soundON Festival, at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, produced in tandem with the San Diego New Music organization. Joining Dresser were the San Diego New …

Almost as entertaining as the music are the various rock writer attempts to define San Diego - based Tropical Popsicle: "Lava lamp people" "Dark acid trip and occult fantasy" "A trio of gothy bad trippers" Darkness and bad acid? The …

Decca has released * Kathleen Ferrier: The Centenary Edition*. It is a 14 disc collection released to honor Ferrier’s 100th birthday. The set also includes a documentary DVD. In 1953 Kathleen Ferrier died of breast cancer at the age of …

Just over a week before their booking at the San Diego County Fair, Los Angeles-based Zeppelin cover band Led Zepagain had their gear stolen from their van while parked at a hotel outside of San Jose. “While we are pretty …

Whilst sitting here listening to the new Japandroids album, Celebration Rock, all I can think about is what I always think about when I listen to this band — why in the world don’t they have a bass player? Celebration …

KSDS kicked off their summer Jazz Live concert series with a bang last night, featuring smoking jazz guitarist Mimi Fox in an intimate duet with double bassist Rob Thorsen at the Saville Theatre. Fox is a critically acclaimed musician--having received …

Touting a 9-member deep line-up including two drummers, a string section, and a visual artist, KATA is nothing short of epic. The group’s cinematic compositions are most readily likened to the instrumental arrangements of Godspeed! You Black Emperor, but themes …

It's a new day for Clayton Edward. He recently put his band Pretty Too Bad on hold for a new project he calls TONTO, an electronic/soul/punk trio with guitarist Brandon Like and Spencer Jaquay on drums. It turns out that …

The San Diego collective group known as Ensemble Off n On has just released their debut CD, and it's a wonderfully sloppy, yet virtuosic leap into the free-jazz world. Made up of guitarist Nate Jarrell, powerhouse drummer Jeanette Kangas and …

Robin Roth is now Music Director at 91X, effective immediately. In addition to her midday show at 91X (Monday - Friday 10AM - 2PM), Roth also organizes a few club nights around town: Club Sabbat, Club Ascension, and Club Pussy …

President Harry Truman was quite the pianist. There is a nice recording of him playing Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1. The president played with a polished and intimate musicality. There have been a few musical presidents. Clinton famously played saxophone on …

There is a performance of Carmen coming up on June 22nd at the JCC in UTC. The production is a joint venture by the Pacific Lyric Association and the music department of Mira Costa College. I haven’t been able to …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/10/25988/ Gilbert Castellanos, Teodross Avery by TOM HARTEN Trumpet virtuoso Gilbert Castellanos and the special quintet he assembled for last night's Lee Morgan tribute rocked the standing-room-only house at 98 Bottles with almost two hours of fire-breathing hard bop. Much …

The pure joy of singing was celebrated last night at 98 Bottles when the San Diego Vocal Quartet made their concert debut. Organized by the soulful giant Leonard Patton the quartet also featured soprano Nina Flowers, alto Janet Hammer and …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/09/25946/ “I do ridiculously long instrumental cuts,” says jazzy multi-instrumentalist Grant Clarkson, “usually starting with improvising on drums and bass, and then I attempt to be a ‘composer’ by rounding it out from there.” Clarkson has three new full-length releases …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/08/25903/ John Reynolds Quintet by TOM HARTEN Last night, an assemblage of some of San Diego's lesser-known jazz musicians gathered, under the aegis of trumpeter John Reynolds for a concert showcasing the music of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Thankfully, Reynolds and …

The Crocodiles Take Manhattan It seemed inevitable: the Crocodiles have finally left Southern California. In a past conversation with the Reader, Crocs co-founder Brandon Welchez expressed his dismay at having grown up in a brown stucco strip mall-ish northeastern San …

Guitarist Jeff Winterberg of seminal San Diego post-hardcore group Antioch Arrow was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in late 2011. According to information on the fundraising site organized by Kelly Maron Horvath, medulloblastoma typically manifests in children …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/07/25813/ "If I had my way, I'd do a Lee Morgan Tribute concert every day for a week," says SD trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos over the phone. "I listened to him every day in high school and my first few years …

Ron Bocian (it rhymes with ocean) is the only person I know who is actually from Treme, a place I once thought existed only in a television writer's imagination. My own ignorance: Treme is in fact a real place, a …

As we head into summer, classical music concerts become thin on the ground but there are some nice ones this weekend. La Jolla Symphony concludes their celebration of Stravinsky with The Russian Composer. They will be performing Samuel Barber’s Piano …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/18/24650/ It's been nearly a year since Joey Harris and the Mentals keyboard player Mighty Joe Longa went under the knife to remove extensive cancer in his abdomen. Scheduled to complete chemotherapy this month, Joe's recovery has been a long …

Noise musician Sam Lopez (aka Zsa Zsa Gabor) has done a lot to cultivate San Diego's special brand of weird. Following his time with the renowned (currently on hiatus) experimental/spontaneous music collective Trummerflora, he’s curated the San Diego Experimental Guitar …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/05/25694/ "I have been in the hospital for over a week, and with no work that is able to be done," says Penetrators singer/guitarist Gary Heffern, recovering from his recent emergency surgery. "There was a hole in my appendix and …

Low Volts A cross between Elvis and Evel Knievel: someone else's words, not mine. That said, Low Volts is really just one guy, Tim Lowman, who plays smoldering electrified guitar and wails on a kickdrum and sings like a person …

To many people, perhaps, the idea of a solo percussion concert might seem a bit daunting. For the full house of folks who showed up at Space4Art last night for David Shively's performance--it was as natural as breathing. Shively began …

While looking over The Proms schedule I noticed that Gergiev is conducting Prokofiev’s Cinderella. Romeo and Juliet is Prokofiev’s most famous ballet but Cinderella is well worth a listen. In many ways I prefer it to Romeo and Juliet. The …

A new duo rises from the ashes of Dynamite Walls "Right now we're making videos for the background of our live show." Former Encinitas rocker Tom Pritchard is on the phone from East Hollywood, Franklin Village to be exact, where …

Who should I ask to prom? I’ve never been to prom and I want to go, bad. I want it to be perfect so I’ve put it off year after year. How can it be perfect if I ask just …

Last night, the cooperative sounding venture known as TrioKinesis delivered two solid sets of post-Coltrane jazz to a small, but captivated audience at Athenaeum Jazz at the Studio. TrioKinesis proved to be the ultimate equilateral triangle of improvising dynamics. Although …

A recent commercial has planted "Un bel di vedremo" into my head but I’m enjoying it. I’m not sure what this iconic aria has to do with a conversation between a smart phone and John Malkovich. Of course, “un bel …