Three masters explore, deconstruct, and reinvent standards in the moment.

Piano virtuoso Joshua White cemented another step in his quest for self-fulfillment on March 29, with a smoking performance at the Westgate Hotel featuring tenor saxophonist Tripp Sprague and bassist Gunnar Biggs. Unwinding soft honeyed tones over the solid time …

The next best thing to seeing Joni Mitchell herself is catching Mutts of the Planet.

"We're looking forward to presenting a newly learned suite of Joni music on April 6, and have been spending the last few months in preparation so we can honor it properly," says Mutts of the Planet guitarist Dave Blackburn, "It …

Crawdaddy Magazine founder and Dylan biographer passes away

North County writer Paul Williams has passed away after a long illness, at the age of 64. The founder of Crawdaddy Magazine (the first national U.S. magazine of rock music journalism) also wrote several noted biographies, including what many consider …

Road Work Ahead, Rob Thorsen, Steph Johnson and the Peter Sprague String Consort all have brand-new discs available.

Four local jazz recordings hit the open market this month, including efforts by Road Work Ahead, the Steph Johnson Trio, Rob Thorsen Trio and the Peter Sprague String Consort. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/27/42696/ This group began as the Bob Magnusson Quartet back in …

A brief introduction to living composer Eric Whitacre

As promised, we’re going to look closer at When David Heard by Eric Whitacre. According to Whitacre’s website: “The text, one single, devastating sentence, is from the King James Bible; II Samuel, 18:33:” ‘When David heard that Absalom was slain …

Using technology only available at certain universities, jazz musicians are performing together from different geographic locations.

UCSD's contrabass virtuoso Mark Dresser strikes boldly into the world of technology in a series of concerts coordinated from the UC campus, with a core quartet featuring flutist Nicole Mitchell, trombonist Michael Dessen, and pianist Myra Melford--performing live in real …

Expect sparks to fly when the guitarist performs with fellow New Yorker, SatoshiTakeishi and SD bass great Mark Dresser.

Bonnie Wright's Fresh Sound @ Space 4 Art concludes this month with a bang by virtue of a performance from the Rez Abbasi Trio on March 31, at 8 pm. Abbasi won #2 Rising Star Guitarist in the Down Beat …

Down in the valley

Singer/guitarist Larry Robinson, who once played in the “summer of love” band Things to Come, was a roadie for Canned Heat, and was known to many for his open mics in Fallbrook and Temecula, was brutally beaten Friday night, March …

The story of King David and his favorite son Absalom.

“And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, …

$250 "standing room only" tix for shows on May 3 and 4

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/22/42432/ Twice now, I've had tix for Prince concerts that ended up being cancelled. The last time, I actually camped out in front of Cox Arena to score "purple section" seats up front, only to have the little stinker cancel …

"Motown with keyboards" quintet drops sophomore album in North Park.

Just back from a weeks of nonstop shows at SXSW in Austin, Hills Like Elephants will be celebrating the release of the sophomore album, Feral Flocks (Requiemme Records/BMG Chrysalis), on Friday, March 29 at Bar Pink with Barbarian and Keith …

Her band is "taking a break indefinitely until Danielle is restored back to full health"

"Life wildly turns, and sometimes it wraps around our hunger, to teach from the burn..." - "Run With It," Danielle LoPresti http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42385/ "Two months ago, Danielle was diagnosed with Stage III Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer," according to a statement circulated today …

Allison Adams Tucker on the problems with putting an all-female jazz group together, gender in jazz, and why smooth jazz chick saxists are too cute

"It started with SWAN (it stands for Support Women Artists Now) Day in La Jolla." It's Allison Adams Tucker on the phone to chat up her Women In Jazz show. She explains how, exactly, she became involved. "They had events …

Also, the Locust reunite to join Yeah Yeah Yeahs at I'll Be Your Mirror in London

Remember when the Che Café was the wildest venue in town? When weird hardcore bands would dangle from the rafters and people dressed up funny and everyone lost themselves in a sweaty whirlpool of faces bobbling spastically to the honks …

Italian bass takes on a saintly role at San Diego Opera

Ferruccio is coming. His portrayal of Thomas Becket is almost here. What, when and where? Thomas Becket is the central character of T. S. Elliott's play, Murder in the Cathedral which was turned into an opera by Ildebrando Pizzetti. When …

Multi-reed man Peter Kuhn led a stellar ensemble of improvisers for a scintillating set on March 16.

The Taoist Sanctuary on Park Blvd. played host to an all-star free jazz concert by some of the music's heaviest hitters on March 16, when Dependent Origination, an ensemble organized by multi-instrumentalist Peter Kuhn unleashed a blistering, kaleidoscopic 90 minute, …

This was the final gig this week for Ben Schachter's East Coast group, visiting from NYC and Philadelphia.

Tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter has been in San Diego for less than a year, if I'm not mistaken, but the former Philadelphian is definitely making waves in the local jazz scene. Key to his success is an uncommon versatility. Schachter …

Electronic music pioneer blended a myriad of sounds for a journey into places unknown.

Electronic music composer Carl Stone was the featured performer at Bonnie Wright's March 14 installment of her Fresh Sound @ Space 4 Art series. A pivotal moment in Stone's musical history came about in his student days at Cal Arts, …

I don't know either, but we'll find out on April 12, 2014, at downtown's Copley Symphony Hall

Symphony Interrupted at Copley Symphony Hall will feature San Marcos-based Megadeth guitarist Dave Mustaine doing an as-yet-unspecified collaboration with the San Diego Symphony on April 12, 2014, in a program set to include Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries,” Vivaldi’s “Winter,” …

There is both serious and joyful chemistry between these two masters.

Woodwind multi-instrumental virtuoso Ellen Weller surfaced with a rare public performance on March 14, in a sublime duo with pianist Joshua White for an afternoon concert at Palomar College. Choosing an all-improvised format, Weller began with slinky clarinet weaving around …

Legendary Mariachi performs original opera at Civic Theater.

Cruzar la cara de la luna--To cross the face of the moon--the first Mariachi Opera. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ZPiFSTSO4 “Yes I’m going, that’s the best Mariachi band in the world!”, said the opera-singing soprano with a master’s degree in vocal pedagogy. Was I …

Mariachi on tap all afternoon at downtown's Civic Theater

"I've been working on this with them for six months or so," Jeff Nevin says. Them, meaning San Diego Opera management. "Actually, I first met with them last February." The result is Mariachi Week, which has been going on all …

A team of Eastlake High School alumni curate music for fundraisers benefiting muscular dystrophy, autism, and a Tijuana orphanage.

Every now and then, when cosmic bodies align just so and Santa Anas cloak the breeze with their curious desert magic, a person finds their calling in that charmed place where talent, passion, opportunity, and goodwill meet. Such was the …

Schachter is an exciting saxophonist and he blew the roof off the Saville Theatre

Saxophonist Ben Schachter, in a quartet featuring iconic pianist Mike Wofford, NYC bassist Leon Boykins and Philadelphia drummer Matt Scarano delivered a blistering set of modern improvised music on March 12, at KSDS Jazz Live, for a sold-out house at …

The soulful vocalist is celebrating her new CD with bassist Rob Thorsen and drummer Fernando Gomez, plus special guests.

Guitar-slinging vocalist Steph Johnson is hosting the official CD Release party for her brand-new album Nature Girl on March 16, at the Sunset Temple, located at 3911 Kansas, in North Park. Nature Girl has been receiving quite a bit of …

Classical music has been lamely mimicking the mainstream but every now and again someone does something amazing.

Classical music-videos have made an attempt to be relevant for years. When they mimic pop videos, it’s annoying. Who wants to see a close up of an opera singer lip syncing? Not I. The videos of complete performances are effective …

Pomona-based Moon Block Party collective throws 4/20 party in Mecca before taking off to Austin Psych Fest

Desert Daze Music and Art Festival recently released the full lineup for their second annual party, to be held on Saturday, April 20 at Sunset Ranch, “a beautiful desert oasis set against a backdrop of purple mountains and miles of …

"The king of sampling" drops in for a performance in the East Village.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/12/41687/ Live computer music pioneer Carl Stone comes to Bonnie Wright's Fresh Sound @ Space 4 Art series on March 14. Stone has been hailed by the Village Voice as "the king of sampling" and "one of the best composers …

Shifting from intricate notation into free improvisation while keeping it all swinging is serious fun.

The ARC Trio featuring pianist Rick Helzer bassist Justin Grinnell and drummer Nathan Hubbard played a reunion gig on March 9 at Villa Musica--reconfirming the depth of talent in the San Diego jazz scene. These guys may be the best-kept …

Band breakup just weeks after releasing finale of 3-album trilogy

"After many years of creating some of the best music and memories of our lives, A Scribe Amidst the Lions is saying goodbye," according to an email blast from A Scribe Amidst the Lions. "We want to thank all of …

Burning Man sound camp drops the beat at BeHe bar.

Basshenge started last year as a series of parties to raise funds for a Burning Man installation of the same name. The result was a life-size (150 feet in diameter) Stonehenge replica powered by 100,000 watts of sound, over 120 …

Harp Fest fundraiser Sunday in El Cajon

A concert to raise funds for a concert: that's what Chet Cannon's gig is all about Sunday March 10 at the Downtown Café in El Cajon. He calls it the Spring Harp Fest Patio Party Fun raiser, intended to help …

The underground composer surfaced with a red-hot nonet to interpret some very original music.

Composer and pianist Joe Garrison brought the rich 9 piece ensemble he calls Night People into 98 Bottles on March 7, for an evening of creative, swinging original material featuring some of San Diego's best instrumental soloists. Garrison himself is …

Why won't my schedule let me see this monstrous tour de force from the Met?

I so wanted to go see the Metropolitan Opera HD broadcast of Parsifal on Saturday March 2nd. The performance is live from the Met and is shown in movie theaters across North America. The show started at 9:00 am and …

An obscure but rewarding opera by Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky.

While I have failed to keep my New Year’s resolution of listening to a new piece of music everyday, I have bumped into some quality pieces in the attempt. Recently an Austrian composer named Alexander von Zemlinsky has been occupying …

Creative music returns to Villa Musica with Helzer, Grinnell and Hubbard.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/06/41253/ On Saturday, March 9, the San Diego Center for the Arts presents the ARC Trio, featuring pianist Rick Helzer, bassist Justin Grinnell and drummer Nathan Hubbard. The concert which begins at 8 pm, will be held at Villa Musica, …

Featuring strange sounds from Scott Nielsen, Bart Stull, Clint Davis, Demetrius Antuna, Rafter, and an interactive installation at Space 4 Art by Wages.

Now approaching its fourth annual installment, the San Diego Experimental Guitar show is expanding into a two-day affair with the addition of a sound art show the night before the big event. “Each year I experiment with new ideas that …

The Calder Quartet does TedxTalks and tries to keep the quartet fresh.

The Calder Quartet came together at USC and stayed together through grad school at the Colburn Conservatory and the Juilliard School. The quartet has a strong connection to the traditional form of string quartet but keep themselves firmly rooted in …

No more live band karaoke at 710 Beach Club "as the club works on going a new direction"

"This Thursday [March 7], we’ll be celebrating our four-year stay at the 710 Beach Club with a big ol’ freakin’ party," says guitarist John Ruzicka of live sing-a-long band Rock Out Karaoke. "It’s also with mixed emotions that we announce …

Blending Indian music with funk, rock and other elements, Mahanthappa, Fiucynski, Moutin and Weiss threw down on March 3.

Alto saxophone master Rudresh Mahanthappa delivered two blazing sets of hard to categorize music on March 3, fronting a magnificent group including electric guitarist David Fiucynski, bassist Francois Moutin and drummer Dan Weiss in an Athenaeum Jazz at the Studio …

Never in the Future that Dawned Earlier On showcases medieval European hurdy-gurdy and the Lao/Northeast Thai mouth organ khaen

Never in the Future that Dawned Earlier On, a new collection of songs from experimental, minimalist art rockers Gunther's Grass, has just been released on Marcelo Radulovich's local Titicacaman label. "The stuff was recorded in 2005 and 2006 at my …

Local Lotushouse label building their high mountain temple with a deluge of discs

"This 2-CD set was recorded over four three day sessions in Ocean Beach, in the Upper Chamber of the High Mountain Tempel Oceanic Lodge, and on Mt. Washington in L.A.," says Eric Nielsen, co-founder of existentialist tripmeisters Beggars with fellow …

The saxophonist scorched the Pacific Beach venue with Rob Thorsen, Duncan Moore, Ian Tordella and Joey Carano.

The March 1 performance by former San Diegan Jason Robinson at the New Dizzy's represented everything I love about jazz, and through the strength of his imagination, also brought out the best in four local players whose work I thought …

A benefit for musician Nathan "Bonk" Joyner, who is recovering from life-threatening injuries after being struck by car in Hillcrest.

Walking home from work last September, multi-instrumentalist Nathan “Bonk” Joyner (All Leather, Some Girls, Hot Nerds, Ese' & Zain) was hit by a car while crossing Washington Street at Cleveland in Hillcrest. His girlfriend and bandmate Alia Jyawook (Hot Nerds, …