By Nestor CASTIGLIONE The days grow shorter, the air (at least at night) turns crisp, and the stacks of CDs in my listening room grow taller. Winter is nearly here, its augurings pulling down the curtain on the year that is about to be closed definitively. What the next year will bring can only be […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE “The Jewel in the Lotus” was jazz multireedist Bennie Maupin’s first album as leader, having established himself as a sideman to Herbie Hancock. It quickly became regarded as a classic and one of the linchpins of the ECM Records catalog. Eclectic and dazzling, the album took the influences from Hancock’s Mwandishi and […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE It may be difficult to think of another musician who matches the crossover appeal as mandolinist Evan Marshall. Certainly none outstrip him in that regard. Over the course of his career he has earned the admiration of classical musicians. But music-makers who worked in other genres have also recognized his talent. “Evan […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE Milton Babbitt possibly may not have cared if you listened, but Derek Stein does – a lot. The Kansas-born cellist has distinguished himself in Southern California and across the nation not only as an instrumentalist of superlative artistry, but also as a committed champion of new music. Through his work as a […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE Earlier this year, violinist Movses Pogossian released a magisterial reading of Johann Sebastian Bach’s complete solo sonatas and partitas for solo violin. On Tuesday night, he will usher in the next phase of his Bach project and the public is invited to listen. At UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall on Nov. 21 at 8 […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE For those who have driven down the streets of Pasadena, then chances are they have seen David Lockington smiling cheerfully from above. The conductor’s beaming visage has become ubiquitous along that city’s major streets, hanging from countless banners that line Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue. As he confided earlier this week, […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE The storefront formerly occupied by Rocky Cola on the northwest corner of Verdugo Boulevard and Honolulu Avenue will have to remain unoccupied for a while longer. The site at 2201 Honolulu Ave. has remained empty since Rocky Cola Café closed its doors in 2012. Since then, the space has been acquired by […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE The air is turning crisp and the sunsets are becoming more dramatic, with great billowing purple grey clouds worthy of a Caspar David Friedrich landscape. Autumn, in all its gold and brown spangled foliage, has arrived in Los Angeles, a reminder to music lovers that the music season in the region is […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE It has been nearly a year since the Verdugo Hills Golf Course announced that it was closing. In its wake an intense debate about the future of the surrounding area of Sparr Heights and even the wider Crescenta Valley and Sunland-Tujunga areas was set into motion: meet increasing demands for housing by […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE The Santa Cecilia Orchestra is one of those ensembles that have simply got the knack for appealing to all kinds of listeners, delighting both classical neophyte and cognoscenti alike. Its program on Saturday night, held at the Shay Hall located in their Eagle Rock complex, was a fine case in point. Members […]