Jazz/fusion emerged as a musical subgenre from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by blending traditional acoustic jazz with instruments more associated with rock, namely electric guitar. And some names rose to the fore in the process that are now practically household, including guitarists John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Beck, and Larry Carlton. … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2022
Young sibling violin-piano duo delights Lauderdale chamber music audience
By Robert Croan FORT LAUDERDALE - The South Florida Symphony Orchestra, having completed its regular season, is brightening up this year’s already long, hot summer, with a series of three chamber music concerts, each held in Fort Lauderdale’s Center for Spiritual Living and at Temple Israel of Greater Miami. The second of these, seen June 24 in Fort Lauderdale, featured … [Read more...]
‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’: A likeable, powerful dance with adulthood
It remains to be seen whether Cooper Raiff can play anyone other than Cooper Raiff, but when the results are this strong, he may as well stay in his lane for perpetuity. The immensely likeable Cha Cha Real Smooth is the writer-director-star’s follow-up to his 2020 debut, Shithouse, and while the characters he plays bear different names — Alex in the freshman feature, Andrew in … [Read more...]
FAU’s student cast ably takes on Simon’s ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’
By Dale King Summer has arrived, and while most college students have gone home for a school break or to earn tuition money for the coming year, Florida Atlantic University’s Department of Theater and Dance has kicked off its annual Summer Repertory two-show festival. The first entry is a play that concludes this week. The second is a musical scheduled to open in … [Read more...]
Artist Hundt wins Cultural Council’s Dina Baker grant
Michele Hundt's business is running an apparel boutique for members of Wellington's equestrian community. But her passion is art, and her work in that field has been recognized by the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, which has named her the winner of the 2021-22 Dina Baker Fund for Mature Female Artists grant. “It was a great surprise and an honor to receive this … [Read more...]
Camp classic ‘Irma Vep’ lights up Island City Stage
By Dale King The Mystery of Irma Vep is a high-octane, mystery/thriller/satire that’s getting plenty of guffaws from summer audiences at Island City Stage in Wilton Manors. The show is peculiar in its uniqueness. Playwright Charles Ludlam, a pillar of the LGBTQ+ community for his contributions to literature and stage shows during his AIDS-shortened career as an actor and … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival returns in one-week format
Over the 30 years that the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival has been presenting summer concerts, its musicians have presented more than 500 pieces, the majority of which have been pieces from worthy but infrequently visited corners of the repertoire. It’s a remarkable legacy, and its mix of adventurousness and first-rate playing can be explored on the six recordings its … [Read more...]
Hallmark, Lifetime movie fans unite: The stars are aligning in West Palm Beach this week
Bringing the stars, screenwriters and producers of made-for-TV movies and the romantic dramas of The Hallmark Channel, Lifetime and Netflix to West Palm Beach, RomaDrama Live! comes to the Palm Beach Convention Center this week. Originally scheduled for last January, the event was rescheduled to June 24-26 because of COVID-19 and the omicron variant. “We are thrilled to … [Read more...]
Letter from London: Trump tale makes for canny look at America’s past, future
In the 50 years that I have been going to London, the city has gone through major changes. The skyline is drastically different. The culinary choices have become far more sophisticated. What once was a bargain for tourists has since become one of the world’s most expensive cities. But one thing has remained constant – London was and still is one of the greatest places … [Read more...]
The View From Home: A bracing, anti-nativist love story; a ‘90s art-house classic of urban longing
Call it love in the time of nativism. Darkly comic and fretfully relevant, Bulgarian writer-director Ivaylo Hristov’s Fear (Film Movement, $24.95 DVD) exists on a pitch-black nexus between satire and documentary. It’s set in a seaside village along the Turkish border, where the locals are bracing for a brutal winter. Signs of life are scant, as fog blankets skeletal trees, … [Read more...]