Singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist Grace Potter gracefully prowled the stage during her sold-out show at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, displaying the soaring vocal range and instrumental prowess necessary to bear comparisons to female-fueled pop/rock forebearers like Heart, the Pretenders, and Fleetwood Mac. Potter’s band included two female … [Read more...]
Hart’s art draws boomers, Dead fans to Boca gallery
Wentworth Gallery in the Boca Raton Town Center Mall bears little resemblance to the venues where San Francisco-launched act the Grateful Dead cultivated its following of Deadheads, a throng that grew between formation of the band in 1965 and the death of founding guitarist/vocalist Jerry Garcia in 1995. But former Dead drummer Mickey Hart’s forays into visual art … [Read more...]
Oz Noy in Boca: Too little of a superb thing
Israel-born, Manhattan-based jazz/fusion guitarist Oz Noy returned from an overseas tour in late October, having played across Europe, the Czech Republic and Russia in a trio with renowned band mates in bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Dennis Chambers. Noy’s first dates upon his return to the United States were 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. trio shows Nov. 5 at the Funky Biscuit in … [Read more...]
Grateful Dead drummer Hart brings his artwork, consciousness to South Florida
Drummer Mickey Hart’s name will always conjure up imagery of the Grateful Dead, the ground-breaking, San Francisco-launched act he joined in 1967. With elements of rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass and country music, and a massive legion of loyal Deadheads as a traveling following, the group launched an ongoing musical movement as the ultimate 20th-century jam band. The Grateful … [Read more...]
Guitarist Noy, a fresh face of jazz/fusion, to show off his chops in Boca gigs
A day in the life of Manhattan-based jazz/fusion guitarist Oz Noy, specifically Sept. 30, 2019, involved a trek south for what would be a dream for most other instrumental musicians. For him, though, it was part of an everyday routine. “I hope you can hear me,” Noy says by phone, “because I’m on a train to Baltimore. I’m rehearsing there with Dennis Chambers and Jimmy Haslip … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2019-20: Pop scene moving away from familiar faces
Unlike most previous years, the expected familiar faces aren’t dotting the 2019-2020 South Florida pop concert season landscape. One’s impressions of the results depend on whether they see that situation as glass half-full or half-empty. Elvis Costello and Sting make rare appearances only days apart; soul icons the Isley Brothers stop in 65 years after the group’s formation, … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2019-20: Jazz scene feeling the influence of youth
Jazz may be at a generational crossroads within the 2019-2020 season in South Florida. More and more presentations are becoming tributes to icons, echoing centuries of classical music and, more recently, pop and classic rock. A couple such nods to deceased legends are included here. Yet original jazz material is increasingly requiring deeper research. Shows that could at … [Read more...]
In sold-out Boca show, Aristocrats prove to be lords of jazz fusion
A longtime bastion for touring blues artists, and more recently for ones playing funk, the Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton recently instituted a welcomed series of notable jazz/fusion acts. Those include bands led by drummer Billy Cobham (on Sept. 22), guitarist Oz Noy (Nov. 5), and drummer Simon Phillips (March 26, 2020). Jump-starting the procession on Thursday was a … [Read more...]
Bassist Beller brings funk-fusion trio to Boca’s Funky Biscuit
Music has a history of artists deserving of wider recognition — especially instrumentalists — and especially now, in the modern era of TV shows that only hype singers and dancers toward their 15 minutes of fame. Los Angeles-based bassist Bryan Beller is on the current short list of those most deserving musicians. The 48-year-old native of Charlottesville, Va., has gained … [Read more...]
Pop and Jazz: The 2019 Summer Season
Summertime blues? Check. South Florida venues have it, along with summertime folk-rock, glam-rock, comedy-rock, classic rock, jazz/fusion, and modern rock and pop. As tourist season ends, locals get a chance to turn up the heat, especially at open-air venues such as Coral Sky Ampitheatre in West Palm Beach, Mizner Park Ampitheater in Boca Raton, and Bayfront Park … [Read more...]