Horn players are often to jazz and fusion what guitarists are to popular music — attention-grabbing players who wait for their chance to speak through soloing rather than listening to their ensemble’s overall sound. Yet there are significant differences. Guitarists play chordal instruments, so there are far fewer lulls in their playing because they also have rhythmic … [Read more...]
Jordan’s tribute to Hendrix needs to dig a little bit deeper
Tribute act mania seems to know no bounds, as even established international baby boomer artists take stylistic detours to salute heroes from their youth. Many make sense. Bassist Will Lee, of countless recording sessions and David Letterman’s covers-heavy TV band, started the Beatles tribute Fab Faux. Guitarist Mike Keneally, of Frank Zappa’s band, joined both Zappa … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Symphony wraps season with sparkling Beethoven concerto, but uneven Ninth
By Márcio Bezerra Palm Beach Symphony ended its 50th anniversary season April 25 with an ambitious all-Beethoven program at the Kravis Center. Under the direction of Gerard Schwarz, the group started the evening with an early work, the Piano Concerto No. 2 (in B-flat major, Op. 19). This sunny concerto (actually the first the composer wrote, despite its misleading number) … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Remembering West Palm’s indispensable Allman brother, Dickey Betts
It’s safe to say that no one from West Palm Beach ever achieved more musical sales, awards, touring miles and accolades than singer, songwriter and guitarist Forrest Richard “Dickey” Betts. Especially someone from the city’s Westgate section, that small tract of diminutive homes and businesses just south of Okeechobee Boulevard between Congress Avenue and Military Trail. … [Read more...]
SunFest retools, regroups for a robust 40th anniversary
One of the most memorable hits and videos of the past half-century was the 1981 single “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads — in which vocalist David Byrne repeated the mantra of “same as it ever was.” That phrase doesn’t apply to SunFest, Florida’s largest waterfront music and art festival. For its 2024 installment, a floating SunFest Electronic Barge will … [Read more...]
Pianist Geniushene’s ‘Op. 1’ program intriguing, to a point
By Márcio Bezerra The Society of the Four Arts hosted pianist Anna Geniushene on Wednesday in a program of firsts. The young artist, whose career has been growing silver she won the silver medal at the 2022 Van Cliburn Competition, presented a clever program that consisted of several Opus 1 by composers from the classical period to the twentieth century. To be … [Read more...]
The experimental journey of The Dixie Dregs
“Fusion” is a musical term commonly used to describe a mix of jazz influence with electric rock. It's a blend that started in the late 1960s and early 1970s, popularized separately by artists such as trumpeter Miles Davis and guitarist/vocalist Frank Zappa, who created disparate versions and catapulted band members toward future careers — from Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, … [Read more...]
From Russia with horns: Moscow-based band flawlessly re-creates music of Chicago, EWF, Steely Dan
Tribute acts have become all the rage in South Florida and beyond. But it’s safe to say that a tribute act will soon appear in South Florida that’s beyond anything most South Floridians have ever seen. Leonid & Friends is a 10-year-old group that started out as a tribute to the band Chicago, the Midwestern act that was initially called Chicago Transit Authority before … [Read more...]
Superstar soprano Meade makes for memorable ‘Norma’ at PB Opera
By Márcio Bezerra Few operas in the repertoire can claim the same legendary status as Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma. Be it because it can be considered as the masterwork of bel canto, or because all the great divas of the past have tackled the title role with memorable results, Norma sets the standard for what a great soprano should sound like. In general, bel canto operas are … [Read more...]
Zwilich concerto, Stravinsky stand out at SFSO concert
By Robert Croan The South Florida Symphony Orchestra offered a bit of participation in music history in its most recent program [heard March 27 at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale] when guest clarinetist David Shifrin soloed in Ellen Taafe Zwilich’s Clarinet Concerto — a work he premiered at New York’s Lincoln Center in 2003. Adding to the aura of authenticity was the … [Read more...]