REVIEW: Wynton Marsalis & LCJO @ Hult (Eugene, OR – 9/17/09)

Well, I got into Wynton Marsalis from Ken Burns’ (long ass) JAZZ documentary.  I had heard of him, but never really heard him, and he was featured heavily in the movie.  I came to find out that he was the artistic director & co-producer of the documentary series.  Anyway, I love trumpet (Dave Douglas & [...]

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REVIEW: Erik Friedlander @ Winningstad Theatre (Portland, OR – 9/12/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Erik Friedlander grew up spending many of his summers on the road with his family due to his photographer father, Lee Friedlander.  I knew his dad was a photographer with some notoriety, but I hadn’t known about the long, cross-country summer road trips – which were the basis [...]

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REVIEW: Portland Cello Project & Emily Wells @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – 6/13/09)

I first heard of Portland Cello Project via cellist Anna Fritz.  Her 2005 album Wake featured a couple of songs with singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey guesting, of whom I had been a longtime fan already.  Anyway, shortly thereafter, Anna Fritz was posting on her MySpace page about this new band that she was in, the Portland [...]

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REVIEW: Oregon Percussion Ensemble’s FRANK ZAPPA Tribute @ UO’s Beall Hall (Eugene, OR – - 3/7/09)

My wife and I went to the University of Oregon’s Beall Concert Hall yesterday afternoon for a wonderful tribute to Frank Zappa put on by the UO College of Music’s Oregon Percussion Ensemble, conducted by W. Sean Wagoner.  It was a show that I found out about in the Eugene Weekly… yay for the local [...]

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REVIEW: My Brightest Diamond @ W.O.W. Hall (Eugene, OR – - 11/21/08)

FYI… my PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM
Yay… I’ve been waiting for this show for a few months.  I last saw Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond) in April 2007 at the MusicNOW Fest in Cincinnati.  It was at that show where she debuted many songs that ended up on A Thousand Shark’s [...]

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REVIEW: Branford Marsalis & Philarmonia Brasileira @ Hult Center (Eugene, OR – - 10/2/08)

I first got into (Grammy Award-winning saxophonist) Branford Marsalis when I sat through the 10-disc (20 hour) Ken Burns JAZZ documentary that I got from the University of Oregon Library.  Let’s just say that I spent a lot of rainy spring weekends watching these discs and getting more into the roots of jazz when there [...]

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REVIEW: Ellery, CSO, Antibalas (Cincinnati – - late April 2007)

Great three-concert weekend… Ellery/Over the Rhine on Friday, Paavi Järvi’s CSO with Alison Balsom on Saturday, and freakin’ ANTIBALAS on Sunday. Wow… I don’t mean to sound bitchy, but Over the Rhine was the lowlight of the weekend. I think I’m done seeing them live for a long time. So, yeah, you won’t hear me [...]

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REVIEW: MusicNOW Fest (Sufjan Stevens, Amiina, My Brightest Diamond…) Cincinnati, April 2007

I’ll start this 1st review by saying that I truly feel fortunate to live in the city that is hosting this truly wonderful MusicNow Festival. It is elegantly and professionally put together and a trove of new and exciting music (many of the pieces from last night were world premieres).
Music Now Festival – April 5, [...]

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