Muddy Waters

The Best Jazz Concerts to See in L.A. This Month

October 5,6,7,13,14 Angel City Jazz Festival LACMA, UCLA, Redcat, Ford Amphitheatre The theme of the fifth annual Angel City Jazz Festival is "artists and legends" which might as well be the theme for L.A.'s whole jazz scene in October. Legendary L.A. trombonist Phil Ranelin hits LACMA on Friday n ... More >>

Cabeza de Vaca Orchestra presents 'Sunrise' - Downtown Independent - 9/21/12

Cabeza de Vaca Orchestra presents Sunrise Downtown Independent 9-20-12 Jimi Cabeza de Vaca (yes, that is his real name) got his start playing keyboards over ten years ago with South Bay indie rockers dios. His ethereal keyboard contributions pushed the band to the brink of stardom, opening for acts ... More >>

Top 5 Blues Rock Bands That Don't Totally Suck

The 20 Worst Hipster Bands Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre Top 20 Sexiest Female Musicians of All Time Top 20 Worst Bands of All Time Top 20 Worst Bands of All Time One common theme recurred again and again about our 20 Worst Hipster Bands list: People are amazed that we don't like the B ... More >>

The Best Jazz Concerts to See in L.A. This Month

Fridays, September 7th, 14th, 21st JazzPop w/ Mark Dessen, Vinny Golia, Aram Shelton Hammer Museum The Hammer Museum likes to sneak in great jazz performances with little fanfare, don't they? This is Bay Area bassist Lisa Mezzacappa's seventh year curating the JazzPop series, moving it one month la ... More >>

Herbie Hancock Celebrates Peace - Hollywood Bowl - 8/29/12

Herbie Hancock Celebrates Peace Hollywood Bowl 8-29-12 Better than...the Republican National Convention. Let's get this out of the way early: I like peace. Obtaining peace and air conditioning are my two highest priorities these days and peace is winning by a mile. I also like pianist Herbie Hanco ... More >>

Esperanza Spalding & Anita Baker - Hollywood Bowl - 8/22/12

Esperanza Spalding & Anita Baker Hollywood Bowl August 22, 2012 I came into last night's show expecting more from Esperanza Spalding and less from Anita Baker. The audience was clearly prepared for something else. Last night, in what amounted to a generational battle of stage-craft and radio-friend ... More >>

Vocalist Sara Gazarek Takes on Covers and Standards

When jazz vocalist Sara Gazarek first arrived in Los Angeles from Seattle slightly more than a decade ago, she had a tight sense of swing and a demure set of pipes. She was a little unprepared for the expectations of a formal jazz education at USC. "I remember being really embarrassed when I didn't ... More >>

Zachary Wohlman, aka 'Kid Yamaka,' is Boxing's Great Jewish Hope

As 24-year-old boxer Zachary Wohlman beats his opponent in a unanimous decision after four rounds, spectators jump out of their seats and rush the ring. Amid flashbulbs and congratulatory handshakes, Wohlman, aka "Kid Yamaka," smiles ear to ear and triumphantly raises his adversary's hand. His ... More >>

The Best Jazz Concerts to See in L.A. This Month

Friday, August 10th Dale Fielder LACMA Saxophonist Dale Fielder has been honking around Los Angeles for some time now. He has recently gravitated towards the underappreciated majesty of baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams. Friday's appearance in front of LACMAs 202 streetlamps will be a preview of h ... More >>

Music Picks: Rusko, HARD Summer, SMOD

Also, Beachwood Sparks, Jesca Hoop, Ravi Coltrane and others

Kevin Toney Cheated on His Wife for Years

Although he was baptized at age 8, Kevin Toney didn't really apply Christian ideals to his life until he was over fifty. Throughout most of his long career, which included being a member of the Grammy-winning jazz group The Blackbyrds as well as being a solo jazz pianist who played with Stevie Wonde ... More >>

Five Song Requests Jazz Bands Wish You Would Stop Making

Most cocktail jazz gigs are not particularly rewarding on an artistic level, but they aren't supposed to be. They pay well but they usually go on for too long and most people there aren't listening to you. Of course, there are benefits. I once played a solo gig on a white piano surrounded by roses w ... More >>

USC Jazz Quintet - Levitt Pavilion Pasadena - 7/22/12

USC Jazz Quintet Levitt Pavilion Pasadena 7/22/12 Better than... drinking beer alone in a Pasadena park. Last night in Pasadena, USC offered up their best and brightest jazz crew to revel in a little school pride and highlight the impressive capabilities of staff and alumni for a cool evening unde ... More >>

Josh Nelson Is On Another Planet

This summer, the Mars rover Curiosity will finally reach its destination after a nine month journey. Tomorrow, while the space module prepares to roam the red planet looking for dust, signs of life and a perhaps a good place to put our stuff once the Earth is destroyed, pianist Josh Nelson will be a ... More >>

Jennifer Leitham Can Swing Like Nobody's Business; Also, She Was Born a Man

Almost thirty years ago jazz bassist John Leitham moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. Two decades later he underwent gender reassignment surgery to become Jennifer Leitham. Tonight, as part of the Outfest Film Festival, Leitham presents a documentary about her decision entitled I Stand ... More >>

Phil Upchurch Introduced Muddy Waters to the Hippies

If he had to pick a number, guitarist Phil Upchurch estimates he has played on over 2000 recordings. Based on the frequency with which his name arises, he's probably right. Asking him to recall some of those dates can be like asking a fisherman about a particular fish he caught 40 years ago. "I'll ... More >>

The Band Harriet Slept With All Your Mothers

"I knew it was a provocative title. But the song isn't as provocative as the title makes you think," says Alex Casnoff, singer-songwriter of Los Angeles indie rock quartet Harriet, referring to "I Slept With All Your Mothers." It's the first single off his band's debut EP Tell The Right Story. Seat ... More >>

L.A. Woman: Track List

Ryan Adams Interview: We Manage To Really Piss Him Off

See also: Ryan Adams performs at Hollywood Forever, October 10, 2011 [Correction: Contrary to what was originally written, Adams did not hang up on reporter Drew Fortune. Rather, Adams cut short the conversation, and the two agreed to continue the next day. West Coast Sound regrets the error. A s ... More >>

Feel Like Going Home

Theater Reviews: I Never Sang for My Father, The Temperamentals

Also, The All Night Strut!, Veronika Decides to Die, Wait Until Dark and more

Top 10 Under-the-Radar Grammy Artists You Should Know

​Sure, you may secretly dance to Justin Bieber in your Wonder Woman undies or fantasize about Drake making you a hot fudge sundae, but there's a lot more talented, relatively unknown musicians hiding in the Grammy nominee list. The Grammys, on the most part, are about the awards gifted to peo ... More >>

Download: 'Storefront Split' by Le Switch and Les Blanks

Les Blanks' 'Straw Man'​It's not every day that two excellent L.A. indie rock bands get together to share space on a piece of wax. We wish it was, but hocking 7-inches just ain't no way to make a livin', 'specially if you've got to split up them beans at the end of the day. Thankfully, Silver ... More >>

Movie Reviews: Exit Through the Gift Shop, Handsome Harry

Also, Letters to God, The Joneses, Who Do You Love and more

Redemption Songs: Mose Allison Live @ Largo at the Coronet (1/17)

Mose Allison has always been a misfit. Not a misfit in the sense of a James Dean or even a Chet Baker (I mean, if Bruce Weber does a documentary on your meaningful junkie wrinkles, you've found some kind of "fit"), but a true unclassifiable. After all, the blues are rumored to be something the devil ... More >>

Legendary Singer-Songwriter Bobby Charles Dead at 71

​Mojo and other outlets report that Louisiana singer-songwriter Bobby Charles is dead at 71. Charles was a prolific songwriter who provided material for Ray Charles, Etta James, Delbert McClinton, Kris Kristofferson, Joe Cocker and others, but was perhaps best known for a little youthful ditt ... More >>

Coachella Report, Friday, April 17: They Call Her Warrior Queen for a Reason

Randall RobertsA rolling, tantruming, fucking breakdown on the polo field: Warrior Queen is victorious We're going to provide a more detailed analysis of Warrior Queen's amazing sunset moment in the hours to come, but wanted to offer this quickie picture of her and collaborator The Bug's huge Gobi ... More >>

Bug Music's Commercial Zone

Helping to fill the pockets of indie bands now that CD sales have dried up

Movie Reviews: Hunger, One Day You'll Understand, A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy

Also, Frost/Nixon, The Black Balloon and more

Van Morrison's Astral Weeks at the Hollywood Bowl, Night One: Set List for a Stunning Evening

photo by Kevin Scanlon Sell the rest of your portfolio. Forgo fancy dinners for the rest of November. Break your lame date and call your soul mate. Do what you have to do, I swear, to get a ticket to tonight's Van Morrison show at the Hollywood Bowl. If you at all have ever been moved by a Morriso ... More >>

Reviving Dead Kennedys, Rolling Over Beethoven and Revisiting Tennessee

What to do in L.A., August 15-21

Old as Dirt

Live in LA: Lil Wayne at House of Blues, June 16

Lil Wayne at the House of Blues, June 16, 2008 All photos by Timothy Norris How did this little dude with a mouthful of gold and a head full of rhymes become the biggest music industry story of the year? With his cartoon good looks -- glistening gold teeth too big for his mouth, dreadlocks too l ... More >>

The Rhythm Method

Producer Joe Boyd learned it in the folkie ’60s, but it’s still the key to making global music in the new millennium

Rock Like an Egyptian

a.k.a. The Year in Greg Burk: Metal Went Mideastern, Paul Rodgers became Freddie Mercury, and Diana Krall did not become Ella Fitzgerald

Iko, Iko! A Crawdad in Silver Lake

Stoned

Mick likes Lynndie England? Keith’s got a good song? Two fans discuss A Bigger Bang, and whether “the kids” will get it

Of Ass and Ax

Getting Out of Town

Terry Allen and his chicken-fried Gesamtkunstwerk

The Revelators

Martin Scorsese’s blue Christmas

How To Play a Mountain

Letters

Viva la Revoluçion

Sound and sedition at the LAMC

Mad Daddy

DJ From Mars

Mojo Man

Muddy Waters was a rollin' stone

Visible Men

Shake ’Em On Down

Peppermint Twist

The White Stripes’ blues in the red zone

Cantos del Corazón

Home, the world and Huayucaltia

The Beatin' Path

Merging atoms with Adam Rudolph