Sean J. O'Connell

Since the late '80s Philly-bred bassist Christian McBride has been a low end powerhouse for artists including Milt Jackson, Diana Krall and Questlove. He spent the most time in our fair city between 2006 and 2010 when he was the "Creative Chair for Jazz" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and......

Merry Clayton The Mint 1-31-12 Better than...getting stomped at Altamont. Merry Clayton is a soul legend. With over 40 years since her appearance on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" Clayton has solidified herself as a top-notch belter, tackling anything and everything in between. Last night before a sizable crowd at......

See also: Blue Note Records' Troubling New Direction Over the summer I was at the Blue Whale jam session when a handful of drunken girls were asked to leave for being too chatty. Set aside the miracle of a bunch of drunken girls actually being at a jazz club; the......

The last time I was here, I was chased out of my agent's place in West Hollywood with a baseball bat...Long story short, out comes the bat and I had to pack up my things in Trader Joe's bags and split. Halfway down the strip to my friend Samsonic's house,......

See also: Portlandia Was Partly Inspired by Los Angeles Portlandia: The Tour The Echoplex 1-17-12 Portlandia, the Pacific Northwest-skewering IFC comedy show now in its second season, has run less than ten episodes. But SNL'er Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney rocker Carrie Brownstein have clearly captured a devoted following. Last night,......

Matt Otto Duo Ariel Alexander Group Matt Otto Quintet Blue Whale 1-11-12 Better than...watching the People's Choice Awards Last night, after a few technical difficulties and a strict adherence to "jazz time," the second of four residency performances by the LA Jazz Collective got underway at Little Tokyo's Blue Whale......

When most college students return home for winter break, they watch TV in the den and get drunk with high school friends. Pianist Kris Bowers, a 22-year old-graduate student at Julliard, however, has come home to Los Angeles with some big prizes, and will perform at Catalina Bar & Grill......

Woody Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band Royce Hall 12/29/11 Better than...Francis Ford Coppola playing the tuba. Before the start of the European tour documented in the 1997 Woody Allen documentary Wild Man Blues, Allen tells his bandmates, "Theoretically this should be fun for us." Last night, before a sold out......

Dwight Trible Cosmic Band The World Stage 12-28-11 It began shortly after midnight, where the Los Angeles grid unravels into Leimert Park. At the World Stage, vocalist Dwight Trible oversaw a tight band and a rapt, full congregation, delivering a nearly two-hour concert of ecstatic positivity and consummate musicianship. The......