The Bay Area used to be a second home for Scott Hamilton. In the mid-’70s, the brawny-toned tenor saxophonist signed to Concord Records and helped revitalize acoustic jazz at a time when young lions like Wynton Marsalis and Terence Blanchard were still unknown cubs.
Posts Tagged: Music
Red Baraat’s Sunny Jain Finds His Own Rhythm
Named a rising percussion star by Downbeat magazine in 2011, bandleader Sunny Jain is known as an innovator in the contemporary world fusion scene. On Friday he leads his high-energy crew of self-styled “party starters,” known collectively as Red Baraat, to Moe’s Alley. The Brooklyn nine-piece melds Indian Bhangra beats with big brass accompaniments to create a unique sound somewhere between go-go, Latin jazz and funk that’s been described as “New York meets New Delhi.”
Frank Turner’s Restless Streak
It would be a stretch to categorize Frank Turner as “nomadic,” but he does seem to get a little creeped out by staying in one place for too long. Like now—he’ll depart shortly for a U.S. tour with Social Distortion, which stops in Santa Cruz at the Civic Auditorium this week. But as we speak, on a rare gap in between tours, he’s at home in England.
The Rules of Romantic Mixtapes
My first boyfriend had the right idea. For Valentine’s Day in sixth grade, he gave me a single long-stem rose and a mixtape featuring The Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” It was romantic, age appropriate and showed solid good taste. That boy knew how to woo, and Sixth Grade Boyfriend and I are still friends nearly 20 years later.
Dengue Fever in Santa Cruz
It’s no use trying to resist Dengue Fever’s strain of Cambodian pop. The six-piece plays Moe’s Alley on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
John Craigie Ramblin’ Back to Santa Cruz
John Craigie has plenty of stories and song material, partly because the modern-day troubadour is always on tour. “I am literally on the road 100 percent of the year,” says Craigie, who hasn’t had a home where he pays rent or a mortgage in six years. “You gotta keep moving. You don’t want to overstay your welcome anywhere.”
Rachel Fannan & Only You
A guitar-slinging heroine conjuring multitudes with only her voice and ax: the image of the singer-songwriter is an enduring one. But this iconic persona has shown its age in our time of sequencers and one-man laptop bands. So it was refreshing to watch Rachel Fannan at the Crepe Place circa 2008, assembling ornate live multi-part arrangements with electric guitar, drum machine and loop box that pushed the limits of what a single performer could produce live.
A Conversation With James Durbin
James Durbin, who started singing in bars at 15, has an edge that even his most ardent fans may have missed as they watched his ride on national television last year. “Being on [American] Idol, you get this stigma of being this wholesome person or else you don’t make it very far,” Durbin said before a secret concert earlier this week.
Dan P and the Bricks Take Santa Cruz by Shock and Ska
Two members of the defunct St. Louis band MU330 join four ex–members of Santa Cruz’s Slow Gherkin (A.J. Marquez, Matt Porter, Brendan Thompson and Phil Boutelle) and local reggae drummer to an all-star ska dream team.
New Music Works Goes Mad for Mandolins
In a performance at Cabrillo College, guest composer Mark Kilstofte’s Ballistic Etude 3.1 will run riot across six members of the NMW Ensemble. The seven-minute piece, in the form of a “hunting” ritornello, paints a now-frantic, now-darkly-insinuating film noir image while its hero attempts to rescue his girl from evil clutches.
