Smooth jazz is not my style of choice.  That is not a put down.  I’ve seen some very entertaining shows by established smooth jazz artists and always appreciate the high level of musicianship.  Yuko Mabuchi has evolved to fully embrace the genre in recent years.  In her Catalina Jazz Club show last night she performed her latest single, Paradiso, written by smooth jazz powerhouses Jeff Lorber and Claude Villani.  Highly polished to a glossy sheen, the song moves with a kinetic energy over...

Herb Alpert’s Vibrato was the perfect venue for Sinne Eeg’s stylish James Bond Gala Wednesday night in Bel Air.  The Bond movie music, which has been performed in Norway and Finland, made its stateside debut with guest vocalist Kenton Chen.  Pianist Josh Nelson fronted a top shelf quintet consisting of Dan Schnelle, drums; Jon Hatamiya, trombone; Luca Alemanno, upright bass; and Mitch Foreman, keyboard. The evening opened appropriately with an instrumental, the James Bond Theme (From Dr....

Dori Amarilio, Keri Kelsey, Lyman Meideros. The final performance at Tom Rolla's Gardenia. photo by Janet S. Blake When the Gardenia opened in 1981, it was a hot ticket, and I dreamed of performing there. The little pink, L shaped room with the gardenia etched window was attracting the top names in cabaret - Julie Wilson (whose picture in recent years hung in a place of prominence,) Penny Fuller, LeRoy Reams, Linda Lavin, Page Cavanaugh, too many others to name here.  I got my first booking...