Jessica Koslow

When the curtain — adorned with a newly commissioned 70-foot artwork titled “The Things We Know,” by Los Angeles-based artist Enrique Martínez Celaya — rises at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Rihab Chaieb stands seductively at the top of a marble staircase, draped in an intricately patterned black-and-white ball gown, as pairs of flamenco dancers pose, stomp and wave their hands to the orchestral rhythms. She is Carmen: desirable, defiant and driven. Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” has been performed again and again all over the world, but not like this. Bizet’s masterpiece is the first production in LA Opera’s 2026-27 season, and it is the first conducted by LA Opera’s new music director, Domingo Hindoyan. It also happens to be one of his favorites.

“I have many favorites, but one of my favorite operas is what I’m doing now,” said Hindoyan from his office inside Dorothy Chandler Pavilion about 10 days before the first performance of “Carmen,” which opened Oct. 17. “I love the story. I love the music — how it’s put together with the drama. ‘Carmen’ is a very well-known opera, which also makes it a bigger challenge, because everyone knows it.”

Hindoyan is taking the baton from James Conlon, who led LA Opera for 20 years. And like another celebrated maestro, Gustavo Dudamel, who just left LA this year for the New York Philharmonic, Hindoyan also got his start playing the violin in El Sistema, the National Network of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Since opening in 1933, The Georgian has been a hangout for Old Hollywood, where celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe liked to stay, dine and drink. This September, Santa Monica’s iconic hotel, located just steps from the Pier, has unveiled an artist-in-residence program, with an exhibition by French artist Thierry Lefort in its in-house Gallery 33 and a live music residency featuring singer Hunter Elizabeth in its underground restaurant, The Georgian Room. And on Oct. 24, jazz singer Laura Anglade will kick off her West Coast tour in support of her upcoming album, “Something’s Coming,” due out Nov. 13, in The Georgian Room.

“This album is taking on a different direction,” said Anglade. “Even though it’s still very much a jazz album, we’re leaning into some more experimental things: Afro-Cuban rhythms and Brazilian songs. It’s a representation of our sound as a band rather than just picking repertoire and then picking the people for it. This is a group activity. We cultivated the sound together. I’ve been working with these guys for 10 years. Ben Rosenblum, our pianist and accordionist, did a bunch of the arrangements, which was a dream come true.”

Anglade never thought she would be traveling the world as a jazz singer. Although she loved singing in the choir and the car and played classical piano and flute as a kid, she had her mind set on translating fiction. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Although COVID-19 left death and despair in its wake, this is a story about one of its positive outcomes, and one of the featured players is Oprah Winfrey.

During the pandemic, Winfrey wanted to invest in South LA, specifically in nonprofits, to help people who had been laid off or furloughed. Her team came across SoLa Foundation, which aims to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by providing opportunities for education and economic mobility, and asked for a meeting. Sherri Francois, executive director of SoLa Foundation, and her team put together a pitch deck, which received the “Oprah clap” and a, “This is fantastic.” Winfrey asked if Francois could present again to a few of her friends.

“We had another meeting, and she brought in Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Michael Rapino (CEO and president of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.),” relayed Francois. “We’re like, what world are we living in right now?” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

He collaborated with Bob Dylan, John Lennon and more than 100 other major artists. The frontman, sideman, guitarist, pianist, producer and bandleader was one of the most coveted session guitarists in Hollywood. Jesse Ed Davis was also a Venice resident from 1975 until he died in 1988, where he recorded three solo albums in which he put music to Indigenous activist John Trudell’s words. Most important, his lasting impact has been underappreciated.

In the last few year, Douglas K. Miller, a professor of history at Oklahoma State University, has resurrected Davis’s legacy, first with his 2024 book, “Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis,” and an exhibit at the same time at the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which he co-curated with U.S. poet laureate and best-selling Muscogee author Joy Harjo. This week, on July 25, Venice Heritage Museum and the Bob Dylan Center will honor Davis with a reading from Miller’s book, a panel discussion and a live acoustic set by Scott McCaughey (R.E.M.) performing from an upcoming album of Davis covers.

Although Davis helped to shaped the sounds of popular music, and he did it at a time when few Indigenous musicians appeared on major concert stages, radio waves and record store walls, there are many who do not know his name. Miller, too, did not know much about Davis, and he became even more curious about the artist when he began to see his name pop up on so many of the albums in his collection. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Most of the time, Jerry Williams Jr. — who performs under the stage name Swamp Dogg — feels happy about what’s going on in just about every category of life, except the economy. He made his first record at age 12 in Portsmouth, Virginia, and will celebrate turning 84 at his birthday concert on July 11 at Venice West.

New and old fans can expect all-time favorites and songs from his latest album, “Swamp Dogg Contemplates The Afterlife,” which was released June 19. They will see a down-to-earth artist on stage who, by his second song, has overcome stage fright that he has experienced since he was a boy. If the place is not overcrowded, he will go out into the audience to shake hands, talk and make new friends.

“I don’t just sing,” Williams explained. “If I run into a problem, I share it. But the part of it that has some sort of jovial edge. I’m not there to burden them with my problems. I go from stage fright to very bold about giving the audience insight into what’s happening with me at this particular time. It quells my anxiety.” . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Some of music’s biggest stars wait until summer to hit the outdoor stage, and LA is home to some of the most iconic and historic amphitheaters: Catch Beck at The Greek, Santana at The Bowl or Flamenco! at the Ford. The days are lighter longer, and the tunes sound sweeter against the backdrop of lush natural landscape, whether it’s the Hollywood Hills or Santa Monica Mountains. Here’s what’s playing from June 20 through October 31 . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

KCRW debuted a new voice on Monday night, May 11, from 8 to 10 p.m. Her name is Olive Kimoto, and although she’s not new to radio, she is one of two new DJs, along with J.Rocc, who recently joined the NPR member station’s lineup, which includes Jason Bentley, Novena Carmel, Anne Litt and Henry Rollins.

Her first night on air was “surreal, beautiful and so much fun. I can’t wait to do more,” she said. As someone who grew up in LA listening to KCRW, she considers it an honor to be among so many legendary people whom she respects.

“KCRW is an institution that has been around me my whole life,” said 31-year-old Kimoto. “So, to actually be on the public radio airwaves feels very flattering and humbling. I remember flipping back and forth between KCRW and KXLU, thinking, wow, there’s all this other stuff out there that I didn’t know existed, and it felt magical to be this small child not knowing what’s playing but just being like, wow, this is beautiful. I want to be part of this world more.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Todd and Robin Mason would often host little informal concerts in their West LA home and had attended other home chamber music performances. Being naturally competitive people, on their ride home, they would brainstorm ways that it could have been better. Those conversations eventually lay the foundation for Mason Home Concerts.

In 2013, the couple undertook extensive renovations to optimize their home for live performances, transforming it into a warm, acoustically excellent concert room designed specifically for chamber music.

“We took a chance and made a whole room, which can hold about 50 people,” Todd explained. “We got a beautiful piano: a Yamaha Concert Grand. That’s important because to do classical music and chamber music, you must have a good piano, because so much of the repertoire includes piano. We didn’t know if it would really take off. We just kind of did it because we loved it. We had a couple of concerts, and it was a very successful and positive experience. Everyone loved it, and word got out that we were doing this.” . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Every Third Thursday since September, the Santa Monica Pier has been presenting Locals’ Night, a free community curated series for locals, by locals. With performances through May, each monthly event brings a unique offering to the community. The Feb. 19 performance, curated by BroadStage, is Jazz Night, spotlighting four bands featuring talented emerging musicians who were mentored by five-time Grammy-winning bassist and composer Stanley Clarke while they were students at Santa Monica College (SMC) and Santa Monica High School (Samohi).

Clarke, who has been the BroadStage Artist in Residence since August 2023, is a longtime supporter and mentor of young musicians. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, artistic director of Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), has worked with children’s and youth choirs his entire career. He thoroughly enjoys leading youth ensembles and assures that there are many stereotypes about children in music.

“People say, as long as they are cute on stage, that’s all that matters, or they ask, are you a babysitter?” he said. “Children are absolutely capable of great artistry at the same level as adults.”

Malvar-Ruiz prefers working with children because “frankly, they are more honest artistically, and they’re also more honest in their interactions,” he shared. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.