Songwriting is a multidisciplinary calling. A songsmith is equal parts composer, poet, musician, philosopher and entrepreneur. Many times, it's an unsung profession: the performer who interprets the song gets the credit and adulation, the songwriter gets a credit set in microscopic type on a CD cover or record label. Sure, there are exceptions. Individuals such as Cole Porter, … [Read more...] about A Way with Words
Music
In the Tonalist Tradition
Joaquin Turner Continues an Artistic Legacy, Capturing an Emotional and Spiritual Reaction to the Local Landscape
While taking in the landscape paintings of Joaquin Turner, the observer can be forgiven for thinking the artist was a member of the group of early 20th-century painters who worked in a style now known as "Early California." But Turner is very much of this time, a very contemporary man, but also very much in touch with the ethos of those Carmel-area artists who worked their … [Read more...] about In the Tonalist Tradition
Blending Tradition with Innovation
A Guide to the 2019 Monterey Jazz Festival
What is it about the Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF) that has allowed it to own the title of the world's longest-running jazz festival? Is it the sublime late September Monterey climate? The history-soaked Monterey County Fairgrounds and its storied Pattee Arena? Or the stellar list of artists the festival has attracted to its stages since its founding in 1958? Most likely? All of … [Read more...] about Blending Tradition with Innovation
Two Friends, Two Pianos
The fact that jazz history is made at the Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF) isn’t particularly unusual. What is unique is how consistently and how frequently those moments occur. This year is no exception, in large measure to the appearance together of two of the most talented, accomplished, original and influential keyboard artists of their generation, Herbie Hancock and Chick … [Read more...] about Two Friends, Two Pianos
Jackson Browne Gives Back
Transforming Schools Through the Arts
The excitement was palpable as the shiny red SUV rumbled into the parking lot of Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Seaside. And with good reason. It’s not every day that a rock star shows up at an elementary school. As he stepped from the car, Jackson Browne was visibly delighted to be greeted by three enthusiastic children carrying hand-painted welcome banners. … [Read more...] about Jackson Browne Gives Back