August - 2019

Aug 31, 2019

DAVID WAHLER, Two Hearts

With the release of his majestic new collection Two Hearts, award winning composer, pianist and synthesist David Wahler celebrates a decade of stellar new age recordings, keeping the rapturous musical conversation and heart/soul immersion flowing with the emotionally subtle yet spiritually majestic Two Hearts. While contemplating every inviting musical nuance of the current work, something occurred to me that bears sharing. As a fan of new age and ambient music who also write

Jonathan Widran

Aug 30, 2019

FLOW, Promise

That’s the thing about promises. They capture our imagination as we’re grounded in the present and turn our attention to hopeful moments in the future. I felt it 2017, when I first heard that veteran composer/musicians Fiona Joy (piano), Lawrence Blatt (guitar), Jeff Oster (trumpet/flugelhorn) and Grammy winning guitarist and Windham Hill founder Will Ackerman were combining their unique individual vibes as FLOW. Promise was in the musical air, and – capturing the imagination

Jonathan Widran

Aug 28, 2019

MAGGIE HERRON, Renditions

Here’s the great news about Maggie Herron as the beautifully husky voiced Michigan bred, longtime Honolulu based singer begins unleashing her latest wonderwork Renditions on the world – she’s no longer in A Ton of Trouble. That 2018 album, her fourth set of colorful originals, earned high critical praise (including on this platform) and earned Maggie her third Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award (Hawaii’s Grammys) for Jazz Album of the Year. She recorded that one during a year where sh

PINK MARTINI with The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl

Jonathan Widran

Aug 27, 2019

PINK MARTINI with The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl

Coinciding with the 25th Anniversary of Pink Martini – a multi-cultural, wildly eclectic global music sensation that must be heard and seen live to be fully appreciated – the Hollywood Bowl fashioned the perfect, fun-filled late summer party weekend. From August 23-25, the ensemble fronted by founder/pianist Thomas Lauderdale and lead singer China Forbes held court with a seeming guest cast of hundreds, backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by Thomas Wilkins, with

Jonathan Widran

Aug 26, 2019

SMOMID, Pyramidi Scheme

No amount of aural preparation or immersion into weird offbeat electronic sounds can quite prepare you for the trippy, ear and mind-bending experience of Smomid’s new album Pyramid Scheme – and that’s because the wacky cornucopia of rhythmic impossibilities, droning ambiences, spacey synth romps, R2D2ish utterances, Gregorian chants, plucky string exotica and taiko drums are all self-generated by unique instruments built by guitarist Nick Demopoulous. Perhaps not surprisingly

Jonathan Widran

Aug 26, 2019

MATTHEW SQUIRES, Visions of America

On Matthew Squires’ bandcamp page, where you can start digging in to the seven critically acclaimed releases the Austin based singer/songwriter’s released since 2010, he has a pretty trippy quote that speaks to his confidence as an artist who resonates and penetrates: “I think, all things considered, the songs I write are much more listenable than the songs I don’t write.” Bold, yes, but after you listen to his latest work, the raw, and edgy Americana/rock collection “Visions

Jonathan Widran

Aug 24, 2019

JONATHAN CILIA FARO, From Now On

“From Now On,” Fans of Epic, Romantic “Popera” Need Listen to Only One Authentic, Sophisticated Voice! It is testament to the rich emotional authenticity and majestic and deeply resonating vocal intensity and grace of Jonathan Cilia Faro that the veteran Sicilian born tenor was invited, just prior to the release of his extraordinary, intricately produced album From Now On, to perform at a gala event to support the ecumenical and humanitarian effort of the Cardinal Angelo Soda

Jonathan Widran

Aug 24, 2019

TIFFANY BYNOE, "Shame"

Tiffany Bynoe is a true force of nature, a classic yet contemporary Adult R&B vocalist of supreme sensuality and sophistication whose timeless vibe and heartfelt emotions pierce the heart and tap the spirit like few other independent artists. Keeping the dreamy, sultry flow going, she follows her recent hits “Love Like Waterfalls” an “L.I.T.” with a sparkling and sexy re-imagining of Evelyn “Champagne” King’s famed disco hit “Shame.” Slowing the dance floor grooves down into

Jonathan Widran

Aug 23, 2019

CAMILLE NELSON, Sacred Lullabies

Some of Camille Nelson’s fondest memories of growing up in Salt Lake City are the intimate moments she shared with her mother, an opera singer, who would sing her to sleep with beautiful lullabies. Now, in the midst of an extraordinary adult lifetime that has included visits to 70 countries and establishing herself as a critically acclaimed, award winning recording artist, the gifted singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist taps into those precious recollections to share f

PETER AND THE WOLF at the Hollywood Bowl

Jonathan Widran

Aug 23, 2019

PETER AND THE WOLF at the Hollywood Bowl

Having thoroughly enjoyed the snappy witticisms and anecdotal narrations of guest conductor Bramwell Tovey in recent weeks as he brought the Hollywood Bowl’s Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks and Britain at the Bowl presentations, I was truly looking forward to the third of his August appearances leading the LA Phil through a presentation of Prokofiev’s symphonic children’s fairy tale “Peter and the Wolf.” Then word came, and a replacement sheet was circulated, to indica

SMOOTH SUMMER JAZZ featuring Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns and The Commodores at the Hollywood

Jonathan Widran

Aug 20, 2019

SMOOTH SUMMER JAZZ featuring Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns and The Commodores at the Hollywood

Having attended the Hollywood Bowl’s annual Smooth Summer Jazz extravaganza/evening mini-fest numerous times, I knew there was a ton of fun filled, grooving magic in store – yet as the shuttle bus inched its way up the hill towards the Main Plaza dropoff, my frazzled L.A. instincts kicked in, shifting my mind to the dark side. Guitarist Adam Hawley, the young genre sensation with four consecutive #1 Billboard hits to his credit, was opening the show in 15 minutes, and the lin

Jonathan Widran

Aug 20, 2019

NOCTURNAL BLONDE, Still Gushing

Still Gushing, the compelling, heartrending debut full length album from Athens, GA based duo Nocturnal Blonde, is one of those dazzlers that can be appreciated for its emotional power and charms even if you don’t know the poignant backstory that drives it. From the haunting ambiences of the hypnotically percussive opener “Blown Away” to the gorgeous, passionate acoustic title track that wraps the set, singer/songwriters Ritchie Williams and Rachel Adams – fronting the tight,

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THE JW VIBE

Music That Sticks To My Soul

DAVID WAHLER, Two Hearts

FLOW, Promise

MAGGIE HERRON, Renditions

PINK MARTINI with The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl

SMOMID, Pyramidi Scheme

MATTHEW SQUIRES, Visions of America

JONATHAN CILIA FARO, From Now On

TIFFANY BYNOE, "Shame"

CAMILLE NELSON, Sacred Lullabies

PETER AND THE WOLF at the Hollywood Bowl

SMOOTH SUMMER JAZZ featuring Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns and The Commodores at the Hollywood

NOCTURNAL BLONDE, Still Gushing

THE JW VIBE

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