Jazz and politics: “Pass it On”

A former regular reader of this blog got in touch recently and reminded me that I used to write about jazz a bit. Which reminded me I’d been remiss in not describing the wonderful Dave Holland Sextet gig I attended at Birdland in midtown a few short weeks ago. I...

Even in a big city, it’s a small world

Last weekend a friend’s teenage daughter went to an underage concert in Queens with some friends. While at the concert, the unworldly young lady draped her jacket over her backpack – containing her wallet, keys, MetroCard and mobile phone – and left...

Embarrassments of riches

What a time to be in the US. The panic on Wall Street is trickling rather than flooding down to “Main Street”, as the Presidential candidates said so frequently in last night’s first debate. (The Australian tabloid term “Struggle Street”...

Hot, humid, jetlagged

While it’s always pretty terrific to touch down at JFK, the long-haul flight comes at a reasonable cost to one’s equilibrium. The anxiety-inducing minutes at the immigration desk straight off the plane at Los Angeles International Airport, the mind-numbing...
Rock in stages – Paul Weller and his fans

Rock in stages – Paul Weller and his fans

How much fun was it to see the Modfather himself, the ageless Paul Weller, at the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday night? I haven’t jumped around in my chair so much since – well, since a gig at the Village Vanguard in February, and then the one at Sweet Rhythm...