Jazz

When veteran guitarist Bob Bain drives into Toluca Lake Tuesday to participate in John Pisano's long-running Guitar Night at Lucy's 51, it's likely that more than a few memories will accompany him. Bain was the guitarist in the famed Tonight Show Orchestra at NBC until Johnny Carson's retirement in 1992. The band was stocked with some of the greatest musicians in Southern California, as a 1974 video from the show confirms. In it, Beverly Sills sings Manuel Ponce's beautiful ballad “Estrellita,” with just Bain playing a nylon-string guitar as accompaniment.

When Phil Alvin takes the stage for a New Year's Eve solo set at Joe's Great American Bar & Grill in Burbank, he won't just be welcoming in 2013. He'll be closing the book on a year he'd rather forget. “Starting in November 2011, 2012 has been the strangest year of my life, by far,” says the Blasters' frontman. “I will be happy - along with the Mayans - to say goodbye to 2012.” On the positive front, Alvin and the Blasters released “Fun on Saturday Night” in July, their first album in four years on what he calls the “small but fair” indie label Rip City Records.

When musicians think of jazz, they might concentrate on its intricate, propulsive rhythms, or the improvisatory, virtuosic solos. Perhaps they prefer to consider the pure melodic freedom and complexity of the music. The average person on the other hand, usually equates jazz with a mood, a feeling, a certain kind of cool. On Tuesday evening in Glendale, on the ever so popular boulevard of Brand, a talented jazz trio by the name of Thelonious Dub gave the patrons at Jax Bar & Grill an interesting blend of mood and sound.

Paul Andersen, Enjoy! GLENDALE -- Salt Lake City is not exactly considered a hotbed of jazz -- unless, of course, you're talking about basketball. Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz are one of the most recognizable names the city has. But occasionally, Utah jazz can actually refer to the music. In Karen Hernandez's case, it is a matter of roots, of where it all began -- in the jazz clubs of Salt Lake City, where the pianist began playing at the tender age of 15. "Both my parents loved jazz, and they both played piano," the Burbank resident said recently while preparing for a night's work at Monteleone's West in Tarzana.

Joyce Rudolph Horace Heidt Jr. Orchestra headlines July 4 concert BURBANK -- To celebrate the Fourth of July, the city of Burbank will present "Bursting Out With Red, White and Blue!" at the Starlight Bowl featuring headliner the Horace Heidt Jr. Orchestra. Also on the bill are the All American Boys Chorus and The Jokesters. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m. and ends with the aerial fireworks at 9. The patriotic event kicks off the bowl summer season.

Rosette Gonzales The Swingin' Sounds from Downtown will once again fill the summer air in Burbank with sweet sounds of jazz. The weekly concert series returns Thursday for its second year with dancing lessons at 6 p.m. and live music at 7 p.m. Thursdays through August in the AMC Plaza at San Fernando Boulevard and Palm Avenue. "People last year had the best time, and everyone was down there learning how to dance swing," said Amy Rebman, assistant Downtown manager.

  The sun, just beginning to dip behind Buena Vista Branch Library's Lincoln Park, cast a golden hue over the grassy amphitheater — its reflection sparkling in the tinted lenses of the glasses worn by jazz pianist and vocalist Roger Harrison . Robert Robak and his wife, Elaine , were dancing to Harrison's rendition of the Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer 1962 film theme, "The Days of Wine and Roses," while ...

The Starlight Bowl summer concert series will kick off on July 4 with a “spectacular” fireworks show, officials announced. The event will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with jazz favorite High Street Band slated to take the stage. Throughout the rest of the summer, artists BOSTYX, Lights, Country Nation, Ozomatli and the Fab Four will perform. Tickets for the July 4 celebration start at $12 for lawn seating. For the rest of the season, tickets are $6 for children and seniors and $12 for adults.

Joyce Rudolph, Weekend GLENDALE -- A special children's introduction to dance is planned during a visit by Les Ballets jazz de Montreal at The Alex Theatre in Glendale. The contemorary ballet ensemble will perform a free 45-minute performance at 2 p.m. today, which is geared to younger audiences, followed by a longer program at 8 tonight. The purpose of the matinee is to give youngsters a taste of what modern ballet is and expose them to the performing arts, said Barry McComb, executive director of The Alex Theatre.