Soothe Me, Baby
By Kirk Silsbee
Tasty understatement is what guitarist Thom Rotella’s all about – saying more with less. He’s a jazz player whose blues contain all the tang of the form without the histrionics you hear elsewhere. He’s at LACMA (5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 323-857-6000; free) Friday and Hal’s Bar & Grill (1349 Abbott Kinney Blvd., Venice, 310-396-3105) Monday. Long time, no hear for New York tenor saxophonist Craig Handy, who sneaks into Vibrato for a one-nighter, Friday. We’re used to hearing him in all-star (Tenor Conclave) or tribute units (Mingus Big Band) so Handy will be a reed ronin with a house rhythm section. Susan Sinner, a vocalist of uncommon grace, sings Saturday at the Metropol. Like Rotella, she gets to the nub of the song without unnecessary ornamentation. In so doing, she respects the song. Tenor saxophonist Chuck Manning has one of the best albums by a local jazz artist – Notes From the Real; he’s at Spazio Sunday. He delivers effortless swing on a well-chosen program (Monk, Alec Wilder, Coltrane, Kenny Barron among others) in the album we knew Chuck had in him. The same night at the Silent Movie Theatre (611 N. Fairfax Ave., 323-655-2510; 7 p.m.), the Tim Perkis film, Noisy People premieres. It’s a documentary about unorthodox musicians (trumpeter Tom Dill, saxophonist Phillip Greenlief, electronics maven Perkis, and percussionist Gino Robair) with a live jam. Bay area singer Karen Blixt drops into Catalina’s Wednesday. She takes a fluid approach to vocal form and sings largely new material. Don’t expect to be soothed.
Published: 05/14/2008
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