For 50 years, it’s been a safe place for storytellers – musicians, animators, directors, writers, artists of all kinds – to learn, grow and thrive. As CalArts celebrates its golden anniversary, it also faces the future head-on.
Broad trustee emeritus Tim Disney, whose great-grandfather, Walt Disney, laid the foundation for what is now a world-class arts school, says that CalArts was founded with very large-scale, utopian ideas by Walt Disney. “Disneyland and CalArts were very grand things,” Disney says, adding that Walt died before the school opened and that his grandfather, Roy Disney, “had the very hard job” seeing the plans through. “His commitment was a very beautiful thing.”
It’s not a coincidence that Tim Disney spearheaded the Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (RedCat) in Downtown L.A., which hosts cutting-edge performances.
“Walt Disney was inspired by CalTech. He had radical ideas about education, and wanted to create a kind...
Broad trustee emeritus Tim Disney, whose great-grandfather, Walt Disney, laid the foundation for what is now a world-class arts school, says that CalArts was founded with very large-scale, utopian ideas by Walt Disney. “Disneyland and CalArts were very grand things,” Disney says, adding that Walt died before the school opened and that his grandfather, Roy Disney, “had the very hard job” seeing the plans through. “His commitment was a very beautiful thing.”
It’s not a coincidence that Tim Disney spearheaded the Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (RedCat) in Downtown L.A., which hosts cutting-edge performances.
“Walt Disney was inspired by CalTech. He had radical ideas about education, and wanted to create a kind...
- 4/26/2023
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
When Hal Willner died earlier this week after experiencing symptoms consistent with the coronavirus, the music producer, Saturday Night Live music supervisor and connoisseur of all things left-field and eccentric left behind more than just a series of offbeat and acclaimed tribute albums. Those collections mixed and matched everyone from Tom Waits and Keith Richards to Sun Ra, the Replacements and Sting. Willner also nurtured deep friendships that resulted from those collaborations, including with Elvis Costello (who called him “my dear friend”) and Bono (who described him as “a gigantic...
- 4/9/2020
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
When we talk about rock, we talk about bands: Zeppelin, the Who, the Stones. But when we talk about jazz, we tend to talk about individuals: Miles, Monk, Coltrane. On some level, that makes sense: If the song is the primary mode of rock expression, the solo is generally the way you make your mark in jazz. Whether you’re considering Coleman Hawkins, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, or the colossal, now-retired Sonny Rollins, it was when they stepped out front and said their piece that they truly embodied their legendary status.
- 3/7/2020
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
As Fred Goodman makes clear in Why Lhasa de Sela Matters (University of Texas Press), the late world-music troubadour never made it easy on anyone. Start with her music. Lhasa (as she called herself professionally) was born and raised in America but became a one-stop global musician: Goodman accurately describes her blend of “Gypsy music and flamenco, Mexican rancheras, Americana and jazz, Portuguese fado, Middle Eastern pop songs, Russian lullabies,chanson française, and South American folk melodies.” A dramatic, exposed-nervous-system singer, she seemed to pour everything into a performance; it...
- 12/19/2019
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
The Haden Triplets – siblings Petra, Rachel, and Tanya – offer another sneak peek of their forthcoming LP, The Family Songbook, with the heavy-hearted “Every Time I Try,” accompanied by a video that pays tribute to syndicated country-music television programs that were popular weekend viewing from the Fifties to the early Eighties. The clip also features an amusing cameo from actor Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as the “special guest star” of The Haden Triplets Show, a throwback to music-oriented series such as The Porter Wagoner Show and the Springfield, Missouri-based Ozark Jubilee,...
- 12/9/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
In 2014, the Haden Triplets – Petra, Rachel, and Tanya – released their eponymous debut album on Jack White’s Third Man Records label. A sterling collection of vintage country songs, the LP was distinguished by the siblings’ chill-inducing harmonies. The daughters of jazz bass legend Charlie Haden (who died in July of that year) pay homage to their father’s exceptional music history, first as a singing (and yodeling) 2-year-old member of his family’s country-music act and his later years as one of the most influential jazz instrumentalists from the Fifties...
- 11/5/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
In 1994, Ginger Baker released a jazz trio album that represented a radical but welcome departure from the heavy blues rock he had pioneered as a member of Cream. Yet the record — Going Back Home — was in many ways a return to form. Baker, the British drummer who died Sunday at the age of 80, grew up playing jazz and had always considered himself to be a jazz musician at his core, even as he came to epitomize the brash freedom of rock & roll. Bassist Charlie Haden (who died in 2014) and guitarist Bill Frisell,...
- 10/7/2019
- by Matthew Kassel
- Rollingstone.com
That Dog were a beloved band in the Nineties whose legacy has only grown since they released their last LP, 1997’s near-perfect Retreat From the Sun. They just released a deluxe edition of their 1995 debut album, and they recently played their first show in 19 years. In an example of That Dog’s influence on today’s generation of indie rock, Allison Crutchfield of the great band Swearin’ was on hand to sing backing vocals. Now, they’ve announced a new album, Old LP, their first since Retreat From the Sun.
- 8/23/2019
- by Jon Dolan
- Rollingstone.com
It’s hard to dispute Ginger Baker’s status as a rock icon. Unless you’re Ginger Baker, that is. “Oh for god’s sake, I’ve never played rock,” the drummer, who turns 80 today, said testily during a 2013 interview. “Cream was two jazz players and a blues guitarist playing improvised music. We never played the same thing two nights running. … It was jazz.”
Related: 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time
Baker’s history with jazz dates back to the mid-Fifties, when he began playing in British Dixieland-revival groups and absorbing...
Related: 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time
Baker’s history with jazz dates back to the mid-Fifties, when he began playing in British Dixieland-revival groups and absorbing...
- 8/19/2019
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
In a 1997 interview with philosopher Jacques Derrida, the late saxophonist and sonic trailblazer Ornette Coleman recalled the origins of his most famous composition. “Before becoming known as a musician, when I worked in a big department store, one day, during my lunch break, I came across a gallery where someone had painted a very rich white woman who had absolutely everything that you could desire in life, and she had the most solitary expression in the world,” he said of his time working as a stock boy at L.A.
- 5/22/2019
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
There’s no easy shorthand for James Brandon Lewis’ musical M.O. Ever since his early releases — 2010’s Moments, 2014’s Divine Travels — the saxophonist has balanced a deep, gospel-informed spirituality with free-jazz abandon and hard-hitting funk-meets–hip-hop underpinnings.
“Sir Real Denard,” a track from his new album An UnRuly Manifesto, shows how adept he’s become at bridging different approaches. On one hand, it’s a fierce rhythmic workout driven by the tireless bass-drums team of Luke Stewart and drummer Warren “Trae” Crudup III, both of whom also appeared on...
“Sir Real Denard,” a track from his new album An UnRuly Manifesto, shows how adept he’s become at bridging different approaches. On one hand, it’s a fierce rhythmic workout driven by the tireless bass-drums team of Luke Stewart and drummer Warren “Trae” Crudup III, both of whom also appeared on...
- 2/6/2019
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
The first time I heard Ornette Coleman in person was at a New Year’s Eve concert in the Harlem State Office Building cafeteria. (He and his band Prime Time were topping a triple bill that opened with drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society and found guitarist James “Blood” Ulmer’s band spanning the transition from 1980 to 1981; both leaders had spent crucial time as Ornette sidemen.) The thing I remember most about it was how closely Ornette’s sound on alto sax resembled that of Charlie Parker’s. I had never heard the resemblance on Coleman’s recordings, but on the nearly non-existent sound system in this low-ceilinged (with acoustic tile) room, the similarity was striking.
Over the years I read many articles, by Ornette or interviewing Ornette or theorizing independently, that tried to explain his concept of harmolodic music (so called because HARmony, MOtion Aka rhythm, and meLODy...
Over the years I read many articles, by Ornette or interviewing Ornette or theorizing independently, that tried to explain his concept of harmolodic music (so called because HARmony, MOtion Aka rhythm, and meLODy...
- 6/13/2015
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Legendary blues guitarist Johnny Winter, known for his fiery, speedy playing and his long-flowing white hair, died yesterday in Zurich, where he was on tour. He was 70. Winter, the older brother of Edgar Winter, was a contemporary of Eric Clapton and was one of the first blues guitarists so embraced by rock audiences that he was able to sell out arenas during his hey-day in the ‘70s. He was widely influenced by the blues guitarists who came before him, such as Muddy Waters, and he went on to inspire such guitarists as Stevie Ray Vaughan. Born in Beaumont, Texas in 1944, Winter got his start playing in clubs as a teenager. He signed with Columbia Records in 1969 and appeared at The Woodstock Festival that year. He performed with Janis Joplin, as well as his brother. He was inducted into The Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1988. Artists including Tom Morello, Kiss...
- 7/17/2014
- by Melinda Newman
- Hitfix
Legendary musician Charlie Haden, who was comfortable in genres ranging from free jazz to folk music to punk rock, has passed away at the age of 76 after a prolonged illness, his record label announced on Friday. “It is with deep sorrow that we announce that Charlie Haden, born August 6, 1937 in Shenandoah, Iowa, passed away today at 10:11 Pacific time in Los Angeles after a prolonged illness,” said Tina Pelikan, Ecm Records Publicity, in a statement. Also read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2014 (Photos) A virtuoso with a wide-ranging taste and a warm, lyrical tone, Haden grew up on a farm...
- 7/11/2014
- by Linda Ge and Steve Pond
- The Wrap
I once wrote that Yoko Ono (born February 18, 1933) made more great albums than any solo Beatle, but also more bad albums. Of course, perspectives on Ono's music vary wildly, and the albums I think are great are the ones the mainstream rejected most vigorously. It's when she makes the most concessions to pop norms (whether rock or dance/electronic) and her lyrics get sappy that I don't like her work. But certainly anyone starting to explore her music could use some guidance.
There are plenty of places to read about her life, so I won't review that info, especially as I touched on some of it in my recent interview. But a few points are worth making, over and over, to counter clichés and misconceptions that have thrived for decades. Ms. Ono was a respected artist for years before she and John Lennon met near the end of 1966. And she didn't break up the Beatles,...
There are plenty of places to read about her life, so I won't review that info, especially as I touched on some of it in my recent interview. But a few points are worth making, over and over, to counter clichés and misconceptions that have thrived for decades. Ms. Ono was a respected artist for years before she and John Lennon met near the end of 1966. And she didn't break up the Beatles,...
- 2/18/2013
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Norah Jones accepted a Grammy award at the 55th annual Grammys on Sunday evening, but it was not in her name.
Jones attended the pre-Grammy ceremony to accept a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for her late father, Ravi Shankar. Shankar was a famed sitar player who is credited with influencing the Beatles.
"I was very excited to hear about the lifetime achievement award a week before my dad passed away, one day before he went into surgery," Jones said in an email to the AP. "He knew about it and was very happy, and also that he and my sister, Anoushka, were both nominated in the same category for a Grammy (this year) was a special thing as well. We all miss him and are very proud of him. I will forever be discovering and re-discovering his music from all walks of his long and amazing life."
When accepting the award,...
Jones attended the pre-Grammy ceremony to accept a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for her late father, Ravi Shankar. Shankar was a famed sitar player who is credited with influencing the Beatles.
"I was very excited to hear about the lifetime achievement award a week before my dad passed away, one day before he went into surgery," Jones said in an email to the AP. "He knew about it and was very happy, and also that he and my sister, Anoushka, were both nominated in the same category for a Grammy (this year) was a special thing as well. We all miss him and are very proud of him. I will forever be discovering and re-discovering his music from all walks of his long and amazing life."
When accepting the award,...
- 2/11/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Los Angeles -- Ravi Shankar passed away in December before he could attend The Recording Academy's Special Merit Awards celebration where he was to receive a lifetime achievement award. But the 91-year-old sitar master, Indian music promoter and friend to The Beatles got the call a few days before he passed away, and that meant everything to his family.
"I was very excited to hear about the lifetime achievement award a week before my dad passed away, one day before he went into surgery," Shankar's daughter, Norah Jones, said in an email to the Associated Press a few hours before the ceremony. "He knew about it and was very happy, and also that he and my sister, Anoushka, were both nominated in the same category for a Grammy (this year) was a special thing as well. We all miss him and are very proud of him. I will forever...
"I was very excited to hear about the lifetime achievement award a week before my dad passed away, one day before he went into surgery," Shankar's daughter, Norah Jones, said in an email to the Associated Press a few hours before the ceremony. "He knew about it and was very happy, and also that he and my sister, Anoushka, were both nominated in the same category for a Grammy (this year) was a special thing as well. We all miss him and are very proud of him. I will forever...
- 2/10/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this week
Theatre
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
With the ever-inventive Rupert Goold both writing and directing, there should be no whiff of mothballs about this staged version of the Cs Lewis classic. Threesixtytheatre, Kensington Gardens, London W8 (0844 871 7693), Tuesday until 9 September.
Chariots of Fire
Sprinting in before the rerelease of the 1981 movie and the Olympics, Mike Bartlett's version promises to be no mere screen-to-stage adaptation. A nifty young cast of rising stars alongside some established talent should make sure this is a show that runs and runs. Hampstead theatre, London NW3 (020-7722 9301), Wednesday until 16 June.
Film
Goodbye First Love (dir. Mia Hansen-Løve)
Two young people pick up the romance that first flowered between...
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this week
Theatre
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
With the ever-inventive Rupert Goold both writing and directing, there should be no whiff of mothballs about this staged version of the Cs Lewis classic. Threesixtytheatre, Kensington Gardens, London W8 (0844 871 7693), Tuesday until 9 September.
Chariots of Fire
Sprinting in before the rerelease of the 1981 movie and the Olympics, Mike Bartlett's version promises to be no mere screen-to-stage adaptation. A nifty young cast of rising stars alongside some established talent should make sure this is a show that runs and runs. Hampstead theatre, London NW3 (020-7722 9301), Wednesday until 16 June.
Film
Goodbye First Love (dir. Mia Hansen-Løve)
Two young people pick up the romance that first flowered between...
- 5/6/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Joe Henderson always had the respect of fellow musicians and hardcore jazz fanatics, but for a long time it seemed the closest he'd get to fame was his brief stint in Blood, Sweat & Tears (years later he reminisced, in one of my favorite interviews, about how that short period was when sax companies wanted his endorsement and gave him free horns). Hardly fair considering that he spent a quarter century ranked among the top three tenor saxophonists alive, along with Rollins and Shorter. Then, almost miraculously, Verve put together a masterful production/promotion campaign that made him more famous in his last decade than he'd ever been before. Alas, emphysema took him at age 64, but he'd managed to leave an impressive legacy with nary a misstep -- he never made a bad album, and his appearance on anyone else's album was always a mark of quality. (Why is Ptah, the...
- 4/24/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Tony Bennett Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Jazz Song: It's So Peaceful in the Country Album: The Beat of My Heart Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Pop Song: Water of Love Album: Dire Straits Charlie Haden Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Bluegrass/Jazz Song: Shenandoah Album: Rambling Boy (Bonus Track Version) David Crosby Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Rock Song: Laughing Album: If I Could Only Remember My Name Mae West Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Jazz Song: Nervous Album: Way Out West Dinah Washington Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Jazz Song: I Concentrate on You Album: What a Difference a Day Makes Isaac Hayes Buy: iTunes.com Genre: R&B/Soul Song: Walk On By Album: Hot Buttered Soul - Ep (Remastered) Claude Debussy (Performed by Glenn Gould) Buy: iTunes.com Genre: Classical Song: Rhapsody No. 1 (Version for Clarinet and Piano) Album: Glenn Gould: Works by Berg, Krenek, Webern, Ravel & Debussy Jim Reeves Buy: iTunes.
- 8/13/2010
- by Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin
- Huffington Post
When asked, if I recall correctly, by an interlocutor from the late, great, Musician magazine, what he hoped to achieve via his bass playing, the magnificent (and still active) musician Charlie Haden responded, "I want to make every note beautiful." And every note Haden plays, sweet or sour, is always beautiful, well-rounded, kind of a staggering individual work in and of itself.
Watching Portuguese director Pedro Costa's first feature, 1989's O Sangue, one imagines that a kind of similar mission moved the filmmaker, who had put himself through a lengthy apprenticeship assisting other filmmakers who did not quite share such an idea.
Every single shot in O Sangue is beautiful, incredibly sharp and well-defined, suffused with ache and sensuality. The multi-leveled cinematic references—to Murnau's Sunrise, to the films of Val Lewton, which Costa will reference even more explicitly in his next feature Casa de Lava, to Antonioni and...
Watching Portuguese director Pedro Costa's first feature, 1989's O Sangue, one imagines that a kind of similar mission moved the filmmaker, who had put himself through a lengthy apprenticeship assisting other filmmakers who did not quite share such an idea.
Every single shot in O Sangue is beautiful, incredibly sharp and well-defined, suffused with ache and sensuality. The multi-leveled cinematic references—to Murnau's Sunrise, to the films of Val Lewton, which Costa will reference even more explicitly in his next feature Casa de Lava, to Antonioni and...
- 10/27/2009
- MUBI
Announced by Charlie Haden and Jack Black, John Mayer won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Say", the single taken from his 2006 studio LP "Continuum" and serves as a soundtrack of 2008 movie "The Bucket List". "Its always been an honor for being a musician," Mayer said briefly during the acceptance speech.
Sugarland's "Stay" performance was followed by another appearance from Adele, singing "Chasing Pavements". Introduced by Gwyneth Paltrow, Radiohead then invaded the stage with their energetic appearance.
More winners were also announced on Grammy.com. Best Rap/Sung Collaboration meanwhile went to Estelle's song "American Boy", which features Kanye West. Best Female Country Vocal Performance was handed to Carrie Underwood for her single "Last Name", and Best Male Country Vocal Performance was given to Brad Paisley.
2009 GRAMMYs : Winners List | Red Carpet Photo...
Sugarland's "Stay" performance was followed by another appearance from Adele, singing "Chasing Pavements". Introduced by Gwyneth Paltrow, Radiohead then invaded the stage with their energetic appearance.
More winners were also announced on Grammy.com. Best Rap/Sung Collaboration meanwhile went to Estelle's song "American Boy", which features Kanye West. Best Female Country Vocal Performance was handed to Carrie Underwood for her single "Last Name", and Best Male Country Vocal Performance was given to Brad Paisley.
2009 GRAMMYs : Winners List | Red Carpet Photo...
- 2/9/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
More celebs have been confirmed for an already star-studded 2009 Grammy Awards. U2, Rihanna, Kid Rock, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are among the stars scheduled to rock the stage at the Feb. 8 show, joining previously announced Grammy-bound performers like Justin Timberlake and Paul McCartney, the Recording Academy said Thursday. Also added to the lineup: Gwyneth Paltrow, Duffy and Josh Groban, who will hand out trophies. (It'll be couples night for Paltrow; her husband Chris Martin will be playing with his band, Coldplay.) Actors Samuel L. Jackson, Jack Black, Simon Baker, and jazz musician Charlie Haden will also be presenters. The...
- 1/29/2009
- by Tiffany McGee
- PEOPLE.com
Those deep roots return to their natural color when a legendary jazz bassist goes into the heart of His Country, taking loved ones along for a joy ride back in time
Did you hear the one about the old jazz musician, his triplet daughters, and the famous actor/comedian who doubles as a son-in-law?If you haven’t, you should. There’s no punch line here, just one fabulous record called Rambling Boy by Charlie Haden Family & Friends (Decca Records, released September 23). And put the emphasis of this...
Did you hear the one about the old jazz musician, his triplet daughters, and the famous actor/comedian who doubles as a son-in-law?If you haven’t, you should. There’s no punch line here, just one fabulous record called Rambling Boy by Charlie Haden Family & Friends (Decca Records, released September 23). And put the emphasis of this...
- 10/2/2008
- by Michael Bialas
- Blogcritics
King Kong star Jack Black has eloped with his girlfriend Tanya Haden. The couple first met while they were attending a private performing arts high school in Santa Monica, California, but were not romantically involved. According to the bride's father, jazz bassist Charlie Haden, "They love each other very much. We're thrilled." Haden, like her famous father, is a musician and played cello in the Haden Triplets with her sisters, Rachel and Petra, who are, in fact, triplets. The bride's sister, Petra, recently released the acclaimed a cappella cover album The Who Sell Out. The couple began dating when they bumped into each other last April at a mutual friend's birthday party where, Black's two-man band Tenacious D was performing. Black says of the initial meeting, "Tanya was there. I got really nervous and I talked to her...and it's been great. I'm really crazy about her." The actor reportedly proposed to Haden just after Christmas, presenting her with a $220,000 ring from celebrity jeweler Neil Lane. Prior to his surprise nuptials, Black had been linked with writer and comic Laura Kightlinger since 1997.
- 3/15/2006
- WENN
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