BRING ON THE DUDUKS
Don Heckman
LA TImes, Ca
Calendar Live
May 24 2007
CRITIC’S PICKS: JAZZ/WORLD MUSIC
THE Hollywood Bowl offers new twists with its programming from the
very different realms of jazz and world music.
First up: You don’t have to live in Glendale to hear Armenian music.
"Spirit of Armenia!" on July 29 will blend traditional music and
contemporary pop enhanced by the swirling magic of the Zvartnots and
the Vartan & Siranoush Gevorkian Dance Ensembles. On the pop side,
the highlights include the soulful singing of Sako, Adiss Harmandian
and Hovhannes Shahbazyan, along with rising young star Silva Hakobyan
and the Armenian-Mediterranean sounds of the Element Band. And the
gripping sound of the oboe-like, vocal-sounding duduk will be amply
present in the stirring work of duduk master Djivan Gasparyan and
the Winds of Passion duduk ensemble.
On the jazz front: Will it be a summit meeting or a musical
collision? We’ll know on Aug. 22, when pop pianist Bruce Hornsby plays
with a trio that features jazz stars Christian McBride, bass, and
Jack DeJohnette, drums. Three-time Grammy winner Hornsby has played
bluegrass, rock, pop and classical – with Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan,
Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson and dozens of others –
along his path to selling more than 10 million of his own albums
since 1996. But he’s always had a yen for jazz. This night also
features the quartet of still-vital Dave Brubeck and the engaging
song stylings of Madeleine Peyroux.
*
"Spirit of Armenia!," 7 p.m. July 29, $1 to $43; Jazz at the Bowl,
8 p.m. Aug. 22, $7 to $45. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. (323)
850-2000, hollywoodbowl.com.