The history of jazz in Los Angeles was celebrated once again in grand style on Saturday, Oct. 21, when the 29th Central Avenue Jazz Festival took place in the historic corridor between MLK Blvd. and Vernon Avenue.
Booker T. Jones will be celebrating 60 years of Green Onions and the Hammond B-3 organ at Jazz Club at The Soraya in Northridge on Feb. 2-3, at 8 p.m. As part of the Third Annual Jazz at Naz Festival, both evenings will feature a collaborative musical performance pairing of the legendary organist with up-and-coming keyboard extraordinaire Matthew Whitaker. One of the architects of The Memphis Sound, to which the 1960s and 1970s soul/funk movement is undeniably indebted, Jones, with his breakout album on the Stax Records label in 1962, helped to change the history of music. Three-time ASCAP Foundation
If you haven’t heard jazz musician Matthew Whitaker play the piano, hurry, and download any of his recordings and prepare to have your heart lifted and get carried away. Whitaker, 20, a true prodigy more than lives up to his moniker, jazz phenom.