Oh yes, he is making it big at L.A… and the guys at Deutsche Grammophon are very much in love with him, since the recording of his debut gala with the Angels -L.A Phil, that is-  soared at iTunes and Billboard magazine…

Good for him, but…  we know he can do more than mediatic stuff.

"TA DAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

“Gustavo Dudamel, Los Angeles Philharmonic: Mahler Symphony No. 1, From de Inaugural Concert“ salió al mercado el 20 de octubre sólo por iTunes y alcanzó la posición número 1 de las listas Clásico Tradicional y Clásico General de la revista Billboard en la primera semana, anunció el lunes el sello discográfico Deutsche Grammophon.

By Don Heckman

Los Angeles

- Nov. 9. (Mon.)  Judy Wexler. Wexler’s briskly swinging vocal style finds a perfect match with the trio of organist Joe Bagg, guitarist Bruce Forman and drummer Devin Kelly.  Charlie O’s.   (818) 989-3110.

Steve Gadd & Friends

- Nov. 10. (Tues.)  Reginald Robinson.  The MacArthur Genius award winning pianist  performs solo ragtime pieces to accompany silent film clips of animation by cartoon pioneers Walter Lantz, Otto Messmer and Earl Hurd. The Hammer Museum.

- Nov. 10 – 12. (Tues. – Thurs.)  Steve Gadd and Friends. After bringing the authentic flavor of jazz to a long list of pop artists, drummer Gadd does his own thing. With Joey DeFrancesco, Ronnie Cuber and Paul Bollenback.   Catalina Bar & Grill (323) 466-2210.  (Also at Yoshi’s SanFran Nov. 13 – 15.  See Below)

- Nov. 11. (Wed.)  The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.  Nicholas McGegan conducts this superb period orchestra, six soloists and the Philharmonia Chorale in a rare evening devoted completely to the music of Henry Purcell.  Disney Hall.  (323) 850-2000.

- Nov. 12. (Thurs.)  McCoy Tyner.  Versatile, ever-intriguing Tyner has been one of the most powerful piano innovators of the past five decades.  He performs with his trio and alto saxophonist Gary Bartz.  The large improvisational ensemble, Build an Ark, opens the show.  UCLA Live at Royce Hall. (310) 825-4401.

Janis Mann

- Nov.12. (Thurs.)  Janis Mann.  Although she’s been compared to such iconic singers as Sarah Vaughan, Mann bring’s her own unique qualities to the classic jazz vocal style. Crown Plaza Brasserie Jazz Lounge. (310) 642-7500.  m

- Nov. 12. (Thurs.)  Pete Christlieb Tall and Small Band w. vocalist comedian Tony Russell.  Saxophonist for all seasons Christlieb leads a snappy 10-piece band with his wife, trombonist Linda Small-Christlieb.  This is the first event in which comedy is added to Vitellos’ Red Carpet Jazz Series.  More on the way.   Upstairs at Vitellos.  (818) 769-0905.

- Nov. 12. (Thurs.)  Denise Donatelli. A singer with the sound, the rhythm and the interpretive imagination to bring a song to life – that’s Donatelli.   Charlie O’s.  (818) 989-3110.

- Nov. 12 – 15. (Thurs. – Sun.)  Dawn Upshaw with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.. Upshaw sings Luciano Berio’s fascinating cycle of folk songs and Dudamel conducts Schubert’s Symphony #8 (Unfinished).  Disney Hall.   (323) 850-2000.

- Nov. 13. (Fri.)  “Loud and Rich. “  Loudon Wainwright and Richard Thompson. A pair of veteran songwriters, each with a witty, sometimes sardonic, way with a phrase, make a rare duo appearance.  UCLA Live at Royce Hall.  (310) 825-4401.

Frank Marocco

- Nove. 13. (Fri.)  Dr. Bobby Rodriguez. ” Latin Dance Party”.  Trumpeter and educator Rodriguez knows all the connections between the steaming rhythms of Latin jazz and Latin dance.  The Culver Club in the Radisson Hotel Los Angeles Westside.  (310) 649-1776.

- Nov. 14. (Sat.)  Frank Marocco Quartet. Marocco keeps affirming the role of the accordion in jazz and beyond with his rich, inventive musical imagination.  He’s backed by Pat Senatore, bass, Robert Hardt, piano and Ramon Banda, drums.  Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc. (310) 474-9400.

San Francisco

- Nov. 9. (Mon.)   Ian Anderson plays acoustic Jethro Tull. Anarchic flutist Anderson revisits his past.   The Warfield.

- Nov. 11.  (Wed.)  Leon Russell.  A rare club appearance by the great songwriter, pianist and character. Yoshi’s  San Francisco.   (415) 655-5600.

- Nov. 12. (Thurs.)  Ray Davies performing the Kinks Choral Collection. Forty years after, Davies is still producing memorable music.  The Warfield.

- Nov. 13. – 15. (Fri. – Sun.)  Steve Gadd and Friends.  W.. Joey DeFrancesco, Ronnie Cuber and Paul Bollenback.  Yoshi’s  San Francisco.  (415) 655-5600.

New York

- Nov. 9 – 12. (Mon. – Thurs.  Gal Costa and Romero Lubambo.  An irresistible combination: Costa’s dark-toned, intimate lyricism and Lubambo’s remarkably intuitive guitar backing.  The Blue Note.   (212) 475-8592.

Jim Hall

- Nov. 10 – 14. (Tues. – Sat.)  Jim Hall Quartet.  Veteran guitarist Hall, always eager to test his wares in a contemporary setting, performs with Greg Osby, alto sax, Steve Laspina, bass and Joey Baron, drums. Birdland.   (212) 581-3080.

- Nov. 11. (Wed.)  Kat Edmonson.  A stand-out in the crowded field of young female jazz vocalists, Edmonson has an ear caressing sound and an easygoing sense of rhythmic swing.  The Jazz Standard.   (212) 447-7733.

- Nov. 13 & 14. (Fri. & Sat.)  The Mike Melvoin Trio.   The veteran pianist is backed by the world class rhythm team of bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Bill Goodwin.  Mike promises that they “will play music for your blood, your heart and your spirit.”  Kitano.  (212) 885-7119.

El joven director venezolano Gustavo Dudamel fue honrado este sábado 24 de octubre con la condecoración de caballero de las Artes y las Letras otorgada por el gobierno francés. La distinción le fue entregada, al término de su segundo concierto en la Salle Pleyel, por el ministro de Cultura Frédéric Mitterrand. De igual forma, José Antonio Abreu, fundador del Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, recibió las insignias de oficial de la legión de honor.

Dudamel estuvo al frente de la Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil Simón Bolívar y la Filarmónica de Radio Francia, quienes interpretaron música francesa y venezolana. En primer término, el ensamble de la radio pública francesa obsequió a los asistentes con la Suite No. 2 de Dafnis y Cloe de Maurice Ravel. Inmediatamente después, la agrupación sudamericana ejecutó la obra Santa Cruz de Pacairigua del venezolano Evencio Castellanos. Después del intermedio, ambas orquestas se integraron en un solo ensamble conformado por más de 150 músicos e interpretaron la Sinfonía fantástica de Hector Berlioz.

Recientemente Dudamel, de 28 años de edad, inauguró su primera temporada al frente de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Los Angeles y realizó una breve gira europea con la Orquesta Sinfónica de Gotemburgo de la que también es titular.

Redacción Clásica México

My latest CD mini-review for the WRTI E-newsletter:

Fiesta
Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel
Deutsche Grammophon 477 7457

We may be drawn to Fiesta because Gustavo Dudamel is one hot commodity—hotter than any classical musician right now. And while that’s not a particularly bad reason, I’d like to suggest listening because it’s a sizzling introduction to the world of Latin American classical music. Mexico shows up in Sensemaya, a primal chant by Silvestre Revueltas. Okay, it’s a chant to kill a snake by, but I did say primal. Then there’s the breathtaking Estancia by the Argentine Alberto Ginastera, who always should be heard more. The Venezuelan Dudamel includes attractive and striking works by four of his countrymen, and another Mexican work, the Danzón No. 2 of Arturo Márquez, swirls and shimmies its way through dance halls and cafés.

How unexpected music history can be. The archetypal Broadway love-letter to Latin America, the “Mambo” from West Side Story, completes the disc, and it seems partly indebted to Márquez, until you realize that the Bernstein is older—by about 40 years. What a wide-ranging, surprising, and growing field this is.

So that’s why we might listen. Oh, and the kids will knock your socks off—can they play or what?! Yes, Dudamel is one hot commodity, but there’s so much more here.

TONIGHT, TONIGHT: Tonight marks the Canadian debut concert of the world-famous Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela led by

DUDAMELL: he's a rock star

superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel, the new music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic — (60 Minutes called him “the hottest thing to hit classical music since Leonard Bernstein”) — at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Special highlight tonight will be the presentation of the Glenn Gould Prize to Dr. José Antonio Abreu, whose visionary music education and youth orchestra system, El Sistema, has transformed the lives of over a million at-risk children and youth in Venezuela. Tonight’s gala concert kicks off a week of performances, education and outreach activities to illuminate, stimulate and communicate the passion for music. For more info, just click here.

SHARPS ‘N’ FLATS: Strumming queen Liona Boyd wants it known that despite the title of her new CD, Liona Boyd Sings Songs Of Love, she has not,

MULDAUR: here Wednesday

repeat, NOT given up guitar. “I might not quite be the virtuoso player I used to be,” the ageless entertainer confides to her fans, “but I can still perform beautiful melodies and incorporate many different guitar techniques, as you’ll clearly hear on my CD.” However, she’s more than partial to vocalizing as well. “I love singing and I practice my songs around the house at every opportunity … one of the great advantages of living alone!” … three dozen albums and one Midnight At The Oasis later, Maria Muldaur returns to her jug band roots with an intimate concert Wednesday night at Hugh’s Room … after almost four years and sales of four million copies of her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae’s second

AZNAVOUR: jazz roots

album, The Sea, is set for release in February …Geri Halliwell (a.k.a. Ginger Spice) is reportedly set to produce a new West End “pop extravaganza” which would tell the tale of the rise of The Spice Girls, the ‘90s English pop girl group who made a big-boxoffice reunion tour last year … attention Christmas shoppers: The much-anticipated, rumoured-to-be-breathtaking CD featuring Charles Aznavour performing some of his classics with the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra is due in local disc shops on Dec. 1 … A.M. on A.M.? You bet. You can hear AM740’s two-hour Anne Murray All of Me – the Radio Special at 1 pm today, on the radio or on the internet (in stereo) at www.am740.ca … the new Lighthouse CD/DVD

LIGHTHOUSE: new CD/DVD package

package, 40 Years Of Sunny Days, includes a new DVD of 16 recent Lighthouse videos in surround sound, commentary by band members,s a newly remastered CD of the most requested Lighthouse  classics and a 42 page booklet about the band … and call it a sign of the times, but Chris Colepaugh’s new album Burning –  a collection of live performances captured by his Cosmic Crew — is being released in digtal format only. To preview the new album, go to his website right here.

QUOTABLE QUOTES: “I’ve been through a lot of change in the 21 years I’ve been anchoring this program, and I can remember times we’ve switched the

MANSBRIDGE: let sleeping dogs lie?

theme music and our loyal viewers got really upset – some of them wrote to us explaining how their dogs used to fall asleep to the old theme music and now they’re barking like mad – so there’s no doubt there will be a few people who will initially be unsure of it.”

The speaker? Peter Mansbridge, in an interview with National Post reporter Vanessa Farquharson, commenting on the new-look changes we’ll see tonight on The National and CBC News.

TOMORROW:

Who gets to play Hef in the movie?

On the day before yesterday, Gustavo Dudamel, the 28-year-old Venezuelan conductor, held his first rehearsal at the Los Angeles Philharmonic as its new maestro. Wearing trendy black sneakers and a persistent smile that showed the sheer fun he’s having directing one of the world’s premiere orchestras, he later met with reporters for what turned out to be a geography lesson. Asked by a reporter what he had on  his iPod, Dudamel answered that he loved Latin music and was listening to the likes of Venezuelan salsa star Oscar D’Leon and Dominican crooner Juan Luis Guerra. Then the reporter said: “You are in America now, what Americans?” Dudamel didn’t miss a beat and shot back ”I am talking about Americans!” — to which the room packed with journalists erupted in laughter and clapping. That Latin America is indeed part of America is something that Dudamel brings up often, but always with good humor and patience.  At his news conference he reiterated that America is one — Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, the United States, all included. That message is likely to resound in Los Angeles, a city that is half Hispanic and home to millions who migrated from southern portions of the Americas.

He also told reporters that “classical music is cool,” and they seemed to believe him.

Dudamel, who first picked up the baton at age 11, emerged out of Venezuela’s extensive classical music education program called El Sistema, which some cities in the United States are seeking to emulate.Los Angeles’ cultural community has high expectations for their new maestro, starting with his first performance as musical director, a free concert for 18,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday.

Dudamel, who will spend a good part of his time in Los Angeles working with the Youth Orchestra LA, said he feels responsible for sharing the joy of orchestral music to a new generation, and start several other youth ensembles in Southern California.

“One very important thing is to bring all the community to music. It can sound romantic, it can sound crazy. People can say, ‘Oh, the boy is just talking,’ but dreams can come true,” he said.

For original reports go to http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jEfxGMbNgBsRR84oVaJKyaNeEcAwD9B29FVO4

and http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/2009/10/01/venezuelan-conductor-gives-lessons-in-geography/

Interpretando La 9na Simfonia de Beethoven

Gustavo Dudamel har en  ny hemsida, besök den genom att klicka HÄR!

By Shahrazad Encinias

Welcome to LA Gustavo Dudamel!!!
The 28-year-old Venezuelan is the new Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director and boy has he left his mark here. Thursday evening on October 8th Gustavo Dudamel brought together an array of celebrities and classical music fans to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA. I was surprised and star struck to see and meet most of these legends. In case you’re wondering I was covering the red carpet that night, so I was able to interview some of these peeps. Here’s quick run-through of some that walked the red-carpet:
Andy Garcia
Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance
Jason Schwartzman
Herbie Hancock
Quincy Jones
Sophia Bush
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
Mayor Villaraigosa and so many more

I didn’t get a chance to go inside and witness this history live, but i was able to sneak into a viewing party across the street! And that was very cool but very cold because it was outside. I found a video someone bootlegged from the viewing party. Here’s a mini-taste of what we Angelenos can have the opportunity to witness.

Either way, welcome nuevo director GUSTAVO DUDAMEL!! For more pictures you can visit 944 Magazine, because that’s who I intern for and Carl (the photographer) has some really interesting photos of the event and location. Enjoy!

Classical Music Concert made in Hollywood

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Gustavo conduce a Gustav con glorioso final

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There isn’t much to say about Gustavo Dudamel that hasn’t already been said many times over–but there is something to be said about Thursday night’s live outdoor simulcast of his inaugural concert at the Music Center Plaza, just a stone’s throw from the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Lately, it seems like things are a little different for the LA Philharmonic in terms of accessibility.  Yes, Dudamel’s inaugural concert was a black-tie event with the likes of Tom Hanks, Sidney Poitier, and Quincy Jones, along with a little over 2,000 other bow-tied and evening gowned patrons.  Yes, the rest of us sat on the ground outside watching TV screens, while being fed $9 hot dogs.  But the Disney Concert Hall can only hold so many folks, and this event opened it up to nearly double the amount of people who would normally be able to witness this truly unique concert.

Beginning with the free Hollywood Bowl Bienvenido Gustavo! show last week (which was also webcast live and kept online in its entirety for the next 24 hours), and looking at this free simulcast in the Music Center Plaza (which will air on PBS later in the month), it feels like the world of classical music in welcoming you in, even if you don’t necessarily have the means to frequently attend LA Philharmonic concerts.  And most of us don’t.

A liaison for the Music Center was wandering the plaza Thursday night gauging the audiences’ reactions, and said that this live simulcast was a new, experimental way of getting more people involved and allowing them to access this particular special event.  It seemed to go off beautifully–the plaza didn’t feel claustrophobic, the screens were easily visible from many places, getting there and getting in was a simple process, and there were no lines to buy food–most likely because people were allowed to bring along picnic baskets of their own, in the spirit of a Hollywood Bowl concert outdoors.

He was unsure whether or not they would do something like this again, but was taking careful notice of people’s reactions, stopping by different groups or families to see how they were liking it–and everyone had something positive to say.

Most surprising was the amount of children in the audience–there were more than a few families in the area around me, and none looked as though they had been dragged there against their will.  I was waiting for the cell phones or video games to come out before the first movement of John Adams‘ “City Noir” was through, but surprisingly, most of them sat quietly, and the only phones I saw were ones taking quick pictures.

Hopefully this new spirit of bringing the beauty of classical music to a wider audience will persevere.  While the outdoor plaza certainly doesn’t have the impeccable acoustics of the Disney Concert Hall, I’m not sure that I noticed.  And I’m also not sure that I didn’t have more fun with friends and a picnic basket outside on a beautiful night downtown, with the city visible around me and John Adam’s new orchestral piece making me feel like I was in a 1930’s moment from Chinatown (in the best way possible).

I don’t know much about the finer details of classical music, and though I spent many years of childhood forced to labor over music theory, not much has been retained.  But I do know that hearing this music performed live and being able to see someone like Dudamel lead so many world class musicians is a unique experience that allows you to connect in ways that are impossible to do otherwise–Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 isn’t quite the same when its played on an iPod.

The beauty of Dudamel’s new tenure with the LA Phil is largely his ability to connect with a wider audience and bring classical music to people who may have felt a distanced from it.  A nearly 10 minute long ovation at the conclusion of the concert said it all in regards to the warm way the city feels towards him already–it will be interesting to see if the welcoming and accessible spirit that has infiltrated classical music in LA will remain.

Gustavo Dudamel dirige hoy su concierto inaugural en el Walt Disney Concert Hall

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Landa = Literature & Art

October 3, 2009…

Gustavo Dudamel held the globe suspended on a string. For a moment the earth did not rotate. It stopped to listen to Beethoven’s 9th.

*                     *                     *

Then the couple next to me started making out and whispering to each other, or rather making competing vibrations to the music. So I nudged the guy, who I’ve known for 13 years. Then she checked her text messages. I took her iPhone and kept it in my coat pocket for her. They listened intertwined.

“Ode to Joy” was nowhere in sight, or ear shot. The 9th is a long build-up to the finale of exuberant celebration. I knew it was coming. They didn’t. They were making their own Ode to Joy.

“If music be the food of Love, play on!”

Gustavo articulated every movement and vibration generated by his players and the organic instruments. Jumbo screens projected three enormous images of him in black tie throwing his bohemian bush of hair back and forth with ecstatic punctuations that matched his butterfly hands. All the musicians got screen time, too.

The making out continued without whispering vibrations…just smacking of lips, like library stacks kissing. Quiet as possible but still noticeable. For context, we had just finished a bottle of wine between the three of us and there was a full moon hanging in the comfortably cool autumn sky.

But here comes “Ode to Joy,” the deaf man’s revelation of sound to describe what my friend and his new girl were feeling.

They were feeling their own vibrations so much that they left early. They missed the fireworks!…the multi-lingual translation on the jumbo screen of the orchestra’s lyrics.

I had goosebumps during “Ode to Joy”–it is eternally mellifluous, and especially endowed with emotion when Dudamel conjures the old master’s work.

The Bowl was hooting and hollering afterwards. The Dude exited and came back three times to cheerful applause. It was a magical evening of love and beautiful music in Los Angeles, CA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsU7CTLeV-c