One of the eternal foundations of timeless music is its ability to send your mind to a different place in space. And, that’s what exactly happened one recent night at the fabled Odeum in East Greenwich. Gazing out at a packed house, this reporter was transported by a mystical time machine to a throbbing, heavenly […]
Jazz in the Ocean State has seen a myriad of tough times, including, COVID aftershocks, digital streaming, stubborn inflation, and changing demographics. But, just like the changing tides of Narragansett Bay, local jazz is here to stay. Live music venues and great jazz musicians have come and gone, but jazz lovers should not despair. While […]
If you’re tired of the same old cookie-cutter award shows filled with red carpet paparazzi, mindless interview banter, tacky glamor, and celebrity smiles that look as though they were created by a Hollywood plastic surgeon, there is hope. Right here in Providence, there is an alternative. On April 4 through April 7, Rhode Islanders have […]
Imagine on any given night during the 1950s being able to hear the swinging sounds of Count Basie, the bluesy diva Billie Holiday, or Louis Armstrong, one of the greatest trumpet players of all time? No, I am not talking about the thriving Times Squares jazz scene in the Big Apple, but the fabled Celebrity […]
I knew as I drove to Fall River on that moonless, raw winter night it was worth the ride. I could bank on it. Crossing the Braga Bridge and pulling into a dimly lit parking lot surrounded by old brick factories from a bygone era the scene was set. As I walked into the Narrows […]
For the past 70 years, I projected that my golden years were a long way off. But was I wrong? Today, people drive past me yelling stuff like “Move over you old blankety-blank-blank!” And believe me, they’re not saying I look like Brad Pitt. People over 60 face a variety of Herculean challenges. From health […]
On a frigid night in November, there is nothing better to shake off the cold than a night of music with some of Rhode Island’s hardest working bands for nearly 50 years. It may have been near freezing outside, but at the Park Theater in Cranston, a show featuring several of Rhody’s Music Hall of […]
Halloween will never be the same for me. What better way to celebrate an otherworldly weekend than at the gilded, 100 year old, Providence Performing Arts Center with one of the world’s great funk bands, Tower of Power backed by the Rhode Island Philharmonic? To say this show took my breath away would be an […]