It’s a rare occurrence when you walk into a room with live music playing and you are compelled to stay and listen and not try to bolt to the nearest exit or alcove.
Patrons of the retro chic Culver Hotel in Culver City will be pleasantly surprised to hear an innovative jazz quartet playing in the lobby every Saturday night. Led by burning alto saxophonist Mark Einhorn, the Q-Bet Quartet plays jazz standards that breathes new life into songs that jazz fans have heard many of times before.
The quartet played a dynamic version of Miles Davis’ modal standard, So What, with Einhorn leading the way with nimble fingering and a clean, expressive sound out of his alto, while Ryan Mahlstedt and Chris Parise on bass and drums respectively, held down a steady, locked in-groove.
While not exactly a supreme listening room, the Culver Hotel’s lobby is a nice place to take in a solid jazz quartet, with a full bar and food menu available.
Along with the Industry Cafe and Jazz on Washington Boulevard, Culver City is definitely keeping jazz alive, while the Jazz Bakery waits in the wings with construction of their new venue. The Q-Bet Quartet plays the Culver Hotel every Saturday night from 8 to 11 p.m with no cover.
As the summer concert season winds down, there is still ample opportunity to enjoy music in the outdoors. The Culver City Symphony Orchestra will present their next concert on Thursday, Aug. 9 at Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey. You can hear music in the park, while watching the boats in the marina and catching the beautiful summer sunset.
Tonight’s concert is called “Remembering France” and it is in celebration of the 150th anniversary of composer Claude Debussy. The program will present his “March Ecossaise” and “Iberia” from “Images.”
Maurice Ravel’s music returns to these concerts with his ode to the dance: “La Valse.” Appearing on the bill as well will be duo-piano twins from Philadelphia, Christina and Michelle Naughton. They’ll be performing “Concerto in d minor for Two Pianos” by Francis Poulenc.
If you’re looking to fill out the kids summer with one last supercalifragilistic musical attraction before school begins, Broadway’s hit musical “Mary Poppins” returns to Los Angeles with a three-week run at the Ahmanson Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Based on P.L. Travers’ stories and the 1964 Walt Disney film, Mary Poppins features the Academy Award-winning music and lyrics of brothers Richard and Robert Sherman, along with new songs from the songwriting team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.
Culver City resident and noted TV and film composer David Tobocman will be celebrating the release of his third children’s CD, “Escalator”, with a concert at the Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga on Sunday, Aug. 12t beginning at 11 a.m. Tobocman’s concerts are fun for both the kids and parents, which in children’s music is always key to getting the family motivated to get out and hear live music.
Jonathan Weiss is a Los Angeles based music supervisor for film, TV and advertising and radio journalist. Email him at jonjaz@aol.com