Fri., Oct. 27. CLAUDE HALL perfects her tribute to Nina Simone, backed by Musical Director Jamieson Trotter. Born in Brooklyn of Haitian parents, Miss Hall moved to Paris in 1989, but an autumn weekend in Prague in 2003 proved pivotal when a friend overheard her singing a few Gershwin tunes and asked her to record...
Sat., Oct. 28. CAROLYN HENNESY. The “deliciously vicious” “Penelope Ellis” on the ABC series, Revenge; “Rosalyn” on True Blood; “Diane Miller” on General Hospital (“17 years and counting;”) and “Mrs. Valentine” on Dawson’s Creek, Ms. Hennesy received training at the American Conservatory Theater and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She is also...
Fri., Nov. 3. FREDDIE WEBER presents her new one-woman musical comedy, The Power of Nothing! Winner of a Los Angeles DramaLogue Award, a New York Critics Circle Award, an Obie Award, and a Theater World Award for “best musical performer Off-Broadway,” (The Last Sweet Days of Isaac,) Ms. Weber writes and performs inspirational and spiritual...
Sat., Nov. 4. KENSHAKA ALI, in “A Love Supreme.” Singer, director, acting coach, and professor of theatre arts, Mr. Ali was born and raised across the street from the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem, where, running errands for the backstage crews, he was let in for free. Although captivated by Motown, blues, and R &...
Tuesdays, Nov. 7, 14, & 28. The Gardenia’s OPEN MIKE, with Keri Kelsey, host. Starting at 8:30 p.m., Keri Kelsey hosts a Singers’ Open Mike Night---the best in town, now in its twenty-fourth year. Sign-up, libations, and noshing begin at 7 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 10. SETSUKO HATA JAZZ QUINTET, featuring guitarist David Snow. Born in Osaka, Japan, Setsuko Hata emigrated to the United States in 2011 and received an undergraduate degree at New York City College and a master’s degree in jazz voice and composition from the University of Northern Colorado. While in New York, she played...
Sat., Nov. 11. PHYLLIS CAUSEY. Having studied with Barbara Morrison and Howlett Smith, Ms. Causey now conducts her own vocal workshops in her hometown of Detroit and at West L.A. College. In addition to appearances in Los Angeles and Detroit, she has also taken her shows to Houston, Atlanta, and Paris, France. She is the...
Sun., Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. TOM CULVER, in “I Love Hoagy Carmichael.” For those for whom lyrics, melody, tonality, interesting harmonic progressions, and interesting rhythm are the most important elements of musical production, Tom Culver’s shows provide veritable Master Classes in how music geniuses of the last century brought these five elements together to...
Tuesdays, Nov. 7, 14, & 28. The Gardenia’s OPEN MIKE, with Keri Kelsey, host. Starting at 8:30 p.m., Keri Kelsey hosts a Singers’ Open Mike Night---the best in town, now in its twenty-fourth year. Sign-up, libations, and noshing begin at 7 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 17. JACKIE GIBSON. “Songs at the Brill Building.” 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in New York was to the popular music of the late ‘50’s and ‘60’s as Tin Pan Alley was to the popular music earlier in the 20th Century, with the Brill Building’s girl groups and teen idols supplying popular music’s grist...
Sat., Nov. 18. LAURAL MEADE, in “Ms. Tucker Will See You Now.” A longtime member of the theater faculty at Occidental College, playwright and musical performer Ms. Meade has sung in Southern California venues “both sacred and profane,” and directs a choir for The Secret City. Her vocal musicianship has turned heads at The Gardenia...
Tuesdays, Nov. 7, 14, & 28. The Gardenia’s OPEN MIKE, with Keri Kelsey, host. Starting at 8:30 p.m., Keri Kelsey hosts a Singers’ Open Mike Night---the best in town, now in its twenty-fourth year. Sign-up, libations, and noshing begin at 7 p.m.