L.A. Times - Music News

Young violinist touches older heartstrings

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Since February, Alexander Knecht has been playing at a VA medical center in Loma Linda. He's convinced that his music can free patients, if briefly, from the prisons of their own bodies and minds.

Alexander Knecht unpacked his violin and sheet music and slipped into Marvin Baker's dimly lit hospital room.

Michael Jackson album sales highlight physical, digital merits

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Although downloads help fill the gap after stock disappears upon the singer's death, fans are choosing CDs over digital albums.

In the first few days after Michael Jackson's death on June 25, bereaved fans downloaded nearly 2.5 million digital copies of his songs, setting a record that's likely to stand for years. Before that, no music act had ever rung up even 1 million digital tracks in a single week.

Live: Beyoncé at Honda Center

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The production makes a case for Beyoncé as the ultimate realization of the female pop dream.

Two news items chased Beyoncé into the Honda Center in Anaheim Saturday, when she finally brought her latest world tour to the Southland after four months on the road. One had the singer earning the top spot on Forbes magazine's "young rich list" as the highest-earning celebrity under 30. The other, more gossipy story involved a rumor that she has banned photographers from shooting her from certain angles during her show, because she sweats too much. ¶ Those tidbits -- one about Beyoncé's unique glamour and the other about a common, earthy foible -- better summed up the inner divide she's been exploring in her work than did the frenzied pizazz of the concert itself. ¶ That's not to fault the production: It's fairly astounding, as both showbiz and an athletic event. During its more than two hours, Beyoncé led her large dance troupe and all-female big band (a concept to which she's remained loyal for two tours now) through many compulsory arena-pop routines and several she herself has invented. ¶ She somersaulted while suspended in a harness. Thrilling! She sang happy birthday to a 2-year-old. Adorable! She let the crowd take over while singing "Irreplaceable." Fun! She got on her knees and mourned Michael Jackson. Poignant! She hit most of her notes too, though sometimes slipping badly in her lower register. And she danced like only Beyoncé can dance, with a combination of power, grace and smarts that fully unites Broadway choreography with urban street innovations.

Ricardo Lemvo: Infused with the Cuban beat

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Hooked as a child in Africa, Lemvo is living his salsa dream. He brings his intoxicating salsa fusion to the Santa Monica Pier this week.

At age 10, Ricardo Lemvo was hooked on the blazing horn arrangements, conga drums and up-tempo sound of Johnny Pacheco and the Orchestra Aragón. It was 1967 in Kinshasa, Congo, and the intoxicating pleasures of Cuban son and rumba were sweeping through Africa.

When rock stars fake it

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It's not about just the music. Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Janelle Monae and others never break character. But is it real or merely an elaborate act?

Lady Gaga wants you to know she is not a Method actor. The 23-year-old ingénue behind hits like "Poker Face" and "Paparazzi" does believe in cultivating what thespians call "theatrical truth." But while devotees use the exercises developed by the late Lee Strasberg and others to go deep into character and pull themselves out again, Gaga has made artifice her permanent home.

Paul Lewis gets to the heart of the matter

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The British pianist's main focus is Beethoven, but he also tackles other masters of the Austro-German classical repertoire.

Some pianists launch their career by challenging the work of the composers they play -- making a piece their own with a radical re-interpretation. The young Glenn Gould took J.S. Bach at an unheard-of speed, while Vladimir Horowitz found an unplumbed neurotic intensity in Robert Schumann.

Paul Lewis with the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Paul Lewis with the Los Angeles Philharmonic What: "Bravo Beethoven!"

Michael Jackson: A requiem for a king

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 00:12:00 -0700

Family, friends and fans bid farewell to an icon.

In the end, they brought Michael Jackson to the one place where his life always made sense -- beneath a spotlight and in front of his adoring fans. The superstar, in a gleaming gold coffin, was celebrated in a Staples Center memorial service that was beamed around the world and, like the icon himself, strove mightily to be all things to all people.

Michael Jackson hailed during emotional memorial service

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 13:07:00 -0700

Celebrities praise the late singer's life, and his daughter, Paris Katherine Jackson, delivers a tearful statement to the Staples Center crowd: 'Daddy has been the best father you can imagine.'

Music legends, sports figures, and civil rights leaders paid tribute to Michael Jackson today during an emotional, song-filled service at Staples Center that was part polished entertainment, part revival meeting.

Remembering Michael Jackson: The service is a thriller

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It's poignant. It's wrenching. But most of all, it's so very Michael.

In the days after his death, Michael Jackson's mother reportedly worried that if her son's funeral was too long delayed, his soul might wander the earth. In a more secular sense, that is exactly what has been happening. Remembering Jackson -- debating his legacy, listening to his music, trying to make sense of his life -- has become the world's favorite activity. The shape of Jackson's shadow grows only more complicated as these thoughts and memories accrue.