The first time I ever heard cello music was at a screening of the Chinese film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Although the movie featured astonishing cinematography and mystical martial arts scenes set against a background of exquisite Chinese landscapes, it was the music that made my jaw drop. I stayed for the credits; I had to know more about the haunting score. I never forgot that music, nor the artist who performed it, Yo-Yo Ma, so when I discovered the famous cellist was scheduled to give a solo recital at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida I immediately purchased a ticket.

I had no idea Yo-Yo Ma would be performing three of Bach’s Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites until I walked into the auditorium this evening and opened my program. Inwardly I groaned; I am not a fan of classical music, and Bach is one of my least favorite classical composers. Still, It was Yo-Yo Ma; I settled into my seat with an open mind.

From the very first note, I was mesmerized. The movements were at times dark and threatening, conjuring images of shadowy figures slinking through alleys, at other times melancholy or Read the rest of this entry »

Jason Mraz is the real deal. The whole enchilada. The complete package.

I discovered Mraz two or three years ago as I was flipping through the TV channels in a hotel room during one of my ubiquitous trips and landed on Austin City Limits. The show featured a live concert by this young guy I’d never heard of. The more I listened, the more astounded I became. In his music I heard elements of jazz, blues, bluegrass, reggae, rap, ballads, and more, all rolled up together to produce a sound unlike any I had previously heard. He even incorporated scat into his music, a technique made famous by Louis Armstrong in the 1920′s that involves singing random vocables and syllables without words at all: Be-be-de-bop-bop-bop-boo-ah.

In an interview on that same TV show, Mraz explained that because his parents were divorced when he was five, he split his time between their respective houses. When he stayed with one parent he was Read the rest of this entry »

John Mayer is tired of his own music; that much was obvious at last night’s concert at Tampa’s Ford Auditorium.

Mayer’s was the first concert I have attended in quite some time. The previous one was a joint Kiss/Aerosmith concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in, I believe, 2001, and before that was a 1994 James Taylor concert in Indianapolis. James Taylor has always been one of my favorite artists. His music is timeless and he does not disappoint, despite the fact that he has been doing this for many more years than Mayer. Kiss and Aerosmith? Although they are performers from my era, they are not exactly my favorites, but I happened to be in NY when they were scheduled to appear, and so I went just for kicks. Again, their show did not disappoint.

During the past couple of years artists like John Mayer and Jason Mraz have gradually climbed to the top of my all time favorite list, sharing honors with the likes of James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, and Seal. So, last night, with previous concerts as my frame of reference, I was prepared to be blown away by Mayer. I got to the amphitheater two hours early and stood on line for more than an hour, undaunted by the steady rain that eventually soaked through my hip-length raincoat and drenched the back of my jeans. Forty minutes past the scheduled opening time, Read the rest of this entry »