The good folks at the Creative Sanctuary are continuing Homage to the Message, a chronological celebration of various satellite members of the Jazz Messengers. This installment is all about the tunes of trumpeter and composer Lee Morgan — gone too soon at the age of 33, when his girlfriend shot him between sets at an […]
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Music Tonight: Thursday, July 24
The Creative Sanctuary’s fine cadre of jazz musicians continues rolling along with their excellent series celebrating the various satellite musicians associated with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Tonight’s gig at 7 p.m. at the Arcata Playhouse is a celebration of tenor sax player Benny Golson, whose brief stint with the Messengers produced the 1958 […]
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Music Tonight: Saturday, June 28
The Creative Sanctuary presents another jazz show at the Arcata Playhouse tonight at 7 p.m., this one is a tribute to trumpeter and composer Kenny Dorham, a criminally underrated musician who died far too young and is perhaps most famous for his work with the early iteration of the Jazz Messengers. Co-producers James Zeller and […]
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That Summer Feeling
We live in a culture where apology, a change of temperament or evolving ideological alignment are considered signs of weakness. This seems like an intractable, complex problem, but it’s simple to sidestep when you remember everyone who runs things here is stupid as hell and arrogant to boot, and that you don’t have to be […]
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Ben Hurd, Whose Christmas Tree Farm Was a Holiday Tradition for Many, Dies at 93
Ben Hurd, who along with his namesake Christmas tree farm was an integral part of cherished holiday memories for generations of local families, has died. He was 93. According to an announcement on the farm’s Facebook page, Hurd passed away peacefully on the morning of June 12. “He was determined to stay in his home […]
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Talkin’ Baseball
Summer comes in pieces, with many unofficial starting points before the solstice. Around here, one of those points is the beginning of the Crabs’ baseball season, which started Friday. Opening night is always a big deal in Arcata, with people of all ages filling the metal bleachers and picnic tables to root for the home […]
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Music Tonight: Thursday, May 22
The Creative Sanctuary is putting on another jazz gig at the Arcata Playhouse, the first in a series basking in the glow of the formidable works of Art Blakely and the Jazz Messengers. Tonight’s program is an homage to Horace Silver, the post-bop pianist and co-bandleader who brought the group to his highest peaks of […]
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Music Tonight: Sunday, May 11
More jazz on the docket tonight, when the Creative Sanctuary presents Jazz is Peace: A tribute to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn at the Arcata Playhouse tonight at 7 p.m. The line-up features a rogues gallery of top-notch musicians, including James Zeller, Katie Belknap, Danny Gaon, Ramsey Isaacs, Allison Muench, Matt Seno and Tree. There’s […]
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The Buddha of Suburbia
Following last week’s introduction, one might think I was being a little too hard on the Democratic Party, and some folks might be bothered by that. Fair enough. In my defense, I’m trying to help people — not the party, I have no love there — get through the denial and bargaining stages of grief, […]
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Music Tonight: Saturday, Aug. 31
The Sanctuary has been the place for well-curated celebrations of some of the true jazz greats of our country. Tonight is one such event, and I suggest you Take the A-Train to J Street by 7 p.m. and pony up the $15-$30 sliding scale door fee to head into a little piece of Birdland. The […]
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L.A. Freeway
I’m dropping a Guy Clark song for this week’s title because a) it’s very good and b) it was brought to my attention by a dear friend and one of the brightest stars in our local music scene. Beverly Twist and I have known each other for years now and I’ve written a lot about […]
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Arcata Denounces ‘Acts of Hate and Violence’
Arcata City Councilmembers this week denounced recent “acts of hate and violence” after someone cut down a tree adorned with rainbow flag ornaments and a “Love Joy Peace” banner, which had been placed in support and solidarity after the destruction of a LGBTQ+ flag displayed at the same community garden site. Both acts took place […]