Paul Lines We talk with the director of the Pasadena Jazz Institute who's producing "The Nutcracker Swings" featuring the Ellington/Strayhorn arrangements plus Renee Olstead, James Torme, Sylvia St. James and Victor Vener at the Pasadena Convention Center Saturday.
Listen.Mike Stern This five-time, Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist comes to Hollywood. Check out this video.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band The good will ambassadors of the Big Easy make one of their annual stops in the Southland. Check this out.
The Poetry of John Menaghan Award-winning poet John Menghan reads some of his poems accompanied by the jazz artists that inspired him. Listen to the poems.
Kurt Szul Analyn Revilla does the Q&A thing with this young guitarist who designed his own 9-string axe.
According to Wikipedia, "stride piano is a jazz piano style that evolved partially from ragtime. The left hand may play a four-beat pulse with a single bass note, octave, seventh or tenth interval on the first and third beats, and a chord on the second and fourth beats."
If you can't make it to his concert in Northridge, Dawson's new CD, "Stridin' Through Christmas" is available at his website, www.dawsonjazz.com
Chris Dawson, Giannelli Square, 19451 Londelius St., Northridge 818.772.1722, 7 p.m. Saturday.