by Rory O’Donoghue
“I wouldn’t be here without this man,” pianist/harmonica player Howard Levy said, gesturing to Béla Fleck. “I wouldn’t be here without me either,” Fleck retorted.
With bassist Victor Wooten and percussionist and “drumitarist” Roy “Future Man” Wooten, they form the “extraordinary initial lineup” of Béla Fleck & The Flecktones. The quartet closed the night on June 28 at the KeyBank State Theatre, a Tri-C JazzFest double-feature that opened with John Scofield’s Combo 66. It was an evening of legends, only getting better with age. [Read more…]
The theme of ENCORE Chamber Music’s fourth season is “La Bohème: Art and Freedom,” mixing meanings of Bohemianism. It has brought together the 19th-century artistic movement that sought to break down conventions (think the characters from Puccini’s opera) with composers from Bohemia, of which Dvořák is the most famous. I attended three concerts where the overarching theme was successfully bent to include music from Mozart to living American composers.
There are rare, perfect moments in chamber music where minds meld and hearts coalesce in beautiful synergy. Violinist Nathan Meltzer and pianist Evren Ozel, both young phenoms, did just that with their pre-concert performance of Franck’s 
A rare sensitivity emanated from the stage of CIM’s Mixon Hall on June 8. The source was Jason Vieaux, playing a carefully crafted program of music mostly from the 1700s during the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival.
The Maureen Choi Quartet brought joyful energy to the Bop Stop stage during their concert on June 20, performing a fresh and fun set of works from their recent album 