The pandemic did Catalina (both the woman and the club) no favors. It took a lot of effort and the support of jazz music fans from around the world to keep the club afloat. But she’s still here and so is her club. But Popescu still faces very changing times in the music industry.

Her dream, the shifting sands of live music and the future of her club were all on the table when we spoke last week. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity. To see the full interview, please go to our YouTube channel.

About 13 years ago, you did an interview with Agenda Magazine where you were asked about favorite artists that had performed at Catalina. Part of your answer was, “There is really something to learn about somebody that is going through life in different places and different social environments.” You were in a different place as anyone would be after those 13 years. That also included the pandemic. How has your perspective changed on life, the business of live music and the role of live music in your own life? 

This period has been very difficult. We tried as much as possible to keep music alive even in that period. I still feel there is nothing like live music. Everybody tried all kinds of virtual things to do this. Yes, it was fine for the moment, but it’s nothing like live music. When we came back and we presented again live music, everybody that came to see the shows. They felt like they were born again. 

Did you feel born again in that moment, too? 

Absolutely. And believe me it wasn’t that easy. When we got back everything in the place was broken from not being used, including air conditioning, freezers, refrigerators, everything. So as we were fighting with all of that, we had the music going on. And believe me, that made the big difference. 

How have you seen the jazz scene change in Los Angeles since you first opened the club?

The jazz scene in Los Angeles has been having some ups and downs during all these 36 or 37 years. I have had times when jazz was very up and cool. And I have had times when the jazz was put to the backburner like nobody was interested. Now I feel that everybody’s thirsty for live jazz. And people come young, old, in between, and they enjoy every little bit of it.

Did the move from Cahuenga to Sunset Boulevard require a complete rethinking? Were there things that you learned in that move that you’ve now been able to apply for the 20 years or so that you’ve been on Sunset?

We looked for this place for more than three years prior to finding it, because we wanted to have a place which was bigger. But to resemble in some way the old place so people wouldn’t feel that they had to change everything. This was a warehouse before, so I designed everything to look almost like the old place. I still have people coming saying that they like better the other place. That was fine, but was very small. What I try [sic] to do is to find a place that had a lot of parking, to find a place that was safer and the place that had good sound.

What are the challenges in booking major jazz artists today? 

Big challenges. Especially after the pandemic. Everybody was sitting without doing anything. So when everything else opened, everybody felt that they are now in a pot of gold – which maybe was true. Some was not. But we still have a lot of problems booking because of pricing. Everything went up. The airline tickets are up. The hotel prices are up. Everything going crazy. And, of course, musicians, because they lost so much money, feel that they need to recoup everything.

Even before the pandemic artists like Brad Mehldau or Jason Moran can play a week at the Village Vanguard in New York. But when they come to Los Angeles, they feel the need to play Walt Disney Concert Hall or the Soraya. 

Here in Los Angeles they have more possibilities, more places to choose from. I don’t understand what the problem is. But now we are almost the only place still standing and we still have a very difficult time bringing these musicians that you mentioned because of prices. 

How do you work around that?

We find them sometimes on the way in a tour. So if they don’t have anything else, they would make a stop here. Or we try to do better price-wise. Even if we lose a little bit of money, it’s okay. I have to have a lot of thinking and a lot of calculation in everything that I do. 

I’ve spoken to several jazz artists who say that they would love to find a smaller venue in Los Angeles, but they suggest that you require they rent out the facility rather than being paid as booked artists. Is that true?

No, that’s not true. None of it is. 

How would they get that impression?

I don’t know. That’s never true to do that. Never. The way we work sometimes if somebody is totally unknown, we ask them for a deposit, and that is only to get them involved. The moment we got the people in and we got the show on, they get the deposit back. So no, that’s not true.

In the early days of the club your dream was to get Dizzy Gillespie there. Who in on your list of people you’d love to see perform there now? 

When he came and I saw him on my stage here, I had to pinch myself. I just couldn’t believe it. Who I would like to see? I would like to see more of the musicians I already worked with. Like the ones you mentioned, like Stanley Clarke, like Marcus Miller to come back. Probably he will be back in in October. I would like to see more singers like Oleta Adams. Let me see what else? Because we lost a lot of them. That was very painful.

Not too long ago we lost Ahmad Jamal. He was one of our dearest friends when we opened this place. Ahmad Jamal was scheduled to perform for the opening and we didn’t get the permit from the health department. So myself, my husband and Ahmad Jamal, we are here in the audience looking at the beautiful piano on the stage, not being able to [have a] show.

I was able to find an interview that you did as part of a story about Geri Allen with the Los Angeles Times in 1992. She was about to make her debut at Catalina. You said, “She’s a young talent and her music is very exciting, very appealing. And the fact that she is a woman artist is a big thing to me.” How far has the jazz world come since 1992 in terms of advancing, supporting and recording women in jazz?

I don’t think it has advanced a lot in regards to that. She was a wonderful woman, wonderful performer and she was a wonderful mother. She was a great person. I have worked with a couple of other ladies. The women in jazz, you know, I am not sure they are at the place that they should be. 

What do you think it will take for them to get to to a more elevated level? 

I really don’t know. Maybe the society changes a little bit, maybe appreciating them more. I know they work a lot and they put all they have in their music. But it’s still very difficult as a woman. And in business, I am by myself now. I don’t have my husband with me since 15 years ago. So it’s not easy.

What would you like to see happen with Catalina Jazz Club when you’re no longer able to be a part of it on a daily basis?

I don’t know. I feel a lot of times if it’s not me here, nothing will happen anymore. Because you have to put all your heart and all your life into something that you love very much. You have to dream about it, to sleep on it, to eat with it, to do everything. So I don’t really know what will be. I really wouldn’t. But for right now I am planning to work and to have this place going until we finish our lease, then we’ll see.

When is that?

Eight years from now.

Let me take you back in time to that Easter weekend in 1987 when your dream came true and Dizzy Gillespie was on the stage at Catalina Bar and Grill. Anybody who was anyone was in the audience that night. If you could think back to who you were back in 1987 and look at where you are now, what would you have to say to the young version of yourself about everything that you’ve accomplished and everything you’ve endured and where you are today?

A lot of times people ask me if I would do it again. How would I do? What do I change? And my answer is I will never do it again, because it was very hard.

That Easter weekend was like the most exceptional and the hardest weekend of my life because I was going in it without knowing a lot. We had the best musician in the world, the most well-known. Everybody was coming to see him. We really didn’t know how to handle everything. I was trying so hard to make it and I made it. But it was very difficult.

The next day, Easter Sunday, my husband went out and he bought a whole lamb and invited everybody, all the musicians, to lunch and they had the best time of their life. That’s what happened in that Easter weekend.

I’ll tell you a little story from that time. I was seating people at the door and all kinds of people came in and I didn’t have any idea who anybody was. One guy was really pushy and I put him right in his place. Then when I went to a table, they said, “Oh, can you tell Miles to join us?” I said, “Miles?” So they said, “Miles Davis.” The one that I was pushing and I was really strong with – that was Miles Davis. I said to myself, Oh my God, what did I do because I felt very bad.

Looking back at the girl… I was not a girl, but I was much younger. I would say I grew up with this place. I turned into a very strong woman. Nothing bothers me anymore. I love all these people I work with. And if you don’t love music, don’t get in it. That’s all I can say.

Do you still love music?

I love music to the core of my heart.

To see the full interview with Catalina Popescu, please go here.

Main Photo: Catalina Popescu (Photo by Aaron Jay Young/Courtesy Catalina Jazz Club)

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Our Top Pick: Best Bets April 30th – May 3rd is the 2021 Global All-Star Concert for International Jazz Day. The concert takes place on April 30th beginning at 5:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT. The concert will remain available for viewing for 30 days.

This year’s line-up is extraordinary and will be coming from around the world.

Performing from New York will be saxophonist Melissa Aldana; bassist Massimo Biolcati; pianist A Bu; pianist Cyrus Chestnut; composer/pianist Amina Figarova; vocalist Roberta Gambarini; saxophonist Kenny Garrett; bassist James Genus; vibraphonist Stefon Harris; trumpeter Ingrid Jensen; saxophonist Joe Lovano; saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa; composer/drummer Antonio Sánchez and vocalist Veronica Swift.

Performing from Los Angeles will be the legendary Herbie Hancock (who also serves as Artistic Director of the concert); percussionist Alex Acuña; reedman Justo Almario; vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater; singer/songwriter Jonathan Butler; guitarist Mahmoud Chouki; pianist Gerald Clayton; singer/songwriter Andra Day; guitarist Romeo Lubambo; bassist Marcus Miller; vocalist Dianne Reeves; composer/trombonist Francisco Torres, drummer Justin Tyson and bassist/composer Ben Williams.

International performances will include performances by saxophonist Igor Butman from Moscow; multi-instrumentalist/singer Jacob Collier from London; trumpeter Mandisi Dyantyis in Cape Town; singer Angélique Kidjo from Paris; composer/singer Ivan Lins in Rio De Janeiro; guitarist John McLaughlin in Monaco; trumpeter James Morrison in Mt. Gambier and pianist Junko Onishi in Tokyo.

John Beasley is the Musical Director for International Jazz Day.

You will be able to watch this live event on YouTube, Facebook, at jazzy.com, UN Web TV and more. And it’s free to watch!

There are International Jazz Day celebrations around the world. Why not celebrate with them?

The 2021 Global Concert will remain available for viewing through May 29th.

Photo: Herbie Hancock at the International Jazz Day 2019 All-Star Global Concert (Photo by Steve Mundinger/Courtesy Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz)

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As Stradford says in the introduction to his book, Davis was named to Esquire Magazine‘s 75 best-dressed men of all time. GQ called him the best-dressed musician ever.

Stradford combines his own presentation of key biographical elements with interviews with those who knew Davis: from ex-wives to musicians to stylists. Amongst those offering their perspectives on him in MilesStyle are Quincy Jones, Bryan Ferry, the late trumpeter Clark Terry, filmmaker Reggie Hudlin, his late ex-wife Frances Davis, bassist Ron Carter, Lenny Kravitz and more.

I recently spoke by phone with Stradford about his book, the conversations he had about Davis and I ask him the one question he asks every person in MilesStyle. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity.

Miles Davis said, “For me, music and life are all about style.” With so many other books on Davis, why do you think no one had examined his style before?

I think the strength and weight of his music was so prominent and there was so much to digest there. This was a guy who changed music several times. It’s only been in the last 10-15 years that men’s fashion has really gotten a serious look from the culture. When Miles was stylin’, people would always acknowledge it because it was unique and he was so consistent.

Style expert Lloyd Boston told you he compared Davis to Cab Calloway, Grace Jones and Lady Gaga as a fellow “rainmaker.” Do you see the same through line he does with Davis?

I can see it in that everyone was a trailblazer and marched to their own beat. Cab stayed the same musically, but the others you mentioned, Gaga, Grace Jones, you could put David Bowie in there, they were all chameleons, but they all had a distinct and unique presence. I think Miles easily falls within that lineage.

Something else Boston said intrigued me, “Knowing when to stop makes it elegant and understated.” That seems, at least up to Bitches Brew, to describe his music. How much do you think his music influenced his style and vice-versa?

I think Miles saw everything creatively. So I think his music influenced his style. His cooking influenced his style. The cars he drove – the Maserati, the Jag, the Ferrari – influenced his style. The last 8-9 years of his life he went into this avant-garde look that was contrary to what he’d done before. I never got a handle on what it was about the avant-garde Japanese designers and the big floral Versace clothes that got into his design.

For someone for whom music was everything, why did he put so much emphasis on how he appeared?

I think part of it had to do with respect. He wanted to be taken seriously and I think he thought you can’t be taken seriously if you aren’t taken seriously for what you wear. Dexter Gordon sent him to a tailor and that was the first time he had clothes made and he understood the impact of how he presented himself.

Did Miles Davis in any way influence your own perspective on clothes and how to present yourself?

He made me think about it seriously because he always looked impeccable. I appreciated that. I thought it was too much work for me personally, but I liked the idea that visually when I went out I looked presentable – whether a casual gathering or an after-five outing.

I always enjoyed his mid-50s to mid-60s look when he was wearing Italian-cut suits. I think that’s his most timeless look. He was particular about the quality of the fabric, how it was cut, how it lined up against another fabric. Some of it works on me and some of it doesn’t. I found that educational and have tried to apply that over time.

I’m intrigued by Quincy Jones and his concern about today’s musicians not knowing music history. Why should younger generations care about Miles Davis, both as a musician and a fashion icon?

For an artist trying to build a career, Miles’ path can be an inspiring one because of the way he started and the hurdles he faced – including his own demons. His fearlessness in changing bands and direction when nobody supported it. Miles Davis plays out a life and career path that is worth investigating. All roads are bumpy, it’s how you navigate them that counts.

As far as clothes, it speaks to a uniqueness of him as a person and his personal vision. If someone has the music and they watch the look to match, it’s trial and error and you find the right thing that works for you. Miles is a great example of that.

If you could go back in time and spend a year with Miles Davis, what period would you want that to be and why?

It would probably be the mid-to-late 50s because that was his real coming out. That was when he conquered his heroin addiction and came back to New York renewed with a sense of clarity of the kind of artist he wanted to be. That leads to Kind of Blue which is the best-selling jazz album of all time. It would be interesting to be with him to watch that progress and see what influences him and what he’s responding to and what he’s not.

Throughout the book you ask everyone you interviewed to describe Miles Davis in one word. How would you answer that question?

Ha ha! That’s a good one. To me it all comes back to cool. To me he is the epitome of cool or at least he project the idea of cool. I like the idea of grace under pressure which I think cool is and he exhibited that often. Just an ability to be comfortable in his own skin to the extent he didn’t care what anyone else thought. That to me is cool. That would be my word.

Michael Stradford’s MilesStyle is available now.

On Monday, August 31st, Stradford will be hosting a conversation about The Enduring Cultural Legacy of Miles Davis on MOBE Symposium at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT. Joining him for that conversation will be Vince Wilburn, Jr and Erin Davis from Miles Davis Properties, LLC; Nicole London and Stanley Nelson, the producer and director of Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool; John Jackson from Legacy Recordings and musician/composer Marcus Miller. The event is free, but you do need to register to join.

Photo of Miles Davis courtesy of MilesDavis.com

Photo of MilesStyle and Michael Stradford courtesy of the author

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You’ll have a chance to see for yourself when PBS stations around the country air Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool as part of American Masters on Tuesday, February 25th.

Amongst the many collaborators, historians and family members talking about the legendary musician are Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller, Ron Carter, son Erin Davis and ex-wife Frances Taylor.

Nelson’s film, which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Music Film, utilizes actor Carl Lumbly to speak for Davis in the narrated portions of the film. While the film celebrates the work of this legend, it does not shy away from other aspects of his personality that aren’t so glamorous.

As Nelson says about Davis in a press release about his film, “An elegant man who could render ballads with such tenderness yet hold rage in his heart from the racism he faced throughout his life. He could be romantic and pursue women relentlessly, yet treat them with cruelty upon winning them over. He could be extremely generous, yet rescind that generosity on a whim.”

For any fan of Miles Davis, this will be essential viewing. For those who only know the name and not the man or his music, I strongly recommend you check out Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool on PBS this week.

Photo of Miles Davis Courtesy of Photographer Hank Parker/Sony Music Archives

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Miller has performed with some of the true greats in music: Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Elton John, Bryan Ferry,  Roberta Flack, Luther Vandross and Wayne Shorter. He is considered one of the finest bass players of his generation.

His most recent album was 2018’s Laid Back which found him collaborating with Trombone Shortly, Take 6, Kirk Whalum and others. If you want to get a great sense of how his bass playing drives a song, check out Hylife from his 2015 recording Afrodeezia.

Miller also composers film scores. Marshall, About Last Night, Think Like a Man and Good Hair are just some of the films he’s scored. As if that isn’t enough, he also hosts a weekly jazz show on Sirius XM.

But first and foremost he is a terrific musician. His ability to traverse multiple styles of music will pretty much guarantee that no two sets amongst these eight this weekend will be the same.

For tickets go here. (Note: Saturday night’s early show is already sold out.)

Photo of Marcus Miller courtesy of the artist’s website.

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These shows are put together by filmmaker Reginald Hudlin and musician Marcus Miller. The show is hosted by Craig Robinson. They always have a great line-up of songs (both the well-known and more obscure) and artists. This year is no exception.

The performers scheduled to appear Wednesday night include El DeBarge, Dionne Farris, Chaka Khan, Meshell Ndegéocello, Raphael Saadiq, Charlie Wilson and BeBe Winans.

Vince Mendoza will lead the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

In 2016, I was able to corral many of the artists performing at Black Movie Soundtrack II to reveal their favorite songs. Many of them said the North Star of Black Movie soundtracks is Isaac Hayes’ Theme from Shaft. Who are we to argue with them about that? Let’s hope this year’s show celebrates that incredible song.

To read my interview with Marcus Miller about this year’s show and more, go here.

For tickets go here.

Photo of Reginald Hudlin, Craig Robinson and Marcus Miller courtesy of the LA Philharmonic Association

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July 14th: Kristin Chenoweth in Concert

The Broadway shows You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Wicked, Promises, Promises and On the Twentieth Century all have one woman in common:  Kristin Chenoweth.

Chenoweth received a Tony Award for her performance in Charlie Brown and was Tony nominated for Wicked and On the Twentieth Century. But it is her way with a song that stands above it all.

This concert was originally billed as “An Intimate Evening with Kristin Chenoweth.” If anyone could make the Hollywood Bowl seem intimate, it is this 4’11” bundle of energy from Oklahoma. Her powerhouse voice will easily reach the seats in the back of the venue.

When I spoke with her six years ago in advance of her first concert at the Hollywood Bowl she said, “When I do television, I realize more people will see me in one night than would see me in most of my time on Broadway. My challenge, and I’m excited by it, is to make people feel like they are at home. It’ll be a fun journey but also intimate.”

She has the ability to sing Broadway tunes, country music, pop music and spiritual songs. In short she can sing it all. With this concert she will almost close out her 50th birthday year. (Her birthday is ten days after this concert (July 24th.) Who knows? Perhaps the audience will serenade her with Happy Birthday. That will show you just how Popular she is.

Thomas Wilkins will lead the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

July 19th and 20th: Hugh Jackman: The Man, The Music, The Show

With his work as one of the X-Men behind him, Jackman can focus on his true love: the stage. He will return to Broadway next year in a revival of The Music Man with Sutton Foster. He previously appeared on Broadway in The Boy From Oz (which lead to his Tony Award), Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway and the plays A Steady Rain and The River.

For this show you can expect that Jackman will pull from a variety of sources including the musicals mentioned above, Les Misérables and The Greatest Showman. He’s an avowed disciple of Gene Kelly, so a tribute to him would not be a surprise.

Jackman is a throwback to another era when song-and-dance men were celebrated. Sure, he can scare people as Wolverine, but it is when he’s singing and dancing that he’s at his happiest and this show will find the audience just as happy.

Keala Settle joins Jackman for these two concerts.

July 26th, 27th and 28th: Into the Woods

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s unique interpretation of various fairy tales will come to life in three concerts at The Hollywood Bowl. And what a cast they have assembled: Skylar Astin, Sierra Boggess, Chris Carmack, Anthony Crivello, Sutton Foster, Tamyra Gray, Cheyenne Jackson, Hailey Kilgore, Gaten Matarazzo, Patina Miller, Rebecca Spencer, Shanice Williams and the voice of Whoopi Goldberg.

Into the Woods, which was made into a successful film in 2014, contains such memorable songs as Children Will Listen, No One Is Alone, Agony and my personal favorite, Last Midnight.

Each year the Hollywood Bowl puts on a musical that gets performed three times. It’s a herculean effort, in a limited amount of time, for both the cast and the crew. Into the Woods, with its multiple locations, interlocking storylines and some of Sondheim’s trickiest melodies and lyrics, will test everyone.

Robert Longbottom, who directed Side Show, Bye Bye Birdie and Flower Drum Song, helms Into the Woods. We will have interviews with Longbottom and Patina Miller the week the show opens.

September 8th: Gladys Knight

It seems as though each category we are covering includes an artist who needs no introduction. And in the pop/Broadway listings it is definitely Gladys Knight.

This seven-time Grammy Award winner was first introduced to the world via the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. But it was with The Pips, who released their first album in 1960, that Knight rose to fame. Amongst their best-known songs are I Heard it Through the Grapevine and If I Were Your Woman. She’s been singing and entertaining audiences ever since.

Knight has also found success in film and television. She received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Pipe Dreams. (A film that was celebrated in the most recent Black Movie Soundtrack concert with a surprise performance by Knight.) She’s appeared in films with Harrison Ford and films by Tyler Perry.

But it’s her glorious voice that fans know and love most. Joining Knight for this concert is The Kingdom Choir. This is the choir that performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

September 25th: Black Movie Soundtrack III

This is the third time around for Marcus Miller and Reggie Hudlin. Like the two previous concerts, the show celebrates both instrumental and vocal music from black movies. If the previous concerts are any indicator, this show will certainly be one of the most entertaining nights at the Bowl this year.

Popular singers and artists come together to perform this music. Sometimes the original artists who introduced the material perform the songs; other times artists interpret songs from black movies that they love. All of these performances will be accompanied by film clips from the movies being celebrated.

So far the line-up for this year’s show includes El DeBarge, Dionne Farris, Raphael Saadiq and BeBe Winans. I would anticipate that more artists will be added to this concert as the September date nears.

Craig Robinson, as he has before, will serve as the host for the concert. Vince Mendoza will lead the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

For tickets to all Hollywood Bowl shows go here.

All photographs, unless otherwise noted, courtesy of the LA Philharmonic Association.

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Common
The Love Jones soundtrack really captured the era of the ’90s, and still, the music is timeless. It gave us a myriad of artists—poetry, jazz, soul, and hip hop—that somehow all blended well for an album. It provided some amazing classics like Fugees’ Sweetest Thing, Dionne Farris’s Hopeless and Maxwell’s Sumthin Sumthin. I still play those songs.

Babyface
My two favorite black movie soundtracks are Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly and Claudine because they both spoke for the time. Both were culturally significant, and the music described what was going on in our country at the time.

Gladys Knight
Claudine is one of my favorite love stories. Curtis Mayfield was exceptional to work with on the soundtrack. He truly had a God-given gift.

Charlie Wilson
Shaft. Isaac Hayes created a sound that depicted the lifestyle of the New York hustler. He had a signature voice that you knew from the first note to the end of the song. A classic! And then Purple Rain. Prince was different—like no one we had ever seen before. [It] was written with passion and helped compliment the story which was obviously personal to him.

Lalah Hathaway
I’m partial to Come Back, Charleston Blue because my father, along with Quincy Jones, did the soundtrack for that movie. I love Claudine! I always loved Bill Lee’s orchestral scoring for Do the Right Thing. I really loved Girl 6and Purple Rain. I love The Wiz. There’s so many. This is why I never have favorites—I couldn’t possibly choose one.

Marcus Miller
Shaft is my all-time favorite. It’s just epic. You instantly get the entire vibe of the ’70s when you hear those instruments. Isaac Hayes once told me he was asked to shorten the track. He stuck to his guns, which absolutely contributes to the epic feeling of this tune.

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