Asking a musician whether he prefers teaching or performing is like asking a first year student his major. It’s one of those questions everyone tries to avoid having to answer. Read more...

Even at 74 years old, renowned Senegalese percussionist Doudou N’Diaye Rose is on his second major U.S. tour. Outside of wowing American audiences with dazzling displays from his 35-member percussion orchestra, there’s one more thing he wants to do before he leaves: watch an American band perform live onstage. Read more...

Toward the end of “Homebody/Kabul,” Tony Kushner’s sensational new play at the Mark Taper Forum, Milton Ceiling (Reed Birney) tries to explain binary duals to an Afghan woman he’s considering taking back to London. Read more...

A slew of recent Buddhist art exhibits in the Los Angeles area are proving there’s a lot more to the religion than Zen wisdom and Shaolin warriors. Read more...

Oscar-winning editor Anne V. Coates remembers being excited but also intimidated when she found out that David Lean wanted her to edit “Lawrence of Arabia.” Coates was a young editor then, and “Lawrence of Arabia” not only gave her a big break into the editing business, but her work eventually won her an Academy Award. Read more...

Good things do come to those who wait ““ at least at jazz shows they do. Sunday night at Royce Hall, the Michael Brecker Quintet and the Roy Hargrove Quintet overcame a forty-minute delay and a few minor sound problems to successfully stage two very different and satisfying sets of innovative jazz music. Read more...

Yucca Mountain, a barren strip of land about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is revered by its native Shoshone tribe as a place of deep spiritual and religious importance. Read more...