Homeless musician Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, the subject of the book and film The Soloist, has recorded his first album, and today LA Times columnist and longtime advocate of Ayers Steve Lopez tells the story of the tenuous process. more ›

LAist met Robert Vijay Gupta at a show in November at a Casual Friday concert where the LA Philharmonic played an Alban Berg violin concerto with Gil Shaham and a Mozart Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter". Then when the audience was invited to stay after for a discussion of the music, we learned that Dudamel could play the theme from the Simpsons on violin and that the deep respect between Gupta, Shaham, and Dudamel has an authenticity that makes everyone envy not only their talent, but the deep bond that is formed between great musicians who play together. To make the evening even more magical, later in the lobby, we met Robert Gupta and shamelessly asked for to come to rehearsal and interview him. more ›