The Wayne Shorter Quartet
I was checking out the listings of upcoming concerts on Pollstar - yes, sometimes we journalist/blogger types get our information from the most routine of sources - and ran across a couple of previously unmentioned items of interest.
It looks like the Roberts Orpheum Theater downtown is making a serious move this summer to capture the local audience for smooth jazz. In addition to the acts mentioned earlier this week, on Friday, August 12 the Orpheum will host this year's edition of the "Guitars and Saxes" smooth jazz package, starring Jeff Golub, Mindy Abair, Warren Hill and ex-NBA-star-turned-bass-thumper Wayman Tisdale. This tour played at the Pageant the last couple of times through town, and it makes me wonder if there will be any smooth jazz acts left for them to book after the Orpheum gets done, or if they're just ceding that segment of the market to the newcomers.
Something else that should have been a much bigger deal last month when it was first announced is the news that legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter and his quartet will perform in concert with members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday, September 28 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the UMSL campus.
This is part of the new "fusion" series begun by incoming SLSO music director David Robertson, and the prospect of hearing Shorter and his superlative band (Danilo Perez on piano, Brian Blade on drums and John Patitucci on bass) with orchestral backing is tempting indeed. And I think I already like Robertson - he's young (at least by the standard of orchestral music directors), energetic, and seems to be bringing fresh ideas to the table, including programming a number of contemporary compositions for the SLSO's 2005-06 season
I visited the TouPAC for the first time last month, and it should be an excellent venue for this concert. You can bet I'll do whatever I can to be in that audience on 9/28.
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