StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Cheri Evans live at Cookie's, plus Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Let's close out the month of September with one more video excerpt from Jazz @ Cookie's, this one featuring singer Cherilyn Evans and her group, the CEE Jazz Band. As with the all the clips from the locally produced show posted here recently, this is part one of three. To see the second and third segments of this episode, go here and here.

Today's second video is from 1969, and features legendary multi-reedman Rahsaan Roland Kirk rendering the then-current Burt Bacharach-Hal David pop hit "I Say A Little Prayer" in his own distinctive manner. Kirk is often remembered these days for his ability to play two or even three saxophones simultaneously, but he was much more than just a purveyor of gimmickry, combining superb musicianship, down-home funk, joyful spirituality and a real sense of showmanship in a way that has yet to to be duplicated in the jazz world or anywhere else, for that matter. Here's hoping this clip brings you a few bright moments.

RFT's "Best of St. Louis" includes Bode, Bluiett, Whalum, JATB and Owsley

The 2006 "Best of St. Louis" edition of the Riverfront Times is out this week, and includes the results of the annual Music Awards readers' poll as well as the editorial staff's picks for the best people, places and things in our town.

In the readers' poll, Erin Bode (pictured) won the Music Award as Best Jazz Artist, while category winners in the BoStL editor's picks section include Hamiett Bluiett as Best Jazz Artist, Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum as Best Lounge Act, Jazz at the Bistro as Best Jazz Club and KWMU's Jazz Unlimited, hosted by Dennis Owsley, as Best Jazz Radio Program. You can see the full list of Music Award winners here, and the entire Best of St. Louis listings here.

Jazz this week: "City of Gabriels," John Handy, Geri Allen and more

St. Louis jazz fans have several first-rate shows to choose from this weekend, starting Friday night when the Sheldon Concert Hall presents "City of Gabriels," a special concert tying in to Dennis Owsley's recently issued history of St. Louis jazz that bears the same name. Curated and hosted by Owsley, the presentation is an audio retrospective of music from 80 years of St. Louis jazz history, performed live on stage by members of Webster University's jazz faculty and guest stars including vocalist Jeanne Trevor, saxophoinst Willie Akins and singer/pianist Jean Kittrell. The show will start with a composition from ragtime pianist Tom Turpin, moving theourgh early jazz, swing and bop and into the modern era with music written by Miles Davis and Julius Hemphill.

In addition, two well-known musicians will also be making their respective St. Louis debuts that same night. Saxophonist John Handy (pictured) has been a major voice in jazz for nearly fifty years, both as a bandleader and composer of his own music and as a sideman to Charles Mingus, and he's coming here this weekend for the first time, performing two sets per night on Friday and Saturday at the Best Western Airport Plaza hotel ballroom. Handy first created a sensation as a solo artist in the mid-1960s with a big-selling live album recorded at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and has worked almost nonstop ever since as a recording artist, performer and teacher. This show is being presented by St. Louis jazz singer Ron Wilkinson's company Scratch Productions, and tickets can be obtained through their Web site or at the door.

The other major player making a St. Louis debut this weekend is pianist Geri Allen, who's playing Friday and Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Emerging on to the scene in the early 1980s, Allen was part of Brooklyn's experimental M-Base collective and later served as the first pianist to play in Ornette Coleman's group in more than 30 years. She has also worked with a host of name-brand mainstream jazz players including Ron Carter, the late Tony Williams, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, earning respect and acclaim as a composer and bandleader in her own right. The Detroit native has a new CD out, and recently premiered a "sacred jazz suite" dedicted to the victims and survivors of the 2001 terrorist attacks. You can read more about the CD and concert here and here.

UPDATE - 9/29/06, 10:30 a.m: The Critic's Pick I wrote about Allen for this week's Riverfront Times is now online, and you can read it here.

If you're looking for some after-concert listening, or if none of these shows pique your interest, there's also plenty of jazz happening on club stages all over town. You can see an expanded list of this week's local jazz events by visiting the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. No attachments, please.)

(Post edited 9/27/06 to reflect the postponement of the Dianne Reeves concert originally scheduled this week .)

Notes from the Net: Martin's "Big River" reviewed, Lake and Osby in the news, Holland interviewed, and more

Last time I did a "Notes from the Net" post, I expressed the hope that future installments would be more frequent and a bit shorter. Fast forward four weeks, and not only has that hope remained unrealized, the files are overflowing with news tidbits about various musicians who are from St. Louis, are coming to St. Louis, or have recently been to St. Louis. So, let's get on with it:

Dark Magus, a new biography of Miles Davis written by his eldest son Gregory Davis, has just been released...The Village Voice's Francis Davis reviews the new Joe Lovano CD, which features a suite of music based on Miles' Birth of the Cool, here...NYC club Mo Pitkin's has resumed "Miles Mondays," featuring listening sessions devoted to the late trumpeter's music...Saxophonist Oliver Lake, who will be in St. Louis next week when the World Saxophone Quartet performs at Jazz at the Bistro, recently did a benefit concert in Pittsburgh...Meanwhile, fellow alto saxophonist and former St. Louisan Greg Osby (pictured), who also will be part of the WSQ lineup during their upcoming St. Louis run, is doing a concert based on his new duet CD with drummer Andrew Cyrille...And speaking of alto players from St. Louis, David Sanborn was one of the headliners at the recent Music City Jazz Blues and Heritage Festival in Nashville. The event was curated by saxophonist Kirk Whalum, nephew of our town's Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum.

Pianist Peter Martin took his New Orleans-themed "Big River" concert, which debuted here in St. Louis last year, to Chicago this past weekend and earned a favorable review from the Chicago Tribune...New CDs on St. Louis based Mel Bay Records from guitarists Vic Juris and Dave Stryker are reviewed here...Bassist Darin Gray will perform at John Zorn's NYC improv and new music hot spot The Stone in November...And Zorn, who once studied at Webster University, is in the news as well - he recently staged a mini-festival in NYC featuring all the various incarnations of his Masada band, and last week was named a recipient of one of the so-called "genius grants" from the MacArthur Foundation. Violinist Regina Carter, who will perform in St. Louis next spring at Jazz at the Bistro, also received one of this year's MacArthur grants.

Next, we've got news, reviews and interviews involving a number of musicians who either have performed here recently, or will be playing here soon...First off, there's a nice All About Jazz interview with Dave Holland here. and a bit about a Toronto performance by the bassist and his quintet here...Pianist Mulgrew Miller was part of a recent tribute to Rahsaan Roland Kirk in NYC...Also performing recently in NYC was pianist/singer Ann Hampton Callaway; read a review of the show here, and an interview with her here.. And yet another NYC concert series will present father and son guitarists Bucky and John Pizzarelli, as well as a tribute to saxophonist Lou Donaldson featuring pianist Cyrus Chestnut. The elder Pizzarelli also has a new DVD, reviewed here...Guitarist John Scofield has a new trio CD with organist Larry Goldings and drummer Jack DeJohnette, reviewed here...Carmel, California's Leroy "The Jazzcat" Downs recently interviewed singer Kurt Elling for KRML radio; you can hear an .mp3 version of the conversation here...Singer Freddy Cole will play Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at NYC's Lincoln Center next month...The Bad Plus, coming to St. Louis in January for a week at Jazz at the Bistro have been performing all over; here are reviews of recent shows in NYC and Miami...And if you're going to hire a smooth jazz musician to help celebrate the opening of a new department store, I suppose the nattily attired Chris Botti would be a logical choice.

Finally, be sure to check out Terry Perkins' latest Gateway Grooves column over at All About Jazz, in which our esteemed colleague Mr. Perkins offers his take on upcoming St. Louis jazz shows (and sends some linkage StLJN's way, for which we are duly grateful)...And those with a penchant for exotic instruments may enjoy a look at the Virtual Instrument Museum, a very cool online resource with photos, descriptions and sound samples of all sort of musicial instruments, past and present, from around the world.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Miles live in Munich, plus Sonny Rollins and Jim Hall

It's been a while since we've had any video of Miles Davis, so today's first clip shows him in an excerpt from a performance now available on DVD as Live in Munich. As best I can determine, this footage was shot in 1987 and released for the first time the following year.

For the second part of the double feature, we pay tribute to Sonny Rollins, who just celebrated his 76th birthday earlier this month. This clip shows Newk, guitarist Jim Hall, bassist Bob Crenshaw and drummer Ben Riley performing "God Bless The Child" around the time of the release of the classic Rollins album The Bridge in 1962.



(Edited after posting to fix a typo.)

Ferguson fans review St. Louis tribute show

StLJN has had a number of search engine hits over the past couple of days from people looking for a review of the Maynard Ferguson tribute concert held Wednesday night at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. I was not able to attend the show myself, and so far there's been nothing in the Post-Dispatch, leading me to believe that they did not send a reviewer.

Fortunately for those who'd like to know more about what went on, Ferguson's fans are discussing the show in some detail on the message board associated with the late trumpeter's Web site. You can read their reviews and comments in threads here and here, and see some photos from the concert here. (Anyone can read the messages, but you have to register in order to post.) There are too many comments to even attempt to summarize, but the overall impression is that the evening was a fitting memorial for the man many fans, friends and sidemen past and present called the "the Boss."

New Music Circle season begins this Sunday with Vinny Golia Quartet

In what seems likely to be some sort of record for the least amount of time elapsed between the announcement of a concert season and the first performance of that season, this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. New Music Circle sent out an email stating that their 2006-07 season would begin in just 78 hours with a concert by the Vinny Golia Quartet at 7:30 p.m. this Sunday, September 24, at Focal Point.

Now, musically speaking, I'm all in favor of being spontaneous and improvisational, but in terms of informing the listening public, it's really too bad that NMC didnt get word out on this show earlier, since Golia might have been able to draw a bigger crowd than some of the more esoteric artists that the organization presents. Moreover, their Web site is currently "under construction," so the only way to get any additional info on Golia (pictured at left) and the rest of the 06-07 season is via a .pdf file. I'll have an update to this post with more info on NMC's upcoming season once I've had the chance to download and digest said document.

UPDATE - 9/21/06, 4:40 p.m.: In the interests of expediency and completeness, and given that the information is curently online only in .pdf format, I'm just going to go ahead and quote NMC's entire writeup on their 2006-07 season, putting the shows in chronological order, adding some formatting and a few links where appropriate:

"Get ready for a whole new season of New Music Circle! Now in our 48th year, NMC continues to bring you the best in cutting-edge performances. Our season kicks off September 24th with Vinny Golia; read on...

NOTE: Although unlikely, programs are subject to change. Please check your latest Circular or newmusiccircle.org for updates.

Regular admission concerts
$12/$6 for students with valid ID
10 FlexTix free with NMC membership

NMC Special Presentations
Tickets $5
Members $3

VINNY GOLIA QUARTET
Sunday, September 24, 7:30 pm
Focal Point, 2720 Sutton
(South of Manchester in downtown Maplewood. Directions at www.thefocalpoint.org. Plenty of parking on the public lot between Manchester and Marietta.)

with Ellen Burr, Piccolo, Alto-and C- Flutes, Jennifer Roth, Db-, G- & C- Piccolos, C-, Alto-, Bass- & Contrabass- Flutes, & Fawntice McCain, CFlute.

This is one of many ensembles that Golia has organized and presented. A multi-woodwind performer, Vinny’s recordings have been consistently picked by critics and readers of music journals for their yearly “ten best” lists. Jazziz Magazine has also named him as one of the 100 people who have influenced the course of Jazz in our Century. With three women and one man this quartet is a stark contrast to most new music groups.

Vinny Golia is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation. He fuses the rich heritage of Jazz, contemporary classical and world music into his own unique compositions. Mr. Golia has won numerous awards as a composer, including grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, The Lila Wallace Commissioning Program and Clausen Foundation of the Arts. Golia lives in Los Angeles, California and teaches at the California Institute of the Arts. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Japan. In 1982 he founded the 37-piece Vinny Golia Large Ensemble to perform his compositions.

Golia has performed and/or recorded with many notable musicians, including Anthony Braxton, Henry Grimes, John Carter, Bobby Bradford, Joëlle Léandre, Wadada Leo Smith, Horace Tapscott, John Zorn, Tim Berne, Bertram Turetzky, George Lewis, Barre Phillips, Rova Saxophone Quartet, Patti Smith, Harry “the Hipster” Gibson, Eugene Chadbourne, Kevin Ayers, Peter Kowald, John Bergamo, George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Misha Mengelberg, Nels Cline, Han Bennink, Lydia Lunch, Harry Sparnaay, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

Monday, September 25, 11:00 a.m.
Master Class with Vinny Golia, Webster University Music Department.
Hosted by Paul DeMarinis.
Free

LARRY POLANSKY TRIO
Sunday, October 8, 7:30 pm
Brown Hall Lounge, Washington University

LARRY POLANSKY TRIO, with Kui Dong & Christian Wolff. Three professors from Dartmouth with diverse origins (USA, China and France) and a 40-year age range strut their stuff. Polansky is a co-author of the widely used computer music language HMSL. He is a composer, theorist, performer, software designer, teacher, writer, editor and publisher. As the Strauss Professor of Music at Dartmouth College, he teaches in the graduate program in electro-acoustic music, and is co-director of the Bregman Electro-Acoustic Music Studio. His current interests include sonic and formal morphing,experimental intonation, aspects of music and mathematics, and “amateur musicology”.

Kui Dong, with a DMA from Stanford University, incorporates traditional Chinese musical ideas into contemporary settings and composes orchestral and chamber works, as well as works for electronics/computer.

Christian Wolff’s music has been performed throughout the world, especially in Europe and the U.S.A. A number of pieces have been used by Merce Cunningham and his dance company. Much of Wolff’s recent work involves the freedom of events for composer, performer, and listener; in fact, many of his traditionally scored pieces also have improvisational aspects.

Monday, October 9, 10:00 a.m.
Master class with Larry Polansky and Kui Dong,
Tietjens Hall, Washington University Music Department. Free

CIRCLE/CINEMA 19
Silent film, live new music
Friday, November 3, 7:00 p.m.
Saint Louis Art Museum Auditorium
The Unholy Three (1925, 96 minutes)
Directed by Tod Browning

A bizarre tale of a crime gone wrong. Ventriloquist (Lon Chaney), strong man (Victor MacLaglen), and midget (Harry Earles), band together in a thieving scheme with a pet store as a front.
Co-sponsored by St. Louis Art Museum

CARL STONE
Sunday, November 12, 7:30 pm
Bill Christman Studio, 6014 Kingsbury

CARL STONE is one of the pioneers of live computer music, and has been hailed by The Village Voice as “the king of sampling” and “one of the best composers living in the USA today.” He has used computers in live performance since 1986. Stone was born in Los Angeles and now divides his time between San Francisco and Japan. He studied composition at the California Institute of the Arts with Morton Subotnick and James Tenney and has composed electro-acoustic music almost exclusively since 1972. His works have been performed in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and the Near East. In addition to his schedule of performance, composition and touring, he is on the faculty of the Media Department at Chukyo University in Japan.

GRAND ELOQUENCE
Friday, November 17,
6:30 and 8:30 pm shows
Bruno David Gallery, 3721 Washington

“GRAND ELOQUENCE”, multimedia memorial piece opening a show of works by the late Bill Kohn. Created by Rich O’Donnell, composer, Dale Dufer, photographer, Anna Lum, poet, and Jean Ponzi, producer.

NMC Special Event. Co-sponsored with Washington University Department of Music, Bruno David Gallery, IBM and The Regional Arts Commission. Free.

ROB VOISEY’S 60x60 & ANDRE VIDA
Sunday, January 7, 7:30 pm
Winifred Moore Auditorium, Webster University

ROB VOISEY’S 60x60. Founder of Vox Novus Vice-President of Programs, The Living Music Foundation. Robert Voisey is a composer and impresario of new works primarily in New York City. 60x60 is his recorded compilation of 60 composers, each with a 60-second composition of electronic or acoustic music with video.

Also, ANDRE VIDA, groundbreaking saxophonist from Berlin, accompanied by local musicians, playing from his projected video score in his Vidatone animated notation system.

Co-sponsored by Webster University Film Series.

CRAIG HULTGREN
Sunday, March 25,
Location TBA, 7:30 pm

CRAIG HULTGREN, cello, long-time member of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, is an activist for new music, the newly creative arts, and the avant-garde. Possessing a broad range of instrumental techniques from traditional to radical, Hultgren presents his own spontaneous, free-style improvisations along with programs of new music throughout the country and abroad. The Birmingham News said of him, “Hultgren...pushes the limits of his instrument brilliantly by using extended techniques in fascinating ways.” Program will include video.

TOM HAMILTON, composer/electronics
and JACKIE MARTELLE, flute
Sunday, April 1
Location TBA, 7:30 pm

Hamilton is a 2005 Fellow of the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, participating in a residency at the foundation’s center in Umbria. A new concept of ensemble music based on generated harmonies is an outgrowth of his residency and will be presented here and in New York next season. Several St. Louis musicians will also perform with Hamilton and Martelle. Hamilton’s CD London Fix received an honorary mention in the 2004 Prix Ars Electronica.

EasSide PERCUSSION
Sunday, April 29
Location TBA, 7:30 pm

EasSide PERCUSSION, with Michael Evans, Christine Bard and James Pugliese, have been actively performing, recording and composing for many years. As well as being accomplished drummers and percussionists, the trio works with unusual sound sources including homemade instruments, found objects and items not normally used

CIRCLE/CINEMA 20
Friday, Date TBA, 7:00 pm
St. Louis Art Museum Auditorium
Another edition of this popular series."

For information on membership/season tickets, go to www.newmusiccircle.org

(Edited after posting to correct some formatting problems and HTML weirdness. Edited again 9/27/06 to reorder items chronologically )

Post previews Old Webster Jazz Festival

Freelancer Dan Durchholz has a preview story in the Post-Dispatch about this Saturday's Old Webster Jazz Festival, and you can read it online at STLtoday here.

Owsley, City of Gabriels featured in RFT

The article I wrote for the Riverfront Times about Dennis Owsley and his new book City of Gabriels, The History of Jazz in St. Louis 1895-1973 is now online, and you can read it here.

"Zappa Plays Zappa" tour coming to the Pageant on December 14

Dweezil Zappa

"Zappa Plays Zappa," the concert tour featuring performances of the music of Frank Zappa by a band led by his son, guitarist Dweezil Zappa, is coming to the Pageant in St. Louis on Thursday, December 14.

Billed as "the first OFFICIAL presentation of Frank Zappa Music since the Composer himself departed for his final tour in 1993," the ZPZ tour started in Europe this May and is continuing through the fall and early winter with a series of dates across the United States. The core band is comprised of a group of young musicians who were selected through an extensive audition process and then spent months rehearsing a carefully selected group of Zappa's compositions.

In addition, Zappa alumni Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio and Napoleon Murphy Brock have performed on most dates of the tour and, barring unforeseen complications, will be part of the St. Louis show. Ahmet Zappa, Frank Zappa's younger son, has also appeared as a special guest on some of the tour dates. Tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster on Friday, September 29.

Jazz this week: A tribute to Maynard Ferguson, Old Webster Jazz Festival, Jane Monheit, Tower of Power and more

The fall music season is picking up some serious steam this week, with a number of noteworthy events competing for the time, attention and disposable income of St. Louis jazz fans.

On Wednesday, members of Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau, other Ferguson alumni and special guests will stage a tribute concert dedicated to the late trumpeter at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. With Ferguson fans coming in from around the country, tickets for this event are scarce, though the TouPAC's Web site still seemed to have a few remaining as of Tuesday afternoon. Also, there's always the possibility of some tickets showing up at the box office just before showtime due to cancellations, returns from the promoter, and so on. Ferguson fans will also be getting together for jam sessions, reminiscing and general fellowship tonight at Cookie's Jazz and More and after the concert Wednesday at Atomic Cowboy.

Also on Wednesday, vocalist Jane Monheit (pictured ) opens a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro with two shows per night through Saturday. With several appearances in St. Louis in recent years, including performances at the Bistro and in concert at the Sheldon, Monheit seems to have developed a fairly good fan base here. Given that, advance reservations are recommended. In addition, to help celebrate the beginning of the Bistro's new season, pianist Phil Dunlap and his trio will be performing a free set outside underneath the Bistro's new neon sign from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. This set is open to all, regardless of whether you have tickets for Monheit's performance.

And speaking of free shows, on Thursday local songstress Erin Bode will be giving a free outdoor concert at Union Station, and the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University kicks off its fall season with a free performance by the always impressive pianist Ptah Williams.

Next up, Tower of Power will bring their patented brand of jazz-influenced East Bay funk and soul to the Argosy Alton Casino for concert performances on Friday and Saturday night. I have no information on the advance sales for this show, but given the relatively small capacity and intimate nature of the music room there, the joint should be bumpin'.

Saturday brings two outdoor festival events: the Old Webster Jazz Festival in downtown Webster Groves and the KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival at Faust Park in Chesterfield.

Things in Webster get started early, with a free workshop for student and amateur musicians conducted by Webster University faculty members at the University's music annex, 8282 Big Bend, beginning at 10 a.m. The music starts at noon just down the road near the intersection of Lockwood and Gore, with two stages featuring performances from Billy Peek, Gumbohead, Uncle Albert, Erin Bode, Anita Rosamond, the USAF Big Band of Mid-America, Swing Cat Swing, the Webster University Jazz Band, the Webster Groves High School Jazz Band and Andrea Stevenson & Jazz Fusion. This is a free event, with music scheduled until 10 p.m.

Out in West County, the KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival runs from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will showcase sets by Denise Thimes, Kim Massie, Terry Artis and Natural Jazz, the Readus Miller Project and the apparently very industrious Ms.Bode. There is an admission charge for this event; for more information, see KMOX's Web site.

In addition to all these events, there's plenty happening on local club stages this week. For a more complete listing of local jazz events, please see the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. No attachments, please.)

Ferguson fans to congregate this Tuesday at Cookie's

Reader Joe Bayer writes with news of an event this Tuesday, September 19 that's of special interest to fans of the late trumpeter Maynard Ferguson.

Bayer tells StLJN that Cookies Jazz and More will be hosting a special jam session from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. for all the people that will be in town to attend the memorial/tribute concert for Ferguson that will be held at the TouPAC on Wednesday. Of course, Ferguson fans from the St. Louis area are welcome, too.

"Fans will be able to get together, play a little music together, and share Maynard stories and have a good time listening to some jazz," says Bayer. Sounds like a good way to remember Maynard Ferguson, a musician who was not only respected but truly loved by many of his fans, and kudos to Cookie's owners Harold and Cookie Whitfield for opening their establishment especially for this event.

UPDATE - 9/18/06, 2 p.m: Via the message board on the Maynard Ferguson official site, it seems that Ferguson fans will also be enjoying a bit of post-concert jamming on Wednesday night, as Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra trumpeter Josh MacCluer has organized a session set to run from roughly 10:30 until closing at Atomic Cowboy, 4140 Manchester Road in the Grove neighborhood (aka Forest Park Southeast). There's a $5 cover, and all are welcome.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: The Kim Portnoy Trio, plus Ornette Coleman and Prime Time

This first of this week's video clips is another Jazz@Cookie's segment that's been YouTubed, this one featuring St. Louis pianist/composer Kim Portnoy and his trio. To see parts two and three of this episode, go here and here.

Video #2 is from 1979 and shows the great Ornette Coleman and his electric Prime Time band performing on Saturday Night Live. (Yes, kids, believe it or not - once upon a time, SNL occasionally featured actual musicians who were not flavor-of-the-month pop/rock/hiphop acts.) The band's lineup includes Coleman on alto sax and his son Denardo on drums, as well as bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, guitarists Bern Nix and Charles Ellerbee, and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson. There's no particular local connection here; I just enjoyed seeing Ornette & Co, especially in the somewhat-unusual context of a commercially oriented national TV program, and hope you will too.

Jazz at Holmes announces Fall 2006 schedule

The organizers of the Jazz at Holmes concert series at Washington University have announced their schedule of performances for this fall. The free concerts are held in the Holmes Lounge on the Wash U campus at 8 p.m. most Thursdays during the school year. The lineup includes:

September 21
Ptah Williams

October 5
Linda Presgrave and Randy Holmes

October 12
Steve Schenkel w/ members of the Fox/MUNY orchestra

October 26
Peter Martin and Maurice Carnes

November 2
Eric Stiller

November 9
Paul DeMarinis and Carolbeth True

November 20
William Lenihan

December 7
Phil Dunlap

Most of these musicians are already familiar to St. Louis jazz fans, the main exception being Eric Stiller, a Berklee-educated bassist from Southern California who's done road time with Maynard Ferguson and recorded and performed with Bill Watrous, Pete Christlieb, Bobby Shew and Roy McCurdy.

For more information on the Jazz at Holmes concert series, you can call 314-935-4841 or visit the Jazz at Holmes Web site.

Jazz this week: Denise Thimes opens Jazz at the Bistro's season, and more

Not much in the way of jazz concert activity this week, but there are plenty of St. Louis musicians working on local club stages. Among the highlights:

Jazz at the Bistro opens its 2006-07 season this weekend with singer Denise Thimes (pictured at left) performing two sets a night on Friday and Saturday, while Finale has the Rat Packesque stylings of vocalist Dean Christopher on Thursday and smooth jazz saxophonist Tim Cunningham on Friday.

Cookie's Jazz and More features the husband and wife duo Mardra and Reggie Thomas on Friday; Brandt's will present Jeanne Trevor on Thursday and Erika Johnson with the Tom Byrne Trio on Friday; and Crossings Taverne and Grille will have a trio of trios, with harmonica master Sandy Weltman on Thursday, trumpeter Jim Manley on Friday and pianist/singer Al Oxenhandler on Saturday.

Also worth noting: On Thursday night, tenor saxophonist Willie Akins will perform a free outdoor show at the Washington University quadrangle, sponsored by the Jazz at Holmes series. And singer Erin Bode takes her group into a couple of disparate venues this week, performing at the new Lucas School House on Friday and in concert at St. Charles Community College on Saturday.

Time constraints prevent me from recounting even more of this weekend's gigs, but, as always, you can see an expanded list by visiting the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. No attachments, please.)

Saxophonist Loren Pickford to play Brandt's on Saturday, October 28

Alto saxophonist and flute player Loren Pickford, who over the last 40 years has been part of the music scenes in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, NYC, Denver, Chicago, Boston, Louisville, Amsterdam, Paris, New Orleans and Kansas City, will visit St. Louis for a performance at Brandt's at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 28.

Most recently, Pickford has been living in Kansas City after being forced last year to evacuate New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. His St. Louis gig is part of a "Going Home To New Orleans Tour" that will take him back to the Crescent City, where he's spent most of the last decade, via here, Memphis, Little Rock, and other points south.

Early in his career, Pickford worked on the road with R&B and blues legends Jackie Wilson, Ray Charles and T-Bone Walker, The Righteous Bros, The Chi Lites and Randi Crawford. He has also performed as a sideman with jazz artists such as Chet Baker, Cecil McBee, Andrew Hill, Frank Rosolino, Shorty Rogers, Nicholas Payton, Brian Blade, George Cables, Billy Higgins and many others, and has been a member of various traditional New Orleans jazz groups including the Tuxedo Jazz Band, the New Orleans All Stars of Jazz and the New Orleans Giants of Jazz. Pickford has also composed numerous scores for theater, dance, film, TV and radio.

Though they also draw on blues and New Orleans standards, Pickford's own quartet gets much of its current repertoire from the compositions of pianist John Brewer, who is joined in the rhythm section by bassist Micah Herman and drummer Brandon Draper. Tickets for Pickford's St. Louis show will be $10. For more information, visit Brandt's Web site.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Latin jazz from S.L. Son, plus Martino, Scofield and DeFrancesco

The first of this week's featured videos is another segment from Jazz@Cookie's, which, you may recall, is the produced-for-cable-but-wound-up-on-the-Internet television series featuring jazz musicians and groups from right here in St. Louis. This segment featurs the Latin jazz sounds of S.L. Son, and is the first of three parts of this particular episode. You can see parts two and three here and here.

The second half of today's double feature showcases three musicians who are very familiar to St. Louis audiences, namely guitarists John Scofield and Pat Martino and organist Joey DeFrancesco. All three have played here multiple times in recent years, and both Scofield and DeFrancesco will be visiting St. Louis again in the coming months. Scofield will appear with Medeski, Martin and Wood in early December at Mississippi Nights and with his trio next spring at Jazz at the Bistro, while Joey D is playing the Sheldon in November as part of his tour with mallet percussionist Bobby Hutcherson.) The song is Bobby Hebb's "Sunny," and at more than 14 minutes long, this version definitely has room for all the players to shine.

Post interviews JSL's Bradford

Yesterday, the Post-Dispatch published a brief Q&A interview that Calvin Wilson did with Jazz St. Louis executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford, in which Bradford talks about the organization's mission and the new season series at Jazz at the Bistro. You can read it here.

Mcdonas, "Bloom06 Tour" in St. Louis on October 11

Pianist Thollem Mcdonas has brought his eclectic, experimental music to St. Louis several times in the last couple of years, and he's coming back again at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 11, this time as part of the "Bloom 06 Tour" performing at the Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust, with multi-saxophonist Rent Romus and drummer and found-object player Jon Brumit.

The tour is named after the three musicians' new collaborative CD Bloom, described as "an explosive organic construction and expression of solos, duos, and trios combining disparate and divergent stylistic histories with a sense of refreshing immediacy, intensity, and spontaneous inventiveness."

St. Louis jazz history exhibit, gallery talks scheduled at the Sheldon

The Sheldon Concert Hall and its associated Art Galleries played a major role in the publication of the new book City of Gabriels: A History of St. Louis Jazz 1895 - 1973, and the Sheldon organization is planning a number of events to tie into the book's release, including a year-long exhibit, gallery talks, and several concerts.

The first event will be a concert at 8 p.m. on Friday, September 29, curated and hosted by City of Gabriels author Dennis Owsley and featuring the Webster Jazz Repertory Ensemble and special guests performing music composed by or associated with important musicians from throughout St. Louis' jazz history.

The exhibit, which opens on September 30 and runs through August 2007, will include "archival photographs, posters, period advertisements, artifacts such as a trumpet used by Clark Terry and a costume worn by Miles Davis, along with other instruments played by influential musicians, printed ephemera, a video station featuring historical film clips and listening stations with important historical recordings, tell the story of the individuals, places and other conditions that helped to shape the development of jazz music in the St. Louis area." Owsley will also be giving two gallery talks, at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17 and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 19.

In the same news release as all of the above, the Sheldon also announced several upcoming dates for local jazz artists in their Tuesday night "Notes From Home" series, starting with singer-pianist Anita Rosamond on October 3. On October 17 (the date of the first gallery talk), it's a "Tribute to Jazz Central," the St. Louis group that drew inspiration from Miles' Birth of the Cool and the so-called "West Coast sound" of the 1950s. On November 14, it's Swing DeVille, and on November 21 the Todd Mosby Trio will perform, followed by singers Coco Soul (December 19) and Kim Massie (January 30).

And as long as we're discussing City of Gabriels-related events, we should also note that Dennis Owsley has a number of book signings/readings set up in the coming weeks. Here's the schedule sent by publisher Reedy Press:

Monday, September 18 - 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
UMSL Monday Noon Series
229 J.C. Penney Conference Center

Friday, September 29 - 8 p.m.
Sheldon Concert Hall
in conjunction with the "City of Gabriels" concert

Monday, October 2 - 7 p.m.
Webster University - Winifred Moore Auditorium
in conjunction with "Eight for Dennis – A Tribute to Dennis Owsley"
by the Webster Faculty Jazz Ensemble

Tuesday, October 3 - 7 p.m.
Left Bank Books

Saturday, October 7 - 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
The Big Read - St. Louis County Memorial Park in downtown Clayton

Saturday, October 14 - 2 p.m.
Borders - St. Peters

Sunday, October 15 - 2 p.m.
Borders - Brentwood

Saturday, October 21 - 2 p.m.
Borders - Fairview Heights

Last but certainly not least, I've got a story on Owsley and the book set to run in next Wednesday's Riverfront Times. Once it's available online, there'll be a link to the piece right here, as well as, I hope, some additional commentary and/or material that couldn't quite be squeezed into the print version.

Music For Lifelong Achievement, Starbucks teaming up to collect instruments for kids

This isn't strictly a jazz-related item, but since it's a good cause and since jazz writer/StLJN pal Terry Perkins is involved, we pass it along to you, albeit gently edited to remove some corporate boilerplate, with a hearty recommendation:

MUSIC FOR LIFELONG ACHIEVEMENT AND STARBUCKS TEAM UP FOR FOURTH ANNUAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT DONATION DRIVE

Music For Lifelong Achievement is once again teaming up with St. Louis Starbucks Coffee locations for the fourth consecutive year in an effort to help music education programs throughout the metropolitan area by collecting donated musical instruments. The drive kicks off Friday, September 8th and runs through Sunday, October 15, 2006. All Starbucks locations in the city of St. Louis and surrounding counties of St. Louis , St. Charles and Jefferson will accept donations of used or new musical instruments from customers. Instruments collected during the drive will be donated to school and community music programs serving disadvantaged kids.

“Thanks to the generosity of Starbucks customers and the enthusiasm of Starbucks partners, in each of the past three years, we’ve doubled the number of instruments collected,” states Terry Perkins, MFLA Coordinator. “We’re confident we can reach that goal again in 2006.”

Each Starbucks customer donating an instrument will receive a free beverage – and the first 100 persons donating an instrument will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card. Donors will also receive a tax deduction from MFLA for the value of the donated instrument. “St. Louis Starbucks Coffee Company is proud to again partner with Music for Lifelong Achievement’s annual instrument donation drive,” adds David Wall, District Manager, Starbucks St. Louis. “Giving young people the opportunity to learn how to play an instrument can positively impact many other areas of their lives.”

Those who do not have a musical instrument to donate can still help by making a tax-deductible monetary contribution to MFLA. Funds will be used to refurbish donated instruments and purchase needed accessories such as reeds, strings and sheet music. Donation forms will be available at all local Starbucks locations.

Music For Lifelong Achievement is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing new and refurbished musical instruments to school and community music programs serving disadvantaged young people. MFLA is based at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Missouri, and is affiliated with the Sheldon Arts Foundation, an accredited 501c3 organization. For more information, visit the MFLA website at www.supportmfla.org.

Jazz at Holmes co-sponsoring freeWillie Akins concert on September 14

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, which presents free jazz concerts in the Holmes Lounge on most Thursday nights while school in session, has yet to make their fall 2006 schedule public..

However, according to this item in the Wash U. Record, they're one of the sponsors of "Jazz on the Quad," a free outdoor show featuring saxophonist Willie Akins at 8 p.m., Thursday, September 14 on the main campus Quadrangle. The concert is co-sponsored by the University's Residential Life and New Student Orientation, indicating that it's aimed mostly at students, but it is open to the public as well.

As for the Jazz at Holmes series itself, pianist and former St. Louisan Linda Presgrave revealed a couple of weeks ago that she's coming in from NYC to play the series' October 5 concert, but the rest of the musical lineup remains unknown. An announcement should be forthcoming any day now, so when there's more news, StLJN will endeavor to bring it to you without delay.

Jazz this week: Jazz on Broadway, at the Art Fair, and more

With Labor Day 2006 now in the rear-view mirror, things are getting busier on local club and concert stages, and this week's calendar offers a eclectic selection of creative music, including several free events.

Starting chronologically, Jazz St. Louis continues their "Jazz on Broadway" series at the Hilton at the Ballpark at 6 p.m. tonight with a performance by the Phil Dunlap Trio. As mentioned several times before in this space, there's no cover charge for the "Jazz on Broadway" performances, and JSL and the Hilton are looking closely at the turnout before deciding to proceed with more dates. So if you'd like to see live jazz back downtown on at least a semi-regular basis, this is the time to show your support.

And speaking of free performances, all of the music at this weekend's St. Louis Art Fair is free, and the event features a number performers jass fans are likely to enjoy, including guitarist Rick Haydon (pictured above) and the SIUE Concert Jazz Band on Friday; Anita Rosamond, Lamar Harris, El Caribe Tropical and the THF Realty All-Star Student Emsemble on Saturday; and the Todd Mosby Trio and Danita Mumphard on Sunday. For a complete schedule of performances, see the Art Fair's Web site.

Elsewhere in St. Louis: On Thursday, the Sinatra Songbook will perform at Finale and singer Ron Wilkinson takes the stage at Cookie's Jazz and More. On Friday, pianist Carolbeth True and her trio hold forth at Crossings Taverne and Grille, the Ambassadors of Swing will do their big band thing at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center has an improv show featuring guitarist Luke Polipnick, the group epicycle, and learn, artist! - that's how it's punctuated, folks - a newish ambient project from guitarist Tony Renner.

On Saturday night, Crossings has guitarist Bob Borgestede, Cookie's has singer Kim Massie, and Brandt's will feature the last St. Louis appearance by singer Amy Ehrlich before she moves to Los Angeles. Finally, on Sunday the St. Louis Jazz Club will hold their annual picnic during the afternoon, and that evening Brandt's will feature the Kol Sosson klezmer band.

And if all that's not eclectic enough for you, you can see an expanded list of the week's performances by visiting the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. No attachments, please.)

Jazz @ Cookie's episodes now available on YouTube

Speaking of following up on previous stories, it looks like the footage shot for the prospective cable television series Jazz @ Cookie's has finally found a home. As StLJN reported here, here and here, the series was originally created by St. Louis jazz singer Valerie Tichacek and producer Owen Woodard and taped at the local club Cookie's Jazz and More with the idea of airing it on local cable, but after production was completed they ran short of funds to pay for airtime.

Now anyone with a broadband Internet connection can finally see the end result of their work and enjoy the featured interviews and performances from more than a dozen St. Louis jazz acts, as Jazz @ Cookie's has gotten its own channel on the popular online video service YouTube. One of the resulting segments, featuring the Hard Bop Heritage quintet, can be seen in the embedded video window above, and StLJN will probably be spotlighting a few more of the clips in the future, but you can see them all now by going here.

Tickets now on sale for John Handy's St. Louis debut September 29 & 30

Following up on a story StLJN first broke back in July, veteran jazz saxophonist John Handy will indeed be making his St. Louis debut later this month, though he'll be appearing on different dates than the ones previously announced.

Most of the details from the earlier story still apply, but Handy's St. Louis debut performances now will take place on Friday, September 29 and 30. Joined by vocalist (and show promoter) Ron Wilkinson and Wilkinson's Scratch Quintet, Handy will perform sets at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. both nights in the ballroom at the Best Western Airport Plaza Hotel, 4530 N. Lindbergh Blvd in Bridgeton. Tickets are $25 each and are on sale now at locations including Vintage Vinyl, Lee J.'s Clothiers, Downtown Music, Afro World, the Lindbergh Bistro, the show's not-for-profit sponsor Hopebuild and through Wilkinson's Scratch Productions Web site. For more information, you can also call Scratch Productions at 314-535-3134 or 314-371-1853.

Delmark issuing Dewey Jackson sides on CD

Delmark Records, the Chicago-based label founded by former St. Louisan Bob Koester, is apparently revealing a previously unheard bit of the Gateway City's musical history to the world with the release of Dewey Jackson Live at the Barrel 1952. The CD features Jackson on trumpet, along with Don Ewell (piano), Frank Chace (clarinet), Sid Dawson ( trombone) and Booker T. Washington (drums). From the Delmark Web site:

"The release of this CD should transform St. Louis' legendary trumpet player, Dewey Jackson, from a footnote to his rightful place in jazz history. Jackson was born in St. Louis, June 21, 1900 (before Louis Armstrong). He played a year with ragtimer George Reynold's Keystone Band before joining Charlie Creath and alternated between Creath, Fate Marable and his own groups before briefly joining the first Cotton Club band in New York. He returned to the St. Louis scene because he found it more exciting. Jackson recorded for Vocallion in 1926, with Creath for Okeh in '27 and with bassist Singleton Palmer. He occasionally gigged through the '50s and '60s and passed away in March of 1966. This album triples his discography!"

The Barrell was a club at 5614 Delmar, part of an area known in the early 1950s as the DeBaliviere Strip. The club also served also served as the site of another live recording from the same year featuring Miles Davis on trumpet and tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest. Both of these fun facts were gleaned from City of Gabriels, the new history of St. Louis jazz written by Dennis Owsley, which also makes reference to some unreleased sessions recorded by Jackson and Ewell in the early 1950s. Presumably, this CD represents some portion of those recordings. Although the Delmark Web site would lead one to believe that the CD was released in April, the latest newsletter from Koester's associated retail store, Jazz Record Mart, suggests that it's just now becoming available for sale. Either way, it should be for sale at finer local music stores as well as directly from JRM.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Kirk and "Peanuts" Whalum play Miles, and a Grant Green excerpt

The first of our two videos this week features longtime St. Louis favorite Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum sitting down for a little duet with his nephew Kirk Whalum. And, continuing the local connection, the song they're playing is Miles Davis' composition "Four." This is a recent clip released by Rendezvous Music, presumably to help promote Peanuts' signing to the label. And they're not stopping there - they've even made a MySpace page for him now.

The second video shows St. Louis native Grant Green in an excerpt from what seems to be some sort of guitar summit performance also featuring Kenny Burrell and Barney Kessell. There weren't a whole lot of details posted with this clip, but since there's not much footage of Green easily available, I thought it worth sharing. If you know anything about the date or origins of the footage, please share your info in the comments.