Jazz this week: Marlena Shaw, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and more

If nothing else, the two major headliners in St. Louis over the next seven days demonstrate that jazz is indeed a "big tent," capable of encompassing a true diversity of sounds.

Singer Marlena Shaw (pictured) comes to Jazz at the Bistro this week for a four-night stand, performing twice nightly through Saturday. Shaw has done a bit of everything in her long career, from disco and glossy, heavily orchestrated R&B to jazz standards and blues. Given the Bistro's intimate atmosphere, I'd expect more of the latter from her at this week's gig, although I wouldn't be totally surprised to hear some rearranged versions of some of that 1970s dance material alongside cozier numbers like "Go Away Little Boy".

The other big headliner of the week doesn't hit town until Monday, when Bela Fleck and the Flecktones return to The Pageant. Trying to describe the Flecktones can end up sounding like the setup for a hoary old joke - "A banjo player, a bass player, a guy playing two saxophones at once, and an electronic drummer walk into a bar..." - but there's no doubt that they've carved out their own unique niche in the music world, and even when their compositions meander a bit, their level of musicianship is always impressive.

Elsewhere in town, bassist Tom Kennedy and his group will perform a free concert on Thursday night as part of Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series. On Friday, singer Dean Christopher and his "Rat Pack and More" show begin a two-night stand at Finale Music and Dining, and the Ambassadors of Swing perform at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

On Sunday afternoon, the new Black Arts Group returns to the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site to present "Men of Words - A Poetic Collection of Men's Contemporary Thoughts," which will feature spoken word performances from Roscoe Crenshaw, David A.N. Jackson and Chris Hayden and a solo musical performance by bassist/mbira player Zimbabwe Nkenya. And on Monday night, Webster University will present "For the Sake of Art - A Tribute to Art Blakey," which will feature members of the University's jazz faculty and their special guest, bassist and Webster alumnus Steve Kirby, performing songs associated with the great drummer, bandleader, and talent scout.

To see more of what's happening this weekend, you can consult the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar. Please note that since it's the end of the month and February listings are still coming in, updates to the calendar likely will be in progress for the next several days. If you don't see listings for your favorite nightspot yet, please check back later, or you can always use the links on the sidebar to go directly to the site of the venue in question.

(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.)

More free downloads of St. Louis jazz greats

A bit more poking around various music sharing blogs has turned up a few more out-of-print St. Louis-related items available as free downloads, this time at a site named Crabbit and Daft. Among the albums of interest:

* The Organizer, a 1991 date by the Lester Bowie Organ Ensemble, featuring Bowie along with organist Amina Claudine Myers, tenor saxophonist James Carter, trombonist Steve Turre and drummers Famoudou Don Moye and Phillip Wilson.

* Oliver Nelson's Afro-American Sketches was Nelson's first big-band date as a leader. A concept record paying tribute to the history of blacks in America, it featured soloists including Jerry Dodgion on flute, Joe Newman on trumpet and Nelson (pictured) on tenor and alto.

* Soul Battle, featuring Oliver Nelson, Jimmy Forrest and King Curtis, teamed St. Louisans Nelson and Forrest with the R&B tenor giant in a swinging program of blues and standards.

The site has a lot more interesting jazz selections, ranging from mainstream to avant garde, and the proprietor of seems to upload albums at a prodigious rate. But as always, there's no telling how long any individual offering will stay on line, so if your interest is piqued, click on over there now and start downloading.

Highway 61 Roadhouse presenting Tuesday night jazz jam sessions

The Highway 61 Roadhouse, located just down the street from Webster University at 34 S. Old Orchard in Webster Groves, is now presenting a jazz open mic and jam session on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month. The sessions at the club, which otherwise mostly books blues and other roots-music styles, run from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and are hosted by the Tom Byrne Trio. For more information and directions, see the club's Web site.

Cornet Chop Suey to perform at Bix fest

St. Louis-based Cornet Chop Suey will be one of the headlining bands at the 36th annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival to be held July 26 - 29 in Beiderbecke's hometown of Davenport, Iowa.

The group performs traditional New Orleans-style jazz and swing, and in recent years has become a popular attraction on the traditional jazz festival circuit. Other acts at this year's BixFest will include pianist Dick Hyman, Don Vappie and the Creole Serenaders, the New Orleans All-Stars with Duke Heitger, Randy Sandke's New York All Stars, Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band, the New Wolverine Orchestra, Titan Hot 7, Uptown Lowdown Jazz, the West End Jazz Band and the Josh Duffee Orchestra. For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, you can call the Bix Society at 563-324-7170 or visit their Web site.

Chris Botti concert reviewed in Post-Dispatch

Trumpeter Chris Botti was in St. Louis for concerts Friday and Saturday nights at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, and Terry Perkins reviewed Friday's show - which included a last-minute appearance by St. Louis pianist Peter Martin subbing for Botti's regular keyboardist Billy Childs - for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Read the review here.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Bela Fleck and the Flecktones play "P'lod," plus Grady Tate talks and drums

Today's videos both feature musicians who are coming to St. Louis in February. First up are Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, who will perform at the Pageant on Monday, February 5. This clip was recorded last year as they toured in support of their CD The Hidden Land; the song is "P'lod" from that album.

Down below, we've got a few minutes of Grady Tate playing drums and talking to students at Harlem's Thurgood Marshall Academy as part of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem's Educational initiative. Tate will be at Jazz at the Bistro for a four night stand Wednesday, February 14 through Saturday, February 17. Since that gig has a Valentine's Day theme, he'll likely be emphasizing his singing skills as a romantic balladeer. This clip shows another side of Tate, giving hints of the abilities that made him a sought-after sideman for many top jazz instrumentalists and a first-call session drummer for many years.

Rare 1970s recordings from St. Louis avant-garde musicians available as free MP3s

Although many of the musicians associated with St. Louis' Black Artists' Group in the late 1960s and early 1970s have gone on to have substantial recording careers, there were relatively few recordings made at the time of BAG, its successors, and related groups, and most of those original LPs are now long out of print. Compared to, say, musicians from Chicago's AACM, or some of their more well-known peers from the Gateway City, St. Louis players such as Floyd LeFlore and Luther Thomas (pictured) have not been extensively documented.

However, you can now hear four rare recordings of St. Louis avant-garde jazz musicians, none of which are currently available on CD, thanks to a gentleman named James Benjamin, who lives in Oklahoma and has a music sharing blog called Nothing Is. Compared to some, he may not be a particularly prolific blogger, but the high quality of his entries more than makes up for it. Benjamin's got some very interesting stuff available in addition to the St. Louis-related material, and the entire archives are worth a look. That said, anyone who's interested in St. Louis jazz from the 1970s and doesn't already have these recordings likely will want to grab them up first thing:

Human Arts Ensemble - Whisper of Dharma: Recorded October 6, 1972 in St. Louis, MO, featuring Charles Bobo Shaw (drums, small instruments), Joseph Bowie (trombone, congas, small instruments), Oliver Lake (tenor sax, radong, flute, small instruments), James Marshall (alto sax, radong, wooden flutes), J.D. Parran (tenor and sopranos saxes, bass clarinet, small instruments), Floyd Leflore (trumpet, small instruments), Gene Lake (drums, small instruments) and Baikida E.J. Carroll (gong, small instruments). Tracks are "Whisper of Dharma" and "A World New".

Human Arts Ensemble - Under the Sun: Recorded July, 1973, featuring Lester Bowie (trumpet), Marty Ehrlich (alto sax, multi instruments, tin flute), Oliver Lake (flute, alto and soprano sax ), Carol Marshall (vocals, multi instruments), James Marshall (alto sax, multi instruments, wood flute, pungi), J.D. Parran (flute, harmonica, bass clarinet, piccolo, soprano sax, multi instruments), Victor Reef (trombone), Charles Bobo Shaw (drums) and Butch Smith (bass). Tracks are "Lover's Desire" and "Hazrat, the Sufi".

Charles Bobo Shaw & Lester Bowie - Bugle Boy Bop: Recorded live at Studio Rivbea in New York City on February 5, 1977, featuring Shaw on drums and Bowie on trumpet. Tracks are "Bugle Boy Bop," "Go Bo," "Cootie's Caravan Fan," "Latin Recovery," "The Girth Of The Cool," "Chop'n Rock," and "Finito, Benito".

Saint Louis Creative Ensemble - I Can't Figure Out (Whatcha Doin' to Me): Recorded March 3, 1979 in Paris, featuring Luther Thomas (alto sax), Joseph Bowie (trombone), Rasul Siddik (trumpet), Darrell Mixon (bass) and Charles Bobo Shaw (drums). Tracks are "Sold Not Told," "Leave Me, Savior Me," "I Can't Figure Out (Whatcha Doin' To Me)," "M.U.L.E.," ".38 Special," and "Five o'Clock Whistle "

Nothing Is has made these albums available as .zip files, downloadable from RapidShare, a file storage service whose free downloads require you to go through a few pages clicking radio buttons, waiting for download tickets and suchlike. It's a little bit of a hassle, but really, it seems curmudgeonly to complain - it's amazing just to have these recordings available, and James Benjamin certainly deserves a big thanks from fans of this music for his efforts.

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

If you haven't visited StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds recently, you've missed music videos by Muddy Waters, the Ohio Players, Thelonious Monk, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes (with Bruce Springsteen), Pharoah Sanders, Colosseum, Jimmy Rushing with the Count Basie Orchestra, John Zorn's Masada, Sly and the Family Stone, Jimmy Smith and Nina Simone, to name just a few.

Fortunately, you can still see them all, plus many more video clips featuring jazz, blues, soul, funk, prog rock and classic rock, and a very important message about the upcoming National Gorilla Suit Day, by going to http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.

Jazz this week: Chris Botti, Peter Martin, a Mae Wheeler tribute, and more

There's quite a bit of jazz activity going on this week in St. Louis, so, as they say on TV, let's go to the big board.

Starting with the biggest marquee name first, smooth jazz trumpet star Chris Botti will be in concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on both Friday and Saturday nights. The TouPAC's Web site leads one to believe that tickets are still available for both shows, but given that ducats to Saturday night's concert were originally offered as pledge premiums by local public TV station KETC for a good while before sales to the general public, I'm betting the selection of seats will be better for Friday's show, which was added as a second date well after Saturday's show was announced. Those who wish to whet their musical appetites for the Botti show may want to peruse the video clip appended to this post, which shows him performing the standard "Embraceable You" last year at the Blue Note in Tokyo.

Update #1 - 6:30 p.m., 1/25/07: The ever-timely Terry Perkins has written a story for the Post-Dispatch featuring an interview with Botti, who talks about his recent turn toward a more acoustic sound. Read it online here.

On Saturday night, pianist and St. Louis native Peter Martin will play at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Martin is a St. Louis native who serves as musical director for singer Dianne Reeves as well as leading his own group, which has recorded for the locally based MAXJAZZ label. He was also one of the main organizers behind the Big River benefit concert for New Orleans musicians, staging it first at the Sheldon in December 2005 and then taking it to Chicago's Symphony Hall last September. For this gig, Martin and his trio will be joined by Erin Bode as special guest vocalist.

Update #2 - 6:35 p.m., 1/25/07: P-D columnist Sylvester Brown devotes today's missive to a chat with Martin and Bode, who discuss the local jazz scene and what listeners can expect at Saturday's show. Read it online here.

On Sunday, the Sheldon again looks like the place to be as St. Louis musicians come together to stage a concert paying tribute to and benefiting singer Mae Wheeler (pictured). The veteran of Gaslight Square has been battling cancer, and though she's continuing to work and stay as active as possible, many of her friends in the music community wanted to help raise funds and to celebrate Wheeler's accomplishments and legacy while she's able to enjoy the accolades. For more details and the lineup of announced performers, see StLJN's previous coverage of the event.

Elsewhere in town, drummer Montez Coleman takes the stage at Jazz at the Bistro for performances on Friday and Saturday. A native of East St. Louis, Coleman is known mostly as a sideman, performing and recording with internationally known musicians like Rufus Reid, Grady Tate, Gary Bartz and Russell Gunn as well as hometown artists including Willie Akins, Erin Bode, Denise Thimes, and Mardra and Reggie Thomas. He hasn't released any recordings as a leader, and since I didn't catch his gig at the Bistro last year, I can't really tell you much about what to expect other than that the bandstand should be filled with some topnotch local players.

On Thursday, saxophonist Dave Stone does a free concert as part of the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum returns to Brandt's Cafe and Red Carpet Lounge, and trumpeter Dan Smith and singer Debby Lennon do their monthly gig at Cookie's Jazz and More.

Then on Friday, saxophonist Willie Akins does a free performance from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Grigg Gallery of the Saint Louis Art Museum, pianist Carolbeth True is at Crossings Taverne and Grille; and Lennon, this time without Smith, will take the stage at Finale Music and Dining.

On Sunday, Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center has a triple bill of improv brands, including the End Times Trio, M.U.K.E.R., and the Lemp Workshop Ensemble, and on Monday, Webster University's music department resumes its Monday night jazz concert series with "World On A String - 75 Years of American Song," featuring vocalist Ashley Mason, guitarist Steve Schenkel and True on piano.

That's quite a bit of music for one weekend, but there's actually even more going on around town, and you can find out who, what, where and when by sneaking a peek at 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.)

Online presale for Metheny/Mehldau concert tickets starts Friday, January 26

Once again, the Sheldon Concert Hall is giving online buyers first crack at tickets for a high-profile show, in this case the Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau concert on Wednesday, April 4. Tickets for the concert will go on sale online at 10 a.m. this Friday, January 26, one day before the general public on sale date of January 27. To get to the online presale, go to metrotix.com/promotions and enter the password PATANDBRAD.

Cruisin' for jazz

Reading the referrer logs for this site not only provides insight into how readers got here, it also occasionally serves up a lead on an item that might otherwise have slipped under the radar. For example, the other day I noticed that someone had arrived at StLJN after searching on the phrases "Don Wolff" and "jazz cruise," and after a little bit of searching of my own, I found that the host of KMOX's long-running Saturday Night Jazz Session program is indeed serving as on-board host for a cruise taking place in December.

Presented by a California firm called Jazzdagen Tours, the Jazz Alive Cruise runs from December 1 to December 8, 2007 aboard the ship Crystal Symphony, departing from and returning to Miami with stops in Key West, Cozumel, Belize City, and Puerto Costa Maya. While on board, guests can enjoy all the expected cruise ship amenities, but the big attraction is the music, which is presented in a sort of "jazz party" format that mixes and matches players from a pool of a couple dozen musicians.

The lineup for Wolff's cruise seems to made up of mostly swing and mainstream players, with the more recognizable names including singer Banu Gibson, trumpeter Warren Vaché (pictured), guitarist Howard Alden, pianist John Bunch, and drummers Jake Hanna and Butch Miles. With per-person prices ranging from $1,645 per person for a basic stateroom to $5,190 for a "penthouse" with its own veranda, it ain't cheap, but if sounds like your sort of thing, you can get details by visiting Jazzdagen Tours' Web site.

And, as it turns out, Wolff isn't the only St. Louisan involved in jazz cruises - in fact, our city also is home to one of the most prominent companies in the business, Jazz Cruises LLC. The company was founded in 2000 by Anita Berry, who ran jazz cruise events for more than 20 years on ships operated by Norwegian Cruise Lines before striking out on her own.

Jazz Cruises LLC started with a single event and has since grown to offer a number of annual variations on the basic theme, including The Smooth Jazz Cruise, hosted by Wayman Tisdale; Dave Koz & Friends at Sea; North Sea Jazz Cruise and The Latin Music Cruise, hosted by Arturo Sandoval. Unlike some other cruises, jazz fans don't have to share the trip with any other groups, because the company charters an entire ship for each event.

Jazz Cruises LLC also touts the hands-on involvement of its staff in every aspect of the trip, from developing programming and selecting musicians to having employees on board to oversee production, guest relations and ship operations while cruises are in progress. You can find out more about dates and prices for all their cruises by visiting the Jazz Cruises LLC Web site.

Tickets now on sale for Jazz St. Louis gala

Tickets are now on sale for Jazz St. Louis' annual benefit gala, which will be held Saturday, March 23 at the Hilton at the Ballpark The event will feature a performance from singer Al Jarreau, but if you want to attend you're going to have to shell out some fairly serious dough: Individual tickets are $300 and $500, with tables of ten costing $3,000 and $5,000. The more expensive tickets include some additional perks, including the chance to attend a reception with Jarreau, a listing in the program, and so on.

Obviously, they're going for the well-heeled demographic here, but if you've got the cash to spare and would like to help support JSL at their main fundraiser for the year, you can download the ticket reservation form here. (Link goes to a .doc file.) If you have questions about the event, you can contact JSL development director Melissa Jones by sending email to melissa (at) jazzstl (dot) org or calling 314-289-4037.

Coming attractions include NIU Jazz Ensemble with John Clayton and Ron Carter, Greg Abate, Nancy Kelly, and more

The Sheldon Concert Hall and Finale Music and Dining both have added additional jazz acts to their upcoming schedules.

At the Sheldon, the Northern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble, directed by saxophonist Ron Carter and featuring a special guest appearance by bassist John Clayton (pictured), will make a return appearance for a concert on Sunday, April 15.

Over at Finale, the club has booked return appearances by singer Rosie Carlino on Wednesday, February 14 and saxophonist Greg Abate on Saturday, March 3. Finale has also announced upcoming shows by saxophonist Chip McNeill, a veteran of the bands of trumpeters Maynard Ferguson and Arturo Sandoval who will appear on Thursday, March 15; swinging NYC-based singer Nancy Kelly, who's set to perform on Friday, March 23; and the Joseph Friedman/Neal Smith Quintet, who will play on Saturday, March 24. Friedman is a St. Louis native who is currently the guitarist for singer and actress Eartha Kitt, while Smith may be familiar to local listeners from his work backing pianist Cyrus Chestnut and others. Their gig here will celebrate the recent release of Friedman's CD Cup O'Joe.

Phillip Wilson tracks available as free downloads

The avant-jazz blog Destination: Out is spotlighting another St. Louis native in their latest post, which features MP3s of three tracks from Esoteric, a 1979 collaboration between trumpeter Olu Dara and drummer Phillip Wilson.

Wilson grew up in St. Louis; was an original member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago; played at Woodstock with the Butterfield Blues Band; and went on to perform with many of the most significant jazz and creative musicians of the 1970s and 1980s. He died in 1992 when he was just 50, and though he was an important and prolific player in his time, his memory seems a bit neglected these days. So, kudos to the folks at D:O for reviving these cuts, which you can download here. As is customary, they'll only be online for a short time, so act quickly if you want them.

Jazz St. Louis offering free student workshops

Although the program started back in September of last year, apparently there's still time to enroll in the free weekly jazz workshops for student musicians being sponsored by Jazz St. Louis. From an email sent out last week by JSL's Adam Roach:

"While these workshops are open to every high school student, regardless of skill level, we do require the students to register and attend on a regular basis. Music for the workshops, which will stress improvisational and group ensemble skills, is distributed in advance to enhance the weekly sessions.

Our teachers are professional musicians--many are associated with local universities. Students will work in small, rotating groups. The workshops will be held every Monday from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the Metro Academic Classical High School, 4015 McPherson, St. Louis, Missouri 63108, near Vandeventer and Lindell. Secure parking is available on the school's lot."

You can find out more about the workshop program and sign up here.

Mae Wheeler tribute show featured in Post

The weekend paper has an article about the upcoming Mae Wheeler benefit/tribute, in which the singer talks with the Post's Kevin Johnson about fighting cancer and about the show itself, which will take place next Sunday, January 28 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. You can read the story here.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Lester Bowie's Brass and Steel, and Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin"

Although this week's videos emphasize music, not comedy, both are from jazz musicians who were notable for their ability to incorporate humor into their work without it detracting from their reputations for artistry. The first clip features trumpet player and St. Louis native Lester Bowie fronting an aggregation called Brass and Steel, one of many diverse instrumental lineups that Bowie experimented with as a bandleader. The footage was shot at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, most likely, judging from the linked material, in July 1996.

The second video clip jumps back more than 50 years in time, and it appears here as a nod to the Black Rep's production of Ain't Misbehavin' currently running at the Grandel Theater. The video is another vintage "soundie", and shows Fats Waller performing the song that would eventually become the title of the hit musical celebrating his work. In his day, Waller was a popular entertainer who was willing to clown and jive if helped him get over, but make no mistake - he was also a phenomenal musician who played the demanding stride piano style just about as well as anyone ever did.

It's also worth noting that there's another St. Louis connection to Waller - saxophonist and clarinetist Gene Sedric, who played with Waller during the height of Fats' popularity, was from right here in the Gateway City.

Erin Bode to guest on A Prairie Home Companion this Saturday, January 20

Singer Erin Bode will be a guest performer on the syndicated public radio program A Prairie Home Companion when it broadcasts live from the Fox Theatre in St. Louis from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Central time this Saturday, January 20.

The program is in its 32nd year of production and broadcasts live every Saturday night, featuring comedy sketches, music, and Garrison Keillor’s signature monologue, “The News from Lake Wobegon.” For this week's broadcast, the house band will be expanded to include a horn section comprised of Dave Bargeron, Jon-Erik Kellso, Kathy Jensen, and PHC regular Andy Stein on baritone sax. Although tickets for the live performance at the Fox are sold out, St. Louis area listeners can tune in to the show on KWMU.

Site news: Calendar and sidebar updates, and more old school link-pimping

Though it's been a rather more protracted process than I would have liked, the latest update to the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar is finally done. Any band, musician or venue schedule information that's been sent in up to this moment should now be on the calendar. However, if you submitted something earlier and it's not there now, please send it again via email to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. Things do occasionally slip through the cracks, and if I've omitted your information, it was most likely due to an inadvertent oversight rather than any musical or value judgment on my part.

There have also been a few routine maintenance updates to the sidebar. I've added some new links, including pointers to the Houston (TX) Jazz Update Center, St. Louis area natives and drummers Marcus Baylor and Terreon Gully, pianist Ray Kennedy, local Brazilian band Samba Bom, and the jazz blog Avant Front, which, as the name implies, focuses mostly on avant-garde and experimental music.

I've also pruned a couple of links that had gone dormant, and updated some others. One of the links just updated was to Jazz@Rochester, a site that serves Rochester, NY in much the same way StLJN covers St. Louis. Writer/editor Gregory Bell was nice enough to spotlight and link to StLJN in a recent post, and so it seems only fair to return the favor here and get the link to their site corrected.

And as long as we're on the subject, if you run across any dead links on the StLJN sidebar, please email and let me know. While I do my best to keep the information current, I don't necessarily visit every link on a regular basis. Thus, I may be unaware if something has gone 404 or moved to a new address, and so readers' help in this regard is most welcome.

Finally, StLJN also recently got some link love from the in-house blog at Ask.com, which linked to our roundup of jazz-related "Best of 2006" lists as part of a year-end meta-post on lists of best-of lists. Many thanks to blogger Ken Grobe of Ask.com for the mention.

Rare vintage BAG tracks available as free downloads

It's been just over a year since StLJN first visited the subject of the long out-of-print Black Artists Group LP In Paris, Aries 1973, prompted by a critical reappraisal of the recording on Bill Shoemaker's Point of Departure site. The album was recorded live during BAG's European residency by a lineup including trombonist Joseph Bowie, trumpeters Baikida Carroll and Floyd LeFlore, saxophonist Oliver Lake, and drummer Charles “Bobo” Shaw, and has been out of print for years, probably since from whenever the original pressing sold out.

Now you can hear a couple of tracks from this rare LP, as the cool cats at Destination Out have a new post up about it featuring free, downloadable MP3s of the compositions "Something to Play On" and "Re-Cre-A-Tion". Although the commentary portion of the post will remain online indefinitely, the MP3s are available only for a limited time, so if you want copies, go here and get 'em right away.

(The post in question also mentions and links to StLJN, passing along our report from last week about the new Black Arts Group. While I'm most grateful for the kind words and the linkage, I should add that, despite my recent links to DO and any other appearances to the contrary, this is not some sort of sleazy, tawdry, prearranged back-room link-pimping or blogrolling deal - it just happened spontaneously, sort of like the music.)

Jazz this week: Fly buzzes the Bistro, and more

The jazz trio Fly finally makes its St. Louis debut this week, performing two shows a night at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday. (The group was originally scheduled to play at the Bistro last year around this time, but had to cancel because bassist Larry Grenadier's wife was due to deliver the couple's baby the same week.) Grenadier, saxophonist Mark Turner (pictured), and drummer Jeff Ballard have an eclectic, nimble approach to collective music making that can go in seconds from an intimate whisper to a full-throated roar, and though Fly has released only one CD to date, if critical attention and acclaim are any indication the group seems poised for bigger things. To see all of StLJN's previous coverage of Fly, including some video clips of them in action, go here.

Elsewhere in town, there's a little bit of everything from free improv to big band nostalgia on local stages. On Thursday night, the very fine pianist Reggie Thomas plays a free concert as part of Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series; Hugh "Peanuts' Whalum performs at Brandt's; Brazilian-influenced singer Valerie Tichacek and her group are at Cookie's Jazz and More; and the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center has a bill of free improv, electronic and noise musicians including Dave Smolen, Mike Pitts, Jim Hegarty and epicycle.

On Friday, the big band sound of Second Generation Swing resonates through the cavernous confines of the Casa Loma Ballroom; Dizzy Atmosphere brings their Hot Club-inspired sound to Erato Wine Bar; and guitarist Todd Mosby and his trio are at Crossings Taverne and Grille. Saturday finds smooth jazz saxophonist Readus Miller at Gene Lynn's; singer Kim Massie at Brandt's; and the Dave Troncoso Trio at Crossings.

As usual, this is but a sampling of the week's musical menu, and you can see more 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 at Holmes series resumes this Thursday, January 18

Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series resumes for the winter/spring semester this week with a free concert by pianist Reggie Thomas at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 20.

The series, which takes place in Holmes Lounge on the Wash U. campus most Thursday nights when school is in session, will also include shows from saxophonist Dave Stone on January 25; bassist Tom Kennedy and his group on February 1; the Dave Black Trio on February 8; guitarist William Lenihan on February 15 and guitarist Vince Varvel on March 1.

The Jazz at Holmes series usually continues through May, so additional bookings should be announced at some point in the not-too-distant future. When they are, we'll have them for you right here.

Thanks to Terry Perkins for the information in this story.

Tributes to Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane

Jazz lost a couple of significant musicians over this past weekend with the deaths of Michael Brecker and Alice Coltrane. And while StLJN doesn't usually do tributes or obituaries for jazz musicians without a St. Louis connection - to attempt to do so would be beyond the focus of this site, too time-consuming, and, frankly, too depressing for yr. humble editor - in this particular case, I would like to pass along a couple of links.

The fine folks at Destination Out have done a very nice tribute to Alice Coltrane, complete with several free MP3s for downloading, here. As someone who just never got around to spending much time with her music, I can't add much to what they've written, but if you have any interest in learning more about her, check it out.

As for Brecker, I first encountered his playing in the early 1970s, was a big fan of the first several Brecker Brothers releases, and have continued to follow his work as a sideman and solo artist over the years. Since his career has coincided chronologically with my own interest in jazz, the loss hits a little closer to home. So, as a small tribute, I've compiled a few video clips of Michael Brecker's work over at StLJN's sibling site, the music video blog Heliocentric Worlds, and you can see them here.

Harry Connick Jr. to bring his big band to the Fox Theatre on March 17

Singer and pianist Harry Connick Jr. will bring his "My New Orleans" Tour to the Fox Theatre in St. Louis on Saturday, March 17.

Connick and his big band will be performing music from two new CDs focusing on New Orleans. The first, Oh, My Nola, due in stores this month, includes the single ''All These People'' which was released this past summer and was inspired by Connick's experiences after Hurricane Katrina. The second, Chanson du Vieux Carre, will be released later this year and is described as "an equally heartfelt tribute album to New Orleans that includes originals as well as standards displaying the jazz tradition of the city."

As you might expect for an event at the Fox, tickets for the show are pricey, starting at $42.50 and going as high as $75.50, plus service charges. They go on sale via Metrotix at 10 a.m. this Saturday, January 20.

For a taste of Connick's big band work - albeit one from a while back - check out the video clip below, which shows him performing the standard "All of Me" at a 1992 concert in New York.

Singers, musicians announced for Mae Wheeler tribute/benefit

The initial lineup of singers and musicians has been announced for the upcoming show at the Sheldon Concert Hall benefiting and paying tribute to Mae "Lady Jazz" Wheeler. We say "initial," because the way these sorts of things usually work is that more performers likely will be coming on board between now and the show date on Sunday, January 28, and it's entirely possible that others may show up and join in spontaneously that night. You never know exactly what you're going to get with this type of event, but encountering the unexpected is part of the fun.

St. Louis musicians always turn out in numbers to support one of their own, and the announced lineup of this show features a very nice variety of talent, including Karen Hylton, Hazel Hunter, Anita Jackson, the Tom Kennedy Trio, Anita Jackson, Gene Lynn, Kim Massie, the River Blenders, Charles "Skeet" Rogers, Anita Rosamond, Jeanne Trevor, Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum, Sherielle White and, as the saying goes, "many more." Singer Denise Thimes and the Sheldon's Dale Benz will co-host the event.

The doors at the Sheldon will open at 5 p.m., with show time at 6 p.m. Though not available online as of this writing, tickets will be sold via Metrotix at $15 for balcony seating, $25 for general admission seating on the main floor, and $40 for VIP/Orchestra seating, which includes a reception with the artists.

Black History Month event will feature Mardra and Reggie Thomas, Dennis Owsley

The Black Arts Group aren't the only ones using the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site as a performance venue this winter, as during February the former home of the famous ragtime composer will also play host to several musical programs celebrating Black History Month.

A couple of these may appeal to jazz listeners, especially the event at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 25, when Dennis Owsley, host of Jazz Unlimited on KWMU and author of the St. Louis jazz history City of Gabriels, will give a talk based on his book, and the husband-and-wife duo of keyboardist Reggie Thomas and vocalist Mardra Thomas (pictured) will perform.

Also of possible interest is "Rags to Rap," scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 11 and described as "a musical exploration of the importance of the tradition of syncopation from ragtime to current music trends," featuring author and entertainer Sule Greg Wilson. For more information on the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, you can call 314-340-5790. For more about Black History Month events at state parks around Missouri, see this article.

Another Fly interview online

The weekend Post-Dispatch had an brief interview/feature story about Fly, written by Calvin Wilson, and you can read it online here.

BAG/CFE performance canceled due to bad weather

This just in: The Black Arts Group program featuring a performance by the Creative Forces Ensemble that was scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site has been canceled due to bad weather.

Although it's dry here at StLJN HQ in South St. Louis right now, other parts of the St. Louis metro area apparently got quite a bit of ice in yesterday's storm, more than 100,000 households in the region are currently without electricity, and weather maps show more freezing rain and/or ice on the way. So, here's hoping that all StLJN readers, wherever you may be, are safe and warm, and we'll let you know if and when the BAG/CFE event is rescheduled.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Fly performs "Emergence/Resurgence" and "Todas Las Cosas Se Van"

This week, we provide a video preview of the band Fly, who will be performing at Jazz at the Bistro starting next Wednesday, January 17 through Saturday, January 20. Fly is a cooperative trio made up of Mark Turner on saxophone, Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums. Though they've worked together for several years, Fly has released just one CD, with a second recording scheduled for later this year. However, all three members have busy careers apart from the group - Turner has recorded a number of CDs as a leader, and Grenadier and Ballard work with many top players, also serving these days as the rhythm section of choice for pianist Brad Mehldau.

Fly's Web site is just a placeholder at this point, but if you want to know more, in addition to perusing the links above you might want to check out this feature story/interview with them published last week by Bloomberg News.

As for the videos, they're both from a gig in November, 2006 at the Jazz House in Copenhagen, Denmark. The camera work is as rudimentary as it gets - a stationary three-shot of the band members - but at least you can see them all, and the audio quality is quite decent. The first clip shows Fly performing "Emergence/Resurgence," which was written by Grenadier. The song in the second clip is "Todas Las Cosas Se Van," composed by Reid Anderson, bass player of The Bad Plus (who were just in St. Louis at the Bistro last week ). Both tunes were originally recorded by Fly on their eponymous 2004 debut.

Jazz this week: Anita Rosamond with the Tom Kennedy Trio, Creative Forces Ensemble and more

With no major touring jazz musicians in St. Louis this week, it's an opportune time to get out and hear some of our city's homegrown talent.

Among the notable gigs this weekend is singer Anita Rosamond's debut at Jazz at the Bistro. She'll team with the Tom Kennedy Trio, featuring Kennedy on bass, Miles Vandiver on drums and Nathan Jatcko on piano, for two performances per night on Friday and Saturday.

Elsewhere in town, singer Jeanne Trevor (pictured) will be at Brandt's on Thursday, and smooth jazz saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Finale Music and Dining on Friday. On Saturday, Black Arts Group presents the Creative Forces Ensemble in a free concert at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, and the Carolbeth True Trio performs at Crossings Taverne and Grille.

For more, 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.)

Art Museum to present jazz performances

The Saint Louis Art Museum is continuing its "Art After 5" series in 2007, presenting free musical performances in the museum one Friday a month, and several of the upcoming performers are of interest to jazz fans.

• Friday, January 26: The Willie Akins Quartet will perform from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Grigg Gallery.
• Friday, February 23: The Samba Bom trio will play Brazilian music from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Sculpture Hall.
• Friday, March 23: The Carolbeth True Trio performs from 6 p.m. to 8:3o p.m. in the Grigg Gallery.

All three performances are free and open to the public. And in addition to the events in the "Art After 5" series on Fridays, SLAM is presenting a performance by singer Erin Bode from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 3 in the Grigg Gallery. That show is also free, though the museum warns that "seating is limited."

JSL sets conversations with Carter, Jamal

In other news from Jazz St. Louis, the organization has also announced a pair of public "conversations" with artists who will be performing at Jazz at the Bistro. Saxophonist and jazz educator Ron Carter (aka Ronald Carter, the former East St. Louis band director now at Northern Illinois University, and not Miles Davis' former bass player) will be the guest of honor on Tuesday, February 27, and pianist Ahmad Jamal (pictured) will be the center of attention on Tuesday, April 24.

Both receptions will be held at 6 p.m.on the fourth floor of the Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive Street, Suite 410. These events, which are co-sponsored by Washington University, are free and open to the public, but because space is limited and refreshments will be served, to attend you must RSVP by calling Sally Dunne at 314-289-4036 or emailing her at sally(at)jazzstl(dot)org.

(Edited after posting to add photo.)

Bistro to host big band performances

Jazz St. Louis has announced that the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Jim Widner will begin a series of performances at Jazz at the Bistro on Wednesday, February 7. The band, which will also feature guest vocalist Mardra Thomas, will perform sets at 8:30 and 10:15 p.m.

Subsequent appearances by the SLJO are scheduled for Thursday, March 8; Thursday, April 5; and Thursday, May 3. You can read more and hear some sound samples of the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra here.

With regular big band performances in relatively short supply here locally, it's good to see JSL doing this. It's another performance opportunity for the musicians, another chance for big band aficionados to enjoy their favorites sounds and for those who have never heard a big band to experience one live, and a way to keep the Bistro itself active on nights when it might otherwise be dark. Here's hoping the audience response is sufficient to justify making it a long-lived, continuing series.

Ain't Misbehavin' now playing at the Grandel Theatre

Musical theater isn't usually on StLJN's beat, but it seems worth at least a mention that a production of Ain't Misbehavin' from the St. Louis Black Repertory Theater Company is now playing at the Grandel Theatre. The show, which features a five-person cast and live band performing about three dozen songs written by or associated with legendary jazz pianist, singer and songwriter Thomas "Fats" Waller (pictured), runs through February 4.

Ain't Misbehavin' was originally a hit on Broadway in 1978 with a cast that included St. Louis native Ken Page, and has since enjoyed a long and profitable life in revivals, regional theater, bus-and-truck companies, community and school productions, and just about every other imaginable venue for a stage musical. It's an entertaining selection of some of Waller's most memorable material, and though it's not a "jazz musical" per se, jazz fans may enjoy it as an introduction to and/or celebration of Waller, the songwriter, singer and entertainer. I haven't seen the Black Rep's current production, though I have seen cast members Drummond Crenshaw and Anita Jackson in other contexts, and both are fine performers. Another promising sign is that the band is directed by pianist Charles Creath and includes such local jazz notables as saxophonist Willie Akins and bassist Raymond Eldridge.

The Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson went to the show's opening last weekend, and you can read his review of the production here. And if you'd like to see the original inspiration for Ain't Misbehavin' in action, check out the embedded video below - it's a "soundie" recorded in 1943 that features Fats Waller performing "Your Feet's Too Big," a song which is, conveniently enough, also part of the score of the musical.

City of Gabriels nominated for award

City of Gabriels, the book on the history of jazz in St. Louis written by DJ and historian Dennis Owsley, has been nominated for a 2006 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research:

"Published by the Sheldon Art Galleries and Reedy Press, the book is a companion piece to an exhibit by the same name on view at the Sheldon Art Galleries through August 2007.

To be eligible for this annual award, the material must have been published for the first time in 2006; the subject matter must concern records, record labels, or recording artists in any field of music or speech; it must focus on a historical time period (pre-1995) and must be made available in printed form. Founded in 1966, the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to research, study, publication, and information exchange surrounding all aspects of recordings and recorded sound."

For more information on the ARSC, visit www.arsc-audio.org.

Mae Wheeler benefit concert set for Sunday, January 28

A special concert to help raise funds for longtime St. Louis jazz vocalist Mae "Lady Jazz" Wheeler has been scheduled for 6 p.m., Sunday, January 28 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Wheeler was hospitalized late last year to be treated for cancer, and while she continues to recover, expenses continue to mount. So, her musician friends are banding together to stage this benefit show, with singer Denise Thimes organizing the event. According to an email from Jay Brandt of Brandt's (Wheeler's unofficial performing headquarters), Thimes is in the process of lining up an star-studded lineup of musicians and singers eager to pay tribute to Wheeler. StLJN will have more details for you as soon as they're available.

Voisey and Vida reviewed

If you couldn't make it to this past Sunday's New Music Circle event featuring performances by Rob Voisey and Andre Vida, and would like to know what went down, Avant Front, a relatively new, apparently St. Louis-based blog about creative music, has a brief review here.

The return of Zimbabwe Nkenya

Although it sounds like it could be the title for some sort of art-house suspense film, the headline above actually refers to the recent repatriation to the St. Louis area of bassist, composer and mbira player Zimbabwe Nkenya (pictured). StLJN got acquainted with Nkenya just recently, when he emailed with news of his return and some upcoming performances, and based on what we've learned so far, he seems like someone to keep both an eye and an ear on.

Although he grew up in the St. Louis area - specifically, Alton, Illinois - Nkenya has spent most of the last 30 years in the Southwest, where he became known as one of New Mexico's foremost creative musicians. His ensembles including Black Jazz Culture, ZIYA, Contrabass Quartet and African Space Project were regularly featured in venues throughout the state including the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe and the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque.

Nkenya hasn't recorded all that often, but the sides he has cut seem to have made an impact. In 2005, he released a CD entitled Zimbabwe Nkenya and The New Jazz on the regional High Mayhem label to positive reviews from local and national press, and a copy of Time and Condition, his 1982 East St. Louis recording with Maurice Malik King's Emerging Force Art Trio, reportedly recently sold on Ebay for $300.

A bit more from Nkenya's bio:

"In addition to his active playing career for the past thirty years, he has also been a clinician and educator, playing concerts for school children throughout the state. For some 20 years, he hosted one of New Mexico’s most respected radio shows, KUNM’s Sunday night special, "The House that Jazz Built." In addition to his work in-state, Zimbabwe has performed with some of the finest internationally known musicians on the creative music scene, including Warren Smith, William Parker, Charles Gayle, Douglas Ewart, Julius Hemphill, Abdul Wadud, Frank Lacy, Rob Brown, Chris Jonas and more. He has performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center, Hunter College, the Painted Bride, the Knitting Factory, Detroit’s One World Festival and more.

He toured with the off-Broadway production of HALALA following a year at the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre. He has been commissioned to write music for “For Black Boys Who Have Considered Homicide” as well as for the St Louis Children’s Theater. He has been a recipient of a Western States Arts Federation grant and has worked extensively with Very Special Arts New Mexico. In St. Louis, where Zimbabwe was active with the Black Artists’ Group (BAG), he served, along with Shirley Bradley LeFlore, as co-director of the music program at the Creative Arts and Expression Lab. Zimbabwe’s interest in African music runs deep and he has collaborated with many African performers including Chipo Wakatama, Thuli Dumakude, Mohamed Camara, Welcome Msomi, Abraham Adzenyah and more."

Having just resettled in Alton for family reasons in late 2006, Nkenya is already involved with the new Black Arts Group aka BAG II (see the previous post), and if his track record in New Mexico is any indication, could become a very active participant in the local music scene. StLJN looks forward to hearing what he has to offer.

St. Louis has a brand new BAG

Operating in St. Louis from 1968 to 1972, the Black Artists Group was a multidisciplinary arts cooperative that brought together music, poetry, dance, drama and visual arts, providing performance opportunities for local artists as well as educational programs for young people in the community.

Though coverage in local media was scant at the time, over the years BAG has come to be recognized as an historically significant organization that not only served as an important incubator for new artistic ideas but also helped launch the careers of a number of notable creative musicians, including Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill, Hamiet Bluiett, Baikida Carroll, Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Floyd LeFlore, J.D. Parran, Joseph Bowie and Luther Thomas.

The original BAG ended when the group's funding sources, primarily grant money, began to dry up and a number of the group's most active members left town for New York or Europe. But BAG's legacy has remained an important part of St. Louis' cultural history, and was celebrated in 2005 with a symposium and performances at Washington University.

Now some of the members of the original Black Artists Group, along with some new faces, have formed Black Arts Group (or BAG II for short). According to an email from bassist/composer/mbira player Zimbabwe Nkenya, the new organization's mission is "to present to the community music, dance, theatre, visual and literary arts and foster wholistic health practices, welcoming and appealing to all age groups and multicultural audiences. BAG II is working to revive the creative efforts of and expose audiences to BAG's musical, artistic and cultural legacy."

BAG II has scheduled several events in St. Louis over the next few weeks, all to be held at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, 2658 Delmar Blvd in St. Louis (map).

The first will be at 6 p.m. this Saturday, January 13, when BAG II will present a program featuring music from the Creative Forces Ensemble, with Zimbabwe Nkenya on bass, Ariel Kenyatta on saxophone, and other guest musicians. Dr. Lee Blount will also be on the program, offering a presentation on wellness and fitness. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

February's celebration of Black History Month provides an occasion for two additional events, starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 4, with "Men of Words," featuring Roscoe Crenshaw, Chris Mullin and David Jackson, with Nkenya performing solo on bass and mbira.

And at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 24, BAG II will present another musical performance, this time featuring J. Dubbs (soprano and alto saxophones), Floyd LeFlore (trumpet), Jerome "Scrooge" Harris (drums), Zimbabwe Nkenya (bass and mbira) and Thomasina Clarke (spoken word).

BAG II doesn't have a Web site yet, but if you'd like more information on these programs or the group, you can call Thomasina Clarke at 314-249-0363 or email bag_blackartistsgroup (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Whether you call it a rebirth, a remix or a resurgence, the return of BAG in any form is a welcome development, and StLJN definitely will have more coverage of this story and future developments as they unfold.

(Edited after posting to add contact info.)

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

If you haven't visited StLJN's sister site, Heliocentric Worlds, in the last week or so, you've missed music videos featuring John Coltrane, The Rascals, Weather Report, Joe Pass, Charles Mingus, King Crimson, Gil Scott-Heron, Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. But never fear, they're all still there waiting for you, along with lots of other good stuff, so go ahead - click on this link (or the one above) and check it out.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: "Just Friends" featuring Oliver Nelson with Art Farmer and Lee Konitz, plus Brubeck's "St. Louis Blues"

This week's videos feature, respectively, a St. Louis-born performer and the most famous song ever written about our city, and to provide a little contrast with last week's clips of a performance less than a month old, both are of the vintage variety. These performances were recorded in the Netherlands, and have recently resurfaced thanks to a Dutch TV program called Jazz Cellar that mines archival material recorded in the 1950s and 1960s in the Netherlands.

The first clip, filmed in 1966, is from a 20th anniversary concert for a Dutch TV station, is of an ensemble directed by St. Louis native Oliver Nelson and featuring Lee Konitz on alto sax, Art Farmer on fluegelhorn, Swedish trombonist Ake Persson, and a Dutch rhythm section led by pianist Pim Jacobs. The second clip is from 1961, and features pianist Dave Brubeck and his famous quartet with Paul Desmond on alto sax performing "St. Louis Blues."

<

Riverfront Times article features guitarist Todd Mosby

From the Department of Shameless Self-Promotion: I've got an short article in this week's Riverfront Times about guitarist Todd Mosby and his imratgitar, a new stringed instrument that combines aspects of guitar and sitar. You can read the story online here.

Jazz this week: The Bad Plus, Rob Voisey's 60x60, Andre Vida, and more

With the holidays behind us, touring artists are back on the road again, resulting in a couple of adventurous musical presentations coming to St. Louis this week.

The NYC-based group The Bad Plus (pictured) is in town for a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro, performing two sets a night through Saturday. They've been the beneficiaries of an awful lot of hype in the jazz press over the past several years, and though I'm not quite buying the prevailing notion that they've somehow reinvented or revolutionized the piano trio, they are certainly accomplished musicians who are worth hearing. You can catch up on some of the previous StLJN coverage of the group, including a couple of video clips of them in action, here. This week's Riverfront Times also has a piece about the band from freelancer Andrew Miller here.

On Sunday, New Music Circle is presenting a double bill at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium featuring electronic musician Rob Voisey and saxophonist/composer Andre Vida. Voisey's portion of the program will be devoted to a piece called "60 x 60," which features "60-second electronic works by 60 composers, creating a one-hour performance," while Vida will present something called "Vidatone 247.73" which uses a projected, animated score to guide an ensemble of improvising musicians that will include Vida on sax as well as the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's Tim Meyers on trombone and Chris Woehr on electric viola.

As for our local musicians, Cookie's Jazz and More will feature Visions Jazz tonight and vocalist Danita Mumphard with Trio Tres Bien on Saturday, but, unfortunately, several other local nightspots have yet to get their January schedules out, either via email or on their Web sites, and so updating of the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar will be happening on an ongoing basis as the information comes in. Look for those updates over the next few days, or if you're the impatient sort, use the links on the sidebar for direct access to your favorite club's site.

(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.)

More "Best of 2006" lists

Since the post here a few days ago rounding up various "Best of 2006" lists from jazz journalists and blogs, I've run across (or had recommended to me) a few more:

• Jazz and Blues Reviews 10 Best of 2006
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Calvin Wilson's 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2006
• Avant Front's Best of 2006 list
• 2006 Favorites from Just Outside
• About.com's John Matouk names his favorite jazz CDs of 2006
• About.com's Top 10 jazz downloads of 2006
• NPR's Kevin Whitehead selects best jazz box sets of 2006
• The Best of the Year in Jazz from WBGO
  
  

(Edited 1/4/07 to add a couple more lists.)

Sheldon offering online presale for Victor Goines concert

If you're interested in hearing (and getting the best available seats for) saxophonist Victor Goines and the Juilliard Jazz Small Ensemble when they perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall on February 9, you should know that the Sheldon is offering a one-day, online-only advance presale of tickets for the show starting at 10 a.m. this Friday, January 5. (Regular single ticket sales begin the next day.) To order, go to metrotix.com/promotions and enter the password NEWSHE07.