StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Hamiet Bluiett

Yes, it's only been a few months since we last had some video clips featuring Hamiet Bluiett in this space, but the saxophonist, clarinetist and bandleader is one of yr. humble editor's favorites. In addition to being a native of the Metro East and one of the greatest baritone saxophonists in jazz history, Bluiett has always been a good interview - accessible, candid, insightful, and often funny - and we music journalists like folks who provide both great sounds and interesting copy.

As far as I know, Bluiett has no local shows coming up in the near future, but I recently ran across these previously unlinked clips while searching YouTube and, with a momentary mid-winter lull in the number of upcoming touring shows to preview, now seems as good a time as any to use them.

The first video up above is a short excerpt from Bluiett's June 2007 concert at Ivory Perry Park here in St. Louis. He's accompanied by local veterans Reggie Thomas on piano and John King on bass, plus three young student musicians from the Improvising Youth Orchestra program, drummer Zach Morrow and horn players Josh and Joel Williams. The video quality is a little rough, but it's still fun to see three generations of St. Louis jazz players working together.

The second clip shows an excerpt from a Bluiett performance with violinist and longtime collaborator Billy Bang and Jin Hi Kim, a native of Korea who plays improvised music on the komungo. It's from the 2002 Vision Festival in NYC.

Last but least, there's a short video biography of Bluiett, courtesy of the TV program Living St. Louis, a locally produced magazine show that airs on St. Louis' PBS affiliate KETC (Channel 9).

Jazz St. Louis seeking input on Bistro bookings

Jazz St. Louis is looking for input from local jazz fans regarding who they'd like to see booked next season at Jazz at the Bistro. Interested individuals may offer their opinions by responding to a survey that went up today on the Jazz St. Louis Web site. (To find the poll, look in the right-hand column of the front page, about halfway down.)

Musicians under consideration for the Bistro's 2009-10 season include Alyssa Graham, Bill Charlap, the Caribbean Jazz Project, Chris Potter, Claudia Acuna, Eliane Elias, Harry Allen, James Carter, Joe Lovano, Joey DeFrancesco, John Patitucci, Lionel Loueke, Matt Wilson, Patricia Barber, Richard Bona, Steve Wilson, Trio da Paz and Vijay Iyer.

The survey will stay up until early March, said JSL operations director Bob Bennett. JSL usually announces the next year's lineup for the Bistro in the latter part of May.

Overall, I'd say this is a strong and reasonably varied menu of possible choices. A number of the artists, including Carter, Barber, DeFrancesco, Acuna and a couple of others, have played the Bistro before, but, by my very informal and unofficial count, the majority haven't.

Of the musicians listed in the survey, I'd be especially interested in hearing pianists Charlap and Elias; drummer Matt Wilson's Arts and Crafts band; saxophonist Potter, who was very impressive last week with Dave Holland's band at the Sheldon; and guitarist Loueke, who made some interesting contributions to Herbie Hancock's Headhunters 2005 when they played The Pageant. Of course, your mileage may very, so all the more reason to visit the Jazz St. Louis site and cast your vote.

Jazz this week: Robert Dick, the Last Poets, new bands at the Bistro, and more

Assuming you've dug out of the snow that hit St. Louis earlier this week, and are willing to venture out in the cold over the next few days to hear some jazz and creative music, here's what you'll find:

Tonight, trumpeter Randy Holmes and the Hard Bop Heritage Quintet perform a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. (And no, Jazz at Holmes has still not released a schedule for the entire semester. More on that once the information is available.)

On Friday, the Last Poets at the J.C. Penney Auditorium at the University of Missouri St. Louis. Though this isn't technically a jazz show, it seems worth mentioning as the group has been blending socially conscious poetry with jazz, funk, and Afro-Cuban beats for nearly 40 years now, and has been an important influence on contemporary hip-hop and spoken word performers.

Also on Friday, saxophonist Bennett Wood and his Quartet make their debut at Jazz at the Bistro. Although Jazz St. Louis normally books the Bistro in block of two or four nights at a time, they're trying something a little different this weekend, with two up-and-coming bands led by young musicians booked into the club for one night each.

After Wood plays on Friday, on Saturday night the quartet Utter Chaos (pictured) featuring baritone saxophonist Andy Ament, Cody Henry on trombone, Chris Turnbaugh on bass and Jerry Mazzuca on drums, takes the Bistro stage. Both bands have previously played the Tuesday night series co-sponsored by JSL and The Gramophone, and if their gigs this weekend go well, presumably other new groups might be able to follow the same path. As I've been encouraging the folks at Jazz St. Louis to diversify the Bistro's lineup whenever possible, I think this is a potentially positive development, and I look forward to seeing how it works out.

Also on Saturday, New Music Circle present avant-garde flautist Robert Dick in a performance with dancer Ashley Tate and percussionist Rich O'Donnell at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand. (That's the former Woolworth building just south of the Fox Theatre, also now home to the offices of Big Brothers and Big Sisters.)
Part of the performance will involve Tate dancing in a suit fitted with MIDI sensors connected to a synthesizer, and Dick and O'Donnell no doubt will demonstrate plenty of virtuoso and extended techniques on their respective instruments.

After Saturday, information gets a bit spotty due to the usual difficulties in getting band and venue schedules in anticipation of the beginning of a month. We can tell you, though, that on Monday bassist Willem von Hombracht and the St. Louis New Jazz X-Tet will perform at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium. With the group getting a rare opportunity to play a more expansive venue than its usual Sunday night confines at Riddle's, this could be the sleeper show of the week. Then on Tuesday, The Gramophone will present Davina and the Vagabonds, a blues and jazz band from the Minnesota's Twin Cities who are doing a date here on the way to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

As the rest of February schedule information comes in from bands and venues, I'll be adding it to the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, so please check there for the latest updates.

(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. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

Jazz St. Louis confirms NYC trip details, schedules Young Friends fundraiser

A couple of brief news items this week from Jazz St. Louis:

* JSL director of development Melissa Jones has more details on the upcoming JSL-sponsored trip to New York City. Specifically, the itinerary is now confirmed: On Friday, May 29, the group will hear music at Birdland and the Village Vanguard, and on Saturday, May 30, there's a tour of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a group dinner at Blue Smoke, and sets at the Jazz Standard and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. For all the particulars, including prices and specifics of the tour package, see this post from Melissa's blog.

* The Young Friends of Jazz St. Louis are throwing a fundraiser on Thursday, February 26 at The Gramophone to benefit the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars. The event will be hosted by Gilberto Pinela and Ivy Hartman of Channel 46's Best of the STL, with music from the All-Stars, who are the select ensemble of student musicians involved in Jazz St. Louis' educational programs, and pianist Bruce Barth's quintet. Barth's group, which features Terell Stafford on trumpet, will be in town that week doing an educational residency for JSL and performing at Jazz at the Bistro.

The Young Friends event runs from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and tickets are $40 for the VIP pre-party (includes complimentary drinks and "lite appetizers"), $30 for general access (includes two free drink tickets), or $25 in advance for Young Friends members. You can get more information or make reservations by calling the Jazz St. Louis offices at 314-289-4030.

(Edited after posting.)

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

In case you were wondering, StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds is still rolling along, with recent posts showcasing music videos featuring the Temptations, Heatwave, Rare Earth, Ornette Coleman, Sunnyland Slim, Lee Morgan, Pat Martino, Johnnie Taylor, the Doors, Erroll Garner, Sly and the Family Stone, Jimmy Smith, the ICP Orchestra, Mandrill, and Herbie Hancock.

There's a different music video posted every day, drawn from genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock and experimental. You can still see all the video clips mentioned above, plus hundreds more from the archives, by visiting http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.

Peter Leitch to show photos, give concert at Webster University

Peter Leitch is best known to jazz fans as a New York-based guitarist and composer, but it's his skills as a photographer that will be on display next month in St. Louis when his new photography show "New York to New Orleans, 2000 - 2007" opens with a reception from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, February 27 at the May Gallery in Webster University's Sverdrup Building, 8300 Big Bend Blvd.

Leitch, who has worked with musical luminaries including Oscar Peterson, Ron Carter, Milt Jackson, Woody Shaw, Pepper Adams, Jaki Byard, Jack McDuff, Kenny Wheeler, Al Grey and St. Louis' own John Hicks, also will play what's being described as "a short concert" with his band at the gallery starting at 7:00 p.m. the next night, Saturday, February 28. Both the reception and concert are free and open to the public.

More on the St. Louis Jazz Cafe

Following up on a story from last month, there was an interesting comment this past week on the December 26 post about the St. Louis Jazz Café, a new music venue scheduled to open in March at 1501 Locust downtown.

Responding to the original Post-Dispatch story as well as an earlier commenter here at StLJN, "Anonymous" wrote:

"I have it from a source close to the owners of The St Louis Jazz Cafe, that 1) The mention of streaming music from the internet in the article is a misquote; They do not intend to use that as a source.

2) The types of Jazz played and performed will cover the gamut of the genre, i,e. everything from Big band era, & swing, to modern, and contemporary, smooth Jazz, to free form, from Thelonious Monk, and Miles, to Stanley Turrentine and Grover Washington Jr, from Mel Torme & The Chairman of the Board, to Wes Montgomery, or Grant Green, From Oscar Peterson to Stanley Clark.

3) Also a misquote; The fact that Tim Sims will be putting together the food offerings,....that too is incorrect, the St Louis Jazz Cafe, will employ the services of a notable Chef, Tim Sims is the Operations Manager, more like an F&B Manager."

Now granted, this is from an anonymous commenter, and thus can't automatically be ascribed the same degree of credibility as a properly sourced statement from someone connected with the venture...but it's interesting anyway, and in the absence of any other information, seems at least somewhat plausible. As I said in the original comment thread, there's really no way to tell what sort of music the club will feature until a schedule is announced, so all we can do is wait and see.

In the meantime, there is at least one public indication the project is making some progress, though - the St. Louis Jazz Cafe is now advertising on Craig's List for servers, bartenders, cooks and kitchen help.

More details as we get 'em...

The Pageant nominated for Pollstar's "Nightclub of the Year"

Via the RFT's A to Z music blog; Another St. Louis music venue is getting national recognition, as The Pageant is one of five venues across the country nominated for "Nightclub of the Year" in Pollstar's Concert Industry Awards.

The Pageant presents a variety of musical styles; of interest to jazz fans, it has hosted a number of smooth jazz shows, as well as the St. Louis appearances of acts such as Zappa Plays Zappa and Herbie Hancock's Headhunters 2005. The Pollstar awards ceremony is this Friday, and you can read the whole story here.

UPDATE, 2/3/09: Alas, The Pageant did not prevail; as reported here by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, they lost out to Washington D.C.'s 9:30 Club.

Boney James to play The Pageant on Wednesday, March 25

This just in: Saxophonist Boney James (pictured) is returning to St. Louis to play a concert on Wednesday, March 25 at The Pageant.

James' most recent visit to the Gateway City was last summer, when he played the Ameristar Casino's Bottleneck Blues Bar.

Tickets for his show at The Pageant go on sale at 5:00 p.m. Friday, January 30 via The Pageant box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, or online here.

Review: Dave Holland Quintet at the Sheldon Concert Hall

Jazz critic Whitney Balliett famously called jazz "the sound of surprise," and while the Dave Holland Quintet certainly had plenty of surprises up their sleeves during Saturday night's performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall, the show also served to demonstrate the virtues of familiarity within the context of a working band.

Holland has been developing variations on this small-group concept for more than a decade, and the current lineup has been in place for several years. This continuity means that the musicians know each other and the material very well, and are able to delve deeply into the nuances of each composition. In particular, the band's frequent use of odd meters, as in "Lucky Seven" and the 11/8 "Full Circle," seems completely natural, with each musician having fully assimilated the underlying pulses so that the music grooves effortlessly.

The pairing of trombonist Robin Eubanks and saxophonist Chris Potter offers a different set of timbral possibilities than the more typical front line of trumpet and saxophone, and the two are able to maintain distinct sounds even when working in the same register. Given their extensive experience playing together, they're also able to improvise simultaneously without getting in each other's way, as they did to good effect on the opening "Step To It". Eubanks and Potter also demonstrated several times the ability to slip seamlessly from improvised material into written lines and back out again, adding an elusive quality to the thematic statements.

Steve Nelson's vibes and marimba provided a chordal backdrop more transparent than a piano or guitar, but also were engaged in a ongoing dialogue of cross-rhythms with drummer Nate Smith. Nelson's solo on "Full Circle" was especially good, building tension with a series of eight-note licks before doubling up on the tempo and really letting fly. He's perhaps the least demonstrative of the quintet, but in many ways, Nelson is the glue that holds the whole thing together, and his composition "Go Fly A Kite," also served as a fitting encore, sprightly and concise.

Holland's bass took the spotlight on the intro to a new tune called "Veil of Tears" and he soloed effectively throughout the evening, but, ever the team player, he also handled much of the time-keeping function, freeing up Smith to explore various cross-rhythmic strategies. Smith is especially good at exploiting all the tonal resources of his kit, using sticks, mallets and hands on the cymbals, heads, rims and sides of the drums to produce a wide variety of effects, some very subtle. His control of dynamics and the level of fine detail in his playing were impressive, and his duet with Holland on "The Whirling Dervish" was both musically substantive and a crowd pleaser.

Chris Potter is considered one of the rising stars in jazz, and on this evening he did not disappoint, delivering twisting, extended tenor solos on the opener and on his own composition "Vicissitudes." While some of his lines on the latter recalled the late Michael Brecker, reportedly an important influence, Potter's playing overall was remarkably free of cliche, and his energy level never flagged. On a new tune called "Easy Did It"* that was dedicated to the people of New Orleans, Potter switched to soprano sax, and he and Eubanks together briefly evoked memories of Roswell Rudd and Steve Lacy's modernist takes on traditional jazz before veering off on their own paths.

Holland's group doesn't offer many easy points of entry for the casual fan; their music relies on odd meters, elliptical forms, and advanced harmonic concepts, and thus may prove difficult for those accustomed only to traditional song forms and 4/4 swing beats. Their music demands active listening, and even then the information flow is so dense that it can be daunting. Still, while a few concertgoers at the Sheldon left after intermission, the vast majority of the mostly-full house stuck around until the end, rewarding the band with a well-deserved standing ovation. On this evening, the Dave Holland Quintet fully lived up to their reputation as one of the top small groups in jazz.

(The Riverfront Times' Ryan Wasoba also reviewed Holland's concert, and you can read his reactions online here.)

*Thanks to bassist/blogger Bill Harrison of Jazz Underneath for his comment supplying the correct name of the tune dedicated to New Orleans. You can read Bill's review of the Dave Holland Quintet's concert Sunday night in Chicago here.

Classes on St. Louis jazz history to begin Thursday, February 12

Author, photographer and radio host Dennis Owsley will teach a series of classes on St. Louis jazz history beginning at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, February 12 at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd.

The course “City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis 1895 – 1973” is based on Owsley's book of the same name, and will cover St. Louis jazz history from the ragtime era through Gaslight Square during three two-hour classes on consecutive Thursdays. Classes will include recorded selections from Owsley’s collection, amassed over a lifetime of jazz fandom and more than 25 years hosting jazz programs on KWMU (90.7 FM). Owsley's current program Jazz Unlimited is broadcast from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Sundays.

For complete information on the content of each class, go to the Ethical Society Web site (.pdf file). Tuition for the course is $40; to register, contact Kathy Kammien by calling 314-991-1020, ext. 213, or emailing kkammien@ethicalstl.org.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Two favorites from Al Jarreau

This week, we turn our spotlight on singer Al Jarreau, who's coming to St. Louis on Friday, February 13 to perform at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. These two clips feature a couple of the signature songs from Jarreau's early albums on Warner Brothers that continue to be concert staples for him to this day.

Up top, the first video is a 1976 rendition of Paul Desmond's "Take Five" taken from a German TV broadcast. Jarreau, backed by Tom Canning on keyboards, Jerome Rimson on bass and Nigel Wilkinson on drums, is working free and loose here, and demonstrates a range of vocal techniques, from mouth percussion to keening lines that evoke a tenor sax.

Down below is a version of Chick Corea's "Spain," recorded in 1990 at the "Live Under The Sky" festival in Tokyo, Japan. Jarreau sings a straightforward version of the tune, and then hands it off to Joe Sample, who provides a nice Tyneresque solo on piano, and Steve Gadd, who whips things up on drums before Jarreau returns to reprise the head.



(Edited 2/11/09 to correct the venue for the show.)

Charlie Hunter reviewed at STLtoday

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch/STLtoday's Matt Fernandes has a review of guitarist Charlie Hunter at Jazz at the Bistro, along with some photos, here. Hunter wraps up his St. Louis engagement with sets at 8:30 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. tonight.

Jazz St. Louis schedules CD Listening Club meeting for Tuesday, February 10

Jazz St. Louis has scheduled the next meeting of its CD Listening Club for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 10 at Borders, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd.

With 2009 being the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records, hosts Dr. Gerald Early of Washington University and Gene Dobbs Bradford, executive director of Jazz St. Louis, will discuss the "golden age" of Blue Note and the CD The Best Blue Note Record in the World, a compilation featuring classic tracks from some of the label's signature artists, including Jimmy Smith, Horace Silver, Lee Morgan and Lou Donaldson.

The CD Listening Club event is free to attend, but since space is limited, Jazz St. Louis asks those who wish to attend to reserve a spot by calling Kedra Tolson at 314-289-4034.

Catching up with Jean Kittrell

Decatur Herald-Review columnist Bob Fallstrom has a piece this week in which he catches up with traditional jazz pianist and singer Jean Kittrell, who retired from music last summer after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

The good news is that Ms. Kittrell, a longtime St. Louis favorite who was also a regular at the Central Illinois Jazz Festival in Decatur and many other jazz fests around the country, is recuperating after surgery for her illness and seems in good spirits; for more, read the whole article online here.

VH1 charity auction features sax lesson from David Sanborn

St. Louis native and jazz/funk/pop saxophone legend David Sanborn is auctioning off a private saxophone lesson to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. The auction, which closes on Monday, January 26, is for a package including a private lesson with Sanborn in New York City; a copy of his new CD Here and Gone (Decca); an autographed saxophone to be presented in person by Sanborn; and a $500 MasterCard gift card.

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation has donated $43 million worth of musical instruments to 1,600 public schools in more than 100 cities around the country, serving a total of more than 1.2 million public school students. For more information on the David Sanborn auction, go to www.universalmusicstore.com.

Jazz this week: Dave Holland, Charlie Hunter, Reginald Robinson, the return of Jazz at Holmes, and more

This is the sort of week when it's good to be a jazz fan in St. Louis, with a nice variety of musical activity that includes both touring and local artists. Here, in chronological order, are a dozen noteworthy performances taking place at 11 different venues around town over the next seven days:

Let's start with guitarist Charlie Hunter, who opens this evening and performs through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Hunter's music definitely is technically impressive, given his virtuoso ability to play melody, chords and basslines all at once, but it's not all about technique; he also knows how to bring the funk and communicate with an audience. For some video samples of Hunter, see this post.

Also tonight, the 15-member Stone-Zelenka-Ota Free Improv Orchestra plays a one-time-only gig at the Way Out Club. For details and a complete list of all the players, see this previous post, and for a quick quote from show co-organizer Jay Zelenka, see this entry over on the Riverfront Times' music blog "A to Z."

On Thursday evening, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University begins its winter/spring set of shows with a free concert of jazz, pop and French cabaret music from the Poor People of Paris, who also opened the summer series in 2008. (No details are available yet on the rest of the Jazz at Holmes schedule for the semester, but as soon as yr. humble editor gets the info, it will be posted here on StLJN.)

Friday evening offers a proverbial plethora of musical options, including the massively talented ragtime/stride pianist Reginald Robinson, who's visiting from Chicago to do a free early-evening concert at the St. Louis Art Museum; multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman and Hot Club Caravan, who will be playing string-band Gypsy jazz and more at Brandt's; the Gateway City's own Funky Butt Brass Band, laying down a New Orleans-influenced groove at The Gramophone; and the Ambassadors of Swing, playing the big-band sound for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Then on Saturday, the Dave Holland Quintet performs at The Sheldon. Holland (pictured) has been one of the top bassists in jazz for four decades now, and in recent years his various small groups and big band have been among the most musically accomplished and critically acclaimed ensembles on the scene. His current quintet featuring saxophonist Chris Potter is especially tasty, and though it's only January, I fully expect this concert to be one of the highlights of 2009. For some some video of Holland in action, see this post. Also, note that the Sheldon is offering online buyers a $10 discount on tickets.

Moving on to Sunday, this week Bud Shultz and the You Can't Beat Experience Jazz Band will be doing their monthly session of traditional jazz at the Alton VFW Hall, as described here. And looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band is at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; and on Tuesday, pianist Carolbeth True plays solo at Peppertini's, while the Andrew Miramonti Trio is next week's featured attraction in the ongoing Tuesday night jazz series at The Gramophone.

So, as promised, there you have it: 12 different groups/musicians with 12 different styles, 11 venues, seven days. That's certainly a lot of music for one week, but if your audio appetites remain unsated, you can always find more jazz-related activity in St. Louis this weekend and beyond by consulting 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. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

Pollstar: Jazz Attack to hit Ameristar's Bottleneck Blues Bar on Thursday, April 9

The online tour information Pollstar has added a listing indicating that the "Jazz Attack" smooth jazz package tour, headlined this year by saxophonist Richard Elliot, trumpeter Rick Braun, and singer/guitarist Jonathan Butler (pictured), will come to the St. Louis metro area for a concert on Thursday, April 9 at the Ameristar Casino St. Charles' Bottleneck Blues Bar.

Braun and Elliot were in St. Louis last summer on their "R&R" tour to perform at The Pageant, which also has hosted previous editions of the Jazz Attack show. This would be the first jazz show of 2009 for the Bottleneck Blues Bar, which brought in saxophonist Boney James last year.

There's no mention of the concert yet on the casino's Web site, so, as with all Pollstar listings, this should be considered tentative until it is officially confirmed by the venue. However, the show is showing up on the itinerary pages of both Braun and Elliot's individual sites, along with a gig the next night at Ameristar's Kansas City casino, so it seems likely to happen.

Jazz at the Bistro makes Down Beat's 2009 list of "100 Great Jazz Clubs"

Jazz at the Bistro, the main venue for presenting organization Jazz St. Louis, has been named one of "100 Great Jazz Clubs" around the world in an article in the February 2009 issue of Down Beat magazine. The venerable jazz journal cited the Bistro's lineup of national and local/regional talent and also made note of the room's "intimate" character.

The Blue Room and Jardine's, both in Kansas City, are the only other Missouri venues that made the list, while from Illinois, four Chicago clubs - the Green Mill, Velvet Lounge, Jazz Showcase and Andy's - were mentioned. Down Beat doesn't put very much of their print content online, but if you'd like to see the whole list, the February issue, featuring guitarist Wes Montgomery on the cover, has been mailed to subscribers and should be turning up at newsstands and bookstores this week.

Shultz' Sunday sessions featured in Alton Telegraph

Bud Shultz and the You Can't Beat Experience Jazz Band are the subjects of an article by Jill Moon in the Alton Telegraph that spotlights the band's long-running performances in Metro East on the last Sunday of every month. You can read the story online here.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Charlie Hunter

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring guitarist Charlie Hunter, who will be in St. Louis next week to perform Wednesday, January 21 through Saturday, January 24 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Hunter's music is characterized by a mix of jazz, funk and rock influences, as well by an idiosyncratic guitar technique that allows him to play melodies, chords and bass lines more or less simultaneously. Given this ability, he usually works without a bass player, and that will be the case here next week, as he'll be playing in a duo setting with drummer Simon Lott. (For a little more about that, see this very short interview Hunter did earlier this week with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson.)

Alas, there seem to be no good video examples online of Hunter playing in a duo configuration; instead, today we've got three clips that should help reveal various aspects of his musical personality.

First up is an undated but fairly recent solo performance by Hunter of the gospel standard "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" on 8-string guitar fed through a Leslie cabinet. The second clip shows Hunter in a trio setting (with drums and Rhodes piano) at an outdoor concert last July in Hollywood, performing a tune called "Wizard Sleeve."

The final video goes back to 1994 and shows one of Hunter's early projects, TJ Kirk, which had the stated aim of blending together the music of Thelonious Monk, James Brown and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The clip was shot in San Francisco, and shows Hunter, John Schott and Wil Bernard on guitars with Scott Amendola on drums playing Monk's tune "Humph."

Terence Blanchard's shows at Jazz at the Bistro postponed until May

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard's appearance at Jazz at the Bistro that was scheduled for February 4 through February 7 has been postponed until May. Here's the announcement from Jazz St. Louis director of operations Bob Bennett:

"Due to circumstances beyond our control, Terence Blanchard has been forced to reschedule his dates at Jazz at the Bistro. Mr. Blanchard's performances, originally scheduled for February 4-7, 2009, have been moved to May 27-30, 2009. Patrons with tickets for these shows will be able to use them for the newly scheduled dates in May, on the corresponding evening, or return them to the point of purchase for a full refund.

Where Mr. Blanchard was scheduled to perform, we are proud to announce the return of one of the Bistro's most popular groups, Good 4 The Soul. These performances will only be on Friday, February 6 and Saturday, February 7, 2009 as opposed to Wednesday through Saturday. Tickets for Good 4 The Soul's February performances are $20 ($10 for students w/ID) and are available now by calling our box office, Metrotix at 314-534-1111, online at www.metrotix.com or at any Metrotix outlet."

Tickets for Blanchard's new dates in May are on sale now, also via Metrotix.

Jeanne Trevor to receive St. Louis Arts Award

Singer Jeanne Trevor (pictured), a longtime favorite of St. Louis audiences for her work in jazz clubs, concerts and musical theater, will receive a St. Louis Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts as part of a ceremony to be held Monday, January 26 at the Chase-Park Plaza hotel.

The St. Louis Arts Awards are sponsored by the Arts & Education Council, and serve to honor "groups and individuals who help preserve a legacy of artistic excellence and enrich St. Louis’ cultural community." Other 2009 recipients will include philanthropists Laurance and Virginia Browning, educator Sister Patricia Giljum, artist Robert Powell, Circus Day Foundation executive director Jessica Hentoff, and Cinema St. Louis.

Get a $10 discount on tickets for Dave Holland at the Sheldon

The Sheldon Concert Hall is offering online buyers a $10 discount on tickets for the concert by the Dave Holland Quintet next Saturday, January 24.

Regular ticket prices for the show are $45 and $40, but you can get $10 off by purchasing tickets online. To get the discount, go to www.metrotix.com/promotions and use the promotional code DAVE10.

Jazz this week: Tatsuya Nakatani, Lamar Harris, Cornet Chop Suey, "Cool Nights, Hot Jazz," and more

It's a chilly week in St. Louis, but if you're willing to brave the freezing temperatures, there's a diverse selection of jazz and creative music worth checking out. Let's go to the highlights in chronological order:

On Friday, trombonist and "low brass specialist" Lamar Harris brings his mix of jazz, soul, funk and hip-hop to Jazz at the Bistro for a two-night stand.

That same evening, an event called Cool Nights, Hot Jazz will feature student musicians from the Webster Groves High School and Middle School jazz bands alongside members of the University of Illinois jazz faculty at The Pageant.

Also on Friday, singer Erin Bode heads to the exurbs to perform at Exodus, a new "family and faith-friendly entertainment venue" located in what was once the Belz Factory Outlet Mall in Wentzville, while singer Jeanne Trevor will be at Brandt's.

On Saturday, improvising percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani (pictured) returns to the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center for a performance that also will involve bassist Zimbabwe Nkenya and members of the group 7th epicycle. Nakatani also will present a musicians workshop on improvisation and extended techniques at 1:00 p.m.Saturday afternoon at LNAC. Also on Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and her trio will play at Peppertini's in Chesterfield.

On Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club kicks off 2009 with a matinee performance by the traditional jazz and swing band Cornet Chop Suey at Moolah Shrine Center, 12545 Fee Fee Rd. in Maryland Heights.

For more jazz-related events in the St. Louis area this weekend and beyond, please visit 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. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

Sheldon's "Visions of Sound" exhibit to feature musical instrument collection

The Sheldon Art Galleries have announced that a new exhibit, "Visions of Sound: Masterpieces from the Hartenberger World Music Collection," will open on Friday, February 20 in the hall's Bellwether Gallery and History of Jazz Gallery.

The exhibit will feature musical instruments from the collection of St. Louis music educator Dr. Aurelia Hartenberger, which includes more than 2,000 instruments from Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia. For the "Visions of Sound" exhibit, the Bellwether Gallery will display a wide variety of instruments from all over the globe, including a late 17th - early 18th-century Italian mandolin; a Burmese saùng-gauk (arched harp); a Maori putorino (bugle flute); a pre-Columbian priest whistle from 600-900 A.D.; and serpent instruments from 18th and 19th-century Europe.

Meanwhile, the History of Jazz Gallery will present a collection of historical and modern instruments that trace the history of jazz from its roots in Africa to the present day. One room will feature African drums, bells and rattles, as well as gongs, harps, flutes, lutes and mbira (thumb pianos) from different regions. The other two rooms will focus on modern jazz instruments, including some once owned by notable national and local musicians such as Clark Terry, Oliver Lake, Artie Shaw, Eddie Daniels, Hamiet Bluiett, Jeremy Davenport and Red Lehr. The jazz rooms also will feature some unusual 20th-century instruments created for jazz, such as the jazzophone (pictured), the saxotrumpet, and the slide sax.

"Visions of Sound" opens with a reception in the galleries from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 20, and continues through May 9. Admission is free. Gallery hours are noon to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday; noon to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday; and one hour prior to Sheldon performances and during intermission.

(Edited 1/17/09 to fix a typo.)

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

Do you like online music videos? Looking for a few moments of musical diversion on a bleak January day? If you answered "yes" to both of these questions, perhaps you should visit StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds, where every day there's a specially selected music video presented for your listening and viewing pleasure.

The site offers clips from a variety of genres, including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock and experimental. Over the last couple of weeks, featured artists have included Herbie Hancock, the Sun Ra All-Stars, James Brown, Sarah Vaughan, Junior Wells, David Sanborn, The Band, Little Milton, Soft Machine, Johnnie Johnson, Charles Lloyd, Bill Evans, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Herbie Mann.

You can still see them all, plus hundreds more videos from the archives, by visiting
http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/. Better yet, add Heliocentric Worlds to your RSS reader or home page and you'll see each day's entry as it is posted.

Free Improv Orchestra to perform Wednesday, January 21 at the Way Out Club

Saxophonist and Freedonia Music proprietor Jay Zelenka emails with word of a special event next week:

"On Wednesday, January 21, The Way Out Club will host a unique musical event featuring the Stone-Zelenka-Ota Free Improv Orchestra. The one-time performance of this 15-man big band presents some of St. Louis' premier improvising musicians in a concert of St. Louis' own home grown Free Jazz.

This show honors the visit of noted Japanese bass clarinet & alto sax player, composer and electronic musician Takanori Ota. A former St. Louisan, Takanori now resides in his native Japan."

Participating musicians will include Jeremy Brantlinger (drum set), Bob Galloway (trumpet), Eric Hall (electronics), Andrew Heffner (upright bass), Sadeeq Holmes (digital piano), Derick Leu (electric guitar), Jeremy Melsha (trombone), Takanori Ota (bass clarinet), Chris Smetowski (electric guitar), Dave Stone (saxophones), Aaron Smith (synthesizer), Scott Tallent (drum set), Josh Weinstein (upright bass), Rick Wilson (electric guitar) and Jay Zelenka (alto sax).

The Way Out Club is located at 2525 S. Jefferson (at Gravois). Doors open at 9:00 p.m., and admission to Stone-Zelenka-Ota Free Improv Orchestra show is $5.

The Bad Plus reviewed on RFT's "A to Z"

The Bad Plus made their annual visit to St. Louis to perform at Jazz at the Bistro last week, and the Riverfront Times' Ryan Wasoba was there on Friday to review the show for the RFT's "A to Z" music blog. You can read the review here.

Reginald Robinson to play free concert on January 23 at St. Louis Art Museum

The Saint Louis Art Museum has announced that pianist and composer Reginald R. Robinson (pictured) will perform a free concert for the museum's "Art After 5" series at 7:00 p.m., Friday, January 23 in the Grigg Gallery.

Robinson is a Chicago native known for his performances of ragtime, semi-classical, Latin American, and early jazz and blues styles. He has played all across the country and in Europe, and in 2004 was honored with the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, aka the "Genius Grant," for his work to revitalize ragtime music.

For a sample of Robinson's pianistic prowess, check the embedded video window below, where you can see and hear him performing an original composition called "Lady of Honor" at the 2007 "Blind" Boone Ragtime & Jazz Festival in Columbia, MO.

"Peanuts" Whalum featured in Cincinnati's City Beat

Brandt's "host emeritus" Jay Brandt emails with news that St. Louis' own Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum enjoyed another successful gig in Cincinnati this past weekend, performing to enthusiastic crowds at the Blue Wisp jazz club on Friday and Saturday. The veteran singer, saxophonist and pianist's shows also were featured in Cincinnati's alt-weekly CityBeat; to read the article, go here.

Jazz St. Louis plans NYC trip in May

Jazz St. Louis has announced that they're planning another trip to New York City this spring for St. Louis jazz enthusiasts. According to this blog post from development director Melissa Jones, the trip is scheduled for May 29 and 30, and will include visits to four jazz clubs in two nights, with JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford serving as host, plus a private backstage tour of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The group will stay at the Westin New York at Times Square, and the price of the trip will include lodging, tickets and drinks at each show, and a group dinner at Blue Smoke. Jones says that final cost information will be posted soon, but since the number of participants will be limited, she encourages those interested to call her at 314-289-4037 or send an email to melissa@jazzstl.org.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Three from Dave Holland

This week, we've got three videos featuring bassist Dave Holland, who will be performing at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Saturday, January 24. Holland first gained wide public notice as a member of Miles Davis' electric band in the late 1960s, and has gone on to have a prolific and diverse career collaborating with many major jazz musicians and leading his own critically acclaimed groups, ranging from a big band to various small ensembles.

The first clip up above features Holland's quintet performing "Free for All" at the Newport Jazz Festival, with Chris Potter on saxophone, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Nelson on vibes and Billy Kilson on drums. Down below, there's a more recent version of the quintet, with drummer Nate Smith replacing Kilson, playing Potter's composition "Vicissitudes." The third clip is Holland playing a solo version of Charles Mingus' elegy for Lester Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat."

Personnel changes notwithstanding, Holland's small groups have been consistently among the most interesting in jazz over the past decade, and it should be a real treat to hear the latest edition of the band in the relatively intimate setting of the Sheldon.

St. Louis Jazz Club sets 2009 schedule

The St. Louis Jazz Club has announced its schedule of events for 2009, with a lineup of Sunday matinee concerts featuring local and regional talent, including multiple performances by some of St. Louis' favorite traditional jazz and swing ensembles.

The SLJC will kick off 2009 with a show next Sunday, January 18 by Cornet Chop Suey (pictured) at the Moolah Shrine Center, 12545 Fee Fee Rd in Maryland Heights. The Farmington High School Jazz Band will open the show at 1:00 p.m., followed by the headliners at 2:00 p.m. On Sunday, February 8, it's pianist Pat Joyce and his All-Stars at the Moolah. Then on Sunday, March 8, the St. Louis Stompers will perform at the same venue, with Irish tenor Jeffrey Gonder doing an opening set at 1:15 p.m.

Next up, it's the Dixie Daredevils from central Illinois, who will play on Sunday, April 19 in the Panorama Banquet Room of Bel-Air Bowl, 200 South Belt West in Belleville, IL. Then on Sunday, May 31, it's an encore performance for Cornet Chop Suey back at the Moolah, followed by Michael Lacey's New Orleans Swing on Sunday, June 14 at Bel Air Bowl.

On Sunday, July 12, the SLJC has tentatively scheduled what's being billed as a "piano battle of the best ragtime players in the country" featuring the St. Louis Ragtimers with special guest Dr. Dave Majchrzak performing at the Moolah. Cornet Chop Suey will be back at the the Moolah on Sunday, August 9, and then on Sunday, September 6 the Club will have its annual picnic at the Concord Farmers Club, with musical entertainment TBA.

On Sunday, September 20, the St. Louis Rivermen will perform at Bel-Air Bowl, and on Sunday, October 11, it's Bud Shultz and the You Can't Beat Experience Jazz Band at the Moolah, with an opening set from the Lewis & Clark College Jazz Band at 1:00 p.m. The year wraps up with the St. Louis Stompers on Sunday, November 8 at the Moolah and the club's annual Christmas Party on December 13, also at the Moolah and featuring music from Cornet Chop Suey.

The doors for all events open at 1:15 p.m., with music from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. except as noted otherwise. Tickets for all St. Louis Jazz Club events are $10 for members and $15 for non-members, and students get in free. For more information, see the Club's Web site or call 636-305-0285 or 618-235-0478.

In the embedded video window below, you can see and hear Dave Majchrzak playing "St Louis Rag" at the 2008 Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, MO.



(Edited 2/8/09 to fix an incorrect date for the August concert.)

The Sheldon offering online pre-sale of tickets for Neville Brothers, Dr. John

The Sheldon Concert Hall is offering online ticket buyers a 24-hour head start on purchasing seats for its "Mardi Gras Mambo" benefit concert, which is scheduled for Sunday , February 8 and will feature the Neville Brothers and Dr. John and the Lower 911.

The online pre-sale begins at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, January 9. To purchase tickets, log on to metrotix.com/promotions and enter the promotion code MAMBO09. Single tickets are $75 for orchestra seats, $65 for balcony seats and $55 for the rear balcony. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 10.

Patron tickets are available now by calling The Sheldon at 314-533-9900, extension 14. These cost $250 and $150, and include preferred seating, complimentary parking, a post-concert reception with hors d'oeuvres and drinks, and a tax deduction.

Jazz this week: The Bad Plus, budget-friendly local listening, and more

The first part of January typically is a slow time of year for touring bands, and so The Bad Plus (pictured) have the local field virtually to themselves in that regard this week, as they return to St. Louis to perform through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Almost always entertaining and/or interesting, occasionally controversial, the Bad Plus have proved to be one of the more buzzworthy groups in jazz over the last few years, re-conceiving the piano trio format to their own specifications and doing improvisational interpretations of unexpected songs with origins in pop, rock and techno. For more about on The Bad Plus, check out the Jazz St. Louis podcast interview with the band, as well as last Saturday's video post here at StLJN.

The Bad Plus may be the only major touring jazz group in St. Louis this week, but they're far from the only band worthy of your attention, as many of our local stalwarts also are working diligently at their usual gigs. Note also, O cash-strapped and recession-wary music lovers, that most of these local gigs are very affordable, with some fine music available for a modest cover and/or the cost of a couple of drinks or, in some cases, absolutely free.

For example, if you're a big band fan or a swing dancer, a few bucks will get you in to see the Original Knights of Swing big band on Friday at Casa Loma Ballroom. If you like soulful singers, on Saturday vocalist Kim Massie brings her potent brew of blues, jazz, pop and whatever else she feels like singing to Brandt's.

If small combo jazz is more your speed, there's saxophonist Dave Stone's trio on Friday at Mangia Italiano; saxophonist Willie Akins' group on Saturday at Spruill's; a Sunday jazz brunch with trumpeter Jim Manley and keyboardist Mark Friedricks at Jimmy's on the Park; and the Sunday evening session with the St. Louis New Jazz X-Tet at Riddle's.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band does their first gig of 2009 at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, and on Tuesday, Utter Chaos returns for another no-cover-charge show at The Gramophone.

Also on Tuesday, the Des Lee Big Band Jazz Festival takes place at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. This free event featuring three student jazz ensembles - a high school honors band and groups from McKinley Classical and Academic Middle School and St. Gabriel the Archangel School - in concert "performing big band standards as a culminating activity of an all-day festival of clinics, master classes and rehearsals."

And coming up on Wednesday, the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club has its monthly meeting at Borders, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd in Brentwood. This month, KMOV-TV anchor/reporter Russell Kinsaul and Jazz St. Louis' Gene Dobbs Bradford will discuss Dave Brubeck's landmark album Time Out with the assembled throng.

For more jazz-related events in the St. Louis area this weekend and beyond, please visit 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. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

Marc Copland to perform February 13 at 560 Music Center

Via the Culture Club blog at STLtoday: Pianist Mark Copland (pictured) is bringing his trio to St. Louis to perform on Friday, February 13 at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Avenue in University City. (For those unfamiliar with the venue name, it's the former synagogue building just off the the west end of the Delmar Loop that is currently owned by Washington University but has been operated at various times in recent years by CASA, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Webster University.)

Copland's extensive resume includes work with a number of prominent jazz musicians, including John Abercrombie, Randy Brecker, Bob Berg, Hank Crawford, Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, Tom Harrell, Eddie Harris, Harold Land and Blue Mitchell, Dave Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Gary Peacock, and Sonny Stitt. The Philadelphia native, who's 60 years old, is known for his lyrical piano style and has recorded at least 18 albums as a leader. His current trio includes bassist Gary Peacock, who also plays in pianist Keith Jarrett's Standards trio, and drummer Bill Stewart.

Copland's St. Louis concert, which is is being presented by the Washington University Department of Music, starts at 8:00 p.m.. Tickets are $20 and are available online via Metrotix or by calling 314-534-1111.

You can hear Copland and Peacock together in the embedded video clip below, "Calls and Answers," which comes from a 2004 film by Julien Caume and also features pantomime Alexander Neander and actress Marianne Fabbro.

Jim Manley releases new CD

Trumpeter Jim Manley sends word that he's got a new CD titled Eight that's now on sale via his Web site, iTunes and Amazon MP3.

In addition to Manley on trumpet, the musicians on Eight are Frank Goessler and Dan Smith, trumpets; Rob Nugent and Jason Swagler, alto saxophones; Larry Johnson and Larry Smith, tenor saxophones; Jim Owens, trombone; John Pyatt, piano; Greg Trampe, organ, strings; Travis Mattison, guitar; Zeb Briskovich, upright bass; and Joe Weber, drums.

The track list includes "Preach and Teach," "Theme from Rocky and Bullwinkle," "I'll Be Seeing You," "Come Rain or Come Shine," "One O'Clock Jump," "It Ain't Necessarily So," "Just Friends," "Theme from Perry Mason," "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," "My Romance," "Stella By Starlight," "Alice In Wonderland," and "Thirsty Night Blues." Audio samples of some of the songs are available on Manley's site, and you can read a review of the CD here.

More "Best Jazz of 2008" lists

A few more additions to the list of "Best Jazz of 2008" lists:

* 2008: A Year of Jazz Tumult, Controversy and Achievements, by Ken Franckling for AllAboutJazz.com
* Nate Chinen, New York Times - Standouts in Rap, Jazz and Country (multi-genre list)
* Troy Collins (AllAboutJazz.com) - Best Jazz of 2008
* Hartford Courant's Richard Kamins - Best of 2008, parts one, two, three and four.
* Jazz.com's Best Visitor Comments of 2008, compiled by Alan Kurtz
* Jazz Journalists Association - "Best of 2008" lists from 20 writers
* Lousiana Weekly's New Orleans' 2008 music scene in retrospect, by Geraldine Wyckoff
* Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Best Jazz of 2008, by Rick Nowlin
* Ben Ratliff, New York Times - Back to Roots, Ahead to the Future (multi-genre list)
* San Diego Union-Tribune/Sign On San Diego - THE OTHER STREAM: Some of 2008's best albums (multi-genre list)
* Village Voice 2008 Jazz Poll Results, with accompanying essays, writers' ballots (A-O) and (P-Z), and a tribute to jazz musicians who passed away in 2008.

You'll find part one of the 2008 "list of lists" here.

Bailing out the arts

With investment banks, auto manufacturers, and various other industries getting multi-billion dollar bailouts from the federal government, and Congress debating a major economic stimulus package that could include everything from major infrastructure spending to more tax cuts, is now also a good time to invest more federal money in the arts?

In an op-ed published last week in the Washington Post titled "No Bailout For the Arts?", Michael Kaiser, the president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, makes the affirmative case for increasing government funding of the arts during this time of economic turmoil:

"The arts have historically received short shrift from our political leaders, who all too often seem happy to offer bland endorsements of our work without backing those words with financial appropriations. But the arts in the United States provide 5.7 million jobs and account for $166 billion in economic activity annually. This sector is at serious risk. Because the arts are so fragmented, no single organization's demise threatens the greater economy and claims headlines. But thousands of organizations, and the state of America's arts ecology,are in danger.

We need an emergency grant for arts organizations in America, and we need legislation that allows unusual access to endowments. Washington must encourage foundations to increase their spending rates during this crisis, and we need immediate tax breaks for corporate giving...

As John F. Kennedy said, "I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit." As we print billions of dollars in bailout money, isn't it time to ensure that we are saving our soul as well as our economy?"

The relevance to jazz in St. Louis is that many of our important local jazz presenters, such as Jazz St. Louis and the Sheldon Concert Hall, are not-for-profit organizations. Yes, they sell tickets and solicit money from individual and corporate donors, but they also are funded in part with money that comes from grant-making organizations such as the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), the state equivalent, which is the Missouri Arts Council, and the St. Louis-specific Regional Arts Commission.

Making more federal money available to arts organizations would ensure their continued viability in a time when individual and corporate donations and ticket sales are almost inevitably going to take a hit. And the dollar amounts involved are, by the contemporary standards of $700 billion Wall Street bailouts and trillion-dollar wars, relatively trivial.

The NEA is the largest source of federal funding for for the arts, and has an annual budget in the range of $150 million. That's "million" with an "m," so if even a tiny sliver of the proposed $800 billion stimulus package were devoted to additional arts funding, it would represent a huge relative increase.

If you agree with Kaiser that the arts should get more funding as part of an economic recovery plan, you can go here or here for information on how to contact your elected representatives in the House and Senate and let them know how you feel.

Hamiet Bluiett on Freddie Hubbard

St. Louis American editor Chris King, who also blogs at Confluence City and is one of the folks behind Poetry Scores, sent along the following text with a note saying, "This will be in the American this Thursday but you can make any use of it you wish with proper credit." Consider it used, with StLJN's thanks to Chris and the American:

"Sitting in with Freddie Hubbard
Hamiet Bluiett remembers a jazz legend, gone at age 70

By Chris King
Of the St. Louis American

The place of jazz trumpet great Freddie Hubbard (pictured at left) – who died Dec. 29, 2008 at the age of 70 – in the history of the music may be glimpsed in the fact that he gave one of jazz’s current living legends one of his first shots at the limelight.

It was 1970 (maybe 1971) and a young baritone saxophone player from Lovejoy, Illinois named Hamiet Bluiett had been running around New York for a year trying to get a gig (or even a chance to sit in) with somebody with a name and a good working band.

"I was damn near crying – nobody would let me play," Bluiett said.

Finally, one night at Slug’s (a jazz spot best known, later, as the scene of the shooting death of another jazz trumpeter, Lee Morgan), Hubbard let Bluiett (pictured at right) play.

"He told me, ‘Man, quit being so crazy – you’ll get a chance to play," Bluiett remembered. "He said it was a long time before anybody let him play."

Bluiett only remembers the drummer in the band that night, Louis Hayes.

"I played my horn so hard the neck came off," Bluiett said. "The horn came apart – and they tore my ass up, to be truthful."

The more seasoned players burned the younger jazzman, in the time-honored rite of passage of cutting on the bandstand.

"Freddy was gracious enough to let me do it, and I always had a thing in my heart for him because of that," Bluiett said, "He let me come onstage and get an almighty butt whipping!"

In the early 1970s, Hubbard had already been in New York for a dozen years and had already earned a place in music history. The Indianapolis native came to the city in 1958 at the age of 20 and started playing with the likes of Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy and Quincy Jones.

In 1960 he both recorded his first record as a leader, Open Sesame (with McCoy Tyner on piano) and played on Ornette Coleman’s seminal Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation.

He moved on to make important records with a who’s who of modern jazz greats: John Coltrane, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Oliver Nelson, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter – all before inviting a young Hamiet Bluiett up on the bandstand at Slug’s.

"In those days, it was ferocious as far as the virtuosity in how people played," Bluiett said.

"As far as the music goes, Freddie Hubbard was a ferocious guy. He could really, really play trumpet. To be in his presence while that was going on – that was something."

Subsequent decades saw greater commercial success for Hubbard and an enormous number of recordings and performances – he played on more than 300 recordings – and he won a Grammy in 1972 for best jazz performance by a group for the album First Light.

Bluiett is one of many observers who felt Hubbard’s playing declined in intensity the further he got from the glory days of hard bop and the birth of free jazz and fusion, in which Hubbard played a part.

Amid other health problems, Hubbard suffered a lip injury in 1992. His death just before the new year followed a heart attack he suffered a day before Thanksgiving. He died at Sherman Oaks Hospital north of Los Angeles.

As Bluiett remembered the greatness of Freddie Hubbard at his peak, he took pride even in getting whipped at the bandstand and breaking his horn in his furious attempt to keep up with the master.

Bluiett joked, "I sound like those guys whose claim to fame is they fouled a ball off of Satchel Paige. ‘Wow, he didn’t strike you out? You must really be able to hit!’""

Victor Wooten coming to The Pageant on Friday, March 13

Victor Wooten, best known for his virtuoso electric bass playing with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, is coming to St. Louis with drummer J. D. Blair to perform at The Pageant on Friday, March 13.

Tickets for the show go on sale at 5:00 p.m. this Friday, January 9, and can be purchased online, at The Pageant Box Office and at all Ticketmaster outlets. For the first week, there's a special "buy three, get one free" deal; see the Web site or inquire at the ticket outlet for details.

Al Jarreau to sing at the TouPAC on Friday, February 13

The Touhill Performing Arts Center has just announced that versatile singer Al Jarreau, the only vocalist ever to win Grammy Awards in the jazz, pop and R&B categories, will perform at the hall on Friday, February 13.

Jarreau almost came to St. Louis most recently in 2007, when he had been scheduled to provide the music for the Jazz St. Louis benefit gala but canceled to go on tour with guitarist/singer George Benson. (He was replaced at that event by the Neville Brothers.) Jarreau's two most recent CDs, Love Songs and Christmas, both came out in 2008.

Ticket prices for the February 13 show will range from a low of $30 to $100 for "Gold Circle seating," which includes the closest seats in the house and allows ticket holders to bring drinks into the performance hall. Tickets for Al Jarreau concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center can be purchased now via the TouPAC Web site or by calling 314-516-4949.

Site news: Land o' linkin' 2009

The start of a new year is always a good time to spruce things up a bit, and so there's been some routine maintenance to the list of links on the St. Louis Jazz Notes sidebar, over on the right-hand side of the page.

A few dead links have been deleted, and I've added new links in several sections. Locally speaking, in the "bands and musicians" category, links have been added for Funky Butt Brass Band, Orange, Pfeffer Trio, St. Louis Rivermen, Utter Chaos, and Wackadoo Swing; guitarists Pete Lombardo and Art Ruprecht; saxophonist Jason Swagler; keyboardist Mo Egeston; and percussionists/vibists Mike and Nick Szwedo. And in the "concerts, clubs and festivals" category, there are new links to Black Cat Theatre, Cabaret St. Louis, Casual Cabaret, Mildred E. Kemper Art Museum, Jimmy's Cafe on the Park, Peppertini's and the monthly St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series.

In the "other local/regional jazz sites" section, you can see what's up on three more local scenes by visiting Madison (WI) Jazz, Prague Jazz, and Jakarta Jazz. Under "more jazz and creative music links," the new additions are the fusion/prog rock/world music site Abstract Logix and the traditional jazz haven Riverwalk Jazz. Last but certainly not least, under "jazz blogs of note," you'll now find links to Hot House, JazzWax, Saxophone People, and Talkin' Jazz Radio.

As always, dear readers, please feel free to suggest additional jazz and creative music-related links by sending an email to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com.

(Edited after posting to add a couple more links I'd forgotten.)

20% discount on Mel Bay publications online at Sheet Music Plus

We don't often run blatant editorial plugs for StLJN's advertisers/sponsors, but since this one involves a pretty good deal on the wares of a hometown St. Louis company, it seems worth making an exception to pass it along.

From now until January 29, Sheet Music Plus is offering a special 20% discount on every title in the Mel Bay catalog, including methods, sheet music, and DVDs. Mel Bay specializes in titles for guitar, bass guitar, folk instruments, string instruments and wind instruments. To get the special discount price, use this link, but again, you must buy before January 29, 2009.

For the classically inclined, Sheet Music Plus also is offering 20% savings on the Schott Music catalog of high-quality classical and contemporary editions for all instruments, levels, and ensembles. The Schott sale ends January 29.

Music teachers looking for multiple copies for student use will like the fact that Sheet Music Plus customers automatically save 10% when buying two or more copies of any title. (All titles qualify for this 2+ discount, except hymnals and already discounted titles).

Sheet Music Plus also offers a special Budget Shipping plan that is always $2.99 in the U.S., no matter how large the order. (Note: A few pennies from each dollar you spend at Sheet Music Plus via the links above get kicked back to StLJN, thereby perhaps enabling yr. humble editor to continue to afford essentials like electricity, bandwidth, tacos and caffeine.)