Notes from the Net: Pizzarelli does Ellington; Don Cheadle on the Miles movie; plus news, reviews, interviews, and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* In this week's Miles Davis news, AllAboutJazz.com is giving readers a chance to win a free copy of the boxed 70-CD set The Complete Columbia Album Collection. (This is a different giveaway than the one mentioned here earlier.) For details on how to enter, go here.

Meanwhile, as part of an ongoing series reviewing specific jazz tracks (as opposed to entire albums), Jazz.com recently featured a review/analysis by Thomas Cuniffe of Miles' famous rendition of "Bye Bye Blackbird".

The website of GQ magazine just featured Davis as one of "20 Black Style Pioneers," a list that also included jazz musicians such as Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington as well as St. Louis native, comedian, author and activist Dick Gregory.

And, via Miles Davis Online, there's news that actor Don Cheadle, who's set to play Davis in a proposed film bio of the trumpeter, has spoken out on the movie's prospects, saying the recession has slowed the pace of development and production.

* Turning to news of other former St. Louisans, saxophonist David Sanborn will be one of the headliners at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival in June.

* Here's a review of last weekend's John Zorn retrospective at NYC's Abrons Arts Center from Nate Chinen of the New York Times. (Though he doesn't talk about it much, the tireless saxophonist/composer/producer attended Webster University here, back in the 1970s when it was still called Webster College.)

* Speaking of reviews, a glance at the "coming attractions" files shows that the critics are beginning to weigh in on John Pizzarelli's new CD Rockin' in Rhythm: A Tribute to Duke Ellington. Here's a review from PopMatters' David Gassmann, and another from the Massachusetts local news site MassLive.com. Pizzarelli returns to St. Louis from Wednesday, April 14 through Saturday, April 17 to play at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Jeff Beck continues to attract media attention with his impending CD release and tour plans. Here's a interview with t he guitarist from the London Times, and a review of his recent NYC concert with Eric Clapton from the the New York Times' Ben Ratliff. Beck will be in St. Louis on Thursday, April 29 to play the Fox Theatre.

* As if he weren't busy enough already with a new album, tour, and his recent marriage to model Sophie Dahl, pianist and singer Jamie Cullum has announced that he'll host a weekly jazz program on BBC Radio 2. Also, in conjunction with his upcoming tour - which hits St. Louis' Roberts Orpheum Theatre on Sunday, March 14 - Cullum's record company is sponsoring a contest offering fans the chance to win free concert tickets. The grand prize is a private living room performance from Cullum, plus the winner gets to keep the piano (assuming it's not in splinters by the time he gets done with it) . The contest starts this Thursday, March 4, and you can get the details on how to enter here.

* Catching up with a couple of recent visitors, here's an interesting interview with Galactic bassist Robert Mercurio by Slava Kuperstein of the website HipHopDX.com. Mercurio and his bandmates were in St. Louis last week to play The Pageant.

* Singer Dianne Reeves is among the vocalists booked for the 2010-11 season at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Reeves was here earlier this month for a duo performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall with pianist Peter Martin.

Jazz St. Louis sets audition dates for All-Stars, JazzU

Jazz St. Louis has set the dates for student musicians to audition for next season's JazzU program and for the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars. Auditions for both programs will be held Monday, June 7 and Monday, June 14 at Jazz at the Bistro.

To be eligible to audition, applicants must be in middle or high school (grades 6-12) during the 2010-2011 school year. Acceptance into both programs is based on a live audition; students will be assigned an audition time once the required application materials have been submitted. Applicants will be notified in July, with weekly rehearsals beginning in the fall.

For All-Star audition information and application, go here. For JazzU audition information and application, go here.

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

Since our last mention of StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds, recent posts have showcased video clips featuring Benny Golson, John Scofield, Spencer Davis Group, James "Blood" Ulmer, Roswell Rudd Quartet, Dave Liebman, Count Basie, David Sanborn, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jimmy Smith, Muddy Waters, Louis Armstrong, Stevie Wonder, Betty Carter, Charles Mingus Sextet, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Tony Toni Tone, Chris Potter's Underground, James Brown, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen and Buddy Guy.

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

Jazz St. Louis seeks Guest Relations Assistant

Looking for a part-time job that will give you the chance to be around live jazz? Jazz St. Louis' Devin Rodino tells StLJN that there's an opening for a part-time Guest Relations Assistant for Jazz at the Bistro. The job involves greeting and seating guests, selling tickets, and related duties. Interested applicants should email a cover letter and resume to operations director Bob Bennett at bob@jazzstl.org.

Review of Black Rep's Yesterdays now online

This was the opening weekend for the Black Rep's production of Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday starring Vanessa Rubin, which continues at the Grandel Theatre through Sunday, March 14. The Post-Dispatch's pop music critic Kevin Johnson has written a review of the show, and you can read it online here.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Three from Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

Our video spotlight shines this week on trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who will be in St. Louis on Saturday, March 13 to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The JaLCO functions as the house band for the jazz program at NYC's Lincoln Center, and as such, they're called upon to perform a wide variety of music, from classic big band arrangements drawn from the catalogs of Basie, Ellington and others to original compositions.

Today's clips span more than a dozen years of the JaLCO's history while also giving a glimpse into their musical range. The first clip is from a 2007 performance in Stuttgart, Germany and features Marsalis, clarinetist Victor Goines and others getting back to basics on a stripped-down number called "Across The Track Blues."

Down below are a couple of excerpts from a July 2009 concert at the Barbican in London that show off the band's ability to navigate skillfully through a more complex, hard-driving contemporary arrangement. In the third clip, which just recently appeared online, we go all the way back to 1997 for an selection from the PBS program Sessions at West 54th that shows the JaLCO backing singer Jon Hendricks on "Soul for Sale," a song that was part of Marsalis' Pulitzer Prize-winning suite about slavery, "Blood on The Fields."

For even more video of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, check out these previous posts.

Student bands to perform at Jazz at the Bistro, Black Cat Theatre

Upcoming events at Jazz at the Bistro and the Black Cat Theatre will give St. Louis area jazz fans some opportunities to catch some of our town's up-and-coming student musicians:

* The Meramec Jazz Lab Band from St. Louis Community College - Meramec, directed by Bob Boedges, will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10 and Wednesday, April 28 at the Black Cat Theatre. Tickets for each concert will be available at the door for $10 general admission, $5 for students with ID.

* Jazz St. Louis will present its first-ever High School Invitational at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 11 at Jazz at the Bistro. The concert will feature the East St. Louis Senior High School Jazz Band, directed by John Barnes and Delano J. Redmond, and the Webster Groves High School Jazz Band (pictured), directed by Kevin Cole. All ages are welcome to attend. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door, by calling 314.289.4030 or 314.534.1111, or online at www.metrotix.com.

(Full disclosure: Yr. humble StLJN editor is an alumnus of the aforementioned Webster Groves High School, though not of the WGHS jazz band itself. Back in the day, you had to be in the marching band in order to participate in the jazz ensemble, and that left yr. piano-playing editor - an ill-advised, ultimately futile summer-long attempt to learn to play the baritone sax notwithstanding - out in the cold. )

Anthony Wiggins on the mend; benefits set for March 7 & 13

Trumpet player and jazz educator Anthony Wiggins, who was hospitalized earlier this month after suffering a brain aneurysm, is on the mend. The good news comes via Wiggins' Jazz St. Louis colleague Phil Dunlap, who stopped by St. Louis University Hospital for a visit on Tuesday evening. "He is out of the ICU and in good spirits," said Dunlap via email. "He is already talking about his return to playing. Obviously, rehabilitation may take awhile, but he is expected to make a full recovery."

In related news, Wiggins ' friends and colleagues have organized a couple of benefits in March to raise funds for the trumpeter and his family. The first event will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Sunday, March 7 at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. Scheduled performers include Par 3, Arvell Keithley, Good 4 the Soul, Mystic Voyage, and J-Rob. A minimum $10 donation will be requested at the door. Also, any musicians who'd like to donate their time to perform may contact Brock Walker via email at mrbrock1 (at) aol (dot) com.

The second benefit performance at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, March 13 at the Metropolitan Gallery will take the place of a gig that Wiggins originally was supposed to play for the Nu-Art Series' jazz composers concerts. George Sams of the Nu-Art Series tells StLJN that guitarist Chris Burchett will perform in Wiggins' stead, with all proceeds from the show going to the Wiggins family. For more information, call 314-535-6500, send email to nu-artseries@charter.net, or visit the Nu-Art Series website.

UPDATE - 5:00 p.m., 3/10/10: While Burchett will indeed be subbing for Wiggins on Saturday, March 13, playing the music of Freddie Hubbard as well as his own, efforts to organize the show as a benefit for the Wiggins family apparently have fallen through.

Update on pending sale of KFUO

There are a couple of items in the news this week related to the pending sale of radio station KFUO (99.1 FM).

First, as reported by the Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller in a post on the Culture Club blog, it looks as if the originally announced March 1 target date for closing the sale likely will pass without KFUO changing hands. Miller has more about the significance of this in her post here.

Second, via Chris King's blog Confluence City, word comes that on Wednesday U.S. Representatives John Shimkus (D -Illinois 19) and William “Lacy” Clay, Jr. (D - Missouri 1) spoke out against the proposed sale of KFUO on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“As a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, this is not a position that I take lightly, but I truly believe that the sale of our area’s lone classical music station does the church and the community wrong,” said Shimkus, who last year signed a petition to the Synod's board of directors opposing the sale. You can see a video of Congressman Shimkus' comments on the KFUO situation here

Jazz this week: Vanessa Rubin as Billie Holiday, Jay Oliver, the Bosman Twins, McElwee's "Modular Mazes" and more

From a dramatic portrayal of a legendary diva to some straight-ahead and soulful jazz to a multimedia event with video, animation and an improvised soundtrack, there's lots going on in St. Louis this weekend to interest fans of jazz and creative music. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, the Black Rep presents the first performance of its production of Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday starring Vanessa Rubin (pictured) as Holiday. The show runs Wednesdays through Sundays at the Grandel Theatre through March 14. For more on the production and Rubin, see this post and this post.

On Thursday, longtime local favorite Jeanne Trevor brings her swinging song stylings back to Brandt's .

On Friday evening, the Bosman Twins open a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. It's been a while since the reed-playing brothers have performed at the Bistro, and the latest word from JSL's Devin Rodino on Twitter indicates that tickets are moving briskly.

Also on Friday, band boosters in O'Fallon, IL are sponsoring the benefit event "O'That Jazz" at the Regency Conference Center to raise money for the high school's marching band program. Featured performers will include the St. Louis Jazz All-Stars, with Dawn Weber, Jason Swagler, Shaun Robinson, Zeb Briskovich, Miles Vandiver and Charlie Brown; Twilight Jazz Club; and the O’Fallon High School Band Jazz Combos, with and Ross Gentile as MC. (Dinner reservations are no longer available, but they will be selling tickets at the door for the concert portion of the evening.)

Also on Friday, the Presenters Dolan kick off a weekend of cabaret shows at the Kranzberg Arts Center, with Alice Kinsella on Friday, Christine Rios on Saturday and Monya Fisher on Sunday.

On Saturday afternoon, saxophonist Chad Evans will play his own compositions and the the music of legendary saxophonist and bebop originator Charlie Parker as part of the Nu-Art Series' jazz composers' concert series at the Metropolitan Gallery.

Meanwhile, Robbie's House of Jazz has a double-header on Saturday, with a matinee featuring swing and classic songs from vibraphonist and trumpeter Joe Bozzi and an evening performance spotlighting the funk and fusion of Good 4 The Soul.

Also on Saturday, pianist and St. Louis native Jay Oliver returns home for a performance at Holmes Lounge on the Washington University campus, and New Music Circle presents Van McElwee and Friends in a multimedia event called "Modular Mazes" at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium. The NMC event will include new video creations from McElwee, 3D animation (with glasses provided!) from Casper McElwee, and live audio from musicians including the Semi-Acoustic Noise Ensemble (SANE).

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found on the left sidebar of the site or by clicking here. You also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or by becoming a "fan" of the StLJN Facebook page.

(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.)

"Statesmen of Jazz" to return Saturday, August 28 at Harris-Stowe

Broadcaster and jazz advocate Don Wolff sends word that another concert by the "Statesmen of Jazz" has been scheduled for Saturday, August 28 at Harris-Stowe State University.

The first event held in August 2009 featured an all-star group of jazz performers raising funds for the Wolff Jazz Institute at Harris-Stowe. This year's event will feature a similarly stellar ensemble, once again including trombonist Wycliffe Gordon (pictured), who also was part of last year's show.

Other performers will include trumpeter Joe Wilder, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, clarinetist/saxophonist Bob Wilber, drummer Jackie Williams and bassist Frank Tate, along with return appearances from St. Louis' own Jim Widner on bass and singer Denise Thimes, plus young local pianist Stephanie Trick.

More details on the show, tickets prices, and so on will be available soon from the Wolff Jazz Institute at Harris-Stowe State University; when they're released, we'll have them for you here.

Jay Oliver adds concert on Wednesday, March 3 at 560 Music Center

Already scheduled to perform this Saturday for Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series, pianist Jay Oliver (pictured) has added more events to his trip home this week.

According to an email sent out by the Jazz at Holmes series, Oliver, a St. Louis native now living in Los Angeles, also will give a clinic/masterclass Monday, March 1 on the Wash U. campus and perform in a concert at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 3 at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave in University City.

Oliver will work with a different combination of musicians at each concert. For the Jazz at Holmes show on Saturday, Oliver will be play a solo set, then a second set backed by William Lenihan (guitars and bass) and Miles Vandiver (drums). The concert begins at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 27 in Holmes Lounge on the Washington University campus. Unlike most Jazz at Holmes shows, Oliver's concert will have an admission charge: $10 for the general public, $5 for Washington University students and staff, and $5 for seniors.

For the show at the 560 Music Center, Oliver and Lenihan will be joined by bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Roger Guth. There's no ticket information on this show available yet, but we'll have an update here when details are released.

For information on Oliver's clinic and master class, contact William Lenihan via email at wlenihan (at) wustl.edu.

Black Rep's Billie Holiday show previewed in Post article

The Black Rep's production of Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday, featuring Vanessa Rubin as Holiday, opens this Wednesday at the Grandel Theatre. The Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson talked to director Woodie King Jr. and playwright Reenie Upchurch for a feature story in the weekend paper, and you can read it online here.

Jazz benefit to raise funds for O'Fallon HS band

St. Louis area jazz musicians and student bands will perform to raise money for the marching band program at O'Fallon (IL) High School during "O' That Jazz," a benefit event at 6:00 p.m. Friday, February 26 at the Regency Conference Center, 360 Regency Park Drive in O'Fallon, IL.

Performers will include the St. Louis Jazz All-Stars, fronted by trumpet player and singer Dawn Weber (pictured) and including Jason Swagler (saxophone), Shaun Robinson (guitar), Zeb Briscovich (bass), Miles Vandiver (drums) and Charlie Brown (keyboards).

Other performers will include the Twilight Jazz Club and the O’Fallon High School Band Jazz Combos, with radio personality Ross Gentile serving as MC. The evening also includes dinner, dancing and a live oral auction for items including sports, entertainment and music memorabilia and tickets to sports events.

You can see a flyer for the event here (.pdf file). Tickets are $35 and $40, and can be purchased online (before February 23) here. Event chair Betsy Layfield also tells StLJN that those unable to make dinner can pay $20 at the door and come in at 7:45 p.m. for the concert only.

(Updated 2/22/10 with details on the All-Stars and day-of-show tickets.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing Alyssa Graham

This week, we've got some clips of singer Alyssa Graham, who will be making her St. Louis debut starting Wednesday, March 3 and continuing through Saturday, March 6 at Jazz at the Bistro.

The New Jersey native released her first album What Love Is in 2005 and followed up with her sophomore effort Echo in 2008. Along with Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Brazilian music, Graham cites singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young as important influences, and her synthesis of jazz, folk and pop seems likely to appeal to fans of singers like St. Louis' own Erin Bode.

The first clip shows Graham performing her song "Arkansas" live at Dizzy's in NYC. Down below, you can see the music video for "Pictures of You," from Echo. Below that, there's a brand new, apparently homemade clip showing Graham doing a solo performance of an unreleased tune called "Let's Start It All". In the fourth slot, you can see a short interview with Graham put together by Billboard magazine.

Petitioners challenging KFUO sale file a "supplement" with FCC

The Committee to Save KFUO-FM has filed a "supplement" to its petition to the Federal Communications Commission, alleging that KFUO's current owners, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, have been less than truthful in their handling of the sale. The Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller has the story in a Culture Club blog post here.

For anyone who's just coming in: The sale is controversial because KFUO is the only St. Louis radio station that features classical music, and the potential new owners want to change to another format. StLJN has been following the story because the station also is home to Don Wolff's program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights. (To see more on the subject, click on the "KFUO" tag at the end of this post.)

Notes from the Net: Win the Miles Davis 70-CD box set; Orchestrion unleashed; plus news, reviews, interviews, and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* We always like to start this feature with any news of St. Louis' most famous jazz musician, Miles Davis (pictured), and we've got several related items this week, starting with one from the blog Hot House offering the story behind Miles' recording Four And More: The Complete Concert 1964.

Via Miles Davis Online, here's an interview with artist Tobias Dahmm about painting pictures of Davis, and an item about a production from North Carolina A&T State University's theater department called Mad at Miles, penned by playwright Pearl Cleage and inspired by the troubles in Davis' marriage to Cicely Tyson.

Next up, here's a review by John Kelman of AllAboutJazz.com of Visions of Miles: The Electric Period of Miles Davis, a new CD of big band arrangements written by Colin Towns and performed by Germany's HR Big Band.

Finally, AOL's Luxist website is giving away a free copy of the 70-CD mega box set The Complete Miles Davis Columbia Album Collection (which costs a whopping $328.49 and is available only through Amazon.com), plus a Miles Davis T-shirt and a Miles Davis USB stick, to one lucky reader. To enter, leave a comment on the post linked here before 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on Feburary 26. The winner will be selected in a random drawing.

* Turning to news of other St. Louis area residents past and present, singer and East St. Louis native Phil Perry is back performing again after some health problems, most recently serenading New Yorkers on a Valentine's weekend cruise.

* Perry's fellow former East St. Louisan trumpeter Russell Gunn has announced a new CD, Ethnomusicology Vol. 6: The Return of Gunn-Fu set to be released on April 9, with a digital download available on March 5. (Note that Gunn's dot-com address on the Web seems to have been domain-jacked, so his official site is now located at groidmusic.com, which, you should be duly warned, serves up some auto-playing audio when you load it. )

* The life of St. Louis native, singer, dancer and actress Josephine Baker is depicted in a current exhibit at the World Erotic Art Museum in Miami Beach; Baker's son, Jean-Claude Baker, also recently lectured at the museum about her life and work.

* The Wee Trio, featuring former St. Louisan Dan Loomis on bass, are releasing their second CD, Capitol Diner Vol. 2 Animal Style.

* Saxophonist, composer and long-ago Webster University student John Zorn is conducting a two-night marathon of ten different versions of his band Masada at the Abrons Art Center in NYC, with featured musicians including percussionist Cyro Baptista, keyboardist Uri Caine, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, and the Masada String Trio.

* Looking for news of recent visitors, we find that bassist Christian McBride, who was in St. Louis in December to perform at Jazz at the Bistro, was profiled here by the LA arts mag Venice. This past weekend, McBride presented his civil-rights-themed jazz opus "The Movement Revisited" in Detroit with the Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra, the Second Ebenezer Majestic Voices, and his quintet, which included East St. Louis' Terreon Gully on drums. While in the Motor City, McBride also answered five questions from the Detroit Free Press.

* Singer/songwriter, pianist and frequent visitor to St. Louis Ann Hampton Callaway once again will open the Great American Songbook for an upcoming gig at Dizzy's in NYC with pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Willie Jones III.

* Meanwhile, via the always useful Avant Music News, we learn that pianist Vijay Iyer is headed to London's Vortex Jazz Club next month for a duo performance with saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. Iyer was here in January to play four nights at the Bistro.

* Drummer Stanton Moore, who's in town tonight at The Pageant with Galactic, has a new trio CD called Groove Alchemy. It's part of a multimedia project, along with an instructional book and DVD of the same name, exploring the roots of funk drumming by examining the work of pioneers like James Brown's drummers John "Jabo" Starks and Clyde Stubblefield and The Meters' Zigaboo Modeliste.

* Opening the "coming attractions" file, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra saxophonist and arranger/composer Ted Nash has written a series of posts about his new "Seven Shades" suite for the Museum of Modern Art's website. The JaLCO have a new CD out that features the suite, and they'll play in St. Louis on March 13 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* Guitarist Jeff Beck's new album and tour elicited a feature article from the New York Times' Larry Rohter. Beck will be in St. Louis on Thursday, April 29 to play the Fox Theatre.

* Guitarist/mad scientist Pat Metheny has started his Orchestrion tour in Europe, and reviews are coming in. Here's one of a performance in the Netherlands, written by Philip Woolever for AllAboutJazz.com, and four from Metheny's show at the Barbican in London: from Rod Fogg for the LondonJazz blog; an unbylined review from AllAboutJazz.com; one from a seemingly unlikely source, the Financial Times, written by Mike Hobart; and a rather snarky one (subtitled "Time to pull the plug on this tousle-haired mechanic") written by Michael Church of the Independent. Metheny and the Orchestrion are coming to St. Louis to play the Touhill Performing Arts Center on May 13.

(Edited 2/18/10 to correct the description of Tobias Dahmm, who is a painter, not a photographer.)

Jazz this week: Dr. John and the Neville Brothers, Freddy Cole, Galactic and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, and more

Fat Tuesday has come and gone, but the musical spirit of Mardi Gras is lingering just a bit in St. Louis, as we've got three significant New Orleans acts performing in town over the weekend, plus several other events of interest to jazz fans.

Let's go to the highlights, starting tonight when singer and pianist Freddy Cole returns to St. Louis to open a four night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. The brother of legendary singer-pianist Nat "King" Cole, Freddy Cole is an accomplished performer in his own right and has proved to be a popular favorite here in St. Louis, so if you're thinking about attending, call ahead for a reservation. For more about Cole, see this video post from last Saturday, and this audio interview from the Jazz St. Louis podcast series.

On Thursday, it's a double-dose of jam-band funk as the New Orleans quintet Galactic and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe play at The Pageant. For some video of both bands in action, see this post from a couple of Saturdays ago. Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode returns to Brandt's, and pianist and singer Curt Landes leads his quartet in a free concert for Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series.

On Friday, you can check out even more of the New Orleans sound as the Touhill Performing Arts Center presents "Mardi Gras Mambo" with singer/pianist Dr. John (pictured) and his band, the Lower 911, plus the Neville Brothers. You can read a brief preview of the concert here. Also on Friday, pianist Carolbeth True plays at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Saturday afternoon, the Nu-Art Series continues its current slate of shows at the Metropolitan Gallery featuring St. Louis musicians paying tribute to great jazz composers. This week's performance will feature pianist Ptah Williams' trio doing the music of bop pianist Bud Powell.

Also on Saturday afternoon, there's a jam session at the Grand Slam Sports Bar and Grill in Fenton to benefit singer Mae Wheeler, who has been battling cancer. Performers will include Ralph Butler, John King, Eddie Randle, Tony Viviano, Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Pauline Starks, Tony Simmons, Carole Eder, Tom "Papa" Ray, Jeanne Trevor, Silvercloud, Rob Dryden and more.

On Sunday, there will be a brunch and concert at the Bistro at Grand Center to benefit Community Women Against Hardship, featuring music from Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Luqman Hamza, Anita Jackson, and Jeff Anderson. Also on Sunday, singer Deborah Sharn and saxophonist Ray Vollmer will perform a free concert at Second Baptist Church in Clayton as part of the St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers Series.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found on the left sidebar of the site or by clicking here. You also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or by becoming a "fan" of the StLJN Facebook page.

(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.)

Dr. John/Neville Brothers concert previewed in Alton Telegraph

Extending that Mardi Gras vibe for just a few more days, the New Orleans singer and pianist Dr. John and the Crescent City's premier funk band the Neville Brothers will be in St. Louis this Friday, Feburary 19 to play at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Vicki Pennington of the Alton Telegraph has written a preview of the "Mardi Gras Mambo" show, including some quotes from saxophonist Charles Neville, and you can read it online here.

DeBlaze and Associates adds Bobby Caldwell, Diane Schuur as clients

The St. Louis-based public relations firm DeBlaze and Associates announced that it has added two new clients: singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bobby Caldwell (pictured) and singer/pianist Diane Schuur.

Caldwell first gained fame with his 1978 hit single "What You Won't Do for Love" and since has released more than a dozen albums. He enjoys continued popularity among smooth jazz fans in the USA, has been sampled frequently by hip-hop producers for more than 20 years, and also has gained a significant following in Japan. Schuur has won two Grammy awards, headlined at venues including Carnegie Hall and The White House, and has performed with musicians including Stan Getz, B. B. King, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Quincy Jones.

DeBlaze and Associates "specializes in the entertainment industry with a focus on jazz. The firm creates awareness, influences public attitudes and changes audience behavior with entertainment media campaigns." For more information, call Dawn DeBlaze at 314-766-5299 or contact her via eamil at deblazeassoc@centurytel.net.

Jazz St. Louis offering 2-for-1 ticket discount for Alyssa Graham

Jazz St. Louis is offering a 2-for-1 discount on tickets to hear singer Alyssa Graham, who's coming to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, March 3 through Saturday, March 6 at Jazz at the Bistro.

The gig will be the St. Louis debut for Graham (pictured), who blends jazz, folk and Brazilian influences and released her second album Echo in 2008.

Without the discount, tickets are priced at $25 for Wednesday and Thursday, $30 for Friday and Saturday, but the two-for-the-price-of-one offer is available for all of Graham's sets. To take advantage of the offer, call 314-289-4030 and mention the promotional code AG2010.

Video of Dianne Reeves and Peter Martin concert now online at The Global Loop

When singer Dianne Reeves and pianist Peter Martin took the stage on Friday, February 5 to inaugurate Martin's new series at the Sheldon Concert Hall, video producer Rod Milam was there to document the show.

Now Milam has posted some of the video from that night at his website The Global Loop. You can see Reeves and Martin's performance of "One More For The Road" here.

TSIGOTI performing at the Tap Room on Thursday, May 13

Pianist Thollem McDonas is returning to St. Louis with his latest project, the band TSIGOTI (pictured), for a free concert at 8:00 p.m., Thursday, May 13 at the Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust downtown. The St. Louis band Magic City will open the show.

McDonas, who has performed in St. Louis several times in recent years as part of his seemingly non-stop touring, incorporates elements of free improvisation, classical music, jazz, rock and more into his solo work. TSIGOTI, signed to the famed free-jazz label ESP-Disk, is described as "a collaborative and improvisational quazi-punk band dedicated to expressing their opposition of war, authoritarian regimes, and violent religious extremes."

TSIGOTI's album Private Poverty Speaks To The People Of The Party was released in January, just after they wrapped up a tour of Italy. Besides McDonas on piano and vocals, TSIGOTI includes Jack Andrews (guitar), Ben Itchy (bass) and Andy Cap (drums).

(Edited 4/1/10 to correct band members' names.)

Benefit at Sheldon Concert Hall raises more than $20,000 for Haitian relief

A news release issued today says that last Tuesday's benefit at the Sheldon Concert Hall raised more than $20,000 for Doctors Without Borders’ relief efforts in Haiti.

The “St. Louis Musicians for Haiti” concert was hosted by longtime St. Louis broadcaster Julius Hunter and featured performances from singer Brian Owens, folk group Mayor Taylor, the Bottoms Up Blues Gang, pianist Peter Martin, singer Mardra Thomas and pianist Reggie Thomas, singer Kim Massie, pianist Peter Henderson and singer Christine Brewer. Dozens of St. Louis visual artists also donated works which were sold to raise money for the cause.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization working in more than 60 countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe.

The concert was aired live on local cable and the Web by HEC-TV, and you can see a recap of it at http://www.hectv.org/#.

Houston Person to perform Sunday, April 11 at Jazz St. Louis gala

Saxophonist Houston Person (pictured) will be the featured performer at Jazz St. Louis' 2010 gala fundraiser, which will be held at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, April 11 at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, 1 South Broadway (at Market).

Person will be supported by the band Good 4 The Soul, who play frequently at JSL's main venue Jazz at the Bistro. The Funky Butt Brass Band and the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, a select group of student musicians, also will perform at the event, which will raise money to support JSL's education programs.

Individual tickets are $500 (for "patrons") and $250; a table for 10 is $2,500; and a "patron" table for 10, which includes an exclusive after-party, is $5,000. For more information, or to purchase tickets or a sponsorship, call 314-289-4037.

Review of Branford Marsalis concert now online

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis was in St. Louis on Friday night to play at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, and Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch was there to review the show. You can read his review online here.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Freddy Cole

This week, we've got some clips of pianist and singer Freddy Cole, who will be in St. Louis starting this Wednesday, February 17 through Saturday, February 20 to perform at Jazz at the Bistro.

Though Freddy hasn't quite achieved the same level of fame and commercial success as his brother Nat "King" Cole or his niece Natalie Cole, he's had a successful career in jazz, earning the appreciation of fans and critics alike for playing unpretentious, swinging music in his own way. Up top, you can see and hear an example of his interpretive approach as he performs "Fly Me To The Moon" as a ballad, complete with the rarely heard introduction.

Down below, Cole does Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" with a fairly energetic bossa nova feel, making explicit what was only implied in the original version.

In addition ot performing standards, Cole also writes some of his own songs, one of which - "I'm Not My Brother, I'm Me" - addresses the central misperception surrounding his career. In the third slot, you can see and hear a 2005 performance of that tune, excerpted from the documentary The Cole Nobody Knows by filmmaker Clint Walker.

Finally, there's an excerpt from the TV program Living St. Louis with a story about Jazz St. Louis' education programs by reporter Ruth Ezell. The piece shows Cole performing for and interacting with kids in the Normandy School District during his last visit to St. Louis a couple of years ago.

Interview with Freddy Cole now online at Jazz St. Louis website

Jazz St. Louis has put online a new audio interview with singer/pianist Freddy Cole, who's coming to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, February 17 through Saturday, February 20 at Jazz at the Bistro.

You can listen to a stream of the interview here. However, I couldn't find a way to download the the interview as an MP3 file, as was possible with previous installments in the series. (Can it still be called a "podcast" when there's no way to load it on to an iPod, or any other device?)

The option of downloading the file and listening to it later seems to have been eliminated with the recent redesign of Jazz St. Louis' website, and that's unfortunate. One would think that offering fewer ways to access the content would mean fewer people will access it. And even if the vast majority choose to stream rather than download, it's not as if also providing a link to download the file would use significantly more resources.

True, getting audio content via streaming (instead of downloading) is alleged to be "the next big thing," and perhaps the designers have some buzzword-filled rationale for eliminating downloadable files. To me, it seems like a user-unfriendly move, and just one of several things about the site redesign that seem a bit off...but that's a subject for another post.

UPDATE - 10:30 p.m., 2/16/10: Bob Bennett from Jazz St. Louis emailed that the Freddy Cole interview is indeed available as a free, downloadable .MP3 file, via iTunes, as well as in streaming form. To download the .MP3, go here. Bennett says their Web developer also is looking into a way to link the iTunes files directly from JSL's new site. Stay tuned...

(Edited after posting to correct the spelling of Freddy Cole's first name.)

Jazz this week: Branford Marsalis, Douglas Ewart, Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Mardra and Reggie Thomas, and more

It looks to be a busy few days for live music in St. Louis, with plenty of events this weekend that will be of interest to fans of jazz and creative music. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, saxophonist Dave Stone and trumpeter Randy Holmes play the music of Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry in a free concert for Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series. Also, actress and singer Tyne Daly, accompanied by pianist and St. Louis native John McDaniel, continues her show for Cabaret St. Louis tonight through Saturday night at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

On Friday, saxophonist Branford Marsalis takes the stage at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. It's Marsalis' first trip to St. Louis in several years, and after playing here previously with Buckshot LeFunque and in a trio format, this time he' s bringing his quartet as they celebrate ten years of working together. For some video of the foursome in action, see this post.

That same evening, singer Mardra Thomas and pianist Reggie Thomas will resume their week-of-Valentine's-Day tradition of demonstrating both musical and marital harmony at Jazz at the Bistro. The Thomases will do the customary two sets on both Friday and Saturday, with an additional set at 8:30 p.m. Sunday especially for the holiday.

And speaking of singers performing on Friday night, that's also when the smooth, suave, yet swingin' Ron Wilkinson will perform at Robbie's House of Jazz. Wilkinson was a regular in the room in its previous incarnation as Cookie's Jazz and More, and the intimate scale of the space seems well-suited to his relatively subtle vocal approach.

On Saturday, there's a chance to hear two veterans of creative music who played significant roles in, respectively, St. Louis' Black Artists Group and Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. In the afternoon, drummer and former BAG member Charles "Bobo" Shaw will perform his own music and that of Eric Dolphy downtown at the Metropolitan Gallery as part of the Nu-Art Series' "Re-Arrangements & Nu-Compositions" concert series.

Then Saturday evening, multi-instrumentalist Douglas Ewart will perform at Webster University Community Music School under the auspices of New Music Circle. For more about Ewart, who formerly served as president of the AACM but now is based in Minneapolis, see this video post from a few Saturdays ago.

(At this point, it seems like it also should be mentioned that this is Mardi Gras weekend here in St. Louis. As has been the case in recent years, there will be plenty of partying going on, but not much live music at the official events for fans of jazz or blues. Yes, the Funky Butt Brass Band and Gumbohead will be showing up in several places around town over the weekend, but the music for the two large events on Parade Day will be provided by rock cover bands and a DJ. I've pretty much said all I have to say about the local Mardi Gras music situation in the two posts linked above; if you're looking for more information about this year's Mardi Gras-related events in St. Louis, you'll find it here. )

On Sunday evening, singer, pianist and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum returns to Brandt's for a special Valentine's Day show. Given the room's modest capacity, reservations would seem to be advisable.

Looking past the weekend, on Monday saxophonist Paul DeMarinis and his Sextet will give a concert at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, performing some new DeMarinis compositions from his forthcoming CD, which reportedly is called The Sun...The Stars. Joining Demarinis for the concert will be singer Debby Lennon and a rhythm section made up of Nick Schlueter (piano), Dave Black (guitar), Ben Wheeler (bass) and Kyle Honeycutt (drums).

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found on the left sidebar of the site or by clicking here. You also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or by becoming a "fan" of the StLJN Facebook page.

(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.)

(Edited after posting to fix a couple of garbled sentences.)

Notes from the Net: Sanborn on tour; new CDs from Reid, Pizzarelli, Holland; plus news, reviews, interviews and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* From the Miles Davis files, the blog Miles Davis Online hears rumors that the museum exhibit about the trumpeter that just closed in Paris may be headed to San Francisco. Also, most Davis fans know that he also played organ and synthesizers on some of his later electric recordings, but have you ever seen or heard of Miles playing tenor sax? Marc Myers' JazzWax blog has the story behind a rare photo showing Davis with a tenor sax.

* Saxophonist and former St. Louisan David Sanborn currently is on the road promoting his new release Only Everything. Here's an interview Sanborn did with Spinner's Tad Hendrickson; a preview story on a Sanborn show in Boston; and another review of the new disc, written by Joel Roberts for AllAboutJazz.com.

* After 10 years as drummer for the group Yellowjackets, Marcus Baylor has left the band to pursue other musical ventures. Writing on his MySpace page, Baylor said, "I’m really looking forward to recording my solo debut album, producing, playing, and collaborating with many more talented musicians and artists." In a statement on their website, the members of Yellowjackets wrote, "We want to wish Marcus Baylor all the very best as he embarks on a new musical path after 10 years as a member of Yellowjackets. We are deeply grateful to him for his profound musical contributions to the band, including the recordings Mint Jam, Peace Round, Time Squared, Altered State, 25, Life Cycle, plus the latest Paris Live DVD." Former Yellowjackets drummer Will Kennedy is rejoining the band as Baylor's replacement.

* Moving on to coming attractions, here are two more reviews of Pat Metheny's new album Orchestrion, from Nenad Georgievski for AllAboutJazz.com and Tim Niland's blog Music and More. Metheney's Orchestrion Tour comes to the Touhill Performing Arts Center on May 8.

* In March, bassist Rufus Reid (pictured) will release a new CD called Out Front on the Motéma Music label. The trio date features Reid with pianist Steve Allee and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca. Reid will be in St. Louis in May to perform for the Jazz Education Network conference at UMSL.

* Just in time for Valentine’s Day, singer Michael Buble has released Special Delivery, a EP of six classic love songs previously available only on limited edition and special packages. It's available at iTunes and other digital retailers. Buble begins a U.S. tour next month to support his latest full-length CD Crazy Love, and will be in St. Louis on June 25 at the Scottrade Center.

* Guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli will celebrate the music of Duke Ellington and the release of of his new CD Rockin' In Rhythm with concerts on Saturday, February 27 in Cranston, RI and Sunday, February 28 in Boston. Pizzarelli will be in St. Louis April 14 - 17 to play at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Opening the "recent visitors" file, Dave King, drummer for The Bad Plus, has a new solo album called Indelicate. TBP were in St. Louis in January to play at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Bassist Dave Holland, who played here last year at the Sheldon Concert Hall, is releasing a new album, Pathways, on March 23. The disc was recorded live at NYC's Birdland and features an octet drawn from Holland's quintet - Holland, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Nelson on vibes, Nate Smith on drums and Chris Potter on saxophones - plus Holland Big Band veterans Antonio Hart on alto sax, Alex Sipiagin on trumpet and Gary Smulyan on baritone sax. You can hear three songs from Pathways (nearly 40 minutes of music) by clicking on the embedded widget below.

* Last but not least, the latest issue of Bill Shoemaker's jazz netzine Point of Departure is now online.

(Edited after posting to add the Marcus Baylor item. Edited again to fix punctuation.)

Whitaker Music Festival announces 2010 schedule

The Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden has announced the schedule of performers for its 2010 season. The annual summer series of Wednesday night concerts kicks off on June 2 with a performance by singer Denise Thimes, with several other shows that also may be of interest to jazz fans. Here's the complete schedule:

June 2: Denise Thimes
June 9: Trio Trés Bien
June 16: Peter Martin
June 23: Javier Mendoza
June 30: Dawn Weber and the Electro Funk Assembly
July 7: Dogtown Allstars
July 14: FolknBluesGrass
July 21: Beyond Abbey Road (Beatles tribute with Peter Mayer)
July 28: Kevin Lucas Orchestra
August 4: Gene Dobbs Bradford and the Blues Inquisition

The Whitaker Music Festival concerts are held outdoors on the lawn of the Cohen Amphitheater, just west of the Climatron dome. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets, and are welcome to bring their own picnic baskets or coolers or to purchase food and beverages on site. Admission to the Garden is free on Wednesdays after 5:00 p.m., with music beginning at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, visit the Garden's website or call the recorded hotline at 314-577-9400. In the event of inclement weather, you can tune in to WSIE (88.7 FM) for concert updates.

Metrotix offering online pre-sale for Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at the Sheldon

As mentioned here earlier, single tickets for the performance by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on Saturday, March 13 at the Sheldon Concert Hall are scheduled to go on sale to the general public at 10:00 a.m. this Saturday, February 13.

However, Metrotix will have a special pre-sale for online customers starting at 10:00 a.m. Friday, February 12. To access the offer, go to the Metrotix site and use the promotional code JALCO10.

Cooking class on March 11 to raise funds for Jazz St. Louis education programs

To raise money for its youth education programs, Jazz St. Louis is offering a cooking class with JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 11 at Beck/Allen Cabinetry (IDC of St. Louis), 11626 Page Service Dr.

In addition to helming the Jazz St. Louis organization, Bradford is a food and wine enthusiast and avid cook whose culinary skills have been auctioned at past JSL galas. For the March 11 class, Bradford "will show you how to prepare an elegant but easy feast for your spring holiday table."

The cost of the class is $30 per person, with all proceeds going toward Jazz St. Louis' youth education programs. To reserve a place, call Melissa Jones at 314-289-4037.

Jazz-inspired art, photos accompanying Nu-Art Series' jazz composers concerts

The Nu-Art Series last Saturday kicked off a set of shows at the Metropolitan Gallery that will feature a dozen St. Louis musicians performing their own work and that of well-known jazz composers.

In keeping with Nu-Art's ongoing theme of "jazz and visual arts," there's also a new show up at the gallery, featuring jazz-inspired paintings by Tony Renner and photos of jazz artists in performance taken by longtime St. Louis American reporter/photographer Roscoe Crenshaw.

There will be an artists' reception for Renner and Crenshaw from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Friday, February 19 at the gallery, 2936 Locust St. downtown., and the exhibition and concert series both continue through April 17. For a complete schedule of Nu-Art's jazz composers series concerts, see this post.

Illustration: T. Renner, "Improvisation for Charlie Parker #2," 2008, acrylic on panel, 19" x 17.5".

Jeffrey Wright's cabaret show sells out; April date added

This just in: Cabaret impresario Jim Dolan sends word that the performances of Jeffrey Wright's show "The Dance" on February 19 and 20 are sold out, prompting the addition of another performance at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 16 at the Kranzberg Arts Center. Tickets for Wright's April 16 show are now on sale via www.licketytix.com.

Vanessa Rubin to star in Black Rep's Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday

Singer Vanessa Rubin (pictured) is coming to St. Louis to star in the Black Rep's production of Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday, which will run Wednesday, February 24 through Sunday, March 14 at the Grandel Theater, 3610 Grandel Square (just west of Grand Ave).

The play by Reenie Upchurch tells the story of Holiday's last performance at a New York club, incorporating songs such as "My Man", "Strange Fruit", "Fine and Mellow" and "God Bless the Child."

Rubin is originally from Cleveland and has performed with many well-known jazz musicians, including St. Louis' own Clark Terry, Pharoah Sanders, Barry Harris, Kenny Barron, Lionel Hampton, the Mercer Ellington Orchestra, Cecil Bridgewater, Etta Jones, Toots Thielemans, Steve Turre, Cedar Walton, Grover Washington, Jr., Herbie Hancock, the Woody Herman Orchestra, and the Jazz Crusaders.

Interestingly, a performance of "God Bless The Child" helped steer Rubin toward a career in music. After earning her degree in journalism from Ohio State, Rubin sang the song while competing in the Miss Black Central Ohio contest and got a standing ovation, which caused her to reconsider her vocational choices. First signed to RCA Novus in 1991, Rubin has recorded seven albums as a leader, but for a time also held down a job in the NYC public school system, and she's also been actively involved in jazz education. She portrayed Holiday last year in a production of Yesterdays for Hartford Stage, and you can read more about that here.

Rubin will be joined on stage in St. Louis by Levi Barcourt (musical director and piano), David Jackson (bass) and Bernard Davis (drums). Tickets for the Black Rep's production of Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday range in price from $43 to $17, and are on sale now via Metrotix.

Haiti relief benefit to be shown on HEC-TV

Tickets for the St. Louis Musicians for Haiti benefit at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 9 at the Sheldon Concert Hall are sold out, but the event will be televised on HEC-TV (Channel 26/AT&T U-Verse Channel 99) and shown online at www.hectv.org.

Hosted by author and former TV newscaster Julius Hunter and featuring singer Brian Owens, folk group Mayor Taylor, the Bottoms Up Blues Gang, pianist Peter Martin, Mardra and Reggie Thomas, singer Kim Massie, singer Christine Brewer and pianist Peter Henderson, the event will raise money for the Haitian earthquake relief efforts of Doctors Without Borders.

Jeremy Davenport, Peter Martin to perform Friday, April 2 at The Sheldon

Pianist Peter Martin has announced the second show in his new series at the Sheldon Concert Hall: a duo performance with trumpet player, singer and fellow St. Louis native Jeremy Davenport (pictured) at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 2.

The show is billed as "The Reunion," since Martin and Davenport are old friends. Both attended University City High School here, and both moved to New Orleans in the 1990s to further their musical careers. Both also returned to St. Louis after Hurricane Katrina, though Davenport has since gone back to New Orleans to resume his gig as leader of the house band at the Ritz-Carlton.

Tickets for the April 2 concert are $50 for the "VIP reception package," which includes a post-concert reception, or $25 for standard orchestra seating, and are on sale now - with no "convenience fees" - from Martin's website.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Gettin' funky with Galactic and Karl Denson

This week, we've got clips of the New Orleans funk/jazz band Galactic and the equally funky saxophonist Karl Denson, both of whom will be in St. Louis to share a bill at The Pageant on Thursday, February 18.

Up top, you can see Denson and his band Tiny Universe performing "Everything (Is Going to Be Alright)" while down below this chunk o' text, Denson and TU serve up the reggae-flavored "The Mighty Rebel."

In recent months, Denson has been touring with both Tiny Universe and the reformed Greyboy All-Stars, who reportedly will begin recording a new CD in March for release in the fall of this year.

According to Denson's website, the Pageant date is one of a handful on this winter tour that will feature both Tiny Universe and Galactic doing their own sets, then playing some songs together, which should be fun for fans of both groups.

And speaking of Galactic, down below the second TU clip you'll find a couple of videos of them from a 2007 in-store performance at San Francisco's Amoeba Records. The first is an instrumental (anyone know the title?), and the second features rapper Boots Riley doing "Hustle Up" from Galactic's hip-hop flavored 2007 release From the Corner to The Block.

Galactic's new CD Ya-Ka-May comes out this Tuesday, and goes back to their roots by featuring collaborations with musicians, singers and rappers from New Orleans.