Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

It's been almost a month since our last shameless plug for StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds, which features a different online music video every day.

Drawing from genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock and experimental, posts during May have showcased performances from Gil Scott-Heron, Freda Payne, Zawinul Syndicate, Les McCann, Dave Douglas and Brass Ecstasy, Buddy Guy, Freddie Hubbard, Defunkt, David S Ware, Jimmy Smith, Steely Dan, Liquid Soul, Billy Preston, the Crusaders, Dexter Gordon & Red Rodney, Ry Cooder, Tower of Power, Bill Evans, Santana, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stanley Turrentine, Average White Band, John Lee Hooker, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Louis Armstrong, J Geils Band, Ray Bryant, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Joseph Jarman and WORKS, George Duke and Aretha Franklin.

You can see them all, plus hundreds more carefully selected videos from the archives, by visiting http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Miles Davis at Tanglewood - August 18, 1970

Since it's the week of Miles Davis' birthday, today we're going to pay tribute to the trumpeter with a replay of Davis' set on August 18, 1970 at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts.

The show featured one of the most stellar lineups of all Miles' electric bands, with Chick Corea (electric piano), Keith Jarrett (organ, electric piano), Airto Moriera (percussion), Gary Bartz (soprano and alto sax), Dave Holland (electric and acoustic bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums). It's worth noting that every one of these musicians went on to become a successful bandleader and a recording artist of some importance, and all remain active to this day, extending Davis' influence to several more generations of musicians and listeners.

Miles' Tanglewood show was one of four booked at the facility in 1969 and 1970 by promoter Bill Graham, who gave Davis the opening spot for the then mega-popular Santana on that August night. The six videos here represent almost all of the show, missing only Graham's spoken intro and outro and about a minute of the closing vamp on "The Theme."

In the first clip up above, you can hear Davis and band perform "Directions." That's followed down below by "Bitches Brew," "The Mask," "It's About That Time," "Sanctuary/Spanish Key," and the encore, "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down." (Note that since the clips are from different sources, you may have to adjust your volume to get a consistent playback level from them all.)

The website Wolfgang's Vault, which offers for sale audio recordings from many Graham-related events including this one, calls the show "one of the most intriguing of Miles' lengthy career" and "one of those rare performances with boundless depth that continually rewards repeated listening." It's pretty much fun to watch, too.

Miles Davis Festival to debut this year in St. Louis

The estate of the late jazz trumpeter Miles Davis will team up this summer and fall with several St. Louis area organizations and venues to present the Miles Davis Festival, a series of concerts, exhibits and celebrations of Davis’ musical legacy that organizers hope will become an annual event.

Yr. humble StLJN editor was at yesterday's press conference announcing the festival, and you can read more about it in my post for the Riverfront Times' music blog A to Z here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short local news items of interest:

* Singer Mae "Lady Jazz" Wheeler's doctors sent her home from the hospital last week, saying that further medical treatment of her colon cancer and leukemia was unlikely to be effective. Freelance music journalist Terry Perkins visited Wheeler at her home, where she's spending time with family and friends, and wrote about her life and musical legacy in this feature story for the St. Louis Beacon.

* Dennis Owsley's latest blog entry for St. Louis magazine looks at two myths about St. Louis jazz that were dispelled by the research for his book City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis 1895-1973.

* The Belleville News-Democrat's Carolyn R. Smith talked with band members and parents for a feature about the East St. Louis High School Jazz Band's recent trip to NYC for the Essentially Ellington festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

* And speaking of East St. Louis High School, the St. Louis American's Rebecca S. Rivas has written a feature story about drummer Bryan Carter, an ESL HS alumnus who's also the son of its former band director, saxophonist Ronald Carter (who's now at Northern Illinois University). The younger Carter, now studying at the Juilliard School in NYC, has just released his first CD, Enchantment.

* Illustrator and music historian Kevin Belford has written an interesting blog post about the Palladium Building (pictured) on Enright just west of Grand. Once the home of the Club Plantation, site of many significant jazz and blues performances, the building is now in rough shape and up for sale.

Photo by Kevin Belford/Devil at the Confluence.

Happy birthday, Miles Davis!

The most famous jazz musician to come from the St. Louis metropolitan area, Miles Davis (pictured) was born May 26, 1926 in Alton, IL and raised in East St. Louis. Today would have been Miles' 85th birthday, and the occasion is being celebrated across the country in many ways, including an official party at East St. Louis City Hall.

StLJN also received this morning a notice of a press conference being held this afternoon to announce the Miles Davis Festival, an upcoming series of local events celebrating Miles' legacy that will include concerts, photo and art exhibits, and even a giveaway of a copy of The Genius of Miles Davis CD mega-set.

The trumpeter's estate's official representatives Miles Davis Properties, LLC are involved, as are Sony/Legacy, BB's Jazz Blues and Soups, the Nu-Art Series and its venue, Metropolitan Gallery, the Sheldon Concert Hall, and radio station WSIE (88.7 FM). More details on this as they are revealed...

Meanwhile, there's plenty of celebrating online, too. LIFE magazine has just published some previously unseen photos of Davis from 1958, and music blog The Revivalist has an extensive tribute including links to all their previous Miles coverage here. Elements of Jazz has rounded up videos of various Davis-related interviews, while GrooveNotes surveys the 85th birthday happenings in NYC and elsewhere here.

As always, we recommend the site Miles Davis Online for ongoing news of Davis, and you also may enjoy this essay MDO's Jeffrey Hyatt wrote for StLJN on this date in 2009. You can see all of StLJN's Davis-related coverage from the past six years here, and sibling site Heliocentric Worlds has a bunch of Miles Davis performances on video compiled here.

Jazz this week: Sean Jones, Glendale Jazz Festival, a Miles Davis birthday celebration, and more

Want to listen to some live jazz this Memorial Day weekend in St. Louis? Here's what's on tap for for the next few days:

The best-known musician visiting town this week is trumpeter Sean Jones (pictured), who will perform tonight through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. A technically accomplished and versatile player, Jones probably is best known for his five years as lead trumpeter for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, a position he left last year to devote more time to his solo career and other musical ventures.

This is shaping up to be an eventful week for the trumpeter, as No Need for Words, his latest CD on Mack Avenue Records, was released officially yesterday, and he'll celebrate his 33rd birthday on Sunday. For more about Jones and some videos of him in action, check out this post from last Saturday. Also, you can read my Riverfront Times Critic's Pick about Jones here.

Elsewhere around town, jazz bookings are a bit scarce as many other not-for-profit presenters have ended their seasons, and even some commercial establishments, such as Robbie's House of Jazz and Casa Loma Ballroom are taking the holiday weekend off. Still, in addition to the usual weekly gigs (which you can find listed on the StLJN calendar), there are a few other noteworthy jazz-related events happening around town.

At noon on Thursday, the city of East of St. Louis will hold birthday celebration for Miles Davis, the city's most famous native son, at City Hall. The event will feature several live performances, including music from Reggie Thomas.

On Friday evening, the city of Glendale presents the 12th annual Glendale Jazz Festival at Glendale City Hall, 424 N. Sappington Rd. The free event will feature music from the St. Louis Stompers, Terry Thompson's Swing Alive Band, and blues/rock guitarist Billy Peek, with Don Wolff as MC.

Also on Friday, guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio with drummer Marty Morrison and bassist Nick Jost will play the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

This also is the weekend for the annual African Arts Festival at the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. The event features a variety of musical offerings, including blues, reggae, African drumming, and jazz from the Bosman Twins on Sunday and the group Le Jazz Hot, with pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Daryl Mixon, drummer Ben Thigpen and saxophonist Chad Evans, on Monday.

Also on Sunday, BB's Jazz Blues & Soups will present "A Night of Jazz" from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., though there's no indication on their site as to who the players are. (Alas, calls to BB's attempting to ascertain the musicians' identities were not returned by publication time.)

On Tuesday, the Poor People of Paris will bring their jazz-inflected French cabaret sound to the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of the Sheldon's Notes From Home 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 clicking the "Like" icon on 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.)

East St. Louis to celebrate Miles Davis' birthday this Thursday, May 26

The city of East St. Louis will celebrate what would have been the 85th birthday of its most famous native son, trumpeter Miles Davis, at 12:00 p.m. this Thursday, May 26 in the council chambers of the East St. Louis Municipal Bldg, 301 River Park Drive.

According to a news release, "the free family event will include a “likeness”-adorned cake; jazz by Reginald Thomas and the 85th Birthday Jazz Ensemble; “Milestone: The Birth of an Ancestor,” a poetic elegy/multimodal exhibit by ESL poet laureate Eugene B. Redmond (and Soular Systems Ensemble); and reminiscences by Miles’ high school classmates and childhood friends."

Davis (pictured), who died in 1991, was born in Alton and raised in East St. Louis from age one. He graduated from Lincoln Senior High School in 1944 and attended the Julliard School of Music before launching a professional career that made him one of the most popular and influential jazz musicians of all time. When ESL dedicated the Miles Dewey Davis III Elementary School in 1982, Davis and Cicely Tyson, his wife at the time, attended the ceremony, as did Davis’ high school teacher Elwood Buchanan.

For more information on Thursday's Miles Davis birthday celebration, contact Lauren Parks by calling 618-482-6601 or via email at lparks @ cesl.us; or E. B. Redmond by calling 618-650-3991 or by email at eredmon@siue.edu.

Adam Larson to appear at Saxquest this Tuesday, May 24

Saxquest and Jazz St. Louis are teaming up to present a free performance and clinic by saxophonist Adam Larson (pictured) at 7:00 p.m. this Tuesday, May 24 at the Saxquest shop, 2114 Cherokee St on the south side.

Larson, 21, is a native of Bloomington, IL who, according to JSL director of education Phil Dunlap "has made quite a name for himself, picking up reed and mouthpiece endorsements from companies despite his age of 21." At age 19 he was described by Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune as “ a player for whom the word ‘prodigious’ was coined.” Now based in New York, Larson is touring the Midwest with the quintet he co-leads with trumpeter John Raymond. Guitarist Nils Weinhold, drummer Bastian Weinhold, and bassist Raviv Markovitz complete the group.

Admission to the event is free, and refreshments will be served. The event will be recorded by HEC-TV for telecast at a later date.

You can check out Larson and his quintet performing his original composition "Space" in the embedded video window below.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Sean Jones

This week, we train our video lens on trumpeter Sean Jones, who will be in St. Louis to play next Wednesday, May 25 through Saturday, May 28 at Jazz at the Bistro. Jones, who will turn 33 next Sunday, may be best known for a five-year stint as lead trumpeter for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, but the Ohio native also has put out five CDs as a leader, with his sixth, No Need For Words, set for release by Detroit's Mack Avenue Records this coming Tuesday.

Today's clips show Jones displaying his impressive trumpet technique on some well-known standards. Up top, he and his band perform "Take The A Train" as part of a 2008 tribute to Billy Strayhorn. Jones' working group includes Brian Hogans (alto sax), Orrin Evans (piano), Luques Curtis (bass) and Obed Calvaire (drums), and they're joined on this clip by singer Carolyn Perteete.

Down below, you can hear Jones play "Jitterbug Waltz" during a jam at the Dakota in Minneapolis, and below that, you can hear him solo on "Sugar" during another impromptu session at drummer Cecil Brooks' club in New Jersey.

In the fourth slot, you can check out the electronic press kit for No Need For Words, which features musical excerpts as well as Jones talking about his music and his band members. If you'd like to hear more, Mack Avenue Records is offering previews of tracks from Jones' new CD by posting links to them on their Twitter feed.

For more about Jones, check out this early interview, published in 2004 by AllAboutJazz.com; this 2009 interview from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and this review of a March 2011 performance at Chicago's Jazz Showcase from the Chicago Tribune.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short local news items of interest:

* The East St. Louis High School jazz band (pictured) traveled to New York City last week to take part in the Essentially Ellington festival presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center. Although they were not selected for the final concert, several band members won individual awards, including Terreon Pete, Honorable Mention, Piano; Brady Lewis, Outstanding Trumpet; and Carlos Brown Jr., Outstanding Alto Saxophone. Jazz St. Louis has a recap of the trip (along with a fundraising pitch for their education programs that support music at ESLHS and other area schools) here.

* Radio station WSIE (88.7 FM), the only St. Louis area radio station with an all-jazz format, is now streaming their programming online. This represents a significant advance for WSIE, which has an over-the-air signal that's difficult to receive in many parts of the St. Louis metro area.

The station previously had eschewed streaming online because much of its schedule was made up of syndicated fare for which streaming rights were unavailable. But as of this month, much of WSIE's schedule is now given over to JazzWorks, a programming service based at Duquesne University's station WDUQ in Pittsburgh that lets participating stations customize jazz broadcasts for local use.

In addition to the JazzWorks programming, WSIE is slotting in student-produced shows on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, and running the NPR jazz programs Piano Jazz With Marian McPartland, Jazzset With Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Jazz At Lincoln Center With Wynton Marsalis as a block on Sunday mornings.

Yr. humble StLJN editor has tested the stream, and though I haven't listened for long enough to get a sense of just how local the JazzWorks broadcasts will be, or what the overall mix of music is like, it worked well from a technical standpoint. You can check out the stream at the link above, or from the front page of the WSIE website.

* Pianist Peter Martin was interviewed about the jazz scene in Japan for the latest issue of Belle Lettres, a magazine published by the Center for the Humanities at Washington University. You can read it online in .pdf format here.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band spent last weekend recording tracks for a new CD, and they've posted a video online offering a glimpse inside the sessions.

* Jazz St. Louis is looking to hire a Guest Relations Assistant to greet and seat guests at Jazz at the Bistro, among other duties. If you're interested, call Bob Bennett at 314-289-4032 or email him at bob @ jazzstl.org for more detailed information.

* The Riverfront Times has revealed the list of participating bands for the 2011 RFT Music Showcase on Saturday, June 4.

Photo courtesy of Jazz St. Louis.

Win free tickets to hear Peter Martin & Warren Wolf

Courtesy of Peter Martin Music, StLJN has a pair of tickets to give away for Sunday night's performance by Martin's quartet with vibraphonist Warren Wolf at the Sheldon Concert Hall. To win the two free tickets, just be the first person to comment on this post with the correct answer to this question:

After graduating from University City High School, at what school did Peter Martin study music?

One answer per person, please. Tickets will be held at the Sheldon for pickup on Sunday. (Photo ID may be required.)

UPDATE - 12:20 p.m.: ....Aaaaand we have a winner! Thanks to all for reading.

Metrotix, Fox Theatre offering online pre-sale of tickets for RTF/ZPZ show

The Fox Theatre and Metrotix will offer an online pre-sale of tickets for the Return to Forever/Zappa Plays Zappa concert scheduled for Thursday, August 25 at the Fox.

Tickets are priced from $30 to $60 and go on sale to the general public at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, May 20. However, the pre-sale will run from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 19. To access the offer, visit Metrotix.com during the pre-sale hours and when prompted, use the promo code CLARKE.

Jazz this week: Candy Dulfer, Warren Wolf & Peter Martin, Erin Bode, Melton Mustafa, Miles Davis Jazz Festival, and more

We're still in a transitional period between spring and summer music schedules here in St. Louis, but there nevertheless are a number of noteworthy jazz and creative music performances happening around town over the next several days. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, the Sheldon Concert Hall puts on a benefit concert for tornado relief, featuring performances from traditional jazz band the St. Louis Stompers, pianist Carolbeth True with harmonica player Sandy Weltman, guitarist Rick Haydon, and pianist Stephanie Trick, as well as folk musicians John Higgins and Charlie Pfeffer, Beatles tribute band Pepperland and the gospel group Reborn.

On Thursday, Robbie's House of Jazz will present trombonist Tom Hanson's big band.

On Friday and Saturday, singer Erin Bode and her group return to Jazz at the Bistro, with guest appearances by "members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra." (Bode has collaborated before with musicians from the SLSO, most notably violinist and concertmaster David Halen, but there's no mention of any specific players' names in the promotional info for the gig.) Note also that the 8:30 shows are sold out for both nights, but some tickets do remain for the 10:15 sets..

Also on Friday and Saturday, Robbie's will present trumpeter Melton Mustafa, who will do a tribute to Miles Davis in celebration of the trumpet legend's birthday next week. Friday's performance will be preceded by a workshop that begins at 6:00 p.m.; see Robbie's website for details.

Also on Friday, guitarist Dave Black will play at Cigar Inn in Belleville with Willem von Hombracht on bass and Kevin Gianino on drums.

On Saturday, saxophonist Candy Dulfer will play at The Pageant, with St. Louis' Tim Cunningham opening the show. You can read my Riverfront Times' Critic's Pick on the show here, and for some videos of Dulfer performing in concert, see this post from last Saturday

Saturday also is the day for the 2011 Miles Davis Jazz Festival, which will be held at Trimpe Hall on the campus of Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, IL. This year's music lineup includes the Alton Landing Jazz Quintet, Jim Stevens Band, saxophonist Henry Miles' quintet from Springfield, IL, and Mondinband with special guest Big George Brock, Jr.

On Sunday evening, pianist Peter Martin continues his concert series at the Sheldon, teaming up with vibraphonist Warren Wolf (pictured), his bandmate in bassist Christian McBride's band Inside Straight. Wolf is considered one of jazz' rising stars on his instrument, and he and Martin just completed some European dates with McBride so they should be locked in and ready to go.

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 clicking the "Like" icon on 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 correct the name of Mondinband's special guest at the Misles Davis Jazz Festival.)

New Music Circle previews 2011-12 season

New Music Circle has posted a preview of the lineup for their 2011-12 season on their website. At this point, it's just a list of artists - no dates or venues yet - but most notably, the proposed season would include the St. Louis debut of pianist Matthew Shipp (pictured).

The 51-year-old Shipp has been a noted figure in free jazz and improvised music for 20 years now, both for his own work and for his longtime membership in saxophonist David S. Ware's quartet. His piano playing has been compared variously to Cecil Taylor, Andrew Hill and Thelonious Monk, among others, but in recent years Shipp also has experimented with music that references contemporary classical, hip hop and electronica. His most recent recording, the two-disc set Art of the Improviser, was released in February 2011.

Other musicians slated for NMC's 2011-12 season include:

* Drummer John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet with Chris Speed (clarinet/tenor saxophone), Matt Moran (vibraphone/percussion), Ted Reichman (accordion) and Drew Gress (bass).

* Composer, improviser and multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee's Survival Unit, with percussionist Michael Zerang and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm.

* Violinist Tony Conrad, who's also an experimental filmmaker and video artist. Conrad was an early member of the Theatre of Eternal Music, the famed 1960s group with John Cale, Angus MacLise and La Monte Young, and also has worked with composer Rhys Chatham.

* Percussionist Chris Corsano, who has toured with Icelandic singer Björk and recorded with Evan Parker, Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Nels Cline, Jim O'Rourke, and many others.

The NMC season also will include a video and electronic music performance by Keith Fullerton-Whitman; a concert of electro-acoustic and chamber music by James Mobberley and Paul Rudy; and a return appearance by cellist Craig Hultgren, who's known for his use of extended techniques in both composed and improvised music.

Rounding out the 2011-12 schedule will be a concert of original chamber music by Frank Stemper, who's a professor and composer in residence at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and another "NMC Showcase," a multi-artist concert featuring new work from several different local musicians and ensembles.

Assuming they're able to pull it all off, this would be a very impressive season, balancing improvised music and free jazz, intermedia performances, and contemporary composed music. When NMC releases final information on their 2011-12 schedule, venues and ticket prices, we'll have it all for you right here.

(Edited 5/19/11 to fix a couple of typos.)

Return to Forever, Zappa Plays Zappa to perform Thursday, August 25 at the Fox Theatre

This just in: A new lineup of the seminal fusion band Return to Forever (pictured) will hit the road for 32 dates in the USA this summer, including a performance on Thursday, August 25 at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

Zappa Plays Zappa, the Frank Zappa repertory ensemble headed by the late guitarist and composer's son Dweezil, will serve as the support act for the entire tour.

The new RTF lineup includes Chick Corea on keyboards, Stanley Clarke on bass and Lenny White on drums, along with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, who's played with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Frank Zappa, and guitarist Frank Gambale, who's previously worked with Corea, Clarke and Ponty on various projects of theirs.

This version of the band already has toured Australia, performing "an amalgam of Return To Forever classics, highlights from each member’s solo repertoire, and brand-new compositions written for the RTF IV lineup." You can see setlists and photos from those shows here and read some selected reviews here. To hear the new RTF lineup playing "Senor Mouse," click on the embedded audio player below.

Return to Forever last played in St. Louis in 2008 at the Fox, while Zappa Plays Zappa has performed here at The Pageant several times in the past five years, most recently in December 2010.

Tickets for the 2011 Return to Forever/Zappa Plays Zappa tour will go on sale this Saturday, May 21 Friday, May 20. Ticketing for the Fox Theatre usually is handled locally by Metrotix, but there also will be VIP packages presold through the Return to Forever website beginning Thursday, May 19.

UPDATE, 5:30 p.m., 5/18/11: Tickets for the concert are priced from $30 to $60. The Fox and Metrotix will offer an online pre-sale of tickets for the Return to Forever/Zappa Plays Zappa show beginning from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 19. To access the offer, use promo code CLARKE.

Miles Davis Jazz Festival set for Saturday, May 21

The Alton Museum of History and Art will present the 2011 Miles Davis Jazz Festival from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. this Saturday, May 21 at Trimpe Hall on the campus of Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, IL.

Performers will include the Alton Landing Jazz Quintet, Jim Stevens Band, saxophonist Henry Miles' quintet from Springfield, IL, and Mondinband with special guest Big George Brock, Jr. (pictured).

Tickets are $25 each, or $180 for tables of eight, with all proceed benefiting the Museum. A cash bar and hors d'ouevres will be available. To purchase tickets, call 618-462-2763, send an email to altonmuseum@gmail.com, or stop by the Museum at 2809 College in Alton between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m Wednesday through Saturday.

(Edited 5/19/11 to correct the special guest for Mondinband.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A taste of Candy

If StLJN's visitor logs for the past six weeks are any indication, there's a lot of reader interest in saxophonist Candy Dulfer's upcoming St. Louis performance next Saturday, May 21 at The Pageant. After checking out some online videos of various Dulfer shows, it's not hard to understand why. Her music may not be particularly innovative or thought-provoking, but assuming you like this sort of thing to begin with, Dulfer's bluesy alto sax, funk grooves, and enthusiastic performances do make for an entertaining mix.

So, without further ado, today we present four videos of Candy Dulfer live, starting up above with an undated clip of her version of Average White Band's "Pick Up The Pieces." Down below, you can see Dulfer playing "On and On" with the Dutch all-star group Brothers In Music. Below that, there are two clips from 2009 featuring Dulfer with her own band, assaying a chill-out groove on "Still I Love You" and bringing a bit of hip-hop into "My Funk."

Jazz St. Louis announces 2011-12 season schedule

Jazz St. Louis today released its 2011-12 season schedule, encompassing several different series at Jazz at the Bistro as well as a new "Legends of Jazz" series at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

The "Legends" series will kick off with the previously announced concert on Sunday, August 7 by George Duke, Marcus Miller and former St. Louisan David Sanborn, and also will include a performance by Herbie Hancock (pictured) in March, plus another show in November that is still TBA.

In a related development, JSL also will be collaborating with the University of Missouri-St. Louis on the 2012 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival. They'll present a performance by the festival's guest clinicians on Thursday, April 19 at the Bistro, and also are co-presenting the festival's weekend shows at the Touhill. Percussionist Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band featuring trumpeter Terence Blanchard will perform on Friday, April 20, and bassist Christian McBride's Big Band will be the headliner on Saturday, April 21.

Among the musicians making their Bistro debuts next year will be vocal group Take 6, fusion keyboardist Jeff Lorber (with Yellowjackets bassist Jimmy Haislip and saxophonist Eric Marienthal), and veteran pianist Ramsey Lewis, who will bring his electric group to the club. Other newcomers will include drummer Dafnis Prieto's trio, saxophonist Tia Fuller's quartet, and another quartet led by clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen, who did play the Bistro a couple of years ago as a member of Waverly Seven.

In addition, trumpeter Byron Stripling, saxophonist Sherman Irby, and drummer Matt Wilson's band Arts and Crafts all will do week-long educational residencies culminating in two nights of performances at the Bistro.

Returning acts from recent seasons will include The Bad Plus, pianist Vijay Iyer's trio, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, singers Kurt Elling, Marlena Shaw and Freddy Cole, and saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby, who will come back home for four nights in December.

Other well-known performers will be back with different musical configurations. After making his Bistro debut earlier this year, bassist Stanley Clarke is set to return next season, this time leading a trio, and saxophonist Josh Redman and pianist Brad Mehldau, both of whom have led their own bands at the Bistro, will team up for two nights of duet performances. Guitarist John Scofield, who last played the club in 2007 with a trio, will be back with a quartet, while trumpeter Nicholas Payton, last seen at the Bistro with a full band in 2006, will be stripping it down to a trio this time around.

New local acts booked for the fall include singer Anita Jackson, the Crusaders tribute band Scratch, and Rare Departure, a group inspired by 1970s fusion featuring bassist Zeb Briskovich, keyboardist Adaron “Pops” Jackson, saxophonist Jason Swagler, guitarist Rick Haydon and drummer Miles Vandiver. (Bookings of more local musicians, covering dates at the Bistro from January through May, usually are announced near year-end.)

The other significant piece of news is that beginning in September, all performances at the Bistro will have new, earlier set times of 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.. While I'm sure there are good objective reasons for making the change - I'd imagine it will be popular with the older members of the subscription audience - the idea of a jazz club that's basically shut down by 11 p.m., even on weekends, just seems very, very wrong to me, in a "disturbance in the Force" kind of way.

That gripe notwithstanding, it looks like another high quality, well-rounded season of music, within what are now fairly predictable and well-defined artistic and financial parameters. For example, you won't see any trad jazz or avant garde at the Bistro, nor any hugely expensive acts such as Harry Connick or Diana Krall. And that's OK - no one presenter can be all things to all people.

More specifically, as a big fan of Herbie Hancock, I'm always excited to hear that he's coming to town, and the chance to check out musicians like Clarke, Iyer, Mehldau, Redman, Lewis, and Elling up close over multiple nights would be welcomed by jazz fans just about anywhere. Cohen, Prieto and Fuller are up-and-coming performers with good buzz among critics and fans, and Lorber and Take 6 no doubt will be strong at the box office.

As a way to present musicians whose popularity necessitates a larger venue, the "Legends of Jazz" series potentially adds more interesting possibilities, and the Touhill is an attractive, good-sounding hall that currently is empty more than 200 nights a year. The one possible drawback is that if the new series ends up just replacing the jazz programming that the Touhill formerly did on their own, there's no real net gain in terms of the number of jazz shows at what continues to be an underutilized venue.

Still, I'm very interested to hear who the TBA performer in November will be, as JSL's Bob Bennett has teased with info suggesting it could be someone very big who hasn't played St. Louis in a long time. And even not knowing what that show will be, I think Bennett, executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford and the rest of the JSL crew have earned good marks for the 2011-12 lineup.

Here's the complete schedule of shows, listed in chronological order:

Sunday, August 7: DMS with George Duke, Marcus Miller and David Sanborn (at the Touhill)
Friday, September 9 & Saturday, September 10: Funky Butt Brass Band
Friday, September 16 & Saturday, September 17: Kim Massie
Wednesday, September 21 - Saturday, September 24: Take 6
Friday, September 30 & Saturday, October 1: Rare Departure

Wednesday, October 5 - Saturday, October 8: Stanley Jordan Trio
Friday, October 14 & Saturday, October 15: Anita Jackson
Wednesday, October 19 - Saturday, October 22: Jeff Lorber Fusion featuring Jimmy Haslip & Eric Marienthal
Friday, October 28 & Saturday 29: Sherman Irby Quartet

Wednesday, November 2 - Saturday, November 5: John Scofield Jazz Quartet
Sunday, November 6: TBA (at the Touhill)
Friday, November 11 & Saturday, November 12, 2011: Scratch
Wednesday, November 16 - Saturday, November 19: Kurt Elling
Friday, November 25 & Saturday, November 26: Jeremy Davenport
Wednesday, November 30 – Saturday, December 3: Ramsey Lewis Electric Band

Friday, December 9 & Saturday, December 10: Good 4 The Soul
Wednesday, December 14 - Saturday, December 17: Greg Osby

2012

Wednesday, January 4 - Saturday, January 7: The Bad Plus
Wednesday, January 18 - Saturday, January 21: Ravi Coltrane Quartet
Wednesday, February 1 - Saturday, February 4: Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio
Wednesday, February 15 - Saturday, February 18: Anat Cohen Quartet
Friday, February 24 & Saturday, February 25: Byron Stripling

Wednesday, February 29 - Saturday, March 3: Freddy Cole
Wednesday, March 14 -Saturday, March 17: Vijay Iyer Trio
Sunday, March 18: Herbie Hancock (at the Touhill)
Friday, March 23 & Saturday, March 24: Matt Wilson’s Arts & Crafts
Wednesday, March 28 - Saturday, March 31: Nicholas Payton Trio

Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8: Joshua Redman / Brad Mehldau Duo
Wednesday, April 11 - Saturday, April 14: Marlena Shaw
Thursday, April 19: Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival clinicians
Friday, April 20: Poncho Sanchez & his Latin Jazz Band w/Terence Blanchard (GSLJF at the Touhill)
Saturday, April 21: Christian McBride Big Band (GSLJF at the Touhill)
Wednesday, April 25 - Saturday, April 28: Tia Fuller Quartet

Wednesday, May 9 - Saturday, May 12: Dafnis Prieto Trio
Wednesday, May 23 - Saturday, May 26: Stanley Clarke Trio

Ticket prices for the "Legends of Jazz" shows at the Touhill will be $150, $60 and $40, while the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival concerts at the same venue will be priced at $65, $40 and $20. Those tickets will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 14 via the Touhill ticket office.

Ticket prices for performances at the Bistro range from $25 to $40 for touring acts, and $15 to $20 for local musicians, with student tickets available from $10 to $25. Tickets for Jazz at the Bistro performances will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 16 via Metrotix and the Jazz St. Louis box office at 314-289-4030.

(Edited after posting to fix some typos.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short local news items of interest:

* This is the weekend of the Essentially Ellington festival at NYC's Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the East St. Louis High School jazz band is there as one of just 15 bands from across the country selected to participate in this year's competition. On Thursday, the band members made it on to NBC's Today Show, albeit outside the window behind weatherman Al Roker. You can read more about that, and more about the band's trip, in this item from the Post-Dispatch's Deb Peterson.

Meanwhile, the festival performances will be webcast live today and tomorrow. Today's webcast begins at 2:30 p.m., with the ESL band scheduled to go fourth. You can tune into the webcast here.

* And speaking of student musicians, the Belleville News-Democrat had a brief article here about guitarist Clayton Floyd and trombonist William Wolff, the two current members of the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars who are from Belleville.

* Also from the Post, pop music critic Kevin Johnson reviewed Denise Thimes' Mother's Day show at the Sheldon Concert Hall here.

Jazz this week: Bill Frisell, Houston Person, Tower of Power, Steve Tyrell, Marvin Horne, Reptet, St. Louis Jazz Club picnic, and more

It's going to be a busy few days for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, and time is short, so let's go to the highlights without further preamble...

Tonight, tenor saxophonist Houston Person is back to open a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. Equally adept at blues, bop and ballads, Person has played in St. Louis several times in recent years, most recently at Jazz St. Louis' benefit gala in February 2010, and before that, at the Bistro and at Harris-Stowe State University in 2009. In conjunction with those 2009 gigs, Person did an interview for Jazz St. Louis' now-defunct podcast series, which you can still listen to online here. (.MP3 file)

Tomorrow night, guitarist Bill Frisell makes a rare St. Louis appearance at Old Rock House. He'll be playing with a quartet including bassist Tony Scherr, drummer Kenny Wollesen, and trumpeter Ron Miles. You can read more about Frisell and see some video clips of him in this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

On Friday, drummer Paul Shaw's trio with pianist Ptah Williams and bassist Bob Deboo will play at the Cigar Inn in Belleville, while yr. humble StLJN editor will be playing some blues piano at Robbie's House of Jazz with drummer Stan Hale's band, featuring singer Renee Smith and bassist Phil Burton.

On Saturday afternoon, guitarist and St. Louis native Marvin Horne returns home to wrap up this spring's schedule of concerts from the Nu-Art Series, performing the music of Grant Green at Metropolitan Gallery.

Also on Saturday, the St. Louis Jazz Club will hold their annual picnic at the Concord Farmers Club, with music from Red Lehr & the St. Louis Rivermen in the afternoon and the Michael Lacey Band in the evening.

That same night, a little bit of Oakland comes to downtown St. Louis, as the legendary funk band Tower of Power is back here for the first time in five years to play at Lumiere Place Casino. (I've got a Critic's Pick on the TOP show in this week's Riverfront Times; look for the link here as soon as it's online.)

Meanwhile, for those in the mood from something a bit more intimate on Saturday evening, Robbie's will present pianist Carolbeth True's trio with singer Christi John Bye.

Last but not least on Saturday, Trio Kinsella, featuring flute player Jonathan Borja, cellist Ben Gitter and pianist Brendan Kinsella, performs at the Kranzberg Arts Center for New Music Circle. The program will include music by George Crumb, John Corigliano, Thailand’s Narong Prangcharoen and former St. Louis Symphony composer in residence Joseph Schwantner, as well as the world premiere of “Falling Through Infinity” by Nicholas Omiccioli.

UPDATE - 5/14/11: Terry Perkins previews the Trio Kinsella concert for the St. Louis Beacon here.

On Sunday, singer Steve Tyrell returns to the Sheldon Concert Hall for a performance benefiting education programs at the Sheldon. Tyrell's previous show at the same venue sold out, and at last word tickets for this one were almost gone, but if you're interested in going it may be worth a call to the Sheldon to see if any seats are released at the last minute.

Also on Sunday, the clever, eclectic Seattle sextet known as Reptet (pictured) will be here to play at 2720 Cherokee. I've enjoyed their most recent CD At The Cabin and was prompted to write more about them in this video post from last Saturday.

That same evening, there will be a benefit for bassist Gus Thornton at Beale on Broadway. Thornton is an East St. Louis native who's best known for playing blues with Albert King, Katie Webster and others, but also has done his share of local jazz gigs. He recently had a heart transplant and although his prognosis is said to be good, the operation has left him with huge medical bills and no income while he recovers.

Sunday's event will help raise some cash to assist the universally well-liked Thornton with those bills and living expenses. There's been no information released on the lineup of performers, but given that Thornton seems to have played with at least half the musicians in town at some point, I'm sure it'll be well worth the $10 requested donation at the door.

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 clicking the "Like" icon on 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.)

Sheldon Concert Hall to present benefit for tornado relief on Wednesday, May 18

A diverse lineup of local musicians will donate their time to raise money for St. Louis area victims of the recent tornadoes and floods in a concert to be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The event will feature performances from traditional jazz band the St. Louis Stompers, pianist Carolbeth True with harmonica player Sandy Weltman, guitarist Rick Haydon, and pianist Stephanie Trick (pictured), as well as folk musicians John Higgins and Charlie Pfeffer, Beatles tribute band Pepperland and the gospel group Reborn.

All proceeds from the concert will go to the American Red Cross "to help local victims of the recent tornadoes and floods, and future disasters that impact our community." Tickets are $15 for general admission, and will go on sale 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 10 via Metrotix and www.thesheldon.org.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Recognizing Reptet

Today, let's check out some videos of Reptet, a Seattle-based band that will be making their St. Louis debut next Sunday, May 15 at 2720 Cherokee.

With two brass, two reeds, bass and drums, the six-member Reptet incorporates a variety of influences, including jazz, funk, cartoon music, New Orleans brass bands and their Eastern European equivalents, into multi-part compositions often featuring several changes in tempo, mood and style.

All the brass and reed players deploy multiple instruments, which adds some nice timbral variety, and there's lots going on with the lower frequencies, as bassist Tim Carey frequently is joined in the nether regions by Nelson Bell's euphonium and tuba, Chris Credit's baritone sax and/or Isaak Mills on bass clarinet. Credit may be Reptet's most compelling soloist when playing tenor or alto sax, but the emphasis is mostly on ensemble playing, and all six musicians execute their parts skillfully.

While their music can be complex, Reptet also incorporates a good amount of humor into their presentation, with costumes - the "cartoon burglar" look seems to be a recurring motif, as you'll see in the videos below - silly hats, goofy or inscrutable spoken word bits, and so on. Given the inherent subjectivity of humor, there's always a chance that some people won't get it, but Reptet has an appealing energy, and in any event they certainly deserve credit for trying to do something different than the no-frills sort of staging that characterizes too many jazz performances.

The first video up above shows Reptet in June 2010 performing "Milky Shakes," a song from their new CD At The Cabin. Down below, you can see them play "Eltet" at a 2008 show in Boston, with trumpeter Samantha Boshnack leading the front line through some nice four-part writing.

Below that, drummer John Ewing shows off some New Orleans-style marching licks to kick off a St. Patrick's Day gig in 2009, as the other band members - now clad in leprechaun outfits - promenade through the audience to the stage while playing "Zeppo." Last but not least, there's another food-themed song, "Fish Market," taken from a 2007 performance, which starts out as jagged funk and ends with Chris Credit serving up a large order of saxophone skronk to go with the filet referenced in the lyric. (Note: while the video image is rather dark, the audio quality is just fine.)

Jazz St. Louis announces summer series at Jazz at the Bistro

Jazz St. Louis today released the summer 2011 schedule for Jazz at the Bistro. In addition to the previously announced concert by the Jazz Crusaders on Saturday, June 11 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, JSL will present St. Louis musicians on Fridays and Saturdays throughout June and July at the Bistro.

Of particular note are the performances by Reggie and Mardra Thomas scheduled for July 15 and 16. That's because Reggie Thomas (pictured), who currently teaches at SIUE, has accepted a job at Michigan State University beginning this fall, and so the Thomas' July gig at the Bistro is being billed as their "farewell performance" before they leave the St. Louis area.

In addition to the weekend shows by St. Louis musicians, the Bistro also will host a performance by the Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Orchestra on Monday, June 27.

Here's the complete summer lineup:

Friday, June 3 & Saturday, June 4: Jim Manley’s Wild, Cool & Swingin’ Orchestra
Friday, June 10 & Saturday, June 11: Coco Soul
Saturday, June 11: Jazz Crusaders (at the Touhill)
Friday, June 17 & Saturday, June 18: Tim Cunningham & Jim Stevens
Friday, June 24 & Saturday, June 25: Denise Thimes
Monday, June 27: Monterey Jazz Festival Next Generation Jazz Orchestra

Friday, July 1 & Saturday, July 2: Eric Slaughter Trio with Jason Swagler
Friday, July 8 & Saturday, July 9: Legacy Jazz Quintet plays Miles Davis 1959-1968
Friday, July 15 & Saturday, July 16: Reggie Thomas and Mardra Thomas play Stevie Wonder
Friday, July 22 & Saturday, July 23: Willie Akins Quartet plays John Coltrane
Friday, July 29 & Saturday, July 30: Good 4 The Soul

The performances by the Legacy Jazz Quintet, Reggie and Mardra Thomas, and the Willie Akins Quartet will be presented in cooperation with the Center for the Humanities Summer Institute at Washington University, a program for schoolteachers that this year is entitled “The Sock Hop and the Loft: Jazz, Motown, and the Transformation of American Culture, 1959-1975.”

Tickets for the Jazz Crusaders at the Touhill are $100, $50 and $35, and are on sale now via the TouPAC ticket office.

Tickets for most of the performances at the Bistro are $20 each, $10 for students with ID. The exceptions are the Eric Slaughter show, which is priced at $15 and $10, and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, which will be $10 and $5. Tickets for the Bistro summer shows will go on sale at 10:00 a.m., Monday, May 16 via Metrotix and the Jazz St. Louis box office.

(Edited after posting to correct prices on the Jazz Crusaders show and add info on the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra performance.)

Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival set for Friday, June 10 & Saturday, June 11

Belleville's Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival has announced the lineup of performers for this year's event, which will be held on Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11 in the square in downtown Belleville, Illinois.

The festival runs from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday and 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Friday's performers will include Usual Suspects with Gypsy Brown, the Dawn Weber Group and the Jim Stevens Group, while the lineup on Saturday features the USAF Starlifter Jazz Band, Tony D and the Groove (pictured), the Santana tribute band Stantana, and the Vince Martin Band.

Festival goers also can sample wines from Illinois vintners and purchase food from various Belleville restaurants. The Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival is free and open to the public. For more details and a complete schedule of events, visit the festival's Web site.

Jazz this week: Rudi Mwongozi, Denise Thimes with Llew Matthews, Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, and more

The jazz and creative and music scene in St. Louis usually is in transition this time of year, as the presenting season for many local not-for-profit organizations is winding down and the various summer tours, concert series and other seasonal activities have yet to get underway. Still, there are some noteworthy sounds happening around town this week, so let's go to the highlights.

As graduation time approaches, the musical offerings this week at Jazz at the Bistro are all about youth. On Thursday, the East St. Louis High School Jazz Band will perform with special guests Mardra and Reggie Thomas in what's being billed as a send-off for the band's upcoming trip to NYC for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition and festival.

Then on Friday and Saturday, the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, a group of high school musicians drawn from Jazz St. Louis' educational programs, will take the stage for their annual gig at the Bistro. Although the group's lineup changes from year to year as the players graduate and new ones join, when I've heard them over the years I've always been impressed with the All-Stars' overall level of musicianship and poise. If you're the sort who enjoys checking out the potential "stars of tomorrow," you're likely to enjoy them.

Also on Friday night, saxophonist Willie Akins will play at Robbie's House of Jazz, and guitarist Tom Byrne's trio is performing at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

On Saturday afternoon, keyboard player Rudi Mwongozi (pictured, above left) will perform in a concert presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown. Mwongozi, who's from Oakland and leads a jazz/R&B/reggae group called SONWA (Sound Of New World Afrikah), will play the music of Duke Ellington with drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw, bassist Claude Montgomery, alto saxophonist Kendrick Smith, and the Nu-Art Series' own George Sams on trumpet.

On Sunday afternoon, singer Denise Thimes will present her 15th annual Mothers Day show at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Thimes customarily features a guest star or two on this show each year, and this time, it's pianist Llew Matthews (pictured at left), who's served as musical director for singer Nancy Wilson and recorded with well-known jazz musicians such as Kenny Burrell, Buddy Collette, Hubert Laws and Kevin Eubanks. For those looking to make an afternoon of it, a optional dinner buffet is also available before the concert; see the Sheldon's website for details.

Also on Sunday, BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups has a double bill of interest to jazz fans, with the funk/R&B/jazz group Good 4 The Soul performing in the early evening and the Tom Byrne Trio taking the late shift.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday BB's has the Sessions Big Band; and on Tuesday morning, the Sheldon Jazz Quintet, with Mardra and Reggie Thomas and guitarist Rick Haydon, will play a Coffee Concert at the Sheldon. (As usual for the Coffee Concerts series, the same program will be repeated on Wednesday. )

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 clicking the "Like" icon on 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.)

RFT 2011 Music Awards ballot now online

Reader voting is underway for the 2011 Riverfront Times Music Awards. This year's nominees for "Best Jazz Artist" are guitarist Dave Black, saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, pianist Peter Martin, singer Denise Thimes and pianist Reggie Thomas. (If none of those choices are to your liking, there's also a write-in option. )

For the first time, this year all the voting for the awards will be online only. The balloting will end on Saturday, June 4, which also is the date of the annual RFT Music Showcase, held in various venues on Washington Ave downtown and featuring performances by many of the nominees. The winners will be announced in a ceremony on Tuesday, June 21 at the Firebird.

You can cast your vote for the 2011 RFT Music Awards here.

East St. Louis High School Jazz Band to play Thursday, May 5 at Jazz at the Bistro

The East St. Louis High School Jazz Band (pictured) is preparing to head to New York later this month as one of only 15 high school jazz ensembles from across the USA taking part in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition and festival.

The Essentially Ellington events will be held May 12-14 in New York City, but before they go, the ESL band will tune up in a performance with special guests Mardra and Reggie Thomas at 8:30 p.m. this Thursday, May 5 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Proceeds from the gig will go to Jazz St. Louis' Adopt-A-School program, which supports music instruction at East St. Louis HS and other area schools. (Expenses for the band's trip to NYC already have been covered through a separate fundraising effort.) Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and can be purchased via Metrotix or by calling the Jazz St. Louis offices at 314-289-4030.

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

If you're in the mood to explore the universe of music, set your controls for StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds, where each day, a different online music video serves to further illuminate the stars of jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock and experimental music.

Recent posts have included clips featuring Aretha Franklin, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bill Bruford Band, Charles Mingus, Dave Douglas and Brass Ecstasy, Muddy Waters, Freddie Hubbard, Defunkt, the Temptations, Jimmy Smith, Steely Dan, Circle, Billy Preston, the Crusaders, Janis Joplin, Dexter Gordon, Ry Cooder, and Bill Evans.

You can see them all, plus more than a thousand additional carefully selected clips in the astonishing archives, just by visiting http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.