So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Pianist Peter Martin (pictured) has posted a YouTube video previewing the new composition he's writing for the Sheldon Concert Hall's 100th anniversary celebration next month.

* After prevailing in the final judging held last night at Robbie's House of Jazz, Ron Wilkinson & Friends are the winners of the "Webster's Got Talent" contest conducted over the past couple of weeks by the Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival. They'll open this year's OWJ&BF as the first act on the Allen Ave. Stage at noon on Saturday, September 15.

* Saxquest has posted on their Facebook page a photo album of Monday's performance by saxophonist Jeff Coffin and Mu'tet. They've also posted a YouTube video with an 18-minute excerpt from saxophonist Chip McNeill's gig there earlier this month.

* Dennis Owsley's latest blog post for St. Louis magazine is about "conflicts of interest and intellectual dishonesty" in jazz.

* Lindy Hop St. Louis is looking for volunteers to help with their weekly Tuesday night swing dances and with the Nevermore Jazz Ball in November. An hour of volunteering earns a $5 credit toward any of the organization's classes, dances, or events. For more info or to sign up, email volunteer @ lindyhopstlouis.org.

* The New York Times' Nate Chinen reviews Ornette in America, the rarely seen documentary about Ornette Coleman that will be screened October 26-28 here in St. Louis by the Webster University Film Series .

Jazz this week: Dave Easley, Alan Evans Trio, "Webster's Got Talent" contest finals, and more

With heavy rain from Hurricane Isaac expected to reach well up into the Midwest this Labor Day weekend, organizers of outdoor events like the Big Muddy Blues Festival on Laclede's Landing and the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden are hustling to implement their bad-weather contingency plans and/or inform the public of possible schedule changes.

Fortunately, while there are a couple of outdoor jazz events scheduled for the weekend, there also are plenty of jazz and creative music events happening indoors where it's safe and dry. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival will present the finals of their "Webster's Got Talent" contest at Robbie's House of Jazz, with the winner getting an opening slot at the OWJ&BF on Saturday, September 15. The finalists performing are North of the Quarter, Sarah Jane & the Blue Notes, Sarah LeBeau & Friends, and singer Ron Wilkerson & Friends.

Also tonight, it's the monthly "Avant-Garde Arts Night," featuring live improvised music, at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Tomorrow night, drummer Maurice Carnes leads a quartet with saxophonist Freddie Washington and guitarist Chris Burchett at Robbie's House of Jazz, while saxophonist Willie Akins and drummer Montez Coleman will bring a quartet to the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

Also on Friday, the Gaslight Theater is the venue for "Labors of Love," a cabaret show featuring singers Anna Blair, Robert Breig, Ken Haller, Charlene Reimann and Chuck Lavazzi with pianist Carol Schmidt; and the Funky Butt Brass Band plays at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

On Saturday, there's a chance to hear a virtuoso improviser on an instrument rarely used in jazz, as pedal steel player Dave Easley (pictured) comes to town for a gig at Robbie's. Easley, who's based in New Orleans, has played with drummer Brian Blade's Fellowship, Coco Robcheaux, and numerous other well-known performers, as well as with several local jazz groups in NOLA.

Then on Sunday, the St. Charles Community Big Band has a free concert scheduled for Frontier Park on the St. Charles riverfront, and keyboardist Pete Ruthenberg will play an early evening set at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

On Monday afternoon, the Funky Butt Brass Band plays a free outdoor concert in Benton Park, and that evening, guitarist Tom Byrne and Have You Heard? return to BB's.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, drummer Alan Evans of Soulive and his new trio will pay a return visit to the Old Rock House. The group, which also features organist Beau Sasser and guitarist Danny Meyer, was here back in May at the same venue, promoting their recent debut release Drop Hop.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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.)

SPOKE to perform Sunday, September 16 at Parkway United Church of Christ

The NYC-based band SPOKE (pictured) is coming to St. Louis to perform at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, September 16 at Parkway United Church of Christ, 2841 N Ballas Rd.

SPOKE features St. Louis native and SIUE alumnus Dan Loomis (also of The Wee Trio) on bass, along with trombonist Andy Hunter, saxophonist Justin Wood, and drummer Danny Fischer.

Formed in 2005, the group has released two albums of "original, genre- spanning music drawing on diverse sources including chamber music, Charles Mingus, Chinese pop, and the Beatles," and recently performed at the Macau Venetian Jazz and Blues festival in China. The individual members also have worked with a variety of well-known musicians and ensembles, including Richard Bona, the Mingus Dynasty, TS Monk, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and others.

The concert is free and open to the public, and will include two sets, at 6:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

MAXJAZZ releases new solo CD by pianist Dena DeRose

The St. Louis based independent label MAXJAZZ has released a new CD by pianist Dena DeRose called Travelin' Light.

The album (pictured) is DeRose's fourth for the label and her first recording as a solo pianist. It was recorded live at The Chromatic Attic in Antwerp, Belgium, and features DeRose's interpretations of some familiar tunes (and some more obscure ones) from the "Great American Songbook."

DeRose will promote the release of Travelin' Light with performances on September 14 and 15 at The Kitano in NYC, playing with bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Steve Williams.

Travelin' Light is on sale now online and in retail stores.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A Marcus Miller marathon

This week, we've got a whole lot of video featuring bassist Marcus Miller, who's coming to St. Louis to play Sunday, September 9 and Monday, September 10 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Miller, now 53, has been an in-demand player, producer and composer on the national and international music scene since his early twenties, working with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Luther Vandross, David Sanborn, and many others, as well as maintaining a solo career. He was in St. Louis most recently last August, performing with Sanborn and George Duke at the Touhill, and his eight studio album as a leader, Renaissance, was released last month on the Concord label. (You can hear samples from the album here.)

To help whet your appetite for Miller's gig at the Bistro - his first ever in a intimate club setting here - today we've got video of five different complete concerts and a master class featuring him, totaling more than eight and half hours worth of footage.

The first video up above was released on DVD in 2010 under the title Marcus Miller - Power Of Soul, and captures a complete performance from 2007. Down below, you can see video of Miller's set from 2008 at the jazz festival in Lugano, Italy.

After that, there's a concert Miller recorded for the German TV program Ohne Filter, which is undated on YouTube but appears to be from the early or mid-2000s.

Below that is a set recorded in 2007 in Amsterdam, and then a concert from the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles that was released on a DVD called Marcus Miller - Master of all Trades.

Last but not least, there's a master class that Miller presented as part of the Bass Day 2011 celebration in the UK, in which the bassist he does some playing, answers questions from the audience, and muses about his career to date.

Belleville's Wine, Dine & Jazz Festival announces lineup

Belleville's Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival has announced the lineup of musicians for its 2012 event, which will be held Friday, October 19 and Saturday, October 20 in the square in downtown Belleville.

On Friday, the festival will feature the Yard Dawgs Jazz Quartet, the Usual Suspects, and Musica Slesa.

Saturday's roster includes guitarist Tom Byrne (pictured) and singer Ralph Butler in the Pat Metheny inspired ensemble Have You Heard?, along with singer Zena Bott-Goins, Milwaukee blues guitarist Alex Wilson, and Santana tribute act Stantana.

The event is free and open to the public, and will take place from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday and from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Update - 8/24/12, 12:30 p.m: The HEC-TV program I Love Jazz is looking for audience members for the recording of a performance by Bach to the Future next Tuesday afternoon, August 28 at Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Ave. in Maplewood. Doors open at 4:00 p.m., the show starts at 4:30 and should wrap up by 6:00 p.m. There's no charge to attend, but if interested, you do need to make a reservation by emailing producer Madeline Dames at maddie @ damesandassociates.com.

* The St. Louis Beacon this week published a two-part article by Southern Illinois University Carbondale journalism teacher Paul Povse looking at how the legacy of Miles Davis currently is being treated in Alton, where the trumpeter was born, and in East St. Louis, where he grew up.

* Online voting is open for the the Riverfront Times' annual "Best of St. Louis" poll. You can cast your vote for your favorite local bands & musicians, restaurants, attractions, and much more here.

* And speaking of the RFT, this also is the week for the paper's Fall Arts Guide, which includes previews of some upcoming jazz and classical music concerts by writers Ryan Wasoba and Nicole Beckert.

* Jazz St. Louis will present a preview party offering "a behind-the-scenes look at its 2012-13 Jazz at the Bistro Season," at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 6 at the Bistro. Executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford and artistic director Bob Bennett will give a multi-media presentation on the season line-up and how JSL puts together their schedule. The event is free and open to the public, with complimentary hors d’oeuvres, water and tea provided and a cash bar available. If you've like to attend, RSVP by Tuesday, September 4 to JSL's Devin Rodino by calling 314-289-4030 or sending an email to devin@jazzstl.org.

* Sarah Lebeau & Friends and Miss Jubilee are the winners of the second round in the "Webster's Got Talent" contest to select an opening act for the Allen Avenue Stage at the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival on Saturday, September 15. They'll compete against Sarah Jane & The Blue Notes and Ron Wilkerson and Friends in the contest's finale at 7:00 p.m. next Thursday, August 30 at Robbie's House of Jazz.

* Ornette In America, the rare 1985 documentary about saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman (pictured) by filmmaker Shirley Clarke, will be screened by the Webster University Film Series at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 26; Saturday, October 27; and Sunday, October 28. Tickets are $6 for general admission, $5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools, $4 for Webster University staff and faculty, and free for Webster students with ID.

(Edited after posting.)

Jazz this week: David Sanborn & Brian Culbertson, Steve Davis, Dave Dickey Big Band, and more

With the return of one of the best known jazz musicians ever to come out of St. Louis, plus a nice variety of local gigs on tap, this week's jazz and creative music calendar is relatively busy for the end of August, which usually is a fairly slow time of year. So without further ado, let's go to the highlights...

The local-boy-made-good is saxophonist and Kirkwood native David Sanborn (pictured), who last performed here a year ago with Marcus Miller and George Duke at the Touhill. Sanborn's touring partner this year is multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson, and they'll be in town on Thursday night at The Pageant.

The two have been touring together all summer, and rather than an opening act/headliner arrangement, they're co-fronting the same band and alternating feature tunes during the set. For interviews and some sample performances recorded earlier in the tour, see this post from last Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, on Friday saxophonist Jay Hutson will be at Robbie's House of Jazz; guitarist Eric Slaughter leads a trio at Cigar Inn; and saxophonist Corey Allen will play at Jazz on Broadway. Also on Friday, singer Christy Simmons will perform her cabaret show "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" at the Gaslight Theater in the Central West End.

On Saturday, drummer Steve Davis will lead a band featuring guitarist Matthew Van Doran at Robbie's; singer Feyza Eren and guitarist Tom Byrne will play at Mojo Tapas Restaurant and Bar; saxophonist Jerry Greene and singer Sarah Jane Ulrich of Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will offer a tribute to Billie Holiday at the Wine Press; and Good 4 The Soul will perform at Jazz on Broadway.

Then on Sunday, the Dave Dickey Big Band will play their monthly gig at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and his Broadway Collective will perform their monthly show at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups; and on Tuesday, guitarist Dave Black will take the stage for an early show at BB's.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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.)

Webster University releases schedule of fall jazz concerts

The music department at Webster University has released their schedule of Monday night jazz concerts for Fall 2012. The series gets started on Monday, September 10 with the Webster University Faculty Jazz Ensemble presenting a program called "Cool Struttin': Soulful Sounds from Blue Note Records."

Then on Monday, September 24, guitarist Tom Byrne and his Pat Metheny inspired ensemble Have You Heard? will play. A couple of weeks later on Monday, October 8, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis will lead a sextet in a performance of original material.

Next up on Monday, October 22 is a concert featuring Kansas City-based trumpeter/flugelhornist/EVI player Mike Metheny (pictured). Metheny is no kin to the similarly named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, but he is the brother of guitarist Pat Metheny, and a well-established performer in his own right who has released 10 recordings as a leader.

The fall series wraps up on Monday, October 29 with the annual TKT Scholarship Concert. The event is a fundraiser for scholarships given to Webster music students in memory of alumni Terry Jackson, Tony Saputo and Kirk Cappello, who died in the 1991 plane crash that killed seven members of country singer Reba McEntire's backup band, plus her road manager and two pilots. The theme for this year's concert is "A Centennial Celebration: Jazz Interpretations of the Music of Jimmy Van Heusen," with the list of guest performers yet to be announced.

All the concerts begin at 7:00 p.m. and are held in Winifred Moore Auditorium in Webster Hall, 470 E Lockwood Ave. Tickets are $5 for general admission, $3 for seniors, free to students with a valid ID, except for the TKT Scholarship Concert, which is $20 general admission, free for students with a valid ID.

(Edited 8/22/12 to correct the dates of the Metheny and TKT concerts.)

StLJN Audio Archive: Quartette Tres Bien - Stepping Out

For this week's Audio Archive post, we revisit Stepping Out!, a 1966 release by the popular St. Louis group Quartette Trés Bien.

A groove-oriented piano-trio-plus-percussionist, the QTB rose to fame during the Gaslight Square era, right around the same time that Ramsey Lewis and Young-Holt Unlimited were successfully purveying similar sounds up in Chicago.

The band's fifth album to get national distribution as part of their deal with Decca Records, Stepping Out! has been out of print for decades and apparently never has been reissued on CD.

The personnel is the familiar QTB lineup of Jeter Thompson on piano, Richard Simmons on bass, Albert St. James on drums and Percy James on bongos & congas. The album's tracks include "Watusi Warrior," "Summertime," "Stay, My Love," "A Taste Of Honey," "More (Theme from "Mondo Cane")," "Sheryl Likes Bananas" and "Brazil (Aquarela Do Brazil)"

From the original liner notes by Stanley Dance:

"'Emotion' is a word that Jeter Thompson returns to in conversation, for it is a quality he and the others seek to project on original compositions as well as in their playing, and this determines the playing of their most characteristic effects. The astonishing 'Watusi Warrior', for instance, is another example of Thompson's gift for descriptive writing with an African motif, its predecessors including 'Kilimanjaro' and 'Rhodesian Chant' on Decca DL 4548 and DL 4547 respectively.

He insists that this evocative piece, which seems so wild, exciting, barbaric and abandoned, was 'all worked out' beforehand. Such a performance is made possible by the Quartette's élan, and by the intuitive understanding each musician has - after playing together for seven years - of the others' ways of thought and expression."

The 320K .mp3 rip of Stepping Out! comes from the now-inactive music sharing blog Arkadin's Ark, and you can download a copy of it for free here. You can see the Quartette's successor Trio Tres Bien, which features Jeter Thompason along with his brothers Harold and Howard on bass and drums, perform live at this year's U City Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 22 in Heman Park.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: David Sanborn & Brian Culbertson's "The Dream" Tour 2012

This week, we focus our video spotlight on saxophonist and St. Louis native David Sanborn and multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson, who have been touring together this summer. Sanborn and Culbertson's "The Dream" Tour - the name of which references both the 25th anniversary of the release of Sanborn's song of that name as well as the title of Culbertson's latest album - will stop in St. Louis this coming Thursday, August 23 at The Pageant.

Their show is set up so that instead of one serving as opening act and the other as headliner, Sanborn and Culbertson are performing together, alternating songs while fronting a shared band. In addition to Sanborn on alto sax and Culbertson on keyboards and trombone, the musicians on this summer's tour have included includes keyboardists Eddie Miller and Ricky Petersson, bassist Richard Patterson, guitarist Nicky Moroch and drummers Chris Miskel and Gene Lake.

Today's first three clips feature interviews with Sanborn and Culbertson and a performance of the Bob James composition "Maputo," all recorded in June when the tour stopped at Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, VA.

Below that, there are three performance clips, all taken from a gig in July at Thornton Winery in Temecula, CA, in which Sanborn, Culbertson and band perform "Camel Island," "Bang Bang" and "The Dream." (Note that these were all shot by an audience member, so the quality, while adequate enough to see and hear what's going on, isn't as good as what you'd see from a professional video shoot.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Delmar Lounge, the long-running bar and restaurant in U City's Loop district, has closed. The Riverfront Times' restaurant writer Ian Froeb has the news here, and local rapper Tef Poe penned an account of the venue's last night for the RFT Music Blog here.

The Delmar featured live jazz at various times over the last 15 years, through several changes in ownership and management. Most recently, there were several weekly gigs of interest to jazz fans, including a Monday night jam; pianists Ptah Williams and Jesse Gannon on Wednesdays and Thursdays, respectively; and funk trio Downstereo on Sundays. Coming in the wake of the shuttering of both Brandt's and Riddle's a couple of years ago, the closing of the Delmar Lounge now leaves the Loop area completely devoid of any venues regularly featuring live, local jazz.

* Keyboardist Brian Culbertson talked with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson about his joint tour with saxophonist David Sanborn, which hits The Pageant next Thursday. (Sanborn also chimes in a bit toward the end of the piece.)

* And speaking of The Pageant, they've announced that their box office, Suite 100, now is also a Ticketmaster outlet for the region, selling tickets to Ticketmaster events at other local venues such as the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Edward Jones Dome, Scottrade Center, and Peabody Opera House.

* The Sheldon Concert Hall has posted on Facebook a photo album of pianist Peter Martin & singer Christine Brewer rehearsing "This Present Past," a new work by Martin that was commissioned for The Sheldon's 100th Anniversary Celebration concert on Thursday, October 11.

* Author, artist and preservation activist Kevin Belford will speak about his book Devil At The Confluence: The Pre-War Blues Music of St. Louis at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 30 at the Missouri State Archives, 600 W. Main Street in Jefferson City. The free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Missouri State Archives.

* Jazz St. Louis has announced the selection of musicians for this year's Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, the premiere group representing the organization's extensive jazz education programs for area middle school and high school students. The 2012-13 All-Stars (pictured, photo courtesy of Jazz St. Louis) will include guitarist Zach Aria (Maplewood Richmond Heights HS), bassist Kevin Baudrexl (Lindbergh HS), trombonist Kevin Killeen (Webster Groves HS), saxophonist Matthew Leininger (Lindbergh HS), trumpeter Khamali Moore (Metro HS) and drummer Zachary Morrow (University City HS).

Jazz this week: Jeff Coffin and the Mutet performance & workshop, Tim Cunningham, Thomas Person, and more

As is usual for the latter half of August, the menu of jazz and creative music for this weekend in St. Louis is light on touring performers and relatively heavy on local musicians.

It'll be a few weeks before our town's various not-for-profit presenters and university music programs start their fall schedules and fatten up the calendar a bit, but in the meantime, there still are some noteworthy gigs to enjoy along with the unusually nice weather forecast for for this weekend. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, singer Erin Bode returns to Cyrano's in Webster Groves, while just a couple of blocks away, guitarist Tom Byrne will host the weekly jam session at Highway 61 Roadhouse.

On Friday, saxophonist Jeff Riley will lead a trio at Robbie's House of Jazz, and saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Jazz on Broadway in Alton.

Then on Saturday afternoon, Cunningham will play at Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta. That evening, saxophonist Thomas Person, father of the well-known saxophonist and St. Louis native Eric Person, will front a group at Robbie's; guitarist Brian Vaccaro leads a trio at the Wine Press; and singer Joe Mancuso and pianist Tim Garcia perform at Mojo Tapas Restaurant and Bar on South Grand.

On Sunday afternoon, Cornet Chop Suey will play a free outdoor concert at Carondelet Park.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday saxophonist Jeff Coffin (pictured), known for his work with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and the Dave Matthews Band, will be in town with members of his band Mutet for a free performance and workshop at Saxquest.

Also on Monday, the Sessions Big Band will perform their monthly gig at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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.)

Former owner of Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe gets probation in arson case

According to a story that went online this afternoon at STLtoday.com, the former owner of the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe has been sentenced to probation after admitting he set fire to the business last February and pleading guilty to an arson charge.

The story, bylined "From Staff Reports," said that "Lozell Stiles, 40, of the 1200 block of Herman's Orchard Drive, will have a five-year prison sentence suspended as long as he abides by the terms of his probation, according to the ruling delivered by St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Robert Cohen on Friday. He also has to pay $1,000 in restitution."

Known for years as simply the Halls Ferry Inn, the business had a long history in its North County neighborhood. It had reopened as the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe in September 2011 with Stiles as owner, featuring primarily smooth jazz and R&B. The contemporaneous posts about the fire and subsequent charges against Stiles were two of the most read items of the year here at StLJN.

Coming attractions include Jimmy Herring, Snarky Puppy, Bett Butler

Catching up with the contents of the email inbox here at StLJN HQ, here's info on three upcoming shows by touring musicians coming to town to promote new releases that may be of interest to StLJN readers:

* Guitarist Jimmy Herring will be coming to St. Louis to perform at 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 29 at the Old Rock House.

Herring (pictured, top left), who's currently working with the band Widespread Panic, has played with a "who's who" of the jam band world, including the Allman Brothers Band, the Dead, Phil Lesh and Friends, and Bela Fleck, as well as with several groups he helped to co-found, such as Aquarium Rescue Unit, Project Z and Jazz is Dead. He'll be touring in support of his second solo album, Subject To Change Without Notice, which comes out next Tuesday, August 21. Tickets are $20 general admission, 18 and older only.

* The Texas-based instrumental band Snarky Puppy (pictured, center left) will return to St. Louis for a show presented by the Old Rock House at The Gramophone at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 20. Three-time winners of "Best Jazz Act" in the the Dallas Observer's Music Awards, Snarky Puppy came together while various members were studying music in the famed jazz program of the University of North Texas in Denton.

Led by bassist Michael League, they describe themselves as "somewhere between a garage band and a collective, with over 25 players in regular rotation." In addition to League, Snarky Puppy's core members include drummer Robert “Sput” Searight, keyboardists Shaun Martin and Cory Henry, and multi-instrumentalist Louis Cato. The individual band members' credits include work with artists including Marcus Miller, Q-Tip, George Duke, Erykah Badu, The Polyphonic Spree, Snoop Dogg, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, Morcheeba, Tower of Power, Justin Timberlake, Kenny Garrett, Yo-Yo Ma and others. Their latest recording, the live, two-disc album/DVD Tell Your Friends, came out earlier this year. Tickets for Snarky Puppy are $8 in advance, $10 day of show.

* Another Texan, singer and pianist Bett Butler (pictured, lower left), is coming to St. Louis for "Words & Music," a performance and reading with author Pam Houston at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 30 at the Ethical Society.

Butler, who's from San Antonio, previously has recorded two albums of her own material, which her press kit describes as "off-beat songwriting about dark subject matter" and has been likened by one critic to that of "a female Charles Bukowski." Her latest recording, American Sampler, is her third studio album and first recorded collection of jazz standards by Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, and others.

Tickets for "Words and Music" with Bett Butler and Pam Houston are $10 at the door.

Music for Lifelong Achievement (MFLA) annual drive for musical instruments, donations to begin October 1

This year's Music for Lifelong Achievement instrument drive will begin Monday, October 1 and continue through Sunday, November 4. MFLA is a not-for-profit organization based at the Sheldon Concert Hall that donates used and new musical instruments to school and community music programs serving disadvantaged young people. MFLA also raises funds for instrument repair and musical accessories.

Over the years, MFLA has collected and re-distributed more than 500 instruments. The organization's 2011 drive set a record with more than 50 instruments collected.

Donors can help in two ways: by giving a musical instrument, or through a cash donation. Once again this year, St. Louis-area Starbucks stores will serve as drop-off locations for used and new musical instruments. The donated instruments then will be repaired and distributed to students who otherwise would not be able to afford an instrument. Donors get a letter documenting the value of the instrument for tax deduction purposes.

If you don’t have an instrument to donate, MFLA also will gladly accept your cash donation, which may be used to help pay for necessary repairs of donated instruments, as well as accessories such as strings, reeds and sheet music. These donations also are tax deductible. For more information or to make a donation, call The Sheldon at 314-533-9900 or visit www.supportmfla.org.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Jazz film festival 2012

As we did last year around this time, this week we're taking a break from the usual routine of previewing upcoming shows and showcasing St. Louis musicians for a sort of summer vacation post, featuring a half-dozen full-length jazz films for your late summer viewing and listening pleasure.

Our first film up top is The Miles Davis Story, a British documentary from 2001 that uses interviews and rare footage to recount Davis' life, from his upbringing in East St. Louis to his last years as one of the most celebrated musicians in jazz.

Down below is The Charlie Parker Story, a BBC Wales documentary made in 2001 about the legendary alto saxophonist who helped invent bebop (and also gave Davis his first big break).

Next up is Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz, a 1997 German film about the legendary record label that focuses on its founder, Alfred Lion.

That's followed by Count Basie: Then As Now, Count's The King, a 2008 documentary that uses rare footage and interviews with former sidemen to pay tribute to the great big band leader and pianist.

We finish with two films from the 1980s that examine the well-worn stereotype of the tragic jazz musician. Let's Get Lost is a American documentary film from 1988 about the turbulent life and career of trumpeter Chet Baker, written and directed by Bruce Weber.

Today's final film, Round Midnight is a critically acclaimed drama from 1986 that features real-life tenor saxophone great Dexter Gordon in the role of fictional saxophonist Dale Turner. Directed by Bernard Tavernier, it's the story of "a musician slowly losing the battle with alcoholism, estranged from his family, and hanging on by a thread in the 1950's New York jazz world" before getting an offer to play in Paris and a chance at redemption.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Alternative performance space and gallery Floating Laboratories has closed as a public venue; proprietor Kevin Harris tells all to the Riverfront Times' Cassie Kohler.

* A story this week in the St. Louis Business Journal says Jazz St. Louis sold 11,711 single and subscriber tickets to their subscription series in fiscal 2012, a 4 percent increase from 2011. 5,326 of those tickets were for subscription seats, up 24 percent from fiscal 2011, while single-ticket sales for the subscription series decreased 9 percent to 6,385. Total revenue for the subscription series increased 2 percent.

* Single tickets for Jazz St. Louis' 2012-13 season go on sale next Tuesday, August 14. You can view the season brochure online here.

* And speaking of tickets and Jazz St. Louis, they're looking to hire a Box Office and Administrative Assistant. For details, visit http://jazzstl.org/our-organization/careers/.

* Popmatters' "List This" feature rates the "Top 10 Performances of American Standards from Miles Davis Records".

* Pianist and former St. Louis Reggie Thomas (pictured), now teaching music at Michigan State University, is featured on Better Than Alright, the new album from MSU's Professors of Jazz

* The Missouri Arts Council is seeking nominees for the 2013 Missouri Arts Awards. If you know a deserving arts educator, organizations, creative community, individual artists, arts leader or philanthropist, you can submit them for nomination between now and September 3 by going to http://www.artsheroesneeded.com/.

Site news: Post #3,000

Today, we pause briefly before resuming regularly scheduled Friday blogging to note that this is post number 3,000 on St. Louis Jazz Notes. Many thanks to all the readers, commenters and sources who have been part of this site since it began in April, 2005.

Here's hoping you'll keep reading for another 3,000 posts. To mark the occasion of today's dubious achievement, please feel free to use the comments to offer your hearty congratulations, helpful suggestions, and/or bitter complaints.

Jazz this week: The Great Barrier Reefs, St. Louis Cabaret Festival, Don Schroeder's Happy-Go-Lucky Jazz Band, and more

This week's jazz and creative music calendar in St. Louis features some Caribbean-flavored jazz-fusion, three nights of cabaret, and some traditional prewar jazz, plus much more. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, the aforementioned Caribbean flavor manifests itself in the form of the Nashville-based funk/fusion band The Great Barrier Reefs (pictured), who are playing at Pop's Blue Moon. The island vibe of the five-member Reefs comes in large part from steel pan player and keyboardist Tony Hartman, but the rest of the band is quite capable, too, and their sound bridges several genres in an entertaining and appealing way. You can check them out on video in this post from last Saturday.

Also tonight, the Funky Butt Brass Band plays a free, late afternoon outdoor show at Strauss Park, across the street from the Fox Theatre; Good 4 The Soul has the early evening slot at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, and pianist Nathan Jatcko plays solo at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

Tomorrow night, the St. Louis Cabaret Festival, sponsored by the St. Louis Cabaret Conference and The Presenters Dolan, starts a three-night run of performances at the Bistro at Grand Center with a show featuring cabaret and Broadway star Karen Mason.

Also on Friday night, guitarist Vince Varvel plays at City Music and Education Center; guitarist Tom Byrne leads a trio with bassist Willem von Hombracht and drummer Chris Gianino at Cigar Inn; the Funky Butt Brass Band performs at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company; and bassist Darrell Mixon will front a trio with drummer Gary Sykes and vibraphonist Jon Whiting at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Saturday, the Cabaret Festival will present a multi-artist bill at the Bistro that includes Barbara Fasano, Eric Comstock, Jason Graae and Rick Jensen. Also on Saturday, guitarist Dave Black leads a group at Robbie's; saxophonist Jim Stevens plays at BB's; and saxophonist Michael Fitzgerald performs at Jazz on Broadway in Alton.

Then on Sunday, the Saint Louis Jazz Club will present Don Schroeder's Happy-Go-Lucky Jazz Band in a matinee concert at the DoubleTree Hotel at Westport. The Cabaret Festival concludes Sunday evening with the St. Louis Cabaret Conference Showcase, directed by Graae and Fasono and featuring 20 singers from in and around St. Louis.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Tom Byrne is back in action, this time with his Pat Metheny-inspired ensemble Have You Heard?, at BB's.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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 offering online pre-sale of single tickets for 2012-13 concerts

The Sheldon Concert Hall is giving online ticket buyers a head start on buying single tickets for shows in their 2012-2013 season. The online pre-sale begins at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday August 9, two days before tickets go on sale to the general public.

Jazz artists performing at the Sheldon next season will include trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, pianist Marcus Roberts (pictured), trumpeter and singer Jeremy Davenport, and singer Dianne Reeves.

To buy tickets during the pre-sale, log on to http://metrotix.com/promotions and when prompted, enter promotional code SHE12.

Matt Ulery's LOOM Trio to perform Friday, September 28 at Saint Louis Art Museum

Chicago bassist and composer Matt Ulery is bringing his group LOOM Trio to St. Louis to perform at 7:00 p.m. Friday, September 28 in the Grigg Gallery of the Saint Louis Art Museum.

According to the news release sent out by the museum, the gig also will feature members of the Chicago-based new music group eighth blackbird, five of whom were part of the nine-piece ensemble on Ulery's most recent album By A Little Light.

The concert is part of the museum's "Art After 5" series and is free and open to the public. However, since space is limited, tickets will be required. Tickets will be available at the museum's information desk beginning Friday, September 1, with a limit of four per person.

Ulery (pictured) has released four albums as a leader, and has performed with musicians including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Fareed Haque, Howard Levy, Patricia Barber, Ron Perrillo, and Jeff Parker, as well as with the group Eastern Blok and many others. In addition to Ulery on bass, LOOM Trio also includes pianist Ben Lewis and drummer Jon Deitemyer.

A two-CD set, By A Little Light was released earlier this year on trumpeter Dave Douglas' Greenleaf Music label and so far seems to be getting an enthusiastically favorable reception from critics. Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune called it a "magical, profoundly musical release," while a review in the July issue of DownBeat magazine gave it 4 and 1/2 stars.

You can hear two sample tracks from By A Little Light on Ulery's SoundCloud page here. In the embedded video window below, you can hear a five-piece version of LOOM playing Ulery's composition "Constant" at a gig in 2010 in Chicago.

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

Have you checked out the new look of StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds? You may come for the new, interplanetary-inspired design, but you'll stay for the daily music videos drawing on genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, prog rock, classic rock and experiemental.

Over the last lunar cycle, the site has featured far out performances by Muddy Waters, the Branford Marsalis Quartet, James Brown, Louis Armstrong, The Commodores, the GrandMothers of Invention, Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan, Roy Ayers, Isaac Hayes, Ray Charles, Deodato, Rhoda Scott, McCoy Tyner Trio With Chico Freeman, Gene Harris Trio, Charles Mingus Quintet, Bill Evans Trio, Charlie Haden's Quartet West, Jimmy Witherspoon, John Zorn, Sonny Rollins, Fats Domino, Wes Montgomery, Bob Dylan and The Band, Count Basie Orchestra, "Big" John Patton, Aretha Franklin, Johnnie Johnson, Fela Kuti, Errol Garner, Jon Hendricks and Carla Bley.

You can see all these clips, plus hundreds more from the carefully curated collection, by visiting http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Exploring The Great Barrier Reefs

This week, let's take a look at a few video clips from The Great Barrier Reefs, an up-and-coming funk/fusion/jam band from the Nashville, Tennessee area that will be in St. Louis to perform at 10:30 p.m. this coming Thursday, August 9 at Pop's Blue Moon.

Led by steel pan player and keyboardist Tony Hartman, who's worked with drummer Roy "Futureman" Wooten's Black Mozart Ensemble, the group also includes Taylor Lonardo (bass, audio production), Josh Dunlap (saxophone), Matthew Heller (drums), and Rheal Janelle (guitar). Their most recent album release is 2011's Finding Time, which features nine original songs reflecting influences from jazz fusion to the funk of the 1960s and '70s.

Today we've got a half-dozen selections from TGBR, starting up above with a tune called "Gratitude," shown here in a recording from the 5 Spot in Nashville.

Down below, it's "Matt's Birthday," recorded in Asheville, NC (and preceded by a bit of goofiness from the road), and then "Castilla," which was performed in June at the Exit/In in Nashville during the city's Fringe Festival.

Below that are three performance originally recorded for various broadcasts. "To The Bridge Burners" was done for the program "Blue Plate Special" on the Tennessee community radio station WDXV, while "You Gotta Cheer Up, Debbie!" was recorded at Fearless Radio Chicago. The final clip, a performance of the title tune from "Finding Time," comes from the Knoxville, TN cable TV program 11 O'Clock Rock.

For more on The Great Barrier Reefs, you can read a review of the Finding Time CD here, and a feature story about the band here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Organizers of the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival remind us that there's still time for musicians and singers to enter their "Webster's Got Talent" contest and compete for a chance to perform at this year's OWJBF on Saturday, September 15. You can get more information and download the application here. Entries must be submitted by Tuesday, August 14.

* A new episode of HEC-TV's I Love Jazz premiered last night, featuring spouses and former St. Louisans Reggie and Mardra Thomas. Recorded during the Thomases' recent homecoming gig at Jazz at the Bistro, the episode will air periodically until October on local cable and satellite systems - check your program guide for details - or you can watch online at HEC's website.

* Saxophonist Willie Akins this week was the subject of a feature story written by Terry Perkins for the St. Louis Beacon.

* Musicians, artists and other creative types looking for a place to live and work have a new option in the Metropolitan Artists Lofts, located at 500 N. Grand (at Olive) in the Grand Center district. (That's across the street from the Fox Theatre, and just down the block from Powell Symphony Hall and the Bistro at Grand Center.)

The newly redeveloped building has features aimed specifically at artists, including music and media spaces and studios for pottery and dance, as well a fitness center and other more conventional amenities. One bedroom spaces begin at $654 per month, two bedrooms at $802. For more information, visit the website or call 314-535-2110.

* Lindy Hop St. Louis has announced a new monthly swing dance, West End Stomp!, to be held on the first Friday of every month at the Mahler Ballroom in the Central West End. The event will feature live music and free swing dance lessons for beginners, starting September 7.

* DownBeat magazine's 77th Annual Readers Poll is underway, and the deadline to cast a ballot is midnight on Tuesday. August 21. You can vote for your favorite jazz and blues artists of 2012 online here. Results of the Readers Poll will be reported in the December issue.

Jazz this week: GrandMothers of Invention, Chip McNeill Quartet, free outdoor concerts, and more

If you're looking for live jazz or creative music in St. Louis during the dog days of August, the pickings can seem kind of slim.

The city's most prolific not-for-profit presenter, Jazz St. Louis, has completed its summer season at Jazz at the Bistro, which will be dark until September. That's around the same time that other local not-for-profits and universities will resume their concert series. Meanwhile, others that in the recent past have had at least a few summer offerings, such as the Jazz at Holmes series and Nu-Art Series, have been quiet this year.

Even so, there are still some noteworthy shows happening this week, and not even the seemingly endless, stifling heat can impede our fervent desire to tell you about them. So, let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, guitarist Dave Black will be sitting in for Tom Byrne as host of the weekly jam session a the Highway 61 Roadhouse, with bassist Chris Watrous as co-conspirator.

Tomorrow night, pianist/singer Curt Landes leads a quartet at Robbie's House of Jazz, and singer Joe Mancuso fronts a trio at the Cigar Inn.

On Saturday, Farshid Etniko will be playing for brunch at Rue Lafayette. That afternoon, saxophonist Chip McNeill will bring his quartet to Saxquest for a free performance and workshop.

Then on Saturday night, the merry band of former Frank Zappa sidemen and keepers-of-the-flame known as the GrandMothers of Invention (pictured) will perform at the Old Rock House. For more about the GrandMothers and a half-dozen videos from various tour stops this year, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday night, Robbie's has bassist David Troncoso's trio; and the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center has a bill of experimental music performers including TJ Borden, Ypsmael (from the UK), N.N.N. Cook, The Night Grinder, and Epicycle

From the experimental to the traditional, on Sunday tuba player Red Lehr and the St. Louis Rivermen will team up with the Compton Heights Concert Band for a free outdoor concert at Francis Park. (They'll repeat the same program Monday night at Tower Grove Park). Also on Sunday, pianist Pete Ruthenberg will do an early set at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris and the L, with guests DJ Alexis & Jingo, will play a free outdoor concert at Benton Park, S. Jefferson Ave. and Arsenal St.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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.)