StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A few minutes with Billy Childs

This week, let's spend a few minutes with some videos of pianist Billy Childs, who will be in St. Louis next week to play Wednesday, October 3 through Saturday, October 6 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Although the gig is billed as the Billy Childs Quartet, the group - which includes alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade - is positioned as more of a cooperative effort than a typical leader/sidemen scenario. And though they've worked together before on a very limited basis, playing in Los Angeles and at the Blue Note in Tokyo back in March, there seems to be no online video footage of them playing together.

So instead, we're focusing on the nominal leader, who may be a bit under the radar of many music fans despite his numerous accomplishments. Childs, 55, grew up in Los Angeles and studied music at USC. He worked briefly with trombonist J. J. Johnson while still in college, then joined Freddie Hubbard's band from 1978 to 1984.

Since then, in addition to leading his own bands, Childs has performed and/or recorded with Dianne Reeves, Allan Holdsworth, Eddie Daniels, Bobby Hutcherson, Branford Marsalis, Joe Locke, Grover Washington Jr., Donald Harrison, and others. In recent years, he's also worked regularly with Chris Botti, playing in St. Louis with the trumpeter several times.

Drawing on his background in classical music, Childs has written arrangements for Botti, Sting, Yo-Yo Ma, Gladys Knight, Michael Bublé, David Foster, Phil Ramone, Claudia Acuña, and others. He's also penned many commissioned pieces for a variety of ensembles, ranging from string quartet to full orchestra, and in 2009 received a Guggenheim Fellowship for composition.

In 2000 Childs arranged, orchestrated and conducted Dianne Reeves' album The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan, which won a 2002 Grammy award for "best jazz vocal CD." Childs also has won three Grammy Awards on his own, in 2006 (for "best instrumental composition" and "best arrangement accompanying a vocalist") and again in 2011 for "best instrumental composition."

He made his first album as a leader for Windham Hill Jazz in 1988 and since has recorded for several labels, including GRP, Shanachie and Metropolitan. Childs' most recent recordings for ArtistShare, Lyric, Vol. 1 (2006) and Autumn: In Moving Pictures, Vol. 2 (2010), combine jazz and classical elements.

Today's first clip up above, recorded late last year at Duc des Lombards in Paris, conveys some of the flavor of those two recent records, as Childs leads a sextet that include Blade on drums as well as Tim Garland (saxophones), Carol Robbins (harp), Larry Koonse (guitar) and Hamilton Price (bass).

Down below, you can see Childs with Price and drummer Gerry Gibbs, showing off some keyboard pyrotechnics on Chick Corea's "500 Miles High" in a clip recorded in 2007 at Steamers Jazz Cafe in Fullerton, CA. Below that, there's a video interview with Childs in four parts, recorded in 2009 for a Detroit-based program called eFactor.

For more about Billy Childs, check out his episode of NPR's "Piano Jazz", recorded in 2006.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* DownBeat magazine put online this week a new article by Terry Perkins about trumpeter Terence Blanchard (pictured) and his upcoming project for Opera Theatre St. Louis.  For a slightly more localized take on the subject, also check out Perkins' article for the St. Louis Beacon that went online today.

* Hip 96.3 has posted on their Facebook page an album of photos from last Saturday's U City Jazz Festival. 

* Guitarist John Scofield talked with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson about this weekend's shows at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Legendary trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry has won this year's Satchmo Award from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. The award "was created as a tribute to the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong and his passion for jazz and excellence matched only by his joyous love of life and children,” and is accompanied by a check for $5,000.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake celebrated his 70th birthday last weekend with a series of shows at the Jazz Standard, and you can see a photo set from the festivities here. 

* The St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts are getting ready for another series of "Business Edge" workshops for individual artists, this time covering subjects including "Career Planning for Artists" (Monday, October 8); "Using Time Wisely" (Monday, October 15), and "Marketing & Professional Presentation" (Monday, November 5). The workshops will be held at the Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar; the cost for each session is $10 in advance or $15 at the door. For more details or to sign up, visit VLAA's website.

VLAA also is teaming up with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri to co-sponsor a series of free workshops for those contemplating starting a not-for-profit organization. The five-part series begins at 12:30 p.m. next Wednesday, October 3 at the St. Louis Public Library's Schlafly branch. Call 314-539-0357 for details.

* Music for Lifelong Achievement kicks off their annual musical instrument drive next Monday, October 1. 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. Local Starbucks stores will serve as collection points for the drive. For more information or to make a donation, call The Sheldon at 314-533-9900 or visit www.supportmfla.org.

RFT's 2012 "Best of St. Louis" winners include Peter Martin, Jazz at the Bistro, WSIE

The Riverfront Times' annual "Best of St. Louis" issue is out, and the winners for 2012 include pianist Peter Martin for "Best Jazz Artist" and Jazz at the Bistro (pictured) for "Best Jazz Club."

Among the other winners of interest to fans of jazz and creative music: WSIE  for "Best Radio Station"; swing band The Sidemen for "Best Side Project"; and improvising bassist Darin Gray for "Best Homecoming." (As fate would have it, earlier this year yr. humble StLJN editor chronicled WSIE's comeback from the brink a story published by the RFT here.)

Winners in the blues categories for 2012 were BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups for "Best Blues Club" and singer and guitarist Marquise Knox for "Best Blues Artist".

You can see the entire list of winners in the Arts and Entertainment categories here. The entire Riverfront Times "Best of St. Louis " 2012 section can be viewed online here.

Jazz this week: Marco Benevento, John Scofield Trio, Matt Ulery's LOOM Trio, Bett Butler, and more

There's lots of jazz and creative music going on this weekend in and around St. Louis, including visits from a New York keyboardist, a Chicago bassist, a singer from Texas, and the return of one of the top guitarists in electric jazz. Let's go the highlights...

Tonight, keyboard player Marco Benevento brings his trio to the Old Rock House, with the Mike Dillon Band opening. (Given that Dillon also is the percussionist in Garage A Trois, which also includes Benevento, perhaps they'll jam a bit together as well.) For more about Benevento and video samples of his music, check out this post from last Saturday.

Tomorrow night, guitarist Vince Varvel and bassist Eric Stiller will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Also on Thursday, bassist Dave Troncoso leads a trio at the Wine Press; and it's "Avant Garde Arts Night," featuring live improvised music, at the Tavern of Fine Arts. 

On Friday, Chicago bassist Matt Ulery's LOOM Trio plays a free concert in the Grigg Gallery at the St. Louis Art Museum. Ulery is a busy participant in Chicago's jazz and improvised music scenes, and for this gig, his band will be augmented by members of the new music ensemble eighth blackbird, some of whom were involved in Ulery's crticially acclaimed album By A Little Light, released earlier this year. (Note that although it's a free show, tickets are required, and can be picked up at the Museum's information desk.)

Also on Friday evening, guitar great John Scofield returns to town for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro. Last year, Scofield brought a quartet to St. Louis; this time around, it's his trio (pictured) with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart, which has been together long enough to achieve a near-telepathic level of interplay among its members.

Over on the east side on Friday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Jazz on Broadway in Alton, and guitarist Tom Byrne  will lead a trio with bassist Chris Watrous and drummer Steve Davis at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

On Saturday afternoon, the Bosman Twins will play a free show outdoors on the quad at Webster University, sponsored by Wesbter's African American Alumni Associations.

Then on Saturday evening, singer Feyza Eren is at the Wine Press; and the student ensemble Jazz In Outer Space takes the stage at Robbie's House of Jazz. Also on Saturday, and of special interest to those of you in West County or the western exurbs: pianist Dave Becherer brings his trio to Bugsy's, a bar and restaurant out in Union, MO that's now presenting live jazz on some weekend evenings with a booking assist from trumpeter Keith Moyer.

On Sunday evening, Texas-based singer Bett Butler will be in town to do a performance called "Words and Music" with writer Pamela Houston at the Ethical Society. Butler has an interesting sort of post-modern take on the classic style of jazz vocalizing exemplified by Ella Fitzgerald, which she'll employ in what's billed as "an evening of story, song, and adventure." 


Sunday also will bring the debut of a weekly, early evening gig at Club Klymaxx in the Ambassador Entertainment Center featuring First Call, a new band including Jeff Anderson (bass), Danny Campbell (trumpet), Marty Morrison (drums), Eric Slaughter (guitar) and Chad Evans (saxophones). $5 gets you in the door and includes your first drink.

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.)

Wendy Gordon, Jeanne Trevor and friends going "Under The Rainbow" on Sunday, October 14 at Florissant Civic Center Theatre

Wendy Gordon is staging another production in her "A Jazz Heaven" series that promises to be the most ambitious yet in the singer's budding career as a concert presenter. Set for 5:30 p.m. Sunday, October 14 at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre, "Under The Rainbow" will feature a dozen St. Louis singers and musicians in a tribute to some of the most-loved performers in jazz history.

In addition to Gordon,  who will sing songs associated with Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, Jeanne Trevor (pictured) will return to the "Jazz Heaven" cast to reprise her interpretations of the music of Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. Other featured performers will include Joe Mancuso as Frank Sinatra; Chuck Flowers as Joe Williams; Barbara Helmer as Rosemary Clooney; Clayton McCants as Langston Hughes; and Sheila Reed as the narrator.

Band members Adrian Bowers (trumpet) and Chad Evans (saxophones) will do double duty, also portraying the characters of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, respectively, with pianist Arthur Toney, bassist Jeff Anderson and drummer Gary Sykes holding it all together as the show's rhythm section.

Tickets for "A Jazz Heaven: Under The Rainbow" are $25 for reserved seats, $23 for groups of 10 or more, and can be purchased by calling 314-921-5678 or online from the Florissant Civic Center Theatre site.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The music of Marco Benevento

This week, let's check out some videos featuring keyboardist Marco Benevento, who will be in St. Louis this coming Wednesday, September 26 to play at the Old Rock House.

Benevento's music, blending jazz harmonies, rock rhythms and various other elements, is a bit hard to categorize, which has let him move between the worlds of jazz, rock and jam bands with relative ease. Some of his pieces also have something of an ambient/minimalist feel, though the use of relatively heavy backbeats helps keep things from slipping into "new age" mushiness. He's also noteworthy for having a rather idiosyncratic keyboard rig, often featuring "circuit-bent" toys and gadgets, and employing a 64-key acoustic piano, originally made by Wurlitzer for use in railroad bar/lounge cars, that's then run through a chain of stomp box effects.

Benevento, who's 35, grew up in New Jersey, attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and lived in the NYC borough of Brooklyn for a decade before recently moving upstate to Saugerties, NY.  In addition to his trio, he's also is a member of Garage A Trois and has performed frequently in a duo with drummer Joe Russo. Other projects include the bands Surprise Me Mr. Davis and Bustle In Your Hedgerow, a Led Zeppelin tribute act that features Benevento playing Robert Plant's vocal parts on organ.

As a sideman, Benevento has played live with drummer Bobby Previte, guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish, and Bitches Brew Revisited, which included Cindy Blackman, Graham Haynes, Melvin Gibbs, DJ Logic and other NYC musicians. He also helped found the Royal Potato Family label, which in addition to putting out Benevnto's own records, has issued albums by Garage A Trois, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey and several others. Benevento's latest recording TigerFace came out earlier this month, and reports from recent tour stops indicate he's playing several pieces from the album as part of his live set.

Today, however, we have a more general sampling of his music, starting up above with a piece called "Bus Ride" from Benvento's 2008 recording Invisible Baby. This version was recorded in January 2008 at Sullivan Hall in NYC, with Reed Mathis of  Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey on bass and Andrew Barr on drums.

Down below is a live version of  the B-side of "Fireworks," which came out first as a 7" disc and also is included on TigerFace. This was recorded in February of this year at The Blockley in Philadelphia.

After that, you can see and hear a version of "RISD" recorded at the 2011 Bear Creek Music Festival, and then a solo piano set that Benevento did in January of this year during Jamcruise.

The fifth clip is of the song "Mephisto," recorded at MoBoogie Loft in Denver. This tune also features Dave Dreiwitz on bass and Andrew Borger on drums, who will be playing with Benevento in St. Louis. The sixth and final clip is a short video interview with Benevento, recorded in 2010.

For more about Marco Benevento and his new album TigerFace, check out this interview from a couple of weeks ago, and the accompanying playlist.









 
(Edited 9/25/12 to fix a typo.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Guitarist Todd Mosby (pictured) was interviewed on KWMU's "Cityscape" about tomorrow night's benefit for Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children at Logan College of Chiropractic's Purser Center; 


* Terence Blanchard's opening night at Jazz at the Bistro was reviewed by KDHX's Wil Wander. Blanchard continues at the Bistro through Saturday.

* The blog Phoenix Always Rises has a report (with photos) on last Saturday's Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival. 

* Oliver Lake is posting online video of his 70th birthday gigs last weekend at NYC's Jazz Standard, including this clip of  his Organ Quartet performing "ETC."

* The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis is accepting applications for their Katherine Dunham Internship for the 2013 winter semester. The internship is open to African Americans that are interested in pursuing a career in arts management, and includes a $2500 stipend. For more information, visit RAC's website.  Applications are due by Friday, November 2.

Tatsuya Nakatani, Darin Gray, Vanessa Skantze to perform Thursday, October 4 at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center

Improvising percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani is returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m., Thursday, October 4 at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.

Nakatani (pictured), who's originally from Osaka, Japan but now lives in Pennsylvania, has played at LNAC several times in recent years, usually bringing a different concept or premise to each show. He typically employs a variety of sound sources, including drums, bowed gongs, cymbals, singing bowls, metal objects and bells, as well as various sticks, kitchen tools and homemade bows, and draws inspiration from traditional Japanese music as well as free improv, jazz, rock and noise. 

For this performance, Nakatani will team with bassist Darin Gray and dancer Vanessa Skantze for what's being billed as "a rare concert of avant guard percussion, extended technique bass, and Butoh dance."

Gray is, of course, well known to St. Louis audiences as a regular presence on the improvised music scene, performing with groups such as the Dazzling Killmen, Grand Ulena, Gastr del Sol, Cheer-Accident, You Fantastic!, Yona-Kit, and more, while Skantze is an expert in the Japanese theater/dance tradition of Butoh.

Admission to the Nakatani/Grey/Skantze performance at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center will be $7 at the door.

(Edited 9/23/12 to correct the admission price.)

Jazz in Pink returns for 2012 CWAH benefit on Sunday, October 21 at the Sheldon

The Los Angeles-based, all-female group Jazz in Pink once again will be the featured musical entertainment for Community Women Against Hardship's annual benefit gala, which is set for 5:00 p.m. Sunday, October 21 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Jazz in Pink's core members include pianist Gail Jhonson, longtime music director for guitarist Norman Brown; violinist Karen Briggs (pictured), who played for 13 years with new age/easy listening composer Yanni; flutist Althea Rene; and harpist Mariea Antoinette. These four are joined by various singers - including, occasionally, St. Louis native Lynne Fiddmont - and other supporting players as needed.

"Corporate" tickets, which include a post-concert reception with the musicians, are $100 and $60, and can be purchased by calling CWAH at 314-289-7523. Single tickets are $45 for the main level, $25 for the balcony, and are on sale now via Metrotix.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Community Women Against Hardship, a not-for-profit organization that provides programs and services to assist families struggling with poverty.

Jazz this week: Terence Blanchard, Snarky Puppy, U City Jazz Festival, and more

With the fall presenting season now in full swing, the next few days in St. Louis offer a pleasingly varied selection of gigs for the jazz and creative music fan. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, trumpeter Terence Blanchard (pictured) opens a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. Blanchard is a familiar figure to St. Louis audiences from several previous appearances here both at the Bistro and at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Having composed many film scores for director Spike Lee and others, the New Orleans native now also is writing an opera that will receive its world premiere next year at Opera Theatre St. Louis. For this gig at the Bistro, though, Blanchard will be leading a small group and and seems likely to showcase his customary post-bop sound, spiced with a bit of syncopated New Orleans flavor.

Also tonight, The Cabaret Project presents their monthly Cabaret Open Mic night at the Tavern of Fine Arts, with actor/singer Bob Mitchell as host and Carol Schmidt at the keyboard.

Tomorrow night, the Texas-based jazz/funk/world music outfit Snarky Puppy comes to town to perform at The Gramophone. Comprised mostly of former students from the well-known music program of the University of North Texas, Snarky Puppy on record is a sprawling collective that includes a couple dozen members. The live band, though smaller in numbers, emphasizes the same expansive grooves to underpin improvisations from a varied cast of soloists.

On Friday, pianist and singer Jesse Gannon brings a trio to Robbie's House of Jazz; vocalist Zena Bott-Goins leads a group at the Cigar Inn; and the Funky Butt Brass Band returns to the Broadway Oyster Bar

Saturday, it's the second-ever U City Jazz Festival, a free, all-day affair held outdoors in Heman Park, off of Olive St. Rd. This year's lineup features Trio Tres Bien with singer Danita Mumphard and special guest multi-instrumentalist Don Cunningham, plus the St, Louis Metrobones; pianist Ptah Williams leading a reunion of his fusion group Tracer; trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber; Bach to the Future; and a Miles Davis tribute.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Todd Mosby and Farshid Etniko will be among the performers at a benefit for Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children at Logan College of Chiropractic's Purser Center; experimental violinist Joey Molinaro will play at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center; and saxophonist Jerry Greene leads a quartet at Robbie's.

Then on Sunday, the Dave Dickey Big Band will play their monthly gig at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company. This month's performance will feature the music of Count Basie, and the venue is clearing some floor space for swing dancers who wish to strut their stuff.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday guitarist Tom Byrne and his Pat Metheny-inspired ensemble Have You Heard? will play at Webster University's Moore Auditorium.

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.)

Lindy Hop St. Louis launches Kickstarter campaign to fund Cherokee St. Jazz Crawl

Lindy Hop St. Louis has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund some additional public programming for this year's Nevermore Jazz Ball & St. Louis Swing Dance Festival

Scheduled for Thursday, November 1 through Sunday, November 4, the Nevermore Jazz Ball will include music and swing dancing events held over four days at several different local venues. The Kickstarter campaign is raising money specifically to pay musicians for the Cherokee Street Jazz Crawl, a new addition to this year's Ball that will feature "at least five jazz and swing bands in various venues up and down Cherokee Street" during the lunch/brunch hour on Saturday, November 3.

The Jazz Crawl "will be a free and open-to-the-public event, and that is why we have needed to fund this aspect in other ways," said Christian Frommelt, president of Lindy Hop St. Louis, in an email to StLJN. Though the specific line-up of bands and venues for the Jazz Crawl is officially TBA, at least two local bands that we've seen - Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes and Wack-A-Doo - have posted information online suggesting that they'll be participating. Frommelt also said he's spoken to the St. Louis Jazz Club about having them sponsor a traditional jazz band, though there's been no agreement reached as of this writing.

The campaign's goal is to raise $1,800 by Saturday, October 6. Rewards for pledging include free CDs from St. Louis swing bands; various items of Lindy Hop St. Louis merchandise; and passes for free swing dance classes and for the entire Nevermore Jazz Ball series of events. For more information or to make a pledge, see the event's Kickstarter page.

Zappa Plays Zappa returning on Wednesday, December 12 to The Pageant

Zappa Plays Zappa (pictured) is returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 12 at The Pageant. The band, led by Frank Zappa's son Dweezil, last brought its repertory of the elder Zappa's tunes here in August, 2011 as the opening act for Return to Forever at the Fox Theatre. The band previously had played The Pageant several times.

Earlier this year, Dweezil Zappa released F.O.H., a double CD on the UK label Fantom Records featuring ZPZ performances of Zappa's material taken from front-of-house mixes, including some songs that only were part of the band's touring repertoire for a short time.

Tickets for Zappa Plays Zappa's December 12 show at the Pageant are $25 general admission, $50 for VIP seating, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday via Ticketmaster. (The show is all-ages, but there will be a $2 surcharge at the door for minors.)

The Pageant and the show's co-sponsors KSHE 95 also are doing a pre-sale for Facebook users only. To take advantage of the presale, you must go to this page and first sign up for Ticketmaster's Facebook app. Once you've done that, use the password "dweezil" to access the pre-sale. The Pageant also will hold a drawing to give two free tickets to one person who joins the event page created on Facebook for the concert.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2012 jazz preview, part 3

This week, it's part three of StLJN's fall jazz preview, with video clips featuring some of the bands and musicians who will be coming to St. Louis to perform between now and the end of the year. (You can see part one of the preview here, and part two here.)

The first clip up above shows New Orleans' Meschiya Lake & Dem Little Big Horns performing "Electric Chair Blues" at a house concert in February of this year. Lake and company will be in St. Louis on Saturday, November 3 at Casa Loma Ballroom as part of the Nevermore Jazz Ball 2012.

Down below, it's organist Joey DeFrancesco, offering his interpretation of James Ingram's pop/R&B hit "One Hundred Ways" at this year's Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival. DeFrancesco will be back in St. Louis to perform with his trio from Wednesday, November 14 through Saturday, November 17 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Next, it's U. City native Jeremy Davenport, caught on video at Louisiana Music Factory during the 2010 JazzFest performing "Almost Never," an original tune from his 2009 album We'll Dance Til Dawn, plus a bit of "Sweet Georgia Brown." Davenport will take a weekend off from his house-band gig at New Orleans' Ritz-Carlton to come home for performances on Friday, November 23 and Saturday November 24 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Today's fourth video features singer and guitarist John Pizzarelli, seen here playing "Oh Lady Be Good" at the 2012 Tbilisi Jazz Festival in Georgia (the country that formerly was part of the Soviet Union, not the state in the southeastern part of U.S.). Pizzarelli will return to St. Louis to play Wednesday, November 28 through Saturday, December 1 at Jazz at the Bistro.

After that, it's pianist Marcus Roberts playing his composition "Country By Choice" at the 2009 Jazz in Marciac festival in France, accompanied by Roland Guerin on bass and Jason Marsalis on drums. Roberts is coming to St. Louis on Saturday, December 1 to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The following week, on Sunday, December 9, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band will bring their "Creole Christmas" show to the Sheldon. While there don't seem to be any good quality videos online of PHJB playing holiday material, the clip of "Tailgate Ramble," recorded at Preservation Hall in 2009, offers a taste of their sound.

Saxophonist Chris Potter is featured in the next video, an excerpt from a performance of Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" recorded last December at the NYC club Smoke. Potter, who played St. Louis last year with his electric group Underground, this year will bring his acoustic trio to town to play Wednesday, December 12 through Saturday, December 15 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Today's final video features an electronic music piece from George Lewis and Marina Rosenfeld called "Sour Mash," which they'll perform here in a concert sponsored by New Music Circle on Saturday, December 15 at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Today is saxophonist Oliver Lake's 70th birthday, and Lake (pictured) is celebrating with a weekend of shows at NYC's Jazz Standard.

* Drummer Montez Coleman was profiled for the St. Louis Beacon by Terry Perkins.

* Saxquest has posted on their Facebook page a photo album from Sunday's performance and clinic by Bob Sheppard.

* And speaking of photo sets and Facebook, the St. Louis Big Band has posted some pictures from their gig last Saturday at Chesterfield Amphitheater.

* Are drummer Dave Weckl and keyboardist Jay Oliver, who first collaborated as up-and-coming musicians here in their hometown of St. Louis, getting ready for a new project together? Weckl this week teased the possibility by posting this photo to his Facebook page.

* Trumpeter, singer and U City native Jeremy Davenport was interviewed last week by News Orleans' WWNO radio. Davenport will be back in St. Louis at least twice during the 2012-13 presenting season - at Jazz at the Bistro for Thanksgiving weekend, and again in February at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* While he was in town earlier this week to play two nights at Jazz at the Bistro, bassist Marcus Miller also stopped by the studios of local Fox affiliate KTVI for a short interview.

* And speaking of the Bistro, a recent article from the St. Louis Examiner on the website of CBS Radio affiliate KMOX named the club as one of the "Top Places for Rekindling Romance in St. Louis."

Jazz this week: Bobby Broom & Deep Blue Organ Trio, Bonerama, Kirk Whalum, SPOKE, Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival, St. Louis Jazz Club picnic & more

It's shaping up to be a busy weekend for live jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with several touring musicians and bands in town, plus some noteworthy free events that should appeal to those looking for some budget-friendly entertainment. Let's go to the highlights...

On Thursday night, Chicago guitarist Bobby Broom, best known as a longtime sideman to saxophonist Sonny Rollins, and his Deep Blue Organ Trio will be in town for a one-nighter at Robbie's House of Jazz.

Also on Thursday, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University opens its season with a free concert from saxophonist Freddie Washington; and the Bosman Twins, guitarist Daryl Darden and poet Cheryl D.S. Walker will perform a free concert at Schlafly Branch Library in the Central West End.

On Friday, the New Orleans-based band Bonerama will be back in town, this time at The Gramophone. Also on Friday, singer Jeanne Trevor will do a free outdoor concert sponsored by Ferguson CityWalk at the Plaza at 501 in Ferguson; saxophonist Jerry Greene and singer Sarah Jane Ulrich team up for an evening of double-entendre songs at Robbie's; and guitarist Mason Baran leads a quartet with vibraphonist Peter Schlamb, bassist Ben Wheeler and drummer Joe Winstein-Hibbs at the Cigar Inn.

Then on Saturday, it's the annual Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival, a free, all-day outdoor event in the old business district of Webster Groves that features two stages and ten bands, including the St. Louis Ragtimers, Dave Black, Jim Stevens, and the Webster University jazz faculty.

Also on Saturday, the Broadway Oyster Bar presents the seventh annual edition of Funkfest, an all-day event featuring eight bands including the Funky Butt Brass Band, Lamar Harris, Teddy Presberg, and others.

On Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club will host their annual picnic at the Concord Farmers Club. The event is free and open to the public and will feature live music from Utter Chaos and Banjos & Brass.

Also on Sunday, saxophonist Kirk Whalum will be playing at the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of a fundraiser for the Gamma Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and that evening, bassist and St. Louis native Dan Loomis brings his post-bop quartet SPOKE (pictured) back home for a free concert at Parkway United Church of Christ.

Looking beyond the week, on Monday drummer Joe Pastor's trio returns to BB's Jazz Blues and Soups, and on Tuesday, fusion group Steizuello plays a "Notes From Home" concert at the Sheldon.

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.)

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

As longtime readers know, whenever there's a momentary lull in the action around here, we like to slip in a shameless plug for StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds, which has been presenting a different online music video every day since long before tumblr popularized the idea of a "single-serve" site.

Drawing from genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock and experimental, there's a different song or full-length concert posted every day. For example, recent posts have featured music from David Murray & the Black Saint Quartet, Dave Burrell, Carla Bley Band, The Beatles, Oliver Lake Organ Quartet, Sun Ra, Memphis Slim, Branford Marsalis, Kurt Elling, Weather Report, Tony Williams Lifetime, Sonny Rollins, Gil Scott-Heron, Roy Ayers, John Coltrane, Ray Charles, Klaus Doldinger & Passport, B.B. King, Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, Mingus Big Band, Bill Evans Trio, Was (Not Was), Jimmy Witherspoon, and Tower of Power.

If you've missed out so far, not to worry - all these videos, plus hundreds more from the carefully curated archives, are still available for your viewing and listening pleasure by going to http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/

Jazz at Holmes series announces Fall 2012 schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University will kick off its Fall 2012 series at 8:00 p.m. this coming Thursday, September 13, with a performance by the Freddie Washington Quartet.

Washington, a local favorite from the late 1960s through the early 1990s, recently reemerged on the St. Louis scene after a hiatus from performing and some time spent out of town. Though his concert will basically be just a straight-up showcase Washington's hard-bop influenced work on tenor and soprano, most of the other Jazz at Holmes concerts this semester seem to have at least a nominal theme, with several including collaborations with other artistic disciplines or University departments.

Here's the complete Jazz at Holmes schedule for Fall 2012:

Thursday, September 13: Freddie Washington Quartet

Thursday, September 27: "Intimacy in Improvisation" with guitarist Vince Varvel and bassist Eric Stiller;

Thursday, October 4: "Stories: The New Beat Generation" featuring poet Eileen Gsell reading with music from guitarist William Lenihan (pictured) and his trio;

Thursday, October 11: "Tin Pan Alley and the Music of Jerome Kern" with trumpeter Bob Ceccarini's group and an introduction by Todd Decker, assistant professor and head of musicology at Wash U;

Thursday, October 25: "New Jazz" featuring saxophonist Ron Goff's quartet;

Thursday, November 1: "Music of Cannonball Adderley and Nancy Wilson" featuring saxophonist Rob Nugent and vocalist Kim Fuller with Kara Vandiver (piano), Zeb Briskovich (bass) and Miles Vandiver (drums);

Thursday, November 8: "Turning Point: Electric Miles and Hendrix Confluence," a celebration of the 70th birthday of Jimi Hendrix, featuring "an all-star lineup" led by William Lenihan;

Thursday, November 15: "Freedom Jazz Dance" featuring dancer/choreographer Ashley Tate with the St. Louis Creative Artists Jazz Ensemble;

Thursday, November 29: "Songs of Love and Other Difficulties: Work and Protest Songs" featuring the Kim Fuller Quartet, with an introduction by Patrick Burke, associate professor of ethnomusicaology; and

Thursday, December 6: Washington University jazz studies student groups, directed by William Lenihan.

Presented most Thursday evenings when school is in session, the Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2012 jazz preview, part 2

This week, we present part two of StLJN's fall jazz preview, featuring video samples of some of the musicians who will be coming to St. Louis to perform between now and the end of the year. (You can see part one of the preview here.)

Today's first video up top features guitarist John Scofield playing "Trio Blues" with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart in November 2010 in Leverkusen, Germany. Scofield will be back here in St. Louis to perform Friday, September 28 and Saturday, September 29 at Jazz at the Bistro

Down below, you can see and hear singer Bett Butler (vocals) performing an excerpt from "Come Rain or Come Shine" at the Elephant Room in Austin, TX during this year's SXSW festival. Though she's accompanied here by Joël Dilley (bass), Paul Klemperer (sax), and Philip Marshall (drums), Butler will be in St. Louis with writer Pam Houston to present a collaborative program called "Words and Music" on Sunday, September 30 at the Ethical Society.

Below that , it's pianist Billy Childs playing a solo piece called "The Red Wheelbarrow" in May 2010 at WNYC radio in New York. Childs is coming to St. Louis to perform Wednesday October 3 through Saturday October 6 at Jazz at the Bistro with an all-star quartet that also will include drummer Brian Blade, saxophonist Steve Wilson, and bassist Scott Colley.

Next up, we've got a clip showcasing the first of four stellar trumpeters who will be visiting St. Louis during a four-week stretch this fall. It's the Cuban-born virtuoso Arturo Sandoval, playing "There Will Never Be Another You" in January of last year in the studios of Seattle radio station KPLU. His band in the clip includes Mahesh Balasooyria (piano:) Zane Musa (saxophone), John Belzaguy (bass) and Johnny Friday (drums). Sandoval returns to St. Louis for a concert on Saturday, October 6 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Then, it's New Orleans native and trumpeter Christian Scott, doing his tune "Spy Boy" last November at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Scott's band here features Berklee grad and St. Louis native Lawrence Fields on piano, plus Matthew Stevens (guitar), Kris Funn (bass) and Jamire Williams (drums). He'll be in St. Louis to perform Wednesday, October 17 through Saturday, October 20 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Right on Scott's metaphorical heels is trumpeter Terell Stafford, seen here with his quintet playing "Blues for J.T." at the 2006 Jazz Baltica festival in Salzau, Germany. Stafford's accompanists in the clip include Tim Warfield (tenor sax, soprano sax), Martin Wind (bass), Matt Wilson (drums) and Mulgrew Miller (piano). For his upcoming St. Louis gig, which will take place Wednesday, October 31 through Saturday, November 3 at Jazz at the Bistro, Stafford will be showcasing music from This Side of Strayhorn, his 2011 release on St. Louis' MAXJAZZ label.

Today's final video features cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum's sextet performing a piece called "Asphalt Flowers Forking Paths" at the 2010 Saalfelden Jazz Festival in Germany. Along with Bynum, the group's current lineup includes Jim Hobbs (alto saxophone), Bill Lowe (bass trombone, tuba), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Ken Filiano (bass) and Chad Taylor (drums), and they'll be playing Saturday, November 3, at the Luminary Center for the Arts in a concert presented by New Music Circle.

Join us again in this space at the same time next week for the third part of StLJN's Fall 2012 jazz preview...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* St. Louis' FOX affiliate KTVI had two jazz-related stories during this past Wednesday's local newscasts. The St. Louis Big Band (pictured) and singer Joe Mancuso were featured in a performance segment, and Jazz St. Louis executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford was interviewed about JSL's new season. The StLBB performs this Saturday evening at Chesterfield Amphitheater; Jazz St. Louis' season opens on Sunday with Marcus Miller at Jazz at the Bistro.

* And speaking of Marcus Miller, the bassist talked about picking cover songs for his new album Renaissance in an interview with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, which can be viewed online here.

* This also is the opening weekend for the Sheldon Art Galleries' new Al Hirschfeld exhibit, which focuses on the famed caricaturist and St. Louis native's interest in jazz and Broadway; see the stories by the St. Louis Beacon's Nancy Fowler and the P-D's Calvin Wilson for details.

* Also from the Post, Peter Martin shares some background about the piece he's writing for the Sheldon's 100th anniversary via what looks to be an email to Johnson; and book editor Jane Henderson has word that a 1962 Playboy magazine interview with Miles Davis is the first to be offered by the magazine for purchase in the Kindle ebook format.

* Ragtime pianist and composer Scott Joplin, who once lived in St. Louis, and Kansas City's renowned saxophonist and bebop pioneer Charlie Parker are among the latest inductees into the Missouri Music Hall of Fame in St. Joseph.

Jazz this week: Marcus Miller, Bob Sheppard, tributes to Horace Silver and the Blue Note sound, and more

It looks to be a nice weekend in St. Louis, weather-wise, and there's also a nice selection of live jazz and creative music available in local venues as the fall presenting season begins.

And speaking of seasons, tonight Jazz St. Louis will have their first-ever public "season preview party" at Jazz at the Bistro. (They've had similar events before for subscribers, but this is designed to give even Bistro novices a chance to get a feel for the room and the music.) The free event will feature a multimedia presentation on the organization's schedule for 2012-13 at the Bistro and Touhill Performing Arts Center, along with complimentary hors d’oeuvres, water and tea, plus a cash bar. Though the RSVP deadline has passed, you can find out if there any spots still available by contacting JSL's Devin Rodino at 314-289-4030 or devin@jazzstl.org.

Also tonight, there are jazz jam sessions on both sides of the Mississippi River, with guitarist Tom Byrne hosting at Highway 61 Roadhouse in Webster Groves and drummer Paul Shaw taking the lead at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

Tomorrow night, trumpeter Randy Holmes leads a tribute to Horace Silver at Robbie's House of Jazz; saxophonist Tim Cunningham will be back at Jazz on Broadway; and Shaw will front a quartet featuring saxophonist Kristian Baarsvik, bassist Bob DeBoo and vibraphonist Tom Rickard at Cigar Inn.

Also on Friday, Lindy Hop St. Louis presents the first in a series of monthly swing dances at the Mahler Ballroom in the Central West End, with lessons followed by live music for dancing from The Sidemen.

In addition, it's also is the first day of the St. Louis Art Fair in Clayton, which usually presents some musical acts of interest to jazz listeners, starting this year with a main-stage set on Friday from multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris.

Saturday's lineup includes the student ensembles Jazz in Outer Space and the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars on the Forsyth stage, and smooth jazz/fusion band The Freedom on the main stage. The festival closes on Sunday with music including Wack A Doo and Le Jazz Hot on the Forsyth stage, and The Poor People of Paris and the Usual Suspects on the main stage.

Also on Saturday, the St. Louis Big Band with singer Joe Mancuso will play at the Chesterfield Amphitheater.

On Sunday afternoon, saxophonist Bob Sheppard will be at Saxquest for a free performance, demonstration and clinic. Sheppard, a Los Angeles-based studio veteran who also has toured and recorded with Steely Dan and many other major rock, jazz and pop acts, will perform an informal concert with bassist Chris Watrous and drummer Drew Weiss. The program also will showcase products from MACSAX, manufacturers of a line of saxophones and saxophone mouthpieces that includes Sheppard-endorsed mouthpieces for alto and tenor. MACSAX reps will be on hand to answer questions and offer mouthpiece consultation and re-facing work.

Then on Sunday evening, Jazz St. Louis kicks off their 2012-13 season with the first of two evenings featuring bassist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Marcus Miller (pictured) at Jazz at the Bistro. Though Miller was here in August 2011 with David Sanborn and George Duke at the Touhill, his gig at the Bistro is, so far as we can tell, his first small-club appearance here in St. Louis. Hardcore fans of the bassist - who, among his many accomplishments, wrote and produced what many listeners and critics consider to be Miles Davis' last great recordings - no doubt already are salivating at the chance to see him work up close in the intimate space of the Bistro instead of a theater or auditorium.

Miller's eighth studio album as a leader, Renaissance, was released last month on the Concord label. (You can hear some abbreviated samples from the album here.) For more on that, check out Miller's recent interview with the blog Alternate Takes. And for some video samples of the bassist and his band in action, see this StLJN post from a week ago Saturday. (A couple of the videos originally included in the post have since been removed from YouTube; I'll be trying to find replacement versions, and if successful, will update ASAP.)

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday, in addition to Miller's second night at the Bistro, the Webster University Faculty Jazz Ensemble will present their first concert of the season, "Cool Struttin': Soulful Sounds from Blue Note Records," at Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus; and the Sessions Big Band will play their monthly gig at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

On Tuesday, vocal octet Java Jived and pianist Carolbeth True's group Two Times True will team up to present a program called "All American Jazz in Remembrance of 9/11" at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Also on Tuesday, BB's has guitarist Dave Black and his band in the early evening slot, followed by saxophonist Jim Stevens' group.

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.)

(Edited after posting to add info on the Lindy Hop St. Louis event. Edited again to fix typos.)

Bobby Broom and Deep Blue Organ Trio playing Thursday, September 13 at Robbie's House of Jazz

Guitarist Bobby Broom and the Deep Blue Organ trio are coming to St. Louis to perform at 8:30 p.m. next Thursday, September 13 at Robbie's House of Jazz.

Broom (pictured), a New York native who now lives in Chicago, may be best known to jazz fans as a member of saxophonist Sonny Rollins' band from 1982 to 1987 and again from 2005 to 2010. His performing and recording credits also include work with Art Blakey, Max Roach, Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Garrett, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Charles Earland, Dr. John, Kenny Burrell, Eric Alexander, Ron Carter, Ramsey Lewis, and more.

The Deep Blue Organ Trio, which began in 1999, also includes organist Chris Foreman, who plays frequently at Chicago's Green Mill, and drummer Greg Rockingham. Their most recent album Wonderful, released in 2011, features songs made famous by Stevie Wonder. In July of this year, the group did a two-week residency at the famed Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy.

No word yet on the ticket price, but if previous shows by touring performers at Robbie's are any indication, it likely will be in the range of $10 to $20. We'll update this post if/when more information becomes available.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2012 jazz preview, part 1

For today's video showcase, let's take a look at a selection of clips featuring some of the touring jazz and creative music acts who will be visiting St. Louis this fall. Of course, StLJN will have more coverage of many of these musicians as the season goes on, so think of this as an opportunity to get a quick overview of what's coming.

Since we had extensive coverage of Jazz St. Louis' season opener Marcus Miller here last week, we start out up above with a video of saxophonist Bob Sheppard, playing Monk's "Straight, No Chaser" in 2010 at an LA club called the Blue Whale. Sheppard will be in St. Louis on Sunday, September 9 - the same day Miller opens at Jazz at the Bistro - for a free afternoon performance at Saxquest.

Down below, it's New Orleans' Bonerama performing their version of rocker Edgar Winter's signature instrumental "Frankenstein," with a little help from two additional guest trombonists, St. Louis' Dave Dickey and KC's Paul Scofield. This was shot during a show last December at the Old Rock House right here in St. Louis; the band's next local appearance will be on Friday, September 14 at The Gramophone.

Next, it's saxophonist Kirk Whalum, who's played here several times in recent years. In this clip, Whalum interprets "Love, Love, Love," a song written by a former St. Louisan, the late Donny Hathaway. Whalum will be back here in the Gateway City to play on Sunday, September 16 at the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of a fundraiser for the Gamma Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Today's fourth clip features the band SPOKE, playing the composition "Pisces," which was written by their bassist, St. Louis native Dan Loomis. This clip was recorded when they performed here last year at the Missouri Botanical Garden's Ridgeway Auditorium. This time around, they'll be playing a playing a free show on Sunday, September 16 at Parkway United Church of Christ.

The fifth clip features trumpeter Terence Blanchard and his quintet, playing the title piece from his 2009 album "Choices" live at WNYC radio's The Greene Space. Blanchard will be here to perform Wednesday, September 19 through Saturday, September 22 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Video number six shows the Texas-based band Snarky Puppy performing "Quarter Master," taken from their DVD groundUP that was recorded live last December at NYC's Shapeshifter Lab. They'll be here to perform on Thursday, September 20 at The Gramophone, though it seems likely that the touring edition of the band will include fewer musicians than seen in this particular clip.

Today's final clip features pianist Marco Benevento's trio playing his composition "Greenpoint" during a show recorded last September in Greenfield, MA. Benevento will be in St. Louis on Wednesday, September 26 at the Old Rock House.

Look for part two of the Fall 2012 jazz preview next week...