Tuesday, December 31, 2013

StLJN 2013 year in review

As we come to the end of 2013, here's a look back at some of the most newsworthy, noteworthy, popular and/or interesting items posted here on St. Louis Jazz Notes over the past 12 months:

January 2013
February 2013
March 2013
April 2013
May 2013
June 2013
July 2013
August 2013
September 2013
October 2013
November 2013
December 2013

Edited after posting to fix some formatting problems.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase:
Winter/spring 2014 jazz preview, part 3



This week, it's an extra-large part three of StLJN's video preview of jazz musicians and bands coming to St. Louis in the first part of 2014. (In case you missed them, here's part one and part two.)

Today's first clip features singer Marissa Mulder, who will make her St. Louis debut as one of the headliners of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, performing "The Songs of Tom Waits" from Thursday, February 27 through Saturday, March 1 at the Gaslight Theater. In this clip, Mulder can be seen singing "Day After Tomorrow," written by Waits and Kathleen Brennan, during a show in March of this year at the Metropolitan Room in NYC.

Down below, the next video shows off trumpeter Sean Jones playing his song "Transitions" at the 2011 Detroit Jazz Festival. Jones will return to St. Louis once again this spring to play Wednesday, March 5 through Saturday March 8 at Jazz at the Bistro.

The third video features another act that's visited St. Louis frequently in recent years, the New Orleans funk/jazz group Galactic. They'll be back on Thursday, March 6 to play at The Pageant, but in the meantime, you can watch their entire set from this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Below that, the fourth clip present another of the visiting headliners for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, singer/actress Emily Bergl, whose performances of "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" from Thursday, March 13 through Saturday, March 15 at the Gaslight Theater will be her first here in St. Louis. Bergl, an acclaimed musical theater performer who also had a recurring role on ABC's Desperate Housewives, is seen here singing "42nd Street" at the Cicada Club in Los Angeles.

In the fifth video window, you can see an NPR Music "Tiny Desk Concert" featuring alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, who will be making his St. Louis debut Wednesday, March 19 through Saturday, March 22 at Jazz at the Bistro. Mahanthappa, who leads several different ensembles, is seen here performing "Killer" and "Playing With Stones" with guitarist Rez Abbasi, bassist Rich Brown, and drummer Rudy Royston.

The last five clips all relate to a single concert, the all-star "Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60" ensemble that will play the final date of a 17-city tour on Sunday, March 30 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The group includes St. Louis' own Peter Martin (who should be quite familiar to regular StLJN readers by now) as pianist, and will be directed by clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, who was featured in this space last year when she and her quartet played a week at the Bistro.

Also taking part will be singer and Kansas City native Karrin Allyson, seen here performing "The Shadow of Your Smile" with her quartet; trumpeter Randy Brecker, who in his clip is playing "Round Midnight" in a 2011 performance with Washington DC's Jazz Academy Orchestra; and guitarist Mark Whitfield, offering his version of "In a Sentimental Mood" this part June at the JazzAscona festival in Switzerland (with some help from bassist Roland Guerin and drummer Troy Davis).

Providing the foundation for the band will be bassist Larry Grenadier, who is seen in the ninth video soloing at a clinic in June of this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and drummer Clarence Penn, who's featured in today's tenth and final clip playing a solo in 2010 at the Blue Note club in Poznań, Poland.

Look for part four of StLJN's winter/spring 2014 jazz preview here next week.

















Friday, December 27, 2013

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and his wife, singer Jean Baylor (pictured), have launched a Kickstarter campaign raising money to complete the debut album by their new band The Baylor Project. You can read more about it and pledge your support here.

* The Miles Davis Memorial Project has scheduled another informational meeting at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 21, at Bossanova Restaurant and Lounge, 112 West Third St. in Alton.

The project's organizers will give a short presentation and show a video about the effort to place a statue of Davis in downtown Alton. For more information, call the Alton Pride office at 618-467-2375 or email them at pride at prideincorporated dot org.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has posted on Facebook an album of photos from last weekend's Holiday Brasstravaganza shows.

* Meanwhile, Jazz St. Louis has posted to their Facebook page an album of pictures from last week's performances by John Pizzarelli and Bucky Pizzarelli.

* A new interview with drummer Pheeroan ak Laff over at Destination: Out includes a track from saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake.

* Jazz radio update: For 2013's final edition of “Somethin’ Else” on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, host Calvin Wilson will herald the coming of the new year with recordings by trumpeters including Tom Harrell, Ambrose Akinmusire and Russell Gunn. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Jazz this week: The Brothers Peterson, Good 4 The Soul, New Year's Eve jazz in St. Louis, and more

With Santa Claus' labors complete and his flying reindeer out to pasture for another year, there are just a few days of live jazz and creative music left in 2013. Let's see what's coming up in and around St. Louis...

Tonight, it's the final "Avant-Garde Arts Night" of the year at the Tavern of Fine Arts, featuring live improvised sounds from musicians mostly associated with New Music Circle; and trumpeter Jim Manley plays his weekly gig at Joyia Tapas in the Grove neighborhood.

Tomorrow night, bassist Mark Peterson and guitarist Anthony Michael "Tru" Peterson, brothers and St. Louis natives, will team up as The Brothers Peterson for a homecoming performance at The Engine Room, a new live music venue at 7700 Ivory on the south side.

Also tomorrow night, in what's become a year-end tradition for the group, the jazz/funk/R&B quartet Good 4 The Soul (pictured) checks into Jazz at the Bistro for the first of two nights. Elsewhere around town, the Funky Butt Brass Band will play the Broadway Oyster Bar; the multi-talented trio of Curt Landes, Alan Ox and Vince Martin will join forces for a performance at Robbie's House of Jazz; and Wack-A-Doo will be at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

On Saturday evening, drummer Montez Coleman will lead a trio with keyboardist Matt Villinger and bassist Bob DeBoo in a live recording session at the Kranzberg Arts Center. Also on Saturday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black are back at Chaser's Lounge in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; the Dixie Dudes play at Jazz on Broadway; the Kevin Mitchell 4 perform at Robbie's House of Jazz; and Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Then on Sunday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will perform at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, and Dizzy Atmosphere plays the Schlafly Tap Room.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday The 442s return to Cyrano's, and saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective play their monthly gig at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

On Tuesday, if you're looking to hear some jazz on New Year's Eve, there are a few options to consider, though once again the city's best-known venue, Jazz at the Bistro, will be closed due to the annual First Night celebration in the surrounding Grand Center district.

As compensation, First Night includes some musical performances of potential interest among its family friendly offerings; this year's lineup features cabaret duo Joe Dreyer and Rosemary Watts, singers Brian Owens and Kim Massie, and electronic musician Eric Hall,  plus swing and Gypsy jazz from Dizzy Atmosphere and the Latin/jazz/world music of Farshid Etniko.

Elsewhere on New Year's Eve, singer Erin Bode and her band will perform for two seatings at Cyrano's, and singer Tony Viviano will headline the evening at Four Seasons Winery in Chesterfield.

Meanwhile, Robbie's House of Jazz will present a "New Year Eve Variety Show" with drummer Maurice Carnes' band, comedian Don Clair, Jeff Stewart's Broadway Show, Belly Dancing to the Blues and Nicholas Gates Dancers; and Miss Jubilee will provide the live music for a "Roaring 20s" event at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.

(If you're looking for tickets for the sold-out New Years Eve Speakeasy Ball with Sarah Jane and The Blue Notes at The Deco Fortress, your best bet would seem to be to check the event's Facebook page for possible cancellations, returns, etc.)

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.)

Rounding up the "Best Jazz of 2013" lists

It's that time of year again, as jazz journalists, DJs, critics and bloggers are publishing their annual "Best Of" lists. And once again, for the seventh consecutive year, St. Louis Jazz Notes eschews the compilation of such a list, instead offering a meta-list with links to all of the other "Best Jazz of 2013" lists we can locate.

Just to review: The meta-list is alphabetized by writers' names. When a list was collaborative or presented as a staff-written project, the name of the publication or media outlet is used instead, with the writers' names noted if available. This post will be updated multiple times over the next several weeks as more lists become available. Here's what's out there so far:

* A Closer Listen - 2013: The Top 20 Albums of the Year
* S. Victor Aaron, Something Else - Best of 2013 Avant Garde & Experimental Music; Modern & Mainstream Jazz; Fusion Jazz; Top unreviewed Jazz and Fusion
* Académie du Jazz - 2013 prize winners
* David R. Adler, Village Voice - The 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2013
* Don Albert, Artslink.co.za - My Top 10 Jazz CDs of 2013
* Clifford Allen, Ni Kantu - Things We Like #4: The Best of 2013
* AllMusic.com - Favorite Jazz Albums of 2013
* Andrew Ansbach, StageBuddy.com - Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2013
* ARIA Charts (Australia) - Top 50 Jazz & Blues Albums
* Hrayr Attarian, AllAboutJazz.com - Top Dozen Records with a Feminine Bent for 2013
* Avant Music News - Best of 2013
* John B., Jazz Amuck (CKUT) - 20 faves for 2013
* Peter Bacon, The Jazz Breakfast - Festive 50: From 50 to 41; From 40 to 31; From 30 to 21; From 20 to 11; The Top Ten; My top ten jazz gigs of the year
* Jung Bae, hellokpop.com - 2013 in Review: Day 7 – Jazz, Crossover and Other
* Jakob Baekgaard, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2013
* Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times - Best jazz albums of 2013
* Nick Bewsey, ICON/WRTI - Top Jazz Releases of 2013
* Dan Bilawsky, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2013
* Brent Black, Bop-N-Jazz - The Final Best of 2013 List for www.criticaljazz.com!
* Larry Blumenfeld, Blu Notes/Wall Street Journal - Best Jazz of 2013
* Philip Booth, Between the Grooves - Best Jazz of 2013 — My Top 10 + 25 more
* Cisco Bradley, Jazz Right Now - Best Live Creative Music of 2013
* Shaun Brady, Philadelphia City Paper - Top 10 jazz albums of 2013
* Bill Brownlee, Plastic Sax - Top Albums of 2013; The Top Jazz-Related Stories and Trends of 2013
* Chris Burnett, American Jazz Museum/Musings In Cb - My 2013 Top Music Releases List
* Burning Ambulance - The Best Jazz Albums Of 2013: #25-21; #20-16; #15-11; #10-6; #5-1
* Robert Bush, NBC San Diego/AllAboutJazz.com - Top 12 San Diego Jazz Concerts of 2013; Best Releases of 2013
* CapitalBop.com (Giovanni Russonello & Luke Stewart) - Best D.C. Jazz Albums of 2013: Our Top 5
* David Cazares, Minnesota Public Radio - A good year for Minnesota jazz
* John Chacona, Erie Times-News - Top Jazz CDs of 2013
* Adrian Chapman, white noise of everyday life - Best jazz albums of 2013
* Nate Chinen, New York Times - Top 10 Albums and Songs
* City Paper (Baltimore) - 2013 Top Ten Jazz Albums
* Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2013
* James Cooper, Red Moon Cafe - Jazz Selections for 2013
* Mark Corroto, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2013 
* Cosmic Jazz - Best of 2013 (part one); More of the best jazz from 2013
* CultureJazz.fr - les étoiles de 2013: Les disques favoris de la rédaction et autres souvenirs...
* Curtis Davenport, Curt's Jazz Cafe - Best Jazz Albums of 2013 – The Final List
* Paul de Barros et al, Seattle Times - 7 wildly different top 10 album lists of 2013
* Anthony Dean-Harris, NextBop.com - Favorite Jazz Albums of 2013
* Monsieur Délire, Délire actuel - Délire actuel's 2013 Top 30 
* R.J. DeLuke, RJ on Jazz/AllAboutJazz.com - Top Albums of 2013
* Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Jazz Station - The Best Jazz of 2013
* Tony Dudley-Evans, The Jazz Breakfast - Top ten gigs of 2013
* Jim Dupuis, !Earshot/CFBX - Jazz: The Best of 2013
* El Intruso - Sixth Annual International Critics Poll 
* Rick Erben, Jazz Junction (KIOS) - Top Twelve of 2013
* John Fordham, The Guardian - The best albums of 2013
* Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes - Top 10 listings
* Free Jazz Collective - 2013's Top Ten Lists
* Jon Garelick, Boston Globe - Best Albums of 2013
* Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Best albums of 2013 influenced by jazz fest
* Nenad Georgievski, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2013
* Andrew Gilbert, KQED - The Golden State of Jazz: The Best California Jazz CDs of 2013
* Stephen Graham, Marlbank - 20 of the best Eurojazz releases of the year; 20 of the best UK jazz releases of 2013; 20 of the best US jazz releases of the year so far; Jazz vocals best-of
* Thomas H. Green, Napster - Best of 2013: Jazz & World
* George Grella, The Big City - Best Jazz Albums 2013
* James Hale, Jazz Chronicles - Best Jazz Recordings of 2013
* Eyal Hareuveni, AllAboutJazz.com - Best of 2013 List
* Here & Now (WBUR) - The Year in Jazz
* Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph (UK) - Top 10 Jazz albums of 2013
* Steve Holtje, Culture Catch - Steve's Favorite Jazz Albums of 2013, Part 1; Favorite Jazz Historical/Reissue Albums of 2013
* Tom Hull - The Best Jazz Albums of 2013
* Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen - 2013 List Bliss
* J. Hunter, Nippertown - BEST OF 2013: J Hunter’s Best Jazz Albums, Part I; Part II; Best Concerts of the Year
* Jazz Journalists Association - Members' Best of 2013 Lists
* The Jazz Resource - Best Jazz Albums 2013
* JazzTimes - Top 50 CDs: Our contributors' lists of the best releases of 2013
* Jazz Views - Albums Of The Year 2013
* Jazz.FM91 - Music To Listen To Jazz By (Year End Edition)
* Jazz.pt - Melhores de 2013
* JazzWeek - Year End Jazz Chart: 2013
* Willard Jenkins, Open Sky Jazz - 10 Essential 2013 releases
* Rob Johnson, Examiner.com (Denver) -Top ten jazz albums of 2013
* Kansas City Star (various contributors including Jeff Harshbarger and Mike Dillon) - Top Albums for 2013
* Fred Kaplan, Stereophile/Slate - The Best Jazz Recordings of 2013
* Matthew Kassel, New York Observer - The Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2013
* John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2013; Best Live Shows of 2013
* Jimi King, Smooth Jazz 24/7 - The Best of 2013
* Bo Leibowitz, For Jazz Enthusiasts (KCRW) -  Top 10 Albums of 2013
* Bruce Lindsay, AllAbout Jazz.com - Best Releases Of 2013
* London Jazz News - Other LondonJazz Contributors' Top Albums of 2013
* Lucid Culture - The Best Jazz Albums of 2013
* Tom Lundregan, Tactile Tracks - The Year In Review: Best Jazz Of 2013
* Howard Mandel, Jazz Beyond Jazz - Recommended 2013 jazz-beyond-jazz recordings
* Matt Marshall, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2013
* Dan McClenaghan, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2013 
* Scott McDowell, The Long Rally (WFMU) - Favorite Records of 2013
* Bob McWilliams, Kansas Public Radio - Radio Bob's Top 5 Jazz Albums of 2013
* Bill Meyer, Magnet - Best of 2013: Jazz/Improv
* Jay Miller, The Enterprise (Brockton, MA) - 2013 Look Back: Concerts, hot new jazz
* Ralph A. Miriello, Huffington Post - My Picks for the Best of Jazz 2013 
* Justin Mitchell, Houstonia magazine - 12 Best Jazz Albums of 2013
* Stephan Moore, JazzWrap - Best Albums Of 2013
* Mundo Latino (Le Monde) - The best Latin music albums of 2013
* Paul Naser, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2013
* Nextbop/The Art of Cool Project's Favorite Jazz Albums of 2013, #9-1#20-12
* NextJazz.com - Best jazz albums of 2013
* Jessica Nicholas, ABC Jazz - Best of 2013
* Rick Nowlin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Best of 2013: Jazz
* NPR Music - 2013 Jazz Critics Poll; Wayne Shorter And The Year's Other Passing Scenery
* Sean J. O'Connell, LA Weekly - Best Jazz Albums of 2013
* Chris Parker, London Jazz News - Albums of the Year 2013
* Ian Patterson, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2013; Best Live Shows of 2013
* Tomas Peña, Latin Jazz Network - 2013: The Year In Music, A Recap
* Denis Poole, Smooth Jazz Therapy - Top Ten Covers Of 2013; Top Twenty Of 2013
* PopMatters (Will Layman and John Garratt) - The Best Jazz of 2013
* Craig Premo, Improvised - The Top Jazz Releases of 2013
* Albert Pride, BlazeRadio - Top 25 Progressive Jazz CDs for 2013
* ProperMusic.com - Best Jazz of 2013
* The Quietus Albums Of The Year 2013; Reissues, Comps & Mixes Of 2013
* Peter Quinn, The Arts Desk - Album of the Year: Wayne Shorter Quartet - Without A Net
* Doug Ramsey, Rifftides - The Critics’ Choices
* Ben Ratliff, New York Times - Songs That Transcend the Tricks: Favorites of 2013
* Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune - Best jazz recordings of 2013; Best jazz shows of 2013
* Resilient Beats - The Best Polish Jazz Albums of 2013
* Revive Music - Top 5 Albums of 2013; A Year in Review: 2013′s Top 5 Tunes
* Li Robbins, CBC Music - Top 5 jazz albums of 2013
* Mark Saleski, Something Else - Best of 2013 (Jazz)
* Bret Saunders, Denver Post - Jazz: The ten best of a fantastic 2013 crop of recordings
* Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News - Best of 2013 jazz: Aaron Parks' joyous 'Alive in Japan' the year's top album
* Gene Seymour, That Gene Seymour - Top Ten Jazz Discs for 2013
* John Sharpe, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2013
* Hank Shteamer, Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches - 2013 jazz top 10
* Soul Brother Records - Best new jazz releases of 2013
* Sputnik Music - Best Jazz Albums of 2013
* SquidCo - Top 40 Releases for 2013
* John Stevenson, eJazzNews - Jazz Recordings for 2013 … and then some
* W. Royal Stokes - Best and Notable Releases of 2013
* Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm - Best of 2013: Albums 26-30; Albums 21-25; Albums 16-20; Albums 11-15; Albums 6-10; Albums 2-5; Album of the Year: Jaimeo Brown – “Transcendence”
* Perry Tannenbaum, Creative Loafing Charlotte - 2013 and all that jazz
* Mark F. Turner, AllAboutJazz.com - Best of 2013  
* Jon Turney, Mainly jazz in Bristol - Ten to remember from 2013
* George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune - Jazz: The year in review
* Michael Verity, About.com - 2013's Best Albums; Best Jazz Concerts Of 2013
* Chris Waddington, New Orleans Times-Picayune - New Orleans musicians dominate our 2013 list of best jazz records
* Seth Colter Walls, Rhapsody.com - Top 25 Jazz Albums of 2013
* WBGO (Gary Walker & Tim Wilkins) - Top Tunes of 2013
* Carol Banks Weber, Examiner.com - Jazz Examiner picks top 13 albums from 2013
* Christopher R. Weingarten, SPIN - 20 Best Avant Albums of 2013
* Josh Weinstein, All Soul, No Borders (KDHX) - Top 10 albums from 2013
* Michael J. West, Washington City Paper - The Jazzies: D.C.’s Best Jazz in 2013
* Steve Williams, ukvibe - Top 13 Jazz Albums of 2013; Top 13 Stand Out Jazz compositions of 2013
* Jim Wilke, Jazz After Hours - Best Jazz CDs of 2013
* Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis - Dance, jazz kept the pace in 2013 
* Barry Winograd, Jazz Transfusion (WXRT) - "Best" of 2013
* Geoff Winston, London Jazz News - Review of 2013
* WTJU - Jazz and blues announcers best of 2013
* Geraldine Wyckoff, The Louisiana Weekly - New Orleans Jazz CDs of 2013 

Active scouting for more lists will continue for at least a couple more weeks, but your input is welcome, too. If you've seen any other 2013 year-end jazz lists that aren't mentioned here, please use the comments (or send me an email) to share the information. And if you like, please feel free also to use the comments to discuss your own favorite jazz releases, shows and moments of 2013.

Finally, if you want to re-visit StLJN's past "best of" list round-ups, here are the meta-lists for 2007 (parts 1 and 2), 2008 (parts 1 and 2), 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

Edited 12/27/13 to add seven more lists. Edited 12/28/13 to add six more lists. Edited 12/29/13 to add four more lists. Edited 12/30/13 to add five more lists. Edited 12/31/13 to add four more lists. Edited 1/1/14 to add nine more lists. Edited 1/2/14 to add five more lists. Edited 1/3/14 to add three more lists. Edited 1/4/14 to add five more lists. Edited 1/5/14 to add four more lists. Edited 1/7/14 to add four more lists. Edited 1/8/14 to add three more lists. Edited 1/9/14 to add two more lists. Edited 1/14/13 to add one more list. Edited 1/16 to add seven more lists. Edited 1/17/14 to add two more lists.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Happy holidays from St. Louis Jazz Notes!

Just a brief update to note that posting will be light around here until Thursday, but later this week, StLJN will feature our annual roundup of lists of the best jazz of the past year; a "jazz this week" post with a look at musical options around town for New Year's Eve; the third installment of our winter/spring 2014 jazz preview; and more.

Until then, here's hoping that you and yours have a happy and peaceful holiday!

Pollstar: Sheldon's 2014-15 season to include Chick Corea, guitarists Pizzarelli, Vignola & Raniolo

While it's not quite a glimpse into Christmas Future, there's a bit of news for St. Louis jazz fans this holiday week, as the online touring information service Pollstar has added listings for two jazz performances next fall at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Pollstar says pianist Chick Corea will perform at the Sheldon on Saturday, October 11, while "Swing Xing: Three Generations of Swing Guitar," with Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Vignola, and Vinny Raniolo, will be the featured attraction on Saturday, November 15.

Corea (pictured) appeared in St. Louis most recently in March of this year, playing a duo concert with Bela Fleck at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Pizzarelli was here just last week, performing duets with his son John Pizzarelli at Jazz at the Bistro, while Vignola and Raniolo did a duo show here in May of last year at the Bistro.

As always, listings on Pollstar should be considered unconfirmed until officially announced by the presenter or venue. The Sheldon usually announces the schedule for their various season series in April.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

The Brothers Peterson to perform
Friday, December 27 at the Engine Room

This just in: Bassist Mark Peterson and guitarist Anthony Michael "Tru" Peterson, brothers and St. Louis natives, will be back in their hometown for a performance at 8:00 p.m. next Friday, December 27.  The gig will be at the Engine Room, a brand new music space at 7700 Ivory on the South Side that's next to Feraro's Pizza and run by the same owners.

Both of the Brothers Peterson, as they're being billed, have some impressive credits. Mark (pictured) has toured with singer Cassandra Wilson and numerous others, and now is working with Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid producing soundtracks for TV and film. "Tru" is a both a graduate and former faculty member of Berklee College of Music who's worked with the Black Rock Coalition, Oliver Lake, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and more.

They'll be joined by two St. Louis musicians, keyboardist Mike Carosello and David Certain, who's best known as a bassist but will be on drums for this gig. Certain also will be working with the Engine Room's proprietors to book more live music there in the future; stay tuned to StLJN for more details on that.

Admission to the Brothers Peterson at the Engine Room will be $10 at the door.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase:
Winter/spring 2014 jazz preview, part 2



This week, it's part two of our winter/spring 2014 preview taking a look at some of the touring jazz and creative music performers who will be visiting St. Louis next year.

Part one, published last week, covered the month of January. Today, we pick up the timeline at the start of the following month for our first clip, featuring Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, who will be returning here on Saturday, February 1 to perform at The Demo.

They're seen here performing "The Burning" in a gig last August at Jazzfestival Saalfelden in Germany. Written for their album The Race Riot Suite, this piece (and the whole record) features the core JFJO band - pianist Brian Haas,bassist Jeff Harshbarger lap steel guitarist Chris Combs, and drummer Josh Raymer - augmented by a five-piece horn section, comprised of Steven Bernstein (trumpet, slide trumpet), Peter Apfelbaum (tenor and baritone saxophone), Mark Southerland (tenor saxophone), Skerik (saxophones) and Matt Leland (trombone).

Down below, you can see pianist Bill Charlap who will be in St. Louis to team up with saxophonist Houston Person to play Wednesday, February 5 through Saturday, February 8 at Jazz at the Bistro. The video, recorded in October 2013 at KPLU radio in Seattle, features Charlap doing brief solo interpretations of "All The Things You Are" and "Sophisticated Lady."

Meanwhile, Person can be seen in the third clip, playing Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'" in June of this year at the Blue Note in NYC, accompanied by pianist Joe Alterman, bassist James Cammack and drummer Alex Raderman.

The following weekend, the Cuban-born pianist Chucho Valdés and his quintet will perform on Saturday, February 15 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The fourth video features their complete set from this year's Barcelona Jazz Festival.

A few days later, bassist Christian McBride checks into Jazz at the Bistro, where he'll play with his new trio from Wednesday, February 19 through Saturday, February 22. The group, which features pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens Jr., is featured on McBride's latest album Out Here. They're seen here playing "My Favorite Things" in November 2013 at the Teatro Verdi in Padova, Italy.

The sixth and final video features bassist Josh Abrams’ Natural Information Society, who will be here to play in a concert presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, February 22 at Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave. Although Abrams is known primarily for playing the standard acoustic bass, the Natural Information Society is premised on his use of the guimbri, "a three-stringed animal hide bass traditionally used by the Gnawa of north Africa in healing ceremonies," which you can see him play in this undated clip.

Next week, we'll present part three of StLJN's winter/spring 2014 jazz preview...









Friday, December 20, 2013

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A block of W. 77th St. between Riverside Dr. and West End Ave. on the Upper West Side of Manhattan has been renamed "Miles Davis Way" in honor of the legendary trumpeter, who lived there for nearly 25 years. Read all about it in stories from the New York Times and the Daily News.

* On a related note, an article by Jeff Winke of AllAboutJazz.com notes once again the historic importance of Davis' album Birth of the Cool.

* NYC audiences will get another chance to hear saxophonist Eric Person's "Thoughts on God" suite this year when Person (pictured) and his big band play the extended work on Sunday, December 29 for the Jazz Vespers program at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY.

* Multi-instrumentalist and composer Marty Ehrlich was interviewed by Open Sky Jazz.com about his new large ensemble album A Trumpet In The Morning. You can read a review of the album, written by Dan Bilawsky of AllAboutJazz.com, here .

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty sends word that Taran’s Free Jazz Hour radio show and podcast this week is playing music from his most recent album Time Space. Hegarty also reports that he's recently remixed the album for 5.1 surround sound; listeners can download the 5.1 remixes and his notes on surround sound playback here.

* Another email arriving at StLJN HQ says that bassist Zimbabwe Nkenya has a new mailing address and would enjoy hearing from friends, fans, and musical colleagues. Nkenya's musical activities have been limited since he suffered a stroke in the fall of 2009 that left him paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. Write to him at 1304 Highland Ave, Alton, IL 62002.

* The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra has posted on Facebook an album of photos from their recent performance at First Unity Church of St. Louis.

* Some sad news to pass along, too, as the Post-Dispatch reports that Robert Carter, who played trombone with the bands of Fate Marable, George Hudson and Singleton Palmer and served as vice-president and president of Musicians’ Union Local 197, has died at age 98. Also, the Gateway City Big Band reported this week via Twitter that the band's longtime trumpeter Herb Booth has died. Condolences to the families and friends of both men.

* Jazz radio update: On this week's episode of "Somethin' Else" on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, host Calvin Wilson celebrates the holiday season with recordings by artists from around the world, including drummer Manu Katche, pianist Tord Gustavsen and singer Neneh Cherry. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

(Edited 12/26/13 to fix a typo.) 

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Gaslight Cabaret Festival to be held
February 22 - April 26 at Gaslight Theater

Cabaret producers The Presenters Dolan yesterday announced a new series of performances called the Gaslight Cabaret Festival that will begin February 22 and continue through the end of April at the Gaslight Theater, 358 Boyle in the Central West End.

Twelve acts are booked for a total of twenty-two performances, including three touring headliners - Marissa Mulder (pictured), Emily Bergl, and rocker/reality-TV-star Storm Large - making their St. Louis debuts, as well as a number of St. Louis' favorite homegrown performers.

The schedule in chronological order is:

Saturday, February 22:  Tim Schall - "1961"
Thursday, February 27 - Saturday, March 1:   Marissa Mulder - "The Songs of Tom Waits"

Thursday, March 6:  Ken Haller - "The TV Show"
Friday, March 7:  Joe Dreyer and Rosemary Watts - "Swing Into Spring"
Saturday, March 8:  Connie Fairchild - "Down By The River"
Thursday, March 13 - Saturday, March 15:  Emily Bergl - "Until the Real Thing Comes Along"
Saturday, March 29:  Joe Dreyer and Rosemary Watts - "Swing Into Spring"

Thursday, April 3:  Morgan A. Faulkner - "I Got It All From My Mother"
Friday, April 4:  Katie McGrath - "Love in the Desert: Romance in an Age of Scarcity"
Saturday, April 5:  Todd and Kelly Decker - "They Can't Take That Away from Me: Songs and Stories of George and Ira Gershwin"
Thursday, April 10:  Taylor Pietz - "If I Only Had a Brain"
Friday, April 11 & Saturday, April 12:  Storm Large - "Taken By Storm: songs of seduction and obsession"
Friday, April 25 & Saturday, April 26:  Lara Teeter - "An Evening With..."

Four-show subscriptions are available at $139 for premium seating, $121 for regular seating, while single tickets are priced from $22 to $45, depending on the performance and seating option selected. Subscriptions and single tickets for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival are on sale now via http://www.licketytix.com or by phone at 314-725-4200, ext 10.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Jazz this week: Bucky Pizzarelli & John Pizzarelli, Tatsuya Nakatani, Bhob Rainey, Dave Dickey Big Band, and more

This weekend's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a few final chances to hear some holiday jazz, as well as music from a famed father-and-son team of guitarists and two evenings featuring touring free improvisors. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli and John Pizzarelli open a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro, continuing through Saturday.  While John Pizzarelli is a St. Louis favorite who has appeared here many times at the Bistro and elsewhere, this will be the first time in recent years that he's played here with his dad. (For more about the Pizzarellis, and some video clips of them playing together, please check out this post from a couple of weeks ago.)

As you might expect, demand for tickets has been brisk, and as of this writing, Jazz St. Louis reports that the early shows for all four nights are essentially sold out, with just a few tickets remaining for the late shows.

Also tonight, singer Feyza Eren performs at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups; the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra performs big band versions of some holiday favorites at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company; and Cabaret Project St. Louis will hold their monthly open mic at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Tomorrow night, downtown will reverberate with danceable swing and jump blues as played by Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups and/or Miss Jubilee at Thaxton Speakeasy.

On Friday, fans of adventurous improv will want to check out percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani (pictured) and his Gong Orchestra at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center; while those still seeking additional Christmas spirit will find it in plentiful supply at the first of two nights of the Funky Butt Brass Band's annual Holiday Brasstravaganza at Off Broadway.

That same evening, pianist and St. Louis native John McDaniel has sold out two performances of his show "Home For The Holidays" at Kranzberg Arts Center, so if you don't have tickets, your only option at this point is to hope for a last-minute cancellation.

Elsewhere around town on Friday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black are back at Chaser's Lounge in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; singer Ann Dueren and her trio will be at Il Bel Lago; and guitarist
Tom Byrne leads a trio at Thurman Grill.  Also on Friday, singer Nicholas Brooks, who's originally from East St. Louis and has played Vegas and toured nationally as Sammy Davis Jr. in a "Rat Pack" themed show, will present the first of two Christmas-themed performances this weekend Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Saturday, crooner Gene Lynn will help inaugurate the upstairs performance space at Nathalie's, a new restaurant occupying the space at 4356 Lindell in the Central West End that formerly was home to Salt and before that, Savor and the Cabaret at Savor. Also on Saturday, keyboardist Jesse Prather and his band Jus4U with singer Adrianne Felton will present a "Smooth Jazz Christmas Concert" at Jazz on Broadway.

On Sunday, you've got a couple of final chances to get a holiday music fix, as percussionist Joe Pastor plays what's being billed as a "Christmas Jazz Show" at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, and the Dave Dickey Big Band promises some seasonal sounds during their last monthly gig of the year at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company. As a bonus, the Webster Groves High School jazz ensemble will perform Duke Ellington's "Nutcracker Suite" during the Dickey band's intermission.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Dizzy Atmosphere will play at The Shaved Duck, and the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center will present another concert in their new "Quiet Music" Series, incorporating the annual Christmas week visit from improvising saxophonist Bhob Rainey into a show that also will feature music from Greg Farough and Mark Sarich.

Due to the holidays, the next "jazz this week" post her won't appear until Thursday, December 26. Until then, 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.)