Regina Carter
Miles Davis would have turned 80 this year, and in taking stock of the late trumpeter's legacy, the Voice of America recently noted that overall, 2006 has been a good year for Miles' fans, with the recently issued Prestige Sessions box set getting good reviews...Meanwhile, Miles' fellow jazz trumpet icon and St. Louis area native Clark Terry has been named to ASCAP's Wall of Fame...Another St. Louis native, saxophonist Greg Osby, is on tour this summer with former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh. Unfortunately, the closest to St. Louis that the tour will come is Kansas City...Saxophonist, composer, provocateur and former Webster University student John Zorn is also staying busy, gigging with his Electric Masada band at the Toronto Jazz Festival and heading over to the UK to take part in a tribute to the late improvising guitarist Derek Bailey...The World Saxophone Quartet also recently paid a visit to England, and you can read a review of their concert in Cheltenham here...WSQ founder and alto saxophonist Oliver Lake has a new CD with drummer Andrew Cyrille and bassist Reggie Workman. Read a review here...And pianist Linda Presgrave, a St. Louisan turned New Yorker who was back in the Gateway City this month to promote her new CD, dropped StLJN a note to say she recently did a gig "at a fairly new jazz venue "the Bacchus Room" in the East Village with singer Judi Silvano (Joe Lovano's wife). It was Judi (vocals), the incredible bassist Ratso B. Harris (complete with a 6 string acoustic bass), myself on piano and Joe Lovano sat in all night and played soprano!" Nice company you're traveling in there, Ms. Presgrave.
Meanwhile, there's also lots of news about musicians who have recently been to St. Louis, and those who are coming here soon. Pianist Benny Green, here earlier this year at Jazz at the Bistro with guitarist Russell Malone, recently went to Drake University in Iowa to work with student musicians there, and All About Jazz.com contributor Victor Verney penned an interesting and detailed account of Green's visit ...Heading even farther north, pianist, singer and St. Louis favorite Ann Hampton Callaway recently performed with the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa... Trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who played the Sheldon in April, recently guest lectured at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and saxophonist John Ellis, in town last month to promote his new CD, was the subject of a recent profile/interview at All About Jazz.com.
As for the coming attractions, singer Rosanna Vitro, who will be in St. Louis on July 8 to perform at Finale, has released a new CD, Live at the Kennedy Center. You can download a free track from the CD in MP3 format here....Trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, another Finale favorite due to return to St. Louis during Thanksgiving week, is one of a number of jazz mentors working with student musicians in a summer program in Skillman, NJ...Vocalist Pyeng Threadgill will also be in St. Louis in July, performing at Jazz at the Bistro, but first she'll be one of the artists performing at the "Big Apple Barbecue Block Party" in NYC...Singer Dianne Reeves recently took part in a tribute to Sarah Vaughan with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra. Reeves will play the Edison Theatre here in September....Trumpeter Chris Botti, who will be back in town next January at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, recently played NYC's Carnegie Hall...And there's also news from a number of musicians who are schedules to play St. Louis as part of Jazz at the Bistro's 2006-07 season. Violinist Regina Carter just performed at the Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles, and has a new CD, I'll Be Seeing You - A Sentimental Journey...Guitarist John Scofield is curating and performing at a jazz festival in upstate Katonah, NY...Drummer/singer Grady Tate is among a number of musicians performing for NYC teens in a free program sponsored by the Jazz Museum in Harlem...And, last but certainly not least, Jane Monheit recently sang at the Usdan Center in Long Island
To close out this edition of "Notes from the Net," let's follow up on some stories StLJN has covered before...While the reconstruction of New Orleans continues to be fraught with problems, organizations like the Jazz Foundation of America are continuing to raise money for New Orleans musicians, and the city has drawn up plans for a new $700 million jazz district and central park. Meanwhile, one of New Orleans' most famous sons, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, is planning a television special to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and call attention to the continuing challenges of rebuilding his hometown....And in more difficult news from the Crescent City, pianist Hilton Ruiz, severely injured in an incident outside a club there, passed away in a local hospital without ever regaining consciousness. Ruiz' family is suing the club where the incident is alleged to have occured...To end on a happier note, it's kind of nice while that we're celebrating jazz music with a festival this month here in St. Louis, Missouri, music fans halfway around the world in St. Louis, Senegal are doing the very same thing at their own jazz fest.
(Edited 6/22/06 to add a link.)
No comments:
Post a Comment