Jazz St. Louis to present community concerts, CD listening club

With the 2008-09 season at Jazz at the Bistro now well underway, Jazz St. Louis is launching two new initiatives this month.

The first is the Whitaker Community Concerts, a series of free Thursday night performances featuring St. Louis-based musicians at various venues around the metro area. The Community Concerts series kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 16 with a concert by singer Kim Massie at the Foundry Arts Centre in St. Charles.

JSL director of operations Bob Bennett tells StLJN that they're still booking talent for the rest of the shows, which will include a concert on December 11 at the Black Cat Theatre in Maplewood that will focus on the music of Louis Armstrong; a show on March 12, 2009 at Lucas School House; and the series finale on May 7, 2009, which will be devoted to the music of Miles Davis and take place at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park.

The other new program is the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club, described as a "book club for your ears" that will help listeners explore and understand great jazz recordings while building their personal jazz libraries. The first CD Listening Club session will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 14 at Borders Books and Music, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd in Brentwood. Jazz journalist/artist manager/producer Terry Perkins will serve as MC and interviewer as he and JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford discuss one of Bradford's favorites, Duke Ellington's classic live recording Ellington at Newport 1956.

Subsequent listening sessions will take place at the same location beginning at 7:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month. Admission is free, and special discounts on the featured CD and other music-related items will be available the night of the listening club event. Seems like a promising idea, though one might wish that JSL had been able to work out an arrangement with one of St. Louis' fine independent music stores instead of sending more business to a national chain like Borders.

(Edited 10/2/08 to better explain Perkins' and Bradford's roles in the CD listening club discussion.)

Riverfront Times 2008 "Best of St. Louis" winners include Carolbeth True, Jazz at the Bistro

The Riverfront Times' 2008 "Best of St. Louis" issue is out, and this year's winners include pianist Carolbeth True for "Best Jazz Artist" and Jazz at the Bistro for "Best Jazz Club." KDHX's "All Soul, No Borders," hosted by Josh Weinstein, won as "Best Jazz Radio Program," and Swing Set was named "Best Cover Band."

Other winners of note include Rough Grooves as "Best Blues Artists" and BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups as "Best Blues Club." You can read the complete 2008 "Best of St. Louis" coverage here.

David Sanborn concert reviewed in Post-Dispatch

Saxophonist and St. Louis native David Sanborn's concert Friday night at The Pageant was reviewed for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Terry Perkins. You can read Perkins' account of the show online here.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Jason Moran

This week, let's take a look at some video footage of pianist Jason Moran, who's coming to St. Louis next Sunday, October 5, to perform a solo concert at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. The 33-year-old is considered one of the top young piano players in jazz, and in addition to leading his own group, he has toured and recorded with jazz notables such as Greg Osby, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Don Byron, Steve Coleman, Lee Konitz, Von Freeman, Christian McBride and Ravi Coltrane.

The first two clips are excerpted from a performance by Moran and his group, the Bandwagon, in Munich, Germany, while the third video features the group performing Moran's composition "He Puts On His Hat And Leaves" at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tickets for Moran's St. Louis concert are available here.

SIUE Friends of Music "Hollywood Jazz" benefit scheduled for next Sunday, October 5

Singer Mardra Thomas (pictured) and her group plus the Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville Concert Jazz Band conducted by Jason Swagler will be the featured performers at "Hollywood Jazz," a dinner and benefit for the SIUE Friends of Music Scholarship Fund that will take place starting at 5:30 p.m. next Sunday, October 5 in SIUE's Meridian Ballroom.

In keeping with the Hollywood theme, guests will “walk the red carpet” as they enter the ballroom. A 30-minute visual montage from notable jazz films will serve as backdrop for cocktails and Thomas' performance, which will include jazz interpretations of songs from the movies. Following a formal dinner, the SIUE Jazz Concert Band will play big band dance music until 9:00 p.m.

Tickets for “Hollywood Jazz” are $60 per person or $480 for a table for eight. To make reservations or get more information, you can call the SIUE Department of Music at 618-650-3900 or toll-free at 888-328-5168, Extension 3900.

Jazz this week: David Sanborn, Cedar Walton, Vinny Golia Large Ensemble, Frank Catalano, Bruce Menefield, KMOX Jazz & Wine Festival, and more

It's potentially a very busy week for fans of jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with plenty of noteworthy performances happening over the next few days. Let's look at some of the highlights:

This evening, veteran pianist Cedar Walton begins a four-night run with his trio at Jazz at the Bistro. Arriving on the scene in the late 1950s, Walton has worked with heavyweight musicians such as Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Abbey Lincoln, J.J. Johnson, Charles McPherson and Lee Morgan in addition to leading his own groups. Though he began by playing hard bop and still is closely identified with that style, Walton is a fine all-around jazz pianist and even made some funk-oriented records back in the 1970s. You can see some video of Walton in action in this previous StLJN post, and listen to him being interviewed in a Jazz St. Louis podcast here.

On Thursday evening, Two Times True, featuring pianist Carolbeth True and her son, drummer David True, will do a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Then on Friday, alto saxophonist and St. Louis native David Sanborn (pictured) comes home for the first time in a couple of years to perform at The Pageant. Sanborn is touring in support of his latest CD, Here and Gone, which is a tribute to the music of Ray Charles and to saxophonists David "Fathead" Newman and Hank Crawford, who sparked Charles' bands of the 1950s and early 1960s and were key early influences on Sanborn. Given his affection for the material, expect several numbers from Here and Gone included in the show along with the customary mix of tunes from Sanborn's extensive catalog.

UPDATE, 3:00 p.m., 9/25/08: Local music journalist Dan Durcholz did an interview with Sanborn for the online publication the St. Louis Beacon. You can read it here.

Also on Friday, Cincinnati saxophonist Bruce Menefield begins a two-night stand at Brandt's. This is, as far as I know, Menefield's first trip to St. Louis; he'll be working Friday night with bassist Jeff Anderson and drummer James Jackson, and on Saturday night with guitarist Dave Black and Jackson. You can see some video of Menefield in this previous StLJN post, as well as here.

Moving on to Saturday, Los Angeles-based multi-woodwind player and composer Vinny Golia will instantiate a St. Louis version of his Large Ensemble for a concert at Webster University Community Music School. The event, presented by New Music Circle as the kickoff to their 50th season, will feature a 27-piece group (21 students and six professionals, according to the promotional email from NMC) of local and regional players performing some of Golia's large-scale works, which include both composed and improvised materials and incorporate influences from a number of musical genres as well as some unconventional playing techniques.

Also on Saturday, radio station KMOX (1120 AM) presents their third annual Jazz and Wine Festival starting at 1:00 p.m. at Faust Park in Chesterfield. This year's musical lineup consists entirely of groups led by vocalists, with Kim Massie, Anita Rosamond and Jeanne Trevor serving as the featured attractions. If your tastes run more toward the instrumental and/or freely improvisational, Saturday afternoon also is when the BAG Trio, featuring bassist Zimbabwe Nkenya, drummer Gary Sykes and trumpeter/percussionist Mike Nelson, kicks off this fall's series of free concerts at the Kemper Museum on the Washington University campus.

On Sunday night, the Todd Mosby Group and Orange, featuring members of the Erin Bode Group, provide a double bill of electrified jazz at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups, and on Monday, the Sessions Big Band takes the stage at BB's. And as if all that weren't enough for one week, on Tuesday the energetic saxophonist Frank Catalano visits from Chicago to perform a free show at The Gramophone, and pianist/singer and longtime local favorite Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum plays at Brandt's. (You can see a couple of video clips of Catalano in performance here.)

To see listings of more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.

Miles Davis estate makes donation to East St. Louis arts programs

A story in the Belleville News-Democrat says that the estate of trumpeter Miles Davis is making a donation to arts programs in East St. Louis.

According to the story, Davis' nephew, Vincent Wilburn Jr., and Miles Davis Properties LLC General Manager Darryl Porter were scheduled to be at the East St. Louis municipal building yesterday to present a check to the city of East St. Louis and the East St. Louis-St. Clair County Arts Council. "The city and arts council will use the funds to further the arts and expose East St. Louis and St. Louis students to the arts," the article said. Davis was born in Alton and grew up in East St. Louis.

Jazz St. Louis podcasts offer interviews with visiting artists

Although it somehow escaped my notice until now, earlier this month Jazz St. Louis launched a series of podcasts featuring interviews with visiting artists performing at Jazz at the Bistro.

There are two podcasts online so far, with JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford conversing with pianist and singer Tony DeSare, who played the Bistro two weeks ago, and pianist Cedar Walton, who's performing there this week. You can stream or download the DeSare interview here, while the Walton interview is here.

Pollstar: John Pizzarelli to play the TouPAC next April

The online tour information service Pollstar has added a listing showing guitarist/singer John Pizzarelli performing at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 18, 2009.

Astute observers will note that this date is right around the time of year that the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, which uses the TouPAC as its primary venue, is usually held. Might Pizzarelli be scheduled as one of the guest artists and clinicians for that event? The GSLJF's Web site doesn't yet list any dates for 2009, so we'll have to wait a while to find out. And as always, know that listings appearing on Pollstar should not be considered confirmed until officially announced by the venue.

Speaking of which, another St. Louis show for Pizzarelli, previously announced back in June on Pollstar and on his Website for October 11 at the Ritz Carlton, would seem to be off. The listing still shows up on Pollstar, but it has disappeared from Pizzarelli's itinerary as shown online, and there's no mention of it anywhere on the Ritz Carlton's site. (It's possible he might be playing a private event at the hotel, but if so, I haven't been able to find anything about it, and so it looks like local Pizzarelliacs may have to wait until next spring to see him again.)

UPDATE - 2:00 p.m, 9/25/08: Publicist Madeline Dames emailed to say that Pizzarelli in fact will be appearing in St. Louis on October 11, performing at the Ritz Carlton in a benefit for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Ticket information for the event is here.

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds presents a different online music video every day, drawing from genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock and experimental.

Recent posts have included clips of the Charles Gayle Trio, Duke Ellington, Lambert Hendricks and Ross, Tower of Power, King Crimson, David "Fathead" Newman, Freddie King, Medeski Martin & Wood, Trifactor, the Gil Evans Orchestra, Frank Zappa, Bootsy Collins, the Bar-Kays, Ella Fitzgerald, Average White Band, Miles Davis, The Band, El Chicano, Fats Waller, and B.B King with Eric Clapton.

See them all, plus hundreds more music videos from the archives, by visiting http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.

"Peanuts" Whalum featured in Cincinnati Enquirer

St. Louis pianist, singer and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum is in Cincinnati this weekend to play the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, and is the subject of a nice feature story in the local daily, the Enquirer, in conjunction with his visit. You can read the article online here.

Cooper-Moore to play Joe's Cafe on October 25

Via poet, mixologist and man-about-town Brett Underwood, StLJN has learned that musician Cooper-Moore, who plays original jazz- and blues-influenced music on both conventional and self-built instruments, is coming to St. Louis on Saturday, October 25 to perform at Joe's Cafe.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 on the day of show, and can be purchased at Subterranean Books and Marbles Yoga Studio; by emailing Josh Weinstein at allsoul@gmail.com; or calling 314-664-6998. The concert begins at 8:00 p.m. at Joe's Cafe, which also is the studio of artist Bill Christman and is located at 6014 Kingsbury (just west of Des Peres) in St. Louis.

You can read more about Cooper-Moore here, here and here, and Weinstein also will be playing some of Moore's recordings on upcoming editions of his radio show "All Soul, No Borders," which airs at 10:30 p.m. Sundays on KDHX (FM 88.1). UPDATE - 9/23/08: Weinstein emailed to say that Cooper-Moore also will perform live in the KDHX studio on the Sunday, October 26 edition of "All Soul, No Borders."

(Edited 9/23/08 to correct the date and add info on where tickets can be purchased.)

"Birth of the Cool" exhibit reviewed in Post-Dispatch

St. Louis Post-Dispatch visual arts critic David Bonetti's review of the new exhibit at the Kemper Museum is now online. "Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design and Culture at Midcentury" includes a "jazz lounge' where visitors can hear music and see videos featuring jazz musicians of the late 1950s, and the museum also is presenting a jazz concert series in conjunction with the exhibit. You can read Bonetti's review here.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Frank Catalano's "Funky Dunky" and "Mighty Burner"

This week, let's look at a couple of clips featuring Chicago saxophonist Frank Catalano, who will be in St. Louis to perform on September 30 at The Gramophone as part of the Tuesday night series the club is co-presenting with Jazz St. Louis.

The first video shows Catalano and his band doing his original composition "Funky Dunky" at the Cotton Club in Tokyo, Japan, while the second clip finds him back on home turf, playing "Mighty Burner" at the famous Chicago nightspot the Green Mill. No word yet as to who will be playing with Catalano on his St. Louis gig, but we can tell you that the Tuesday night shows at The Gramophone begin at 9:00 p.m., and that they're free, with no cover or admission charge.

Jazz this week: Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival, Brian Owens, Willie Akins, Cornet Chop Suey, and more

While there are no major touring jazz musicians visiting St. Louis this week, there's plenty of activity involving local players. Let's look at some of the highlights:

Tonight, the great saxophonist Willie Akins does a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, while guitarist Dave Black performs at Brandt's

On Friday and Saturday, singer Brian Owens brings his mix of jazz, pop, R&B and gospel back to Jazz at the Bistro for a two-night stand. Also on Friday, the St. Louis Rivermen will present a traditional jazz performance at St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Belleville, kicking off the church's fall arts series.

In addition, Friday evening is the opening reception for the "Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture At Midcentury" exhibit at the Kemper Museum. The Museum's promotion for the free event says they'll have "a live jazz band performing Miles Davis's seminal album Birth of the Cool" (although they don't identify who the musicians will be, which seems a fairly significant omission).

The biggest music event of the weekend for jazz (and blues) enthusiasts happens on Saturday, when the annual Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival is staged in suburban Webster Groves. The free event starts in the morning with a workshop at Webster University for student musicians, and then the music begins at noon down the street in the old Webster Groves business district. This year's festival once again features two stages, with acts including singers Erin Bode (pictured) and Debby Lennon; the New Orleans-style funk band Gumbohead; the Webster University jazz faculty; guitarist Todd Mosby, and more.

On Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club kicks off its fall season with a concert of traditional jazz and swing by Cornet Chop Suey at the Bel-Air Bowl in Belleville. Also on Sunday afternoon, saxophonist Tim Cunningham brings his smooth jazz sound to the the Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday guitarist Tom Byrne and Friends will perform at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, and trumpeter Keith Moyer's group plays at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups. And on Tuesday, the David Wiatrolik Trio returns to the The Gramophone and singer Jeanne Trevor performs at Brandt's.

As always, the performances mentioned here are just some of the week's highlights, so to see listings of more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.)

Peter White Christmas show coming to The Pageant on November 30

This just in: Smooth jazz guitarist Peter White's Christmas show will be coming to St. Louis on Sunday, November 30 for a performance at The Pageant. Along with White, this year's edition of the holiday program features trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Mindi Abair (pictured).

Tickets for the Peter White Christmas show go on sale at 5:00 p.m. this Friday, September 19, and can be purchased online via Ticketmaster and in person at The Pageant box office and all Ticketmaster outlets.

BAG II to cease operations at end of 2008

BAG II, which attempted to revive the spirit of St. Louis' storied Black Artists Group, will be ceasing operations at the end of 2008. Here's the announcement sent out by Zimbabwe Nkenya, bassist/composer and one of the prime movers of BAG II:

"Thank you for your support for and interest in “the new” BAG II.

For the past year and a half we have offered free public events at Scott Joplin House State Historic Site featuring some of the best creative improvisational music and literary work in St. Louis today.

BAG II was originally started by Ajule Sonny Rutlin and Vincent Terrell. Since their sudden passing, within months of each other, it has been difficult to facilitate a consistent coming together of creative energy here in St. Louis.

BAG lives on, but BAG II, while it was good, has gone as far as it can go.

Plan to join us for the last three months of BAG II programming:

Sunday, October 26th
Sunday, November 23rd
Sunday, December 28th

All BAG II events begin at 7 PM, are free, family-friendly and open to the public.

In the New Year we’ll be moving on to new things, looking forward to more creative work in St. Louis and beyond. We plan to take down the BAG II web site and discontinue this mailing list in January 2009.

Check www.myspace.com/zimbabwenkenya to stay in touch,

Peace,
Zimbabwe"

StLJN will have more details on BAG II's last three programs as they are announced, and I also hope to be able to find out more about the decision to end the organzation's run as well as Nkenya's future plans. Stay tuned.

Jazz St. Louis presenting "Jazz 101" this Thursday, September 18

In my most recent post about Jazz St. Louis' various educational efforts, I neglected to mention that JSL will also be offering their "Jazz 101" program again this year. "Jazz 101" is an introduction to jazz aimed at adults who'd like to better understand the music, and is presented as a series of musical demonstrations and discussions.

JSL director of education Phil Dunlap and his band the Legacy Jazz Quintet will present this season's first "Jazz 101" program, "Understanding Swing," at 8:30 p.m. this Thursday, September 18 at Jazz at the Bistro. The cost is $10 per person; for more details, see this post on Dunlap's blog or call 314-289-3040.

Photos from "Peanuts" Whalum's 80th birthday party now online

Jay Brandt of Brandt's informs StLJN that photos and video from Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum's recent 80th birthday party are now available online. The much-loved singer, pianist and saxophonist celebrated his natal day at the club on Sunday, September 7 with a lively crowd that included many friends, fans and St. Louis musicians as well as his nephew, the well-known smooth jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum, who's hosting the photos and video on his Web site here.

Brandt says the event also raised $2,000 for a music scholarship fund named after "Peanuts" Whalum, and notes that both Whalums will be among the performers on this fall's Smooth Jazz Cruise produced by St. Louis- based Jazz Cruises LLC.

St. Louis Rivermen play McComb festival

The St. Louis Rivermen were one of the featured attractions at the Al Sears Jazz Festival held this past weekend in McComb, IL, and were quite the crowd pleasers according to the local paper's account of the event, which you can read here. The festival also included performances from the Craig Russo Latin Jazz Project, who were in St. Louis earlier this month to play Jazz at the Bistro; Chicago jazz violinist Diane Delin; and five other bands.

After renovations, Soulard Preservation Hall reopens for concerts, parties

According to a recent blog post by St. Louis Post-Dispatch pop music reporter Kevin Johnson, the new owners of Soulard Preservation Hall have completed $2 million in renovations and have reopened the facility hoping to present "jazz concerts, parties, receptions and events." Read the whole post here.

Although nowhere near as venerable as the famed New Orleans building from which it borrows a name, the Soulard Preservation Hall has served as a live music venue in the past, hosting blues, rock, zydeco, the occasional jazz concert and even some live theater productions from roughly the mid-1980s into the 1990s. I attended a number of events there in that period, including one concert by Boston's Either/Orchestra for which the band nearly outnumbered the audience, and always liked the feel of the room and the bar area, even in their rundown, pre-renovated state. Here's hoping the new owners of Soulard Preservation Hall can find a successful formula for the venue that, per Johnson's article, includes live jazz.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Bruce Menefield plays "Little Sunflower" and "Circle of Prayer"

For this week's video showcase, let's get acquainted with saxophonist Bruce Menefield, a mainstay of the Cincinnati jazz scene who's coming to St. Louis to play Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28 at Brandt's Cafe and Red Carpet Lounge.

For his St. Louis engagement, Menefield will be backed by St. Louis' James Jackson (drums), Jeff Anderson (bass) and Dave Black (guitar). Here, he can be seen with his own band, performing "Little Sunflower" at Jasper's (a jazz club in Cincy) and "Circle of Prayer" at a outdoor event called "Jazz at Jordan."

Jazz this week: The Cunninghams, Tony DeSare, "BAG and Beyond," and more

It's a week of homecomings for St. Louis jazz, as performers from both the Gaslight Square era of the early 1960s and the experimental period of the late 1960s return to local venues.

The Gaslight Square veteran is singer/percussionist/multi-instrumentalist Don Cunningham, who now lives in Las Vegas and works with his wife Alicia, a singer and pianist, as The Cunninghams. They'll be at the Sheldon Concert Hall this evening with an act that's a mix of cleverly arranged jazz vocals, straightahead swing, Latin jazz, lounge music and exotica, honed by many years touring the United States and Asia as headliners and as featured performers with the Count Basie Orchestra. I wrote more about The Cunninghams when they were in town in July 2007, and you can read those posts here and here.

Also returning to St. Louis this weekend are saxophonist Oliver Lake, trumpeter Rasul Siddik and other members of the original Black Artists Group, the musicians and artists collective that flourished here briefly in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lake, Siddik, and many other former BAG members will be at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown this weekend in conjunction with a three-day series of events dubbed "BAG and Beyond."

It starts with a reception on Friday evening for an exhibit by artist Oliver Jackson, another co-founder of the multi-disciplinary arts collective. Saturday's concert will showcase Siddik, performing with pianist Katy Roberts, plus a group led by saxophonist Freddie Washington and featuring young trumpeter Marlon Bonds, plus additional musical, poetry and spoken word performances. On Sunday, Lake will perform on a bill that also includes his fellow World Saxophone Quartet member and BAG co-founder, baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett (who still lives nearby in Brooklyn, IL), poet Quincy Troupe and others. For more on the "BAG and Beyond" weekend, see the posts here, here and here. (As an aside, this week's edition of the St. Louis American features some previously unpublished poetry by Troupe and other BAG associated writers; read their work online here.)

Elsewhere in town, clarinetist Scott Alberici will give a free concert tonight to kick off the fall 2008 Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Alberici probably is the preeminent local player on his instrument, with great technical facility and a pleasing tone, and his incorporation of modern influences - to these ears, similar in some ways to the approach of Eddie Daniels - allows him to demonstrate respect for the long history of the clarinet in jazz without being completely hemmed in by traditional conceptions.

Last but not least, singer/pianist Tony DeSare (pictured) has returned for another stint at Jazz at the Bistro, where he'll perform through Saturday night. (DeSare's not from St. Louis, but given that this is his fourth trip here in the last three years, he's probably starting to feel somewhat at home.) If you're a fan of vintage Frank Sinatra or and/or Harry Connick Jr., chances are you'll enjoy DeSare, who's a highly skilled piano player as well as a personable entertainer. You can see a couple of videos of DeSare in action here.

These performances are just some of the week's highlights, so to see listings of more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.

Site news: Jazz calendar updated

Be advised that yr. humble & harried editor has just about completed an extensive update of the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

Among the additions are everything that' s been announced so far about the 2008-09 musical lineups for Jazz at the Bistro, the Sheldon Concert Hall, the Touhill Performing Arts Center, and New Music Circle, as well as fall schedules for the Jazz at Holmes and Kemper Museum series at Washington University and the St. Louis Jazz Club. There still are a handful of individual club and band listings that need to get plugged in here and there, but that work should be wrapped up tonight. Also, there are a couple of local presenters, notably the Webster University music department, who have yet to make their 2008-09 schedules public (at least anywhere that I can find). That information will be added as soon as it's available

Of course, the work of keeping the calendar up to date is never truly done, as your submissions of event information are always welcome. If you're a band, musician, presenter, promoter, club owner, venue operator, school band director, etc. you can get your concert, club gig or other jazz- or creative music-related event included in the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar simply by emailing the information to me at stljazznotes at yahoo dot com. The listings are free of charge, and you don't have to send an elaborate press release - a simple note will do, but please be sure to include the name of the musician or group and/or a brief description of the event; the time, date and place; and admission charge, if any.

Tickets for SLSO Guitar Festival concert at The Pageant on sale this Friday

Tickets for what promises to be the most intriguing program of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's 2008 Guitar Festival will go on sale at 5:00 p.m. this Friday, September 12.

The concert is scheduled for Thursday, November 13 at The Pageant, and will feature John Patitucci, known as one of the top bassists in jazz for his work with Chick Corea and other prominent musicians, and guitarist/composer Steven Mackey. Joined by members of the SLSO, they'll perform a program that will include Edgard Varese's "Arcana" and Frank Zappa's "G-Spot Tornado," with 98 more local guitarists pitching in for a rendition of a Glenn Branca symphony scored for 100 electric guitars. Tickets for the November 13 concert at The Pageant can be purchased online via Ticketmaster and in person at The Pageant Box Office and at all Ticketmaster outlets.

The SLSO's Guitar Festival will open with two chamber music concerts featuring Mackey and guitarist Jason Vieaux on Tuesday, November 11 and Wednesday, November 12 at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, 3716 Washington Blvd. The program and the on-sale date for tickets to these two concerts are yet to be announced.

The festival will conclude on Friday, November 14 and Saturday, November 15, with Patitucci performing with the Symphony in a program at Powell Hall that will include Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and a new violin concerto composed by Mackey. Tickets for those two concerts are on sale now via the Powell Symphony Hall box office, with tickets for Friday's performance available here, and for Saturday's concert here.

New Music Circle 2008-09 season to include concerts by Vinny Golia Large Ensemble, Morton Subotnick

Concerts by the 27-piece Vinny Golia Large Ensemble and electronic music legend Morton Subotnick (pictured) will be among the highlights of New Music Circle's 2008-09 season, the fiftieth anniversary year for the venerable presenting organization.

Golia, who composes and improvises on multiple woodwind instruments, will kick off the NMC season with a performance on Saturday, September 27 at the Webster University Community Music School, 534 Garden Ave. NMC says they've "assembled a 27-piece group of top local and national talent for the concert. Large Ensemble compositions are based in the Jazz tradition and blend heavily notated contemporary chamber music with improvisation, and incorporate various extended instrumental techniques, 20th-century idioms, and world music concepts. Golia's music demands an exceptional group of dedicated musicians, adept at both reading and improvising, and at home in a wide variety of styles."

Subotnick comes to St. Louis on Saturday, November 22, when he'll perform "Until Spring Revisited," a composition involving electronic music and video, at the Mildred E. Bastian Performing Arts Center at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park, 5600 Oakland Ave. Subotnick, a pioneer in the development of electronic music and multimedia performance, first gained fame for his 1967 work "Silver Apples of the Moon" and has gone on to receive multiple Rockefeller Grants, the Guggenheim Grant, ASCAP’s John Cage Award, and many awards and accolades.

Also on NMC's season schedule:

* Percussionist/composer Rich O’Donnell, who will offer a multi-media performance called "WORDSDROW" on Saturday, October 18 at Satori, 3003 Locust.

* Electronic musician James Hegarty, who will present "Antithesis Reflex" on Friday, November 7 at Three Sinks Gallery, 8715 Big Bend Blvd.

* The twenty-second installment of "Circle/Cinema," which combines live improvised music with silent film, on Sunday, November 16 at the St. Louis Art Museum Auditorium. The screening will be presented in association with the Museum and the St. Louis International Film Festival, but there are no details yet on the specific film or musicians involved.

* Percussionist Gino Robair, who will perform "I, Norton" on Saturday, March 7, 2009 at the Mildred E. Bastian Performing Art Center. The piece "is based on the life of Joshua Norton, who on September 17, 1859 proclaimed, “at the request of the citizens of these United States, I declare myself Emperor,” and is described as "an improvised collage structure that combines conduction (using handcues), graphic scores, memory-based improvisational structures, and fully notated works.

* Video artist Van McElwee, who will collaborate with O'Donnell and others for a program on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

* Electronic musician and former St. Louisan Tom Hamilton, who will perform Saturday, May 2, 2009 at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand Blvd.

In addition, the NMC season will include four more events whose precise dates and, in some cases, locations, are yet to be announced. In May 2009, composer, pianist, and electronic musician Chris Brown and Guillermo Galindo will come to Laumeier Sculpture Park to perform "River of Voices," for which "the audience is instructed to bring portable radios to receive a live broadcast on one of four low-power FM frequencies. As participants move through the park, they become an animated sound system for the multichannel electronic music piece." The other three events will feature performance artist Kelsey LaPoint in December; Hegarty in February, 2009; and O’Donnell sometime in the spring of 2009.

Season tickets are $80 for general admission and $40 for students. For more information, visit New Music Circle's Web site.

Sheldon Art Galleries to present exhibit of St. Louis concert photos

An upcoming exhibit at the Sheldon Art Galleries will document four decades of St. Louis concerts through photos and memorabilia drawn from the collections of concert promoter (and trumpet player) Steve Schankman and other local music industry notables.

"Jazz, Rock, and Soul: 40 Years of Music in St. Louis, 1968-2008" opens Friday, October 3 in the Sheldon's History of Jazz Gallery with a public reception from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The exhibit includes photos, memorabilia, archival information, graphic art, rare musical instruments, and video clips documenting jazz, rock and soul concerts in St. Louis over the last 40 years.

"The collection is drawn from the archives of Steve Schankman and Contemporary Productions with contributions from Joe Edwards, KSHE 95, Richard Miller, Mark O’Shaughnessy, Doreatha Polites, Mark Richman, the Sheldon Concert Hall, Steve Straub, Mary Strauss and the Fabulous Fox Theatre, and others," says the Sheldon's news release. "Highlights in the exhibit include instruments that once belonged to Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry and Maynard Ferguson and sheet music annotated by Louis Armstrong, all from the collection of Steven Schankman." Schankman, who also was one of the partners in the now-closed Finale Music and Dining, will present a free gallery talk at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 21.

The exhibit runs through February 7, 2009. Gallery hours are noon to 8:00 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; noon to 5:00 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays; 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturdays; and one hour prior to Sheldon performances and during intermission. Admission is free. For more information on the exhibition, visit the Galleries’ Web site.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Dave Liebman

With this week's news that Dave Liebman is coming to St. Louis in November to play a free concert for Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series, it seems an opportune time to look at some videos of the veteran saxophonist.

First up is Liebman's take on "My Favorite Things," a song popularized in the jazz world by John Coltrane, who's an important influence on Liebman's playing. Though not explicitly a Coltrane tribute, this clip help makes audible some of the the things Liebman got from Trane, and also gives an idea of how their approaches differ. (The backing band, with Joey Calderazzzo on piano, Dave Holland on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums, is pretty darned impressive, too.) The second video up above is a short interview that features Liebman talking about Coltrane and playing a bit with McCoy Tyner, the pianist in Coltrane's classic 1960s quartet.

Down below, we have three clips demonstrating Liebman's prowess in various musical settings. The first, "Saxophone Warrior" shows him doing his thing with a small jazz group. The second features Liebman's big band performing a composition called "Phillipe under the Green Bridge," with Liebman as featured soloist. The final clip shows Liebman in an intimate trio setting with bassist Mike Richmond and tabla player Badal Roy.

Jazz at Holmes Fall 2008 schedule includes concert by Dave Liebman

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University has announced its lineup of free concerts for Fall 2008, and, given that the series presents mostly local talent along with the occasional up-and-coming touring performer, they've snagged a relatively big name for this fall in the person of saxophonist Dave Liebman (pictured), who will perform on Thursday, November 13.

Liebman is nationally and internationally known as a saxophonist and composer, leading his own bands and playing with the group Saxophone Summit and with many jazz greats including Miles Davis, Chick Corea and Elvin Jones.

Other concerts in the Jazz at Holmes series, which begins next Thursday, September 11 with a performance by clarinetist Scott Alberici and his quartet, will feature St. Louis mainstays such as saxophonists Willie Akins and Dave Stone, pianists Carolbeth True and Ptah Williams, and guitarists William Lenihan and Steve Schenkel. Less familiar performers on the schedule include Austrian pianist Elizabeth Harnick and something called the FO[U]R PEACE BAND (neither of whom seem to have much of an Internet presence).

Here's the full Jazz at Holmes series schedule for Fall 2008:

Thursday, September 11: Scott Alberici Quartet

Thursday, September 18: Willie Akins Quartet

Thursday, September 25: Two Times True with pianist Carolbeth True and drummer David True

Thursday, October 9: Paul DeMarinis with vocalist Debby Lennon

Thursday, October 23: Dave Stone with pianist Adam Maness

Thursday, October 30: William Lenihan and Ptah Williams perform music from Miles Davis' Bitches Brew

Thursday, November 6: Elizabeth Harnick Trio

Thursday, November 13: Dave Liebman Quartet

Thursday, November 20: FO[U]R PEACE BAND

Thursday, December 4: Steve Schenkel with vocalist Ashley Mason

All concerts take place from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, and are free and open to the public. Holmes Lounge is located in Ridgley Hall,on the west side of Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

For more information about the Jazz at Holmes series, you can call (314) 862-0874 or email staylor@wustl.edu. To receive email notices about future events, send an email to tvs2@wustl.edu.

St. Louis Jazz Club sets fall 2008 schedule

The St. Louis Jazz Club has set its concert schedule for fall 2008, beginning (as described in the previous post) with this Sunday's annual picnic at Concord Farmer's Hall. The Club's season continues on Sunday, September 21 with a performance by the St. Louis-based jazz and swing band Cornet Chop Suey (pictured) at Bel-Air Bowl, 200 South Belt West in Belleville.

Then on Sunday, October 12, the SLJC will present the traditional jazz sounds of Peoria, Illinois' Dixie Daredevils at the Moolah Shrine Center, 12545 Fee Fee Rd. in Maryland Heights, followed on Sunday, November 16 by Connecticut-based Ivory and Gold, featuring pianist Jeff Barnhart and flutist Anne Barnhart, also at the Moolah. The fall season wraps up with a show on Sunday, December 7 by the St. Louis Rivermen at the Moolah Shrine Center.

Doors open for all concerts at 1:15, with music from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Admission to each concert is $10 for St. Louis Jazz Club members, $15 for non-members, and students get in free.

Jazz this week: "Peanuts" Whalum's 80th birthday party, Craig Russo Latin Jazz Project, St. Louis Art Fair, St. Louis Jazz Club picnic, and more

Now that the fall presenting season is officially getting underway, there's more and more jazz and creative music to be heard on St. Louis' concert and club stages. This week's highlights start with singer/pianist/saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum's 80th birthday party, which begins at 7:00 p.m. Sunday at Brandt's Cafe and Red Carpet Lounge. Of course, Whalum (pictured), a much-loved and respected part of the St. Louis music scene for more than 50 years, will perform, backed by his trio featuring Jeff Anderson on bass, Eric Slaughter on guitar and Marty Morrison on drums.

Edie Bee of LouRadio will serve as MC, and, yes, there will be birthday cake, served at 9:00 p.m.. Special guests expected to appear include "Peanuts" Whalum's nephew, smooth jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum, as well as many of his St. Louis musical colleagues including singers Jeanne Trevor and Gene Lynn, guitarist Dave Black, and more. Given "Peanuts" Whalum's long history in the community and the fact that he's as fine a gentleman as he is a musician - which is very fine indeed - there's likely to be a packed house of friends, fans and well-wishers, so get there early.

Also on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club kicks off their fall 2008 schedule with their annual picnic, which runs from noon to 6:00 p.m. at Concord Farmer's Hall, 10140 Concord School Rd. In keeping with the Club's emphasis on pre-WWII styles from ragtime to swing, the music will be provided by the St. Louis Banjo Club, Norm Menne and his Dixie Dudes, and Michael Lacey and his New Orleans Swing.

Of course, there's music to be heard all weekend, as the Craig Russo Latin Jazz Project opens the fall 2008 season at Jazz at the Bistro with performances on Friday and Saturday night. A drummer and percussionist, Russo is a transplant to central Illinois from Syracuse, NY who has made multiple trips to Cuba and other spots in the Caribbean to study percussion. He formed the band eight years ago, and although central Illinois may not intuitively seem like a hotbed of Latin jazz, the presence of the music school at the University of Illinois - Champaign/Urbana brings some significant talent to the area. Two members of the U of I faculty in Russo's band, saxophonist Chip McNeill and pianist Chip Stevens, have particular credibility in Latin jazz thanks to their experience performing and recording with Cuban ex-pat trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. Rounding out the ensemble are trumpeter Jeff Helgesen, once part of Ray Charles' road band, bassist Josh Walden and drummer/percussionist Jeff Magby.

Elsewhere in town, Brandt's has singer Jeanne Trevor on Friday night, and flute player and singer Margaret Bianchetta with the Dave Black Trio on Saturday. Also on Saturday, the Chicago Afrobeat Project brings their mix of funk, world music and jazz to Lucas School House.

The annual St. Louis Art Fair also is happening this weekend, and in keeping with tradition, the staff of Cultural Festivals - which also produces the St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival - has once again booked some musicians of interest to jazz listeners, including the Jazz St. Louis All Stars student ensemble, singers Anita Rosamond and Kim Massie, world/jazz/folk chamber group Autumns Child, and Afro-Cuban/jazz group Rolando Matias & Intrin-x-ico on Saturday, plus vibist Jonathan Whiting and his trio and the eclectic guitarist Stuart Johnson on Sunday. See the Art Fair's Web site for details on who's playing when on which stage at the free event.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday trombonists Brett Stamps and Jim Owens will have a CD release party for their new album Bad to the Bone at the Sheldon Concert Hall, while "Peanuts" Whalum is back at Brandt's. And on Wednesday, get your skronk on with Squid Choir Orkestra, saxophonist Jay Zelenka's free jazz/electronics group, when they open for experimental rock band Skarekrau Radio at the Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson, or if you're in the mood for something more mainstream, saxophonist Ed Doney once again is visiting from Lake of the Ozarks to sit in with Park Avenue Jazz for their weekly Wednesday night session at Hammerstone's.

Alas, there's still much updating to do to the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, as yr. humble editor's non-jazz-blogging work schedule and an unfortunate series of computer freezes and crashes have delayed the the update process. Fear not, though, as the work of updating said calendar will continue at the best possible speed until completed, so feel free to look there for a rapidly expanding list of more St. Louis jazz-related events this weekend and beyond.

(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.

Jazz St. Louis looking for school groups, student musicians to take part in educational programs

With the start of another school year, Jazz St. Louis' various education programs are getting underway, too:

* JSL is accepting applications for its JazzU program through this Friday, September 5. JazzU is "a series of weekly workshops geared towards middle and high school students who have a desire to become better jazz musicians. JazzU focuses heavily on the jazz language, improvisation, ensemble playing, feel, the blues and basic music theory concepts in order to get students to understand and internalize the fundamental concepts of jazz music."

Students will meet from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Mondays beginning September 22, 2008 at the Centene Center for Arts and Education. JazzU's main instructors are Jazz St. Louis director of education Phil Dunlap, a capable pianist, and music educator and trumpeter Anthony Wiggins, and students also will have the chance to learn from various visiting instructors and guest artists. JazzU is free of charge for the participating students, thanks to funding provided by the Trio Foundation. For more information, eligibility guidelines and an application form, visit the JazzU page at the Jazz St. Louis Web site.

* Jazz St. Louis is also looking for teachers or principals who would like to bring school groups to one of a series of free jazz performances in late October. JSL's 2008 youth concerts will feature the Metta Quintet, an NYC-based jazz group that has done lots of educational work on the East Coast through the not-for-profit organization JazzReach.

Their programs are said to be "entertaining and educational and actively engage students in an analysis of the cultural factors that have come together to make jazz such a compelling art form, the social conditions that shaped the music's development and the immense impact jazz has had on the evolution of our national identity."

The Metta Quintet will present two different programs aimed at middle school and high school students at St. Louis University High School's Joseph Schulte Theatre on Monday, October 27 and Tuesday, October 28. Two more programs geared to grade school-age kids will be presented at Steger Sixth Grade Center in Rock Hill on Wednesday, October 29 and Thursday, October 30. The concerts are free and open to any school interested in attending. For more information and a ticket request form, see this post on Phil Dunlap's blog.

* Last but not least, this year the JSL education department is offering a new service for local music educators called Jazz Rx. For what's described as "a nominal fee," JSL will supply professional jazz education clinicians to visit a school and conduct on-site big band clinics, rhythm section workshops, sectional rehearsals and master classes. For more information, call Phil Dunlap at 314-289-4033.

Singer Clea Bradford dies at age 67

Clea Bradford, a jazz singer who spent her formative years in St. Louis, has died of complications from breast cancer at age 67 in a Washington, DC hospital.

Born in Mississippi and raised in Charleston, MO and St. Louis, Bradford (pictured) was a protege of trumpeter Clark Terry and saxophonist Jimmy Forrest who in the 1960s gigged frequently in the St. Louis area with Quartette Tres Bien. She later toured the Playboy Club circuit, using the Gateway City as a base, before moving to Los Angeles and then in 1975 to the Washington DC area, where she performed locally and, in later years, concentrated on teaching. In addition to working with Forrest and Terry, Bradford recorded several albums under her own name and performed with Kenny Burrell and Earl "Fatha" Hines. Her survivors include a daughter, Glenda Smith, who still lives in Dupo, IL.

You can read the Washington Post's obituary of Bradford here, and All About Jazz' coverage here. For more on Clea Bradford's music and career, you can listen to an interview she did in 1981 with a DC radio station, archived online in RealMedia format here.

Stamps, Owens to celebrate CD release with concert on September 9 at The Sheldon

Trombonists Brett Stamps and Jim Owens will celebrate the release of their new Victoria Records CD Bad To The Bone with a performance at 7:30 p.m. next Tuesday, September 9 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Stamps and Owens will be joined for the concert by all the musicians who played on the CD, including guitarist Rick Haydon, pianist Reggie Thomas, drummer Miles Vandiver, bassist Zeb Briskovich and fellow trombonists Jim Martin and Cody Henry. Tickets will be available at the door, and are $5 for students with ID, $10 for general admission, or $20 for a general admission ticket plus a copy of Bad To The Bone.

Chris Botti concert at Fox Theatre postponed

Via St. Louis Post-Dispatch pop music critic Kevin Johnson's blog The Blender, the news comes that the concert by trumpeter Chris Botti scheduled for Saturday, September 13 at the Fox Theatre has been postponed.

The announcement cites "scheduling complications" as the reason for the postponement. But whose schedule was complicated? As of this writing, the Fox Theatre show is still listed on Botti's Web site. The tour dates page there shows him in Leawood, Kansas the previous night, September 12, with St. Louis on the 13th and then open dates until the September 18, when he's set to do the first of two nights in Boston.

Meanwhile, the Fox's schedule of upcoming shows also still lists Botti's concert, and shows nothing else playing the theater until September 24, when the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss tour makes its St. Louis stop.

Given that there's no obvious conflict on either schedule, it does make one wonder why Botti's concert really was postponed. Regardless, Metrotix is refunding money to ticket buyers at the point of purchase, and the announcement says Botti will be rescheduled for 2009.

Jazz St. Louis seeks volunteers for Art Fair booth this weekend

Jazz St. Louis is looking for help with their information booth at this weekend's Art Fair. Their email newsletter says that volunteers "are urgently needed to staff the Jazz St. Louis booth during the Saint Louis Art Fair, held in the heart of Clayton September 5 through 7...Volunteers are needed for two-hour shifts. Call Kedra Tolson at 314-289-4034 or e-mail at kedra@jazzstl.org to book your time."