Harris-Stowe State University to present jazz concert on August 29

Harris-Stowe State University will present a jazz concert to benefit its Wolff Jazz Institute at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, August 29 in the Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Administration Building's Main Auditorium.

The concert will feature an ensemble fronted by trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, tenor saxophonist Houston Person, and trumpeter Randy Sandke, with a rhythm section of drummer and vibraphone player Chuck Redd, pianist Rossano Sportiello, bassist and singer Nicki Parrott and drummer Eddie Locke, as well as St. Louisans Jim Widner on bass and Denise Thimes on vocals.

Famed trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry also will be on the bill if his health permits, said Don Wolff, who hosts the long-running local radio program "I Love Jazz" on KFUO (99.1 FM) and for whom the Wolff Jazz Institute is named.

Tickets for the show are $30 for floor seats, $20 for balcony seats, and $10 for students, and go on sale this Wednesday via Metrotix.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Remembering Oliver Nelson

The nearly ubiquitous Miles Davis notwithstanding, which jazz musician from the St. Louis area has been heard by the most people throughout the world? It's probably impossible to measure something like that with any degree of exactitude, but one certainly can make an informed guess.

Any short list would have to include trumpeter Clark Terry, famed for nearly seven decades as a high-profile jazz soloist and recording artist, member of the Ellington and Basie big bands, and veteran of television and session work; and saxophonist David Sanborn, who has had a very popular career as a solo artist, as well as being one of the most recorded session players of his era and the host of various radio and television programs.

Another, more unexpected contender for the title would have to be saxophonist, arranger and composer Oliver Nelson, who packed a lot of music into his all-too-brief 43 years on planet Earth. Born in St. Louis on June 4, 1932, Nelson was working with local bands by age 15 and joined saxophonist Louis Jordan's big band at 18, playing alto sax and arranging.

After serving in the Marine Corps and attending Washington University in St. Louis and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Nelson moved to New York, where he established himself as a soloist, bandleader and arranger/composer. His big breakthrough came with the album The Blues and the Abstract Truth, which featured his tune "Stolen Moments," now a standard played by musicians everywhere.

Nelson went on to record many big-band albums and to work as an arranger for a number of well-known jazz musicians, including Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Johnny Hodges, Wes Montgomery, Buddy Rich and Jimmy Smith. In 1967, he moved to Los Angeles, where, along with his old pal Quincy Jones, he became one of the first African-American composers to get significant amounts of work scoring television and films.

Nelson wrote music for hugely popular TV shows such as Ironside, Night Gallery, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, reaching tens of millions of people every week. He also wrote the score for the film Death of a Gunfighter, arranged Gato Barbieri's music for the movie Last Tango in Paris, and produced and arranged popular music for singers including Nancy Wilson, James Brown, the Temptations, and Diana Ross.

Tragically, Nelson died of a heart attack on October 28, 1975. Given the vast quantity and generally high quality of the music he wrote during his short life, one can't help but wonder how much more he could have accomplished had he lived longer.

Even so, Nelson's legacy is quite impressive - his recordings still hold up well today; his film and TV music remains emblematic of its era; and "Stolen Moments" likely will continue to be played forever. Moreover, the path he helped to pave in Hollywood has been well-utilized by subsequent generations of musicians; for example, it's hard to imagine someone like Terence Blanchard getting the chance to write all those film scores absent the pioneering work of Nelson and Jones.

Today, as a tribute to this under-appreciated St. Louis jazz great, we've got three videos of Nelson performing and conducting a big band. The first clip shows Nelson's own ensemble performing his composition "Swiss Suite." The multi-part tune features a young Gato Barbieri taking the first solo on tenor sax, followed by Nelson on alto.

The clip is undated, but the album that included "Swiss Suite" originally came out in 1971, and the dress and hairstyles of the musicians suggest that this was recorded around that same time or shortly thereafter. (Note that while the video quality on this one is a little grungy, the audio is fine.)

Down below are two videos of Nelson and the multi-national Berlin Dream Band performing Nelson's arrangements for a TV program recorded in Berlin in 1970. The first tune, "Black Brown and Beautiful," also features Nelson as the soloist, while the second, "Milestones" has solos by Leo Wright and Klaus Marmulla on altos and Rolf Roemer on tenor.

Pollstar: Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra returning to The Sheldon in March

The online tour information service Pollstar has added a listing showing a performance by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Marsalis and the JaLCO (pictured) were in St. Louis most recently in February 2008 to perform at The Sheldon's benefit gala, which usually happens sometime in late winter or early spring.

It seems entirely plausible that they might be booked for a return appearance in 2010 at the same venue; however, listings on Pollstar should be considered unconfirmed until officially announced by the venue and/or presenter.

Still, a look at the band's tour schedule shows the St. Louis date scheduled between concerts in Germantown, TN and Minneapolis, MN as part of a tour that begins March 1 and continues through the end of the month, so I'd say this one looks likely to happen. StLJN will have more details as they become available.

Peter Martin, Lamar Harris to perform free concerts at Saint Louis Art Museum

Pianist Peter Martin (pictured) and trombonist/producer Lamar Harris will each play a free concert during July at the Saint Louis Art Museum during July as part of the Museum's Art After 5 series.

Martin, who has worked with internationally known jazz performers such as Dianne Reeves, Chris Botti and Christian McBride, will perform at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 17 in the Museum's Grigg Gallery.

Harris will play with his groups the L and Groove Therapy at 7:00 p.m. Friday, July 24 outside on the Museum grounds. If the weather's bad, Harris' concert will move inside to the Grigg Gallery.

The Saint Louis Art Museum is celebrating a century of free admission in 2009 with a month-long series of events in July. For more details and a complete schedule of events, call 314-721-0072 or visit www.slam.org.

Jim Widner receives award from Down Beat magazine

Bassist, bandleader and educator Jim Widner (pictured), who directs the jazz studies program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, is featured in the June edition of Down Beat magazine.

The issue spotlights the mag's 32nd annual Student Music Awards, and Widner is one of just three recipients nationwide of an Achievement Award for jazz education. (Alas, DB doesn't put most of their content online, so there's no link to the story about Widner.)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's gossip columnist Deb Peterson even took note of the honor with a short item today, which you can read online here.

The Sheldon, Cardinals Care teaching young baseball players about jazz

Once again this year the Sheldon Concert Hall and the St. Louis Cardinals' Cardinals Care charity are teaming up to teach a new generation of potential fans and players about the connections between two great American pastimes: jazz and baseball.

The two organizations are sponsoring free educational jazz concerts featuring the Jeff Anderson Quartet for kids participating in the "Redbird Rookies" program, starting at 7:00 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, June 24 and again at the same time tomorrow at the Sheldon, 3648 Washington Boulevard.

Kids attending the concerts will receive a free CD, Red Hot St. Louis Jazz, that features tracks recorded by local jazz musicians such as Willie Akins, Carolbeth True, Reggie and Mardra Thomas, Ptah Williams, Rick Haydon, Erin Bode, Kim Portnoy, Montez Coleman and more. A few lucky youngsters also will get the chance to try out their scat-singing skills live on stage with the band.

The "Redbird Rookies" program was started in 2004 to allow kids to play baseball free of charge; it provides donated equipment and uniforms as well training for volunteer coaches and parents that emphasizes the character-building aspects of sports.

Jazz this week: Todd Mosby, Legacy Jazz Quintet, Funky Butt Brass Band, a Jazz St. Louis benefit, and more

There's only time for a very short post this week, so here, in abbreviated form, are some of the jazz and creative music performances worth checking out over the next few days in St. Louis:

Tonight, guitarist Todd Mosby and his group will do a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and tomorrow night, the summer Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will present a free concert by the Legacy Jazz Quintet.

Also on Thursday, Jazz St. Louis has a benefit event at SOL Lounge, 4241 Lindell Blvd, with music from the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, singer Kim Massie and, in his moonlighting capacity as a blues harmonica player, JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford and the Blues Inquisition.

On Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured) returns to Jazz at the Bistro to open a two-night stand, and singer Erin Bode performs out west at the new restaurant Seasons St. Louis, which took over the space in Chesterfield formerly occupied by Peppertini's. Back downtown, the St. Louis Jazz Cafe has guitarist Chris Burchett and his trio on Friday, Trio Tres Bien and Danita Mumphard on Saturday, and the Usual Suspects duo for Sunday brunch.

As always, this only covers a few of the more notable performances happening over the next several days; for more listings of jazz-related events in 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.)

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

What's been going on lately at StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds?

Well, recent posts have featured music videos starring Gato Barbieri, the O'Jays, Fats Domino, Average White Band, Eddie Harris & Les McCann, Ella Fitzgerald, Taj Mahal, Billy Cobham, Stevie Wonder, Junior Wells, Henry Threadgill and His Very Very Circus, Emerson Lake & Palmer, the Crusaders, Derek Bailey & Tony Oxley, the Dave Holland Quintet, Al Green, Sonny Rollins and Wilson Pickett.

There's a different video clip posted every day, drawing on genres including jazz, blues, funk, soul, classic rock, prog rock and experimental. It's a veritable "College of Musical Knowledge" in online video form, and you can see all the artists mentioned above, plus hundreds more clips from the archives, by visiting http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com

Touhill Performing Arts Center announces 2009-10 season

The Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis has announced its schedule of performances for the 2009-10 season, and while only a handful of the coming attractions are of interest to jazz fans, the TouPAC has succeeded in securing some well-known musicians to fill the slots allotted to jazz..

In addition to the previously announced concert by Sonny Rollins on Saturday, September 19, which is being presented by Jazz St. Louis as a rental at the TouPAC, the venue will host saxophonist Branford Marsalis (pictured) on Friday, February 12; a double-bill of the Neville Brothers and Dr. John on Friday, February 19; and a solo guitar performance by Pat Metheny on Saturday, May 8.

Also, although the lineup of guest musicians won't be revealed for some months, it was announced that the TouPAC once again will host the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, which is set for Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18.

(Regular StLJN readers may recall that Branford Marsalis' date, February 12, is the same day for which the online touring information Pollstar had, as reported here, added a listing showing drummer Brian Blade playing at the TouPAC.

Occam's Razor, coupled with the knowledge that the two have worked together in the past, would suggest that this means Blade will be backing Marsalis, but yr. humble editor has yet to confirm that particular detail. The news also suggests that Marsalis might be bringing an ensemble other than his primary quartet, which has featured Jeff "Tain" Watts behind the drum kit for ten years. More on this as we get it...)

The Touhill Performing Arts Center's season also includes pop, country and classical music, plus comedy, theater, dance and more; you can see the complete schedule on their Web site. Season tickets for 2009-10 are on sale starting today, with single tickets available beginning August 3. For subscription information and single ticket prices, visit the Web site or call 314-516-4949 or 866-516-4949.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Linda Presgrave plays "Rome," plus Danita Mumphard and Trio Trés Bien's "A House Is Not A Home"

Since this weekly feature is often used to preview touring artists who will be performing soon in St. Louis, it's been a while since we've presented any videos from musicians with more substantive local connections.

Let's address that situation today, starting up above with a video from pianist, composer, and St. Louisan-turned New Yorker Linda Presgrave. This performance of her composiion "Rome" was recorded on February 25 of this year at the NYC jazz club Iridium. Presgrave is on piano, with Harvie S on bass, Allison Miller on drums, Stan Chovnick (who's also Presgrave's husband) on soprano sax and Todd Herbert on tenor sax. Although she's now based in NYC, Presgrave gets back to St. Louis a couple of times a year; her most recent performance here was last week for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington Unviersity.

Down below, we have a clip of singer Danita Mumphard and longtime St. Louis favorites Trio Trés Bien with their take on "A House Is Not A Home" from a performance in October 2007 at the Missouri History Museum. The connection between Mumphard and Trio Trés Bien is familial as well as musical; she's the daughter of bassist Harold Thompson, and the niece of drummer Howard Thompson and pianist Jeter Thompson. They can be heard performing at various spots around town, including the St. Louis Jazz Cafe.

Notes from the Net: "Miles From India" in NYC and Montreal; Elling, Bridgewater pay tribute to jazz classics, plus news, reviews, interviews & more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* Let's start, as we often do, with some Miles Davis-related items. The Montreal Jazz Festival has announced that the ensemble for the "Miles From India" concert on July 4 at the Theatre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts will include bassist Darryl Jones, whose first big-time gig was with Miles and who now plays with the Rolling Stones, and the Indian percussionist Selvaganesh, a member of the group Remember Shakti.

On a related note, here a review done for AllAboutJazz.com by Martin Longley of a "Miles From India" performance in late May at NYC's Iridium. Also, via Miles Davis Online, we learn that drummer Jimmy Cobb and an edition of his So What band featuring Wallace Roney on trumpet did a Kind of Blue tribute at last weekend's Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles.

* Turning to news of coming attractions, singer Kurt Elling is performing songs from his new CD Dedicated to You this week at NYC's Birdland, and the news Web site/cable channel NY1 has a feature story with accompanying video. Elling will be in St. Louis in December at Jazz at the Bistro to perform material from the CD, which re-imagines songs from the famous collaboration of singer Johnny Hartman and saxophone legend John Coltrane.

* Here's a review for AAJ.com by Chris M. Slawecki of Bach in Havana, the new CD from Tiempo Libre. The band will perform in St. Louis next year at Washington University's Edison Theatre.

* Singer DeeDee Bridgewater (pictured) is performing material from her new Billie Holiday tribute CD during a week-long gig at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. Bridgewater will do her Holiday tribute in St. Louis this October at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* Speaking of the Sheldon, here's a review, written by Jerry D'Souza for AllABoutJazz.com, of guitarist Frank Vignola's Live at the Sheldon DVD from Mel Bay Records. Vignola's most recent St. Louis appearance was in May at Jazz at the Bistro.

* The funky organ trio Medeski, Martin & Wood, who were in St. Louis in April to play the Loyal Earth Festival, will play the music of John Zorn during a concert at the Barbican in London.

* Banjo player Bela Fleck, who brought his Africa Project tour to the Sheldon in April, also is doing some duo concerts with Toumani Diabate. Fleck and Diabate were just in Tuscon, AZ, and were featured in the Tucson Weekly.

* Lastly, a few items from the "general interest" files, starting with the unfortunate news that Jazz Times magazine has suspended publication. The mag hopes to find new owners and get back to publishing soon, but given the current economic climate, it's far from a done deal. Howard Mandel has details at his Jazz Beyond Jazz blog here.

* Meanwhile, the once very popular smooth jazz radio format continues to take a beating around the U.S.A, with more stations changing formats to rock music or talk in recent weeks. There's an interesting piece here from the Contra Costa Times (which covers communities near the Bay Area in California) that looks at this trend, noting that the whole notion of "smooth jazz" as a category of music was largely a creation of radio programmers.

* In happier news, the always interesting online jazz magazine Point of Departure has a new issue online.

* The Jazz Journalists Association Awards for this year were announced last Tuesday, and the list of winners includes several musicians who have performed in St. Louis in the past year, such as trumpeter Terence Blanchard, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith and electric bassist Steve Swallow. See the entire list of 2009 award recipients here.

* And in my favorite quirky-story-with-a-happy-ending of the week, drums and other music gear that had belonged to the late Max Roach and were stolen after his death turned up last week in an unlikely place: a barn in Byrdstown, TN. The gear is now on its way back to Roach's heirs; read the whole "lost and found" story here.

Jazz this week: Lea DeLaria, Musica Slesa, KMOX Jazz & Wine Festival, Scott Alberici, and more

It looks like the weather in St. Louis will be going directly from "soaked" to "sizzling" this weekend, but fortunately, there's jazz and creative music all around town (including several free concerts) to provide diversion from the onset of another steamy summer in the Gateway City.

Here's a brief look at what's going on over the next few days:

Tonight, clarinetist Scott Alberici plays a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden. With any luck, the rain that has plagued the event for the past couple of weeks will stay away tonight, but if the skies look threatening, you can check the Garden's Web site or tune into WSIE (FM 88.7) for an update.

On Thursday, pianist and singer Curt Landes performs a free show for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and singer Erin Bode is doing a free concert outdoors at Bluebird Park in Ellisville.

Then on Friday, Latin/jazz group Musica Slesa (pictured at top left) returns to Jazz at the Bistro for the first evening of a two-night stand, while guitarist Matthew Von Doran will bring some jazz out to St. Charles county with a show in the performance space at Mozingo Music in O'Fallon. Also on Friday, the St. Louis Jazz Cafe has guitarist Gregg Haynes, while Brandt's will feature singer Kim Massie.

Saturday afternoon brings the KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival to the grounds of the historic Cabanne House in Forest Park (at the corner of Lindell and Union). This year's lineup featuring Erin Bode, Kim Massie, the Original Knights of Swing big band, and saxophonist Tim Cunningham. (Note that, contrary to what some folks searching online seem to be thinking, this is not a free event; tickets are $10 in advance, with a $3 surcharge for online purchases, or $15 at the gate.)

Also on Saturday, singer, actress, comic and Belleville, Illinois native Lea DeLaria (pictured at right) performs a free concert as part of Metro East Pride Festival in downtown Belleville; saxophonist Rod Tate is at the St. Louis Jazz Cafe; and the Joe Pastor Jazz Trinity plays at Brandt's.

As always, this summary only covers some of the notable performances happening over the next few days; for more listings of jazz-related events in 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.)

Erin Bode wins "Best Jazz Artist" in Riverfront Times' 2009 Music Awards

Readers of the Riverfront Times have voted singer Erin Bode (pictured) as "Best Jazz Artist" in the weekly newspaper's 2009 Music Awards.

The awards recognize reader favorites among St. Louis musicians in 20 different categories; you can see the entire list of this year's award winners here.

MAXJAZZ to release new CD by John Proulx in July

The St. Louis-based MAXJAZZ label will release Baker's Dozen (Remembering Chet Baker), the latest CD from pianist and singer John Proulx, on Tuesday, July 21.

The CD features Proulx performing a number of standards associated with the late trumpeter and singer Chet Baker, accompanied by a band that includes Dominick Farinacci on trumpet and flugelhorn, Chuck Berghofer on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums.

MAXJAZZ also released Proulx's previous CD, Moon And Sand, in 2006.

Pollstar: Brian Blade coming to the Touhill in February, 2010

The online tour information service Pollstar has added a listing showing a performance by drummer Brian Blade on Friday, February 12, 2010 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis' Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Most recently, Blade has been a member of saxophonist Wayne Shorter's quartet, and in addition to leading his own bands, he has performed and recorded with many other well known jazz and rock musicians, including Branford Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, Joshua Redman, Joni Mitchell, Bill Frisell, Ellis Marsalis, Norah Jones, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois and Bob Dylan. Blade's latest CD, Mama Rosa, changes things up a bit, spotlighting his talents as a singer, guitarist and songwriter.

As always, listings on Pollstar should be considered unconfirmed until officially announced by the presenter and/or venue. The Touhill's Web site says that season subscriptions will go on sale June 22.

Ronnie Laws concert at The Sheldon canceled

According to the Sheldon Concert Hall's Web site, the concert by saxophonist Ronnie Laws scheduled for this Wednesday, June 17, at the hall has been canceled. There's no reason given, nor any information about refunds for tickets already purchased.

The show was to have benefited the scholarship fund of the National Black MBA Association - St. Louis Chapter, but as of late Sunday night, there's nothing at all about the cancellation on their site. In fact, a search for "Ronnie Laws" using the site's own search feature yields no results at all, though a properly configured Google search reveals several documents pertaining to the benefit, including this flyer (.jpg), still residing on their servers.

One would hope the organization is contacting ticket buyers directly about refunds. But even if they are, the cancellation of the show with no reason given, followed by what looks like a deliberate scrubbing of their Web site, seems rather - well, "sleazy" is the first word that come to mind, but let's go with "unprofessional" instead. Ticket buyers and those who wanted to support the group's scholarship fund certainly would seem to deserve something more than no explanation at all.

Since this show was a rental of the facility rather than a Sheldon production, their communications staff may not know much more than what's already public, but yr. humble StLJN editor plans to make inquiries, and will update here if anything interesting turns up.

Bosman Twins, Denise Thimes named among "100 Most Inspiring St. Louisans"

The saxophone-playing twin brothers Dwayne and Dwight Bosman and singer Denise Thimes are among the local citizens named by the St. Louis City NAACP as the "100 Most Inspiring St. Louisans," and will be honored this evening at a banquet at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel.

The list features a diverse group, including local leaders in education, business, media, government, the arts, medicine, law, community service, and more. In addition to Thimes and the Bosmans, it includes another name familiar to local jazz fans: Dr. Gerald Early of Washington University, who writes and speaks frequently about jazz and its relationship to American culture.

You can read a bit more more about the Bosmans and see the complete list of "100 Most Inspiring St. Louisans" in this feature story written by Doug Moore for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A few minutes with Ronnie Laws

This week, let's take a look at some video clips featuring saxophonist Ronnie Laws, who will be in town this coming Wednesday, June 17, to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall in a show benefiting the National Black MBA Association - St. Louis Chapter's college scholarship fund.

(UPDATE, 6/14/09, 11:00 p.m.: The Ronnie Laws concert at the Sheldon has been canceled. See this post for more information.)

The Houston, Texas native is from a musical family, and his siblings include the fine jazz flute player Hubert Laws. His first break was as part of an early edition of Earth Wind and Fire, appearing on their album Last Days and Time, but he didn't gain significant national attention until 1976, when he issued Pressure Sensitive, his debut album on Blue Note. It featured the song "Always There," which became something of a jazz/funk standard and incorporated what surely is one of the most insidiously catchy uses of the flexitone in jazz or pop history.

Playing tenor and soprano sax and occasionally singing, Laws has demonstrated both versatility and staying power over the ensuing three decades. Recently, he's been performing in the group 3BT with fellow tenor men Wilton Felder (formerly of the Crusaders) and Gary Davis, and he also has a new solo CD, Voices in the Water.

First up today is a version of Laws' most famous song, "Always There," from a 2003 show at the Coronado Ballroom in San Antonio. The backing band includes Mark Harper (guitar), Gary Gillespie (keyboards), Frederick Nichelson (bass), John Anthony Martinez (drums), Roger "Rock" Franklin (percussion).

Down below, there's a rendition of the tune "Old Days, Old Ways" from the same gig; a brief biographical clip in which Laws plays a bit of soprano sax and talks about his background and career; and, especially for the sax players out there, a short video featuring Laws discussing his tenor saxes and the qualities he looks for in his horns.

Jazz St. Louis announces 2009-10 season schedule for Jazz at the Bistro

Featured performers during the 2009-10 season at Jazz at the Bistro will include (from top) Christian McBride, Kenny Garrett, Mulgrew Miller, Joey DeFrancesco and Alyssa Graham.

Jazz St. Louis has announced the 2009-10 season schedule for Jazz at the Bistro, and as one might expect in tough economic times, there's an emphasis on familiar musicians who have drawn crowds to the club in the past.

Those familiar faces will include St. Louis native, trumpeter, and vocalist Jeremy Davenport, who's coming home from New Orleans for another Thanksgiving weekend; and The Bad Plus, the colorful piano trio who have kicked off the last three calendar years at the Bistro and will do so again in 2010.

Other musicians returning to the Bistro next season will include pianist Mulgrew Miller, organist Joey DeFrancesco, singer and pianist Freddy Cole, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli, saxophonists Lou Donaldson and James Carter, singer Marlena Shaw, and bassist Christian McBride, appearing this time with his Inside Straight group, which features saxophonist Steve Wilson, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Eric Reed and drummer Carl Allen.

Though the emphasis is on familiar performers, there also will be some up-and-coming singers and players making their Bistro debuts next year, including pianist Vijay Iyer, vocalist Alyssa Graham, pianist Robert Glasper (who rescheduled his canceled dates from 2008-09), The Wee Trio (with former St. Louisan Dan Loomis on bass) and Chicago saxophonist Frank Catalano, who made his St. Louis debut earlier this year at The Gramophone as part of the free Tuesday night series of performances the club co-sponsors with JSL.

While JSL's previously announced concert featuring Sonny Rollins at the Touhill Performing Arts Center surely will be the most eagerly anticipated jazz event of the fall, the Bistro will have a few special attractions, too.

Saxophonist and ex-Miles Davis sideman Kenny Garrett, who over the past couple of years has been doing some of the best and most widely acclaimed work of his career, will make his debut as a leader at the club appear at the club for the first time since 2003, and saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake will bring his Organ Trio to town with trumpeter and East St. Louis native Russell Gunn as special guest.

In another return engagement, singer Kurt Elling will perform music from his new CD Dedicated to You, a re-imagining of the music of Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane, with St. Louis' own Willie Akins handling the saxophone duties done on the record by Ernie Watts.

Here's the Bistro's 2009-10 season schedule in chronological order:

2009
September 4-5: Scott Alberici
September 12 : Jazz Cruise All-Stars featuring Ken Peplowski and others
September 19: Sonny Rollins at the Touhill Performing Arts Center
September 23-26: Mulgrew Miller Trio

October 2-3: Frank Catalano
October 7-10: Robert Glasper Trio
October 16-17: The Wee Trio
October 21-24 : Kenny Garrett
October 30-31: Matthew Von Doran

November 4-7 : Stanley Jordan
November 13-14: Shaun Robinson Group
November 18-21: Christian McBride & Inside Straight
November 27-28: Jeremy Davenport

December 2-5 : “Dedicated to You” - Kurt Elling sings the music of Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane with special guest Willie Akins
December 11-12 : Good 4 The Soul
December 16-19: Oliver Lake Organ Trio with special guest Russell Gunn

2010
January 6-9: The Bad Plus
January 20-23: Vijay Iyer

February 3-6 : Lou Donaldson
February 17-20: Freddy Cole

March 3-6 : Joey DeFrancesco
March 17-20: Dave Samuels & The Caribbean Jazz Project
March 31-April 3: Alyssa Graham

April 9-10: Clayton Brothers Quintet
April 14-17: John Pizzarelli
April 28 - May 1: John Patitucci

May 12-15 : James Carter Organ Trio
May 26-29 : Marlena Shaw

Overall, while there are relatively few surprises, this looks like a high-quality lineup of acts that offers a fairly representative cross-section of current mainstream jazz. As always, I'd like to see JSL attempt just a bit more risk-taking than they currently do, but given the current economic climate, I suppose one can't fault them too much for playing things safe. Similarly, while for the sake of completeness it would be nice if the organization could include some traditional jazz, a big band, and even an avant-garde or experimental performance or two, no one presenter can be all things to all listeners.

Subscriptions for Jazz at the Bistro's 2009-10 season are now on sale, with single tickets available beginning August 18. Tickets for the Sonny Rollins concert will be on sale through the Touhill box office starting August. 3.

(Updated after posting to include the dates by Scott Alberici and Matthew Von Doran filling two weeks listed as "TBA" in the original version of the post. Updates again 6/14/09 to add correct information about Kenny Garrett's previous appearance at Jazz at the Bistro. Edited again on 6/16/09 to try to fix the photo layout)

HDtracks offers free download of Jazz and Blues Experience

From the Department of "Everyone Likes Free Stuff": The Web site HDtracks, which specializes in high-resolution music downloading, is offering a sampler album called Jazz & Blues Experience as a free download. The sampler features material from the Palmetto, Koch, Analogue, Light Without Heat, and Chesky Records labels, with tracks from organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, Harry “Big Daddy” Hypolite, guitarist Steve Vai, David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, and percussionist Babatunde Olatunji.

You can download Jazz & Blues Experience here. Caveat lector: Though there's no charge for the download, HDtracks asks that you register as a member on their site, which requires giving them an email address.

Founded by composer David Chesky and his brother Norman Chesky of Chesky Records, HDtracks offers downloads from many musical genres in AIFF and FLAC formats, as well as MP3s, all with cover artwork and full, descriptive PDF liner notes.

The site features music from a number of jazz and blues labels; in addition to the above, HDtracks has music from the St. Louis-based MAXJAZZ label and John Zorn's Tzadik imprint, as well as ECM, Sunnyside, Hyena, Cryptogramophone, New World, BHM Productions, Evidence, HipBop, Favored Nations, Storyville, New Albion, DRG, Alligator, and more.

Jazz this week: Peter Brötzmann, St. Louis Stompers, Linda Presgrave, "Simply Sinatra," Adaron "Pops" Jackson, and more

Whether you like your jazz to be old-school, modern or free-form, there's something for you this weekend somewhere around the St. Louis area. Here's a brief look at the local jazz and creative music highlights for the next several days:

Tonight, the St. Louis Stompers will perform traditional New Orleans-style jazz in a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Tomorrow night, the summer Jazz at Holmes series gets underway with a free concert by pianist, composer and St. Louis expat Linda Presgrave, who will perform with a quintet including her husband, saxophonist Stan Chovnick, and trumpeter Randy Holmes.

Friday brings the Jazz to the Wall Festival to the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, featuring the Full Blast Trio with legendary German free jazz saxophonist Peter Brötzmann (pictured), drummer Marino Pliakas and electric bassist Michael Wertmueller. Brötzmann and Full Blast will perform at 7:00 p.m., with a separate show featuring Yowie, Aleuchetistas and Upsilon Acrux at 9:00 p.m. This week's Riverfront Times has a brief preview story by Paul Friswold on the Brötzmann show, which you can read online here. For some video samples of Brötzmann's work, see this previous post.

Also on Friday, pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson of Good 4 The Soul opens a two-night run at Jazz at the Bistro. Though G4TS is known for mixing jazz with funk, R&B and other genres, word is that Jackson's gig this weekend will feature a quartet playing straight-ahead jazz. Friday is also when the Sheldon Art Galleries will host a free opening reception for its summer exhibits, including the extension of the "Visions of Sound" exhibit of musical instruments.

On Saturday, singer Steve Lippia will perform his tribute show "Simply Sinatra" with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra at Powell Symphony Hall.

Then on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Michael Lacey and his New Orleans Swing at the Bel-Air Bowl in Belleville, and singer Erin Bode and her band will perform in a free outdoor concert at Sunset Park in Festus.

As usual, time and space constraints mean that these are just some of the notable performances happening over the next few days; for more listings of jazz-related events in 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.)

"After Hours" event at Urban Eats Cafe to benefit The Sheldon's educational programs

The Urban Eats Café, 3301 Meramec Street in St. Louis' Dutchtown neighborhood, will raise money for the art and music educational programs of the Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries by hosting the Downtown Dutchtown Business Association’s "After Hours" event on Wednesday, June 17.

The event will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in conjunction with Urban Eats' First Anniversary Celebration Street Party. The café will offer "free appetizers, drink specials, attendance prizes, live music by Dizzy Atmosphere and other musicians, and more." The entire menu will be available, including paninis, flatbread pizzas, wraps, smoothies, beer, and wine, with a portion of the food and drink proceeds benefiting Sheldon art and music educational programs.

In addition, this event also kicks off an ongoing "Giveback Partnership Program." During the coming year, Urban Eats Café will donate to the Sheldon the equivalent of 5% of the amount of purchases made by anyone who designates “The Sheldon” on their receipt at the café.

The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries present educational programs to more than 20,000 young people each year. For more information, call the Sheldon's education coordinator at 314-533-9900.

(Edited 6/10/09 to fix typos.)

Notes from the Net: Miles on MySpace; Zorn bio analyzed; the wages of swing; plus news, reviews and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* In keeping with this feature's tradition of starting with a Miles Davis-related item or two, it seems there's now a page for the trumpeter on MySpace. This in itself is no big deal - lots of celebs, dead and alive, seem to be represented by pages they didn't personally put up - but the interesting part is that since it apparently is authorized by Sony, visitors with sufficient bandwidth can stream dozens of Miles' albums and compilations directly from the page.

For as long as it lasts, it would seem to be a very handy, low-cost way to investigate Davis' extensive catalog, or to turn a new fan on to some of your favorite Miles moments.

Also, Marc Myers' JazzWax blog also recently had a Miles-related entry in his new Photo Story series. (For more frequently updated Miles-related content, StLJN heartily recommends Jeffrey Hyatt's fine site Miles Davis Online.)

* Here's a review by Tom Greenland for AllAboutJazz.com of John Brackett's new book John Zorn: Tradition and Transgression. (Zorn studied at our town's Webster University in the 1970s.)

* Zorn also will be one of the featured performers at this year's Warsaw Summer Jazz Days in July, along with the World Saxophone Quartet, featuring St. Louis' own Hamiet Bluiett and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake (pictured).

* Turning to news of coming attractions, here's a feature from Pittsburgh City Paper on saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, who will be in St. Louis this Friday to perform at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.

* And here's a review for AAJ.com by Andrew Velez of Pizzarelli Party, a new CD release featuring the whole Pizzarelli clan, including guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli; his dad Bucky on guitar, brother Martin on bass, and his wife Jessica Molasky on vocals, plus pianist Larry Fuller and others. John Pizzarelli has been a frequent visitor to St. Louis in recent years, and the online tour information service Pollstar currently shows him returning again in 2010 to play Jazz at the Bistro.

* Latin/jazz group Tiempo Libre, who will perform next year at the Edison Theatre in St. Louis, this week are playing Dizzy's at Lincoln Center in NYC.

* The Chicago Afrobeat Project, who played The Gramophone at the end of May, will be touring extensively from the end of June through September. (There's no return St. Louis date on the schedule, but there are some spaces in the tour into which one conceivably could fit.)

* A look at the "recent visitors" file shows that guitarist John Jorgenson, who wrapped up the Sheldon Concert Hall's jazz series this year, is back home in California for a concert at a community college in Riverside.

* Lastly, a couple of items of general interest: National Public Radio's Web site is sporting a brand new jazz blog and it's a good one, with daily entries plus centralized, convenient access to NPR's various jazz programs, online streams, etc. Check out the modestly named A Blog Supreme here.

* Canadian jazz journalist Peter Ham asked the working musicians among his readers how much they make for a gig. The results - while somewhat depressing overall, as they show working musicians' wages generally remaining flat for years or even decades - reveal that St. Louis seems about on a par with cities of similar size. Read the whole thing here.

Terence Blanchard reviewed in Post-Dispatch

Compared to a few years ago, the Post-Dispatch doesn't seem to review as many of the musicians appearing at Jazz at the Bistro these days. Chalk it up to shrinking budgets, a smaller newshole, and related consequences of the newspaper business' current woes. However, credit must be given where it's due, and the P-D's Calvin Wilson was there for trumpeter Terence Blanchard's opening set Wednesday night; you can read his review of the performance online here. Blanchard wraps up his four-night stand at JATB with sets tonight at 8:30 and 10:15.

Bela Fleck documentary Throw Down Your Heart playing tonight and Sunday at Webster University

Via Joe Williams' movie blog at the Post-Dispatch: The documentary film Throw Down Your Heart, which features banjo player Bela Fleck traveling across Africa learning about the history of his instrument and performing with African musicians, will play at 8:00 p.m. tonight and Sunday night at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

The film previously was shown in St. Louis last fall as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival, and Fleck's "Africa Project" tour came to the Sheldon Concert Hall in April. For more information about this weekend's screenings of Throw Down Your Heart, call 314-968-748 or visit the Webster film series Web site.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Peter Brötzmann

This week, we've got some video clips featuring saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, who will be coming to St. Louis next week to perform on Friday, June 12 at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.

Brötzmann has been a significant force on the free jazz and creative music scene in Europe since the late 1960s, winning a small but enthusiastic following in the USA as well. In recent years, he's been a frequent visitor to Chicago, where he has a ten-piece band featuring musicians from that city's burgeoning improv scene. Influenced by Albert Ayler and other "New Thing" players of the 1960s, Brötzmann is known for a high energy approach to improvisation; a forceful, even aggressive sound; and for working with musicians from all over the globe on a variety of projects, ranging from spare, basic duos and trios to more elaborate settings like his Chicago tentet. Remarkably, next week's gig with his Full Blast trio at the LNAC will be his first St. Louis appearance ever, and so today we offer some brief video samples of his playing in small group settings.

Up top, there's a clip from 2006 that shows Brötzmann and his longtime collaborator, drummer Han Bennink, in a duo performance in Amherst, MA. Down below, there's a video from 2005 of Brötzmann with two more frequent playing parners, bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake. The final clip is from an October 2006 performance in Copenhagen, and shows Brötzmann in a quartet with (according to the YouTube comments) Peter Friis Nielsen (bass), Peter Ole Jørgensen (drums) and Mikołaj Trzaska (alto sax).

MAXJAZZ releasing new CD from guitarist Jack Wilkins

The St. Louis-based independent label MAXJAZZ is releasing a new CD by guitarist Jack Wilkins on Tuesday, June 16.

Until It's Time is Wilkins' debut for MAXJAZZ, and features the veteran guitarist with pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Steve LaSpina and drummer Mark Farber in a program of 12 songs penned by a diverse group of composers ranging from Sonny Rollins to James Taylor to Ludwig Van Beethoven.

You can see MAXJAZZ's promotional "e-card" for the release with some brief audio samples here, and Wilkins also has some audio samples and additional information on his site.

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

If they put yr. humble StLJN editor in charge of a (purely hypothetical) music television network, the programming would be pretty much the sort of stuff you'll find on StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds. There's a different music video posted every day, drawing on genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock and experiemental.

Recent videos have featured artists including Tom Waits, Santana, Jimmy Smith, Cassandra Wilson, Bill Evans, Curtis Mayfield, Jeff Beck, Duke Ellington, The Temptations, Modern Jazz Quartet, David Murray, Funky Meters, Erroll Garner, Koko Taylor, The O'Jays, Fats Domino, Dizzy Gillespie, Les McCann & Eddie Harris, Average White Band and Charles Lloyd - and there are hundreds more choice clips in the archives. Check it out at http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.

Jazz St. Louis benefit scheduled for Thursday, June 25 at SOL Lounge

A benefit event for Jazz St. Louis will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 25 at SOL Lounge, 4241 Lindell Blvd in west St. Louis. "Dr. Matt German’s SOLful Evening of Jazz" will feature drinks made with Stoli vodka; appetizers from Bar Italia, Bryan Young, and Agave; a silent auction; and live music from the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, Gene Dobbs Bradford and the Blues Inquisition, and Kim Massie.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $35 at the door, and proceeds will benefit the programs of Jazz St. Louis. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 314-289-4037 or send an email to melissa@jazzstl.org.

Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival previewed in Belleville News-Democrat

Today's Belleville News-Democrat has a feature story previewing the 2009 Wine Dine and Jazz Festival, which happens this Friday and Saturday in the public square in downtown Belleville. You can read the article by the BND's Roger Schlueter here.

Notes from the Net: On The Corner reexamined; Osby, Harrold on tour; Parran live in NYC; plus news, interviews and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interes

* On the Miles Davis beat, Howard Mandel had a couple of pertinent posts recently on his Jazz Beyond Jazz blog - one covering an NYC performance of music from the recent concept album Miles From India at Iridium and an On The Corner retrospective at Merkin Concert Hall, and another with his program notes for the On The Corner concert.

In related news, Davis' former drummer Jimmy Cobb, the only musician who played on the landmark Kind of Blue album who is still living, recently visited England with his So What Band and talked with the BBC about Davis and KoB. And the heirs of artist Mati Klarwein, who did the cover art for Davis' albums Bitches Brew and Live Evil as well other for other jazz and rock LPs of the period, have set up a Web site dedicated to Klarwein's art.

* Turning to news of other St. Louis narives, saxophonist Greg Osby (pictured) is touring with guitarist Jimmy Herring this summer. No St. Louis date, though.

* Trumpet player and St. Louis native Keyon Harrold also is on tour as a sideman this summer, working with the R&B singer Maxwell. The Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson has the Maxwell tour schedule - which, again, skips over St. Louis - here. .

* Saxophonist/multi-intrumentalist and former St. Louisan J.D. Parran just played at NYC's Downtown Music Gallery and is set to perform at the city's Vision Festival with reedman Douglas Ewart later this month.

* Following up on a story from the "general interest" a few weeks ago, the Jazz Bakery, a staple of the Los Angeles jazz scene, closed last Sunday after losing its lease. According to an article in the LA Times, though, owner Ruth Price "insists it's too early to write a eulogy for the club, which has occupied the same space at the Helms Bakery District for the last 16 years...Despite the tough economic climate and the fact that jazz continues to be faced with a shrinking and fragmented audience, she's fielding a number of offers to keep the Bakery alive." Read the whole story here.

* Last but not least, on July 1 the band the Shuffle Demons and the Toronto Jazz Festival will attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest saxophone ensemble. They're recruiting saxophonists to help with their challenge to the record currently held by the nation of Taiwan, which gathered an ensemble numbering 918 saxophonists last year.

Jazz this week: Peter Martin, Terence Blanchard, Eugene Chadbourne, Belleville's Wine Dine and Jazz Festival, and more

There's quite a bit of notable jazz and creative music on tap this week in St. Louis, including several free events that should help stretch your live music-listening and/or entertainment dollars a bit farther, certainly a good thing in these tight-money times

The first of those freebies is tonight, when pianist Peter Martin opens this year's Whitaker Music Festival with a free outdoor concert at Missouri Botanical Garden. The St. Louis native is known for his work backing major jazz headliners such as singer Dianne Reeves and trumpeter Chris Botti, but he's also maintained ties to his hometown, recording as a leader in the past for the local MAXJAZZ label.

Martin was one of a number of St. Louis musicians, including bassist Neal Caine and trumpeter Jeremy Davenport, who had relocated to New Orleans in the 1990s to build their careers. After Hurricane Katrina, he and his family moved back to St. Louis, and continue to live here.

However, Martin's busy touring schedule means he rarely plays local gigs, so there should be an especially good turnout for this show, for which he'll be performing with Victor Goines on saxophone and clarinet, St. Louis' own Montez Coleman on drums, and Reginald Veal on bass. In case of rain, check the Garden’s website at www.mobot.org or tune in to radio station WSIE (88.7 FM) for cancellation information. (Incidentally, Martin also has a new self-released solo piano CD that's just come out; for more on that, see this post.)

UPDATE - 6/3/09, 3:30 p.m.: Via email, Martin tells StLJN that his concert this evening at the Missouri Botanical Garden has been canceled due to rain. Instead, he and his band will perform a free indoor concert starting at 7:30 tonight at the Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington. The doors open at 6:30 p.m..

Also tonight, trumpeter Terence Blanchard (pictured) and his group start a four-night stand continuing though Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. A New Orleans native who embraces both his hometown's venerable traditions and more contemporary forms of jazz, Blanchard is considered by fans and critics to be among the first rank of current jazz trumpeters; he's also well-regarded in and out of the jazz world for the soundtracks he's composed for numerous films helmed by director Spike Lee.

Blanchard has played St. Louis before, at the Bistro and the Sheldon Concert Hall, and by all accounts, he delivers the goods in a live situation - so, if you're going to pay to see just one jazz event this week, this would seem to be the one. For more on Blanchard and some video samples of his playing, see this post from a couple of weeks ago.

On Thursday, there are more free events downtown, starting at 5:30 p.m., when the Jeff Anderson Trio kicks off a month-long series of free Thursday shows being presented by the Sheldon Concert Hall outdoors at the Old Post Office Plaza, 801 Locust between 8th and 9th streets.

The free concert is scheduled to run for about an hour, which theoretically should give you plenty of time to head west a dozen blocks or so in order to catch multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser Eugene Chadbourne, who will be performing free shows at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.at the Schlafly St. Louis Brewery and Tap Room.

If you're already a Chadbourne fan, chances are you're already making plans to be there. If you don't know the man's work, but are intrigued by the idea of an artist who brings together free jazz, rockabilly, folk, noise, and a dozen other genres, spiked with surreal humor and progressive politics, then see this post for more about him and some video samples of assorted Chadbournia.

On Friday and Saturday, the second annual Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival takes place in and around the public square in downtown Belleville, IL It's a free event that features local and regional jazz musicians; this year's lineup includes singer Anita Rosamond, Two Times True with pianist Carolbeth True; Wild Cool and Swingin'; singer Mary Dyson with the Brock Walker Trio, Tony D. and the Groove Merchants, and more. For more, see this post.

Back in downtown St. Louis, the St. Louis Jazz Cafe this weekend has 2Smooth, with saxophonist Rod Tate and guitarist Gregg Haynes, on Friday, and singer Erin Bode and her group on Saturday.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday, there are two more free events worth noting. At 7:00 p.m., the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club will meet at Borders, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd. in Brentwood. JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford will lead the discussion of this month's featured CD, Atomic Basie by the Count Basie Orchestra. That should wind down in plenty of time to catch saxophonist Bennett Wood and his group over at The Gramophone in another of the no-cover-charge shows the club is presenting in conjunction with Jazz St. Louis.

As always, these are just some of the notable events happening over the next few days, and, since it's early in the month, band and venue schedule information for June is still arriving here at StLJN HQ;. So, to see the most recently updated list of jazz-related events in 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 Brötzmann to perform Friday, June 12 at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center

Via the RFT's Annie Zaleski and her blog "A to Z," news comes that German free jazz saxophonist and clarinetist Peter Brötzmann (pictured) will make his long overdue St. Louis debut as the first half of a double-header of shows next Friday, June 12 at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Brötzmann and his Full Blast Trio will perform at 7:00 p.m., followed at 9:00 p.m. by a separate concert featuring St. Louis-based Yowie along with touring acts Aleuchatistas and Upsilon Acrux.

Originally trained as a painter and conceptual artist, the 68-year-old Brötzmann got involved with music in the late 1960s, absorbing influences ranging from Sidney Bechet to Albert Ayler, and has gone on to become one of the most important avant-garde jazz musicians in Europe. Over the years, his collaborators have included notables such as Han Bennink, Peter Kowald, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Bill Laswell, Cecil Taylor, Ken Vandermark, WIlliam Parker, Hamid Drake.and many others.

Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door for Brötzmann; $6 in advance, $8 at the door for the Yowie/Aleuchitistas/Upsilon Acrux show; or $12 in advance for both.
For more information, go here.

More road work ahead for Erin Bode

It's just a coincidence that the pronunciation of Erin Bode's last name rhymes with "roadie," but the St. Louis-based singer and her group very well may need an on-tour helper or two if their travel schedule gets any busier.

This weekend, Bode and band will be headed to Chicago for a gig Sunday as part of the Wine Festival at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, IL. The following weekend, they're off to Rochester, NY to perform Saturday, June 13 at a restaurant called Max of Eastman Place as part of the Rochester International Jazz Festival.

Bode also got some favorable press coverage in a recent article at the online news site MinnPost.com as part of a feature story looking at former Twin Cities residents who are doing well in the music business. Bode grew up in Minnesota before moving to St. Louis to attend Webster University. You can read the MinnPost article here.