Monday, June 28, 2010

Notes from the Net: A rare Miles Davis TV appearance; the JaLCO visits London; plus news, reviews, 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 interest:

* There's lots of Miles Davis news this week, starting with, appropriately enough, a post from Howard Mandel on his Jazz Beyond Jazz blog reflecting on Davis' continued ubiquity nearly 20 years after his death. Then there's the recent discussion at Organissimo.org on the influence of Davis’ Kind of Blue, and a review of a concert by bassist Marcus Miller's Tutu band (which draws its setlist from the Miller-produced Davis album of the same name), written for the New York Times by Nate Chinen.

For more Miles, here's a personal reminiscence of Davis and conversation with his biographer, St. Louis native Quincy Troupe, from the NY Examiner's Deardra Shuler; a brief review of the "We Want Miles" exhibit in Montreal from Jazz.FM's Ross Porter; and video of a TV interview Davis did in 1986 for a Philadelphia program called Timeout, recently posted by the show's host Bill Boggs.

* Saxophonist and former St. Louis Oliver Lake just did a three-day residency in Pittsburgh sponsored by City of Asylum, an organization that provides sanctuary to writers exiled under threat of death, imprisonment, or persecution in their native countries. Lake will perform with Trio 3 for the NYC Museum of Modern Art's Summergarden series on Sunday, July 18.

* Opening the "recent visitors" file, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra just completed a series of performance in London, reviewed here by the blog London Jazz and here by the Independent newspaper. Marsalis also has a new book, Moving To Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life, reviewed here by Florence Wetzel for AllAboutJazz.com. Marsalis and the JaLCO were in St. Louis earlier this year to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* Bassist Rufus Reid recently was the subject of an interview podcast for Jason Crane's The Jazz Session. Reid and the other members of his trio, pianist Steve Allee and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca, were here in May for the Jazz Education Network Conference, and they're gigging this weekend at the NYC venue Kitano.

* Here's a review of guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli's Rockin' In Rhythm CD by Percy Zvomuya of the Johannesburg Mail & Guardian. Pizzarelli was in St. Louis most recently in April to play at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Turning to news of coming attractions, bassist Stanley Clarke (pictured) has a new CD, The Stanley Clarke Band, just out on the Heads Up label. It features keyboardists Hiromi and Ruslan Sirota and drummer Ronald Bruner, Jr., along with singer Cheryl Bentyne of the Manhattan Transfer, keyboardist Larry Dunn of Earth, Wind & Fire, and various other guest musicians. Clarke and Hiromi will be in St. Louis in February to perform at the Bistro.

* Here's a review of guitarist John McLaughlin's latest release One from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bob Karlovits. McLaughlin will be in St. Louis in November to play at Sheldon Concert Hall.

* And here's a review of saxophonist Gerald Albright's Pushing The Envelope, written for AllAboutJazz.com by Woodrow Wilkins. Albright comes to St. Louis in August to perform with Guitars and Saxes at the Pageant.

* Smooth jazz saxophonist Boney James says he's eager to return to the stage after a serious car accident that resulted in two broken teeth and a fractured jaw. James was rear-ended by a speeding motorist on the San Diego Freeway on May 15 when returning from a show at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Jazz Festival. James will play this Saturday in Healdsburg, CA before coming to the Ameristar Casino's Bottleneck Blues Bar next Thursday, July 8.

* Finally, in case you missed it, here's a list of the winners of the 2010 Jazz Journalists Association Awards, via AllAboutJazz.com. (In case you were wondering, none of the winners are from St. Louis, but a number of them have performed here in recent years. )

2 comments:

Jason Crane said...

Thanks for the link!

All the best,

Jason Crane
The Jazz Session
http://thejazzsession.com

Dean Minderman said...

Thanks for stopping by, Jason, and thank you for all the fascinating interviews on The Jazz Session.