StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Kenny Barron

Today, let's take a look at some video clips featuring pianist Kenny Barron, who will be performing with vibraphonist Stefon Harris starting next Wednesday, February 4 through Saturday, February 7 at Jazz at the Bistro. This will be his first time playing at the Bistro since 2010, when he did a run of duo piano performances with the late Mulgrew Miller. He also led his own group there back in 2006.

Now 71 years old, Barron is a Philadelphia native who first gained wide attention in the early 1960s working with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. He's also performed and recorded with Stan Getz, Yusef Lateef, James Moody, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, and many other significant jazz musicians, and is known for exploring the music of Thelonious Monk as a co-leader of the group Sphere.

When not engaged in these sorts of collaborations, leading his own bands, or playing solo, Barron also is a jazz educator who taught music for more than 25 years at Rutgers University and currently teaches at Juilliard. Though perhaps not quite as well-known among casual jazz fans as his contemporaries Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, or McCoy Tyner, Barron is a versatile and technically accomplished player who's very well-regarded among his fellow musicians, and he was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2010.

In the first video up above, you can see and hear him playing "Autumn Leaves" in a trio with bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Alan Dawson (undated but presumably from the early 1990s, as Dawson passed away in 1996). After the jump, there's a clip of Barron playing "Have You Met Miss Jones" with Cranshaw and Grady Tate on drums, recorded in 1995 in Japan 

That's followed by two duets with bassist Dave Holland, another recurring collaborator of Barron's in recent years. They're seen here playing "Billie's Bounce" and "Calypso" in 2012 at the Jazz à la Villette festival in France.

The last two videos are solo performances - first, "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," recorded in 2000 at the Jazz à Marciac festival, also in France, followed by a medley of Duke Ellington songs including "Lotus Blossom," "Single Petal of a Rose," "Melancholia,' and "Star-Crossed Lovers," recorded in 2010 at Marciac.

For more about Kenny Barron, check out this interview from 2013; this 2013 compilation from writer Ted Panken of a 2005 Down Beat feature and WKCR Interviews From 1991 and 2004; and this 2003 "fireside chat" from AllAboutJazz.com.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Jazz St. Louis announces more shows for spring 2015

Jazz St. Louis this week announced additional bookings filling out the rest of the spring 2015 schedule at Jazz at the Bistro.

Perhaps the biggest news is that, as tipped here a couple of weeks ago, pianist Ramsey Lewis will return to St. Louis to perform at the Bistro on Friday, March 13. (JSL's Devin Rodino tells StLJN that the listing shown on Pollstar for Lewis on Saturday, March 14 at the Bistro is for a private event.)

The announcement also confirms dates at the Bistro previously announced by local acts the Bosman Twins (Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11) and Miss Jubilee (Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9).

In addition, Jazz St. Louis will "welcome" singer Mary Stallings (pictured) on Sunday, February 15 in a benefit performance for the not-for-profit organization Community Women Against Hardship; and St. Louis expats, singer Mardra Thomas and pianist Reggie Thomas, have booked a return trip home for Friday, May 22 and Saturday, May 23 to promote the release of a new CD, Matters of the Heart.

Other shows added include a return visit from singer Denise Thimes (Friday, March 27); the Bistro debuts of jazz-fusion band Koplant No (Saturday, March 28) and the up-and-coming Kansas City-based ensemble Shades of Jade (Sunday, March 29); and a one-night, one-set return by the SIUE Concert Jazz Band and  SIUE Alumni Jazz Band (Tuesday, April 21).

Lastly, singer/guitarist Tommy Halloran’s Guerrilla Swing, who currently are playing Sunday brunch every week at the Bistro, will get a full weekend of shows on Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25; and the annual performances by students from the JazzU and the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars programs, with a special guest artist yet to be determined, will take place on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6.

Tickets for all of these shows went on sale to Jazz at the Bistro subscribers on Wednesday, January 28, and will be available to the general public starting at 10:00 a.m. next Wednesday, February 4 via Metrotix or the Jazz St. Louis website.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Pianist Kenny Barron (pictured), who's performing next week with vibraphonist Stefon Harris at Jazz at the Bistro, is the subject of a preview story by Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch.

* Reviews of the recently released Miles Davis box set All of You: The Last Tour 1960 are in from the Free Jazz Blog and Jazz Times' Jeff Tamarkin.

* Pianist Peter Martin's special guest at his next performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Friday, February 27 will be keyboardist Federico González Peña, who's played with Marcus Miller, Gregoire Maret, Sting, and other well-known musicians. Also new this week, Martin's piano lessons on video, available previously via his website, now have been collected into a "curated course" on the website MusicGurus.

* The local musician-owned bass maker CertainBass has launched a Kickstarter to fund a new original electric bass design called the Svelte Bass. The campaign is intended to raise money to pay for CNC programming, raw materials and components, and other costs for a first production run of 20 basses. Details on the Svelte Bass, the Kickstarter campaign, and the various incentives offered to contributors are here.

* The Hartenberger World Music Collection of musical instruments recently donated to The Sheldon was the subject of a feature story last week on the newscasts of KPLR and local Fox affiliate KTVI.

* St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts' "Every Artist Insured" awareness campaign continues with free presentations next Monday on "Navigating Health Care Reform" and on how the Affordable Care Act can affect your taxes, plus four free one-on-one enrollment sessions in early February. For more information or to sign up, visit VLAA's website.

* Jazz St. Louis is looking to hire an accountant. You can see a job description and information on how to apply here.

* Music Record Shop in the Grove is seeking local bands and musicians interested in performing in-store.  To find out more, email them at musicrecordshop at gmail dot com.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's “Somethin’ Else” program will feature the music of trumpeter Dave Douglas. Wilson can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Jazz this week: Dawn Weber, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes CD release, and more

Longtime observers of St. Louis' live music scene know there sometimes can be a slight lull in activity between New Year's Day and the run-up to Mardi Gras.

But while there may not be any significant touring jazz or creative music acts passing through St. Louis this week, it's a big weekend for two local ensembles fronted by females, with one performing for the first time at the newly remodeled Jazz at the Bistro and the other releasing a new album. For more on these shows and other noteworthy upcoming gigs, let's go to the highlights...

Thursday, January 29
Pianist Ptah Williams plays solo in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, January 30
Trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber opens a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro, accompanied by a band including saxophonist Jason Swagler, bassist Bob DeBoo, keyboardist Nathan Jatcko, drummer Jerry Mazucca, and guitarist Phil Ring.

Also on Friday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes (pictured, top left) will celebrate the release of their second CD Sarahnade En Bleu with a performance at Venice Cafe.

Elsewhere around town, Lindy Hop St. Louis' monthly "West End Stomp" at the Mahler Ballroom will feature music from Miss Jubilee; the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Randy Bahr will take the stage at Thurman Grill.

Saturday, January 31
Singer Feyza Eren (pictured, below left) and guitarist Tom Byrne will duet at Thurman Grill.

Sunday, February 1
In a late-afternoon session before the big football game kicks off, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will be recording a music video at Nathalie's.

Monday, February 2
Webster University celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Billie Holiday with a concert from singer Kim Fuller and members of the Webster jazz faculty at Winifred Moore Auditorium on campus.

Tuesday, February 3
Pianists David Parker and Greg Mills present another performance under the auspices of their Society for Creative Survival, teaming up for "The Rites of Musick/ Tribute to John Cage" at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found on the left sidebar of the site or by clicking here. You also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or clicking the "Like" icon on the StLJN Facebook page.

(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

T. Oliver Reid to headline spring season for Gaslight Cabaret Festival

The Gaslight Cabaret Festival has announced their series for spring 2015, with a slate of shows in March and April including performances of NYC actor and singer T. Oliver Reid's show "Drop Me Off In Harlem" on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28.

Described as "an evening of club-hopping to the music of Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington and Andy Razaf," Reid's show won a 2013 Bistro Award for "Best Theme Show" and will include a backup band featuring music director Lawrence Yurman, trumpeter Bob Ceccarini, bassist Dave Troncoso, and drummer James Jackson.

Reid (pictured) has been seen on Broadway in shows including Mary Poppins, Sister Act, The Wedding Singer, La Cage aux Folles, Never Gonna Dance, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Follies and Kiss Me, Kate.

The rest of the spring schedule will feature St. Louis performers, with shows in March from Brian Owens, Neal Richardson, Joe Dreyer and Rosemary Watts, Linda Kennedy, Ben Nordstrom, Meghan Kirk, and Anna Blair. Performers in April will include Gina Otto, Ken Haller and Kay Love. (For a complete schedule and details on the individual shows, see the website of series producers The Presenters Dolan.)

All performances start at 8:00 p.m. in the Gaslight Theater, 358 N. Boyle. Tickets are priced from $25 to $35, depending on the show and the seating option, and are on sale now.

Music Education Monday: Video workshops with Urbie Green & Delfeayo Marsalis

This week for Music Education Monday series, we've got a bone to pick with someone, via video workshops from jazz trombonists Urbie Green and Delfeayo Marsalis.

Green, now 88 and retired from music, was known for his technical prowess, both as a soloist and bandleader and as a sideman with the big bands of Woody Herman, Gene Krupa and others, while Marsalis (pictured) is part of the famous New Orleans family that includes his dad, pianist Ellis Marsalis, and brothers Wynton, Branford and Jason.

Also worth a look (though we can't seem to get the embedded version to work on this page) is the episode about jazz trombone produced for the "Building Blocks of Jazz" segment of HEC-TV's program I Love Jazz.

Featuring St. Louis trombonist, bandleader and educator Dave Dickey with Jazz St. Louis education director Phil Dunlap on piano, the video covers "the evolution of the trombone style, from New Orleans to BeBop" and can be seen online here.

Miles on Monday: Memorial project nears completion; Miles Davis & boxing; and more

For this week's installment of "Miles on Monday," here are some links to the latest news:

* "The Miles Davis Memorial Project is nearing completion," according to a story published last week in the Alton Telegraph.

Site preparation will begin when the weather breaks this spring, and Preston Jackson, who is sculpting the staute of Davis that will be placed in downtown Alton, is finishing up his work. Members of the project committee will visit Jackson's studio next month for "final approval of the clay piece prior to sending it to the foundry for casting in bronze."

The project still is seeking financial support through the sale of inscribed bricks and granite blocks that will be part of the memorial site. To purchase a brick or block, or to donate to the Miles Davis Memorial Project, call Pride, Incorporated at 618-467-2375 or visit their website at http://www.prideincorporated.org/index.cfm?page=2573.

* This past week also saw publication of interviews with two former Davis sidemen and another musical associate and friend. Bassist/guitarist Joseph "Foley" McCreary, who played with Davis in the late 1980s and early 90s and now is living in Dallas, was interviewed by the Dallas Observer; guitarist John McLaughlin talked with Relix about a variety of topics including his time with the trumpeter; and, in an excerpt from his new autobiography published on The Daily Beast, guitarist Carlos Santana talked about his first meeting and subsequent interactions with Davis.

* Lastly, Vice.com has posted a very interesting article about Davis' interest in boxing, in which you can read about how he "grew up loving boxing and came of age during a pivotal point in the sport"; his admiration of Sugar Ray Robinson; how he used boxing workouts to help him kick heroin in the mid-1950s; and how Davis once challenged Brazilian multi-instumentalist Hermeto Pascoal only to get popped right in the face.

Sunday Session: January 25, 2015

Maceo Parker

For your Sunday reading enjoyment and edification, here are some noteworthy items encountered during the past week about jazz, creative music, and more:

* The Piano Is Dead! Long Live the Piano! (The Daily Beast)
* For Musicians, a TV Series Underscores Diminishing Role (New York Times)
* Five Long Term Music Industry Predictions (And How Disney Will Rule The World) (Music Industry Blog)
* Blowin’ Heat: Maceo Parker On James Brown, ‘Get On Up,’ Ferguson, and Musical Unity (KQED)
* Netflix Producing Nina Simone Documentary from Liz Garbus, Set for 2015 (Variety)
* Sundance 2015 first look review: What Happened, Miss Simone? – a remarkable life, painted by numbers (The Guardian UK)
* Watch a human musician and his robots improvise together (Washington Post)
* Jazz Education Network Conference 2015: Sharing The Gift Of Jazz (KPLU)
* Jazz Connect & Winter Jazzfest – a New York state of mind (Seattle Times)
* 4-Disc Box of Coltrane’s 1961 European Tour Coming - Quintet recordings feature Eric Dolphy (Jazz Times)
* Bo Dollis, Mardi Gras Indians Big Chief, Dies at 71 - Prominent frontman of NOLA’s Wild Magnolias (Jazz Times)
* Meeting of New Music Minds at SF Gathering (New Music Box)
* Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock Announce World Tour (Billboard)
* Moog Announces System 55, System 35 & Model 15 Reissues (Future Music)
* Setting New Standards - American Songbook Series Reshapes the Canon (New York Times)
* Pro Tools Is Releasing a Free Version of Its Legendary Audio Software (Gizmodo)
* Music Bureaucrats’ Nomination Abomination (Wall Street Journal)
* When Bauhaus Met Lounge Music (The Atlantic)
* The Bad Plus puts its spin on a classic Ornette Coleman LP (Boston Globe)
* This Is What The Sound of Your Refrigerator Looks Like (Vice.com)
* Branford Marsalis, taking the long view (Boston Globe)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Riding the "Night Train" with Jimmy Forrest

What's the most performed song ever written by a St. Louis jazz musician? While it's probably impossible to ever know with absolute certainty, at first one might guess that it's something from Miles Davis' Kind of Blue.

After all, it is the best-selling jazz album of all time, and tunes from it such as  "All Blues" and "So What" frequently get played at jam sessions and on cover gigs, and have been recorded by various other musicians besides Davis.

However, the popularity of Davis and Kind of Blue notwithstanding, further investigation suggests that the most likely candidate for most-performed song probably is "Night Train," first recorded in 1951 by saxophonist and St. Louis native Jimmy Forrest. A #1 R&B hit for Forrest, "Night Train" over the years has spawned dozens of cover versions recorded by well-known artists, as well as countless live performances by assorted jazz, rock, R&B, country and variety bands.

Forrest (pictured) was born on January 24, 1920 in St. Louis, making today the 95th anniversary of his birth. To celebrate, we're taking an in-depth look at "Night Train," a song that's interesting for a number of reasons beyond its sheer popularity.

Recognized by the Grammy Hall of Fame as one of the top jazz singles of all time, "Night Train" may be just a 12-bar blues in Ab, but it has taken a trip through American culture that also helps to illuminate certain aspects of the nature of musical composition; the malleability of the blues; and the flow of musical ideas between black and white musicians and audiences in the middle of the 20th century.  The whole story is after the jump...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* KDHX has posted online a photo set from last Saturday's New Music Circle concert featuring pianist Johanna Ballou at 560 Music Center.

* Euclid Records, both in St. Louis and New Orleans, was featured in the Vinyl Lives section of GlideMagazine.com.

* Saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Dave Douglas’ band Soundprints, featuring St. Louis native and Berklee grad Lawrence Fields (pictured) on piano, is set to release their debut album Live at Monterey Jazz Festival, which includes two new Wayne Shorter compositions.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake's NYC Winter Jazzfest show with Trio 3 and guest pianist Vijay Iyer was reviewed by Feast of Music.

* Guitarist Farshid Soltanshahi aka Farshid Etniko will be performing a live soundtrack of original music for Upstream Theater’s upcoming production Bashir Lazhar. Described as "a timely and poetic piece about grief and healing, love and survival," the play tells the story of "an Algerian refugee in Montreal who is hastily hired as a substitute teacher for a class of sixth graders who, like him, have experienced recent trauma."

The production opens next Friday, January 30 and continues weekends through Sunday, February 15 at the Kranzberg Arts Center, with tickets on sale now via Brown Paper Tickets.

* The Arts & Education Council's video tribute to singer Denise Thimes, first shown Monday night at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel when Thimes was honored at the annual St. Louis Arts Awards ceremony, has been posted to YouTube.

* Saxophonist Greg Osby's latest blog post ruminates about the potential difficulties and rewards for musicians trying to deal with change.

* Singer and East St. Louis native Phil Perry has released a new album, A Better Man, on the Shanahachie label. The CD, which features guest musicians including saxophonist Kim Waters and trumpeter Rick Braun, is Perry's sixth for the label and eleventh overall.

* Pianist Peter Martin's New Year's Eve performance with singer Dianne Reeves and the New York Philharmonic has been posted online by PBS. (Martin's bit begins in the second half of the concert at about 1:15, with his piano solo on "Embraceable You" starting at 1:35:53.)

* Singer Wendy L. Gordon has announced details on new scholarships funded with proceeds from her "Jazz Heaven" series of concerts. The two LeeVert & Wendy Gordon Scholarships are worth $500 each, and will be awarded to a Sumner High School student (or students) attending Harris Stowe State University in the fall of 2015. (Both Gordon and her husband LeeVert are alumni of Sumner HS.)

The 2015 edition of "Jazz Heaven" is scheduled for Sunday, August 30 at the Florissant Civic Center's James Eagan Theater.

* The St. Louis Cabaret Conference has announced July 18-25, 2015 as the dates for its tenth anniversary, with more details promised next week. To get on the email list for conference information, just send a request to info@stlouiscabaretconference.com.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's “Somethin’ Else” program will explore the influence of Charlie Parker via the bop stylings of alto saxophonists Frank Morgan, Jackie McLean, and Sonny Stitt. Wilson can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Dalton Ridenhour to perform Saturday, February 14 at Scott Joplin House

Ragtime and stride pianist Dalton Ridenhour is coming to St. Louis to perform at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, February 14 at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's New Rosebud Cafe. The concert is co-sponsored by the Friends of Scott Joplin.

Ridenhour (pictured), a native of St. James, Missouri, is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the Eastman School who first performed at the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival in Sedalia when he was just nine years old. He currently lives in New York City, where he plays with various jazz, rock and funk bands in addition to his solo piano gigs.

Tickets for Dalton Ridenhour will be $20 at the door.

Jazz this week: Arturo O'Farrill Sextet, Fidel Morales Trio, and more

This week's menu of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis has a bit of what Jelly Roll Morton once called "the Latin tinge," with two different touring Latin-jazz performers passing through town, plus the usual variety of local sounds, from Gypsy jazz and big band swing to funkified Beatles and New Orleans-style brass.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 21
Tonight, pianist Arturo O’Farrill (pictured, top left) and his sextet will make their debut at Jazz at the Bistro, continuing with two sets nightly through Saturday.

O'Farrill, the son of legendary Latin bandleader Chico O'Farrill, is a fine pianist with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Latin-jazz idiom, and his big band put on a powerful show when they performed at the now-defunct St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival back in the mid-2000s. Though this ensemble may be smaller, the energy level and musicianship should be equally high.

Also tonight, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "open mic" night at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes trio will perform at The Feasting Fox .

Thursday, January 22
This semester's Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University begins with a free concert from bassist Eric Warren and his quartet; and pianists David Parker and Greg Mills will play at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Friday, January 23
The Funky Butt Brass Band return for their monthly performance at the Broadway Oyster Bar, while the Webster Groves HS Jazz Band, Hixson MS Jazz Band and WGHS Alumni Jazz Band will play their annual concert at The Pageant.

Elsewhere around town, Second Generation Swing will play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and singer Joe Mancuso leads a quartet at Nathalie's.

Saturday January 24
Percussionist Fidel Morales (pictured, below left), who teaches at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and has performed with well-known musicians including Danilo Pérez, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Eddie Gómez, and Jon Faddis, brings his Afro Cuban Jazz Trio to Voce.

Also on Saturday, The People's Key interpret the Beatles in their show "Sgt. Pepper's Jazzy Hearts Club Band" at the Kranzberg Arts Center;  trumpeter Jim Manley will be back at One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar; Wack-A-Doo performs at Evangeline's ; and singer Feyza Eren and pianist Curt Landes will be at The Wine Press

Sunday, January 25
Gypsy-jazz group Franglais plays for brunch at Evangeline's.

Monday, January 26
Jazz-fusion quartet Common Time will play at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the campus of Webster University; and saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found on the left sidebar of the site or by clicking here. You also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or clicking the "Like" icon on the StLJN Facebook page.

(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

Zappa Plays Zappa concert moved to The Ready Room

When Plush STL closed earlier this month, it left a number of already-booked shows in need of a place to happen.

Now it appears the last performance still in need of a new venue has found one, as the concert by Zappa Plays Zappa on Monday, April 20 (announced previously in this post) has been moved to The Ready Room.

This spring's ZPZ tour commemorates the 40th anniversary of the release of Frank Zappa's 1975 album One Size Fits All, and will feature performances of all the music from the album. Located at 4195 Manchester Ave in the Grove, The Ready Room is an 8,000 square foot venue that opened last year, featuring a musical menu of mostly rock acts booked by Mike Cracchiolo of the downtown club The Firebird.

Doors will open for the Zappa Plays Zappa show at 7:00 p.m., and the concert will start at 8:00 p.m.. General admission tickets for the all-ages concert are $25 in advance, $30 day of show, with a $2 surcharge for minors, and are on sale now via TicketFly.

There's also a VIP ticket offering early entrance and soundcheck access for $50 in advance. And in addition to the band's concert that evening, ZPZ's leader and guitarist Dweezil Zappa (pictured) apparently also will be doing a master class for guitarists at 3:00 p.m. that afternoon. Tickets for that cost $75 and do not include admission to the concert.

Jazz at Holmes updates winter/spring schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University has updated their schedule of free concerts for the winter and spring of 2015. A story published by StLJN on January 8 cited a version of the schedule published that day on the Jazz at Holmes Facebook page, but as it turns out, that iteration wasn't quite ready for public release.

In the final version of the schedule, posted to Facebook last Friday, bassist Eric Warren and his band will kick off this semester's series starting this coming Thursday, January 22. That means saxophonist Kristian Baarsvik now will perform on Thursday, February 19, and the gig featuring Kara Baldus, Bill Lenihan and Steve Davis originally announced for that date has been bumped a week to Thursday, February 26.

Also, StLJN's previous story mentioned a special performance by guitarist John Abercrombie (pictured) and his quartet on Tuesday, April 7 without noting that, unlike most Jazz at Holmes concerts, there will be an admission charge. Though the exact price is yet to be determined, Bill Lenihan, guitarist and Wash U faculty member who curates the Jazz at Holmes series, tells StLJN that it likely will be along the lines of $10 for students with ID, $20 for the general public.

Both the StLJN calendar and the previous story have been revised to reflect these changes. And as soon as there's more specific information released on ticket prices and the onsale date for the John Abercrombie Quartet concert, we'll have it for you here.

Music Education Monday: Behind the score of Birdman with drummer Antonio Sanchez

The Academy Award nominated film Birdman, now playing in theaters across the US, has won acclaim for its script, cinematography, lead performance by Michael Keaton, and the musical score created by drummer Antonio Sanchez.

Perhaps best known to jazz fans for his work with guitarist Pat Metheny, Sanchez (pictured) unfortunately was eliminated from consideration in this year's Oscars due to a technicality, as the film's soundtrack also included some pre-existing material.

But that snub hasn't stopped viewers and critics from raving about Sanchez' contribution to Birdman, and this article about Sanchez and the Birdman score at IndieWire.com includes a video in which the drummer talks about how he put the music together.

Down below here on this page, there's a video of a complete master class that Sanchez did in 2013 when he was a guest artist-in-residence at Berklee College of Music. Though the class is focused on jazz drumming, not film scoring, it offers more insight into Sanchez' techniques and his approach to music.

For more about Antonio Sanchez' score for Birdman, read this article from Vanity Fair; this interview the drummer did with HitFix.com, which includes some audio samples from the score; his interview with the blog The Film Experience; and this article from TheCredits.org. You can hear audio of all 28 minutes of Sanchez' music for Birdman here.

Miles on Monday: Looking back at the electric music of Miles Davis

When Miles Davis went electric in the late 1960s, his new direction sparked discussion and controversy that persist into the present day. The trumpeter's electric music has been the subject of an uncountable number of conversations, reviews and critical essays, as well as a couple of books that supplement their examinations of the topic with websites offering a lot of additional material to consider.

Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis 1967-1991, written by Paul Tingen and published in 2001, is based on interviews with musicians who worked with Davis. The accompanying web site offers samples from the book, as well as news updates, photographs, memorabilia, and 50,000 additional words of articles.

The Last Miles is a 2005 book by George Cole that focuses specifically on Davis' final decade from 1981 to 1991. It's based on interviews with band members (from that time period and before), producers, engineers, members of Miles’ road crew, photographers, and video directors who worked with Davis. As with Miles Beyond, the book's website includes samples from the text as well as lots of supplemental material that's been added since publication, adding up to hours worth of reading.

For another perspective on Davis' electric music from someone who was a participant in it, check out the discussion in the embedded video windows below. It's a debate that took place in 2010 at the Amistad Center for Art & Culture in Hartford, CT between James "Mtume" Forman, the percussionist and producer who worked with Davis in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and author and critic Stanley Crouch, who remains skeptical of the trumpeter's work after 1967.

Sunday Session: January 18, 2015

Robert Glasper

For your Sunday reading enjoyment and edification, here are some noteworthy items from the past week about jazz, creative music, and more:

* New Record Service VNYL Distributes LPs Like Netflix (Rolling Stone)
* New NEA Reports Crunch the Numbers on Culture (New Music Box)
* Winter Jazzfest 2015 In Photos (NPR's A Blog Supreme)
* Study says we prefer singers who look like big babies during good times (AV Club)
* Why Do All Records Sound the Same? (Medium.com)
*  Newport Jazz Festival Announces 2015 Lineup - Cassandra Wilson, Dr. John, Chris Botti, Jamie Cullum among 40+ artists scheduled (Jazz Times)
* The Addition nightclub in San Francisco to close Jan. 14 (San Jose Mercury-News)
* Simon, Coltrane, McFerrin to Honor Michael Brecker at Fundraiser Concert (Down Beat)
* LA Studio Musicians Income Fell 68% (Hypebot.com)
* Robert Glasper: 'I get sick of touring run-of-the-mill jazz clubs' (The Guardian UK)
* Filming Sonic Emotion - Robert Herridge’s TV programs changed the way people viewed jazz (Wall Street Journal)
* Musicians Union Threatens To Expel Composer If He Doesn't Pay Fine For Unapproved Videogame Work (TechDirt.com)
* Rodriguez, Terrasson, MMW with Scofield Explore Melody and Groove at Barcelona Jazz Festival (Down Beat)
* Photo Gallery: Jazz Education Network Conference in San Diego (Jazz Times)
* Jazz At Lincoln Center Domain Change Sparks Outrage (TheJazzline.com)
* The War on Billie Holiday - The Bureau of Narcotics’ strange obsession (In These Times)
* Live From New York: The State of Jazz in 2015 (The Atlantic)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2015 jazz preview, part 5

Today, it's the fifth and final part of StLJN's winter/spring 2015 jazz preview, offering a look at the touring bands and musicians who will be performing here during the first half of the year.

(Parts one through four can be found here, here, here, and here. And speaking of part four, last week in this space we were remiss in not mentioning tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, who will be performing with Freddy Cole from Wednesday, April 1 through Saturday, April 4 at Jazz at the Bistro. You can see and hear Allen in action in this post from before his last gig here with Cole in 2013.)

Resuming our preview chronology in mid-April, today's first video features singer Kurt Elling, who will be returning to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, April 15 through Saturday, April 18 at Jazz at the Bistro. Elling has been a frequent visitor here in recent years, appearing most recently in June of last year at the Sheldon. He's seen here in a full set from the 2013 Jazz TM Festival in Timișoara, Romania, accompanied by his former pianist and music director Laurence Hobgood, bassist Clark Sommers, guitarist John McLean and drummer Kendrick Scott.

After the jump, you can see a clip featuring guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli and singer Jane Monheit, who will be teaming up on Saturday, April 18 to play for the annual benefit gala for the Sheldon Concert Hall. This version of "They Can't Take that Away From Me" was recorded in 2006 for PBS' Legends Of Jazz program. (For more, read this review of Pizzarelli's show last November at the Bistro, and check out this video showcase post featuring Monheit that was posted before she played the club in May of last year.)

Next is pianist Benny Green, who will be leading his trio from Wednesday, April 29 through Saturday, May 2 at Jazz at the Bistro. This clip of Green playing "Taking a Chance on Love" with drummer Lewis Nash and bassist Christian McBride in 2013 at The Blue Note in New York City.

Today's fourth video features singer Cécile McLorin Salvant, one of the most talked-about new performers in jazz, who will be making her St. Louis debut on Saturday, May 2 at the Sheldon. She's seen here singing and playing Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz" in 2014 at the Victoires du Jazz festival in Paris.

A couple of weeks later, violinist Regina Carter and her Southern Comfort project will be here for performances from Wednesday, May 13 through Saturday, May 16 at Jazz at the Bistro. Carter and company are seen here playing "I'm Going Home" in April, 2014 in the studios of WNYC radio.

After that, you can see saxophonist Tim Berne's Snakeoil, who will perform in a concert presented by New Music Circle on Friday, May 18 at The Stage at KDHX. This video shows the second half of a Snakeoil set recorded in 2013 at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut.

The next two clips featuring organist Dr. Lonnie Smith and guitarist Lionel Loueke, who will be paired for a series of shows starting Wednesday, May 27 through Saturday, May 30 at Jazz at the Bistro. Clip #7 shows Smith and his trio in 2011 at the Lamantin Jazz Festival in Szombathely, Hungary, while clip #8 captures a brief solo number by Loueke in 2014 at the Asheville Percussion Festival in North Carolina.

Today's final video features trumpeter Terence Blanchard with his latest project, E- Collective, performing "Oscar Groove" on October 23, 2014 at the Blue Note Milano. Blanchard, who spent a good chunk of 2013 here working with Opera Theatre St. Louis on the premiere of his opera Champion, will be back to play Wednesday, June 10 through Saturday, June 13 at Jazz at the Bistro.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Pollstar: Ramsey Lewis returning Friday, March 13 & Saturday, March 14 to perform at Jazz at the Bistro

The touring information service Pollstar today added listings showing pianist Ramsey Lewis performing on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14 at Jazz at the Bistro.

As it happens, those two dates are among those this winter and spring for which Jazz St. Louis still has yet to announce any bookings for the Bistro, so that much fits with what's already known.

Add in that Pollstar now is showing the dates both on Lewis' page and on the Bistro's, plus the service's near-spotless record of accuracy, and this one looks like a done deal. That said, as always, listings on Pollstar should be considered unconfirmed until officially announced by the presenter or venue.

Lewis (pictured) last played in St. Louis with his electric band in November 2011 at the Bistro. His most recent album, Taking Another Look, came out that same year, and Lewis' syndicated radio program continues to air on stations around the country.

While any on-sale date for Ramsey Lewis tickets obviously also is TBA until Jazz St. Louis makes an official announcement, we can tell you that the Bosman Twins now are promoting Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11 as dates for a CD release event at the Bistro, with an on-sale date for tickets announced as on Wednesday, February 4.

(That suggests some sort of announcement about the winter/spring schedule will take place before that date, although we can't confirm that either, as emails to Jazz St. Louis asking about those remaining unfilled winter/spring dates so far have gone unanswered.)

In related news, Miss Jubilee recently created a Facebook event for gigs on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9 at the Bistro. Again, those dates and the ones announced by the Bosmans still are officially unfilled on the Bistro's own calendar as of this writing.

As soon as there's some sort of official announcement and/or further details on these shows (and/or the rest of the Bistro's winter/spring schedule), StLJN will have the info for you right here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Pianist Johanna Ballou talked with St. Louis magazine about her New Music Circle-sponsored concert tomorrow night at 560 Music Center.

* Saxquest has posted on Facebook some photos of Victor Goines' appearance at the store on Wednesday night. Goines and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Group perform tonight and tomorrow night at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Singer Denise Thimes talked with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson about receiving a St. Louis Arts Award from the Arts and Education Council. Thimes will be among the honorees at A&E's $300-per-plate annual dinner Monday night at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.

* Thanks to Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus for mentioning and linking to StLJN last week during TBP's four nights here at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake's new organ quartet album What I Heard was reviewed in Down Beat magazine.

* The live Miles Davis recording Olympia - March 20, 1960 gets an "extended analysis" from AllAboutJazz.com's C. Michael Bailey.

* Meanwhile, Miles Ahead, the upcoming movie about Davis directed by and starring Don Cheadle, is on IndieWire's list of "100 Most Anticipated Films of 2015." The film currently is in post-production, and the soundtrack will feature musical contributions from pianists Herbie Hancock and Robert Glasper, as well as trumpeter and St. Louis native Keyon Harrold, whose photo in the studio with Cheadle and Glasper, taken from the latter's Instagram account, accompanies this post.

* Though the Clark Terry documentary Keep On Keepin' On was snubbed in the 2015 Academy Award nominations, the film did receive a couple of other awards this week, winning the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and "Best Film - Inspiration" at the Waimea Ocean Film Festival in Hawaii.

* St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts will present another free seminar for artists, "Navigating Healthcare Reform," next Tuesday, January 20 at KDHX in Grand Center. The program will explain relevant aspects of the Affordable Care Act for self-employed artists and "provide strategies for acquiring quality and affordable health care coverage, including tax credits and subsidies." Admission is free, but because space is limited, advance registration is required.

* Jazz radio update: On this Saturday's edition of Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,”  host Calvin Wilson will highlight the drumming and compositions of the late Tony Williams.

Right after that on "The Jazz Collective," host Jason Church will be spinning music from Groove Ltd., Brian Culbertson, Paul Brown, Ken Navarro, U-Nam, Melissa Manchester, Funky Butt Brass Band, Jim Manley, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes, Jim Stevens, Sonny Rollins, Chuck Mangione, Michael Franks and Eumir Deodato.

Wilson can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Congratulations also go out to Church and radio station Hip 96.3 HD-3, as the HD sub-channel service, for which Church programs a mix of contemporary jazz, R&B and pop, celebrated five years on the air this week

Black Artists Group video from 1973 performance in France now online

Today, let's wish a very happy birthday to trumpeter and St. Louis native Baikida Carroll, who was born on this day in 1947.

Carroll (pictured) first gained wide attention in the late 1960s as a member of St. Louis' Black Artists Group, and after the group's  members went their separate ways a few years later, continued to perform and record with Oliver Lake and other associated musicians.

He's made four albums as a leader - one per decade in the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s - and also has recorded as a supporting musician with many well-known jazz and creative music performers, including Muhal Richard Abrams, Jack DeJohnette, John Carter, David Murray, Carla Bley, Sam Rivers, and more. Carroll also has composed scores for a number of theatrical productions and films, including the PBS American Playhouse production of Ntozake Shange's "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf."

To help celebrate Carroll's birthday, we've got some rarely seen footage of the Black Artists Group performing in 1973 in France, which was posted online just last week and came to StLJN's attention via the Twitter feed of trombonist Joseph Bowie, brother of Lester Bowie and also a BAG veteran.

The two clips, which together are slightly more than 26 minutes long, are from the last of 21 episodes of a 1973 French TV program, Jazz Harmonie. They feature a latter-day lineup of BAG musicians including Carroll, Bowie on trombone and percussion, saxophonist Oliver Lake, guitarist Jimmy Jones, and drummer Donald Robinson, performing three selections: "Suite," "Rhythm," and "Harlem Color."

(This is, so far as StLJN can determine, the only live performance footage available online of any of the BAG lineups or events from around that time, and as such, should be considered a rarity. We hope you enjoy!)

Jazz this week: Stooges Brass Band, Jazz at Lincoln Center Group, Bonerama, Johanna Ballou, and more

For the middle of January, it's a comparatively busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with tastes of NYC and New Orleans on the musical menu along with plenty of home-cooked favorites. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 14
Saxophonist/clarinetist Victor Goines, one of the group of Jazz at Lincoln Center musicians doing an educational residency this week for Jazz St. Louis, will present a free performance and clinic at Saxquest.

Also tonight, singer Eve Seltzer (pictured, top left), a St. Louis native who with her husband, guitarist Ben Wood, recently moved back home after nearly twenty years living and working in New York, will perform at Nathalie's in the first instance of what's projected as a recurring monthly show for her.

Thursday, January 15
New Orleans' Stooges Brass Band, known for infusing the city's venerable brass-band tradition with a serious dose of hip-hop, will play at the Broadway Oyster Bar; and guitarist Dave Black and friends, including singer Feyza Eren, will be at Nathalie's.

Friday, January 16
Billed as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Group for their two nights this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro, Victor Goines, trumpeter Terell Stafford (pictured, center left), trombonist Chris Crenshaw, and drummer Alvin Atkinson all are veterans of the JALC Orchestra who are in town leading workshops and master classes with local students as part of Jazz St. Louis' education program.

As is customary, the clinicians are finishing their week by joining forces to perform, and while the ad hoc nature of the ensemble makes their precise repertoire difficult to predict, expect feature numbers for each member drawn from their own personal song catalogs, with perhaps some additional standards in the mix, too. Regardless, the standard of musicianship no doubt will be high, and you can at least get a sense of what each of the front-line players can do via this video showcase post from a few Saturdays ago.

Also on Friday, the Broadway Oyster Bar presents another slice of New Orleans, courtesy of the trombone-centric funk-rockers Bonerama; singer Nnenna Freelon appears in the multi-media performance “The Clothesline Muse” at Washington University's Edison Theatre; and the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, January 17
New Music Circle presents St. Louis pianist Johanna Ballou (pictured, below left) playing a program of music from contemporary composers at the 560 Music Center. One of the selections, Frederic Rzewski's "Les Mountons de Panurge," involves some audience participation, which will be facilitated by an open rehearsal of it at noon Saturday at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Brian Vaccaro's trio will be joined by singer Feyza Eren for a performance at the south side house concert venue KindaBlue, 6101 1/2 Idaho.

Sunday, January 18
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents Miss Jubilee in a matinee performance at the Doubletree Hotel St. Louis at Westport; and jazz/funk/R&B quartet Good 4 The Soul plays an early evening gig at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Monday, January 19
Guitarists Eric Slaughter and Tom Byrne will co-lead a quartet at BB's.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found on the left sidebar of the site or by clicking here. You also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or clicking the "Like" icon on the StLJN Facebook page.

(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes to release second CD on Friday, January 30

Swing, hot jazz, and jump-blues band Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will celebrate the release of their second CD with a performance at 9:00 p.m. Friday, January 30 at Venice Cafe.

Titled Sarahnade En Bleu, the disc (pictured) was recorded this past fall at Red Pill Studios by Sam Ohlhausen, and includes 17 songs ranging from swing and blues numbers dating back to the 1930s to slightly newer standards such as "Mack The Knife" and "Fever."

The band's namesake and lead singer Sarah Jane Ulrich is accompanied on the recording by Blue Note regulars Jerry Greene (saxophones, clarinet), Ben Osborne (guitar), Mark Hochberg (bass) and Kevin Cheli (drums), as well as a crew of guest musicians including Tommy Halloran on vocals, Joe Bozzi on vibes, Doug Burns on trombone, Randy Holmes on trumpet, and Tim Garcia on piano.

Copies of the CD will be available initially only at Blue Notes gigs, with a special sale price of $10 on January 30 only, and $15 thereafter. Ulrich said the disc subsequently will be available for mail order via the band's website, exact date TBD, with digital downloads to follow "within 30 days."

Music Education Monday: A jazz guitar master class with Jim Hall

This week's for "Music Education Monday," here's a master class in jazz guitar with the late Jim Hall (pictured). Recorded in 2011, the three parts of Hall's workshop and performance seen in the video windows embedded below after the jump total just over three hours of material.

Hall, who died in 2013, first gained public attention in the mid-1950s with drummer Chico Hamilton's quintet, and went on to play with many important jazz performers of his generation, notably Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Desmond, Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Ella Fitzgerald, Lee Konitz and Sonny Rollins as well as with younger musicians including Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, and Bill Frisell.

You can see the videos of Hall's master class after the jump...

Miles on Monday: Jimmy Cobb on Kind of Blue, 5 reasons to love Miles Davis, and more

This week for "Miles on Monday," let's catch up with a few recent Davis-related news items:

* Jimmy Cobb (pictured), who drummed on Kind of Blue and is the last living member of the ensemble that recorded Davis' historic work, spoke to the BBC about the "The Album That Changed Jazz" in a video interview that you can see here.

* Saxophonist Gary Thomas, who worked with Davis in the mid-1980s, talked about that experience (and also about working with Herbie Hancock) in an interview with the Baltimore Sun.

* Here's a review of the box set Chronicles: The Complete Prestige Recordings 1951 - 1956, an eight-CD collection that pulls together 88 tracks of hard bop, blues and ballads that Davis recorded with musicians including John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Lee Konitz, and Charlie Parker.

* Lastly, for a perspective on the trumpeter from a different field of endeavor, check out VisualNews.com's "Five reasons to love Miles Davis."

Sunday Session: January 11, 2015

Vijay Iyer

For your Sunday reading enjoyment and edification, some noteworthy items from the past week about jazz, creative music, and more:

* In Music, Uniformity Sells (The Atlantic)
* Paris classical music row intensifies as new concert hall prepares to open (The Guardian UK)
* Mahanthappa, Lake, Iyer To Play 2015 New York Winter Jazzfest (Down Beat)
* Vijay Iyer to Host 12-Set Residency in NYC (JazzTimes)
* Vijay Iyer Hates the Toys 'R' Us Ferris Wheel (New York)
* A history of New Music in NYC, 1972-82. Tom Johnson's Village Voice articles (Ubu.com, PDF)
* Thom Yorke likely made millions from torrenting his new record (AV Club)
* The Original Funky Drummers On Life With James Brown (NPR)
* Nashville's musical middle class collapses (Nashville Tennessean)
* 6 Predictions For The Music Industry In 2015 (Hypebot.com)
* Nielsen Music's Year-End: Streaming Is Not Killing the Record Business (Billboard)
* Music tech through the ages (Mashable.com)
* Ravi Coltrane Pays Moving Tribute to His Father at SFJAZZ Celebration of A Love Supreme (Down Beat)
* R.I.P. Andrae Crouch: Remembering the Gospel Great's Immense Influence (Billboard)
* Video demonstrates how mind-numbingly formulaic and shitty Country pop music has become (DangerousMinds.net)
* Ornette Coleman Quietly Releases New Album (Jazz Times)
* Disco Mystic: Ornette Coleman, Asha Puthli and Science Fiction (RedBullMusicAcademy.com)
* The 2015 Jazz Connect Conference in Photos (Jazz Times)