Sunday Session: July 30, 2017

Mal Waldron

Here's the roundup of various music-related items of interest that have appeared in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Jimmy Heath: A Little Bird Told Me (Jazz Times)
* Such Sweet Thunder: inside Duke Ellington's literary world (Jazzwise)
* REVIEW: Mary Halvorson Octet at the Village Vanguard in New York (London Jazz News)
* Mary Halvorson Makes Village Vanguard Debut (DownBeat)
* Scott Hanley signs on as jazz station GM (Current.org)
* The night I drove George Melly home from the Cricklewood Tavern (The Guardian)
* Why Vinyl’s Boom Is Over (Wall Street Journal)
* The Ultimate Playlist Of Banned Wedding Songs (FiveThirtyEight.com)
* New Orleans music legend Dr. John reflects on a lifetime of song and adversity (San Diego Union Tribune)
* The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women (NPR)
* Fascinating Algorithm: Dan Tepfer's Player Piano Is His Composing Partner (NPR)
* Q&A with David Lynch’s Music Collaborator Dean Hurley – Part 1: Working On and “Protecting the Experience” of Twin Peaks: The Return (SynchBlog.com)
* Q&A with David Lynch’s Music Collaborator Dean Hurley – Part 2: Being “Open Creatively” and “Knowing When to Walk Away” (SynchBlog.com)
* After Surviving Lightning Strike, Vocalist Evans Prepares for Comeback (DownBeat)
* How SoundCloud's broken business model drove artists away (TheVerge.com)
* A New Job At Wesleyan, A New Album And A New Direction For Drummer Tyshawn Sorey (Hartford Courant)
* Keith Richards says the Rolling Stones will record new, original music 'very shortly' (New York Daily News)
* How Southern-Soul Survivor Don Bryant Finally Got His Second Chance (Rolling Stone)
* Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen Tours With Young ‘Nightflyers’ (Wall Street Journal)
* Free at Last: Mal Waldron’s ecstatic minimalism. (The Nation)
* Hippies, Guns, and LSD: The San Francisco Rock Band That Was Too Wild For the Sixties (CollectorsWeekly.com)
* Changing the face of American orchestras, one player at a time (Cincinnati.com)
* Alan Lomax’s Timeless American Recordings Find a New Audience (Bandcamp.com)
* The Top Ten Most Overrated Drummers Of All Time (TheZReview.com)
* A Fearless and Kind Leader—Remembering Geri Allen (1957-2017) (New Music Box)
* UK Music chief warns of 'perfect storm' facing music industry (MusicWeek.com)
* Roscoe Mitchell Captures the Eternal Now on Remarkable New Album (Village Voice)
* 45 45s That Changed The World (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* What is Jack DeJohnette's Native American Spirit Name? (WBGO)
* Orrin Evans on Joining the Bad Plus (Jazz Times)
* Angels and Demons at Play: Jim Knipfel on Reclaiming Sun Ra’s Legacy (BelieverMag.com)
* The Jazz & Blues Art Box — instant collection, rare data trove (Jazz Beyond Jazz)
* The sound illusion that makes Dunkirk so intense (Vox.com)
* How I Taught My Computer to Write Its Own Music (Nautil.us)
* The reissue racket: how many more ‘classic’ albums will be repackaged? (The Guardian)
* Whatever Happened to Indie Rock? (Popmatters.com)
* Watch the Making of a Hand-Crafted Violin, from Start to Finish, in a Beautifully-Shot Documentary (OpenCulture.com)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: 50 years of Herbie Hancock

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring keyboardist Herbie Hancock, who will be back in St. Louis to perform in a concert presented by Jazz St Louis on Thursday, August 10 at Powell Hall.

Hancock has been at the forefront of jazz for more than half a century, first coming to wide public attention in the mid-1960s as a member of Miles Davis' "Second Great Quintet." Striking out on his own at the turn of the 1970s, Hancock has managed to have considerable commercial success - most notably with his 1973 album HeadHunters, which remains one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time - while keeping his artistic credibility.

Today, StLJN celebrates Hancock's musical legacy with videos of his performances spanning more than 50 years and including some of his most popular tunes. The first clip up top is from Hancock's time with Miles Davis, and shows a performance of Davis' "All Blues" recorded October 11, 1964 at the Teatro dell'Arte in Milan, Italy. Along with Davis and Hancock, that's Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums.

After the jump, you can see "You'll Know When You Get There," recorded in 1971 in Molde, Norway by the ensemble commonly known as the "Mwandishi" band (after Hancock's album of the same name from that year), with Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Julian Priester (trombone), Bennie Maupin (soprano sax, flute, bass clarinet), Buster Williams (bass), and Billy Hart (drums).

Next, it's a full set of the Headhunters, performing their eponymous album in November 1974 at Musikladen in Bremen, Germany, with Hancock, Maupin, Paul Jackson (electric bass), Bill Summers (percussion) and Mike Clark (drums).

The fourth clip features a 1988 performance of one of Hancock's most famous compositions, "Maiden Voyage," recorded in Hamburg, Germany with Hancock, Buster Williams, Al Foster on drums, and on alto sax, St. Louis' own Greg Osby.

The penultimate video is a version of "Hang Up Your Hang Ups" recorded in 2005 in Tokyo by the all-star version of the Headhunters that toured on a limited basis that year, with Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, Roy Hargrove on trumpet, Kenny Garrett on alto sax, Lionel Loueke and Wah Wah Waton on guitars, Marcus Miller on bass, and Munyungo Jackson on percussion.

Finally, you can check out a clip of Hancock's longtime concert staple "Actual Proof" recorded just three weeks ago at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, with his current touring band, featuring Loueke on guitar, James Genus on bass, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, and rising star Terrace Martin on saxophone and additional keyboards.

For more about Herbie Hancock's current musical direction and tour, check out his interview on NPR from last August, and Terrace Martin's DownBeat interview from last fall in which he talks about working with Hancock.

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Maysa (pictured), who will perform as part of the Gateway Jazz Festival on Saturday at Chesterfield Amphitheater, was interviewed about her new album by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Miss Jubilee was profiled for St. Louis magazine by Thomas Crone.

* Drummer Kevin Bowers has posted to Facebook a photo album from his recent performance at Missouri Botanical Garden.

* Electronic musician Walter Whitney's latest project is the subject of a short feature story from the Riverfront Times' Christian Schaeffer.

* Saxquest has announced that they're adding some new services in conjunction with the grand opening on Saturday, August 12 of their new Maryland Heights location at 2614 Metro Blvd, near the I-270/Dorsett Rd interchange.

The new Saxquest Woodwind Teaching Institute will offer lessons for players of all ages and levels, from beginner to advanced, at both the west and Cherokee St locations.

The retailer also is beginning a new rental program this fall, for the first time offering rentals on clarinets and saxophones, including their own Saxquest brand instruments.

Lastly, the store will present the second annual Saxquest Expo on Saturday, November 11, at the Sheraton Westport Chalet in Westport Plaza, featuring representatives from major manufacturers showcasing instruments, mouthpieces, and accessories for all woodwind instruments.

Jazz this week: Gateway Jazz Festival, Ptah Williams, Emily Wallace, and more

Due to some temporary time constraints and computer-related difficulties here at StLJN HQ, this week's survey of upcoming live jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis may be a day later than usual, but there still are shows worth noting, so let's go straight to the highlights...

Thursday, July 27
This week's performance wrapping up the Jazz at Holmes "Jazz in July" series of free concerts at Washington University will feature a trio with pianist Ptah Williams, drummer Stephen Haake, and bassist Jacob Zengerling.

Also on Thursday, percussionist Joe Pastor breaks out his vibes to lead a trio at The Dark Room; guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing will play at Joe's Cafe & Gallery; and this month's edition of the Bruxism experimental music series, with GristleMcThornbody, ChelseaGray and AVPlug, will be presented at Schlafly Brewery & Tap Room

Friday, July 28
Singer Emily Wallace, accompanied by the Funky Butt Horns, will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Wallace (pictured, bottom left), who is making her debut as a headliner at the Bistro, is best known as part of the folk/Americana duo The Sleepy Rubies, in which she sings with her sister Ali Ruby, and has made guest appearances on various Funky Butt Brass Band gigs.

Also on Friday, singer Erin Bode will perform outside the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park before the museum's film series screens Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief. Both the concert and the film are free and open to the public. 

Saturday, July 29
The Gateway Jazz Festival at Chesterfield Amphitheater will present a day-long bill of acts including Pieces of a Dream (pictured, top left); singer Maysa; saxophonist Najee; the "Gateway Jazz All-Stars" with saxophonist Steve Cole, guitarist Nick Colionne, and keyboardist Brian Simpson; guitarists Chieli Minucci, Steve Oliver and Chris Standring; bassist Julian Vaughn; and saxophonist Tim Cunningham. You can see video samples of the performers in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Latin jazz/salsa band El Caribe Tropical will be staging a reunion gig at Club Viva.

Sunday, July 30
The Usual Suspects Trio will perform for brunch at The Dark Room while Miss Jubilee plays at Evangeline's. Later that afternoon, the Folk School of KDHX will present their monthly traditional jazz jam session.

Monday, July 31
Trumpeter Jim Manley plays for diners at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, August 1
Rhythms of the Caribbean plays a free outdoor concert at Lucier Park in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood.

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.)

Sunday Session: July 23, 2017

John Coltrane

Here's the roundup of various music-related items of interest that have appeared in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* This conch shell trumpet would be heard far and wide in the ancient world (Science)
* Portrait of a jazz player: Remembering John Coltrane (Greensboro News-Record)
* John Coltrane: Beyond the Holy Mountain (Jazzwise)
* Marking the Death of John Coltrane, Through the Poetry of Amiri Baraka (WBGO)
* John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme' Is Still a Masterpiece After 50 Years (Newsweek)
* Alice Coltrane: “The Gifts God Gave Him” (Jazz Times)
* The John Coltrane Record That Made Modern Music (GQ)
* Where To Start... John Coltrane - Celebrating the work of a saxophone and spiritual giant (ClashMusic.com)
* Spotify Is Accused Of Creating Fake Artists — But What Is A Fake Artist? (NPR)
* Los Angeles Jazz Institute Festival "Big Band Spectacular" 2017, Part 1-4 (AllAboutJazz.com)
* In New Orleans, There's A Piece Of Music History Around Every Corner (NPR)
* SoundCloud tries to allay fears, but streaming needs a business model (CDM.link)
* On a scale of Monkees-to-Gorillaz, how should we evaluate fictional music? (Washington Post)
* Take a Cruise With Music’s Uncoolest People (TheDailyBeast.com)
* Can't Prog Rock Get Any Respect Around Here? (NPR)
* Fireside Chat: Wadada Leo Smith (RedBullRadio.com)
* 'It's like a Miles Davis trumpet solo': 'Swinging' birds are caught singing off-beat like jazz musicians (Daily Mail)
* Bill Laswell: Four Strings, Zero Limits (Premier Guitar)
* REPORT: Val Wilmer - The Wire Salon at Cafe Oto (London Jazz News)
* A Water Tank Turned Music Venue (The New Yorker)
* These super cool pictures show Frank Sinatra at his best in 1960s Miami (Timeline.com)
* Thelonious Monk's surreally strange and spartan genius gets its due (The Guardian)
* UCSD jazz haters prompt Brian Ross to move on (San Diego Reader)
* The Poetics of Jazz (The Nation)
* The Nels Cline Show (ForGuitarPlayersOnly.com)
* Jazz Legend Herbie Hancock Tells Us How He Wound Up In the Sci-Fi Epic 'Valerian' (Thrillist.com)
* Art Ensemble of Chicago Reunites in Norway (DownBeat)
* The 75 Moments That Defined the Decade in Music (So Far) (Billboard)
* 'Here Come The Girls'... Again (NPR)
* Editorial: Kansas City government can’t keep bailing out American Jazz Museum (Kansas City Star)
* Welcome to Moonlight Rollerway, Where Nothing Has Changed Since 1956 (Narrative.ly)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Previewing the Gateway Jazz Festival

When commercial radio abandoned smooth jazz as a format a few years back, the audience for the music played on those stations didn't just disappear, and neither did the musicians who played it.

And while St. Louis never had what you'd call a surfeit of live smooth jazz shows, even when the format was at its peak, the limited number of such bookings that previously existed - at the Pageant, at local casinos, and occasionally at other venues like long-departed Finale - has dwindled off in recent years to almost nothing. That would seem to represent a potential business opportunity for someone able to reunite an under-served audience with the musicians they enjoy.

Enter Summerset Jazz LLC, an Alabama-based production company that is presenting the Gateway Jazz Festival* next Saturday, July 29 at the Chesterfield Amphitheater.

Apparently modeling their St. Louis event on the Music City Jazz Festival, which they've presented for the past two years in Nashville, the company has put together a day-long bill of acts, headed by saxophonist Najee and singer Maysa, and featuring a number of other names familiar to smooth jazz fans.

To help give you an idea of what to expect, today StLJN has compiled videos of all the featured performers. They're presented here in alphabetical order, starting up above with a set from saxophonist Steve Cole and guitarist Nick Colionne, recorded when they teamed up for a gig in May of this year at Pizza Express in London.

After the jump, you can see Maysa performing "Inside My Dream" in May 2016 at the KSBR Birthday Bash Jazz Festival in Mission Viejo, CA.

Next it's guitarist Chieli Minucci with his band Special EFX in 2016 at Long Beach Jazz Fest, delivering a surprisingly faithful version of the Allman Brothers Band's "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed."

That's followed by a full set of Najee, recorded in July 2016 in Riviera Beach, FL; and then a clip of guitarist Steve Oliver doing "Soul Deep" in a performance recorded at the Carvin guitar factory in San Diego.

The veteran duo Pieces of a Dream is next, seen here performing "Fo-Fi-Fo" in October 2016 at the Catalina JazzTrax Festival in California.

Then it's keyboardist Brian Simpson, performing his song "WWonderland" at the 2017 Mallorca Smooth Jazz Festival in Spain; guitarist Chris Standring, playing "Oliver's Twist" in February 2017 at Pizza Express; and last, but not least, bassist and Kansas City native Julian Vaughn doing his showcase "Ju Ju's Groove" at a show in May in Houston, TX.

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

*Not to be confused with the identically named event presented in recent years over the Labor Day weekend by the St. Louis Jazz Club.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer Montez Coleman (pictured) was interviewed by St. Louis magazine's Erin Williams in advance of his performances tonight and Saturday night at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Saxophonist Karl Denson talked with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson for a brief feature story. Denson and his band Tiny Universe perform tonight at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Emanuel Harrold, who's been part of singer Gregory Porter's band for the past few years, is set to release his first recording as a leader this fall, and is getting advance promotion from TheUrbanMusicScene.com and Afropunk.com for his song "Luv Hurt" and from SoulTracks.com for "Special Time."

* The website Sound of StL has a review with photos of The People's Key's recent performance at The Stage at KDHX.

* Euclid Records is looking to hire a "tech savvy music fan" who is "familiar with the workings of Excel, web design, E-Commerce as well as eBay, Amazon and Discogs." They're accepting resumes dropped off at the store or by email at store@euclidrecords.com.

* Pianist Peter Martin has a new post up at Medium.com, advising aspiring keyboard players on "The One Scale You Should Be Practicing Every Day."

* Trumpeter and Webster Groves native Ally Hany, who recently completed a master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music, announced in a post on Facebook that she's joining the Air Force Band of the Golden West. After completing basic training, Hany will be stationed at Travis Air Force Base in the San Francisco Bay area.

* The musical instrument and accessories manufacturer D'Addario has announced a free support program for instrumental music teachers called the D’Addario Education Collective, offering discounts on products, access to educational resources, and more. You can get details and sign up here.

Jazz this week: Samora Pinderhughes, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features the local debut of a much-talked-about young pianist and composer, the return of one of the jam-band circuit's funk-jazz favorites, and more.

Let's go to the highlights....

Wednesday, July 19
Drummer Kevin Bowers will reconvene the large cast of his Brazilian-influenced, imaginary-movie-soundtrack project NOVA in a free concert for the Missouri Botanical Garden's Whitaker Music Festival. 

Elsewhere around town, though the Curtain Call Lounge has withdrawn from the "Grand Center Jazz Crawl," - apparently permanently, according to StLJN's source - the event goes on as usual, with live jazz and no cover charge at three locations in the district. 

This week, you can hear guitarist Tom Byrne and keyboardist Nathan Jatcko this week at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe; the jam session with bassist Bob DeBoo and friends at Kranzberg Arts Center; and two separate shows at The Dark Room at the Grandel Theatre, with saxophonist Lew Winer playing from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor from 9:00 p.m. to midnight.

Thursday July 20
Pianist and composer Samora Pinderhughes (pictured, top left) with special guest trumpeter Christian Scott will perform at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

NPR devoted an episode of "Jazz Night in America" earlier this year to Pinderhughes' debut recording The Transformations Suite, and this will be his first St. Louis gig as a bandleader, playing music "inspired by" the soundtrack he wrote for the documentary film Whose Streets?. For more about Pinderhughes, and his socially-conscious brand of jazz, plus the complete Transformations Suite and some other performances on video, see this post from last Saturday. 

Also in the Grand Center district, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Broadway Open Mic," temporarily relocated to The Stage at KDHX; and saxophonist Ben Reece’s Unity Quartet will perform at The Dark Room.

Elsewhere around town, the Funky Butt Brass Band will play a free show outside the St. Louis Public Library downtown, and drummer Maurice Carnes leads a group featuring Dallas pianist Myles Tate in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, July 21
Saxophonist Karl Denson's Tiny Universe returns for an early-evening outdoor show at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion. Though the heat is expected to be stifling, expect a big audience of young fans ready to party with Denson's crowd-friendly grooves.

For a look at what Denson and Tiny Universe (pictured, bottom left) have been up to since they were in St. Louis a year ago, check out this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also on Friday, drummer Montez Coleman celebrates his birthday with the first of two nights of shows at Jazz at the Bistro. He'll be joined by a band including Adaron Pops Jackson (organ), Adam Maness (piano), Eric Slaughter (guitar), Jason Swagler (alto sax), and Ben Wheeler (bass), with Anita Jackson singing on Friday night and Brian Owens on Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran will play a free show at Ritz Park on South Grand; singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black return to The Wolf in Ballwin; and Wack-A-Doo will play swing, vintage jazz and Americana at Evangeline's.

Saturday, July 22
Dizzy Atmosphere returns to Missouri Botanical Garden for another "Garden of Glass" event; The WirePilots will have multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman as their special guest for a performance at the Webster Groves Concert Hall; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to the Venice Cafe.

Sunday, July 23
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents the St. Louis Stompers in a matinee performance at the Moolah Shrine Center, and Community Women Against Hardship's summer benefit at Ferring Jazz Bistro will feature Detroit-based saxophonist Yancyy with an ensemble including singer Anita Jackson, pianist Tony Suggs, bassist Jeff Anderson, and drummer Montez Coleman.

Monday, July 24
Trumpeter Jim Manley will play for diners and drinkers at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, July 25
Pianist Pat Joyce returns to Evangeline's, and saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective will be back for their monthly gig at 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.)

Sunday Session: July 16, 2017

Tony Allen

Here's the weekly roundup of various music-related items of interest that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Stream-ripping is 'fastest growing' music piracy (BBC)
* Record Rendezvous: Cleveland cradle of rock 'n' roll sits empty, awaits new life (photos) (Cleveland.com)
* Mulatu Astatke’s “Ethiopia” Is A Love Letter To His Homeland (Bandcamp.com)
* Here’s what happened the last time audio producers got better data (NiemanLab.org)
* Ornette Coleman Takes Flight Again, in Music and Film, This Week at Lincoln Center (WBGO)
* Esperanza Spalding: Jazz Musician, Grammy Award Winner and Now Museum Curator (Smithsonian)
* Kansas City's American Jazz Museum Should Belong To The Entire City, Officials Say (KCUR)
* Lady Gaga's Trumpet Player on 'Insane' Gig With Stevie Wonder, Rose Bar Residency & 'Making It' in NYC (Billboard)
* No Heroes: Lester Bangs on Stage (NoSuchThingAsWas.com)
* Producers Rejoice: Legal Sampling Is Now As Easy As Online Shopping (Video) (AmbrosiaForHeads.com)
* Newark Sings a New Tune on Road To Revival (Wall Street Journal)
* Original Dixie Dregs Announce Reunion (NoTreble.com)
* 6 Nina Simone Songs Brilliantly Sampled by Rappers (Pitchfork.com)
* Spotify denies it’s playlisting fake artists. So why are all these fake artists on its playlists? (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* So… who’s actually behind Spotify’s fake artists? (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* Why Spotify’s fake artists problem is an Epidemic. Literally. (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* A Lot of Noise on Spotify (IllusionOfMore.com)
* Women of Jazz: Stream a Playlist of 91 Recordings by Great Female Jazz Musicians (OpenCulture.com)
* This Woman Has Engineered Pop’s Biggest Recent Hits, from ‘Melodrama’ to ‘1989’ (Vice.com)
* For Chamber Music in Silicon Valley, Hoodies and Haydn Don’t Mix (KQED)
* The Crate Crisis: How the Used Vinyl Market is Changing (GetItOnVinyl.com)
* Is the threat of a copyright lawsuit stifling music? (BBC)
* NEW AGE: jazz in 2017 (M-Magazine.com)
* Diminuendo: Is Classical Music Journalism Fading to Silence? (San Francisco Classical Voice)
* Afrobeat Drummer Allen’s Quartet Pays Tribute to Blakey at Poisson Rouge (DownBeat)
* What Can Listening to Nature Teach Us? (EarthEasy.com)
* Mary Halvorson Pushes Jazz Guitar Into New Territory (Village Voice)
* SoundCloud sinks as leaks say layoffs buy little time (TechCrunch.com)
* The avant-garde jazz of Griot Galaxy (Detroit Metro Times)
* Rochester Jazz Fest Emphasizes Jazz at the Fascinating Fringes (DownBeat)
* Bria Skonberg: 5 songs that changed my life (CBCMusic.ca)
* 'A Pocketful Of Blues': Charles Lloyd On 'Passin' Thru' (NPR)
* Photos: 2017 North Sea Jazz Festival (Jazz Times)
* Q&A with Ethan Iverson: Addition through Subtraction (DownBeat)
* Power of the Mind: You Can Play This Instrument Using Just Your Thoughts (Newsweek)
* Van Morrison will salute his blues heroes on new album, 'Roll With the Punches' (Los Angeles Times)
* Robert Mugge’s 1986 film Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus to be rereleased (The Wire)
* The Emergence of A New Black Avant-Garde: Experimental Music and Text (BrooklynRail.org)
* Vijay Iyer: Taking Stock of the Ojai Music Festival Experience (TheLogJournal.com)
* The Story Behind the Surge in Vinyl Film Soundtracks (Paste)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Samora Pinderhughes, jazz, and justice

This week, StLJN's video spotlight is focused on pianist and composer Samora Pinderhughes, who will be here in St. Louis to perform next Thursday, July 20 at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

A 25-year-old Juilliard graduate who grew up in Berkeley, CA and now lives in Harlem, Pinderhughes has toured with jazz artists including Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and Branford Marsalis.

For his performance here, the pianist will lead a quartet with Scott, bassist Luques Curtis, and percussionist Mark Whitfield, Jr, playing music inspired by his soundtrack for the documentary Whose Streets?, which was co-directed and produced by St. Louis artist and activist Damon Davis (aka FarFetched).

Writing the soundtrack for a film about the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson and the subsequent protests would seem to fit neatly with Pinderhughes' ongoing interest in multidisciplinary projects that address social issues, as exemplified by "The Transformations Suite," which has brought him to wide public attention since the release last November of his album of the same name.

A multi-media event combining music, words and visuals that took the composer/pianist five years to complete, "Transformations Suite" examines the history of oppression and protest throughout the African-American diaspora, connecting contemporary issues like social justice and prison reform with the history of "revolutionary movements of color."

"Transformations Suite" was the subject earlier this year of an episode of NPR's "Jazz Night in America," and you can see that recording, made at the Way Christian Center in Berkeley, in the first embedded window up above.

In addition to Pinderhughes, the ensemble includes his key collaborators Jeremie Harris, who performs the spoken word parts, and Jehbreal Muhammad Jackson, who sings lead vocals, along with Riley Mulherkar (trumpet), Lucas Pino (tenor sax), Joshua Crumbly (bass), and Jimmy Macbride (drums).

After the jump, you can see an earlier performance of "Cycles," one segment of the "The Transformations Suite," recorded in May, 2016 at Joe's Pub in New York City. The ensemble features Pinderhughes, Jackson, Harris, Mulkerhar, Pino, and Macbride, plus the leader's younger sister Elena Pinderhughes on flute and vocals, Tony Lustig on baritone sax, and Clovis Nicolas on bass.

After that, there are a couple more videos demonstrating Pinderhughes' penchant for collaboration and socially relevant topics, as he performs "Black is the Color" with poet Jules Latimer and "For Those Lost" with singer Lalah Hathaway.

Finally, you can see a couple of clips of Pinderhughes playing other peoples' music. The penultimate video is a medley of "Cosmia" by Joanna Newsom and "Over There" by Derrick Hodge, recorded in 2013 at La Peña in Berkeley and featuring the Pinderhughes siblings, Jackson, Crumbly, and Macbride.

And for something completely different, the last video shows Pinderhughes as part of a group backing singer Claudia Acuna, recorded in 2015 as part of the NYC club Jazz Gallery's "Mentoring Series."

For more about Samora Pinderhughes, check out the recent coverage of him and his work from Salon.com, CBC, and the Village Voice.

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Regional Arts Commission is holding a workshop on how to apply for one of their Artist Fellowships at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 1 at RAC headquarters, 6128 Delmar Blvd.

Awarded annually, the fellowships recognize ten individuals with grants of $25,000 each, and are open to visual and performing artists from all disciplines.The workshop is free and open to the public; the application period for next year's fellowships ends on Thursday, August 10. For details or to RSVP, go here.

* The latest issue of the St. Louis Blues Society's Bluesletter includes writer Michael Kuelker's remembrances of Mark O'Shaughnessey, the late co-founder/owner of BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.

* Pianist and composer Samora Pinderhughes is the subject of a brief interview/feature written by musician Lamar Harris for St. Louis magazine.

Pinderhughes (pictured) will perform (with trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah as his special guest) next Thursday, July 20 at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

* DownBeat magazine has opened the voting in their 82nd annual Readers Poll. You can cast a vote for your favorites online here.

* Saxquest is posting to their YouTube channel more videos from their free monthly Saturday afternoon performance series, including the shows by Ben Reece's Unity Quartet in April and Hugh Jones in May.

* Pianist Jim Hegarty has posted another new free improv recording to his "Secret Sessions" BandCamp page, this time featuring clarinetist Eric Paul Mandat, pianist Greg Mills, trumpeter George Sams, and flute player Fred Tompkins.

* A couple of off-the-beaten-path items about Miles Davis showed up this past week in the media, as a story in Autoweek recounted the trumpeter's opinion on Ferraris, while OpenCulture.com compiled some of the insults hurled by Davis over the years at fellow musicians.

Jazz this week: Ptah Williams, Erika Johnson, a salute to the Nat "King" Cole Trio, and more

Summer definitely is sizzling in St. Louis this week, but if you're brave enough to venture out in the steamy weather, there are a number of  noteworthy jazz and creative music shows happening this weekend, including several free concerts.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, 
July 12
Pianist Ptah Williams (pictured, top left) will perform in a free outdoor concert for the Missouri Botanical Garden's Whitaker Music Festival.

Also on Wednesday, the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" proceeds as usual, featuring live jazz with no cover or admission charge at The Stage at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe, Kranzberg Arts Center, Curtain Call Lounge and The Dark Room.

Thursday, July 13
Pianist Kara Baldus will lead her trio in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes "Jazz in July" series at Washington University; saxophonist Harvey Lockhart and The Collective will take the stage at The Dark Room; and vibraphonist Tom Rickard and guitarist Dave Black will perform at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, July 14
Singer Erika Johnson (pictured, center left) will return to Jazz at the Bistro for the first two nights.

Well-grounded in the tradition thanks to jazz studies at East St. Louis HS (with noted educator Ronald Carter) and at SIU Edwardsville, and an early apprenticeship with the late Willie Akins, Johnson has a repertoire that ranges from Bird to the Beatles, and is one of the better scat singers among St. Louis female vocalists.

She often works in a duo format, but she'll have a full band at the Bistro, making these dates especially attractive for fans both old and new.

Also on Friday, there will be free concerts featuring singer Erin Bode at Ferguson CityWalk; singer Joe Mancuso's organ trio at Lakeside 370 Park in St. Peters; and drummer Steve Davis' "Super Band," featuring singer Feyza Eren at the Webster Groves Concert Hall

Elsewhere around town, the Funky Butt Brass Band will be back for their monthly appearance at the Broadway Oyster Bar, and Miss Jubilee will perform for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, July 15
The Jazz Troubadours will perform for brunch at Evangeline's, serving as the first half of a jazz double-bill there that also will feature an evening performance from the Joe Bozzi Band.

Also on Saturday night, singer Chuck Flowers (pictured, bottom left) will salute the music of the Nat 'King' Cole Trio at The Monocle; and trumpeter Jim Manley returns to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar.

Sunday, July 16
Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran plays for brunch at The Dark Room.

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.)

Sunday Session: July 9, 2017

Miguel Zenon

Here's the weekly roundup of various music-related items of interest that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* The real motor of the performing arts isn’t vision. It’s the board, stupid. ​(Washington Post)
* Like it or not, we are in the midst of a second arts revolution (Chicago Tribune)
* Nora Holt - The pioneering African-American composer and critic left little trace of her work, making it – as Matthew Guerrieri writes – all the more important to celebrate her story (RedBullMusicAcademy.com)
* Jazz Greats in Paris (The New Yorker)
* A room where sound goes to die — and scientists go to study (Seattle Times)
* Redefining the rock god - the new breed of electric guitar heroes (TheConversation.com)
* Churches struggling to find organists (Baltimore Sun)
* Hats Off To The Hammond (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Assessing 'Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan' (WBGO)
* Hudson’s Collective Groove Exceeds Expectations at Montreal Jazz Festival (DownBeat)
* INTERVIEW: Rhys Chatham On Tony Conrad (TheQuietus.com)
* Jazz fest: Robert Glasper takes teamwork cues from Miles Davis (Montreal Gazette)
* Brain Music: How 'Fly Me To The Moon' Can Explain Your Brain On Anesthesia (WBUR)
* The Music Industry's Still Off Key (Bloomberg.com)
* A 60-year run at Royal Studios in Memphis--recording hits with 1960s vacuum-tube technology (KCBX)
* Guitarists Explore Music of Monk in NYC Concert (DownBeat)
* Everything You Need to Know About Music Sales in 2017 (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Why prog rock still deserves your time (The Economist)
* Scrapbook from the Apple (Jazz Journal)
* How to Double Vinyl Record Sales In 2 Years or Less (Guaranteed!) (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* The final bar? How gentrification threatens America's music cities (The Guardian)
* Global Swing: Catching Up with Miguel Zenón in Spain (DownBeat)
* Jane Bunnett & Maqueque: 21st Century Women (Jazz Times)
* The Sound of Avant Garde Jazz: Stream 35 Hours of Experimental Jazz by Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane & More (OpenCulture.com)
* Ornette Coleman: A Jazz Visionary Ready for Prime Time (NBCNews.com)
* 'Baby Driver's' true theme song is 'B-A-B-Y' and Carla Thomas loves it (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
* Stars turning out for tribute to famed SF nightclub Keystone Korner (San Jose Mercury-News)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Karl Denson's Tiny Universe revisited

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring saxophonist and singer Karl Denson and his band Tiny Universe, who are coming back to St. Louis for a gig on Friday, June 21 at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

After an absence of nearly six years, KDTU were here most recently in December of last year for a show at the Old Rock House, and Denson's back story was recapped in a Saturday video post preceding that gig.

Given that previous coverage, today's post will skip straight to a selection of recent performances recorded since then featuring the current Tiny Universe lineup, which in addition to Denson on tenor sax, flute, and vocals includes Alan Evans of Soulive on drums, plus Chris Littlefield (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals), Chris Stillwell (bass), David Veith (keyboards), and Seth Freeman (guitar).

Given all the time Denson has spent playing the jam band circuit, it shouldn't be surprising that a Grateful Dead song or two has found its way into the Tiny Universe repertoire, as you can see in the first video up above, a version of the Dead's "West LA Fadeaway" recorded in May of this year at the 930 Club in Washington, DC.

After the jump, Denson reaches back for a truly deep cut with a cover of "Funky On My Back," first recorded by the San Francisco band Cold Blood in 1970, and seen here in a video made at a show in January at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Next up are a couple of full sets, the first recorded in June of this year at Ardmore Music Hall in Philadelphia, and the second from last December in Asheville, NC, for which Denson and company are augmented by guitarists DJ Williams and Jimmy Herring.

Herring and Williams also are both on board for the last two clips, versions of the Brecker Brothers' "Some Skunk Funk" and Steely Dan's "Showbiz Kids" that were recorded in December of last year at Terminal West in Atlanta.

For more about what Karl Denson and Tiny Universe have been up to recently, check out this review of Denson's 60th birthday show in San Francisco from PopMatters.com, and this brief interview with Riff magazine.

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Musicians Association of St Louis will be collecting signatures supporting a referendum on Missouri's new "Right to Work" law from 10:00 a.m. to noon this Saturday, July 8 at the union hall at 2103 59th Street.

Union officials will be outside on the hall's back lot so that Local 2-197 members can drive up and sign the petitions, which seek to allow Missouri voters to approve or reject the state's recently enacted "Right to Work" law during the next statewide election in November, 2018.

* St. Louis County Library is seeking recorded original music from St. Louis bands and musicians for "Listen Up STL," described as "a pilot project that will give local musicians the opportunity to make their music available to a wider audience of SLCL cardholders" via a free streaming service. SLCL is accepting submissions until July 31; for more details on how to submit, go here.

* The Nevermore Jazz Ball, presented here each fall by Lindy Hop St. Louis, has become a sell-out event attracting swing dancers from all over the country. So this year the organizers are giving St. Louisans a chance to purchase tickets first in person via their "2017 Local Love Pre-Sale," which will be held this Sunday, July 9 during the "River City Mess Around" event at 2720 Cherokee. See the link for details on ticket costs and pre-sale procedures.

* Cabaret Project St. Louis still has a few tickets left for their annual fundraising gala scheduled for Friday, July 21 at the Fox Theatre. The event will feature performances from Tony Award winner Faith Prince, 89-year-old cabaret grande dame Marilyn Maye (pictured), and more.

* The Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition is looking for solo female or male vocalists of all nationalities who are not signed to a major record label. The sixth annual competition, sponsored by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and Indaba Music, is the first time that male singers have been allowed to participate, and will culminate in a live competition on Sunday, November 12 at NJPAC. For details and information on how to enter, go here.

* Saxophonist Charlie Cerpa was profiled by St. Louis magazine's Thomas Crone.

* A closing reception for the exhibit "The Music Seen: Beyond the Stage" will take place from 5:30 p.m. to  8:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 13 at Bullivant Gallery, giving photography aficionados one last chance to view (and perhaps purchase) music-related photos by Michael Eastman, David Godlis, Jason Lee, Charles Peterson, David Rocco, Ernest Withers, and Baron Wolman.

* Saxquest will hold an official "grand opening" event for their Saxquest West store on Saturday, August 12. The store, which shares space with Top Notch Violins, is located in an industrial park at 2614 Metro Blvd in Maryland Heights.

Rebirth Brass Band to perform Friday, September 1 at Atomic Cowboy Pavilion

New Orleans' Rebirth Brass Band will return to St. Louis to perform (with special guests TBA) on Friday, September 1 at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

Formed in 1983 by brothers Keith and Phillip Frazier, Rebirth Brass Band (pictured) has grown over the years from a local act playing bar gigs into a touring attraction recognized internationally for their contemporary re-imagining of the classic New Orleans brass band sound.

Their most recent recording is 2014’s Move Your Body on the Basin Street Records label, which was the follow-up to their 2012 Grammy Award-winning album Rebirth of New Orleans. RBB's last St. Louis performance was in September 2016, also at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

Tickets for Rebirth Brass Band will go on sale next Thursday, July 13 via Ticketmaster, prices TBA.

Jazz this week: All Angles Orchestra, River City Mess Around, Good 4 The Soul, and more

The calendar of upcoming live jazz and creative music events over the next several days in St. Louis includes a weekend-long gathering of swing dancers from around the country; a jazz tribute to Prince; the local debut of a genre-spanning big band touring in support of their first album; and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 5
The big band in question would be the All Angles Orchestra (pictured, top left), a Colorado-based group whose tour in support of their recently released debut album includes a stop here at the Grandel Theatre.

Led by arranger, composer and trombonist Michael Conrad, the 15-member group includes orchestral woodwinds, a string quartet, a mix of brass instruments, and a jazz rhythm section, performing Conrad's original music that "forces the classical and jazz worlds to collide."

The concert is free and open to the public as a part of the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl," which also includes live music with no admission charge at four other venues in the district.

Elsewhere around town, singer Feyza Eren will lead a trio at Evangeline's and trumpeter Jim Manley will be doing his weekly gig at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, July 6
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University begins their "Jazz in July" concerts with a performance by keyboard player and singer Curt Landes; and trumpeter Keith Moyer will bring his quintet to The Dark Room.

Friday, July 7
Jazz/funk quartet Good 4 The Soul (pictured, center left) will play the music of Prince for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro; and the Funky Butt Brass Band will perform for the free Friday evening "Jungle Boogie" concert series at the St. Louis Zoo

Also on Friday, swing dancers from around the country will be in St. Louis for the start of the "River City Mess Around," an annual summer event presented by the St. Louis Jitterbugs. (For a look at the St. Louis 'vintage jazz' scene, including some of the local bands performing for the Mess Around, see this post from last Saturday.)

The festivities officially get underway on Friday with a performance by Tommy Halloran’s Guerrilla Swing at the City Museum, and continue throughout the weekend. (In addition to the events mentioned here on StLJN, there are "unofficial" pre- and after-parties, and more. See the link above for full details.)

Saturday. July 8
The "River City Mess Around" continues with a daytime dance featuring music from The Gaslight Squares at the Lemp Mansion pavilion, and an evening event with sounds from Miss Jubilee at the Webster Groves Masonic Lodge

Sunday, July 9
The "River City Mess Around" officially concludes with another daytime dance featuring the Nashville-based Moonshine Rhythm Club (pictured, bottom left) at 2720 Cherokee; and the Coleman Hughes Project will perform for the "Soulful Sundays" series at the National Blues Museum downtown.

Monday, July 10
Dizzy Atmosphere plays for diners at The Shaved Duck, and Miss Jubilee will be the featured performer with the Compton Heights Concert Band in a free concert at Tower Grove Park.

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.)

Sunday Session: July 2, 2017

Geri Allen

Here's the weekly roundup of various music-related items of interest that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Rescuing the Treasures of a Dead Jazz Legend - Sun Ra, Alton Abraham, and the Taming of the Freak (LitHub.com)
* The Untold and Deeply Stoned Story of the First U.S. Rock Festival (Rolling Stone)
* How Japan’s Landscape Inspired a New Kind of Electronic Music (Bandcamp.com)
* A Ticket to Rock Royalty: Gregg Allman’s Midnight Ride through New Orleans (Offbeat)
* Dee Dee Bridgewater: Her Memphis Roots Are Showing (Jazz Times)
* Jazzfest review: Hudson raised the NAC Theatre's roof with its jazz-rock (Ottawa Citizen)
* Wadada Leo Smith, Mary Halvorson Among Winners in DownBeat Critics Poll (DownBeat)
* How Countries Around the World Fund Music—and Why It Matters (Pitchfork,com)
* Geri Allen, Brilliantly Expressive Pianist, Composer and Educator, Dies at 60 (WBGO)
* Geri Allen, Pianist Who Reconciled Jazz’s Far-Flung Styles, Dies at 60 (New York Times)
* Heartbroken Jazz Aficionados Agree: Geri Allen Brought ‘Spirit to the Music’ (DiverseEducation.com)
* Randy Weston: Music of The Earth (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Classical music's blurred boundaries (Gramophone)
* Still Dreaming: Joshua Redman's Tribute To A Tribute (NPR)
* A Brief History of Music That Doesn't Need to Be Listened To (Vice.com)
* Jazz great Branford Marsalis shares humble life lessons in Vancouver (Metro News)
* Boundaries - An Interview with George Lewis (Atavist.com)
* Sony Music to start manufacturing its own vinyl for the first time in nearly 30 years (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* Will The Next Pop Culture Icon Be Augmented Reality? (HypeBot.com)
* Paul McCartney and Sony Settle Beatles Copyright Suit (UltimateClassicRock.com)
* Can Synthesizers Compose Music? Nearly 50 Years Ago, This One Could (LA Weekly)
* Video: Foley Artists – How Movie Sound Effects Are Made (ASoundEffect.com)
* In Stargoon’s Car (The Paris Review)
* Sustaining Americana - What do you get for the genre that has everything? (No Depression)