New Music Circle announces season schedule for 60th year

New Music Circle has announced the lineup for their 2018-19 season, and they've got some intriguing shows planned for their 60th anniversary as a presenting organization, including a rare appearance by multi-instrumentalist and composer Anthony Braxton in October, and a return visit from flutist Nicole Mitchell, this time bringing her own band to St. Louis for a concert in March.

Founded in 1959 and still the longest continuously operating independent presenter of new music in the USA, NMC will preview their 60th year for the public at a fundraiser and kickoff event on Tuesday, August 14 at Tick Tock Tavern.

The anniversary season proper gets underway a few weeks later, with cellist Okkyung Lee, multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, percussionist Chris Corsano, and guitarist Bill Orcutt featured in two nights of what might be called tag-team improv, with different duo pairings on Friday, September 21 at Joe's Cafe and Saturday, September 22 at Off Broadway.

Next up is Braxton (pictured, top left), who will perform with harpist Jacqueline Kerrod on Monday, October 8 at Xavier Hall on the St. Louis University campus. A veteran educator who taught for many years at Mills College and Wesleyan University, Braxton is known as a conceptualist and challenger of musical paradigms, and in addition to the performance, he'll also present a post-concert talk.

The following month, instrument builder and composer Ellen Fullman will perform on Friday, November 9 at 560 Music Center.

Fullman (pictured, center left) presumably will be offering St. Louisans their first experience of her Long String instrument, which consists of dozens of metallic strings up to 70 feet long that are put under tension and played with rosin-coated fingers.

The calendar year ends with a concert by Lonnie Holley, an Alabama native known for his visual art as well as his music, on Saturday, December 1 at Off Broadway. Often employing found objects and recycled materials in his artwork, Holley first gained attention in the 1980s among followers of what's often called "outsider art," and in the last decade, he's moved into performance as a keyboardist and vocalist who improvises his material on the spot.

To start 2019, NMC will present in January a double-bill featuring separate sets from two young composer/performers, Sarah Davachi and Lea Bertucci, though the exact date and venue still are TBA.

Then in February, local audiences will get their first chance to hear NYC-based trumpeter Jaimie Branch, who's been getting noticed in the jazz press for her recent work as both leader and collaborator in several different ensembles. She'll be teamed up with Chicago cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and Norwegian percussionist Ståle Liavik Solberg for a show that has a date - Saturday, February 9 - but with the venue still TBA.

After that, Nicole Mitchell (pictured, bottom left), who performed in St. Louis a couple of years ago with cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Mike Reed, will return, this time leading her own quintet for a concert on Friday, March 22 at Xavier Hall.

Also returning will be St. Louis native Andrew Lampert, who shared an NMC bill with violinist C. Spencer Yeh in April of this year. He'll be back in 2019 to present a program of "curated experimental films" on either Friday, April 12 or Saturday, April 13 at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

Finally, the organization's 60th anniversary year will wrap up in May with an "NMC Showcase" of St. Louis artists, date and venue still TBA.

All shows will start at 8:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Single tickets can be purchased online via NMC's website or at the door, and are priced at $20 regular admission, $10 for students and "struggling music supporters," except for the Braxton concert, for which prices will be $25 and $15. NMC also offers "membership" and "benefactor" packages that include tickets for the entire season at a discounted per-show price.

Moon Hooch returning to perform Sunday, September 30 at Old Rock House

Former buskers turned international touring attraction Moon Hooch are coming back to St. Louis to perform at 9:00 p.m. Friday, October 13 at the Old Rock House.

The saxophones-and-drums trio, who started playing for tips in the NYC subway, has enjoyed a major rise in their fortunes since they released their first album in 2013, playing major festivals and showcase venues all over the world and rapidly putting out new recordings.

Moon Hooch (pictured) last performed in St. Louis in October 2017, also at the Old Rock House, when they were touring in support of the three-CD/DVD package Live At The Cathedral issued in June of last year. Since then, they've put out an EP called Light It Up, and recently announced plans to release three songs from that EP on 7-inch, colored vinyl, with a new remix and live music video for each.

Tickets for Moon Hooch at the Old Rock House are $15 in advance, $17 day of show, and are on sale now via the ORH box office and all Metrotix outlets.

Sunday Session: July 29, 2018

Art Ensemble of Chicago

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* Art Ensemble of Chicago Reunites in Norway (DownBeat)
* In Conversation: Billy Joel (Vulture.com)
* The right place at the right time: The jazz education of Charles McPherson (Santa Fe New Mexican)
* Terence Blanchard & the E-Collective: Fusion for Humanity (Jazz Times)
* Making Music For A Living is Harder Than Ever (Offbeat)
* Remembering Frank Sinatra’s Time-Stopping Performance At The Sands (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* A new youth movement is energizing the high-end audio market (CNet.com)
* The Rise Of The Sampling Pad In The Modern Drummer’s Setup (MusicThinkTank.com)
* Kongsberg Festival Teams Up Improvisors (DownBeat)
* 10 All-Time Great Jazz Quartets (Jazz Times)
* Streaming services are seeing a jazz renaissance amongst younger fans (BBC)
* Kamasi Washington Wants To Free Your Mind (HighSnobiety.com)
* Jazz Legend Wayne Shorter Announces 'Emanon,' A Multiverse-Inspired Triple Album (WBGO)
* New Book Chronicles the Saga of Jazz in Washington D.C. (DownBeat)
* Michael Franks Is Happy to Be “Some Old Jazz Guy” (Jazz Times)
* Steven Van Zandt Creates a Free School of Rock: 100+ Free Lesson Plans That Educate Kids Through Music (OpenCulture.com)
* Nellie McKay’s Affability Refracted by Humorous Worldview (DownBeat)
* You Don’t Need to Be a Musician to Get a Record Deal in 2018 (Rolling Stone)
* Django Festival Allstars: Strong Picking Hands and Big Hearts (Jazz Times)
* Spotify Hits 180 Million Users — and Loses Even More Money (Rolling Stone)
* Don Was, Dave McMurray Continue Telling Detroit’s Story (DownBeat)
* The state of jazz: Talking with A.B. Spellman (Santa Fe New Mexican)
* Historic home of blues artist W.C. Handy returned to family (Times of Northwest Indiana)
* Catalog of Fania Records, the Motown of Latin Music, Is Sold (New York Times)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Nels Cline 4 offers guitar times two

this week, let's take a look at some videos of the Nels Cline 4, who are coming to St. Louis to perform on Friday, August 10 at Delmar Hall. They're on the road for a series of dates in August in support of their album Currents, Constellations, which was released in April on the Blue Note label.

Cline probably is best known these days as a member of alt-rock band Wilco, but he started out playing jazz-fusion as a teenager in the late 1970s, recording and performing in bands with his twin brother, drummer Alex Cline. He subsequently has gone on to work with musicians such as Charlie Haden, Gregg Bendian, Wadada Leo Smith, Tim Berne, Vinny Golia, and Julius Hemphill, as well as leading a number of different bands.

In this specific case, the key to the Nels Cline 4 lies in the leader's interactions with fellow guitarist Julian Lage, a headliner in his own right who's often mentioned as one of the top young guitarists in jazz. Lage released nine albums as a leader, and also recorded as a collaborator or sideman with musicians ranging from Gary Burton to John Zorn.

The Nels Cline 4 is result of a friendship formed a few years back between the two guitarists, starting with some duo performances, and eventually leading to a full band. Bassist Scott Colley and drummer Tom Rainey perform on the record, but on some live dates the group has substituted other musicians such as bassist Jorge Roeder, who's playing on this tour.

Even with some variations in the lineup, the group is able to maintain a cohesive yet adventurous sound, as demonstrated in today's collection of videos, starting up above with a session they did earlier this year in Paste magazine's NYC studio. It includes three tunes from Currents, Constellations: "Imperfect 10," "Amenette" and "River Mouth (Parts 1 & 2)."

After the jump, you can see two additional recent live-in-the-studio performances, "Swing Ghost '59" and "Temporarily," both of which also are on the album.

Next, there's a live set from 2015 at The Stone in NYC, which provides an interesting baseline for comparison to what they're doing now, and an acoustic duo performance by Cline and Lage of a song called "Calder," also recorded in 2015 at the studios of radio station KEXP in Seattle.

Last but not least, you can see a video interview with Cline recorded earlier this year by Guitar Player magazine.

For more about the Nels Cline 4, listen to Cline being interviewed on the first episode of a new podcast called Pedal Fuzz and read the recent DownBeat feature about Cline.

You also can read reviews of live shows in April at Vortex Jazz Club in London and earlier this month in Portland, ME; and check out the reviews of Currents, Constellations in Vintage Guitar magazine, Glide magazine, and Jazz Times.

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:

* A new documentary film about Miles Davis is in production and scheduled for release early next year.

The film, which has the working title Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool, is a joint venture of Eagle Rock Entertainment and PBS' American Masters and will be produced and directed by Stanley Nelson, who helmed the Emmy Award-winning documentary Freedom Riders.

The producers' plan is for the film to be submitted to film festivals and get a theatrical release before it is broadcast on PBS and BBC2. Nelson is working with the Davis estate to get access to rare photos and never-before-seen footage, including outtakes from the trumpeter's recording sessions. He also has interviewed musicians and music industry figures who knew and/or worked with Davis (pictured), including Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana, Clive Davis, Wayne Shorter and Ron Carter.

* On a related note, Davis finished fifth in a poll by the Springfield, IL State Journal-Register asking readers to name their favorite musicians and bands born in Illinois.

* The STL Sanders Band, a politically conscious brass band organized by Cody Henry of the Funky Butt Brass Band, was the subject of a short feature written by Thomas Crone for the Riverfront Times.

* Singer Chuck Flowers and pianist Charles Creath performed Thursday on KTVI-Fox 2's morning newscast.

* Ichida, the new album from bassist Darin Gray and multi-instrumentalist Eiko Ishibashi, has been released.

Jazz this week: Grand Marquis, Anita Jackson, a tribute to Louis Armstrong, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a tribute to Louis Armstrong, a couple of summer concert series coming to a close for the year, jump blues from Kansas City, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 25
Trumpeter and vocalist Dawn Weber and her Electro Funk Assembly play a free concert to wrap up this summer's Whitaker Music Festival at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Also on Wednesday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black perform at SqWires Restaurant & Annex; and this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features Feyza Eren at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at the Dark Room.

Thursday, July 26
Kansas City jump-blues band Grand Marquis (pictured, top left) returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; and saxophonist Kendrick Smith leads a quartet in a free concert for Jazz at Holmes' summer series at Washington University, 63105

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Ben Reece's Unity Quartet performs at The Dark Room, and singer Erin Bode will be the special guest of the Alton Municipal Band for a free concert at Riverview Park. (The same program also will be presented Sunday at Alton's Haskell Park.)

Friday, July 27
Singer Anita Jackson (pictured, bottom left) performs for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis, and trumpeter Randy Holmes leads a sextet in the first of two nights of a "Louis Armstrong Festival" at the Ozark Theatre.

Saturday, July 28
Miss Jubilee presents a free outdoor concert at Eckert's in Belleville; the Dave Stone Trio is back at Thurman's in Shaw; and keyboardist Mo Egeston holds down the late night slot at The Dark Room.

Sunday, July 29
Guitarist Tom Byrne and singer Kim Fuller perform for brunch at The Dark Room; saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays on the patio at Mount Pleasant Estates in Augusta; and the Folk School of KDHX presents their monthly traditional jazz jam session.

Monday, July 30
Singers Chuck Flowers and Tambra Cross lead a tribute to 1970s funk in a free concert at Heman Park in U City.

Tuesday, July 31
"Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return to BB's Jazz, Blues and 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 22, 2018

Chucho Valdés

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* Major Labels Are Upset That They Aren’t Getting More Songs Onto Spotify Playlists, Deutsche Bank Says (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Classical Composers Have Been Inspired For Centuries By Insects (NPR)
* Montreal Jazz Fest Shapes Surrounding City—and Vice Versa (DownBeat)
* The Stone: An Oral History - Musicians and scenesters recount their experiences at John Zorn's storied NYC venue (Jazz Times)
* Guru’s ‘Jazzmatazz’ Uniquely Tied Together Jazz and Hip-Hop (DownBeat)
* In Tandem, the Morans Expand Notions of Art (DownBeat)
* Mary Halvorson: Reinventing the Identity of the Jazz Guitarist (Jazz Times)
* Joey DeFrancesco on Working With Van Morrison (Jazz Times)
* Vijay Iyer: 'We're all improvisers and we're all creative people making choices every step of the way.' (List.co.uk)
* Sound Matters: A History Of Legendary Recording Studios (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* The Perils Of A Cruise Ship Musician (FYIMusicNews.ca)
* Universal Music Group Is Making a Huge Move Into Nigeria (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Billie Holiday: A Complex Woman, A Jazz Legend (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Copenhagen Festival Spans Poetic Swing, Hard-Bop Themes (DownBeat)
* The Charles Lloyd Interview: Life of a Song (Jazz Times)
* George Wein: A Life and Legend in Jazz (AllAboutJazz.com)
* The scam industry: How the hip-hop boom sets hopefuls up for failure (AV Club)
* Asante Drum Language (Afropop.org)
* Chucho Valdés and Irakere: A Musical Revolution (SFJAZZ.org)
* Sun Ra in Sin City The origins of an outer-space empire (Lapham's Quarterly)
* The Music of Fred Rogers’ Neighborhood (Jazz Times)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on No BS! Brass Band

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring the No BS! Brass Band, who are returning to St. Louis to perform on Wednesday, August 1 at the Old Rock House.

Coming out of Richmond, Virginia, the NBBB offers their own take on the classic New Orleans brass band tradition, adapting popular contemporary tunes from a variety of genres for the format, and performing their own originals as well. They've released five albums to date, the most recent being Brass Knuckles in 2015, and they've played here in St. Louis several times, including in June 2017 at the Old Rock House.

To help you get acquainted, StLJN has assembled a collection of videos that should provide an overview of their sound, starting up above with NBBB's cover version of Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean," recorded in 2017 in Portland, OR.

After the jump, you can hear their spin on "Everybody Wants To Rule The World," a hit for 1980s new wave band Tears for Fears, as recorded in March 2017 in Richmond.

Next up, it's a track that NBBB released as a single in February of this year, a new version of their original tune "3 AM Bounce" featuring vocals from MC Chance Fischer.

That's followed by a cover of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," recorded in June 2017 at the Grog Shop live in Cleveland Heights, Ohio; a full set recorded in February 2015 for the web series Audiotree Live; and the NBBB's appearance on NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert" from back in 2013.

For more about the No BS! Brass Band, read this interview with trombonist and co-founder Reggie Pace published in 2017 by the Richmond Navigator, and Pace's 2015 conversation with NPR's "Weekend Edition."

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 Steward Family Foundation, already a major benefactor of Jazz St. Louis, will give a total of $1.3 million over four years to the University of Missouri-St. Louis to establish the David and Thelma Steward Institute for Jazz Studies at UMSL.

Funds from the gift will be used to help with student recruitment and to support scholarships, artists-in-residence, travel to advance jazz education and performance, and UMSL’s summer jazz camp.

* Get It How You Live, the new release from trumpeter Russell Gunn's Royal Krunk Orchestra (pictured), has been out for a week, and reviews are coming in, so far including positive notices from NextBop.com and Smooth-Jazz.de.

* Gunn also was the subject of a recent feature story on ArtsATL.com

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold's performance at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival was reviewed by the city's daily newspaper The Scotsman.

* Jazz/fusion band Koplant No has released a music video for their song "Knock Knock Ghost." The clip features dancer Belicia Beck of MADCO moving through spooky surroundings at the old Lemp Brewery complex.

* The recent performance of Bob Wetzel and Craig Becker's cabaret show "A Fine Bromance" at the Kranzberg Arts Center was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Miles Davis' son Erin Davis wrote an article about his relationship with his dad for Fatherly.com.

* According to a report from the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, trumpeter Herb Alpert's show on August 19 at the Grandel Theatre is sold out. (Link paywalled for non-subscribers)

* Also in the Post, Johnson interviewed Boney James in advance of the saxophonist's performance for the Gateway Jazz Festival this Saturday at Chesterfield Amphitheater. (Link paywalled for non-subscribers.)

Gaslight Cabaret Festival announces Fall 2018 season

From left: Prince, Webb, McFadden

The Gaslight Cabaret Festival this week announced the schedule for their fall 2018 series, which will feature ten different performers and a total of fifteen performances over five weekends in October and November.

The series kicks off with performances on Friday, October 19 and Saturday, October 20 of a new version of "Broadway's Greatest Hits," with William Michals returning with a new female counterpart, Jillian Louis, and a new set of songs.

Other notable return engagements include Tony Award-winning Broadway performer Faith Prince (Friday, October 26 and Saturday, October 27) and singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb (Sunday, October 28), who wrote 1960s and '70s pop hits such as "By The Time I Get to Phoenix," "MacArthur Park," "Wichita Lineman," and "Up, Up and Away."

The series will mark the St. Louis cabaret debuts of Carrie St. Louis (Friday, November 2 and Saturday, November 3), who's starred in Broadway shows such as Wicked, Rock of Ages, and Kinky Boots, and Christina Bianco (Friday, November 16 and Saturday, November 17), whose comedic impressions of various famous female vocalists have gotten more than 24 million views on YouTube.

Other shows will include Bob Gerchen performing "Joe Cocker: Never Forget" on Thursday, November 1; Kansas City trumpeter and vocalist Lonnie McFadden, backed by pianist Ptah Williams' trio, on Thursday, November 8; and former St. Louisan Katie McGrath, doing a new show called "Aunt of the Year" on Friday, November 9.

In addition, St. Louisan Ken Haller will reprise his "Happy Haller Days!" on Sunday, November 10 and Sunday, November 18; and longtime vocal coach Caroline Zarinelli will debut her show "In Pursuit of Magic" on Sunday, November 11.

All shows begin at 8:00 p.m. at The Gaslight Theater. Single tickets range from $30 to $45, depending on the show and performance date, and are on sale now.

Jazz this week: Gateway Jazz Festival, celebrating Dennis Owsley, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a multi-artist bill of contemporary jazz and R&B, a celebration of a longtime local jazz radio personality, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 18
The Ambassadors of Swing return to Tin Roof St. Louis, and singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will perform at Parkside Grille.

Also on Wednesday, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Broadway Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club, and Wright's Project plays jazz/fusion and funk at Al's Lounge.

Thursday, July 19
St. Louis Public Radio will celebrate broadcaster, author and photographer Dennis Owsley and his 35 years of service to the station and the local music community with a free, public event - including live music from saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, guitarist Eric Slaughter, bassist Jeff Anderson and drummer Steve Davis - at UMSL at Grand Center.

Also on Wednesday, Chicago saxophonist Greg Ward, out on the road with his trio for a brief tour, stops off for a performance at The Dark Room; guitarist Vince Varvel plays a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and singer Feyza Eren returns to Evangeline's.

Friday, July 20
Singer/songwriter Emily Wallace (pictured, bottom left) and friends, including members of the Funky Butt Brass Band, perform for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis; and Ken Haller reprises his popular cabaret performance "The Medicine Show" for the first of two nights at the Kranzberg Arts Center

Saturday, July 21
The Gateway Jazz Festival returns for its second year at the Chesterfield Amphitheater. This time, the bill includes saxophonist Boney James, trumpeter Cindy Bradley, and singer and guitarist Jonathan Butler (pictured, top left), plus singer Will Downing, keyboardist Alex Bugnon, and two of St. Louis' own, saxophonist Tim Cunningham and keyboardist Mike Silverman of Bach to the Future. 

You can check out videos of all these performers in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, The Gaslight Squares play traditional jazz at Das Bevo, and keyboardist Mo Egeston and friends hold down the late night slot at The Dark Room.

Sunday, July 22
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents the St. Louis Stompers at the  DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport, and Miss Jubilee plays a free concert at Oak Knoll Park,

Monday, July 23
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck.

Tuesday, July 24
Bassist, guitarist and singer Tonina Saputo and her band host "The Tuesday Night Hit" 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 15, 2018

Brian Blade

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* 'You can't judge a generation's taste': making Now That’s What I Call Music (The Guardian)
* Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band Leaves Michael Bourne Mouth Agape in Montreal (WBGO)
* Kamasi Washington, the wisest man on Earth (TheFader.com)
* How did Irvin Mayfield, the man with the golden trumpet, end up in the poorhouse? (New Orleans Advocate)
* The Adventurous World of Brazilian Experimental Music (Bandcamp.com)
* MIT Develops AI That Can Isolate and Edit the Individual Instruments in a Song (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* An AI system for editing music in videos (MIT.edu)
* ‘Skyrockets in flight/Afternoon delight’: The story behind Starland Vocal Band’s one big hit (Washington Post)
* In Istanbul, a Display of National Music Culture (DownBeat)
* NEA Announces 2019 Jazz Masters (Jazz Times)
* Coltrane, Kamasi and the art of looking both directions at once (TheVinylFactory.com)
* Synths may be spared worst of US trade war – for now (CDM.link)
* Global Notation: a new notation system for world music (Sheffield.ac.uk)
* The Jazz Pianist Who Made One Masterpiece And Disappeared (VinylMePlease.com)
* Before Björk, There Was the Last Incan Princess (MessyNessyChic.com)
* How Ads Get Away with *Almost* Plagiarizing Existing Music (Vice.com)
* 10 Essential One-Track Albums (TrebleZine.com)
* “A Band At The Top Of Their Game”: Ravi Coltrane Talks John’s “Classic Quartet” (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* New $50,000 prize in improvised music gives its first awards to Joe McPhee and Susan Alcorn (Chicago Reader)
* Ellis Marsalis Jazz Piano Competition Winners Announced (Jazz Times)
* The GroundUP Festival Brings Even More Heat to Miami, on Jazz Night in America (WBGO)
* Who Is Benefitting From the Nostalgic Vintage Releases in African Music? (OkayAfrica.com)
* The Sonic Arts Union’s Handmade Electronic Music, 1966-1976 (RedBullMusicAcademy.com)
* Chicago label Still Music rescues decades of house history from a south-side storage locker (Chicago Reader)
* A Conversation with La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela and Jung Hee Choi (RedBullMusicAcademy.com)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Previewing the Gateway Jazz Festival

This week, let's take a look at some videos of the musicians who will be performing at the Gateway Jazz Festival, which will take place next Saturday, July 21 at the Chesterfield Amphitheater. Now in its second year, the festival will present a day-long program of contemporary jazz and R&B performers.

Here's a collection of recent clips featuring those artists, starting with the headliner, saxophonist Boney James, who can be seen up above performing "Tick Tock" in November 2017 at The Wave/Honda Soundstage in Los Angeles.

After the jump, you can see R&B vocalist Will Downing in an excerpt from his set in May of this year at the ATL Soul Life festival in Atlanta.

Next up is trumpeter Cindy Bradley, performing "Lifted" in January 2018 at the restaurant and music venue South in Philadelphia.

Then it's singer/guitarist Jonathan Butler, playing "Living My Dream"  in january at the 2018 National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim, CA.

That's followed by a clip of keyboardist Alex Bugnon, performing his version of War's 1970s hit "The World Is A Ghetto," also recorded last year at South.

Finally, there are videos of the two St. Louis musicians who will be opening the show, both recorded by the prolific St. Louis videographer James Ross (aka JRoss-TV).

Saxophonist Tim Cunningham is featured in the sixth clip, performing "That's What I Like" in a show earlier this year at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and pianist Mike Silverman is seen in the seventh and final clip, showing off the new Steinway piano acquired earlier this year by his Clayton Studios facility.

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:

* St. Louis Public Radio will honor broadcaster, author and photographer Dennis Owsley (pictured) for 35 years of service to the station and the local music community with a celebration to be held at 7:00 p.m. next Thursday, July 19 at UMSL at Grand Center, 3651 Olive St.

The event is free and open to the public, and will include live music from saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, guitarist Eric Slaughter, bassist Jeff Anderson, and drummer Steve Davis.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold's recent gig at Ronnie Scott's in London was reviewed by Jazz in Europe.

* Harrold also was profiled briefly as one of "18 New Artists in the SFJAZZ 2018-19 Season."

* Multi-instrumentalist and singer Tonina Saputo was the subject of a feature story by St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin.

* Saxophonist, clarinetist and U City native Marty Ehrlich was interviewed in DownBeat on the occasion of the release of latest album, Trio Exaltation.

* A recent performance by Grant Green’s Evolution of Funk at the Jazz Standard in New York was reviewed by Jazz Times. The group, which features Green's son Grant Green, Jr on guitar, was formed in part to promote Resonance Records' recent release of previously unheard live recordings by the elder Green.

* Multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman has just released a new album titled Ukulele Nuthouse.  The recording features Weltman on ukuleles and harmonica with various accompanists, performing a mix of originals and covers,  and is available now from the usual digital outlets and from CD Baby.

* Keyboardist Ryan Marquez did a brief Q&A about jazz/funk band The People's Key's new album Unlocking Doors with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis has announced its grants for the coming presenting season, and some local arts organizations are upset about a new evaluation system that has resulted in 40 groups that previously had received money from RAC getting no funding at all for 2018-19.

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe to perform Friday, August 17 at Atomic Cowboy Pavilion

Saxophonist and singer Karl Denson and his band Tiny Universe are returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Friday, August 17 at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

Denson (pictured) - who in recent years also has been part of the Rolling Stones' tour band - will be playing songs from the upcoming Tiny Universe studio album and from a recent string of shows paying tribute to the Allman Brothers Band, as well as older material.  His most recent St. Louis performance was in July 2017, also at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

In addition to the leader, the current Tiny Universe lineup includes Chris Littlefield (trumpet), Zak Najor (drums), Chris Stillwell (bass), David Veith (keyboards), DJ Williams (guitar) and Seth Freeman (slide & lap steel guitar).

Tickets for Karl Denson and Tiny Universe at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion are $25 in advance, $30 day of show, and are on sale now via TicketWeb.

Jazz this week: Adam Larson, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Summerset festival, and more

It's a busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with festivals presenting smooth jazz and swing dance; New Orleans music from one of that city's classic bands and from a St. Louis expat; and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 11
Saxophonist Adam Larson is in town and will present a free public performance/workshop at Saxquest.

Larson is an up-and-coming young musician who already has headlined and co-headlined shows at Jazz St. Louis' Bistro and other top venues, so the chance to see him for free makes this gig one of the week's top picks.

Also on Wednesday, the free "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" resumes after an Independence Day break with the Jazz Troubadours at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, July 12
Having celebrated four decades together in 2017,  the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (pictured, top left) will be back in St. Louis for the first time in several years for a show at the Old Rock House. You can see and hear some recent DDBB performances in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Thursday, the Summerset smooth jazz festival presents the first of three concerts this weekend, kicking off with a show from saxophonists Paul Taylor and Pamela Williams at the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. You can find out more and see videos of all the various musicians who will playing the fest in this post from a couple of weeks ago.

Elsewhere around town, pianist and St. Louis native Tom McDermott is back from New Orleans for a visit and a show at Joe's Cafe; and vocal group Java Jived will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, July 13
The Summerset festival continues with a show featuring keyboardist Jeff Lorber, saxophonist Everette Harp and guitarist Paul Jackson Jr; and the annual River City Mess Around, the mid-summer swing dance weekend presented by STL Jitterbugs, officially begins with a dance at City Museum featuring music from singer/guitarist Tommy Halloran and band.

Also on Friday, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris presents "Headnotic," described as "his newest project, focusing on brand new, original compositions," for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis; the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and singer Anita Jackson returns to The Dark Room.

Saturday, July 14
The Summerset festival concludes with a performance by singer and St. Louis native Lynne Fiddmont (pictured, bottom left) and singer Howard Hewitt; and the River City Mess Around continues with a dance featuring Miss Jubilee at the Webster Groves Masonic Lodge No 84.

Also on Saturday, The WirePilots play original jazz fusion in a free concert at Kirkwood Park Amphitheatre; The People's Key will perform at The Stage at KDHX; and trumpeter Jim Manley and his band return to Evangeline's.

Sunday, July 15
Singer Jan Shapiro, former head of the vocal department at Berklee College of Music who recently retired and moved back home to St. Louis, will team up with guitarist Tom Byrne for a matinee tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass at the Webster Groves Concert Hall.

Then on Sunday night, the River City Mess Around concludes with a performance by the Arcadia Dance Orchestra at Off Broadway.

Monday, July 16
"Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Tuesday, July 17
Multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo and her band host "The Tuesday Night Hit" 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 8, 2018

David Murray

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* Julian Lage Takes a ‘Page from the Rock ’n’ Roll Book’ (DownBeat)
* 50 Years On, The Band's 'Music From Big Pink' Haunts Us Still (NPR)
* Rain Can’t Wash Out Saratoga Jazz Fest (DownBeat)
* Ry Cooder ‘Spellbound’ by Gospel Music (DownBeat)
* Trump Tariffs Could Kill U.S. Synth Manufacturing, Says Moog (Synthtopia.com)
* Moog Says Chinese Tariffs May Force A Move Overseas (NPR)
* The Counterfeit Queen of Soul (Smithsonian)
* The Band's 'Music From Big Pink' Turns 50: How Upstate New York Informed the Americana Classic (Billboard)
* The End of Owning Music: How CDs and Downloads Died (Rolling Stone)
* Shabaka Hutchings: Britain’s Best Export (DownBeat)
* How Alan Braufman’s “Valley of Search” Brought Shine to New York’s Loft Jazz Scene (Bandcamp.com)
* Pianist Henry Butler Has Passed Away After Cancer Battle (Offbeat)
* In Chicago, the sound of the blues is fading (The Economist)
* Finding The Light with Bass Icon Dave Holland, on The Checkout (WBGO)
* Radical Transparency: A Review of Jason Moran’s The Last Jazz Fest (WalkerArt.org)
* Public Enemy Talks 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' on Its 30th Anniversary (Billboard)
* Before & After With Nicole Mitchell (Jazz Times)
* Bright Moments with David Murray (Jazz Times)
* Montreal Jazz Festival Cancels Slave Songs Show After Backlash (Hollywood Reporter)
* Trombonist Bill Watrous Dies at 79 (Jazz Times)
* This Artist Reimagined Pop Songs as Beautiful Infographics (Vice.com)
* Pianist Erroll Garner Lights Up Late Night In Amsterdam (WBGO)
* Lalah Hathaway, Questlove, Robert Glasper & More On the Impact of PBS’s ‘Soul!’ (OkayPlayer.com)
* Mickey Hart talks music, Grateful Dead, rhythm 'trancing' and giving Tipper Gore drum lessons (San Diego Union Tribune)
* Buster Williams Still is on the Upswing (DownBeat)
* Protest Voices Enrich Montreal Festival (DownBeat)
* How Innovative Jazz Pianist Vince Guaraldi Became the Composer of Beloved Charlie Brown Music (OpenCulture.com)
* What Is the Most Nostalgic Song of All Time? (Village Voice)
* How a Young Lower East Side Jazz Group Became Cult Favorites (Vulture.com)
* Billboard’s charts used to be our barometer for music success. Are they meaningless in the streaming age? (Washington Post)
* How George Clinton Made Funk a World View (The New Yorker)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on the Dirty Dozen Brass Band

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who will be back in St. Louis to perform next Thursday, July 12 at the Old Rock House.

Founded in 1977 in New Orleans, the DDBB helped reinvigorate the city's brass band tradition by incorporating modern jazz, funk, and other genres, inspiring a new generation of players, bands and fans in the process.

The most recent of DDBB's 14 albums is Twenty Dozen, released back in 2012, but they continue to tour regularly, playing festivals, theaters and concert clubs in the USA and Europe. They were regular visitors to St. Louis in the 1990s and 2000s, playing venues from Mississippi Nights to the Broadway Oyster Bar, but since it's been a few years since their last local appearance, it seems like a good time to share some of their music again via some recent videos of the current lineup.

The first video up above is the DDBB's "Tiny Desk Concert" for NPR, recorded in February 2017, in which they perform four songs: "Use Your Brain," "Best Of All," "Tomorrow" and "My Feet Can't Fail Me Now."

After the jump, you can see an extended excerpt from their show at the Jazz Education Network convention held last January in New Orleans. That's followed by a music video they made in September 2017 for the AV Club's "Undercover" series, a cover of alt-rock singer-songwriter Beck's tune "Debra."

For the fourth clip, it's back to New Orleans for a DDBB staple, "Do It Fluid," recorded at the start of their set at the 2016 Jazzfest. The last two videos are complete sets, from January 2016 in Cambridge, MA and June 2015 in Wayne, NJ.

For more about what the Dirty Dozen Brass Band has been up to recently, read this interview with baritone saxophonist and co-founder Roger Lewis from December 2017, and check out their brief video interview from last year on AV Club.

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:

* Two new releases of previously unheard live recordings helped guitarist and St. Louis native Grant Green make the cover (pictured) of the July/August 2018 issue of Jazz Times nearly 40 years after his death.

Though the article about Green isn't online (yet), the magazine is on sale now, and they're also conducting an online poll asking readers to name their favorite Grant Green album.

* St. Louis native Mark Colenburg is profiled in the August 2018 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.

* Colenburg also will be one of the featured clinicians at the Australia Ultimate Drummer's Weekend, held August 25 & 26 in Victoria, Australia.

* Singer Denise Thimes, who recently moved from St. Louis to Chicago, is the subject of a brief profile by the Chicago Tribune's Howard Reich. 

* Here's a review of trumpeter Keyon Harrold's performance at last weekend's Love Supreme festival in England.

* The Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis has posted to YouTube a video of a performance by violinist Regina Carter and pianist Peter Martin at the 2018 St. Louis Arts Awards.

* Bassist Darin Gray has collaborated with Japanese singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eiko Ishibashi on a new album, Ichida, which will be released on Friday, July 20 by the Black Truffle label.

* St. Louis photographer Tiffany Sutton last week launched a crowd-funding campaign for "Black, Brown and Beige," a series of portraits inspired by the Duke Ellington suite of the same name. Her plans also include an exhibition of the photos with a choir performing Ellington's music for the exhibit's opening. Find out more and, if you wish, donate at the project's GoFundMe page.

Jazz this week: Funky Butt Brass Band, Erika Johnson sings the Stones, Jazz at Holmes summer series begins, and more

As often happens around major holidays, there's not much happening this week in the way of touring jazz and creative musicians visiting St. Louis, so it's up to our hometown performers to take up the slack.

Here are a few shows you may want to check out...

Wednesday, July 4
The Funky Butt Brass Band playing a free concert for the Missouri Botanical Garden's Whitaker Music Festival,

There's no Grand Center Jazz Crawl this week, as all the participating venues will be closed for Independence Day, and other local establishments that usually feature live music on Wednesdays may be following suit. Best to call ahead if you're planning on going out.

Thursday, July 5
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University kicks off their "Jazz in July" series with a free concert from trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band; and bassist Chano Cruz leads a trio at The Dark Room.

Friday, July 6
Singer Erika Johnson (pictured) returns to Jazz St. Louis for the first of two nights performing music made famous by the Rolling Stones; and Dizzy Atmosphere will play a free concert before the Old Orchard Gazebo Music & Movie Series screens Alfred Hitchcock's film Charade, starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant.

Saturday, July 7
The Coleman Hughes Project plays a free afternoon concert at Heman Park in U City; and saxophonist Dave Stone's trio is back at Thurman's in Shaw.

Sunday, July 8
The Bonbon Plot plays for brunch at The Dark Room, and trumpeter/banjoist TJ Muller's Arcadia Dance Orchestra will present a matinee at the Ozark Theatre/Webster Groves Concert Hall.

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.)

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

It's the start of a new month, and that means it's time once again to check in on StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds, where each day there's posted a new online music video, drawing on genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock, experimental, and more.

The five most-watched videos added to the site last month were:

Louis Armstrong - Live in Berlin
David Sanborn - Live at Jazz sous les pommiers 
George Coleman & Kenny Barron - "The Days of Wine and Roses"
Keith Jarrett Trio - Live at the San Sebastián Jazz Festival
Herbie Hancock - Live in Basel

Other recent posts have included videos featuring Jerry Lee Lewis, Juicy Lucy, Atomic Rooster, William Parker's In Order to Survive, Kamasi Washington, Bob James, Brass Against the Machine, Fred Frith Quartet, Weather Report, The Flock, Sound Prints, Cooper-Moore, Elvis Presley, Freddie Hubbard, John Zorn Song Project, Steely Dan, Carmen McRae and the Clarke-Boland Big Band, The Brothers Johnson, David Byrne, Bettye LaVette, The Cars, Danny Gatton, Nina Simone, Gene Vincent, and Ruben Blades.

If you've somehow missed out on all this up until now, not to worry - you can see all of these videos, plus thousands more from the archives, just by going to http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.

Sunday Session: July 1, 2018

Don Cherry

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* Catherine Russell: Queen of the Armstrong Blues (Jazz Times)
* Legendary Experimental Composer Jon Hassell Is Still Dreaming Up New Worlds (Vice.com)
* What happened to the blues? (Chicago Defender)
* DC Jazz Festival Reaches New Peak with Sanders, Carrington (DownBeat)
* Spotify Can Boost an Artist’s Royalties by $163,000 With One Playlist Add, Study Calculates (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* DownBeat Announces Winners of 2018 Critics Poll (DownBeat)
* Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas step up with Sound Prints at the Village Vanguard (Jazzwise)
* The Saxophone’s Unlikely Journey Out of Meme Hell (Vice.com)
* Thelonious Monk Inside Out: A Fresh Perspective On His Music (AllAboutJazz.com)
* The Story of Don Cherry’s Forgotten Classic “Home Boy (Sister Out)” (Bandcamp.com)
* Swedish Jazz, Excavated (DownBeat)
* How Did A Major Label Manage To Lose A John Coltrane Record? (TheQuietus.com)
* Composing Your Thoughts (Nautilus)
* WOULD SUIT MUSIC SCHOOL: How Total Refreshment Centre became the collaborative heart of London (TheVinylFactory.com)
* R+R=NOW’s Robert Glasper On Being Free AF For Juneteenth, ‘Collagically Speaking’ & More [Interview] (OkayPlayer.com)
* Kamasi Washington, the wisest man on Earth (TheFader.com)
* Jazz great Sheila Jordan's 70-year career was launched by a single song (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
* A Year After Geri Allen’s Death, A Tribute From Howard University (DownBeat)
* John Coltrane's 'Lost Album' Is A Window Into His Pursuit Of The Impossible (NPR)
* The Average Working Musician Makes Less Than an Uber Driver, Study Finds (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Antiquated copyright laws threaten aging musicians: Guest opinion (Portland Oregonian)
* A sound supreme: lost John Coltrane treasures rediscovered (Irish Times)
* When Miles Davis and Charlie Parker were in SF, this was the go-to club (San Francisco Chronicle)
* Deep Dive with Lewis Porter: Considering John Coltrane's 'Lost Album,' From All Directions (WBGO)
* This music is designed for extraterrestrials. Listen carefully (BigThink.com)
* Jon Hassell at 81: Visionary Composer-Trumpeter Reflects on a Half Century of Music on His Own Terms (Billboard)
* Angry George Benson fans BOO legendary star and demand refunds when he loses his voice and can't sing during Royal Albert Hall concert (Daily Mail)
* Raymond Scott, the musical genius you probably don't know, is getting his own L.A. festival (Los Angeles Times)
* 50th anniversary editions of The Band's 'Music From Big Pink' due Aug. 31 (Los Angeles Times)
* Ravi Coltrane On the State of Jazz & Why John Coltrane's Lost Album Couldn't Have Been Found at a Better Time (Billboard)