St. Louis Jazz Notes: December 2018

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Sunday Session: December 30, 2018

Wayne Shorter

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:

* Robot improves your guitar playing by zapping you with a taser when you screw up (DigitalTrends.com)
* "The Chipmunk Song" Turns 60: Secrets of a Holiday Novelty Smash (Hollywood Reporter)
* Luminous PoKempner pix of Sun Ra’s celestial music (Jazz Beyond Jazz)
* What Streaming Music Services Pay (Updated for 2019) (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Jazz legend Wayne Shorter on personal tragedy, career triumphs (CBS News)
* Artists We Lost in ’18 (DownBeat)
* The Best Music Books of 2018 (Billboard)
* Jazz in Focus: The Photos of Arthur Elgort (Jazz Times)
* A Musique Concrète Landmark Closes Its Doors (Hyperallergic.com)
* Interview: Jorma Kaukonen (Relix)
* Where Have All the Music Magazines Gone? (LongReads.com)
* Renovation unearths Seattle Prohibition-era jazz club art (Crosscut.com)
* Over 2,000 Musicians Perform At London's Annual Jazz Festival (Forbes.com)
* Kamasi Washington to Debut Short Film at Sundance (Jazz Times)
* Gary Giddins: A Conversation About Jazz (Jazz Profiles)
* Music lyrics are getting angrier, sadder over time, study finds (Detroit Free Press)
* Original Woodstock Site to Host 50th Anniversary Concert (Hollywood Reporter)
* Presley’s ‘Comeback Special’ still relevant, 50 years later (Associated Press)
* 2,200 jobs at risk as HMV collapses into administration (Sky News)
* Green Book: A Serious Comedy and Jazz Allegory (AllAboutJazz.com)

Saturday, December 29, 2018

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2019 jazz preview, part three

This week, it's time for part three of StLJN's winter/spring 2019 preview, featuring videos of noteworthy jazz and creative music performers who will be coming to St. Louis in the next several months. You can see part one here, and part two here.

Picking up chronologically where last week's installment ended, today's first group of videos features saxophonist Melissa Aldana, pianist Emmet Cohen and trumpeter Marquis Hill, who will join forces for a week-long educational residency culminating in public performances on Friday, February 8 and Saturday, February 9 at Jazz St. Louis.

Aldana can be seen in the first clip up above, performing the Fran Landesman/Tommy Wolf song "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" (which was premiered here in St. Louis as part of the original staging of the play The Nervous Set back in the Gaslight Square era). The clip was recorded on April 30, 2018, aka International Jazz Day, in Hong Kong, with pianist John Escreet, bassist Pablo Menares and drummer Jimmy Macbride backing Aldana.

After the jump, you can see Cohen's trio playing "Braggin' In Brass," as recorded in November of this year at the studios of KNKX public radio in Tacoma, WA, followed by Hill and his quintet playing "Her Story," also from November, at the venue musig im pflegidach in Muri, Switzerland.

Next up, it's singer Dianne Reeves, who's returning to perform on Saturday, February 9 at The Sheldon. The video shows her entire set at the 2017 Jazz à la Villette in France, and the band has a definite St. Louis flavor, thanks to Reeves' pianist and music director Peter Martin and drummer Terreon Gully.

After that, you can see saxophonist and vocalist Grace Kelly, who's set to perform Wednesday, February 13 through Sunday, February 17 at Jazz St. Louis. The video documents Kelly's set in August 2017 at the Cape Cod Jazz Festival in Massachusetts.

The following week, pianist Cyrus Chestnut and his trio will be in town to play on Wednesday, February 20 and Thursday, February 21 at Jazz St. Louis. He's seen here in a full set from August 2017 at the Montclair Jazz Festival in New Jersey.

The penultimate clip features clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen, who will be performing with her quartet starting Wednesday, February 27 through Sunday, March 3 at Jazz St. Louis. Cohen is shown with pianist Dan Nimmer and drummer Marion Felder in a gig from January, 2018 playing "China Boy," originally made famous by Benny Goodman.

Last but not least, it's pianist and singer Eliane Elias, who will be playing in concert on Saturday, March 2 at The Sheldon. The video features Elias doing the standard "I Thought About You," as recorded a couple of years ago at the Jazz à Vienne festival in Vienna, Austria.

Look for part four of StLJN's winter/spring 2019 preview next week in this space. 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:

* Michael Castro, the well-known St. Louis poet who was a member of the STL Free Jazz Collective and had a long history of collaborating with jazz and creative musicians, died last Sunday, December 23, as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch/STLtoday and St. Louis Public Radio and the St. Louis American.

Castro (pictured second from right, with the Collective) recently had completed a term as St. Louis' first-ever poet laureate. He was 73 years old and had battled colon cancer for some time. Funeral arrangements are pending.

* Pianist and singer Harry Connick Jr's show last Thursday at the Stifel Theatre was reviewed for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Dan Durchholz. The Post's website STLtoday also published online an "iParty" gallery of photos of concert-goers.

* Vocal group Take 6's performance with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, also last Thursday, was reviewed by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn, and also was the subject of an STLtoday "iParty" gallery.

* Saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, who died in October, was the subject of a year-end remembrance in the Detroit Metro Times. Bluiett also was mentioned in NPR Music's tribute to musicians who died in 2018.

* The story behind "Blue Xmas," trumpeter Miles Davis' one-off holiday collaboration with the late singer, pianist, and songwriter Bob Dorough, was recounted in an article in the Anderson Valley Advertiser.

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Rounding up the "Best Jazz of 2018" lists

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Jazz this week: Ronnie Burrage Trio, Good 4 The Soul, New Year's Eve jazz, and more

With most touring artists off the road, the week between Christmas and New Year's Day in St. Louis usually isn't overly crowded with live jazz and creative music shows.

Still, the coming week does feature some noteworthy gigs from a returning St. Louis expat and an assortment of hometown performers, plus several jazz and jazz-related options for New Year's Eve entertainment. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 26
Drummer and U City native Ronnie Burrage (pictured, top left) is visiting home for the holidays and will team with bassist Darrell Mixon and pianist Ptah Williams for three performances this week.

The first of those shows will feature a jam with various invited horn players and guitarists on Wednesday night at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, followed by performances on Thursday at the house concert venue Kinda Blue Club and Friday at The Dark Room.

Elsewhere around town, trumpeter Jim Manley plays at Sasha's Wine Bar,

Thursday, December 27
Singer Joe Mancuso will be backed by Joe Pastor on vibes and Ben Wheeler on bass at 50/Fifty Kitchen; guitarists Carol B. Eder and Chip Katz will duet at The Pat Connolly Tavern; and saxophonist Ben Reece's Unity Quartet returns to The Dark Room.

Friday,
December 28
Funk/jazz quartet Good 4 The Soul (pictured, lower left) returns to Jazz St. Louis for the first of two nights of their annual year-end gig.

Also on Friday, cornet players "Wild" Bill Mason and T.J Müller lead the Mason-Müller All Star Band in an evening of traditional jazz at Focal Point.

Saturday, December 29
Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Sunday, December 30
Drummer Montez Coleman and friends play for brunch at The Dark Room, and the Folk School of KDHX hosts their monthly traditional jazz jam session.

Sunday evening, guitarists Dave Black, Farshid Soltanshahi and Aaron Burlbaw will play at the house concert venue Judson House, 3733 Washington Ave in Grand Center; and DJ Pockets presents his monthly "1950s/60s Jazz Record Spin" at The Royale.

Monday, December 31
Noteworthy New Year's Eve performances include singer Erin Bode doing two shows at Cyrano's; a "Speakeasy NYE Party" with music from Miss Jubilee and blues band Rum Drum Ramblers at Das Bevo; the Funky Butt Brass Band at the Broadway Oyster Bar; and keyboardist and singer Jesse Gannon doing an early evening set at the new Angad Arts Hotel. (Also, you may want to check the STLJN calendar for any last-minute additions.)

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.)

Monday, December 24, 2018

Happy holidays from St. Louis Jazz Notes!

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Sunday Session: December 23, 2018

Eric Dolphy

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:

* Chicago blues at 90 (Jazz Beyond Jazz)
* Eric Dolphy: The ‘Prophet’ of Freedom (DownBeat)
* A Great Day in Harlem: behind Art Kane's classic 1958 jazz photograph (The Guardian)
* The Black Gay Man That Brought ‘Soul!’ To Television (Afropunk.com)
* Dr. Donald Shirley’s Brother Calls ‘Green Book’ Portrayal ‘A Symphony Of Lies’ (Essence)
* Perry Robinson 1938-2018 (Jazz Times)
* Zoe Keating Shares Spotify, Streaming Earnings 2018 (Hypebot.com)
* Mapping the Cosmic Discography of the Sun Ra Arkestra (Portland Mercury)
* I Analyzed 122 Hours of Holiday Radio (TowardDataScience.com)
* Big Band Holiday Cheer With The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra (NPR)
* Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret Is Jazz’s Most Dynamic Quintet (The Nation)
* Stax Records stars Sam and Dave to be honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
* 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour (Vulture.com)
* How stereo was first sold to a skeptical public (TheConversation.com)
* Despite Growing Pains, L.A.’s Jazz Scene Continues to Blossom (DownBeat)
* Art Neville announces retirement from music after 60+ years (Offbeat)
* New Orleans Royalty Gathers To Celebrate Professor Longhair (Offbeat)
* For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain (Smithsonian)
* Jazz Night In America Remembers Some of the Artists We Lost In 2018 (WBGO)
* That music in Clint Eastwood’s ‘The Mule’? It's jazz legend Arturo Sandoval in his film-scoring debut (Los Angeles Times)
* Joe Lovano’s Guide to ECM: Five Essential Albums (Jazziz)
* Jazz legend Wayne Shorter ill, pulls out of San Francisco residency (San Jose Mercury News)
* Why Is AI-Generated Music Still so Bad? (Vice.com)

Saturday, December 22, 2018

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2019 jazz preview, part two

Today, it's the second installment of StLJN's winter/spring 2019 preview, featuring videos of noteworthy jazz and creative music performers who will be coming to St. Louis in the next few months. You can see part one here.

Picking up chronologically where last week's post left off, the first video up above features singer, actor and Belleville native Lea DeLaria, who will bring her cabaret show back home for performances on Friday, January 25 and Saturday, January 26 at Jazz St. Louis. The clip shows DeLaria doing an acapella version of "Cool" from West Side Story, as recorded earlier this year in a stairwell before her concert at City Recital Hall in Sydney, Australia.

After the jump, you can see videos featuring the members of the Bistro All-Stars, an ad hoc band featuring trumpeter Sean Jones, saxophonist Tia Fuller, vibraphonist Warren Wolf and St. Louis own Peter Martin on piano that will play Wednesday, January 30 through Sunday, February 3 at Jazz St. Louis.

The first of the four clips features Jones playing a piece called "The Ambitious Violet" with the Jazz at Lincoln Center-affiliated NYO Jazz orchestra at a concert on August 10, 2018 at Konzerthaus in Berlin, Germany.

Next, it's Fuller and her Diamond Cut Band playing "Svae Your Love For Me" at the 2018 Monterey Jazz Festival, followed by Wolf and his band Wolfpack playing Miles Davis' "Four" in 2017 at Dizzy's in Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Martin doing a solo version of "Sophisticated Lady" recorded this year at the HQ of his company Open Studio.

Today's final video features the Cuban-born pianist Chucho Valdes, who will bring his "Jazz Bata" quartet to St. Louis for performances on Tuesday, February 5 through Thursday, February 7 at Jazz St. Louis. Valdes and his group are seen here performing his composition "CongaDanza" in January 2018 at the Panama Jazz Festival.

Look for part three of the winter/spring 2019 jazz preview next week in this space. 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:

* Trumpeter Jim Manley appeared Wednesday on KTVI-FOX2's morning newscast to promote his show "A Very Manley Christmas," happening this Friday, December 21 and Saturday, December 22 at Jazz St. Louis.

* If you missed pianist Geoff Keezer's concert last week at fellow pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio (or want to watch it again), you can see the whole thing via the archived video live stream on Open Studio's Facebook page.

* Also now available for your viewing and listening enjoyment: a video of the "holiday" half of Route 66 Jazz Orchestra's "Half a Holiday" show last week at The Sheldon.

* Speaking of The Sheldon, they're holding a reception to welcome new executive director Peter Palermo from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 10. The event is open to the public, but those wishing to attend are asked to RSVP to sdo@thesheldon.org by Thursday, January 3.

* And also new on YouTube, a "free jazz Christmas album" from Jazz Soup, the experimental student jazz group at Lindenwood University.

* Award alert: Pianist and St. Louis native Lawrence Fields (pictured) is co-composer of several tracks on trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah's album The Emancipation Procrastination, which is nominated for a Grammy in the "Contemporary Instrumental Music" category. The Grammy Awards ceremony is set for February 10, 2019 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast in part on CBS.

* Low Key Music in Hazelwood is looking for saxophone, trombone, trumpet, and guitar teachers. For details, call them at 314-764-2222.

* An anecdote about Miles Davis figures prominently in an interview with San Francisco jazz pianist and radio host Dick Conte on last week's episode of Joe Dimino's Kansas City-based "Neon Jazz" program.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Richard Henderson 1932-2018

Richard Henderson, the well-known St. Louis jazz enthusiast who in 2017 was named a "Jazz Hero" by the Jazz Journalists Association, died on Saturday, December 15. He was 86 years old.

Henderson (pictured) was known for decades as a regular presence at jazz performances in St. Louis, a friend to local and visiting jazz players, and a mentor to students and up-and-coming jazz musicians.

In 1997, he was a co-founder of the not-for-profit organization Crusaders for Jazz, which presented jazz performances and also raised money for college scholarships for local music students, with recipients including now nationally prominent musicians such as trumpeter Keyon Herrold and drummer Kimberly Thompson.

Photographer and journalist Roscoe Crenshaw, a longtime friend of Henderson's, honored him with a remembrance in this week's St. Louis American, and Bob Bennett of Jazz St. Louis paid tribute with photos and a message about Henderson on Facebook.

A celebration of Richard Henderson’s life and “jazz jam service” will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. next Wednesday, December 26 at Randall Funeral Home, 4600 Natural Bridge Rd. in St. Louis.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Home for the holidays, Ronnie Burrage
set for three performances next week

Drummer and U City native Ronnie Burrage is back home for the holidays, and has scheduled three performances in St. Louis for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

Burrage (pictured), who now lives in NYC, has a stellar resume that includes performances and recordings with an impressive number of jazz greats, including McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Archie Shepp, and many more. On his own, he's led small groups of various sizes as well as a big band, and has released more than a dozen albums as a leader or co-leader.

Also a composer and multi-instrumentalist who plays mallet percussion and keyboards, Burrage has taught music courses for the Jazzmobile and The New School in NYC and for Penn State University, and with his wife Chanda currently runs World Rhythm Academy, which provides community-based arts and educational programs in Brooklyn, NY.

He'll start his visit home on Wednesday, December 26, when he'll be joined by bassist Darrell Mixon and pianist Ptah Williams to perform from 9:00 p.m. to midnight at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, with part of the show devoted to a jam session with various invited horn players and guitarists.

Then on Thursday, December 27, Burrage, Mixon and Williams will play from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the house concert venue Kinda Blue Club, 6101 1/2 Idaho, 63111.

Burrage will wrap up his visit home on Friday, December 28 with a performance featuring original compositions played by the trio plus special guests at 9:30 p.m. at The Dark Room.

Jazz this week: Harry Connick Jr, Take 6,
"A Very Manley Christmas" and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features one last round of holiday music performances, including shows from two noteworthy touring headliners, plus some local favorites.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 19
The Jazz St. Louis Big Band will present the final two performances this year of Ellington's "Nutcracker" at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Wednesday, Cabaret Project of St. Louis has their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club; and the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features the Jazz Troubadors at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, December 20
Pianist and singer Harry Connick Jr. (pictured, top left) celebrates this holidays New Orleans style at the Stifel Theatre; vocal group Take 6 teams up with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for the standing-room-only "A Gospel Christmas" at Powell Hall; and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher presents a "Rat Pack Christmas" at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Friday,
December 21
Trumpeter Jim Manley (pictured, bottom left) and his Mad Brass and Rhythm band present "A Very Manley Christmas" for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday, singer Tony Viviano and band will perform seasonal favorites and more at Table Three; keyboardist Owen Ragland's quintet plays at The Dark Room; and pianist Adam Maness' trio plus singer Malena Smith will be back at Sophie's Artist Lounge.

Saturday, December 22
Musicians including Webster Groves High School band director Kevin Cole, multi-instrumentalist Kevin Mitchell and friends will perform in a late-afternoon matinee benefit for the WGHS jazz band at Hwy 61 Roadhouse in Webster.

Saturday evening, piano and cello duo HämmerString plays at Evangeline's, and saxophonist Dave Stone and his trio will be at Thurman's in Shaw.

Sunday, December 23
Miss Jubilee performs for brunch at Evangeline's, while mandolinist Knez Jackovac and band are playing at The Dark Room.

Then on Sunday evening, there's one last chance for the year to hear some holiday-themed jazz, from singer Anita Jackson 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, December 16, 2018

Sunday Session: December 16, 2018

Nancy Wilson

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:

* American Pop Music No Longer The Global King, But Its Christmas Music Can't Be Beat (Forbes.com)
* The Untold Labor That Helped Make Charlie Chaplin’s Film Scores (The Atlantic)
* Michael League: Snarky Puppy's Jazz-Schooled, Grassroots Visionary (AllAboutJazz.com)
* John Scofield: Old and New Inspirations (DownBeat)
* Blood on the Tracks: How Bob Dylan Birthed Bootleg Culture (ConsequenceOfSound.net)
* Jason Moran offers sublime tribute to WWI hero and ragtime pioneer James Reese Europe (Washington Post)
* Charles Lloyd is not into ‘ageism.’ The musician still loves touring at 80 (Durham Herald-Sun)
* The Wild Story Behind Aretha Franklin’s Long-Delayed Documentary (Vulture.com)
* Dave Douglas Interview (BurningAmbulance.com)
* We Jazz Festival Fosters Surprise and Discovery in Helsinki (DownBeat)
* Rediscovered Duke Ellington Film to Be Reshown After More Than 50 Years (Jazz Times)
* In a world of ‘algorithmic culture,’ music critics fight for relevance (Columbia Journalism Review)
* Wayne Shorter: How the Future Would Be (Stereophile)
* Streambait Pop - The emergence of a total Spotify genre (TheBaffler.com)
* Interview with Billy Cobham – Crosswinds and more! (Jazz in Europe)
* WFMU’s Free Music Archive Is Saved, Moving to New Home (Pitchfork.com)
* Donny McCaslin: In a Different Place (Jazz Times)
* Is It Important To Own Music? (Offbeat)
* The Cure, Janet Jackson, Radiohead Among Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees For 2019 (NPR)
* John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and My Favorite Things Earn Gold Status (Jazz Times)
* Nancy Wilson, Legendary Vocalist And NPR 'Jazz Profiles' Host, Dies At 81 (NPR)
* Placemakers: Why Midsize Cities Are the Next Music Hubs (Hypebot.com)
* Van Morrison Discusses How Music Used to Be More Spontaneous and Communal (The New Yorker)
* Photographer Spends 10 Years Tracking Down The Original Locations Of Vinyl Covers (Demilked.com)
* 15 Saxophone Albums You Should Hear (SFJAZZ.ORG)

Saturday, December 15, 2018

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2019 jazz preview, part one

This week, it's time for the first installment of StLJN's winter/spring 2019 preview, presenting videos of the most noteworthy jazz and creative music performers who will be visiting St. Louis in the next few months.

First up are The Bad Plus who, in what has become an annual tradition, will start the new year with a week of performances beginning Wednesday, January 2 and continuing through Sunday, January 6 at Jazz St. Louis.

You can see them in the embedded video up above, which was recorded April 28, 2018 at the Tbilisi Jazz Festival in Georgia (the country, not the US state) and includes performances of "Seams," "Commitment," and "Anthem For The Earnest."

After the jump, the first clip features percussionist Mike Dillon, who will be here with his band for a show on Friday, January 4 in the cozy confines of Pop's Blue Moon. The video show Dillon and company performing "Robo Tripping Vikings" as recorded for the web series "Jam in the Van" in 2017 in Los Angeles.

Next, it's saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who will return with his quartet to play Wednesday, January 16 through Sunday, January 20 at Jazz St. Louis. The video shows the McCaslin group's entire set from the 2018 JazzBaltica festival in Germany.

That same week, New Music Circle will begin the second half of their 60th season with a concert featuring electronic musician and composer Sarah Davachi and saxophonist and composer Lea Bertucci each playing a solo set on Saturday, January 19 at a new venue for the organization, Link Auction Galleries in the Central West End.

Davachi can be seen in the third clip after the jump, which documents a solo performance in February 2018 at The Echo in Los Angeles, California, while Bertucci is featured in the fourth clip, in which she plays "Patterns for Alto" in the studio for Blue Room, a video series from Brooklyn-based production company ThrdCoast.

Also that same week, brothers Michael Silverman and Rob Silverman of Silverman Productions will present their second "Winter Jazz Festival" on Saturday, January 19 at the Grandel Theatre. The concert will feature bassist John Patitucci and drummers Brian Blade and Lucrezio de Seta, along with the Silvermans' group Back to the Future, keyboardists Jay Oliver, Mo Egeston, and Ptah Williams, and more.

The next video features Patitucci, along with guitarists Steve Cardenas and Adam Rogers and drummer Nate Smith, in a full set recorded in January 2018 at the "Bass Bash" staged as part of the annual NAMM trade show in Anaheim, CA.

After that, you can see Patitucci, Blade and pianist Danilo Perez, who released a trio album last year called Children of The Light, playing a full set last July at the Jazz à Junas festival in France.

The final clip shows de Seta and his trio playing the John Coltrane composition "Lonnie's Lament" during a gig in January, 2018 at Casa del Jazz in Rome.

Look for part two of StLJN's winter/spring 2019 preview next week in this space. 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 and pianist Harry Connick Jr. (pictured) talked about his holiday show next Thursday at the Stifel Theatre for a Post-Dispatch story by Dan Durchholz.

* Multi-instrumentalist and singer Tonina Saputo came in at number eight on NPR's list of "Best New Artists of 2018."

* Singer Storm Large's "Holiday Ordeal" show this past Tuesday at the Sun Theatre was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris was interviewed by St. Louis Public Radio's Don Marsh about his musical direction for Metro Theater Company’s “Wonderland: Alice’s Rock & Roll Adventure,” which runs through December 30 at the Grandel Theatre.

* St. Louis Symphony oboist Callie Banham's new Christmas album, which includes musical contributions from pianist Adam Maness, bassist Bob DeBoo and drummer Montez Coleman, is the subject of a feature story by the Riverfront Times' Christian Schaeffer.

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Jazz this week: Robert Glasper, Geoffrey Keezer, Kirk Whalum's "Gospel According to Jazz Christmas," and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features performances from two top-shelf piano players, plus a whole lineup of holiday performances and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 12
Pianist Robert Glasper will perform with his trio for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Glasper (pictured, top left), has spent the past year working on a variety of projects, including dates with the electrified "supergroup" R+R=NOW, production work for several other artists, and a month-long residency in October at the Blue Note in NYC, so a week's worth of shows with his trio should be a prime opportunity for some back-to-basics music-making for the versatile pianist.

Also on Wednesday, the "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features the Beto Jazz Trio at The Stage at KDHX, the weekly jam session at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, December 13
Pianist Geoffrey Keezer (pictured, center left) leads a trio in a one-night-only concert at pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio, located inside the Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive St. in the Grand Center district.

Starting as an 18-year-old phenom with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Keezer over the last three decades has compiled an impressive list of credits and recordings, working with current stars like Christian McBride and Chris Botti as well as elders like Blakey, bassist Ray Brown and Benny Golson. You can check out some samples of his playing on video in this post from two Saturdays ago.

Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode returns to Edwardsville for her annual show at the Wildey Theatre, and saxophonist Ben Reece's trio Threebird is back at The Dark Room.

Friday,
December 14
Saxophonist Kirk Whalum (pictured, bottom left) brings this year's edition of his "Gospel According to Jazz Christmas" show, with guest stars including percussionist Sheila E, and singers Lynn Mabry, John Stoddart and Kevin Whalum, to Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church.

This is the seventh annual outing for Whalum's holiday show, and you can find out more about it and see some video samples of the saxophonist in action in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band present the first of five "Holiday Brasstravaganza" shows this year at Off Broadway. Though the family-friendly matinees already are sold out, some tickets may remain for the evening shows; call ahead or check Off Broadway's website for availability.

Elsewhere around town, the Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom, and guitarists Farshid Soltanshahi and Dave Black and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman team up for a show at The Focal Point.

Saturday, December 15
The Oikos Ensemble, featuring saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie, pianist Carolbeth True and more, will welcome vocal ensemble Java Jived as special guests for their annual "Jazz Noel" concert at Parkway United Church of Christ. (They'll present the same program again on Sunday afternoon at the First Congregational Church in Webster Groves.)

Also on Saturday, keyboardist Mo Egeston and friends will be serving up late night grooves at The Dark Room.

Sunday, December 16
Miss Jubilee performs for brunch at Evangeline's.

Monday, December 17
The 442s and various friends. including singers Erin Bode and Brian Owens, pianist Peter Martin, and more, present the first of two performances of their "Holiday Spectacular" at 560 Music Center, with a second show set for Tuesday night. Both performances were close to selling out at publication time, so if you don't already have tickets, be sure to call ahead regarding availability.

Tuesday, December 18
The Jazz St. Louis Big Band will perform Duke Ellington's arrangements of music from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker", plus additional Ellingtonia, for the first of three nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Tuesday, trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Rick Haydon will play at Evangeline's.

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

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

Sunday, December 09, 2018

Sunday Session: December 9, 2018

Dexter Gordon

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:

* All-too-easy listening - The music industry sells classical as soothing background music — robbing a great art of its power (Washington Post)
* Marcus Strickland Harnesses Power of Vocalists, Organ on Latest Album (DownBeat)
* The Multiple Personalities of Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks (ConsequenceOfSound.net)
* Jeff Simon: Is posthumous jazz a problem or a glorious resurrection? (Buffalo News)
* Wynton Marsalis: Jazz And Holiday Music Go Together Like Holly And Ivy (HoustonPublicMedia.org)
* Esperanza Spalding says goodbye to song-driven shows (Washington Post)
* It’s official: Galactic has purchased Tipitina’s (Offbeat)
* This Thing Never Stops: Roscoe Mitchell and Phillip Greenlief in Conversation (SFMOMA.org)
* Jazz Is Dance Music Again (Rolling Stone)
* The Life Force of Esperanza Spalding (OfficeMagazine.net)
* The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition Has a Winner (WBGO)
* Classical Hands: Composer Kris Bowers on Scoring ‘Green Book,’ Teaching Mahershala Ali Piano, Seeing His Hands On Screen (Pollstar)
* The good fight: Jan Ramsey keeps music journalism alive in New Orleans (Columbia Journalism Review)
* St. Nick: The Long, Strange and Wonderful Career of Nick Lowe (Rolling Stone)
* Interview: Milford Graves (Modern Drummer)
* Can We Get to That (Oxford American)
* Indie Labels Now Account for 39.9% of the Global Recorded Music Market (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Dexter Gordon Biography 'Sophisticated Giant' Chronicles a Jazz Life (Billboard)
* The Unclassifiable, Unstreamable Eighties Albums of Annette Peacock (The New Yorker)
* Sachal Vasandani Celebrates the American Songbook (Jazz Times)
* At 80, Saxophonist Charles Lloyd Finds Enlightenment in the Groove (NPR)
* Jazz legend Herbie Hancock becomes first musician to receive Ben Franklin Medal (WHYY)
* Hi Records star and instrumental hitmaker Ace Cannon dead at 84 (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
* Selling Vintage Records in Tokyo (LongReads.com)
* Covering both sides: Catherine Russell and John Pizzarelli (Santa Fe New Mexican)
* Playing the theory of relativity: Sunny Murray in Europe 1968–72 (The Wire)
* Daversa, Salvant, Mehldau Nominated for Grammy Awards (DownBeat)
* 'Fight The Power': A Tale Of 2 Anthems (With The Same Name) (NPR)
* Feds allege wider cover-up by Irvin Mayfield, Ronald Markham in New Orleans Library Foundation scandal (New Orleans Advocate)

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Friday, December 14, 2018

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Sunday, December 09, 2018

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