Sunday Session: April 28, 2019

Professor Longhair

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest, drawn from StLJN's inboxes, newsfeeds, and assorted other sources:

* Smart speakers: Why your voice is a major battle in music (BBC)
* A Beginner’s Guide to Contemporary Jazz From Japan (Bandcamp.com)
* The ghost of Roy Orbison gets a new partner, Buddy Holly (USA Today)
* Music Plays a Leading Role in New Health Products for Alzheimer's and Dementia (Billboard)
* Spine Tinglers (FutilityCloset.com)
* JALC Gala Traverses the History of Jazz (DownBeat)
* How Angélique Kidjo Brings Out The Africa Of Celia Cruz's Catalog (NPR)
* Roy Ayers Recovering With Family After Being Rushed To Hospital In Portland (OkayPlayer.com)
* Roadburn Festival Conjures Jazz, Psych (DownBeat)
* The Infectious & Sometimes Annoying Appeal of Ice Cream Truck Music (OKWhatever.org)
* Coltrane: The search for a higher state of humanity (The Times Literary Supplement)
* The uncanny valley: does it happen with voices? (Acoustic Engineering)
* The Real Reasons Artists Succeed on Spotify — From a Playlisting Pro (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Five Of Bob Dylan’s Photographers Share Their Best Dylan Stories (Stereogum.com)
* Michael Brecker In Late-1960s Bloomington, Indiana (Indiana Public Media)
* The Art Ensemble of Chicago’s Way Forward (Jazz Times)
* Strange Fruit: The most shocking song of all time? (BBC)
* Jazz For Beginners: 20 Essential Albums For An Introductory Guide (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* How Professor Longhair went from record store janitor to patron saint of New Orleans Jazz Fest (New Orleans Advocate)
* Jazz Drummer Joe Chambers On Blue Note: “The Black Musicians’ Label” (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* At 90, jazz great Benny Golson returns to Minnesota: 'I feel maybe 45 or 50' (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
* The Jewish Trumpeter Who Entertained Nazis to Survive the Holocaust (The New Yorker)
* The Lasting Legacy of the Art Ensemble of Chicago (Bandcamp.com)
* Elaine Mitchener: Vocal Classics Of The Black Avant Garde playlist (The Wire)
* Craig Harris Finds Inspiration in Muhammad Ali’s Athleticism (DownBeat)
* When Jazz Moved to Chicago (NEH.gov)
* The Dignity of his Sound: Wynton Marsalis talks about the Buddy Bolden movie (Offbeat)
* He played with Springsteen and Sinatra; now Randy Brecker returns to Reading for his 15th Berks Jazz Fest (Reading Eagle)
* Duke Ellington’s melodies carried his message of social justice (TheConversation.com)
* Gilles Peterson on UK Scene, Brownswood, Starting a New Festival (DownBeat)
* A Guide to the Discography of Diamanda Galás, Avant-Garde Oracle (Bandcamp.com)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Arturo O'Farrill's Afro-Cuban jazz legacy

Today, our video spotlight shines on pianist, composer and bandleader Arturo O'Farrill, who's coming to town to perform this coming Wednesday, May 1 and Thursday, May 2 at Jazz St. Louis.

The son of famed musician, arranger, bandleader and Afro-Cuban jazz pioneer Chico O'Farrill, Arturo O'Farrill was born in 1960 in Mexico City and moved with his family in 1965 to New York. He first gained wide exposure at age 19 as part of pianist and composer Carla Bley's band, and subsequently went on to work with musicians including Dizzy Gillespie, Howard Johnson, Steve Turre, and St. Louis' own Lester Bowie before landing a gig in 1987 as music director for Harry Belafonte.

O'Farrill got more involved in Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz in the 1990s, working as a substitute pianist Andy and Jerry Gonzalez's Fort Apache Band and with his father to revive the elder O'Farrill's career. Ultimately, after his father's death in 2001, Arturo wound up as the pianist and sole bandleader for what has come to be known as the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.

During the 2000s, the group spent six years in residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center, which helped them reach larger audiences, get a recording contract, and begin touring to major jazz festivals and venues around the world. One of those stops in 2004 was at the long-defunct St. Louis Jazz & Heritage Festival in Clayton. Although that has been the orchestra's only local appearance here to date, O'Farrill also played here with his sextet for a week in January 2015 at Jazz St. Louis.

In all, Arturo O'Farrill has released more a dozen albums as a bandleader, earning a couple of Grammy Awards (plus four additional nominations) along the way. His most recent recording Fandango At The Wall came out in 2018, but even more recently, O'Farrill has just wrapped up a four-month residency at The Greene Space, the performance venue operated by radio stations WNYC and WQXR in New York.

The residency featured him performing in variety of contexts, both solo and with different ensembles, and it appears that many of the performances were recorded on video. That's provided a trove of recent material featuring O'Farrill, some of which you can see right now in this post, starting up above with "Invitation to Dance," a solo piano piece recorded at Greene Space in February 2019.

After the jump, you can see a couple of Afrobeat-influenced performances from January 2019 featuring O'Farrill and an expanded version of the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble, with guest stars including singer and percussionist Tosin and guitarists Lionel Loueke and Bryan Vargas. Tosin takes the lead vocal on his composition "The Big Illusion," which is followed by another piece from the same performance, "Strugglettes And Struggles."

Next are two more performances from the residency, one featuring a smaller version of the Afro-Latin jazz ensemble, and the other marking the premiere of a new big band piece called "Gulab Jamon."

The final video, from October 2015, was produced by NPR in conjunction with the release of O'Farrill's then-new album Cuba: The Conversation Continues, and includes an interview with O'Farrill as well as live performances of music from the recording.

For more about Arturo O'Farrill, check out his interviews from 2018 with radio station KQED in San Francisco, NPR, and DownBeat.

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:

* Jazz St. Louis will raise scholarship money for college-bound local music students with “Swing For The Scholars,” an event at 6:00 p.m. Sunday, May 5 at JSL's HQ, aka the Harold and Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz.

Musical entertainment for the evening will include the Adam Maness Trio, the Route 66 Alumni Band, Good 4 The Soul, singer Anita Jackson, and students from the organization's JazzU program.

* The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and STLToday.com this week published their annual "Go List," and the staff picks in the "Music" section included a nod to singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo for "Best Shout-Out," referencing the inclusion of her song "Historia De Un Amor" on President Barack Obama's 2018 list of favorite songs.

In the reader's poll section of the "Go List," BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups won both "Favorite place to hear jazz" and "Favorite place to hear the blues."

* Drummer Dave Weckl is offering a free two-and-a-half-hour DVD, "Flies On The Studio Wall," to new subscribers to his Dave Weckl Online School who sign up before May 1.

* Prompted by the 60th anniversary of the original recording sessions for the album, writer Eric Schewe of JStor Daily looks at "Why Miles Davis’s “Kind of Blue” Is So Beloved."

* Pianist Peter Martin's "Ask Me Anything" session that was webcast last Friday via the Open Studios Facebook page has been posted to YouTube.

* Singer and East St. Louis native Phil Perry (pictured) will be inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Saturday, June 23 in Detroit. Perry's fellow inductees this year will include Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Ray Parker, Jr., Stephanie Mills, and more.

* And speaking of halls of fame, public voting for new members of Jazz at Lincoln Center's Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame is open until 11:59 p.m. this coming Monday, April 29. The 2019 nominees include Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, Kenny Clarke, Roy Haynes, Freddie Hubbard, Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill, Cecil Taylor, Frank Trumbauer, Dinah Washington, Chick Webb, and Teddy Wilson.

* General manager Jason Church's efforts to put radio station WSIE on firmer financial footing are the subject of a story in the SIU Edwardsville campus newspaper The Alestle.

StLJN turns 14

Fourteen years ago today, on April 24, 2005, the first post went up on St. Louis Jazz Notes.

Being 14 years old makes StLJN positively ancient in Internet time, but after more than 5,000 posts, the site is still going strong.

It's still one of the longest continuously operating jazz blogs in the world and one of the longest running music websites in St. Louis, and remains the city's most complete and regularly updated source devoted to news about jazz.

Thanks once again to all the readers, commenters, musicians, music students and educators, presenters, club owners, publicists, tipsters, media people, record label employees, and others who have taken an interest in the site over the years. Your time and continued attention are much appreciated.

As usual, if you have any anniversary wishes, congratulations, questions, suggestions, or complaints, the comments are open.

Jazz this week: Pedrito Martinez, Boney James, STL Free Jazz Collective, a New Music Circle "pop-up" concert, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis offers Afro-Cuban rhythms, smooth jazz with a backbeat, free improvisation, a tribute to one of the greatest composers and bandleaders in jazz, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...


Wednesday, April 24
Percussionist Pedrito Martinez brings his band to Jazz St. Louis for the first of five nights of performances, continuing through Sunday.

Born in Cuba and now based in NYC, Martinez (pictured, top left) has spent the past two decades lending his considerable talents to a variety of well-known jazz and pop performers, and in recent years has been getting more attention as a bandleader, too.

You can find out more about him and see some videos of his band in action in this post from Saturday before last.

Thursday, April 25
The 442s and Erin Bode will headline "Hope Happens - 15th Annual Evening of Hope," a benefit for the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at Washington University School of Medicine, at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Also on Thursday, singer Jan Shapiro, pianist Dave Venn and bassist Ben Wheeler perform at the Ozark Theatre, and singer Chuck Flowers croons at Jazzy 159, a relatively new spot across the river in Fairview Heights.

Friday, April 26
Saxophonist Boney James still a popular favorite among those who enjoy jazz in the form of R&B- and funk-infused grooves, plays at The Pageant.

Though James (pictured, center left) hasn't released any new music since his most recent St. Louis appearance at the Gateway Jazz Festival last summer, fans no doubt will relish the opportunity to hear a full-length show while seeing him up close.

You can see him on video performing some of the material from his most recent album, 2017's Honestly, in this post from last Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, the Hot Club of St Louis, a new group featuring guitarists Joe Park and Paul Davis, violinist/guitarist Christopher Voelker, and bassist Willem von Hombracht, will make their debut playing Gypsy jazz and vintage swing at Focal Point; and Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson return to Parkside Grille.

Also on Saturday, out west in Union, MO the Dave Dickey Big Band will headline the East Central College Jazz Festival at Anglin Performing Arts Center on the ECC campus.

Saturday, April 27
In their first performance since the passing of one of their founding members, poet Michael Castro, the STL Free Jazz Collective (pictured, bottom left) is inviting other poets to sit in with them for a concert at Link Auditorium in the Central West End.

Also on Saturday, the Funky Butt Brass Band returns for their monthly gig at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, April 28
In what they're caling a "pop-up" show, New Music Circle has a last-minute addition to their 60th season schedule, presenting an concert of improvised music by trombonist Steve Swell, percussionist Michael Zerang, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and saxophonist Gebhard Ullmann at Foam.

Monday, April 29
Pianist Christopher Parrish leads a quartet celebrating the legendary pianist, composer and bandleader with a show called "Duke Ellington's 120th Birthday: Ellington Plugged In" at Focal Point.

Tuesday, April 30
Trumpeter Jim Manley and keyboardist Chris Swan return to 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.)

Nate Smith to present master class on Wednesday, May 8 at Gaslight Studios

Drummer Nate Smith, whose notable jazz credits include work with bassist Dave Holland and saxophonist Chris Potter, is coming to St. Louis to present a master class and solo performance at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 8 at Gaslight Studios.

Smith (pictured) recently released his first-ever solo drumset album, Pocket Change, on Ropeadope Records. His previous albums as a bandleader are 2008's Workday, Waterbaby Music, Vol. 1.0 and 2017's Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere, and he's also performed on records by Holland, Potter, guitarist Adam Rogers, and others.

Tickets for the Nate Smith master class and performance are $35 in advance, $45 day of show, and are on sale now.

Sunday Session: April 21, 2019

Branford Marsalis

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:

* Arturo O’Farrill’s ‘Fandango at the Wall’ Transcends Borders (LatinoUSA.org)
* 'People who sing it want the world to know they exist': 50 years of My Way (The Guardian)
* New Orleans trumpeter celebrates personal rebirth at French Quarter Festival (New Orleans Advocate)
* Best Jazz Albums: 50 Essentials You Need To Hear (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Louis Armstrong: ‘more important than Picasso’ (Jazz Journal)
* Gerald Clayton Talks About Jazz and the Creative Process (San Francisco Classical Voice)
* Home Taping Is Killing Music: When the Music Industry Waged War on the Cassette Tape in the 1980s, and Punk Bands Fought Back (OpenCulture.com)
* The Shape-Shifting Music of Tyshawn Sorey (The New Yorker)
* Icons: Michael Beinhorn is Preventing Bad Music by Promoting Pre-Production (SonicScoop.com)
* A Visit to John Cage’s 639-Year Organ Composition (RedBullMusicAcademy.com)
* Chris Potter Has His ‘Circuits’ Rewired (DownBeat)
* Concord Jazz Festival Returns for 50th Anniversary (Jazz Times)
* The Crimson King Seeks a New Court (Rolling Stone)
* Stanley Crouch, Bob Dorough, Abdullah Ibrahim, Maria Schneider Honored at NEA Jazz Masters Tribute (DownBeat)
* How a world-renowned cellist used Bach to blast Trump (RawStory.com)
* Branford Marsalis Discusses the Genre, Teaching Music and Getting Up Early (DownBeat)
* Why is jazz unpopular? The musicians 'suck', says Branford Marsalis (Sydney Morning Herald)
* Unplugged: Is the Guitar Solo Finished? (Rolling Stone)
* Impulse For Change: The Story Of Impulse! Records (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Integral to Over a Century of Piano Culture, Steinway & Sons Looks to the Future (Billboard)
* 12 Women Influencing the Future of Jazz (Paste)
* Iyer, Taborn Build Something Majestic on New ECM Album (DownBeat)
* Space is the Place: an introduction to the music of jazz visionary Sun Ra (List.co.uk)
* the musical genre is dead, gen z killed it (Vice.com)
* The All-Female Big Bands That Made History During World War II (NPR)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Boney James

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring saxophonist Boney James, who's coming to St. Louis to perform next Friday, April 26 at The Pageant.

Born in Massachusetts, James was raised in upstate New York,then Los Angeles, and attended UCLA, where he earned a degree in history. After graduating, he got into the music business in the mid-1980s as a sideman, playing saxophone and keyboards in support of R&B and funk performers including Morris Day, the Isley Brothers, Bobby Caldwell, Randy Crawford, Teena Marie, and others.

James released his first album as a leader on a small independent label in 1992, which led to him being signed to Warner Brothers records a couple of years later. His time at Warners established him as a headliner and festival and major venues in the USA and around the world, with three of his albums for the label earning gold records.

In all, James has put out 16 albums, the most recent being 2017's Honestly, and earned four Grammy nominations as well as a number of other awards along the way. He last performed here in St. Louis in July 2018 as part of the Gateway Jazz Festival at Chesterfield Amphitheater.

Though he's often categorized as a smooth jazz performer and his repertoire includes some obligatory slow jams, James' experiences in funk and R&B help make his music a bit grittier than many others in the genre. You can see and hear some of that in today's videos of recent live performances by James and his band, starting with the first clip up above, the set opener "Up All Night" as recorded last Sunday, April 14 at the Buffalo State Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY/

After the jump, you can see three more performances from that show, starting with "Butter," then "On The Prowl," and finally, an excerpt in which James fakes out the audience with a brief snippet of Grover Washington Jr.'s "Mister Magic," then segues directly into "Batucada," featuring a solo by drummer Omari Williams.

Next, there's a version of "Tick Tock," recorded in October 2018 at a show in Newport Beach, CA, followed by an extended excerpt from James' set at the 2017 San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival.

For more about Boney James and Honestly, read his 2018 interview with AXS.com and his Q&A from 2017 with artsnla.com.

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:

* Pianist Peter Martin is doing an "Ask Me Anything" Q&A session at 2:00 p.m. Central time today (Friday, April 19) via the Facebook page of his company Open Studio.

* Singer Denise Thimes (pictured) has been chosen for the cast of The Black Rep's upcoming production of Nina Simone: Four Women, a play-with-music by Catherine Ham that will run Wednesday, May 15 through Sunday, June 2 at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus.

* Drummer and educator Bernard Long Jr. has received the St. Louis Suburban Music Educators Association Certificate of Merit Award for his work as band director at Normandy High School.

* Saxophonist Dave Stone's upcoming move to Oregon is detailed in a feature story by the Riverfront Times' G.M.H. Thompson. Stone's trio will play their final gig at their longtime home Mangia Italiano tonight.

* Bassist Bob DeBoo's recent serendipitous find of a sitar, seemingly in working condition, in an alley near his south St. Louis home is recounted in a brief St. Louis magazine feature by Thomas Crone.

* Pianist and St. Louis native Tom McDermott, who's made his home for many years in New Orleans, has a new album, Tom McDermott Meets Scott Joplin, out this month on the Arbors label.

* Last weekend's Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival was the subject of a story on the University of Missouri-St. Louis' official blog UMSL Daily.

* This year's local celebration of Record Store Day was spotlighted in a feature story by HEC-TV's George Sells.

* On The Corner Live! The Music of Miles Davis, the new release featuring an all-star band gathered by saxophonist and former Davis sideman Dave Liebman, was reviewed in Jazz Journal and Jazz Times.

* If you've been wondering what's happening with seemingly-defunct music festival LouFest's legal battle with their former sound and lighting contractors Logic Systems, there's an update via a story in the trade publication Projection Lighting and Staging News by St. Louis writer and musician Kevin Mitchell.

* The deadline for local student musicians in grades 6-12 to apply for Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program for the 2019-20 school year is next Friday April 26. Audition and application details are online at https://jazzstl.org/education/jazz-u/2019-20-jazzu-auditions/.

* And in a related story, current JazzU student Joanna Serenko, a singer, guitarist and senior at Kirkwood High School, last week was announced as the winner of this year's St. Louis Teen Talent Competition sponsored by the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation.

Jazz this week: Revisiting Louis Armstrong's early works, Julian Vaughn, a celebration of John Coltrane, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes events celebrating the music of two of the most important improvisers in jazz, an evening of smooth jazz in a historic concert venue, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, April 17
Jazz St. Louis ends their "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series for the 2018-19 season with a program about Louis Armstrong's Hot 5 and Hot 7, featuring a talk by noted Armstrong expert Ricky Riccardi followed by a live performance of some of the music recorded by the trumpeter's early groups.

Also on Wednesday, the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra performs at the Ozark Theatre, and Cabaret Project of St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" , relocated for this month only from Sophie's Artists Lounge to The Dark Room.

Thursday, April 18
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University wraps up for the semester with a free concert featuring Wash U jazz performance students playing the music of Charlie Parker, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Bill Evans and more.

Elsewhere around town, singer Erin Bode returns to Cyrano's, and saxophonist Andy Ament leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, April 19
Bassist Julian Vaughn (pictured, top left) headlines a concert of smooth jazz at The Sheldon, with saxophonist Phil Denny and keyboardist Mark Harris II also on the bill.

Also on Friday, saxophonist Freddie Washington (pictured, bottom left) and pianist Adam Maness' trio will be "Celebrating Coltrane" for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis; and saxophonist Dave Stone plays the final gig of his long-running residency at Mangia Italiano before his upcoming move to Oregon.

Saturday, April 20
Keyboardist Mo Egeston and friends play the late show at The Dark Room.

Sunday, April 21
Miss Jubilee performs for brunch at Evangeline's, while singer and guitarist Tommy Halloran returns to The Dark Room.

Monday, April 22
The Webster University Jazz Singers, directed by Debby Lennon, will perform in their final concert of the semester at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, April 23
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz 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 Session: April 14, 2019

Amina Claudine Myers

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:

* Nenette Evans: My Life With Bill (AllAboutJazz.com)
* The Eclectic Mr. Klein (Jazz Times)
* Harold Danko: His Own Sound, His Own Time (AllAboutJazz.com)
* ECM @ 50 (AllAboutJazz.com)* “The most in depth concert in over 35 years”: Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck to reunite on stage (NME.com)
* Ed Palermo Enjoys a ‘Lousy Day’ with New Album (DownBeat)
* Alan Lomax’s Massive Music Archive Is Online: Features 17,000 Historic Blues & Folk Recordings (OpenCulture.com)
* Interview: Pianist Amina Claudine Myers (JazzRightNow.com)
* Knocking on doors in search of Philadelphia’s jazz history (WHYY)
* Jazz Heavyweights Herbie Hancock And Kamasi Washington Announce Joint Tour (NPR)
* Keystone Korner Club Revived in Baltimore (Jazz Times)
* Emmet Cohen Wins American Pianists Association Competition (DownBeat)
* Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks Dig Deep (DownBeat)
* George Benson talks back (Offbeat)
* Inside the Barry Harris Method (Jazz Times)
* Ambient in Outer Space: Seven Artists Exploring the Final Frontier (Bandcamp.com)
* Works of Wadada Leo Smith Celebrated at Third CREATE Festival (DownBeat)
* Four-year legal battle over estate of legendary blues musician Muddy Waters continues in DuPage courtroom (Chicago Tribune)
* AIM’s Gee Davy on the future of generative Artificial Intelligence in music (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* Angel of Harlem: How a patron saint to a forgotten generation of musicians came to face her greatest challenge yet (ABC News)
* Space for the Wrong: An Interview with Frederic Rzewski (Atavist.com)
* Jazzman Dave Douglas finds inspiration in Dizzy Gillespie (Houston Chronicle)
* Hi-Fi Cocktail Bars Aren’t Just for Tokyo Anymore (Bloomberg.com)
* Holographic Frank Zappa Plays Guitar Solo in New Tour Promo (Rolling Stone)
* Berklee's Institute Of Jazz And Gender Justice Aims To Combat Sexism In Jazz (WBUR)
* The Songsmiths of Sesame Street (The Atlantic)
* Spotify, the Decline of Playlists and the Rise of Podcasts (Music Industry Blog)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The percussive prowess of Pedrito Martinez

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring percussionist and vocalist Pedrito Martinez, who's coming to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, April 24 through Sunday, April 28 at Jazz St. Louis.

Martinez, 45, was born and raised in Havana, Cuba, where he learned to play popular Cuban styles as well as Afro-Cuban folkloric and religious music on a variety of percussion instruments. He came to the U.S. from Havana in 1998, and over the past 20 years has compiled an extensive resume of credits with well-known musicians in several genres.

In all, Martinez has contributed to more than 50 recordings as well as live performances by jazz musicians including Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D'Rivera, Steve Turre, Bill Summers, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Brian Lynch, Stefon Harris, Jane Bunnett, Eliane Elias, Stefon Harris, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Conrad Herwig, Eddie Palmieri, Esperanza Spalding, and Los Hombres Calientes.

He's also lent his talents to rock and pop performers including Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Sting, Angélique Kidjo, Edie Brickell, Rubén Blades, and Elton John. Before starting his own group, Martinez was a founding member of the band Yerba Buena, which released albums in 2003 and 2005, and he's also is a member of Jazz at Lincoln Center's Nuevo Jazz Latino program.

More recently, Martinez earlier this year teamed up with pianist and fellow Cuban Alfredo Rodriguez on an album called Duologue, a collaboration that actually got started here in St. Louis when the two played a duo gig in February 2017 at Jazz St. Louis. That was Martinez's second gig at the Bistro, having previously brought his group here for a two-night stand in May 2015.

The Pedrito Martinez Group, which began in in 2005, has put out two albums to date, releasing their first recording in 2013, and the follow-up Habana Dreams in 2016. Along with Martinez on percussion and lead vocals, the group includes Sebastian Natal on bass and vocals, Jhair Sala on percussion and vocals, and Issac Delgado Jr. on keyboards and vocals.

You can see and hear them in action in the first video up above, an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert recorded just a couple of months ago.

After the jump, you can see and hear three selections recorded in 2018 at Galeria Cafe Libro in Bogota, Colombia: "La Luna," "Amor de Mi Vida" and "Yo Si Quiero Estar Contigo."

Next up is a video performance of "Recuerdos," recorded in August 2018 at a gig in Bologna, Italia.

Finally, you can get a close-up look at some of Martinez' techniques via a brief instructional video released earlier this year by The Drum Channel.

For more about Pedro Martinez, read his 2016 interviews with Afropop.org and Billboard.

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

Sheldon Concert Hall announces schedule for 2019-20 season

The Sheldon Concert Hall's just-announced 2019-20 season will include four concerts featuring touring artists in a newly renamed "Rhythm and Jazz" series, plus various local jazz performers as part of its mid-week "coffee concerts" and Saturday matinee series.

Singer Cécile McLorin Salvant (pictured) will be the first jazz artist to perform next year, kicking off the series with a concert on Saturday, October 5.

Salvant will be followed by the NYC-based band Mwenso & the Shakes with guest singers Brianna Thomas and Vuyo Sotashe and dancer Michela Marino Lerman on Saturday, November 9.

Though perhaps not as well-known as many of the other acts booked for next year, the Shakes have earned a following in New York with late night sessions at Dizzy's in Jazz at Lincoln Center featuring a mix of jazz, blues, R&B, and other genres.

After that, the new year will bring pianist Christian Sands’ trio in a tribute to Errol Garner on Saturday, February, followed by the SFJAZZ Collective, who will perform on Saturday, March 14 with a program drawing on music from two albums released 50 years ago, Miles Davis' In a Silent Way and Sly and the Family Stone's Stand.

The current edition of the Collective's ever-evolving lineup includes trumpeter Etienne Charles, tenor saxophonist David Sanchez, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Edward Simon, guitarist Adam Rogers, bassist Matt Brewer, and drummer Obed Calvaire, plus vocalist Martin Luther McCoy.

The Sheldon's mid-morning "coffee concerts" for the 2019-20 season will include singer Kim Fuller and pianist Carolbeth True on Tuesday, October 5 and Wednesday October 17; guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran’s Guerilla Swing on Tuesday, November 12 and Wednesday, November 13; pianist Adam Maness' trio doing a tribute to Dave Brubeck on Tuesday, January 28 and Wednesday, January 29; and non-subscription performances by Miss Jubilee on Tuesday, April 21 and Wednesday, April 22.

The Saturday matinee series will offer performances by singer Feyza Eren in a Valentine's Day themed show on Saturday, February 13, and The 442s on Saturday, May 9.

Finally, programs designated as "special concerts" will include the annual Friends of the Sheldon Benefit, which will feature trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and singer Jane Monheit on Saturday, October 26; and a performance by The 442s on Wednesday, October 30.

Subscription tickets for the Sheldon's various 2019-20 series will go on sale next month, with single tickets for most concerts available starting at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, August 10 via Metrotix.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold was among the featured performers at "A Great Night in Harlem," held recently at the Apollo Theater to honor singers Harry Belafonte and Tony Bennett and to raise funds for the Jazz Foundation of America. DownBeat's article about the evening includes a quote from Harrold, who, along with fellow trumpeter Wallace Roney, performed "Grazing In The Grass" as a tribute to the late Hugh Masekela.

* Harrold also has been tapped as a member of New Masters, “a rotating ensemble of today’s leading, up-and-coming and established jazz musicians” assembled by Sony Music Masterworks to record jazz interpretations of contemporary hits "originally performed by the likes of Cardi B, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and SZA."

The group, which also includes pianist Sullivan Fortner, drummer Eric Harland, guitarist Gilad Hekselman, bassist Burniss Earl Travis, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins and percussionist Bashiri Johnson, will release their debut album ReWORKS Volume 1 on Friday, July 12.

* "Why Jazz Still Matters" is the title of an article in the spring 2019 issue of Daedalus magazine co-authored by Washington University professor Gerald Early with Ingrid Monson, professor of African American Music at Harvard University.

* Seven musicians who worked with Miles Davis during the trumpeter's electric period, including bassist Michael Henderson, saxophonists Dave Liebman and Gary Bartz, and drummer Lenny White, talked about their experiences at a Jazz Congress conference panel this past January in NYC, which now has been transcribed for an article in Jazz Times.

* In more Davis news, the trumpeter's landmark album Birth of the Cool will be re-released in a deluxe 70th anniversary edition (pictured) on Friday, May 17. The vinyl and digital set will include the complete studio and live recordings made in 1949-50 by Davis' nine-piece ensemble.

* Lastly, in a story published on April 1 by the Alton-area weekly Riverbender, Davis' ghost is credited with saving the lives of three area residents in separate incidents.

* Trumpeter Clark Terry's mentoring of young musicians, particularly pianist Justin Kauflin, is the subject of a recent article in Vail Daily.

* In an article in the Edwardsville Intelligencer, vibraphonist Lee Roth credits the sounds of radio station WSIE with helping him recover from recent brain surgery.

* Jazz St. Louis, The Dark Room and Broadway Oyster Bar are among the spots mentioned in a Post-Dispatch feature about local venues offering "dinner and a show."

Whitaker Music Festival, U City Jazz Fest announce 2019 lineups

There's news this week on the lineups for two summer festivals of interest to StLJN readers.

The 2019 Whitaker Music Festival will start its season at the Missouri Botanical Garden at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 29 with Americana band Old Souls Revival.

For jazz fans, though, the action really begins the following week, when trumpeter Terence Blanchard (pictured) performs on Wednesday, June 5. Blanchard has been a frequent visitor here in recent months as Opera Theatre of St. Louis prepares to premiere his second opera, Fire Shut Up In My Bones, as part of their 2019 season.

Other jazz or jazz-adjacent performers appearing this year will include Tonina Saputo (June 12), Mardra and Reggie Thomas (July 3), and Annie and The Fur Trappers (July 17). All the concerts are free and open to the public, and you can see the complete schedule on the Missouri Botanical Garden website.

The 2019 U City Jazz Festival will take place on Saturday, June 8 at Heman Park in University City, starting at 1:00 p.m. and continuing throughout the afternoon and evening. This year's festival will feature a headlining performance from Fusion Warriors, led by bassist Darrell Mixon, paying tribute to Stanley Clarke.

Other bands and musicians scheduled to perform include Bach to the Future with guitarist Dave Black and violinist Tracy Silverman, singer Joe Mancuso, Soul Cafe, keyboardist Mo Egeston's All-Stars, drummer Maurice Carnes and the Avant Gardians, and Morphelonious. The event is free and open to the public.

Jazz this week: Brad Mehldau Trio, Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, Victor Wooten, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the long-awaited return of a critically acclaimed pianist; an all-woman big band headlining a local festival; a couple of free events examining the music of John Coltrane; and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, April 10
Pianist Brad Mehldau returns to St. Louis for the first time since 2011 for the start of a five-night engagement at Jazz St. Louis.

Though Mehldau has a new album of electric music recorded in collaboration with drummer Mark Guiliana coming out next month, this gig will be with his long-running acoustic trio (pictured, top left), which includes drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier.

Their most recent recording is Seymour Reads the Constitution!, which came out in 2018, and given how long it's been since Mehldau's last appearance here, it seems likely that this week's run at the Bistro will feature some of that material, as well as selections from 2016's Blues and Ballads.

Also on Wednesday, writer Ashley Kahn will give a presentation for Jazz St. Louis' "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series on "A Love Supreme: The Music and Message in John Coltrane's Magnum Opus."  The free event will take place at the St Louis Public Library's Schlafly Branch in the Central West End.

Thursday, April 11
There's more Coltrane content on tap for Thursday night, as the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will present a free concert featuring saxophonist Paul DeMarinis playing a program of the saxophonist's compositions. DeMarinis will be joined by pianist Nick Schlueter, bassist Jeff Anderson, and drummer Steve Davis, with Ashley Kahn also on hand to deliver some pre-concert remarks.

Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode will celebrate the release on vinyl of her 2016 album Here and Now with a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and guitarist Dave Black and friends return to The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, April 12
The 2019 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival will present the DIVA Jazz Orchestra (pictured, center left) in concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.


The NYC-based, all-woman big band led by drummer Sherri Maricle last year celebrated their 25th anniversary with an album featuring all-original compositions and arrangements by members of the group.

For more about that, plus some videos of DIVA in action, as well as videos of musicians who will be featured in Saturday's GSLJF concert, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and singer Anita Jackson returns to The Dark Room.

Saturday, April 13
The 2019 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival's final concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center will be a tribute to UMSL jazz studies director Jim Widner featuring the "Ultimate Jazz All-Stars," an ad hoc group assembled for the occasion by drummer and producer Gregg Field and featuring musicians such as saxophonist Tom Scott, trumpeter Scotty Barnhart, pianist, saxophonist and arranger/composer Gordon Goodwin, bassist Carlitos del Puerto, pianist Shelly Berg, and more.

Also on Saturday, the Midwest Jazz-tette plays West Coast "cool" jazz at Evangeline's.

Sunday, April 14
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents the St. Louis Stompers playing traditional jazz in a matinee at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport

Then on Sunday evening, multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman and pianist Carolbeth True will revisit some of the music from their 1998 album New World Harmonica Jazz at the house concert venue Judson House.

Monday, April 15
Students and faculty of Webster University will perform the music of Cole Porter at the annual "Shepard/Davis Scholarship Concert" at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, April 16
Bassist Victor Wooten (pictured, bottom left) returns with the Wooten Band for a show at Old Rock House. Along with the leader, the Wooten Band includes his brothers Regi and Joseph Wooten on guitars and keyboards and Derico Watson on drums.

The show also will feature the "Wooten Woods Experience," which involves an audience participation segment; guest musicians/educators drawn from a roster including bassist Steve Bailey and saxophonists Bob Franceschini and Bob Hemenger; and "a select group of students from his music and nature camps, an immersive educational program focusing on the relationship between music, nature, and life."

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.)

Moon Hooch returning to perform Tuesday, July 9 at Old Rock House

The saxophones-and-drums trio Moon Hooch is coming back to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 9 at the Old Rock House.

Starting in 2010 as buskers playing for tips in the New York City subway, Moon Hooch (pictured) has become an international touring attraction since putting out their first album in 2013, playing major venues and festivals around the world.

They last played in St. Louis in October 2018, while touring to promote a series of three singles released last year on their own Hornblow Recordings label.

Other recent recordings have included 2018's Bandcamp-only digital release Cave Sessions, and earlier this year, a cover of pop singer Ariana Grande's song "God is a Woman."

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: April 7, 2019

James Carter

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:

* James Carter Revisits the Music of Django Reinhardt (Westword)
* CD REVIEW.. Bill Evans – Evans in England (Ronnie Scotts, Dec 1969) (London Jazz News)
* Hannibal Lokumbe: Always Go With the Feeling (New Music Box)
* Hardly Anyone on the Pop Charts Writes Their Own Music (Alone) Anymore (Rolling Stone)
* Live Review: Big Ears Festival 2019 (Jazz Times)
* We Spoke To The Head Of Music At Ronnie Scott’s About The Rise Of British Jazz (Complex.com)
* Galactic Takes Over Historic New Orleans Venue Tipitina’s (DownBeat)
* Steve Cropper reflects on a lifetime of playing guitar with a who's who of musical titans (Straight.com)
* Colonel Sanders at the Rave: Kentucky Fried Chicken’s Presence at Ultra Music Festival Was Disturbing (Pitchfork.com)
* Sounds from Tomorrow's World - Sun Ra and the Chicago Years, 1946-1961 (UChicago.edu)
* Red Bull Music Academy, Radio to Shut Down After 21-Year Run (Rolling Stone)
* Jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden’s historic house cited for demolition by neglect (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
* Kamasi Washington Is Finding That There Are No Wrong Notes (GQ)
* Pharoah Sanders: Spirit Ascending (BrooklynRail.org)
* Tibetan Musical Notation Is Beautiful (OpenCulture.com)
* Premiere: Hear the Title Track from Melissa Aldana’s Upcoming Motéma Album, ‘Visions’ (DownBeat)
* Melvin Gibbs Isn’t Looking Back (Jazz Times)
* Ruthie Foster, the Blues, and a Town That Needs Lifting (No Depression)
* ‘Old Town Road’ and the History of Black Cowboys in America (Rolling Stone)
* Country Music Excludes Women, Especially Over Age 40, Study Finds (NPR)
* Aaron Diehl: paradox at the piano (Rochester City Newspaper)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: 2019 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring musicians who will be performing for the 2018 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival next Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. 

Friday night's concert will feature the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, an all-woman big band based in NYC that was founded and still is led by drummer Sherri Maricle. They celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band in 2018 and have released ten albums to date, the most recent being last year's 25th Anniversary Project, which featured all original music composed and arranged by current members of the orchestra.

As you'd expect, aside from Maricle, the lineup of musicians has changed and evolved over the years, and several alumni have gone on to careers as solo artists and bandleaders, notably trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and saxophonist and clarinetist Anat Cohen.

You can see DIVA in action in the first video up above, which documents their complete set at the 2017 International Women's Brass Conference, held in June of that year on the campus of Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.

After the jump, you can see two more performances recorded in 2018 at the Cummings Theatre in Cazenovia, NY, starting with "Jami's Tune" by trumpeter Barbara Laronga, and then "Square One," composed and arranged by alto saxophonist Alexa Tarentino.

Saturday night's concert at the Touhill is billed as tribute to bassist and UMSL jazz studies director Jim Widner, who founded the GSLJF and is retiring from teaching this year. Drummer and producer Gregg Field , a former student of Widner's, will lead a "all-star" big band assembled specifically for the occasion, featuring a number of musicians with connections to Widner and the festival.

Though a complete lineup of musicians hasn't been announced, the tribute's advertised participants include a number of well-known players, such as saxophonist Tom Scott, trumpeter Scotty Barnhart, pianist, saxophonist and arranger/composer Gordon Goodwin, bassist Carlitos del Puerto, pianist Shelly Berg, and more. You can see and hear some of those musicians in action in the rest of today's videos.

Field, who first made his reputation as the drummer for a latter-day edition of Count Basie's band, can be seen in the third video after the jump, driving the student musicians in the 2017 Disneyland Resort All American College Band in a concert from behind his kit.

Next, you can see Barnhart playing the ballad standard "I Thought About You," as recorded in 2017 at a demonstration performance for Monette trumpets, followed by Tom Scott doing his tribute to Grover Washington, "Got to Get Closer To You," at a gig in 2016.

That's followed by Berg's brief solo take on 'They Can't Take That Away from Me," recorded in 2016 as a tribute to his friend Larry Rosen; an unaccompanied bass solo from 2015 by Del Puerto; and, last but not least, a full set from Goodwin's Big Phat Band, recorded earlier this year at the Folsom Jazz Festival in California.

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 Gaslight Squares appeared last week on the morning news broadcast at Fox 2/KTVI, promoting their upcoming "coffee concerts" next Tuesday and Wednesday at The Sheldon.

* Bassist and Washington University faculty member Paul Steinbeck talked with Black Agenda Report about Message to Our Folks, his book recounting the history of the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

* The Cherokee Street venue Foam (pictured), purveyors of coffee and beer and home to performances of all sorts of music including free improv and (occasionally) vintage jazz, is continuing their GoFundMe campaign in an effort to keep their doors open.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has posted to their website audio recordings of their recent weekend gig at Jazz St. Louis.

* Student musicians in the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars will provide some live music for Big Muddy Dance Co's show “Footnotes” next week at the Grandel Theatre.

* Cabaret Project St. Louis has announced that this year's St. Louis Cabaret Conference will take place as three different educational "tracks," with the first starting Saturday, July 13 and the last wrapping up on Sunday, July 21. The organization also will present "Sing Center Stage," an intensive workshop specifically for singers of high school age, from Friday, July 12 to Tuesday, July 16.

Jazz this week: Branford Marsalis Quartet; Wilson, Miles & Strickland; Toby Foyeh & Orchestra Africa; and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a week full of headliners at Jazz St. Louis, plus noteworthy shows featuring Afrobeat, free improvisation, vintage swing, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, April 3
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis' quartet continues their run at Jazz St. Louis, with the 7:30 shows pretty much sold out, but with tickets available (as of this writing) for the 9:30 sets both tonight and Thursday.

Marsalis and company are touring in support of their new album The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, which was released last month. For more about that, and some videos featuring live performances of some of their new material, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black perform at SqWires Restaurant & Annex, and trumpeter Jim Manley will be doing his regular weekly gig at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, April 4
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert of improvised music featuring trumpeter George Sams, violinist India Cooke, pianist Greg Mills, clarinetist Eric Mandat and cellist Tracy Andreotti.

Update, 8:00 p.m. 4/3/19: George Sams has informed StLJN of a couple of late-breaking personnel changes on the gig, as violinist Alyssa Avery will perform in place of India Cooke, and bassist Darrell Mixon will be there instead of Tracy Andreotti.

Also on Thursday, guitarist Todd Mosby and his New Horizons Ensemble promote the release of a Mosby's new CD Open Water with a performance at Sky Music Lounge.

Elsewhere around town, fusion trio Tracer, with pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Darrell Mizon and drummer Gary Sykes, will be back at The Dark Room; singer Cherilyn Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; and saxophonist Vince Sala leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, April 5
In town this week for educational residencies with Jazz St. Louis. drummer Matt Wilson, trumpeter Ron Miles, and saxophonist Marcus Strickland (who's stepping in for the previously announced Jeff Coffin) will wrap up their stay by joining forces for the first of two nights of performances at the Bistro.

Of the three (pictured, top left), Wilson is the most familiar to St. Louis audiences, having played here numerous times before with various bands of his own and as a sideman. However, both Miles, who's worked with Bill Frisell and Joshua Redman among others, and Strickland, whose credits include Roy Haynes, Christian McBride's New Jawn, and Dave Douglas, are formidable players and bandleaders in their own right.

Also on Friday, The Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League, a six-piece vintage swing band from Minneapolis, will be in town for a one-nighter at Evangeline's; Miss Jubilee performs for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and keyboardist and singer Jesse Gannon is back at The Dark Room.

Saturday, April 6
Guitarist Dan Rubright of the Wire Pilots plays a late-morning matinee featuring his original compositions at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Saturday evening, guitarist Toby Foyeh (pictured, bottom left) and Orchestra Africa will bring their lively mix of Afrobeat, jazz, rock, and more to the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Sunday, April 7
Pianist Adam Maness plays solo for Sunday brunch in a new weekly gig at Thurman's in Shaw, while Anita Jackson returns to The Dark Room.

Later that afternoon, the Ozark Theatre re-opens for the season with a performance from singer Wendy Gordon celebrating the birthday of Billie Holiday, followed by an open jam session; and the Genesis Jazz Project returns to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Then on Sunday evening, guitarist Tom Byrne will lead a quartet in a concert spotlighting some of his original music at Focal Point.

Monday, April 8
The faculty members who make up the Webster University Jazz Collective will present their final performance of the semester at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, April 9
The Gaslight Squares play the first of two morning "coffee concerts" at the Sheldon 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.)