Fringes of Sound Reviews
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Saturday, August 31, 2019
StLJN Saturday Video Showcase:
Fall 2019 jazz preview, part three
Today's videos represent part three of StLJN's Fall 2019 jazz preview, presenting clips of live performances by bands and musicians who will be coming here between now and the end of the year. (You can see part one here, and part two here.)
Picking up in mid-October where last week's installment left off, today's first video features singer and actress Rachel Bay Jones, who will perform on Wednesday, October 16 and Thursday, October 17 at Jazz St. Louis as part of their series of co-productions with Cabaret Project of St. Louis.
Jones, who has starred on Broadway in Pippin and Dear Evan Hansen, is seen here performing "So Big, So Small" from the latter show in a video recorded in June, 2018 at The Cabaret in Indianapolis.
After the jump, you can see a video featuring guitarist Bob Lanzetti, who will perform on Thursday, October 17 at Pop's Blue Moon.
Lanzetti, best known as a member of the eclectic fusion band Snarky Puppy, is seen performing his own composition "Happy Stranger" in January 2015 at Atlantic Sound Studio in Brooklyn, NY.
That same weekend, guitarist Norman Brown will headline a bill on Saturday, October 19, at the Grandel Theatre. Brown will offer two separate performances that evening of his "Summer Storm" show, which also will feature music from saxophonist Euge Groove, singer Lindsay Webster, and St. Louis' own Coleman Hughes Project.
Brown can be seen in the next clip playing "Better Days Ahead" in 2018 at the Algarve Smooth Jazz Festival in Portugal, followed by a video of Euge Groove performing a full set in 2013 at the Aliante Casino Las Vegas.
Also on that same Saturday, October 19, funky instrumental quartet The New Mastersounds will return to perform at Atomic Cowboy Pavilion. They can be seen in the next video with singer Lamar Williams performing "Shake It" in May of this year at Paste Studios in NYC.
The following week, singer and pianist Freddy Cole will bring his quintet to town for shows running Wednesday, October 23 through Sunday, October 27 at Jazz St. Louis. The sixth video shows Cole's set, with his son Lionel handling the piano duties, from the beginning of this month at the Scranton Jazz Festival in Pennsylvania.
That same weekend, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and singer Jane Monheit will be the featured performers at the annual "Friends of the Sheldon Benefit" on Saturday, October 26 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.
The next-to-last video shows Sandoval's set from last week at the Silver Spring Jazz Festival in Silver Spring, MD, and the final clip depicts Monheit's mashup of "Love For Sale" and "That Girl" as recorded in March of this year at Dazzle in Denver, CO.
Look for part four of StLJN's Fall 2019 jazz preview next week in this space. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...
Friday, August 30, 2019
So What: Local News, Notes & Links
* A newly restored version of Say Amen Somebody, the award-winning 1982 documentary about gospel music that features St. Louisans including Willie Mae Ford Smith, Zella Jackson Price, and the O'Neal Twins, is being re-released in theaters this fall. The film will play locally from Friday, September 13 through Thursday, September 19 at the Chase Park Plaza Cinemas.
* A performance by Miss Jubilee earned a favorable mention in The Syncopated Times' review of the 2019 Bix Biederbecke Memorial Jazz Festival in Davenport, IA.
* St. Louis saxophonist Kwanae Johnson and his family recently lost their home to a fire, and friends are stepping up to help. A concert to raise funds for the Johnsons, with details still TBA, will be presented from noon to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 29 at .ZACK. For those who can't attend that day or prefer to give directly, there's a donation page on Facebook.
* Also in need of a hand right now is guitarist Dave Black (pictured), a mainstay of the St. Louis music scene for more than 30 years. Black last week was involved in a serious cycling accident, suffering injuries that will keep him from performing or teaching for several months.
A benefit concert is in the works, but in the meantime, friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help Black with medical and living expenses during his recovery. Black's situation also was the subject of a story by KMOX radio's Maria Keena.
* As reported by St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy D. Goodwin, a new $30 million development will bring single family homes (and some new apartments) to the Grand Center arts district.
* Jazz St. Louis has announced the selections for this year's edition of their book club, which once again will be led by Washington University professor Gerald Early. You can see the complete list of books and meeting dates here.
* The second annual St. Louis Drum Show will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 19 at the Koken Art Factory.
* Neuka Bowie Mitchell, an executive with Bayer and the daughter of trumpeter Lester Bowie and singer Fontella Bass, has been named to the board of directors of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis.
* Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the new documentary about the famed trumpeter, was the subject of a feature story in DownBeat. The film also was reviewed by Glenn Kenny for the New York Times and by the Los Angeles Times' Glenn Whipp.
* The music made by Davis in 1959, including Kind of Blue and the Gil Evans-arranged Porgy and Bess, will be revisited at a tribute concert by Richard Pite’s Jazz Repertory Company on Saturday, September 21 at Cadogan Hall in London.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Jazz this week: Edward Simon, Shake 'Em Up Jazz Band, a tribute to Art Blakey, and more
Let's go to the highlights...
Wednesday, August 28
This week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" includes Miss Jubilee at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and guitarist Brian Vaccaro's Spiral Trio at The Dark Room.
Thursday, August 29
Trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Randy Bahr return to Rendezvous Cafe & Wine Bar, and pianist Ryan Marquez plays at Evangeline's.
Also on Thursday, trumpeter Brady Lewis and his BLStet return to The Dark Room, and the experimental music series Bruxism will present sets from Head Dress (aka Ted Butler), Syna So Pro, and Philosopher's Culture at the Schlafly Tap Room.
Friday, August 30
Saxophonist Harvey Lockhart's HEAL Center For The Arts presents the first of two fundraisers titled simply "An Evening of Jazz," featuring the center's student group Point of View Ensemble, at the event space The OC @ Central West End. (The event will be repeated on Saturday night.)
Also on Friday, saxophonist Kendrick Smith is back at Thurman's in Shaw, and fusion trio 3XGroove performs at Troy's.
Pianist Edward Simon (pictured, top left) will perform solo in a concert presented by Open Studio at Centene Center for the Arts.
Perhaps best known as a longtime member of the SFJAZZ Collective, the native of Venezuela also has recorded more than a dozen albums as a leader, the most recent being 2016's Latin American Songbook.
Update, 10:00 a.m. 8/31/19: Open Studio has informed StLJN that Edward Simon's St. Louis concert has been cancelled "due to a death in the family." The event will be rescheduled for a later date.
Also on Saturday, New Orleans' Shake ‘Em Up Jazz Band (pictured, center left) will perform for the first of two nights at Focal Point. The all-woman ensemble, which includes clarinetist and former St. Louis resident Chloe Feoranzo, will play again at Focal Point on Sunday night.
Elsewhere around town, pianist Laura Dubin, visiting from Rochester NY, leads a trio at Evangeline's; pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True return to the Parkside Grille; and singer Jan Shapiro, pianist Dave Venn, bassist Bob DeBoo and drummer Henry Ettman play at the Ozark Theatre.
Sunday, September 1
Dizzy Atmosphere plays for brunch at The Dark Room, and the Jazz Troubadours return for a dinnertime gig at Evangeline's.
The Mosaic Jazz Sextet (pictured, bottom left) is a new group formed by trombonist Dave Dickey that includes trumpeter Danny Campbell and saxophonist Ben Reese plus the rhythm section of pianist Adam Maness, bassist Bob DeBoo, and drummer Montez Coleman. Their debut performance will be a "Tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers" at the Gaslight Theater.
Also on Tuesday, the Tick Tock Jazz Band plays their monthly show of traditional jazz at the Tick Tock Tavern.
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, August 25, 2019
Sunday Session: August 25, 2019
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| Ahmad Jamal |
* Tenor Sax Hero David Murray Opens Up About His Journey and His Legacy, on The Checkout (WBGO)
* How Was Woodstock Originally Reported 50 Years Ago? (Billboard)
* In his own words: New Leon Russell book shares remembrances from Tulsa music legend (Tulsa World)
* The History of Record Guides, 1934-79 (Part One) (DonaldEArmstrong.com)
* Duane Allman’s ‘Layla’ Guitar Sells for $1 Million at Auction (Rolling Stone)
* The 30 best films about music, chosen by musicians (The Guardian)
* Caretakers Help the Detroit Festival Hit the 40-Year Mark (DownBeat)
* Elvis Presley’s Bandleader Looks Back on His Wild Vegas Years: ‘Elvis Was Really Nervous’ (TheDailyBeast.com)
* This is the Album of the Future (New Music Box)
* Billie Full Of Grace (NPR)
* A Conversation with Ahmad Jamal (SFJAZZ.org)
* (Un)happy Partners: On Jazz and Independent Film (Los Angeles Review of Books)
* Nina Simone: Anthems, anguish and resistance (The Times Literary Supplement)
* Can music journalism transcend its access problem? (Columbia Journalism Review)
* Films for Big Eyes: Charlemagne Palestine’s Baker’s Dozen (TheQuietus.com)
* Does humour belong in music? (Jazz Journal)
* Why Wil Blades is the Latest Celebrated Jazz Musician to Leave the Bay Area (KQED)
* Forget Guitars. Buy a Rocker’s Childhood Home (Rolling Stone)
* A Serious Jazz Take on "Old Town Road"? Big Chief Donald Harrison, Jr. Has Got It Covered (WBGO)
* Sara Gazarek Charts a Path Through Loss, Heartache on ‘Thirsty Ghost’ (DownBeat)
* A Toy Company Now Owns Death Row Records (Rolling Stone)
* How Artist Imposters and Fake Songs Sneak Onto Streaming Services (Pitchfork)
* How a Québécois filmmaker got John Coltrane to record the only soundtrack of his career (CBC.ca)
Saturday, August 24, 2019
StLJN Saturday Video Showcase:
Fall 2019 jazz preview, part two
Today, it's time for part two of StLJN's Fall 2019 jazz preview, presenting videos of the jazz and creative music artists who will be coming here to perform for the next four months. (You can see part one here.)
The chronology of upcoming shows resumes with Paa Kow and his Afro-Fusion Orchestra, who will be in St. Louis on Friday, September 6 for a performance at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups. The group, including St. Louis' own Weedie Braimah on percussion, can be seen in the first video up above, which is an excerpt from their performance in 2018 at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival.
After the jump, you can see a video of singer Cyrille Aimee, who will perform on Wednesday, September 18 and Thursday, September 19 at Jazz St. Louis. The clip shows Aimee singing "Down" in February of this year at the studios of WBGO radio in Newark, NJ.
Next up, it's saxophonist Joshua Redman, who's bringing his quartet for shows starting Wednesday, September 25 and continuing through Sunday, September 29 at Jazz St. Louis.The video shows a full set of music from Redman, bassist Reuben Rogers, drummer Greg Hutchinson, and pianist Aaron Goldberg recorded in 2013 at the Jazz sous les Pommiers festival in France.
The following week, St. Louis will get a return visit from singer Cécile McLorin Salvant with pianist Aaron Diehl's trio, as they perform on Saturday, October 5 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. They can be seen in the next video, a full set recorded in 2016 at the Festival de Jazz de Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain.
Today's penultimate video features Chicago-based cornetist, composer, and vocalist Ben Lamar Gay, who will open New Music Circle's 61st season with a performance on Saturday, October 5 at Off Broadway. He's seen here with his quartet performing "More" at DJ Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards ceremony this past January in London.
The final clip features members of Artemis, the all-star, all-woman ensemble who will perform Wednesday, October 9 through Sunday, October 13 at Jazz St. Louis.
Since literally all the members of the group are busy bandleaders in their own right, Artemis hasn't done much extended touring. The only live videos of them online so far seem to be some shaky footage shot at last year's Newport Jazz Festival and posted online in two-minute chunks, which don't serve the music or musicians particularly well.
Fortunately, there is some good-quality video of a gig in July 2017 at New Morning in Paris, nominally billed as "Woman To Woman," but featuring all the members of Artemis except for drummer Allison Miller, and so, it's an extended excerpt from that show that is posted here for your viewing and listening enjoyment.
Look for part three of StLJN's Fall 2019 jazz preview next week in this space. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...
Friday, August 23, 2019
So What: Local News, Notes & Links
* The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's newly released recording of Wynton Marsalis' "Swing Symphony" (pictured), also featuring the trumpeter and composer and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, was the subject of a short feature story by the Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller.
* Speaking of new releases, singer and keyboardist Katarra Parson, one of the Kranzberg Arts Foundation's 2019-20 music artists-in-residence, spoke with writer Thomas Crone for a St. Louis magazine article about her upcoming album Cocoa Voyage, which comes out in October.
* The Radio Arts Foundation (aka Classic 107.3) will raise funds next month with "Wine and Jazz Under the Stars," an event set for Friday, September 20 at the Columbia Foundation for the Arts. Tickets are $95 per person, which includes wine, appetizers, and music from Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris. For more details or to make a reservation, visit the station's website.
* Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo announced this week via Twitter that she has signed a contract with Empire, a San Francisco-based label that releases hip-hop, R&B and more from a roster than includes rap veteran Snoop Dogg as well as many younger artists.
* To promote the theatrical release of the new documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the film's producers have released another clip from the movie, with the first look at the excerpt appearing on the website of Billboard magazine.
* With this month being the 60th anniversary of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, there's been a flurry of related items showing up in the news, including historic overviews of the album and its significance from OpenCulture.com, Albumism.com and Counterpunch.
* In addition, drummer Jimmy Cobb, who at 90 years old is the only musician still living who played on Kind of Blue, was interviewed about the sessions by Billboard and the Associated Press.
* In related news, NPR asked bassist Christian McBride to take a look back at Davis' album Bitches Brew, which is 50 years old this summer.
* Lastly, Davis' nephew Vince Wilburn Jr. and his son Erin Davis were interviewed by CBC Canada about Kind of Blue, Bitches Brew, and the trumpeter's musical legacy.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Jazz this week: Tribute to Count Basie, Clint Baker salutes New Orleans "cornet kings," Webster Groves Piano Festival, and more
Wednesday, August 21
Saxophonist Kendrick Smith (pictured, top left) has assembled an eight-piece band plus vocalist Joe Mancuso to pay "Tribute to Count Basie" in a concert at the Ozark Theatre.
Also on Wednesday, Jazz St. Louis will raise funds with "Cocktails for a Cause" at 33 Wine Shop & Bar, and this week's Grand Center Jazz Crawl features saxophonist Andy Ament at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor returning to The Dark Room.
Thursday, August 22
The Ptah Williams Trio with bassist Darrell Mixon and drummer Gary Sykes will play at Joe's Cafe, and trumpeter Jim Manley performs at Evangeline's.
Friday, August 23
The Focal Point continues their late-summer traditional jazz series with the Rudy Torrini Swing Project, featuring the St. Louis clarinetist and friends playing music from the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
Also on Friday, Miss Jubilee performs in a free outdoor show for "Jungle Boogie" at the St. Louis Zoo; and keyboardist Ryan Marquez will promote the release of his new CD Cosmic Perspective with a late-night show at The Dark Room.
The first-ever Webster Groves Piano Festival
will feature music from Carolbeth True and Two Times True, Jay Oliver, Michael Silverman and Bach to the Future, and Ptah Williams with Darrell Mixon and Steve Davis, all for free on the front lawn of the Masonic Hall, 12 E. Lockwood Ave in downtown Webster.
Also on Friday, San Francisco-based multi-instrumentalist Clint Baker (pictured, bottom left) will offer "A Tribute to the Cornet Kings of New Orleans" with some help from cornetists T.J. Muller and "Wild" Bill Mason at the Focal Point; and Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at Urban Chestnut Midtown Brewery and Biergarten.
Sunday, August 25
Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to play for brunch at the Angad Arts Hotel, and the Folk School of KDHX presents their monthly Traditional Jazz Jam Session.
Monday, August 26
Drummer Kaleb Kirby and friends perform at The Dark Room.
Tuesday, August 27
Pianist Pat Joyce plays solo 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.)
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
New Music Circle announces 2019-20 season
The 2019-20 season will get underway with the St. Louis debut of Chicago-based cornetist, composer, and vocalist Ben Lamar Gay (pictured, top left) and his quartet on Saturday, October 5 at Off Broadway.
Next up is guitarist Fred Frith, who will make his first St. Louis appearance in many years on Saturday, December 14 at Joe's Cafe.
The new year will begin with a return visit from pianist Matthew Shipp, who will give a solo performance on Friday, January 24 at the 560 Music Center.
The following month, composer and percussionist Sarah Hennies and interdisciplinary artist and composer Merche Blasco will perform separate sets as part of a shared bill on Friday, February 28 at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.
Two more local debut performances will happen in March, starting with Kuzu, a trio including guitarist Tashi Dorji, percussionist Tyler Damon, and saxophonist Dave Rempis that will perform on Wednesday, March 11 at Joe's Cafe.
A couple of weeks later, NMC will present composer, vocalist and harmonium player Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones, with soprano saxophonist Matt Nelson, bassist Nick Dunston, and drummer Max Jaffe, on Saturday, March 28 at Xavier Hall on the St. Louis University campus.
The season will conclude with performances by saxophonist Michael Foster and percussionist Claire Rousay in April, and the Eric Revis quartet, featuring Revis on bass, Ken Vandermark on saxophones, Kris Davis on piano, and Chad Taylor on drums, in May, with dates and locations for both shows still TBA.
Single tickets for the first three shows of the season are on sale now via the NMC website, and there also are two different membership/subscription packages that include tickets that can be used at any performance.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Sunday Session: August 18, 2019
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| Brian Blade |
* Bob Wilber 1928 – 2019 (Jazz Times)
* 7 Questions With Catherine Russell (VailJazz.org)
* Live Review: 46th Umbria Jazz Festival (Jazz Times)
* San Antonio jazz great Jim Cullum Jr. dies (MySanAntonio.com)
* 5 minutes alone - George Benson: “A guy said, ‘I could get you a job with Fats Domino’. I said, ‘I am not ready for that’” (MusicRadar.com)
* Chuck Berry’s Family, Famous Fans Remember Guitarist in New Documentary Trailer (Rolling Stone)
* Santana Returns to Woodstock and Revisits “Smooth” (ConsequenceOfSound.net)
* Concrete Science Fiction Riot: Why Do We Ignore The 70s French Underground? (TheQuietus.com)
* In ’61, Stan Getz at His ‘Most Aggressive’ (DownBeat)
* Imagine Documentaries Trumpets Partnership With Louis Armstrong Foundation On Definitive Icon Movie (Deadline)
* You Don’t Have to Be Rich (To Commission New Music) (Limelight)
* Leave No Good Idea Behind: Millennial Composers Embrace a Cosmopolitan Style (San Francisco Classical Voice)
* Ted Dunbar: Teacher Man to Nile Rodgers, Kevin Eubanks, and Many Others (Jazz Times)
* Fine Tuning: The Art Of Guitar Making (KALW)
* Britain’s jazz scene is in full swing (The Spectator)
* Hackers Can Turn Everyday Speakers Into Acoustic Cyberweapons (Wired)
* Brian Blade Leads ‘Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration’ (DownBeat)
* Rhythmo’s BeatBox is a cardboard drum machine (MusicTech.net)
* A Lost Album From John Coltrane Is Found, With Thanks To A French-Canadian Director (NPR)
* Inside the home of a queen: Aretha Franklin's mansion hits market for $1.2 million (MLive.com)
* Thousands of Unseen Blue Note Photos Online Now (Jazz Times)
* The Do's & Don'ts of Sample Clearances (Spotify.com)
* Herbie Hancock gears up for his newest music and joins Kamasi Washington at Northerly Island (Chicago Tribune)
Saturday, August 17, 2019
StLJN Saturday Video Showcase:
Fall 2019 jazz preview, part one
With fall fast approaching, it's time for the first autumn installment of StLJN twice-yearly jazz preview, featuring videos of noteworthy jazz and creative music performers who will be playing here over the next few months.
Today's preview starts on Labor Day weekend, for that's when pianist Edward Simon will be coming to town for a solo concert presented by Open Studio on Saturday, August 31 at Centene Center for the Arts.
You can see Simon in the first video up above, a trio set with drummer Adam Cruz and bassist Matt Brewer (billed as the "Festival New York Jazz All-Stars") that was recorded in 2016 at Teatro Ocampo in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Also in town over Labor Day weekend will be the Shake 'Em Up Jazz Band from New Orleans, who will perform on Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1 at Focal Point. You can see them in the first video after the jump, a full set of music recorded in July of this year in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The next clip features another New Orleans group, Rebirth Brass Band, who will be in St. Louis the following week for a show on Friday, September 6 at Atomic Cowboy Pavilion. It's another full set, recorded in September 2018 at Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta.
That same weekend, singer and pianist Diane Schuur will headline the Alton Jazz & Wine Festival on Saturday, September 7 at Alton Amphitheater, with locals Good 4 The Soul and the Funky Butt Brass Band as supporting acts. Schuur can be seen in the third video after the jump, singing George Gershwin's "S'Wonderful" with the Charleston Jazz Orchestra in February of this year at the Charleston Music Hall in South Carolina.
Also on Saturday, September 7, the "Smooth Jazz Cruise on Land" docks at the Chesterfield Amphitheater, with a crew that will includes multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson, saxophonist and vocalist Grace Kelly, and saxophonist Eric Darius, plus St. Louis' own Erin Bode and Tim Cunningham.
Culbertson can be seen next performing "Feelin' It/Funkin'" as recorded last year for his Colors of Love Tour - Live in Las Vegas concert video.
That's followed by Kelly, cutting tracks for her most recent album GO TiME: Brooklyn 2 live in the studio, and, last but not least, Darius playing Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" at an event last year for the Cannonball Saxophones company in Sandy, Utah.
Look for part two of StLJN's Fall 2019 jazz preview next week in this space. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...
Friday, August 16, 2019
So What: Local News, Notes & Links
* Drummer Ronnie Burrage (pictured) was interviewed in the August issue of The Wire.
* Trumpeter Ally Hany Albrecht wrote an essay for the blog El Paso Jazz Girls about her experiences being in an Air Force band.
* Billboard magazine presented the online premiere of "So Emotional," a track from the forthcoming "lost" Miles Davis album Rubberband (featuring vocals from Lalah Hathaway) that will be released on Friday, September 6.
* Elsewhere on the Miles Davis beat, NPR this week devoted the latest episode of their program "Jazz Night In America" to a retrospective look at Davis' album Bitches Brew, with music from bassist Marcus Miller's tribute to the trumpeter's electric bands.
* Guitarist Todd Mosby was featured in a story by St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin.
* Also on St. Louis Public Radio, singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo was interviewed by "St. Louis On The Air" host Sarah Fenske.
* Tonina also is featured in a video released last week by the Lo-Fi Saint Louis project, which shows her performing "Mercy" at Earthbound Beer on Cherokee St.
* Trio 3, which includes saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake along with drummer Andrew Cyrille and bassist Reggie Workman, will receive a major grant from Chamber Music America.
Edited after posting to add Tonina video link.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
New Music Circle kicking off 2019-20 season with party & fundraiser on Tuesday, August 20
The free event will feature the announcement of NMC's 2019-20 season schedule, with music from guest DJs NNN Cook, Limewire.prime, and 18&Counting.
NMC also will raffle off various prizes including CDs, LPs, and tickets to upcoming concerts. All the proceeds from drinks sold from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Tick Tock Tavern will go to support New Music Circle concerts and workshops throughout the year.
While admission to New Music Circle's season kickoff party is free, organizers are requesting that those wishing to attend RSVP via the event's Facebook page.
Edward Simon to perform Saturday, August 31 at Centene Center for the Arts
Simon (pictured) is a native of Venezuela who may be best known as the pianist since 2010 for the SFJAZZ Collective. He's also recorded 14 albums as a leader, and earlier in his career worked as a sideman with saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby, Kansas City saxophonist Bobby Watson, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and many others. Simon's most recent album is 2016's Latin American Songbook on the Sunnyside label.
Tickets for Edward Simon's solo performance are $25 for general admission, and are on sale now via Eventbrite.
Jazz this week: Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chicago Cellar Boys, Funky Butt Brass Band, "Django Guitar Summit," and more
Wednesday, August 14
The Glenn Miller Orchestra (pictured, top left) brings their deep catalog of Swing Era hits to the Sheldon Concert Hall. You can see some videos of the present-day version of the Miller band in this post from last Saturday.
Also on Wednesday, this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and bassist Ben Wheeler's band Solid Ghost at The Dark Room at the Grandel Theatre.
Thursday, August 15
Saxophonist Larry Johnson and guitarist Randy Bahr will play duets at Rendezvous Cafe & Wine Bar; keyboardist Ryan Marquez brings his trio to The Dark Room; and singer Robert Nelson returns to the Chase Club in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.
Friday, August 16
The Funky Butt Brass Band performs for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis. It's the first official gig for the band's newest member, saxophonist Bryan Fritz, and reportedly will feature cover versions of songs by famous St. Louis bands and musicians.
Also on Friday, guitarists Joe Park, Gary Hunt, Paul Davis and Eric Slaughter will be featured in the "2nd Annual Django Guitar Summit" at Focal Point.
Elsewhere around town, the Hard Bop Messengers return to Evangeline's; Schlafly Tap Room has a triple bill of experimental music including Temporal Marauder, John Wiese, and Flanger Magazine; and fusion trio 3XGroove plays at Troy's Listening Room.
On Saturday afternoon, Dennis Owsley, host of the "Jazz Unlimited" program airing Sunday nights on St. Louis Public Radio, will sign copies of his new book St. Louis Jazz: A History at the Book House in Maplewood.
Then on Saturday evening, traditional jazz band Chicago Cellar Boys (pictured, bottom left) with singer Roya Naldi will play at Focal Point, and guitarist Todd Mosby leads his World Fusion Ensemble in a performance at First Congregational Church of Webster Groves.
Also on Saturday, singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina will headline a show at Delmar Hall, and pianist Carolbeth True and singer Kim Fuller will perform music associated with Billie Holiday at the Ozark Theatre.
Sunday, August 18
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents Red Lehr and the St. Louis Rivermen playing traditional jazz at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport, and Cornet Chop Suey plays a free concert at Carondelet Park.
Monday, August 19
The Dark Room introduces "Monday Night Mix-Up," a new event aimed at music and hospitality industry workers, this week featuring sounds from bassist and beatsmith Tristaño.
Tuesday, August 20
Nashville-based quintet The Cosmic Collective returns to Evangeline's, and guitarist Tom Byrne leads a trio in a concert at the Gaslight Theater.
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, August 11, 2019
Sunday Session: August 11, 2019
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| Sam Rivers |
* Joni Mitchell's 'Mingus' At 40: A Look Back At A Seminal Jazz Collab (Grammy.com)
* The Night Charlie Parker Soared in South Central L.A. (AltaOnline.com)
* Why Stevie Ray Vaughan Turned Down a David Bowie Tour (Rolling Stone)
* Woodstock Had Some of the Most Legendary Performances in History. But Many Attendees Never Heard a Single Note (Time)
* Herbie Hancock & Cecile McLorin Salvant Among 9 Best Moments at 2019 Newport Jazz Festival (Billboard)
* How SFJAZZ Center Established Itself As A Cultural Force In San Francisco (Grammy.com)
* Roger McGuinn Shoots Down David Crosby’s Byrds Reunion Idea (Again) (Rolling Stone)
* Mike Stern: Different Orbits (AllAboutJazz.com)
* From The Tent Show To The Parlor: Bessie Smith's Travels In Her Time (NPR)
* Laurie Spiegel’s expanding universe (CrackMagazine.net)
* The sounds of Woodstock reborn (CBS News)
* Copyrighting the 'Building Blocks' of Music? Why the Katy Perry Case Alarms Producers (KQED)
* Art Neville spent a lifetime 'throwin' bricks' with the Meters and Neville Brothers (NOLA.com)
* How "Free Exploration" Can Inspire New Compositional Creation (Guitar World)
* Tools for the Personal Studio (Pro Sound News)
* JAZZIZ Backstage Pass: Pianist Monty Alexander Plays Monk with a Reggae Twist (Jazziz)
* Bob Wilber, Saxophonist and Clarinetist Who Carried a Torch for Classic Jazz, Has Died at 91 (WBGO)
* Noncommercial Sounds Draw Crowds to Berlin’s A’larme! Festival (DownBeat)
* Want to Get on the Radio? Have $50,000? (Rolling Stone)
* The Unheard ‘Abbey Road’: An Exclusive Preview of Beatles’ Expanded Final Masterpiece (Rolling Stone)
* How Decca Records Brought Jazz Music To The World (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* First-Time Leaders Preserve and Evolve Newport Legacy (DownBeat)
* How a Collaboration Between Roky Erickson and Doug Sahm Became Part of the Blueprint for Punk Rock (Austin Chronicle)
* John Fogerty celebrates 1960s rock with ‘My 50-Year Trip’ tour (Boston Globe)
* Cultivating the Legacy of Sam Rivers (DownBeat)
* How composer Matthew Burtner is putting climate change into song (PBS)
* Listen With Me (Columbia Journalism Review)
Saturday, August 10, 2019
StLJN Saturday Video Showcase:
The Glenn Miller legacy
How well do contemporary musicians recreate the sound of a band from 80 years ago? This week, let's find out by taking a look at some videos featuring the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which will be in St. Louis to perform next Wednesday, August 14 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.
One of the most successful bands of the Swing Era, Miller's orchestra may not have reached the artistic heights of Ellington or Basie, but they were very popular in the years leading up to World War II and into the 1940s, thanks a catalog of hit songs including "Moonlight Serenade," "String of Pearls," and, of course, "In The Mood."
Historically speaking, the Miller orchestra might have remained a phenomenon specific to their era after the leader disappeared over the English channel in 1944, but in 1946 the Miller estate took the then-novel step of authorizing a "ghost band," led at first by former Miller vocalist and saxophonist Tex Beneke.
The group proved to be a commercial success even without its namesake, and though the estate and Beneke parted ways in 1950, the Miller orchestra was relaunched in 1956 under the leadership of Ray McKinley, and that version of the group has continued to tour under a succession of bandleaders ever since.
The idea of a "ghost band" also subsequently caught on with various other musicians' estates, but other than the Count Basie Orchestra, which continues to tour and record today, the Miller band remains perhaps the most successful of its type. (There also are sanctioned versions of the band that tour in the UK and Europe.)
So how well does the current version of the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, as they are officially known, reproduce the classic sound of the 1930s and '40s? Judge for yourself by checking out the current version of the band, now under the leadership of vocalist Nick Hilscher, performing "The Song of the Bayou" in the first clip up above.
That's followed after the jump by performances of "You Stepped Out of a Dream" and "Blue Evening," recorded in 2018 at the annual Glenn Miller Festival in Clarinda, IA.
After that, there's something a little different: a version of Jimmy Forrest's bluesy standard "Night Train," recorded in February 2014 at Strange Brew in Austin, TX.
Finally, you can check out not one but two different arrangements of Miller's signature song "In The Mood," first in its original arrangement, as replicated by the current band at the 2018 Miller fest, and then in the version edited by Miller into the familiar hit known around the world for the past 79 years.
For more about the Glenn Miller Orchestra, listen to this 2018 interview with bandleader Nick Hilscher. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...
Friday, August 09, 2019
So What: Local News, Notes & Links
* Bernie Hayes wrote a column for the St. Louis American about the recent demolition of Archway Studios, which was the professional home to saxophonist and producer Oliver Sain and significant in jazz history as the place where saxophonist Julius Hemphill recorded his landmark album Dogon A.D.
* Trumpeter Russell Gunn is set to release Pyramids, a new album by his Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra, on Friday, August 30.
* Guitarist Todd Mosby promoted the release of his new album Open Waters with a performance last week on KTVI - Fox 2's 9:00 am newscast.
* A recent show by singer Alicia Olatuja (pictured) at Dazzle in Denver, CO was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Geoff Anderson.
* The Lab, a new educational program for high school music students being run by multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris, was the subject of a feature in St. Louis magazine.
* Pianist Dred Scott's latest album Rides Alone was reviewed by the website PartTimeAudiophile.com.
* Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo was a guest on a recent episode of the podcast "Nina Talks!"
* The Miles Davis official merchandise store is offering fans a chance to win a $100 shopping spree in exchange for an email address. You can enter the drawing here.
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Jazz this week: "Double Vision Revisited," Emily Wallace & Adam Maness Trio, and more
Wednesday, August 7
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo performs in a free concert to close out this year's Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden, making up for her date that was rained out earlier this summer.
Also on Wednesday, the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" includes trumpeter TJ Muller and friends at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and Farshid Etniko at The Dark Room.
Thursday, August 8
Singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, and saxophonist Kendrick Smith brings his trio to The Dark Room.
Singer Emily Wallace (pictured, bottom left) teams up with pianist Adam Maness' trio for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis; the Midwest Jazz-tette plays West Coast-style "cool" jazz at Evangeline's; and drummer Steve Davis' band, featuring singer Feyza Eren, performs at the Ozark Theatre.
Elsewhere around town, percussionist Herman Semidey and Son Montuno play salsa, Latin jazz and more at The Dark Room; and the Schlafly Tap Room presents a three-band bill of improvising musicians, featuring the duo of guitarists Shane Parish and Wendy Eisenberg, Apathist! with guitarist Chris Trull and violinist Alex Cunningham, and bassist Darin Gray.
Saturday, August 10
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents their monthly jam session matinee, hosted by pianist Bob Row and drummer John Gillick at J P's Corner; singer Wendy Gordon and friends will perform in a matinee at Hwy 67 BBQ; and keyboardist Andrew Stephen's Texturz will play the late show at The Dark Room.
Sunday, August 11
Music choices with brunch this Sunday include Miss Jubilee at Evangeline's and Janet Evra at The Dark Room. Later that afternoon, guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran plays at Alpha Brewing Company, and singer Chuck Flowers returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.
Monday, August 12
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck, and singer-impressionist Dean Christopher and his "Rat Pack and More" show return to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar.
Tuesday, August 13
The "Double Vision Revisited" tour, featuring saxophonist and former St. Louisan David Sanborn, pianist Bob James and bassist Marcus Miller (pictured, top left), comes to the Sheldon Concert Hall.
For more about Sanborn, who just celebrated his 74th birthday last week, plus some videos of live performances of music from the Double Vision album, check out this post from last Saturday.
Also on Tuesday, mandolinist Knez Jakovac and his quartet plus guest vocalist Janet Evra will perform at the Gaslight Theater.
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, August 04, 2019
Sunday Session: August 4, 2019
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| Nina Simone |
* Rising numbers of younger fans spark a UK jazz renaissance (The Guardian)
* Hello, Brave New World! (NPR)
* Patrice Rushen’s Journey Through Jazz, Popular Music and Hollywood (DownBeat)
* Concord Jazz Festival celebrates 50 years as champion of jazz vocals (San Francisco Chronicle)
* 'The Black Messiah' And The Legacy Of Cannonball Adderley (NPR)
* “Give me a blues song, tell the world what’s wrong...” (Majorca Daily Bulletin)
* Mammoth concert grand piano unveiled to public in Latvia (Deutsche Welle)
* Lauren Sevian Working Beyond ‘Bliss’ (DownBeat)
* Carla Bley: “I’m trying to be normal, to sound totally classical, but I fail.” (Qwest.tv)
* In a globalized world, music fragments take unexpected roads (Associated Press)
* Concord Jazz Fest 2019: Celebrating an empire that grew out of car dealership (San Jose Mercury News)
* Nina Simone’s Childhood Home Is Under Threat. This Campaign Aims to Save It (Smithsonian)
* Exclusive video interview: Don Was talks about Blue Note Records (Jazzwise)
* Shabaka Hutchings at the ‘Peak of Intensity’ (DownBeat)
* Artist Spotlight: Lionel Loueke (Jazz Times)
* Saalfelden Festival Offers Good Vibes (DownBeat)
* Surviving Woodstock (The New Yorker)
* Shabaka Hutchings - The Future of Afrofuturism (SFJAZZ.org)
* We’ve Got A File On You: Bruce Hornsby (Stereogum.com)
* It’s Bootsy, baby: The funk legend sits down with PW ahead of his charity appearance in West Philly (Philadelphia Weekly)
* Randy Newman Finds a New Audience, Again (TheRinger.com)
* Cassettes Are Back, and It’s Not About the Music (Bloomberg.com)
* Why is it so hard to keep an orchestra afloat? The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is not alone in its woes (Baltimore Sun)
* ‘It’s a knife fight.’ Here’s how 3 orchestras facing the same problems as the Baltimore Symphony bounced back (Baltimore Sun)
* A superstar jazz musician in Ethiopia, then a D.C. cab driver, now ready for Newport Jazz Festival (Newport Daily News)
* Young volunteers assist in Coltrane home rehab (Long Island Business News)
Saturday, August 03, 2019
StLJN Saturday Video Showcase:
Celebrating David Sanborn
This week, our video spotlight shines on alto saxophonist and former St. Louisan David Sanborn, who celebrated his 74th birthday this past Tuesday, July 30 and will be coming back home to perform on Tuesday, August 13 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.
The date is part of the "Double Vision Revisited" tour, for which Sanborn is being joined by keyboardist Bob James and bassist Marcus Miller, his two collaborators on the 1986 album of the same name, for a series of gigs performing Double Vision in its entirety. (Drummer Billy Kilson and guest vocalist Larry Braggs will complete the ensemble.)
And so, to celebrate both Sanborn's birthday and his upcoming visit, this post collects live versions of some of the music from Double Vision, starting up above with "Maputo," the Marcus Miller song that leads off the album and has been a staple of Sanborn's live sets ever since.
This version was recorded in 2013 at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Netherlands, when Sanborn and James were touring in support of their Quartette Humaine album with bassist James Genus and drummer Steve Gadd.
After the jump, you can see a version of "More Than Friends," another Marcus Miller tune that's the second track on Double Vision, recorded during another Quartette Humaine show in 2013, with Scott Colley subbing on bass for Genus.
Next, you can see Sanborn and the late Al Jarreau performing the standard "Since I Fell For You," using what's basically the Double Vision arrangement, on an episode of Showtime at the Apollo that looks to be from the mid-80s around the time the album was released.
That's followed by a version of Sanborn's tune "It's You," recorded in the late '80s at the Soul Train Awards Show by an all-star band featuring Sanborn, James, George Duke, and George Benson.
Then it's back to the current century for "You Don't Know Me," the last track on Double Vision, seen here in a version recorded at the 2008 Tokyo Jazz Festival by a band including Sanborn, James, Harvey Mason on drums, Ricky Peterson on keyboards, Larry Carlton on guitarm and Nathan East on bass.
Lastly, since there seem to be no videos of live versions of "Moon Tune" and "Never Enough" - the remaining two tracks on Double Vision - available online, today's sixth and final video is a complete Sanborn show recorded in April, 2015 in Budapest, with a band including Peterson, guitarist Nicky Moroch, bassist Andre Berry, drummer Chris Coleman, and guest saxophonist Jan Prax.
You can hear Sanborn talking about the "Double Vision Revisited" tour in this interview broadcast last week on Los Angeles radio station 94.7 The Wave, and you can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...
Friday, August 02, 2019
So What: Local News, Notes & Links
* Pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness (pictured) will present a special live-streaming version of their Open Studio podcast "You'll Hear It" next Friday, August 9.
* Thurman's In Shaw was reviewed by Sauce magazine, with a mention of the venue's live jazz offerings alongside the critique of its food and drinks.
* A previously unseen interview from the mid-1980s with drummer and St. Louis native Phillip Wilson has been published in the latest issue of the online 'zine Perfect Sound Forever.
* Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo took time out from her just-concluded European tour to stop in Jazztone Studios in Valencia, Spain to record a music video of the song "Que Lio," originally made famous by Puerto Rican salsa singer Hector Lavoe.
* Singer Valerie Kirchhoff aka Miss Jubilee was one of the musicians interviewed for a Quad City Times article about this weekend's Bix Jazz Festival in Davenport, IA.
* A post on the UMSL Daily blog recounts the UMSL Jazz Ensemble's recent trip to Europe, which doubled as a farewell to outgoing director of jazz studies Jim Widner.
* The Brothers Lazaroff were interviewed about their new album and shows this weekend at Jazz St. Louis by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson. (Link is paywalled)
* There's a new trailer out this week for director Stanley Nelson's documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, which will play starting later this month in selected theaters across the country.
* Davis also was the subject of a recent episode of MOJO magazine's "Innovators Podcast."
* Continuing on the Davis beat, the trumpeter this week was the latest musician discussed in The Guardian's recurring "20 Greatest Albums Ranked" feature.
* And finally, Jazz Journal has a review of Milestones, a new reissue of some familiar early Davis tracks by the French label Dreyfus Jazz.
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