Sunday Session: September 29, 2019

Kenny Barron

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Paul Simon Has 50 Ways to Charm an Audience (Smithsonian)
* Celebrating John Coltrane with Cultural Documentarian Steve Rowland (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Fred Anderson (BurningAmbulance.com)
* Robert Glasper previews his two-week residency at the Kennedy Center (CapitalBop.com)
* Kenny Barron on Compatibility, Writing and Mulgrew Miller (DownBeat)
* Deep Dive: The Presence of the Past in John Coltrane's Expressive and Searching Music (WBGO)
* Standard Deviation (Art Forum)
* 1 of B.B. King’s ‘Lucille’ guitars sold for $280K at auction (Associated Press)
* Berry Gordy announces retirement; Motown founder bows out after 6 decades in showbiz (Detroit Free Press)
* To Understand The Company Of The Future, Head To A Jazz Club (Forbes.com)
* Lydia Pense & Cold Blood: The Endless Summer of Love (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Got any Horrific Child? Discover the list of the world's 291 weirdest bands (The Guardian)
* A Renewed Spotlight on Anthony Braxton (DownBeat)
* Harry Connick Jr. Performs Cole Porter Tribute Ahead of Show’s Broadway Debut (DownBeat)
* How Composer John Cage Transformed the Piano—With the Help of Some Household Objects (Smithsonian)
* The Music Business Wants to Blow Up Copyright—and the Trump Administration Is On Board (Bloomberg.com)
* Hitting the right note: Jazz legend Roland Wiggins reflects on a lifetime of musical expression (C-ville.com)
* Benny Golson: in the maternity ward (Jazz Journal)
* The Unsolved Case of the Most Mysterious Song on the Internet (Rolling Stone)
* Artist’s Choice: David Amram and the French Horn in Jazz (Jazz Times)
* Carl Stone: Plugging into the sounds of the changing city (Japan Times)
* A Thing Of Beauty, A Crime Scene: Matana Roberts Interviewed (TheQuietus.com)
* Mary Halvorson Wins MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant (Jazz Times)
* An L.A. jazz legend pays homage to Jackie Robinson, with a pitch from a library assistant (Los Angeles Times)
* The Day After #MeToo at Monterey Jazz (San Francisco Classical Voice)
* How One Of Music's Biggest Stars Almost Disappeared, And How Her Legacy Was Saved (NPR)
* Exclusive premiere: Sun Ra Arkestra "Children of the Sun" Live in Kalisz 1986 (MusicIsMySanctuary.com)
* Jane Bunnett: Cuban Music's Canadian Connection (NPR)
* How a Newspaper Article Saved Thousands of Black Gospel Records From Obscurity (AtlasObscura.com)
* The Record Industry Gave Everything Away to Spotify. Could It Change Its Mind? (Rolling Stone)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Through "The Window" with Cécile McLorin Salvant

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring performances by singer Cécile McLorin Salvant, who's returning to St. Louis to perform next Saturday, October 5 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

This is the third visit to St. Louis for Salvant, who performed here previously in May 2015 and then again in November 2017, both times at The Sheldon. While she already was considered a rising star when she first performed here, this time she returns as one of the most talked-about and critically acclaimed singers in jazz today.

Originally from Miami, she first came to wide attention in 2010 by winning first prize in the annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Salvant subsequently signed with Mack Avenue Records and in 2013 released her debut album Womanchild. It was nominated for a Grammy Award the following year, and also helped Salvant win first place in four different categories in the 2014 DownBeat Critics Poll.

Since then, Salvant has toured extensively in the US and overseas, and has released three more albums - For One to Love in 2015, Dreams and Daggers in 2017, and The Window in 2018 - each of which won a Grammy Award in the "Best Jazz Vocal Album" category, with Dreams and Daggers also named "Jazz Album of the Year" in the 2018 DownBeat Critic's Poll.

Riding a streak like that, it's unsurprising that Salvant now looms large in just about any discussion of contemporary jazz singing. Today's collection of recent performances on video provides audible evidence of what all the fuss is about, starting up above in the first video, which shows her singing "Somehow I Could Never Believe" in April of this year on NPR's "Live from Here."

After the jump, you can see two more videos recorded during that same performance, "Ghost Song" and "If You Feel Like Singing, Sing."

The next video capture's Salvant's performance in October 2018 for NPR Music's "Tiny Desk Concert," during which she sang "Fog," "Look At Me," "Monday," and "Omie Wise".

That's followed by a full set of music recorded in July 2018 at the Heineken Jazzaldia festival in San Sebastian, Spain, and finally, another full set recorded in May of this year at Lieu Unique in Nantes, France.

For more about Cécile McLorin Salvant, listen to her interviews from November 2018 on NPR's "Fresh Air" and on Jazziz magazine's "Backstage Pass" podcast, and read the feature story about her in November 2018 issue of Jazz Times.

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Radio host, author and photographer Dennis Owsley and his new book St. Louis Jazz: A History were the subjects of a feature story in the Webster-Kirkwood Times. 

* Trumpeter Russell Gunn was interviewed by NextBop.com about Pyramids, the new album from his Royal Krunk Jazz Orchestra.

* Meanwhile, saxophonist Andre Delano (pictured) has released a new single, "Where Will You Go," an instrumental version of a tune by R&B crooner Babyface, for whom Delano currently serves as musical director and bandleader. 

*  Trumpeter Kasimu Taylor, members of the Saint Boogie Brass Band, and saxophonist Kwanae Johnson appeared Monday on the morning newscast at KTVI (Fox 2). They were promoting the benefit show this Sunday at .ZACK raising money for Johnson and his family, who recently lost their home to a fire. 

* Trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard's opera Fire Shut Up In My Bones, which premiered last season at Opera Theater St. Louis, next year will be the first opera by an African-American composer ever to be performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

* At the New York opening weekend of the new documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the film's director Stanley Nelson and writer Quincy Troupe, who co-authored Davis' autobiography, took part in a Q&A session, which was recorded and now has been posted on YouTube.

* Davis and his landmark album Birth of the Cool are the subjects of an essay in the latest Jazz Times by composer and arranger Ryan Truesdell

* The latest episode of the podcast "Jazz at 100" features music recorded by Davis' quintet and sextet between 1956 and 1959.

* Davis' late 1950s music also was the subject of a recent tribute concert by Richard Pite’s Jazz Repertory Company at Cadogan Hall in London, which was reviewed by London Jazz News.

* Lastly, the Miles Davis estate has announced the impending release of a new music video for "Moon Dreams," as recorded by Davis in 1949 for Birth of the Cool. The video is "influenced by Miles Davis’ own sketches and imagines a night in New York City through every era of jazz."

Keyon Harrold & Quincy Troupe to perform Friday, October 11 at St. Louis Art Museum

Trumpeter Keyon Harrold and writer Quincy Troupe (pictured) are teaming up for a performance at 7:00 p.m. Friday, October 11 at the St. Louis Art Museum.

Titled "The Shape of Abstraction: Trumpet and Voice, Call and Response," the event will explore abstraction in visual art, poetry, and jazz through works by black artists from the museum's Thelma and Bert Ollie Memorial Collection, readings of poems by Troupe, and original compositions by Harrold.

Tickets for Keyon Harrold and Quincy Troupe at the St. Louis Art Museum are $10 each and are on sale now via Metrotix.

Fred Tompkins releases new CD The Fourth Arch - To Freedom

Flute player and composer Fred Tompkins has released a new album, The Fourth Arch - To Freedom.

The album (pictured) includes eight original compositions by Tompkins, plus one improvised track.

It was recorded at Shock City Studios and in Tompkins' home studio by a lineup of players including the composer on flute and bass flute, along with pianists Greg Mills and Maryse Carlin, mezzo-soprano Johanna Nordhorm, and drummers Gary Sykes, Kyle Honnicutt, Steve Davis, and Charlie Dent.

The Fourth Arch - To Freedom is on sale now at all major digital outlets, with physical CDs available for purchase on Tompkins' website, via CD Baby, and at Vintage Vinyl and Euclid Records.

David Sanborn to perform Friday, October 18 at The Sheldon for opening of outdoor plaza

Saxophonist David Sanborn is returning to St. Louis next month for a performance at 8:30 p.m. Friday, October 18 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The concert will celebrate the opening of the Steward Family Plaza, a plaza, walkway and vertical garden on the west side of The Sheldon.

The plaza, in the works since 2013, connects The Sheldon with the Public Media Commons to the south and Washington Boulevard to the north, and "will serve to welcome Sheldon attendees coming for concerts, art exhibits, education programs and community events," according to a news release.

The plaza's centerpiece is a three-story, 208-foot long vertical garden that runs along the entire west wall of The Sheldon’s Emerson Center building.

Sanborn (pictured) was in St. Louis most recently last month, as his "Double Vision Revisited" tour with pianist bob James and bassist Marcus Miller stopped here for a performance at The Sheldon.

Tickets for Sanborn's October 18 concert (balcony seating only) are $55 for front balcony and $45 for rear balcony, and are on sale now via all MetroTix outlets.

Jazz this week: Joshua Redman Quartet, a benefit for Kwanae Johnson, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features the return of one of the top tenor saxophonists in modern jazz; a benefit concert to raise funds for a local musician in need of help; and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 25
Saxophonist Joshua Redman and his quartet return for the first of five nights of performances at Jazz St. Louis.

Redman (pictured, top left) and the quartet last performed here in January 2018 at the Bistro, but this time, they've got a new album to support.

Though they first played together more than 20 years ago, Redman's quartet with pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Greg Hutchinson has had long stretches of inactivity while the leader pursued other projects, including in recent years tours with the cooperative band James Farm and with The Bad Plus.

As a result, the new album Come What May, released this spring on the Nonesuch label, actually is the quartet's first recording since 2001, and only their third overall.  Featuring seven new Redman originals, the album likely will provide the backbone of at least a few of their sets this week, although the extended run also should provide opportunities to get into the back catalog as well.

Also on Wednesday, the free "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" in Grand Center features Tommy Halloran and Rob Nugent at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and guitarist Joe Park's trio at The Dark Room.

Thursday, September 26
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert from saxophonist Harvey Lockhart and his quintet; the French father-and-son guitar duo Paquito and Sandro Lorier (pictured, center left) play Gypsy jazz and swing at Joe's Cafe; and trumpeter Brady Lewis and his BLStet return to The Dark Room

Friday, September 27
Vincent Varvel presents a guitar recital at 560 Music Center; keyboardist Ryan Marquez and his trio with guest vocalist Lola return to Evangeline's; and jazz/funk collective Orchestrated 9th offers a tribute to the music of Herbie Hancock at Troy's.

Saturday, September 28
Singer and bassist Janet Evra teams up with Americana group The Main Street Remnants for a performance at The Monocle; singer Jan Shapiro and the Dave Venn Trio return to the Ozark Theater; and The Gaslight Squares are back at the Frisco Barroom

Sunday, 
September 29
On Sunday afternoon, "ONE LOVE: A Benefit For Kwanae Johnson & Family" at .ZACK will raise money for saxophonist Kwanae Johnson and his family, who earlier this year lost their home to a fire. The event will feature music from trumpeter Kasimu Taylor, singer and bassist Janet Evra, the Funky Butt Brass Band, R&B vocalist Roland Johnson, and more.

Also on Sunday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Mount Pleasant Estates, and the Ambassadors of Swing play a free outdoor concert at the Sunset Hills Community Center.

Then on Sunday evening, Dallas-based drummer Stefan Gonzalez (pictured, bottom left), who's the son of veteran free-jazz trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez, will team up with violinist Alex Cunningham and bassist Damon Smith, a recent transplant to St. Louis, for a performance of improvisational music at Foam.

Tuesday, October 1
Kicking off this year's "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series, Jazz St. Louis presents "An Evening with Benny Golson," featuring a conversation with the veteran saxophonist and composer, plus a short performance. While the free event already is "sold out," it might be worth checking with the box office on the day of the event for cancellations or no-shows.

Also on Tuesday, the Tick Tock Jazz Band plays traditional jazz in their monthly gig 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 Session: September 22, 2019

Harold Mabern

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* California Senate Passes Gig Economy Bill That Could 'Gut the Music Industry' (Billboard)
* The World Of Celia Cruz: A Turning The Tables Playlist (NPR)
* Steve Dalachinsky, Poet Who Chronicled and Championed the Jazz Avant-Garde, Dies at 72 (WBGO)
* Steve Dalachinsky, Poet and Pillar of NYC Jazz Scene, Dies at 72 (Jazz Times)
* In Memory of the Critic’s Trade (21CM.org)
* The Village Vanguard: NYC's Bright Red Shrine To Jazz (Patch.com)
* Martin, Medeski & Wood to Premiere New Documentary (Jazz Times)
* Everybody forgets Creedence Clearwater Revival headlined Woodstock in 1969. A new live recording will change that (Chicago Tribune)
* Celia Cruz: The Voice Of Experience (NPR)
* Apple Sued for Copyright Infringement, Pirating Musical Works Recorded by some of the Greatest Jazz & Popular Artists of all Time (PatentlyApple.com)
* Creepy Whitney Houston Hologram Tour Is Officially Happening (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* The Hardest Song I Ever Chased (Vulture.com)
* Keyboardist Robert Glasper to Play 56 Shows at New York’s Blue Note (DownBeat)
* The Incomparable Django (Commentary)
* Spotify: ‘Owning’ discovery of music will lead to improved gross margin (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* A Century Ago, This Eerie-Sounding Instrument Ushered in Electronic Music (Smithsonian)
* We’ve Got A File On You: Jeff Tweedy (Stereogum.com)
* As jazz elder statesman, Pat Metheny embraces band of up-and-comers (Columbus Dispatch)
* Johnathan Blake: Fascinated by Rhythm (Jazz Times)
* Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash Session Unearthed for Bootleg Series (Pitchfork)
* Memphis jazz great Harold Mabern has died (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
* Poncho Sanchez Provides the Percussive Punctuation (DownBeat)
* Why Is American Classical Music So White? (NPR)
* Watch Bassist Linda May Han Oh Perform Her Dynamic New Project, 'Aventurine' (NPR)
* With The Emmys Around The Corner, A Look At What Makes Good TV Theme Music (WBUR)
* How composer Terence Blanchard wove history into the score for “Harriet” (Fast Company)
* Jazz Pioneer Bennie Maupin’s Next Chapter (Good Times)
* Sunshine Superman: The Transformation of Donovan Leitch (PleaseKillMe.com)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Ben LaMar Gay

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay, who's coming to St. Louis to perform in a concert presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, October 5 at Off Broadway.

While Gay has been working in Chicago's busy improvised music scene for a while, he gained a new level of national recognition in 2018 with the release of Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun, his first "official" album as a solo artist.

Drawing on a catalog of material recorded over seven years but previously unreleased, the album incorporates influences from Chicago's free-jazz tradition, Brazilian music, and much more, moving "from fuzz-caked weirdo-psych to mutant synth-funk to giddy electronics to progressive jazz at a seamless, whiplash-free warp speed," according to NPR.

Gay, who sings as well as playing cornet, electronics, percussion, and more, has deployed his eclectic approach to music in a variety of projects, and today's collection of videos documents a few of them, starting up above with a video of his performance of "Lamps," recorded in January of this year at DJ Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards in London.

After the jump, you can see an excerpt from a performance by Gay's quartet Satchel Monarchs in August 2019 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, followed by a short snippet from his solo performance last January at Nublu in New York City during NYC's annual Winter Jazz Festival.

Next is a video of "Creeks," an improv theatrical piece by Gay and filmmaker Ben Kolak that was performed and recorded in 2016 at Constellation in Chicago, IL.

That's followed by "Muhal," a short film created in 2018 by Gay (who contributed to the visuals as well as composing the music) and filmmaker/animator Maren Celest. The film pays tribute to Chicago pianist and composer Muhal Richard Abrams and to saxophonist Fred Anderson, whose club, the Velvet Lounge, was located in the Bronzeville neighborhood where much of the footage was shot.

The last two videos feature Gay doing improvised duets with two different musicians. The penultimate clip shows him and cellist/composer Lilianna Zofia Wosko performing in September 2018 at Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago.

Then the final clip captures Gay and multi-instrumentalist Jayve John Montgomery in aperformance for the August 2017 solar eclipse, presented in a barn in Perry County, MO.

For more about Ben LaMar Gay, read his May 2018 interview with Bandcamp Daily; the feature about him published in March 2018 in the Chicago Reader; and Pitchfork's review of Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun.

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:

* Nine Network has released a promotional video for "Such Sweet Thunder," the collaboration among Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Big Muddy Dance Company, and Jazz St. Louis that will be presented Thursday, October 3 through Saturday, October 5 outdoors at the Public Media Commons in Grand Center.

* Singer and impressionist Dean Christopher appeared Thursday on KMOV's Great Day St. Louis, promoting his performance on Saturday at the Belleville Oktoberfest. 

* There's more news this week about the newly released "lost" Miles Davis album Rubberband, including feature stories from DownBeat and Jazz Times, and a review from Jazz Journal.

* Meanwhile, Rhino Records, which released Rubberband, has posted online a "mini-documentary" video about the album.

* Elsewhere on the Miles Davis beat, Craft Recordings is releasing a deluxe 6-LP box set edition of Davis' The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions, which goes on sale on Friday, November 8.

* Last but not least, reviews of the new documentary film Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool are still appearing, including one from AllAboutJazz.com's Victor L. Schermer and one from the alt-weekly Georgia Straight.

Jazz this week: Cyrille Aimée, Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features the return of a rising star vocalist, a free, day-long festival, and more. Let's go to this highlights...

Wednesday, 
September 18
Singer Cyrille Aimée (pictured, top left) returns to perform for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis as part of the series they're co-presenting with Cabaret Project of St. Louis.

Aimée, who first performed in St. Louis in 2016 at the Bistro, released her ninth album Move On: A Sondheim Adventure in February of this year. (For more about her, check out this video showcase post from her previous appearance here.)

Also on Wednesday, NYC-based singer Miss Maybell and pianist Charlie Judkins continue their mini-tour of local nightspots with a show at Evangeline's; and this week's "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" in Grand Center features pianist Ethan Leinwand at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, September 19
Pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and keyboardist Ryan Marquez and his trio will return to The Dark Room.

Friday, September 20
Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris will provide the music for "Wine & Jazz Under the Stars," a benefit for radio station Classic 107.3 FM at the Columbia Foundation for the Arts on The Hill.

Also on Friday, trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi and his band return to Evangeline's and the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, September 21
The annual Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival starts at mid-day and continues through the evening with two stages in the Old Webster Business District, near the intersection of Lockwood & Gore Aves.

The free, family-friendly event will feature sets from the Webster University Faculty Jazz Ensemble, Bach to the Future, Dizzy Atmosphere (pictured, center left), Webster Groves High School Jazz Band, and trumpeter Jim Manley, plus blues performers including David Dee, Marquise Knox, Jeremiah Johnson, and more.

Also on Saturday, Miss Maybell wraps up her visit here with a performance at the Frisco Barroom (just down the road from the festival site); and Chicago-based guitarist, composer and improviser Daniel Wyche performs at Flood Plain gallery, with St. Louis' JoAnn McNeil and Michael Williams offering an opening set of electronics, found-sound manipulation, and guitar.

Sunday, September 22
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Bob Row's Mardi Gras Jazz Band at the Moolah Shrine Center's Oasis Room; and keyboardist Mo Egeston and his trio will perform at The Judson House.

Monday, September 23
Pianist Peter Martin and guitarist Romero Lubambo (pictured, bottom left) celebrate the release of their new duo album Rio Meets New Orleans: Live From Tokyo with a performance at the Open Studios space at Centene Center for the Arts in Grand Center.

Also on Monday, pianist Carolbeth True and her trio will play a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus.

Tuesday, September 24
Pianist Curt Landes and his trio plus singer Feyza Eren will perform in 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 Session: September 15, 2019

Mary Lou Williams

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* The thrilling evolution of British jazz has reached a whole new audience (BigIssue.com)
* Chris Potter: What Influences the Influencer? (AllAboutJazz.com)
 * What do music/tech startups REALLY think about working with major labels? (Medium.com)
* Why is Chicago jazz so successful in Europe? (Chicago Reader)
* Tony Bennett, at 93: ‘I just want to keep learning and expressing the truth’ (San Diego Union Tribune)
* Apple Wanted to Revolutionize the Way Streaming Pays. Here’s Why It Wasn’t Allowed (Rolling Stone)
* Abdullah Ibrahim: A Focus on Spirituality (DownBeat)
* The Beatles, Stones, and… Olivia Newton-John?: These are the 50 most valuable records in the world (NME.com)
* Not All 'Lost' Jazz Albums Are Created Equal (NPR)
* Inside Hemen & Co: the tiny Kolkata sitar shop that supplied the Beatles (The Guardian)
* How Mary Lou Williams Shaped The Sound Of The Big-Band Era (NPR)
* How composer Terence Blanchard wove history into the score for “Harriet” (Fast Company)
* The Bad Plus announce new album; tour dates (GratefulWeb.com)
* 'This tape rewrites everything we knew about the Beatles' (The Guardian)
* What Happens When DJs Don’t “Own” Their Record Collections Anymore? (5Mag.net)
* Gearhead: How Gene Krupa Kicked the Drum Kit into the Jazz Age (Jazz Times)
* ‘Nobody Is Scrutinizing This’: How Labels Pay to Get Songs on the Radio (Rolling Stone)
* Two Chicago institutions bridge jazz and blues (Chicago Reader)
* When the Pianos Went to War (AtlasObscura.com)
* Chops: Streaming Jazz on the Installment Plan (Jazz Times)
* George Benson: “I’ve always been an experimenter. When I was young, I thought I was going to be a scientist” (MusicRadar.com)
* The best classical music works of the 21st century (The Guardian)
* Free jazz research and guerrilla scholarship: an interview with John Gray (The Wire)
* A Blue Note Founder’s View of Jazz Music’s Private Side (The New Yorker)
* Average Music Listening Time Is Down. How Much Does That Matter? (Billboard)
* With New Ensemble Members, SFJAZZ Collective Builds a Bigger Tent (DownBeat)
* New World Prophecy (The American Scholar)
* Soul On Soul: Allison Miller And Derrick Hodge On Honoring Mary Lou Williams (NPR)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2019 jazz preview, part five

This week, it's time for the fifth and final part of StLJN's Fall 2019 preview, featuring videos of noteworthy jazz and creative music performers who will be coming to St. Louis before the end of the year. (This installment was preceded by parts one, two, three, and four.)

Picking up where last week's edition left off, today's first video features keyboardist Marco Benevento, who will be returning to perform on Wednesday, November 13 at the Old Rock House. Benevento, whose most recent recordings have found him exploring more concise, pop-oriented material, can be seen performing a complete set at a gig in November 2018 at Brooklyn Bowl.

After the jump, you can see a video featuring trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who will be playing Wednesday, November 20 through Sunday, November 24 at Jazz St. Louis. The video shows a full set by Blanchard and his band, the E-Collective, recorded in November 2018 at New Morning in Paris.

Next up, it's saxophonist Jeanette Harris and flute player Althea René, who will share a bill on Saturday, November 30 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Harris is featured in the second video after the jump, performing "Just Keep Holding On" in 2013 at Spaghettini's in Los Angeles, followed by René playing "Gypsy Soul" at a gig in 2018 in Chicago.

The following week, singer and St. Louis native Alicia Olatuja returns home for a series of shows starting Wednesday, December 4 and continuing through December 8 at Jazz St. Louis. She can be seen singing "Child of The Moon" from her most recent album Intuition: Songs from the Minds of Women, recorded in March of this year in the Studios of TSFJAZZ radio in Paris.

The next weekend, guitarist Fred Frith will return to St. Louis for the first time in nearly 30 years for a concert presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, December 14 at Joe's Cafe. He can be seen in today's penultimate video, which documents a full set of music performed at a gig in April 2019 in Torino, Italy.

The final video of the Fall 2019 jazz preview features drummer Nate Smith and his band Kinfolk, who will make their St. Louis debut starting Wednesday, December 18 and continuing through Sunday, December 22 at Jazz St. Louis. The clip shows them playing a piece called “Rambo” in May 2019 at Dazzle Jazz in Denver, CO.

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:

* Free tickets are available now for "Such Sweet Thunder," a collaboration among Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Big Muddy Dance Company, and Jazz St. Louis that will be presented Thursday, October 3 through Saturday, October 5 outdoors at the Public Media Commons in Grand Center.

* Bassist and singer Janet Evra has released a music video of "Baila," an original tune from her debut album Ask Her to Dance. The video is the first of three being produced as part of Evra's year-long residency with the Kranzberg Arts Foundation.

* Last Saturday's Alton Jazz and Wine Festival was covered in a feature story by the Alton Telegraph's David Blanchette.

* “Black Indian Rain Dance,” a track from Pyramids, the new album (pictured) from trumpeter Russell Gunn's Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra, was featured on NextBop.com.

* A new menu at The Dark Room is the subject of a feature by Feast magazine's Mabel Suen.

* A couple of weeks ago at the Landmark Theatre in Los Angeles, Stanley Nelson, director of the new documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, took part in a discussion of the film with musicians Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter; actor Carl Lumbly; Miles Davis' nephew Vince Wilburn Jr.; and Davis' son Erin Davis, and a video of the talk has been posted to YouTube.

* Nelson, Wilburn, Erin Davis, and Miles' daughter Cheryl Davis were in St. Louis last weekend for the film's premiere here, and their visit also included a trip to the trumpeter's restored childhood home in East St. Louis, as documented in stories by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn and St. Louis Public Radio's Chad Davis.

* As seen on social media, Wilburn also made time during his St. Louis visit for a trip to Vintage Vinyl.

* Lastly, now that the Davis documentary has opened in theaters around the country, more reviews are coming in rapidly, including appraisals from RogerEbert.com, San Francisco Chronicle, WeAreMovieGeeks.com, Austin Chronicle, and DenOfGeek.com.

Music for Lifelong Achievement musical instrument drive begins on September 16

Music for Lifelong Achievement (MFLA) will begin their annual musical instrument drive next Monday, September 16, with this year's campaign continuing through Sunday, October 20.

MFLA is a local not-for-profit organization based at the Sheldon Concert Hall that collects used and new musical instruments and donates them to school and community music programs serving young people in need. Since its inception, MFLA has provided more than 1,000 instruments to music students all over the St. Louis area.

There are two ways to help: by giving a musical instrument, or giving cash. Selected St. Louis-area Starbucks stores once again will serve as drop-off locations for used and new musical instruments during the drive; see http://supportmfla.org/ for a list of participating locations.

The donated instruments then will be repaired, if needed, and distributed to students who otherwise would not be able to afford an instrument. Donors get a letter documenting the value of the instrument for tax deduction purposes.

If you don’t have an instrument to donate, MFLA also accepts cash contributions, which are used to help pay for necessary repairs of donated instruments and provide accessories such as strings, reeds, and sheet music. Those donations also are tax deductible.

For more information or to make a donation, call The Sheldon at 314-533-9900 or visit http://www.supportmfla.org/.

Jazz this week: Jazz at Holmes resumes, Polyphony Marimba, Miss Maybell, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the return of a local favorite series of free concerts, plus noteworthy performances in musical styles ranging from from vintage swing and ragtime to modern jazz and beyond.

Let's go to the highlights...


Wednesday, September 11
This week's "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" in Grand Center features multi-instrumentalist Jacob Alspach and friends playing traditional jazz at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and bassist Ben Wheeler's band Sketchbook at The Dark Room.

Thursday, September 12
The Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University gets underway for the fall semester with a performance by pianist Ptah Williams (pictured, top left) in Holmes Lounge, located in Ridgley Hall on the Wash U campus.

Also on Thursday, while the sounds made by Polyphony Marimba (pictured, center left), who will be performing at Joe's Cafe & Art Gallery, aren't jazz, they definitely fall into the "creative music" category, mixing the instrumentation of a Zimbabwean percussion ensemble with classical, pop, and other genres.

Elsewhere around town, singer and impressionist Dean Christopher will bring his "Rat Pack and More" show LoRusso's Cucina; singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club; and guitarist Dan Rubright and his group will play at The Dark Room.

Friday, September 13
Dizzy Atmosphere will serve up vintage swing and Gypsy jazz in the "Garden Party Lights" area at Missouri Botanical Garden, and Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Also on Friday, The Gaslight Squares perform at Yaquis on Cherokee, and saxophonist Lisella Martin takes the stage at The Dark Room.

Saturday, September 14
Saturday afternoon, 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, and radio host, author and photographer  Dennis Owsley will sign copies of his new book St. Louis Jazz: A History at the Webster Groves Public Library.

Then on Saturday evening, guitarist Vincent Varvel plays solo at The Dark Room; bassist and singer Janet Evra performs at Evangeline's; and the Funky Butt Brass Band returns to the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, 
September 15
Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will perform for brunch at the Angad Arts Hotel, while just across the street, singer and guitarist Tommy Halloran will be playing at The Dark Room.

Then on Sunday evening, NYC-based singer Miss Maybell (pictured, bottom left) and pianist Charlie Judkins, who specialize in ragtime, early jazz, and other early 20th century music, will perform at Evangeline's, beginning a week of St. Louis shows that will include gigs at Thaxton Speakeasy, Yaquis, The Frisco Barrom, and The Dark Room.

Monday, September 16
Saxophonist Paul DeMarinis and his trio will perform at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus.

Tuesday, September 17
Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge.

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: September 8, 2019

Hamid Drake

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Linda Ronstadt Has Found Another Voice (The New Yorker)
* Charles Lloyd: 'Looking for the one note that can say it all' (Japan Times)
* White Supremacy Tried to Kill Jazz. The Music Triumphed (TruthOut.org)
* Vijay Iyer (Musicality, Wigmore Hall residency, 2019/20) (London Jazz News)
* Drummer Rudy Royston’s Always Listening (DownBeat)
* Michael Brecker Competition Continues Legacy of Generous Musician (Jazz Times)
* The Voice That Shattered Glass (NPR)
* Detroit Jazz Festival Offers a Mixed Bag (DownBeat)
* CBS SF Talks To King Crimson Bassist Tony Levin (CBSLocal.com)
* The Many Requirements Of Hold Music, A Genre For No One (NPR)
* Jimmy Johnson, Muscle Shoals Guitarist Who Backed Soul & Rock Giants, Dead at 76 (Rolling Stone)
* A Decade of Music Is Lost on Your iPod. These Are The Deleted Years. Now Let Us Praise Them (Esquire)
* Brian Blade & Life Cycles: Uncorking The Spirit of Bobby Hutcherson (SFJAZZ.org)
* How Ella Fitzgerald Turned Forgotten Lyrics Into One Of Her Best Performances Ever (NPR)
* Vinyl Is Poised to Outsell CDs For the First Time Since 1986 (Rolling Stone)
* Iggy Pop: 'I've finally got the voice I was supposed to have' (BBC)
* ‘We Always Swing’ To Launch 25th Anniversary Season (DownBeat)
* Music legend Taj Mahal talks music, race and the Rolling Stones (San Diego Union Tribune)
* Delving Into Consciousness: Hamid Drake's Favourite Music (TheQuietus.com)
* Abdullah Ibrahim: Grace Under Pressure (Jazz Times)
* “I Was Always Trying To Get Better”: Sonny Rollins On A Life In Jazz (UDiscoverMusic.com)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2019 jazz preview, part four

Today's post is part four of StLJN's Fall 2019 jazz preview, featuring videos of jazz and creative musicians who will be coming to St. Louis to perform between now and the end of the year. (You can see part one here, part two here, and part three here.)

Resuming the chronology of shows where last week's installment left off, the first video up above features the funk and fusion quartet TAUK, who will be returning here to perform on Wednesday, October 30 at the Old Rock House. The video shows a complete set from a show in April of this year at Concord Music Hall in Chicago, IL.

After the jump, you can see a video featuring vibraphonist Marco Pacassoni, who will perform in a free concert presented by the Jazz at Holmes series on Thursday, October 31 at Holmes Lounge in Ridgley Hall on the Washington University campus. The clip shows Pacassoni performing his original composition "Freedom" in 2017 with his quartet, which includes Enzo Bocciero (piano), Lorenzo De Angeli (bass), and Matteo Pantaleoni (drums).

That same week, bassist John Clayton, saxophonist Jeff Coffin, and drummer Matt Wilson will be in town doing educational residencies for Jazz St. Louis, culminating in group performances on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2 at the Bistro.

You can see Clayton in the second video after the jump, which shows him performing "Blue Monk" with fellow bassist Thomas Pol and the JazzArt Orchestra in November 2015 at the Odeon de Spiegel Theater in Schouwburg, Netherlands.

Coffin is up next, playing a duet with cellist Helen Gillet in May 2019 at Sidebar NOLA in New Orleans, followed by Wilson playing a drum solo along with a recording of poet Carl Sandburg in September 2017 at the Jazz Standard in NYC.

The following week, violinist Regina Carter, this time accompanied by pianist Xavier Davis, will return for performances starting Wednesday, November 6 through Sunday, November 10 at Jazz St. Louis.

Carter can be seen playing "Strung Out" in a duet with bassist Bob Hurst, recorded last year at the Detroit Jazz Festival for NPR's "Jazz Night in America," followed by Davis and his trio performing "The Dance Of Life" in May 2018 at the Duende Jazz Bar in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The final video today features Mwenso and the Shakes, who will be bringing their show "Harlem 100" to the Sheldon Concert Hall on Saturday, November 9. The video shows their complete set recorded in August 2019 at the Erie Blues and Jazz Festival in Erie, PA.

Look for the fifth part of StLJN's Fall 2019 jazz preview next week in this space. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The St. Louis County Library has re-opened submissions for their "Listen Up STL" program, which makes recordings from local bands and musicians available on the library's streaming audio service.

The current submission period will close on Monday, September 30. Library cardholders can get the streaming app or access the service from the web for free here.

* The recent Denver stop of saxophonist David Sanborn's "Double Vision Revisited" tour with pianist Bob James and bassist Marcus Miller was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's C. Andrew Hovan.

* Promoting their appearance at this Saturday's Hermann Wine and Jazz Festival, the Bosman Twins on Tuesday performed and were interviewed on the morning newscast on KTVI (Fox 2).

* Singer and pianist Diane Schuur, who's headlining the Alton Jazz and Wine Festival this Saturday, was interviewed Thursday by John Carney of KTRS.

* Jazz presenter Dorothy Edwards will inducted as an honorary member of the Musicians Association of St. Louis (AFM Local 2-197) at the union's annual awards celebration and dinner on Sunday, September 29 at Bartolino's Osteria.

With her late husband Robert, a trombonist and music educator, Edwards operated the now-closed venue Robbie's House of Jazz in Webster Groves, and she continues to book occasional shows at the Ozark Theatre in Webster.

* As the new documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool opens this weekend in St. Louis, reviews continue to come in, most recently including assessments from The New Yorker and MovieWeb.com.

* Elsewhere on the Miles Davis beat, film footage from 1957 of the trumpeter in Paris - believed to contain the oldest existing moving images of Davis - recently was rediscovered was during an inventory operation at the INA Conservation Center in France.

* Last but not least, in related news, a custom trumpet designed and owned by Davis (pictured) will be auctioned on Tuesday, October 29 in New York at Christie’s auction house, who enlisted trumpeter and St. Louis native Keyon Harrold to demonstrate the horn on video.

Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University announces Fall 2019 schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University has announced their schedule for Fall 2019.

The series will get underway next Thursday, September 12 with a concert by pianist Ptah Williams at Holmes Lounge on the Wash U campus. Following the pattern of recent years, the Fall 2019 schedule will present a mix of local/regional jazz and creative music talent with some visiting performers.

Drawing on Wash U faculty member and series programmer William Lenihan's connections to the jazz scene in Europe, the Fall 2019 schedule will include a performance by Italian vibraphonist Marco Pacassoni (pictured) on Halloween night.

The complete lineup in chronological order is:

Thursday, September 12: Ptah Williams
Thursday, September 19: Carolbeth True & Two Times True
Thursday, September 26: Harvey Lockhart Quintet

Thursday, October 17: Trio de Cordes De Bonarense with Ken Kehner, William Lenihan & Joseph Lepore
Thursday, October 24: Brian Vaccaro Quartet
Thursday, October 31: Marco Pacassoni with William Lenihan, Joseph Lepore & Steve Davis

Thursday, November 7: Vehachi (Vincent Varvel, Joel Vanderheyden & Joe Pastor)
Thursday, November 14: "The Bridge 2.2" (at 560 Music Center)
Thursday, November 21: Jim Hegarty Ensemble

Thursday, December 5: Kim Portnoy/William Lenihan Quartet
Thursday, December 12: Wash U Jazz Combo Students

All concerts are free and open to the public. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. and except where noted, are presented in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, which is located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Edited 9/5/19 to correct the description of the November 14 program.

Miles Davis documentary opens Friday in St. Louis, with director Stanley Nelson attending

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the new biographical documentary about the famed trumpeter, will open this Friday at the Tivoli Theatre in University City, with director Stanley Nelson and representatives of the Davis estate attending.

Nelson, Davis' nephew Vince Wilburn Jr., and the trumpeter's son Erin Davis will attend and conduct a Q&A session at the 7:00 p.m. screening on Friday, September 6.

Nelson and Wilburn then will be on hand for three additional screenings this weekend, at 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 7 and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 8.

In a related event, Wilburn, Erin Davis, and Miles Davis' daughter Cheryl Davis will appear at "A HOME styled Meet & Greet" from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, September 5 at the House of Miles EStL (HOME), located in the trumpeter's restored childhood home at 1701 Kansas Ave in East St. Louis.

The East St. Louis High School Jazz Ensemble will provide music for the occasion.

Jazz this week: Rebirth Brass Band, Paa Kow, "Smooth Jazz Cruise on Land," festivals in Alton and Hermann, and more

The fall presenting season gets rolling this week, with a calendar of live jazz and creative music that includes three multi-artist outdoor shows, the return of a New Orleans favorite, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 4
This week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" includes cornetist TJ Muller & Friends at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and saxophonist Ben Reese's Unity Quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, September 5
Miss Jubilee performs a dinnertime show at Magpie's Cafe, saxophonist Vince Sala leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern, and saxophonist Carlos Brown Jr. returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, September 6
New Orleans' Rebirth Brass Band (pictured, top left) returns for an outdoor performance at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion, with the Saint Boogie Brass Band opening; and Ghanaian drummer Paa Kow and his Afro-Fusion Orchestra will make their St. Louis debut at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Also on Friday, the annual St. Louis Art Fair begins in Clayton and continues through Sunday with free jazz stage performances from guitarist Tom Byrne, singer Wendy Gordon, pianist Adam Maness, the Jim Widner Big Band, and more. (See the fair's website for a complete schedule.)

Saturday, September 7
It's big day for live jazz around town, with three noteworthy multi-artist outdoor shows happening in three different parts of the metro area.

Starting west of St. Louis in Gasconade County, the Hermann Wine & Jazz Festival will feature a lineup of local and regional talent including The Bosman Twins, Bach to the Future, Jim Manley, Carolbeth True and Two Times True, and the Mo E All-Stars with Cheri Evans at the Clara Eitmann Messmer Amphitheater.

Moving east to Chesterfield, the "Smooth Jazz Cruise on Land" will include sets from multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson (pictured, bottom left), saxophonists Grace Kelly, Eric Darius and Tim Cunningham, and singer Erin Bode at the Chesterfield Amphitheater.

And over on the east side of the Mississippi, the Alton Jazz & Wine Fest will feature music from pianist and singer Diane Schuur plus funk/jazz quartet Good 4 The Soul and the Funky Butt Brass Band at the Riverfront Amphitheater in Alton.

Sunday, September 8
The St. Louis Record Collectors Show presents their fall event at the American Czech Center; singer and bassist Janet Evra plays for brunch at The Dark Room; and drummer Steve Davis' band with singer Feyza Eren will perform at the house-concert venue The Judson House.

Monday, September 9
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck, and the Webster University Jazz Faculty offers a "Riverside Records Retrospective," featuring music from Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Chet Baker, Thelonious Monk, and others at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, September 10
Trumpeter Kasimu Taylor plays the music of Miles Davis in a concert at the Gasllght 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.)