Notes from the Net: Miles' On The Corner re-released; Oliver Lake reviewed, Marcus Baylor interviewed; and more

From near and far across the Internet comes this week's compilation of short news items, reviews and miscellania:

* The Complete On The Corner Sessions, a six-CD box set due out in September from Sony, will offer a expanded perspective on one of Miles Davis' most controversial and sonically challenging releases, and jazz critic Howard Mandel has a first reaction to the set over at his new blog, Jazz Beyond Jazz: "His all-star jam-band stills sounds prophetic after 35 years, and even unedited it's energies are razor sharp, infinitely more exciting than most of jazz (much less pop or new music composition) today."

* AllAboutJazz.com writer Ivana Ng has a review of Lake/Tchicai/Osgood/Westergaard, a recently issued session from 2003 recorded just after saxophonist Oliver Lake completed a brief tour of Denmark with tenor saxophonist John Tchicai, drummer Kresten Osgood and bassist Jonas Westergaard.

* Drummer Marcus Baylor (pictured) was featured in the local paper, the Daily Tribune, when the Yellowjackets played a show in Southfield, MI.

* Multi-reed player and St. Louis area native Marty Ehrlich will duet with pianist Myra Melford as part of the fall schedule at Firehouse 12, an adventurous music venue in New Haven CT.

* A blog called Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches has a review of Benjamin Looker's book Point from Which Creation Begins': The Black Artists' Group of St. Louis.

* Saxophonist and jazz enthusiast John Hess, who once owned Shattinger Music here in St. Louis, passed away at age 86 in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he had lived since 1980.

* Singer/pianist Freddie Cole, who's played St. Louis' Jazz at the Bistro and Sheldon Concert Hall in recent years, was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame as part of the Hall's class of 2007.

* Acoustic Alchemy guitarist Greg Carmichael, in St. Louis the week before last to play Finale Music and Dining, summed up the band's career for the local paper before a performance in Harrisburg, PA.

* They're lining up to buy tickets to hear Tony Bennett open the new Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, CA late next month. Bennett will perform at St. Louis' Fox Theatre in October.

* And finally, regular readers know I've had my gripes about the programming at the St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival, and so it seems only fair to note that at least St. Louis does have actual jazz musicians playing at its jazz festival, unlike Baltimore. "All what jazz? Not at this fest" reads the headline in the Baltimore Sun for an article about the Paetec Jazz Festival, which includes headliners like Little Richard, B.B. King and AL Green, but "offers little of its namesake musical form". Said Andy Bienstock, a jazz radio DJ in Charm City, "I wish I knew why the word jazz has a larger folllowing than the music jazz." Indeed.

Jazz this week: Acoustic Alchemy, Jazz at Holmes summer series, Tommy Money Orchestra, and more

Compared to some past years, it's been a relatively busy summer so far for jazz in St. Louis, but the activity level will be dropping a bit in the month of August, as it's the height of vacation season, and most of the not-for-profit presenters, concert series, university affiliated programs, and so on won't resume until the beginning of September.

Still, the cupboard is not entirely bare this weekend - for starters, the British smooth jazz group Acoustic Alchemy (pictured) will be in town tonight to do two sets at Finale Music and Dining, providing fans with the opportunity to see them up close in an intimate club setting.

Also tonight, Washington University's Jazz at Holmes summer series of free concerts continues with pianist Ptah Williams and singer Tony Viviano teaming up for a program focused on the music of Tony Bennett. At first consideration, this seems like an odd pairing - Williams is a hard-driving pianist with a distinctly modern, post-bop style, while Viviano is a genial crooner specializing in classic pop and tunes from the Great American Songbook. Then again, sometimes musicians with contrasting styles can draw each other into new places, and I certainly wouldn't put it past these two to find an interesting middle ground.

On Saturday, trumpeter Tommy Money will squeeze his big band onto the stage at Cookie's Jazz and More, which is reopening this weekend after a brief mid-summer vacation.

Other noteworthy gigs over the next several days include a troika of singers: Jeanne Trevor at Brandt's on Thursday; Debby Lennon doing a Cole Porter tribute at Finale on Saturday; and Mae "Lady Jazz" Wheeler in an early evening show at Brandt's on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, radio host, jazz historian, author and occasional StLJN co-conspirator Dennis Owsley continues his "Jazz Decades" series of broadcasts with a program featuring three house of music recorded in the years 1965-1969 by artists such as Albert Ayler, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, John Handy, Charles Lloyd and Anthony Braxton. To hear it, tune in to KWMU 90.7 FM from 9 p.m. to midnight, or catch the online stream at KWMU's Web site.

For a more extensive listing of local jazz performances, please consult the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.)

Finale to present shows by Acoustic Alchemy, Diane Schuur

It's been a while since we've checked out the coming attractions at Finale Music and Dining, and since one of the club's notable shows with a touring headliner is happening next week, now seems like an opportune time to mention that Finale will present smooth jazz/world music group Acoustic Alchemy next Thursday, August 2. Also, although it's not yet on Finale's Web site, thanks to Pollstar, it has been revealed that the club also has booked a return appearance for singer and pianist Diane Schuur on Thursday, October 4 and Friday, October 5.

In between, Finale has scheduled appearances by a number of local and regional musicians of interest to jazz listeners, including return gigs by singer Debby Lennon (doing a Cole Porter tribute show on Saturday, August 4); saxophonist Tim Cunningham (Friday, August 10 and Friday, September 7); singer/impressionist Dean Christopher (Saturday, August 11); singer Anita Rosamond (Saturday, August 18); and Wild, Cool and Swingin' (Friday, September 21).

Also coming up at Finale: a tribute to Charlie Parker by trumpeter Randy Holmes and Hard Bop Heritage (Thursday, August 30); drummer Jerome "Scrooge" Harris with singer Anita Jackson (Friday, August 31); singer/pianist Al Oxenhandler (Saturday, September 1); Downtown Trio's "Bach To The Future" show (Friday, September 14); and a "tenor battle" from saxophonist David Fatek and his organ quartet (Thursday, September 20). And let's not forget the John Coltrane tribute from Holmes and Hard Bop Heritage (Saturday, September 22) and a two-night stand for the "Sinatra Songbook" show (Thursday, September 27 and Friday, September 28).

Finally, to add a little visual interest to this post, there's a bit of YouTubery above and below the text. The video up top shows Acoustic Alchemy performing "Playing for Time", while the one below features Schuur and her quartet doing "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)". Schuur's band in this clip include Rod Fleeman, an excellent guitarist with Kansas City roots who some may also recall as a member of the 1970s fusion group Dry Jack.