Sunday Session: February 19, 2017

Clyde Stubblefield

Here are some interesting music-related items that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Why Music Ownership Matters (TheSmartSet.com)
* Vocalist Al Jarreau Dies at 76 (Jazz Times)
* The Great Al Jarreau, An Appreciation (with Rare Photos) (EurWeb.com)
* Black Classical: Composers and Conductors Who Shaped Music History (WQXR)
* Scofield, Nash, Collier Win Big at Grammys (DownBeat)
* The Audiographa Project Captures the Compositions of Music (Design-Milk.com)
* Christoph Cox on The History of Sound Art, Full Lecture (SonicField.org)
* Doctor Who composer Delia Derbyshire’s archive to be digitized (FactMag.com)
* 'Game Of Thrones' Composer Ramin Djawadi On Melodies That Stick (NPR)
* Keith Jarrett: Alone in a Crowded Room (Jazz Times)
* Jarrett’s Profoundly Emotional Excursion at Carnegie Hall (DownBeat)
* Why happy music makes you do bad things (BBC)
* 'Respect' Wasn't A Feminist Anthem Until Aretha Franklin Made It One (NPR)
* Bill Evans on meeting Miles (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Drum Legend Jack DeJohnette Returns to Austin (Austin Chronicle)
* Master blaster: the woman making Björk, Aphex Twin and Eno sound so good (The Guardian)
* The Man Who Broke Ticketmaster (Vice.com)
* Sound and Space: Our Acoustic Perception of the World (TheEpochTimes.com)
* Ohio Players Founder, Junie Morrison, Dead At 62 (OkayPlayer.com)
* Free Jazz Pianist Muhal Richard Abrams Brings 70 Years Of Sounds To Wesleyan (Hartford Courant)
* A Conversation With Brian Eno About Ambient Music (Pitchfork.com)
* Indian Secrets: Old and new Mardi Gras Indian traditions face off (Offbeat)
* Mick Jagger wrote a 'masterpiece' memoir that has never been published (The Guardian)
* All-Star Band Hudson To Release Album, Tour North America (DownBeat)
* The Thinning of Big Mama (Oxford American)
* Q&A with Matthew Shipp: On Home Turf (DownBeat)
* Moog are the music makers: Inside the small town factory that builds the world’s best-loved synths (FactMag.com)
* Clyde Stubblefield, James Brown's 'Funky Drummer,' Dead at 73 (Rolling Stone)

Sunday Session: February 12, 2017

Jon Hendricks

Here are some interesting music-related items that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Happy 30th birthday, 'world music' (PRI)
* The Enduring Mystery of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘Surrealistic Pillow’ (Observer.com)
* THE BEAT GOES ON: New Albany jazz master Jamey Aebersold brings music to community (Jeffersonville News and Tribune)
* What if you could touch and feel a score? (CreateDigitalMusic.link)
* “Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers” - Classic comedy album a Firesign of the times (Boston Globe)
* 13 Musicians Influenced by Author William S. Burroughs (Paste)
* Michael Chapman: the man who connects Elton, Bowie, Nick Drake and Sonic Youth (The Guardian)
* "This is not a woman's issue' – tackling conducting's gender problem (The Guardian)
* David Axelrod, Influential Musician and Producer, Dies (Billboard)
* The Music Legal Forecast for 2017 (Vice.com)
* Review: 'Celebrate Ornette' Gives Avant-Jazz Legend an All-Star Farewell (Rolling Stone)
* Crate Diggers: Mats Gustafsson -A rare visit to the free jazz giant’s two and a half tonne vinyl cave (The VinylFactory.com)
* The tables have turned, but will vinyl’s record sales last? (TheDrum.com)
* When Discs Die (Tedium.co)
* These Seven Black Composers Made Classical Music History (Nashville Public Radio)
* The Art Ensemble Of Chicago captivate at Cafe OTO (Jazzwise)
* After 50 Years, Hendricks’ “Miles Ahead” Remake Set for NYC Premiere (DownBeat)
* Dear Creepy Men of the Music Industry, Please Stop (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* The cassette revival needs blank tapes – meet the hoarders coming to the rescue (FactMag.com)
* Billboard's 2017 Power 100 List Revealed (Billboard)
* A Sonic Introduction to Avant-Garde Music: Stream 145 Minutes of 20th Century Art Music, Including Modernism, Futurism, Dadaism & Beyond (OpenCulture.com)
* Does College Radio Even Matter Anymore? (Pitchfork)
* How Railroads Influenced Jazz Music (WBUR)
* Al Jarreau: An American Original (Jazz Times)
* ‘Spine-tingling’ lost Bob Marley tapes restored after 40 years in a cellar (The Guardian)
* The Standard Bearers: In Jazz Categories, The Grammys Remain Focused On The Past (NPR)
* Spinal Tap Reunite to Sue Record Label for $400 Million (Guitar World)
* Krall Revisits Songbook on New Album, Announces World Tour (DownBeat)
* “I’ll be there”: Charlie Haden was the Tom Joad of jazz, and his Liberation Music Orchestra lives on (Salon.com)
* How 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' Became The World's First Gold Record (NPR)

Sunday Session: September 25, 2016

Kenny Barron

Some interesting music-related items that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Don't mention the J-word: how Spotify gifted my jazz tune two million hits (The Guardian UK)
* Brainfeeder Showcase Fuses Enlightened Funk, Innovative Jazz (DownBeat)
* Words and Music: Why Liner Notes Matter (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Metheny Leads New Quartet on Nostalgic Trip at Lobero Theatre (DownBeat)
* Building a better electronic trumpet (Phys.org)
* The 'Fifth Beatle', an unpublished will and a family being torn apart (The Telegraph UK)
* T Bone Burnett: Treading on Hallowed Ground – Google, the Ryman, and The Future of Nashville Music (Nashville Tennessean)
* Rock'n'roll suicide: is TV's bromance with rock nostalgia finally over? (The Guardian UK)
* In 'Latin American Songbook,' Edward Simon Rethinks The American Jazz Standard (NPR)
* 'The Jazz Loft' Is a Fleeting, Marvelous Look at Lost Bohemia (Village Voice)
* A Tribe Called Quest Sparked Hip-Hop’s Love Affair With Jazz on ‘Low End Theory’ (Observer.com)
* The New Classical: how the next generation of composers and labels is challenging classical music’s status quo (The Independent UK)
* A Tribute to Bernie Worrell in Words and Images (Keyboard)
* Monterey Jazz Festival Offers Bounty of Youthful Talent (DownBeat)
* Massive digital archiving project means these unique musical recordings will live forever (DigitalTrends.com)
* Interview: Kenny Barron (Keyboard)
* Fish recorded singing dawn chorus on reefs just like birds (New Scientist)
* Why Marvel and Other Hollywood Films Have Such Bland Music: Every Frame a Painting Explains the Perils of the “Temp Score” (OpenCulture.com)
* Q&A: Vocalist Al Jarreau - A no-holds-barred conversation (Jazz Times)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

* Trumpeter Ray Vega, in town this week to play at Jazz at the Bistro, appeared yesterday on KPLR's afternoon news broadcast. You can see the video here; Vega continues at the Bistro through Saturday.

* Writing for the Post-Dispatch, Terry Perkins interviewed trumpeter Chris Botti (pictured) about his sold-out concert with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra on Saturday.

* Perkins also has a piece online at the St. Louis Beacon previewing Saturday's performance by Quincy Troupe, Kelvyn Bell and Hamiet Bluiett for the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery.

* Back at the Post, pop music critic Kevin Johnson reviewed last week's concert by Al Jarreau at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

* As mentioned here last November, Jazz St. Louis is a winner of one of the 2011 Arts Awards from the Missouri Arts Council. JSL was honored in the category of "Arts Organization," along with this year's other recipients, in a ceremony this week at the state Capitol in Jefferson City. The awards recognize "individuals and organizations that have made profound and lasting contributions to the cultural and artistic climate of the state."

* Lastly, we direct your attention to this editorial published this week by the Post-Dispatch about radio station WSIE and jazz radio in St. Louis. P-D editorial writer Eddie Roth, a jazz fan himself, interviewed yr. humble StLJN editor in conjunction with the piece, and I'm quoted briefly therein. More on this subject in a future post...

Jazz this week: Al Jarreau, Peter Martin, Davey Williams & LaDonna Smith, Mardra Thomas & Reggie Thomas, and more

It's a busy pre-Valentine's Day weekend for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, and with weather forecasters predicting at least a temporary respite from the deep freeze, it should be a good weekend to get out and about. Here are some of the notable shows coming up:

Tonight, pianist Peter Martin continues his eponymous concert series with a solo piano performance at the Sheldon. Martin hasn't done a lot of solo gigs here in St. Louis, but his CD/EP Set of Five from a couple of years ago showed that he's got the ideas, interpretative skills and technique needed to succeed in that format. Previous shows in the series have been well-attended, but as of close of business on Wednesday, there were still tickets available.

Also tonight, multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman will lead a quartet with pianist Kim Portnoy, bassist Ric Vice, and drummer Clancy Newell in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. This show will emphasize Weltman's harmonica playing, and he's a standout on the diatonic harp*, with skills that justify comparison to the likes of Toots Thielemans, Charlie McCoy and Howard Levy.

On Friday, singer Al Jarreau (pictured) performs in a concert presented by Jazz St. Louis at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Given Jarreau's success crossing over to pop and R&B, expect a healthy selection of familiar hit tunes, but one would hope that this particular setting will provide opportunity for him to stretch out a bit, too. For a video sampling of some of Jarreau's concert staples, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, two local, musical husband-and-wife couples will open shows with Valentine's Day themes in the Grand Center district. At Jazz at the Bistro, singer Mardra Thomas and her pianist/spouse Reggie Thomas will continue what has become a Valentine's weekend tradition in recent years, performing on Friday and Saturday, plus a special Monday night engagement. Meanwhile, just around the corner at the Kranzberg Arts Center, pianist Joe Dreyer and singer Rosemary Watts will present their cabaret show on Friday and Saturday under the auspices of the Presenters Dolan.

Robbie's House of Jazz will be getting in the mood for love this weekend, too, with a Motown-themed show from the Sean Holland Band on Friday and a Valentine's dinner-and-show package featuring music from singer Tony Viviano's group on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Davey Williams and violist LaDonna Smith will perform in a concert presented by New Music Circle at Focal Point in Maplewood. Williams and Smith, who used to be a couple and have remained musical collaborators, are from Birmingham, AL. Both are longtime veterans of the international free improv scene, and they've performed in St. Louis for NMC a number of times, developing a bit of a local fan base in the process. I've heard them together and separately, and if you have any interest in at all in that type of music, Williams and Smith definitely are worth checking out.

On the other hand, if you prefer traditional jazz, there's something for you on Sunday afternoon, as the St. Louis Jazz Club presents Cornet Chop Suey serving up a mix of New Orleans and swing styles at the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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.)

* Edited to delete a reference to chromatic harp, after Ric Vice emailed to nicely remind me that Weltman plays diatonic almost exclusively - which makes his very precise half-note bends all the more impressive.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: You can call him Al

With more than 35 years as a top recording artist and a number of radio hits to his credit, singer Al Jarreau likely needs no introduction to most readers of this site. Jarreau, who turns 71 next month, has performed in St. Louis many times, and he'll be back here next Friday, February 11 to play the Touhill Performing Arts Center under the auspices of Jazz St. Louis.

To mark the occasion, today we've got videos of four songs that have been concert staples of Jarreau's, with performances spanning the singer's four decades in the spotlight. First up is a performance of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," taken from a 1976 broadcast for German TV. It features Jarreau's touring band of the time, with Tom Canning on keyboards, Jerome Rimson on bass, and Nigel Wilkinson on drums, and though the overall contour of the performance is very similar to the recorded version, it's still fun to see and hear Jarreau let it hang out in front of a live audience.

Down below is a 1983 version of Chick Corea's "Spain", with a band including Dan Sawyer on guitar, Patches Stewart on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Weather Report's Alex Acuna on drums. The audio on this one isn't quite as good, but overall it's a very nice performance of what has become another signature arrangement for Jarreau.

Below that, there's a version of "Roof Garden" from the 1994 Warsaw Summer Jazz Days. The band here includes Steve Gadd on drums and the often underrated Neil Larsen on keyboards, but this performance is mostly about Jarreau having some fun doing a vocal impression of a funk guitarist.

We close things out with Jarreau's version of the standard "Since I Fell For You" from the 2008 North Sea Jazz Festival, done as a duet with singer Debbie Davis. This performance gets a bit loose in spots, but it also has some nice examples of Jarreau's still-elastic vocal timbre.

Notes from the Net: Miles' box set of box sets; John Hicks honored in NYC; plus news, reviews, interviews and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* The big Miles Davis news this time out is the release on September 14 of The Genius of Miles Davis , a new collection bringing together eight deluxe multi-CD box sets, including 43 CDs of music, which were originally released on Columbia/Legacy between 1996 and 2007.

Presented in a replica of Miles' own trumpet case (pictured), the collection contains Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (6 CDs); Miles Davis Quintet 1965-1968 (6 CDs); The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (4 CDs); Miles Davis & John Coltrane: The Complete Columbia Recordings, 1955-1961 (6 CDs); The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions (3 CDs); The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (5 CDs); Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings Of Miles Davis, 1963-1964 (7 CDs); and The Complete On The Corner Sessions (6 CDs).

Extras include a replica of the 'Gustat' Heim 2 model mouthpiece used by Davis; a "previously unseen and unavailable fine art lithograph" by the trumpeter himself; and a "boutique-worthy" T-shirt with an image of Davis playing his horn.

In other Miles-related news, the 40th anniversary of the release of Davis' influential Bitches Brew has prompted "Miles Davis: Forty Years of Freedom - The legacy of Bitches Brew," an article by Geoffrey Himes in the September issue of Jazz Times. Also, the 40th anniversary reissue edition of the album is reviewed here for AllAboutJazz.com by Doug Collette, and the music from the sessions also was celebrated earlier this month at a concert in Los Angeles. Last but certainly not least, here's audio of a recently rediscovered interview from 1970 with Teo Macero, in which Macero, who produced Davis' Columbia recordings, discusses the making of albums like Bitches Brew and Live Evil.

* Speaking of recently unearthed recordings, trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry's episode of the NPR program "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz" recently was posted online. Terry also is one of several jazz legends interviewed for the Visionary Project, an archive of African American oral history. You can check out Terry's interview here.

* Updating the world via his Twitter feed, saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake writes that he recently went to Belgium with the World Saxophone Quartet and percussion group M'boom to play the Middelheim Jazz Festival; did a week at NYC's Birdland with Trio 3 and pianist Geri Allen; and is set to play the Jazz Standard this week with his Organ Quartet, featuring Jared Gold.

* Another Oliver - the late composer, alto saxophonist and St. Louisan Oliver Nelson - recently was the subject of a post on Doug Ramsey's blog Rifftides.

* Remember that Greg Osby live NPR broadcast from the Village Vanguard we told you about here? The saxophonist, composer and St. Louis native's gig also was reviewed by the New York Times' Nate Chinen here, and has been archived for online streaming and downloading here.

* A section of West 139th St at Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem has been renamed "John Hicks Way" in honor of the late jazz pianist and former St. Louisan. WBGO’s Josh Jackson reports on the renaming here, and there's a photo of the new street sign bearing Hicks' name here.

* Saxophonist Chris Cheek has a new CD, Jugendstil II, recorded for ESP Disk in collaboration with the venerable sax master Lee Konitz and bassist Stephane Furic Leibovici. Here's a review of the album written for AllAboutJazz.com by Raul d'Gama Rose.

* Turning to news of coming attractions, pianist Vijay Iyer has a new CD, Solo, that's attracting lots of interest after the success of his previous release Historicity. AllAboutJazz.com already has up three reviews of the disc: one here written by Bruce Lindsay, here by Lyn Horton, and here by Chris May. Meanwhile, About.com's Jacob Teichrow has a review of the new Iyer disc here, and the pianist is interviewed for a feature about the release by the Los Angeles Times' Chris Barton here. Iyer will return to St. Louis to play with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet in November at the 560 Music Center under the auspices of New Music Circle.

* Dave Brubeck celebrated his 90th birthday a bit early this month at the Newport Jazz Festival. Brubeck is scheduled to come back here in October to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of the American Arts Experience -St. Louis festival.

* In other Newport-related news, pianist Hiromi's performance is documented here by NPR's "Jazz Set," and the network's recording of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's concert at the parallel Folk Festival can be heard here. Hiromi will play with bassist Stanley Clarke in February at Jazz at the Bistro, while the PHJB's tour with the Del McCoury Band comes here in October to the Family Arena in St. Charles.

* After his recent hospitalization in France, singer Al Jarreau resumed his European tour. Jarreau said on his website he expects to complete the rest of the European tour and fulfill other concert commitments in the United States, Japan and elsewhere after doctors in Marseille successfully treated him for arrhythmia, or heart palpitations. Jarreau is scheduled to perform in February at the Touhill Performing Arts Center under the auspices of Jazz St. Louis.

* Apparently, tenor saxophonist Wilton Felder is the Jazz Crusader having health challenges that have forced the postponement of the group's St. Louis appearance, originally scheduled for next month at the Touhill. Interestingly, Felder was replaced on the band's date in Long Beach by Euge Groove, who was just here last weekend at the Pageant.

* Speaking of Groove, he's just released Groove On This, a new "interactive album" on data DVD. The recording is designed to be listened to and played with on something called the Beamz Player Interactive Music System, which allows listeners to remix songs in real time, among other things.

* In more news of recent visitors, saxophonist Boney James, who played the Bottleneck Blues Bar last month, is still glad to be back on stage touring after a serious auto accident and dental surgery sidelined him for several weeks earlier this year.

* Signer and pianist Harry Connick Jr, who played here in June at the Fox Theatre, recently brought his big band to the Hollywood Bowl.

* In other miscellaneous news from around the jazz internet, The Bad Plus' pianist Ethan Iverson recently "rebooted" his widely read blog Do The Math; Argentine pianist Esteban Sehinkman has posted online a free "real book" of compositions by Argentine jazz musicians; and photographer William Gottlieb's jazz photos in the Library of Congress have just entered the public domain.

* Finally, condolences to the family, friends and fans of Kansas City saxophonist and jazz-scene elder statesman Ahmad Alaadeen, who recently died after a battle with cancer. Plastic Sax's Bill Brownlee penned a nice tribute to Alaadeen for the Kansas City Star, which you can read online here.

Notes from the Net: Al Jarreau recovering; JazzReach gets funding; plus news, reviews, interviews, and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* Starting with some recent linkage related to the St. Louis area's most famous jazz musician, the Miles Davis exhibit in Montreal was reviewed by J.D. Considine of the Toronto Globe and Mail here. Meanwhile, JazzOnline's Miles Davis Podcast series, which features interviews with famous folk talking about Davis, in recent weeks has added segments featuring singer, actor and spoken word performer Henry Rollins, trumpeter Mike Metheny, bassist/producer Bill Laswell, trumpeter Randy Brecker, pianist Steve Kuhn and guitarist Nels Cline. You can access the whole series here. Finally, Riffs on Jazz blogger John Anderson muses on Davis' score for Louis Malle’s 1958 film Ascenseur pour l’échafraud (Elevator to the Gallows) here.

* In news of another St. Louis native, multi-instrumentalist J.D Parran was part of two "Jazz Meets Classical" concerts presented last weekend by the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute at Columbia University's Miller Theater. The performances - reviewed here by Steve Smith of the New York Times, with a photo of Parran accompanying the online version of the story - were the culmination of a weeklong series of seminars bringing together musicians from the jazz and classical worlds.

* Turning to news of coming attractions, bassist Christian McBride is doing a trio tour this summer with pianist Chick Corea and drummer Brian Blade. McBride will be back in St. Louis in September for a duo concert at the Sheldon with pianist Peter Martin, and then again in March for a Ray Brown tribute at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Singer Al Jarreau (pictured) is recovering after being admitted to a hospital in France late last Thursday, July 22. Jarreau, 70, collapsed on stage with respiratory problems during a performance, and was taken to the intensive care unit of a clinic in the southern Alpine town of Gap, where he initially was listed in critical condition. Jarreau's condition subsequently improved enough for him to be moved by helicopter on Sunday to a hospital in Marseilles, where he is expected to continue to rest and undergo tests for several more days. His management is posting updates about Jarreau's condition on the singer's website. Jarreau is scheduled to come to St. Louis in February for a concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

* Everything Is Everything, saxophonist Kirk Whalum's CD of the music of singer/songwriter/pianist and St. Louis native Donny Hathaway, is set for release next month. Whalum will be back in St. Louis on August 13 for the Guitars and Saxes concert at the Pageant.

* The Preservation Hall Jazz Band also has a new CD, Preservation, a compilation featuring an eclectic selection of more than 20 guest artists, including Angelique Kidjo, Tom Waits, Del McCoury, Terence Blanchard, Pete Seeger, Dr. John, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle, Merle Haggard, Bobby McFerrin and more. The disc was recorded at Preservation Hall, with proceeds to benefit the historic New Orleans venue and its Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program. The PHJB and McCoury will perform in October at the Family Arena in St. Charles.

* JazzReach, Inc. is one of 79 NYC-based arts organizations to receive "a significant infusion of funding" from the Open Society Foundations, which last week announced $11 million in grants to support community and educational arts initiatives. The two-year operating-support grants ranging from $65,000 to $250,000. Founded in 1994 by drummer Hans Schuman, JazzReach is a nationally recognized not-for-profit organization that promotes a greater appreciation, awareness and understanding of jazz music through multi-media educational programs for young audiences. JazzReach's resident ensemble Metta Quintet will return to St. Louis in November to play at the Touhill under the auspices of Jazz St. Louis.

* Guitarist John McLaughlin will be one the headliners at The New Universe Music Festival, an event to be presented by his current record company Abstract Logix on November 20 and 21 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Guitarist Jimmy Herring and drummer Lenny White also will play the fusion-filled fest. McLaughlin will be in St. Louis earlier that same month to play at the Sheldon.

* Here's a review of drummer Stanton Moore's latest CD Groove Alchemy, written by Phillip Booth for his blog Between The Lines (via AllAboutJazz.com). Moore will be in St. Louis with Garage a Trois in September to play at the Old Rock House.

* Finally, a couple of online resources for your further edification and/or amusement during these steamy dog days: The venerable jazz mag Cadence recently beefed up its online presence considerably, and the BBC's Radio 3 has just put online much of their extensive archive of "world music" programming.

Jazz this week: Al Jarreau, Marc Copland Trio with Gary Peacock and Bill Stewart, Mardra and Reggie Thomas, Tom Wopat, and more

It's another busy week for jazz in St. Louis, so let's go right to the highlights:

Tonight, Jazz St. Louis presents Reggie Thomas and OGD in a free concert celebrating Blue Note records at the Third Baptist Church, 620 N. Grand. In case you didn't know, "OGD" stands for organ, guitar and drums, and it's always a treat to hear Thomas play the B-3, especially given the relative dearth of jazz organ shows in town these days. Also, the Blue Note theme should provide an opportunity to draw from the catalogs of jazz organ greats including Jimmy Smith, Larry Young and Lonnie Smith, all of whom made memorable and influential recordings for the label.

Elsewhere this evening, singer and actor Tom Wopat begins a four-night run at the Kranzberg Arts Center under the auspices of Cabaret St. Louis. While Wopat still may be best remembered for his role as one of TV's Dukes of Hazzard, in recent years he's gotten lots of props for his work on stage in musicals, straight plays and cabaret. For one example, see this New York Times review of Wopat's cabaret show.

On Thursday, pianist Mark Copland, who's in town for a concert on Friday, will give a master class and a lecture at Washington University. The master class begins at 11:30 a.m. in Tietjens Rehearsal Hall, 6500 Forsyth, while the lecture will be at 4:00 p.m. in Room 102 of the music classroom building right next door. Both events are free and open to the public.

Thursday evening, local jazz historian and radio host Dennis Owsley begins his class on St. Louis jazz history at the Ethical Society. The three-week course is based on Owsley's book "City of Gabriels," which chronicles the history of jazz in St. Louis from 1895 to the mid-1970s. For more about Owsley and the course, check out this Jazz St. Louis podcast interview with Owsley.

There's lots going on Friday, starting with singer Al Jarreau (pictured) at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Given that it's the night before Valentine's Day, I'd expect Jarreau to emphasize the R&B love songs in his repertoire, but one would hope he'll sing some jazz-oriented material as well.

Also on Friday, Marc Copland's all-star trio, featuring bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Bill Stewart, will perform at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Avenue in University City. Copland is an accomplished player with a lyrical style that's been compared to Bill Evans, and Stewart and Peacock are both world-class musicians, too, so this should be an outstanding show.

That same evening, in what has become something of a Valentine's week tradition, the husband-and-wife team of pianist Reggie Thomas and singer Mardra Thomas will begin a two-night stand demonstrating both musical and marital harmony at Jazz at the Bistro.

On Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series presents saxophonist Willie Akins will lead his band in a free concert starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church, 9030 Clayton Rd. (at McKnight)

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Willie Akins and fellow saxophonist Paul DeMarinis will head up a tribute to the late tenor sax giant Dexter Gordon at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

As always, these are just a few of the performances going on around town; for more jazz-related events this weekend and beyond, please visit 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.)

(Edited 2/14/09 to restore a graf, accidentally deleted during editing, about Willie Akins' concert on Sunday.)

Notes from the 'Net: Inside the Kind of Blue sessions, a Julius Hemphill tribute, new CDs, interviews, reviews, and more

Proving that you can't keep a good recurring feature down, we once again bring you Notes from the Net, a compilation of short news bits related to musicians from St. Louis, musicians who will soon visit (or have recently visited) the Gateway City; and assorted other items of interest. The plan this time is to try to make NFTN a more-or-less regular Sunday feature, providing material suitable for perusal during either idle weekend hours or Monday morning's coffee break. And so, without further ado:

* We start this installment, as is the tradition, with a Miles Davis-related item, as the NPR show Morning Edition recently ran a story called "Between Takes: The Kind Of Blue Sessions" featuring excerpts from Ashley Khan's liner notes for the album's 50th anniversary reissue. Listen to the mix of in-studio dialog from the musicians, Khan's commentary, and musical examples here.

* In other news related - at least tangentially - to musicians from St. Louis, Rifftides' Doug Ramsay links to a report on the current post-Katrina state of New Orleans' Armstrong Park, adding the story of how trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry inspired the movement that got New Orleans its Armstrong statue.

* On Thursday, February 26, Philadelphia's Ars Nova Workshop series will present a Composer Portrait concert at the city's World Cafe featuring the music of former St. Louisan Julius Hemphill (pictured) as performed by the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound, an 18-member big band led by multi-instrumentalist and St. Louis native Marty Ehrlich. Ehrlich also was part of last week's Oliver Lake big band gig at NYC's Jazz Gallery.

* Via the always useful Avant Music News (which is sporting a pleasing new look for the New Year), two John Zorn performances featuring the Masada Sextet and The Dreamers are coming to Henry Street Settlement in New York. Zorn also is the subject of a new book written by John Brackett and published by the Indiana University Press, reviewed by Popmatters here. (For those unaware of Zorn's St. Louis connection: he went to Webster University back in the 1970s.)

* Turning to news from the "coming attractions" file, in April bassist Victor Wooten is opening Wooten Woods, a new 150 acre site on the Duck River near Nashville, TN for the "bass/nature camp" he and his family have been running since the year 2000. Wooten will be in St. Louis to play The Pageant on Friday, March 13.

* No doubt hoping for a taste of some of that sweet, sweet cash that gets spent every year for Valentine's Day, Boney James is releasing a new CD, Send One Your Love, on February 3. The smooth jazz saxophonist formerly known as James Oppenheim will play The Pageant on Thursday, March 25.

* Al Jarreau will be in St. Louis to sing at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on Friday, February 13, but this past weekend, he, Kevin Mahogany and The Godfathers of Groove, the Cyrus Chestnut Trio, and St. Louis area native Bonnie Bramlett were among the performers at the seventeenth annual "All That Jazz" weekend held at The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa in Asheville, NC.

* In news on a couple of musicians being considered for next season at Jazz at the Bistro, singer Alyssa Graham performed at the Tin Angel in Philly on January 30th, and West Coast jazz blogger and radio host Leroy The Jazzcat" Downs recently interviewed pianist Vijay Iyer, with the conversation now available in MP3 format here (or if that link doesn't work, search Downs' archives here).

* From the "recent visitors" file: Saxophonist Javon Jackson and keyboard player Les McCann, who played at Jazz at the Bistro last fall with their Swiss Movement Revisited band, now can be heard in a concert from Kennedy Center available for streaming via NPR's Jazz Set with DeeDee Bridgewater.

* Saxophonist and composer Benny Golson, another recent visitor to the Bistro, celebrated his 80th birthday this past week with a new album on Concord Jazz. For more Golson, check out this interview and excerpts from the CD via NPR's Weekend Edition; this post at WFIU's Night Lights blog, with an archive of the program's Golson tribute plus related info and links; and Doug Ramsey's appreciation of Golson, with videos.

* Saxophonist Dave Liebman, who played Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series in November, was interviewed before a recent performance in New Hampshire. Also, the New York Times reviewed a recent Liebman NYC performance at NYC's Birdland with a quintet that included Randy Brecker on trumpet, Billy Hart on drums and Marc Copland on piano. (Copland will be in St. Louis on Friday, February 13 to play a trio concert at the 560 Music Center.)

* The Bad Plus, who just did their annual gig at the Bistro a couple of weeks ago, have a new CD, For All I Care, coming out this week. Another Bistro perennial, singer/pianist Tony DeSare, also has a new CD called Radio Show, reviewed here

* Last but not least, following up on a previous post here about adding support for the arts to the stimulus bill currently being considered by Congrees, via New Music ReBlog: The Performing Arts Alliance is alerting everyone that Congress is still debating whether or not to include the National Endowment for the Arts in the stimulus bill, officially known as the American Reinvestment Recovery Act of 2009.

Under the House of Representatives plan, the NEA will receive a $50 million supplement to further the arts, but under the Senate’s plan, the NEA is not included. The Performing Arts Alliance has sent out mass emails encouraging everyone to write their Senator, and have even set up a way to do it electronically. "In a time when the world’s view of the United States is less than favorable, we need artists now more than ever to contribute to the world’s culture as a whole," says the PAA. "Submitting the electronic letter takes about five minutes to complete and is very user friendly, so please take action today and help further the good in American culture."

On the same subject, while noting in his monthly big band report that the Toledo Jazz Orchestra recently suspended all concert activities, AllAboutJazz.com's Jack Bowers makes the case for increased support of the arts :

"In times of economic stress, the arts (excepting perhaps the cinema) are among the first things to be sacrificed on the altar of belt-tightening. Those who rely on the arts to help maintain some semblance of sanity in otherwise troubled times know the opposite should be true, but their voices are weak and ineffectual in the face of fiscal disarray. And so there will be less music (of substance), less dance, less theatre (some Broadway shows already are closing the doors while others are barely alive and kicking). Unless people have discretionary money to spend on such pursuits, many are doomed to failure, especially as philanthropic grants are also drying up.

Let us hope the situation is temporary, and that the arts will someday soon regain their lost footing and flourish again. It is something to look forward to."

(Edited 2/11/09 to correct the venue for the Al Jarreau concert.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Two favorites from Al Jarreau

This week, we turn our spotlight on singer Al Jarreau, who's coming to St. Louis on Friday, February 13 to perform at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. These two clips feature a couple of the signature songs from Jarreau's early albums on Warner Brothers that continue to be concert staples for him to this day.

Up top, the first video is a 1976 rendition of Paul Desmond's "Take Five" taken from a German TV broadcast. Jarreau, backed by Tom Canning on keyboards, Jerome Rimson on bass and Nigel Wilkinson on drums, is working free and loose here, and demonstrates a range of vocal techniques, from mouth percussion to keening lines that evoke a tenor sax.

Down below is a version of Chick Corea's "Spain," recorded in 1990 at the "Live Under The Sky" festival in Tokyo, Japan. Jarreau sings a straightforward version of the tune, and then hands it off to Joe Sample, who provides a nice Tyneresque solo on piano, and Steve Gadd, who whips things up on drums before Jarreau returns to reprise the head.



(Edited 2/11/09 to correct the venue for the show.)

Al Jarreau to sing at the TouPAC on Friday, February 13

The Touhill Performing Arts Center has just announced that versatile singer Al Jarreau, the only vocalist ever to win Grammy Awards in the jazz, pop and R&B categories, will perform at the hall on Friday, February 13.

Jarreau almost came to St. Louis most recently in 2007, when he had been scheduled to provide the music for the Jazz St. Louis benefit gala but canceled to go on tour with guitarist/singer George Benson. (He was replaced at that event by the Neville Brothers.) Jarreau's two most recent CDs, Love Songs and Christmas, both came out in 2008.

Ticket prices for the February 13 show will range from a low of $30 to $100 for "Gold Circle seating," which includes the closest seats in the house and allows ticket holders to bring drinks into the performance hall. Tickets for Al Jarreau concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center can be purchased now via the TouPAC Web site or by calling 314-516-4949.

Jarreau out, Neville Brothers in as headliners for Jazz St. Louis gala

Although the news is apparently several weeks old, Jazz St. Louis today sent out an announcement that their 2007 benefit gala scheduled for Friday, March 23 would be headlined by the New Orleans funk band The Neville Brothers. The name of Al Jarreau, previously announced as the main attraction for the event, was nowhere to be found.

I say "apparently several weeks old" because while this is the first notice StLJN has received of the change in headliners, a Google search reveals that Post-Dispatch gossip columnist Deb Peterson wrote about the switch in a brief item at the bottom of her February 9 column:

"Guests at "JAM-A-LOT," the gala benefit for Jazz St. Louis on March 23, will revel with the Nevilles — the Neville Brothers. The band, whose blend of blues, jazz, funk and New Orleans soul is legendary, will be the featured entertainers at the note-able event at Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark Hotel. Al Jarreau had originally been scheduled to headline but had to postpone his appearance."

Setting aside the rather curious wording of this item - how can one "postpone" an appearance at an event that's only held once a year? - a check of the JSL Web site shows that while a couple of references to Jarreau as headliner for the event that were there before are now gone, there's no mention of the Nevilles anywhere, either.

Meanwhile, a look at Jarreau's site, where the last update to his tour schedule was made on February 19, reveals that the singer is set to be in Cape Town, South Africa on March 22 and Perth, Australia on March 24 as part of a tour with George Benson that runs from March 18 to April 3. March 23 is shown as an open date.

With this information, one can surmise that Jarreau had agreed to do JSL's gala, then subsequently confirmed tour dates "down under" and pulled out of the St. Louis appearance. (I've seen some crazy tour routings before, but I think it's safe to assume that no management firm or booking agency would even consider trying to route a client from South Africa to Australia via St. Louis.)

So, given that the switch was made more than a month ago, why didn't JSL just send out a straightforward announcement to their media list at the time? It may be disappointing, perhaps even embarrassing, to lose a headliner in midstream, but these sorts of things happen all the time, and it's not necessarily the presenter's fault. Who knows, perhaps Jarreau has an escape clause built into his standard contract that allows him to get out of a show if it conflicts with a longer tour.

If the feeling was that switching headliners in midstream was somehow a potential liability for the event, giving the information to Deb Peterson doesn't seem like the way to play it down. But Peterson's column is a way to reach the sort of people who attend a lot of charity events in St. Louis, and since a search on Jarreau, the Nevilles and JSL suggests that she's the only one who's published anything about this, one may presume that was the intent.

That still doesn't explain why all mention of Jarreau has been expunged from subsequent communications, especially when things coule be cleared up simply by saying, "The Neville Brothers replace singer Al Jarreau, who was originally announced as headliner but had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict"?

As for the musical substance of the switch: Personally, I enjoy the Nevilles, and have paid my own money to see them more than once, but they're not a jazz group, even using a very broad interpretation of the term. And yes, all things being equal, it probably would be more appropriate for a jazz organization to present an actual jazz group at its biggest event of the year. However, JSL's benefit gala is aimed more at wealthy folks who can afford $300 to $500 a ticket than at hardcore jazz fans, and I'd guess that most of those who attend do so to show their support for the organization and not because of any particular headliner.

Finally, if this news really is more than a month old, why does the JSL Web site still have no updated information about the event? StLJN has made inquiries to Jazz St. Louis marketing coordinator Adam Roach, who's listed as the press contact on today's release. We'll let you know what he has to say.

UPDATE - 3/8/07, 1:25 p.m.: Roach has emailed back confirming that events transpired pretty much as described above, with Jarreau pulling out of his St. Louis appearance after the tour dates with George Benson came though. No word as to why it took so long to get the news out, though.