So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Chuck Flowers (pictured) was interviewed on the webcast "Jazz in the AM."

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has released a clip from his most recent "Online Sessions" video, a version of "Georgia On My Mind" recorded with organist Joey DeFrancesco and drummer Billy Kilson.

* In a new video for Rhythm magazine, drummer Dave Weckl reveals the details of his home studio setup for playing and teaching online.

* Also on the Weckl beat, he and fellow drummer Rob Silverman were the guests on last week's Modern Drummer podcast, discussing their most recent recordings and the drumming contest being sponsored by the magazine and their label Autumn Hill Records.

* The Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson this week reported that Atomic Cowboy, the long-running bar, restaurant and music venue in The Grove neighborhood, has closed permanently and put all its equipment and fixtures up for auction.

* Also from Kevin Johnson in the Post, a look at how cabaret venue Blue Strawberry has adapted to present different types of live music during the pandemic.

* An article at UDiscoverMusic.com takes a retrospective look at Miles Davis' classic 1950s album Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet.

* In more Miles Davis-related news, tattoo artist Kat Von D is being sued by a Los Angeles photographer who alleges that a tattooed image of Davis rendered by Von D for one of her customers infringes on his copyrighted photo of the trumpeter.

* And finally, a short feature in Far Out magazine recounts the story of the time in 1969 when Davis was asked by guitarist Jimi Hendrix to form a "supergroup" that also would have included drummer Tony Williams and Beatles bassist Paul McCartney.

Rebirth Brass Band returning to perform Saturday, May 30 at Atomic Cowboy

New Orleans' Rebirth Brass Band is returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, May 30 at the Atomic Cowboy pavilion.

The group (pictured) last played here in September 2019 at the same venue. Their most recent recording is Move Your Body, which came out in 2014 on Basin Street Records.

Tickets for Rebirth Brass Band are $20 for general admission, $25 day of show, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, March 6 via Ticketweb.com.

Jazz this week: David Sanborn, Norman Brown's "Summer Storm," The New Mastersounds, Diego Figueiredo, and more

It's a jam-packed week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with notable shows including a homecoming for one of our city's favorite sons, plus sounds from a visiting Broadway star, a British funk band, a Brazilian guitarist, and much more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 16
Singer and actress Rachel Bay Jones, known as one of the stars of the Broadway show Dear Evan Hansen, performs for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis as part of their series of co-presentations with Cabaret Project of St. Louis.

Nearby in Grand Center, the weekly "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" features Sweet & Low (guitarists Adam Wilke and Celia Shacklett) at The Stage at KDHX; the jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center; and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, October 17
Guitarist Bob Lanzetti of Snarky Puppy will perform at Pop's Blue Moon; and the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert of Argentinian and Brazilian music, featuring pianist Ken Kehner, guitarist William Lenihan, bassist Joseph Lepore, and drummer Steve Davis with Amy Greenhalgh (violin), Ranya Iqbal (cello), and Victoria Voumard (viola).

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Andy Ament leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern, and keyboardist Ryan Marquez returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, October 18
Saxophonist David Sanborn (pictured, top left) will be back home again for a performance at The Sheldon, helping to celebrate the completion and official debut of a plaza, walkway and vertical garden on the west side of the hall.

Also on Friday, Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo (pictured, center left) will perform with backing from bassist and singer Janet Evra's quartet at the Grandel Theatre; and Jazz St. Louis will be "Celebrating Ella Fitzgerald" for the first of two nights with singer Anita Jackson, pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson, bassist Jahmal Nichols, drummer Montez Coleman and saxophonist Ben Reece.

Elsewhere around town, the Original Knights of Swing plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; singer Jan Shapiro returns to the Ozark Theatre; and trumpeter Jim Manley will play a late evening gig at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club.

Saturday, October 19
British funk/jazz group The New Mastersounds (pictured, bottom left) returns for a performance at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

They're celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band with a new album, Shake It, released last month, and a tour featuring guest vocalist Lamar Williams, Jr. For more about Shake It plus some videos of recent performances, take a look at this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Norman Brown and his "Summer Storm" show, featuring saxophonist Euge Groove, singer Lindsay Webster, and the Coleman Hughes Project, will play two shows at the Grandel Theatre; pianist Geoffrey Keezer leads a trio in a concert at Open Studio in Grand Center's Centene Center for the Arts; and the New Orleans Suspects are back in town to play at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, October 20
Miss Jubilee performs for jazz brunch at Evangeline's, while guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran returns to The Dark Room.

Also on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents the Arcadia Dance Orchestra at the Moolah Shrine Center's Oasis Room.

Tuesday, October 21
Pianist and singer Jesse Gannon plays at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: "Shake It" with The New Mastersounds

This week, we're checking out some videos featuring The New Mastersounds, who will be coming to St. Louis to perform next Saturday, October 19 at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

A funk/jazz quartet with a stripped-down sound that's been compared to the Meters, Booker T and the MGs, and St. Louis' own Grant Green, The New Mastersounds - guitarist and bandleader Eddie Roberts, drummer Simon Allen, bassist Pete Shand, and keyboardist Joe Tatton - last played here in May 2016, also at Atomic Cowboy.

This time around, they're celebrating their 20th year as a band, plus the release of a new album, Shake It, which came out in September on Roberts' new Color Red label. The new album and their current tour also are their first to feature vocalist Lamar Williams Jr. (whose dad played bass with the Allman Brothers Band and Sea Level).

You can see the Mastersounds with Williams in the first video up above, a mini-set recorded in May of this year at Paste Studio in NYC that features the songs "Let's Go Back," "Shake It" and "Love They Deserve."

After the jump, there's a full set of music, recorded in September at Terminal West in Atlanta, that includes all the songs from Shake It.

That's followed by another full set of music, recorded in July at Ardmore Music Hall in Philadelphia.

The last three videos depict live-in-the-studio performances that were part of the Mastersounds' immediately previous album The Nashville Sessions 2, released last November. Like the original Nashville Sessions album, it was recorded live-to-tape in a single session before a small audience at Welcome to 1979 Studios in Nashville, with the results including the tracks seen here, "Yokacoka," "All I Want (Right Now)" and "3 on the B."

For more about The New Mastersounds, check out Eddie Roberts' interview last year with Jambase.com and an interview he did around the same time with "The Sound Podcast with Ira Haberman."

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

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.)

Rebirth Brass Band, The New Mastersounds returning this fall to Atomic Cowboy

Atomic Cowboy today announced two bookings of interest of StLJN readers.

New Orleans' Rebirth Brass Band (pictured) will return to St. Louis to perform at 7:00 p.m. Friday, September 6 at the venue's outdoor pavilion.

Their most recent recording, which was boosted considerably by the group's appearances in the HBO series Treme, is 2014's Move Your Body. They last played here in September 2017, also at the Atomic Cowboy.

Tickets for Rebirth Brass Band at the Atomic Cowboy are $20 in advance, $23 day of show, and are on sale now.

The following month, the British instrumental funk/jazz quartet The New Mastersounds will be back in town to play at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, October 19, also at the outdoor pavilion.

The group will be touring in celebration of their 20th year as a band, with singer Lamar Williams Jr., -  son of late Allman Brothers Band bassist Lamar Williams and featured vocalist on their 2018 single "Trouble" - along as a guest performer.

The New Mastersounds put out two albums last year, Renewable Energy and The Nashville Session 2, the latter being a followup to 2016's The Nashville Session using the same live-in-the-studio format. Their last St. Louis appearance was in May 2016 at Atomic Cowboy.

Tickets for The New Mastersounds at Atomic Cowboy are $20 in advance, $25 day of show, and also are on sale now.

Jazz this week: Shoshana Bean, Snarky Puppy, James Carter, Lamar Harris, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features some cabaret vocals from a Broadway star; a couple of stand-out saxophonists; a genre-straddling, Grammy Award winning fusion band; and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, May 15
Jazz St. Louis closes out their cabaret series co-produced this season with Cabaret Project of St. Louis, presenting the first of two nights of performances by singer Shoshana Bean.

In addition to her work in cabaret, Bean is well-known as the star of several Broadway musicals, including the current hit Waitress, from which she's taking a brief break for her cabaret shows here.

Also on Wednesday, the aforementioned Cabaret Project of St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club;  guitarist Brian Vaccaro plays at Evangeline's; and Miss Jubilee performs at Schlafly Bottleworks.

Thursday, May 16
NYC-based saxophonist Brian Krock, who went to music school up the road at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, performs in an early show at The Dark Room with his band Liddle, a subset of his big band Big Heart Machine.

Also on Thursday, singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club and Jon Thomas & Friends play at the The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, May 17
Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris performs for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday, the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, trumpeter Jim Manley returns to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar, and drummer Kyle Honeycutt leads a trio for the late-night (actually early morning) gig at Mangia Italiano.

Saturday, May 18
The Funky Butt Brass Band plays their monthly show at the Broadway Oyster Bar, and keyboardist Mo Egeston delivers the late night grooves at The Dark Room.

Sunday, May 19
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents Cornet Chop Suey playing traditional jazz and vintage swing at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport.

Also on Sunday afternoon, saxophonist James Carter (pictured, bottom left) will perform with some help from pianist Peter Martin's at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Then on Sunday night, the jazz/funk/world fusion band
Snarky Puppy (pictured, top left) will play an outdoor show at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

They're touring in support of their latest album Immigrance, which came out in March. For more about that, and some video footage of recent performances including material from the new album, see this post from last Saturday.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Snarky Puppy's eclectic collective

This week, it's time to check out some videos of jazz/funk/world/fusion band Snarky Puppy, who will be returning to St. Louis to perform Sunday, May 19 at Atomic Cowboy's outdoor pavilion.

Sometimes described as "a loose collective" under the leadership of bassist and founder Michael League, with a lineup that can range in size from seven or eight musicians up to 25, Snarky Puppy draws on an eclectic mix of influences - most notably jazz and funk, but also a variety of other musics from around the world.

Thanks in part to relentless touring and in part to winning Grammy Awards in 2014, 2016 and 2017, their fortunes have risen rapidly in recent years. They've gone from playing small-to-medium-sized clubs to headlining major venues and festivals around the world, and in 2017 even started their own annual event, the GroundUP Music Festival in Miami Beach, FL.

Snarky Puppy currently are touring in support of their most recent album Immigrance, which came out in March. You can hear some of the music from the album starting up above with the "official" video for "Bad Kids to the Back," which was done to promote the song's release as a single.

After the jump, you can see the first live performance ever of "Xavi," another tune from Immigrance, as recorded in February at the band's GroundUp Music Festival. That's followed by another performance from this year's GroundUP event, "Thing of Gold," which was originally recorded for their 2012 album GroundUP.

Next, it's "Grown Folks," as recorded in July 2018 at the Festival Django Reinhardt in France, and then "Go," as captured in November 2018 at Sol de Sants Studios in Barcelona, Spain for the web series "The Furious Sessions."

Last but not least, you can see a full set from a show in June 2018 at The Fillmore in Philadelphia.

For more about Snarky Puppy and Immigrance, check out the interview and performances featured on this week's episode of NPR's "World Cafe", and Michael League's interviews from March of this year with Rolling Stone and Qwest.tv.

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

Jazz this week: Ralph Towner, MarchFourth, Oliver Lake, Bonerama, Michael Bublé, Oz Noy, Dave Weckl & Jimmy Haslip, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis is jam-packed with so many noteworthy shows that it defies easy summary, so in the interest of getting to the good stuff as soon as possible, let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, 
March 20
Guitarist Ralph Towner returns to play a solo concert at Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus. (For more about Towner and some video samples of his work, see this post from before his last appearance here in 2017.)

Also on Wednesday, the eclectic mutant-marching-band MarchFourth returns for a performance at the Old Rock House; Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge; and pianist Reggie Thomas and the Jazz St. Louis Big Band celebrate the "Nat "King" Cole Centennial" with a free performance as part of the the "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series at Jazz St. Louis.

Thursday, March 21
The 442s play original instrumental music at Joe's Cafe, and guitarist Billy Barnett will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, March 22
The Nu-Art Series and St. Louis University  present saxophonist Oliver Lake (pictured, top left) in concert at Xavier Hall on the SLU campus.

The former St. Louisan and co-founder of the Black Artists Group and the World Saxophone Quartet will be reciting some of his poetry as well as playing music, with some help from pianist Greg Mills, trumpeter and Nu-Art Series impresario George Sams, and dancers Antonio Douthis-Boyd and Kirven Douthis-Boyd.

For more about Lake and his artistic pursuits in music, poetry, and painting, see this post from last Saturday. 

Also on Friday, Bonerama (pictured, center left) presents their Led Zeppelin tribute show at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy; pop-jazz crooner Michael Bublé will perform at the Enterprise Center; and the Funky Butt Brass Band plays for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Saturday, March 23
NYC-based band The Bailsmen will play vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at Focal Point, and a series of shows celebrating the release of the new book St. Louis Sound kicks off with "St. Louis Sound: Experience Jazz," featuring sets from Tonina, the Adam Maness Trio, and trumpeter Danny Campbell with guest vocalist Anita Jackson, at the Grandel Theatre.

Also on Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True return to the Parkside Grille, and trumpeter Jim Manley leads a quartet at Evangeline's.

Sunday, March 24
Israeli-born jazz-fusion guitarist Oz Noy wraps up his current tour with drummer and St. Charles native Dave Weckl (pictured, bottom left) and bassist Jimmy Haslip with two shows at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Monday, March 25
Singer and impressionist Dean Christopher returns with his "Rat Pack and More" show to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar; and Webster University's Student Jazz Combos perform at Webster's Community Music School.

Tuesday, March 26
Nashville-based ensemble The Cosmic Collective plays at Evangeline's.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found on the left sidebar of the site or by clicking here. You also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or clicking the "Like" icon on the StLJN Facebook page.

(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

Bonerama set to "get the Led out" on Friday, March 22 at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy

The trombone-centric, New Orleans-based band Bonerama (pictured) is headed back to St. Louis for a show at 8:00 p.m. Friday, March 22 at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy.

Promoted as "Bonerama Gets The Led Out," the band's current tour features a "special tribute set to Led Zeppelin."

General admission tickets for the 21+ performance are $15 in advance, $18 day of show, and are on sale now via TicketWeb.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2019 jazz preview, part six

Today, here's the sixth and final part of StLJN's winter/spring 2019 jazz preview, featuring videos of bands and musicians who will be coming to St. Louis to perform in the next few months. You can see part one of the series here, part two here, part three here, part four here, and part five here.

Picking up where last week's installment left off, the first video up above features percussionist Pedrito Martinez, who's returning with his group to perform Wednesday, April 24 through Sunday, April 28 at Jazz St. Louis. The video shows their entire set from the 2018 Springfield Jazz Festival this past summer in Springfield, MA.

After the jump, you can see saxophonist Boney James, who will be here for a concert on Friday, April 26 at The Pageant. The video shows James playing "Tick Tock" in 2017 at The Wave/Honda Soundstage in Los Angeles.

Next up, it's pianist Arturo O'Farrill, who will perform with his Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble from Wednesday, May 1 through Sunday, May 5 at Jazz St. Louis. The video shows them performing a full set of music recorded in July 2018 at The Greene Space, the performance venue of radio stations WNYC and WQXR in New York City.

The following week, the acclaimed young vocalist Jazzmeia Horn will make her St. Louis debut with shows starting Wednesday, May 8 and continuing through Sunday, May 12 at Jazz St. Louis. The third clip after the jump shows Horn's entire set from the jazzahead! festival in April 2018 in Bremen, Germany.

The next video features singer Shoshana Bean, who will perform on Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 16 at Jazz St. Louis to wrap the cabaret series JSL presented this year in conjunction with Cabaret Project of St. Louis. The clip shows Bean singing the song "Ain't No Way," made famous by Aretha Franklin, as recorded in 2017 at Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles.

A few days later, saxophonist James Carter will team up with pianist Peter Martin's trio for a matinee concert on Sunday, May 19 at The Sheldon. He can be seen in the next clip getting nice and greasy on a tune called "Soul Street," recorded last year at Jazzwoche Burghausen in Germany.

That same evening of May 19, jazz-fusion band Snarky Puppy will return to kick off the outdoor concert season at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion. The next-to-last video shows their entire set from the 2018 LEAF Spring festival in Asheville, NC

Today's final video shows guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli and singer Catherine Russell performing "All of Me" as part of their collaborative show "Billie & Blue Eyes," which features their interpretations of music associated with Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. They'll be here to perform the show starting Wednesday, May 22 through Sunday, May 26 at Jazz St. Louis.

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

Snarky Puppy to perform Sunday, May 19 at Atomic Cowboy Pavilion block party

Snarky Puppy, winners of three Grammy Awards and just named "Best Jazz Group" in this year's DownBeat readers poll, is returning to St. Louis to perform at 7:00 p.m. Sunday, May 19 at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

While on record they're a loose collective of about 30 musicians under the leadership of bassist and composer Michael League, Snarky Puppy (pictured) usually features from eight to 12 players in their touring ensemble.

Their latest "official" recording is Culcha Vulcha, which came out in 2016 and won a Grammy for "Best Contemporary Instrumental Album," but they also document many of their live shows and put them out online as digital-only releases.

Snarky Puppy last played in St. Louis in May 2016 at the Ready Room, when the effects of their Grammy win that year were just beginning to be felt. Since then, they've headlined at major events including Newport Jazz Festival; toured in the US, South America and Europe; and generally seen their collective star rise precipitously. While another studio release reportedly has been in the works since last year, so far there's no definite word of a new album or possible release date, but that easily could change between now and next May.

Reflecting the band's increased draw, their upcoming St. Louis show will be the first "block party" of the season at Atomic Cowboy. The event format, which debuted this past summer, involves closing down the first block of Talmage Ave south of Manchester, allowing for up to 1500 attendees.

Tickets for Snarky Puppy at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion are $35 in advance, $40 day of show, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, November 30 via TicketWeb.

Jazz this week: Byron Stripling; Bonearama; Lee, McPhee, Corsano & Orcutt; Dave King & Chris Weller; and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes New Music Circle's first concerts of their 60th season; the return of a popular trumpeter and singer to Jazz St. Louis; the drummer of The Bad Plus in one of his several side projects; and more.

Let's go to the highlights ...

Wednesday, September 19
Trumpeter Byron Stripling (pictured, top left) returns to Jazz St. Louis for the first of five nights of performances.

Stripling, who directs the Columbus (OH) Jazz Orchestra and also is known for his tribute to the music of Louis Armstrong, will be the first musician to do a five-night run at the Bistro since Sunday matinees and evening performances were added for select artists.

Elsewhere in Grand Center, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club; and the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features the Jazz Troubadours at The Stage at KDHX, plus the jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, Wright's Project plays jazz-fusion and funk at Al's Lounge, and bassist Glen Smith and guitarist Eric Slaughter perform at Evangeline's.

Thursday, September 20
Guitarist Daryl Darden, back home from California for visit, will lead a quartet in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Also on Thursday, The People's Key play at the Chase Club, and the Joe Park Trio performs at The Dark Room.

Friday, 
September 21
New Music Circle presents cellist Okkyung Lee, multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, percussionist Chris Corsano and guitarist Bill Orcutt (pictured, bottom left) at Joe's Cafe in the first of two nights of improvised duo performances.

While they're in town, Lee also will present a workshop and artist talk at 3:00 p.m. Thursday at SLU’s Xavier Hall Studio Theatre, and McPhee will do a solo performance at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at the Contemporary Art Museum, responding to CAM’s exhibit of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Both events are free and open to the public.

Also on Friday, New Orleans' Bonerama returns for a show at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion, with an opening set from the Funky Butt Brass Band

Elsewhere around town, jazz-fusion band Koplant No plays a free concert at 560 Music Center, and Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson returns to the Parkside Grille.

Saturday, September 22
New Music Circle presents a second evening of improvisational duets from Okkyung Lee, Joe McPhee, Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt, this time at Off Broadway; and trumpeter Jim Manley leads a trio at Evangeline's.

Sunday, September 23
Drummer Montez Coleman and friends will play for brunch at The Dark Room, while Miss Jubilee performs at Evangeline's.

Then on Sunday evening, drummer Dave King of The Bad Plus and Happy Apple teams with Chicago-based saxophonist Chris Weller for a duo performance at The Dark Room.

Monday, September 24
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz for diners at The Shaved Duck, and guitarist Daryl Darden gets in another gig on his visit home, this time at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Tuesday, September 25
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo and band perform at The Dark Room.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2018 jazz preview, part one

With the start of the season just a few weeks away, it's time once again for StLJN's fall jazz preview, presenting videos featuring the jazz and creative music performers and bands who will be visiting St. Louis in the next few months.

The Fall 2018 presenting season opens with a big name, as pianist Chick Corea will be bringing his latest trio, featuring Carlitos Del Puerto on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums, to town to perform on Tuesday, September 11 and Wednesday, September 12 at Jazz St. Louis.

You can see and hear them in the first video up above, performing Corea's signature song "Spain" last year as the encore to a set at the Blue Note Hawaii in Honolulu.

After the jump, you can see a clip featuring another talented pianist, Cuban-born Harold Lopez-Nussa, who will be here for a one-night-only show on Thursday, September 13 at Jazz St. Louis. The video captures Lopez-Nussa performance's in December 2017 at the studios of WGBH in Boston, accompanied by with his brother, Ruy López-Nussa on drums, and Gastón Joya on bass.

Next up is Big Sam's Funky Nation, who will be bringing their New Orleans funk on Friday, September 14 to the Old Rock House. Big Sam and company can be seen here performing "We Gon' Do It/Gimme Dat" in May of this year at The Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton, FL.

The following week, trumpeter and vocalist Byron Stripling will return to perform starting Wednesday, September 19 through Sunday, September 23 at Jazz St. Louis. He's shown in the third video after the jump, a recording of a set from May 2016 that has Stripling backed by a local rhythm section in Havana, Cuba.

That same week, another New Orleans favorite, Bonerama, will return for a show on Friday, September 21 at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion, with St. Louis' own Funky Butt Brass Band opening. Bonerama can be seen in the next video, offering their take on the Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post" in March of this year, also at The Funky Biscuit.

The last three clips feature musicians who will be performing as part of New Music Circle's first event of the season. NMC will kick off their 60th anniversary year with a weekend of shows featuring four improvising musicians - cellist Okkyung Lee, multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, percussionist Chris Corsano, and guitarist Bill Orcutt - combined in different duo pairings on Friday, September 21 at Joe's Cafe and Saturday, September 22 at Off Broadway.

The antepenultimate clip shows a solo performance by Lee, recorded in February 2017 at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, CA. That's followed by a video documenting a duo set by McPhee and percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love during a residency in December 2017 at Cafe Oto in London. The final video captures a duo performance by Corsano and Orcutt in January 2018 at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco.

Look for part two of StLJN's Fall 2018 jazz preview next week in this space. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Jazz this week: Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Hermann Wine & Jazz Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a diverse lineup of shows featuring female vocalists, plus a free festival out in Missouri wine country, a return appearance from saxophonist/vocalist Karl Denson and band, and more.


Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 15
Cabaret Project St. Louis presents this month's edition of what they're now calling the "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club in the .ZACK building in Grand Center.

Also on Wednesday, guitarist Joe Park leads a trio at Yaquis on Cherokee; Wright's Project returns to Al's Lounge; and the weekly, free "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features guitarist Travis Lewis leading a trio 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, August 16
Singer Anita Jackson performs at 50/Fifty Kitchen; singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul are back at the Chase Club, and bassist Chano Cruz leads a trio at The Dark Room.

Friday, August 17
Saxophonist and singer Karl Denson brings his band Tiny Universe (pictured, top left) back to the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion, with opening sets from locals The Grooveliner and Brother Francis & The Soultones.

In addition to some funky favorites from their back catalog, you can expect to hear some material from KDTU's soon-to-be-released next album, as well as a few Allman Brothers covers. For more about the Allmans connection and some video samples from recent shows, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, singer Denise Thimes, who relocated to Chicago earlier this year, is back home for the weekend and will sing the music of Roberta Flack for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Elsewhere around town, the Hard Bop Messengers will spread the gospel of Art Blakey at Evangeline's; trumpeter Jim Manley returns to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar; and Focal Point begins a several-weeks-long slate of vintage jazz shows with at "Django Reinhardt Tribute" featuring guitarists Joe Park, Eric Slaughter, Gary Hunt, Paul Davis and John Miller.

Saturday, August 18
Singer and impresario Wendy Gordon presents "Jazz Heaven: Under The Rainbow II," the latest installment in her long-running series of tribute shows, with a cast including Jeanne Trevor (pictured, bottom left), Kim Fuller-Barnes, Dean Christopher, Eugene Johnson, and more, at the Florissant Civic Center Theater.

Also on Saturday, you can head west to wine country for the annual Hermann Wine & Jazz Festival, a free, day-long event featuring music from drummer Montez Coleman's quartet, SpaceShip, Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7, the Joe Mancuso Organ Trio, Bach to the Future and more at the Hermann Amphitheater.

Elsewhere around town, singer Feyza Eren will perform at Evangeline's; singer Mary Dyson returns to Troy's Jazz Gallery; and the Chicago Cellar Boys will be in town to play their brand of traditional jazz and swing at the Focal Point.

Sunday, August 19
Although Sunday's concert by trumpeter Herb Alpert and his wife, singer Lani Hall, at the Grandel Theatre has been sold out for several weeks now, you can catch guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran playing for brunch at The Dark Room, then check out an exhibit of some of Alpert's visual art in the Grandel lobby.

Elsewhere on Sunday, the Genesis Jazz Project returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; or if you're on the east side (or can get there), Miss Jubilee is playing a free, all-ages show at Bobby's Frozen Custard in Maryville.

Monday, August 20
Drummer Keith Bowman and his quartet continue their Monday night residency at The Dark Room.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Karl Denson's Tiny Universe

This week, let's check out some videos featuring saxophonist and vocalist Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, who will be in St. Louis to perform next Friday, August 17 at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

KDTU, as they're known to fans, last played here in July 2017 at the same venue. Since then, Denson went to Europe with the Rolling Stones - he's been part of their touring band since 2016 - and KDTU did a series of shows paying tribute to the Allman Brothers Band under the name "Karl Denson's Tiny Universe presents Eat A Bunch of Peaches."

Here in St. Louis, KDTU will be playing material from their forthcoming studio album, plus some music from their back catalog and, more than likely, a few tunes from the Allman tribute as well.

You can see them perform some of those songs today's collection of videos, though the first clip up above is of "Everybody Knows That," a tune from their 2014 album New Ammo, as performed in April of this year on Adult Swim's FishCenter. (Why KDTU appeared on what's billed as "the world’s only LIVE marine-themed, call-in show" is an exercise left to the reader.)

After the jump, you can see some examples of their tribute to the Allmans, in the form of covers of "One Way Out," recorded last November, and "Whipping Post," from this year's Telluride Jazz Festival, followed by a full set of ABB songs recorded in April of this year at the Buckhead Theater in Atlanta.

If you're in the mood for more after that, you can check two more full sets from 2017, recorded at Levitt Pavilion in Denver and Ardmore Music Hall in Philadephia.

For more about Karl Denson and Tiny Universe, read Denson's interview with the Telluride News and a feature story about the band published on TomorrowsVerse.com.

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

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe to perform Friday, August 17 at Atomic Cowboy Pavilion

Saxophonist and singer Karl Denson and his band Tiny Universe are returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Friday, August 17 at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

Denson (pictured) - who in recent years also has been part of the Rolling Stones' tour band - will be playing songs from the upcoming Tiny Universe studio album and from a recent string of shows paying tribute to the Allman Brothers Band, as well as older material.  His most recent St. Louis performance was in July 2017, also at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

In addition to the leader, the current Tiny Universe lineup includes Chris Littlefield (trumpet), Zak Najor (drums), Chris Stillwell (bass), David Veith (keyboards), DJ Williams (guitar) and Seth Freeman (slide & lap steel guitar).

Tickets for Karl Denson and Tiny Universe at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion are $25 in advance, $30 day of show, and are on sale now via TicketWeb.

Jazz this week: Take 6, Tatsuya Nakatani, Bonerama, Xmas jazz around town, and more

It's going to be a busy few days for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, and though a couple of high-profile shows are sold out (or nearly so), there's still going to be plenty of music - holiday and other - available on local stages. Let's go to the highlights.

Wednesday, December 13
Acappella vocal group Take 6 returns for the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro. The run of shows was described by Jazz St. Louis on Tuesday as "nearly sold out," so if you want to hear the multiple Grammy winners in the intimate confines of the Bistro, you'll definitely need to call ahead for advance reservations, and perhaps a bit of luck as well.

As an alternative, you can see a live video stream of Wednesday's shows in the first floor lounge on the west side of Jazz St. Louis HQ, available with no cover charge in conjunction with the free, weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl".

This week's crawl also features the Jazz Troubadours at The Stage at KDHX, plus the jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, the musical show "An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas" resumes its run,  continuing with performances through Sunday afternoon at the Playhouse at Westport Plaza.

Thursday, December 14
Singer Dianne Reeves, who had been scheduled to headline "Gospel Christmas: A Soulful Celebration" with the St. Louis Symphony at Powell Hall, announced on Thursday that she would be unable to perform due to an unspecified health issue. Simultaneously, the SLSO announced that the show would go on as scheduled, with St. Louis' own Brian Owens standing in for Reeves.

Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode will be in Edwardsville for a holiday concert at the Wildey Theatre; guitarist Dave Black will play at The Pat Connolly Tavern; and trumpeter Keith Moyer and his quintet return to The Dark Room

Friday, December 15
Percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani (pictured, top left) will be back for what has become an annual convening here of his Gong Orchestra, in which he teams up with and trains a group of local musicians in specific techniques for each performance.  This year's edition, presented at the William A Kerr Foundation on the riverfront, will feature a solo percussion set by Nakatani, followed by the Gong Orchestra set with him and 14 collaborators from St. Louis.

Also on Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band kicks off their annual "Holiday Brasstravaganza" weekend at Off Broadway. As of this writing, a few tickets may remain for Friday, but the Saturday night show and a newly added, family friendly Saturday matinee are already sold out.

Elsewhere around town, the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; singer Feyza Eren performs at the house concert venue KindaBlue Club; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play vintage swing, jump blues and more at the Venice Cafe

Saturday, 
December 16
New Orleans' trombone-centric band Bonerama (pictured, bottom left) returns to perform at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy.

Currently touring in support of their new album Hot Like Fire - their first release as part of a new deal with New Orleans' Basin Street Records - Bonerama have been regular visitors to St. Louis for most of this decade, playing at venues including the Old Rock House, Broadway Oyster Bar and The Sheldon. If you've missed out on their brass/funk/rock sound up until now, you can find our more and see some video samples of recent performances in this post from last Saturday. 

Also on Saturday, Wack-A-Doo returns to Evangeline's; saxophonist Dave Stone's trio will play at Thurman's in Shaw; and Miss Jubilee performs at the Casa Loma Ballroom .

Sunday, December 17
There's more holiday jazz in the offing, as the Oikos Ensemble presents "Jazz Noel: A Child is Born" at the First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, while the Dave Dickey Big Band celebrates a "Big Band Christmas" with singer Anita Jackson and guest intermission performers, the North County HS Jazz Ensemble, at .ZACK in Grand Center.

Monday, December 18
Trumpeter Jim Manley plays his weekly Monday night gig at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, December 19
Still more holiday jazz on tap, as the Jazz St. Louis Big Band will play Duke Ellington's "Nutcracker" Suite (plus additional Ellingtonia) for the first of three nights at Jazz at the Bistro, and The 442s present their "Holiday Spectacular" at 560 Music Center

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Bonerama puts low brass on top

This week, StLJN's video spotlight shines on Bonerama, who will be back in St. Louis to perform on Saturday, December 16 at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy.

The New Orleans-based band puts the low brass on top, thanks to a three-trombone front line plus a sousaphone standing in for electric bass. Formed in 1998 by trombonists Mark Mullins and Craig Klein, both veterans of Harry Connick Jr.'s big band, they've forged a distinctive sound that incorporates their hometown musical traditions into funky yet hard-rocking covers of songs by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, using trombones to deliver the heavy riffs originally played by fuzzed-out guitars.

Bonerama tours frequently outside their hometown, and have been coming to St. Louis at least once a year since the late 2000s, playing several different venues including the Broadway Oyster Bar and the Old Rock House. Most recently, since their last visit here in early 2016, they signed with the New Orleans-based Basin Street Records and in October released Hot Like Fire, their first album for the label.

If you haven't been able to catch one of their previous shows here, you can sample their sound and get an idea of what to expect from their live show via today's collection of videos, starting up above with "Swamped In," recorded in May 2016 at Generations Hall in New Orleans for the local TV program New Orleans Live.

After the jump, you can see a video of "Mr. Okra," Bonerama's tribute to a beloved local New Orleans character/vegetable vendor, that was recorded for the same program.

That's followed by two clips shot in April 2016 at the CrawDebauchery Food & Music Festival in Pompano Beach, FL, namely Bonerama's storied "Led Zeppelin Medley: In My Time Of Dying~Black Dog~Good Times Bad Times" and a cover of Radiohead's "Paranoid Android."

Lastly, if you're ready for more after that, you can see videos of two complete Bonerama shows, recorded in February of this year at Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, PA (near Philadelphia) and in September at the Blues, Views and BBQ Festival in Westport, CT.

For more about Bonerama and Hot Like Fire, check out the two short interview features about them published in October by Offbeat magazine and CEGPresents.com.

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

Jazz this week: Rebirth Brass Band, Shotgun Jazz Band with Charlie Halloran, and more

With the start of the fall presenting season still a couple of weeks away, the schedule of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis is a bit light this weekend, but it does feature two bands bringing a bit of New Orleans to our town, plus some other noteworthy shows.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 30
Pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson will perform at Evangeline's, and this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe, a jam session with bassist Bob Deboo and friends at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor at The Dark Room.

Thursday, August 31
Up for the weekend from New Orleans, the Shotgun Jazz Band - with St. Louis native Charlie Halloran on trombone - will play the first show of their visit at Joe's Cafe & Gallery.

Also on Thursday, Animal Children will perform at The Dark Room, and pianist and singer Jesse Gannon plays solo at The Monocle.

Friday, September 1
Also visiting this weekend from New Orleans, the Rebirth Brass Band (pictured, top left) returns to headline an outdoor show at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion,  with support from fellow New Orleans denizens Dumpstaphunk. You can get a taste of Rebirth's contemporary spin on the traditional brass band sound via video in this post from a couple of weeks ago.

Elsewhere around town, singer-guitarist Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing will play a free show at Eckert's Country Store & Farms in Belleville; singer Meghan Kirk performs her cabaret show "Out of My Head" at The Stage at KDHX; and Cafe Danza, featuring guitarist Farshid Etniko and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman. will promote their new recording with a concert at Focal Point.

And although it's not a jazz event per se, StLJN readers also may be interested in the Big Muddy Blues Festival, which gets underway on Friday and will feature performances from dozens of local acts throughout the weekend.

Saturday, September 2
Shotgun Jazz Band plays their second show of the weekend, this time at Focal Point; and keyboardist Mo Egeston and friends will keep up the late night grooves at The Dark Room.

Sunday, September 3
The Friends of Scott Joplin present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" matinee at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe; Wright's Project play jazz-fusion and funk at Patois Eatery & Social Lounge (in the space formerly occupied by the Rustic Goat at 2617 Washington Ave downtown), and the Genesis Jazz Project with guest vocalist Joe Mancuso will play straight-ahead and modern jazz at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups

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.)