Jazz this week: Brand X, Tony Grey, Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features a bit of a British invasion, with two shows featuring headliners with roots in England's homegrown jazz-rock movement, plus several other noteworthy performances.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 13
The reunited British fusion band Brand X, touring in support of a live album recorded on tour last year, will perform at the Old Rock House.

Also on Wednesday, the "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" will feature saxophonist Austin Cebulski at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe, plus the weekly jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, September 14
Bassist Tony Grey will perform in the first concert of the semester for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Born in England and trained at Berklee School of Music, Grey (pictured) probably is best known as the regular touring bassist for the single-named pianist Hiromi, but he's also released five albums as a leader, written several bass instruction books, and even has recorded a bit with famed guitarist John McLaughlin, who's his uncle.

Friday, September 15
The Brothers Lazaroff will play for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro, promoting the release of their new live album, which was recorded at the Bistro in the summer of 2016.

Also on Friday, pianist Ptah Williams and his trio continue their weekly gig at The Dark Room, and drummer Steve Davis' "Super Band" featuring singer Feyza Eren will play a free show at Webster Groves Concert Hall.

Saturday, September 16
Trumpeter Jim Manley plays for brunch at Evangeline's, and it's also the date of the annual Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place in what's known as the Old Webster Business District, centered at the intersection of Lockwood and Gore in suburban Webster Groves.

Performers at the free, day-long event will include Miss Jubilee, the Webster University faculty jazz band, SpaceShip, Funky Butt Brass Band, Two Times True, and the Webster Groves HS jazz band, plus blues acts including Marquise Knox, Aaron Griffin, Roland Johnson & Soul Endeavor, and the Green McDonough Band.

Monday, September 18
Saxophonist Paul DeMarinis leads his band in a program of original music at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, and guitarist and St. Louis native Daryl Darden, back from California for a visit, will play 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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2017 jazz preview

As the end of August approaches, it's time once again for StLJN's fall jazz preview, offering some video samples of the most noteworthy jazz and creative music performers who will be visiting St. Louis in the next few months.

Since Rebirth Brass Band's Labor Day weekend show at Atomic Cowboy got a post of its own a couple of weeks ago, let's get started with a video from trumpeter and St. Louis native Keyon Harrold, who will be coming home on Saturday, September 9 to headline the first-ever Alton Jazz and Wine Festival at the Riverfront Amphitheater in Alton.

You can see Harrold up above in a full set recorded in June 2016 for Revive Music's 10th anniversary "Blue After Dark" event at the Boiler Room in NYC.

After the jump, you can check out the current lineup of the British jazz-fusion band Brand X, who will be back in St. Louis to perform on Wednesday, September 13 at the Old Rock House. The clip - recorded by an audience member, so it's not quite what you'd call "broadcast quality" - shows them performing "And So to F" in June of this year at the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville, PA.

Next, it's Yellowjackets, who will return to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, September 20 through Saturday, September 23 at Jazz at the Bistro. The third video shows their set from Java Jazz Festival 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia, and features their current/latest bassist Dane Alderson, who had just joined the band before their last St. Louis gig in 2015, also at the Bistro.

The fourth clip features saxophonist and vocalist Grace Kelly, who will make her St. Louis debut performing Wednesday, October 4 through Saturday, October 7 at Jazz at the Bistro. Kelly is seen here doing the title track from her latest album, "Trying To Figure It Out," in April of this year at KNKX Public Radio in Tacoma, WA.

Today's penultimate video features trombonist Steve Swell, who will lead an all-star quintet with bassist William Parker, saxophonist Jameel Moondoc, pianist Dave Burrell and drummer Chad Taylor in a concert presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, October 7 at The Stage at KDHX.

While this quintet set from the 2012 Vision Festival in NYC features a completely different band from the one Swell will have in St. Louis (which seems to be unrepresented in online videos), it's the same instrumentation, and so at least should provide some idea of Swell's trombone sound, compositions, and approach as a bandleader.

Last but not least, it's Moon Hooch, who will return to perform Friday, October 13 at Old Rock House. The saxophones-and-drums trio is seen here in a full set recorded February 4, 2017 at Otus Supply in Ferndale, MI.

Look for part two of StLJN's fall 2017 jazz preview next week. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

A reunited Brand X to perform Wednesday, September 13 at Old Rock House

The reunited British jazz-fusion band Brand X will return to the St. Louis area to perform at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 13 at the Old Rock House.

The current edition of the band features founding members John Goodsall (pictured) on guitar and Percy Jones on bass, plus recent additions Chris Clark (keyboards), Scott Weinberger (percussion), and Kenny Grohowski (drums).

They're touring in support of But Wait, There's More/Live 2017, a two-CD set of live performances that is their first official release since a previous reunion in the 1990s produced two albums, the last being 1997's Manifest Destiny.

Originally active from the mid-1970s into the early '80s, Brand X made six albums and performed with 11 different lineups of musicians (including, for a couple of albums, drummer Phil Collins) in a six-year period. After their mid-90s reunion, they had another hiatus of 20 years before reuniting again in 2016 for a tour that included a show in October at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.

Tickets for Brand X at the Old Rock House are $30 general admission for all ages, and are on sale now.

Jazz this week: Donny McCaslin, Brian Culbertson, Brand X, James Carter, Sylvaine Hélary's Spring Roll Quartet, and more

It's one of the busiest weeks of the year for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with enough activity and musical variety to test both the stamina and the financial resources of even the most devoted music lovers.

There's so much going on that the week defies easy summary, so instead, let's go to the highlights....

Wednesday, October 19
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin (pictured, top left) makes his St. Louis debut as a bandleader in the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

It's been a big year for McCaslin, who's gone from working with the late David Bowie on his final recording Blackstar to releasing his own new album, Beyond Now. For more about McCaslin and his new recording, see the interview he did with Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch and StLJN's video post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also on Wednesday, funk/jazz keyboardist Brian Culbertson, who's touring in support of his own new album Funk!, returns to St. Louis for the first time in four years for a performance at The Pageant. For more about that, see Culbertson's conversation with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

Thursday, October 20
The reunited British jazz/fusion band Brand X will play at the Wildey Theatre, featuring three key members from the band's original run - guitarist John Goodsall, bassist Percy Jones, and drummer Kenwood Dennard - plus keyboardist Chris Clark and percussionist Scott Weinberger. This show will be only the second of the group's reunion tour, so even if there are a few rough spots, the energy should be high.  

Also on Thursday, trumpeter George Sams and friends will play a free show of improvised music for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and the funky saxophones-and-drums trio Moon Hooch returns for a gig at the Old Rock House.

Friday, October 21
The St. Louis GypsyJazz Festival opens for the first of three days and nights of perfomances, jam sessions and workshops at Evangeline's. The lineup of musicians this year includes violinist/mandolinist Jason Anick, singer Miles Griffith, and guitarist Dario Napoli, plus St. Louis-based groups Franglais, Phatz Django, and Fleur De Lou. For more about the festival and video samples of the visiting performers, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, the Gaslight Cabaret Festival resumes with singer Storm Large returning for an encore performance at the Gaslight Theater.

Saturday, October 22
Saxophonist James Carter (pictured, bottom left) and his organ trio will provide the music for the annual "ArtSounds" benefit at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Carter, a free-spirited yet technically accomplished improviser who can play soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes with near-equal facility, is always worth hearing, and if you need an extra incentive, The Sheldon yesterday announced a "buy one, get one free" offer for concert-only tickets bought in pairs. To purchase online and take advantage of the offer, go here and enter the promo code CARTER16.

Also on Saturday, New Music Circle present flute player and composer Sylvaine Hélary's Spring Roll Quartet at the The Stage at KDHX.

The group, which includes Hélary, Antonin Rayon (piano, synthesizer), Hugues Mayot (saxophones, clarinets), and Sylvain Lemêtre (vibraphone, percussion), offers "thematically dense surrealist arrangements with percussive counterpoint" which incorporate "a span of styles in an almost collage-like manner."

Sunday, October 23
"Days to Say Goodbye - A Celebration of the Life of David Troncoso" will provide an opportunity to remember and reminisce for, family, friends and fans of the veteran St. Louis bassist, who died this past July at age 70. The event, which features music from guitarist Dave Black, pianist Dave Venn, singer Tony Viviano, the Park Avenue Duo, Troncoso's own Latin Jazz Group and more, takes place at the Anheuser Busch Brewery Biergarten.

Also on Sunday afternoon, the US Navy Band Commodores, the Navy's top jazz big band, plays a free concert at the 560 Music Center. The group features two area natives - Petty Officer 1st Class David M. Perkel of St. Louis on lead trombone, and Chief Petty Officer Timothy D. Stanley, who grew up in Belleville, on trumpet.

Monday, October 24
To mark the event's silver anniversary, the Webster University TKT Scholarship Fund 25th Anniversary Concert will take place off-campus this year at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The concert features Webster jazz faculty and students performing to raise money for music scholarships at Webster in memory of Terry Jackson, Kirk Cappello, and Tony Saputo, three Webster alumni who were among the members of singer Reba McEntire’s road band killed in a 1991 airplane crash.

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.)

Brand X reunion tour includes show on Thursday, October 20 at Wildey Theatre

The British jazz-fusion band Brand X has announced a reunion tour for Fall 2016 that includes a performance at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, October 20 at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.

Originally active from the mid-1970s into the early '80s, Brand X made six recordings and fielded 11 different lineups of musicians in a six-year period, including for a couple of albums Phil Collins, then the drummer for prog-rock band Genesis and subsequently a major pop star.

A reunion in the 1990s, featuring founding members Percy Jones on bass and John Goodsall on guitar, yielded two more albums, the last of which was Manifest Destiny in 1997.

The 2016 edition of Brand X (pictured) includes Jones and Goodsall, as well as drummer Kenwood Dennard, who wasn't an original member but played on the band's second album and subsequent tours.

Playing music from the first three Brand X albums, they'll be joined for the reunion tour by keyboardist Chris Clark, whose credits include the John Entwistle Band, and percussionist Scott Weinberger, who's played with Adrian Belew and King Crimson's Trey Gunn. To promote the tour, the band has made a short video, which you can see in the embedded player below.

Tickets for Brand X at the Wildey Theatre are $35, and are on sale now.