StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The BAG legacy, part 5

After a week off to commemorate the birthday of Miles Davis, this week we resume our look at music made by former members of St. Louis' Black Artists Group, the multi-disciplinary arts organization that operated here in the late 60s and early 70s and helped launch the careers of a number of successful creative musicians.

You can see part one of this series of posts, which includes some links to background information about BAG, here; part two here; part three here; and part four here.

This week's installment features sounds from two BAG-affiliated musicians who also were classmates at St. Louis' Sumner High School, trumpeter George Sams and drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw.

While a number of the musicians involved with BAG went to Paris and/or New York after the group dissolved, Sams headed to the West Coast, settling in the San Francisco area.

That's where he formed Middle Passage, the group seen in the first video up above, which was recorded in 1984 at a performance in the Bay Area. Along with Sams, the ensemble included violinist India Cooke, cellist Kash Killion, and drummer Anthony Brown, and in this clip, they're playing one of Sams' compositions called "Back Home Again."

After the jump, you can see a performance by United Front, another group that Sams was involved with while living out west. In that clip, recorded in 1985 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, they're doing a piece based on Langston Hughes' poem "Ballet of the Landlord," which is declaimed by saxophonist Lewis Jordan as Sams provides trumpet commentary and pianist Rudi Mwongozi, bassist Mark Izu, and drummer Anthony Brown set the rhythmic pace.

Sams eventually moved back to St. Louis, where he has served as a consultant to the Missouri Arts Council and various other arts groups: presented live music and poetry under the banner of The Nu-Art Series; and, for a time, ran the now-closed Metropolitan Gallery downtown, which served as a venue for many Nu-Art productions.

Recently, he's been co-presenting some concerts with St. Louis University's department of music, and has begun playing more gigs again, mostly improvised music dates like the one shown in today's third video, which was recorded in March 2018 at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. As part of the School of Music's "Outside the Box Festival of New Music," Sams performed a set of free improv with flute player Fred Tompkins, pianist Greg Mills, bassist Claude Montgomery, and clarinetist Eric Mandat.

Sadly, his Sumner classmate Charles "Bobo" Shaw is no longer active, having passed away in January 2017. Shaw (who can be seen drumming with BAG in the very first clips in part one of this series) had his greatest impact in the 70s and 80s. He performed frequently in New York and in Europe, and recorded for a number of different labels as a leader and a sideman with Oliver Lake, Lester Bowie, saxophonist Frank Lowe, violinist Billy Bang, and others. 

Shaw also eventually moved back to St. Louis, and though health and personal issues ultimately limited his live performances, he did play out around town in a number of different contexts in the last years of his life.

You can see excerpts from three of those gigs below, starting with a duo performance by Shaw and pianist David Parker, playing Parker's "Scott Joplin Blues" in 2014 at the late-lamented Tavern of Fine Arts.

Next, there's an excerpt from "Drum Line II," presented by Sams in 2011 at the Metroplitan Gallery, and featuring four St. Louis drummers - Shaw, Jerome "Scrooge' Harris, Gary Sykes, and Johnny Johnson - trading grooves and licks while paying tribute to the city's tradition of drum and bugle corps.

The final video shows Shaw in May 2010 at the old studios of radio station KDHX on Magnolia Ave in south St. Louis, performing with a group called Melodies of the Kabbalah. In contrast to the free-wheeling improvisations in the other clips, "Latin Moderato 75" has Shaw in an accompanying role, supporting the ensemble of keyboardist Michael Loveman, bassist Josh Weinstein (of KDHX's "All Soul, No Borders"), violinist Brien Seyle, and fellow drummer Brian Sullivan

StLJN's look at the legacy of the Black Artists Group will wrap up next week with some interviews and, perhaps, some other BAG-related ephemera. 'Til then, you can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Remembering Charles "Bobo" Shaw

Today, let's take a break from previewing upcoming performances here in St. Louis to look at some videos of the late drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw.

Shaw, who died Monday in a St. Louis nursing care facility at age 69, was a founder of the Black Artists Group and played with many well-known jazz and creative musicians of the past 50 years.

He had a varied career in music that was sufficiently important that, in addition to his obituary here on StLJN, his passing has been noted by national publications including the New York Times and DownBeat, which published an obituary written by veteran St. Louis journalist Terry Perkins. (In contrast, Shaw's hometown newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has yet to offer any coverage of his death, nor have any other media outlets here, except for the one you're reading right now.)

In the last years of his life, Shaw may have had a lower profile on the national and international scenes that he did in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, but he did perform here in St. Louis as part of a number of different musical projects, and today's videos offer a glimpse of three of them. (Please note that none of these videos was professionally produced, so the audio and video quality varies widely.)

The first video up above features Shaw and pianist David Parker playing Parker's "Scott Joplin Blues" in 2014 at the Tavern of Fine Arts. After the jump, you can see two more clips from the same gig, featuring Shaw, Parker, and cellist Tracy Andreotti engaged in some free improv.

Next is a series of six clips from two concerts that Shaw and three other St. Louis drummers did for the Nu-Art Series in 2010 and 2011 at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown.

Presented under the name "The Drum Line" by trumpeter and impresario George Sams, a friend of Shaw's since childhood, the concerts were a spotlight for the individual and collective skills of four percussionists - Shaw, Jerome "Scrooge' Harris, Gary Sykes, and Johnny Johnson - as well as a tribute to the local drum and bugle groups American Woodsmen and Tom Powell American Legion Post #77 that offered training and opportunities to many young St. Louis African-American musicians in the mid-20th century.

The next two videos feature Shaw playing with the group Melodies of the Kabbalah in a session recorded in May 2010 at the old studios of radio station KDHX on Magnolia Ave in south St. Louis. In contrast to the sometimes-sprawling free improvisations in today's other clips, the versions of "Hine Ma Tov" and "Latin Moderato 75" feature Shaw in an accompanying role, supporting the ensemble of keyboardist Michael Loveman, bassist Josh Weinstein (of KDHX's "All Soul, No Borders), violinist Brien Seyle, and fellow drummer Brian Sullivan in a couple of concise, melodic performances.

As a lagniappe, at the end of this post you'll find an audio-only YouTube playlist compiling tracks from various projects Shaw did with violinist Billy Bang, the Human Arts Ensemble, and bassist William Parker.

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

Charles "Bobo" Shaw 1947-2017

Charles Wesley "Bobo" Shaw, a St. Louis drummer who helped found the Black Artists Group, co-led the Human Arts Ensemble, and played with many prominent jazz and creative musicians of the past half-century, has died at a nursing care facility in St. Louis. He was 69 years old.

St. Louis trumpeter, arts administrator and impresario George Sams, who was friends with Shaw for nearly 60 years, said the drummer had been hospitalized with multiple ailments in early December, first at Barnes Jewish Hospital and then at St. Alexius.

He was transferred to Heritage Care Center in north county about three weeks ago, Sams said, and was placed in hospice care there last Thursday, where he remained until his death at about 6:00 a.m. Monday.

Shaw was born September 15, 1947 in Pope, Mississippi. Moving to St. Louis as a young child, in 1953 he joined the American Woodsman drum and bugle corps, a group whose other alumni include Sams, trumpeter Clark Terry, saxophonist Oliver Lake, and drummer Philip Wilson. Shaw also also played with the drum corps associated with Tom Powell Post American Legion #77, studied drums with jazz musicians Joe Charles and Elijah Shaw and with Bernie Snyder of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and along the way, learned trombone and bass as well.

In the mid-1960s, he helped found the Black Artists Group, a cooperative organization of musicians, writers, poets, actors, and visual artists whose members included Lake, saxophonists Hamiet Bluiett and Julius Hemphill, trumpeter Lester Bowie, and many others. Although the group, unlike Chicago's similarly conceived and still active Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, was relatively short-lived, its influence continues to be felt through the music of its former members and the ensembles they subsequently established, including the World Saxophone Quartet (with Lake, Bluiett, Hemphill, and David Murray) and the funk band Defunkt, led by trombonist Joseph Bowie, the younger brother of Lester Bowie.

Along with several other BAG members, Shaw moved to Europe later in the 1960s, returning to the USA in 1971 and eventually ending up in New York City. His musical collaborations during this time included work with Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Frank Wright, Alan Silva, Michel Portal, Cecil Taylor, and Frank Lowe, as well as with St. Louis musicians such as Lake, Hemphill, the Bowie brothers, saxophonist Luther Thomas, and guitarist Richard Martin. In the 1980s, he played with violinist Billy Bang, and in all, Shaw recorded at least 10 albums as a leader or co-leader, and appeared on more than a dozen other recordings with Bang, Lake, Lester Bowie, Defunkt, Braxton, Lowe, violinist Leroy Jenkins, and others.

Beset by health issues and personal problems, Shaw performed less frequently in later years, though he did take part in several concerts this decade for Sams' Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown and in some improvised performances at the now-shuttered Tavern of Fine Arts.

One of his last major concerts in New York was during the 2015 Vision Festival at Judson Memorial Church as part of Bluiett's Telepathic Orchestra, an all-star ensemble also featuring Sams, multi-instrumentalist and St. Louis native J.D. Parran, saxophonists Kidd Jordan and Charles Gayle, flutist Siraz al-Hasan, harpist Riza Priantup, tuba player Joe Daley, pianist D.D. Jackson, bassist William Parker, percussionist Warren Smith, and a string section including violinists Mazz Swift, Jason Kao Hwang, Jean Cook, Judith Insell, and Elektra Kurtis, cellist Tomeka Reid, and bassist Mark Schmied. You can see that performance on video here.

Survivors include a sister, Marian Shaw Matthews of Washington, DC; six daughters, Concere, Antasiah, Myah, Erica, Tracy and Lorene Sabbane Shaw; and a grandchild.

A memorial service and celebration of the life of Charles "Bobo" Shaw will be held at 5:00 p.m. Thursday, January 26 at Eddie Randle & Sons Funeral Home, 4600 Natural Bridge Ave, St. Louis, MO 63115.

Updated 1/23/18 to correct Shaw's date of birth and add information on survivors and the memorial services. 

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: "3 Nights in September"

This week, let's take a look at some of the musicians who will be involved in "3 Nights in September," a mid-week festival of improvised and experimental music organized by cellist Tracy Andreotti that will take place this coming Tuesday, September 22; Wednesday, September 23; and Thursday, September 24 at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Tuesday's program is scheduled to include performances from Brain Transplant, NNN Cook, Michael Williams, and the Hess/Cunningham Duo, while Wednesday's concert will feature Ghost Ice & Mister Ben; Dave Stone with Henry Claude, Glenn "Papa" Wright & Joe Hess; and the Perhelion Ensemble.

The final performance on Thursday will include sets from the Experimental Arts Ensemble STL; Andreotti's own Vernacular String Trio; the STL Free Jazz Collective; and the duo of trumpeter George Sams and drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw.

Attempting to "preview" shows of improvised music is always fraught with uncertainty, because by definition, every performance is different. But even so, and even though some of the today's featured clips are a bit rough, quality wise, perusing them should give you at least some idea of what to expect next week.

The first clip up above features the Hess/Cunningham Duo, captured in August of this year at the Acid Kat Fest in St. Louis.

After the jump, you can see videos of NNN Cook, also from this year's Acid Kat Fest; Brain Transplant, recorded in October 2014 during the last in-store performance at the now-shuttered Apop Records; and Ghost Ice, from a show in January of this year at the Schlafly Tap Room.

Then, it's saxophonist Dave Stone's trio, recorded in 2010 at Stone's regular Friday night performance at Mangia Italiano (which tends to be as much of a "tunes" gig as free improv); and a promotional trailer produced by the STL Free Jazz Collective.

Finally, there's a recording of Sams and Shaw performing at a tribute to the late trumpeter Floyd LeFlore last October at the Tavern of Fine Arts, with some help from saxophonists Jerome 'Jay Dubz' Williams and Lawrence 'Rahtu' Johnson and pianist David Parker.

Admission to "Three Nights in September" is $5 per night, payable in cash only, at the door. See the event's Facebook page for the latest details.

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

Tribute to Floyd LeFlore set for Monday, October 6 at Tavern of Fine Arts

Musical colleagues and friends of Floyd LeFlore will pay tribute to the late trumpeter with a performance at 7:00 p.m. next Monday, October 6 at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

LeFlore, a co-founder of St. Louis' Black Artists Group and a former board member of New Music Circle, died on September 6 at age 74.

The tribute will feature the improvising ensemble Numbers, whose pianist David Parker and drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw both performed and recorded with LeFlore - Parker during the 1980s and 1990s, and Shaw at various times going all the way back to the founding of BAG in the 1960s. Numbers trumpeter George Sams also has history with LeFlore, from occasional gigs to presenting him in concert as part of the Nu-Art Series to serving together on the New Music Circle board.

Also performing will be poet Shirley Bradley LeFlore, percussionist Henry Claude, cellist Tracy Andreotti, and pianist Greg Mills.

Admission to the Floyd LeFlore tribute is free, but donations will be accepted for the performers (who also get a portion of the Tavern's food & drink sales during the show.)

Jazz this week: River City Mess Around, a new weekly jam session debuts, and more

The live jazz and creative music offerings in and around St. Louis are bit less numerous than usual this week, thanks to several factors including the holiday weekend, the recent closings of Robbie's House of Jazz and a couple of other live music spots, and the temporary closing for renovations of Jazz at the Bistro. Still, there definitely are some jazz shows happening over the next few days, and here's where you can find them...

Tonight, drummer Bernard Long Jr. and his Jazztet inaugurate a new weekly jam session at Troy's Jazz Gallery. Musicians of all skill levels, from professional to semi-pro to student, are invited to stop by and sit in.

Tomorrow night, Good 4 The Soul are back for their monthly gig at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, guitarist Dave Black and his band plus guest singer Feyza Eren play at Nathalie's; guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing will perform at Robust Wine Bar; and trumpeter Jim Manley will be at Joyia Tapas.

On Friday, the River City Mess Around, a weekend of swing dance events sponsored by Lindy Hop St. Louis, officially gets underway with Miss Jubilee (pictured) performing at the Mahler Ballroom.

Also on Friday, singer Joe Mancuso will return to Chaser's Lounge in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; saxophonist Jim Stevens and band will be riverside at The Loading Dock in Grafton; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will be back to play at the Venice Cafe

On Saturday, the River City Mess-Around continues with the "Mess-Around All Stars" playing for dancers at 2720 Cherokee. Elsewhere around town, keyboardist Matt Villinger leads a trio at Thurman Grill; Wack-A-Doo will perform at Evangeline's, and pianist Jesse Gannon will play solo at the Dark Room.

Then on Sunday afternoon, the Mess Around concludes will a performance from Michael Gamble's Gamblers at the Lemp Mansion Gazebo, 3322 DeMenil Pl; the Friends of Scott Joplin will present their "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site; and saxophonist Willie Akins leads a quartet plus guest vocalist in what's being billed as another new recurring weekly gig at Troy's Jazz Gallery.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday guitarist Tom Byrne and band return to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups; and pianist David Parker, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw, and trumpeter George Sams will play at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

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.)

Nu-Art Series returning with three concerts this spring

After more than a year of dormancy following the closing of its primary venue, the Metropolitan Gallery, the Nu-Art Series will return to presenting music starting next month with a series of concerts at the Scott Joplin House Historic Site, 2658 Delmar.

As frequently was the case in the series' past, the first set of performances in 2014 will present musicians wth a connection to the Black Artists Group and St. Louis' avant-jazz scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, the series' organizer, trumpeter George Sams, is taking a slightly different approach this time around, participating directly as a performer in all three concerts as well as producing them.

On Saturday, March 1, Sams will team with baritone saxophonist and clarinetist Hamiet Bluiett (pictured) for a duo performance. Then on Saturday, March 15, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and pianist David Parker will be featured along with Sams.

The spring series wraps up on Saturday, April 12 with another duo concert featuring multi-instrumentalist J.D. Parran and Sams.

All concerts start at 3:00 p.m., and admission is $10 at the door. For more information, call 314-340-5790.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Drums along the Mississippi, or City of Raijins

When Dennis Owsley wrote a history of jazz in St. Louis a few years ago, he titled his book City of Gabriels in recognition of the trumpeters from the area, including Miles Davis, Clark Terry and Lester Bowie, who have had a significant impact on jazz music, both here and around the globe.

While that trumpet tradition continues through the work of nationally and internationally recognized musicians like Jeremy Davenport, Russell Gunn, Keyon Harrold, Jim Manley, and others, in recent years St. Louis area drummers from both sides of the Mississippi have made their mark as well - so much so that if Owsley were to write a history of the last decade, it might be tempting to name it after the drumming equivalent of the Biblical trumpeter who blew down the walls of Jericho.

For that, one might nominate Raijin, "a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology." According to Wikipedia, his name is derived from the Japanese words for "thunder" and "god," and he typically is depicted as "a demon-looking spirit beating drums to create thunder, usually with the symbol tomoe drawn on the drums."

While we're certainly not suggesting that any of the St. Louis drummers featured in today's videos are demonic, they definitely can bring the thunder. So with that in mind, today let's take a quick look at some of the most noteworthy drummers from our "City of Rajins" who currently are making noise on the national and international scene. 

Dave Weckl, who grew up in St. Charles and is seen in the first clip above performing a solo at Montreal Drumfest 2012, likely is the best known of the bunch, thanks to his high-profile stint with the Chick Corea Elektrik Band and successful career as a bandleader in his own right. Weckl also has worked frequently with guitarist Mike Stern, and has appeared on record with Paul Simon, Madonna, George Benson, Robert Plant, the GRP Big Band, and many others.

Next is Marcus Baylor, seen in the first clip below playing a solo in a show last December here at Jazz at the Bistro. Baylor was a member of the popular fusion band Yellowjackets for nearly ten years, and also has worked with trumpeters Roy Hargrove and Nicholas Payton, saxophonists Greg Tardy and Kenny Garrett, and others. He and his wife, singer Jean Baylor, recently launched a new band called, appropriately enough, The Baylor Project.

In the third clip, there's an interview with Mark Colenburg, who currently drums with the talked-about pianist Robert Glasper and is featured on Glasper's new album Black Radio, Volume 2. Colenburg also has worked with hip-hop and R&B performers such as Common, Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, and Erykah Badu as well as jazz players including Chico Freeman, Stefon Harris, George Coleman, and more.

Then in video number four, Kimberly Thompson plays a solo as part of her appearance at the 2011 Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC). Thompson first came to wide attention as a member of pop singer Beyonce's all-female band, and subsequently has branched out into songwriting and production as well as working with Mike Stern, Jay-Z, Wallace Roney, Meshell N'Degeocello, Richard Bona, Jason Moran, and numerous others.

The fifth clip features Terreon Gully, who was part of the acclaimed music program at East St. Louis High School and has gone on to play with singer Dianne Reeves, bassist Christian McBride, saxophonist Ron Blake, vibraphonists Stefon Harris and Joe Locke, and many others. Gully is seen here in a gig a couple of years ago with Locke's band in Italy, trading fours with the leader and pianist Robert Rodriguez.

Montez Coleman, who's seen in the sixth clip, can still be heard performing  in St. Louis with some regularity, as the East St. Louis HS grad lives here when not on the road with the likes of trumpeter Roy Hargrove (with whom he spent nearly five years) or the legendary pianist McCoy Tyner. Coleman is seen here during a gig with Hargrove's quintet in October 2010 at Macc Jazz Maastricht in the Netherlands.You can catch him around town working with saxophonist Willie Akins and guitarist Eric Slaughter and sometimes leading Tuesday night jam sessions at Herbie's Vintage 72 in the Central West End.

Last but not least, we'd be remiss not to mention Charles "Bobo" Shaw, whose work was foundational to the funky yet free sounds of Black Artists Group, Human Arts Ensemble, Lester Bowie and others. After recording and touring prolifically during the 1970s and 1980s, Shaw has maintained a much lower public profile in recent years, but turned up in St. Louis a couple of years ago for a performance for the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery. That concert, with fellow drummers Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Gary Sykes, and Johnny Johnson, is excerpted in the seventh and final clip.

One last thing: As the presence of Harris, Sykes and Johnson in the last clip suggests, the pool of drumming talent from St. Louis is by no means limited to the seven musicians featured today. For example, there's U. City native Ronnie Burrage, who certainly belongs on any list of notable St. Louis drummers thanks to his work with Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Archie Shepp, Bowie, Hamiet Bluiett, and many others. He was featured here previously in a video showcase post of his own back in 2011. Which St. Louis drummers will be the next to step into the national spotlight? Please use the comments to share your opinion.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A look at outside St. Louis

It's been too hot here for the last week and a half in St. Louis to spend much time outside physically, so today we've got some videos for you that go outside in a musical sense. This sampling of live performance clips from area musicians whose work might be called experimental, free-form, or avant garde includes:

* Electronic musician Eric Hall, seen up above in a solo set recorded at Washington University's Steinberg Auditorium in December 2010;

* Flute player and composer Fred Tompkins and keyboardist/composer Jim Hegarty, seen in the first clip down below joining forces to perform Tompkins' piece "My Changes." The performance, recorded in January 2011 at the St. Charles Coffee House, starts with what Tompkins calls "certain points of reference - tonalities, a general idea of style and overall form" while leaving the exact note choices and length of each section open;

* An excerpt from one of the "Drum Line" concerts presented in 2011 by the Nu-Art Series, featuring drummers Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Gary Sykes, Jerome "Scrooge" Harris and Johnny Johnson;

* Part of an electronic music performance from Joe Raglani and Jeremy Kannapell, recorded last year at the music and art venue Floating Laboratories;

* An improvisation by percussionists Thomas Zirkle and Matt Henry, who sometimes perform together under the name HaZmaT;

* More improv from the Off-Topic Collective, a project that included Hegarty, bassist Willem von Hombracht, percussionist Henry Claude, and saxophonist Dave Stone. The clip was shot in February 2009 at the Kranzberg Arts Center;

* And finally, yet another live improv featuring Stone and friends (the clip is too dark to identify most of the players) recorded last August at El Leñador.

Obligatory disclaimer: Due to the nature of free improvisation, what you see in these clips may or may not resemble what any of these musicians may do on their next live gig. Also, the players seen here certainly aren't the only people in town doing this sort of thing. Think of this post as being merely a representative sample of some names to watch for...

StLJN Audio Archive: Black Artists Group - Ofamfa: Children of the Sun

For this week's Audio Archive post, we delve into the history of St. Louis' Black Artists Group and revisit Ofamfa: Children of the Sun, BAG's first-ever LP release issued in 1971 on their own Universal Justice imprint.

Preserved online thanks to the music sharing blog Nothing Is II, Ofamfa largely features the poetry of BAG co-founder Bruce "Ajulé" Rutlin with musical accompaniment from an ensemble of musicians including such now-familiar names as saxophonist Oliver Lake, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and trumpeter Floyd Leflore. It was recorded live in 1970 as the audio component of a performance featuring dancers Carolyn Zachary, Etta Jackson, Johadi, and Sandra Weaver.

So what does it sound like? Well, as the proprietor of Nothing Is put it:

"Depending on your state of mind, it is either brilliant next-level sound art, or an incomprehensible and bumbling train wreck. Or both. I always think to myself, I could just listen to the amp hum from an anonymous location in St. Louis some 35 years ago and be content."

One thing is for sure, there’s a good reason nobody else would release this. It makes John Coltrane sound like “Get on the Good Foot.” R-A-W. Even Arista avoided it when they raided the catalog to re-release “Under the Sun” and “Whisper of Dharma.” Hence, this is another entry in this blog’s catalog of un-loved recordings that still haven’t seen a proper digital release."

And indeed, Ofamfa seems never to have made it to CD, which, considering the relatively small quantities of LPs pressed for its original issue, makes it a genuine collector's item as well as a key document of the evolution of BAG.

The complete personnel for the album (pictured) includes Raju Áten (conga, small instruments), Oliver Lake (soprano sax, alto sax, flute, poems, small instruments), Floyd LeFlore (trumpet, small instruments), Ishac Rajab (trumpet), Arzinia Richardson (bass, small instruments), Vincent Terrell (cello), Charles "Bobo" Shaw (drums, small instruments), and Bruce "Ajulé" Rutlin (poet, arrangements, small instruments, drums).

The tracks are "Sweet Street Song," "Uu-Twee," "After Jeremiah's Wed," "Sounds of Scorpio," "Trane Songs," "Rent Man," "A Little Tom is a Dangerous Thing" and "Echos (O Susanna)."

You can download a copy of Ofamfa: Children of the Sun here.

The StLJN Audio Archive links only to recordings that are out-of-print or that never have been commercially available. The purpose of the Audio Archive is to encourage discussion, appreciation and knowledge of St. Louis jazz artists, and we urge you to support them (or their estates) by purchasing authorized recordings and merchandise and, whenever possible, attending live performances.

(Edited 4/30/12 to fix a typo.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Inside the Nu-Art Series video vault

This week, we're taking a break from previewing upcoming concerts to take a brief trip into the video vault of the Nu-Art Series, the long-running, St. Louis-based jazz presenting organization run by trumpeter, arts administrator and consultant George Sams.

Headquartered in recent years at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. downtown, the Nu-Art Series has a shoestring budget compared to Jazz St. Louis or the Sheldon, but over the years has presented a number of worthy performers while helping to preserve St. Louis' jazz legacy.

One of the musicians the series has championed is the great baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, who can been seen in today's first clip, sitting in on the reunion of Sams' own group, the Sound Clinic, last year for a version of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman." Along with Bluiett and Sams, that's Chicago's Yosef Ben-Israel on bass, San Francisco's Lewis Jordan on alto sax, and St. Louis' own Gary Sykes on drums.

Although many of Nu-Art's productions feature musicians playing in free, avant- garde or post-Coltrane styles, they also have presented a number of concerts exploring the repertoire of more mainstream jazz musicians. Today's second clip is from one of those shows, a tribute to guitarist Grant Green staged in May 2011 by former St. Louisan Marvin Horne. Horne is seen here playing a blues in Green's style, accompanied by Sykes on drums, bassist Nick Jost, and pianist Brock Walker.

Below that are a couple of clips from 2008's "BAG and Beyond," which examined the legacy of St. Louis' Black Artists Group through concerts and panel discussions. That's trumpeter Rasul Siddik in the first of the two clips, leading a band featuring Bluiett, pianist Katherine Roberts, bassist Raymond Eldridge and drummer Tayammun Falah. The second clip features a duet between Falah and saxophonist Oliver Lake, whose visual art is currently is being exhibited at the Metropolitan Gallery.

In the fifth slot, we've got a much older clip, dating from the late 1990s when Sams still was presenting shows at variety of locations around town. It shows flutist James Newton in a 1997 solo concert at the Washington University Gallery of Art.

To wrap up, there's an excerpt from last October's "Drum Line II" concert, featuring the combined talents of percussionists Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Johnny Johnson, and Gary Sykes. (Be warned that there's a rather abrupt splice between two segments at around 8:50.)

The Nu-Art Series' next concert will take place next Saturday, April 7, and will feature Erika Johnson singing songs associated with the legendary jazz vocalist Betty Carter. To see more video from the Nu-Art Series vault, check out their YouTube channel.











(Edited 7/6/12)

StLJN Audio Archive: Oliver Lake - Ntu: The Point From Which Creation Begins

As Black History Month winds down for this year, it seems an appropriate time to revisit an historic session involving musicians from St. Louis' original Black Artists Group of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Recorded in 1971 here in St. Louis, saxophonist Oliver Lake's album Ntu: The Point From Which Creation Begins was issued in 1976 on the Arista Freedom label, which was putting out a lot of avant-garde and "loft" jazz around that time. It's been out of print for years, but fortunately Ntu has been preserved online and can be downloaded, thanks in this case to the (seemingly now dormant) music sharing blog Botched Surgery.

Though delayed in reaching the public, Ntu actually is one of the earliest recordings involving the BAG crew, and shares some personnel and sensibility with another early session, Solidarity Unit, Inc's Red, Black & Green (which recently got a limited edition reissue on vinyl from the small label Eremite Records.)

In addition to Lake on alto sax, soprano sax, flute and "small instruments," Ntu features a number of musicians who were important parts of the Black Artists Group, most of whom went on to have substantial careers. (Interestingly, the LP's title also wound up serving as inspiration for author Benjamin Looker's 2004 history of BAG.)

The personnel on Ntu includes Baikida E.J. Carroll (trumpet, small instruments); Floyd LeFlore (trumpet, small instruments); Joseph Bowie (trombone, small instruments); Richard Martin (guitar); John Hicks (piano); Clovis Bordeaux, Jr., misspelled on the original cover as "Bordeux" (electric piano); Don Officer (electric bass); Charles "Bobo" Shaw (drums); and the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Don Moye (conga).

There are five tracks in all: "Africa," "Tse'lane," "Electric Freedom Colors," "Eriee," and "Zip." As you might expect given the parallel development of BAG and Chicago's AACM, the alternating sparse and dense textures and free-form improvisations of Ntu suggest some kinship with the Art Ensemble, but there also are passing resemblances to Sun Ra's Arkestra, the various "New Thing" recordings by Coltrane, Shepp and others on the Impulse! label, and some of the music Miles Davis was doing around the same time. If you have any interest in this period or style, it's certainly worth hearing for both aesthetic and historic reasons.

To download a free copy of Oliver Lake's Ntu: The Point From Which Creation Begins, go here, scroll down about a third of the way through the post until you see the text "Ntu: The Point From Which The Creation of Botched Surgery Begins," which links to a Rapidshare page containing the actual download.

The StLJN Audio Archive links only to recordings that are out-of-print or that never have been commercially available. The purpose of the Audio Archive is to encourage discussion, appreciation and knowledge of St. Louis jazz artists, and we urge you to support them (or their estates) by purchasing authorized recordings and merchandise and, whenever possible, attending live performances.

Jazz this week: Tony Bennett, Kurt Elling, Peter Martin & Wendell Brunious, "Drum Line II" and more

Along with an assortment of jazz and creative music instrumentalists, this week brings two outstanding male vocalists to St. Louis - one representing the tradition of jazz-influenced popular singing, the other offering what amounts to a survey of the current state of the art in contemporary jazz vocals.

The representative of tradition is, of course, the great Tony Bennett, who returns to our city tonight to perform at the Fox Theatre. Bennett is currently enjoying another popular success with his recently released album Duets II, which finds him mixing it up with a gaggle of pop, rock, R&B and country singers ranging from Willie Nelson to Lady Gaga. To get an idea of how this plays out in concert, check out this review of Bennett's November 4 show in Philadelphia by AllAboutJazz.com's Lewis J. Whittington.

The contemporary singer, then, would be Kurt Elling (pictured), who's just a little more than half Bennett's age but for the last 15 years has helped define the state of contemporary male jazz singing. While Bennett is on stage at the Fox tonight, Elling will be opening a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. This will be Elling's first appearance in St. Louis since the release earlier this year of his most recent recording, The Gate. For more about him, the album, and some video clips of songs from it, see this post from last Saturday.

On Thursday, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University wraps up their fall slate of free concerts with "Bass 3 - Basses with Drums," described in this week's promotional email from JAH as "an avant-garde take on the standard jazz trio. As with last week, the performers in the group have yet to be announced, so come for a surprise in this atypical jazz setting." UPDATE - 11/16/11, 10:50 a.m.: Bassist Willem von Hombracht has posted on his Facebook page that he'll be playing this gig along with fellow bassist Bob DeBoo and Eric Stiller.

Also on Thursday evening, saxophonist Jim Stevens' group plays an early show at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; and Webster Groves High School's award-winning jazz combos will give a public performance at Highway 61 Roadhouse in Webster.

On Friday, guitarist Brian Vaccaro will celebrate the release of his new CD Going Through the Motions with a concert at Eliot Chapel in Kirkwood. Guitarist Teddy Presberg's band will share the bill. Also on Friday, guitarist Dave Black's trio plays at the Cigar Inn.

On Saturday afternoon, the Nu-Art Series presents "Drum Line II," a collaboration among jazz and creative music percussionists including Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Gary Sykes, and others, at Metropolitan Gallery downtown.

Then that evening, the Sheldon Art Galleries will stage a benefit at the adjoining Sheldon Concert Hall with music from a group billed as the New Orleans Modern Jazz Masters, which features native New Orleanians Wendell Brunious on trumpet and Jason Marsalis on drums, along with St. Louisans Peter Martin on piano and Chris Thomas on bass, both of whom who have spent time living in NOLA.

Also on Saturday evening, pianist Ptah Williams will lead a trio with bassist Bob Deboo and drummer Demarius Hicks at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Sunday, singer Denise Thimes will do a free concert for the St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series at Second Baptist Church, 9030 Clayton Rd. in Richmond Heights

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Webster University Big Band performs at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus, and drummer Joe Pastor's trio plays at BB's.

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.)

Nu-Art Series to present "Drum Line II" this Saturday, November 19 at Metropolitan Gallery

Veteran jazz and creative music percussionists Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Charles "Bobo" Shaw and Gary Sykes once again will join forces for "Drum Line II" a performance to be presented by the Nu-Art Series from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. this Saturday, November 19 at Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St downtown.

This is the second annual "Drum Line" performance at the Metropolitan Gallery, with this year's edition also featuring percussionists Johnnie Johnson (who, as far as we know, is no relation to the late blues/rock pianist) and Eddie Brown.

Harris, Shaw and Sykes are all St. Louis natives who gained early experience in local African-American drum & bugle corps, which since their founding in the 1930s also have included well-known musicians such as Clark Terry, Philip Wilson and Oliver Lake. Tickets for "Drum Line II" are $10 for general admission; doors open at 2:00 p.m..

StLJN Audio Archive: Charles "Bobo" Shaw & Lester Bowie - Bugle Boy Bop

For this installment of the StLJN Audio Archive, we tune into Bugle Boy Bop, an album of duos recorded by drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and trumpeter Lester Bowie issued on the Muse label in 1983.

The original LP (pictured) was recorded live at saxophonist Sam Rivers' NYC loft venue Studio Rivbea on February 5, 1977, with famed producer Michael Cuscuna overseeing the eventual release. Although Bugle Boy Bop never has been reissued on CD, you can still hear it via a free download from the music-sharing blog Nothing Is V2.0, which had this to say about the session:

"This is a trumpet & drum duet that will please fans of AEC & Human Arts Ensemble. If you are someone who loved Don Cherry & Eddie Blackwell's album Mu, you'll probably like this one.

The title track gets things off to a high-energy start. The second track ("Go Bo") is where Shaw cuts loose & Bowie lays low (at least somewhat). A barnburner. "Cootie's Caravan Fan" slows things down, but just barely, with a pulsating rhythm giving the tune a very trance-like feel. The title "Latin Recovery" is fairly self-explanatory, with Shaw going bossa nova as Bowie freaks out on the trumpet. The flipside starts with what amounts to a free improv ballad "The Girth of the Cool" - slow-tempo late night feel to it, but by mid-song builds in intensity and eventually the duo picks up the pace and the ferocity. "Chop'n Rock" is characterized by a choppy, rockish beat through much of the tune, seemingly nodding to an old AEC tune, "Rock Out". "Finito, Benito" ends the album on an entropic note. Be aware, the mp3s on this one are a bit dodgy, and the last tune seems to cut off in the middle. As the saying goes, better dodgy mp3s than no music at all.

I don't know if there ever will be a proper digital reissue of this album. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. In the meantime, these mp3 files help to document just a bit of what was going on during the late 1970s NY jazz loft scene."

To download a free copy of Charles "Bobo" Shaw and Lester Bowie's Bugle Boy Bop, go here, scroll down to the bottom of the post, and look for the link that says "Download Bugle Boy Bop," which will take you to a Rapidshare page. Look for the green button marked "Download," click it, and follow the instructions from there.

The StLJN Audio Archive links only to recordings that are out-of-print or that never have been commercially available. The purpose of the Audio Archive is encourage discussion, appreciation and knowledge of St. Louis jazz artists, and we encourage you to support them (or their estates) by purchasing authorized recordings and merchandise or, whenever possible, attending live performances.

StLJN Audio Archive: Human Arts Ensemble - Whisper of Dharma

This week's Audio Archive post comes to us once again from the fine avant-jazz music sharing blog Nothing Is v2.0, and features Whisper of Dharma, a rare album by the Human Arts Ensemble that originally was issued in 1972 on the Committee for Universal Justice label (pictured, above left), and later reissued in 1977 on Arista Freedom (pictured, below left).

The Human Arts Ensemble was an offshoot of St. Louis' Black Artists Group, created as a vehicle for musicians of all races to perform together, while including a core of musicians from BAG. HAE first recorded under the nominal co-leadership of drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and saxophonist James Marshall, who conceived the idea, and then just Shaw, but from all accounts the group essentially functioned as a musical collective.

Whisper of Dharma was recorded on October 6, 1972 in St. Louis, and features of lineup of players that includes Shaw (drums, small instruments) and Marshall (alto sax, radong, wooden flutes) as well as Joseph Bowie (trombone, congas, small instruments), Oliver Lake (tenor sax, radong, flute, small instruments), J.D. Parran (tenor and sopranos saxes, bass clarinet, small instruments), Floyd Leflore (trumpet, small instruments) and Baikida E.J. Carroll (gong, small instruments). The album also marks the recording debut of Oliver Lake's son Gene Lake, now a respected professional drummer, then just 6 years old and credited on the session with drums and small instruments. Whisper of Dharma includes what in the original LP format were two side-long pieces, the title track and "A World New," and has never been reissued on CD.

To download a copy of the Human Arts Ensemble's Whisper of Dharma, go here, scroll down to the bottom of the post and click on the link that says "Download Whisper of Dharma." That takes you to a Rapidshare page with the download; look for the green button that says "download" and follow the instructions there.

The StLJN Audio Archive links only to recordings that are out-of-print or that never have been commercially available. The purpose of the Audio Archive is encourage discussion, appreciation and knowledge of St. Louis jazz artists, and we encourage you to support them (or their estates) by purchasing authorized recordings and merchandise or, whenever possible, attending live performances.

(Edited after posting to fix a typo.)

StLJN Audio Archive: Black Artists Group: In Paris, Aries 1973

This week's Audio Archive post features a rare recording by St. Louis' Black Artists Group, courtesy of the blog Nothing Is, v 2.0.

In Paris, Aries 1973 was, as the title implies, recorded live in Paris in 1973 by a lineup including Joseph Bowie (trombone, conga, miscellaneous instruments), Baikida E.J. Carroll (trumpet, flugelhorn, bass, log drum, cowbells, miscellaneous instruments), Charles "Bobo" Shaw (drums, woodblocks, gong, miscellaneous instruments), Floyd LeFlore (trumpet, miscellaneous instruments, voice) and Oliver Lake (saxophones, flute, marimbas, mud drums, miscellaneous instruments).

The program includes four tracks: "Echos" (credited to Bowie, Lake, Shaw, Le Flore, Carroll), "Something To Play On" (Shaw), "Re-Cre-A-Tion" (Lake) and OLCSJBFLBC (Bowie, Lake, Shaw, Le Flore, Carroll). The album was a limited release, with only a few hundred copies pressed, and thus quite rare in its original form. Quoting now from the post at Nothing Is:

"A short review taken from "TOP TEN FROM THE FREE JAZZ UNDERGROUND" by Thurston Moore

The Black Artists Group was an unit not unlike that of The Art Ensemble of Chicago. Except they only recorded this one document and it only came out in France on a label named after the group. This is squeaky, spindly stuff and very OPEN and a good indication of what was happening in the early 70's with members Oliver Lake (later of the infamous World Saxophone Quartet) and Joseph Bowie (Art Ensemble's Lester Bowie's bro, later to start Defunkt).

If you like Art Ensemble of Chicago (circa the 1970s) and the Human Arts Ensemble, you'll like this recording. Needless to say, this music is hard as hell to come by.

See also: Poets of Action: The Saint Louis Black Artists' Group, 1968-1972 (Part 1-4) by Benjamin Looker to learn more about the group."

To download a copy of Black Artists Group: In Paris, Aries 1973, go here, look at the bottom of the post for the words "Download In Paris, Aries 1973," click on them, and follow the instructions from there.

The StLJN Audio Archive links only to recordings that are out-of-print or that never have been commercially available. The purpose of the Audio Archive is encourage discussion, appreciation and knowledge of St. Louis jazz artists, and we encourage you to support them (or their estates) by purchasing authorized recordings and merchandise or, whenever possible, attending live performances.

Nu-Art Series announces spring concerts

The Nu-Art Series has announced a schedule of spring Saturday matinee concerts beginning on April 2 and continuing until May 14 at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. in downtown St. Louis.

The concerts, put together by Nu-Art's George Sams, will feature a mix of St. Louis musicians and returning expats, plus a couple of Sams' musical colleagues from when he lived in the San Francisco area. As with last year's spring series, the theme is "Re-Arrangements and Nu-Compositions," and each performer will offer his or her interpretation of the work of a well-known musician.

Singer Felicia Ezell, who last year performed a program of songs associated with Ella Fitzgerald for Nu-Art, will get it started on Saturday, April 2 performing "Favorites of Dionne Warwick" with accompaniment from pianist Brock Walker.

Next up, St. Louis native Marlin Bonds, now based in New York, comes home to play the music of Herbie Hancock on Saturday, April 9. Bonds began his musical career as a trumpet player, but lately has been working as a producer and arranger with hip-hop performers such as Twista, Bow Wow, and Swizzbeats. Sams says Bonds will pick up his horn again for this concert, with pianist Adam Maness, drummer Marc Colenburg and bassist Nick Jost serving as the rhythm section.

And speaking of picking a trumpet again, Sams will get his own horn out for the concert on Saturday, April 23, re-teaming with saxophonist Lewis Jordan (pictured at top left) in a new edition of their group The Sound Clinic to perform music by Ornette Coleman. Sams and Jordan, who lives in the Bay Area, will be joined by Chicago bassist Yosef Ben Israel and St. Louisan Charles "Bobo" Shaw on drums.

After a week's respite, the series will feature another visitor from the Bay Area, as keyboardist Rudi Mwongozi (pictured at left) plays a program of music by Duke Ellington on Saturday, May 7. Mwongozi, who's from Oakland and leads a jazz/R&B/reggae group called SONWA (Sound Of New World Afrikah) , will play with Sams, Shaw, bassist Claude Montgomery and alto saxophonist Kendrick Smith.

The spring series wraps up on Saturday May 14 with another St. Louis native, guitarist Marvin Horne, playing the music of Grant Green. Horne, now based in NYC, will be backed by Brock Walker, Nick Jost and Charles "Bobo" Shaw.

Doors open at 2 p.m. for all concerts, with music from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission.

Nu-Art Series to present "The Drum Line" on Saturday, November 20

The Nu-Art Series will present "The Drum Line," a performance by St. Louis percussionists Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Charles "Bobo" Shaw (pictured) and Gary Sykes, at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, November 20, at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St downtown.

All three percussionists are St. Louis natives who got their start within local drum & bugle corps. Specifically, Nu-Art's news release mentions two marching units, the Tom Powell Post and American Woodsman, affiliated with VFW Post #77, which served African-American veterans. Other well-known alumni include Clark Terry, Phillip Wilson and Oliver Lake.

Shaw is perhaps best known as a member of the Black Artists Group and co-leader of the Human Arts Ensemble, and has collaborated with many well-known improvising musicians around the world, while Harris and Sykes are both longtime mainstays of the local scene, playing with a wide range of local, regional and touring jazz artists.

Admission to "The Drum Line" is $10.00 at the door. For more information, call the gallery at 314-535-6500.

Jazz this week: Branford Marsalis, Douglas Ewart, Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Mardra and Reggie Thomas, and more

It looks to be a busy few days for live music in St. Louis, with plenty of events this weekend that will be of interest to fans of jazz and creative music. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, saxophonist Dave Stone and trumpeter Randy Holmes play the music of Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry in a free concert for Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series. Also, actress and singer Tyne Daly, accompanied by pianist and St. Louis native John McDaniel, continues her show for Cabaret St. Louis tonight through Saturday night at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

On Friday, saxophonist Branford Marsalis takes the stage at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. It's Marsalis' first trip to St. Louis in several years, and after playing here previously with Buckshot LeFunque and in a trio format, this time he' s bringing his quartet as they celebrate ten years of working together. For some video of the foursome in action, see this post.

That same evening, singer Mardra Thomas and pianist Reggie Thomas will resume their week-of-Valentine's-Day tradition of demonstrating both musical and marital harmony at Jazz at the Bistro. The Thomases will do the customary two sets on both Friday and Saturday, with an additional set at 8:30 p.m. Sunday especially for the holiday.

And speaking of singers performing on Friday night, that's also when the smooth, suave, yet swingin' Ron Wilkinson will perform at Robbie's House of Jazz. Wilkinson was a regular in the room in its previous incarnation as Cookie's Jazz and More, and the intimate scale of the space seems well-suited to his relatively subtle vocal approach.

On Saturday, there's a chance to hear two veterans of creative music who played significant roles in, respectively, St. Louis' Black Artists Group and Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. In the afternoon, drummer and former BAG member Charles "Bobo" Shaw will perform his own music and that of Eric Dolphy downtown at the Metropolitan Gallery as part of the Nu-Art Series' "Re-Arrangements & Nu-Compositions" concert series.

Then Saturday evening, multi-instrumentalist Douglas Ewart will perform at Webster University Community Music School under the auspices of New Music Circle. For more about Ewart, who formerly served as president of the AACM but now is based in Minneapolis, see this video post from a few Saturdays ago.

(At this point, it seems like it also should be mentioned that this is Mardi Gras weekend here in St. Louis. As has been the case in recent years, there will be plenty of partying going on, but not much live music at the official events for fans of jazz or blues. Yes, the Funky Butt Brass Band and Gumbohead will be showing up in several places around town over the weekend, but the music for the two large events on Parade Day will be provided by rock cover bands and a DJ. I've pretty much said all I have to say about the local Mardi Gras music situation in the two posts linked above; if you're looking for more information about this year's Mardi Gras-related events in St. Louis, you'll find it here. )

On Sunday evening, singer, pianist and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum returns to Brandt's for a special Valentine's Day show. Given the room's modest capacity, reservations would seem to be advisable.

Looking past the weekend, on Monday saxophonist Paul DeMarinis and his Sextet will give a concert at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, performing some new DeMarinis compositions from his forthcoming CD, which reportedly is called The Sun...The Stars. Joining Demarinis for the concert will be singer Debby Lennon and a rhythm section made up of Nick Schlueter (piano), Dave Black (guitar), Ben Wheeler (bass) and Kyle Honeycutt (drums).

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 by becoming a "fan" of 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 after posting to fix a couple of garbled sentences.)