StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Six St. Louis saxophonists you should know

When talk turns to saxophonists from St. Louis, many knowledgeable music fans will associate our city with David Sanborn and World Saxophone Quartet founding members Hamiet Bluiett, Oliver Lake and Julius Hemphill.

Sanborn, Bluiett, and Lake all grew up in this area, and Hemphill, though not a native, made an important contribution to the Black Artists Group here, and first gained national recognition for his album Dogon A.D., recorded at Oliver Sain's Archway Studios on Natural Bridge Rd. in north St. Louis.

Going beyond those well-known names, though, there definitely are more saxophonists with roots in the St. Louis area who are enjoying noteworthy careers in jazz and creative music, and today StLJN is featuring videos from six of them that every local jazz fan should know. After you've sampled their sounds here, check out their respective websites for more info.

Leading off is Greg Osby, who can be seen in the first video up above doing a spontaneous duet with bassist Christian McBride on the standard "The Song Is You," recorded in July 2014 at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

After the jump, it's Marty Ehrlich, playing a duet with pianist Myra Melford on her composition "Be Melting Snow," recorded in 2015 at The Stone in NYC.

That's followed by Eric Person doing a full set with his band Meta-Four, recorded in November 2016 at the Blue Note in NYC. Along with Person, the group includes guitarist Freddie Bryant, keyboardist Adam Klipple, bassist Adam Armstrong, and drummer Shinnosuke "Shin" Takahashi.

Next up is East St. Louis' own Andre Delano, seen here working the crowd on a version of Prince's "Adore," recorded in 2016 at The Tavern at Fire Station 1 in Silver Spring, MD.

The fifth video features Chris Cheek with his quintet performing his composition "Pelican Blues" in a show last month at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Along with Cheek, that's James Fernando on piano, Francois Chanvallon on guitar, Max Gerl on bass, and Tyson Jackson on drums.

In the final clip, Butch Thomas plays "La Belle Dame Sans Regrets," written by his former employer Sting, at a gig 2011 in Tampa FL, backed by Frank "Third" Richardson (drums), Tim George (bass), Ron Reinhardt (keyboards), and Peter Mongaya Hogsholm (guitar).

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Jim Manley has a new album, 62 Summers, out this month.

Available now in digital formats and as a limited-edition CD, the recording (pictured) includes 12 tracks of groove-oriented original material and also features guest solos from guitarist and former St. Louisan Jeff Snider.

* The Bosman Twins' gig this weekend at the Blue Room in Kansas City was previewed on the KC jazz blog Plastic Sax.

* Drummer Kimberly Thompson was profiled last month in a promotional feature by microphone manufacturer Audix.

* Drummer Dave Weckl recently took part in a big band tribute to Buddy Rich at London’s Royal College of Music.

* Bassist Dan Loomis has posted to YouTube a video of his jazz oratorio "Job's Trials - Our Trials," which premiered in a performance in June at Ibeam in Brooklyn, NYC.

* Trumpeter Bruce Purse is the co-author of "The Band Room," a new semi-autobiographical play set in 1986 in St. Louis that "pays tribute to the power of music education." The play debuts next week at Lehman College in NYC.

* Flow, the latest recording by saxophonist Oliver Lake with the Generations Quartet, was reviewed by Karl Ackermann of AllAboutJazz.com.

* Saxophonist Chris Cheek's new album Saturday Songs was reviewed by AAJ's Jakob Baekgaard.

* Jazz St. Louis' efforts to bring jazz performances to area public schools were featured in a story on St. Louis Public Radio.

* St. Louis musicians are being invited to submit music videos to GOTV, a new local cable channel featuring original documentaries and films and "the largest independent made-for-television music format in the world." GOTV's programming airs on Charter’s channel 995 from 7-11 am and 6-10 pm daily, with "plans to expand to Atlanta and LA in September and Dallas in January of 2017." For more information, visit mygotvmusic.com.

* Trumpeter Russell Gunn was the featured attraction for the final performances last weekend at the Atlanta jazz club Churchill Grounds, which closed after a 16-year run.

* The voice of the late Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs, who grew up in St. Louis, is accompanied by music from guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, and others on a new album, Let Me Hang You, out now from Ernest Jenning Record Co/Khannibalism. Recorded by producer Hal Wilner shortly before Burroughs' death in 1997 but unreleased until now, the album features Burroughs reading excerpts from his infamous novel Naked Lunch.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Pageant once again has made Pollstar's list of best-attended concert clubs worldwide, finishing seventh in total ticket sales in the online tour information service's club rankings for 2015.

* Trumpeter Rob Endicott's gig tomorrow night at Jazz at the Bistro is previewed by St. Louis magazine.

* The financial troubles of community radio station KDHX are the subject of music editor Daniel Hill's cover story in this week's Riverfront Times.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted to Facebook an album of photos from this week's educational residencies by trumpeter Terell Stafford, tuba player Bob Stewart, drummer Jeff Hamilton and saxophonist Todd Williams.

* London Jazz News has some photos from a recent gig by saxophonist and Webster University alumnus Chris Cheek at the Hidden Rooms in Cambridge.

* Guitarist Kelvyn Bell's latest album St. Louis Blu is now available in CD format as well as a digital download. Bell (pictured) also was interviewed last night on the "Thirsty Records" podcast produced by Philadelphia-based Gashouse Radio.

* Drummer Dave Weckl's Acoustic Band will be back on the road later this month, performing in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Oakland. and Seattle.

* Drummer Ronnie Burrage is set to team up once again with one of the most prominent living members of the 1960s jazz avant garde, joining forces with saxophonist and NEA 2016 Jazz Master Award winner Archie Shepp for a concert on January 30 at Goddard College in Plainfield, VT.

The two have been musical associates for years, recording together most recently on Shepp's 2003 album Tomorrow Will Be Another Day. A 2002 gig including Burrage also appears on the live half of Shepp's 2007 release Gemini.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Next Saturday, April 19 is the annual National Record Store Day, and as always, St. Louis' local music retailers will be celebrating in style. For the fourth consecutive year, yr. humble StLJN editor will be spinning tunes at Vintage Vinyl for an hour, starting at 4:00 p.m.. See the poster for the event (pictured) for the store's complete schedule of DJs and live bands.

* Want some free tickets to hear guitarist Charlie Hunter and drummer Scott Amendola this Sunday at the Old Rock House? The show's promoters are giving away three pairs in an online promotion; RSVP to the show's Facebook event for a chance to win.

* Modern dance company MADCO's production "Liquid Roads," which debuts this weekend at the Touhill and features trumpeter Brian Casserly leading an onstage band playing jazz and blues, was previewed by Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch and Chris Gibson of Broadway World. 

* Trumpeter Carl Fischer, in town tonight to back singer/pianist Billy Joel at the Scottrade Center, was profiled by St. Louis magazine's Kim Aubuchon.

* Here's another review of Reeds Ramble, saxophonist and Webster U alum Chris Cheek's new disc with fellow saxophonist Seamus Blake, written for AllAboutJazz.com by Bruce Lindsay.

* Check out two recent interviews with trumpeter Russell Gunn, from the websites Capital Bop and iRockJazz.

* KWMU/St. Louis Public Radio is looking for St. Louisans who have memories of or stories about our town's yesteryear entertainment district Gaslight Square.

* KDHX's new headquarters in Grand Center was the subject of a feature story by Ruth Ezell on KETC's Living St. Louis.

* A brief reminder that Music for Lifelong Achievement is conducting a musical instrument drive this month to collect instruments for deserving but disadvantaged local music students. You can drop off a used or new musical instrument (or cash donation) at any performance this month at the Sheldon Concert Hall, or bring it to the hall during normal business hours from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

* As Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis marks a full year on the air, the Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller assesses the station's progress.

* Jazz radio update: And speaking of Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, Calvin Wilson will celebrate the 50th installment of his program "Somethin' Else" this Saturday with encore spins of favorite tracks from Robert Glasper, Diana Krall, Joshua Redman, and more.

Right after than on "The Jazz Collective," host Jason Church will have music from Down To The Bone, Pieces of a Dream, Nathan East, John Coltrane, Excursion, Jack Furlong, Jim Manley, The Silverman Brothers, Common Time and Joe Mancuso.

Wilson's program airs at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Pianist Peter Martin was interviewed by Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch for a preview story about this Sunday's "Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60" concert at the Sheldon.

* In related news, the Sheldon and Metrotix now are offering tickets for the Newport tribute concert for just $25, a significant discount from the advertised prices of $45 and $40. The offer is good at all points of purchase; to get the discount price, use the promo code NEWPORT60.

* The Post-Dispatch's Nick Pistor has an informative look at how the City of St. Louis' proposed deal with music festival producers Summer Rocks compares to similar arrangements in Chicago, Milwaukee and elsewhere. Spoiler: Not that well.

* Meanwhile, the Musicians Association of St. Louis Local 2-197 has a statement on the music festival deal advocating for the employment of local producers, talent and vendors.

* The new Miles Davis CD box set Miles at the Fillmore – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3, touted in several items here last week, finally has gone on sale. The set (pictured) includes full unedited shows from the Fillmore East in NYC as well as 35 minutes of previously unheard bonus tracks from 1970 and 1971 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

* Another recent Davis reissue, the "bonus track version" of 1981's We Want Miles, was reviewed for AllAboutJazz.com by Karl Ackermann.

* Saxophonist and Webster U alum Chris Cheek's new recording with fellow reedman Seamus Blake was reviewed by London Jazz News.

* St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts' next Business Edge workshop will be "Anatomy of A Contract" at 7:00 p.m. this coming Monday, March 31 at the offices of the Regional Arts Commission. Tuition is $10 in advance; to reserve a seat, send an email to vlaa at stlrac dot org.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' "Somethin' Else," host Calvin Wilson offers some straight-ahead tracks from artists known for crossover success, including saxophonist David Sanborn and pianist Bob James, pianist Joe Sample and saxophonist Michael Brecker.

After that on The Jazz Collective, Jason Church will spin sounds from Chris Standring, David Pack, Citrus Sun, Down To The Bone, Freddie Hubbard, Euge Groove, Aloe Blacc, Stanley Turrentine, Jeff Kashiwa, Pete Belasco, and Joe Mancuso.

Wilson's program airs at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Chesterfield Jazz Festival, now renamed the Chesterfield Wine and Jazz Festival and changed from a ticketed event to a free one, will take place this year from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday, June 28 at Chesterfield Amphitheater.

The lineup of bands will include a headlining set by Yellowjackets (pictured), plus Bach to the Future, led by the event's organizers Michael Silverman and Robert Silverman, and additional acts TBA.

* Saxophonist and Webster University alum Chris Cheek has teamed with fellow saxophonist Seamus Blake for a new album, Reeds Ramble. They'll promote the release with gigs on March 13, 14 & 15 at Small's in NYC. 

* Drummer and St. Louis native Emanuel Harrold, who this past week became a Grammy winner by virtue of his work on singer Gregory Porter's Liquid Spirit, is featured in a new promotional video from drumstick and accessories maker Vic Firth.

* The Wee Trio's live version of David Bowie's "Queen Bitch," recorded here in St. Louis for their album Live at the Bistro, was a "Download of the Day" at AllAboutJazz.com. The group, which includes St. Louis expat Dan Loomis on bass, will return in April to Jazz at the Bistro.

* St. Louis' Cornet Chop Suey and pianist Stephanie Trick are among the performers at the 39th Central Illinois Jazz Festival being held this weekend in Decatur.

* Trombonist Dave Stamps, a graduate of SIUE and Northern Illinois University and son of SIUE's former director of jazz studies Brett Stamps, has been named director of the jazz program at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted online a photo album of the Matt Wilson Quartet and John Medeski last week visiting Beasley Elementary School in the Mehlville School District and performing at Jazz at the Bistro.

* And speaking of photo albums, Miss Jubilee has posted one on Facebook documenting their weekly Thursday night gig at Thaxton Speakeasy.

* The website New York Jazz Workshop offers an entry-level introduction to Miles Davis in three parts.

* The band program at Riverview Gardens High School, directed by saxophonist Harvey Lockhart, is keepin' on keepin' on despite losing a number of students this year to inter-district transfers. Most recently, the RGHS drumline won the second annual Show-Me Showdown held last month at Normandy HS. You can see their first-place performance on video here.

* Regional Arts Commission is accepting applications for another round of Artist Support Grants, which are awarded to individual artists and range in amount from $500 to $3,000. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, March 5.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' "Somethin' Else,"  Calvin Wilson will spin interpretations of the music of Charlie Parker by the likes of trumpeter Roy Hargrove, saxophonist Anthony Braxton, and Junk Genius.

After that, "The Jazz Collective" host Jason Church will offer a guitar-centric program featuring sounds from Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny, Larry Carlton, Ottmar Liebert, Chris Standring, George Benson and Lee Ritenour, as well as St. Louis' own Elliott Ranney, Tom Byrne, Farshid Etniko, and Brian Vaccaro.

Wilson's program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.    

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notes from the Net: Hancock to score Miles Davis movie; Osby at the Vanguard; plus news, reviews, interviews, and more

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

* In this week's Miles Davis news, the feature film about the trumpeter came one step closer to reality with the announcement that pianist Herbie Hancock, who first gained wide public attention as a member of Davis' 1960s quintet, will write the score for the movie.

Also, the "We Want Miles" exhibit that closed earlier this year in Paris is set to reopen next month at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Austin (TX) trumpeter Jeff Lofton has put together a tribute to Davis' 1950s groups.

* Turning to news of other former St. Louisans, saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby (pictured) is performing this week at NYC's Village Vanguard in a trio with drummer Paul Motian and pianist Jason Moran.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn (who grew up in Kirkwood) will be one of the headliners at this summer's Toronto Jazz Festival. The fest, which is held from June 25 to July 4, also will feature pianist Dave Brubeck and trumpeter Roy Hargrove.

* Here's a review of Rollo Coaster, the most recent CD from saxophonist and Webster University grad Chris Cheek, written for AllAboutJazz.com by Martin Gladu.

* And here's a review of The Wee Trio's new one, Capitol Diner Vol. 2: Animal Style, written by Mark F. Turner for AAJ. The group's bassist Dan Loomis is from St. Louis.

* Turning to news of recent visitors, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, here last Saturday to play the Sheldon Concert Hall, are generating plenty of press coverage on their current tour, including an interview with saxophonist and arranger/composer Ted Nash from the Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, and a conversation with trumpeter Sean Jones from the Minnesota Post.

* Guitarist Fareed Haque's band Garaj Mahal has a couple of new recordings, More Mr. Nice Guy and Discovery, which spotlights Haque's work on the Moog Guitar. One of Haque's other bands, the Flat Earth Ensemble, plays tonight at 2720.

* Singer and pianist Jamie Cullum, who was here on Sunday to play the Roberts Orpheum Theatre, was featured this week on NPR. For more on Cullum and his new CD The Pursuit, see this interview with AccessAtlanta.com

* Pianist Vijay Iyer, who was here in January to play at Jazz at the Bistro, just won a German Echo Music prize for his album Historicity. (Note that the link is to a Babelfish translation from the original German.)

* Lastly, from the "coming attractions" file, we've got another review of guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli's latest, Rockin' In Rhythm, written by Bill Donaldson for eJazzNews, and an interview with Pizzarelli about the Ellington tribute project, done by Matthew Warnock for AllAboutJazz.com. Pizzarelli will be in St. Louis from April 17 through April 20 to perform at Jazz at the Bistro.

Notes from the Net: More on WSQ and M'Boom; Metheny's Orchestrion released; plus news, reviews, interviews, and more

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

* In the latest Miles Davis-related news, Lucid Jazz Lounge in Seattle just put on a multi-show tribute to Miles and the different eras of his career featuring trumpeters Owuor Arunga, Scott Morning, Ahamefule J. Oluo and Jason Parker. Meanwhile, over at the blog Miles Davis Online, the tireless Milesophile Jeff Hyatt has new musings about the proposed feature film biography of the trumpeter and word of a possible HBO documentary as well.

*Before a recent gig in Pittsburgh, saxophonist David Sanborn talked to Rick Howlin of the Post-Gazette about his new CD, Only Everything.

* The World Saxophone Quartet, featuring former St. Louisan Oliver Lake on alto sax and the East Side's Hamiet Bluiett on baritone sax, recently renewed their collaboration with the percussion ensemble M'Boom for a series of shows at NYC's Birdland. Here are impressions of the gig from Howard Mandel and Amiri Baraka.

* AllAboutJazz.com recently published an extended interview of saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby by Lloyd Peterson, excerpted from Peterson's book Music and the Creative Spirit. Osby's remarks are a few years old - the book was published in 2006 - but still make an interesting read.

* Here's a review of saxophonist Chris Cheek's latest CD Rollo-Coaster from Mark F. Turner of AllAboutJazz.com. The release pairs Webster University grad Cheek with the Spanish-born, Berklee-educated accordionist Victor Prieto.

* Turning to news of recent visitors, one evening of The Bad Plus' recent stand at Jazz at the Bistro was reviewed here by Patrick Shamel of JamBase.

* A bit of serendipitous Googling turned up this dialogue about "Improvising Digital Culture" between pianist Vijay Iyer, who also played the Bistro last month, and Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky). The conversation, published by the journal Critical Studies in Improvisation, is available as both text and streaming audio.

* The winners in the jazz categories at Sunday night's Grammy Awards included some names familiar to St. Louis listeners, most notably vocalist Kurt Elling, who performed at the Bistro in December and nabbed the "Best Jazz Vocal Album" Grammy for his CD Dedicated to You. It's Elling's first Grammy after being nominated nine times, and to celebrate the occasion, the Indiana Public Radio station WFIU just reposted an interview from last fall with Elling about the project.

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who's played in St. Louis at both the Bistro and the Sheldon Concert Hall, took home the "Best Improvised Jazz Solo" award for “Dancin' 4 Chicken” from Jeff “Tain” Watts' album Watts. And saxophonist Kenny Garrett, who fronted his own group at the Bistro in October, shared in the award for "Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group" for the live album from the Five Peace Band, led by pianist Chick Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin.

Other jazz Grammy winners were Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate, "Best Contemporary Jazz Album" for 75; the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album" for Book One; and Bebo Valdés and Chucho Valdés, "Best Latin Jazz Album" for Juntos Para Siempre.

Update after posting: As first mentioned here earlier, St. Louis native Clark Terry received a Lifetime Achievement Award in conjunction with this year's Grammy ceremony; you can see Terry's acceptance speech from Saturday's non-televised awards event in the embedded video window below.



* Opening the "coming attractions" file, guitarist Jeff Beck will release a new CD on April 13 before heading out on a tour that will bring him to St. Louis' Fox Theatre on April 29. Emotion and Commotion will feature a mix of original songs and covers of tunes such as Jeff Buckley’s “Corpus Christi Carol,” “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put A Spell On You,” with Joss Stone on vocals. Beck also teams up with a 64-piece orchestra for a few tracks, including Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 5”, The Atonement score’s “Elegy for Dunkirk” and Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma.”

* Meanwhile, the release of guitarist Pat Metheny's new solo CD Orchestrion has incited a flurry of press coverage, including reviews of the recording from the Associated Press' Charles J. Gans, Jeff Giles of Popdose, Richard Gehr of the Village Voice, and Andy Gill for the UK's Indepdendent.

For even more on Orchestrion, here's a feature interview of Metheny (pictured) by the New York Times' Nate Chinen, a follow-up blog post from Chinen, and another story about the project from Wired magazine. The Orchestrion tour comes to the Touhill Performing Arts Center on May 8.

* Over at the JazzWax blog, proprietor Marc Myers is doing another of his extended interviews with jazz greats, chatting this time with pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, who will return to St. Louis in October for the American Arts Experience-St. Louis festival. Read part one of the interview here, and part two here.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A St. Louis saxophone sampler

The St. Louis area is known for having produced many fine jazz trumpeters over the years. Indeed, the legacy of musicians such as Miles Davis, Clark Terry, Lester Bowie and Harold "Shorty" Baker is significant enough that local jazz historian and radio host Dennis Owsley chose City of Gabriels as the title of his book on the history of jazz in St. Louis.

However, St. Louis also has been home to many outstanding jazz saxophonists over the years. Players like David Sanborn, Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett and Julius Hemphill are well-known to jazz fans for their musical accomplishments and their association with the Gateway City. Today, let's take a look at some videos featuring three more saxophonists with roots in St. Louis.

First up is Eric Person, a St. Louis native who's seen here with his groove-oriented project Metamorphosis in a clip recorded last November at the Blue Note in NYC. Since moving to New York in 1982, Person has performed and recorded with a wide variety of musicians from many genres, including McCoy Tyner, Dave Holland, Chico Hamilton, John Hicks, Ronald Shannon Jackson, the World Saxophone Quartet, Vernon Reid, Ben Harper, Ofra Haza and Bootsy Collins. The song in this video is called "Justification," and the band includes Zaccai Curtis (keyboards), Cary DeNigris (guitar), Chulo Gatewood (electric bass) and Brandon Lewis (drums).

Down below, there's a video from Chris Cheek, a St. Louis native and graduate of Webster University who in addition to leading his own bands has played played with Paul Motian, Guillermo Klein, Seamus Blake, David Berkman, Jen Chapin, Kurt Rosenwinkel and many others. This clip shows Cheek and accordionist Victor Prieto playing Cheek's composition "Shelter" at a concert in NYC, location otherwise unspecified.

The third video features Butch Thomas, another St. Louis native and Webster University graduate who's worked with big rock stars like Sting, Lenny Kravitz, and Thomas Dolby as well as with bass legend Jaco Pastorius and a whole host of other well-known names. After living in NYC and London, Thomas recently relocated to Florida, and his appearance on a local TV program in Tampa yielded this clip of him performing "Caribbean Woman" from his self-titled debut CD released last year.

Notes from the Net: Miles' box set reviewed; Lake, Osby and Cheek perform; Krall and Botti interviewed; and much more

It's been nearly two weeks since the last installment of "Notes From the Net," and so there's a heapin' helpin' of news items concerning St. Louis musicians, recent visitors, old favorites and coming attractions just waiting to be read and enjoyed. Let's go:

* Blogcritics reviewed the new Miles Davis box set, The Complete On The Corner Sessions.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake will be performing at the Lake George Jazz Festival in upstate New York.

* Another former St. Louisan, saxophonist Greg Osby, will be playing at Chicago's Green Mill this weekend. Osby also will be among the performers at an upcoming tribute concert for the late pianist Andrew Hill.

* Rudder, a cooperative electric jazz band that includes saxophonist and Webster University graduate Chris Cheek (pictured), is heading out on tour this fall. (No St. Louis date, though.)

* From AllAboutJazz.com, a review of guitarist and St. Louis native Joe Friedman's debut CD Cup O' Joe.

* Turning to the "recent visitors and old favorites" file: While in St. Louis last month to play the Fox Theatre, singer and pianist Diana Krall gave an interview to a newspaper in Greece. Meanwhile, Krall's erstwhile tourmate, trumpeter Chris Botti, recently was interviewed by the Ashland (OR) Herald-Dispatch.

* Blogcritics also had a review of guitarist John Scofield's new CD This Meets That.

* SoCal-based DJ and blogger Leroy "The Jazzcat" Downs recently got to go in the studio to observe a session with singer Dianne Reeves (who performed earlier this year at Wasington University's Edison Theater) and chat with some of the participants, including Reeves, George Duke, Russell Malone, Geoff Keezer and Reuben Rogers. You can listen to an .mp3 file of the conversation here.

* Seguing to the "coming attractions" file, the New York Times had a review of a Fred Hersch/Ethan Iverson piano duet at NYC's Jazz Standard. Hersch, who played at the Sheldon earlier this year, did a week-long series of duets with various pianists including Brad Mehldau and Kenny Barron. Iverson will be in St. Louis in January with The Bad Plus for a return engagement at Jazz at the Bistro, where both Mehldau and Barron performed earlier this year.

* Pianist Michael Wolff, the former bandleader for TV host Arsenio Hall who's playing the Sheldon Concert Hall in February, has a new trio recording, Jazz Jazz Jazz.

* The Greenville (SC) News had a feature story on saxophonist Victor Goines and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Goines, Wynton Marsalis, and the rest of the LCJO also will play the Sheldon in February.

* Village Voice jazz critic Francis Davis gave a mixed review to Waverly Seven's Bobby Darin tribute CD, Yo, Bobby. The group will be in St. Louis in November to play Jazz at the Bistro.

* From the "miscellaneous items of interest" file: Another issue of veteran jazz critic Bill Shoemaker's fine e-zine Point of Departure is now online.

* And finally, the Wall Street Journal had a nice profile of jazz discographer Tom Lord, whose research has yielded a lot of interesting info, including what must be the definitive list of the most-recorded jazz songs:

"Mr. Lord's database shows 1,675 versions of "Body and Soul," making it the most recorded melody in jazz history. New Zealand disc jockey John Joyce used Mr. Lord's latest CD-ROM to break out a list of songs logging more than 500 recordings.

He found 70 in all, 12 of which surpassed 1,000 versions. Following "Body and Soul" are "St. Louis Blues" (1,628), "Summertime" (1,358), "Sweet Georgia Brown" (1,302), "Take the A Train" (1,201) and "Round Midnight" (1,184)."