Sunday Session: January 3, 2021

Chris Potter

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* So The Star apologized. Now un-write the wrongs to Black KC’s ignored jazz legacy (Kansas City Star)
* ‘Motian in Motion’ (Premiere on 24 January, Doc ‘n Roll Festival/BFI) (London Jazz News)
* Life’s Work: An Interview with Tina Turner (Harvard Business Review)
* Brubeck… on ‘time’ and what Milhaud taught him (interview by Alex Dutilh on France-Musique) (London Jazz News)
* Chris Potter In A ‘Room Of Mirrors’ (DownBeat)
* Seeking justice for Lion Sleeps Tonight composer (BBC)
* 'Brother Robert' Reveals True Story Of Growing Up With Blues Legend Robert Johnson (NPR)
* 'Charlie Brown Christmas' Soundtrack Hits Billboard 200 Top 10 for the First Time (Billboard)
* Jazz Musicians Discover New Possibilities Amid Coronavirus Pandemic (NPR)
* A record 39 holiday songs dominate Billboard Hot 100 chart (Toronto Star)
* Alto Reed, showman saxophonist in Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band, dies at 72 (Royal Oak Daily Tribune)
* John Beasley Reflects on Miles, Herbie, and (of Course) Monk (Jazz Times)
* Frank Kimbrough, Pianist and Composer Who Balanced Mystery with Clarity, Has Died at 64 (WBGO)
* Ken Burns’ Jazz Returns to the Airwaves in 2021 (Jazz Times)
* ‘The Great Gatsby,’ Songs by Ma Rainey and Other Classic Works Will Enter the Public Domain in 2021 (Smithsonian)
* The Blue Whale, Beloved Hub of the Jazz Scene in Los Angeles, Announces Permanent Closure (WBGO)
* In Memoriam 2020: The Musicians We Lost (NPR)
* Eugene Wright, bassist with classic Dave Brubeck Quartet, dies aged 97 (NPR)
* After New Year’s, Times Square will become part of a sound art opera (WHYY)
* James Newton Howard, A Composer Who Can Do It All (NPR)
* Chronology: Memories of Eubie Blake (Jazz Times)

Sunday Session: September 15, 2019

Mary Lou Williams

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* The thrilling evolution of British jazz has reached a whole new audience (BigIssue.com)
* Chris Potter: What Influences the Influencer? (AllAboutJazz.com)
 * What do music/tech startups REALLY think about working with major labels? (Medium.com)
* Why is Chicago jazz so successful in Europe? (Chicago Reader)
* Tony Bennett, at 93: ‘I just want to keep learning and expressing the truth’ (San Diego Union Tribune)
* Apple Wanted to Revolutionize the Way Streaming Pays. Here’s Why It Wasn’t Allowed (Rolling Stone)
* Abdullah Ibrahim: A Focus on Spirituality (DownBeat)
* The Beatles, Stones, and… Olivia Newton-John?: These are the 50 most valuable records in the world (NME.com)
* Not All 'Lost' Jazz Albums Are Created Equal (NPR)
* Inside Hemen & Co: the tiny Kolkata sitar shop that supplied the Beatles (The Guardian)
* How Mary Lou Williams Shaped The Sound Of The Big-Band Era (NPR)
* How composer Terence Blanchard wove history into the score for “Harriet” (Fast Company)
* The Bad Plus announce new album; tour dates (GratefulWeb.com)
* 'This tape rewrites everything we knew about the Beatles' (The Guardian)
* What Happens When DJs Don’t “Own” Their Record Collections Anymore? (5Mag.net)
* Gearhead: How Gene Krupa Kicked the Drum Kit into the Jazz Age (Jazz Times)
* ‘Nobody Is Scrutinizing This’: How Labels Pay to Get Songs on the Radio (Rolling Stone)
* Two Chicago institutions bridge jazz and blues (Chicago Reader)
* When the Pianos Went to War (AtlasObscura.com)
* Chops: Streaming Jazz on the Installment Plan (Jazz Times)
* George Benson: “I’ve always been an experimenter. When I was young, I thought I was going to be a scientist” (MusicRadar.com)
* The best classical music works of the 21st century (The Guardian)
* Free jazz research and guerrilla scholarship: an interview with John Gray (The Wire)
* A Blue Note Founder’s View of Jazz Music’s Private Side (The New Yorker)
* Average Music Listening Time Is Down. How Much Does That Matter? (Billboard)
* With New Ensemble Members, SFJAZZ Collective Builds a Bigger Tent (DownBeat)
* New World Prophecy (The American Scholar)
* Soul On Soul: Allison Miller And Derrick Hodge On Honoring Mary Lou Williams (NPR)

Sunday Session: June 23, 2019

Anthony Braxton

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Why Captain Beefheart’s ‘Trout Mask Replica’ Still Sounds Like Tomorrow (Rolling Stone)
* JazzTimes 10: Jazz on Film (Jazz Times)
* Django Bates: Miniature worlds (Innerviews.org)
* Germantown’s finest: Take a trip down Philly jazz’s memory lane with renowned artist Leroy Butler (Philadelphia Weekly)
* Behind the unique, family-powered career of Keb' Mo' (Nashville Tennessean)
* New Orleans Jazz Orchestra is Charting a Path Forward (DownBeat)
* Cornwall music festival at the centre of international email fraud (CornwallLive.com)
* This Is Why Uber Drivers Play Such Bad Music (Medium.com)
* Are the Major Record Companies Signing Too Many Artists? (Rolling Stone)
* Avant-Garde Legend Anthony Braxton on His ‘Trans-Idiomatic’ Improv Odyssey (Rolling Stone)
* Chris Potter: Master of Paradox (Jazz Times)
* Blue Note Celebrates 80th Anniversary with Vinyl Reissues (DownBeat)
* Threats, Quid Pro Quo Harassment, & Obscene Messages: Abuse on an Operatic Scale (TwinCitiesArts.com)
* Tony Kofi: now’s his time (Jazz Journal)
* Jazz musician Kassa Overall ready to take the lead (San Francisco Chronicle)
* “Satchmo” Summer Jazz Camp to Celebrate 25 Years (Jazz Times)
* Photos: The 24th Vision Festival in Brooklyn (Jazz Times)
* Give me that good old progressive jazz (Jazz Journal)
* The Eclectic Sensibility of Anat Cohen (DownBeat)
* Rock Riff Rip-Off: The Legal Loophole That May Leave Some of Rock's Greatest Riffs Up For Grabs (Bloomberg.com)
* Jeff Coffin, Howard Levy Jam with Flecktones at Red Rocks (DownBeat)
* A Frog, a Banjo, and an Indelible Message: Making “The Rainbow Connection” (Vanity Fair)

Sunday Session: April 21, 2019

Branford Marsalis

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* Arturo O’Farrill’s ‘Fandango at the Wall’ Transcends Borders (LatinoUSA.org)
* 'People who sing it want the world to know they exist': 50 years of My Way (The Guardian)
* New Orleans trumpeter celebrates personal rebirth at French Quarter Festival (New Orleans Advocate)
* Best Jazz Albums: 50 Essentials You Need To Hear (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Louis Armstrong: ‘more important than Picasso’ (Jazz Journal)
* Gerald Clayton Talks About Jazz and the Creative Process (San Francisco Classical Voice)
* Home Taping Is Killing Music: When the Music Industry Waged War on the Cassette Tape in the 1980s, and Punk Bands Fought Back (OpenCulture.com)
* The Shape-Shifting Music of Tyshawn Sorey (The New Yorker)
* Icons: Michael Beinhorn is Preventing Bad Music by Promoting Pre-Production (SonicScoop.com)
* A Visit to John Cage’s 639-Year Organ Composition (RedBullMusicAcademy.com)
* Chris Potter Has His ‘Circuits’ Rewired (DownBeat)
* Concord Jazz Festival Returns for 50th Anniversary (Jazz Times)
* The Crimson King Seeks a New Court (Rolling Stone)
* Stanley Crouch, Bob Dorough, Abdullah Ibrahim, Maria Schneider Honored at NEA Jazz Masters Tribute (DownBeat)
* How a world-renowned cellist used Bach to blast Trump (RawStory.com)
* Branford Marsalis Discusses the Genre, Teaching Music and Getting Up Early (DownBeat)
* Why is jazz unpopular? The musicians 'suck', says Branford Marsalis (Sydney Morning Herald)
* Unplugged: Is the Guitar Solo Finished? (Rolling Stone)
* Impulse For Change: The Story Of Impulse! Records (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Integral to Over a Century of Piano Culture, Steinway & Sons Looks to the Future (Billboard)
* 12 Women Influencing the Future of Jazz (Paste)
* Iyer, Taborn Build Something Majestic on New ECM Album (DownBeat)
* Space is the Place: an introduction to the music of jazz visionary Sun Ra (List.co.uk)
* the musical genre is dead, gen z killed it (Vice.com)
* The All-Female Big Bands That Made History During World War II (NPR)

Music Education Monday: Master classes with saxophonist Chris Potter

Whether it's as leader of his own bands or as a sideman to the likes of Dave Holland, Paul Motian, and Dave Douglas, Chris Potter (pictured) has been one of the most in-demand saxophonists in jazz for most of the 21st century.

Potter, who will be 45 years old this Friday, has released more than 15 albums as a leader and appeared on more than 150 recordings by others, winning critical acclaim for his technical mastery, harmonic imagination, and rhythmic fluidity.

He's also been the subject of intense study by many young musicians hoping to emulate his improvisational skills, and so today for Music Education Monday, StLJN presents two opportunities to glean some useful knowledge from him via video.

In the first video embed after the jump, you see a master class that Potter presented to students at this year's Jamey Aebersold's Summer Jazz Workshops. The second embed is an extended interview with Potter from 2014 conducted by NYU professor Dr. David Schroeder, in which they discuss the saxophonist's career and various technical and philosophical aspects of his playing.

For a deeper dig into Potter's playing, you also can check out a number of his transcribed solos linked from the website Saxopedia. You can see both videos after the jump...

Pat Metheny Unity Group to perform Sunday, March 9 at The Pageant

Guitarist Pat Metheny is returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, March 9 at The Pageant.

This will be Metheny's first visit here since his Orchestrion tour stopped at the Touhill in 2010.

This time, Metheny will be bringing his Unity Group (aka Unity Band), which features saxophonist Chris Potter, drummer Antonio Sanchez, bassist Ben Williams, and the newest member, multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi.

The project was conceived around Potter, who's the first saxophonist to be featured in a Metheny ensemble in more than 30 years. Having released their debut in 2012, the newly expanded Unity Group (pictured) will be touring in the spring of 2014 in support of the release of their second album, which is expected early next year.

Tickets for the Pat Metheny Unity Group at the Pageant are $40 and $50 for reserved seats, and go on sale at 10:00 a.m. next Wednesday, September 25.

Jazz this week: Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival with Anat Cohen, Matt Wilson, Doc Severinsen, Monterey Jazz Festival 55th Anniversary tour; and more

While this week's big event for jazz and creative music in St. Louis is the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, featuring a number of nationally known touring musicians, there also are plenty of noteworthy performances featuring local players coming up in the next few days. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, singer Mary Dyson and pianist Brock Walker's trio will play at Troy's Jazz Gallery; Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly open mic night at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra performs at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

On Thursday, clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen and drummer Matt Wilson will open the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival by teaming up for two sets at Jazz at the Bistro. You can read StLJN's interview with Cohen here, and see a video preview of all of the festival acts here. Also, the St. Louis Beacon has a preview story about the festival by Terry Perkins here; and Matt Wilson talked with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson (no relation) for a brief article that can be found online here.

Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode will be at Crave coffee house, and keyboardist Pete Ruthenberg plays an early evening set at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.

On Friday, the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival continues with the Monterey Jazz Festival 55th Anniversary Tour at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The all-star band features singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, bassist Christian McBride, pianist Benny Green, drummer Lewis Nash, saxophonist Chris Potter, and trumpet player Ambrose Akinmusire. The UMSL Big Band, directed by bassist and GSLJF head honcho Jim Widner, will open the show. For more, see the preview stories about as well as Bridgewater's interview with the Post's Calvin Wilson, which can be found online here.

Also on Friday, singer Feyza Eren performs at the Wine Press; saxophonist Willie Akins plays at Cigar Inn; and saxophonist Stephen Martin, a grad student at Webster University, brings a quartet to Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Saturday, the GSLJF concludes with a performance from the Doc Severinsen Big Band at the Touhill. The veteran Tonight Show trumpeter (pictured), still quite capable at age 85, has a band reportedly stocked with top players from the West Coast, including the great tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts, which should make for a enjoyable evening of music. The UMSL Big Band will open the show.

Also on Saturday, guitarists Tom Byrne and Eric Slaughter will play at Schlafly Bottleworks; the Kevin Mitchell 4 are at Robbie's House of Jazz; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to the Venice Cafe

Then on Sunday, singer and pianist Anita Rosamond performs a free concert for the St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series at Second Baptist Church in Richmond Heights; and the St. Louis Metrobones will bring their many trombones to the Highway 61 Roadhouse.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday, the Webster University Jazz Collective plays at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Then on Tuesday, singer Joe Mancuso will perform for the Sheldon Concert Hall's "Notes From Home" series with a quartet plus guest stars including trumpeter Jim Manley, saxophonist Larry Johnson, and singers Wendy Gordon and Jeanne Trevor. Also on Tuesday, the Genesis Jazz Project plays a free concert at Hazelwood West High School.

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The new book Miles Davis: The Complete Illustrated History was reviewed by Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch/STLtoday.com.

* Elsewhere on the Miles Davis front, Jeff Hyatt of Miles Davis Online has another update on the status of the proposed Hollywood biopic of the trumpeter; a Los Angeles concert paying tribute to Davis was named one of 2012's best by the Los Angeles Times; and the blog London Jazz Collector has an interesting post about acquiring a particularly desirable Davis LP.

* Drummer Marcus Baylor was interviewed by the P-D's Wilson for a brief article about his “Sons of St. Louis Reunion” next week at the Bistro at Grand Center, which you can read online here. (Note, however, that while the article includes the Jazz St. Louis website and phone number, they're not actually producing the show; advance tickets are available only via Metrotix.)

* Bassist John King (pictured) appeared yesterday on the 9:00 a.m. newscast at local Fox affiliate KTVI to promote his show tonight at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; you can see a clip online here.

* Last Thursday's performance by pianist Peter Martin and guitarist Romero Lubambo at the Sheldon Concert Hall was reviewed by KDHX's Mike Gualdoni.

* Trumpeter, singer and St. Louis native Jeremy Davenport was interviewed on New Orleans radio station WWNO. Davenport will be back in St. Louis for a concert on Thursday, February 2 at The Sheldon.

* The KDHX website also has up a photo set of the Funky Butt Brass Band's Holiday Brasstravaganza last Saturday, shot by Caroline Philippone. And the FBBB have posted audio of their rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and three other tunes from the Brasstravaganza on SoundCloud.

* Speaking of photo sets, Saxquest has posted one to their Facebook page detailing Chris Potter's visit to the shop while he was in town last week to play Jazz at the Bistro.

* Also, the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra (formerly the Meramec Jazz Band) has documented their recent holiday concert with a photo album here.

* Soul Jazz Records/Universal Sound are reissuing NTU: The Point From Which Creation Begins, the recorded debut as a leader of saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake. The record originally was issued in 1971 and has been out of print for many years; the re-release will come in both CD and vinyl LP formats.

* Finally, let's extend all best wishes to author, photographer and "Jazz Unlimited" radio host Dennis Owsley and Sara Serot, who were married a week ago Tuesday at the Ethical Society. Mazel tov to the happy couple!

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Miles Davis Online's Jeffrey Hyatt has a new post up looking at the current state of the Miles Davis biopic starring Don Cheadle.

* Meanwhile, Columbia Legacy has announced the January release of Miles Davis Quintet Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2.

* A short essay on the Blue Note Records site about guitarist Grant Green (pictured) spotlights some of the recordings the St. Louis native made for the Blue Note label.

* Electronic musician Joseph Raglani is all over the famed indie music site Pitchfork.com this week, with a review of his new album Real Colors of the Physical World and a music video of "Trampoline Dream."

* Jazz St. Louis has posted on their Facebook page some photos documenting saxophonist Chris Potter's second set on Wednesday at Jazz at the Bistro. Potter continues at the Bistro through tomorrow night.

* Music from flute player Fred Tompkins and pianist Jim Hegarty is featured on the latest installment of Taran Singh's Free Jazz Hour podcast.

* The city of Sedalia needs $4,000 to restore a mural commemorating pianist and composer Scott Joplin.

* Fundrasising for the proposed National Blues Museum in downtown St. Louis got a jumpstart this week with the announcement of a $6 million gift from Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., which operates the Lumière Place casino downtown and River City casino in Lemay. The gift, part of more than $11 million given to organizations in the the city, fulfills part of the redevelopment agreement between Pinnacle and St. Louis. Coverage from local media included stories from the Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Business Journal.

* The December episode of HEC-TV's I Love Jazz, featuring music from saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett recorded live this past summer at the Missouri Botanical Garden, is airing now on the cable network (check the program guide for your TV provider) and also is available for viewing online.

Jazz this week: Zappa Plays Zappa, Chris Potter Trio, Peter Martin & Romero Lubambo, George Lewis & Marina Rosenfeld, and more

It's another busy weekend for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, and with two of the week's headliners in town for performances this evening, there's no time to waste. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, the Frank Zappa repertory group Zappa Plays Zappa, led by FZ's younger, guitar-playing son Dweezil Zappa, returns to St. Louis play at The Pageant. In case you're keeping track, this will be ZPZ's fourth stop at that particular venue since the band was formed in 2006. Along with Dweezil, only drummer Joe Travers and saxophonist/keyboardist Scheila Gonzalez remain from that first tour, and the band has become a bit more focused on DZ's guitar playing, for the most part now eschewing the guest appearances by former FZ sidemen that marked their first outings.

According to Dweezil's website, on this tour they're "playing a selection of material from 3 different decades, 60s, 70s, 80s" as well as "premiering some more new material we have never performed before including an orchestral piece that I have wanted to play I started this project."

At around the same time this evening and just a few miles to the east, saxophonist Chris Potter (pictured) will be back in town to open a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Potter, who continues to be one of the most in-demand and critically acclaimed saxophonists in jazz, played last year at the Bistro with his electric group Underground. This time, he'll be fronting a trio with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Adam Cruz, which should provide ample opportunity for the players to stretch out and for the audience to hear every detail of Potter's playing. For more about what Potter's been up to since his last visit here, and some recent video clips of him in action, check out this Saturday video post from a couple of weeks ago.

Also tonight, the Webster Groves HS Jazz I ensemble will play Stan Kenton's A Merry Christmas in its entirety in a free concert (donations accepted) at Webster Groves Presbyterian Church; and the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra (formerly the Meramec Jazz Band) will perform at Sky Music Lounge in Ballwin.

On Thursday, pianist Peter Martin resumes his eponymous music series by teaming up with guitarist Romero Lubambo for a show at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The two men have worked together behind singer Dianne Reeves, and also teamed up to play at the Sheldon a couple of years ago. The theme of this concert is "New Orleans meets Brazil," which alluded to the city where Martin made his professional breakthrough and to Lubambo's place of birth, and also should give them plenty of potential musical territory to explore.

Also on Thursday, funk/jazz/R&B ensemble Good 4 The Soul will do their monthly early evening show at BB's Jazz Blues & Soup,

On Friday, guitarist Dave Black leads a trio at Cigar Inn, and there four different female vocalists in action at various spots around town. Debbie Lennon will team with pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True for a holiday themed show at Robbie's House of Jazz; Feyza Eren, backed by guitarist Tom Byrne and drummer Steve Davis, will be at the south side house-concert venue KindaBlue; Erin Bode and her group, with guest violinist David Halen of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, will play at the Foundry Arts Centre; and Miss Jubilee and the Humdingers will perform in the Sheldon's upstairs ballroom.

Then on Saturday, trombonist/composer/electronic musician George Lewis and "sound artist" Marina Rosenfeld will perform their duet piece "Sour Mash" in a concert presented by New Music Circle at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Lewis, who grew up in Chicago and gained early experience with that city's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, recently spoke with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson about "Sour Mash" for an article published online here, and you can see and hear a previous, relatively short version of the work here.

Also on Saturday, the Funky Butt Brass Band will present their annual "Holiday Brasstravaganza" at Off Broadway; and guitarists Teddy Presberg and Brian Vaccaro will share a bill at Broadway Oyster Bar, leading their respective organ trios in tributes to the music of Led Zeppelin and the Beatles.

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

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Welcome back, Potter

This week, our video spotlight shines on saxophonist Chris Potter, who will be returning to St. Louis to play Wednesday, December 12 through Saturday, December 15 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Potter, one of the most in-demand saxophonists around these days, was here most recently in March 2011, performing with his electric band Underground at the Bistro.
He's also played in St. Louis previously with his own quartet, with bassist Dave Holland's band, and even with Steely Dan when he was part of their touring unit.

When not leading his own bands, Potter continues his musical relationship with Holland (who's coming here to play the Bistro at the end of February), but also is involved in numerous other musical projects, spending much of this past year touring with guitarist Pat Metheny's Unity Band and with pianist McCoy Tyner.

For his shows at the Bistro, Potter will be playing with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Adam Cruz. As the only gig he'll do in the trio format this year, it will be something of a special occasion for Potter's St. Louis fans, and the stripped-down lineup should play to his strengths by giving him plenty of room to stretch out. However, since these are Potter's only trio shows this year, there aren't really any online videos available that would provide a preview.

Instead, we've got a half-dozen recent clips, all recorded since Potter's last visit to St. Louis, that at least should provide a snapshot of what he's sounding like these days. The first video up top features Potter's new quartet, with pianist David Virelles, bassist Joe Martin, and drummer Gerald Cleaver, in July of this year playing "Five Points" at the Blue Note in Milan, Italy.

Down below, there are three more selections from the same show: the Thelonious Monk composition "Work," "Nausikaa" and "Wayfinder."

Below that, you can see Potter doing an unaccompanied version of "Tune-Up," recorded at a workshop for saxophonists in November 2011 in London. Potter's solo renditions of jazz standards have proven to be a popular feature of his clinics and master classes, and those so inclined can see a transcription of this "Tune-Up" solo, rendered as a YouTube video, here.

The sixth clip features an interview with Potter recorded in late 2011, in which he talks about his music and career in general, and also discusses his first foray into trio playing last December with Cruz and bassist John Patitucci. For more about Potter's recent activities, check out the print interviews here and here.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2012 jazz preview, part 3

This week, it's part three of StLJN's fall jazz preview, with video clips featuring some of the bands and musicians who will be coming to St. Louis to perform between now and the end of the year. (You can see part one of the preview here, and part two here.)

The first clip up above shows New Orleans' Meschiya Lake & Dem Little Big Horns performing "Electric Chair Blues" at a house concert in February of this year. Lake and company will be in St. Louis on Saturday, November 3 at Casa Loma Ballroom as part of the Nevermore Jazz Ball 2012.

Down below, it's organist Joey DeFrancesco, offering his interpretation of James Ingram's pop/R&B hit "One Hundred Ways" at this year's Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival. DeFrancesco will be back in St. Louis to perform with his trio from Wednesday, November 14 through Saturday, November 17 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Next, it's U. City native Jeremy Davenport, caught on video at Louisiana Music Factory during the 2010 JazzFest performing "Almost Never," an original tune from his 2009 album We'll Dance Til Dawn, plus a bit of "Sweet Georgia Brown." Davenport will take a weekend off from his house-band gig at New Orleans' Ritz-Carlton to come home for performances on Friday, November 23 and Saturday November 24 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Today's fourth video features singer and guitarist John Pizzarelli, seen here playing "Oh Lady Be Good" at the 2012 Tbilisi Jazz Festival in Georgia (the country that formerly was part of the Soviet Union, not the state in the southeastern part of U.S.). Pizzarelli will return to St. Louis to play Wednesday, November 28 through Saturday, December 1 at Jazz at the Bistro.

After that, it's pianist Marcus Roberts playing his composition "Country By Choice" at the 2009 Jazz in Marciac festival in France, accompanied by Roland Guerin on bass and Jason Marsalis on drums. Roberts is coming to St. Louis on Saturday, December 1 to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The following week, on Sunday, December 9, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band will bring their "Creole Christmas" show to the Sheldon. While there don't seem to be any good quality videos online of PHJB playing holiday material, the clip of "Tailgate Ramble," recorded at Preservation Hall in 2009, offers a taste of their sound.

Saxophonist Chris Potter is featured in the next video, an excerpt from a performance of Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" recorded last December at the NYC club Smoke. Potter, who played St. Louis last year with his electric group Underground, this year will bring his acoustic trio to town to play Wednesday, December 12 through Saturday, December 15 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Today's final video features an electronic music piece from George Lewis and Marina Rosenfeld called "Sour Mash," which they'll perform here in a concert sponsored by New Music Circle on Saturday, December 15 at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

Jazz this week: Chris Potter Underground, Craig Hultgren, Jazz St. Louis' benefit gala, Mardi Gras music, and more

It's Mardi Gras week, and here in St. Louis there's a variety of jazz and creative music coming up on local stages (though not at the city's official Mardi Gras celebration; a bit more about that later.) Let's go the highlights...

The most highly anticipated performer of the week likely is saxophonist Chris Potter (pictured), who brings his electric group Underground to Jazz at the Bistro for the first time beginning tonight and continuing through Saturday. The 40-year-old Potter has been one of the more talked-about saxophonists on the scene for a decade now, and though he's played the Bistro before with his acoustic group, Jazz St. Louis tried for a couple of years to get Underground here before the proverbial stars finally aligned this season. Given both of those factors, expect good crowds for Potter all weekend, but at last word, there were tickets remaining for most sets.

For more about Potter, check out this StLJN video post from last Saturday; this short article by Calvin Wilson from last Friday's Post-Dispatch; this 2008 NPR broadcast featuring a set of Underground recorded live at NYC's Village Vanguard; and this 2010 interview with Potter conducted for the jazz studies program at NYU.

On Thursday, the Funky Butt Brass Band will get the weekend started with an early evening set at the Blues City Deli; and guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

The FBBB will be back in action for an hour Friday night, performing from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. for the Mayor's Ball at City Hall before yielding to the band Groovethang, best known for their tribute shows to Earth Wind & Fire and Steely Dan. Alas, said hour-long set would appear to be the only jazz and/or blues-related sounds offered at any of this year's official St. Louis Mardi Gras events; all the music for Saturday's parade-related doings in Soulard is slated to come from DJs and a list of depressingly generic-seeming local rock cover bands. (Yr. humble StLJN editor has ranted about the lack of appropriate music at these events before; follow the links to learn all the reasons why I think the Mardi Gras powers-that-be continue to err in their music-booking reasoning. )

Fortunately, there's jazz to be found elsewhere throughout the weekend, starting on Friday as saxophonist Kendrick Smith's quartet plays at Robbie's House of Jazz; and guitarist Tom Byrne's trio, with Phil Graves on drums and Chris Watrous on bass, is at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

On Saturday, the Funky Butt Brass Band will perform in late afternoon at the Old Rock House, along with the New Orleans R&B/funk cover band Gumbohead, with whom they share a couple of members.

That evening, cellist Craig Hultgren will employ his impressive array of extended techniques in a performance at Focal Point under the auspices of New Music Circle, and saxophonist Stan Coleman's University Jazz Big Band takes the stage at Robbie's.

Also on Saturday, guitarist William Lenihan's trio will play a Mardi Gras-themed fundraiser at Trinity Episcopal Church in St. Charles to benefit the church's choir program; and the eclectic roots music band Sins of the Pioneers will play jazz, blues, honky tonk and more at Iron Barley's basement room Fred's 6-Foot Under.

On Sunday, the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show will hold their spring event, typically the largest and best attended of year, at the American Czech Hall on the south side.

That evening, Jazz St. Louis will hold their annual fundraising gala at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, featuring dinner, an auction, and music from the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student group, saxophonist Ronald Carter and the East St. Louis High School Jazz Band, and the seemingly ubiquitous Funky Butt Brass Band. Tickets start at $250 per person, and proceeds benefit Jazz St. Louis' educational programs. For more information, call JSL's Melissa Jones at 314-289-4037 or email her at melissa @ jazzstl.org.

Also on Sunday is the March edition of the monthly jam session at Bossanova Restaurant and Lounge in Alton, featuring saxophonist Jason Swagler and Eric Slaughter's trio with Marty Morrison and bassist Nick Jost.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Fat Tuesday you can catch the Funky Butt/Gumbohead combination at the Broadway Oyster Bar, or take in the traditional jazz sounds of Bud Shultz and his "You Can't Beat Experience" Jazz Band as they perform for a Mardi Gras celebration at the Lewis & Clark Community College's Benjamin Godfrey Memorial Chapel in Godfrey, IL.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Chris Potter goes Underground

This week, let's check in on saxophonist Chris Potter, who's bringing his electric band Underground to St. Louis next week to Wednesday, March 2 through Saturday, March 5 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Potter, who just turned 40 last month, played St. Louis most recently in January 2009 with bassist Dave Holland's quintet at the Sheldon Concert Hall. (You can read StLJN's review of that gig here.) He also led his acoustic group for a week at the Bistro a few years back, but this will be the first St. Louis appearance of the plugged-in Underground, which usually includes keyboardist Craig Taborn (who also cover the bass parts on his Rhodes electric piano), guitarist Adam Rogers, and drummer Nate Smith.

Today's first clip was recorded in July 2009 in Stuttgart, and shows Potter and Underground performing "The Wheel." Down below, there's a version of Bob Dylan's song "It Ain't Me Babe," featuring Potter on bass clarinet, recorded in 2008 at the the Dakota in Minneapolis, followed by another unlabeled excerpt from the Dakota gig below that.

Finally, for a bit of contrast, today's fourth video shows Potter in a much more traditional setting, playing his version of the classic tenor sax showcase "Body and Soul" a couple of years ago on the PBS program Legends of Jazz.

Notes from the Net: "First times" with Miles; Oliver Lake's new CD; Boney James on the mend; plus news, reviews, interviews and more

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

* Starting off, as is our custom, with a Miles Davis item, NPR's A Blog Supreme recently asked readers "What Was Your First Miles Davis Album"? and got "nearly 1,000 replies on NPR's Facebook page; 103 replies here on A Blog Supreme (an astronomical amount for us) and hundreds of tweets and re-tweets." The number one intro-to-Miles album was, unsurprisingly, Kind of Blue, which remains the best selling jazz album of all time; the runner-up was Bitches Brew, which is getting a 40th anniversary re-release this year.

* In news of other St. Louis natives, saxophonist Greg Osby will headline a live webcast for NPR's "Live at the Village Vanguard" program on Tuesday, August 3. (Episodes are archived online for later listening, too.)

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake (pictured) has a new CD called Plan featuring his Organ Trio with keyboardist Jared Gold, trumpeter Freddie Hendrix and drummer Jonathan Blake. Here's a review from Music and More blogger Tim Niland, who calls it "a very exciting and constantly compelling album."

* Turning to news of recent visitors, guitarist Jeff Beck, who played St. Louis' Fox Theatre in April, this week led a tribute to guitarist and inventor Les Paul at the intimate NYC club Iridium, where Paul had a steady Monday night gig for many years right up until his death in 2009. Here's another review, written by Bill Milkowski for Jazz Times.

* Meanwhile, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, last seen here in March at the Sheldon Concert Hall, have headed across the Atlantic for a tour that includes four concerts in Berlin, three in London, and five in other UK cities.

* Singer and pianist Jamie Cullum, who also was in St. Louis in March to play the Roberts Orpheum Theatre, will be one of the headliners at the Carefusion Newport Jazz Festival in August.

* Saxophonist Peter Brötzmann and percussionist Hamid Drake have a new eponymous duo CD, reviewed here by "Stef" of the blog Free Jazz. Their recent duo tour, the first in more than a decade, included a stop in April at St. Louis' Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.

* As if he wasn't busy enough already, bassist Christian McBride is producing and playing on vibraphonist Warren Wolf's debut CD for Mack Avenue Records. McBride revealed on his Twitter feed that recent sessions in NYC also included drummer Greg Hutchinson, saxophonist Tim Green and, on piano, St. Louis' own Peter Martin, all of whom also have been associated with McBride's Inside Straight band. Last seen here in November at Jazz at the Bistro, McBride will play a duo concert with Martin in September at the Sheldon, and will return again next year in March for a Ray Brown tribute at the Bistro.

* Speaking of return engagements, trumpeter Chris Botti, who will return to St. Louis in February 2011 for a concert at Powell Hall with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, will perform next week at NYC's Carnegie Hall for the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York. Botti also will play the CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival in August.

* Singer, pianist and songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway, who's coming back to the Gateway City next March to play at the Bistro, recently did a duo show with her sister, Broadway and cabaret performer Liz Callaway, at Town Hall in NYC. The program featured their interpretations of pop hits from the 1960s and 1970s; here's the review from the New York Times' Stephen Holden.

* Saxophonist Gerald Albright has a new CD, Pushing The Envelope, on sale next week. The funk-flavored release features special guest appearances by Fred Wesley on trombone, Earl Klugh on acoustic guitar and George Duke on acoustic piano, along with keyboardists Tracy Carter and Luther "Mano" Hanes, guitarist Ricky Watford and drummer Ricky Lawson. Albright is out on the road this summer with the Guitars and Saxes tour, which hits The Pageant in St. Louis on Friday, August 13.

* Singer Tierney Sutton was one of the headliners at last week's Isthmus Jazz Festival in Madison, WI, resulting in this interview with the local magazine that sponsored the event. Sutton will be back in St. Louis in October to play the Sheldon.

* Saxophonist Chris Potter has put online some free live music from his band Underground, via the website ArtistShare. Potter and Underground will play Jazz at the Bistro next March.

* Lastly, smooth jazz saxophonist Boney James is on the mend from being rear-ended in a recent car accident, in which he suffered a gash in his chin that resulted in 14 stitches, a fractured maxilla bone, and two broken front teeth. James is taking off several weeks for orthodontic repairs and recovery, but anticipates being able to play again the first week of July, which would be in time for him to make his show scheduled for Thursday, July 8 at the Bottleneck Blues Bar in St. Charles.

Some of James' canceled shows have been rescheduled, but for his date this Saturday in Sacramento, trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Richard Elliot will fill in and co-headline what's being billed as a "Get Well Soon Tribute" as part of their ongoing "RnR" tour, which comes to the Pageant on July 30.

(Edited after posting to clean up some typos.)

Jazz St. Louis polling fans on potential Bistro bookings

Once again this year, Jazz St. Louis is looking for input from local jazz fans regarding who they'd like to see booked next season at Jazz at the Bistro. Interested individuals may offer their opinions by responding to a survey on the Jazz St. Louis Web site.

Musicians listed in the poll as under consideration for the Bistro's 2010-11 season include Patricia Barber, Bill Charlap, Stefon Harris, Lionel Loueke, Russell Malone, Gretchen Parlato, Jeremy Pelt, Chris Potter, Christian Scott, Esperanza Spalding (pictured) and Tierney Sutton.

Jazz St. Louis also is accepting "write-in" suggestions on their Facebook fan page and, presumably, via other means such as email, postal mail and in person as well. Many of the artists in this year's survey have played the Bistro at least once before, with the exceptions including Loueke, Parlato, Potter and Scott. JSL usually announces the next season's lineup for the Bistro in the latter part of May.

Review: Dave Holland Quintet at the Sheldon Concert Hall

Jazz critic Whitney Balliett famously called jazz "the sound of surprise," and while the Dave Holland Quintet certainly had plenty of surprises up their sleeves during Saturday night's performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall, the show also served to demonstrate the virtues of familiarity within the context of a working band.

Holland has been developing variations on this small-group concept for more than a decade, and the current lineup has been in place for several years. This continuity means that the musicians know each other and the material very well, and are able to delve deeply into the nuances of each composition. In particular, the band's frequent use of odd meters, as in "Lucky Seven" and the 11/8 "Full Circle," seems completely natural, with each musician having fully assimilated the underlying pulses so that the music grooves effortlessly.

The pairing of trombonist Robin Eubanks and saxophonist Chris Potter offers a different set of timbral possibilities than the more typical front line of trumpet and saxophone, and the two are able to maintain distinct sounds even when working in the same register. Given their extensive experience playing together, they're also able to improvise simultaneously without getting in each other's way, as they did to good effect on the opening "Step To It". Eubanks and Potter also demonstrated several times the ability to slip seamlessly from improvised material into written lines and back out again, adding an elusive quality to the thematic statements.

Steve Nelson's vibes and marimba provided a chordal backdrop more transparent than a piano or guitar, but also were engaged in a ongoing dialogue of cross-rhythms with drummer Nate Smith. Nelson's solo on "Full Circle" was especially good, building tension with a series of eight-note licks before doubling up on the tempo and really letting fly. He's perhaps the least demonstrative of the quintet, but in many ways, Nelson is the glue that holds the whole thing together, and his composition "Go Fly A Kite," also served as a fitting encore, sprightly and concise.

Holland's bass took the spotlight on the intro to a new tune called "Veil of Tears" and he soloed effectively throughout the evening, but, ever the team player, he also handled much of the time-keeping function, freeing up Smith to explore various cross-rhythmic strategies. Smith is especially good at exploiting all the tonal resources of his kit, using sticks, mallets and hands on the cymbals, heads, rims and sides of the drums to produce a wide variety of effects, some very subtle. His control of dynamics and the level of fine detail in his playing were impressive, and his duet with Holland on "The Whirling Dervish" was both musically substantive and a crowd pleaser.

Chris Potter is considered one of the rising stars in jazz, and on this evening he did not disappoint, delivering twisting, extended tenor solos on the opener and on his own composition "Vicissitudes." While some of his lines on the latter recalled the late Michael Brecker, reportedly an important influence, Potter's playing overall was remarkably free of cliche, and his energy level never flagged. On a new tune called "Easy Did It"* that was dedicated to the people of New Orleans, Potter switched to soprano sax, and he and Eubanks together briefly evoked memories of Roswell Rudd and Steve Lacy's modernist takes on traditional jazz before veering off on their own paths.

Holland's group doesn't offer many easy points of entry for the casual fan; their music relies on odd meters, elliptical forms, and advanced harmonic concepts, and thus may prove difficult for those accustomed only to traditional song forms and 4/4 swing beats. Their music demands active listening, and even then the information flow is so dense that it can be daunting. Still, while a few concertgoers at the Sheldon left after intermission, the vast majority of the mostly-full house stuck around until the end, rewarding the band with a well-deserved standing ovation. On this evening, the Dave Holland Quintet fully lived up to their reputation as one of the top small groups in jazz.

(The Riverfront Times' Ryan Wasoba also reviewed Holland's concert, and you can read his reactions online here.)

*Thanks to bassist/blogger Bill Harrison of Jazz Underneath for his comment supplying the correct name of the tune dedicated to New Orleans. You can read Bill's review of the Dave Holland Quintet's concert Sunday night in Chicago here.