Jazz this week: Christian Pincock, Musica Slesa, Moyindau, Eric Slaughter Trio, Erika Johnson, and more

It's more than likely to be freezing cold in St. Louis this weekend, but with the 2011 portion of the presenting season starting to heat up, there are a number of jazz and creative music performances that could justify the effort required to bundle up and brave the chill.

If you're looking specifically for something to put you in mind of warmer climes, the St. Louis based Latin jazz band Musica Slesa will be performing on Friday night at Jazz at the Bistro and presumably will be, as the saying goes, muy caliente.

Also on Friday, pianist and singer Curt Landes' trio will play at Robbie's House of Jazz, and trombonist/composer/electronic musician Christian Pincock will perform at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Pincock's music is concerned with the interaction of live, sampled and synthesized sounds, with lots of computer processing of his trombone. You can see a couple of videos of him in performance in last Saturday's video showcase post.

On Saturday afternoon, singer Erika Johnson will reprise her take on the music of Nina Simone for a concert presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown. That evening, drummer Brian Sullivan leads a trio with bassist Darrell Mixon and pianist Mat Dillinger at Robbie's.

On Sunday, guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio (pictured) will do a free, early evening concert at Second Baptist Church in Richmond Heights for the St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers Series.

After that, if you hurry, you can make it down to the south side for a Sunday evening performance from Moyindau at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. The Michigan-based quartet brings together influences from jazz, classical, Eastern European folk music, free improv and more, and you can sample some of their sounds from that same video post from last week.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday BB's Jazz Blues and Soups has pianist Dave Becherer's trio, and on Tuesday, the weekly open jam sessions continue at Robbie's House of Jazz.

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: Coming up next week at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center

Today, let's take a look at some videos of musicians who will be performing next week at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.

First up is trombonist, composer and electronic musician Christian Pincock, who's playing on Friday, January 14 at LNAC. Pincock performs using a valve trombone and a computer-based instrument he created using MAX/MSP software, and draws on "diverse styles such as improvised experimental music, contemporary classical, avant-garde jazz, noise, and electronica."

Pincock in featured in the first embedded video above, performing his piece "Modifications of the Mind - Part 1" in April 2009 at the University of New Mexico ArtsLab in Albuquerque. Down below, there's an excerpt from another solo performance, recorded in March 2008 at Lichtblick Kino in Berlin, Germany.

Two nights later on Sunday, January 16, the Michigan-based quartet Moyindau will stop off at LNAC on their way back home from a tour of southwest. The group includes alto saxophonist Kevin Bene, pianist and composer Alex Kreger, cellist Susanna Mendlow and percussionist Ryan Ptasnik, and cites influences including "experimental jazz, contemporary classical, folk, and free improvisation."

The third video features Moyindau performing a piece called "Descent," and was recorded in July 2010 at Cream City Collectives in Milwaukee. The fourth video is a rendition of "Point House," a multi-part composition also recorded in July, at the Unitarian Universalist Church West in Brookfield, WI.

Christian Pincock, Moyindau to play in January at LNAC

The Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center has announced two shows in January that may be of interest to fans of jazz and improvised music:

Trombonist and electronic musician Christian Pincock will play LNAC on Friday, January 14. Pincock performs improvised and composed music using a valve trombone and a computer-based instrument he created using MAX/MSP software. "Using a keyboard controller and a system of sensors attached to his trombone he is able to control sampled sounds and integrate them expressively and musically," says Pincock's website. "His work is both dynamic and subtle, drawing from diverse styles such as improvised experimental music, contemporary classical, avant-garde jazz, noise, and electronica."

Then on Sunday, January 16, Moyindau (pictured) will take the LNAC stage. The group, which includes Alex Kreger (piano), Kevin Bene (saxophones), Susanna Mendlow (cello) and Ryan Ptasnik (drums), "explores the territory between jazz and contemporary classical music, improvised and notated forms....The ensemble also draws from ethnic folk traditions of cultures across the world, an influence perhaps best explained by the group’s beginning as the backup band for vocal settings of Kazakh poetry."

Both shows start at 8:00 p.m., with tickets available for $5 at the door.

(Edited 1/8/11 to correct the day of the Moyindau show, and to use the preferred form of their name.)