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)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A jazz film mini-festival (shutdown edition)

With live music still shut down for the foreseeable future, this week we revisit an idea used in this space occasionally during the slow weeks of summer, and offer up a mini-festival of six feature-length films about jazz. 

The first film, embedded up above, is 1959, The Year That Changed Jazz, a 2009 documentary originally aired on the BBC. It uses archival performances and interviews to look at developments in jazz as reflected in four historically significant albums released that year by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, and Ornette Coleman.

After the jump, you can see A Great Day In Harlem, an Academy Award-nominated documentary released in 1994 that tells the story of the iconic 1958 photo of dozens of jazz greats taken on a Harlem stoop.

Next up is Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968, a documentary by filmmaker Thomas Reichman that captures the bassist and composer at a particularly tumultuous time, including some infamous footage of Mingus being evicted from his New York City apartment.

After that, it's keyboardist, bandleader, composer and self-proclaimed extraterrestrial Sun Ra in an extended cut of Space is the Place, a 1972 film that DownBeat described as "a sci-fi trip through the East Bay during the 1970s with Sun Ra in the lead."

The penultimate video is Thelonius Monk: An American Composer, a 1993 documentary that includes archival footage and various jazz greats discussing Monk and his enduring influence on jazz.

Last but not least, it's Herbie Hancock - Possibilities a 2006 "making of" documentary about Hancock's album of the same name, featuring guest performers drawn from rock, pop, hip-hop, and more.

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

Sunday Session: February 23, 2020

Mary Lou Williams

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

* Early Reflections On Life In The Information Age: John Zorn's Naked City Turns 30 (TheQuietus.com)
* Lost in the woods with James Brown’s ghost - The Circus Singer and the Godfather of Soul (CNN)
* Artificial Intelligence doing Wonders in Music Streaming Industry (AnalyticsInsight.net)
* Warner Music Group’s A&R Costs Say a Lot About How Much Labels Need to Spend on Artists in Today’s Music Industry (Rolling Stone)
* Remembering Ivan Kral, Patti Smith Group member and New Brunswick video store owner (Asbury Park Press)
* When Keyboard Worlds Collide: Steve Nieve & Benmont Tench in Conversation (Variety)
* Sergio Mendes Talks New Album & Documentary 'In the Key of Joy' (Billboard)
* In Memoriam: Jimmy Heath (DownBeat)
* Cécile McLorin Salvant - Ogresse (SFJAZZ.org)
* Jerry Lee Lewis Returns to Music: ‘I Thought I Would Never Play Again’ (Rolling Stone)
* Reconsidering the Piano Legacy of Dave Brubeck, in a Deep Dive Centennial Special (WBGO)
* The Day the Music Became Carbon-Neutral (The New Yorker)
* Paal Nilssen-Love is in Perpetual Motion (DownBeat)
* Dave Brubeck Centennial Honored with Hometown Exhibition (Jazz Times)
* Louis Armstrong, the King of Queens (New York Times)
* Looking back at the life of Mary Lou Williams, the Lady Who Swings the Band (KNKX)
* That not-so-old black magic: how African mysticism returned to pop (The Guardian)
* Jon Christensen 1943 – 2020 (Jazz Times)
* Lester Young Instruments and Hat to Be Donated to Smithsonian (Jazz Times)
* In Memoriam: Lyle Mays (DownBeat)
* Watch Kandace Springs’ Live Video Of Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ (UDiscoverMusic.com)

Sunday Session: January 26, 2020

Jimmy Heath

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

* Commentary: George Walker is the black composer you should know but don’t. Why that may change (Los Angeles Times)
* Jimmy Heath, Legendary Saxophonist, Composer and Jazz Educator, Dies at 93 (WBGO)
* Jimmy Heath 1926 – 2020 (Jazz Times)
*Harmonica virtuoso Charlie Musselwhite sees the old year out (Sonoma Press Democrat)
* John McLaughlin: “Listening to any kind of real music is a meditative experience” (TheHinduBusinessLine.com)
* Roberta Flack: 'My music is my expression of what I feel in a moment' (The Guardian)
* The Neuroscience of Drumming: Researchers Discover the Secrets of Drumming & The Human Brain (OpenCulture.com)
* Winter JazzFest Broadens Scope, Encompassing Physical and Mental Well-Being (DownBeat)
* Grammy Awards Nominating Is Marred by Insider Deals, Ousted CEO’s Complaint Alleges (Variety)
* Listen Deeper: The Strange Case Of Iannis Xenakis & Pauline Oliveros (TheQuietus.com)
* Dave Brubeck Archives Headed to Connecticut (Jazz Times)
* Kendrick Scott: Making Walls into Bridges (AllAboutJazz.com)
* The Major Undertakings of Meredith Monk (DownBeat)
* All Sound Is Music: Laurie Anderson Interview (SFJAZZ.org)
* Psst! A Peek at 'Secrets Are the Best Stories,' Kurt Elling's New Album with Danilo Perez (WBGO)
* Louis Armstrong Musical A Wonderful World to Have World Premiere in Miami (Playbill)
* Birdland, The Jazz Corner of the World (Forbes.com)
* Vincent Herring on Charlie Parker’s Perennial Influence (DownBeat)
* Survival Records Returns with New Jazz Releases (Jazz Times)
* A Long Talk With James Newton Howard, One of Hollywood’s Most Accomplished Composers (Vulture.com)
* Chick Corea Is the Well-Tempered Clavierist (Jazz Times)
* Following Outrage, Discovery Networks Backs Down on Composer Ultimatum (Variety)
* Cecil Taylor: Looking (BurningAmbulance.com)
* Pete Brown: White Rooms & Imaginary Westerns, Part 1 (AllAboutJazz.com)

Sunday Session: December 22, 2019

Gerald Cleaver

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

* Mars Williams brings his Albert Ayler Xmas across Europe and back home to Chicago (Chicago Reader)
* Gershon Kingsley, Moog Synthesizer Pioneer, Dies at 97 (Billboard)
* Wayne Shorter Continues to Forge Ahead (DownBeat)
* 'We loved each other': America’s first racially integrated all-girl swing band (The Guardian)
* A small Wisconsin company stored thousands of people’s CDs, then suddenly vanished (TheVerge.com)
* Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Finally Recognizes Woman Who Practically Invented Rock and Roll (Jezebel.com)
* Dave Brubeck’s Legacy Enters a New Era (DownBeat)
* The Siren Sound of the Clash’s ‘London Calling,’ 40 Years Later (TheRinger.com)
* How Many Spotify Streams Do You Need To Live Above The Poverty Line? (HaulixDaily.com)
* Terence Blanchard, American jazz trumpeter weaving opera history (Prothomalo.com)
* Don Was On The Past, Present, And Future Of Blue Note Records (ClashMusic.com)
* On The Scene: Tony Bennett—The Visual Artist (The Aquarian)
* Why Are There No New Christmas Songs? (NPR)
* George Benson: the album that changed my life (Jazzwise)
* Gerald Cleaver Bridges the Divide Between Structure and Freedom (DownBeat)
* Chamber Music America Grants $180,000 to Female-Led Jazz Ensembles (Jazz Times)
* The South African Songbook: Jazz Musicians Who Stayed During Apartheid (NPR)
* Tony Bennett Brings the Holiday Spirit With His Animated Yule Log (Parade)
* A Major Music Distributor Has Stifled Vinyl Sales for Record Stores and Indie Labels, Sources Say (Pitchfork.com)
* 'It's a Total Nightmare': Problems at Direct Shot Distributing Have Made New Vinyl and CDs Scarce (Billboard)
* No Other Love Is the B-Side of the Chicago Gospel Story (Chicago)
* How headphones are changing the sound of music (QZ.com)
* A Bessie Smith Christmas (Jazz Times)

Sunday Session: September 1, 2019

Johnny Hodges

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

* Before & After: Miguel Zenón (Jazz Times)
* Inside the Jazz Household of Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran (Vogue)
* Music Charts Reflect The Changing Pace Of Culture And Society, Scientists Say (Forbes.com)
* Standing Grand gives concert sound while saving space (NewAtlas.com)
* The Survival of Iggy Pop (The New Yorker)
* Artist Spotlight: Theo Croker (Jazz Times)
* Roscoe Mitchell Returns (Chicago)
* Are Opening Acts Becoming A Thing Of The Past? (UltimateClassicRock.com)
* Jazzmeia Horn is Steeped Tradition, Yet Fully Planted in the Present (DownBeat)
* 89 year-old piano legend Ahmad Jamal announces first solo album (JazzFM.com)
* Do vintage electric guitars really sound better with age? (Guitar)
* Improviser Evan Parker on the ‘Weight of Tradition’ and Staying in Motion (DownBeat)
* Charlie Parker Fest Captures A Bit of Bird’s Freewheeling Spirit (DownBeat)
* After Katrina, a priceless musical archive was thought lost. It showed up in Torrance (Los Angeles Times)
* Benny Carter vs. Johnny Hodges: Who Was Better? (Jazz Times)
* Moor Mother preaches Afrofuturist techno-gospel on Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes (FactMag.com)
* See Inside Jazz Great Dave Brubeck's Groovy Connecticut Home (Town and Country)
* What Ever Happened To The Pop Song Fade-Out? (WPR)
* Nile Rodgers On Writing Smash Hits And Reworking David Bowie's 'Let's Dance' (NPR)
* Delmark Records Focused on ‘a New Era’ of Creativity (DownBeat)
* Christian Sands & the Legacy of Erroll Garner (Jazz Times)
* 50 years on, soul music legend Don Bryant is getting the success he deserves (TheNational.ae)
* Haynes family: a slice of Roxbury history (Bay State Banner)
* Inside Steinway Piano’s secret underground vault (Fast Company)
* Saxophonist Dave Rempis builds a band with the stamina for deep dives (Chicago Reader)
* A Bird’s Life: How Charlie Parker Changed The Course Of Jazz History (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Why Art Pepper’s Straight Life is still the most harrowing jazz memoir ever (Jazz Times)
* Santana's Debut Album Turns 50 Years Old (NPR)
* Jazz Is a Music of Perseverance Against Racism and Capitalism (TruthOut.org)
* The coming death of just about every rock legend (The Week)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Summer 2014 jazz film festival

It's summertime, when the livin' is allegedly easy, and yr. humble editor needs a brief respite from the usual blogging routine. So today, in keeping with a venerable tradition that we just made up a couple of years ago, we're bringing back StLJN's online summer festival of jazz-related films, featuring a whole day's worth of documentaries about some all-time greats of jazz. .

First up is On The Road with Duke Ellington, filmed in 1967 by documentarian Robert Drew and updated in 1974 after Ellington's death, which offers an inside look at the Duke traveling and working with his orchestra.

After the jump, you'll find Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way, a 2010 BBC documentary about Brubeck's life and work.

The life of another famous jazz pianist, Oscar Peterson, is the subject of the next film, Music in the Key of Oscar, which was made in 2004.

The fourth movie, The World According to John Coltrane, is a 1990 documentary about the groundbreaking saxophonist, bandleader and composer, directed by Robert Palmer and Toby Byron.

In the fifth slot, it's Triumph of the Underdog, a 1998 documentary about bassist Charles Mingus, produced in cooperation with his widow Sue Mingus and bearing the same name as Mingus' well-known autobiographical book.

The festivities conclude with Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas, produced in 2013 by the BBC as "a celebration of some of the greatest female jazz singers of the 20th century," including Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and more.

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

The Sheldon, Metrotix offering discount on tickets for Brubeck Brothers Quartet this Saturday, October 5

The Sheldon Concert Hall and Metrotix are offering a discount to online buyers of tickets for the Brubeck Brothers Quartet performance at 8:00 p.m. this Saturday at The Sheldon.

The quartet (pictured), led by Dave Brubeck's sons Dan Brubeck (drums) and Chris Brubeck (bass and trombone), will perform a program of music featuring some of the elder Brubeck's best-known compositions, including "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo A La Turk."

Along with the Brubecks and guitarist Mike DeMicco, the quartet also includes the fine pianist Chuck Lamb, who St. Louisans of a certain age may remember as the keyboard player in the regionally popular 1970s fusion band Dry Jack. Their most recent album LifeTimes, released in July, features their versions of some of  Dave Brubeck's songs as well as their own original compositions.

With the online discount, tickets for the Brubeck Brothers Quartet that had been $45 and $40 now are available for $25 each. To access the offer, go to the Metrotix site and enter the promo code "TAKEFIVE." The discount offer ends at 5:00 p.m. Saturday, October 5.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Jazz Film Festival Summer 2013

It's summer vacation time, and today we take a respite from the usual routine of previewing upcoming jazz shows in St. Louis to present our own little online jazz film festival.

Up above, A Great Day in Harlem is a 1994 documentary film that tells the story behind one of the most famous photos in the history of jazz: the 1958 B&W group portrait of 57 notable jazz musicians photographed by Art Kane, a freelancer for Esquire magazine, in front of a brownstone at 17 E. 126 Street in Harlem. The photo has remained an important object in the study of the history of jazz, and the film was nominated in 1995 for an Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

Down below is The Swing Thing, a 2008 BBC documentary on swing music and dancing that spotlights some of the most popular groups and singers of the big band era.

Below that is another BBC film, 1959: The Year that Changed Jazz which uses four classic albums - Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, Dave Brubeck's Time Out, Charles Mingus' Mingus Ah Um and Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come - as a lens through which to examine "the seismic year jazz broke away from complex bebop music to new forms, allowing soloists unprecedented freedom to explore and express."

We close out with three films profiling famous jazz musicians: Buddy Rich - Jazz Legend '17 - '70, a biographical documentary on the great drummer; A Night in Havana: Dizzy Gillespie in Cuba, which looks at the legendary trumpeter's trip to the island nation for a mid-1980s music festival; and My Name Is Albert Ayler, a 2007 biography of the free jazz saxophonist.

Jazz this week: Chick Corea & Béla Fleck, Alarm Will Sound, tributes to Dave Brubeck and Eddie Lang, and more

Spring officially arrives tomorrow in St. Louis, and while it remains to be seen whether or not the weather will cooperate by being appropriately spring-like, the next few days definitely include some jazz and creative music performances worth seeing. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, the 20-member new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound returns for the second performance of their St. Louis season at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The program will offer a preview of AWS' concert next month at NYC's Carnegie Hall, including the second-ever US performance of Steve Reich's "Radio Rewrite" as well as brand-new works written specifically for the group by John Orfe and Donnacha Dennehy. For more about the concert and "Radio Rewrite," see this article by Stefene Russell of St. Louis magazine.

Also tonight, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly open mic night at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and guitarist Randy Bahr and singer Joe Mancuso will play a duo gig at Candicci's.

On Thursday, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert featuring the music of Dave Brubeck as played by Wash U faculty member and series curator William Lenihan on bass, Nathan Jatcko on piano, Kristian Baarsvik on alto sax, and Steve Davis on drums.

Also on Thursday, Dizzy Atmosphere plays Gypsy jazz and swing at the Shaved Duck, and pianist Ptah Williams and his trio will settle in to what's being billed an ongoing weekly gig at Troy's Jazz Gallery.

On Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band will perform a one-nighter at Jazz at the Bistro;  percussionist Herman Semidey and his band will play Latin jazz at Robbie's House of Jazz; and trumpeter Anthony Wiggins leads a quartet with pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson, drummer Montez Coleman and bassist Laron Stover at Cigar Inn.

Then on Saturday, Jazz St. Louis presents pianist Chick Corea and banjo player Béla Fleck (pictured) in a duo concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The two collaborated on record back in 2007 with The Enchantment, and this tour features music from that album as well as tunes from each man's respective repertoire and a few surprises.

Also on Saturday, trumpeter/vibraphonist Joe Bozzi leads a trio at Truffles; and singer Tony Viviano performs at the Schlafly Bottleworks.

On Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents a tribute to the "father of jazz guitar" Eddie Lang at the Doubletree Hotel at Westport. (Pre-dating even Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian, Lang recorded as a sideman with top stars including Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Bessie Smith, and Lonnie Johnson and in a duo with violinist Joe Venuti, gaining considerable fame before dying in 1933 at just 32 years old.)

Also on Sunday, the Dave Dickey Big Band will play their monthly gig at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.  Pianist Chip Stephens will be the DDBB's special guest again this month, with the Webster Groves High School Jazz I combo performing at intermission.

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.)

Notes from the Net: Still more Miles to cover; Brubeck 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 with some Miles Davis news, here's a recent article by PopMatters.com's Will Layman that asks, "How much Miles Davis is enough?" Well, for us, not just one item, that's for sure - so here's a review of the deluxe 40th anniversary collectors' edition of Bitches Brew, written for AllAboutJazz.com by Chris M. Slawecki. Meanwhile, yet another Davis-related book, Miles: The Companion Guide to the Autobiography, is currently scheduled for a February 2011 release date.

Also, via Miles Davis Online, there's news that hip-hop star/actor Q-Tip is working on a play about Davis (pictured) with author and filmmaker Nelson George. Also, there's another documentary film about Davis in the works, and the magazine The Revivalist just ran several stories on the Bitches Brew anniversary in their inaugural issue. The package includes interviews with saxophonist Bennie Maupin and drummer Lenny White, who played on the sessions for the album, and Davis' nephew Vince Wilburn, as well as a never-before-released live recording of “Directions.”

* Turning to news of other former St. Louisans, saxophonist Oliver Lake has just opened a show of his visual art in the galleries of radio station WBGO in Newark. The exhibit runs through January 28.

* Here's a review of guitarist Grant Green's CD Retrospective from Tim Niland of Music and More.

* In news of recent visitors, guitarist Russell Malone, who played Jazz at the Bistro in October and has a new CD on the St. Louis-based label MAXJAZZ, just did an interview on WBGO's The Checkout.

* And here's a review of drummer/keyboardist Gary Husband's latest, Dirty and Beautiful Volume 1, from AAJ.com's Ian Patterson. Husband was in St. Louis last month at The Sheldon with guitarist John McLaughlin's band 4th Dimension.

* The Rebirth Brass Band, who played at The Gramophone in October, have just released Rebirth Revisited, a collection of remixes by the band and various contributing producers. You can check out a sample track, "Do Whatcha Wanna (Jazzhouse SPD Remix)," by clicking on the embedded audio player below.



* Dave Brubeck is on the mend from the health difficulties that forced him to cancel his appearance here in October at the Sheldon. Here's a review of Brubeck's return to the stage at the Blue Note in NYC, courtesy of the Times' Nate Chinen, and a recent feature story on the venerable pianist and composer written by Marc Myers for the Wall Street Journal.

* Wrapping up with some items of more general interest, a recent story from the New York Times' Daniel J. Wakin chronicles the shrinking amount of work available to NYC freelance classical musicians, while another recent Times piece from A.G. Sulzberger looks at the ambivalent relationship that many working musicians have with holiday music.

* The first season of the HBO series Treme will be released on DVD in March. Pianist and former St. Louisan Tom McDermott is just one of many jazz and blues musicians who appeared earlier this year in the HBO series about New Orleans residents recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding of the city.

* Nominees for the 2001 Grammy Awards were announced last week, and though no St. Louis jazz musicians were nominated this year, a number of the jazz nominees have played here recently, as you can see if you check out the complete list here.

Notes from the Net: The Miles Davis Radio Project reissued; Sanborn plays through pain; plus news, reviews, interviews & 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:

* Let's start, as we usually do, with news of Miles Davis. Via Miles Davis Online comes word that Davis, who in the 1970s recorded an album called On The Corner, soon may have an actual NYC street corner named after him. Also: the Miles Davis Radio Project, an eight-part, 16-hour audio documentary about the trumpeter first recorded nearly 20 years ago, is now available for purchase as a series of digital downloads; Toronto trumpeter Brownman Ali just completed a five-week series of concerts paying tribute to Davis; and images of Davis and other members of the band that recorded Kind of Blue apparently are sufficiently cool to be featured on some new skateboards and sneakers.

* In news of other former St. Louisans, saxophonist and clarinetist Marty Ehrlich (pictured) has teamed with trombonist Ray Anderson to co-lead a quartet on a new CD called Hear You Say, out now on Challenge Records. Here's a review of the disc from AllAboutJazz.com's Bruce Lindsay, and another perspective from the UK Guardian's John Fordham.

* Singer, actor, comic and Belleville native Lea DeLaria also has a new CD, Be A Santa, out on the Warner Classics & Jazz label. AAJ's Bruce Lindsay reviewed DeLaria's disc, calling it "an album full of festive standards that swings like a sleigh bell on a Christmas tree and entertains in stylish fashion."

* Via Avant Music News: Saxophonist, composer and onetime Webster University student John Zorn will present a performance of his classical works later this month at Bard College in upstate New York.

* Another saxophonist and former St. Louisan, David Sanborn, played the Blue Note in NYC last month with his trio, and got a nice review from the Times' Nate Chinen. Sanborn's performance seems even more remarkable in retrospect, given the recent news that he's been performing for months now while suffering acute pain from a kidney stone.

* In other medical-related news, pianist Dave Brubeck, who had to cancel his October performance here at the Sheldon Concert Hall for health reasons, recently underwent surgery to have a pacemaker installed. There's good news, too, though - after the operation, Brubeck's doctors said he should be able to resume practicing and performing soon. Brubeck also is the subject of a new documentary film, directed by Clint Eastwood and set to premier next month on the BBC.

* Meanwhile, drummer Max Weinberg, who did make it here with his new Big Band to perform last month at the Argosy Alton Casino, recently talked to the website Popeater about his own recent heart surgery, his decision not to join Conan O'Brien's new show on TBS, and more.

* Pianist Kenny Barron, seen in St. Louis last month in duet with fellow pianist Mulgrew Miller at Jazz at the Bistro, talked with NPR's A Blog Supreme about his recent listening habits here.

* Also recently at the Bistro was guitarist Russell Malone, who did a four-night stand to celebrate the release of his latest CD Triple Play on the St. Louis-based MAXJAZZ label. Now, reviews of the disc are coming in, including favorable mentions from the New York Times, DownBeat and DustyGroove.com.

* Violinist Regina Carter, who was here last week at the Bistro, played the previous week at Regatta Bar in Boston; here's an article about the gig, from the Harvard Crimson.

* Turning to news of coming attractions, pianist Vijay Iyer, who will be in St. Louis this Saturday to perform with Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet at 560 Music Center, recently was a guest on NPR's "Fresh Air".

* Speaking of Wadada Leo Smith, he's got a new disc out, recorded as a duo with drummer Ed Blackwell, called The Blue Mountain’s Sun Drummer. Read a review here, courtesy of Burning Ambulance blogger Phil Freeman.

* Zappa Plays Zappa, set to play The Pageant on December 8, recently celebrated what would have been Frank Zappa's 70th birthday with a concert in London. In related news, keyboardist George Duke, who worked with FZ for several years in the 1970s, will join ZPZ onstage for the first time ever in an upcoming show in Los Angeles.

* Last but not least, Lisette Dennis of Regional Arts Commission kindly emailed with the news that the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City wants to hire a Grants Development Officer. Interested individuals can find out more about the position and how to apply here.

Dave Brubeck cancels St. Louis concert

This just in: Pianist Dave Brubeck (pictured) has canceled his St. Louis performance that had been scheduled for Sunday, October 17 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Here's the text of the news release StLJN received from the Sheldon:

"Due to health reasons, Dave Brubeck has been advised by his doctors to avoid travelling and performing at this time, and therefore must cancel his appearance at The Sheldon on October 17.

Ticket buyers may request a refund for the face value of their tickets at the point of purchase. Tickets purchased via phone or internet will be automatically refunded. If purchased in person at a MetroTix outlet or in person at the Fox Theatre Box Office, please return tickets to the point of purchase.

For more information, contact The Sheldon at 314-533-9900 during normal business hours, Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m."

Brubeck, who will turn 90 on December 6, was in St. Louis most recently in 2008 to perform at the Sheldon.

UPDATE - 5:30 p.m., 9/24/10: Shortly after this item was posted, another Brubeck-related news release arrived at StLJN HQ from the We Always Swing series in Columbia. Unsurprisingly, Brubeck has canceled his October 16 appearance there, too, as well as the rest of his fall tour dates. Here's hoping the venerable pianist is feeling better soon...

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.

Sheldon Concert Hall announces 2010-2011 season series

The Sheldon Concert Hall has announced its 2010-11 season series, and the news for St. Louis jazz fans is, at best, mixed.

Those who were hoping to hear new and exciting music at the Sheldon next year likely will be disappointed, as most of the acts booked for the jazz series, Coffee Concerts and "special concerts" series already have played here in town in the very recent past.

Specifically, the Sheldon's 2010-11 jazz series will include four concerts (that's one fewer than this year's series), and all of the musicians - singer Tierney Sutton (October 9), saxophonist Victor Goines (November 13), the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and pianist Jon Cleary (February 26), and singer/pianist Tony DeSare with guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli (April 30) - have been to St. Louis recently. Sutton played the Sheldon in 2006; Goines was there in 2007; and the DDBB, Cleary, DeSare and Pizzarelli have all performed at other local venues within the last two years.

Similarly, the Coffee Concerts series of mid-morning weekday performances will feature a familiar lineup of local bands, with shows from Cornet Chop Suey (October 19 & 20), Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris (November 16 & 17), Swing DeVille (April 12 & 13) and the Sheldon Jazz Quintet (May 10 & 11) of interest to jazz listeners.

This year, there also will be a handful of Saturday matinees featuring local musicians, including pianist Carolbeth True with singer Christi John Bye on January 22, and singer Brian Owens doing a Sam Cooke tribute on February 12. Like their Coffee Concert colleagues, True, Bye and Owens all were featured at events at the Sheldon during this current season.

The "special concerts" series will feature return appearances at the Sheldon by pianist Dave Brubeck (October 17) and singer Banu Gibson (November 7). Brubeck played the hall in 2007 and 2008, while Gibson was there in 2005.

Two other "special concerts" will feature acts that are new to St. Louis and of alleged potential interest to jazz fans. Guitarist John McLaughlin (pictured) will bring his electric quartet 4th Dimension to the Sheldon on November 19, which should be a genuine treat for local fusion fans. On the other hand, pianist David Lanz and the Liverpool Trio will appear on February 11 doing something called “Re-Imagining the Beatles," which, as described, strikes yr. humble editor as a tasteless, pandering schlockfest likely unfit for human consumption.

To be fair, the Sheldon remains a very enjoyable place to see and hear a concert. The production staff headed by Dale Benz does a consistently good job, and all sorts of musicians like playing there. Here's the thing, though: it's not that the musicians booked for 2010-11 are bad (with the exception of Lanz, whose stuff really is nearly unlistenable); the problem is that we've seen and heard just about all of this before, in some cases multiple times.

(Parenthetically, I'm also uneasy about the fact that of all the artists mentioned above, the only African-Americans are Goines, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Owens, and Mardra and Reggie Thomas of the Sheldon Jazz Quintet. There's no reason to think that this mostly-white lineup of musicians is a result of overt racism, but given the music's origins, it still is unsettling to have so relatively few black artists involved in jazz performances at one of our city's most prestigious venues.)

Ultimately, with so many interesting things happening in jazz and creative music these days, it's a shame that the Sheldon's booking policy for jazz is so unimaginative and retrograde. While the need to sell tickets and pay the bills is understandable, their current approach seems almost absurdly risk-averse. There's a sophisticated audience for music in St. Louis, and as one of the most significant concert halls in town, the Sheldon could, and should, do a much better job of exposing that audience to a wider variety of jazz artists.

For more details and ticket prices for all of the Sheldon's season series, please consult their website, where further information on the 2010-11 schedule will be posted on Monday.

Notes from the Net: Marsalises on tour, Buble at MSG, 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, Miles Davis Online recaps a series of posts on Davis-related art, and has more photos of Davis, including a nice early 1960s pic of the trumpeter and film star/fellow icon of cool Steve McQueen, and a link to a gallery of photos of Davis by famed music photographer Jim Marshall, who died this week at age 74.

And in this week's Davis-tribute-related news, drummer Gerry Gibbs and his Electric Thrasher Orchestra have a new 2-CD set featuring interpretations of music from Miles Davis' early electric period (1967-1975). The discs include 26 selections taken from Bitches Brew, Nefertiti, Sorcerer, Live Evil, Dark Magus, Big Fun, several live Fillmore recordings and others, with liner note commentary from Davis alumni including Bennie Maupin, Gary Bartz, Dave Liebman, Billy Hart and Airto Moreira.

* You'd think he'd have played there at some point before this, but saxophonist/composer John Zorn finally is making his debut in Cleveland this weekend with his Masada Sextet, performing at the Cleveland Museum of Art. (Which raises the question: Given that Zorn hasn't played in St. Louis in something like 15 years, when will someone here invite the former Webster University student back to perform? )

* St. Louis music journalist, DJ and record store guy Steve Pick has a review of bassist Dave Holland's latest CD Pathways online now at Blurt.com.

* Turning to news of recent visitors, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who were here two weeks ago to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall, are still on tour, and their stop in Buffalo prompted an assessment of Marsalis' impact on jazz by Buffalo News arts editor Jeff Simon. Meanwhile, the JaLCO will be headed to England in June for a residency at London's Barbican Centre (home of the London Symphony), and Marsalis has signed to be one of the headliners at this year's Newport Jazz Festival.

* Saxophonist Branford Marsalis, another member of the famous New Orleans family, played in St. Louis last month at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Since then, he's been to New Zealand, where his concert closing the 2010 NZ International Arts Festival earned rave reviews. It also was announced this week that Marsalis (pictured) will headline the sixth anniversary fundraiser for Canada's JazzFM91 in Toronto.

* Singer Sutton Foster, who headlined a benefit for Cabaret St. Louis in February at the Sheldon, has a couple of concerts coming up in Los Angeles.

* Opening the "coming attractions" file, bassist John Clayton is offering a free online bass lesson at the website ArtistShare.com. The Clayton Brothers Quartet, which features John and his brother, saxophonist Jeff Clayton, will be in St. Louis to perform April 9 & 10 at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli is performing this weekend in Clayton, NC, and was profiled by the local paper here. Pizzarelli will be in St. Louis from April 14 -17 to play the Bistro.

* Singer Michael Buble, who's coming to St. Louis' Scottrade Center on June 25, just played NYC's Madison Square Garden to good notices from both the New York Times' Stephen Holden and the NY Post.

* Pianist Dave Brubeck is one of the latest subjects of blogger Steve Cerra's Jazz Profiles. Brubeck is scheduled to return to St. Louis in October to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of the first American Arts Experience-St. Louis festival.

* Last but not least, in the nearly five years StLJN has been online, there hasn't been a week go by without at least a few hits from people searching for the sheet music (or "jazz notes," if you will) for W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues."

Well, the search is over, because a lead sheet with melody and chord changes for "St. Louis Blues" is freely available online at Wikifonia, which also has similar sheets for hundreds more well-known tunes ranging from public domain classical themes and folk songs to jazz standards and pop hits.

The site also lets you transpose the music into any key at the click of a mouse, which certainly is a handy feature. You'll find the music for "St. Louis Blues" here, and you can browse the rest of Wikifonia's lead sheet collection here.

April is Jazz Appreciation Month

Once again this year, April has been designated Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History as a way of "paying tribute to jazz both as a historic and living American art form."

According the Smithsonian's website, JAM is "intended to stimulate the current jazz scene and encourage people of all ages to participate in jazz — to study the music, attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio and recordings, read books about jazz, and support institutional jazz programs."

To promote JAM, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has commissioned a poster of a jazz legend again this year. This year's poster (pictured) features an image of pianist Dave Brubeck, a 2009 Kennedy Center honoree, created by artist Leroy Neiman. The museum has printed 250,000 posters for free distribution to music and jazz educators, librarians, music merchants and manufacturers, radio stations, arts presenters, and U.S. embassies worldwide. To request a copy, send an email to jazz@si.edu. You can also download the poster in PDF format.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is home to jazz collections that include 100,000 pages of Duke Ellington’s unpublished music and objects such as Ella Fitzgerald’s famous red dress, Dizzy Gillespie’s angled trumpet, John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme manuscript and Benny Goodman’s clarinet. The museum has reopened after a two-year renovation.

To help interested listeners find jazz events during the month, The Smithsonian also publishes a calendar of JAM-related events nationwide. While no St. Louis presenters have announced plans for a formal celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, there will be plenty of live jazz to enjoy here in April, and you can see a schedule of upcoming events by visiting the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

New arts festival in October to include Dave Brubeck concert

A new St. Louis arts festival set to launch in October 2010 will feature a performance by pianist and composer Dave Brubeck at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and likely will include other jazz events as well.

According to a story by Diane Toroian Keaggy in the weekend Post-Dispatch, the American Arts Experience-St. Louis will "will showcase American dancers, playwrights, composers and musicians at the region's concert halls, theaters, museums and galleries" from October 1 - 17 in an effort modeled on the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC.

Participating institutions and organizations will include presenters of jazz such as the Sheldon, Jazz St. Louis and the Touhill Performing Arts Center as well as the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Dance St. Louis, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Edison Theatre, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Stages St. Louis, the Black Rep, COCA, Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis Zoo, Missouri Historical Society and the Regional Arts Commission.