Jazz this week: Roomful of Teeth, "Jazz Heaven: They Paved The Way" and more

While the fall presenting season isn't quite in full swing yet, the activity level of jazz and creative music in St. Louis definitely is picking up this first weekend after Labor Day. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, guitarist Dave Black and Friends, including singer Feyza Eren, play at Nathalie's.

Tomorrow night, the new music vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth will perform at 560 Music Center. Founded in 2009, the eight-member group is best known for having premiered composer Caroline Shaw's Pulitzer Prize-winning work "Partita for Eight Voices" and for winning the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. With a mission to "mine the expressive potential of the human voice," they incorporate a variety of musical traditions and extended vocal techniques into their sound.

Elsewhere around town on Friday, trumpeter Randy Holmes' quintet kicks off the new jazz series at the Ozark Theatre in Webster Groves with a concert featuring the music of Horace Silver.

Friday also is the opening night for a couple of weekend festivals of note. The entertainment at Schlafly Bottleworks' "Art Outside" event on Friday will include sets from Miss Jubilee and Dawn Weber, while the St. Louis Art Fair, which runs from Friday through Sunday, includes jazz acts such as drummer Bensid Thigpen's Le Jazz Hot, singer Joe Mancuso, the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, and others among its varied musical offerings.

And still on Friday night, the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; vibraphonist Tom Rickard leads a trio at Cigar Inn; saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays smooth jazz and R&B at Troy's Jazz Gallery; the Funky Butt Brass Band return to the Broadway Oyster Bar; and singer Tony Viviano joins forces with his namesake, pianist Tony Viviano, for what might be termed "a tale of two Tonys" at Fortel’s in Creve Coeur.

On Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True, with saxophonist Larry Johnson as special guest, will perform at the Ozark Theatre; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play swing and jump blues at Evangeline's; and trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Randy Bahr will duet at The Wine Press.

On Sunday afternoon, you've got time to stop by the early fall edition of the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show at the American Czech Hall on the south side before heading out to Clayton, where singer Wendy Gordon will be presenting her latest production, "Jazz Heaven: They Paved The Way," at the Ethical Society.

In addition to Gordon (pictured), the cast includes singers Jeanne Trevor, Dean Christopher, Erika Johnson, Chuck Flowers, Tish Haynes, and more, performing in the styles of vocal greats such as Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter, Etta James, Frank Sinatra and Lou Rawls, plus tap dancer Ryan Johnson as Sammy Davis Jr.; Linda Kennedy as narrator; and a band featuring Arthur Toney (piano), Jeffrey Anderson (bass), Eric Slaughter (guitar), Alfred Barnes (drums), Kendrick Smith (alto sax) and Adrian Bowers (trumpet).

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Webster University begins their fall series of concerts featuring members of their jazz faculty with "A Celebration of ECM Records"; and percussionist Joe Pastor brings his group back to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

And lastly, we'd be remiss if we didn't note that bassist Bob DeBoo's briefly dormant weekly gig and jam session at the Kranzberg Arts Center has been re-started this month on Wednesday nights, while trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's weekly Wednesday session just down the block at The Dark Room now has been moved to a later time so that the two don't conflict.

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.)

Jazz this week: Bill Watrous, Wynton Marsalis & Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, William Cepeda, "Jazz Heaven," and more

This week's menu of jazz and creative music in St. Louis features visits from two very different touring trombonists, plus a traveling extravaganza featuring Wynton Marsalis fronting a cast of 85 musicians and singers, and as usual, plenty of homegrown talent, too.

Let's go the highlights...

Tonight, trombonist Bill Watrous will be at Mineral Area College in Park Hills for a concert at the college's Fine Arts Theater, backed by the MAC Kicks Band. Watrous performed early in his career with the likes of Woody Herman, Roy Eldridge and Count Basie, later going on to be a featured guest soloist on recordings by Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Arturo Sandoval and many others. He was voted best trombonist seven times in the DownBeat reader's poll, and his Manhattan Wildlife Refuge big band was a touchstone of the 1970s, showing off Watrous' virtuoso technique in a way analogous to how Maynard Ferguson's band displayed its leader's skills as a high-note specialist.

And speaking of Maynard Ferguson, his friend and fellow trumpeter Jim Manley also is playing tonight, at Joyia Tapas in the Grove neighborhood; while further downtown, Miss Jubilee will play jump blues and swing at the Thaxton Speakeasy.

Tomorrow night, Jazz St. Louis presents the touring production of "Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration" at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The extended work by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was created in 2008 for the 200th anniversary of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, and now is getting a touring production (pictured) featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the 70-voice Chorale de Chateau.

For much more about "Abyssinian," including interviews with Marsalis and choir director Damien Sneed and some video footage shot during the current tour, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday night, trombonist William Cepeda, who combines Latin jazz with traditional music from his home territory of Puerto Rico, will be in town to play at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Cepeda's colorful show includes folk dancers as well as musicians, so you can bet they'll be using every square inch of the Sheldon's stage, and maybe a bit more besides.

Elsewhere around town on Friday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will duet at Chaser's Lounge in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; singer/pianist Anita Rosamond and her band will be at Robbie's House of Jazz; singer Feyza Eren performs at the the Wine Press; and guitarist Tom Byrne will lead a trio at Thurman Grill.

On Saturday night, pianist Dave Venn will be featured in a one-nighter at Jazz at the Bistro; singer Tony Viviano performs at Talayna's in Chesterfield; and the Dixie Dudes will play traditional New Orleans style and swing at Jazz on Broadway. Also on Saturday, pianist Tim Garcia leads a quartet at Robbie's; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes perform at Venice Cafe.

On Sunday, singer Wendy Gordon will present the latest show in her "Jazz Heaven" series at the Ethical Society, featuring a dozen musicians and singers performing songs made famous by various legends of jazz and blues. Also on Sunday, singer/guitarist Elliott Ranney will support the release of his new CD Bellevue Shuffle with a performance at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the SIUE Concert Jazz Band performs at Dunham Hall on the SIUE campus; and trumpeter Keith Moyer brings his quartet back to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Then on Tuesday, the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra will play a "Notes From Home" concert at the Sheldon, while keyboardist Jim Hegarty will lead a trio in some experimental sounds at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

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

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

"Jazz Heaven" cast grows for new production on Sunday, October 20 at Ethical Society

For singer Wendy Gordon, jazz heaven keeps getting bigger all the time.

What began for Gordon (pictured) as a way to fulfill assignments for a couple of college classes has turned into a full-fledged musical revue now in its fourth edition, "A Jazz Heaven: Entertaining Around Heaven All Day," which will be performed at 4:00 p.m. next Sunday, October 20 at the Ethical Society.

Like previous versions of the show, "Entertaining Around Heaven..." features songs originally made famous by a roster of iconic performers, backed by a live band and held together by a storyline and Gordon's original poetry. First presented in August 2009, the "Jazz Heaven" series was conceived when Gordon retired from the postal service and began taking some college classes.

After writing about about Billie Holiday for a poetry class and then performing the biographical work for her acting class, Gordon realized she might done have something more than just completed her class projects. "From there, I thought 'This would be a good little play,'" she recalled. She expanded the poem into a script that also included material about Ella Fitzgerald, and the staged the first version of the show, "When Billie Met Ella," with a three-piece band at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Since then, the concept has continued to grow as Gordon has added new material and cast members for each subsequent staging. This time, she'll sing songs associated with Holiday and Nina Simone, with longtime St. Louis favorite Jeanne Trevor once again playing the role of Ella Fitzgerald.

They'll be joined by singers including Joe Mancuso (Frank Sinatra), Kecia Davis (Phyllis Hyman), Jeff Hardin (Marvin Gaye), and Eugene Johnson (Bobby "Blue" Bland/Albert King), with Sheila Reed as the narrator. The band will feature Arthur Toney (keyboards), Al Barnes (drums), Willem von Hombracht (bass), Adrian Bowers (trumpet), and saxophonist Kendrick Smith, who also has a speaking role as Charlie Parker.

While the "Jazz Heaven" series has provided Gordon with her first experiences as a head writer and impresario, she did get some useful preparation working with the late Mae Wheeler, aka "Lady Jazz," who devoted much time and energy in the latter part of her career to organizing showcases for an eclectic range of local talent.

"I was on six of Mae Wheeler's 'Diva' shows, and from that I learned a lot about how she was trying to promote local artists in St. Louis. It's so hard to get recognition, and this is something to showcase our talent in St. Louis," said Gordon, who helped Wheeler behind the scenes with ticketing and promotion as well as performing on stage.

Gordon said she also admired Wheeler's devotion to young talent, and now is consciously following her example by adding a bit of youth to the "Jazz Heaven" roster of veteran performers. "Kendrick Smith is the first of the young artists we are presenting, and I plan to have at least one in every future production," she said.

Tickets for "A Jazz Heaven: Entertaining Around Heaven All Day" are $27.50 in advance, $30 at the door, and are on sale via Metrotix and Afroworld. For special rates for groups of 10 or more, call 314-838-9198.

Photo of Wendy Gordon as Billie Holiday from the "Jazz Heaven" Facebook page.

Local jazz featured at upcoming charitable benefits

Two upcoming charitable benefits will feature music from St. Louis jazz performers:

* Guitarist Chris Burchett (pictured) is presenting "Stop The Violence, Make Some Music," at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, July 21 at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd.

The concert is a fundraiser to enable Burchett's foundation to offer free music lessons to underprivileged youth, and will feature performances by singers Jeanne Trevor, Wendy Gordon and Joe Mancuso, with broadcaster and author Bernie Hayes as MC.

Tickets are $35 and are on sale now via Metrotix or the Chris Burchett Foundation.

UPDATE: 1:00 p.m., 7/13/13: Last night, STLJN got an email from the Chris Burchett Foundation stating that they were "postponing" the concert on July 21. The message from executive director Trinity Birge said, "Everyone that has purchased tickets for our "Stop The Violence - Make Some Music" benefit concert featuring Wendy L. Gordon and friends will be reimbursed in full."

* Meanwhile, the Bosman Twins have been tapped to provide the sounds for the 2013 edition of "Chocolate, Wine and All That Jazz," to be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, September 7 at the Yacht Club of St. Louis, 105 Lake Village Drive in St. Charles.

The event is the kickoff for the annual fundraising campaign of the Tri-County Division of United Way of Greater St. Louis, and will include "wine, food, chocolate and live jazz," with all proceeds benefiting the United Way.

Tickets are $60 each until August 15, when the price goes up to $70, and are available via the United Way's website.

Edited 7/4/13 to correct the address for the Ethical Society.

Jazz this week: Marco Benevento, John Scofield Trio, Matt Ulery's LOOM Trio, Bett Butler, and more

There's lots of jazz and creative music going on this weekend in and around St. Louis, including visits from a New York keyboardist, a Chicago bassist, a singer from Texas, and the return of one of the top guitarists in electric jazz. Let's go the highlights...

Tonight, keyboard player Marco Benevento brings his trio to the Old Rock House, with the Mike Dillon Band opening. (Given that Dillon also is the percussionist in Garage A Trois, which also includes Benevento, perhaps they'll jam a bit together as well.) For more about Benevento and video samples of his music, check out this post from last Saturday.

Tomorrow night, guitarist Vince Varvel and bassist Eric Stiller will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Also on Thursday, bassist Dave Troncoso leads a trio at the Wine Press; and it's "Avant Garde Arts Night," featuring live improvised music, at the Tavern of Fine Arts. 

On Friday, Chicago bassist Matt Ulery's LOOM Trio plays a free concert in the Grigg Gallery at the St. Louis Art Museum. Ulery is a busy participant in Chicago's jazz and improvised music scenes, and for this gig, his band will be augmented by members of the new music ensemble eighth blackbird, some of whom were involved in Ulery's crticially acclaimed album By A Little Light, released earlier this year. (Note that although it's a free show, tickets are required, and can be picked up at the Museum's information desk.)

Also on Friday evening, guitar great John Scofield returns to town for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro. Last year, Scofield brought a quartet to St. Louis; this time around, it's his trio (pictured) with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart, which has been together long enough to achieve a near-telepathic level of interplay among its members.

Over on the east side on Friday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Jazz on Broadway in Alton, and guitarist Tom Byrne  will lead a trio with bassist Chris Watrous and drummer Steve Davis at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

On Saturday afternoon, the Bosman Twins will play a free show outdoors on the quad at Webster University, sponsored by Wesbter's African American Alumni Associations.

Then on Saturday evening, singer Feyza Eren is at the Wine Press; and the student ensemble Jazz In Outer Space takes the stage at Robbie's House of Jazz. Also on Saturday, and of special interest to those of you in West County or the western exurbs: pianist Dave Becherer brings his trio to Bugsy's, a bar and restaurant out in Union, MO that's now presenting live jazz on some weekend evenings with a booking assist from trumpeter Keith Moyer.

On Sunday evening, Texas-based singer Bett Butler will be in town to do a performance called "Words and Music" with writer Pamela Houston at the Ethical Society. Butler has an interesting sort of post-modern take on the classic style of jazz vocalizing exemplified by Ella Fitzgerald, which she'll employ in what's billed as "an evening of story, song, and adventure." 


Sunday also will bring the debut of a weekly, early evening gig at Club Klymaxx in the Ambassador Entertainment Center featuring First Call, a new band including Jeff Anderson (bass), Danny Campbell (trumpet), Marty Morrison (drums), Eric Slaughter (guitar) and Chad Evans (saxophones). $5 gets you in the door and includes your first drink.

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.)

Coming attractions include Jimmy Herring, Snarky Puppy, Bett Butler

Catching up with the contents of the email inbox here at StLJN HQ, here's info on three upcoming shows by touring musicians coming to town to promote new releases that may be of interest to StLJN readers:

* Guitarist Jimmy Herring will be coming to St. Louis to perform at 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 29 at the Old Rock House.

Herring (pictured, top left), who's currently working with the band Widespread Panic, has played with a "who's who" of the jam band world, including the Allman Brothers Band, the Dead, Phil Lesh and Friends, and Bela Fleck, as well as with several groups he helped to co-found, such as Aquarium Rescue Unit, Project Z and Jazz is Dead. He'll be touring in support of his second solo album, Subject To Change Without Notice, which comes out next Tuesday, August 21. Tickets are $20 general admission, 18 and older only.

* The Texas-based instrumental band Snarky Puppy (pictured, center left) will return to St. Louis for a show presented by the Old Rock House at The Gramophone at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 20. Three-time winners of "Best Jazz Act" in the the Dallas Observer's Music Awards, Snarky Puppy came together while various members were studying music in the famed jazz program of the University of North Texas in Denton.

Led by bassist Michael League, they describe themselves as "somewhere between a garage band and a collective, with over 25 players in regular rotation." In addition to League, Snarky Puppy's core members include drummer Robert “Sput” Searight, keyboardists Shaun Martin and Cory Henry, and multi-instrumentalist Louis Cato. The individual band members' credits include work with artists including Marcus Miller, Q-Tip, George Duke, Erykah Badu, The Polyphonic Spree, Snoop Dogg, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, Morcheeba, Tower of Power, Justin Timberlake, Kenny Garrett, Yo-Yo Ma and others. Their latest recording, the live, two-disc album/DVD Tell Your Friends, came out earlier this year. Tickets for Snarky Puppy are $8 in advance, $10 day of show.

* Another Texan, singer and pianist Bett Butler (pictured, lower left), is coming to St. Louis for "Words & Music," a performance and reading with author Pam Houston at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 30 at the Ethical Society.

Butler, who's from San Antonio, previously has recorded two albums of her own material, which her press kit describes as "off-beat songwriting about dark subject matter" and has been likened by one critic to that of "a female Charles Bukowski." Her latest recording, American Sampler, is her third studio album and first recorded collection of jazz standards by Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, and others.

Tickets for "Words and Music" with Bett Butler and Pam Houston are $10 at the door.

Dennis Owsley to present workshop on "Miles Davis: Jazzman"

Radio host, photographer and jazz historian Dennis Owsley will present "Miles Davis: Jazzman," an educational workshop in three weekly sessions, beginning at 7:00 p.m. next Thursday, October 27 at the Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Rd.

The workshop "will examine the personality, influences, and career of one of the most restless, creative individuals ever to play music in the 20th century: Miles Davis." After the first meeting, two more sessions will take place on Thursday, November 3 and Thursday, November 10.

Owsley is the author of City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973 and has broadcast a weekly jazz program for KWMU (90.7 FM) continuously since April 1983. His current program, "Jazz Unlimited,” airs from 9:00 p.m. to midnight on Sunday.

The cost for the workshop is $30 for Ethical Society members, $35 for non-members, with proceeds benefiting the Ethical Society. To register, call Kathy Kammien at (314) 991-0955, ext. 213 or contact her via email at kkammien @ ethicalstl.org.

Dennis Owsley to teach class on "The Great Jazz Singers" starting Thursday, October 28

Jazz DJ, historian and photographer Dennis Owsley will teach a course called "The Great Jazz Singers" beginning at 7:00 p.m. next Thursday, October 28 at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd.

Owsley, who hosts "Jazz Unlimited" from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Sundays on KWMU (90.7 FM), tells StLJN that course is based on Downbeat magazine's list of the 30 greatest jazz vocal albums of all time, as selected by current vocalists and published in 2006. "It includes some surprising unknowns and omissions of well known singers," Owsley notes. "I hope to show that just singing standards does not qualify a vocalist as a jazz singer. I've always maintained that position and believe that the real jazz singers only number less than 50 in the entire history of jazz."

After the first class on October 28, subsequent classes will take place from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. the next two Thursdays, November 4 and 11. Tuition for the course is $35 for Ethical Society members and $40 for non-members. For more information or to register, call 314-991-0955 or check the adult education schedule (.pdf file) on the Ethical Society Web site.

Imrat Khan, Todd Mosby to play benefit concert on Saturday, April 17

Sitarist and teacher Imrat Khan and his son, tabla player Shafaatulla Khan, will team with guitarist Todd Mosby (pictured) in a benefit concert called "Music for the Heart" at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, April 17 at the Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Road.

The event also will showcase the latest iteration of the Imrat Guitar, a hybrid of the guitar and sitar developed by Khan and Mosby. (For more about the instrument, see this 2007 piece from the Riverfront Times.) Khan was the first sitar teacher for Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles' George Harrison, and also is said to have influenced the music of John Mclaughlin and Zakir Hussain in the group Shakti. Mosby, a St. Lous native, veteran jazz guitarist and graduate of Berklee College of Music, has studied with Khan for the last 12 years.

Proceeds from the concert will benefit Community Alternatives Inc., a St. Louis not-for-profit organization that serves persons with severe mental illness. Tickets are $25 and are available by calling Julia Day of Community Alternatives at 314-772-8801, ext 242., or at the door on the night of the performance.

Class will study "The Great Jazz Soloists" beginning Thursday, November 5

Author, photographer and radio host Dennis Owsley will teach another series of jazz history classes beginning at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, November 5 at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd.

Owsley's topic this time is "The Great Jazz Soloists," and the course will cover the work of jazz greats including Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Art Tatum, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Keith Jarrett, Joe Lovano and more.

As with the course on St. Louis jazz history that Owsley taught earlier this year, classes will include selections from his extensive collection of recordings, amassed over a lifetime of jazz fandom and more than 25 years hosting jazz programs on KWMU (90.7 FM).

Owsley's current program Jazz Unlimited is broadcast from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Sundays, and his book City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis 1895 – 1973 is considered the definitive text on its subject.

After the first class on November 5, subsequent classes will take place from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. the next two Thursdays, November 12 and 19. Tuition for the course is $35 for Ethical Society members and $40 for non-members. For more information or to register, call 314-991-0955 or check the adult education schedule (.pdf file) on the Ethical Society Web site.