Jazz this week: Euge Groove, Andre Delano, and more

With many summer concert series having run their course, and the fall presenting season yet to get underway, it's a relatively light week for live jazz in St. Louis.

All the more reason, then, to turn out for saxophonist, vocalist, and East St. Louis native Andre Delano (pictured). who's back home to perform Friday night on a bill with Euge Groove at The Pageant. For more about Delano and some video clips of him in action, see this post. For some video footage of Groove in concert, check out this post.

UPDATE - 9:30 a.m., 8/20/10: Delano did a brief Q&A with writer Terry Perkins for an article in today's Post-Dispatch, which you can read online here.

Elsewhere around town, Robbie's House of Jazz has vocalist Crystal Haywood on Friday and its house band, the Robert Edwards Ensemble, on Saturday.

BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups will feature Good 4 the Soul for the early set on Sunday night, and then on Monday, the Sessions Big Band returns to the BB's stage after a summer hiatus.

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: "Livin' Large" with Euge Groove

This week's video spotlight shines on saxophonist Euge Groove, who's coming to St. Louis next Friday, August 20 to perform at the Pageant on a double bill with saxophonist and East St. Louis native Andre Delano.

Born Steven Eugene Grove, Euge Groove graduated from the well-regarded University of Miami School of Music in 1984. He first earned wide public recognition when he replaced Richard Elliot in the funk band Tower of Power, and also did session work with various pop acts before putting out his first solo CD in 2000. Groove has played in St. Louis several times, at the Pageant and more recently at the now-defunct Finale Music and Dining. However, this is his first trip here in a couple of years, so if you're thinking about going on Friday, expect a sizable turnout of smooth jazz fans enamored with Groove's mix of emotive sax, straightforward chord progressions and steady funk backbeats.

The first video up above features a performance of the title song from Groove's CD Livin Large, recorded in 2008 at the Festival In the Desert in Phoenix, AZ. The saxman's backing band in this clip, and the next two, includes drummer Phillip Beale, bassist Darryl Williams, keyboard player Marcus Coleman and guitarist Ross Bolton.

Down below, you can see and hear performances of "Born 2 Groove" and "Sneak A Peek" from that same 2008 gig in Phoenix. The fourth clip shows a performance of "Say My Name" recorded in April of this year in New Haven, CT. (The sound quality on this clip suffers a bit from excess compression, but the performance itself is worth checking out.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Andre Delano

Today, we've got some videos featuring saxophonist, vocalist and East St. Louis native Andre Delano, who's coming back home Friday, August 20 to perform at The Pageant on a bill with fellow saxman Euge Groove.

Delano is a graduate of East St. Louis' Lincoln High School, which during the tenure of former band director Ronald Carter produced a number of musicians who have gone on to have successful careers in jazz, including trumpeter Russell Gunn, pianist Tony Suggs of the Count Basie Orchestra, drummers Terreon Gully and Montez Coleman, pianist Reggie Thomas, and more.

After attending Jackson State University in Jackson, MS, Delano turned professional, subsequently performing and/or recording with Maxwell, Jeff Lorber, Bobby Womack, Stevie Wonder, Chieli Minucci, Doc Powell, and Bobby Lyle. Most recently, he's been a featured member of singer/songwriter Lionel Richie's touring ensemble since 2008.

Delano released his first solo CD Full Circle in 2005, followed by the holiday album First Christmas in 2006. His most recent CD is is 2008's My So Fine.

The first video up top features Delano performing "Night Riders," a song from his CD that garnered considerable smooth jazz airplay upon release. Down below is the music video for "The Da Da Song," which had similar success, and below that, a short excerpt from a one-off gig Delano did a couple of years back at the Bistro, in which he's backed by Good 4 The Soul, which includes fellow ESL LHS alumns John King on bass and Adaron "Pops" Jackson on piano.

The fourth video is the electronic press kit (EPK) released to promote Full Circle, and includes some interview footage with Delano; plaudits for him from musicians such as Jeff Lorber and the Blackbyrds' Kevin Toney; and a brief performance excerpt.

The Pageant announces three summer smooth jazz concerts

The Pageant today announced a series of three smooth jazz shows this summer, including the Guitars and Saxes show first mentioned here on StLJN last month and now officially scheduled for Friday, August 13.

The 2010 Guitars and Saxes tour features Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright, Peter White and Jeff Golub. The Pageant's summer smooth jazz series also will present trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Richard Elliot reprising their "R&R" collaboration on Friday, July 30; and a double bill of saxophonists Euge Groove and former East St. Louisan Andre Delano (pictured) on Friday, August 20. All three concerts will be hosted by radio personality Rick Sanborn.

Ticket prices are $35 - $50 for each show, with three- and two-show packages available. Tickets will go on sale at 5:00 p.m. this Friday, May 14 via Ticketmaster and the Pageant box office.

Jazz this week: Guitars and Saxes, Hamiet Bluiett, Euge Groove, Willie Akins, Second Movement, Steve Oliver, Dave Black and more

As spring officially yields to summer, it's an especially busy week for smooth jazz in St. Louis, with three shows of interest to fans of that particular style. However, there are also performances of note featuring the sounds of mainstream, avant garde and big band jazz, making for some potentially tough decisions for a lot of listeners with love for multiple jazz genres. Let's go to the highlights, presented in chronological order:

Tonight at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the fine St. Louis guitarist Dave Black appears in a free concert as part of the Whitaker Music Festival. Black plays a lot of solo gigs around town, but I'd imagine he'll have a band for this show. And even without knowing which other musicians may be involved, I can recommend the concert without reservation, as Black is interesting to hear in just about any musical context.

Also tonight, smooth jazz saxophonist Euge Groove returns to Finale Music and Dining. This time, the tenor player (once known as Steve Grove when he was a member of Tower of Power) has a new CD out, and presumably will be showcasing some of the material from that recording.

On Thursday, Southern Illinois trumpeter Tommy Money brings his Orchestra to Finale for a tribute to Count Basie. I confess to not having heard this band yet, but as a Basie fan, I felt this show was worth a mention. Perhaps because Basie used many different arrangers, his work doesn't get re-examined these days quite as much as Duke Ellington's, but it is of similar significance to the history and development of big band jazz and American music in general. Just as important, it's simply a lot of fun to hear those great charts being played live.

On Friday, St. Louis saxophonist Willie Akins brings his Quartet to Jazz at the Bistro for the first night of a two-evening stand. Although Akins continues to play weekly at Spruill's, the chance to hear him performing in the swankier and more spacious Bistro is certainly worth some serious consideration.

Also on Friday, the NYC based funk/jazz band Second Movement is in town, playing at Pop's Blue Moon. For more about that, see this post.

On Saturday, guitarist and singer Steve Oliver is at Finale. Oliver's had some smooth jazz airplay, but has also done songs that seem to come from more of a singer/songwriter perspective, so look for some of both at this show.

On Sunday, Hamiet Bluiett will give a free concert at Ivory Perry Park. For this performance, the man some call "the world's greatest living baritone saxophonist" will be joined by Reggie Thomas on organ, Montez Williams on drums, vocalist Lady Cantrese of Harlem and and poet Eugene Redman of East St. Louis. According to an email I received, he'll also be introducing three young musicians, namely Joshua Williams (age 17) on trumpet, Jo’el Williams (age 15) on alto sax, and Zach Morrow (age 15) on drums, though it's not clear if the students will be performing on their own or with their elders. In any case, bring a lawn chair or blanket, and plan to get there early, because if the weather's nice, this concert could draw a significant crowd. (If it rains, the concert will be held indoors at New City School, 5209 Waterman Blvd betweenn Union and Kingshighway.)

Also on Sunday, the latest edition of the Guitars and Saxes smooth jazz show comes to the Pageant. Kirk Whalum and Gerald Albright seem like fine choices for the "Saxes" portion of the bill - see this post for some video from both men - and while I'm less familiar with guitarists Jeff Golub and Tim Bowman, both seem to be held in some esteem by those who follow the genre.

All this makes for a week that's certainly jam-packed with musical choices for a variety of tastes and budgets; for a more, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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. No attachments, please.)

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Red Holloway plays "Now's The Time" plus Euge Groove's "Chillaxin"

This week's videos are all about the tenor, as we showcase clips from two saxophonists who will be performing in St. Louis this summer.

On top, it's the venerable Red Holloway, working out on the Charlie Parker classic "Now's The Time" in a performance recorded back in 1995. Holloway is an old-school player who excels at blues and bebop, and this clip offers a nice taste of both. St. Louis listeners will have a chance to hear him in person when he plays at Jazz at the Bistro on Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14.

Down below, we have a clip of another tenor man from a completely different generation and stylistic background, smooth jazz saxophonist Euge Groove. In this video, date unknown, he plays a tune called "Chillaxin". Groove will make a return visit to St. Louis later this month, performing at Finale Music and Dining on Wednesday, June 20.

Pollstar: Finale adds dates for Euge Groove, Diane Schuur

According to Pollstar, Finale Music and Dining has just added return dates for smooth jazz saxophonist Euge Groove (pictured) and singer/pianist Diane Schuur to their schedule of upcoming shows.

Groove will play the Clayton club on Wednesday, June 20, while Schuur's next appearance is set for Thursday, October 4 and Friday, October 5.

Readers once again are reminded that the information on Pollstar is subject to change, and shows should not be considered confirmed until officially announced by the presenter or venue. That disclaimer aside, both Groove and Schuur have played Finale before, so although the shows are not yet listed on Finale's Web site, this information seems credible and official word should come soon.