Jazz this week: Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chicago Cellar Boys, Funky Butt Brass Band, "Django Guitar Summit," and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis has a definite retro vibe, with shows coming up featuring one of the Swing Era's best-known bands, several performances by traditional jazz groups, and even a look back at local music history by a currently popular group. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 14
The Glenn Miller Orchestra (pictured, top left) brings their deep catalog of Swing Era hits to the Sheldon Concert Hall. You can see some videos of the present-day version of the Miller band in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and bassist Ben Wheeler's band Solid Ghost at The Dark Room at the Grandel Theatre.

Thursday, August 15
Saxophonist Larry Johnson and guitarist Randy Bahr will play duets at Rendezvous Cafe & Wine Bar; keyboardist Ryan Marquez brings his trio to The Dark Room; and singer Robert Nelson returns to the Chase Club in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.

Friday, August 16
The Funky Butt Brass Band performs for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis. It's the first official gig for the band's newest member, saxophonist Bryan Fritz, and reportedly will feature cover versions of songs by famous St. Louis bands and musicians.

Also on Friday, guitarists Joe Park, Gary Hunt, Paul Davis and Eric Slaughter will be featured in the  "2nd Annual Django Guitar Summit" at Focal Point.

Elsewhere around town, the Hard Bop Messengers return to Evangeline's; Schlafly Tap Room has a triple bill of experimental music including Temporal Marauder, John Wiese, and Flanger Magazine; and fusion trio 3XGroove plays at Troy's Listening Room.

Saturday, August 17
On Saturday afternoon, Dennis Owsley, host of the "Jazz Unlimited" program airing Sunday nights on St. Louis Public Radio, will sign copies of his new book St. Louis Jazz: A History at the Book House in Maplewood.

Then on Saturday evening, traditional jazz band Chicago Cellar Boys (pictured, bottom left) with singer Roya Naldi will play at Focal Point, and guitarist Todd Mosby leads his World Fusion Ensemble in a performance at First Congregational Church of Webster Groves.

Also on Saturday, singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina will headline a show at Delmar Hall, and pianist Carolbeth True and singer Kim Fuller will perform music associated with Billie Holiday at the Ozark Theatre.

Sunday, August 18
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents Red Lehr and the St. Louis Rivermen playing traditional jazz at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport, and Cornet Chop Suey plays a free concert at Carondelet Park.

Monday, August 19
The Dark Room introduces "Monday Night Mix-Up," a new event aimed at music and hospitality industry workers, this week featuring sounds from bassist and beatsmith Tristaño.

Tuesday, August 20
Nashville-based quintet The Cosmic Collective returns to Evangeline's, and guitarist Tom Byrne leads a trio in a concert at the Gaslight Theater.

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

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The Glenn Miller legacy

How well do contemporary musicians recreate the sound of a band from 80 years ago? This week, let's find out by taking a look at some videos featuring the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which will be in St. Louis to perform next Wednesday, August 14 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

One of the most successful bands of the Swing Era, Miller's orchestra may not have reached the artistic heights of Ellington or Basie, but they were very popular in the years leading up to World War II and into the 1940s, thanks a catalog of hit songs including "Moonlight Serenade," "String of Pearls," and, of course, "In The Mood."

Historically speaking, the Miller orchestra might have remained a phenomenon specific to their era after the leader disappeared over the English channel in 1944, but in 1946 the Miller estate took the then-novel step of authorizing a "ghost band," led at first by former Miller vocalist and saxophonist Tex Beneke.

The group proved to be a commercial success even without its namesake, and though the estate and Beneke parted ways in 1950, the Miller orchestra was relaunched in 1956 under the leadership of Ray McKinley, and that version of the group has continued to tour under a succession of bandleaders ever since.

The idea of a "ghost band" also subsequently caught on with various other musicians' estates, but other than the Count Basie Orchestra, which continues to tour and record today, the Miller band remains perhaps the most successful of its type. (There also are sanctioned versions of the band that tour in the UK and Europe.)

So how well does the current version of the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, as they are officially known, reproduce the classic sound of the 1930s and '40s? Judge for yourself by checking out the current version of the band, now under the leadership of vocalist Nick Hilscher, performing "The Song of the Bayou" in the first clip up above.

That's followed after the jump by performances of "You Stepped Out of a Dream" and "Blue Evening," recorded in 2018 at the annual Glenn Miller Festival in Clarinda, IA.

After that, there's something a little different: a version of Jimmy Forrest's bluesy standard "Night Train," recorded in February 2014 at Strange Brew in Austin, TX.

Finally, you can check out not one but two different arrangements of Miller's signature song "In The Mood," first in its original arrangement, as replicated by the current band at the 2018 Miller fest, and then in the version edited by Miller into the familiar hit known around the world for the past 79 years.

For more about the Glenn Miller Orchestra, listen to this 2018 interview with bandleader Nick Hilscher. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Glenn Miller Orchestra to perform Wednesday, August 14 at The Sheldon

The Glenn Miller Orchestra, keepers of a legacy that includes some of the most popular hit songs of the Swing Era, are returning to St. Louis to perform at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 14 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The Miller orchestra (pictured) was one of the first groups of the swing era to survive the death of its leader and tour as a "ghost band," keeping alive a catalog including iconic material such as "In The Mood," "A String of Pearls," "Pennsylvania 6-5000," and the band's theme song "Moonlight Serenade."

After Miller's military transport flight to Paris disappeared in 1944, the band was reconstituted briefly under the leadership of saxophonist Tex Beneke. In 1956, the Miller estate hired as leader Ray McKinley, who drummed with Miller in the Army Air Force Band, and the band has continued to tour under a succession of bandleaders ever since.

Tickets for the Glenn Miller Orchestra at The Sheldon are priced from $35 to $65, and go on sale via Metrotix at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, July 19.

Jazz this week: Antonio Hart, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Norah Jones, St. Louis Piano Festival, and more

With spring winding down and summer just ahead, this week's calendar of jazz and creative music is a bit back-loaded, with several of the more noteworthy musicians visiting our town scheduled to perform early next week rather than over the weekend.

Fortunately, St. Louis' local musicians and singers also have a few things planned between now and then. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, May 31
With Jazz at the Bistro now on its weekends-only summer schedule, there's no live music there this Wednesday, but the weekly Grand Center Jazz Crawl will include music from Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe, pianist Phil Dunlap at the Curtain Call Lounge, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor at The Dark Room.

Elsewhere around town, trumpeter Jim Manley will be playing his weekly gig at Sasha's Wine Bar, and guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran will entertain diners at The Shaved Duck.

Thursday, June 1
Pianist Adam Maness' trio returns to Thurman's in Shaw, and pianist Ptah Williams and guitarist Eric Slaughter will hold forth at at The Dark Room.

Friday, June 2
On Friday morning, Jazz St. Louis will celebrate the annual observance of "National Donut Day" with an event featuring free donuts, live music from students in the JazzU program, and more, at Jazz at the Bistro.

That evening, the JazzU students will be back on stage for the first evening of their annual weekend of performances at the Bistro, with alto saxophonist Antonio Hart (pictured, top left) as guest soloist. Hart, who first gained notice as a collaborator with trumpeter Roy Hargrove, bassist Dave Holland, and others, has recorded nine albums as a leader and also teaches jazz studies at Queens College City University of New York.

Saturday, June 3
The Funky Butt Brass Band will be playing at two different faux-New Orleans events in one day, providing the music for "Crawfish Fest 2017" in late afternoon at Ballpark Village, then heading a few blocks over to the Old Rock House to wrap up their "Summer Gras," an afternoon-into-evening affair also featuring music from Al Holliday and the The East Side Rhythm Band, The Grooveliner, The Provels, and Big Mike Aguirre and The Blu City All Stars.

Also on Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson will perform at the Parkside Grille.

Sunday, June 4
Following up on the weekend's Scott Joplin Festival, an annual event held in Joplin's birthplace of Sedalia, MO, the Friends of Scott Joplin will present an "Afterglow Party" featuring festival performers and St. Louis players at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's New Rosebud Cafe.

Monday, June 5
Also capitalizing on the aftermath of the Joplin festival, the second year of pianist Ethan Leinwand's St. Louis Piano Festival will pay tribute to a famed St. Louis ragtime pianist and historian with the "Trebor Tichenor Ragtime Concert," featuring Tichenor's daughter Virginia Tichenor, Marty Eggers, Terry Parrish and John Reed-Torres, at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Tuesday, June 6
Singer/songwriter, pianist and guitarist Norah Jones will perform at the Peabody Opera House. 

Jones (pictured, bottom left) is touring in support of her most recent album Day Breaks, which was released in October of last year on the Blue Note label and offered something of return to the jazz-influenced sound featured on her first album 15 years ago.

Day Breaks features guest performances from well-known jazz musicians including drummer Brian Blade, bassist John Patitucci, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, and includes Jones' interpretations of Horace Silver's "Peace" and Duke Ellington's "African Flower," both of which seem like good candidates for her set list at the Peabody.

Also on Tuesday, the Glenn Miller Orchestra "ghost band" will perform a "Salute to the Heroes of D-Day" at the Webster Groves Concert Hall (formerly the Ozark Theatre); and the St. Louis Piano Festival wraps up with an evening of blues pianists including Silvercloud, Carl "Sonny" Leyland, Gene Taylor, Ethan Leinwand and Christopher Parrish, at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

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.)

Glenn Miller Orchestra performing Tuesday, June 6 at Webster Groves Concert Hall

The Glenn Miller Orchestra is coming to St. Louis to perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 6 at the Webster Groves Concert Hall, formerly known as the Ozark Theatre.

The venue at 103 E. Lockwood in Webster Groves, originally a neighborhood movie house known for decades as the Ozark Theatre and then as the Webster Groves Cinema, was refurbished in the 2000s as an event space and had been operating once again under its original name.

The recent decision to re-brand as the Webster Groves Concert Hall is intended to clarify "who we are and where we are located," said Maugy Stevens, one of the hall's proprietors, in an email to StLJN. 

As it happens, June 6 marks the 73rd anniversary of the D-Day invasion that ultimately led to the Allied victory in World War II, and so the Glenn Miller Orchestra's program at the WGCH will commemorate that event with a "salute to the heroes of D-Day."

Miller and his music are associated closely with World War II, as he reached his greatest popularity during the early years of the war, then enlisted to lead an army band, only to have his plane disappear over the English Channel in December 1944 while traveling to entertain US troops in France.

After Miller's death, his band soldiered on, in the process pioneering the now-common concept of a "ghost band" that continues to perform the well-known repertoire of a deceased bandleader. Though there have been a couple of brief hiatuses, the Glenn Miller Orchestra (pictured) has continued into the present day, with licensed versions touring frequently in both the USA and Europe. 

Tickets for the Glenn Miller Orchestra at the Webster Groves Concert Hall are $45 and can be purchased by phone at 314-962-7000 or online at http://www.websterconcerthall.org.

Jazz this week: Chucho Valdés, Robert Glasper, Ligertwood/Garfield/Stevens, Michael Zerang, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Bonerama, and more

It's definitely a busy week for live jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with so many touring musicians in town that we can barely fit them all into the headline of this post. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, singer Alex Ligertwood, who's worked with Santana and Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, will team up with keyboardist and St. Louis native David Garfield, who's currently working with George Benson, and saxophonist Jim Stevens for a show at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. For more on how this collaboration came to be and what to expect from the gig, see this post.

Also tonight, pianist Ken Kehner will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and singer Erika Johnson and guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio will perform at Robbie's House of Jazz.

Tomorrow night, pianist Robert Glasper (pictured) make his long-awaited St. Louis debut as a leader with the first of two nights Jazz at the Bistro. Glasper has just released a new album, Black Radio, with his group the Experiment that includes guest appearances from R&B and hip-hop performers such as Erykah Badu, Lalah Hathaway, Lupe Fiasco, Bilal, Ledisi, Mos Def and Meshell N'degeocello. Although he's bringing his trio, rather the larger and therefore more costly Experiment, to the Bistro, don't be surprised if a few numbers from the new album turn up reworked in Glasper's sets anyway.

For more about Glasper, you can see and hear an interview with him talking about Black Radio here; and two more short video interviews, titled "Jazz with Hiphop is Music of the NOW" and "Make Jazz Cool Again," provide some additional insight into his approach to music.

Elsewhere on Friday evening, the Chicago-based free-improvising percussionist Michael Zerang, who played here last fall with multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, will return for a duo concert with bassist Darin Gray at Floating Laboratories, 4528 Ohio. Nathan Cook and Rick Weaver will open, with Jeremy Kannapell and Joshua Weinstein serving as hosts and pre-show DJs.

Also on Friday evening, the Glenn Miller Orchestra ghost band makes its annual appearance in the area with a concert in St. Charles at Lindenwood University's Scheidegger Center for the Arts; and there are two Mardi Gras-themed shows featuring local musicians, with the Funky Butt Brass Band and Dogtown Allstars sharing a bill at the Sheldon Concert Hall's upstairs ballroom, and pianist Curt Landes leading a group including Cornet Chop Suey's trumpeter and vocalist Brian Casserly at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Saturday, there's a chance to hear another outstanding pianist, as the Cuban-born virtuoso Chucho Valdés and his Afro-Cuban Messengers play at the Sheldon Concert Hall. For much more about Valdés, who first came to fame in this country as one of the co-founders of the group Irakere, see this post from last Saturday.

On Sunday afternoon, Bach to the Future will play a matinee at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville; and that night, the New Orleans based group Bonerama brings their four-trombone front line back to St. Louis for a show at the Old Rock House. The local group Metrobones, which features 14 student trombonists from around the area under the direction of Dave Dickey, will open the show.

Looking beyond the week, on Monday there's a chance to catch two more big bands in action, as Webster University's student big band plays a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on campus, while downtown, the Sessions Big Band holds forth at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Then on Tuesday, singer Erin Bode and her band will perform at Jazz at the Bistro, taking over the room's Valentine's Day gig from the husband-and-wife team of Reggie and Mardra Thomas, who had played the Bistro on February 14 for several years running but moved to Michigan last summer. (And in case you were wondering, the tradition of spousal harmony on the gig will continue, as the Erin Bode Group's bassist Syd Rodway also is Bode's husband.)

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.)

(Edited 2/9/12 to add the Erin Bode Valentine's Day gig.)

Jazz this week: Ray Brown Tribute Band, Billy Harper, Carla Cook, Mike Vax Big Band, The Wee Trio, Amina Figarova, and more

There's quite a variety of live jazz happening this week in St. Louis, so let's go right to the highlights, presented in chronological order:

Tonight, the Ray Brown Tribute Band featuring bassist Christian McBride (pictured), pianist Benny Green and drummer Greg Hutchinson opens a four-night run which continues through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Brown, who worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald - whom he also married - and many others, was pretty much the gold standard of mainstream swing bass-playing throughout his more than 50 years in jazz. McBride and Green - both well versed in tradition, yet young enough to have been shaped by vastly different experiences than musicians of Brown's generation - would seem to have both the skills and the sensibility to do justice to his legacy. Here's hoping they're using the opportunity to explore some of Brown's own compositions, as the bassist did build up a catalog of tunes over the years.

UPDATE, 1:00 a.m., 4/24/08: Calvin Wilson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a preview story about the Ray Brown Tribute Band in today's paper. Read it online here.

On Thursday, pianist Amina Figarova, who's originally from Azerbaijan, brings his group to St. Louis for a free concert in the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and Brooklyn-based alterna-jazz band The Wee Trio, with former St. Louisan Dan Loomis on bass, performs at Lucas School House.

On Friday, former Stan Kenton trumpeter Mike Vax and his Big Band are doing a concert at Principia High School. Although Vax's band is not officially a Kenton tribute, the band does include a number of Kenton alumni and reportedly plays a few charts from Kenton's book, too.

And speaking of beloved big band bosses of a bygone era, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, still carrying on without its long-departed leader, is in the St. Louis area on Saturday, with a matinee and an evening show at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Elsewhere on Saturday, singer Carla Cook, who's familiar to local audiences because she has recorded for the St. Louis based MAXJAZZ label and performed at Jazz at the Bistro, takes the stage at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and tenor saxophonist Billy Harper plays at Luna Bar in the Central West End.

On Sunday, western swing stalwarts Asleep at the Wheel will cram themselves on to the smallish outdoor stage at Beale on Broadway, a venue that would seem to have the right vibe but insufficient room to accommodate the number of fans likely to show up for such a relatively well-known act. If you happen to dig the blend of jazz and country music that is western swing, Asleep at the Wheel are about as good as it gets these days.

Other noteworthy shows this weekend include singer Jeanne Trevor at Brandt's and Wild, Cool and Swingin' at Cookie's Jazz and More on Friday; and singer Erin Bode at Lucas School House and Trio Tres Bien with Danita Mumphard at Cookie's on Saturday.

For still more St. Louis jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond, 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. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

TouPAC's 2007-08 season will offer more of the same

The Touhill Performing Arts Center has announced its 2007-08 season of concerts and theatrical presentations, and while there are a few shows that may be of interest to jazz listeners, for the most part they feature artists who already have played the venue in the very recent past.

In addition to the October 8 concert featuring Frank Sinatra, Jr. that previously showed up on Pollstar, the TouPAC's upcoming season will include return appearances by vocal group the Manhattan Transfer (December 12, pictured), trumpeter Chris Botti (January 18 and 19), and the Glenn Miller Orchestra (April 26) as well as another "Explosions" percussion concert featuring members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra on March 29.

There is one new entry on the schedule that ought to stir up some interest in the local jazz community and beyond: an 80th birthday tribute to Maynard Ferguson, scheduled for May 4. No word as to what form the tribute will take, or the musicians involved, but given the loyalty of the late trumpeter's former sidemen and fans, and the probable involvement of Ferguson's manager and friend Steve Schankman, I'm sure no effort will be spared to do it up right.

In addition to these shows, the main hall at the TouPAC will serve as one of the performance venues for the 2008 edition of the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, which will be held April 16-19.

Beyond that, though, it looks like pretty slim pickings for jazz fans, and that's too bad. As a major concert facility at a University that's trying very hard to promote its jazz program, it seems as if the TouPAC ought to be both more active in the genre and less risk-averse in selecting acts.

You can see the entire season schedule and read a bit more about it in Calvin's Wilson's piece from the weekend Post-Dispatch, available online here.

Jazz this week: Ahmad Jamal, Freddie Cole, Glenn Miller Orchestra, and more

It looks like a mainstream swing kind of week here for jazz fans in St. Louis, with three very familiar names in the area to perform over the bext several days.

Most notably, veteran pianist Ahmad Jamal (pictured) and his trio are at Jazz at the Bistro, doing two sets a night through Saturday night. While some critics may have derisively labeled him a "cocktail pianist" early on, that was some fifty-plus years ago, and Jamal is now recognized rightfully as a stylist who has maintained the integrity of his personal musical conception over a lengthy career. Though he's scheduled to be back in St. Louis next year to perform in concert at the Sheldon, true fans nevertheless will want to take advantage of the opportuniry to see him up close and personal in a club setting.

Speaking of the Sheldon, singer and pianist Freddie Cole will be playing a concert there on Saturday, mining roughly the same vein of swing, standards and the occasional blues as his more famous brother Nat, but fashioning the raw material according to his own designs. The Sheldon is offering a discounted tickets for this show, so if you've ever wanted to see Cole, this would seem to be a good time.

Also on Saturday, the Glenn Miller Orchestra will be performing in the Meridian Ballroom at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. While the current band consists almost exclusively of musicians who weren't even born yet when Miller passed away, the band's songbook obviously has an enduring appeal that keeps them working more than 60 years later.

Other shows worth noting this week include the return of Chicago-based singer Typhanie Monique and guitarist Neal Alger to Finale Music and Dining on Thursday night; Dizzy Atmosphere performing a free show at the Saint Louis Art Museum's Griggs Gallery early Friday evening; "Roadtrip USA," a program of travel-themed songs from singer Debby Lennon and pianist Carolbeth True on Saturday morning at the Sheldon; and a Sunday matinee performance sponsored by the Saint Louis Jazz Club featuring Jean Kittrell and the Old St. Louis Levee Band at the Swansea Improvement Association in Swansea, IL.

As always, these are just some of the week's highlights; to see a more complete list of jazz-related events for this weekend and beyond, 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.)