* Funeral arrangements for the late pianist, singer and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum have been announced. A wake and memorial jam session is scheduled from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. today at Archway Memorial Chapel, 111 Taylor Road in Hazelwood. A funeral Mass will take place at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, January 4, at St. Elizabeth Mother of John church, 4330 Shreve Ave in St. Louis, with a repast immediately following. Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, January 6 at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.
Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum, a pianist, singer, and tenor saxophonist who was part of the St. Louis music scene from the late 1940s into the 21st century, has died. He was 91 years old.
News of Whalum's passing on Christmas day spread on social media via Facebook posts from Jeff Anderson, who played bass with Whalum for the last 20 years of his career, and Jay Brandt, former owner of Brandt's in University City, where Whalum played many gigs during the same period.
Although Whalum (pictured) had been a mainstay of the St. Louis scene for many years, he actually was born in Wilberforce, OH and raised mostly in Memphis, TN. He first played violin, cornet, and then trumpet as a child, performing with the YMCA band and with his brothers and father in a family group.
Whalum eventually made tenor sax his primary instrument while attending Central State University in Ohio, where he played with the Central State Collegians band, a group that performed at Carnegie Hall, sharing the stage with Woody Herman, Billy Eckstine, Peggy Lee, and Ella Fitzgerald, and later was hired to back Eckstine.
After graduating from Central State with a degree in chemistry, Whalum toured with vibraphonist Lionel Hampton and relocated to St. Louis in September, 1949. During the 1950s, he formed his own trio here and also worked as a freelance saxophonist, gigging with touring musicians including Miles Davis and Ed Thigpen, and as part of the Jeeter-Pillars band, once playing behind Nat "King" Cole and his trio.
To be able to work as a solo performer, Whalum also began singing and playing piano, in the process finding the niche that would sustain his career for decades, as he played nightclubs, restaurants, hotel lounges, private parties, and more. A Riverfront Times article marking his selection as "Best Lounge Act" in the paper's 2006 "Best of of St. Louis" issue described him this way:
"As cool and smooth as the perfect martini, Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum has provided sophisticated musical entertainment for several generations of St. Louisans, starting in Gaslight Square and continuing into the present day. A fine tenor saxophonist as well as a pianist and singer, Whalum somehow manages to be both suave and down-home, charming audiences even as he educates them in the finer points of jazz and the Great American Songbook."
Despite being a popular and prolific live performer, Whalum didn't record as a headliner until 2006, when his nephew, saxophonist Kirk Whalum, helped him get a deal for an eponymous album released on Rendezvous Records and distributed internationally by Mack Avenue Records.
Around that same time, Whalum also was featured on some of his nephew's "Gospel According to Jazz" shows, and he continued to play around St. Louis until age-related health issues led him to wind down his performing career in the early 2010s.
Update, 7:30 a.m., 1/1/20: A wake for Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 3, at Archway Memorial Chapel, 111 Taylor Road in Hazelwood. A funeral Mass will take place at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 4, at St. Elizabeth Mother of John, 4330 Shreve Ave in St. Louis, MO, followed immediately by a repast at the church. Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, January 6 at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, 2900 Sheridan Road in St. Louis.
More often than not, this weekly feature is dedicated to previewing upcoming concerts of jazz and creative music in St. Louis. However, talking this past week with people about the late MaeWheeler and her long career got me thinking about both the history of jazz in St. Louis and the need to occasionally to remember and celebrate the musicians and singers who made it happen.
With that in mind, this week we're taking a look at St. Louis' Gaslight Square district and some of the people who played and sang there, where Wheeler launched her music career. Lets start at the beginning, as many younger readers and those not from St. Louis may have heard the name Gaslight Square, but may not know much about it.
Briefly, Gaslight Square was a small entertainment district, just a few blocks long really, that flourished in the city of St. Louis during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The area began to decline in the mid-1960s, as crime rose, the city's population dropped, and shady operators tried to cash in on its previous popularity. By the end of the 1960s, it was pretty much all over. Gaslight Square became a collection of mostly vacant buildings, and the area remained in ruins for more than 30 years.
The 2005 documentary Gaslight Square: The Legend Lives On, which you can watch in the embedded video window up above, tells the whole story, at a length of more than 2 hours. The film has lots of archival footage, still photos, and interviews, and remains the most extensive audio/visual presentation of Gaslight Square's history. The producers also created an accompanying website that has still photos and some other material.
At the time The Legend Lives On documentary was made, redevelopment plans for Gaslight Square were stalled for the umpteenth time and the area was still blighted. Since then, some small progress has been made, with a few new homes built and some older buildings rehabbed. That brings us to the video down below, which was produced in 2008 by the staff of KETC's Living St. Louis. Over 25 minutes, producer/host Margie Newman recounts the history of Gaslight Square and looks at the still-ongoing efforts to renew the neighborhood for the 21st century.
Of course, the buildings weren't really what made Gaslight Square memorable - it was the people. One performer from the era who remains active is singer Jeanne Trevor, who no longer gigs every week but still plays out with some regularity. In the second window below, you can see Trevor with pianist Curt Landes singing "God Bless The Child" during a show last year at the alternative performance space Joe's Cafe.
Another Gaslight Square veteran still working is pianist Jeter Thompson, who played back in the day with Quartette Tres Bien and now performs with his brothers Harold, a bassist, and Howard, a drummer, as Trio Tres Bien. They can be seen in the third window below backing Harold's daughter, singer Danita Mumphard, in a version of the Burt Bacharach song "A House Is Not A Home." (Jeter Thompson's piano solo starts about at 3 minutes, 50 seconds into the tune.)
In the window below that, you can hear Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum, yet another mainstay of the Gaslight Square district, playing "I Close My Eyes" at a 2006 gig in Santa Monica, CA. The band includes St. Louisan Jeff Anderson on bass and former St. Louis resident Rob Block on guitar, and that's Peanuts' nephew, the well-known contemporary jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum, sporting the fedora. Now 82 years old, Peanuts Whalum has not been seen playing out in a while, and, sadly, I've heard talk that he's had health problems, but no specific information has been made public.
For today's final video, there a Mae Wheeler clip that went unposted the other day, a feature story about a tribute to her filmed back in 2007 for KETC's Living St. Louis.
If you'd like to learn more about the history of Gaslight Square, there have been two books written on the subject in recent years. The first, Gaslight Square: An Oral History by Thomas Crone, came out in 2004 and chronicles "the rise and fall of Gaslight Square" in the words of people who worked, played and/or lived there.
Last but not least, for those who want to wear their nostalgia and/or local pride on their chests, stlstyle.com offers for sale a Gaslight Square t-shirt. (No commission for StLJN on this, just thought maybe you'd dig the shirt.)
This week's schedule of jazz, creative music and related genres in St. Louis offers a grab bag of different styles, from traditional jazz, big band swing, and smooth jazz to cabaret, New Orleans-style brass band music, and jam-band funk. Let's go straight to the highlights...
Cabaret producers The Presenters Dolan return to action this weekend at the Kranzberg Arts Center, with pianist Joe Dreyer and singer Rosemary Watts doing their show "Everything Old Is New Again" on Thursday and Friday, and Barbara Parker Helmer singing about "Me and Miss Peggy Lee" for Saturday evening and Sunday matinee performances.
Elsewhere in the Grand Center neighborhood, the Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured) will perform on Friday and Saturday to Jazz at the Bistro. Word is that they'll be premiering some new material at these gigs, but details are scarce beyond that. To see and hear video samples of some past FBBB performances, check out this post.
Meanwhile, over in Webster Groves, Robbie's House of Jazz will present guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio on Friday, and singer, pianist and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum on Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon, clarinet player Eric Mandat, an expert in extended techniques who specializes on contemporary repertoire, will present a free recital and master class at Saxquest. For more about Mandat and other upcoming master classes at Saxquest, see this post.
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.)
On Thursday evening, drummer Ben Thigpen leads his group in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Also on Thursday, guitarist Fareed Haque and the Flat Earth Ensemble will play at 2720, and Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum returns to Brandt's.
(Parenthetically, Brandt's website domain name seems to have expired and fallen prey to the dreaded domain-jackers, as has the website for Seasons St. Louis, which has featured jazz performers such as Erin Bode and Mae Wheeler. If anyone reading this knows more about what's going on with either place, please drop me an email.)
Elsewhere this wekeend, Robbie's House of Jazz will feature guitarist Scott McCloud on Friday and the up-and-coming Kansas City band Diverse (pictured) on Saturday. Diverse are particular favorites of StLJN's cross-state counterpart Plastic Sax, which has provided ongoing coverage of the band and named trumpeter Hermon Mehari the Kansas City jazz "Person of the Year" for 2009. You can hear an interview with Mehari from late last year on Jason Crane's The Jazz Session, and read a review of Diverse's self-titled 2009 debut CD here.
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 by becoming a "fan" of 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.)
From African and Latin rhythms to traditional jazz and swing to a free concert featuring a well-known smooth jazz saxophonist, here's a look at what's going on over the next few days with jazz and creative music in St. Louis.
The polyrhythmic portion of the weekend gets underway on Friday night, when the Chicago Afrobeat Project performs at The Gramophone. The CAB can include from seven to 14 musicians, and draws on influences such as juju, highlife, American funk, and afro-Cuban music as well as the experimental jazz and rock of the Chicago music scene.
Also on Friday, Latin/pop/rock singer-songwriter Javier Mendoza will start a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro, trying his hand at some Latin jazz with an assist from special guest guitarist Dave Black (pictured). Since this is something of a first-time experiment, I don't think anyone quite knows what to expect, but given Mendoza's apparently substantial fan base, it could be a good draw for the Bistro - and if not, well, at least they're trying something a little different, something yr. humble editor generally encourages.
Also on Saturday, there's a benefit at the White Flag Projects art gallery for electronic musician Joe Raglani, who recently had a van-full of equipment stolen while on tour. See this post for details.
On Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents a concert of traditional jazz and swing from Cornet Chop Suey at Bel-Air Bowl in Belleville. And elsewhere around town, Brandt's has singer Kim Massie on Friday, and the St. Louis Jazz Cafe will feature the Neal Connors Quartet on Thursday, singer Diane Vaughn on Friday, and saxophonist Rod Tate and guitarist Gregg Haynes, aka 2Smooth, on Saturday.
Looking beyond the weekend, the next event in the Twilight Tuesdays series of free concerts at the Missouri History Museum will be "Jazz Cavalcade" featuring saxophonist Kirk Whalum. The Twilight Tuesdays shows generally feature local acts, so the presence of an internationally known, Grammy nominated headliner like Whalum is especially noteworthy.
Of course, the fact that the Memphis native is the nephew of our town's Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum likely played a role in getting him here, and the show will still have a strong local flavor, as he'll be accompanied by what should be a first-rate band of St. Louis musicians, including his uncle "Peanuts" plus Jeff Anderson, Reggie Thomas, Marty Morrison, Eric Slaughter and Danny Campbell. The Twilight Tuesdays shows usually draw a crowd, and as long as the weather is agreeable, look for a big turnout for the Whalums and company.
Also on Tuesday, after things wind down at the History Museum, you've still got time to get over to The Gramophone to hear the band Utter Chaos in another of the club's no-cover-charge shows co-sponsored with Jazz St. Louis.
(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.)
The Missouri History Museum and Jazz St. Louis are teaming up to present a 50th anniversary tribute to Miles Davis' classic album Kind of Blue at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, May 7 in the Museum's MacDermott Grand Hall. The tribute concert will feature JSL director of education Phil Dunlap and the Legacy Jazz Quintet performing and discussing selections from Kind of Blue. Admission is free and open to the public.
The History Museum's just-announced Twilight Tuesdays series of free outdoor concerts also has some shows of interest to jazz fans, most notably the "Jazz Cavalcade" on Tuesday, June 2. This concert will feature saxophonist Kirk Whalum; his uncle, the veteran pianist, saxophonist and singer Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum; and a group of St. Louis musicians including Jeff Anderson, Marty Morrison, Danny Campbell, Eric Slaughter and Reggie Thomas. (Fans of Kirk Whalum also should note that he'll be back in the St. Louis area in July with fellow saxophonist Gerald Albright when their "Sax for Stax" tour plays the Bottleneck Blues Bar in St. Charles.)
Other noteworthy dates in the Twilight Tuesdays series include a show on May 5 by Friendz, featuring singer Cheryl Brown, keyboardist/singer Jeremiah Allen and saxophonist Amos Brewer; and a May 12 concert by singer Kim Massie. The Twilight Tuesdays shows are free and open to the public, and begin at 6:30 p.m. on the front lawn of the History Museum, Lindell & DeBaliviere in Forest Park. For more details and a complete schedule of the spring 2009 Twilight Tuesdays concerts, go here, or call 314-454-3199 or 800-916-8212 for more information.
Brandt's "host emeritus" Jay Brandt emails with news that St. Louis' own Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum enjoyed another successful gig in Cincinnati this past weekend, performing to enthusiastic crowds at the Blue Wisp jazz club on Friday and Saturday. The veteran singer, saxophonist and pianist's shows also were featured in Cincinnati's alt-weekly CityBeat; to read the article, go here.
For whatever reasons, in recent years New Year's Eve has not been a particularly good time to hear jazz in St. Louis, and once again NYE 2008 looks to be an evening of relatively few options for jazz aficionados.
If you're looking to have dinner and drinks and hear a band play some straight-up instrumental jazz, the best possibilities might very well be a couple of regular weekly gigs that this year just happen to fall on NYE - specifically, pianist Ptah Williams (pictured) and his group at Riddle's in University City, and Park Avenue Jazz at Hammerstone's in the Soulard neighborhood.
Beyond that, as mentioned earlier, while Jazz at the Bistro is closed for New Year's Eve, the annual First Night event in Grand Center will include a number of musicians of potential interest to jazz fans, such as Kim Massie, the Nuclear Percussion Ensemble, Farshid Etniko, Jeanne Trevor, El Caribe Tropical, and the Urban Groove Project. To see the complete schedule of First Night performances, go here (.pdf file).
If the indoor/outdoor, alcohol-free, family-friendly celebration is not your cup o' tea, a scan of local entertainment listings reveals a few more musical possibilities at places that don't regularly feature jazz. For example, singer Erin Bode and her band will be part of the New Year's Eve entertainment package at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront (the old Adam's Mark hotel), along with the Soulard Blues Band, 1970s folk-rockers Brewer & Shipley, Steely Dan tribute band GrooveThang, and others.
Elsewhere in the city, Kim Massie will be doing an early set from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Van Goghz Martini Bar & Bistro, and the West End Grill and Pub will present what's being billed as a "New Orleans-style" event with music from the Louisiana-flavored funk/R&B/zydeco group Gumbohead.
As for this weekend, Jazz at the the Bistro will remain closed until next Wednesday, January 6, when The Bad Plus begins a four-night run. Also, because of the holidays and the onset of a new month and new year, schedule information from other local clubs is still a bit sketchy, though we can say that Brandt's will feature Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum on Friday night, and other regular weekly gigs, such at saxophonist Dave Stone's trio at Mangia Italiano on Friday and saxophonist Willie Akins and his group at Spruill's on Saturday, should be happening as usual.
For the most timely information, you can check your fave venue's Web site directly - see the StLJN sidebar for a list of links - or consult the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, where I'll be posting any new listings of jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond as they arrive.
(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.)
St. Louis pianist, singer and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum is in Cincinnati this weekend to play the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, and is the subject of a nice feature story in the local daily, the Enquirer, in conjunction with his visit. You can read the article online here.
Jay Brandt of Brandt's informs StLJN that photos and video from Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum's recent 80th birthday party are now available online. The much-loved singer, pianist and saxophonist celebrated his natal day at the club on Sunday, September 7 with a lively crowd that included many friends, fans and St. Louis musicians as well as his nephew, the well-known smooth jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum, who's hosting the photos and video on his Web site here.
Brandt says the event also raised $2,000 for a music scholarship fund named after "Peanuts" Whalum, and notes that both Whalums will be among the performers on this fall's Smooth Jazz Cruise produced by St. Louis- based Jazz Cruises LLC.
Now that the fall presenting season is officially getting underway, there's more and more jazz and creative music to be heard on St. Louis' concert and club stages. This week's highlights start with singer/pianist/saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum's 80th birthday party, which begins at 7:00 p.m. Sunday at Brandt's Cafe and Red Carpet Lounge. Of course, Whalum (pictured), a much-loved and respected part of the St. Louis music scene for more than 50 years, will perform, backed by his trio featuring Jeff Anderson on bass, Eric Slaughter on guitar and Marty Morrison on drums.
Edie Bee of LouRadio will serve as MC, and, yes, there will be birthday cake, served at 9:00 p.m.. Special guests expected to appear include "Peanuts" Whalum's nephew, smooth jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum, as well as many of his St. Louis musical colleagues including singers Jeanne Trevor and Gene Lynn, guitarist Dave Black, and more. Given "Peanuts" Whalum's long history in the community and the fact that he's as fine a gentleman as he is a musician - which is very fine indeed - there's likely to be a packed house of friends, fans and well-wishers, so get there early.
Also on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club kicks off their fall 2008 schedule with their annual picnic, which runs from noon to 6:00 p.m. at Concord Farmer's Hall, 10140 Concord School Rd. In keeping with the Club's emphasis on pre-WWII styles from ragtime to swing, the music will be provided by the St. Louis Banjo Club, Norm Menne and his Dixie Dudes, and Michael Lacey and his New Orleans Swing.
Of course, there's music to be heard all weekend, as the Craig Russo Latin Jazz Project opens the fall 2008 season at Jazz at the Bistro with performances on Friday and Saturday night. A drummer and percussionist, Russo is a transplant to central Illinois from Syracuse, NY who has made multiple trips to Cuba and other spots in the Caribbean to study percussion. He formed the band eight years ago, and although central Illinois may not intuitively seem like a hotbed of Latin jazz, the presence of the music school at the University of Illinois - Champaign/Urbana brings some significant talent to the area. Two members of the U of I faculty in Russo's band, saxophonist Chip McNeill and pianist Chip Stevens, have particular credibility in Latin jazz thanks to their experience performing and recording with Cuban ex-pat trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. Rounding out the ensemble are trumpeter Jeff Helgesen, once part of Ray Charles' road band, bassist Josh Walden and drummer/percussionist Jeff Magby.
Elsewhere in town, Brandt's has singer Jeanne Trevor on Friday night, and flute player and singer Margaret Bianchetta with the Dave Black Trio on Saturday. Also on Saturday, the Chicago Afrobeat Project brings their mix of funk, world music and jazz to Lucas School House.
The annual St. Louis Art Fair also is happening this weekend, and in keeping with tradition, the staff of Cultural Festivals - which also produces the St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival - has once again booked some musicians of interest to jazz listeners, including the Jazz St. Louis All Stars student ensemble, singers Anita Rosamond and Kim Massie, world/jazz/folk chamber group Autumns Child, and Afro-Cuban/jazz group Rolando Matias & Intrin-x-ico on Saturday, plus vibist Jonathan Whiting and his trio and the eclectic guitarist Stuart Johnson on Sunday. See the Art Fair's Web site for details on who's playing when on which stage at the free event.
Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday trombonists Brett Stamps and Jim Owens will have a CD release party for their new album Bad to the Bone at the Sheldon Concert Hall, while "Peanuts" Whalum is back at Brandt's. And on Wednesday, get your skronk on with Squid Choir Orkestra, saxophonist Jay Zelenka's free jazz/electronics group, when they open for experimental rock band Skarekrau Radio at the Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson, or if you're in the mood for something more mainstream, saxophonist Ed Doney once again is visiting from Lake of the Ozarks to sit in with Park Avenue Jazz for their weekly Wednesday night session at Hammerstone's.
Alas, there's still much updating to do to the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, as yr. humble editor's non-jazz-blogging work schedule and an unfortunate series of computer freezes and crashes have delayed the the update process. Fear not, though, as the work of updating said calendar will continue at the best possible speed until completed, so feel free to look there for a rapidly expanding list of more St. Louis jazz-related events this weekend and beyond.
(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.
Confirming the news that showed up a few weeks ago on Pollstar, the Missouri History Museum has announced officially that they'll present a concert by jazz pianist Jason Moran (pictured) at 7:00 p.m., Sunday, October 5 in the MacDermott Grand Hall of the Museum's building in Forest Park.
St. Louis pianist, singer and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum will be the opening act, accompanied by Jeff Anderson on bass and Marty Morrison on drums. Moran will play a solo piano set of about 70 minutes, and also will meet and greet audience members at a post-concert reception. Considered one of the top young pianists in jazz, the 33-year-old Moran leads his own group, The Bandwagon, and has toured and recorded with jazz notables such as Greg Osby, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Don Byron, Steve Coleman, Lee Konitz, Von Freeman, Christian McBride and Ravi Coltrane.
The concert is part of the Missouri History Museum's "Urban Stories: Reflections of History" series, which "explores how artists - including an actor, a spoken word artist, a musician and an author - explore modern issues facing 21st-century urban dwellers."
Tickets for the Jason Moran concert are $7 for members of the History Museum and $10 for the general public. Advance tickets may be purchased online at museumtix.com and at the History Museum's site, or by phone by calling 314-361-9017.
Jay Brandt, founder and now impresario emeritus of Brandt's Cafe and Red Carpet Lounge, emails with word of a couple of jazz-related special events at the club next month:
On Sunday, September 7, Brandt's will host a 80th birthday celebration for veteran St. Louis jazz pianist, singer and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum (pictured) "complete with cake, balloons and, of course...jazz!!" The event will take place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., with a $10 donation requested for the Peanuts Whalum Scholarship Fund for aspiring St. Louis musicians.
Whalum's nephew, the well-known smooth jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum, will be on hand, as well as "many musicians that Peanuts has played with over his 50 years of playing in St. Louis," writes Brandt, noting that "at 80, "Peanuts" is still keeping up an active touring program: he'll be at Cincinnati's Blue Wisp Jazz Club on Sept 19 & 20, in LA with nephew Kirk Whalum on Sept 26 and on the Smooth Jazz Cruise hosted by Wayman Tisdale from January 18 - 25 with Rufus, Chaka Khan and over 20 other jazz greats."
In other news, Brandt's will present Bruce Menefield, a jazz saxophonist based in Cincinnati, for a two-night stand in September. Menefield will perform on Friday, September 26 with St. Louis' own Jeff Anderson on bass and James Jackson on drums, and on Saturday, September 27 with guitarist Dave Black and Jackson on drums. A mainstay on the Cincinnati jazz scene as a player, concert producer and promoter, Menefield has recorded a self-released CD, My Steps, and has performed with many well-known jazz musicians including Billy Harper, Clark Terry, Bennie Maupin, Ronnie Laws and John Blake.
It's mid-August - usually one of the slowest times of the year for live jazz in St. Louis - and yr. humble editor has impending deadlines for paying work, plus a wicked head cold. However, there are still some events this week to tell you about, and so that's what we're going to do, albeit in a perhaps less-verbose-than-usual of way.
Let's start with a couple of multi-day events happening this weekend. The St. Louis Cabaret Conference, a four-day event founded and run by St. Louis singer Tim Schall, takes place Thursday through Sunday, and will feature four nights of public performances at the Bistro at Grand Center as well as educational and networking events for the singers attending the conference.
The public performances will include an Alumni Showcase at 8:30 p.m. tonight; a feature performance by Schall at 8:30 p.m. on Friday; a double bill of singers Lina Koutrakos and Jason Graae at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday; and a Participant Showcase at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available at the door and, for Friday and Saturday's shows, via Metrotix.
Also happening this weekend is the Greater St. Louis Art Association's semi-annual "Cool Art Hot Jazz" event, which takes place Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday at Queeny Park, 550 Weidman Road. The fair is designed to show off the work of dozens of artists working in clay, fiber, glass, jewelry, oil, photography, wood and other media. The GSLAA's announcement also says there will be live music, but I couldn't find a schedule or a list of musical performers anywhere on their Web site or, well, anywhere at all online, nor did anyone from the organization respond to my phone calls or emails attempting to elicit more information.
Wish I could tell you more, but if you're interested in who's performing and when at this event, give the GSLAA a call at 314-889-0433 and perhaps you'll have better luck than I did getting details on the apparently top-secret music schedule.
Other performances of note this week include a free concert tonight by pianist Ptah Williams, who's playing a show for the Jazz at Holmes series outdoors at Washington University's Brookings Quadrangle. Tonight also brings a rare gig by singer Erin Bode (pictured) and her band at a real old-school St. Louis restaurant, the Tenderloin Room at the Chase-Park Plaza, as well as a performance by Farshid Etniko at Brandt's.
On Friday, singer Kim Massie is at Cookie's, and the Ambassadors of Swing will do their big-band thing at the Casa Loma Ballroom. On Saturday, Mo & Dawn bring their acid-jazz/funk/remix show to Brandt's.
(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.
With no touring jazz musicians coming to town this week, let's take the opportunity to tout some upcoming gigs from some of our fine St. Louis-based players.
On Friday, drummer Joe Pastor's group Jazz Trinity returns to Brandt's, the Dave Stone Trio will be doing their regular weekly show at Mangia Italiano, and Jazz Renaissance performs at Riddle's
On Saturday, you can catch master tenor saxophonist Willie Akins (pictured) doing his weekly gig at Spruill's.
On Sunday, Good 4 The Soul will do a set before Anita Rosamond and her band take the stage at at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups. Also, the St. Louis New Jazz Quartet, led by bassist Willem Von Hombracht, continue with their regularl Sunday night performances at Riddle's.
Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band plays at BB's, and on Tuesday, singer and pianist Hugh "Peanuts' Whalum is at Brandt's while saxophonist Bennett Wood returns to The Gramophone for another show in the club's free Tuesday night jazz series.
(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.)
It's mostly about the ladies this weekend in St. Louis, as three of the most significant jazz events happening over the next few days will feature talented female vocalists.
First, there's singer Karrin Allyson(pictured), who's performing two sets a night at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday. Allyson's star has been rising since she moved from Kansas City to New York a few years ago, and her current CD Imagina: Songs of Brazil seems to be getting lots of favorable attention. Freelance writer & friend o' this site Terry Perkins talked to Allyson about the CD and playing St. Louis for an article in today's Post-Dispatch, available online here. For a couple of video samples of Allyson's work, see this post from a couple of weeks ago.
On Friday, singer, pianist and songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway headlines a benefit for WSIE (88.7 FM) radio personality Ross Gentile at Royale Orleans Banquet Center, 2801 Telegraph Rd. in South County. Gentile has had some health problems recently, and the proceeds from the event will help pay for some of his medical costs and other expenses. Reggie Thomas and his trio will back Callaway, and the Gary Dammer Sextet will open the evening's festivities with a pre-dinner set featuring several special guests. There will be no ticket sales at the door, so if you'd like to attend, you'd best hurry up and secure your spot via Ticketmaster.
On Sunday, singer Denise Thimes presents her annual Mothers' Day performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The late-afternoon performance will be preceded by a buffet supper, and as usual, Thimes has lined up some special guests for the concert, namely up-and-coming pianist Helen Sung, the winner of the Kennedy Center 2007 Mary Lou Williams Competition, and veteran saxophonist Rickey Woodard. Reservations for the buffet and show are available through Metrotix.
And while this feature usually focuses strictly on live performances, we would be remiss not to note that this Friday also marks the return to St. Louis airwaves of Don Wolff, who will be bringing a new iteration of his radio program I Love Jazz to KFUO (FM 99.1) from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. every Friday from here on out.
Looking beyond the weekend, the student musicians from Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program are presenting their end-of-semester demonstration on Monday. On Tuesday, singer and pianist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum performs at Brandt's, while something called the Universal Sound Ensemble plays at The Gramophone. Whalum is a old favorite in St. Louis, but I can't tell you much about the Universal Sound Ensemble except that I like the name, and their show, like all the Tuesday night jazz sets at The Gramophone, is free, without cover charge or admission fee.
On Wednesday, the Chicago-based James Davis Quintet will be in town to perform at the Underground @ Red Sea, otherwise known as the basement of the Red Sea restaurant, located at 6511 Delmar in the Loop. Davis, the trumpet playing leader of the group, is a graduate of the well-regarded music program at the University of North Texas, and the band's impressive debut CD Angles of Refraction contains some smart, well-played original music that reflects a variety of classic jazz influences, from hard bop to West Coast cool to an almost ECM-like impressionism, through a 21st century lens. Miles Davis' mid-Sixties band circa Nefertiti would seem to be another important influence, both sonically and conceptually.
Davis has a pleasing tone and a nice melodic sense as a soloist, and keyboardist Sean McCluskey's Rhodes electric piano is featured prominently throughout, evoking the likes of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bob James and Uri Caine without directly imitating any of them. Saxophonist Caroline Davis contributes several incisive solos, and bassist Jeff Greene and drummer Jon Deitemeyer are a solid and sensitive rhythm section. Though I haven't heard the band live, based on their CD I'd say the James Davis Quintet are definitely worth a listen and rank as the "sleeper" pick of the week.
(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 after posting.)
While this week's menu of jazz and creative music offerings isn't quite as extensive as last week's, there's still some good stuff to be heard out there on St. Louis stages.
The biggest name in town this weekend is pianist Brad Mehldau (pictured) who brings his trio to Jazz at the Bistro for performances beginning tonight and running through Saturday. Mehldau is one of the most talked-about and written-about pianists of his generation, earning favorable comparisons from jazz critics to greats like Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett as well as attracting attention from pop and rock fans for his interpretations of music from artists like Radiohead and the Beatles.
Elsewhere in town, singer Anita Rosamond will perform at the Cabaret at Savor on Friday and Saturday night, inaugurating the venue's new "Cabaret In Blue" series. "Cabaret in Blue" will showcase several St. Louis singers in the intimate 65-seat room, performing a set of music that's intended to reflect the influence of the blues on their own personal styles. For this weekend's shows, Rosamond will sing and play piano and will be accompanied by the fine guitarist Shaun Robinson of Good 4 the Soul and the always-impressive Sandy Weltman on harmonica. (Full disclosure: Yr. humble editor will be taking part in a couple of these presentations next month, playing piano behind singers Renee Smith and Uvee Hayes during their respective performances.)
On Sunday, conductor and former Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra musical director Leonard Slatkin returns to St. Louis to host a benefit for classical radio station KFUO (99.1 FM) at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The concert will feature performances from well-known musicians in a variety of genres, including Latin-jazz pianist Michel Camilo and versatile bassist Edgar Meyer, who's worked in jazz, classical and bluegrass.
Other noteworthy shows this weekend include singer and pianist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum at Brandt's on Friday night, and a morning concert by trombonist Brett Stamps and his band at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Saturday.
(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.)
The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is usually a slow one for the local music scene. For example, both Jazz at the Bistro and Cookie's Jazz and More are closed this weekend, all the school- and university-based venues are shut down for the holiday break, and the stages of most local concert halls also will be dark.
However, if you're in the mood to hear some jazz on Friday, you can check out the Dave Stone Trio at Mangia Italiano, and on Saturday, there's Willie Akins' early evening show at Spruill's, both regular weekly gigs for the two talented tenor saxophonists. Beyond that, the picking are pretty slim, but there are at least three other noteworthy events worth your attention over the next several days.
On Sunday afternoon, baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett's Improvising Youth Orchestra (IYO) performs at Union Avenue Christian Church. This is the debut for this group of young musicians that Bluiett has taken under his wing, so it's hard to know exactly what to expect, but based on Bluiett's track record, it nevertheless would seem to be a project worth supporting.
For Monday's New Year's Eve celebration, Brandt's has a triple bill of headliners, with singers Mae Wheeler and Jeanne Trevor and singer/pianist/saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum performing seperately and perhaps together, all backed by guitarist Dave Black's trio. Also on New Year's Eve, Finale Music and Dining will bring down the curtain for the last time at its current location with a performance by Wild Cool and Swingin' (pictured). Since both rooms have very limited capacities, reservations definitely would be in order.
For a more extensive listing of local jazz-related events, both this weekend and in the new year, please visit theSt. 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.)
With Christmas fast approaching, there are no touring jazz groups in St. Louis this week. But if you've got time in your busy schedule over the next few days to go out and hear some music, there are some performances worth noting by some of our fine homegrown talent.
On Thursday, singer Mae Wheeler will perform at Brandt's. The club's Web site indicates a 5 p.m. start time, earlier than the usual for a weeknight, so if you're thinking of going it might be wise to call ahead for details.
On Friday and Saturday night, the jazz/funk/soul quartet Good 4 the Soul returns to Jazz at the Bistro. The band is made up of four veteran musicians from East St. Louis - Adaron "Pops" Jackson on keyboards, John King on bass, Shaun Robinson on guitar and drummer James Jackson - and you may have seen one or more them in various configurations backing other artists around town, including singers Brian Owens and Kim Massie and Jazz St. Louis' own tenor sax man/director of operations Bob Bennett. I still haven't had a chance to hear all four members of G4TS play as an ensemble yet, but the audio excerpts on their Web site sound promising, and I've been impressed with the musicianship of the individual members when I've heard them in other contexts.
UPDATE - 12/21/07, 11 p.m.: Terry Perkins did a feature story about Good 4 The Soul that appeared in yesterday's Post-Dispatch. The article is available online here.
On Friday, trumpeter Randy Holmes leads his Hard Bop Heritage group in a tribute to Chet Baker at Finale Music and Dining. Vocalist Dean Christopher, who's fronted his own Rat Pack-themed show at Finale a number of times, will be a special guest, singing some of the tunes Baker once interpreted. Also on Friday, singer, pianist and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum performs at Brandt's, and Cookie's Jazz and More hosts a reunion for their Young Jazz All-Stars ensemble.
On Saturday, singer Anita Rosamond (pictured) brings her holiday show to Finale. Rosamond will draw on material from her 2006 holiday CD This is Christmas, backed by a band including Mark Christopher on saxophone, Philip Burton on bass, guitarist Grant Krener and drummer Josh Costello.
UPDATE - 12/21/07, 7 p.m.: Just got an email that Boston-based improvising saxophonist Bhob Rainey is making one of his periodic trips to St. Louis and will be performing at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Also on the bill are St. Louis musicians Jim Hegarty, Mark Sarich, Jeremy Kannapell and Andrew Heffner.
(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.)
