Sunday Session: November 17, 2019

Artemis

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

* Christopher Hollyday’s Vanishing Act (Jazz Times)
* Artemis, the All-Female Jazz Supergroup, Joins the Roster of Blue Note Records (WBGO)
* Earshot Serves as Platform for Thriving Seattle Scene (DownBeat)
* Why Hundreds of Music Stars Are Giving Fans Their Phone Numbers (Billboard)
* The Internet Archive Is Digitizing & Preserving Over 100,000 Vinyl Records: Hear 750 Full Albums Now (OpenCulture.com)
* Jaimie Branch :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview (AquariumDrunkard.com)
* 'When you're black, being alive is a success': Angel Bat Dawid, 2019's brightest new jazz star (The Guardian)
* Sun Ra: Our 1989 Interview (SPIN)
* A Jazz Musician’s guide to the EFG London Jazz Festival 2019 (Medium.com)
* Ralph Peterson takes all his musical lessons to heart (Philadelphia Tribune)
* Any tips? A body language expert puts the spotlight on orchestra conductors (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
* Sun Ra & the Classical Undertones of Afrofuturism (CastleSkins.org)
* Blue Note Documentary a Jazz Film with a Hip-Hop Heart (DownBeat)
* Check out the first playable record made from recycled ocean plastic (DJMag.com)
* Chops: Jamison Ross on Singing Behind the Kit (Jazz Times)
* Audio Files: Darn That Stream (Jazz Times)
* The Wild Story of How Mary Steenburgen Wrote the Best Original Movie Song of the Year (IndieWire.com)
* Mapping Music's Evolution: 23 Breakthroughs That Changed How We Listen (Billboard)
* How Musicians Are Evolving the Legacy of Resistance (DownBeat)
* Live Review: ECM 50 in New York (Jazz Times)
* Turning Over - Why Page Turners Matter (Atavist.com)
* London Calling at 40: How The Clash shattered punk orthodoxy and created a masterpiece (The Independent)
* Joe Henry's Next Second Chance (NPR)
* Mary Ann Topper, Manager of Noted Jazz Artists, Dies at 79 (Jazz Times)

Jazz this week: Jamison Ross, Mardra and Reggie Thomas, and more

Though not nearly as packed as last week's calendar, this week's schedule of jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis still offers listeners here their first look at a much-praised, up-and-coming jazz talent; the return of a couple of local favorites who have moved away; and a variety of shows from our own hometown performers.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 5
Drummer and singer Jamison Ross (pictured, top left) makes his St. Louis debut with the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Just 28 years old, Ross has been tagged as a rising star by both the jazz press and the mainstream media, thanks in large part to his self-titled debut album, which came out last year and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Jazz Vocal category.

You can see performances of some of the songs from that album and find out more about Ross in this video post from last Saturday.

Thursday, October 6
Guitarist Vincent Varvel will lead his group in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, October 7
Singer Tony Viviano returns to Fortel's Pizza Den, and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher will perform his cabaret show "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime: A Tribute to Dean Martin" for the first of two nights at The Emerald Room at The Monocle.

Also on Friday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and saxophonist Austin Cebulski and guitarist Tom Byrne will perform at Thurman's in Shaw.

Saturday, October 8
Saxophonist Christopher Braig will present a free clinic on jazz improvisation based on his book "Jazz Brain Training" during the day at Mozingo Music in O'Fallon, followed on Saturday evening by a performance celebrating the release of his new CD Blue Morph at the St. Louis Artists Guild in Clayton.

Also on Saturday, Franglais plays Gypsy jazz and swing at The Dark Room, and the Midwest Jazz-tette offers their inerpretation of West Coast cool jazz at Evangeline's

Sunday. October 9
Former St. Louisans Mardra and Reggie Thomas (pictured, bottom left) will be back in town to lend their vocal and keyboard talents, respectively, to the Unity Theatre Ensemble Reunion Tribute at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Monday,
October 10
Dizzy Atmosphere will play swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck.

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: Jamison Ross to make St. Louis debut

Today, let's check out some videos featuring drummer and vocalist Jamison Ross, who will make his St. Louis debut as a bandleader with a four-night gig starting next Wednesday, October 5 through Saturday, October 8 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Though instrumentalists who also sing aren't particularly unusual in jazz, singing drummers are fairly rare - Grady Tate being the example cited most often - and though Ross first gained notice and a record deal for his drumming only, he's made his singing an integral part of his presentation.

Now 28 years old, Ross grew up in Jacksonville, FL and currently resides in New Orleans. He earned an degree in jazz studies at Florida State University and a master's in music from University of New Orleans, and got his first big break in 2009 while still a student, touring and recording with singer Carmen Lundy.

In 2012, Ross won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, which led to the recording of his self-titled debut album released by Concord Jazz in June, 2015. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and last year Ross also was featured prominently in a Vanity Fair magazine article about rising jazz stars.

You can get a general sense of Ross and his music in the first video up above, a promotional clip with interview snippets and music excerpts that serves as a short introduction to his debut album.

After the jump, you can see and hear Ross and his band perform "Sack Full of Dreams" and "These Things You Are to Me" as recorded last year in the studios of KPLU (now KNKX) in Tacoma, WA.

Below that are performances of "Set Us Free" and "Epiphany," recorded in February 2016 at a gig in Switzerland, followed by "Emotions" from a show in December 2015 at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, MN.

For more about Jamison Ross, check out his 2015 interview with the website Revive Music and this short feature from Jazz Times magazine.

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