Jazz this week: Matthew Shipp, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Funky Butt Brass Band, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features a solo performance from a singular pianist, the local debut of a rising star on organ, a new album release from a hometown favorite band, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 22
Organist Delvon Lamarr and his trio will make their St. Louis debut with the first of five nights of performances continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis.

The Seattle-based Lamarr, who cites Booker T and the MGs as a major influence, formed the band in 2015 and they've issued two recordings so far, both of which made the top 10 of the US jazz albums chart.

Thursday, January 23
Pianist Kara Mehrmann and her quartet will perform in a free concert to kick off this semester's offerings from the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; drummer Steve Davis' band with singer Feyza Eren plays at Joe's Cafe; and guitarist Vincent Varvel leads a trio The Dark Room

Friday, January 24
Pianist Matthew Shipp (pictured, top left) will perform in a solo concert presented by New Music Circle and Washington University at 560 Music Center. (Shipp also will present a free "artist talk" on Friday afternoon in Room 102 of the Music Classroom Building on the Wash U campus.)

Shipp's improvised solo performances defy easy description, but you can sample several of them via video in this post from Saturday before last.

Also on Friday, the Jazz Troubadours perform at Evangeline's; singer Robert Nelson returns to Parkside Grille; and the eclectic multi-instrumentalist Sam Golden has rounded up a posse of like-minded St. Louis players to perform as Fiddlin' Sam and the Golden Bolo Band for a "Western Swing Showcase" at Focal Point.

Saturday, January 25
Singer and actress Sara Sheperd, who's starred on Broadway in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, brings her cabaret show "Female On Fire - A Celebration of Female Singer/Songwriters" to Blue Strawberry; Miss Jubilee performs for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and The Gaslight Squares return to the Frisco Barroom.

Sunday, January 26
The Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured, bottom left) will promote the release of their latest recording Onward with a matinee performance at Off Broadway; and jazz-fusion trio Tracer, aka pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Darrell Mixon and drummer Gary Sykes, continues their weekly residency at Troy's Listening Room.

Monday, January 27
Guitarist Dave Black leads a quartet in a concert at the Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus.

Tuesday, January 28
Singer Jan Shapiro, pianist Dave Venn and bassist Eric Warren perform at Evangelines, and Arvell Keithley, Jim Manley and the Wild, Cool & Swingin' Horns return for another encore performance 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.)

Jazz this week: Charlie Hunter Trio with Lucy Woodward, Good 4 The Soul, and more

With the summer weather in St. Louis forecast to be somewhat less sweltering than usual for a few days, it should be a good time to get out and hear some music. Here's what's happening with live jazz and creative music around town this week:

Wednesday, July 24
Singer Jenna Bauer and guitarist Dave Black will duet at Evangeline's; Miss Jubilee performs at Schlafly Bottleworks; and guitarist Joe Park's trio plays at Yaquis on Cherokee.

Thursday, July 25
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University wraps up their "Jazz in July" schedule of free concerts with a performance by drummer Maurice Carnes and his band.

Also on Thursday, guitarist Brian Vaccaro leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern, trumpeter Brady Lewis and his BLStet perform at The Dark Room, and singer Robert Nelson and the Eddie Randle Jr. Trio are at the Angad Arts Hotel.

Friday, July 26
Funk/jazz quartet Good 4 The Soul (pictured, bottom left) returns for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band plays at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Saturday, July 27
Singer Jan Shapiro and pianist Dave Venn's trio return to the Ozark Theatre; trumpeter Jim Manley and band play at Evangeline's; pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True will perform at Parkside Grille; and The Gaslight Squares will bring their vintage jazz and swing to the Frisco Barroom.

Sunday, July 28
Guitarist Charlie Hunter brings his latest trio, featuring singer Lucy Woodward (pictured, top left with Hunter) and drummer Keita Ogawa to Off Broadway. Though Hunter has had a number of trios in the past, adding a singer definitely has brought new dimensions to his sound. You can see and hear for yourself by checking out the videos in this post from a week ago Saturday.

Elsewhere around town. the Folk School of KDHX presents their monthly Traditional Jazz Jam Session on Sunday afternoon, and singer and bassist Janet Evra performs in a free, outdoor concert Sunday evening at Oak Knoll Park in Clayton.

Monday, July 29
Pianist and singer Jesse Gannon returns to the Dark Room.

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's StLJN's latest wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest:

* Singer Jan Shapiro's performance tonight at the Ozark Theatre features a reunion more than 40 years in the making, as drummer, former St. Louisan, and Wash U alumnus Henry Ettman will join Shapiro (plus pianist Dave Venn and bassist Ben Wheeler) on a local bandstand for the first time since the mid-1970s.

As Shapiro tells the tale in an email to StLJN:

"Henry Ettman was one of the drummers that played all around the St. Louis area in the 1970s. He played with jazz pianist Eddie Fritz, Dave Venn and other jazz musicians.

In 1975 Henry joined up with me and pianist Eddie Plitt. At that time, Eddie Plitt played the Hammond B3, piano (when there was one present) and electronic keyboards. Eddie often played bass using his feet to play the Hammond B3 bass pedals - while at the same time playing chord changes and soloing on the keys! So in those days we did not use a bass player very often. So during 1975 Henry Ettman played with us in St. Louis and traveled on the road with us. I recall we spent about 6 months in Florida during the ‘winter season.’"

After leaving St. Louis, Ettman has lived in Nevada, Oregon and Florida, working in education and continuing his involvement with jazz. "I have continued to keep in touch with Henry and am delighted that after so many years we will share the stage once again on June 7," said Shapiro, seen in the photo above with Ettman, who's holding a promotional pic of the two of them and Eddie Plitt from "back in the day."

* What happened to the trumpet that Miles Davis played on the sessions for his landmark album Kind of Blue? A story last week in the Greensboro, NC newspaper YES Weekly traces the horn's path from Davis to his friend, Arthur "Buddy" Gist, to its current home on display in the music building at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

* Elsewhere on the Miles Davis beat, the new biographical documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool was screened at the Sydney Film Festival in Australia, and the new box set documenting the Complete Birth of the Cool Sessions is out today.

* Sherry Jones, author of the historical novel Josephine Baker’s Last Dance, was in town for a signing and was interviewed about the book and Baker's life on St. Louis Public Radio's "St. Louis on the Air."

* Pianist and St. Louis native Dred Scott's latest album Rides Alone was reviewed by Glide magazine.

* The Riverfront Times' Daniel Hill offers a look at the St. Louis area's newest vendor of vinyl, the SOHO Record Shop, which opened recently in the Manhattan Antique Marketplace in St. Ann.

* In other record-retail news, Euclid Records recently acquired and is preparing for sale an 8,000-piece collection of jazz vinyl, including rare 1950s and '60s LPs from Blue Note, Prestige and other iconic labels. You can see a video "flip-through" of part of the collection with narration by Euclid's head honcho Joe Schwab here.

* Pianist Tom McDermott's latest album, which feature him performing a collection of Scott Joplin compositions, is the subject of a feature story by the New Orleans Advocate's Kieth Spera.

Jazz this week: Lea DeLaria,"Music for Piano, Percussion & Drums," and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features visits from a couple of local natives turned expats - one quite famous, the other up-and-coming - plus an assortment of performances in a variety of jazz styles from hometown performers. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 23
Singer Emily Wallace presents a one-night-only performance at Jazz St. Louis, backed by pianist Adam Maness' trio.

Also on Wednesday, the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features guitarist Jacob Weisman and friends at The Stage at KDHX, the weekly jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor at The Dark Room.

Thursday, January 24
Saxophonist Stephen Martin is back home from Kansas City to lead a quartet at The Dark Room, and singer Joe Mancuso will welcome singer Jan Shapiro and pianist Dave Venn as the guests for his gig this week at 50/Fifty Kitchen.

Friday, January 25
Belleville native Lea DeLaria (pictured, top left) may be best known as an actor and one of the stars of the Netflix series Orange Is The New Black, but she also has extensive credits in cabaret, musical theater and stand-up comedy. All those skills likely will be on display when DeLaria takes the stage for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis as part of the series JSL is co-presenting this year with Cabaret Project of St. Louis.

Also on Friday, singer Tony Viviano presents a tribute to the music of Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin for the first of two nights at Table Three; soul/jazz quintet Hip Grease returns to The Dark Room; trumpeter Jim Manley performs at One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar; and Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, January 26
Pianist Greg Mills and percussionist Glen "Papa" Wright will present a free concert of "Music for Piano, Percussion & Drums" at St. Louis University's Xavier Hall; and The Gaslight Squares play vintage jazz at The Frisco Barroom, a recently opened spot in the Old Orchard neighborhood of Webster Groves.

Sunday, January 27
The Folk School of KDHX will host their monthly traditional jazz jam session, and DJ Pockets will present his monthly "1950s/60s Jazz Record Spin" at The Royale.

Monday, January 28
Bassist Willem von Hombracht leads a trio in a concert at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, and singer/impressionist Dean Christopher brings his "Rat Pack & More" show back to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar.

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's StLJN's latest wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest:

* Singer and educator Jan Shapiro has taken retirement from the faculty of Berklee College of Music and is moving from Boston back home to St. Louis.

Once she's resettled, Shapiro (pictured), who chaired the vocal department at Berklee from 1997 to 2010, will be accepting students for private voice lessons. For details on that, see her website.

* Jazz St. Louis is one of nine local arts organizations to receive a grant this year from the PNC Foundation. The "PNC Arts Alive" program will provide a total of $250,000 to the nine recipients, with JSL using their portion to produce a web video series, “Jazz from the 314 Presented by PNC Arts Alive,” with pianist Peter Martin as host.

* Singer, actor and impressionist Dean Christopher was profiled in a story on the St. Louis County Arts blog.

* Singer (and physician) Ken Haller's most recent performance of "The TV Show" last month at The Stage at KDHX was reviewed for CabaretScenes.org by Chuck Lavazzi.

* The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's annual "GO! List" issue (in which readers and staff rate various St. Louis people, places and things) was released last week, and in what might be described as an upset victory, BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups was voted by readers as "Best place to hear jazz," while the staff pick in the same category was Joe's Cafe & Gallery.

* St. Louis based independent label Freedonia Music recently has made it onto Facebook, where they are posting "an endless stream of new and old CD releases from our catalog of Creative music, Free Jazz, Free Improv, Avant-garde Electronics and Spontaneous Combustion St. Louis Style." You can check out what they're sharing here.

Jazz this week: Vijay Iyer Trio, Dianne Reeves, Tomeka Reid's Artifacts Trio, and more

It's going to be a very busy few days for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with several noteworthy touring headliners in town, plus the beginning of our town's annual cornucopia of holiday-themed performances from both visiting and local musicians.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, November 30
Pianist Vijay Iyer returns with his longtime associates, bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Marcus Gilmore, to perform for the first of four nights continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Iyer already was considered one of the fastest-rising stars in jazz when he last played here in St. Louis - in January 2010, also at the Bistro - and in the nearly seven years since, he's taken on a variety of new projects that have earned continued critical acclaim and growing public recognition.

For more about that, plus some recent video samples of Iyer's trio (pictured, top left) in action, check out this video post from a couple of Saturdays ago, as well as his recent interviews with St. Louis Public Radio's David Cazares and the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson.

Thursday, December 1
Singer, educator and former St. Louisan Jan Shapiro, the longtime head of vocal music at Berklee College of Music, will return home to perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Also on Thursday, the student musicians of the North County Big Band, directed by saxophonist Harvey Lockhart, will present their semester-ending performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True will be joined by singer Erika Johnson for a concert presented by St. Louis Public Radio at UMSL at Grand Center.

Friday, December 2
Singer Dianne Reeves returns to St. Louis for the first time since 2013 with a holiday-themed concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Reeves (pictured, center left) will offer her interpretations of seasonal favorites such as “Little Drummer Boy,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Christmas Waltz,” “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” “Let It Snow,” and more, accompanied by a band featuring two musicians from the St. Louis area - her longtime pianist and music director, U City native Peter Martin, and drummer Terreon Gully, who's originally from East St. Louis - plus bassist Reginald Veal and guitarist Romero Lubambo.

Also on Friday, The Fat Babies, a Chicago-based band specializing in vintage jazz of the 1920s and '30s will perform at Off Broadway in the first of three shows they'll be doing in St. Louis this weekend. The group also will play for dancers on Saturday night at Casa Loma Ballroom, then provide an opening set for the St. Louis Jazz Club on Sunday (see below) before heading home.

Saturday, December 3
Cellist and composer Tomeka Reid's Artifacts Trio with flute player Nicole Mitchell and percussionist Mike Reed will play a New Music Circle-presented concert at Joe's Cafe.

Following in the footsteps of the founders who started Chicago's venerable Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in the 1960s, Reid, Mitchell, and Reed (pictured, bottom left) represent what might be called the next generation of the AACM's leadership, having all served together on that organization's board at one point a few years back.

All three are active as bandleaders and collaborators in Chicago's busy jazz and creative music scene, and their shared musical history and the AACM connection eventually brought them together in 2015 under Reid's nominal leadership to record Artifacts, an album of new interpretations of music by AACM-affiliated composers. For more about that, and some video samples of various Tomeka Reid performances, take a look at the video post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, saxophonist Eric Marienthal will perform with St. Louis' Bach to the Future in a benefit concert for the adoption agency Dillon International at the Mandarin House Banquet Hall in U. City; and pianist Carolbeth True and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman will reunite to revisit music from their 1998 album "New World Harmonica Jazz" at the Ozark Theatre

Sunday, December 4
The St. Louis Jazz Club's annual holiday party gets underway at an earlier-than-usual starting time with an opening set from Chicago's Fat Babies, followed by a full-length performance of traditional jazz and swing from St. Louis' own Cornet Chop Suey at the Moolah Shrine Center.

Also on Sunday afternoon, the Friends of Scott Joplin present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the  Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's New Rosebud Cafe; and music students at the University of Missouri St. Louis present "UMSL's Jazz For The Holidays" a free concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center featuring music from the UMSL Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Jim Widner, Vocal Point conducted by Jim Henry, and the University Orchestra.

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: Sachal Vasandani, Galactic, Kris Davis Quintet, Jan Shapiro, Bucky Pizzarelli & Denise Thimes, and more

It's a jam-packed week of jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with local debuts from two noteworthy touring musicians, the return of some familiar favorites, homecoming gigs for three local expats, and lots more. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, singer Sachal Vasandani will make his St. Louis debut, beginning a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. Along with Gregory Porter, whom the Bistro presented for the first time in January, Vasandani is one of the most talked-about male jazz singers to emerge in recent years, with an intimate, ballad-friendly style and a repertoire with enough romantic songs to make him a suitable choice for Valentine's week. Yet the Chicago native certainly can swing, too, as demonstrated in some of the video samples included in this post from last Saturday.

Also tonight, trumpeter Jim Manley plays at Sasha's Wine Bar, and singer Joe Mancuso performs with a trio  at Frontenac Grill.

Tomorrow night, the New Orleans-based funk/jazz/hip-hop group Galactic returns for what's become an annual gig at The Pageant, this time bringing along as special guests singer Corey Glover of Living Color and Latryx, featuring Lyrics Born and Lateef the Truthspeaker.

For those looking specifically for something Valentine's-themed on Thursday, singer Jan Shapiro, a former St. Louisan who now heads the vocal jazz program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, will be in town to do a free concert with pianist Nathan Jatcko for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and singer Erin Bode will perform at Cyrano's in Webster Groves.

The romantic theme continues on Friday, as veteran guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli (father of St. Louis favorite John Pizzarelli) comes to town to serve as special guest for singer Denise Thimes' Valentine's Day show at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Now 87, Pizzarelli understandably doesn't work as much these days as he once did, but he remains a masterful practitioner of a classic style of jazz guitar playing, and definitely is worth hearing for any fan of the sub-genre.

Also on Friday, multi-instrumentalist Wayne Coniglio will lead a big band plus multiple vocalists in "The Swing of Hearts" at 560 Music Center. The show will feature guest stars including singers Cecil Cope and Ginger Berglund, trombonist Scott Whitfield, and saxophonist/clarinetist/vocalist Elsie Parker.

Elsewhere on Friday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays at the new downtown event space the Paragon Theater; vibraphonist Peter Schlamb performs at Robbie's House of Jazz; and saxophonist Willie Akins will lead a quartet at the Cigar Inn.

On Saturday afternoon, singer Wendy Gordon performs for brunch at Frontenac Grill. Later that day, poet, author, St. Louis native, and Miles Davis biographer Quincy Troupe will be back in his hometown once again to present another performance of his "SoundArt" ensemble at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown. The concert, a production of the Nu-Art Series, also will feature saxophonist Stan Coleman and bassist Darrell Mixon.

Then on Saturday evening, pianist Kris Davis (pictured) and her quintet will play a concert presented by New Music Circle at 560 Music Center. Born in Canada and now based in NYC, Davis blends free improvisation with compositions reflecting influences from jazz and contemporary classical, and has just released a new album, Capricorn Climber. Her St. Louis debut gig will feature most of the band from that record, including saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, drummer Tom Rainey and violist Matt Maneri, along with bassist Eivind Opsvik. For more about Davis and some video clips of her in action, check out this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Saturday night also offers several choices of shows featuring female vocalists, with Feyza Eren at the Wine Press, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at the Venice Cafe, and Zena Star at the Rustic Goat.

On Sunday, Miss Jubilee begins a series of regular matinee performances at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups,  and looking beyond the weekend, on Monday trumpeter Keith Moyer's quartet will play at BB's.

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 2/15/13 to correct an error in Monday's listing.) 

Jazz at Holmes series returns this Thursday, January 24 with Brian Vaccaro Trio

The Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University will begin their winter/spring 2013 schedule of shows with a performance by guitarist Brian Vaccaro's organ trio at 8:00 p.m. this Thursday, January 24. Vaccaro (pictured) and his group will play some of their jazz/funk interpretations of music by The Beatles.

Usually by this time of year, there's been some announcement from the Jazz at Holmes series' organizers about the entire semester's schedule of concerts, and one may appear yet in the next day or two as classes resume at Wash U. (See below for update!) For now, there are two other Jazz at Holmes gigs this winter and spring in addition to Vaccaro's that have become public through other sources.

On Thursday, February 28, the series will present drummer Ronnie Burrage, playing some of his original music with pianist Ptah Williams and bassist Darrell Mixon. According to what Burrage told StLJN for this story, the trio also will be holding open rehearsals on campus for a couple of days before the concert; the details on that are yet to come.

The following week at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 7, the series will present the first local screening of the 2012 documentary film We Juke Up In Here and a performance by Mississippi blues singer and guitarist Jimmy "Duck" Holmes.

The film, produced by St. Louisan and Broke & Hungry Records founder Jeff Konkel and former St. Louisan and Cathead Delta Blues & Folk Art proprietor Roger Stolle, documents the dwindling number of juke joints in rural Mississippi. Holmes, who also owns the Blue Front Cafe in Bentonia, MS, has recorded several albums for the Broke & Hungry label and appears in the film. A discussion with Holmes and the filmmakers will follow the screening and performance.

As for the rest of the schedule, StLJN will have it for you right here as soon as it is released. Presented most Thursday evenings when school is in session, the Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public. Unless otherwise noted, concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Update, 10:47 p.m., 1/21/13: A couple of hours after this post went up, an email hit the StLJN inbox with the rest of the winter/spring 2013 Jazz at Holmes schedule. Following Vaccaro's kickoff show this Thursday, the rest of the concerts in chronological order will be:

Thursday, January 31: At Once: Improvisation Ensemble and the Art of Improvisation
Thursday, February 7: Ben Thigpen Group
Thursday, February 14: Jan Shapiro & Nathan Jatcko: Love Songs of Porter, Gershwin, Rodger, Hart, Hammerstein, & Arlen
Thursday, February 21: Special Event: Amina Figarova Quintet
Thursday, February 28: Ronnie Burrage
Thursday, March 7: Screening of We Juke Up In Here with live performance by Jimmy "Duck" Holmes
Thursday, March 21: "Take Five" and the Music of Dave Brubeck
Thursday, March 28: Joe Mancuso Quartet
Thursday, April 4: Wire Pilots: New, Original Music of Dan Rubright
Thursday, April 11: Four in One: Thelonious Monk Project with Paul DeMarinis, Steve Schenkel, Alan Schilling and Ric Vice

Of particular note are the performances by Jan Shapiro, a singer and St. Louis expat who now heads the vocal jazz program at Berklee College of Music in Boston; and Amina Figarova (pictured at left), a classically trained pianist who was born in Azerbaijan, launched her career as an internationally touring musician while living in Europe, and currently resides in NYC.

Figarova, 46, has released a dozen albums as a leader since her recording debut in 1994, and composes much of her own material. She co-leads her touring group with her husband, flute player Bart Platteau. As best as can be determined right now, her Jazz at Holmes show will be Figarova's debut performance in St. Louis.

(Edited after posting.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short local news items of interest:

* The indefatigable Clark Terry has posted New Year's greetings on his blog.

* Jan Shapiro, singer and former St. Louisan who now heads the vocal program at Berklee College of Music, has a new CD called Piano Bar After Hours. The album (pictured) features a varied program of songs, from well-known tunes such as "If I Were A Bell" and Horace Silver's "Doodlin'" to more obscure numbers. Although the "official release" isn't until April 2013, both the CD and single tracks already can be purchased via CDbaby, iTunes, and Amazon.com.

* In a year-end interview, Euclid Records' Joe Schwab told KWMU's Maria Altman that 2012 was a good year for music on vinyl.

* New Music Circle has posted online a brief video clip from the Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet's concert in November at Luminary Center for the Arts.

* The Facebook page for Joe's Cafe and its associated gallery linked to a set of vintage photos of Gaslight Square, annotated by Jack Parker of O'Connell's Pub fame.

Jazz this week: John Scofield Quartet, Dianne Reeves, Ahmad Jamal, Jan Shapiro, Kung Fu, and more

It's shaping up to be another fairly busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, particularly for the good folks at Jazz St. Louis, who are presenting touring headliners at two different venues, but there's lots going on elsewhere, too. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, guitarist John Scofield opens a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. For this visit, Scofield is downplaying his usual tendencies toward funk, and bringing a quartet playing relatively straightforward swing and featuring pianist Michael Eckroth, bassist Ben Street, and drummer Greg Hutchinson, who was here most recently back in March to do a Ray Brown tribute at the Bistro with Christian McBride and Benny Green. Scofield's new CD A Moment's Peace is just out, so expect to hear some selections from that recording. For more about that project and some videos of Scofield and the quartet in action, check out this post from last Saturday.

On Thursday, singer and St. Louis native Jan Shapiro comes home from Boston, where she heads the vocal department at Berklee College of Music, to perform a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Shapiro's accompanists will include guitarist William Lenihan and pianist Ptah Williams.

Also on Thursday, singer Billy Valentine will be in town to join Denise Thimes in her annual performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall to raise money for the Mildred Thimes Foundation for pancreatic cancer research. That same evening, the funk/jazz/rock/fusion band Kung Fu, which features musicians associated with Jazz is Dead, RAQ, The Breakfast, and Deep Banana Blackout, will play at 2720 Cherokee.

On Friday, percussionist Herman Semidey leads his Orquesta Nitro Son Montuno for a night of Latin jazz and dancing at Robbie's House of Jazz; traditional jazz group the Dixie Dudes play at Jazz on Broadway in Alton; and guitarist Mason Baran leads a quartet with bassist Ryan Chamberlain, drummer Jerry Mazzuca and saxophonist Austin Cebulske at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

On Saturday morning, bass players and aspiring bassists may want to head down to the "Ultimate Bass Clinic" at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, featuring instruction from electric bassists Alvin Clark, Philip Burton, John King, Vince Clark and Jahmal Nichols.

That afternoon, the Nu-Art Series presents the up-and-coming young alto saxophonist Kendrick Smith and his group at Metropolitan Gallery. Then on Saturday evening, singer Joe Mancuso performs at Robbie's, and saxophonist Rod Tate plays at the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe.

On Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show will present its fourth and final event of the year at the American Czech Center. Also on Sunday afternoon, the Classical Jazz Quartet performs in a benefit for Five Acres Animal Shelter at The Landings at Spirit Golf Club in Chesterfield.

Then on Sunday evening, Jazz St. Louis continues their "Legends of Jazz" series with a double bill at the Touhill Performing Arts Center featuring singer Dianne Reeves (pictured), whose band includes St. Louis' own Peter Martin on piano, and the veteran pianist Ahmad Jamal. Reeves and Jamal are scheduled to do separate sets, though one supposes a spontaneous collaboration cannot be completely ruled out. Either way, it's a chance to see two well-known headliners for one price.

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.)

Jazz this week: The Clayton Brothers, Cyrus Chestnut, Matt Wilson, Jan Shapiro, Jazz St. Louis benefit gala, and more

Whether it's some kind of side effect of Jazz Appreciation Month or just coincidence, many of the jazz and creative music performers in St. Louis this weekend seem to have some sort of connection to music education.

On Thursday, singer Jan Shapiro will return to St. Louis to do a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Shapiro is a former St. Louisan who now heads the vocal music department at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Also on Thursday, drummer Matt Wilson and his quartet will perform in a concert with the Webster Groves High School jazz band at Hixson Middle School. For details, see this post.

On Frida, the Clayton Brothers (pictured) begin a two-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. Bassist John Clayton and saxophonist Jeff Clayton have been in town all week doing an educational residency for Jazz St. Louis, including school performances, master classes, working with students in JSL's JazzU and All-Stars programs, and more.

For this weekend's performances at the Bistro, they'll be joined by pianist Gerald Clayton (John's son) and drummer Obed Calvaire, plus a "special guest" trumpet player each night. St. Louis' own Keyon Harrold will hold forth on Friday, while Terrell Stafford, who's recorded several discs for the St. Louis based MAXJAZZ label and works frequently with the Claytons, will be there on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon, pianist Reggie Thomas will perform at the Metropolitan Gallery for the penultimate entry in the Nu-Art Series' spring jazz composers concerts. Thomas, who teaches music at SIUE, will team with drummer Marty Morrison and bassist Nick Jost to do the music of Andrew Hill and his own compositions.

On Saturday evening, pianist Cyrus Chestnut takes the stage at the Sheldon Concert Hall for a program of music concetrating on selections from his CD Cyrus Plays Elvis. As far as I know, Chestnut isn't doing any formal teaching while he's in town, but he's definitely got the chops to school some folkswhen he sits down at the piano. To see some video of Chestnut, check out this post from last Saturday. Also, the Sheldon and Metrotix have a "buy one, get one free" offer on tickets for the Chestnut concert.

Also on Saturday evening, pianist Carol Schmidt, who teaches at Webster University, will play a concert with bassist Ric Vice and several guest vocalists at Elliot Chapel in Kirkwood.

On Sunday, Jazz St. Louis presents its annual benefit gala featuring music from saxophonist Houston Person, who will be backed by Good 4 The Soul, plus the Funky Butt Brass Band and the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble. Ticket prices start at $250 perperson, and proceeds from the event benefit JSL's education programs. For details, go here.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday Jazz St. Louis holds the monthly meeting of its CD Listening Club at Borders Books & Music in Brentwood. The featured CD for April is Stanley Turrentine's Sugar, and the special guest will be KMOX and KMOV broadcaster Carol Daniel (who, due to a lack of obvious connections to jazz, seems a puzzling choice to yr. humble editor).

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.)

Jazz at Holmes announces winter/spring 2010 schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University has announced its schedule of free concerts for the winter/spring semester.

Guitarist Matthew Von Doran, backed by bassist Bob DeBoo and drummer Steve Davis, will get things started for 2010 at 8:00 p.m. this Thursday, January 21.

In keeping with the pattern of the last several semesters, the Jazz at Holmes series this spring also will feature a visiting performer along with the lineup of St. Louis talent: singer Jan Shapiro (pictured), a former St. Louisan who now heads the vocal department at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and who will perform on Thursday, April 8.

The Jazz at Holmes series presents concerts at 8:00 p.m. most Thursdays while school is in session. This semester's schedule also includes a concert on Saturday, February 27 by pianist Jay Oliver's quartet. Here's the complete Jazz at Holmes winter/spring 2010 schedule:

Thursday, January 21: Matthew Von Doren Trio
Thursday, January 28: Ptah Williams Trio

Thursday, February 4: Jason Swagler
Thursday, February 11: Dave Stone & Randy Holmes play the music of Don Cherry & Ornette Coleman
Thursday, February 18: Curt Landes Quartet
Saturday, February 27: Jay Oliver Quartet

Thursday, March 4: Paul DeMarinis
Thursday, March 18: Bensid Thigpen
Thursday, March 25: Kara Baldus

Thursday, April 1: Vince Varvel
Thursday, April 8: Jan Shapiro
Thursday, April 15: Larry Johnson and Two Times True

All Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public. Holmes Lounge is located in Ridgley Hall, on the west side of Brookings Quadrangle near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives. For further information, call Sue Taylor at 314-862-0874 or email staylor@wustl.edu.

(Edited 1/24/10 because Jazz at Holmes switched the originally announced dates for the Curt Landes and Dave Stone/Randy Hplmes concerts, and to add tags.)

Jazz this week: Bela Fleck & the Africa Project; a tribute to Eddie Jefferson; Jan Shapiro; Matt Wilson; Ntozake Shange & Hamiet Bluiett; and more

There's lots going on in St. Louis over the next few days with regard to jazz and creative music, so let's go right to the highlights, starting with tonight when the much-anticipated Bela Fleck and the Africa Project tour comes to the Sheldon Concert Hall. For more on the Africa Project, see this article that I wrote for last week's Riverfront Times. Also, new this week, Playback STL's Amy Burger has a piece on the show here.

Next up come three performances in which the human voice will play a key role, beginning with "The Genius of Eddie Jefferson," which opens tonight at Jazz at the Bistro and runs through Saturday. This tribute to the late jazz singer and lyricist features vocalists Carla Cook and Allan Harris and pianist Eric Reed, and there's lots to see and hear about them and Jefferson in this post from last Saturday.

Also, Jazz St. Louis is offering a two-tickets-for-the-price-of-one deal for the 8:30 p.m. show on Thursday only; for details on how to get the discount, see this post. As a longtime fan of Eddie Jefferson, I'm glad to see his music revisited in this way; the fact that it can be done by two singers as different from Jefferson (and each other) as Cook and Harris certainly is a testament to its wide range of expression and long-lasting appeal.

On Thursday night, singer and St. Louis expat Jan Shapiro, who now heads the jazz vocal program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, will perform with guitarist William Lenihan in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. As you'd expect from a vocal teacher, Shapiro's got a fine technique, and unlike many of the more callow female singers on the scene today, she's lived enough to know how to use that technique to best advantage while imbuing her song interpretations with some real emotional weight.

Moving on to Saturday afternoon, the Nu-Art Series will present poet and author Ntozake Shange in a spoken word performance with music from legendary baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett and multi-instrumentalist Dr. London Branch starting at 3:00 p.m. at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. in downtown St. Louis. The program also will feature the musical group JBMG, which includes the grandchildren of singer Fontella Bass and trumpet player Lester Bowie.

On Saturday evening, trombonist and low brass man Lamar Harris brings his mix of jazz, funk, hip-hop, R&B, classical and who-knows-what-else to downtown's newest live music venue, the St. Louis Jazz Cafe.

Then on Sunday afternoon, drummer Matt Wilson (pictured) and his Quartet will do a matinee starting at 3:00 p.m. at the Black Cat Theatre. in Maplewood. The group, founded in 1996, includes Andrew D’Angelo on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Jeff Lederer on tenor and soprano saxophones and clarinet, and Chris Lightcap on acoustic and electric bass. Wilson is a consistently interesting drummer as well as a prolific and sometimes provocative bandleader, and given that the Quartet has played together since 1996, they've got a lot of shared experience and repertoire to mine, which should make for an entertaining and musically substantive show.

UPDATE, 4/1/09, 1:00 p.m. - As yr. humble editor is not really the charity-party type, I neglected to mention in the first version of this post that this Sunday is also the date of Jazz St. Louis' annual fundraising gala, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark. The event features dinner, an auction, cocktail music from the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, and a headlining set from the lovely Italian-born, Berklee-educated singer Chiara Civello.

Tickets are $250 per person. I don't know if there's any room left as of this writing, but if you'd like to go, you can contact Melissa Jones at Jazz St. Louis by calling 314-289-4037 or via email at melissa@jazzstl.org to ask about ticket availability.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Sunday night, the eclectically funky Good 4 The Soul plays the early set at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups, and the St. Louis New Jazz X-Tet holds forth as usual at Riddles. On Monday night, the Sessions Big Band returns to BB's, and on Tuesday, Bennett Wood and Friends are back at The Gramophone.

As always, these are just some of the more noteworthy shows happening around St. Louis this week, and with the start of a new month, there will undoubtedly some updates and additions over the next few days. To see the latest listings for jazz-related events in St. Louis 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.)

Jazz at Holmes announces spring 2009 schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University has announced the rest of its spring 2009 schedule of concerts.

Two Jazz at Holmes shows, featuring the Poor People of Paris and Randy Holmes and Hard Bop Heritage, have already taken place this semester. Also, according to the news release sent out today, the February 13 concert by pianist Marc Copland's trio, previously announced as a presentation of the Wash U. Department of Music, is now being co-sponsored by Jazz at Holmes as well.

The Copland concert, also featuring bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Bill Stewart, will be a departure from the usual Jazz at Holmes formula. It is being held on a Friday, it's off campus at the 560 Music Center in University City, and it is not a free show; tickets are $20 for the public, $15 for Wash. U faculty and staff, and $5 for students.

As for the rest of the schedule of free Thursday night performances announced today, other noteworthy shows for spring 2009 include appearances by the Wee Trio (pictured), an NYC-based group featuring former St. Louisan Dan Loomis on bass, and singer Jan Shapiro, another St. Louis expat who now teaches at Berklee College of Music. This spring's concerts also will feature a whole lot of Wash U. faculty member and Jazz at Holmes series coordinator William Lenihan, who will be wielding his guitar with various combinations of players on four of the gigs. Here's the schedule:

Thursday, February 19: Todd Mosby Group

Thursday, February 26: Sometime Then and Again - quartet with guitarist William Lenihan and saxophonist Dave Stone

Thursday, March 5: Pianist Kim Portnoy, drummer Roger Guth, and Lenihan

Thursday, March 19: Portnoy and Lenihan

Thursday, March 26: Guitarist Chris Burchett and his quartet

Thursday, April 2: Jan Shapiro with Lenihan

Thursday, April 9: Wee Trio

Thursday, April 16: vocalist Anita Rosamond

All of these concerts are free and open to the public, and begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall on the Washington University campus.

Tonight's Jazz at Holmes concert canceled due to bad weather

The sleet and ice storm that hit St. Louis today has forced Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series to cancel tonight's concert featuring singer Jan Shapiro and guitarist William Lenihan. However, the show may be rescheduled, according to this email from the Jazz at Holmes list:

"Hello Fellow Jazz Fans,
It is very unfortunate that I have to report to you that we have to cancel Jazz at Holmes Tonight because of the awful weather we have been hit with.
But the Good News is that were are interested in trying to reschedule the concert for tomorrow night, Friday, or Saturday Night and we are trying to gauge interest in this proposition. It would still feature Jan Shapiro and Bill Lenihan, but instead of having this concert in Holmes, Jazz at Holmes would be hosting in the Concert Hall at the new music department building, the 560 building. Please respond to this e-mail ASAP so we can get a rough estimate of the amount of people interested. Hope to hear from many of you."

The 560 Building is located at 560 Trinity at Delmar, near the east end of the the University City loop. It's the former synagogue that was used by several local cultural institutions, including the old Conservatory and School for the Arts (CASA), before it was acquired by Washington University. You can express your preference about the reschduling of the concert by sending an email to auschnei@gmail.com.

Jazz this week: Terell Stafford, Michael Wolff, a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass, and more

This week brings another diverse selection of jazz and creative music concerts to St. Louis stages, starting with trumpeter Terell Stafford, who performs at Jazz at the Bistro on Friday and Saturday.

Stafford has worked as a sideman with McCoy Tyner, Christian McBride, John Clayton, Steve Turre, Dave Valentin, and Russell Malone as well as being a member of Matt Wilson's critically acclaimed band Arts and Crafts. He also has recorded as a leader for the locally based MAXJAZZ label, and is spending this week doing an educational residency for Jazz St. Louis, playing school concerts and working with student musicians. To see a couple of videos featuring Stafford in action, check out this previous post.

The other touring act in town this week is pianist Michael Wolff, who's playing at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Saturday. Wolff may be best remembered as the leader of the house band on Arsenio Hall's talk show, but he also had plenty of serious jazz credits in his pre-Posse days, including work with Cannonball Adderley, Nancy Wilson, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Sonny Rollins, Airto Moriera and Flora Purim’s Fingers band, and Cal Tjader. As a bandleader, Wolff has concentrated on small ensembles, as on his most recent CD Jazz, Jazz, Jazz, a collection of standards performed by a trio that also includes electric bassist John B. Williams and drummer Victor Jones. For his St. Louis concert, Wolff's group also will feature tabla player Badal Roy, who worked with Miles Davis back in the day.

This week's free Jazz at Holmes concert on Thursday night at Washington University features a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass from singer Jan Shapiro, a former St. Louisan who now teaches at Berklee College of Music in Boston, along with guitarist William Lenihan and pianist Kara Baldus.

Another free show happens at Washington University on Friday, when the group Mmmelt, described as a mix of "ambient, punk, world beat, jazz, electronics, avant-garde and spoken word," kicks off the concert series at the new Kemper Art Museum. For more experimental improv, post-rock and other genre-defying sounds, you also can check out Tony Renner's trio learn, artist! and Eric Hall's band Peanuts on Friday at the Schlafly Brewery and Tap Room downtown.

On Sunday, the BAG Trio commemorates Black History Month with a free concert called "From Ragtime to No Time" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site. And looking beyond the weekend, on Monday night the Webster University Big Band and the Genesis Jazz Project will team up at Webster's Winifred Moore Auditorium for a program called "The St. Louis Blues & All That Jazz."

As always, these highlights are just some of what's happening around town; for more local jazz-related 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.)

(Edited 2/21/08 to correct the day of the Michael Wolff show.)

Jazz this week: Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau, Jan Shapiro, BAG II, Bosman Twins, Leon Thomas memorial concert, and more

This week's highlights post is a bit earlier than usual, due to a major jazz event in mid-week, and will also be a bit terse, as Blogger is being difficult today.

The major jazz event in question is Wednesday night's concert by Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau (pictured at left) at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Their collaboration already has produced two best-selling CDs in the last year, but this tour is the first time they've gone on the road together, and it's been getting plenty of publicity in both the jazz and mainstream press. StLJN has also had quite a bit of previous Metheny/Mehldau-related coverage, which you can see here.

On Thursday, singer and St. Louis native Jan Shapiro returns to St. Louis to do a free concert as part of the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. That same night, the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra, directed by Jim Widner and featuring Mardra Thomas on vocals, will take the stage at Jazz at the Bistro for two sets.

On Friday, the Black Arts Guild aka BAG II kicks off what they're calling their spring season with another concert at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, this time featuring vocalist Thomasina Clarke along with bassist Zimbabwe Nkenya, drummer Glen "Papa" Wright and saxophonist Jerome Williams.

Friday is also the night for the second annual concert benefitting the Leon and Curtis Thomas Memorial Scholarship fund, featuring an all-star aggregation of local players performing at East St. Louis High School, and it's also the opening evening of a two-night stand for the Bosman Twins (pictured at right; Web site seems to be offline right now) at Jazz at the Bistro.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday night Webster University will present a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium called "South American Sketches," which will feature music by Luis Bonfa, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astor Piazzola performed by Erin Bode, Debby Lennon and Valerie Tichacek with the Webster Faculty Jazz Ensemble.

As always, you can find a more extensive list of this week's jazz events by visiting 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.)

Shapiro grades "American Idol"

The Boston Herald recently asked Jan Shapiro, the St. Louis native who heads the vocal jazz program at Berklee College of Music, to watch an episode of "American Idol" and comment on what she saw. Even if you're not a fan of the popular reality/talent show, Shapiro's critique is entertaining and even instructive, and you can read it online here.

Shapiro will be in St. Louis on Thursday, April 5 to do a free concert as part of Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series and promote her recent self-released CD, Back To Basics.

(Edited 3/26/07 to correct the date of Shapiro's St. Louis concert.)

Jan Shapiro releases new CD, will perform in St. Louis on April 5

Jazz singer Jan Shapiro, a St. Louis native who heads the vocal jazz program at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, has released a new CD titled Back to Basics, and will return to her old hometown on Thursday, April 5 for a free performance as part of Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series.

Before moving East, Shapiro studied at St. Louis Institute of Music, gigged all around the country using the Gateway City as a base and taught at Fontbonne and SIU-E. She's been at Berklee for more than 20 years, overseeing a dramatic expansion in vocal studies since becoming department chair in 1997.

Back to Basics features Shapiro's interpretations of works by classic songwriters such as George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Irving Berlin. It was recorded in Boston last year with an ensemble including her Berklee colleagues Tim Ray on piano, guitarist John Baboian, bassist John Repucci, and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. It's available for purchase through CDBaby.

UPDATE - 8:15 a.m., 3/15/07: After receiving an email from a reader saying that Shapiro's CD had actually been out for several months, I asked her publicist Terri Hinke about it. Here's what happened: Back to Basics was recorded in May 2006, pressed in October and received what might be termed a "soft" release before the end of the year, without wide distribution but with some local St. Louis airplay on WSIE and on Don Wolff's jazz show on KMOX.

So, if you listen to jazz radio in St. Louis and think you may have heard something from the CD already, you may be right. What's going on now is that Back to Basics is being promoted actively to radio and the press, and Shapiro's schedule now permits some gigs to support the release. The use of word "new" thus may be a slight exaggeration, but it should also be noted that this isn't that unusual, either, especially with self-released works from artists who may have limited time and money for promotion. Thanks to Ms. Hinke for a prompt response, and now (as radio's Paul Harvey might say) you know the rest of the story.