So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer, actor, and Webster University faculty member Debby Lennon has won this year's award for "best actress in a comedy" from the St. Louis Theater Circle for her portrayal of would-be diva Florence Foster Jenkins in Max & Louie Productions' staging of Souvenir. The production won five awards in total from StLTC, including "outstanding comedy."

* St. Louis native and Washington University alumnus Olly Wilson (pictured), a composer, musician, musicologist, and emeritus professor of music at the University of California, Berkeley whose students included drummer Tony Williams, has died at age 80.

* Keyboardist Ryan Marquez appeared Thursday on the morning newscast at KTVI (FOX2) to promote his album release show this Saturday night at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

* The release this week of the CD box set Miles Davis/John Coltrane - The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 already has prompted media coverage including a column from The New Yorker's Richard Brody, a review on Pitchfork.com, and a story about "When Miles Davis and John Coltrane Scandalized Paris" via OZY.com.

* Pianist Peter Martin was profiled this week in Keyboard magazine's "Talent Scout" column.

* Just in time for New Orleans' tricentennial, singer, trumpeter (and University City native) Jeremy Davenport has released a song paying tribute to his adopted home, "One Way Ticket to New Orleans."

* Chris Hansen of the Kranzberg Arts Foundation was interviewed about the foundation's new residency program for musicians by McGraw Millhaven of KTRS .

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty has released a new recording in his Secret Sessions series, available as a free download from Bandcamp. The latest volume, recorded on February 25, documents a live improv session featuring Hegarty on modular synthesizer with Tracy Andreotti (cello), Eric Paul Mandat (clarinets), Greg Mills (piano, melodica), Claude Montgomery (bass), George Sams (flugelhorn), Steven Thomas (guitar), and Fred Tompkins (flute, bass flute).

* The Riverfront Times is looking for up to 30 local musical acts who would like to be part of  ShowcaseSTL 2018, a two-day "concert crawl" on Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17 that will feature more than 100 performances at various venues in the Grove. To find out more about the event and how to submit materials for consideration, go here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness have teamed up for a new podcast for aspiring musicians called "You'll Hear It," offering "a combo of actionable advice and occasional humor in just 10 minutes a day" via Martin's Open Studio Productions.

* Bassist Jim Widner, who heads the jazz studies program at the University of Missouri St. Louis and directs the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, has been named the Missouri Association for Jazz Education’s Outstanding Jazz Educator for 2018.  Widner, who previously won the award back in 1990, has announced that he plans to retire from UMSL next year.

* Metro Theater Company's production of "Bud, Not Buddy," the "concert play" with a score by trumpeter Terence Bradford, was spotlighted on the HEC-TV arts program Scope.

* Bassist Bob DeBoo and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor (pictured) promoted the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" in a segment on KMOV's Great Day St. Louis.

* The bossa nova and jazz trio The Bonbon Plot was featured in a story in the Alton RiverBender.

* St. Louis native Josephine Baker's trip back to her hometown in 1953 after decades living overseas was the subject of an archival St. Louis Post-Dispatch article posted this week on STLToday.com.

* Singer and Webster University alumna Alyssa Hegwood was featured in Webster U's campus paper The Journal.

* 80-year-old saxophonist Lee Trapp, who frequently practices outdoors on the Lindenwood University campus ala Sonny Rollins on the Williamsburg Bridge, was profiled in Lindenwood's online student publication The LindenLink.

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty has posted to Bandcamp as a "name your price" download another of his "Secret Sessions" recordings, featuring percussionist Henry Claude, pianist Greg Mills, cornetist George Sams, guitarist Steven Thomas, and flute player Fred Tompkins, plus Hegarty on Moog Voyager.

He's also posted to Bandcamp a live album called Sky Water Smokestack, recorded just last week at St. Louis Community College - Forest Park. The performance was improvised to non-narrative films of scenes of the Mississippi River by an ensemble including Hegarty on piano and synthesizer, cellist Tracy Andreotti, clarinetist Eric Paul Mandat, and mallet percussionist Thomas Zirkle.

* CarolBrass representative Jim Bohm will be in St. Louis from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. next Tuesday, February 13 at UMSL, showing off the company's line of Bb, C, and piccolo trumpets, flugelhorns, and cornets and offering demonstration models for brass players to try.

* The weekly jazz performances at Thurman's in Shaw are briefly mentioned in a Riverfront Times food blog post about the bar's new menu.  

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold (pictured) was interviewed this past Tuesday on Worldwide FM by British jazz broadcaster Gilles Peterson.

* Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran has finished his next album, Just As Good As Feeling Good, and before releasing it on physical media, he's made it available for a limited time as a free download from his website.

* Speaking of free downloads, keyboardist Jim Hegarty has made available for free a new recording in his "Secret Sessions" series, this one featuring cellist Tracy Andreotti, flute player Fred Tompkins, pianist Greg Mills, and clarinetist Eric Paul Mandat.

* The musical comedy Souvenir, starring singer Debby Lennon, was reviewed by Mark Bretz of Ladue News. The production runs through this Sunday, December 31 at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center.

* Lea DeLaria's show Wednesday at Jazz at the Bistro was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Citing his ongoing treatment for prostate cancer, trumpeter Hugh Masekela has cancelled all of his upcoming appearances, including his scheduled performance in St. Louis on Saturday, April 14 at The Sheldon as part of the Jazz Epistles reunion with pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya.

A statement released by The Sheldon said the concert still will go on as scheduled, with a replacement trumpeter to be announced at a later date.

* In advance of their show with Douglas Ewart this Saturday, STL Free Jazz Collective members Jim Hegarty and "Baba" Mike Nelson talked with writer Thomas Crone for a feature story in the Riverfront Times.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold's new album The Mugician (pictured) was reviewed favorably by Jazz Times and PopMatters.com.

* Drummer Mark Colenburg has released a new instructional book and video, The Beat Matrix Unlocked, which is described as creating "a new template for the art of hip-hop drumming."

* The subscription service Vinyl Me Please has made an LP reissue of Miles Davis' 1967 album Sorcerer their "record of the month" for December 2017.

The reissue was remastered from the original tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl colored "orchid purple," and includes an eight-page booklet with liner notes by former New York Times scribe Ben Ratliff plus a 12" x 12" original art print by Santiago Carrasquilla.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* St. Louis was named one of "5 Unexpected Cities Experiencing a Live Music Renaissance" by Eventbrite.com.

* After teasing the audience by putting out a couple of advance tracks earlier this month, trumpeter Keyon Harrold announced that his new album The Mugician will be released on Friday, September 29.

Harrold will promote the release with shows on September 24 & 25 at the Blue Note in NYC, and he'll be back in the St. Louis area next month to headline the inaugural Alton Wine and Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 9 at the Riverfront Amphitheater in Alton.

* Keyboardist David Garfield (pictured) has released a new instrumental version of the Stevie Wonder tune "Go Home" featuring saxophonist Kirk Whalum, guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. You can see a video teaser with in-studio footage here, and listen to the entire track here.

* Trumpeter and Webster Groves native Ally Hany was profiled by the Peninsula Pulse newspaper in Door County, WI. 

* Violinist Alex Cunningham of the Vernacular String Trio was the subject of a brief feature from St. Louis magazine's Joseph Hess.

* Rev. Cliff Aerie and Tim Osiek of Worship Jazz have published a sixth volume in their series of jazz arrangements of sacred music. The book Worship in a New Key, Volume 6 is available only as a download from their website.

* Trumpeter Jim Manley is set to release a new album called Funk Factory 2 at the end of the month, and you can hear a sample track online here.

* Former WSIE disc jockey Eric Bueneman, known professionally as E.B. Stevenson, has a new podcast called The Jazz Mixer.

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty has released Crossroad, a download-only session of freely improvised music recorded last month in Brooklyn, NYC with famed bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Shane Del Robles.

STL Free Jazz Collective's new digital album is Live at the Ozark Theatre

The STL Free Jazz Collective has released a new digital album, Live at the Ozark Theatre, which is available now as a name-your-price download from Bandcamp.com.

As the title suggests, the recording was made at a live performance last December at the Ozark Theatre in Webster Groves.

Along with improvised music from the group's five instrumentalists, the album (pictured) includes three tracks featuring spoken word performances from St. Louis poet laureate Michael Castro, titled "We Need to Talk," "America Loves Its Guns More Than Its Children," and "St. Louis Blues Revisited."

The topical focus is no coincidence, said the group's keyboardist Jim Hegarty via email. "The message is yet again really relevant in the light of recent events," Hegarty said. "We're really into the idea of unity and we're using our music to share a vision of peace and freedom for everyone."

In addition to Hegarty and Castro, the STL Free Jazz Collective includes "Baba" Mike Nelson (trumpet, shells, percussion and vocals), Paul Steinbeck (bass), Gary Sykes (drums), and Jerome "Jay Dubz" Williams (alto sax).

Jazz this week: Holiday shows from Kirk Whalum, Jim Manley, and more

This week's schedule of jazz and creative music in St. Louis is highlighted by a lot of holiday-themed performances and several tributes marking Frank Sinatra's centenary, but there's also traditional jazz and swing, an evening of solo free improvisations, and much more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 9
The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra plays a Christmas concert at the Ozark Theatre, and funk quartet The Service will take the stage for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also tonight, singer Eve Seltzer and Franglais will play Gypsy jazz and swing at Nathalie's , and pianist Brock Walker performs at Evangeline's.

Thursday, December 10
As the name implies, "Soliloquy III" at the Tavern of Fine Arts will feature a set of solo improvisations from players including pianists Greg Mills and James Hegarty, percussionist Henry Claude, cellist Tracy Andreotti, flute players Colleen O’Shea Jones and Fred Tompkins, poets Michael Castro and Ruth Garnett, and more. In the second set, the participants will combine into duos and trios for more freely improvised sounds.

Also on Thursday, singer Feyza Eren will be celebrating "A Bossa Nova Christmas" at The Emerald Room at The Monocle (a new cabaret venue at 4510 Manchester in the Grove neighborhood); and students from Washington University's jazz performance program will show off what they've learned this term in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Wash U.

Friday, December 11
Trumpeter Jim Manley (pictured, top left) and a full band will revisit his holiday show "A Very Manley Christmas" for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro, while singer Tony Viviano offers a "Happy 100th Birthday Tribute to Frank Sinatra" at Patrick's in Westport Plaza.

Elsewhere around town, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi and his band return to Evangeline's; and guitarist Tom Byrne and singer Erika Johnson will perform at Thurman Grill.

Saturday, December 12
In two more tributes to the "Chairman of the Board," singer and impressionist Dean Christopher will present a "Holiday Rat Pack & Frank Sinatra Birthday Celebration" as a matinee at the Wildey Theatre, while the St. Louis Big Band and singer Joe Scalzitti reprise their show "Sinatra at 100" at the Maryland Heights Community Center.

Sunday, 
December 13
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents Red Lehr and the St. Louis Rivermen playing traditional jazz, swing, and probably a holiday song or two in a matinee performance at the DoubleTree Hotel at Westport.

That evening, saxophonist Kirk Whalum (pictured, lower left) brings his "Gospel According To Jazz Christmas" to the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, with a cast including his brother, singer Kevin Whalum, along with saxophonist Gerald Albright, guitarist Norman Brown, singer Shelea, and keyboardist and singer John Stoddart, plus Tiffany Mosley, Leslie Johnson, Darius Bradford, the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church Mass Choir, and the R.F. Specials Choirs.

Also on Sunday, jazz/fusion band Common Time teams up with singers Joe Mancuso, Debby Lennon, and Arvell Keithly Jr for a Christmas show at Blueberry Hill, with proceeds going to benefit a family from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's "100 Neediest Cases" list.

Monday, December 14
Dizzy Atmosphere will play for diners at The Shaved Duck, and trumpeter Keith Moyer and his band return to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Tuesday, December 15
The Chicago-based new music group Ursa Ensemble performs at Tavern of Fine Arts.

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: Regina Carter, Jeff Beck, STL Free Jazz Collective, and more

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis is book-ended by two performers - perhaps the most famous living jazz violinist, and a legendary rock guitarist - who both have successfully stretched the boundaries of their respective musical genres.

In between, there are a number of noteworthy shows from local musicians in styles ranging from traditional jazz to free improv. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, May 13
Violinist Regina Carter returns to Jazz at the Bistro, opening a four-night engagement that continues through Saturday.

During this visit to St. Louis, Carter (pictured, top left) will be showcasing music from her 2014 album Southern Comfort, which presents her personal interpretations of folk, blues, country and roots music from the rural South. You can find out more about the project, and see videos of Carter performing several songs from the album, in this post from last Saturday.

Also tonight, singer Eve Seltzer fronts a trio at Nathalie's; and keyboardist Bob Werner and singer Ellen Martinez host a new "open mic" night at Shakers, which recently moved into the space formerly occupied by  Jazz on Broadway at 554 W. Broadway, in downtown Alton.

Thursday, May 14
Singer Tony Viviano pays tribute to the legacy of Bobby Darin at Patrick's Westport Grill; bassist Willem von Hombracht will team up with singer Arvell Keithley for a duo show at Thurman Grill; and trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Randy Bahr are now doing their duo gig at Momo's Greek Restaurant in U. City on Thursdays as well as Mondays.

Friday, May 15
The recently formed STL, A Free Jazz Collective will take the stage for their second-ever show at Tavern of Fine Arts.

Explicitly attempting to carry on the improvised music banner once raised by the historic Black Artists Group, the band (pictured, center left) features an intriguing assortment of musical personalities, including Jim Hegarty (piano, electronics), "Baba" Mike Nelson (trumpet, shells, miscellaneous instruments), Jerome "J. Dubs" Williams (alto sax), Paul Steinbeck (bass), and Gary Sykes (drums, percussion), topped off by the spoken word contributions of St. Louis poet laureate Michael Castro.

Elsewhere on Friday, veteran trumpeter Gary Dammer plays a rare public gig at Jacoby Arts Center; saxophonist Jay Hutson brings his R&B sound to Evangeline's; saxophonist Tim Cunningham will return to Troy's Jazz Gallery; the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and guitarist Vincent Varvel will perform in the intimate confines of the house concert venue KindaBlue.

Saturday, May 16
Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing will play a kid-friendly "Musical Merry-Go-Round" matinee, sponsored by KDHX, at the Tick Tock Tavern, 3549 Magnolia.

Then on Saturday evening, trumpeter Kasimu Taylor leads a quintet in a Miles Davis birthday tribute show at the Kranzberg Arts Center; and Wack-A-Doo plays swing, hot jazz and Americana at Evangeline's

Sunday, May 17
St. Louis Jazz Club presents a matinee performance by the Union Dixie Jazz Band at Concord Farmers' Club.

Monday, May 18
 "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective are doing their regular gig at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups a week earlier that usual this month, as BB's will be closed for Memorial Day..

Tuesday, May 19
It's been 50 years since Jeff Beck (pictured, lower left) first came to public attention as the guitarist tapped to replace Eric Clapton in the British blues-rock band the Yardbirds, and 40 years since the all-instrumental album Blow by Blow showed the world that he was much more than just a stereotypical raving rocker.

Although there have been some periods of relative inactivity in the ensuing years, Beck's command of tone, touch and time remains distinctive and nearly unequaled, and so his show at the Fox Theatre should be a highlight of the year for fans of crafty electric guitar playing. As of this writing, there still are some tickets available, so if you've ever wanted to see Jeff Beck, now would seem to be the time

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

* It's been an eventful week for Miles Ahead, Don Cheadle's movie about Miles Davis, as Cheadle and company began filming on Monday in Cincinnati and last night wrapped up a successful IndieGoGo campaign raising more than $340,000 in additional funding for the movie.

Meanwhile, Cheadle also was interviewed about the movie by Entertainment Weekly (which ran the photo of him as Davis-circa-1969 that accompanies this post), Okay Player, and Uprising Radio.

* In other Davis-related news, the trumpeter also showed up on a list recently published by WhoSampled.com of the top 10 most-sampled jazz artists of all time. Davis ranks number nine on the list, with 146 samples of his music used in hip-hop records that made the charts. (Incidentally, the musician ranked as "most sampled" is a Missouri native - keyboardist Bob James, who's originally from Marshall, MO and has had his jazz/funk tunes sampled 734 times to date.).

* Drummer Dave Weckl has announced a tour and forthcoming album by his new group, the Dave Weckl Acoustic Band, which features St. Louis native Tom Kennedy on bass along with saxophonist Gary Meek and pianist Makoto Ozone. Though the tour schedule for this summer doesn't include a St. Louis date, you can see a brief preview video of the band, recorded earlier this year at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood, here.

* In conjunction with other merchants in the Old Webster business district, Euclid Records will hold a sidewalk sale next Saturday, July 19, with thousands of LPs, CDs and DVDs for sale at marked-down prices in front, in back, and inside the store, which is located at 19 North Gore in downtown Webster Groves.

* Tavern of Fine Arts co-owner Aaron Johnson got married over the Fourth of July weekend to Melissa Brooks, cellist with the St. Louis Symphony. Congratulations to the happy couple!

* Historian and former St. Louisan Benjamin Cawthra, who wrote the book Blue Notes in Black and White about the history of jazz photography, has a few thoughts about recent developments here concerning Jazz St. Louis and the Palladium, and how the presentation of live jazz continues to evolve.

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty has published a new ebook, Guts & Soul: Looking for Street Music and Finding Inspiration, which is available now for free on Smashwords and soon via iTunes and other outlets. "Street music has always inspired me and I went looking for more," explained Hegarty in an email touting the book, which contains photos of and conversations with street musicians in New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.

* Jazz radio update: Coming up this week on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,”  host Calvin Wilson explores the compositions of saxophonist Ornette Coleman, as recorded by the composer himself, bassist Christian McBride, drummer John Hollenbeck and others.

Following that, on "The Jazz Collective," host Jason Church will offer up tracks from Morgan James, Omar Hakim, Cookin on 3 Burners, Down To The Bone, Ragan Whiteside, Mindi Abair, Lou Donaldson, Wes Montgomery, Junior Walker, Wilton Felder, and Donald Byrd as well as locals including Dawn Webert, Soul Cafe, and Jim Manley.

"Somethin' Else" can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by "The Jazz Collective" at 9:00 p.m., on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

James Hegarty releases new solo piano album Drop Plunk

Pianist James Hegarty has released a new solo piano album, representing his first foray into solo playing since his 2008 release Antithesis Reflex. The new album Drop Plunk was recorded by Hegarty in his home studio in a week last month, and now is available as a free digital download via CD Baby

Described as "spontaneous explorations of the vast potential of piano sounds - including realtime prepared piano and electronics," the album (pictured) features solo performances on a Yamaha G3 piano that are "sometimes captured by a Korg Kaoss Pad and looped in the background." In addition, rather than setting up prepared piano sounds in advance, Hegarty's "preparations are made and changed, altered, and replaced throughout the course of the performance." 

You can hear previews from Drop Plunk and download the entire album or individual tracks for free here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A block of W. 77th St. between Riverside Dr. and West End Ave. on the Upper West Side of Manhattan has been renamed "Miles Davis Way" in honor of the legendary trumpeter, who lived there for nearly 25 years. Read all about it in stories from the New York Times and the Daily News.

* On a related note, an article by Jeff Winke of AllAboutJazz.com notes once again the historic importance of Davis' album Birth of the Cool.

* NYC audiences will get another chance to hear saxophonist Eric Person's "Thoughts on God" suite this year when Person (pictured) and his big band play the extended work on Sunday, December 29 for the Jazz Vespers program at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY.

* Multi-instrumentalist and composer Marty Ehrlich was interviewed by Open Sky Jazz.com about his new large ensemble album A Trumpet In The Morning. You can read a review of the album, written by Dan Bilawsky of AllAboutJazz.com, here .

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty sends word that Taran’s Free Jazz Hour radio show and podcast this week is playing music from his most recent album Time Space. Hegarty also reports that he's recently remixed the album for 5.1 surround sound; listeners can download the 5.1 remixes and his notes on surround sound playback here.

* Another email arriving at StLJN HQ says that bassist Zimbabwe Nkenya has a new mailing address and would enjoy hearing from friends, fans, and musical colleagues. Nkenya's musical activities have been limited since he suffered a stroke in the fall of 2009 that left him paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. Write to him at 1304 Highland Ave, Alton, IL 62002.

* The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra has posted on Facebook an album of photos from their recent performance at First Unity Church of St. Louis.

* Some sad news to pass along, too, as the Post-Dispatch reports that Robert Carter, who played trombone with the bands of Fate Marable, George Hudson and Singleton Palmer and served as vice-president and president of Musicians’ Union Local 197, has died at age 98. Also, the Gateway City Big Band reported this week via Twitter that the band's longtime trumpeter Herb Booth has died. Condolences to the families and friends of both men.

* Jazz radio update: On this week's episode of "Somethin' Else" on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, host Calvin Wilson celebrates the holiday season with recordings by artists from around the world, including drummer Manu Katche, pianist Tord Gustavsen and singer Neneh Cherry. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

(Edited 12/26/13 to fix a typo.) 

Hegarty, Steinbeck & Del Robles explore Time Space on new album

Keyboardist Jim Hegarty has teamed with bassist Paul Steinbeck and drummer Shane Del Robles to release a new collaborative album titled Time Space.

The album (pictured) features 12 tracks of improvised music, recorded at Hegarty's home studio in June of this year. "We basically set up and played," Hegarty told StLJN via email. "I changed the order of the tracks a little but there is no editing except trimming up the openings."

"The music is completely free improv, no plan, no scores, just going for it," he said. "The interaction and ideas are really what inspire me about this group."

Hegarty is associate professor of music and department chair at Principia College in Elsah, IL, and also has served on the board of directors and as music committee chair for St. Louis' New Music Circle. He previously has recorded and produced albums including the dance-oriented Leaving Venice; Off Topic, a live experimental quartet recording made in conjunction with New Music Circle, and two solo piano albums, Antithesis Reflex and Cut It/Out.

Steinbeck, a professor of music at Washington University in St. Louis, worked with the late Chicago saxophonist Fred Anderson to co-author Exercises for the Creative Musician, an instructional book for improvisers that now is in its second edition. His previous recordings include three CDs as a leader: Nine Ways (2004), Three Fifths (2005), and Sun Set (2007).

Del Robles, a native of El Paso, TX, is a former student of Hegarty's at Principia who also has studied drums with Mark Guiliana, Jason Marsalis, and Matt Wilson, and played with the pop-rock band The Royalty.

You can listen to and download the individual tracks from Time Space for free from Hegarty's website, or purchase a digital download of the entire album from Amazon, iTunes, or CD Baby. Hegarty said that while there are physical CDs, too, they'll be used mostly for promotional purposes. He hopes to book some live dates for the trio in the near future; for details, stay tuned.

Jazz this week: Thomas, Whitaker, Hayward & Warfield; Chris Hazelton & Cory Weeds; Oikos Ensemble; and more

This week's schedule of live jazz and creative music includes a diverse group of musician/educators brought together here by a returning St. Louisan; visiting players from Kansas City, Vancouver and Mississippi; the debuts of two new ensembles featuring some top local musicians; and more. Let's go to the highlights....

Tonight, the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra performs at First Unity Church of St. Louis, 4753 Butler Hill Rd in south county.

On Thursday night, the Young Friends of Jazz St. Louis and two other local organizations' "young friends" groups will present the annual "Jazz Under The Stars" benefit at the Planetarium in Forest Park. The event will include live music from guitarist Eric Slaughter, bassist Bob Deboo, saxophonist Willie Akins, pianist Jesse Gannon, and drummer Marty Morrison.

Also tomorrow, the St. Louis Avant Garde Ensemble makes its debut at the Tavern of Fine Arts. This new project features Fred Tompkins, flute and melodica; Jim Hegarty, piano and electronics; Tracy Andreotti, cello; Lee Scott Price, guitar; and Thomas Zirkle, percussion and electronics.

And while all that's going on, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will have something a little different this Thursday: a free screening of the Mississippi blues documentary film We Juke Up In Here, produced and directed by St. Louis resident Jeff Konkel and former St. Louisan Roger Stolle. Along with the film, the event will include a Q&A with Konkel and Stolle and a performance by guitarist and singer Jimmy "Duck" Holmes.

On Friday, pianist Reggie Thomas, who grew up and worked here for most of his life but moved away last year for a teaching job in Michigan, will be back in town to perform for the second time since the move. Thomas (pictured) will join forces with bassist Rodney Whitaker (a fellow faculty member at Michigan State University), trombonist Andre Hayward, and saxophonist Tim Warfield for shows on Friday and Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

All four men have been in town throughout the week as part of an educational residency for Jazz St. Louis, performing and teaching at local schools and working with students in the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars and JazzU programs. Thomas, of course, is a longtime StLJN favorite who's well known to local jazz fans, and yr. humble editor found Hayward to be particularly impressive a few years ago here with the SF Jazz Collective at the Bistro. (And that's certainly not to slight Whitaker or Warfield, both of whom have impressive resumes of their own.)

Also Friday, the St. Louis Big Band plays for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom, singer Joe Mancuso brings a quartet to Robbie's House of Jazz; and Eric Slaughter will lead a quartet with Akins, Morrison and DeBoo at Cigar Inn.

On Saturday afternoon, singer Wendy Gordon and her band will be playing a new jazz brunch, this one at Ace's Bar and Grill, 9600 Natural Bridge Rd (inside the Comfort Inn) on the north side. Meanwhile, across town, trumpeter/vibraphonist Joe Bozzi and his group will be performing a matinee at Schoemehl's Southside Grill, 7529 Michigan Ave.

Then on Saturday evening, organist Chris Hazelton, who's from Kansas City, and Cory Weeds, a saxophonist from Vancouver, will team up for a performance at Robbie's. Hazelton is a former student of Hammond master Dr. Lonnie Smith, while Weeds frequently plays in the organ-trio format and also operates a club called the Jazz Cellar in Vancouver. As far as StLJN can tell, this gig is the St. Louis debut for both men; check out their respective websites for some music samples.

Also on Saturday, singer Danita Mumphard will perform at Jazz on Broadway; and the WirePilots, a new group featuring brothers Dan and Ted Rubright on guitar and percussion plus Ric Vice on bass, will debut at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

On Sunday, the Oikos Ensemble, featuring Rev. Cliff Aerie on saxophone, will present a free concert called "Inner Jazz" at Kirkwood United Church of Christ, 1603 Dougherty Ferry Rd. Aerie's collaborators for the performance will include Carolbeth True (piano), Danny Campbell (trumpet), Dave Troncoso (bass) and Kevin Gianino (drums).

Also on Sunday, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris will present a free concert at Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, offering jazz interpretations of the music of the late hip-hop performer/producer J Dilla.

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

* Miles Davis Online's Jeffrey Hyatt has a new post up looking at the current state of the Miles Davis biopic starring Don Cheadle.

* Meanwhile, Columbia Legacy has announced the January release of Miles Davis Quintet Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2.

* A short essay on the Blue Note Records site about guitarist Grant Green (pictured) spotlights some of the recordings the St. Louis native made for the Blue Note label.

* Electronic musician Joseph Raglani is all over the famed indie music site Pitchfork.com this week, with a review of his new album Real Colors of the Physical World and a music video of "Trampoline Dream."

* Jazz St. Louis has posted on their Facebook page some photos documenting saxophonist Chris Potter's second set on Wednesday at Jazz at the Bistro. Potter continues at the Bistro through tomorrow night.

* Music from flute player Fred Tompkins and pianist Jim Hegarty is featured on the latest installment of Taran Singh's Free Jazz Hour podcast.

* The city of Sedalia needs $4,000 to restore a mural commemorating pianist and composer Scott Joplin.

* Fundrasising for the proposed National Blues Museum in downtown St. Louis got a jumpstart this week with the announcement of a $6 million gift from Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., which operates the Lumière Place casino downtown and River City casino in Lemay. The gift, part of more than $11 million given to organizations in the the city, fulfills part of the redevelopment agreement between Pinnacle and St. Louis. Coverage from local media included stories from the Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Business Journal.

* The December episode of HEC-TV's I Love Jazz, featuring music from saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett recorded live this past summer at the Missouri Botanical Garden, is airing now on the cable network (check the program guide for your TV provider) and also is available for viewing online.

Fred Tompkins releases new album Flute Settings

St. Louis based composer and flute player Fred Tompkins has released a new album, Flute Settings.

Local musicians joining Tompkins in performing on the album include keyboard player Jim Hegarty, drummer Charlie Dent, saxophonist and clarinetist Dave Cheli, and steel pan player Boyd F Becker-Nunley. Flute Settings features five of Tompkins' original compositions, one piece each by Hegarty and Becker-Nunley, and an interpretation of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman."

You can hear samples from the album at Tompkins' website, linked above. Flute Settings is available for purchase there and from Amazon.com.

(Edited 7/11/12 to fix a broken link.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A look at outside St. Louis

It's been too hot here for the last week and a half in St. Louis to spend much time outside physically, so today we've got some videos for you that go outside in a musical sense. This sampling of live performance clips from area musicians whose work might be called experimental, free-form, or avant garde includes:

* Electronic musician Eric Hall, seen up above in a solo set recorded at Washington University's Steinberg Auditorium in December 2010;

* Flute player and composer Fred Tompkins and keyboardist/composer Jim Hegarty, seen in the first clip down below joining forces to perform Tompkins' piece "My Changes." The performance, recorded in January 2011 at the St. Charles Coffee House, starts with what Tompkins calls "certain points of reference - tonalities, a general idea of style and overall form" while leaving the exact note choices and length of each section open;

* An excerpt from one of the "Drum Line" concerts presented in 2011 by the Nu-Art Series, featuring drummers Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Gary Sykes, Jerome "Scrooge" Harris and Johnny Johnson;

* Part of an electronic music performance from Joe Raglani and Jeremy Kannapell, recorded last year at the music and art venue Floating Laboratories;

* An improvisation by percussionists Thomas Zirkle and Matt Henry, who sometimes perform together under the name HaZmaT;

* More improv from the Off-Topic Collective, a project that included Hegarty, bassist Willem von Hombracht, percussionist Henry Claude, and saxophonist Dave Stone. The clip was shot in February 2009 at the Kranzberg Arts Center;

* And finally, yet another live improv featuring Stone and friends (the clip is too dark to identify most of the players) recorded last August at El Leñador.

Obligatory disclaimer: Due to the nature of free improvisation, what you see in these clips may or may not resemble what any of these musicians may do on their next live gig. Also, the players seen here certainly aren't the only people in town doing this sort of thing. Think of this post as being merely a representative sample of some names to watch for...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Guitarist Charlie Hunter was interviewed by Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch. Hunter plays tonight and tomorrow night at Jazz at the Bistro, and also is doing a master class Saturday afternoon at City Music.

* Keyboardist Michael Silverman (pictured) of Bach to the Future was featured in an article by the Post-Dispatch's Joe Holleman. The article focused on Silverman's role as a adoptive parent, and a song he wrote to promote international adoptions.

* StLJN is sorry to report that pianist and teacher Henry Burns, who mentored many East St. Louis musicians during his 27 years as band director at George Rogers Clark Junior High School, died on June 11 in Granite City. He was 72. You can read Burns' obit, including comments from former students like pianist Reggie Thomas, here.

* The KDHX website has just profiled All Soul, No Borders host Josh Weinstein.

* Dennis Owsley's latest blog entry for St. Louis magazine focuses on the consequences of the declining number of jazz DJs on broadcast radio.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has posted online an album of photos from their concert last week at Carondelet Park.

* A track from pianist Jim Hegarty, bassist Willem von Hombracht and drummer Shane Robles was featured on Taran Singh's Free Jazz Hour podcast.

* Looks like the proposed Miles Davis feature film starring Don Cheadle finally has a director. It's Antoine Fuqua, whose previous films include the Denzel Washington vehicle Training Day and Brooklyn's Finest.

* And speaking of Davis, here's a report from the scene of last week's first day issue ceremony for the new stamp featuring the trumpeter, as well as local reaction stories from Fox 2 News and the Belleville News-Democrat.

* Finally, in one more bit of Davis-related news, Pride Incorporated - the Alton-based civic improvement group involved in trying to bring a statue of Davis to the town where he was born - has begun talking with artists about a potential design.

(Edited after posting to add the Dennis Owsley link and some tags. Edited again 9/9/12 to fix a broken link and a typo.)

Jazz this week: Byron Stripling's tribute to Louis Armstrong; Kirk Whalum plays Keilwerth; free outdoor jazz concerts; and more

Though the official start of summer still is a couple of weeks off, the summer season of free outdoor concerts around St. Louis already is well underway. This time of year also usually brings some visitors to StLJN who find the site by searching for "free jazz concerts in the park" or something similar, as well as a few emails from people asking where those free outdoor jazz concerts can be found.

Well, the short answer to that question is, all over the place. While there's no free outdoor summer concert series in the St. Louis area devoted specifically to jazz, local jazz musicians definitely will be turning up in various locations around town as part of different concert series over the next three months. All of those listings that I've been able to locate have been added to the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, and during the summer months, I'll also make an effort to spotlight at least of few of those free concerts every week in this space.

For example, tonight saxophonist Tim Cunningham is playing a free outdoor concert at Bluebird Park in Ellisville. Also on Thursday evening, pianist and electronic musician Jim Hegarty and bassist Willem von Hombracht will be improvising freely at the Tavern of Fine Arts; Good 4 The Soul will do an early evening set at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; and Robbie's House of Jazz will present the Sidemen, featuring clarinetist and saxophonist Eric Sager, guitarist Jon Ferber, pianist Carl Pandolfi, bassist Richard Tralles and drummer John Marshall.

On Friday, singer Erin Bode and her group will return to Jazz at the Bistro for the first of two nights. Given Bode's popularity, there's usually a good turnout for her shows at the Bistro, so advance reservations are recommended.

Also on Friday, Cornet Chop Suey will play a free outdoor concert at Schroeder Park, 359 Old Meramec Station Rd. in Manchester; and singer Joe Mancuso and his quartet, with guest saxophonist Jerry Greene, are performing at the Italia-America Bocce Club, 2210 Marconi Ave. on the Hill.

On Saturday, singer Feyza Eren's trio will perform at mid-day at Rue Lafayette, 2026 Lafayette Ave., which now is featuring live music, mostly jazz, regularly during brunch/lunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

On Saturday evening, trumpeter and singer Byron Stripling (pictured) will be back in town to team up with with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra at Powell Hall for "Sounds of New Orleans: A Tribute to Louis Armstrong." For more about Stripling, who also played here earlier this year at Jazz at the Bistro after doing a week-long educational residency for Jazz St. Louis, see this post from back in February. And for some video samples of the tribute's subject, Louis Armstrong, in action, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday night, the Gateway City Big Bend will play at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 808 N. Mason Rd in Creve Coeur; and percussionist Henry Claude and cellist Tracy Andreotti, using the nom de guerre "The Steve and Jennifer Project," will perform "spontaneous acoustic and electro-acoustic music" at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

On Sunday afternoon, saxophonist Kirk Whalum will be at Saxquest for a free performance and promotional event called "A Taste of Keilwerth," demonstrating the manufacturer's latest models of saxophones.

Also on Sunday, the St. Charles Community Big Band plays a free outdoor concert at Frontier Park on the riverfront; guitarist Tom Byrne plays at the Schlafly St. Louis Brewery & Tap Room; and funky organ trio Downstereo will hold forth at the Delmar Lounge.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the University City High School Jazz Band will play a free outdoor concert at Heman Park in U. City, and the Sessions Big Band returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups for their monthly gig.

On Tuesday, the St. Louis Big Band with vocalist Dave Gill Joe Mancuso will present a show called "The Soul of Sinatra" at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and Swing Deville will play a free outdoor concert at Fanetti Park, which is located at the intersection of Michigan and Schirmer on the south side.

Las tbut not least, on Wednesday, the Meramec Jazz Band will be back for an encore performance at the Black Cat Theatre in Maplewood.

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 after posting. Edited again to update the name of the singer for the St. Louis Big Band show on Tuesday.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing the Off-Topic Collective

This week, we've got some video featuring the Off-Topic Collective, a relatively new group on the St. Louis scene. OTC is a free improv/experimental quartet that includes veteran local musicians Dave Stone (reeds), Jim Hegarty (piano and synth), Willem von Hombracht (bass) and Henry Claude (percussion).

Their most recent performance was in February at a show presented by New Music Circle at the Kranzberg Arts Center in St. Louis. You can see three excerpts from that concert here, starting with the ending of the first half of the concert in the embedded video window above. Down below, you'll see the opening of the second half of the concert, and then a drum solo by Henry Claude. For more about Off Topic Collective, visit Hegarty's Web site or www.noisereductionsociety.com.





(Edited 4/19/09 to remove borders from the video clips, and again on 4/29/09 to fix a typo.)