Notes from the Net: Miles reviewed, Lake reissued, Bad Plus interviewed, and much more

Has it really been nearly two weeks since the last installment of "Notes from the Net"? I guess so, because there are a lot of news items piled up in the ol' inbox:

* Let's start things off with our traditional roundup of Miles Davis-related news, specifically Ben Ratliff's New York Times review of a newly issued Davis CD, Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival, one of a series of live recordings released by Monterey Jazz Festival Records.

* Next are two more reviews of Miles' Complete On The Corner Sessions box set, one from the New York Sun by Martin Harrison - "It may not have been jazz as we know it, but the Miles Davis band of the early '70s created great music, and the final document of the Davis reissue project presents it with fabulous detail" - and one from the New Yorker by Sasha Frere Jones

* One of Miles' trumpets is being auctioned off as part of an October 14th sale of fine musical instruments that will also include some of George Benson's guitars.

* Oliver Lake has a new CD reissue. Now available on the hatHut label, Zaki is a trio session recorded live in 1979 that features Lake (saxophones), Michael Gregory Jackson (guitar) and Pheeroan akLaff (drums).

* More CD reviews: The blog Free Jazz takes a listen to the new Marty Ehrlich/Myra Melford CD Spark, while eJazzNews had a brief review of guitarist Joe Friedman's Cup O' Joe.

* Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, who's coming to St. Louis this week to play at Jazz at the Bistro, just got done performing at the Columbus Jazz and Blues Festival in Columbus, MS. When he's finished in the Gateway City, the third-youngest of the Marsalis clan will be heading to New York to play with his older brother Branford Marsalis in a program for Jazz at Lincoln Center featuring the works of Gil Evans. Trumpeter Terell Stafford, who records for St. Louis based MAXJAZZ label and will play the Bistro in February, also will be part of the group performing the Evans tribute.

* Speaking of acts playing the Bistro later this season, the Heath Brothers are performing this weekend at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, while singer Karrin Allyson has signed with a new management firm.

* Meanwhile, Tony Bennett, who's playing St. Louis' Fox Theatre on October 27, has a new CD, a DVD and a book of his paintings all coming out this fall.

* The Bad Plus, who will return to the Bistro the first weekend of January, are being their usual media friendly selves, with drummer Dave King interviewed by Indianapolis Post before a gig there, and the entire band doing another interview with AllAboutJazz.com. Over on their own blog, the members of the Bad Plus recently discussed their penchant for covering popular songs, while the Secret Society's Darcy James Argue chimed in with some contextually relevant observations about the history of ironic covers in jazz.

* From the "items of general jazz interest" file: After years of effort, John Coltrane's home in New Jersey has been added to both the New York State and the National Register of Historic Places.

* And finally, the New York Times economics blog recently had an entertaining and thought-provoking panel on the future of the music industry that's worth a few minutes of reading time.

Notes from the Net: Miles' box set reviewed; Lake, Osby and Cheek perform; Krall and Botti interviewed; and much more

It's been nearly two weeks since the last installment of "Notes From the Net," and so there's a heapin' helpin' of news items concerning St. Louis musicians, recent visitors, old favorites and coming attractions just waiting to be read and enjoyed. Let's go:

* Blogcritics reviewed the new Miles Davis box set, The Complete On The Corner Sessions.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake will be performing at the Lake George Jazz Festival in upstate New York.

* Another former St. Louisan, saxophonist Greg Osby, will be playing at Chicago's Green Mill this weekend. Osby also will be among the performers at an upcoming tribute concert for the late pianist Andrew Hill.

* Rudder, a cooperative electric jazz band that includes saxophonist and Webster University graduate Chris Cheek (pictured), is heading out on tour this fall. (No St. Louis date, though.)

* From AllAboutJazz.com, a review of guitarist and St. Louis native Joe Friedman's debut CD Cup O' Joe.

* Turning to the "recent visitors and old favorites" file: While in St. Louis last month to play the Fox Theatre, singer and pianist Diana Krall gave an interview to a newspaper in Greece. Meanwhile, Krall's erstwhile tourmate, trumpeter Chris Botti, recently was interviewed by the Ashland (OR) Herald-Dispatch.

* Blogcritics also had a review of guitarist John Scofield's new CD This Meets That.

* SoCal-based DJ and blogger Leroy "The Jazzcat" Downs recently got to go in the studio to observe a session with singer Dianne Reeves (who performed earlier this year at Wasington University's Edison Theater) and chat with some of the participants, including Reeves, George Duke, Russell Malone, Geoff Keezer and Reuben Rogers. You can listen to an .mp3 file of the conversation here.

* Seguing to the "coming attractions" file, the New York Times had a review of a Fred Hersch/Ethan Iverson piano duet at NYC's Jazz Standard. Hersch, who played at the Sheldon earlier this year, did a week-long series of duets with various pianists including Brad Mehldau and Kenny Barron. Iverson will be in St. Louis in January with The Bad Plus for a return engagement at Jazz at the Bistro, where both Mehldau and Barron performed earlier this year.

* Pianist Michael Wolff, the former bandleader for TV host Arsenio Hall who's playing the Sheldon Concert Hall in February, has a new trio recording, Jazz Jazz Jazz.

* The Greenville (SC) News had a feature story on saxophonist Victor Goines and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Goines, Wynton Marsalis, and the rest of the LCJO also will play the Sheldon in February.

* Village Voice jazz critic Francis Davis gave a mixed review to Waverly Seven's Bobby Darin tribute CD, Yo, Bobby. The group will be in St. Louis in November to play Jazz at the Bistro.

* From the "miscellaneous items of interest" file: Another issue of veteran jazz critic Bill Shoemaker's fine e-zine Point of Departure is now online.

* And finally, the Wall Street Journal had a nice profile of jazz discographer Tom Lord, whose research has yielded a lot of interesting info, including what must be the definitive list of the most-recorded jazz songs:

"Mr. Lord's database shows 1,675 versions of "Body and Soul," making it the most recorded melody in jazz history. New Zealand disc jockey John Joyce used Mr. Lord's latest CD-ROM to break out a list of songs logging more than 500 recordings.

He found 70 in all, 12 of which surpassed 1,000 versions. Following "Body and Soul" are "St. Louis Blues" (1,628), "Summertime" (1,358), "Sweet Georgia Brown" (1,302), "Take the A Train" (1,201) and "Round Midnight" (1,184)."

Jazz thie week: SF Jazz Collective, Nancy Kelly, Joe Friedman/Neal Smith Quartet, BAG II, JSL benefit, and more

The highlights post is a little early this week, mostly to call your attention to the SF Jazz Collective, who come to St. Louis to perform Wednesday and Thursday night at Jazz at the Bistro.

An all-star aggregation sponsored by the San Francisco presenting organization SF Jazz and directed by saxophonist Joshua Redman, the Collective (pictured) combines original music with aspects of a repertory band, exploring the work of a different jazz great each year. This year's tour is focused on the music of Thelonious Monk, and the word so far seems very positive. Check out these two reviews of the tour's opening date in San Francisco, and for more more, see these interviews with trumpeter Dave Douglas and the rhythm section of drummer Eric Harland and bassist Matt Penman. StLJN also recently showcased some YouTubage of Douglas and Redman performing with their own bands; see it here.

This may be the last time to hear this particular configuration of musicians, because as mentioned in the press coverage linked above, the Collective will undergo some significant personnel changes after this tour. Redman's going on sabbatical, and will be replaced as music director by saxophonist Joe Lovano. Lovano will take over for the group's summer tour of European festivals and continue at least throuhgh 2010. Meanwhile, vibist Bobby Hutcherson wants to reduce his touring schedule, so Stefon Harris will be filling the band's mallet percussion chair this summer and possibly beyond.

Fortunately, Hutcherson and Redman are still on board for the band's St. Louis dates, along with Douglas, Harland and Penman, plus pianist Renee Rosnes, trombonist Andre Hayward and alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon.

It should be noted that this is also the week of the annual benefit gala for Jazz St. Louis, JATB's parent organization. This year's event is being held Friday, March 23 at the Hilton at the Ballpark and features entertainment from the Neville Brothers, who stepped in when previously announced headliner Al Jarreau headed off to tour South Africa and Australia.

With tickets priced at $300 and $500 each - the packages include dinner, drinks and various other amenities - this is not exactly an impulse purchase for most people, but if you'd like to go and haven't reserved a spot yet, I suspect JSL can still accomodate and will be happy to have you. This is their big fundraiser of the year, and a chance to show your support for the organization that is most consistently active in bringing big-name jazz musicians to St. Louis. For more information or to purchase a ticket, call JSL director of development Melissa Jones at 314-289-4037 or email her at melissa (at) jazzstl (dot) org.

While the JSL gala means the Bistro will be dark on Friday and Saturday, Finale Music and Dining will take up any potential slack with the St. Louis debuts of a couple of touring jazz acts this weekend. On Friday night, singer Nancy Kelly checks in for two shows, and on Saturday, it's the Joe Friedman/Neal Smith Quintet, here to promote guitarist and St. Louis native Friedman's first solo CD, Cup O' Joe. (For a taste of Kelly's vocalizing, see this video post from a while back.)

Other noteworthy shows this week include tonight's all-percussion concert featuring the Nuclear Percussion Ensemble and members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, and two free concerts on Friday - one by the Black Arts Guild/BAG II at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site featuring Zimbabwe Nkenya, Jerome "J-Dubbs" Williams and Glen "Papa" Wright, and the other featuring the Carolbeth True Trio performing at the St. Louis Art Museum's Griggs Gallery.

That's about all there's time to discuss today, but make no mistake, there's plenty more jazz and creative music to be heard in St. Louis this week, and, as always, you can see a more comprehensive list of gigs 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.)