Here's the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short local news items of interest:
* If you're a musician, artist or other creative type in the St. Louis area, the Regional Art Commission really, really wants you to complete their "Artists Count" survey.
You can register to win an iPad upon completing the 20-minute version of the survey, which does require a fair amount of detail regarding hours worked, income earned, and so on. There's also a five-minute version for the time-challenged. You'll find both survey forms online at http://www.artistscount.com/
* Next Monday, April 30 is the first-ever International Jazz Day, with celebrations in various cities around the globe including concerts from some big-name musicians streaming for free online at the link above. Locally, Jazz St. Louis will celebrate the occasion with a jam session at Jazz at the Bistro, with pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson's trio as host musicians.
Unfortunately, saxophonist Willie Akins, who had been announced as a special guest for the jam session, will be unable to appear, as he's been told by his doctor to rest and refrain from playing for a while after a recent hospital stay. Here's hoping for a full recovery and a quick return to action...
* Speaking of Jazz St. Louis, they've just posted online a setlist from the recent two-night gig at the Bistro by pianist Brad Mehldau and saxophonist Josh Redman.
* Vintage Vinyl and Euclid Records both have posted photo albums on Facebook documenting last Saturday's Record Store Day festivities at their respective locations.
* When StLJN reached its seventh birthday this week, yr. humble editor got a nice congratulatory email from Michael Ricci, founder and head of the website AllAboutJazz.com, which, along with its original reviews, features, and interviews, republishes StLJN's content and that of many other jazz blogs.
In the message, Ricci passed along word that StLJN recently took over first place in pageviews among the blogs featured on AAJ. While there's no telling if, or how long, we might retain that lofty ranking, it's good to know that people are checking out the news about jazz in St. Louis, and I'm grateful to Ricci and everyone at AAJ for their continued interest and support.
This week's schedule of jazz and creative music in St. Louis features a variety of sounds, including what amounts to a mini-festival of piano players at Jazz at the Bistro, with the two out-of-town participants bringing along top tenor saxophonists. Let's go to the highlights...
Tonight, pianist Laurence Hobgood leads a quartet at Jazz at the Bistro for one night only, featuring tenor sax great Ernie Watts as special guest. Hobgood is best known for his long association with Kurt Elling, but he's taking advantage of some downtime in the singer's schedule to get out and do some touring on his own. His band also features drummer Jared Schonig, who was here earlier this year with the Wee Trio, and bassist Matthew Rybicki. For more about what to expect, check out this interview from the start of their tour, published by the Chicago edition of Examiner.com, and this story from last week in the Post-Dispatch.
Also tonight, guitarist Vince Varvel leads a quartet in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.
On Friday, pianist Dave Venn checks into the Bistro for a rare one-nighter there. A longtime veteran of the local scene, Venn is an accomplished player who began back in the Gaslight Square era and is known particularly for a long association with the Chase Park Plaza hotel. He'll be accompanied by bassist David Troncoso and guitarist and former St. Louisan Rob Block.
On Saturday afternoon, the Nu-Art Series will present Erika Johnson singing the music of Betty Carter in a concert at the Metropolitan Gallery. Johnson will be backed by guitarist Eric Slaughter, drummer Montez Coleman and bassist Bob Deboo.
Then on Saturday night, the Bistro completes its weekend trifecta of pianists with Brad Mehldau and saxophonist Joshua Redman(pictured). Longtime friends who worked together in Redman's band early in their respective careers, the two are doing a brief tour together this spring before going back to their respective "day jobs" as bandleaders. In an unusual bit of scheduling, they'll be back at the Bistro on Sunday night for two more sets. For more, check out this feature story by the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson.
Also on Saturday night, New Music Circle presents a program of music by composer Frank Stemper, as performed by the Altgeld Chamber Players at the Kranzberg Arts Center; and drummer Marty Morrison will lead a quartet at Robbie's.
Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Webster University Jazz Combos will perform at Winifred Moore Auditorium the Community Music School on the Webster campus, and pianist Dave Becherer leads a trio at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.
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.)
It's another busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with several touring acts in town offering a variety of musical styles. Let's go to the highlights...
Tonight, saxophonist Joshua Redman begins a four-night stand with his trio, featuring bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Gregory Hutchinson, at Jazz at the Bistro. For more about Redman and some video samples of the trio in action, see this post from last Saturday.
Also on Thursday, bassist David Certain will play a solo set at the The Vine to help kick off the south side cafe's "Felafel Fest," then return on Friday and Saturday with his CertainBeat WorldBop group.
On Friday, Robbie's House of Jazz has the Kaleb Kirby Trio with Charles Clements on bass and Jo-el Williams on saxophone; and on Saturday, singer and actor Roland "Bob" Harris takes the Robbie's stage. Also on Friday, the eclectic instrumental rock band Bee vs. Moth will play at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.
Saturday will bring saxophonist Dick Oatts, a veteran of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, doing a mid-day performance and master class at Saxquest, and singer Tierney Sutton (pictured) returning to the Sheldon Concert Hall. (Sutton superfans take note: After her St. Louis date, the singer heads to Columbia, MO on Sunday to perform for the We Always Swing series at Murry's.)
UPDATE - 4:00 p.m., 10/6/10: The Sheldon and Metrotix are offering a "buy one, get one free" deal on ticket's to the Tierney Sutton concert. To get the discount, go here and enter the promo code SUTTON10.
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.)
This week, let's take a look at some video clips of saxophonist Joshua Redman, who will be in St. Louis this coming Wednesday, October 6 through Saturday, October 9 to play at Jazz at the Bistro. Often acclaimed as one of the top tenors of his generation, the 41-year-old Redman is no stranger to St. Louis, having played here last year with the Blue Note 7 at the Sheldon Concert Hall and, before that, at the Bistro with his electric band.
This time, however, Redman will be going back to basics, playing strictly acoustic music in his long-running trio with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. Given that the trio format provides particular challenges and opportunities for creative musicians, it seems an opportune time to preview some samples of the Redman troika at work.
In the embedded window up above, you can see Redman, Rogers and drummer Brian Blade performing the Thelonious Monk song "Trinkle, Tinkle" in 2008 at the Jazz Onze+ festival in Lausanne, Switzerland. (As an aside, how badass is your band when Brian Blade is your _substitute_ drummer? Apparently...pretty darn badass.)
Down below, you can hear Redman, Rogers and Hutchinson play "Wagon Wheels" in an undated clip recorded at the Melting Point in Athens, Georgia, and below that, there's an excerpt from a 2009 performance at the Dakota in Minneapolis.
In the fourth slot, you'll find an extended interview Redman did in 2008 with veteran journalist and critic Gary Giddins, in which the saxophonist discusses his then-new CD release Compass as well as his background and career to date. There are brief intros of Giddins and Redman at the start; the actual conversation starts about four minutes in with some musings about the 2008 election and then segues into more personal and musical topics. For more, the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson this week did an brief interview with Redman in which they discuss the trio and the upcoming Bistro gig, and it's available online here.
It may be cold outside, but baby, yr. humble editor has been burning up the Internets seeking out news for your edification and entertainment, including items about jazz musicians from St. Louis, jazz musicians coming to St. Louis, and jazz musicians who have recently played St. Louis, as well as other relevant content:
* Let's start, as we almost always do, with Miles Davis, who's one of the featured subjects in Jazz Beyond Jazz, the new book from longtime jazz journalist Howard Mandel.
* Trumpeter Taylor Ho Bynum, perhaps best known as an associate of adventurous multi-reedman and composer Anthony Braxton, has a nice blog post up in which he shares his appreciation of the music of trumpeter and St. Louis native Lester Bowie (pictured).
* Speaking of St. Louis trumpet greats, Concord Music Group's video podcast series recently offered a segment in which veteran jazz producer Orrin Keepnews tells the story of a recording date with Clark Terry that produced the Riverside session Serenade to a Bus Seat. You can see the clip, officially titled "Mr. Pulled Together - Clark Terry," in the embedded video window below.
* When saxophonist/flutist Eric Person toured the West Coast late last year, DJ and blogger Leroy "The Jazzcat" Downscaught his show and posted a review/interview, along with some performance photos, here.
* Turning to the "coming attractions" file: Preservation Hall Records, the label operated by the New Orleans based organization that oversees the Hall and its associated musical ensembles, has a new series of CDs spotlighting the individual members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The series will debut in March with albums from the band's drummer, Joe Lastie Jr., and its banjoist, Carl Leblanc. CDs will be available at the Hall, on tour, at the band's Web site and at selected retailers. The PHJB will be in the St. Louis area to play at the Argosy Alton Casino on Friday, January 25 and Saturday, January 26.
* Pianist Michael Wolff, who's performing at the Sheldon Concert Hall on February 23 has added some dates to his current tour. The news release also says that tabla player Badal Roy, who has recorded and performed with Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, John McLaughlin and many others, will be a special guest for Wolff's St. Louis performance.
* Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra drummer and Detroit native Ali Jacksontalked with his hometown paper about the JaLCO's tour stop in the Motor City., giving a preview of what we might expect in St. Louis: "Wednesday's program is being billed as "The Love Songs of Duke Ellington,'' but Jackson says that "about half the show will probably be Ellington's love songs and half will be a potpourri of all kinds of jazz, from different eras." The JaLCO performs at the Sheldon on February 9. Meanwhile, JaLCO's director, trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, recently did an interview with MSN Music, and has posted some videos from a recent master class for young students on his Web site.
* Catching up with some former visitors to St. Louis, we see that the aforementioned Leroy "The Jazzcat" Downs also recently interviewed saxophonist Joshua Redman, who's been seen in St. Louis the last couple of years performing at Jazz at the Bistro with his own group and with the SF JAZZ Collective.
* Guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli, whose most recent St. Louis appearance was last fall at the Sheldon, will be one of the featured entertainers for the Nightlife Awards at NYC's Town Hall on Monday, January 28.
* Also performing at that event will be clarineist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, who played at the Bistro in November with her Quartet and Waverly Seven. Cohen also recently was a guest on Marian McPartland's NPR program Piano Jazz. You can listen to the episode online here.
* When Jazz St. Louis announced its 2007-08 season, the fine pianist George Cables was scheduled to be part of saxophonist Javon Jackson's Superband, which is playing this weekend at the Bistro. However, the pianist had to cancel all his performances after undergoing a double-transplant operation, in which he received a new liver and kidney. News accounts say Cables' recovery appears to be on track, but it will be at least six months before he can begin working again. To help with his expenses, a group of fellow musicians have organized an all-star benefit tribute for Cables in NYC next weekend. Those who cannot attend but would like to send a donation can do so at georgecables.com.
* Finally, a few miscellaneous items of interest, starting with the new edition of Bill Shoemaker's monthly music journal, Point of Departure, which is now online, and as always, worth a look.
* Elsewhere on the Web, a new site has been launched at the easy-to-remember address Jazz.com that looks to be a serious effort to compete with the popular and oft-visited AllAboutJazz.com as a one-stop online resource for jazz fans. Bagatellen has an interview with Jazz.com editor Ted Gioiahere.
* And anyone who wants to understand the realities of the music business in the era of digital technology definitely should check out David Byrne's recent article for Wired magazine on "survival strategies for emerging artists & megastars." The musician, songwriter, filmmaker and former Talking Heads frontman breaks down the 21st century music biz and explores possible business models for different types of musical careers in an entertaining and easy-to-grasp style.
Once again, it's been a while since our last compilation of St. Louis jazz-related news and assorted musical items of interest from all over the Internet. So, let's not waste any time...
* And via eMusic, here's a review/essay by Kevin Whitehead about Miles' early 1960s quintet and the recently issued recording Live at Monterey Jazz Festival 1963 .
* In other Miles-related news, Toronto trumpeter Nick "Brownman" Ali recently produced a five-week series of Miles Davis tribute concerts exploring music from different periods of Miles' career.
* Another St. Louis trumpet great, the venerable Clark Terry(pictured), recently performed with the Jim Cullum Jazz Band on public radio's "Riverwalk" program as part of a Thanksgiving special.
* Pianist and composer Linda Presgrave, another St. Louisan turned New Yorker, was back in the Gateway City earlier this month to play at Cookie's Jazz and More, and she's now giving NYC audiences a preview of the same material, which she'll perform on an upcoming tour through Italy.
* Former Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra "creative conductor" Marin Alsop continues to make news as the new musical director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, with a feature in the New York Times and one in Baltimore's City Paper.
* Turning to coming attractions, the Bad Plus, who will be in St. Louis at Jazz at the Bistro during the first week of January2008, are pretty newsworthy themselves, with an interview and performance on NPR affiliate WBGO in Boston; from be.jazz, a review of a gig last month in Belgium; and, from Blogcritics, a review of the latest CD from side project Happy Apple.
* Saxophonist Javon Jacksonrecently played at NYC's Iridium with a band co-led by pianist Benny Green. Jackson is set to return to the Bistro in January with what's being billed as the "Superband," originally set to feature drummer Jimmy Cobb and pianist George Cables. However, it looks like Jackson, Cobb et al will have to find a replacement for Cables, who's just had double transplant surgery, getting a new liver and kidney. The good news is that the surgery went well and Cables is expected to recover; the bad news is that he'll be laid up for at least six months, whcih means no trip to St. Louis.
* Trumpeter Chris Botti is also due in St. Louis early in 2008, with two performances scheduled in January at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Botti recently did an interview with About.com hyping his new CD Italia, and also was the subject of a recent feature story in the Boston Herald.
* Pianist Michael Wolff, who's playing the Sheldon in February, recently did an interview with AllAboutJazz.com
* Pianist Cyrus Chestnut recently cut a CD of songs associated with Elvis Presley - reveiwed here by Bagatellen - and is doing a show based on the CD at Iridium. Chestnut returns to Jazz at the Bistro on March 7 and 8.
* Catching up with some recent visitors, we find that pianist Mulgrew Miller, who's played the Bistro several times and has recorded for the St. Louis based label MAXJAZZ, recently played Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in NYC and got a very nice review from the New York Sun.
* Saxophonist Josh Redman, who's played St. Louis with his trio and mosre recently with the SF JAZZ Collective, is now working in a trio format and has a new CD, Back East, featuring some of the last recorded performances from his dad, the late tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman.
* And, in a technological development that could cast many song titles and/or lyrical metaphors in a completely new light, Japanese engineers have come up with a way to build roads that play music as you drive over them. Maybe they can devise one to play Wes Montgomery's "Road Song," or Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again," or (fill in the road-related song title of your choice.)
This week, let's take a look at a couple of musicians who will be in St. Louis next Wednesday and Thursday to perform at Jazz at the Bistro with the SF Jazz Collective.
The first video features saxophonist Joshua Redman, who serves as the artistic director of the SF Jazz organization. It's a performance clip of Redman fronting his electric band Elastic, with Sam Yahel on organ and Brian Blade on drums, on a version of the tune "Jazz Crimes."
The other two clips - a single performance split into two parts due to YouTube's time limits on user uploads - spotlight trumpeter Dave Douglas, who's making his first tour with the Collective this year after replacing trumpeter Nicolas Payton in the lineup. This video is of Douglas' own quintet in a show last October in Belgrade, with Uri Caine on Rhodes electric piano, James Genus on bass, Clarence Penn on drums and Donny McCaslin on tenor sax.
Alas, there seems to be no video of the Collective itself readily available on any of the online sharing services, but the SF Jazz Web site does offer a very short performance clip recorded in February, which can be launched from the home page via a pop-up window, or downloaded in .mov format here.
Here's the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short local news items of interest:
