So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Guitarist and St. Louis native Kelvyn Bell has a new recording, Cubed Root Cure, set for release in January, and you can hear a sample now on SoundCloud.

The EP (pictured) will be available from CD Baby and all the major digital music services.

* The Gateway Jazz Festival, a day-long "smooth jazz" event that made its St. Louis debut last summer at the Chesterfield Amphitheater, has a date for 2018 - Saturday, July 21 - and a headliner, saxophonist Boney James.

Last year's event featured a half-dozen acts, including saxophonist Najee, singer Maysa, and Pieces of A Dream; the rest of the 2018 bill currently is TBA.

* "The World of Spectacular Strings" exhibit on view through Saturday, April 21 at the Sheldon Art Galleries was reviewed by Ladue News' Bryan A. Hollerbach.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has posted to Facebook a photo album of last weekend's  "Holiday  Brasstravaganza" shows. Friday's performance also was reviewed for KDHX.org. by Mike Vachow.

* Saxophonist Greg Osby will join forces with the experimental multimedia duo Mn'JAM for a performance in January at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and singer Jean Baylor, the husband-and-wife duo behind The Baylor Project, were interviewed Tuesday on the nationally syndicated radio program "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" about their two nominations in this year's Grammy Awards, their careers, and more.

* The Bosman Twins were interviewed for the most recent episode of KDHX's "Collateral Damage" podcast by guest host Hank Thompson.

* And speaking of podcasts, former WSIE DJ E.B. Stevenson has released a Christmas episode of his "The Jazz Mixer" podcast.

* Max and Louie Productions' current staging of Souvenir, the musical comedy starring singer and Webster U faculty member Debby Lennon as tone-deaf diva Florence Foster Jenkins, was reviewed by the Post-Dispatch's Judith Newmark and OnStL.com's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Also in the Post-Dispatch, singer Dom Thomas' show this Saturday at The Stage at KDHX is previewed in a short feature from the paper's Kevin Johnson.

* Voting is now open in Jazz Times magazine's annual readers poll.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Pianist Peter Martin made the rounds of local media this week to promote his new project Open Studio Network, which offers online video music lessons from well-known jazz players including Martin himself, guitarist Romero Lubambo, drummer Greg Hutchinson, and more.

Martin sat down Tuesday for a chat with Charlie Brennan of KMOX radio, and also was interviewed for a feature story in the St. Louis Business Journal.

* Singer Emily West's show last week for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival was reviewed by Chuck Lavazzi of KDHX.

* Trombonist and St. Louis native Charlie Halloran's role as a sideman on pianist Jon Cleary's Grammy award-winning album GoGo Juice was the subject of a feature from Kevin Johnson of the Post-Dispatch.

* Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes shared on Facebook an album of photos from their gig last week at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

* Guitarist Kelvyn Bell (pictured) has posted to SoundCloud a bonus track, "American Boy (Estelle)" from the same sessions that produced his most recent album St. Louis Blu.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Pageant once again has made Pollstar's list of best-attended concert clubs worldwide, finishing seventh in total ticket sales in the online tour information service's club rankings for 2015.

* Trumpeter Rob Endicott's gig tomorrow night at Jazz at the Bistro is previewed by St. Louis magazine.

* The financial troubles of community radio station KDHX are the subject of music editor Daniel Hill's cover story in this week's Riverfront Times.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted to Facebook an album of photos from this week's educational residencies by trumpeter Terell Stafford, tuba player Bob Stewart, drummer Jeff Hamilton and saxophonist Todd Williams.

* London Jazz News has some photos from a recent gig by saxophonist and Webster University alumnus Chris Cheek at the Hidden Rooms in Cambridge.

* Guitarist Kelvyn Bell's latest album St. Louis Blu is now available in CD format as well as a digital download. Bell (pictured) also was interviewed last night on the "Thirsty Records" podcast produced by Philadelphia-based Gashouse Radio.

* Drummer Dave Weckl's Acoustic Band will be back on the road later this month, performing in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Oakland. and Seattle.

* Drummer Ronnie Burrage is set to team up once again with one of the most prominent living members of the 1960s jazz avant garde, joining forces with saxophonist and NEA 2016 Jazz Master Award winner Archie Shepp for a concert on January 30 at Goddard College in Plainfield, VT.

The two have been musical associates for years, recording together most recently on Shepp's 2003 album Tomorrow Will Be Another Day. A 2002 gig including Burrage also appears on the live half of Shepp's 2007 release Gemini.

Kelvyn Bell releases new album St. Louis Blu

Guitarist and St. Louis native Kelvyn Bell has released a new album, St. Louis Blu.

In contrast to the distinctively funky electric sound Bell deploys with his band Kelvynator and, before that, as an early member of Defunkt, this recording (pictured) features him on solo acoustic guitar.

Described as "a tribute to his Missouri hometown roots," the album's ten tracks are a mix of originals - some, like "East St. Louis Riots 1917" and "Free Funk for Ferguson" making explicitly topical references - and interpretations of more familiar jazz tunes such as Thelonious Monk's "Ruby, My Dear" and Benny Golson's "I Remember Clifford."

St. Louis Blu is on sale now via CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon.com.

You can see and hear Bell performing "East St. Louis Riots 1917" in the embedded video window below.

Ronnie Burrage's RoBu Big Band to perform October 3 & 4 at Voce

Drummer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and U City native Ronnie Burrage will be back in St. Louis next month, reassembling his RoBu Big Band for performances on Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October at Voce, 212 S. Tucker downtown.

Burrage, who now lives in Pennsylvania, performed here most recently in June of this year, fronting a quintet and the big band in a weekend of gigs at the same venue.

The RoBu Big Band (pictured) plays a mix of jazz standards and original compositions by Burrage. In addition to the leader , the group's announced lineup for the October shows includes another well-known St. Louis expat, guitarist Kelvyn Bell, plus saxophonists Willie Akins, Jeff Anderson, Stanley Coleman, Chad Evans, and Jerome "JDubz" Williams; trumpeter Khamali Cuffie-Moore; bassist Darrell Mixon; pianist Ptah Williams; percussionist Henry Claude; and vocalists Kendra Mahr and Charisse Swan.

Tickets are $25 and are on sale now via EventBrite.

Jazz this week: Ray Vega, Chris Botti, "SoundArt" with Troupe, Bell & Bluiett, Craig Pomranz, Todd Clouser, and more

This week's noteworthy jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis include visits from two traveling trumpeters, and two shows featuring St. Louis expats coming home. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, trumpet player Ray Vega (pictured) brings his Latin jazz-meets-hard bop quintet to town to open a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro, continuing through Saturday. For more about Vega and some video clips of him in action, see this post from last week.

On Thursday evening, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will present a free concert from the St. Louis Jazz X-Tet, with saxophonist David Stone and vibraphonist Peter Schlamb. The concert is co-sponsored by campus radio station KWUR as part of KWUR Week.

On Friday, actor, singer and St. Louis native Craig Pomranz returns home from NYC to open a two-night stand of his cabaret show at the Kranzberg Arts Center under the auspices of the Presenters Dolan. Directed by Ron Cohen with musical direction from Stephen Bocchino, the performance includes a range of material, from Mel Brooks and Ronny Graham to Rodgers and Hart and Cole Porter. For more about Pomranz, see this feature article written by Alisha Alexander for the Vital Voice.

Also on Friday, singer Crystal Haywood, profiled last week here by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, will do a Billie Holiday tribute at Robbie's House of Jazz. .

On Saturday afternoon, poet Quincy Troupe and guitarist Kelvyn Bell, who both grew up in the St. Louis area, will be back home to perform with special guest saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett in a show called "SoundArt," presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery. The St. Louis American's Chris King interviewed Troupe about the gig for a story published in last week's paper, and it's still available online here.

Saturday also is the date for the annual Southwestern Illinois College Jazz Festival, which starts at 9:00 a.m. and continues into the evening at the Main Complex Theatre on SWIC's Belleville campus, 2500 Carlyle Ave. in Belleville. In the morning, jazz bands from area schools will perform and get critiqued. After lunch, saxophonist and noted jazz educator Ron Cart of Northwestern Illinois University will present a master class, followed by more student performances and critiques. Then at 7:00 p.m., Carter will perform a concert with the SWIC Jazz Band and a combo featuring Reggie Thomas (piano), Anthony Wiggins (trumpet), Nick Jost (bass) and Marty Morrison (drums). All events are free and open to the public.

On Saturday night, trumpeter Chris Botti returns to St. Louis to make his debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra at Powell Symphony Hall. The show was heavily promoted, with tickets offered as a pledge premium, by local PBS affiliate KETC, and that, plus Botti's baseline popularity, equals a show that sold out a good while ago. However, the Symphony may have some standing room tickets for sale; call 314-534-1700 for information.

That same night, guitarist Brian Vaccaro's trio, with keyboard player Nick Schlueter and drummer Kyle Hunnicutt, will play at Robbie's.

On Sunday evening, bassist Darrell Mixon's trio will play at Second Baptist Church in Richmond Heights for the St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series; and pianist Kim Portnoy and his trio, with clarinetist Scott Alberici as special guest, will perform in a concert at Eliot Chapel in Kirkwood.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday night guitarist Todd Clouser and his band A Love Electric will make a tour stop at the downtown bar/restaurant Lola. For a bit more about Clouser, who comes from Minneapolis by way of Mexico, see this post.

And 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.)

(Edited 2/16/11 to add info about the SWIC Jazz Festival and fix the date for Chris Botti.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The St. Louis American's Chris King has written an article previewing next Saturday's performance featuring poet Quincy Troupe, guitarist Kelvyn Bell (pictured) and (now added to the bill) saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, to be presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown. Get the story online here.

* If by chance you're heading down to Columbia, MO for Sunday's concert by pianist Ellis Marsalis, know that the pre-show discussion featuring Marsalis and Washington University's Gerald Early has a new time, date and location. The talk, with Q&A session to follow, has been moved to 2:00 p.m. Sunday in the Piccadilly Room of the Holiday Inn Select. It's free, but space still is limited, so make advance reservations by calling 573-449-3001. Marsalis will perform in the hotel's ballroom that evening at 8:00 p.m.; for tickets, contact the We Always Swing jazz concert series.

* Lisette Dennis of the Regional Arts Commission sends word that the music department of Howard University will be holding scholarship auditions for St. Louis area high school seniors starting at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, March 3 in the band room at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, 3125 S. Kingshighway. Additional auditions will be held as needed on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5. For more information, or to schedule an audition, email Cherri at cherri_t2002 @ yahoo.com.

* Musician and author Peter Buffett is coming to the St. Louis area next week to perform in a benefit for the Virtual Learning Center of Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis, which helps to integrate technology into area classrooms. Buffett, the son of investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett, will present his "Concert & Conversation" at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 16 at the St. Charles Convention Center. The show is billed as the live companion to Buffett's New York Times best-selling book Life is What You Make It: Find Your Own Path to Fulfillment, and features live piano, vocals and cello along with video clips of his film and TV work. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door, $25 for college students with valid student ID, and can be purchased online here.

* When bassist Stanley Clarke was in town last week to perform with pianist Hiromi at Jazz at the Bistro, the staff at Jazz St. Louis got him in front of a video camera for a few minutes to talk about our city's jazz legacy. You can see the clip online here, and check out some photos of Clarke and Hiromi's performance on the JSL Facebook page here.

Erika Johnson, Quincy Troupe & Kelvyn Bell to perform for Nu-Art Series

The Nu-Art Series this week announced two upcoming events at the Metropolitan Gallery, located downtown at 2936 Locust Street.

Singer Erika Johnson (pictured, above left) will reprise "Erika Sings Nina," a tribute to the music of Nina Simone, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, January 15. A native of East St. Louis, Johnson studied music with Ron Carter at Lincoln HS and Jackson State University, and has performed around St. Louis both as a leader and with saxophonist Willie Akins and others.

Then next month, poet and author Quincy Troupe and singer/guitarist Kelvyn Bell (pictured, below left) will return home to join forces for a performance under the name "SoundArt" at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 19.

Both natives of the St. Louis area who years ago relocated to the East Coast, Troupe and Bell first teamed up in 2009 for a performance with drummer Ronnie Burrage at Robbie's House of Jazz here in St. Louis. The "SoundArt" project is described as "a driving, mystical, melodic music that has sparked an unexpected buzz among lovers of jazz, hip-hop, and the spoken word and promises to energize audiences around the world."

Tickets for both concerts will be $10 for general admission, available at the door.

Jazz this week: Houston Person; "Rapology" with Troupe, Bell and Burrage; Larry Ochs; "A Jazz Heaven"; and more

It's another busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, so let's go right to the highlights:

Tonight, saxophonist Houston Person (pictured) opens a four-night stand that continues through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. A seasoned veteran who's had a lifetime of experience wrapping blues, bop and ballads into a crowd-pleasing package, Person was in St. Louis most recently at the end of August to perform in a benefit concert at Harris Stowe State University for the Wolff Jazz Institute.

You can see a video sample of his playing in a post previewing that show here, and hear a podcast interview with Person here. Note also that tickets for some of Person's sets will be available at half price if purchased in advance via Metrotix.

Also tonight, the Washington University Music Department presents its "Chance Aesthetics" concert at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. The free event will feature performances of music by John Cage and Terry Riley, plus an improvised piece.

On Thursday, guitarist William Lenihan leads a tribute to Miles Davis' classic album Birth of the Cool in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University

There are three noteworthy shows on Friday, starting with the first of two nights of the Quincy Troupe/Kelvyn Bell/Ronnie Burrage collaboration "Rapology" at Robbie's House of Jazz. For more about Troupe, Bell and Burrage plus some video samples of all three in action, see this post.

Also on Friday, New Music Circle presents saxophonist Larry Ochs' Sax and Drumming Core at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Ochs, who's known for his work with the Rova Saxophone Quartet, will be joined by drummers Donald Robinson and Scott Amendola, Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, and Satoko Fujii on synthesizer and piano to perform a mix of original compositions and collective improvisations.

That same evening, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra presents "Swing, Swing, Swing" a program of swing music including songs made famous by Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, just around the corner from the Sheldon at Powell Symphony Hall.

On Saturday night, the Chicago Afrobeat Project returns to The Gramophone.

Then on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents clarinetist Bud Shultz and the You Can't Beat Experience Jazz Band in a matinee performance of traditional New Orleans style jazz and swing at the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield.

Also on Sunday afternoon, singer Wendy Gordon and a cast of musicians and singers including longtime local favorite Jeanne Trevor will perform Gordon's cabaret musical A Jazz Heaven at the Kranzberg Arts Center. For more about the production, which pays tribute to jazz icons including Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis, see these two posts.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Chicago-based guitarists Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic will perform a duo show at The Gramophone.

Tuesday evening brings the monthly meeting of Jazz St. Louis' CD Listening Club at Borders bookstore, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd. in Brentwood. This month's featured CD, Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, will be discussed by JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford and Dr. Gerald Early of Washington University.

Then on Wednesday evening, Jazz St. Louis will present a free concert of Hancock's music by keyboardist Adaron "Pops" Jackson and his group at the Community Music School of Webster University, 535 Garden Avenue in Webster Groves.

For more jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond, check out the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, available for viewing on the left sidebar or by clicking here.

(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 to fix a formatting problem. Edited again to add a couple of Houston person-related links.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Previewing "Rapology" with Quincy Troupe, Kelvyn Bell and Ronnie Burrage

This week, we've got a grab bag of videos featuring the three principals of "Rapology," which will be presented next Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10 at Robbie's House of Jazz in Webster Groves.

Poet Quincy Troupe, guitarist and singer Kelvyn Bell and drummer and multi-instrumentalist Ronnie Burrage are all natives of the St. Louis area, and though there don't seem to be any videos online of the three of them performing together, these clips of things they've done individually suggest some of the elements available to be incorporated into their gig next weekend.

First up is an extended excerpt from a duo performance by Troupe and guitarist Phil Upchurch that demonstrates how Troupe's poetry works in an improvised-music setting. It was recorded for UCTV, a service of the University of California system, for their "Artists on the Cutting Edge" series. Though Upchurch and Bell have different styles as guitarists, after viewing this clip it's easy to imagine Troupe and Bell conjuring something with a similar vibe on stage next weekend.

Down below, we've got a couple of videos showing Bell in his role as singer, songwriter and leader of the funk group Kelvynator. The first clip, "Burn Baby Burn/Undercover FBI" was recorded in 1991 at a gig in NYC for the the German TV program Rocklife, while the second is a music video for "Every Breath (I Breathe)," a song from the 1999 album Refunk A Nation.

Be sure to note Bell's characteristic rhythm work on the former, and his chiming chordal textures in the intro of the latter. Bell was also a key member of Joe Bowie's band Defunkt for many years; you can see some examples of his work with them by following the links here.

Burrage, who plays keyboards and sings in addition to drumming, has played with many bandleaders in different genres over the years. The next clip shows him playing some straight bebop with saxophonist Frank Morgan, bassist Buster Williams and pianist Ronnie Matthews on a version of "A Night in Tunisia" that includes a nice crisp drum solo.

Last but not least is a video described as "a Cinema Verite peek into a 'heavyweight' jazz practice session" that shows Burrage and his own band rehearsing one of the drummer's compositions. Though there's as much talking as playing, it provides an interesting glimpse into his process.

Robbie's schedules "Rapology" with Troupe, Bell & Burrage, plus shows from Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio, Bobby Watson

Robbie's House of Jazz has announced some additions to their upcoming schedule.

On Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10, the club will present "Rapology," featuring a spoken word performance from poet Quincy Troupe with music from two St. Louis expats, guitarist Kelvyn Bell and drummer Ronnie Burrage, who will come back home for the gig. They'll perform sets at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with tickets priced at $20.

On Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7, Chicago-based percussionist Kahil El'Zabar will bring his own group, the Ritual Trio, to Robbie's, having already played the club's "soft opening" with saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett back in August.

Then on Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5, saxophonist Bobby Watson (pictured), a veteran of drummer Art Blakey's band as well as many other high-profile gigs, will make the trip across the state from Kansas City to perform.

(There's no word yet on ticket prices for El'Zabar or Watson, but I'd expect something in the same general range as the Troupe/Bell/Burrage show.)

In other related news, Robbie's will feature the Robert Edwards Big Band every Thursday beginning in October, and the club's Web site is now online.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Lester Bowie's New York Organ Ensemble

This week's videos showcase the late trumpet great Lester Bowie, who grew up in St. Louis but is perhaps best known as a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. In addition to his work with AECO, Bowie led many different bands of his own, served as a key point of contact between Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and St. Louis' Black Artists Group, and for a time was married to another St. Louis music legend, singer Fontella Bass.

These two clips are from a 1992 performance by Bowie and the New York Organ Ensemble, most likely their show at the Jazzaldia Festival in San Sebastien, Spain. The NYOE was built around around the B-3 playing of Amina Claudia Myers, and gave Bowie a chance to give voice to the influences of gospel, soul, funk and blues found in many of the St. Louis avant-garde musicians of his generation.

One certainly can hear echoes of the church and a bit of New Orleans in this piece, which, in addition to Bowie and Myers, features St. Louis native Kelvyn Bell on guitar; Julian Priester on trombone; a young and skinny looking James Carter on tenor sax; and, although he's not credited onscreen, I'm pretty sure that's Bowie's Art Ensemble bandmate Famoudou Don Moye on drums.