So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and STLtoday.com last Friday published their annual "Go List" for 2020, and in the "Music & Clubs" section, the winner for "Favorite Place to Hear Jazz" is BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, followed by Jazz St. Louis and The Dark Room. The Dark Room also is the newspaper's staff pick this year for "Best Jazz Brunch."

In "The Arts" section, the 2020 winner for "Favorite St. Louis Cabaret Performer" is singer Erin Bode, with Ken Page finishing in second place and Ken Haller in third. The Gaslight Theater is designated "Favorite Place to See Cabaret," followed by the Boom Boom Room and Jazz St. Louis.

* A previously unheard live album by Miles Davis, The Lost Septet, is out now on CD and digital from Sleepy Night Records. Recorded for a radio broadcast in November 1971 at the Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria, the double album features Davis on trumpet with Gary Bartz (soprano & alto sax), Keith Jarrett (electric piano, organ), Michael Henderson (electric bass), Ndugu Leon Chancler (drums), Don Alias (percussion), and James "Mtume" Foreman (percussion).

* Saxophonist Larry Johnson (pictured) was the guest on last week's episode of Shock City School of Music's "Coffee Conversations" podcast.

* The Red and Black Brass Band was the subject of a short feature story on the Nine Network program Living St. Louis.

* Singer and keyboardist Katarra Parson was featured on last week's episode of the KTRS radio program "In The Know with Ray Hartmann."

* The Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis has announced their St. Louis Arts Awards for 2021, and among the honorees will be “Such Sweet Thunder,” a joint presentation from Jazz St. Louis, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Nine Network, and the Big Muddy Dance Company that won the annual award for "Arts Collaboration." The awards will be presented at the council's annual event on January 25, 2021 at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.

* The Kranzberg Arts Foundation once again is surveying potential audience members to find out what measures will make people comfortable returning to their venues, which include the Grandel Theater, The Dark Room, and more. You can complete the survey at https://www.kranzbergartsfoundation.org/covid-19/coronavirus-survey/.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake (pictured) was interviewed about the founding of the Black Artsists Groups and various other subject by journalist Seth Colter Wells for a feature story on Bandcamp.com

* A recent visit by drummer Kimberly Thompson and trumpeter Keyon Harrold to Francis Howell High School was chronicled by the school's student newspaper FHC Today. Thompson and Harrold were back home in St. Louis last month for a week-long educational residency sponsored by Jazz St. Louis and performances at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio Network, which produces music education videos featuring wll-known jazz musicians, was featured on a recent episode of KETC's Living St. Louis.

* Condolences to the family and friends of Tom McMahon, trombonist with the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra, who died last Wednesday, May 10 after a two-year fight with melanoma.

McMahon, 57, worked days as a software application architect at Enterprise Holdings. He is survived by his wife Amy McMahon; children Michael, Nathan and Hannah; and other members of his extended family. A visitation will take place at 1:00 p.m. this Saturday, May 20 at Bopp Chapel, 10610 Manchester Rd. in Kirkwood, followed at 2:00 p.m. by a remembrance. The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra dedicated their performance on Wednesday, May 17 at Jazz at the Bistro to McMahon's memory.

*.ZACK, the newest venue in Grand Center - and yes, the name is supposed to be pronounced "dot-zack" - was the subject of  a feature story on KSDK's Show Me St. Louis.

* Vernacular String Trio was profiled in the Riverfront Times as one of the 77 local bands set to perform in the paper's ShowcaseSTL event, which is set for Saturday, June 17 at various venues in The Grove.

* The jazz program at St. Dominic's High School in St. Charles, directed by saxophonist Larry Johnson, was featured in the Archdiocesan newspaper St. Louis Review. Trombonist Wyatt Forhan, a junior at St. Dominic's, is one of two St. Louis area student musicians selected this year for the Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.

Jazz this week: Emmet Cohen, Madeleine Peyroux, Victor Wooten, and more

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the local debut of a promising young pianist, a festival of student big bands, return appearances from a jazz-influenced singer and a virtuoso electric bassist, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 22
The NYC-based pianist Emmet Cohen will perform at the Curtain Call Lounge with his trio, which customarily features bassist Russell Hall, of the house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and drummer Kyle Poole.

Praised by DownBeat for his “kaleidoscopic sense of musical narrative,” Cohen (pictured, top left) has played at jazz festivals including Monterey, Newport, North Sea, Bern, and Edinburgh, and performed, recorded or collaborated with Christian McBride, Herlin Riley, Kurt Elling, Billy Hart, Jimmy Heath, Brian Lynch, Lea DeLaria, and many others. His most recent album Masters Legacy Series, Vol. 1 features legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb, the only surviving musician from Miles Davis' Kind of Blue.

Note also that in addition to his free gig Wednesday as part of the Grand Center Jazz Crawl, Cohen and his trio also will perform in a ticketed concert on Thursday night at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Also on Wednesday, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson will open a two-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro.

Thursday, March 23
With Washington University students back on campus after spring break, the Jazz at Holmes series will present a free concert featuring pianist Ken Kehner, accompanied by William Lenihan on bass and Montez Coleman on drums.

Friday, March 24
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will host the "Essentially Ellington" Regional Festival at Dunham Hall on the SIUE campus. Affiliate with the similarly named annual event at NYC's Jazz at Lincoln Center. The day-long festival will culminate in a public concert featuring performances from the participating high school bands; clinicians Zeb Briskovich, Rick Haydon, Adaron Jackson, Garrett Schmidt, Jason Swagler, and Miles Vandiver; and the SIUE Concert Jazz Band.

Also on Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band will open a two-night gig at Jazz at the Bistro; the Midwest Jazz-tette returns to Evangeline's; and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher brings his "Rat Pack & More" show to the Kinda Blue Club.

Saturday, March 25
Pianist James Matthews plays an early-evening show at the Palomino Lounge, and singer Joe Mancuso, guitarist Dave Black and multi-instrumentalist R. Scott Bryan will team up for a concert at Focal Point.

Sunday, March 26
Miss Jubilee plays for brunch at Evangeline's, and the Folk School of KDHX will present their monthly matinee Traditional Jazz Jam Session.

Then on Sunday evening, singer and guitarist Madeleine Peyroux returns for two shows at the Old Rock House.

Squeezing this date into a brief break in her joint tour with singer Rickie Lee Jones, Peyroux (pictured, center left) will be accompanied by Steely Dan guitarist Jon Herington and Israeli-born bassist Barak Mori, performing a variety of music from her catalog including songs from her most recent release, 2016's Secular Hymns.

Also on Sunday evening, the Williams Brothers - trumpeter Joshua, saxophonist Jo-e’l, and pianist Jaydon - will perform together for a one-nighter at Jazz at the Bistro.

Monday, March 27
Dizzy Atmosphere plays Gypsy jazz and swing for diners at The Shaved Duck, and Webster University's student jazz combos will show off what they've learned so far this year in a free concert at Webster's Community Music School.

Tuesday, March 28
Bassist Victor Wooten (pictured, bottom left) returns for a performance with his trio, featuring the great drummer Dennis Chambers and saxophonist Bob Franceschini, at the Old Rock House.

The bass virtuoso, who made his name as a member of banjo player Bela Fleck's band the Flecktones, has been touring with this lineup since the end of last year, so they should be in fine form by the time they reach St. Louis.

Also on Tuesday, the Washington University Jazz Band, directed by Chris Becker, performs at Jazz at the Bistro; and BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups has a jazz double-header, with percussionist Joe Pastor's Legacy Jazz Ensemble playing in the early evening, followed by saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective.

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: Tony Bennett, Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival, Two Times True, Montez Coleman, "3 Nights in September," and more

As St. Louis prepares to mark the turn of seasons into autumn, the jazz and creative music presenting season is starting to roll, with offerings this week ranging from the return of one of the foremost interpreters of the "Great American Songbook" to a three-day gathering of local improvisors and experimentalists. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 16
Pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with guest saxophonist Larry Johnson (pictured, top left) return to Jazz at the Bistro for the first night of a two-night engagement; Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Open Mic Night" at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes duo will play at The Feasting Fox.

Thursday, September 17
Trumpeter Danny Campbell and band will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and guitarist Dave Black and friends, featuring singer Feyza Eren, will return to Nathalie’s.

Also on Thursday, New Music Circle will anticipate the beginning of their 57th season with a "welcome/fundraiser" event at the Tick Tock Tavern, 3459 Magnolia Ave. The event is free to attend, and will feature "drinks, live DJs (Josh Weinstein and Jeremy Kannapell), and raffle prizes such as vinyl LPs, CDs, and tickets to NMC concerts." Bar proceeds from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. will go into NMC's coffers to help fund their concert season and associated programs.

Friday, September 18
Drummer Montez Coleman will lead a quintet for a one-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro that originally was billed as a date to be co-led by saxophonist Willie Akins.

Instead, the evening has been re-purposed as a tribute to Akins, whose recently worsening health issues have left him unable to perform. With the veteran saxophonist unavailable, Coleman (pictured, center left) has enlisted two up-and-coming alumni of Jazz St. Louis' all-star student ensemble, trumpeter Brady Lewis and saxophonist Carlos Brown Jr, with guitarist Eric Slaughter and bassist Bob DeBoo completing the ensemble. 

Also on Friday, the Air Force Band of Mid-America's "Shades of Blue" jazz combo will perform in concert at Alton's Jacoby Arts Center; the 4.5 Smooth Groove Band will play smooth jazz, R&B and fusion at the Ozark Theatre; and the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, September 19
Beginning at mid-day and continuing until well past dark, the annual Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival will feature two stages of music in the area around the intersection of Lockwood and Gore Avenues in Webster Groves' Old Webster Business District.

Performers at the free event will include saxophonist Eric Marienthal, guesting with St. Louis' Bach to the Future; the Webster University faculty jazz ensemble; Miss Jubilee; blues guitarist and singer Marquise Knox, and more. For more about the OWJBF, check out this interview that festival music director Terry Perkins did with St. Louis magazine.

Then on Saturday evening, legendary singer Tony Bennett (pictured, center right) will make his first appearance in the St. Louis area since 2011, performing at the J. Scheidegger Center For The Arts on the Lindenwood University campus in St. Charles.

If you don't have tickets already, though, you may be out of luck, as the Scheidegger Center's website currently shows the concert as a sellout. You can find out about potential returns, cancellations, and/or any other last-minute availabilities by calling the box office at (636) 949-4433.

Also on Saturday evening, the Jim Manley/Randy Bahr All-Star Group will return to Nathalie's.

Monday, September 21
The Webster University jazz faculty ensemble will pay tribute to one of the key jazz record labels of the 1960s and '70s with "On Impulse - A Celebration of Impulse Records" at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

The ensemble, featuring Keith Moyer (trumpet), Paul DeMarinis (flute, alto and tenor saxophones), Steve Schenkel (guitar), Kim Portnoy (piano), Willem von Hombracht (bass), Kevin Gianino (drums), and Debby Lennon (vocals), will perform St. Louis native Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" from Nelson's classic Impulse album Blues and the Abstract Truth, plus eight more selections recorded for Impulse by John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett and others.

Also on Monday, "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Tuesday, September 22
It's the first of "3 Nights in September," a mid-week festival of improvised and experimental music organized by cellist Tracy Andreotti at the Tavern of Fine Arts. Tuesday's program will include performances from Brain Transplant, NNN Cook, Michael Williams, and the Hess/Cunningham Duo (pictured, bottom left).

The festival then continues on Wednesday and Thursday with two more completely different lineups of bands and musicians; see the event's Facebook page for the latest details.

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: Roomful of Teeth, "Jazz Heaven: They Paved The Way" and more

While the fall presenting season isn't quite in full swing yet, the activity level of jazz and creative music in St. Louis definitely is picking up this first weekend after Labor Day. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, guitarist Dave Black and Friends, including singer Feyza Eren, play at Nathalie's.

Tomorrow night, the new music vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth will perform at 560 Music Center. Founded in 2009, the eight-member group is best known for having premiered composer Caroline Shaw's Pulitzer Prize-winning work "Partita for Eight Voices" and for winning the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. With a mission to "mine the expressive potential of the human voice," they incorporate a variety of musical traditions and extended vocal techniques into their sound.

Elsewhere around town on Friday, trumpeter Randy Holmes' quintet kicks off the new jazz series at the Ozark Theatre in Webster Groves with a concert featuring the music of Horace Silver.

Friday also is the opening night for a couple of weekend festivals of note. The entertainment at Schlafly Bottleworks' "Art Outside" event on Friday will include sets from Miss Jubilee and Dawn Weber, while the St. Louis Art Fair, which runs from Friday through Sunday, includes jazz acts such as drummer Bensid Thigpen's Le Jazz Hot, singer Joe Mancuso, the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, and others among its varied musical offerings.

And still on Friday night, the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; vibraphonist Tom Rickard leads a trio at Cigar Inn; saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays smooth jazz and R&B at Troy's Jazz Gallery; the Funky Butt Brass Band return to the Broadway Oyster Bar; and singer Tony Viviano joins forces with his namesake, pianist Tony Viviano, for what might be termed "a tale of two Tonys" at Fortel’s in Creve Coeur.

On Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True, with saxophonist Larry Johnson as special guest, will perform at the Ozark Theatre; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play swing and jump blues at Evangeline's; and trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Randy Bahr will duet at The Wine Press.

On Sunday afternoon, you've got time to stop by the early fall edition of the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show at the American Czech Hall on the south side before heading out to Clayton, where singer Wendy Gordon will be presenting her latest production, "Jazz Heaven: They Paved The Way," at the Ethical Society.

In addition to Gordon (pictured), the cast includes singers Jeanne Trevor, Dean Christopher, Erika Johnson, Chuck Flowers, Tish Haynes, and more, performing in the styles of vocal greats such as Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter, Etta James, Frank Sinatra and Lou Rawls, plus tap dancer Ryan Johnson as Sammy Davis Jr.; Linda Kennedy as narrator; and a band featuring Arthur Toney (piano), Jeffrey Anderson (bass), Eric Slaughter (guitar), Alfred Barnes (drums), Kendrick Smith (alto sax) and Adrian Bowers (trumpet).

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Webster University begins their fall series of concerts featuring members of their jazz faculty with "A Celebration of ECM Records"; and percussionist Joe Pastor brings his group back to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

And lastly, we'd be remiss if we didn't note that bassist Bob DeBoo's briefly dormant weekly gig and jam session at the Kranzberg Arts Center has been re-started this month on Wednesday nights, while trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's weekly Wednesday session just down the block at The Dark Room now has been moved to a later time so that the two don't conflict.

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.)

Ozark Theatre to begin new jazz series this weekend with Randy Holmes, Carolbeth True

The Ozark Theatre, a refurbished movie house at 103 E. Lockwood in Webster Groves, will begin a new jazz series this weekend with shows from trumpeter Randy Holmes and pianist Carolbeth True.

Holmes and his quintet will present "A Tribute to Horace Silver" at 8:00 p.m. this Friday, September 5, while True and her band Two Times True with guest saxophonist Larry Johnson will perform at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, September 6. 

Dorothy Edwards, who was co-owner and general manager of the now-closed Robbie's House of Jazz, is booking the series. The Ozark Theatre (pictured) is about a half-mile east of the former Robbie's location at 40 Allen Ave. in the Old Webster business district.

Other dates so far in the "Robbie's at the Ozark" series include percussionist Herman Semidey and his Orquestra son Montuno (Saturday, September 13); singer Sarah Maria Labeat  (Friday, September 19); a quartet featuring vibraphonist Ben Porter, pianist Matt Villinger, bassist Nathan Pence, and drummer Joseph Winstein Hibbs (Saturday, September 20); and singer Joyce Byers Hines (Friday, September 26). 

Tickets for all shows are $15 for general admission, $10 for students, and can be purchased at the door or in advance via the Ozark Theatre website.

Jazz this week: Red Baraat, Two Times True, St. Louis Big Band, and more

While it's not a very busy week for touring jazz musicians visiting St. Louis, as usual our local musicians and bands stand ready with a plethora of performances of their own. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, alumni of the music programs at Parkway West High School will present a big band jazz concert in tribute to former band director John Baker at Sky Music Lounge in Ballwin.

Also tonight, singer Joe Mancuso leads a quartet at Cafe Eau in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; pianist Ptah Williams and his trio are at Troy's Jazz Gallery; and it's the monthly Avant Garde Arts Night featuring live improvised music at Tavern of Fine Arts.

Tomorrow night, the Brooklyn, NY based group Red Baraat will be in town to play at The Gramophone. Led by dhol player Sunny Jain - the dhol is a double-headed drum used with variations throughout the Indian subcontinent - Red Baraat come across as sort of a South Asian-flavored variant on the New Orleans brass band concept, with a sound influenced by jazz, funk, go-go and Latin delivered by drumset, percussion, sousaphone and five horns.  

Shruggy Ji, the group’s second full-length studio record, was released in January, and a follow-up album of remixes and concurrently recorded jams, Big Talk, is set to drop next month.You can see and hear Red Baraat in this video of the Tiny Desk Concert they did recently for NPR.

Also on Friday, Two Times True (pictured) plays the first of two nights kicking off the summer season at Jazz at the Bistro. Taking their name from the versatile pianist Carolbeth True and her son, drummer David True, the band also includes bassist Glen Smith and saxophonist Larry Johnson, and plays a mix of modern jazz, standards and original material.

Other noteworthy gigs on Friday include trumpeter Charlie Rose's Jazz Creations, featuring saxophonist Robb Cunningham, bassist Darrell Mixon and drummer Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, at Robbie's House of Jazz; and guitarist Tom Byrne's trio at Cigar Inn.

On Saturday afternoon, singer Wendy Gordon will perform for a jazz brunch at Ace Bar's and Grill, 9600 Natural Bridge Rd., while trumpeter Joe Bozzi plays a matinee at Frontenac Grill. Then on Saturday evening, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will do an early set at Thurman Grill for the neighborhood's "Loop Festival"; the Ann Dueren Trio is at Il Bel Lago; and singer-guitarist Tommy Halloran plays the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday the St. Louis Big Band will return the Sheldon Concert Hall for a "Tribute to the Greatest Generation," featuring music from Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, plus vocal numbers originally made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James.

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 St. Louis announces summer lineup for Jazz at the Bistro

Jazz St. Louis has announced the lineup of local acts that will play this summer at Jazz at the Bistro. The schedule is:

Friday, May 31 & Saturday, June 1:
Two Times True with Larry Johnson

Friday, June 7 & Saturday, June 8:
Rick Haydon Group

Friday, June 14 & Saturday, June 15:
Willie Akins/Montez Coleman Group

Friday, June 21: Adaron “Pops” Jackson & Phil Dunlap with Jahmal Nichols and Marty Morrison

Friday, June 28 & Saturday, June 29: Erin Bode sings the Great American Songbook

Friday, July 5 & Saturday, July 6: Farshid Etniko featuring Sandy Weltman

Friday, July 12 & Saturday. July 13: Anita Jackson

Friday, July 19 & Saturday, July 20: Tim Cunningham (pictured)

Friday, July 26 & Saturday, July 27: Good 4 The Soul

Tickets are priced at $25 for the Akins/Coleman group, Jackson & Dunlap, and Bode, and $20 for the other shows. Tickets go on sale at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7 and can be purchased via Metrotix or by calling the Jazz St. Louis box office at 314-289-4030.

Jazz this week: Marcus Baylor, Larry Johnson CD release, Good 4 The Soul, New Year's Eve jazz, and more

As we head into the final days of 2012, you've still got opportunities to catch some live jazz and creative music around St. Louis before the year is done. Here are a few suggestions for this weekend and New Year's Eve:

Tonight, drummer Marcus Baylor, the native St. Louisan and former longtime member of Yellowjackets who's also played with Kenny Garrett, Cassandra Wilson and others, returns home for a gig at the Bistro at Grand Center.

Billed as "The Sons of St. Louis Reunion," the show also will feature his wife Jean Baylor on vocals and keyboardist Shedrick Mitchell, who's recorded and toured with a number of high-profile R&B and jazz performers. (Note that while some of the information published erroneously suggests that Jazz St. Louis is involved, in fact the show is an independent production of the Baylors, and advance tickets are available only via Metrotix.) 

Elsewhere this evening, it's the monthly Avant Garde Arts Night, featuring live improvised music, at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and the MM&W-ish funk trio Downstereo will be laying down a groove late into the night at Atomic Cowboy.

Tomorrow night, saxophonist Larry Johnson will celebrate the release of I'm Just Sayin' , his second CD as a leader, with a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall. He'll be joined by most of the musicians who performed on the CD, including pianist Carolbeth True, trumpeter Jim Manley, trombonist/keyboardist Jim Owens, percussionist Scott Collier, bassists Glen Smith and Marc Torlina, drummers David True and Joe Weber, and the Rosewood String Quartet, as well as guitarist Randy Bahr and singer Christi Jon Bye. For more about this, check out this article about Johnson written by Terry Perkins for the St. Louis Beacon.

Also on Friday, the jazz/funk/R&B quartet Good 4 The Soul returns for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro; drummer Kaleb Kirby's trio plays at Robbie's House of Jazz; and guitarist Eric Slaughter will lead a quintet at the Cigar Inn.

On Saturday, saxophonist Willie Akins and his group will present a late-afternoon matinee at Troy's Jazz Gallery, and that evening, singer Sarah Jane and saxophonist Jerry Greene perform at Robbie's.

On Sunday, Dizzy Atmosphere brings their gypsy jazz sound to the Schlafly St. Louis Brewery & Tap Room for an early evening performance.

Monday is, of course, New Year's Eve, and as usual, the city's premier venue Jazz at the Bistro goes dark for NYE while the surrounding Grand Center neighborhood hosts the annual First Night celebration. However, the alcohol-free, family friendly event does feature some music of potential interest to jazz fans,  including Clave Sol, Wack-A-Doo and Farshid Etniko, as well live theater and dance performances, visual art, various participatory activities (mostly aimed at the kids), and fireworks.

Elsewhere on New Year's Eve, Willie Akins will take the stage at Robbie's House of Jazz; Erin Bode will do two shows at Cicero's; Miss Jubilee will perform at Three Kings (the former Riddle's) in U. City; and the St. Louis Big Band is playing at St. Matthias The Apostle Catholic Church, 796 Buckley Rd.

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.)

Larry Johnson to celebrate release of I'm Just Sayin' on Friday, December 28 at The Sheldon

Saxophonist Larry Johnson will celebrate the release of his new CD I'm Just Sayin' with a performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 28 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

I'm Just Sayin' is Johnson's second album as a leader for the Victoria Records label, and features a lineup of musicians who likely will be familiar to many St. Louis jazz fans. Most of those players will be on hand for the concert at the Sheldon, including pianist Carolbeth True, trumpeter Jim Manley, trombonist/keyboardist Jim Owens, bassists Glen Smith and Marc Torlina, drummers David True and Joe Weber, guitarist Randy Bahr, percussionist Scott Collier, singer Christi Jon Bye, and the Rosewood String Quartet.

With arrangements by Johnson, Owens, Smith, Carolbeth True, and Mark Maher, the album (pictured) includes two of the saxophonist's original compositions - the title track and "Blues for CJ" - amid a mix of material from other writers.

The influential pianists McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock are represented as composers by "Passion Dance" and "Stitched Up," respectively, along with versions of well-known standards including Dizzy Gillespie's "Tin Tin Deo," Miles Davis' "All Blues," the ballads "I Want to Talk About You" and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes," and the jam session perennial "Cherokee."

Johnson rounds out the set with three covers of contemporary rock/pop tunes: The Police's "Roxanne", Sara Bareilles' "Many The Miles," and Jack Johnson's "Staple It Together."

General admission for Larry Johnson's CD release concert at the Sheldon will be $10 for adults, $7 for children, cash or check only at the door. Copies of I'm Just Sayin' will be on sale at the concert for $15, and available online via CD Baby starting in mid-January.

Reviews of Jeff Beck concert, Larry Johnson CD now online

Just a quick note about a couple of reviews of interest:

Guitarist Jeff Beck was in St. Louis last night to perform at the Fox Theatre, and Dan Duchholz reviewed the show for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. You can read the review online here.

Also, St. Louis saxophonist Larry Johnson's debut CD Circles was reviewed recently for AllAboutJazz.com by Nicholas F. Mondello, who called it "an enjoyable effort by a very talented saxophone artist." You can read the full review here.

Jazz at Holmes announces winter/spring 2010 schedule

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jazz this week: Season's greetings from St. Louis Jazz Notes

With the Christmas holiday on Friday, it's a slow weekend for live music generally in St. Louis, but there are a couple of noteworthy shows happening early next week.

On Monday, bassist David Certain, who's played with Eddie Henderson, Gary Bartz and Little Jimmy Scott, leads a quartet at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, featuring drummer Stan Hale plus saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and trumpeter Rob Endicott of the Voodoo Blues Band. (Full disclosure: Yr. humble editor has gigged with both Certain and Hale in several different musical situations.)

On Tuesday, saxophonist Larry Johnson celebrates the release of his debut CD Circles with a "Notes from Home" performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Johnson will be supported by a cast of musicians including trumpeter Jim Manley, pianist Carolbeth True, singer Charlie Boehme, trombonist Jim Owens, guitarist Brian Simms, bassist Glen Smith and drummers David True and Joe Weber.

Elsewhere in town, Jazz at the Bistro and various other concert halls and clubs are dark this weekend, while Robbie's House of Jazz is open only on Saturday to host a private fundraising event.

However, there are still a few musical options over the weekend; the RFT's "A to Z" music blog did a post about bars that will be open for Christmas here that may be of some help. If you're wondering about a particular spot not mentioned there, your best bet may be simply to pick up the phone and call; please see the StLJN sidebar for links to local jazz venue websites.

StLJN will be on a reduced holiday posting schedule for the next couple of days, but it will be business as usual on Saturday with the weekly video post. Next week, there'll be something about New Year's Eve jazz in St. Louis, some end-of-year wrap-up posts, and, I hope, a bit of housekeeping & maintenance as well.

Until then, here's hoping that you are safe, warm and in good company this holiday weekend.

For information on more jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, available for viewing on the left sidebar, or by clicking here. Also, you can follow St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes and become a "fan" by signing up 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.)

Larry Johnson CD release event set for Tuesday, December 29 at the Sheldon

Saxophonist Larry Johnson will celebrate the release of Circles, his debut CD as a leader, with a performance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 29 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Johnson is a frequent musical associate of trumpeter Jim Manley and pianist Carolbeth True, and both will be on hand to perform at the CD release event, along with singer Charlie Boehme, trombonist Jim Owens, guitarist Brian Simms, bassist Glen Smith and drummers David True and Joe Weber.

Tickets will be available at the door, and are priced at $10 for adults, $5 for students and children, cash or check only. Copies of Circles also will be on sale for $15 each. You can hear some samples from the CD on Johnson's website; follow the link and scroll down the page to the embedded player at the bottom.