So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Clark Terry just got a birthday-week visit from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who detoured between scheduled stops on their current trek through the southern USA to perform for the legendary trumpeter at his bedside in a Little Rock hospital.

You can read JaLCO leader Wynton Marsalis' account of the visit here, and see more photos here. (In case you didn't know, Terry turns 94 on Sunday; StLJN will be paying tribute in this week's Saturday Video Showcase.)

* Speaking of photo albums, we've got links to several more today, starting with some shots from last week's New Music Circle concert featuring saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and pianist Craig Taborn.

* Also from last week, the Dave Dickey Big Band has posted some pics to Facebook of their most recent gig at Jazz At the Bistro.

* Lastly, the Kevin Mitchell 4 is one of several local groups and musicians tapped during the holiday season to serenade Metrolink riders from inside their train car, and they've posted the photographic evidence on Facebook here.

* The Lindbergh High School jazz ensemble was featured on Fox 2's Thursday morning newscast. The band heads to Chicago next week to perform at the Midwest Clinic International Band, Orchestra and Music Conference, but first, they'll play for the hometown crowd in a free preview concert at 7;00 p.m. this coming Monday, December 15 at Lindbergh HS, 5000 S. Lindbergh Blvd.

* The recently rediscovered recording of singer and East St. Louisan Leon Thomas performing with the British jazz-fusion group Nucleus at the 1970 Montreux Jazz Festival has been reviewed again for AllAboutJazz.com, this time by AAJ's Bruce Lindsay.

* And speaking of "recently rediscovered," a 43-minute video of St. Louis-born guitarist Grant Green playing live in 1969 in Paris has been made available online as a paid download. (A copy of the show briefly posted to YouTube was removed after a take-down notice from Green's son.)

Given that up until now, any video of Green (pictured) has been scarcer than the proverbial hen's teeth, it's certainly a welcome find, though $19.99 for a download - no packaging, no extra materials, just a video file - seems a bit steep, even for something of this relative rarity.

* John Fornaszewski, longtime owner of Fornaszewski Music in Granite City, drummer, and father of drummer and bandleader Stan Fornaszewski, died this past Saturday at age 74 after suffering a heart attack. Our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues...

* Jazz radio update: WSIE (88.7 FM) aka "The Jazz Station" is conducting another fund-raising drive today, tomorrow and Sunday. You can tune in to the broadcast or check out the live online stream for details on pledge premiums, and to listen throughout the weekend for special guests, interviews and more.

Meanwhile, this Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's “Somethin’ Else” program will feature the songs of Harold Arlen (composer of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," "Blues In The Night," and many more jazz and pop standards) as interpreted by Nicholas Payton, Max Roach, Dominique Eade, and others.

Right after that, Jason Church's The Jazz Collective will be in a holiday mood with season sounds from Harry Connick, Jr., Lynne Fiddmont, Candy Dulfer, Dave Koz, Vibraphonic, Manhattan Transfer, Mindi Abair, Al Hammerman, Dawn Weber, Funky Butt Brass Band, Jim Manley, and more.

Wilson's program can be heard at 8:00 p.m., followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A previously unreleased recording featuring singer and East St. Louis native Leon Thomas fronting the British jazz-rock band Nucleus at the 1970 Montreux Jazz Festival has been issued by Gearbox Records, and was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Roger Farbey.

* What I Heard, the new album from saxophonist Oliver Lake's Organ Quartet, was reviewed by DownBeat's Ed Enright. 

* The Funky Butt Brass Band have posted a playlist from their upcoming album Sugar Sugar Whomp Whomp on SoundCloud. The official release event for the CD will be on Saturday, November 22 at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold (pictured) has posted a new song, "Her Beauty Through My Eyes," on YouTube.

* New Music Circle's website has an interview with percussionist/installation artist Eli Keszler, who will perform along with electronic musician Rashad Becker in an NMC-sponsored concert tomorrow night at The Luminary.

* Keep On Keepin' On, the new documentary about trumpeter Clark Terry that just wrapped up its St. Louis run at the Tivoli Theater, has made the first cut to be eligible for an Academy Award nomination.

* In this week's Miles Davis news, here's a just-published listicle of Davis' albums ranked from best to worst by Stereogum's Phil Freeman.

* Meanwhile, in a brief article in the Wall Street Journal, percussionist and producer Thelonious Monk III recalls childhood memories of a Davis visit to the Monk family home.

* And in this past Tuesday's election, voters in Alton showed support for the Miles Davis Memorial Project by approving an advisory resolution to rename the fountain at the corner of Belle and Third Streets in downtown Alton the “Miles Davis Memorial Fountain.” The vote was 4,616 in favor, 1,833 against.

* Want to work for Jazz St. Louis? Executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford is seeking an executive assistant, specifically "someone who is an excellent writer and extremely organized" as well as "able to manage up." For more details on the job and how to apply, go here.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, “Somethin’ Else” host Calvin Wilson will explore jazz that draws on folk, country and Americana via tracks from Bill Frisell, Regina Carter, Sarah Jarosz, and more.

After that on "The Jazz Collective," host Jason Church will be highlighting some cuts from the new Funky Butt Brass Band album. Wilson's program can be heard at 8:00 p.m., followed by Church at 9:00 p.m. on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen. 

On Sunday, this week's guest on WSIE's "Jazz Talk" will be Jazz St. Louis' Gene Dobbs Bradford. The program airs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on 88.7 FM, and also can be heard online.

StLJN Audio Archive: The Leon Thomas Album

For this week's installment of the StLJN Audio Archive, we revisit The Leon Thomas Album, originally issued by the late singer and East St. Louisan Leon Thomas in 1970 on the now-defunct Flying Dutchman label.

In contrast to Thomas' sparse debut recording. Spirits Known and Unknown, which positioned him as part of the music's avant garde, his second album as a leader features a full band arranged by saxophonist and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson and including a number of well-known mainstream jazz musicians of the time.

The track list on the album (pictured) includes "Come Along," "I Am," "Bag's Groove," "Um, Um, Um" and the LP-side-long "Pharoah's Tune (The Journey)." The complete personnel includes Thomas (flute, percussion, vocals), Billy Harper (tenor sax), Howard Johnson (baritone sax), Jerome Richardson (alto sax), James Spaulding (flute), Donald Smith (flute), Ernie Royal (trumpet), Arthur Sterling (piano), Bob Cunningham (bass), John Williams (bass), Billy Cobham (drums), Roy Haynes (drums), Richard Landrum (percussion), Gene Golden (percussion), Sonny Morgan (percussion) and Oliver Nelson (arranger, conductor).

Here's what Thom Jurek of All Music Guide had to say:

"Side one is the up-tempo jazz ride, as Thomas and company rip through a host of his own tunes, such as the scatted post-bop of "I Am" and the nearly bar-walking blues of "Come Along." But the side is graced by an absolutely stunning read of Milt Jackson's "Bag's Groove," with Harper leading a five-horn section.

The real gem on the album is "Pharaoh's Tune (The Journey)," which comprises all of side two. After setting up a live audience with a narrative laced with sound effects from the vanguard jazzers, the tune develops its groove about four minutes in and the bells and yodel come out, and from here it's Thomas at his improvisational best as both a singer and a bandleader. Everybody here is inspired, especially the two drummers. Harper, Spaulding, and Smith weave snake-charming lines around one another, and the entire thing just lifts off and never returns. It's a breathtaking ride made all the more so by the long, jazzed-out setup of side one. Why this guy wasn't huge is a mystery. "

The Leon Thomas Album has been out of print for years, and apparently never made it to CD. While vinyl copies do pop up on online auction sites from time to time, you can download a free .mp3 of the album, courtesy of the music-sharing blog Orgy in Rhythm, here.

The StLJN Audio Archive links only to recordings that are out-of-print or that never have been commercially available. The purpose of the Audio Archive is to encourage discussion, appreciation and knowledge of St. Louis jazz artists, and we urge you to support them (or their estates) by purchasing authorized recordings and merchandise and, whenever possible, attending live performances.

StLJN Audio Archive: Facets: The Legend Of Leon Thomas

Today, we introduce a new recurring feature, the StLJN Audio Archive, that will appear occasionally on Sundays.

As the name implies, the idea is to spotlight out-of-print recordings by St. Louis artists that are available as free downloads somewhere on the Internet. StLJN has featured this sort of thing before at irregular intervals, but after doing some concerted searching for available resources, there seem to be enough out there to warrant a semi-regular feature.

A few caveats: We will link only to recordings that are out-of-print or that never have been commercially available. The purpose of the Audio Archive is encourage discussion, appreciation and knowledge of St. Louis jazz artists, and we encourage you to support them (or their estates) by purchasing authorized recordings and merchandise or, whenever possible, attending live performances.

Note also that these recordings were not ripped or uploaded by me, although I have grabbed copies both for listening and evaluating and as safeties in case the files disappear from the net. Whenever possible, I"ll give credit to the site where the file was found and/or the original uploader, and also try to include cover art, when available, in a size that can be printed out and used in a CD case.

For the first post in the Audio Archive series, we spotlight Facets: The Legend Of Leon Thomas (pictured), a sampler album that collects recordings made between 1969 and 1973 by singer and East St. Louis native Leon Thomas. This rip comes from the blog Flying Dutchman Records, which collects and shares recordings originally issued by the label of the same name, including this one. Here's what Scott Yanow of All Music Guide had to say about Facets:

"This fine 1973 sampler LP features performances by singer Leon Thomas originally on three previous sets. Three numbers (including "Song for My Father" and a short remake of "The Creator Has a Master Plan") are taken from a 1969 album with the mysterious "Little Rock" (a psuedonym for Pharoah Sanders) on tenor. A trio of numbers feature Thomas with an R&Bish band arranged by Pee Wee Ellis (originally issued as part of Blues and the Soulful Truth) and the remaining selections ("Disillusion Blues," the downbeat "Welcome to New York" and "Duke's Place") are from the vocalist's memorable meeting with altoist Johnny Hodges and Oliver Nelson's Orchestra. Throughout, Leon Thomas (a somewhat unique singer whose career has been rather aimless since this period) is heard in prime form."

Personnel for the album includes:

Leon Thomas - vocals, percussion
James Spaulding (A1,B4), Johnny Hodges (A2,A4,B1) - alto sax
Pee Wee Ellis (A3,A5,B3) - baritone sax, organ, marimba
Ernie Royal (A2,A4,B1), Snooky Young (A2,A4,B1), Marvin Stamm (A2,A4,B1), Randy Brecker (A2,A4,B1) - trumpet
Al Grey (A2,A4,B1) - flugelhorn, trumpet
Earl Hines (A2,A4,B1), Lonnie Liston Smith (A1,B4), Neal Creque (A3,A5,) - piano
David Spinozza (A2,B1), Larry Coryell (B3) - guitar
Cecil McBee (A1,B2,B4), Richard Davis (A2,B2,B4), Ron Carter (A2,A4,B1) - bass
Bernard "Pretty Purdie, Grady Tate (A2,A4,B1), Roy Haynes (A1, B2, B4) - drums
Richard Landrum (A1, B2, B4) - percussion

Thomas' music was an interesting combination of avant-garde jazz, blues, and his concept of slick, commercial R&B, and the tracks here provide a good introduction for those who haven't had a chance to hear him before. Note also that it brings Thomas together with another St. Louis jazz legend, saxophonist and composer Oliver Nelson, who arranged the music on the three cuts with Johnny Hodges.

To download a copy, go here, click on the word "LINK" at the bottom of the post, then follow the instructions. Note that since the file resides at a free download site - in this case, Rapidshare - you may have to wait and/or click through a couple of ads to complete the download.

Jazz this week: Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau, Jan Shapiro, BAG II, Bosman Twins, Leon Thomas memorial concert, and more

This week's highlights post is a bit earlier than usual, due to a major jazz event in mid-week, and will also be a bit terse, as Blogger is being difficult today.

The major jazz event in question is Wednesday night's concert by Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau (pictured at left) at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Their collaboration already has produced two best-selling CDs in the last year, but this tour is the first time they've gone on the road together, and it's been getting plenty of publicity in both the jazz and mainstream press. StLJN has also had quite a bit of previous Metheny/Mehldau-related coverage, which you can see here.

On Thursday, singer and St. Louis native Jan Shapiro returns to St. Louis to do a free concert as part of the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. That same night, the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra, directed by Jim Widner and featuring Mardra Thomas on vocals, will take the stage at Jazz at the Bistro for two sets.

On Friday, the Black Arts Guild aka BAG II kicks off what they're calling their spring season with another concert at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, this time featuring vocalist Thomasina Clarke along with bassist Zimbabwe Nkenya, drummer Glen "Papa" Wright and saxophonist Jerome Williams.

Friday is also the night for the second annual concert benefitting the Leon and Curtis Thomas Memorial Scholarship fund, featuring an all-star aggregation of local players performing at East St. Louis High School, and it's also the opening evening of a two-night stand for the Bosman Twins (pictured at right; Web site seems to be offline right now) at Jazz at the Bistro.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday night Webster University will present a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium called "South American Sketches," which will feature music by Luis Bonfa, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astor Piazzola performed by Erin Bode, Debby Lennon and Valerie Tichacek with the Webster Faculty Jazz Ensemble.

As always, you can find a more extensive list of this week's jazz events 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.)

Thomas Memorial Scholarship concert to be held Friday, April 6

The second annual concert to benefit the Leon and Curtis Thomas Memorial Scholarship Fund will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, April 6 at the East St. Louis High School Auditorium, 6901 State St.

The concert and scholarships honor the memories of singer Leon Thomas, an East St. Louis native who performed with Count Basie, Santana, Pharoah Sanders, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and others, and his brother Curtis, a community activist. The money raised goes to scholarships for college-bound students from East St. Louis High School, the alma mater of both Leon and Curtis Thomas.

Featured performers at this year's show will include pianist Reggie Thomas, tenor saxophonist Willie Akins, drummer Steve Tatum, trombonist Kevin Ward, bassist Ben Wheeler, tenor saxophonist James Warfield Jr. and singer Gloria Brand. East St. Louis Poet Laureate Eugene B. Redmond, an English professor at Sourthern Illinois University -Edwardsville and a high school classmate of the Thomas brothers, will serve as master of ceremonies, and Sherman Fowler will also read poetry.

Tax deductible tickets for the concert are $20 and may be purchased by contacting Harvey Jackson c/o Jackson & Associates, 4800 State St, East St. Louis, Illinois 62205-1355; or by by calling Harvey Jackson at 618-274-0928 or Earl Jackson at 618-910-2687.