Jazz this week: Marcus Roberts, Bethany Pickens, a tribute to Lee Morgan, and more

This week's schedule of jazz and creative music in and around St. Louis features performances from two talented touring pianists, as well as an eclectic assortment of shows featuring local bands and musicians. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 17
Pianist Marcus Roberts and his trio (pictured, top left) will play the first of four nights continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

After first gaining wide attention in the 1980s as a member of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis' band, Roberts has evolved into something of a keeper of the jazz piano tradition, incorporating re-imaginations of the works of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, and many other historically important pianists into his sets alongside his original material.

His last gigs in St. Louis were in 2012 and 2014 at The Sheldon, and compared to the relatively concise format required in a concert hall performance, playing eight sets this week at the Bistro should give Roberts ample opportunity to delve into that extensive catalog of tunes.

The pianist's conception of his trio also includes giving ample solo space to his bandmates, longtime drummer Jason Marsalis and bassist Rodney Jordan. For more about that, and what else to expect from him this week, read Roberts' comments in the preview story written by Calvin Wilson for the Post-Dispatch.

Also tonight, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Open Mic Night" at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Thursday, February 18
Singer Eve Seltzer (pictured, center left) will make her cabaret debut at The Monocle with an evening of songs tracing St. Louis jazz history that she's calling "Going Back to Gaslight Square"; and saxophonist Paul DeMarinis and his band will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, February 19
Trumpeter Kasimu Taylor will pay tribute to an influential trumpeter of the hard bop era with "Here's Lee Morgan - The Music of A Jazz Legend" at the Kranzberg Arts Center. The songlist will include Morgan's signature 1960s hit “The Sidewinder” plus other tunes such as “Ceora” and “Since I Fell for You” that are associated with him, as interpreted by Taylor, tenor saxophonist Kwanae Johnson, pianist Adam Maness, bassist Ben Wheeler, and drummer Montez Coleman.

Also on Friday, Miss Jubilee will perform in concert at Alton's Jacoby Arts Center; and Second Generation Swing plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, February 20
Kansas City's Shades of Jade, an up-and-coming act led by trumpeter and former St. Louisan Joshua Williams that mixes jazz with hip-hop and neo-soul, will return to St. Louis for a concert presented by Robbie's House of Jazz at Kranzberg Arts Center.

Also on Saturday, twenty-four St. Louis drummers and percussionists will pair up for a dozen duo performances in "Drummers Only Deux", a benefit show raising money for the International Institute St. Louis and the Organization for Black Struggle at The Luminary; guitarist Vincent Varvel leads a trio at the house concert venue KindaBlue Club, and percussionist Herman Semidey's Orquesta Son Montuno will play salsa and Latin jazz at Club Viva.

Sunday, February 21
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Bob Row and friends playing traditional jazz and swing in a matinee concert at the DoubleTree Hotel at Westport, and pianist Bethany Pickens (pictured, bottom left), daughter of the fine Chicago pianist Willie Pickens, will be the featured performer at a benefit for Community Women Against Hardship at the Ferring Jazz Bistro.

Monday, February 22
The Webster University Jazz Collective, featuring members of the university's jazz faculty, will perform music by Bob Mintzer, Thad Jones, Don Sebesky and more at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2016 jazz preview, part 2

This week, it's part two of StLJN's winter/spring 2016 jazz preview, featuring bands and musicians who will be visiting St. Louis to perform in the new year. (You can see part one, which covers most of the month of January, here.)

Today's installment picks up the chronological thread in late January with Bonerama, who will be back in town to play on Friday, January 22 at Broadway Oyster Bar. In the first video up above, you can see an excerpt from their set at the 2015 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in which they perform the original tune "Mr. Okra" and their interpretation of the NOLA standard "Indian Red."

After the jump, it's pianist Billy Childs, who will perform Saturday, January 30 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The video clip feature Childs' version of "New York Tendaberry" from his album Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro, and was recorded at the 2015 Monterey Jazz Festival.

Next up is singer Cyrille Aimée, who will be making her St. Louis debut with performances starting Wednesday, February 3 through Saturday, February 6 at Jazz at the Bistro. Aimée and her band are seen here performing the standard "Caravan" in a promotional video for the Crested Butte Music Festival held in July in Colorado.

That same week will mark the long-anticipated return of singer Gregory Porter, whose career has taken off like the proverbial rocket since he last visited St. Louis in January 2013 to perform at the Bistro. It's a measure of how much his star has risen over the last three years that this time, instead of doing a four-night run in the relatively intimate confines of the Bistro, Porter will perform in concert on Saturday, February 6 at a much larger venue, the Touhill Performing Arts Center. You can see him in the fourth video doing his song "Liquid Spirit" in a show earlier this year in Ibiza, Spain.

Two nights after Porter's concert, saxophonist Branford Marsalis will return to St. Louis to perform Monday, February 8 through Wednesday, February 10 at Jazz at the Bistro. Marsalis is seen in the fifth video clip with his long-running band - pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner - playing "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" this past July at the Ravello Festival in Italy.

After that, you can see pianist Marcus Roberts, who will be featured in a week of performances Wednesday, February 17 through Saturday, February 20 at the Bistro. Roberts and his trio, with Jason Marsalis (brother of Branford, Wynton, and Delfeayo) on drums and Rodney Jordan on bass, are seen here performing Thelonious Monk's "Blues Five Spot" at a concert last February in Calgary, Alberta.

The following week, St. Louis jazz fans will have the chance to check out another powerful pianist, as Danilo Perez performs on Saturday, February 27 at the Sheldon. Perez has been part of saxophonist Wayne Shorter's quartet for years now, and earlier this year enlisted the aid of his bandmates in that group, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, to record a trio album, Children of the Light, which was released in September. In the seventh clip, you can see them performing the title song from that album in a show this past July at the Blue Note Milano in Italy.

Last, but certainly not least today, is saxophonist James Carter, who will be returning to perform with his organ trio starting Wednesday, March 2 through Saturday, March 5 at Jazz at the Bistro. Carter is seen here fronting a big band on a typically effusive performance of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," recorded in June of this year at the Festival Django Reinhardt 2015 in Samois-sur-Seine, France.

Next week, it's part three of StLJN's winter/spring 2016 jazz preview. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Jazz this week: Marcus Roberts Trio, Denise Thimes with Cyrus Chestnut and Tom Braxton, Pedrosaxo, and more

Although it's getting to the end of the spring presenting season for jazz and creative music here in St. Louis, this Mother's Day weekend nevertheless offers plenty of options for your listening enjoyment. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, pianist Marcus Roberts (pictured) and his trio will be the featured performers for the tenth annual "Evening of Hope" event benefiting the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Roberts last played in St. Louis in November 2012 concert for the Sheldon's jazz series, and you can read more about him and see some performance clips in this video showcase post from just before that gig. For info on ticket availability for tonight's show, contact The Sheldon directly.

Tomorrow night, guitarists Shaun Robinson and Eric Slaughter team up with drummer Montez Coleman and bassist Jahmal Nichols for "Great Guitars 2014" at Jazz at the Bistro; and the St. Louis Big Band will present an extravaganza they're calling "Gatsby Night," with "aerial dancers, music from the 2013 soundtrack, food, flappers and gangsters," at the Casa Loma Ballroom .

Also on Friday, the contemporary/smooth jazz quintet Dreaming In Colour plays at Robbie's House of Jazz; Koplant No performs at the Tavern of Fine Arts; guitarist Dave Black and Joe Mancuso return to Chaser's Lounge in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; singer Mary Dyson takes the stage at Voce; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will be at Nathalie's.

Saturday offers several performances featuring female vocalists, as Wendy Gordon settles into a new weekly matinee at The Choice Restaurant, 3265 S. Jefferson Ave; Ann Dueren's trio with Jan Ammerman and Bob Stout is back at Il Bel Lago; Anita Rosamond sings for diners at Truffles; and Miss Jubilee will play at the Trainwreck Saloon in Westport Plaza.

Then on Sunday, singer Denise Thimes will present her annual Mother's Day concert at The Sheldon, with special guests including pianist Cyrus Chestnut, who was here last month to play with his trio and guitarist Russell Malone at the Bistro, and saxophonist Tom Braxton, just back from playing in Japan with guitarist Earl Klugh.

Also on Sunday, Saxquest presents another in their series of free workshops and performances, this time featuring Pedro Rafael Garcia Moreno, aka Pedrosaxo, who's developed a number of unusual performance techniques, allegedly including an ability to play, sing, beatbox, and throat-sing all at the same time.

Lastly, Sunday is when the "Inner Jazz" series Kirkwood United Church of Christ will present their final concert of the season, featuring Rev. Cliff Aerie's Oikos Ensemble plus some words from special guest, writer and filmmaker Phil Cousineau.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday singer Dean Christopher will perform his Rat Pack repertoire at One 19 North Tapas and Wine Bar; and percussionist Joe Pastor's group will be back at BB's Jazz, Blues & 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.)

Marcus Roberts Trio to perform for "Evening of Hope" benefit on Thursday, May 8 at The Sheldon

Pianist Marcus Roberts and his trio (pictured) will be the featured performers for the 10th annual "Evening of Hope" event benefiting the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders to be held at 8:00 p.m., Thursday, May 8 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Roberts, who first gained wide recognition in the 1980s as a member of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis' group, will be accompanied by his longtime bandmates, bassist Rodney Jordan and drummer Jason Marsalis, who's Wynton's youngest brother.

These days, Roberts is known particularly for interpreting the work of pre-WWII jazz, stride and ragtime pianists with a modern sensibility, as demonstrated here in St. Louis most recently during a November 2012 concert for the Sheldon's jazz series. You can read more about Roberts and see some performance clips in this video showcase preview that was posted here on StLJN before that gig.

The Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, described as "a collaborative alliance between Washington University in St. Louis and Hope Happens, a St. Louis-based non-profit public charity," is involved in researching cures for a range of nervous system diseases, both chronic and acute, with the common feature of neurodegeneration or death of nerve cells.

Patron tickets for the "Evening of Hope" benefit, which include cocktails, dinner, orchestra seating for the concert, and a dessert reception with the artist, begin at $250 and are available only directly from Hope Happens. For more information, call 314-725-3888.

Any remaining orchestra level seats will be $45, with balcony seating priced at $35, and will go on sale as single tickets at 10:00 a.m. this Saturday, February 8 via Metrotix.

Jazz this week: John Pizzarelli, Kirk Whalum, Marcus Roberts, Four In One, and more

It's a busy weekend for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, and time is short, so let's skip the introduction and go straight to the highlights...

Tonight, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli opens a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. A longtime local favorite thanks to numerous previous appearances in St. Louis, Pizzarelli currently is on tour promoting both a book (the "musical memoir" World On A String) and a new album, Double Exposure.

The album features Pizzarelli doing what essentially are live mash-ups - pop songs from writers such as Lennon and McCartney, Neil Young, James Taylor, Leiber and Stoller, Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell, re-conceived using grooves, harmonies and arrangement ideas borrowed from Wes Montgomery, Billy Strayhorn, Thad Jones, John Coltrane and others. For more about Double Exposure, and some video samples of recent Pizzarelli performances, see this post from a couple of weeks ago. 

Also tonight, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris is playing a free show at the Missouri History Museum, featuring music from hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest reworked in what's being described as an experimental jazz style.

Tomorrow night, singer Kim Fuller will be be the featured performer in "Songs of Love and Other Difficulties: Work and Protest Songs," a free concert presented by the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Also on Thursday, eclectic singer Jessica Fichot, whose work ranges from computer music to children's songs, does an early-evening show at Rue Lafayette; and guitarists Tom Byrne and Eric Slaughter will play at the new Central West End venue Troy's Jazz Gallery. UPDATE - 10:00 p.m., 11/28/12: The Byrne/Slaughter gig has been "postponed" for one week to next Thursday, December 6.

On Friday, Rue Lafayette has another early evening show featuring Victor & Penny, a Kansas City duo playing music inspired by pre-WWII pop and jazz. Later that evening, trumpeter Randy Holmes and singer Tom Heitman will play the music of Frank Sinatra at Robbie's House of Jazz; saxophonist Kendrick Smith leads a quartet at the Cigar Inn in Belleville; and the Funky Butt Brass Band takes the stage at Broadway Oyster Bar.

Saturday offers several interesting choices, too, starting with pianist Marcus Roberts and his trio performing  at the Sheldon Concert Hall. A longtime associate of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Roberts impresses both with his technical skills and his ability to incorporate ideas derived from classic pianists like Fats Waller and James P. Johnson into a modern context. For more about Roberts and some video samples of him in action, see this post. Also, The Sheldon is offering a "buy one, get one free" discount on tickets for the show; for details on that, go here.

Also on Saturday, saxophonist Kirk Whalum brings his "Gospel According to Jazz Christmas" show to the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church. The concert also will feature pianist Keiko Matsui and singer Amber Bullock, the St. Louisan who recently won BET's Sunday Best Gospel reality show competition, as well as singers John Stoddart and Kevin Whalum and the FTMBC's own choir.

And as if that weren't enough for one evening, Saturday also marks the debut of the new band Four In One (pictured) at Robbie's House of Jazz. The group features four well-known musicians, all associated with Webster University - guitarist Steve Schenkel, bassist Ric Vice, drummer Alan Schilling, and saxophonist Paul DeMarinis - offering new interpretations of the music of Thelonious Monk using electric instruments.

On Sunday, the University of Missouri-St. Louis music department presents their annual "UMSL's Jazz for the Holidays" show at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The free concert will include music from the UMSL Jazz Ensemble, Vocal Point and University Orchestra. Also on Sunday, singer Erin Bode and her group will perform in a "Christmas dessert" concert at Third Baptist Church, 620 N. Grand Blvd (across the street from Jazz at the Bistro).

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.)

The Sheldon, Metrotix offering "buy one, get one free" discount on tickets for Marcus Roberts concert this Saturday

If you've been holding off on getting tickets to see pianist Marcus Roberts and his trio (pictured) this Saturday at the Sheldon Concert Hall for budgetary reasons, you may be in luck (even if you don't win Wednesday's big Powerball drawing).

That's because The Sheldon and Metrotix today announced a "buy one, get one free" offer on tickets to see Roberts, who's making his first St. Louis appearance in many years. (For more about Marcus Roberts, see this post from a couple of weeks ago.)

Tickets are priced regularly at $40 orchestra, $35 balcony, but with the promotional offer, you'll get two for the price of one. (Student tickets, which are priced at $15, are not included in the promotion.) To access the offer, go online to Metrotix.com and enter the promo code "MARCUS12" (without the quote marks) in the designated field. The offer also is available by phone at 314-534-1111 or 800-293-5949 and in person at the Fox Theatre box office.

(Edited 11/28/12 to correct info about student tickets.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Organizers of the annual Record Store Day celebration, held in April at indie record stores across the nation, now have enlisted many of the same retailers in a promotion for "Black Friday."  It's a smaller-scale event, mostly about selling limited edition releases which this year include vinyl reissues of Miles Davis' Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain. You can see the complete list of today's specials here, and find a list of the closest participating stores here.

* And speaking of Black Friday, if you've got musicians or music students on your holiday gift list, know that Mel Bay, the famed St. Louis based purveyor of fine music instructional materials, today is offering 30% off your entire purchase and free shipping to online customers who use the promo code "pie" when ordering.

* Jazz St. Louis announced this week that due to "circumstances beyond our control," Hip Grease will not be appearing as originally scheduled the weekend of December 7 and 8 at Jazz at the Bistro. Stepping in will be Andy Coco's Rhythm Section Road Show, a soul-jazz ensemble led by the KDHX DJ & bassist for Hip Grease, Gumbohead and others. Tickets originally purchased for Hip Grease can be used for the same evening/set of the Rhythm Section Road Show, or returned to the original point of purchase for a refund at face value.

* In other Jazz St. Louis news, they've posted to Facebook a photo set from organist Joey DeFrancesco's appearance last week before students at Crossroads College Prep.

* Also on Facebook, organizers of the Nevermore Jazz Ball, held earlier this month at several venues in the city, have posted a recap of the event's four days of live music and swing dancing.

* Want to win a free copy of World On A String, the new book from John Pizzarelli? JazzTimes magazine is doing a online giveaway of the "musical memoir" from the singer/guitarist, who will be in St. Louis to play Jazz at the Bistro next Wednesday through Saturday. You can enter to win the book here.

* The London Jazz blog has a review of the new book Miles Davis: The Complete Illustrated History and a review of pianist Marcus Roberts' performance last week in London. Roberts (pictured) will be in St. Louis next Saturday to play at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* The performance venue/gallery Blank Space, now occupying the Cherokee St. building once home to retailer & DIY music venue Cranky Yellow, is the subject of a feature story from the Riverfront Times' Brian Heffernan.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Deep in the shed with Marcus Roberts

More so than many jazz pianists of his generation, Marcus Roberts shows the distinct influence of pre-WWII piano players such as Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and others who helped shape the music's first few decades. St. Louis jazz fans will get a chance to experience Roberts' historically informed pianism in a couple of weeks when he and his trio perform on Saturday, December 1 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Blind since childhood, Roberts attended attended the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida, also the alma mater of Ray Charles, and studied classical music at Florida State University. His affinity for the jazz tradition made him something of a natural collaborator for trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who in 1985 plucked Roberts from relative obscurity and installed him as the pianist in his small group and in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Roberts began recording as a leader soon after joining Marsalis, releasing albums prolifically through the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s that often explored the music of past jazz greats while also incorporating techniques derived from his classical background. Though like many jazz artists, Roberts has put out relatively fewer recordings as the music business began to come apart over the last decade, 2011 saw him release two new albums, New Orleans Meets Harlem and the holiday themed Celebrating Christmas.

This year, he and his longtime collaborators, drummer Jason Marsalis and bassist Rodney Jordan, teamed up with banjo player Béla Fleck to release Across the Imaginary Divide and tour in support of the album. In addition, Roberts this month has just released a new, re-recorded version of Deep In The Shed, his 1990 solo album recorded while still with Wynton Marsalis that, though considered one of his strongest early efforts, had gone out of print.

Today, we've got a half-dozen video clips that should serve as a handy short-form introduction to Roberts, his trio, and their approach to music. The first clip seen up above, is a performance of the title track from Deep In The Shed, recorded in 2008 at a retrospective concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Down below, there are solo versions of Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" and Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'", both of which seem to date from around the turn of the century.

Below that, you can see Roberts and the trio playing the Gershwin standard "I Got Rhythm" in 2003 with Seiji Ozawa and the Berlin Philharmonic in 2003. The fifth clip is a version of the Thelonious Monk tune "Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-Are" (aka "Bolivar Blues") that appears to have been recorded in the studios of PBS' Tavis Smiley Show, perhaps in conjunction with Roberts' October 2009 appearance on that program.

To wrap up, there's a video interview with Roberts, recorded last year not long after the release of New Orleans Meets Harlem, that also features some musical excerpts.

For more about Roberts and the re-imagined Deep In The Shed, you can check out the news release about the album and this piece from Larry Bluemnfeld's blog at ARTinfo, and give a listen to the new version of "The Governor" from the album.











(Edited 11/27/12 to fix a couple of garbled sentences.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2012 jazz preview, part 3

This week, it's part three of StLJN's fall jazz preview, with video clips featuring some of the bands and musicians who will be coming to St. Louis to perform between now and the end of the year. (You can see part one of the preview here, and part two here.)

The first clip up above shows New Orleans' Meschiya Lake & Dem Little Big Horns performing "Electric Chair Blues" at a house concert in February of this year. Lake and company will be in St. Louis on Saturday, November 3 at Casa Loma Ballroom as part of the Nevermore Jazz Ball 2012.

Down below, it's organist Joey DeFrancesco, offering his interpretation of James Ingram's pop/R&B hit "One Hundred Ways" at this year's Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival. DeFrancesco will be back in St. Louis to perform with his trio from Wednesday, November 14 through Saturday, November 17 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Next, it's U. City native Jeremy Davenport, caught on video at Louisiana Music Factory during the 2010 JazzFest performing "Almost Never," an original tune from his 2009 album We'll Dance Til Dawn, plus a bit of "Sweet Georgia Brown." Davenport will take a weekend off from his house-band gig at New Orleans' Ritz-Carlton to come home for performances on Friday, November 23 and Saturday November 24 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Today's fourth video features singer and guitarist John Pizzarelli, seen here playing "Oh Lady Be Good" at the 2012 Tbilisi Jazz Festival in Georgia (the country that formerly was part of the Soviet Union, not the state in the southeastern part of U.S.). Pizzarelli will return to St. Louis to play Wednesday, November 28 through Saturday, December 1 at Jazz at the Bistro.

After that, it's pianist Marcus Roberts playing his composition "Country By Choice" at the 2009 Jazz in Marciac festival in France, accompanied by Roland Guerin on bass and Jason Marsalis on drums. Roberts is coming to St. Louis on Saturday, December 1 to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The following week, on Sunday, December 9, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band will bring their "Creole Christmas" show to the Sheldon. While there don't seem to be any good quality videos online of PHJB playing holiday material, the clip of "Tailgate Ramble," recorded at Preservation Hall in 2009, offers a taste of their sound.

Saxophonist Chris Potter is featured in the next video, an excerpt from a performance of Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" recorded last December at the NYC club Smoke. Potter, who played St. Louis last year with his electric group Underground, this year will bring his acoustic trio to town to play Wednesday, December 12 through Saturday, December 15 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Today's final video features an electronic music piece from George Lewis and Marina Rosenfeld called "Sour Mash," which they'll perform here in a concert sponsored by New Music Circle on Saturday, December 15 at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

Sheldon Concert Hall announces 2012-13 season schedule

The Sheldon Concert Hall has announced the 2012-13 schedule for its various season series.

As tipped earlier here on StLJN, the jazz subscription series will include a performance by trumpeter Arturo Sandoval on Saturday, October 6, while the Preservation Hall Jazz Band will offer their "Creole Christmas" show on Sunday, December 9 as a non-subscription "special concert." Other performers in the jazz series will include pianist Marcus Roberts (pictured) and his trio (Saturday, December 1); trumpeter and singer Jeremy Davenport (Saturday, February 2); and singer Dianne Reeves (Saturday, April 27).

The Sheldon's "Coffee Concert" series of mid-morning shows by local performers will include singer Dean Christopher's “Tribute to Frank Sinatra” (Tuesday, April 2 and Wednesday, April 3) and Cornet Chop Suey (Tuesday, May 7 and Wednesday, May 8). Also, the St. Louis Stompers will play special coffee concerts that are not part of the subscription series on Tuesday, October 30 and Wednesday, October 31.

Looking at the rest of the non-subscription special concerts, jazz listeners also may be interested in the hall's official 100th anniversary celebration on Thursday, October 11, which will feature a multi-genre lineup of musicians including pianist Peter Martin, saxophonist Branford Marsalis, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. as well as classical singer Christine Brewer, violinist David Halen and members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

In addition, singer Sylvia McNair will return for the Sheldon's annual ArtSounds fundraiser on Friday, November 9, and singer Denise Thimes will team with guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli for a "special concert" on Friday, February 15.

So what's the takeaway here for St. Louis jazz fans? While one really can't criticize the musical quality or skills of the jazz performers booked for 2012-13, it's also a conservative, risk-averse lineup, both in terms of musical styles and with regard to the potential box office draw of the performers. Except for Sandoval, who last played St. Louis in 2006, and Roberts, the former Wynton Marsalis sideman who's had a lower touring profile since joining the faculty at Florida State University in 2004, all of the touring bands and musicians on the schedule already have played St. Louis during the last couple of years.

While the Martin/Marsalis/McBride/Owens combo would seem to offer some real potential for surprise, the fact that it's a one-off gig for a benefit show that will be shared with other performers imposes some serious constraints. Overall, the Sheldon remains a great place to play and hear music, but it's too bad that the current circumstances there seem to preclude offering audiences more jazz that's different, new, or just previously unheard here in St. Louis.

Single tickets for the jazz series shows are priced from $35 to $45, while Coffee Concert tickets are $12 and $15. Pricing for "special concerts' varies from $20 and $25 for Thimes and Pizzarelli to up to $500 for patron seats for the 100th anniversary and ArtSounds shows. Single tickets will go on sale at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, August 11. Season subscriptions go on sale at 10:00 a.m. May 14 via phone at 314-533-9900 or the Sheldon's website.

(Edited after posting to add a link.)