So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* In a week that started with news of the closing of the south side cafe Rue Lafayette, it looks like another local presenter of jazz may be shutting its doors, too. In a story in the St. Louis Beacon, George Sams of the Nu-Art Series told writer Terry Perkins that Saturday's concert featuring Quincy Troupe will be his final production at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown. (Sams did leave the door open to presenting shows at other locations, and StLJN will be following up with him about that.)

* In a related development that could be seen either as ironic or just a coincidence, Live In Berlin, the final album by Sams' old band United Front that originally was released in 1983 on the FMP label, has just been digitally reissued.

* Pianist Kris Davis, whose quintet will play in a concert presented by New Music Circle at 560 Music Center tomorrow night, spoke with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson for a brief preview of the show. Meanwhile, Davis' concert with the same band on Sunday in Washington DC was reviewed by the Washington Post.

* Also in the Post, drummer Jeremy Haynes (pictured) talked with pop music reporter Kevin Johnson for a  preview story about Haynes' performance next Tuesday night at Lola; and classical music writer Sarah Bryan Miller had an interesting feature about how local musicians are using their iPhones and iPads to replace sheet music, metronomes, tuners and more.

* MilesDavis.com reports that the commemorative postage stamp depicting the trumpeter was the USPS' top-selling stamp featuring a celebrity in 2012.

* Finally, Mardi Gras may be over for another year, but the Funky Butt Brass Band have posted a few memories online, including a video from their performance last Thursday at Blues City Deli (featuring a medley of Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'" and "When The Saints Go Marching In") and a Facebook photo album from Friday's show with Big Sam's Funky Nation at the Old Rock House.

February brings homecoming gigs for Quincy Troupe, Jeremy Haynes, Ronnie Burrage

Given what St. Louis weather usually is like in February, there may be better times to visit. But cold, snow and slush notwithstanding, there are three noteworthy St. Louis expats returning home this month with shows of interest to local jazz fans:

* Poet, author and teacher Quincy Troupe will lead another edition of his "SoundArt" project in a performance at 3:00 p.m., Saturday, February 16 at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. downtown.

Troupe, who's originally from St. Louis and collaborated with Miles Davis on the trumpeter's 1989 autobiography, has brought SoundArt home twice previously - in 2009, performing with guitarist Kelvyn Bell and drummer Ronnie Burrage at Robbie's House of Jazz, and in 2011 with Bell at the Metropolitan Gallery.

This time, Troupe will be joined by saxophonist Stan Coleman and bassist Darrell Mixon. The event is presented by the Nu-Art Series, and general admission will be $20 at the door.

* Drummer Jeremy Haynes, a St. Louis native who's made his fame playing gospel music, will show off another side of his musical personality with his show "Return of the Prodigal Son" at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 19 at Lola. The gig is in support of Haynes' recent jazz album Prodigal Son 2K, which is available for purchase on iTunes and CD Baby. Haynes' band Rhythm is Life includes keyboardists Eric W. Catron and Jarrell "JDot" Little and bassist Jermaine Hall.

Haynes (pictured) began his career at age 12, drumming with St. Louis' famed gospel singers the O’Neal Twins, and recorded his first album with them at 15. Haynes went on to play in the Broadway production of “God’s Trying to Tell You Something” and has continued to work with well-known gospel acts including Kevin Bond, Karen Clark Sheard, Kirk Franklin and Donnie McClurkin. To date, Haynes has performed on four movie soundtracks and been part of more than 150 gospel recordings, which have received a total of five Grammys and 12 Stellar Awards and accounted for 15 #1 hits on the Billboard gospel charts. Tickets for Haynes' show at Lola will be $15 at the door.

* Lastly, there are more details on the upcoming events featuring drummer Ronnie Burrage first described several weeks ago in this post.

Rehearsals for Burrage's trio gig on Thursday, February 28 for Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series will be held on campus on Tuesday, February 26 and Wednesday February 27 at a location TBA. The rehearsals with Burrage, bassist Darrell Mixon and pianist Ptah Williams will be open for student observation from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. each day. The performance is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Thursday, and is free and open to the public; Burrage tells StLJN that there will be some Wash U. students invited to sit in on the gig as well.

The set times for Burrage's shows on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2 at The Office, 5719 Delmar, have been confirmed as 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The band for those shows will include Burrage, saxophonist Freddie Washington, guitarist Eric Slaughter and bassist Darryl Mixon.

Advance ticket prices have been finalized at $30.00 for the "VIP" package, which includes a ticket to an "all you can eat" buffet; $20 for general admission, which includes one drink; and $25.00 per person for a special Valentine's Day "lovers" offer, which includes a champagne toast. Tickets for groups of 20 or more are priced at $25 for the VIP package and $15 for general admission.

In addition, the first 20 advance ticket purchasers for the shows at The Office will receive a free CD from Burrage. Tickets are on sale now via his website at www.ronnieburrage.biz.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Inside the Nu-Art Series video vault

This week, we're taking a break from previewing upcoming concerts to take a brief trip into the video vault of the Nu-Art Series, the long-running, St. Louis-based jazz presenting organization run by trumpeter, arts administrator and consultant George Sams.

Headquartered in recent years at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. downtown, the Nu-Art Series has a shoestring budget compared to Jazz St. Louis or the Sheldon, but over the years has presented a number of worthy performers while helping to preserve St. Louis' jazz legacy.

One of the musicians the series has championed is the great baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, who can been seen in today's first clip, sitting in on the reunion of Sams' own group, the Sound Clinic, last year for a version of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman." Along with Bluiett and Sams, that's Chicago's Yosef Ben-Israel on bass, San Francisco's Lewis Jordan on alto sax, and St. Louis' own Gary Sykes on drums.

Although many of Nu-Art's productions feature musicians playing in free, avant- garde or post-Coltrane styles, they also have presented a number of concerts exploring the repertoire of more mainstream jazz musicians. Today's second clip is from one of those shows, a tribute to guitarist Grant Green staged in May 2011 by former St. Louisan Marvin Horne. Horne is seen here playing a blues in Green's style, accompanied by Sykes on drums, bassist Nick Jost, and pianist Brock Walker.

Below that are a couple of clips from 2008's "BAG and Beyond," which examined the legacy of St. Louis' Black Artists Group through concerts and panel discussions. That's trumpeter Rasul Siddik in the first of the two clips, leading a band featuring Bluiett, pianist Katherine Roberts, bassist Raymond Eldridge and drummer Tayammun Falah. The second clip features a duet between Falah and saxophonist Oliver Lake, whose visual art is currently is being exhibited at the Metropolitan Gallery.

In the fifth slot, we've got a much older clip, dating from the late 1990s when Sams still was presenting shows at variety of locations around town. It shows flutist James Newton in a 1997 solo concert at the Washington University Gallery of Art.

To wrap up, there's an excerpt from last October's "Drum Line II" concert, featuring the combined talents of percussionists Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Johnny Johnson, and Gary Sykes. (Be warned that there's a rather abrupt splice between two segments at around 8:50.)

The Nu-Art Series' next concert will take place next Saturday, April 7, and will feature Erika Johnson singing songs associated with the legendary jazz vocalist Betty Carter. To see more video from the Nu-Art Series vault, check out their YouTube channel.











(Edited 7/6/12)

Nu-Art Series to present Erika Johnson in Betty Carter tribute on Saturday, April 7

The Nu-Art Series has announced that Erika Johnson (pictured) will sing works associated with legendary jazz vocalist Betty Carter in a concert at 3:00 p.m., Saturday, April 7 at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St.

Originally from East St. Louis, Johnson has performed around the area since the mid-1990s, and also serves as the voiceover artist for station identity spots on radio station WSIE (88.7 FM). She'll be accompanied during her Betty Carter tribute by guitarist Eric Slaughter, drummer Montez Coleman and bassist Bob Deboo.

Tickets for the performance are $10 at the door.

Jazz this week: Herbie Hancock, Vijay Iyer, Galactic, Eddie Henderson, and more

With what looks to be some nice early spring weather plus a diverse selection of jazz and creative music on local stages, it's a good week in St. Louis to get out to a club or concert hall and hear some live sounds. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, the New Orleans funk/jazz/hip-hop ensemble Galactic returns to the Pageant for what's becoming an annual visit around this time of year. Their special guests on this tour include singer Cory Glover of Living Color and trombonist Corey Henry of the Rebirth Brass Band, with jam-rock band Orgone opening.

Also tonight, pianist Vijay Iyer is back in St. Louis with his trio to begin a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. Iyer's new album Accelerando is out this week, and for more about that, plus some recent video clips of him and his trio in action, check out this video showcase post from a couple of weeks ago. Also worth reading: Pamela Espelund of the blog Bebopified has a report here on Iyer's recent residency at Minneapolis' Walker Art Center; and NPR's A Blog Supreme just ran an interesting item analyzing Iyer's covers - or as he likes to call them, "re-versions" - of works originally composed by others.

On Friday, saxophonist, composer and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake will be back home for the opening reception for an exhibit of his artwork being presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St downtown. Although it's not billed as a performance, Lake will read some of his poetry and play some solo sax at the event, which is free and open to the public.

Also on Friday, drummer Montez Coleman, who's spent a lot of time on the road in recent years with trumpeter Roy Hargrove and others, is back home for a spell and will lead a quartet at Robbie's House of Jazz; and saxophonist Austin Cebulski's quartet, with drummer Jerry Mazzuca, guitarist Mason Baron and bassist Ryan Chamberlain, will play the Cigar Inn.

On Saturday afternoon, trumpeter Eddie Henderson will be in town, teaming up with saxophonist Freddie Washington for a matinee concert presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery. The two men, billed as "Doctors That Play" in recognition of Henderson's medical degree and Washington's Ph.d, will be accompanied by bassist Bob Deboo, drummer Gary Sykes and pianist Ptah Williams.

The biggest show of the week, however, happens on Sunday night, when the legendary pianist and composer Herbie Hancock (pictured) will be here to play at the Touhill Performing Arts Center under the auspices of Jazz St. Louis. This is Hancock's first visit to St. Louis in nearly seven years, and according to this review of his show last week in Washington DC, fans can expect a setlist that emphasizes his funk material from the 1970s and beyond. For much more about Hancock, and videos featuring extended live versions of some of his most famous compositions, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club will presents St. Louis Classic Stompers in a matinee performance at the Doubletree Hotel in Westport; and the Bosman Twins will perform in a free early evening concert at Second Baptist Church as part of the St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Webster University will present a special concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on campus honoring local jazz DJ, photographer and historian Dennis Owsley. "Musical Reflections on Saint Louis Jazz History" will feature a program of tunes "either composed by or closely associated with St. Louis musical greats including Scott Joplin, Frank Trumbauer, Jimmy Blanton, Clark Terry, Miles Davis, Grant Green, Oliver Nelson, Julius Hemphill, and David Sanborn." Performers will include Paul DeMarinis (saxophones), Randy Holmes (trumpet), Steve Schenkel (guitar), Kim Portnoy and Carolbeth True (piano), Ric Vice (bass) and Kevin Gianino (drums).

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.)

Nu-Art Series announces Oliver Lake exhibit, Eddie Henderson concert

The Nu-Art Series has announced two events this month as part of their ongoing efforts to spotlight connections between jazz and visual arts.

* A new exhibit featuring paintings by saxophonist Oliver Lake (pictured, above left) and collages by S. Scott Davis III, who's a cousin of bassist Charles Mingus, will open with a reception at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 16 at Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. The exhibit, which is titled "East Meets West," will continue through April 20.

Lake will be in attendance at the opening, and though the event isn't billed as a performance, Nu-Art Series director George Sams says that the saxophonist also will read some of his poetry and play some music as part of the festivities. The reception is free and open to the public.

* Trumpeter Eddie Henderson (pictured, below left), known for his work with Herbie Hancock and many others, will perform in concert at 3:00 p.m., Saturday March 17 at Metropolitan Gallery.

Henderson, who's also a licensed psychiatrist, will team up with St. Louis saxophonist Freddie Washington, who holds a Ph.D, for a show that Sams has dubbed "Doctors That Play." They'll be assisted in their operations by three more St. Louis musicians: bassist Bob Deboo, drummer Gary Sykes and pianist Ptah Williams. Tickets for the Eddie Henderson concert will be $25 at the door.

Nu-Art Series to present "Drum Line II" this Saturday, November 19 at Metropolitan Gallery

Veteran jazz and creative music percussionists Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Charles "Bobo" Shaw and Gary Sykes once again will join forces for "Drum Line II" a performance to be presented by the Nu-Art Series from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. this Saturday, November 19 at Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St downtown.

This is the second annual "Drum Line" performance at the Metropolitan Gallery, with this year's edition also featuring percussionists Johnnie Johnson (who, as far as we know, is no relation to the late blues/rock pianist) and Eddie Brown.

Harris, Shaw and Sykes are all St. Louis natives who gained early experience in local African-American drum & bugle corps, which since their founding in the 1930s also have included well-known musicians such as Clark Terry, Philip Wilson and Oliver Lake. Tickets for "Drum Line II" are $10 for general admission; doors open at 2:00 p.m..

Jazz this week: Rudi Mwongozi, Denise Thimes with Llew Matthews, Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, and more

The jazz and creative and music scene in St. Louis usually is in transition this time of year, as the presenting season for many local not-for-profit organizations is winding down and the various summer tours, concert series and other seasonal activities have yet to get underway. Still, there are some noteworthy sounds happening around town this week, so let's go to the highlights.

As graduation time approaches, the musical offerings this week at Jazz at the Bistro are all about youth. On Thursday, the East St. Louis High School Jazz Band will perform with special guests Mardra and Reggie Thomas in what's being billed as a send-off for the band's upcoming trip to NYC for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition and festival.

Then on Friday and Saturday, the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, a group of high school musicians drawn from Jazz St. Louis' educational programs, will take the stage for their annual gig at the Bistro. Although the group's lineup changes from year to year as the players graduate and new ones join, when I've heard them over the years I've always been impressed with the All-Stars' overall level of musicianship and poise. If you're the sort who enjoys checking out the potential "stars of tomorrow," you're likely to enjoy them.

Also on Friday night, saxophonist Willie Akins will play at Robbie's House of Jazz, and guitarist Tom Byrne's trio is performing at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

On Saturday afternoon, keyboard player Rudi Mwongozi (pictured, above left) will perform in a concert presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown. Mwongozi, who's from Oakland and leads a jazz/R&B/reggae group called SONWA (Sound Of New World Afrikah), will play the music of Duke Ellington with drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw, bassist Claude Montgomery, alto saxophonist Kendrick Smith, and the Nu-Art Series' own George Sams on trumpet.

On Sunday afternoon, singer Denise Thimes will present her 15th annual Mothers Day show at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Thimes customarily features a guest star or two on this show each year, and this time, it's pianist Llew Matthews (pictured at left), who's served as musical director for singer Nancy Wilson and recorded with well-known jazz musicians such as Kenny Burrell, Buddy Collette, Hubert Laws and Kevin Eubanks. For those looking to make an afternoon of it, a optional dinner buffet is also available before the concert; see the Sheldon's website for details.

Also on Sunday, BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups has a double bill of interest to jazz fans, with the funk/R&B/jazz group Good 4 The Soul performing in the early evening and the Tom Byrne Trio taking the late shift.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday BB's has the Sessions Big Band; and on Tuesday morning, the Sheldon Jazz Quintet, with Mardra and Reggie Thomas and guitarist Rick Haydon, will play a Coffee Concert at the Sheldon. (As usual for the Coffee Concerts series, the same program will be repeated on Wednesday. )

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.)

Nu-Art Series announces spring concerts

The Nu-Art Series has announced a schedule of spring Saturday matinee concerts beginning on April 2 and continuing until May 14 at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. in downtown St. Louis.

The concerts, put together by Nu-Art's George Sams, will feature a mix of St. Louis musicians and returning expats, plus a couple of Sams' musical colleagues from when he lived in the San Francisco area. As with last year's spring series, the theme is "Re-Arrangements and Nu-Compositions," and each performer will offer his or her interpretation of the work of a well-known musician.

Singer Felicia Ezell, who last year performed a program of songs associated with Ella Fitzgerald for Nu-Art, will get it started on Saturday, April 2 performing "Favorites of Dionne Warwick" with accompaniment from pianist Brock Walker.

Next up, St. Louis native Marlin Bonds, now based in New York, comes home to play the music of Herbie Hancock on Saturday, April 9. Bonds began his musical career as a trumpet player, but lately has been working as a producer and arranger with hip-hop performers such as Twista, Bow Wow, and Swizzbeats. Sams says Bonds will pick up his horn again for this concert, with pianist Adam Maness, drummer Marc Colenburg and bassist Nick Jost serving as the rhythm section.

And speaking of picking a trumpet again, Sams will get his own horn out for the concert on Saturday, April 23, re-teaming with saxophonist Lewis Jordan (pictured at top left) in a new edition of their group The Sound Clinic to perform music by Ornette Coleman. Sams and Jordan, who lives in the Bay Area, will be joined by Chicago bassist Yosef Ben Israel and St. Louisan Charles "Bobo" Shaw on drums.

After a week's respite, the series will feature another visitor from the Bay Area, as keyboardist Rudi Mwongozi (pictured at left) plays a program of music by Duke Ellington on Saturday, May 7. Mwongozi, who's from Oakland and leads a jazz/R&B/reggae group called SONWA (Sound Of New World Afrikah) , will play with Sams, Shaw, bassist Claude Montgomery and alto saxophonist Kendrick Smith.

The spring series wraps up on Saturday May 14 with another St. Louis native, guitarist Marvin Horne, playing the music of Grant Green. Horne, now based in NYC, will be backed by Brock Walker, Nick Jost and Charles "Bobo" Shaw.

Doors open at 2 p.m. for all concerts, with music from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission.

Jazz this week: Christian Pincock, Musica Slesa, Moyindau, Eric Slaughter Trio, Erika Johnson, and more

It's more than likely to be freezing cold in St. Louis this weekend, but with the 2011 portion of the presenting season starting to heat up, there are a number of jazz and creative music performances that could justify the effort required to bundle up and brave the chill.

If you're looking specifically for something to put you in mind of warmer climes, the St. Louis based Latin jazz band Musica Slesa will be performing on Friday night at Jazz at the Bistro and presumably will be, as the saying goes, muy caliente.

Also on Friday, pianist and singer Curt Landes' trio will play at Robbie's House of Jazz, and trombonist/composer/electronic musician Christian Pincock will perform at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Pincock's music is concerned with the interaction of live, sampled and synthesized sounds, with lots of computer processing of his trombone. You can see a couple of videos of him in performance in last Saturday's video showcase post.

On Saturday afternoon, singer Erika Johnson will reprise her take on the music of Nina Simone for a concert presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown. That evening, drummer Brian Sullivan leads a trio with bassist Darrell Mixon and pianist Mat Dillinger at Robbie's.

On Sunday, guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio (pictured) will do a free, early evening concert at Second Baptist Church in Richmond Heights for the St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers Series.

After that, if you hurry, you can make it down to the south side for a Sunday evening performance from Moyindau at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. The Michigan-based quartet brings together influences from jazz, classical, Eastern European folk music, free improv and more, and you can sample some of their sounds from that same video post from last week.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday BB's Jazz Blues and Soups has pianist Dave Becherer's trio, and on Tuesday, the weekly open jam sessions continue at Robbie's House of Jazz.

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.)

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.

Nu-Art Series to present "The Drum Line" on Saturday, November 20

The Nu-Art Series will present "The Drum Line," a performance by St. Louis percussionists Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Charles "Bobo" Shaw (pictured) and Gary Sykes, at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, November 20, at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St downtown.

All three percussionists are St. Louis natives who got their start within local drum & bugle corps. Specifically, Nu-Art's news release mentions two marching units, the Tom Powell Post and American Woodsman, affiliated with VFW Post #77, which served African-American veterans. Other well-known alumni include Clark Terry, Phillip Wilson and Oliver Lake.

Shaw is perhaps best known as a member of the Black Artists Group and co-leader of the Human Arts Ensemble, and has collaborated with many well-known improvising musicians around the world, while Harris and Sykes are both longtime mainstays of the local scene, playing with a wide range of local, regional and touring jazz artists.

Admission to "The Drum Line" is $10.00 at the door. For more information, call the gallery at 314-535-6500.

Nu-Art Series featured in Riverfront Times

I've got a short feature article in this week's Riverfront Times about the Nu-Art Series' jazz composers concerts at the Metropolitan Gallery and Nu-Art's main man George Sams. You can read it online here.

Metrotix offering online pre-sale for Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at the Sheldon

As mentioned here earlier, single tickets for the performance by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on Saturday, March 13 at the Sheldon Concert Hall are scheduled to go on sale to the general public at 10:00 a.m. this Saturday, February 13.

However, Metrotix will have a special pre-sale for online customers starting at 10:00 a.m. Friday, February 12. To access the offer, go to the Metrotix site and use the promotional code JALCO10.

Jazz-inspired art, photos accompanying Nu-Art Series' jazz composers concerts

The Nu-Art Series last Saturday kicked off a set of shows at the Metropolitan Gallery that will feature a dozen St. Louis musicians performing their own work and that of well-known jazz composers.

In keeping with Nu-Art's ongoing theme of "jazz and visual arts," there's also a new show up at the gallery, featuring jazz-inspired paintings by Tony Renner and photos of jazz artists in performance taken by longtime St. Louis American reporter/photographer Roscoe Crenshaw.

There will be an artists' reception for Renner and Crenshaw from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Friday, February 19 at the gallery, 2936 Locust St. downtown., and the exhibition and concert series both continue through April 17. For a complete schedule of Nu-Art's jazz composers series concerts, see this post.

Illustration: T. Renner, "Improvisation for Charlie Parker #2," 2008, acrylic on panel, 19" x 17.5".

Jazz this week: Bela Fleck & the Africa Project; a tribute to Eddie Jefferson; Jan Shapiro; Matt Wilson; Ntozake Shange & Hamiet Bluiett; and more

There's lots going on in St. Louis over the next few days with regard to jazz and creative music, so let's go right to the highlights, starting with tonight when the much-anticipated Bela Fleck and the Africa Project tour comes to the Sheldon Concert Hall. For more on the Africa Project, see this article that I wrote for last week's Riverfront Times. Also, new this week, Playback STL's Amy Burger has a piece on the show here.

Next up come three performances in which the human voice will play a key role, beginning with "The Genius of Eddie Jefferson," which opens tonight at Jazz at the Bistro and runs through Saturday. This tribute to the late jazz singer and lyricist features vocalists Carla Cook and Allan Harris and pianist Eric Reed, and there's lots to see and hear about them and Jefferson in this post from last Saturday.

Also, Jazz St. Louis is offering a two-tickets-for-the-price-of-one deal for the 8:30 p.m. show on Thursday only; for details on how to get the discount, see this post. As a longtime fan of Eddie Jefferson, I'm glad to see his music revisited in this way; the fact that it can be done by two singers as different from Jefferson (and each other) as Cook and Harris certainly is a testament to its wide range of expression and long-lasting appeal.

On Thursday night, singer and St. Louis expat Jan Shapiro, who now heads the jazz vocal program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, will perform with guitarist William Lenihan in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. As you'd expect from a vocal teacher, Shapiro's got a fine technique, and unlike many of the more callow female singers on the scene today, she's lived enough to know how to use that technique to best advantage while imbuing her song interpretations with some real emotional weight.

Moving on to Saturday afternoon, the Nu-Art Series will present poet and author Ntozake Shange in a spoken word performance with music from legendary baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett and multi-instrumentalist Dr. London Branch starting at 3:00 p.m. at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. in downtown St. Louis. The program also will feature the musical group JBMG, which includes the grandchildren of singer Fontella Bass and trumpet player Lester Bowie.

On Saturday evening, trombonist and low brass man Lamar Harris brings his mix of jazz, funk, hip-hop, R&B, classical and who-knows-what-else to downtown's newest live music venue, the St. Louis Jazz Cafe.

Then on Sunday afternoon, drummer Matt Wilson (pictured) and his Quartet will do a matinee starting at 3:00 p.m. at the Black Cat Theatre. in Maplewood. The group, founded in 1996, includes Andrew D’Angelo on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Jeff Lederer on tenor and soprano saxophones and clarinet, and Chris Lightcap on acoustic and electric bass. Wilson is a consistently interesting drummer as well as a prolific and sometimes provocative bandleader, and given that the Quartet has played together since 1996, they've got a lot of shared experience and repertoire to mine, which should make for an entertaining and musically substantive show.

UPDATE, 4/1/09, 1:00 p.m. - As yr. humble editor is not really the charity-party type, I neglected to mention in the first version of this post that this Sunday is also the date of Jazz St. Louis' annual fundraising gala, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark. The event features dinner, an auction, cocktail music from the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, and a headlining set from the lovely Italian-born, Berklee-educated singer Chiara Civello.

Tickets are $250 per person. I don't know if there's any room left as of this writing, but if you'd like to go, you can contact Melissa Jones at Jazz St. Louis by calling 314-289-4037 or via email at melissa@jazzstl.org to ask about ticket availability.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Sunday night, the eclectically funky Good 4 The Soul plays the early set at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups, and the St. Louis New Jazz X-Tet holds forth as usual at Riddles. On Monday night, the Sessions Big Band returns to BB's, and on Tuesday, Bennett Wood and Friends are back at The Gramophone.

As always, these are just some of the more noteworthy shows happening around St. Louis this week, and with the start of a new month, there will undoubtedly some updates and additions over the next few days. To see the latest listings for jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit 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. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

Coming attractions include Oikos Ensemble, Mountains, Ntozake Shange with Hamiet Bluiett

The weekend brought news of three upcoming performances of interest to St. Louis jazz and creative music fans, all happening at venues other than the usual clubs and concert halls:

* Mount Tabor United Church of Christ, 6520 Arsenal St. in south St. Louis, will present a program called "Jazz for the Journey" featuring the Oikos Ensemble at 10:15 a.m. next Sunday, March 29.

Led by saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie (pictured) and pianist Christopher Bakriges, the Oikos Ensemble is a world music/jazz group that is part of MICA (Ministry of Imagination, Creativity and the Arts), a national ministry of the United Church of Christ. Their multi-media live shows feature an "imaginative interplay of jazz, storytelling and spirituality." The performance at Mount Tabor UCC is free and open to the public, though a free-will offering will be received. For more information, call 314-645-9025.

* The Nu-Art Series' next offering is "Dangling Participles and Shady Syllables", a spoken word performance featuring author, poet and playwright Ntozake Shange and musicians Hamiet Bluiett (baritone saxophone) and Dr. London Branch (piano and trumpet), starting at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 4 at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. in downtown St. Louis.

The performance is part of Nu-Art's ongoing series "Jazz and the Visual Arts," and also will feature the musical group JBMG, which includes the grandchildren of singer Fontella Bass and trumpet player Lester Bowie. Admission is $20 at the door.

That same weekend, the Metropolitan Gallery will host a free opening reception for its exhibition of photographs and paintings by St. Louis artists Adelia Parker and James Seitu Smith from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, April 3. The exhibition runs through May 15. Also, Ntozake Shange will do a book signing from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 5 at Borders bookstore in Brentwood.

* The gallery and performance space Open Lot, 1310 South 18th Street, will present a concert by the ambient/electronic/psychedelic duo Mountains on Tuesday, April 21. Mountains, comprised of musicians Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, "is often compared to artists such as Brian Eno and Fennesz, citing their extended melodies and their unique broad guitar work... Mountains seamlessly blend pastoral electronic sounds with both field recordings and a plethora of acoustic instruments." Show time and ticket prices are both to be announced; watch this space for updates.

(Edited 3/25/09 to fix a typo in Hamiet Bluiett's name.)

Jazz this week: The Cunninghams, Tony DeSare, "BAG and Beyond," and more

It's a week of homecomings for St. Louis jazz, as performers from both the Gaslight Square era of the early 1960s and the experimental period of the late 1960s return to local venues.

The Gaslight Square veteran is singer/percussionist/multi-instrumentalist Don Cunningham, who now lives in Las Vegas and works with his wife Alicia, a singer and pianist, as The Cunninghams. They'll be at the Sheldon Concert Hall this evening with an act that's a mix of cleverly arranged jazz vocals, straightahead swing, Latin jazz, lounge music and exotica, honed by many years touring the United States and Asia as headliners and as featured performers with the Count Basie Orchestra. I wrote more about The Cunninghams when they were in town in July 2007, and you can read those posts here and here.

Also returning to St. Louis this weekend are saxophonist Oliver Lake, trumpeter Rasul Siddik and other members of the original Black Artists Group, the musicians and artists collective that flourished here briefly in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lake, Siddik, and many other former BAG members will be at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown this weekend in conjunction with a three-day series of events dubbed "BAG and Beyond."

It starts with a reception on Friday evening for an exhibit by artist Oliver Jackson, another co-founder of the multi-disciplinary arts collective. Saturday's concert will showcase Siddik, performing with pianist Katy Roberts, plus a group led by saxophonist Freddie Washington and featuring young trumpeter Marlon Bonds, plus additional musical, poetry and spoken word performances. On Sunday, Lake will perform on a bill that also includes his fellow World Saxophone Quartet member and BAG co-founder, baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett (who still lives nearby in Brooklyn, IL), poet Quincy Troupe and others. For more on the "BAG and Beyond" weekend, see the posts here, here and here. (As an aside, this week's edition of the St. Louis American features some previously unpublished poetry by Troupe and other BAG associated writers; read their work online here.)

Elsewhere in town, clarinetist Scott Alberici will give a free concert tonight to kick off the fall 2008 Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Alberici probably is the preeminent local player on his instrument, with great technical facility and a pleasing tone, and his incorporation of modern influences - to these ears, similar in some ways to the approach of Eddie Daniels - allows him to demonstrate respect for the long history of the clarinet in jazz without being completely hemmed in by traditional conceptions.

Last but not least, singer/pianist Tony DeSare (pictured) has returned for another stint at Jazz at the Bistro, where he'll perform through Saturday night. (DeSare's not from St. Louis, but given that this is his fourth trip here in the last three years, he's probably starting to feel somewhat at home.) If you're a fan of vintage Frank Sinatra or and/or Harry Connick Jr., chances are you'll enjoy DeSare, who's a highly skilled piano player as well as a personable entertainer. You can see a couple of videos of DeSare in action here.

These performances are just some of the week's highlights, so to see listings of more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit 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. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.

Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett to perform on Sunday, September 14 as part of "BAG and Beyond" at Metropolitan Gallery

Via St. Louis American editor Chris King's personal blog Confluence City, there's news of a weekend of events next month celebrating the musical and artistic legacy of St. Louis' original Black Artists Group.

"BAG and Beyond," a production of the Nu-Art Series, will take place Friday, September 12 through Sunday, September 14 at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2946 Locust St. in downtown St. Louis. The weekend kicks off Friday evening with an opening reception for an art exhibit featuring the work of BAG co-founder Oliver Jackson. (See K. Curtis Lyle's article in last week's American for more on Jackson.) A VIP reception, which costs $20 per person, will begin at 5:00 p.m., with the doors opening to the general public at 6:00 p.m.

At 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 13, "BAG and Beyond" continues with a concert featuring trumpeter Rasul Siddik with pianist Katy Roberts, saxophonist Freddie Washington, trumpeter Marlon Bonds, poets Eugene Redmond and K. Curtis Lyle, and more. And at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 14, the weekend wraps up with a concert featuring saxophonist Oliver Lake (pictured), who will perform with percussionist Tayammum Falah and poet Shirley LeFlore on a bill that also includes Lake's fellow BAG and World Saxophone Quartet co-founder, baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, plus poet and author Quincy Troupe and others.

Tickets for the Saturday and Sunday concerts are $20 per person for each show, and will be available at the door. If you attend the reception on Friday evening, you can purchase a combined ticket for both the Saturday and Sunday concerts for $35. For more information about "BAG and Beyond," call 314-535-6500.