Sunday Session: August 11, 2019

Sam Rivers

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Joni Mitchell's 'Mingus' At 40: A Look Back At A Seminal Jazz Collab (Grammy.com)
* The Night Charlie Parker Soared in South Central L.A. (AltaOnline.com)
* Why Stevie Ray Vaughan Turned Down a David Bowie Tour (Rolling Stone)
* Woodstock Had Some of the Most Legendary Performances in History. But Many Attendees Never Heard a Single Note (Time)
* Herbie Hancock & Cecile McLorin Salvant Among 9 Best Moments at 2019 Newport Jazz Festival (Billboard)
* How SFJAZZ Center Established Itself As A Cultural Force In San Francisco (Grammy.com)
* Roger McGuinn Shoots Down David Crosby’s Byrds Reunion Idea (Again) (Rolling Stone)
* Mike Stern: Different Orbits (AllAboutJazz.com)
* From The Tent Show To The Parlor: Bessie Smith's Travels In Her Time (NPR)
* Laurie Spiegel’s expanding universe (CrackMagazine.net)
* The sounds of Woodstock reborn (CBS News)
* Copyrighting the 'Building Blocks' of Music? Why the Katy Perry Case Alarms Producers (KQED)
* Art Neville spent a lifetime 'throwin' bricks' with the Meters and Neville Brothers (NOLA.com)
* How "Free Exploration" Can Inspire New Compositional Creation (Guitar World)
* Tools for the Personal Studio (Pro Sound News)
* JAZZIZ Backstage Pass: Pianist Monty Alexander Plays Monk with a Reggae Twist (Jazziz)
* Bob Wilber, Saxophonist and Clarinetist Who Carried a Torch for Classic Jazz, Has Died at 91 (WBGO)
* Noncommercial Sounds Draw Crowds to Berlin’s A’larme! Festival (DownBeat)
* Want to Get on the Radio? Have $50,000? (Rolling Stone)
* The Unheard ‘Abbey Road’: An Exclusive Preview of Beatles’ Expanded Final Masterpiece (Rolling Stone)
* How Decca Records Brought Jazz Music To The World (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* First-Time Leaders Preserve and Evolve Newport Legacy (DownBeat)
* How a Collaboration Between Roky Erickson and Doug Sahm Became Part of the Blueprint for Punk Rock (Austin Chronicle)
* John Fogerty celebrates 1960s rock with ‘My 50-Year Trip’ tour (Boston Globe)
* Cultivating the Legacy of Sam Rivers (DownBeat)
* How composer Matthew Burtner is putting climate change into song (PBS)
* Listen With Me (Columbia Journalism Review)

Jazz this week: Mike Stern & Kimberly Thompson, George Sams, Ralph Towner, Ikue Mori & Nate Wooley, Russell Gunn, and more

As you might be able to deduce from looking at the headline for this post, it's very busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis.

Over the next few days, there will be a plethora of visiting performers on local stages, plus the opening of a play about one of the most famous jazz singers ever, free master classes from two guitar greats, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 15
Guitarist Mike Stern performs for the first of four nights continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro, joined by drummer Kimberly Thompson, saxophonist Bob Franceschini, and bassist Teymur Phell.

It's been nearly seven years since Stern (pictured, top left) last headlined a show at the Bistro, and with St. Louis native Thompson on the gig, demand for tickets should be brisk, so advance reservations are strongly recommended.

Also on Wednesday, Cabaret St. Louis presents their monthly "Open Mic Night" at The Emerald Room at The Monocle.

Thursday,
February 16
On Thursday afternoon, Mike Stern will present a free jazz guitar clinic sponsored by Mozingo Music at Lindenwood University's J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts.

Thursday evening, trumpeter George Sams (pictured, center left) will perform for the "Not So Quiet" concert series at the St. Louis Public Library's main location downtown with a group including poet Shirley LeFlore, percussionist Henry Claude, cellist Tracy Andreotti, and violinist Alyssa Avery.

Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode returns to Cyrano's; and the first preview performance of Max and Louie Productions' staging of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, the Tony Award-winning play-with-music about Billie Holiday, will be presented at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

The show, which features Chicago-based actress and singer Alexis J. Roston reprising her award-winning performance as Holiday, opens officially on Friday night and continues through Saturday, March 4.

Friday, February 17
Friday afternoon, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a "Symposium on the Music of Ralph Towner" with Towner, William Lenihan and Steve Schenkel at the Goldberg Formal Lounge in the Danforth University Center on the Wash U campus.

That evening, funk legends Tower of Power will perform at River City Casino. Although drummer David Garibaldi and substitute bassist Marc Van Wageningen are still recovering from serious injuries suffered in an accident before a gig last month in Oakland, TOP's current tour is continuing, with original bassist Francis "Rocco" Prestia back on the bandstand and former drummer Herman Matthews, who played with the group for several years in the 1990s, filling in for Garibaldi.

Also on Friday, trumpeter Byron Stripling will be guest soloist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as they present their Black History Month program "Lift Every Voice and Sing," at Powell Symphony Hall.

Elsewhere around town, trumpeter Jim Manley returns to Evangeline's; trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and pianist Ptah Williams perform duets at Thurman's in Shaw; and Second Generation Swing plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, 
February 18
New Music Circle presents electronic musician Ikue Mori and trumpeter Nate Wooley at The Luminary.

For more about that, and some videos of Mori and Wooley (pictured, bottom left) in performance, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, the Jazz at Holmes series presents a solo concert by Ralph Towner at 560 Music Center. Towner has just released a new album of solo guitar performances, and you can read more about that and see and hear some videos of him in this post from a couple of weeks ago.

Sunday, February 19
Trumpeter and East St. Louis native Russell Gunn, now living in Atlanta, will be back home to headline Community Women Against Hardship's "Black History Benefit" at Jazz at the Bistro, accompanied by pianist Adam Maness, singer Anita Jackson, bassist Jeff Anderson and drummer Montez Coleman.

Also on Sunday afternoon, St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Bob Row and friends at the Elks Lodge #9 in Creve Coeur.

Monday, February 20
Webster University Jazz Collective will perform 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.)

Miles on Monday: Prestige 10" LPs reissued, the latest Miles Ahead news, and more

This week in Miles Davis news:

* Concord Records' Prestige imprint will release a box set reissuing 11 of Davis' albums released originally from 1951 to 1954 in the 10" LP format on Prestige Records.

* Jazz Times magazine has posted to YouTube a video of guitarist Mike Stern talking about two of his musical mentors, Miles Davis and guitarist Jim Hall.

* Keyboardist Adam Holzman, who played with Davis from 1985 to 1989, discussed his time with the trumpeter as one of many topics in a new interview published on Innerviews.com.

* Photographer Glen Craig, whose exhibit "A Day in the Life of Miles Davis" has been shown at galleries in Los Angeles and Miami and be seen this spring in Washington DC and NYC, was the subject of an interview published on the Leica camera website.

* The dates and locations that Don Cheadle's film Miles Ahead will play here in St. Louis have been revealed: The film movie opens Friday, April 22 at the AMC Creve Coeur 12 and the Tivoli. A complete list of the film's opening dates and theaters by city can be found on the Sony Classics Miles Ahead website.

* With the release of Miles Ahead in NYC and Los Angeles set for this coming weekend, over the past week there's been a flurry of press attention for the film, its director and stars, and the premiere screening in Cincinnati, where the movie was made. Here, grouped roughly by topic, are some of the highlights of the most recent coverage:

Review: Three Not-Really-Biopics Reimagine the Lives of Chet Baker, Miles Davis and Hank Williams (Time)
Movie review: Don Cheadle Is Electrifying in Miles Ahead (Vulture.com)

Don Cheadle Attends Miles Ahead Premiere In Cincinnati (Inquisitr.com)
Don Cheadle expresses gratitude to Cincinnati at 'Miles Ahead' premiere (WCPO)
Don Cheadle: ‘Cincinnati opened its arms to us’ (WLWT)
'Miles Ahead' movie premiere picture gallery (Cincinnati.com)
Friends and Family Remember Legendary Jazz Musician Miles Davis at the Debut of Don Cheadle's Miles Ahead (People)

6 Miles Davis Albums That Changed Music (NPR)
Don Cheadle and Jazz Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire Talk Bringing Miles Davis' Sound and Story to the Big Screen (Billboard)

What Does Genius Look Like? Don Cheadle On Miles Davis And Race In Hollywood (NPR)
Cheadle Discusses Bold Cinematic Depiction of Miles (DownBeat)
Don Cheadle On Becoming Miles Davis (New York Times)
How Don Cheadle Became Miles Davis (The Daily Beast)
First-time director Don Cheadle jazzed to have completed biopic 'Miles Ahead' (New York Daily News)
Ewan McGregor on Miles Davis biopic, taking direction from a costar (The Today Show)

In addition to the feature stories and interviews linked above, Cheadle (pictured, as Davis in one of the film's flashback sequences) sat down last Thursday for an extended interview that was webcast live on AOL.com, which you can see in the embedded video window below:



Last but not least, Sony Classics last week released another trailer for the film, featuring Cheadle as Davis talking about classical music, improvisation & "playing like you used to":

Miles on Monday: Miles Davis vs. Kanye West, Miles Ahead poster released, and more

This week in Miles Davis news:

* The poster for Don Cheadle's film Miles Ahead was released last week, promoting the film's opening in select US theaters on April 1 and in the UK on April 22. (You can see a larger version of the poster by clicking on the image at left.)

* Also from the Miles Ahead file: a preview of the film in advance of a screening at the 2016 Glasgow Film Festival, a review from The Movie Blog; and new still photos from the film via IndieWire.com.

* In an interview with the BBC, guitarist Mike Stern, who played with Davis in the 1980s, reminisced briefly about his time working with the trumpeter.

* The box set Miles Davis – At Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 was described as "essential listening" by the website Audiophile News and Music Review.

* And from the "Miles Davis as cultural icon" file, the podcast Yo, Is This Racist? last week found hosts Langston Kerman and Andrew attempting to settle an argument with a listener in an episode titled "Miles Davis vs Kanye West".

Edited after posting to add the IndieWire link.

Tom Kennedy releases new album Just Play

Bassist and St. Louis native Tom Kennedy has released a new CD titled Just Play on the Colorado-based indie label Capri Records.

The album (pictured) is Kennedy's fourth release as a leader, and features him on acoustic bass, along with fellow St. Louis native Dave Weckl on drums.

The rest of the cast includes the stellar guitarists Mike Stern and Lee Ritenour, as well as pianist Renee Rosnes, saxophonists George Garzone and Steve Wirts, trumpeter Tim Hagans, and trombonist John Allred.

They take on a program of eight standards, including "Airegin," "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes," "In A Sentimental Mood" and "What Is This Thing Called Love," plus Stern's original "One Liners."

The album is dedicated to Kennedy's brother Ray, a pianist and composer best known for his work with singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli. The Kennedy brothers also performed and recorded together from childhood until 2008, when Ray was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Just Play is available now in CD format, with digital release to follow. You can read a review of the album by Edward Blanco of AllAboutJazz.com here.

Jazz this week: John McLaughlin & 4th Dimension, Mike Stern, Charles "Bobo" Shaw, and more

This week's jazz and creative music events in St. Louis include visits from two stellar guitarists known for their electrified explorations; two appearances by the too-rarely-seen drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw; and lots more. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight through Saturday, guitarist Mike Stern is back at Jazz at the Bistro, accompanied by St. Louisans Dave Weckl on drums and Tom Kennedy on bass, plus tenor saxophonist Bob Malach. Though he's demonstrated considerable versatility over the course of his 30-year career, Stern is at his best when rocking a jazz-fusion sound, and with local heroes Weckl and Kennedy on board, demand for tickets should be brisk. For more on Stern, check out this video showcase post from last Saturday, as well as StLJN's past coverage. (While he's here in St. Louis, Stern also will do a free, public master class on Friday afternoon at Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus. )

On Thursday, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Josh Weinstein and Zimbabwe Nkenya will do a free performance at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in Grand Center as part of the gallery's "sound wave" series. Playing off the current exhibition "stylus," a project by artist Ann Hamilton, the musicians will be "situated in different galleries in the Pulitzer and will form a kind of "call and response" with each other, responding to each other's music and the exhibition."

That same evening, pianist Ptah Williams leads his trio in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, this time drawing on his repertoire of modern jazz and fusion material.

Also on Thursday, the Presenters Dolan kick off a weekend of cabaret performances at the the Kranzberg Arts Center, with Robert Brieg reprising his show "Feels Like Home." Singer and actor Elise Labarge then takes the Kranzberg stage on Friday and Saturday with her show "Kurt Weill in Berlin, Paris and New York."

Friday's big event, however, would seem to be the concert by guitarist John McLaughlin and 4th Dimension at the Sheldon Concert Hall. It's been nearly a decade since McLaughlin last played St. Louis, in an all-acoustic "tribute to Shakti" at the Sheldon, and much longer since local audiences have had a chance to watch the former leader of the seminal fusion band Mahavishnu Orchestra show off his electric chops. To see some videos of McLaughlin and his current cohorts in action, check out this post from a couple of Saturdays ago. Yr. humble StLJN editor also penned a Critic's Pick on the show for the Riverfront Times, which can be read online here.

On Saturday, the Nu-Art Series presents "The Drum Line" with Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Jerome "Scrooge" Harris and Gary Sykes at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St downtown. As noted in the intro to this post, Shaw, who first gained wide attention as a member of St. Louis' Black Artists Group and co-leader of the Human Arts Ensemble, doesn't perform locally all that often these days, so any chance to hear him is something of a rarity. Add in Sykes and Harris - two top local drummers who, though highly skilled, aren't as well known outside of St. Louis - and it promises to be an afternoon of powerful percussive prowess.

Elsewhere around town, Robbie's House of Jazz is offering a "blues weekend," with Big George Brock and the New Houserockers on Friday and singer Barbara Carr on Saturday; and on Sunday, singer Anita Jackson and keyboardist and singer Jeremiah Allen will perform an early evening show at the Ambassador Events Center's Klub Klymaxx.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band returns to BB's Jazz Blues and Soups, while the student musicians in the Webster University Big Band will perform a free concert in Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster U campus. On Tuesday, the Genesis Jazz Project will play a free concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

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.)

Mike Stern to present free master class this Friday, November 19 at Graham Chapel

This just in from the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University: Guitarist Mike Stern (pictured) will give a free master class at 4:00 p.m. this Friday, November 19 at Graham Chapel on the Wash U. campus.

The event is sponsored by Jazz at Holmes and the Wash U. Department of Music, and it is free and open to the general public, with no ticket or advance registration needed.

Stern will perform Wednesday through Saturday of this week at Jazz at the Bistro, and was featured here on StLJN in this past Saturday's Video Showcase. The Post-Dispatch this weekend also had a story by Calvin Wilson previewing this week's gigs by Stern and fellow guitarist John McLaughlin, who's playing Friday at the Sheldon. You can read that article online here.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Mike Stern

If you're a fan of jazz/fusion guitar, next week should be a good time to be in St. Louis. In addition to the concert by John McLaughlin and 4th Dimension on Friday at the Sheldon, which was previewed last week in this space, guitarist Mike Stern will be playing Wednesday, November 17 through Saturday, November 20 a couple of blocks away at Jazz at the Bistro.

Stern has been a relatively frequent visitor to St. Louis in recent years, playing at the Bistro with his own band a couple of years ago and again with the Yellowjackets last season. There's another local connection as well, since Stern frequently works with drummer Dave Weckl and bassist Tom Kennedy. Both St. Louis natives will be on hand for Stern's gig next week, with saxophonist Bob Malach rounding out the group.

Today's first clip features Stern, Weckl, Kennedy and saxophonist Bob Franceschini, who played here with Stern in 2008, performing Stern's tune "Tumble Home" last year at the Alatri In Blues festival in Italy.

Down below, you can see Stern, Weckl and Kennedy playing an extended version of "Yesterdays" at the Triumph of Jazz Festival in Moscow in June 2010. The performance is in two parts, features solos from all three musicians, and serves as a representative example of the way Stern and Co. typically stretch out in concert. (The audio level on this performance is a bit lower than usual, so you may need to adjust playback volume accordingly.)

Below that, we've got a couple of goodies of particular interest to guitarists. The fourth clip is a short interview with Stern in which he discusses his guitar rig, including his preference for using two amplifiers and his use of digital delay. Below that, there's a video compiled from a master class, in which Stern discusses the use of chord tones while soloing, and then demonstrates his point in a short performance.









(Edited after posting to correct the day of the John McLaughlin concert.)

Jazz this week: The Yellowjackets with Mike Stern, New Music Circle turns 50, and more

This will be a relatively short post by the usual "Jazz this week" standard, both because yr. humble editor has some time constraints due to other pressing matters, and because there's a slight lull in the St. Louis concert scene this weekend with regard to jazz and creative music. Specifically, we're at the time of year when some of our not-for-profit presenters, such as the Sheldon and the Touhill, have already wrapped up their jazz concert series for the season; the universities are coming to exam time and the end of their spring semesters; and the summer slate of festivals, fairs, concerts in the park, and so on has yet to begin.

As a result, there's only one major jazz headliner in town over the next few days to recommend - the Yellowjackets with guitarist Mike Stern (pictured), who will be performing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. For more on this pairing of two very popular acts among jazz-fusion fans, including some video samples, see this post from last Saturday. Given that both Stern and the 'Jackets have their own respective fan bases, and the presence of St. Louis native Marcus Baylor (second from right) on drums, these shows should draw some good crowds. So, while advance reservations are usually a good idea if you're planning to go to the Bistro, in this case, calling ahead is definitely recommended.

Not far from the Bistro, singer Brian Owens is doing a free show starting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night at the Vaughn Cultural Center, which is located in the Urban League building, 3701 Grandel Square in the Grand Center district. The flyer for the show says seating is limited, so get there early to be assured a spot.

Also in the very same neighborhood, electronic musician and former St. Louisan Tom Hamilton will be back in town this weekend to do a 50th anniversary-themed concert for New Music Circle on Saturday at the Kranzberg Arts Center, which is in the newly renovated Big Brothers-Big Sisters building at 501 N. Grand. For more about Hamilton's concert, check out the preview story Terry Perkins wrote for the St. Louis Beacon here.

Elsewhere in town, St. Louis Jazz Cafe will have smooth jazz saxophonist Readus Miller on Thursday and again on Saturday; drummer Joe Pastor's trio on Friday; and the Usual Suspects Duo for Sunday brunch. On Sunday night, jazz/funk/R&B band Good 4 The Soul has an early evening gig at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, and on Tuesday, saxophonist Bennett Wood is back for another no-cover-charge show at The Gramophone.

With a new month beginning this week, band and venue schedule information for May is still coming in. So, as always, updates on more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond will be posted to the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar as they arrive at StLJN HQ.

(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: The Yellowjackets with Mike Stern

This week's videos feature the Yellowjackets and Mike Stern, who will be returning to St. Louis to perform at Jazz at the Bistro starting this coming Wednesday, April 29 and continuing through Saturday, May 2. Both Stern and the 'Jackets played separate weeks at the Bistro last year, but these will be their first St. Louis shows together.

They joined forces in 2008 to record the CD Lifecycle and tour the summer festival circuit, and it worked out well enough that they booked more dates together in 2009. Given that the Yellowjackets originally formed in the early 1980s as the backup band for guitarist Robben Ford, it would seem that their collaboration with Stern could be seen as a fresh direction, a return to their roots, or some of both.

The video clip up top is from a show in July 2008 at a jazz festival in Italy, and shows the Yellowjackets and Stern performing "Revelation," originally recorded by the 'Jackets on their album Shades. Down below, there's a clip of them playing Stern's tune "Chromozone" from their gig at Bohemia Jazz Fest 2008, and in the third spot, a promotional video for Lifecycle with some music and brief comments from the players.

Notes from the Net: Ian Carr mourned, Linda Presgrave reviewed, Eric Person on the road, plus news, reviews and more

Here's this week's compilation of news and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including musicians from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions - now with even more boldfacing!

* Alas, the only significant Miles Davis-related link this week is to the sad news that the British jazz trumpeter and writer Ian Carr died this past Wednesday at age 75. Long considered one of the top trumpet players on the British scene, Carr wrote a well-regarded biography of Miles and was influenced significantly by Davis' music. His band Nucleus made some fine electric jazz/fusion recordings that still hold up well today. R.I.P., Mr. Carr.

* On a much happier note, here's a review of pianist and St. Louis expat Linda Presgrave's new CD Inspiration, via AllAboutJazz.com, which says, in part: "Whether performing original compositions or a cover, Presgrave and her accompanists are in top form...Inspiration doesn't just honor musicians "who happen to be women"; it is music for its own sake."

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Eric Person (pictured) and his band Meta-Four will be in the Quad Cities on March 15 to play the Third Sunday Jazz Matinee & Workshop Series at the Redstone Room in Davenport, IA, and they got a nice writeup in the local paper, which you can see online here.

* The Ars Nova Workshop in Philadelphia just presented the second part of their tribute to alto saxophonist, composer and former St. Louisan Julius Hemphill at Philly's World Cafe. The concert featured Hemphill's music for big band and sax sextet, as performed by a big band including multi-reedman and St. Louis native Marty Ehrlich.

* DJ and blogger LeRoy "The JazzCat" Downs was one of the hosts of the recent Playboy Jazz Cruise, produced by St. Louis-based Jazz Cruises LLC. You can read his account of the voyage, which included St. Louis' own Peter Martin and Montez Coleman among the many musicians on board, and see lots of photos - all rated "SFW - Safe For Work," in case you were concerned about the potential presence of scantily clad Bunnies - here.

* Turning to the "coming attractions" file: Percussionist Gino Robair will be in St. Louis on Saturday to perform at Forest Park Community College - see this post for details - but before he gets here, he'll be visiting Detroit on Tuesday to play a gig with Marko Novachcoff, Joel Peterson, Piotr Michalowski, Mike Khoury and James Cornish at the Kerrytown Concert House.

* Guitarist Mike Stern, who will be in St. Louis from April 29 to May 2 with the Yellowjackets to play at Jazz at the Bistro, recently co-led a gig at NYC's Iridium with saxophonist Kenny Garrett, who, like Stern, worked with Miles Davis in the latter part of the trumpeter's career. You can read a review of the Stern/Garrett show here.

* Catching up with news of recent visitors, it seems that Martino Unstrung, the documentary about guitarist Pat Martino that was shown here in St. Louis last November during the St. Louis International Film Festival, is finally getting a New York premiere on March 15 at the Rubin Museum of Art, Martino himself was in St. Louis last month to play at Jazz at the Bistro.

* And while still on the subject of musicians that have recently played at the Bistro, veteran pianist Cedar Walton, who played the club last fall, just did a sextet concert at the Kumble Theater on Long Island University's Brooklyn campus, which was reviewed for the New York Times by Nate Chinen here.

* Chinen and the NYT this past week also did an article on pianist Jason Moran (who did a concert at the Missouri Museum here in St. Louis last October) and his participation in this weekend's 50th anniversary tribute to Thelonious Monk's landmark Town Hall concert. For more on the Monk tribute concert, see this post from Doug Ramsey's Rifftides.

* Last but not least, many of those who caught Return to Forever's reunion tour when they played the Fox Theatre last June may be glad to know many of the shows on the tour were recorded, resulting in a new RFT live album called Returns that will released on March 17.

Notes from the Net: Miles from India reviewed; Ehrlich nominated for JJA award; St. Louisans at The Stone; Waits interviews himself; and more

From far and wide across the vastness of the Internets, here's the latest compilation of news bits about musicians with a St. Louis connection, recent visitors and coming attractions, plus a few other items of interest:

* Let's start, as we usually do, with some Miles Davis-related news. First up, AllAboutJazz.com has another review of the book Miles Davis, Miles Smiles and the Invention of Post Bop. Next up are three reviews of the new two-CD set Miles from India, from Blogcritics' Richard Marcus, Nick Coleman of the UK Independent, and from an Indian blogger who uses the handle Amitdas. And finally, a fine art and memorabilia exhibition entitled "A Tribute to Miles Davis and Carlos Santana" opened May 15 at Lush Life Gallery in San Francisco.

* The nominees for the 2008 Jazz Journalists Association awards include St. Louis native Marty Ehrlich (pictured) for clarinetist of the year.

* The July schedule at John Zorn's NYC performance space The Stone will have a distinct St. Louis flavor, courtesy of multi-reedman J.D. Parran, who's co-curating the shows for the month. St. Louisans past and present who will be performing include Parran, Ehrlich, trumpeter Bruce Purse, guitarist Kelvyn Bell, multi-instrumentalist Mark Deutsch, trombonist Joe Bowie, saxophonist Oliver Lake, and poet Michael Castro.

* Turning to news of some recent visitors to St. Louis, the Los Angeles Times has a review of bassist Christian McBride's recent concert at LA's Disney Hall featuring 'The Movement Revisited" a four-section suite inspired by the civil rights movement. McBride was in St. Louis this spring with the Ray Brown Tribute band to perform at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Bassist, singer and composer Esperanza Spalding, who played the Bistro last October, has a new CD Esperanza, reviewed here.

* Singer/pianist Freddie Cole and pianist Dave Brubeck recently performed on the same bill at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and AllAboutJazz.com has a review of the show here. Both Cole and Brubeck performed at the Sheldon Concert Hall this past season, and Brubeck has a return engagement at the Sheldon this fall.

* Saxophonists Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman are reviving their Saxophone Summit project, with Ravi Coltrane joining in as a replacement for the late Michael Brecker. Coltrane played the Bistro in February.

* Pop/jazz singer Michael Buble, who performed at the Scottrade Center in March, continues his North American tour; a recent stop in San Jose, CA is reviewed here.

* Pianist Helen Sung recently was part of a "Women in Jazz" concert in Washington DC, reviewed here. Sung was a special guest at singer Denise Thimes' Mother's Day show at the Sheldon and will return to St. Louis in the fall to play Jazz at the Bistro with the Metta Quintet.

* Trumpeter Terence Blanchard and film director Spike Lee presented a program called "Jazz Goes to the Movies" at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, featuring excerpts from Blanchard's scores for Lee's movies Bamboozled, Inside Man, Clockers, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever, 25th Hour, Mo' Better Blues,and When the Levees Broke. Blanchard returns to St. Louis next February for a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro

* Lifecycle, the new collaborative album from the Yellowjackets and guitarist Mike Stern, is reviewed here. Stern was here to play the Bistro in March, and the Yellowjackets just wrapped up a four-night gig at the club. They'll return here to play the Bistro together next April 29 to May 2..

* Eccentric singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tom Waits, who will be in St. Louis to play the Fox Theatre on June 26, recently did a rather amusing interview with himself about this summer's tour.

* And finally, a few miscellaneous items of interest, starting with the news that the city of Baltimore has accepted a bust of guitarist/composer Frank Zappa from FZ's Lithuanian fan club. Zappa was born in Baltimore, and his son Dweezil's project Zappa Plays Zappa will perform at The Pageant on Monday, June 9

* Here's another review of trombonist/composer George Lewis' new history of Chicago's Assocation for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

* From freejazz.org comes an interesting discussion about why music goes out of print in the age of digital downloads. As it turns out, Amazon.com may have at least a partial solution to the problem with their new CreateSpace service, which duplicates out-of-print CDs and books on demand.

(Edited 6/3/08 to correct the date of the Zappa Plays Zappa show.)

Jazz this week: Mike Stern at the Bistro, Erin Bode opens the Gramophone, and more

It looks like spring is finally coming to St. Louis, and along with warmer weather, the next few days will bring a diverse array of jazz and creative music performances to the Gateway City.

The biggest name in town this week is guitarist Mike Stern (pictured) who's at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday. Stern, known for his work with Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Steps Ahead, Blood Sweat & Tears and many others, is accompanied on this gig by two St. Louis natives, bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Dave Weckl, plus tenor saxophonist Bob Franceschini. I had a chance to catch Stern's second set last night, and enjoyed it very much. With a good-sized crowd on hand for a Wednesday, the musicians seemed loose and comfortable on the Bistro stage, and since the 80-minute-plus set consisted of just five tunes, everyone got a chance to stretch out at some length. Confirmed fans of Stern, Weckl, or fusion jazz in general definitely will want to see this show; the merely curious should be forewarned that the sound, while clean and relatively well-balanced, is a good deal louder that what you'll hear from a typical acoustic jazz group playing the Bistro, so caveat auditor.

Playing what looks like a fairly stock Telecaster through two Fender Twin Reverb amps, Stern rocks harder than just about any other jazz guitarist out there, but he also delivered some nice quieter moments playing solo and in duet with Kennedy, with some effective and subtle use of delay and chorus to fatten the guitar sound. Franceschini, who seems to have been influenced significantly by Michael Brecker, doubled melody lines with Stern and provided another assertive solo voice, while Weckl and Kennedy both showed the expected impressive chops when soloing and in the ensemble.

Yes, parts of the set did bring to mind the old jest about fusion musicians playing as if they're getting paid by the note, but when you've got the kind of skills that Stern, Weckl and company bring to the bandstand, the temptation to whip 'em out must be overwhelming, especially with a room of full of fans cheering on the more bombastic moments. Given the high level of musicianship on display and the players' obvious conviction and enthusiasm, one can forgive the occasional moments of excess in favor of appreciating a generally well-crafted and well-paced whole.

Elsewhere in town this weekend, singer Erin Bode officially opens the new live music venue The Gramophone on Friday. You can read StLJN's previous coverage of the run-up to the club's opening here, and Post-Dispatch pop critic Kevin Johnson wrote a feature article about The Gramophone for today's paper, available online here.

On Saturday, New Music Circle presents "Sp(l)aces," a concert of electronic music and dance featuring composer James Hegarty and dancer/choreographer Mary Jean Cowell. Described as "an extended work for music, dance, and projected computer graphics" that will "explore the dynamics of interconnections and personal intensity," the event begins at 8:00 p.m. at the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio, which is located in Mallinckrodt Center at Washington University, 6445 Forsyth Blvd.

Beyond the weekend, on Monday the very fine St. Louis pianist Carolbeth True and her percussionist son David bring their band Two Times True to Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium. On Tuesday, improvisational guitarist/banjoist Paul Metzger and performance artist Tim Kaiser will play at the Open Lot arts collective and performance space at 1310 S. 18th St.

As usual, this is but a sampling of what's happening on St. Louis stages this weekend and beyond, so for more local jazz-related events, 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.)

(Edited after posting to add tags.)

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Mike Stern, then and now

This week's video spotlight shines on guitarist Mike Stern, who's coming to St. Louis to play at Jazz at the Bistro starting Wednesday, March 12 through Saturday, March 15. As mentioned in a previous post, Stern will also be doing a special daytime performance for local music students and teachers; as that post also said, over the course of his career Stern has worked with a number of musicians originally from St. Louis, including bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Dave Weckl, who will perform with him at the Bistro.

Another one of those St. Louisans, saxophonist David Sanborn, is featured in the first clip, a version of the song "Hideaway" that includes a guitar solo from Stern and was recorded back in 1985 for the German TV show Rockpalast.

The second video features Stern trading licks with bass player Richard Bona in an appearance last year on a Brazilian TV program, while the third "bonus" clip shows Stern in December 2007 doing an brief, somewhat goofy interview with Seattle radio personality Bob Rivers, followed by a bit of in-studio jamming.

Jazz St. louis sponsoring free performance by Mike Stern Trio for local educators

Jazz St. Louis is sponsoring a free performance by guitarist Mike Stern's trio for local jazz educators and their students on Friday, March 14. The 45-minute concert, followed by a Q&A session, will begin at 1 p.m. at Jazz At the Bistro.

"Space is limited for this free event and seats will be given on a first-requested/first-served basis with a limit of 10 high school students per school," says the blog entry by JSL education director Phil Dunlap. Requests for seats can be emailed to Dunlap at phil@jazzstl.org.

Stern (pictured) has plenty of St. Louis connections, beginning early in his career when he first gained attention as a member of Miles Davis' band. He later worked with another St. Louis native, saxophonist David Sanborn, and since has gone on to a successful and diverse career as a solo artist and bandleader. Stern will be in St. Louis March 12 through March 15 for a four-night engagement at the Bistro, accompanied by two more local-boys-made-good, bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Dave Weckl.

StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Giving the drummers some...

This weekend's videos spotlight two of the top drummers in jazz, both of whom will be performing in St. Louis as part of Jazz at the Bistro's 2007-08 season.

First up is Roy Haynes, still kicking hard after more than 60 years in the music business and still inspiring players who are young enough to be his grandkids. This clip is from 2005, and shows Haynes and his working quartet of the time playing a tune called "Summer Night". Haynes and his current band will be in the Gateway City for a four-night run at the Bistro September 19-22.

Down below, we've got St. Louis' own Dave Weckl in a clip recorded earlier this year from the audience at the Keitele jazz festival in Finland. He's performing in a trio with guitarist Mike Stern and bassist Anthony Jackson, and this excerpt starts mid-tune to capture Weckl's solo. Stern and Weckl will revisit the trio format (with another St. Louisan, Tom Kennedy, in for Jackson) for their gig at the Bistro next March 12-15.