So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Guitarist Matt Sewell this week was announced as one of 12 semifinalists in the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz's International Guitar Competition, which will be held next month in Washington, DC.

Sewell (pictured), a graduate of Ladue High School and a former member of the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, received his degree from Berklee College of Music in May.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has released a video trailer for his new web video series "Sanborn Sessions," which draws inspiration from NBC's Night Music, the eclectic live music program hosted by Sanborn at the turn of the 90s. You can see the trailer here, and read more about it in this interview with Sanborn on AllAboutJazz.com and this short feature in Jazz Times. "Sanborn Sessions" launches on Tuesday, December 3.

* In additional Sanborn news, the saxophonist now is endorsing a new custom model from Drake Mouthpieces.

* The Sheldon Concert Hall has posted to Facebook an album of photos from last Saturday's performance by Mwenso and The Shakes.

* Singer and impressionist Dean Christopher's "Rat Pack and More" show this Sunday at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey was previewed in an article by the Alton Telegraph's Vicki Bennington.

* A new photo exhibit opening next Wednesday, November 20 at The Dark Room focuses on Jazz St. Louis instructors and students in the JazzU program. "Modulation – Establishing the New Key in the Culture of Jazz St. Louis" features work by St. Louis photographers Collin Elliott, Tyler Small, & Justin Mikhail Soloman and was curated and designed by multi-disciplinary artist Hayveyah McGowan.

* The recently released "lost" Miles Davis album Rubberband was reviewed by Nextbop.com's Rob Shepherd.

Jazz this week: Regina Carter & Xavier Davis, Nevermore Jazz Ball, Mwenso & the Shakes, Greg Ward & Rogue Parade, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music includes the biggest local event of the year for swing dancers, plus the return of an internationally acclaimed, poll-winning instrumentalist; a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance; a visit from a provocative Chicago saxophonist; and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, November 6
Violinist Regina Carter and pianist Xavier Davis (pictured, top left) will perform for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Considered by many to be the top jazz violinist currently working, and the winner (again) on her instrument in this year's DownBeat Critic's Poll, Carter has performed here several times with different ensembles in recent years. This week, she'll be in a intimate duo setting with Davis, who's been the pianist in her working group for the last couple of years. For more about Carter and some recent video samples of her playing, take a look at this post from Saturday before last.

Also in Grand Center, the free, weekly "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" features multi-instrumentalist T.J. Muller at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Danny Campbell's Helios at the The Dark Room.

Thursday, November 7
The weekend-long swing dancing festival Nevermore Jazz Ball gets underway with a "Welcome Dance" featuring music by Miss Jubilee at 2720 Cherokee

Also on Thursday, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert from Vehachi, with guitarist Vincent Varvel, saxophonist Joel Vanderheyden and percussionist Joe Pastor; keyboardist Ryan Marquez brings his trio to Evangeline's, and singer Meghan Kirk performs her cabaret show "Speaking Of Dreams" at Blue Strawberry.

Friday, November 8
The Nevermore Jazz Ball continues with a dance featuring pianist Paul Asaro’s Chicago Rhythm at the Casa Loma Ballroom, plus an after-hours show by the Chicago Cellar Boys at the Link Auditorium.

Elsewhere around town, Mark Deutsch brings his invented instrument, the Bazantar, to The Judson House, and Annie and the Fur Trappers play traditional jazz and swing at the Frisco Barroom.

Saturday, November 9
The Nevermore Jazz Ball has a triple-header of events on Saturday, starting with the free Cherokee Street Jazz Crawl, which offers live music from late morning to early evening at various venues along Cherokee Street (roughly, from the 2700 block west to the 3000 block).

Then, the Saturday evening dance will feature bassist Michael Gamble’s Rhythm Serenaders Orchestra at the Casa Loma Ballroom, followed by another after-hours event with Jonathan Stout’s Campus Six at the Link Auditorium.

Also on Saturday, Mwenso and the Shakes (pictured, center left) present their show "Harlem 100" at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The multi-media performance from the NYC-based ensemble celebrates the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance, evoking memories of icons including Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday. You can see some videos of Mwenso and the Shakes in this post from last Saturday, and they also were featured on this week's episode of NPR's World Cafe.

For those needing an additional incentive, The Sheldon and Metrotix are offering a $10 discount to online buyers on tickets for Mwenso and the Shakes. To get the discount, go here and when prompted, enter the code "10OFF" (without the quotation marks).

Sunday, 
November 10
Chicago saxophonist Greg Ward (pictured, bottom left) and Rogue Parade, which also includes bassist Matt Ulery, drummer Quinn Kirchner, and guitarists Matt Gold and Dave Miller, will perform at Gaslight Studios.

Their debut album Stomping Off From Greenwood, released in January of this year, was called "a blend of fearlessness, merriment, pathos, and perhaps a measure or two of irony" by Jazz Times.

Also on Sunday evening, the Nevermore Jazz Ball wraps up with one last event featuring Michael Gamble’s Rhythm Serenaders at 2720 Cherokee.

Monday, November 11
Dizzy Atmosphere plays for diners at The Shaved Duck, and Webster University's Student Jazz Combos will perform at Webster's Community Music School.

Tuesday, November 12
Keyboardist and singer Jesse Gannon returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and 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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing Mwenso and the Shakes

This week, StLJN's video spotlight shines on Mwenso and The Shakes, who will be performing next Saturday, November 9 at The Sheldon.

They'll be presenting "Harlem 100," described as a "modern variety show" that "captures the sights and sounds of Harlem when legendary artists such as Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes and Billie Holiday made Harlem the cultural center of the country."

Vocalist and frontman Michael Mwenso was born in Sierra Leone and grew up in London, where he heard jazz at Ronnie Scott’s and got his first experiences as a trombonist and singer with local bands. In 2007, he started organizing a weekly jam at Ronnie Scott's, and in 2012, Wynton Marsalis brought him to New York as a programming associate for Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Part of that job involved curating late night sessions at Dizzy's Club on Lincoln Center, and that's how Mwenso found many of the musicians who eventually became the Shakes, with various band members having come to New York from South Africa, Madagascar, France, Jamaica, and Hawaii. Now based in Harlem, the Shakes released their debut album Emergence (The Process of Coming Into Being) in August of this year.

You can get a sample of their live sound in the first video up above, which shows them performing the song “No Regrets” in April of last year at Sofar Studios in New York City.

After the jump, there's a clip of the gospel-tinged "Know The God in You," recorded in 2017 at (le) Poisson Rouge in NYC, followed a recording of a full set of music from August 2019 at the Erie Blues And Jazz Fest in Pennsylvania.

Next, there's an episode of the web series "B-Side" from January 2018 that features Mwenso and company, followed by an episode of NPR's "Jazz Night in America" from December 2015 that fills in some of the Shakes' origin story.

The final video features an interview in which Mwenso and the other band members talk about their album, their approach to music, and more.

For more about Mwenso and The Shakes, read the profile of them published last December in Jazz Times; the review of their first album in Glide magazine; and the 2017 feature about them published on Afropop.com.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...