StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: More from NPR's "Jazz Night in America"

This week, let's go back into the video archives of NPR's "Jazz Night In America" for a look at six more shows featuring some top jazz talent. (You can see last week's post featuring videos from "Jazz Night..." here.)

This first video up above documents a recent gig by saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade, who first recorded together under Redman's leadership 25 years ago. The all-star quartet recently reunited for some live dates, including this one recorded September 7, 2019 at The Falcon in Marlboro, NY, in preparation for a new album, RoundAgain, which was released in July of this year.

After the jump, you can see a set by British saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings and his band Sons of Kemet recorded in March 2019 at a venue called The Mill during the annual Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN. Along with Hutchings, the band includes Theon Cross (tuba), Tom Skinner (drums), and Eddie Hicks (drums).

Next up, it's guitarist and singer Camila Meza, recorded in March 2019 at a private loft in Brooklyn, NY with musicians including Eden Ladin (keyboard, piano), Noam Weisenberg (bass), Keita Ogawa (drums, percussion), Ludovica Burtone (violin), Tomoko Omura (violin), Leonor Falcon (viola), and Brian Sanders (cello).

The fourth video documents 2019's "Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour," an all-star group recorded in March of that year at Jazz at Lincoln Center, with Cécile McLorin Salvant (voice), Bria Skonberg (trumpet, voice), Melissa Aldana (tenor saxophone), Christian Sands (piano, musical director), Yasushi Nakamura (bass), and Jamison Ross (drums, voice)

After that, you can see guitarist Nels Cline in a live big band performance recorded in June 2018 at Union Transfer in Philadelphia, PA. Along with Cline (guitar), the band includes Michael Leonhart (conductor, trumpet, flugelhorn), Ravi Best (trumpet), the leader's twin brother Alex Cline (drums), Jasper Dütz (tenor saxophone),Amir ElSaffar (trumpet), Alan Ferber (trombone),Erik Friedlander (cello),Ben Goldberg (woodwinds), Devin Hoff (bass), Yuka Honda (keyboard), Carla Kihlstedt (violin), Nicholas Millevoi (guitar), St. Louis' own JD Parran (woodwinds), Charles Pillow (woodwinds), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon), Stacey Shames (harp), and Will Shore (vibraphone).

The final video is from all the way back in 2016, and features composer/arranger Darcy James Argue’s big band Secret Society, performing a program of music titled "Real Enemies."

In addition to Argue as conductor, the ensemble includes Dave Pietro (piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute, soprano sax, alto sax), Rob Wilkerson (flute, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax), Peter Hess (tenor sax, clarinet), Lucas Pino (tenor sax, clarinet), Carl Maraghi (baritone sax), Seneca Black (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jonathan Powell (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jason Palmer (trumpet, flugelhorn), Nadje Noordhuis (trumpet, flugelhorn), Ingrid Jensen (trumpet, flugelhorn), Darius Christian Jones (trombone), Ryan Keberle (trombone), Mike Fahie (trombone), Jennifer Wharton (bass trombone), Sebastian Noelle (guitar), Adam Birnbaum (keyboards), Matt Clohesy (bass), and Jon Wikan (drum set, cajón, percussion)

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: NPR's "Jazz Night In America"

As part of StLJN's continuing quest to find more jazz video content (without this feature's usual organizing principle of "previewing upcoming shows in St. Louis"), this week let's take a look at the archives of NPR's "Jazz Night in America." Encompassing both radio broadcasts and online video, the program features a different musician or theme in every episode, and has presented many top and up-and-coming jazz players in recent years.

This post features a half-dozen shows from the "Jazz Night..." vault, starting up above with bassist Linda May Han Oh presenting music from her 2019 album Aventurine. Recorded on July 1, 2019 at NPR's Studio One in Washington, D.C., the video features Oh leading a band including Greg Ward (soprano sax, alto sax), Matt Mitchell (piano), and Ches Smith (drums, vibraphone), augmented by a string quartet including Fung Chern Hwei (violin), Curtis Stewart (violin), Benni von Gutzeit (viola), and Jeremy Harman (cello).

After the jump, you can see pianist Chick Corea and the group he calls the Vigilette Trio, with bassist Carlitos Del Puerto and drummer Marcus Gilmore, in a full set of music recorded in September 2019 at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, MA.

Next, you can see a set by Crosscurrents, a project led by percussionist Zakir Hussain and bassist Dave Holland, recorded in May 2018 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall in New York City. In addition to Hussain and Holland, the featured musicians include vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, saxophonist Chris Potter, guitarist Sanjay Divecha, pianist Louiz Banks, and drummer Gino Banks.

The fourth video features trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and his band, performing music from his album The Centennial Trilogy in October 2017 at the New Orleans Jazz Market in New Orleans, LA. Alon with Scott, the group includes Elena Pinderhughes on flute, her brother Samora Pinderhughes on piano, East St. Louis' own Weedie Braimah on percussion, Kris Funn on bass and Corey Fonville on drums.

That's followed by music from guitarist John Scofield, who was supported by two different bands for a retrospective program called "Quiet And Loud Jazz" that was recorded in May 2017 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room.

The "quiet" band features Scofield with some familiar names - saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Bill Stewart - along with Charles Pillow (flute and horn), Michael Rodriguez (trumpet and flugelhorn), Roger Rosenberg (baritone saxophone and bass clarinet), Jeffrey Scott (French horn) and John Clarke (French horn). The "loud" band features more longtime Scofield collaborators, with keyboardist Jim Beard, bassist Gary Granger, and drummer Dennis Chambers.

The final video is a live performance of saxophonist Kamasi Washington's breakout album The Epic recorded in 2015 at the Regent Theater in Los Angeles, and featuring a cast of dozens of musicians and singers.

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Today is the release date for The Sound of St. Louis - Jazz Compilation Volume 1, an album featuring original music from the nine participants in the Kranzberg Arts Foundation's music artists-in-residence program.

The album (pictured) will be available on streaming services, as a digital download, and as a CD, which will be sold locally at Vintage Vinyl, Music Record Shop, and Euclid Records, and at various KAF-affiliated venues such as Sophie’s Artist Lounge and The Dark Room.

* In more album-release news, singer Erin Bode is reissuing her 2016 album Here and Now as a vinyl LP, and will perform on Thursday, April 11 at The Sheldon to commemorate the event. 

* One of singer Marilyn Maye's performances last week with the Jazz St. Louis Big Band was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Singer and St. Louis native Alicia Olatuja was interviewed about her new album Intuition by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

* Also as reported in the American, four branches of St. Louis County Library now offer musical instruments, including guitars, keyboards and hand drums, that can be checked out by library patrons for free.

* Multi-instrumentalist and singer Tonina was profiled for a new local website, TheSTL.com, by writer Daniel Durchholz.

* NPR once again this year is holding a contest for unsigned musical acts that would like to perform in a Tiny Desk Concert, filmed at the network's HQ in Washington DC. Local affiliate St. Louis Public Radio has details on the contest and how to enter here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer and bassist Tonina Saputo (pictured) is the latest musician to be featured as one of NPR's 2018 "Slingshot" artists, in what's described as "a collective effort among taste-making music stations to introduce exceptional up-and-coming artists."

* A video of guitarist Dave Black performing his original composition "Still The Same" is the latest release in the St. Louis Open Media Integration Center's "Songday Afternoon" series.

* Trumpeter Russell Gunn has released another track from the forthcoming album by his Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra, previewing “Sybil’s Blues” via a post on Revive Music.

* The LouFest music festival has announced its 2018 lineup, which includes trumpeter Keyon Harrold on the main stage, as well as a secondary stage featuring jazz musicians from the Kranzberg Arts Foundation's artists-in-residence program.

* Teenage piano phenom Royce Martin, who's headed for Berklee College of Music this fall, was profiled in a story by Art Holliday of KSDK.

* The Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis has announced seven honorees for their 2019 St. Louis Arts Awards, and the group includes actor and singer Ken Page for "Lifetime Achievement in the Arts" and Chris Hansen of the Kranzberg Arts Foundation for "Arts Innovator." The awards will be presented at a celebratory dinner next January.

* Pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio Network has added another product to their line of instructional videos, as singer Dianne Reeves' new course "Define Your Voice" went online this week.

* The recently issued box set Miles Davis & John Coltrane—The Final Tour from Columbia/Legacy Recordings’ has inspired a feature story about the record and the tour from DownBeat's James Hale.

* Singer and pianist Diana Krall's performance last week at the Peabody Opera House was reviewed for the Post-Dispatch/STLtoday by Dan Duchholz. (Link may be paywalled)

Sunday Session: October 25, 2015

Hugh Masekela

For your Sunday reading, here are some interesting music-related items that have hit StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Tubby Hayes: British jazz’s forgotten genius is being rediscovered, thanks to fans including Martin Freeman (The Independent UK)
* Review - Echoes of a master fill a tribute to Charlie Haden at CalArts (Los Angeles Times)
* The New Explosion of Bootleg Vinyl (Pitchfork)
* Classical music isn't a secret society unless we allow it to be (The Guardian UK)
* How to get a gig as a game music composer (SoundOnSound.com)
* These Portraits of Southern Blues Musicians Prove That Blues Is Not Dead (Time)
* What’s wrong with the classical concert experience in the 21st century? (Gramophone)
* The Vision Festival: From Upstart to Institution (Jazz Times)
* What’s That Sound? It’s Tough to Tell (New York Times)
* 3 Cohens, Masekela Celebrate Heritage at South Africa’s Joy of Jazz Fest (DownBeat)
* Meet Composer Caroline Shaw, Kanye West’s New Pulitzer Prize-Winning Collaborator (Pitchfork)
* Videogames are helping to keep the symphony orchestra afloat (KillScreenDaily.com)
* “We did it, Mom!”: Frank Zappa’s Roxy The Movie Premieres in LA (Relix.com)
* When Iggy Pop can’t live off his art, what chance do the rest have? (Toronto Globe and Mail)
* NEA Announces Recipients of Jazz Masters Award (DownBeat)
* Vocalist Mark Murphy Dies at 83 (Jazz Times)
* Independent Musicians Find Unexpected Rewards in Streaming (New York Times)
* Why Everyone Wants To Record 'Live At The Village Vanguard' (NPR)
* Rudresh Mahanthappa’s tribute to Charlie Parker soars (Washington Post)
* Frank Sinatra’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”: The Full Story (Vanity Fair)
* Giving United Sound, Detroit's other landmark music studio, its due (ModelDMedia.com)
* Incredibly Strange Music: The Untold Story of Asphodel Records (FactMag.com)
* The Life And Death Of Tower Records, Revisited (NPR)
* Midnight In The Drum Machine Of Good And Evil (NPR)
* Music Download Site eMusic Gets Acquired Again, This Time By Israeli Media Startup TriPlay (TechCrunch.com)
* The Outrageous Auction Prices of Vintage Blue Note Vinyl Records (Collecting Blue Note Records)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* If you missed trumpeter Kermit Ruffins when he was in St. Louis last week to play at The Gramophone, you're in luck.

While Ruffins was here, he made it into the studios of KDHX to do some recording, and you also can see pictures from his Wednesday night gig online at the site of photographer Tim Bottchen.

* From the the "Shows we'd like to see in St. Louis" file, saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille - known collectively as Trio 3 - will team up with pianist Vijay Iyer next Wednesday through Saturday for a gig at Birdland in NYC.

* Snarky Puppy's performance Monday night at the Manchester Jazz Festival in England was reviewed by Adrian Pallan of London Jazz News. The band (pictured) will play here in St. Louis next Friday, August 9 at the Old Rock House.

* A post on St. Louis magazine's Look/Listen blog recounts recent progress towards putting up a statue honoring Miles Davis in his birthplace of Alton, IL.

Meanwhile, the folks behind the statue, the Miles Davis Memorial Project, are looking for volunteers to work information booths on August 17 at the Alton Block Party and August 31 at The Alton Farmers' & Artisans' Market. Prospective volunteers can call 618-467-2375 or contact board member Derrick Richardson via email at derrickdrichardson at gmail dot com.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Mark Colenburg, who's currently playing with the Robert Glasper Experiment among others, has signed an endorsement deal with Remo. Glasper's next album Black Radio Volume 2 will be released on October 29.

* The Ozark Theatre in Webster Groves is booking music acts for the fall. For more information and available dates/times, call owner Dan Stevens at 314-962-7000.

* Saxquest is encouraging St. Louis players to enter Keilwerth's "Saxophone Idol" contest, in which saxophonists will compete before a panel of judges including famed tenor man Ernie Watts. The prize package include a Keilwerth sax; mouthpiece and reeds from Van Doren; subscription to Down Beat; and a chance to perform with Watts at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. The entry deadline is September 30.

* Jazz radio update: This week's episode of Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else" will feature blues-influenced music from singer Cassandra Wilson, drummer Joey Baron and saxophonist J.D. Allen. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Meanwhile, NPR will be broadcasting live this weekend from the Newport Jazz Festival from noon to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4. This year's Newport fest features performances from Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Chick Corea, Joshua Redman, and more.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer and St. Louis native Lynne Fiddmont has just released a new holiday CD, Spirit of Christmas, featuring guest performances from singer Kevin Whalum, Yellowjackets' pianist Russell Ferrante, saxophonist Everette Harp and more. Fiddmont will celebrate with two CD release events this month in Los Angeles. The album (pictured) can be purchased online from iTunes and CDBaby.com.

* Jazz St. Louis has uploaded to their Facebook page a photo set from singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli's performance at Francis Howell North HS. While in town last week to play at Jazz at the Bistro, Pizzarelli also did an interview with KWMU's "Cityscape."

* St. Louis native Ronnie Burrage's show next Thursday, December 13 at NYC's Shapeshifter Labs will be viewable via an online stream for just $3. The gig by the drummer's ensemble Band Burrage will feature his regular collaborators Rick Tate on saxophone and Michael Stark on guitar, as well as special guests Wallace Roney (trumpet), Frank "Kuumba" Lacy (trombone), Essiet Essiet (bass), Benito Gonzalez (keyboards), and Curtis Stewart (violin).

* The London Jazz blog has a review of the recent re-issue of five late-career albums that Miles Davis recorded for Warner Brothers.

* The new band Sound Prints, fronted by saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Dave Douglas and including up-and-coming Berklee grad and St. Louis native Lawrence Fields on piano, made their debut last week at NYC's Village Vanguard. NPR recorded the gig for broadcast, and it also was reviewed by the New York Times' Nate Chinen.

* The Sheldon Concert Hall now has limited edition t-shirts celebrating the Hall's 100th anniversary for sale online.

* The new CWE venue Troy's Jazz Gallery, written about previously on StLJN here and here, apparently now is up and running, as documented by this photo from last night's performance by guitarists Eric Slaughter and Tom Byrne.

* Josh Weinstein, host of the Sunday night program All Soul, No Borders, is profiled on the KDHX website.

* HEC-TV is readying for telecast a new episode of I Love Jazz, featuring excerpts from saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett's performance last summer at the Missouri Botanical Garden's Whitaker Music Festival. The December episode also includes a feature on the south side woodwind retailer/museum Saxquest. Check your TV provider's program guide for a schedule, or watch online at hectv.org/programs/series/i-love-jazz.

The cable network also has put together a new special, St. Louis on Stage: Music for the Holidays, compiling past performances from various local musicians including some jazz performers. In addition to playing on cable and online, the program will get a broadcast airing at 6:00 p.m. this Sunday, December 9 on Fox channel 2.2 (aka Antenna TV).

* While he's in town next week to play at The Pageant, guitarist Dweezil Zappa will present a master class at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 12 at Blueberry Hill's Elvis Room. Sponsored by Fazio's Frets & Friends, the event has a very limited seating capacity; to reserve a spot, contact Fazio's Jim Holt at 636-227-3573 or jholt @ faziosmusic.com.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* NPR's Fresh Air this week had a review by Kevin Whitehead of a recent Clark Terry reissue pairing two 1960s Impulse! albums, The Happy Horns of Clark Terry and It's What's Happenin', on a single CD (pictured).

* Multi-instrumentalist/Internet provocateur Nicholas Payton, who's playing next week at Jazz at the Bistro, did an interview with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson.

* The Webster University Journal has an article about Monday night's concert on the Webster campus paying tribute to jazz DJ, photographer and historian Dennis Owsley, who recently donated his personal collection of more than 3000 jazz recordings to the university.

* Meanwhile, Owsley writes about the donation and about physical media vs. digital storage of music in his latest blog entry for St. Louis magazine.

* The St. Louis magazine website also now has up a photo album from last Friday's Jazz St. Louis fundraising gala, as well as a reader poll using elimination brackets in the style of the NCAA basketball tournament to determine "The Best St. Louis Musician of All Time."

* Illuminating another aspect of St. Louis' historic Club Plantation, Kevin Belford blogs about guitarist Floyd Smith and the real origin of the electric guitar solo on record.

* At his concert last Sunday at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, Herbie Hancock spoke for a few minutes about helping establish International Jazz Day, which will be celebrated for the first time on April 30 of this year. Here's the scoop on what that celebration will entail.

* Finally, if you missed KETC's broadcast of the 2012 St. Louis Arts & Education Awards ceremony, which featured pianist Peter Martin as one of this year's honorees, you now can watch the program online.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* While in St. Louis last week to play at Jazz at the Bistro, guitarist John Scofield was interviewed by KSDK's Art Holliday on the NBC affiliate's 4:00 p.m. newscast.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted photo albums with shots of pianist Ahmad Jamal in performance last Sunday at the TouPAC, and of the reception following the concert by Jamal and singer Dianne Reeves.

* Retro-swing string band Wack-A-Doo (pictured) was spotlighted this week in the Post-Dispatch's "Listen" music video feature, performing "By The Sea" at the Fox Theatre.

* Bassist and luthier David Certain sends word that bassist and St. Louis native Mark Peterson will be playing a CertainBass Model One on an upcoming recording with pianist Bob James. You can see Peterson and his instrument with singer Ben E. King's band here.

* In more celebrity recording news, keyboardist Michael Silverman of the Classical Jazz Quartet says that famed fusion guitarist Scott Henderson has agreed to record on CJQ's next album project, The Rebirth of Fusion. Henderson, known for his work with Tribal Tech and Chick Corea's Elektrik Band, will lay down his tracks in January.

* St. Louis Kids magazine is giving away four tickets to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's November 27 performance of the "The Nutcracker Meets Jazz," featuring music by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Duke Ellington. The performance is presented in partnership with Jazz St. Louis, and specifically designed to introduce children to the symphony. To enter the drawing for the free tickets, go here.

* NPR's Kevin Whitehead last week reviewed the new, limited-edition CD reissue of saxophonist Julius Hemphill's landmark debut album Dogon A.D., with the NY Times Ben Ratliff weighing in on the disc here. The reissue is limited to 1,500 copies, and was done by the small International Phonograph label, which earned plaudits for its earlier re-issue of another long-out-of-print session, trumpeter Bill Dixon's Intents and Purposes. The reissue already is out of stock or back-ordered at some online retailers, but if you like, you still can download and hear a free .mp3 rip of the original recording via this StLJN Audio Archive post from back in August.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's the latest wrap-up of links and short local news items of interest that you may have missed:

* Just in time for his 70th birthday, baritone sax great Hamiet Bluiett was interviewed last week on NPR's "All Things Considered".

* Meanwhile, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Jazz St. Louis, JSL is selling commemorative posters and t-shirts featuring this season's lineup of performers. You can see the merchandise here.

* The Webster University Journal has a story on last Saturday's tenth annual Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival here.

* The Sheldon Art Galleries will have their fall openings next Friday, October 1, including a new exhibit in the History of Jazz Gallery called "Lourdes Delgado: Jazz in New York - A Community of Visions." The exhibit, which runs through January 15, features the Spanish-born photographer's documentation of the lives of current jazz musicians, including St. Louis native David Sanborn, via a large-format camera.

* The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra announced that they'll premiere a new work by saxophonist Wayne Shorter (pictured) at their annual fund-raising gala next Saturday, October 2 at Powell Symphony Hall. The "New Work For Soprano and Orchestra" was written especially for the SLSO and singer Renée Fleming, who is the featured artist at the event. Shorter and conductor David Robertson worked together previously when Robertson was Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon, and again here in St. Louis when Shorter played at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in 2005 with members of the Symphony.

Greg Osby broadcasting live from the Village Vanguard this Tuesday, August 3

Saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby (pictured) and his band will be the featured performers on this week's installment of the radio program "Live At The Village Vanguard" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time this Tuesday, August 3.

The live broadcast comes from the famed NYC jazz club via NPR Music and affiliate station WBGO, and can be accessed online here.

NPR story will celebrate Mel Bay's 60th anniversary

This just in from the folks at St. Louis-based music publisher and jazz record label Mel Bay:

"National Public Radio is commemorating the 60th anniversary of Mel Bay Publications with a report on Mel Bay and the company he founded in 1947.

Scheduled to air Tuesday, July 10th on Morning Edition, the piece will feature an interview with company president William Bay. Popular guitarist and Mel Bay author Frank Vignola was also interviewed for the report."

Morning Edition airs in St. Louis from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., Monday through Friday on radio station KWMU, 90.7 FM.

UPDATE - 1:00 p.m., 7/11/07: NPR's Mel Bay story is now online here.