So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Broadcaster, author and photographer Dennis Owsley will end his long-running St. Louis Public Radio program "Jazz Unlimited" with a final broadcast on Sunday, December 29.

Owsley, who moved with his wife to Arizona this fall to be closer to his grandchildren, had been sending in pre-recorded shows from there.  He said the decision to sign off after 36 years of broadcasting was entirely his own, with no pressure from station management. With the notable exception of the St. Louis Symphony's live broadcasts, "Jazz Unlimited" is one of the last music programs on the St. Louis Public Radio schedule, which increasingly has emphasized news and talk since the mid-2000s.) 

The author of two books on the history of jazz in St. Louis, Owsley (pictured) has won honors including several Riverfront Times "Best of St. Louis" awards for best jazz radio program and a "Jazz Hero" award in 2016 from the Jazz Journalists Association. The Post-Dispatch's Joe Holleman has more here.

* Drummer Nate Smith recently did a brief Q&A that was published on the Jazz St. Louis website. Smith and his band KINFOLK will perform through Sunday night at the Bistro.

* Smith also has recorded a solo performance for an episode of Gaslight Studios' web series "Gaslight Sessions," which was released online Monday.

* The Grand Center district in midtown will be the site of a new concert venue with a capacity of 1,200 that's scheduled to open in 2021. The club, to be called The Sovereign, will book national touring acts, local and regional bands in a variety of genres, as well as corporate events, private parties and weddings.

The venture is the product of a team-up between Tim Weber, managing partner of Old Rock House and former general manager and talent buyer at Mississippi Nights, and Steve Smith, the CEO of Lawrence Group, an architectural and development firm involved in a number of real estate projects in the neighborhood. The P-D's Kevin Johnson has more, including some quotes from Weber, here.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has posted to Facebook an album of photos from his recent shows at the Blue Note Tokyo.

Jazz this week: Nate Smith + Kinfolk, John McDaniel, Funky Butt Brass Band, and more

The week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a top drummer's local debut as a bandleader, a holiday homecoming from a well-known St. Louis native, the season's last holiday-themed shows, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 18
Drummer Nate Smith (pictured, top left) and his band KINFOLK will perform for the first of five nights, continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis.

Known for his work with bassist Dave Holland, saxophonist Chris Potter and more, Smith named his band after his debut album as a bandleader, which came out in 2017 and earned praise from critics - NPR Music lauded its "catchy, singable melodies and spring-loaded backbeats" - as well as a couple of Grammy nominations for Smith for "best instrumental composition" and "best arrangement." The five-piece ensemble's week-long run should give them plenty of time to expound on the material from that album, and more.

Also on Wednesday, singer Erin Bode will present a "Holiday Concert" at the Wildey Theatre. (At publication time, this show was nearly sold out; call ahead for ticket availability.)

Elsewhere in Grand Center, this week's "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" features traditional jazz band Annie and the Fur Trappers at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, December 19
The Dark Room has a double-header of live jazz, with guitarist Dave Black at the dinner hour and keyboardist Ryan Marquez and his trio taking over for the late-night sets.

Also on Thursday, singer David Giuntoli evokes the styles of Sinatra and Bennett in "A Swinging Holiday Soiree" at Blue Strawberry; and the Bruxism experimental music series returns to the Schlafly Tap Room with a triple bill including JoAnn McNeil, Wamhoda (aka Dan Wamhoff), and Grass Whistle, a collaboration between series organizer NNN Cook and multi-instrumentalist David Burnett.

Friday, 
December 20
The Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured, bottom left) gets their "Holiday Brasstravaganza" underway with a show at Delmar Hall, followed by two matinees and another evening show on Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, pianist, singer and Kirkwood native John McDaniel, known for his work on Broadway and as musical director for actor/comedian Rosie O'Donnell's TV show, is back home from NYC to present "A John McDaniel Christmas" at Blue Strawberry.

Also on Friday, Miss Jubilee returns to the Casa Loma Ballroom, and guitarist Joe Park's trio will play music associated with jazz guitar legend Wes Montgomery at Focal Point.

Saturday, December 21
The Broadway Collective returns with guest vocalist Cara Dineen to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups; bassist and singer Janet Evra performs at Evangeline's; and singer Ken Haller reprises his "Happy HallerDays!" cabaret show at Blue Strawberry.

Sunday, December 22
Singer and impressionist Dean Christopher will present his 'Rat Pack and More' Christmas show one more time this season at St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre.

Monday, December 23
Singer Robert Nelson will serve up some seasonal songs and more at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found on the left sidebar of the site or by clicking here. You also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or clicking the "Like" icon on the StLJN Facebook page.

(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)

Jazz this week: Jazzmeia Horn, a master class with Nate Smith, "A Retrospective on Langston Hughes," Denise Thimes, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the local debut of one the top young vocalists in jazz, a master class from a first-call drummer, a musical look at the works of a world-famous poet and playwright with Missouri roots, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, May 8
Singer Jazzmeia Horn (pictured, top left) performs for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis.

One of the most talked-about and critically acclaimed jazz vocalists to emerge in recent years, Horn will be making her St. Louis debut with these shows. You can find out more about her and see some videos of recent performances in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, drummer Nate Smith, who's worked with bassist Dave Holland and saxophonist Chris Potter, will present a master class and solo performance at Gaslight Studios.

Thursday, May 9
Guitarist Vincent Varvel's trio will perform at The Dark Room; saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays at Jazzy 159 Lounge & Bar in Fairview Heights; and percussionist Joe Pastor will lead his St. Louis Legacy Ensemble in hosting a jam session at Evangeline's.

Friday, May 10
The Nu-Art Series wraps up its Spring 2019 poetry-and-jazz series with "A Retrospective on Langston Hughes," featuring poets Roscoe Crenshaw, Cheeraz Gormon, Shirley LeFlore, Eugene Redmond, Abdul Waahid Jones, and Claude Montgomery along with trumpeter George Sams and saxophonist Kendrick Smith at Xavier Hall on the St. Louis University campus.

Also on Friday, new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound plays their final concert of the season at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and singer Anita Jackson performs for the late show at The Dark Room.

Saturday, May 11
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents their monthly jam session, hosted by keyboardist Bob Row and drummer John Gillick at J P's Corner.

Also on Saturday afternoon, the electronic jazz-fusion ensemble Koplant No will play a free show at Saxquest, and the annual Art Fair at Laumeier Sculpture Park will feature sets from musicians including guitarist Dave Black and the Funky Butt Brass Band.

Saturday evening, Chicago-based jazz-rock band Marbin returns to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Sunday, May 12
If you're headed out for brunch, musical options to accompany your meal include Miss Jubilee at Evangeline's and singer and bassist Janet Evra at The Dark Room.
 
Later on Sunday afternoon, Denise Thimes will present her annual Mother's Day concert raising money to fight pancreatic cancer at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, with some help from friends including vocalist Jermaine Smith and keyboardist Matthew Whitaker.

Monday, May 13
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck.

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.)

Nate Smith to present master class on Wednesday, May 8 at Gaslight Studios

Drummer Nate Smith, whose notable jazz credits include work with bassist Dave Holland and saxophonist Chris Potter, is coming to St. Louis to present a master class and solo performance at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 8 at Gaslight Studios.

Smith (pictured) recently released his first-ever solo drumset album, Pocket Change, on Ropeadope Records. His previous albums as a bandleader are 2008's Workday, Waterbaby Music, Vol. 1.0 and 2017's Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere, and he's also performed on records by Holland, Potter, guitarist Adam Rogers, and others.

Tickets for the Nate Smith master class and performance are $35 in advance, $45 day of show, and are on sale now.

Sunday Session: November 18, 2018

Marshall Allen

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* I Thought CDs Were Supposed To Be Dying, But Maybe I Got It All Wrong (Forbes)
* Entangled in Berlin (TheBlueMoment.com)
* How a Lost Charles Mingus Recording Finally Saw the Light of Day (Bandcamp.com)
* The Accidental Perfection of the Beatles’ White Album (The New Yorker)
* The Album Is in Deep Trouble – and the Music Business Probably Can’t Save it (Rolling Stone)
* Nate Smith: Taking Jazz Ahead (Jazz Times)
* ‘Black Fire’: The Andrew Hill Classic That Still Burns Bright (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* How Legendary Composer W.C. Handy Became The 'Father Of The Blues' (WBUR)
* Baku Jazz Festival 2018 (AllAboutJazz.com)
* A Legendary Van Morrison Recording Just Hit the Internet and Quickly Disappeared Again (SPIN)
* TONTO: The 50-Year Saga of the Synth Heard on Stevie Wonder Classics (Rolling Stone)
* Bob Dylan’s Masterpiece Is Still Hard to Find (The New Yorker)
* ‘Green Book’ Renders Don Shirley in Film (DownBeat)
* Aretha Franklin Touches The Infinite In The Long-Delayed Film 'Amazing Grace' (NPR)
* JazzFest Berlin Challenges Attendees with Audacious Programming (DownBeat)
* Stars Celebrate Joni Mitchell at 75 (DownBeat)
* Roy Clark, country guitar virtuoso, ‘Hee Haw’ star, has died (Associated Press)
* James Booker’s “The Lost Paramount Tapes” to be released on vinyl (Offbeat)
* ’63 Monk Tapes Released (DownBeat)
* Latin Music Is Reaching More Listeners Than Ever — But Who Is Represented? (Rolling Stone)
* Working to Preserve Traditional Gospel Music (LongReads.com)
* Marshall Allen Sticks To The Music (AntiGravityMagazine.com)
* Louis Armstrong’s Life in Letters, Music and Art (New York Times)
* Jazz After College (Jazz Times)
* Hitting the Right Notes: Five Actors Who Played Real-Life Jazz Artists (Jazziz)
* Q&A: Ann Hampton Callaway: Creating Landscapes of Human Emotion (Jazziz)
* Strength & Power: In Praise of Roswell Rudd (Jazz Times)
* Crosley Is Now Releasing Retro Cassette Players Starting at $60 (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Setting the Record Straight: Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood On The Tracks’ (Guitarist Kevin Odegard Revisits the Sessions) (RockCellarMagazine.com)
* Iconic Guitar Builder Loses His Home and Workshop to Flames in Paradise (Popular Mechanics)
* Tony Allen: Jack of All Parades (Jazz Times)

Sunday Session: October 9, 2016

Dexter Gordon

Some interesting music-related items that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Watch Bill Clinton, Carlos Santana Praise John Coltrane in Doc Promo; Sonny Rollins, Common, Kamasi Washington also appear in preview of 'Chasing Trane" (Rolling Stone)
* Jerry Seinfeld and the Buddy Rich tapes (Jazz in Pop Culture)
* Art or music? The National Gallery of Art provokes ears and thoughts (Washington Post)
* Musician Wants to Make Taking the A Train Easier on the Ears (Wall Street Journal)
* Bob Koester opens new record store after Jazz Record Mart closes (Chicago Tribune)
* Q&A with Ibrahim Maalouf: Synthesizing East & West (DownBeat)
* The demise of rock ’n’ roll nostalgia (Macleans)
* The 14 pieces of software that shaped modern music (FactMag.com)
* Classical Reimagined (M-Magazine.co.uk)
* Blow, Mr. Dexter: A Look Back at Round Midnight, 30 Years Later (Mediander.com)
* The Best of Festival Season - Standout photos from this summer's major jazz events (Jazz Times)
* Donny McCaslin on David Bowie: 'We had this amazing connection, then he was gone' (The Guardian UK)
* The Musicians Behind Luke Cage on Creating a ‘Timeless’ Sound and the Lack of Opportunities for Black Composers (Vulture.com)
* Guitar Wizard John McLaughlin Announces Final U.S. Tour (DownBeat)
* The Giant Legacy of Rudy Van Gelder (AllAboutJazz.com)
* A Brief History of Jazz in Hip-Hop: Tribe, De La Soul, Digable Planets (HowlAndEchoes.com)
* 'Thriller' Songwriter Rod Temperton Dies At 66 (NPR)
* Rod Temperton: the effortless orchestrator of the perfect pop illusion (The Guardian UK)
* Q&A with Drummer Nate Smith: From Many Voices, One Sound (DownBeat)
* The new cool: how Kamasi, Kendrick and co gave jazz a new groove (The Guardian UK)
* Danny Fields Is the Music Industry Wild Man You’ve Never Heard Of (Vice.com)
* ‘Are we there yet?’: on the road with Beach Boy Brian Wilson (The Guardian UK)

Review: Dave Holland Quintet at the Sheldon Concert Hall

Jazz critic Whitney Balliett famously called jazz "the sound of surprise," and while the Dave Holland Quintet certainly had plenty of surprises up their sleeves during Saturday night's performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall, the show also served to demonstrate the virtues of familiarity within the context of a working band.

Holland has been developing variations on this small-group concept for more than a decade, and the current lineup has been in place for several years. This continuity means that the musicians know each other and the material very well, and are able to delve deeply into the nuances of each composition. In particular, the band's frequent use of odd meters, as in "Lucky Seven" and the 11/8 "Full Circle," seems completely natural, with each musician having fully assimilated the underlying pulses so that the music grooves effortlessly.

The pairing of trombonist Robin Eubanks and saxophonist Chris Potter offers a different set of timbral possibilities than the more typical front line of trumpet and saxophone, and the two are able to maintain distinct sounds even when working in the same register. Given their extensive experience playing together, they're also able to improvise simultaneously without getting in each other's way, as they did to good effect on the opening "Step To It". Eubanks and Potter also demonstrated several times the ability to slip seamlessly from improvised material into written lines and back out again, adding an elusive quality to the thematic statements.

Steve Nelson's vibes and marimba provided a chordal backdrop more transparent than a piano or guitar, but also were engaged in a ongoing dialogue of cross-rhythms with drummer Nate Smith. Nelson's solo on "Full Circle" was especially good, building tension with a series of eight-note licks before doubling up on the tempo and really letting fly. He's perhaps the least demonstrative of the quintet, but in many ways, Nelson is the glue that holds the whole thing together, and his composition "Go Fly A Kite," also served as a fitting encore, sprightly and concise.

Holland's bass took the spotlight on the intro to a new tune called "Veil of Tears" and he soloed effectively throughout the evening, but, ever the team player, he also handled much of the time-keeping function, freeing up Smith to explore various cross-rhythmic strategies. Smith is especially good at exploiting all the tonal resources of his kit, using sticks, mallets and hands on the cymbals, heads, rims and sides of the drums to produce a wide variety of effects, some very subtle. His control of dynamics and the level of fine detail in his playing were impressive, and his duet with Holland on "The Whirling Dervish" was both musically substantive and a crowd pleaser.

Chris Potter is considered one of the rising stars in jazz, and on this evening he did not disappoint, delivering twisting, extended tenor solos on the opener and on his own composition "Vicissitudes." While some of his lines on the latter recalled the late Michael Brecker, reportedly an important influence, Potter's playing overall was remarkably free of cliche, and his energy level never flagged. On a new tune called "Easy Did It"* that was dedicated to the people of New Orleans, Potter switched to soprano sax, and he and Eubanks together briefly evoked memories of Roswell Rudd and Steve Lacy's modernist takes on traditional jazz before veering off on their own paths.

Holland's group doesn't offer many easy points of entry for the casual fan; their music relies on odd meters, elliptical forms, and advanced harmonic concepts, and thus may prove difficult for those accustomed only to traditional song forms and 4/4 swing beats. Their music demands active listening, and even then the information flow is so dense that it can be daunting. Still, while a few concertgoers at the Sheldon left after intermission, the vast majority of the mostly-full house stuck around until the end, rewarding the band with a well-deserved standing ovation. On this evening, the Dave Holland Quintet fully lived up to their reputation as one of the top small groups in jazz.

(The Riverfront Times' Ryan Wasoba also reviewed Holland's concert, and you can read his reactions online here.)

*Thanks to bassist/blogger Bill Harrison of Jazz Underneath for his comment supplying the correct name of the tune dedicated to New Orleans. You can read Bill's review of the Dave Holland Quintet's concert Sunday night in Chicago here.