Sunday Session: August 26, 2018

Mary Halvorson

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:

* He read the news all day, oh boy: how Beatles ‘froze out’ George Martin on White Album (The Guardian)
* How a Jewish kid from the burbs helped launch Springsteen and make music history (Times of Israel)
* Nicole Johänntgen Channels the Vitality of New Orleans (DownBeat)
* The Sounds of Music in the Twenty-first Century (The New Yorker)
* When a Music Legend Dies, How Does Today’s Mostly Automated Radio React? (Variety)
* Joe Lovano Toasts Ben Webster, and Vocalist Emma Frank Visits 'Ocean Av,' on The Checkout (WBGO)
* Why does bass make you want to dance? (MedicalNewsToday.com)
* Lifetime Achievement: Joe McPhee’s Vast and Brilliant Improvisational Discography (Bandcamp.com)
* Unlocking the Secrets of Jazz Genius Bill Evans (Playbill.com)
* Regional, International Talent Meet at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest (DownBeat)
* Napster Proves That Streaming Music Can Be Profitable (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* "Just the Essential Thing": Bill Frisell and Mary Halvorson Honor Johnny Smith's Jazz Legacy (Reverb.com)
* My Journey with Jazz (The New Yorker)
* Eddie Willis, Original Motown Funk Brother, Dies At 82 (Billboard)
* Live Review: 2018 San Jose Jazz Summer Fest (Jazz Times)
* Will Ramsey Lewis retire after Jazz Fest? He’s having second thoughts (Chicago Tribune)
* Wynton Marsalis on Aretha Franklin's All-Caps Emails and 'Healing' Voice: She Was a 'Triumph Over the Blues' (Billboard)
* Vijay Iyer: A Moral Imperative to Speak for the Musical Margins (LitHub.com)
* Sony Confesses To Releasing Fake Michael Jackson Music (Vibe.com)
* For Chick Corea, Music is an Antidote to Life’s Dark Side (ShepherdExpress.com)
* The Dearth Of Musical Performances On Late Night TV Speaks To A Larger Cultural Shift (Uproxx.com)
* From Bowie's Blackstar to Restoring Lou Reed: The Death and Re-Birth of The Magic Shop Studio (Reverb.com)
* Beyond Genre: Taylor McFerrin Creates His Own Musical World (SFJAZZ.org)
* Meet the Company Preparing to Be the Last CD Distributor Standing (Billboard)
* Wayne Shorter to Release 3-Disc Set with Graphic Novel (Jazz Times)
* Can data reveal the saddest number one song ever? (BBC)
* Music is ‘fast becoming the birthright of the elite’, say leading conductors, performers and educators (ClassicFM.com)

Jazz this week: David Sanborn, Nicole Johänntgen, Tyshawn Sorey, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman, and more

There's lots of jazz and creative music happening in St. Louis over the next week, including the return of a hometown hero, the local debut of a much-talked-about drummer and composer, and the first chance for audiences here to check out a critically acclaimed collaboration between two well-known jazz headliners.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, April 13
Saxophonist David Sanborn - who, as longtime StLJN readers no doubt know, grew up right here in Kirkwood - returns to St. Louis to begin a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Last time Sanborn (pictured, top left) was at the Bistro in October 2014, he employed an all-St. Louis rhythm section and drew mostly on material from his back catalog rather than from his most recent album at the time, which was Quartette Humaine, a 2013 reunion with keyboardist Bob James. You can read StLJN's review of one of his shows from 2014 here.

This time, Sanborn comes to town just over a year since the release of Time And The River, his 2015 album produced by Marcus Miller, and he'll apparently be bringing his road band featuring longtime keyboardist Ricky Petersen. But no matter who Sanborn is playing with or what material they're playing, he's sure to attract a crowd, so advance reservations are highly recommended.

Also on Wednesday night, vocal group Java Jived will perform in concert at UMSL's Grand Center building (aka the studios of St. Louis Public Radio) at 3651 Olive St.

Thursday, April 14
Saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, with some help from guitarist/bassist William Lenihan, keyboardist Jay Oliver and drummer Steve Davis. Also on Thursday, bassist Willem von Hombracht returns to Thurman Grill, and Danbury Street performs at Nathalie's.

Friday, April 15
The Midwest Jazz-tette brings the cool sound of West Coast jazz to Evangeline's; singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black perform at Chaser's Lounge in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; singer Erika Johnson and guitarist Tom Byrne will be back at Montrey's Cigar Lounge; and the Gateway City Big Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, April 16
New Music Circle presents percussionist Tyshawn Sorey’s Alloy Trio at The Stage at KDHX.

The 35-year-old native of New Jersey has generated buzz in the jazz and new music worlds for both his writing and his playing in settings ranging from free improvisation to fully notated compositions. You can find out more about Sorey (pictured, center left) and see videos of him in this post from a couple of weeks ago.

Elsewhere on Saturday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays at Nesby's, a relatively new spot in Sunset Hills; singer Ann Dueren's trio returns to Il Bel Lago; and percussionist Herman Semidey and Orquestra son Montuno will play salsa and Latin jazz at Club Viva.

Sunday, April 17
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents clarinetist and saxophonist Jerry Epperson and Sax Appeal at the Doubletree Hotel St. Louis at Westport.

Monday, April 18
The Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra, led by trumpeter Mike Vax and featuring music from Kenton's catalog of challenging, sometimes controversial arrangements, will perform at Fort Zumwalt North High School in St. Charles, and the SIUE Concert and Alumni Jazz Bands will take the stage at Jazz at the Bistro.

Tuesday, April 19
The Bad Plus and saxophonist Joshua Redman (pictured, bottom left) will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

TBP already has been to St. Louis once this year, playing their annual gig in January at the Bistro, but this will be the first time that local listeners have had a chance to catch one of their collaborative shows with Redman, who is, of course, a headliner in his own right.

Redman and TBP first played together back in 2011, did some shows as schedules permitted over the next several years, and in 2015 released an album titled simply The Bad Plus Joshua Redman, which NPR called "a series of knotty, deeply challenging compositions that explore (and usually exhaust) groove frontiers far from the spang-a-lang swing and the businessman's bounce."

While that may sound a bit daunting to casual fans, given the star power of the participants, plus pent-up demand resulting from several years of interest in this particular project, these performances should draw big crowds even in the middle of the week, so plan accordingly.

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen and pianist Kara Baldus will be among the presenters when Washington University hosts SOFIA (Support Of Female Improvising Artists), a "conference for Girls and Women of all ages and creative disciplines" at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 13 in the Danforth University Center's Goldberg Formal Lounge.

The event will feature a master class and a panel discussion with Johänntgen (pictured), Baldus, and other female artists, with topics to include artistic training; developing a discipline; business in the arts; production of materials; scholarly archiving and documentation; and women's issues in arts and entertainment. The conference is free and open to the public.

* Tritone Guitars' Tritone Expo, set for April 2 and 3 at the @4240 building on the Cortex Innovation Community Campus, was previewed in a news story on local Fox affiliate KTVI. The event "will present nearly 70 music-related companies, artists, and non-profits from the St. Louis area spread out over 40,000 square feet of exhibition space on two floors."

* The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' current production of Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing, which includes saxophonist Eric Person in a key onstage role, was featured in a story by Judith Newmark of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and reviewed by Kenya Vaughn of the St. Louis American.

* Also in the Post-Dispatch, pop music writer Kevin Johnson made note of The Dark Room's second anniversary celebration this Friday.

* Jazz St. Louis has announced the local launch of WeBop, a early childhood jazz education program intended for children ages 3 to 5 that was originally developed by NYC's Jazz at Lincoln Center. For info on the St. Louis WeBop program, visit http://www.jazzstl.org/education-outreach/webop/.

* JSL also has announced their first-ever "Sophisticated Singles" evening, which will take place starting at 8:00 p.m. Friday, April 1 in the first floor lounge next to the Ferring Jazz Bistro, 3536 Washington. Those looking to meet "culturally minded singles" are invited to "mingle in a crowd that shares your refined tastes" and sample drink and hors d'oeuvre specials while the SFJAZZ Collective plays across the hall. Admission is free, and no reservations are required.

* A recording by trumpeter Jim Manley is featured in a new promotional video for Stomvi USA's Flex GHM VR HG Mouthpiece.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake has posted to Facebook an album of photos from a gig by his Organ Quartet in February at the Théâtre Cinéma Paul Éluard de Choisy-le-Roi, near Paris.

* Keyboardist, singer and former St. Louisan Jack Spann (who was known as Jon Rosen when he lived here) played on some demos last year for the late David Bowie's final album Blackstar, and recently talked about the sessions for a short feature story in St. Louis magazine.

Jazz at Holmes series announces winter/spring 2016 concert schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of concerts at Washington University has announced their schedule for the winter/spring semester of 2016.

The ten concerts will include three performances featuring visiting musicians, perhaps most notably drummer Thurman Barker, a longtime member of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and veteran of the 1960s free jazz scene, who will bring a trio to St. Louis to perform on Thursday, April 7.

A professor at Bard College in New York since 1993, Barker (pictured) spends most of his time these days teaching and composing, but his extensive resume includes past performances and recordings with many important free jazz musicians, including Joseph Jarman, Muhal Richard Abrams, Pheeroan akLaff, Anthony Braxton, Billy Bang, Henry Threadgill, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Sam Rivers, and others.

The Jazz at Holmes schedule also including return dates for bassist Gary Peacock and pianist Marc Copland, who did an off-campus concert sponsored by the series in 2013 at 560 Music Center; and for German-born, Zurich-based saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen, who played a Jazz at Holmes show back in 2010.

Here's the complete schedule for the semester:

Thursday, February 4: Ken Kehner, Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris
Thursday, February 11: STL Free Jazz Collective
Thursday, February 18: Paul DeMarinis Group
Thursday, February 25: Jay Oliver, William Lenihan, and Steve Davis

Thursday, March 3: Gary Peacock, Marc Copland, and Mark Ferber
Thursday, March 10: Mosaic Whispers & Java Jived
Thursday, March 24: Montez Coleman Quartet

Thursday, April 7: Thurman Barker Trio
Thursday, April 14: Nicole Johänntgen with William Lenihan, Jay Oliver & Steve Davis
Thursday, April 21: Kasimu Taylor Quartet

While most Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public, the Marc Copland/Gary Peacock and Thurman Barker performances will be ticketed events, priced at $25 and $10 respectively. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Edited after posting.

Nicole Johänntgen to play free concert tonight at Graham Chapel

This just in, via a late-night email from the Jazz at Holmes listserv: Saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen (pictured) will perform a free concert at 8:00 p.m. tonight, Tuesday, September 28 at Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus.

The German-born, Zurich-based Johänntgen is scheduled to play for the Jazz at Holmes series at Wash U next Thursday, October 7; tonight's show is being billed as a "preview concert" that will feature her performing original music backed by a quintet of guitar, piano, bass, drums and percussion. For more on Nicole Johänntgen, check out her MySpace and YouTube pages. Both the Graham Chapel concert and Jazz at Holmes show are free and open to the public.