Sunday Session: June 6, 2021

Anthony Braxton

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

* The Making of Sex Pistols' "Never Mind the Bollocks" (Reverb.com)
* Chops: Sam Gendel Creates a Distinctive Sax Sound (Jazz Times)
* With 'Zero Grasses,' Jen Shyu Forges Grief into Revelation (WBGO)
* What Music Is Making Movies Tick? Here Are the 12 Biggest Film Sync Licensing Trends of 2021 (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* 47 Years of Music Industry Change — In 47 Seconds or Less (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Interview with Jeff “Tain” Watts (EthanIverson.com)
* From Heliopolis to Saturn: Sun Ra and Egypt (DIYWorldwide.com)
* Man in Black at 50: Johnny Cash’s empathy is needed more than ever (The Guardian)
* Jazz Singer Nnenna Freelon Works Through Grief With New Album And Podcast (NPR)
* After Delays and Snafus, Music Venues Tenuously Seeing Next Steps Toward Relief (Rolling Stone)
* The ‘Big Bang’ in Jazz History (WNYC)
* How SoundScan Changed Everything We Knew About Popular Music (TheRinger.com)
* Riddle Me This: Jazz Artists Remember Arranger Nelson Riddle on His Centennial (Jazziz)
* The Source - Sun Ra and his Arkestra’s Egpytian adventure (The Nation)
* Alice Coltrane Turiya Sings Reissue Announced (Pitchfork.com)
* A Legendary Stand by the Lee Morgan Quintet Finally Sees Full Release, as 'The Complete Live at the Lighthouse' (WBGO)
* As Grants For Shuttered Venues Trickle Out, Many Owners Are Still Waiting (NPR)
* Producer Mitch Easter shares the inside story of R.E.M.’s early recording sessions: “It was glorious. They rehearsed a lot just because they liked to play together“ (MusicRadar.com)
* ‘Songs In A Minor’ at 20: How Alicia Keys' debut album set the tone for contemporary R&B (USA Today)
* Anthony Braxton On The Radiance Of Standards, His Search For Charlie Parker & The Forces That Divide America (Grammy.com)
* Hear Bach's Music Like You've Never Heard It Before: Upside Down (NPR)
* What Is Asian American Music, Really (Pitchfork.com)
* Gary Bartz & Jazz Is Dead (Jazz Times)

Jazz this week: Harry Connick Jr, Nnenna Freelon, Steve Schenkel & Ashley Mason, Kim Portnoy Trio, St. Louis Rivermen and more

It's a potentially busy week for fans of jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with two major touring headliners in town, a lot of activity from local musicians, and holiday-themed concerts a-plenty, too.

Let's go to the highlights, starting with singer Nnenna Freelon, (pictured) who's in town to perform at Jazz at the Bistro tonight through Saturday. For more about Freelon and some video clips of her in action, see this post from last Saturday.

The other major name in town this week is ever-popular singer and pianist Harry Connick Jr., who will brings his big band's holiday show to the Fox Theatre on Sunday. Connick Jr. has a new Christmas CD out this year, so look for Sunday's concert to draw heavily on that material as well as from his previous holiday albums.

On the local front, guitarist Steve Schenkel and singer Ashley Mason will perform material from their new Christmas CD A Midnight Clear in a free concert Thursday night for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Also on Thursday, singer Jeanne Trevor and pianist Dave Venn headline a holiday-themed show at the Black Cat Theatre in Maplewood.

On Friday night, keyboardist Mo Egeston and trombonist Lamar Harris bring their new collaborative band The Urban Groov Project to Brandt's. And on Saturday, trumpeter Randy Holmes and his Quintet featuring singer and flute player Margaret Blanchetta will perform a tribute to the music of Cannonball Adderley and Nancy Wilson at Cookie's Jazz and More.

On Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents the traditional jazz sounds of the St. Louis Rivermen in a matinee concert at the Moolah Shrine Center, 12545 Fee Fee Rd. That evening, the Kim Portnoy Trio, featuring the leader on piano, Ric Vice on bass and Kevin Gianino on drums with Steve Schenkel as special guest guitarist, will perform a program of original compositions at Eliot Chapel, 216 E. Argonne in Kirkwood. (A portion of proceeds from the show will go to benefit the Eliot Music Fund.)

Monday finds the Sessions Big Band back at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups, and there are three noteworthy events on Tuesday, starting in the morning when Swing Set plays a 10:00 a.m. "Coffee Concert" at the Sheldon Concert Hall. (The same program will be repeated at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday.)

Tuesday evening, the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club has its monthly meeting, this time to discuss the Louis Armstrong CD from the series of albums issued in conjunction with Ken Burns' PBS series "Jazz." Radio and television personality/jazz advocate Don Wolff and jazz journalist Terry Perkins will host and moderate the event, which takes place at the Brentwood location of Borders, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd. That same night, the Gerry Mulligan/Bob Brookmeyer-inspired band Utter Chaos returns to The Gramophone.

On Wednesday, Squid Choir Orkestra brings their mix of free jazz and "power electronics" back to the Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson, as the middle act on a bill that includes electronic improv group Worm Hands and avant-rockers Skarekrau Radio.

You can find more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond by visiting 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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Three views of Nnenna Freelon

This week's video spotlight shines on singer Nnenna Freelon, who's coming to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, December 3 through Saturday, December 6 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Now 54 years old, Freelon didn't begin singing professionally until she was in her late thirties, but since then she's more than made up for lost time, performing and recording with many well-known jazz artists including the Count Basie Orchestra, Ray Charles, Ellis Marsalis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, Dianne Reeves, Diana Krall, Ramsey Lewis, George Benson, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock and Terence Blanchard. She has been nominated for five Grammy awards and has recorded a wide variety of material, including standards, contemporary covers, originals and tributes to Stevie Wonder and Billie Holiday.

Today's clips show Freelon in three different musical situations. First up is "Get Out Of Town," recorded at the Panama Jazz Festival with a small combo. The second clip shows Freelon with Germany's WDR Big Band performing "I Cried For You," and last but not least is a performance from the 2001 Grammy Awards broadcast, in which Freelon teams up with vocal group Take 6 for a version of "Straighten Up And Fly Right" that earned a standing ovation from the audience of veteran music industry pros.

Jazz this week: Kurt Elling, Frankie Randall, Nnenna Freelon, Erin Bode, and more

The spotlight in St. Louis this week is on vocalists, with several very different singers presenting their talents and hoping to capture the time and attention of local jazz fans.

Perhaps the best known is Kurt Elling, who returns with his trio to Jazz at the Bistro for a four-night stand Wednesday through Saturday. One of the most talked-about male jazz singers on the scene today, Elling tends to inspire strong, love-him-or-hate-him reactions. I was a bit a of a skeptic before hearing him perform last year, first on the TV program Legends of Jazz and then at the Bistro, but came away from those expereinces with a new respect for Elling's skills and artistry. You can read my reconsideration and review of Elling here and here. Elling will also be doing a free master class at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon at Webster University's Community Music School building, located at 8282 Big Bend.

Also in St. Louis this week is Frank Sinatra's pal and protege Frankie Randall, who will be singing and playing piano at The Cabaret at Savor on Wednesday and Thursday night. Randall's show incorporates some of the songs Sinatra made famous, and is said to evoke a 1960s Rat Pack sort of vibe that's quite a contrast from Elling's more introspective presentation.

On Sunday, singer Nnenna Freelon (pictured) performs at the Sheldon Concert Hall to benefit Community Women Against Hardship. A mother of three, Freelon spent her young adulthood raising her kids and thus got a comparatively late start on a music career. However, since bursting on to the scene in the early 1990s, she's more than made up for lost time, performing around the world as a headliner and with the Count Basie Orchestra and many others, and earning five Grammy nominations in the jazz vocal category.

Other shows of note this week: Saxophonist Dave Stone will do a free concert at Washington University on Thursday night as part of the Jazz at Holmes series, while chanteuse Erin Bode and her band will perform at Finale Music and Dining on Friday and Saturday. Also on Saturday, pianist Ptah Williams returns with his trio to Cookie's Jazz and More.

To see a more extensive list of jazz-related events in the St. Louis area, 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.)