Jazz this week: Fred Frith, "A Very Manley Christmas," The Motet, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the long-awaited return of an influential experimental guitarist, a whole bunch of holiday-themed shows, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 11
The Jazz St. Louis Big Band will perform Duke Ellington's arrangements of Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker' plus more Ellington favorites at Jazz St. Louis, with one more performance on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Grand Center, the weekly "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" will feature Miss Jubilee at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and bassist Ben Wheeler's Sketchbook at The Dark Room.

Thursday, December 12
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University wraps up the semester with a free concert from the university's jazz combo students; singer Tony Viviano returns to Fallon's Grill & Tap; and saxophonist Kendrick Smith brings his trio to The Dark Room.

Friday, December 13
Trumpeter Jim Manley (pictured, center left) returns with his holiday show "A Very Manley Christmas" for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday, guitarist Dave Black and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman bring their "3rd Annual Holiday Show" to Focal Point, and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher reprises his "A Rat Pack Christmas" at Blue Strawberry

Elsewhere around town, the Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and traditional jazz and swing band Annie and the Fur Trappers return to the Frisco Barroom.

Saturday, December 14
Guitarist Fred Frith (pictured, top left) will perform solo in a concert presented by New Music Circle at Joe's Cafe. He'll also present a free artist talk/workshop on Sunday afternoon at 14th Street Artist Community.

Frith has been an important voice in improvised music for nearly a half-century, bringing innovative guitar techniques to a variety of bands and collaborative projects. For a brief overview of his storied career, plus some videos of recent solo performances, take a look at this post from Saturday before last.

Also on Saturday, the Oikos Ensemble presents this year's edition of their annual "Jazz Noel" program in a matinee at Parkway United Church of Christ (with another performance on Sunday at First Congregational Church in Webster Groves); and Chicago pianist Paul Asaro, last seen here in November as part of the Nevermore Jazz Ball, headlines an evening at Casa Loma Ballroom.

Sunday, 
December 15
Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes are back to perform for brunch at the Angad Arts Hotel, while just across Grand, guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran will play at The Dark Room,

Then on Sunday night, Denver-based funk/jam band The Motet (pictured, bottom left) returns to the Old Rock House. After putting out their ninth album Death or Devotion in January, they've been doing shows all year to promote the release, including the current 30-date tour that brings them here.

Monday, December 16
Eclectic instrumental quintet The 442s and some special guests will perform in their annual "Holiday Spectacular" for the first of two nights at 560 Music Center.

Tuesday, December 17
Cabaret Project St. Louis presents a "gala holiday edition" of their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge.

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: Marco Benevento, Ken Page, Joey DeFrancesco, Adrian Legg, Damon Smith & Friends, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a couple of inventive keyboardists, an internationally acclaimed guitarist, a multi-national group of free improvisers, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, November 13
Keyboardist Marco Benevento (pictured, top left) will perform at the Old Rock House, with the jazz duo of twin brothers The Mattson 2 opening.

Benevento has gone through some changes since the last time he played in St. Louis nearly five years ago, steering his expansive sound toward danceable beats and pop song forms. You can find out more about that, and see some videos from recent performances in this post from last Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, singer and St. Louis native Ken Page will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis as part of their series co-presented with Cabaret Project of St. Louis; and journalist and author Nate Chinen will give a talk for JSL's "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series, based on his recent book Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century, at the St Louis Public Library's Schlafly branch in the Central West End. For a preview of the latter, read Chinen's interview with the Post-Dispatch's Daniel Duchholz.

Thursday, November 14
Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series moves for one night to the 560 Music Center for  "The Bridge #2.2," a free concert teaming Chicago saxophonist Mai Sugimoto and Wash U faculty member Paul Steinbeck on electric bass with two French musicians, guitarist Raymond Boni and acoustic bassist Paul Rogers.

Also on Thursday, guitarist Dave Black will team up with singer Wendy Gordon at The Pat Connolly Tavern; and singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club.

Friday, November 15
Organist Joey DeFrancesco (pictured, center left) will perform with the Jazz St. Louis Big Band for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

DeFrancesco, who also plays trumpet and recently has taken up tenor sax as well, reportedly will play big band arrangements of music from his latest album In The Key Of The Universe, which was released in March on Mack Avenue Records.

Elsewhere around town, British guitarist Adrian Legg will perform at Focal Point. Cited for his “astonishing virtuosity" by Q magazine and called “simply the best acoustic guitar player I’ve ever heard” by guitarist Joe Satriani, Legg also has been described as “kind of cross between Robert Fripp and Garrison Keillor” for his combination of expert musicianship and sly storytelling.

Also on Friday, Dizzy Atmosphere plays swing and Gypsy jazz at Urban Chestnut Midtown Brewery and Biergarten, and keyboardist Mark Harris II returns to The Dark Room.

Saturday, November 16
Saxquest presents their free, all-day Woodwind Musical Instrument Expo at St. Charles Community College's Donald D Shook Fine Arts Bldg, with instruments and accessories from many different manufacturers, educational programs, and more.

Then on Saturday evening, saxophonist Tim Cunningham will play at Troy's Listening Room; singer and actor KT Sullivan presents her cabaret show "I Can Cook" at Blue Strawberry; and the Funky Butt Brass Band returns to the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, November 17
Your jazz brunch music options for Sunday include Miss Jubilee at Evangeline's and guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran at The Dark Room.

Later in the afternoon, singer and impressionist Dean Christopher brings his "Rat Pack and More" show to the Hatheway Cultural Center on the campus of Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey.

Monday, November 18
Bassist Damon Smith, a recent transplant to St. Louis, will be joined by an ensemble of improvisers including Chicago trombonist Jeb Bishop (pictured, bottom left), Dutch composer and performance artist Jaap Blonk, and drummer Weasel Walter of Flying Luttenbachers fame for a show at the Cherokee Street art gallery Flood Plain.

Also on Monday, the Webster University Jazz Collective, featuring members of the university's jazz faculty, will perform in a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, November 19
Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge, and singer Joe Mancuso plus guest vocalists Kim Fuller-Barnes and Robert Nelson will perform music from "The Great American Songbook" at the Gaslight Theater.

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: Spotlight on Marco Benevento

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring keyboardist Marco Benevento, who will be in St. Louis to perform next Wednesday, November 13 at the Old Rock House.

Benevento, who last played here in November 2014 at 2720 Cherokee, is touring in support of Let It Slide, his new album released in September. While he initially made his reputation playing mostly instrumental music on the jam band circuit, in recent years Benevento has turned more toward pop song forms and danceable grooves, and added his own vocals to the mix.

Those features are clearly in evidence on Let It Slide, which was produced by Leon Michels, who has worked with artists including Dr. John and soul singers Charles Bradley and Lee Fields. And so one challenge now for Benevento - and, arguably, for every artist whose sound evolves significantly over the course of their career - is being able to please current fans while also bringing new ones into the fold.

How well does he succeed? Well, you can decide for yourself by checking out these videos, all recorded in the last year, starting up above with a clip of Benevento performing "Greenpoint" in February 2019 at the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival in Colorado.

After the jump, you can see Benevento playing "Oh Baby Can't You See" in July 2019 on Adult Swim's "FishCenter," followed by a video of four tunes recorded in September at Paste Studio in New York City.

For a deeper dive, there then are three full shows, recorded in August at the "Alive at 5" outdoor concert series in Albany, NY; in May at Ardmore Music Hall in Philadelphia; and in July at the Levitate Music & Arts Festival in Marshfield, MA.

For more about Marco Benevento and Let It Slide, read his recent interview with the alt-weekly Maine Edge and the feature about him published earlier this year on Relix.com, and listen to him on an episode of the Jambase.com podcast from last month.

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

Jazz this week: TAUK, Clayton, Coffin & Wilson, River City Sound Clinic & Gerald Nicosia, Blue Strawberry opens, and more

It's another busy week for live jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with sounds from funk and fusion to free improv and straight-ahead swing, plus the opening of a new local venue for cabaret performances, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 30
Funk/jam quartet TAUK returns to perform at the Old Rock House, having recently released the third volume in their "Real Tauk" series of live recordings; and The 442s will debut some new music from bandleader Adam Maness and composers Christopher Stark and Stefan Freund in a concert at The Sheldon.

Elsewhere around town, this week's "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" features Miss Jubilee at The Stage at KDHX, the weekly jam session at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and The People's Key doing a 1980s-themed show for Halloween at The Dark Room.

Thursday, 
October 31
The new Central West End cabaret venue Blue Strawberry opens with St. Louisan Ken Haller's latest show, "When I'm 65." The club will feature cabaret and other singers on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, plus additional live music on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and food and drinks throughout the week. To find out more, read this post from last week.

Also on Thursday, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert by Italian vibraphonist Marco Pacassoni (pictured, center left) with guitarist William Lenihan, bassist Joseph Lepore and drummer Steve Davis; and singer Denise Thimes is back home from Chicago to present the "Mildred Thimes Foundation 15th Annual Benefit Concert" at The Sheldon, with saxophonist Tim Cunningham providing the entertainment for the pre-show VIP event.

Friday, November 1
Bassist John Clayton, saxophonist Jeff Coffin and drummer Matt Wilson (pictured, top left), all in town for week-long educational residencies at Jazz St. Louis, will team up to conclude their stays with the first of two nights of performances at the Bistro.

As often happens with these ad hoc combinations, given the diversity of their respective experiences and usual modes of musical expression, it's hard to predict what they'll sound like together. All three do have their own catalogs of compositions from which to draw, and there definitely should be a high level of musicianship happening, even if there's some stylistic tension along the way.

Also on Friday, Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz in a concert at The Focal Point; the Sentimental Journey Dance Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and Blue Strawberry's opening weekend continues with a performance from St. Louisans Rosemary Watts and Joe Dreyer.

Saturday, November 2
Trumpeter George Sams' Nu-Art Series returns with "Jazz n' Tongues: Musical Improvisation to the poetry of Gerald Nicosia" featuring Sams and an ensemble of St. Louis musicians christened the River City Sound Clinic with Nicosia (pictured, with Sams, at bottom left) on stage at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Also on Saturday, former St. Louisan Mark Deutsch presents another performance on his invented instrument, the Bazantar, at the Focal Point;  nine different up-and-coming St. Louis bands and performers will be featured in "Labor of Love - A Kranzberg Arts Foundation Music Resident Benefit Concert" at .ZACK in Grand Center, and the opening weekend at Blue Strawberry concludes with Amy Friedl Stoner singing "A Little Bit of Everything."

Sunday, November 3
The St. Louis Record Show will present their last event of the year at the American Czech Center, and the St. Louis Jazz Club presents the Funky Butt Brass Band in a concert at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport.

Then on Sunday evening, pianist Ptah Williams' trio performs at The Judson House, and the student musicians of the JazzU Big Band will perform at Jazz St. Louis.

Monday, November 4
Students in Webster University's Student Jazz Combos will show off what they've learned this semester in a performance at Webster's Community Music School.

Tuesday, November 5
Trumpeter Garrett Schmidt leads a quintet in a concert at the Gaslight Theater.

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: Fall 2019 jazz preview, part five

This week, it's time for the fifth and final part of StLJN's Fall 2019 preview, featuring videos of noteworthy jazz and creative music performers who will be coming to St. Louis before the end of the year. (This installment was preceded by parts one, two, three, and four.)

Picking up where last week's edition left off, today's first video features keyboardist Marco Benevento, who will be returning to perform on Wednesday, November 13 at the Old Rock House. Benevento, whose most recent recordings have found him exploring more concise, pop-oriented material, can be seen performing a complete set at a gig in November 2018 at Brooklyn Bowl.

After the jump, you can see a video featuring trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who will be playing Wednesday, November 20 through Sunday, November 24 at Jazz St. Louis. The video shows a full set by Blanchard and his band, the E-Collective, recorded in November 2018 at New Morning in Paris.

Next up, it's saxophonist Jeanette Harris and flute player Althea René, who will share a bill on Saturday, November 30 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Harris is featured in the second video after the jump, performing "Just Keep Holding On" in 2013 at Spaghettini's in Los Angeles, followed by René playing "Gypsy Soul" at a gig in 2018 in Chicago.

The following week, singer and St. Louis native Alicia Olatuja returns home for a series of shows starting Wednesday, December 4 and continuing through December 8 at Jazz St. Louis. She can be seen singing "Child of The Moon" from her most recent album Intuition: Songs from the Minds of Women, recorded in March of this year in the Studios of TSFJAZZ radio in Paris.

The next weekend, guitarist Fred Frith will return to St. Louis for the first time in nearly 30 years for a concert presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, December 14 at Joe's Cafe. He can be seen in today's penultimate video, which documents a full set of music performed at a gig in April 2019 in Torino, Italy.

The final video of the Fall 2019 jazz preview features drummer Nate Smith and his band Kinfolk, who will make their St. Louis debut starting Wednesday, December 18 and continuing through Sunday, December 22 at Jazz St. Louis. The clip shows them playing a piece called “Rambo” in May 2019 at Dazzle Jazz in Denver, CO.

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2019 jazz preview, part four

Today's post is part four of StLJN's Fall 2019 jazz preview, featuring videos of jazz and creative musicians who will be coming to St. Louis to perform between now and the end of the year. (You can see part one here, part two here, and part three here.)

Resuming the chronology of shows where last week's installment left off, the first video up above features the funk and fusion quartet TAUK, who will be returning here to perform on Wednesday, October 30 at the Old Rock House. The video shows a complete set from a show in April of this year at Concord Music Hall in Chicago, IL.

After the jump, you can see a video featuring vibraphonist Marco Pacassoni, who will perform in a free concert presented by the Jazz at Holmes series on Thursday, October 31 at Holmes Lounge in Ridgley Hall on the Washington University campus. The clip shows Pacassoni performing his original composition "Freedom" in 2017 with his quartet, which includes Enzo Bocciero (piano), Lorenzo De Angeli (bass), and Matteo Pantaleoni (drums).

That same week, bassist John Clayton, saxophonist Jeff Coffin, and drummer Matt Wilson will be in town doing educational residencies for Jazz St. Louis, culminating in group performances on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2 at the Bistro.

You can see Clayton in the second video after the jump, which shows him performing "Blue Monk" with fellow bassist Thomas Pol and the JazzArt Orchestra in November 2015 at the Odeon de Spiegel Theater in Schouwburg, Netherlands.

Coffin is up next, playing a duet with cellist Helen Gillet in May 2019 at Sidebar NOLA in New Orleans, followed by Wilson playing a drum solo along with a recording of poet Carl Sandburg in September 2017 at the Jazz Standard in NYC.

The following week, violinist Regina Carter, this time accompanied by pianist Xavier Davis, will return for performances starting Wednesday, November 6 through Sunday, November 10 at Jazz St. Louis.

Carter can be seen playing "Strung Out" in a duet with bassist Bob Hurst, recorded last year at the Detroit Jazz Festival for NPR's "Jazz Night in America," followed by Davis and his trio performing "The Dance Of Life" in May 2018 at the Duende Jazz Bar in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The final video today features Mwenso and the Shakes, who will be bringing their show "Harlem 100" to the Sheldon Concert Hall on Saturday, November 9. The video shows their complete set recorded in August 2019 at the Erie Blues and Jazz Festival in Erie, PA.

Look for the fifth part of StLJN's Fall 2019 jazz preview next week in this space. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Marco Benevento returning to perform Wednesday, November 13 at Old Rock House

Keyboardist Marco Benevento (pictured) is returning to St. Louis for a show at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 13 at the Old Rock House, with California-based duo The Mattson 2 as opening act.

Benevento, who last played St. Louis in November 2014 at 2720 Cherokee, will be touring in support of Let It Slide, his new album set for release in September that is touted as continuing his recent explorations of popular song forms and danceable grooves with vocals.

Tickets for Marco Benevento at the Old Rock House are $12 in advance, $15 day of show, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, July 19.

Jazz this week: Mardra & Reggie Thomas, "Jazz Triple Play," Moon Hooch, and more

As often happens around major holidays, the calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis this week is light on visiting acts, but there still are some noteworthy shows happening, including a homecoming show for a couple of favorite former St. Louisans; a tour stop from from one of the more distinctive all-instrumental bands touring today; a concert featuring three hometown groups on one bill, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 3
Back in St. Louis for a visit, singer Mardra Thomas and keyboardist Reggie Thomas will present a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Also on Wednesday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will duet at Scarlett's Wine Bar; and Miss Jubilee performs at Schlafly Bottleworks.

Thursday, July 4
While some local venues will be closed for the Independence Day holiday (for example, Jazz St. Louis will be dark the entire weekend),  if you're in the mood for some live music after or instead of fireworks, singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul will be performing at the Chase Club.

Friday, July 5
Funky Butt Brass Band plays at the Broadway Oyster Bar: pianist and singer Jesse Gannon returns to The Dark Room; bassist Darrell Mixon leads a trio at Cigar Inn; and drummer Dhoruba Shakur continues his twice-monthly Friday residency at Sophie's Artist Lounge and Cocktail Club.

Saturday, July 6
The Bosman Twins, the Coleman Hughes Project (pictured, bottom left) and keyboardist Mark Harris II will join forces for a "Jazz Triple Play" at the Grandel Theatre.

Also on Saturday, the Triplets of Grubville play vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at Evangeline's; and saxophonist Tim Cunningham performs (in a non-smoking show) at Gauge Cigar Club (fka Troy's Jazz Gallery and The Gallery by Troy).

Sunday, July 7
Dizzy Atmosphere plays for brunch at The Dark Room, while pianist Adam Maness is at Thurman's in Shaw. Then on Sunday evening, the Jazz Troubadours will play their monthly gig at Evangeline's

Monday, July 8
The Gaslight Squares play a free concert at the historic Hawken House in Webster Groves.

Tuesday, July 9
Saxophones-and-drums trio Moon Hooch (pictured, top left) returns to Old Rock House. Offering danceable grooves with instrumentation that could just as easily be found on an avant-jazz session, they've been touring as relentlessly as ever since their last appearance here in 2018. For a look at some recent shows on video, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Tuesday, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris performs in concert at the Gaslight Theater.

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: Spotlight on Moon Hooch

Today, let's check out some videos featuring Moon Hooch, who will be back in St. Louis to perform Tuesday, July 9 at the Old Rock House.

Since making the transition nearly ten years ago from NYC subway buskers to an international touring act, the saxophones-and-drums trio have been regular visitors to St. Louis, performing here most recently in October of last year at the Old Rock House. Though they haven't put out any new recordings since then, Moon Hooch has continued to tour relentlessly, bringing their self-described "cave music" - "it's like house, but more wild, more jagged, more free, more natural to live in" - to crowds across the USA, UK and Europe.

You should be able to get a pretty good idea of what their current live show is like from the first video up above, a full set of music recorded last Saturday during a gig at Terminal West in Atlanta.

After the jump, you can see them doing a rather idiosyncratic cover of pop singer Ariana Grande's "God Is A Woman," recorded in February "live" at Q Division studios in Somerville, MA.

That's followed by two more live tracks, "Growing Up" and "Acid Mountain," captured on video last year during shows at Nectar's Lounge in Seattle.

The last two videos are two more full sets, the first from last December in Burlington, VT, and the second from April 30 of this year at an International Jazz Day 2019 celebration in Prague, Czech Republic.

For more about Moon Hooch, read the interview with drummer James Muschler published last year on MusicRadar.com; this review of a recent show in Washington DC; and their July 2017 interview published in The Guardian.

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

Jazz this week: Brad Mehldau Trio, Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, Victor Wooten, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the long-awaited return of a critically acclaimed pianist; an all-woman big band headlining a local festival; a couple of free events examining the music of John Coltrane; and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, April 10
Pianist Brad Mehldau returns to St. Louis for the first time since 2011 for the start of a five-night engagement at Jazz St. Louis.

Though Mehldau has a new album of electric music recorded in collaboration with drummer Mark Guiliana coming out next month, this gig will be with his long-running acoustic trio (pictured, top left), which includes drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier.

Their most recent recording is Seymour Reads the Constitution!, which came out in 2018, and given how long it's been since Mehldau's last appearance here, it seems likely that this week's run at the Bistro will feature some of that material, as well as selections from 2016's Blues and Ballads.

Also on Wednesday, writer Ashley Kahn will give a presentation for Jazz St. Louis' "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series on "A Love Supreme: The Music and Message in John Coltrane's Magnum Opus."  The free event will take place at the St Louis Public Library's Schlafly Branch in the Central West End.

Thursday, April 11
There's more Coltrane content on tap for Thursday night, as the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will present a free concert featuring saxophonist Paul DeMarinis playing a program of the saxophonist's compositions. DeMarinis will be joined by pianist Nick Schlueter, bassist Jeff Anderson, and drummer Steve Davis, with Ashley Kahn also on hand to deliver some pre-concert remarks.

Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode will celebrate the release on vinyl of her 2016 album Here and Now with a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and guitarist Dave Black and friends return to The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, April 12
The 2019 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival will present the DIVA Jazz Orchestra (pictured, center left) in concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.


The NYC-based, all-woman big band led by drummer Sherri Maricle last year celebrated their 25th anniversary with an album featuring all-original compositions and arrangements by members of the group.

For more about that, plus some videos of DIVA in action, as well as videos of musicians who will be featured in Saturday's GSLJF concert, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and singer Anita Jackson returns to The Dark Room.

Saturday, April 13
The 2019 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival's final concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center will be a tribute to UMSL jazz studies director Jim Widner featuring the "Ultimate Jazz All-Stars," an ad hoc group assembled for the occasion by drummer and producer Gregg Field and featuring musicians such as saxophonist Tom Scott, trumpeter Scotty Barnhart, pianist, saxophonist and arranger/composer Gordon Goodwin, bassist Carlitos del Puerto, pianist Shelly Berg, and more.

Also on Saturday, the Midwest Jazz-tette plays West Coast "cool" jazz at Evangeline's.

Sunday, April 14
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents the St. Louis Stompers playing traditional jazz in a matinee at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport

Then on Sunday evening, multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman and pianist Carolbeth True will revisit some of the music from their 1998 album New World Harmonica Jazz at the house concert venue Judson House.

Monday, April 15
Students and faculty of Webster University will perform the music of Cole Porter at the annual "Shepard/Davis Scholarship Concert" at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, April 16
Bassist Victor Wooten (pictured, bottom left) returns with the Wooten Band for a show at Old Rock House. Along with the leader, the Wooten Band includes his brothers Regi and Joseph Wooten on guitars and keyboards and Derico Watson on drums.

The show also will feature the "Wooten Woods Experience," which involves an audience participation segment; guest musicians/educators drawn from a roster including bassist Steve Bailey and saxophonists Bob Franceschini and Bob Hemenger; and "a select group of students from his music and nature camps, an immersive educational program focusing on the relationship between music, nature, and life."

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.)

Moon Hooch returning to perform Tuesday, July 9 at Old Rock House

The saxophones-and-drums trio Moon Hooch is coming back to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 9 at the Old Rock House.

Starting in 2010 as buskers playing for tips in the New York City subway, Moon Hooch (pictured) has become an international touring attraction since putting out their first album in 2013, playing major venues and festivals around the world.

They last played in St. Louis in October 2018, while touring to promote a series of three singles released last year on their own Hornblow Recordings label.

Other recent recordings have included 2018's Bandcamp-only digital release Cave Sessions, and earlier this year, a cover of pop singer Ariana Grande's song "God is a Woman."

Tickets for Moon Hooch at the Old Rock House are $15 in advance, $17 day of show, and are on sale now via the ORH box office and all Metrotix outlets.

Jazz this week: Ralph Towner, MarchFourth, Oliver Lake, Bonerama, Michael Bublé, Oz Noy, Dave Weckl & Jimmy Haslip, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis is jam-packed with so many noteworthy shows that it defies easy summary, so in the interest of getting to the good stuff as soon as possible, let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, 
March 20
Guitarist Ralph Towner returns to play a solo concert at Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus. (For more about Towner and some video samples of his work, see this post from before his last appearance here in 2017.)

Also on Wednesday, the eclectic mutant-marching-band MarchFourth returns for a performance at the Old Rock House; Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge; and pianist Reggie Thomas and the Jazz St. Louis Big Band celebrate the "Nat "King" Cole Centennial" with a free performance as part of the the "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series at Jazz St. Louis.

Thursday, March 21
The 442s play original instrumental music at Joe's Cafe, and guitarist Billy Barnett will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, March 22
The Nu-Art Series and St. Louis University  present saxophonist Oliver Lake (pictured, top left) in concert at Xavier Hall on the SLU campus.

The former St. Louisan and co-founder of the Black Artists Group and the World Saxophone Quartet will be reciting some of his poetry as well as playing music, with some help from pianist Greg Mills, trumpeter and Nu-Art Series impresario George Sams, and dancers Antonio Douthis-Boyd and Kirven Douthis-Boyd.

For more about Lake and his artistic pursuits in music, poetry, and painting, see this post from last Saturday. 

Also on Friday, Bonerama (pictured, center left) presents their Led Zeppelin tribute show at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy; pop-jazz crooner Michael Bublé will perform at the Enterprise Center; and the Funky Butt Brass Band plays for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Saturday, March 23
NYC-based band The Bailsmen will play vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at Focal Point, and a series of shows celebrating the release of the new book St. Louis Sound kicks off with "St. Louis Sound: Experience Jazz," featuring sets from Tonina, the Adam Maness Trio, and trumpeter Danny Campbell with guest vocalist Anita Jackson, at the Grandel Theatre.

Also on Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True return to the Parkside Grille, and trumpeter Jim Manley leads a quartet at Evangeline's.

Sunday, March 24
Israeli-born jazz-fusion guitarist Oz Noy wraps up his current tour with drummer and St. Charles native Dave Weckl (pictured, bottom left) and bassist Jimmy Haslip with two shows at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Monday, March 25
Singer and impressionist Dean Christopher returns with his "Rat Pack and More" show to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar; and Webster University's Student Jazz Combos perform at Webster's Community Music School.

Tuesday, March 26
Nashville-based ensemble The Cosmic Collective plays at Evangeline's.

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.)

Victor Wooten Band to perform Tuesday, April 16 at Old Rock House

Bassist Victor Wooten is returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 16 at the Old Rock House.

The show is billed as "The Wooten Band and the Wooten Woods Experience," the latter referring to the bassist’s Center for Music and Nature, an educational retreat located near Nashville.

Along with music from Wooten, his brothers Regi and Joseph Wooten on guitars and keyboards, and Derico Watson on drums, the evening apparently will include an "audience participation demonstration" related to the educational programs offered at the Center.

Wooten (pictured) most recently played St. Louis with drummer Dennis Chambers and saxophonist Bob Franceschini in March of last year at the Old Rock House.

Tickets for Wooten Band's all-ages show in April are $32 for general admission, and are on sale now via all Metrotix outlets.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2019 jazz preview, part four

Today, it's part four of StLJN's winter/spring 2019 jazz preview, featuring videos of noteworthy jazz and creative music performers who will be coming to St. Louis in the first part of 2019. You can see part one of the series here, part two here, and part three here.

First up is a show that, chronologically speaking, should have been part of last week's post, but was left out due to a clerical error. That would be the upcoming appearance by trumpeter Jaimie Branch, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and Ståle Liavik Solberg presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, February 9 at The Stage at KDHX.

Branch, a Chicago native who has gained international attention since moving to NYC a few years back, has her own working band, Fly or Die. But she's also played with a variety of other ensembles, including with Lonborg-Holm and Solberg (billed here as "The Party Knüllers") as seen in the first video up above, an excerpt from a show in June 2018 at Da Vinci Art Alliance in Philadelphia.

After the jump, we get back on schedule with Marilyn Maye, known as "the grand dame of cabaret," who will present her show "It's Better with a Big Band" on Wednesday, March 6 and Thursday, March 7 at Jazz St. Louis. The video is an excerpt from Maye's 90th birthday party (!) last April at Feinstein's/54Below in New York City, in which she sings "Guess Who I Saw Today" and "Fifty Percent."

Maye will be followed at Jazz St. Louis by another distinctive vocalist, Kurt Elling, who will check in for a five-night run at the Bistro starting Wednesday, March 13 and continuing through Sunday, March 17.

Elling can be seen in the second video after the jump singing the Julian Priester/Tommy Turrentine composition "Long As You're Living" at the International Jazz Day 2018 All-Star Global Concert in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Though he'll have his regular working band in St. Louis, here he's backed by a group including Branford Marsalis (tenor sax), Terri Lyne Carrington (drums), Antonio Farao (piano), and Ben Williams (bass).

That same week, New Music Circle will present flute player and composer Nicole Mitchell’s Liberation Narratives, featuring poet Haki Madhubuti, on Saturday, March 16 at Xavier Hall on the St. Louis University campus.

"Liberation Narratives" also is the title of Mitchell's 2017 album featuring Madhubuti, but since there doesn't seem to be any live-performance video of the two of them available online, the next clip offers a look at Mitchell, her Black Earth Ensemble, and poet Jamila Woods doing a set in 2017 at "Centennial Brooks," a gathering in Chicago of scholars, writers, musicians, and fans paying tribute to Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Next up, it's guitarist Ralph Towner, who will be doing a solo performance on Wednesday, March 20 at Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus. Towner is featured in the fifth video playing his original composition "The Reluctant Bride."

Also on Wednesday, March 20, the eclectic ensemble MarchFourth will make their return to St. Louis with a show at the Old Rock House. You can see a representative example of their syncretic style, which draws on everything from marching bands to Afrobeat, jazz, rock and more, in the penultimate video, a mashup of The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues" and the JBs' "Doing It To Death" (misidentified as 'James Brown's "Funky Good Time"') recorded in 2017 at the Sioux Falls Jazz Fest in Iowa.

Today's final video feature singer Michael Bublé, who will be performing on Friday, March 22 at the Enterprise Center. While there's an argument to be made that Bublé at this juncture is more of a pop performer that a jazz singer, he still touches enough different stylistic bases to merit including a clip of him singing "Haven't Met You Yet," recorded in October 2018 on the Australian TV show Sunrise.

Look for part five of StLJN's winter/spring 2019 jazz preview next week in this space. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

MarchFourth returning to perform Wednesday, March 20 at Old Rock House

The eclectic band MarchFourth will be returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 20 at the Old Rock House.

Originally from Portland, OR, the group was formed for a Mardi Gras gig in 2003, and includes stilt-walkers, acrobats and dancers as well as up to five percussionists and six brass and wind players in its lineup of 15 to 20 musicians and performers.

While they obviously draw inspiration from the marching band tradition, MarchFourth's music incorporates influences from jazz, rock, ska, klezmer, hip-hop, swing, Afro-Cuban beats, and more. They've toured extensively in the US and in Germany, The Netherlands, France, Canada, and China, and their music has been featured in TV and film productions including a commercial for Microsoft and the Pixar film Monsters University.

MarchFourth (pictured) last played St. Louis in October 2015, also at the Old Rock House. (You can see some videos of them in a post from before that gig here.) Their most recent studio recording is 2016's Magic Number, recorded in New Orleans with Ben Ellman of Galactic producing and guest appearances from Trombone Shorty, drummer Stanton Moore, and more.

Tickets for MarchFourth at Old Rock House are $18 general admission for all ages, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, December 7 via Metrotix.

Jazz this week: Ellen Fullman, Lonnie McFadden, Jazz Ambassadors, Tauk, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a performance on a unique instrument that's also an art installation, plus concerts in a variety of genres from vintage jazz to cabaret to funk and fusion.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, November 7
Singer Erin Bode returns to Cyrano's; Miss Jubilee plays at Schlafly Bottleworks; and this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features TJ Muller at The Stage at KDHX along with the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, November 8
The Gaslight Cabaret Festival's fall series resumes with Kansas City trumpeter and singer Lonnie McFadden (pictured, center left) performing for one night only at the Gaslight Theater.

Also on Thursday, guitarists Dave Black and Farshid Soltanshahi with guest multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman will play at Joe's Cafe; singer Joe Mancuso and friends perform at 50/Fifty Kitchen; and saxophonist and singer Cary Colman's trio returns to Evangeline's.

Friday, November 9
Artist, musician and instrument inventor Ellen Fullman will perform in a concert presented by New Music Circle at 560 Music Center.

Fullman (pictured, top left) is the creator of the Long String Instrument, which consists of dozens of wires 50 feet or more in length, stretched across a space and "bowed" with rosin-coated fingers, producing "a chorus of minimal organ-like overtones." For more about Fullman and some video footage of playing the Long String Instrument, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, keyboardist David Grelle's Playadors make their Bistro debut in the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis; the Gateway City Big Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and singer Anita Jackson performs for the late show at The Dark Room

Saturday, November 10
Singer Ken Haller reprises his show "Happy Haller Days!" for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, and saxophonist Dave Stone's trio plays at Thurman's in Shaw.

Sunday, 
November 11
The US Army's "Jazz Ambassadors" (pictured, bottom left) will play a free matinee concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center

Monday, 
November 12
Dizzy Atmosphere will play swing and Gypsy jazz for diners at The Shaved Duck, and the Webster University Student Jazz Combos will show their stuff in a performance at Webster's Community Music School.

Tuesday, November 13
Funk and fusion quartet Tauk, touring in support of their new album Shapeshifter II: Outbreak that was released in September, return to the Old Rock House.

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: Ghost Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Joey Alexander, Lettuce, Cornet Chop Suey, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features a nice mix of headlining performers, offering styles from funk to big band to vintage jazz to mainstream and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 10
Ghost Note, the instrumental funk band founded by Snarky Puppy percussionists Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth (pictured, top left), will perform at the Old Rock House.

Incorporating influences from Afrobeat, hip-hop, and more, they're touring in support of their second album Swagism, which was released in April of this year.

Also on Wednesday, Jazz St. Louis' "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series of free lecture/discussions with music continues with Marc Myers, who writes about jazz for the Wall Street Journal and other publications, expounding on "1950: The Year Jazz Changed on Two Coasts."

Myers' presentation will be paired with performances of music associated with Dave Brubeck, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Gerry Mulligan, plus Miles Davis’s complete Birth of the Cool.

Thursday, October 11
Saxophonist Paul DeMarinis leads a trio in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and the Jim Widner Big Band will play a one-nighter at Jazz St. Louis. 

Also on Thursday, singer Joe Mancuso continues his weekly gig featuring different special guests at  50/Fifty Kitchen, and guitarist Dave Black performs at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, October 12
Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (pictured, bottom left) to provide the music for the annual fundraiser at the Sheldon Concert Hall. (Some concert-only tickets still may be available; contact the Sheldon's box office for the latest information.)

This year marks the 30th anniversary of JaLCO's founding, and they've released two recordings in 2018 - one documenting various guest star performances with the orchestra over the years, and the other capturing an evening backing singer/actor Ruben Blades. While those guest stars won't be at the Sheldon, the band's deep catalog of original and historic arrangements, developed over the last three decades, should offer the gala-goers ample possibilities for enjoyable listening.

Also on Friday, Grammy-nominated, teenage piano phenom Joey Alexander returns for the first of two nights of performances at Jazz St. Louis; funk/jazz band Lettuce is in town to play at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion; and singer Anita Jackson will do the late show at The Dark Room

Saturday, October 13
Singer Wendy Gordon and friends, including singer Renee Smith and singer/bassist Eugene Johnson will present a matinee performance of "Different Shades Of The Blues" at the Ozark Theatre.

Later that night, keyboardist Mo Egeston will be at The Dark Room leading his trio, which will be joined this week by guest vocalist Chrissy Renick.

Sunday, October 14
Singer and bassist Janet Evra plays for brunch at The Dark Room, while Miss Jubilee will entertain at Evangeline's.

Also on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents Cornet Chop Suey playing traditional jazz and swing in a matinee concert at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport

Tuesday, October 16
Trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Rick Haydon play at Evangeline's.

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.)