StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Memories of Oliver Nelson

The nearly ubiquitous Miles Davis notwithstanding, which jazz musician from the St. Louis area has been heard by the most people throughout the world? It's probably impossible to measure something like that with any degree of exactitude, but one certainly can make an informed guess.

Any short list would have to include trumpeter Clark Terry, famed for nearly seven decades as a high-profile jazz soloist and recording artist, member of the Ellington and Basie big bands, and veteran of television and session work; and saxophonist David Sanborn, who has had a very popular career as a solo artist, as well as being one of the most recorded session players of his era and the host of various radio and television programs.

Another, more unexpected contender for the title would have to be saxophonist, arranger and composer Oliver Nelson, who packed a lot of music into his all-too-brief 43 years on planet Earth. Born in St. Louis on June 4, 1932, Nelson was working with local bands by age 15 and joined saxophonist Louis Jordan's big band at 18, playing alto sax and arranging.

After serving in the Marine Corps and attending Washington University in St. Louis and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Nelson moved to New York, where he established himself as a soloist, bandleader and arranger/composer. His big breakthrough came with the album The Blues and the Abstract Truth, which featured his tune "Stolen Moments," now a standard played by musicians everywhere.

Nelson went on to record many big-band albums and to work as an arranger for a number of well-known jazz musicians, including Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Johnny Hodges, Wes Montgomery, Buddy Rich, and Jimmy Smith. In 1967, he moved to Los Angeles, where, along with his old pal Quincy Jones, he became one of the first African-American composers to get significant amounts of work scoring television and films.

Nelson wrote music for hugely popular TV shows such as Ironside, Night Gallery, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Bionic Woman, reaching tens of millions of people every week. He also wrote the score for the film Death of a Gunfighter, arranged Gato Barbieri's music for the movie Last Tango in Paris, and produced and arranged popular music for singers including Nancy Wilson, James Brown, the Temptations, and Diana Ross.

Tragically, Nelson died of a heart attack on October 28, 1975. Given the vast quantity and generally high quality of the music he wrote during his short life, one can't help but wonder how much more he could have accomplished had he lived longer.

Even so, Nelson's legacy is quite impressive - his recordings still hold up well today; his film and TV music remains emblematic of its era; and "Stolen Moments" likely will continue to be played forever. Moreover, the path he helped to pave in Hollywood has been well-utilized by subsequent generations of musicians; for example, it's hard to imagine someone like Terence Blanchard getting the chance to write all those film scores absent the pioneering work of Nelson and Jones.

Today, as a tribute to this under-appreciated St. Louis jazz great, we've got what seem to be the only videos online of Nelson in live performance. The first three videos show of Nelson performing and conducting the multi-national Berlin Dream Band playing his arrangements for a TV program recorded in 1970 in Berlin.

The first video, "Black Brown and Beautiful," is a Nelson original that also features him as the soloist, while the second, "Milestones" has solos by Leo Wright and Klaus Marmulla on altos and Rolf Roemer on tenor. The third video shows the band playing Nelson's arrangement of the gospel standard "Down By The Riverside."

Those clips are followed by two short excerpts of a performance of Nelson's composition "Swiss Suite," recorded in 1971 at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The existence of these excerpts suggests there might be more video out there, but until and unless something else surfaces, these clips would seem to be the only film or video recordings of any Nelson performances.

(This is an edited version of a post originally published in June 2009.)

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts is presenting a free online workshop for artists next Monday, March 23, featuring attorney Laila Wolfgram talking about copyright and related issues.

For details or to register, visit https://vlaa.org/get-smart/workshops-clinics/.

* A recent post on Marc Myers' Jazzwax blog spotlighted the two albums saxophonist, composer and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson (pictured) made with multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy.

* Trumpeter Miles Davis' "Second Great Quintet" was featured on last week's episode of WTJU's "Jazz at 100."

* In related news, an article at the website Consequence of Sound looks back at "10 Mind Blowing Miles Davis Collaborations."

* Consequence of Sound also is holding a drawing for a free copy of the mega box set The Genius of Miles Davis, and is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Davis' album Bitches Brew by making it the focus of this season of their podcast The Opus. You can listen to episode one of that podcast here.

* Davis also is the subject of MilesStyle: The Fashion of Miles Davis, a book by Michael Stradford that will be released on Tuesday, May 12.

* Finally, the recent documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, now streaming on Netflix and on the PBS app and website, was reviewed in TV Guide.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris (pictured) and pianist Kim Portnoy are among this year's group of 10 winners of $20,000 artist fellowships from the Regional Arts Commission.

* Metro Theater Company's production of Bud, Not Buddy, which features a score by trumpeter Terence Blanchard performed live on stage by a 13-piece band, was reviewed by BroadwayWorld.com's Steve Callahan.

In addition, local NBC affiliate KSDK's Show Me St. Louis last week ran a feature about the show, and Jazz St. Louis also has released a short promotional video about the production. "Bud, Not Buddy" continues through Sunday, February 25 at the Grandel Theater.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold's return home last week to play at Jazz at the Bistro was the subject of a column from the St. Louis American's Delores Shante.

* In an interview with the campus newspaper, flute player Oliver Nelson Jr. talked about the concert tonight at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ paying tribute to his father, St. Louis native, saxophonist and composer Oliver Nelson. The university will close its annual jazz festival with a performance of Nelson's works, including his suite "The Kennedy Dream."

* Former St. Louisan Katie McGrath has won the 2018 Bistro Award for "Best New York Debut" for her cabaret show, "Significant Others." The awards were established in 1985 to recognize excellence among cabaret, jazz and comedy artists in NYC. 

* Saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake is part of an all-star lineup of performers taking part in "Timeless Portraits and Dreams: A Festival/Symposium in Honor of Geri Allen" this weekend at Harvard University. The event will include two concerts and two days of panel discussions featuring musicians and artists who worked with Allen, including Lake, Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran, Craig Taborn, Don Byron, Carmen Lundy, Kenny Davis, Tia Fuller, and Yosvany Terry.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A public memorial gathering for the late pianist Nathan Jatcko will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, January 27) at Birger Hall on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

* The decaying building that once housed Club Imperial (pictured), home to historic performances by Chuck Berry, Ike and Tina Turner, and other important St. Louis musicians, is in the news after being purchased at a tax sale by a new owner seeking to facilitate redevelopment of the site.

Those plans were put on hold this week as the St. Louis Preservation Board upheld a decision to deny a demolition permit for the building - for now, anyway. Stay tuned for further news...

* UDiscoverMusic.com's just-published list of "The 50 Best Jazz Trumpeters Of All Time" has some St. Louis flavor, with Miles Davis ranked at #3 (behind Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie) and Clark Terry at #28 (just behind King Oliver and ahead of Cat Anderson). Let the clickbait-article-driven arguments begin!

* And speaking of Miles Davis, an article in the new issue of Jazz Times has more details on the forthcoming CD box set Miles Davis & John Coltrane’s The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6.

* The Baylor Project, led by drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and his wife, singer Jean Baylor, performed Wednesday at the studios of WBGO in NYC, and the radio station has posted to YouTube videos of two songs from the session, "Tell Me A Bedtime Story" and "Afro Blue."

The Baylors, who are nominated for two Grammy Awards this year, also were profiled this week in the Asbury Park Press, and appeared on the CBS3 local newscast in Philadelphia. The 60th annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be broadcast starting at 6:30 p.m. Central time this Sunday, January 28 on CBS.

* "The Kennedy Dream," saxophonist, composer and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson's suite commemorating the life and words of President John F. Kennedy, will be the centerpiece of a performance next month paying tribute to Nelson on the closing night of the 48th annual Rowan Jazz Festival in New Jersey.

* The Sheldon has posted to Facebook an album of photos from last week's concert by Storm Large. Large's performance at The Sheldon also was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* While The Bad Plus were in town last week to play at Jazz at the Bistro, Jazz St. Louis had them sit down for a video interview moderated by pianist Peter Martin.

* Gene Dobbs Bradford of Jazz St. Louis this week received a St. Louis Arts Award from the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis, accompanied by a brief video about Bradford that's now posted to the A&E Council's Facebook page.

* At last fall's Festival Of New Trumpet Music in NYC, St. Louis' own Keyon Harrold was part of a panel discussion with fellow trumpeter Charles Tolliver and others, and that talk now can be heard online as an episode of Greenleaf Records' podcast "A Noise From The Deep."

* Pianist and St. Louis native Lawrence Fields appears in a new music video from the group Sound Prints, co-led by saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Dave Douglas. Fields gets a nice solo spot on "The Corner Tavern," a tune from the band's upcoming album Scandal, which will be released on Friday, April 6.

* "Jazz: A Language of Faith and Model for Ministry," a two-day conference exploring "the many possibilities of jazz as a contemporary faith language and creative vehicle for the Church’s ministry," will take place on Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3 at Eden Theological Seminary in Webster Groves.

The event will include presentations, talks, workshops, and a jazz concert featuring the Oikos Ensemble, led by Rev. Cliff Aerie and featuring guest saxophonist Rev. Ozzie Smith, pastor of Covenant UCC in South Holland, IL.

* The woodwind retailer, repair shop, and museum Saxquest is featured in an article in Webster University's campus paper, the Webster Journal.

* Also at Webster U. the student chapter of the Audio Engineering Society will be sponsoring the Central Region Audio Student Summit February 23-25 on the Webster campus. The event is open to students, teachers and "anyone interested in the subject of audio," and will include educational panels, a student mix competition, and more.

* Saxophonist "Raven Wolf" aka C. Felton Jennings II is the subject of a column this week by the West End Word's Dwight Bitikofer.

* Metro Theater Company's upcoming production of Bud, Not Buddy, a "concert play" for children that includes a musical score by trumpeter Terence Blanchard, is previewed briefly on BroadwayWorld.com.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold appears on the cover of the latest issue of Jazziz magazine (pictured), and was interviewed by journalist Ted Pankin for the magazine's cover story.

* Trombonist Joe Bowie's band Defunkt has released a new album, The Cleansing, recorded live last year in Europe.

The recording features Bowie, guitarist and fellow St. Louis native Kelvyn Bell, bassist Kim Clarke, and trumpeter John Mulkerin from the band's classic lineup, plus drummer Gary "GMan" Sullivan, and can be downloaded from the Defunkt Bandcamp page.

* Message to Our Folks, bassist Paul Steinbeck's history of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, was named a "Notable Book of 2017" by the Seminary Co-op bookstore in Chicago.

* A brief article in the latest Alive magazine looks at "A Night Out at Jazz St. Louis."

* As recounted in an article in Jazz Times, the compositions of the late saxophonist and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson are featured in a new album by trumpeter and arranger John Vanore.

* In a new post on his blog, saxophonist Greg Osby responds to a story published in November by the Boston Globe alleging misconduct by former faculty members at the Berklee College of Music.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The legacy of Oliver Nelson

Today, we pay a birthday tribute* to one of St. Louis' all-time jazz greats, the late saxophonist, arranger, and composer Oliver Nelson, who was born here on June 4, 1932.

Called "one of the most significant jazz voices of his generation" by AllAboutJazz.com, Nelson probably is best known these days for the classic album The Blues and the Abstract Truth, which featured his now-standard tune "Stolen Moments." However, his legacy encompasses much more, as Nelson was one of the most prolific and in-demand jazz arranger/composers of the 1960s and early '70s, and, along with Quincy Jones, one of the first African-Americans to get significant work in Hollywood scoring TV and films.

He wrote music for hit TV shows of the period including Ironside, Night Gallery, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, reaching tens of millions of people every week. Nelson also wrote the score for the film Death of a Gunfighter and arranged Gato Barbieri's music for the movie Last Tango in Paris.

In addition to his work in TV and film, Nelson recorded numerous jazz albums as a leader, and also did arrangements for well-known musicians such as Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Johnny Hodges, Wes Montgomery, Buddy Rich, and Jimmy Smith, as well as for singers including Nancy Wilson, James Brown, the Temptations, and Diana Ross.

Tragically, Nelson died of a heart attack on October 28, 1975, when he was just 43 years old. While he left behind an extensive catalog of audio recordings, there seems to be very little video or film or him performing available online (or anywhere else, for that matter), but you can see parts of at least a couple of Nelson performances here today.

The Berlin Dream Band was something of a pet project for Nelson during the last few years of his life, providing a vehicle to get his original jazz compositions before the listening public.

Drawing personnel from all over Europe as well as the USA and Canada, the band's members during the 1970 gig seen here trumpeters Milo Pavlovic (Yugoslavia), Ron Simmonds (Canada), Carmell Jones (USA), Manfred Stoppacher (Austria) and Harry Samp (Germany); trombonists Ake Persson (Sweden), Barry Ross (USA), Slide Hampton (USA), Jean Orieux (France), and Kurt Masnick (Germany); saxophonists Leo Wright (USA), Klaus Marmulla (Germany), Rolf Roemer (Germany), Adi Feurstein Germany), Freddy Lhost (Belgium), and Jan Konopasek (Czechoslovakia); and a rhythm section featuring three Germans, pianist Kai Rautenberg, bassist Hajo Lange, and drummer Heinz Niemeyer.

In the first video, they're seen playing a Nelson arrangement of the old spiritual "Down by the Riverside," followed after the jump by his original work "Self Help Is Needed."

Then, there's "Black, Brown and Beautiful," another Nelson original that also features him as soloist. The final Berlin Dream Band clip is a version of "Milestones" that would seem to confirm a certain fondness for fast tempos, while featuring solos by Leo Wright and Klaus Marmulla on altos and Rolf Roemer on tenor.

(You can see the same band doing two more numbers on video that's unavailable for embedding and can be seen only on the website Daily Motion. Those two selections are Nelson's original "Berlin Dialogues" and a high-speed cover version of Duke Ellington's "Rockin' In Rhythm.")

Next are two clips previously unseen here that surfaced online in 2015, the year after StLJN's last Nelson post. Both featuring him leading a big band at the 1971 Montreux Jazz Festival. The first shows Nelson taking a brief alto solo, while the second has him giving a brief spoken introduction to a tantalizingly brief excerpt from a then-unnamed composition written to feature the somewhat unlikely duo of saxophonists Gato Barbieri and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. Here's hoping a full version of the show, or at least some complete performances, will resurface eventually.

Rounding out the admittedly small collection of Oliver Nelson videos online is a clip made in 1965 in which he basically makes only a cameo appearance. It features Dutch singer Rita Reyes performing "It Could Happen to You" for a TV broadcast in the Netherlands, accompanied by her husband/pianist Pim Jacobs' trio plus horns arranged by Nelson, who can be seen briefly at several points during the clip.

For more about Oliver Nelson, check out Doug Payne's invaluable discography of his work; Nelson's Wikipedia page; and this biographical essay at Jazz Profiles.

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Paul DeMarinis (pictured) has been named Webster University's "Outstanding Jazz Instructor of the Year."

* Bassist Bob DeBoo's weekly Wednesday night gig and jam session at the Kranzberg Arts Center was the subject of a short feature on KTVI/Fox 2 news.

* Singer Cyrille Aimée is featured in a photo set shot by Valerie Tichacek and posted to KDHX's website. Aimée continues at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday night.

* Drummer Emanuel Harrold was profiled in an article by Kevin Johnson of the Post-Dispatch/STLtoday. Harrold and bassist/fellow St. Louisan Jahmal Nichols will perform with singer Gregory Porter on Saturday night at the Touhill.

* St. Louis Public Radio's Dennis Owsley is devoting his "Jazz Unlimited" programs this month to a series called "Jazz Families-Blood Relatives." Owsley, who wrote City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973, researched the subject and found "around 175 jazz musicians who have fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and cousins who are also performing musicians," making up "sort of a genetic map of jazz."

That cohort includes some St. Louis musicians, such as Arville Harris, Leroy Harris Sr. and Jr., Asa Harris, her father Ace Harris, and her uncle Erskine Hawkins; and Lloyd Smith and the Bosman Twins, as well as well-known clans like the Adderley family, the Jones family, the Heath family, and others.

* The proprietors of The Pageant concert club, U City mogul Joe Edwards and Patrick Hagin, announced this week that they'll open a new venue called Delmar Hall this fall.

Using the space next to The Pageant occupied until recently by Big Shark Bicycle Company, the venue is intended to "fill the gap in The Loop’s current concert offerings with a capacity of 800, between Blueberry Hill’s 340-person Duck Room to the 2,000 capacity of The Pageant - and hosting a similarly wide range of music styles, comedy, events and private parties."

* Saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie and trumpeter Tim Osiek of the Oikos Ensemble have released the third volume of arrangements in their "Worship in a New Key" series, featuring 12 charts for use in jazz ministry in conjunction with Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter.

* Stringed-instrument repair shop, studio, and manufacturer Tritone Guitars will present their second annual "Tritone Expo" on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 at the @4240 building on the Cortex campus in the Central West End.

* The late saxophonist, arranger/composer, and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson was one of the composers featured in "Suite History: Jazz Composers And The African-American Odyssey," this week's episode of the "Night Lights" program on WFIU/Indiana Public Media.

* The St. Louis Banjo Club has elected Dave Kempa as its new president. Kempa succeeds Al Lehmann, who served as president of the group for five years.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Oliver Nelson in Berlin

Today, we take a break from previewing upcoming shows to pay a slightly belated birthday tribute to one of St. Louis' all-time jazz greats, the late saxophonist, arranger, and composer Oliver Nelson, who was born here on June 4, 1932.

Best known these days for the classic album The Blues and the Abstract Truth, which featured his now-standard tune "Stolen Moments," Nelson was one of the most prolific and in-demand jazz arranger/composers of the 1960s and early '70s, and, along with Quincy Jones, one of the first African-Americans to get significant work in Hollywood scoring TV and films.

He wrote music for hit TV shows including Ironside, Night Gallery, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, reaching tens of millions of people every week. Nelson also wrote the score for the film Death of a Gunfighter and arranged Gato Barbieri's music for the movie Last Tango in Paris.

In addition to his work in TV and film, Nelson recorded numerous jazz albums as a leader, and also did arrangements for well-known musicians such as Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Johnny Hodges, Wes Montgomery, Buddy Rich, and Jimmy Smith, as well as for singers including Nancy Wilson, James Brown, the Temptations, and Diana Ross.

Tragically, Nelson died of a heart attack on October 28, 1975, when he was just 43 years old. While he left behind an extensive catalog of audio recordings, there seems to be very little video or film or him performing available online (or anywhere else, for that matter), but we are fortunate to be able to share parts of at least one Nelson performance with you here today.

The Berlin Dream Band was something of a pet project for Nelson during the last few years of his life, providing a vehicle to get his original jazz compositions before the listening public.

Drawing personnel from all over Europe as well as the USA and Canada, the band's members during the 1970 gig seen here trumpeters Milo Pavlovic (Yugoslavia), Ron Simmonds (Canada), Carmell Jones (USA), Manfred Stoppacher (Austria) and Harry Samp (Germany); trombonists Ake Persson (Sweden), Barry Ross (USA), Slide Hampton (USA), Jean Orieux (France), and Kurt Masnick (Germany); saxophonists Leo Wright (USA), Klaus Marmulla (Germany), Rolf Roemer (Germany), Adi Feurstein Germany), Freddy Lhost (Belgium), and Jan Konopasek (Czechoslovakia); and a rhythm section featuring three Germans, pianist Kai Rautenberg, bassist Hajo Lange, and drummer Heinz Niemeyer.

In the first video, they're seen playing Nelson's composition "Berlin Dialogues." After the jump, the second clip features a Nelson arrangement of the old spiritual "Down by the Riverside," followed by his original work "Self Help Is Needed."

Then, there's a hyper-speed take on Duke Ellington's "Rockin' In Rhythm," followed by "Black, Brown and Beautiful," another Nelson original that also features him as soloist.

The final Berlin Dream Band clip is a version of "Milestones" that would seem to confirm a certain fondness for fast tempos, while featuring solos by Leo Wright and Klaus Marmulla on altos and Rolf Roemer on tenor.

Rounding out the admittedly small collection of Oliver Nelson videos is a clip made in 1965 in which he basically makes only a cameo appearance. It features Dutch singer Rita Reyes performing "It Could Happen to You" for a TV broadcast in the Netherlands, accompanied by her husband/pianist Pim Jacobs' trio plus horns arranged by Nelson, who can be seen briefly at several points during the clip.

For more about Oliver Nelson, check out Doug Payne's invaluable discography of his work; Nelson's Wikipedia page; and this biographical essay at Jazz Profiles.

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

Jazz this week: Michael Buble, tributes to Oliver Nelson and Thelonious Monk, and more

After a very busy few days of live music in St. Louis last weekend, things are a little slower this week. But if you've checked out parts one and two of StLJN's fall 2013 jazz preview, you know that it's just the calm before the storm, as the last ten days of this month and the first week of October will be filled with touring musicians visiting our town.

And of course, "calm" is a relative term, for as you'll see if you read on, there's still plenty of live jazz and creative music happening right now that is worthy of your attention. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, trumpeter Randy Holmes and his quintet will pay tribute to composer, saxophonist and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson by playing a free concert of his music to kick off this semester's Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Nelson (pictured), who died in 1975 at the age of just 43, was a prolific composer who these days is best known for writing the standard "Stolen Moments" and for Blues and the Abstract Truth, the classic album that introduced it.

But he also has considerable historical importance in American popular culture, because, along with Quincy Jones, he was one of the first African-American composers to get steady work writing for film and television beginning in the 1960s. Nelson's themes for shows like "Ironside" and "The Six Million Dollar Man" put his music into millions of homes - many of which may not have contained a single jazz album - and had he not died so young, there's no telling what else he might have accomplished. At a time when tribute shows proliferate to the point of oversaturation, Nelson is both truly deserving and too often overlooked.

Also tonight, trumpeter Jim Manley plays at Joyia Tapas, 4501 Manchester Ave in the Grove district, and singer Joe Mancuso returns after a one-week break to Cafe Eau at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.

Tomorrow night, guitarist Tom Byrne brings his Pat Metheny inspired band Have U Heard to Jazz on Broadway; drummer Montez Coleman plays at Cigar Inn; singer Wendy Gordon performs at DeLeo's Deli & Cafe, 2782 N Lindbergh; and saxophonist Tim Cunningham will be downtown at The Precinct, the restaurant and bar formerly known as Jim Edmonds 15 Steakhouse at 1900 Locust St..

On Saturday afternoon, St. Vincent Greenway, Inc., the City of St. Louis, and Great Rivers Greenway will present "Jazz on the Greenway," a free event that will include live music from Uncensored Band plus a plethora of outdoor and family activities, all taking place at Ruth Porter Park and St. Vincent Greenway in the CWE at Delmar and DeBaliviere.

That evening, singer Michael Buble performs at the Scottrade Center. While his most recent album To Be Loved may reflect more of a pop/rock sensibility than some previous outings, it seems likely that some of the Sinatra-inspired arrangements that previously have been staples for the Canadian crooner will make it into this show as well.

Also on Saturday night, singer Tony Viviano is at Fortel's in Creve Coeur; Miss Jubilee performs at the Schlafly Bottleworks; guitarist Eric Slaughter plays at Robbie's House of Jazz; and guitarist Brian Vaccaro and his trio will working it like real-life cavemen at Crystal City Underground, the subterranean entertainment venue located in a former mine.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the group Four in One: The Thelonious Monk Project, which includes guitarist Steve Schenkel, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, drummer Alan Schilling and bassist Ric Vice,  will play a concert at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium; and trumpeter Keith Moyer brings his group back to 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 at Holmes series announces Fall 2013 schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University has announced their schedule of free concerts for Fall 2013.

The series begins on Thursday, September 12 with trumpeter Randy Holmes performing the music of saxophonist, composer and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson.

Other highlights of the semester will include an appearance by Italian pianist Antonio Figura (September 12); a tribute to St. Louis drummer Joe Charles (October 24); and a collaborative event involving choreographer Ashley Tate and company (November 14), which was rescheduled after a postponement this past spring.

Though born in Sicily, Figura (pictured) actually is something of a Wash U veteran, presenting seminars there from 2003 to 2007 and performing in 2005 on the Jazz at Holmes series with the band Cyclo.

Here's the complete lineup of concerts:

Thursday, September 12:  Randy Holmes plays the music of Oliver Nelson
Thursday, September 19:  Chad Evans Quartet
Thursday, September 26:  Antonio Figura Trio with William Lenihan and Steve Davis

Thursday, October 3:  Eric Slaughter/Tom Byrne Quartet
Thursday, October 10:  Three Tenors of St. Louis: Freddie Washington, Willie Akins & Paul DeMarinis
Thursday, October 24: A Tribute to Joe Charles

Thursday, November 7:  Jeff Anderson Quartet
Thursday, November 14:  Freedom Jazz Dance - Ashley Tate Dance Company
Thursday, November 21:  Carolbeth True Trio

Thursday, December 5: Washington University Jazz Students Performance

Presented most Thursday evenings when school is in session, the Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public. 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.

StLJN Audio Archive: Oliver Nelson and the Berlin Dreamband - Berlin Dialogue For Orchestra

For today's Audio Archive post, we revisit an out-of-print session by saxophonist, arranger and composer Oliver Nelson. Berlin Dialogue for Orchestra originally came out in 1971 on the long defunct Flying Dutchman label, and has been preserved online thanks to the music sharing blog Flying Dutchman Records (which, as the name suggests, is devoted expressly to collecting all of that particular label's output).

The album (pictured) features two extended suites, "Berlin Dialogue for Orchestra" and "Impressions of Berlin," that Nelson wrote on commission specifically for the Berlin Dreamband. The group was comprised mostly of German musicians, along with Nelson and, on this occasion, three other Americans: trumpeter Carmell Jones, trombonist Slide Hampton and alto saxophonist Leo Wright.

To download a free copy, go to this post, scroll down and look for the links labeled "MP3 @320k or FLAC." Click on the link of your choice, and it'll take you to the download page for that format. (For more information about .rar files and how to use them, go here.)

The StLJN Audio Archive links only to recordings that are out-of-print or that never have been commercially available. The purpose of the Audio Archive is to encourage discussion, appreciation and knowledge of St. Louis jazz artists, and we urge you to support them (or their estates) by purchasing authorized recordings and merchandise and, whenever possible, attending live performances.

StLJN Audio Archive: Oliver Nelson - Black, Brown and Beautiful

This week's StLJN Audio Archive post comes once again via the Flying Dutchman blog, which has preserved most of the output of that once vibrant, now defunct jazz imprint of the 1960s and 1970s.

Saxophonist, arranger/composer and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson made a number of albums for Flying Dutchman, and today we feature Black, Brown and Beautiful, an ambitious effort composed and arranged entirely by Nelson and recorded in October, 1969 in Los Angeles. Here's what the website Dustygroove had to say about it:

"One of Oliver Nelson's hippest albums! The record is sort of an Ellington suite of tracks for the post-60s years -- complete with some sound effects of rioting and urban strife at the beginning, and a mix of modern, modal, and compositional styles. Soloists include John Klemmer, Frank Strozier, and Nelson -- and the overall tone of the album is pride in the face of struggle, with some killer compositions by Nelson that really rank with his best work ever. Titles include "Self Help Is Needed", "I Hope In Time A Change Will Come", "Requiem, Afterthoughts", "Lamb Of God", and "Martin Was A Man, A Real Man"."

Nelson's arrangements are performed by an orchestra along with featured performers including John Gross (tenor sax), John Klemmer (tenor sax), Frank Strozier (alto sax), Bobby Bryant (trumpet), Pearl Kaufman (piano), Roger Kellaway (piano), Chuck Domanico (bass), John Guerin (drums), Roy Haynes (drums) and Stanley Wilson (conductor).

To download a copy of Black, Brown and Beautiful, go here, clink on the word "LINK" at the bottom of the post, and follow the instructions.

The StLJN Audio Archive links only to recordings that are out-of-print or that never have been commercially available. The purpose of the Audio Archive is encourage discussion, appreciation and knowledge of St. Louis jazz artists, and we encourage you to support them (or their estates) by purchasing authorized recordings and merchandise or, whenever possible, attending live performances.

Notes from the Net: Miles' box set of box sets; John Hicks honored in NYC; plus news, reviews, interviews and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* The big Miles Davis news this time out is the release on September 14 of The Genius of Miles Davis , a new collection bringing together eight deluxe multi-CD box sets, including 43 CDs of music, which were originally released on Columbia/Legacy between 1996 and 2007.

Presented in a replica of Miles' own trumpet case (pictured), the collection contains Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (6 CDs); Miles Davis Quintet 1965-1968 (6 CDs); The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (4 CDs); Miles Davis & John Coltrane: The Complete Columbia Recordings, 1955-1961 (6 CDs); The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions (3 CDs); The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (5 CDs); Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings Of Miles Davis, 1963-1964 (7 CDs); and The Complete On The Corner Sessions (6 CDs).

Extras include a replica of the 'Gustat' Heim 2 model mouthpiece used by Davis; a "previously unseen and unavailable fine art lithograph" by the trumpeter himself; and a "boutique-worthy" T-shirt with an image of Davis playing his horn.

In other Miles-related news, the 40th anniversary of the release of Davis' influential Bitches Brew has prompted "Miles Davis: Forty Years of Freedom - The legacy of Bitches Brew," an article by Geoffrey Himes in the September issue of Jazz Times. Also, the 40th anniversary reissue edition of the album is reviewed here for AllAboutJazz.com by Doug Collette, and the music from the sessions also was celebrated earlier this month at a concert in Los Angeles. Last but certainly not least, here's audio of a recently rediscovered interview from 1970 with Teo Macero, in which Macero, who produced Davis' Columbia recordings, discusses the making of albums like Bitches Brew and Live Evil.

* Speaking of recently unearthed recordings, trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry's episode of the NPR program "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz" recently was posted online. Terry also is one of several jazz legends interviewed for the Visionary Project, an archive of African American oral history. You can check out Terry's interview here.

* Updating the world via his Twitter feed, saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake writes that he recently went to Belgium with the World Saxophone Quartet and percussion group M'boom to play the Middelheim Jazz Festival; did a week at NYC's Birdland with Trio 3 and pianist Geri Allen; and is set to play the Jazz Standard this week with his Organ Quartet, featuring Jared Gold.

* Another Oliver - the late composer, alto saxophonist and St. Louisan Oliver Nelson - recently was the subject of a post on Doug Ramsey's blog Rifftides.

* Remember that Greg Osby live NPR broadcast from the Village Vanguard we told you about here? The saxophonist, composer and St. Louis native's gig also was reviewed by the New York Times' Nate Chinen here, and has been archived for online streaming and downloading here.

* A section of West 139th St at Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem has been renamed "John Hicks Way" in honor of the late jazz pianist and former St. Louisan. WBGO’s Josh Jackson reports on the renaming here, and there's a photo of the new street sign bearing Hicks' name here.

* Saxophonist Chris Cheek has a new CD, Jugendstil II, recorded for ESP Disk in collaboration with the venerable sax master Lee Konitz and bassist Stephane Furic Leibovici. Here's a review of the album written for AllAboutJazz.com by Raul d'Gama Rose.

* Turning to news of coming attractions, pianist Vijay Iyer has a new CD, Solo, that's attracting lots of interest after the success of his previous release Historicity. AllAboutJazz.com already has up three reviews of the disc: one here written by Bruce Lindsay, here by Lyn Horton, and here by Chris May. Meanwhile, About.com's Jacob Teichrow has a review of the new Iyer disc here, and the pianist is interviewed for a feature about the release by the Los Angeles Times' Chris Barton here. Iyer will return to St. Louis to play with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet in November at the 560 Music Center under the auspices of New Music Circle.

* Dave Brubeck celebrated his 90th birthday a bit early this month at the Newport Jazz Festival. Brubeck is scheduled to come back here in October to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of the American Arts Experience -St. Louis festival.

* In other Newport-related news, pianist Hiromi's performance is documented here by NPR's "Jazz Set," and the network's recording of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's concert at the parallel Folk Festival can be heard here. Hiromi will play with bassist Stanley Clarke in February at Jazz at the Bistro, while the PHJB's tour with the Del McCoury Band comes here in October to the Family Arena in St. Charles.

* After his recent hospitalization in France, singer Al Jarreau resumed his European tour. Jarreau said on his website he expects to complete the rest of the European tour and fulfill other concert commitments in the United States, Japan and elsewhere after doctors in Marseille successfully treated him for arrhythmia, or heart palpitations. Jarreau is scheduled to perform in February at the Touhill Performing Arts Center under the auspices of Jazz St. Louis.

* Apparently, tenor saxophonist Wilton Felder is the Jazz Crusader having health challenges that have forced the postponement of the group's St. Louis appearance, originally scheduled for next month at the Touhill. Interestingly, Felder was replaced on the band's date in Long Beach by Euge Groove, who was just here last weekend at the Pageant.

* Speaking of Groove, he's just released Groove On This, a new "interactive album" on data DVD. The recording is designed to be listened to and played with on something called the Beamz Player Interactive Music System, which allows listeners to remix songs in real time, among other things.

* In more news of recent visitors, saxophonist Boney James, who played the Bottleneck Blues Bar last month, is still glad to be back on stage touring after a serious auto accident and dental surgery sidelined him for several weeks earlier this year.

* Signer and pianist Harry Connick Jr, who played here in June at the Fox Theatre, recently brought his big band to the Hollywood Bowl.

* In other miscellaneous news from around the jazz internet, The Bad Plus' pianist Ethan Iverson recently "rebooted" his widely read blog Do The Math; Argentine pianist Esteban Sehinkman has posted online a free "real book" of compositions by Argentine jazz musicians; and photographer William Gottlieb's jazz photos in the Library of Congress have just entered the public domain.

* Finally, condolences to the family, friends and fans of Kansas City saxophonist and jazz-scene elder statesman Ahmad Alaadeen, who recently died after a battle with cancer. Plastic Sax's Bill Brownlee penned a nice tribute to Alaadeen for the Kansas City Star, which you can read online here.

Notes from the Net: the Miles Davis mega-box; music genres defined; plus news, reviews, interviews and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* There are big doings on the Miles Davis front this week, with the imminent release of the boxed mega-set The Complete Miles Davis Columbia Collection, which brings together in one deluxe package the trumpeter's total output for the label, plus unreleased material, on 72 discs.

Meanwhile, the museum of the Cité de la Musique in Paris currently is featuring "We Want Miles," an exhibition celebrating Davis' life and work. If you're lucky enough to be in Paris, you can see the exhibit through January 17; if not, console yourself with this review from the Web site SoulCulture.co.uk.

In other Miles-related news, for the past week satellite radio customers have been able to tune into a temporary channel devoted to Davis. Hosted by the trumpeter's son, Erin Davis; his nephew, drummer Vince Wilburn Jr.; and bassist/producer Marcus Miller, Miles Davis Radio is featuring music from Davis' catalog, never-before-heard soundtrack music recorded by Davis for the 1986 film Wise Guys, and interviews with former Davis band members and various guests. The channel went on the air Friday and will continue until Wednesday, November 25, temporarily replacing Real Jazz on Sirius channel 72 and XM channel 70.

Davis' album Birth of the Cool was the subject of a program held in late October at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, with music by the Don Wilson Trio and a lecture by Bob Perkins. Read the AllAboutJazz.com review of the event by Victor L. Schermer here.

Long considered a jazz landmark, Birth of the Cool was one of three Davis albums on the London Telegraph's recently published list of the 100 best jazz recordings of all time. (Composer and saxophonist Oliver Nelson's Blues and the Abstract Truth was the only other St. Louis-related entry on the list.)...And here's another review of the recent reissue of Davis' 1950s sessions with Sonny Rollins for the Prestige label, written from AllAboutJazz.com by Chris May

* Moving on to news of other St. Louisans past and present, Marc Myers just wrapped up a multi-part interview for his JazzWax blog with saxophonist and composer/arranger Lennie Niehaus, who was born in St. Louis, helped establish the West Coast "cool jazz" sound and went on to a very successful career scoring films, most notably for director/actor Clint Eastwood. Read part one here, and follow the links therein for the rest.

* Here's a review of Femina, saxophonist and composer John Zorn's recent tribute to female artists, written for AllAboutJazz.com by Mark Corroto.

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native David Sanborn and singer/guitarist (and frequent visitor to our town) John Pizzarelli will headline the eighteenth annual “All That Jazz" weekend in January at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa in Asheville, North Carolina.

* Speaking of coming attractions, here's a review from the Hartford Courant's Richard Kamins of Snap Shot: The Original Trio, a new CD from organist Joey DeFrancesco, who returns to St. Louis in March to play at Jazz at the Bistro.

* And here are two reviews of Vijay Iyer's new CD Historicity - one from AllAboutJazz.com's Chris Kompanek here, and one from Pitchfork here. Iyer (pictured), who will play the Bistro in January, also recently was featured on NPR's "Song of the Day."

* Singer Steve Tyrell, who will perform here in May at the Sheldon Concert Hall, just began an eight-week stand at NYC's Cafe Carlyle. Read the review of his show by the New York Times' Stephen Holden here.

* As we head for the exits of this installment of NftN, here's another review of Larry Ochs Sax & Drumming Core's recent CD Stone Shift, written for AllAboutJazz.com by Kurt Gottschalk. Ochs and the Core performed at the Sheldon in September.

* Last but not least, are you a music fan who is confused, amused and/or appalled by the continual proliferation of ever-more-specific nomenclature for musical genres, micro-genres and nano-genres? If so, check out NPR Music's "Genre Dictionary 2009," and perhaps you too will be able to comprehend the difference between "crabcore" and "grime."

(Edited after posting to add tags. Edited again 11/24/09 to fix a typo.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Remembering Oliver Nelson

The nearly ubiquitous Miles Davis notwithstanding, which jazz musician from the St. Louis area has been heard by the most people throughout the world? It's probably impossible to measure something like that with any degree of exactitude, but one certainly can make an informed guess.

Any short list would have to include trumpeter Clark Terry, famed for nearly seven decades as a high-profile jazz soloist and recording artist, member of the Ellington and Basie big bands, and veteran of television and session work; and saxophonist David Sanborn, who has had a very popular career as a solo artist, as well as being one of the most recorded session players of his era and the host of various radio and television programs.

Another, more unexpected contender for the title would have to be saxophonist, arranger and composer Oliver Nelson, who packed a lot of music into his all-too-brief 43 years on planet Earth. Born in St. Louis on June 4, 1932, Nelson was working with local bands by age 15 and joined saxophonist Louis Jordan's big band at 18, playing alto sax and arranging.

After serving in the Marine Corps and attending Washington University in St. Louis and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Nelson moved to New York, where he established himself as a soloist, bandleader and arranger/composer. His big breakthrough came with the album The Blues and the Abstract Truth, which featured his tune "Stolen Moments," now a standard played by musicians everywhere.

Nelson went on to record many big-band albums and to work as an arranger for a number of well-known jazz musicians, including Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Johnny Hodges, Wes Montgomery, Buddy Rich and Jimmy Smith. In 1967, he moved to Los Angeles, where, along with his old pal Quincy Jones, he became one of the first African-American composers to get significant amounts of work scoring television and films.

Nelson wrote music for hugely popular TV shows such as Ironside, Night Gallery, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, reaching tens of millions of people every week. He also wrote the score for the film Death of a Gunfighter, arranged Gato Barbieri's music for the movie Last Tango in Paris, and produced and arranged popular music for singers including Nancy Wilson, James Brown, the Temptations, and Diana Ross.

Tragically, Nelson died of a heart attack on October 28, 1975. Given the vast quantity and generally high quality of the music he wrote during his short life, one can't help but wonder how much more he could have accomplished had he lived longer.

Even so, Nelson's legacy is quite impressive - his recordings still hold up well today; his film and TV music remains emblematic of its era; and "Stolen Moments" likely will continue to be played forever. Moreover, the path he helped to pave in Hollywood has been well-utilized by subsequent generations of musicians; for example, it's hard to imagine someone like Terence Blanchard getting the chance to write all those film scores absent the pioneering work of Nelson and Jones.

Today, as a tribute to this under-appreciated St. Louis jazz great, we've got three videos of Nelson performing and conducting a big band. The first clip shows Nelson's own ensemble performing his composition "Swiss Suite." The multi-part tune features a young Gato Barbieri taking the first solo on tenor sax, followed by Nelson on alto.

The clip is undated, but the album that included "Swiss Suite" originally came out in 1971, and the dress and hairstyles of the musicians suggest that this was recorded around that same time or shortly thereafter. (Note that while the video quality on this one is a little grungy, the audio is fine.)

Down below are two videos of Nelson and the multi-national Berlin Dream Band performing Nelson's arrangements for a TV program recorded in Berlin in 1970. The first tune, "Black Brown and Beautiful," also features Nelson as the soloist, while the second, "Milestones" has solos by Leo Wright and Klaus Marmulla on altos and Rolf Roemer on tenor.

Notes from the Net: More on Miles From India, an appreciation of Oliver Nelson, plus reviews, interviews and more

It's now officially summer time, and the linkin' is easy...to yet another collection of news bits about jazz musicians with a St. Louis connection, recent visitors and coming attractions, pus assorted other items of interest:

* First up, some links related to the Miles Davis-inspired project Miles From India, starting with another review of the two-CD set, written by ContemporaryJazz.com's John Luciano. The CDs have also spawned a limited series of concerts, including one in Los Angeles, reviewed here, and one in San Francisco that inspired an article about how the jazz now is incorporating musical influences from all over the world, Last but not least, AllAboutJazz.com has an interview about the project with former Davis sideman, guitarist Pete Cosey (pictured).

* The film blog Cinema Styles recently had a nice appreciation of saxophonist and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson's film and TV scoring, with an accompanying .mp3 of his composition "A Typical Day in New York."

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake is featured in Breakin' Glass, a new book in the Photonality Jazz Series

* Saxophonist and composer John Zorn recently designed a sound installation/experiment for a San Francisco museum.

* Composer, sound artist and St. Louis native Ben Manley is taking part in NYC performance space Roulette's annual Mixology Festival, which focuses on new and unusual uses of technology in music.

* Here's a review of No Strangers Here, bassist Ben Wolfe's new CD from the St. Louis-based MAXJAZZ label, and a review of Wolfe's recent gig at NYC's Jazz Standard.

* Check out these two interviews with saxophonist John Ellis, who guests on the new Erin Bode CD The Little Garden - one in print from AllAboutJazz.com, the other on radio with blogger and DJ LeRoy "The Jazzcat" Downs.

* The Return to Forever reunion tour, which came through St. Louis last week for a date at the Fox Theatre, is getting lots of press, starting with news that group's two-CD Anthology has been released; the collection gets an AllAboutJazz.com "extended analysis" here. Also, check out reviews of the band's shows in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles, and this interview with drummer Lenny White in Drum Magazine

* Since playing at Jazz at the Bistro last October, bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding's star has contined to rise. She recently was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered, and the New York Times has reviewed her new CD.

* Guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli, who's performed in St. Louis at both the Bistro and the Sheldon Concert Hall , has released a new CD devoted to the songs of Richard Rodgers

* Singer Paula West will perform at the Sheldon next season; here's a review of her recent gig in Charleston, SC.

* Trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Richard Elliot have been added to the lineup of this fall's Dave Koz Cruise, produced by St. Louis-based Jazz Cruises LLC. Braun, Elliot and Koz all will perform at The Pageant this summer.

* Pianist Les McCann and saxophonist Javon Jackson, who will team up for a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro in October, were a last-minute replacement for pianist McCoy Tyner at the jazz festival earlier this month in Telluride, CO.

* The National Endowment for the Arts has announced its 2009 Jazz Masters honorees, including guitarist and singer George Benson, drummer Jimmy Cobb, alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, guitarist and harmonica player Toots Thielemans and trumpeter Snooky Young. Recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder will receive the 2009 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy.

* Last but not least, composer and blogger Darcy James Argue recently had a couple of insightful and amusing posts about the phenomenon of "fan service," which he defines as "a marker or signifier that serves no legitimate aesthetic purpose, but is there to stroke those in the in-crowd while simultaneously alienating even the most sophisticated and open-minded newbies."

Notes from the Net: Nelson and Moran reviewed, Krall interviewed, and more

* Mosaic Records has a new box set compiling big band sessions led by the late saxophonist, composer and arranger Oliver Nelson, and AllAboutJazz.com has a review here.

* Pianist, composer and St. Louis native Linda Presgrave recently performed at the NYC club Iridium as part of a showcase for her label, Metropolitan Records.

* Pianist Jason Moran (pictured), who will appear at Jazz at the Bistro from January 30 - February 2, 2008, recently performed at NYC's Jazz Standard. Read the New York Times' review of Moran's gig here.

* Diana Krall is coming to St. Louis' Fox Theatre on August 29 as part of her first tour since the birth of her twins last year, and the Boston Globe recently interviewed her about music, motherhood and assorted other topics. Read the article here.