Edward Simon to perform Saturday, August 31 at Centene Center for the Arts

Pianist Peter Martin's company Open Studio, producers of instructional videos featuring well-known jazz musicians, is making another of its occasional forays in concert production, presenting pianist Edward Simon in a solo performance at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, August 31 at the comapny's space in the Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive St in Grand Center.

Simon (pictured) is a native of Venezuela who may be best known as the pianist since 2010 for the SFJAZZ Collective. He's also recorded 14 albums as a leader, and earlier in his career worked as a sideman with saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby, Kansas City saxophonist Bobby Watson, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and many others. Simon's most recent album is 2016's Latin American Songbook on the Sunnyside label.

Tickets for Edward Simon's solo performance are $25 for general admission, and are on sale now via Eventbrite.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* In their ongoing series of features about the best record stores in every state, VinylMePlease.com has named Vintage Vinyl (pictured) as the "Best Record Store in Missouri."

* As part of a group of "in memoriam" articles in the March issue of Jazz Times, saxophonist Oliver Lake offered a poetic tribute to his late friend and bandmate Hamiet Bluiett. Lake performs tonight at Xavier Hall on the St. Louis University campus.

* Trumpeter Terence Blanchard, in town last weekend for a series of events promoting the premiere of his opera Fire Shut Up In My Bones later this year at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, was interviewed by Don Marsh of St. Louis Public Radio.

* Also on St. Louis Public Radio, singer Beverly Brennan was interviewed about her cabaret show "Love and Marriage," which she'll perform tonight at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

* Pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio has posted to YouTube a full-length video of last week's concert featuring guitarist Romero Lubambo, pianist Helio Alves, drummer Edu Ribeiro, and bassist Bob DeBoo.

* Voting in St. Louis magazine's annual "A-List" poll is now open, and while there are no jazz-specific categories, you can cast a ballot for your favorite music venues, festivals, and more here.

* Two former Miles Davis sidemen are getting attention for new projects paying tribute to their old boss, as saxophonist Dave Liebman was interviewed in DownBeat about his new album re-visiting Davis' music from On The Corner, while multi-instrumentalist/producer Marcus Miller was featured in Parade magazine for two Davis-related concerts this month at Jazz at Lincoln Center..

* Phil Dunlap, who has run education and community outreach programs for Jazz St. Louis for the past 12 years, is leaving the organization to take a new job as director of cultural affairs for Broward County, FL, running that county's equivalent to the Regional Arts Commission. Dunlap will depart JSL at the end of April; there's been no announcement yet about a successor.

Jazz this week: Kurt Elling, Nicole Mitchell, Lubambo, Alves & Ribeiro, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis brings sounds from all over, including two prominent performers who each got their start in Chicago, one who made his name on Broadway, and three coming from Brazil via NYC. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 13
Singer Kurt Elling - one of the aforementioned Chicagoans, though he now lives in New York - performs for the first of five nights, continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis.

Elling (pictured, top left) returns here for the first time since the release in 2018 of his most recent album The Questions, so it seems likely that a good portion of material from that recording will be part of his sets here. You can see videos of live performances of several of those tunes, and find out more about what Elling has been up to more recently, in this post from last Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, clarinetist and former St. Louisan Chloe Feoranzo, now residing in New Orleans, will be back in town for a concert with her quartet at Focal Point, and guitarist Brian Vaccaro leads a trio at Evangeline's.

Thursday, March 14
Pianist Jim Hegarty returns with his quintet to the The Dark Room; guitarist Dave Black and singer Erika Johnson perform at The Pat Connolly Tavern; and pianist Adam Maness' trio is back at Thurman's in Shaw.

Friday, March 15
Pianist, singer and Tony Award-winning musical theater composer Jason Robert Brown performs in concert at the Grandel Theatre; and the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, March 16
Flute player and composer Nicole Mitchell’s Liberation Narratives, featuring poet Haki Madhubuti, performs in a concert presented by New Music Circle at Xavier Hall on the St. Louis University campus.

A composer and conceptualist with wide-ranging interests, Mitchell (pictured, bottom left) is a past president of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and recently was appointed head of the jazz program at the University of Pittsburgh, succeeding the late Geri Allen.

Mitchell has been involved in a constantly evolving variety of musical projects over the years, with her latest collaboration with poet Haki Madhubuti offering "an unabashed take on the state of the nation" via her compositions and the poet's spoken word performances.  For a bit more about that, plus some videos of Mitchell performing in various contexts, see this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Elsewhere around town, pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio will present a concert of Brazilian jazz featuring guitarist Romero Lubambo, pianist Helio Alves, and drummer Edu Ribeiro, along with St. Louis' own Bob DeBoo on bass.

Also on Saturday, the Coleman Hughes Project celebrates six years as a band with a gig at Lowes Entertainment; and trumpeter Jim Manley and keyboardist Chris Swan will play at One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar.

Sunday, March 17
Friends have organized a benefit for saxophonist Fred Walker, who no longer can perform due to recent health issues, for late Sunday afternoon at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, with announced performers including Walker's former band Mystic Voyage, saxophonist Kendrick Smith, blues singers Kim Massie, Eugene Johnson, and Lady J Huston, and more.

Monday, March 18
Pianist Carol Schmidt and saxophonist Paul DeMarinis will team up for a concert of duets at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus.

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

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Jim Manley appeared Wednesday on KTVI-FOX2's morning newscast to promote his show "A Very Manley Christmas," happening this Friday, December 21 and Saturday, December 22 at Jazz St. Louis.

* If you missed pianist Geoff Keezer's concert last week at fellow pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio (or want to watch it again), you can see the whole thing via the archived video live stream on Open Studio's Facebook page.

* Also now available for your viewing and listening enjoyment: a video of the "holiday" half of Route 66 Jazz Orchestra's "Half a Holiday" show last week at The Sheldon.

* Speaking of The Sheldon, they're holding a reception to welcome new executive director Peter Palermo from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 10. The event is open to the public, but those wishing to attend are asked to RSVP to sdo@thesheldon.org by Thursday, January 3.

* And also new on YouTube, a "free jazz Christmas album" from Jazz Soup, the experimental student jazz group at Lindenwood University.

* Award alert: Pianist and St. Louis native Lawrence Fields (pictured) is co-composer of several tracks on trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah's album The Emancipation Procrastination, which is nominated for a Grammy in the "Contemporary Instrumental Music" category. The Grammy Awards ceremony is set for February 10, 2019 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast in part on CBS.

* Low Key Music in Hazelwood is looking for saxophone, trombone, trumpet, and guitar teachers. For details, call them at 314-764-2222.

* An anecdote about Miles Davis figures prominently in an interview with San Francisco jazz pianist and radio host Dick Conte on last week's episode of Joe Dimino's Kansas City-based "Neon Jazz" program.

Jazz this week: Robert Glasper, Geoffrey Keezer, Kirk Whalum's "Gospel According to Jazz Christmas," and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features performances from two top-shelf piano players, plus a whole lineup of holiday performances and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 12
Pianist Robert Glasper will perform with his trio for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Glasper (pictured, top left), has spent the past year working on a variety of projects, including dates with the electrified "supergroup" R+R=NOW, production work for several other artists, and a month-long residency in October at the Blue Note in NYC, so a week's worth of shows with his trio should be a prime opportunity for some back-to-basics music-making for the versatile pianist.

Also on Wednesday, the "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features the Beto Jazz Trio at The Stage at KDHX, the weekly jam session at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, December 13
Pianist Geoffrey Keezer (pictured, center left) leads a trio in a one-night-only concert at pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio, located inside the Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive St. in the Grand Center district.

Starting as an 18-year-old phenom with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Keezer over the last three decades has compiled an impressive list of credits and recordings, working with current stars like Christian McBride and Chris Botti as well as elders like Blakey, bassist Ray Brown and Benny Golson. You can check out some samples of his playing on video in this post from two Saturdays ago.

Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode returns to Edwardsville for her annual show at the Wildey Theatre, and saxophonist Ben Reece's trio Threebird is back at The Dark Room.

Friday, 
December 14
Saxophonist Kirk Whalum (pictured, bottom left) brings this year's edition of his "Gospel According to Jazz Christmas" show, with guest stars including percussionist Sheila E, and singers Lynn Mabry, John Stoddart and  Kevin Whalum, to Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church.

This is the seventh annual outing for Whalum's holiday show, and you can find out more about it and see some video samples of the saxophonist in action in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band present the first of five "Holiday Brasstravaganza" shows this year at Off Broadway. Though the family-friendly matinees already are sold out, some tickets may remain for the evening shows; call ahead or check Off Broadway's website for availability.

Elsewhere around town, the Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom, and guitarists Farshid Soltanshahi and Dave Black and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman team up for a show at The Focal Point.

Saturday, December 15
The Oikos Ensemble, featuring saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie, pianist Carolbeth True and more, will welcome vocal ensemble Java Jived as special guests for their annual "Jazz Noel" concert at Parkway United Church of Christ. (They'll present the same program again on Sunday afternoon at the First Congregational Church in Webster Groves.)

Also on Saturday, keyboardist Mo Egeston and friends will be serving up late night grooves at The Dark Room.

Sunday, December 16
Miss Jubilee performs for brunch at Evangeline's.

Monday, December 17
The 442s and various friends. including singers Erin Bode and Brian Owens, pianist Peter Martin, and more, present the first of two performances of their "Holiday Spectacular" at 560 Music Center, with a second show set for Tuesday night. Both performances were close to selling out at publication time, so if you don't already have tickets, be sure to call ahead regarding availability.

Tuesday, December 18
The Jazz St. Louis Big Band will perform Duke Ellington's arrangements of music from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker", plus additional Ellingtonia, for the first of three nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Tuesday, trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Rick Haydon will 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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Geoffrey Keezer

This week, let's look at some videos featuring pianist Geoffrey Keezer, who's coming to St. Louis to perform on Thursday, December 13 at the HQ of pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio, which is in the Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive St. in Grand Center.

Originally from Eau Claire, WI, Keezer, 48, was something of a teenage phenom, joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers when he was just 18 years old. Since then, he's gone on to work with many well-known musicians and singers, including Christian McBride, Joe Locke, Denise Donatelli, Joshua Redman, Ray Brown, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Chris Botti, David Sanborn, Jane Monheit, Wayne Shorter, Sting, and more.

Keezer also has recorded regularly as both a sideman and a leader, with his most recent album being a trio effort, On My Way To You, released earlier this year. For his show at Open Studio, he'll be accompanied by NYC-based drummer Jon Wikan and St. Louis' Bob DeBoo on bass.

Today's post includes a half-dozen videos featuring Keezer leading a trio, starting up above with a performance of the Thelonious Monk composition "Brilliant Corners," featuring bassist Benjamin Shepherd and drummer Christian Euman and recorded on June 17, 2018 at Sam First in Los Angeles, CA.

After the jump, you can see four more performances from the same session, including versions of Jimi Hendrix's "May This Be Love,"Stevie Wonder's "These Three Words," and two medleys - one combining the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein standard "All The Things You Are" with Earth Wind and Fire's "Serpentine Fire," and the other joining the Beatles' "Across The Universe" and John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."

The last video is a complete performance recorded February 24, 2015 at Auer Hall on the campus of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, in which Keezer is accompanied by IU jazz faculty members Jeremy Allen on bass and Steve Houghton on drums.

For more about Geoffrey Keezer, check out his conversation from 2017 with fellow pianist (and Wisconsin native) Ethan Iverson, published on Iverson's blog Do The Math; and read a review of  a Keezer performance earlier this year in Philadelphia, via AllAboutJazz.com.

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

Geoffrey Keezer to perform Thursday, December 13 at Open Studio

Pianist Peter Martin's company Open Studio, which to date has specialized in the production of jazz education videos featuring well-known musicians, is expanding into concert presentation. Their first show will feature pianist Geoffrey Keezer leading a trio at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, December 13 at Open Studio's space in the Centene Center for Arts & Education, 3547 Olive St.

Keezer (pictured), who turns 48 in a couple of weeks, first gained wide recognition as a teenager, joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers when he was just 18. He subsequently has gone on to play with a number of notable musicians, including David Sanborn, Chris Botti, Christian McBride, Joe Locke, singer Denise Donatelli, and many others.

Keezer also has recorded frequently as both a sideman and a leader, most recently releasing a trio album, On My Way To You, earlier this year. For his St. Louis show, he'll be accompanied by NYC-based drummer Jon Wikan and St. Louis' own Bob DeBoo on bass.

Tickets for Geoffrey Keezer at Open Studio are $25 each, and are on sale now.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Just in time for what will be a long holiday weekend for some, the recently released film Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary is getting a St. Louis run starting today and continuing through Thursday, July 6 at the Tivoli Theatre.

* Trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran, an influential player, bandleader and educator in Chicago for more than six decades, has died at age 90. Though Cohran is best known for his work in the Chicago avant-garde scene and for playing with Sun Ra, he also had a St. Louis connection.

According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune (linked above), Cohran moved to St. Louis with his family from Oxford, MS "when he was about 10, immersing himself in the city's robust jazz scene and playing alongside trumpeter Clark Terry in the late 1940s" and lived here until he was drafted into the military in 1950.

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris has posted a recording of "Harvest For The World," as performed last week during his Isley Brothers-themed shows at Jazz at the Bistro, to his SoundCloud page

* The Gaslight Squares have made a music video of "Nicklin' & Dimin'" as part of producer/director Bill Streeter's Lo-Fi St. Louis series.

* Speaking of videos, pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness made one this week recorded live on Facebook to talk about their Open Studio Network's new "Elements of Jazz Piano" online video course.

* Completing today's video troika, guitarist Todd Mosby has posted a video of his composition "Moon Song" on YouTube.

* Trombonist Joseph Bowie has just released a new duet album with percussionist Adam Rudolph. Good Medicine by IG-BO Duet: Joseph Bowie & Adam Rudolph is available now as a digital download from Rudolph's BandCamp page and as a CD.