Sunday Session: December 2, 2018

Arturo O'Farrill

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* Grammy Winning Saxophonist Frank Catalano On Alternative Revenue Streams And Trio Of New Live Albums (Forbes)
* When you're smiling: Louis Armstrong museum shares digitized pictures of jazz legend (New York Daily News)
* How The 'New World' Symphony Introduced American Music To Itself (NPR)
* One-Hit Wonders Who Deserve a Second Chance (MelMagazine.com)
* William Hooker Interview (InTheTrove.com)
* Green Book: The Real-Life Story of Dr. Don Shirley (Vanity Fair)
* Arturo O’Farrill’s ‘Fandango’ Spans Border to Unify Cultures, Musics (DownBeat)
* Tony Williams Gets the Deluxe Treatment in 'Blue Note Review: Volume Two – Spirit & Time' (WBGO)
* Singer-songwriter John Prine: Still alive and kickin' (CBS News)
* Beneath the Surface of Bruce Springsteen (Esquire)
* The rise of Africa’s most exciting new dance music scenes (DazedDigital.com)
* A Burst of Reissues from the Catalog of Frank Zappa (DownBeat)
* Art Ensemble Chronicled in Massive ECM Box Set (DownBeat)
* Local archaeologist shares discovery about early music (Left Hand Valley Courier)
* Everything on Social Media Is for Sale (The Atlantic)
* Mick Jagger Talks New Rolling Stones Tour, Aretha Franklin and Grammys (Billboard)
* Nina Is Everywhere I Go (Oxford American)
* A Moment in Time - An Interview with Terence Blanchard (ScoreIt.org)
* 'Conserve the Sound' hopes to save sounds of old tech before they're gone (CBC)
* Cyrille Aimée Pushes Herself into New Terrain with 'Move On: A Sondheim Adventure' (WBGO)
* Keith Richards on Rolling Stones’ Stadium Tour: ‘Maybe This Will Be the Last One’ (Rolling Stone)
* Iconic 1958 photo - which featured the biggest names in jazz - is brought to life by never-before-seen frames from legendary photographer Art Kane's shoot (Daily Mail)
* The Place of the Drum Solo in Jazz (Jazz Times)
* Farewell Mary Jane: Grieving for a lost jazz hideout (Japan Times)
* If you think you know who Philip Glass is, you probably don’t (Washington Post)
* Meet Skull Snaps, a Forgotten Funk Band That Soundtracked Hip-Hop (Bandcamp.com)
* Library of Congress Acquires Billy Strayhorn Archive (Jazz Times)
* Jazz icon Wayne Shorter can play anything. He’s still trying to say everything (Washington Post)
* Funk was the black answer to “Star Wars”: Take the trip with “Tales From the Tour Bus” (Salon.com)
* "For the sake of a couple of bucks, they deserted us": Vancouver's last classical record store to close (CBC)
* Expansive Martinelli Book Examines European Jazz History (DownBeat)

Jazz this week: Regina Carter, a trio of big bands, a benefit for Tony Simmons, and more

This week's notable jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis include the return of the premier violinist in jazz; concerts by three different local big bands; and more. Let's go to the highlights...

The violinist in question is, as you might suspect,  Regina Carter, who opens a four-night engagement this evening continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Carter (pictured) was here last in 2010, touring with a band that included accordion and kora players in support of her album Reverse Thread, which featured compositions by musicians from Kenya, Mali, and Senegal. This time, she'll be accompanied by a more conventionally configured trio, including Xavier Davis on piano, Gayelynn McKinney on drums, and Jesse Murphy on bass, and presumably will be drawing on her repertoire of straight-ahead, swing and funk tunes as well. For more about Carter plus a video sample of her current band and some retrospective clips, please see this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also tonight, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly Open Mic Night at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Tomorrow night, pianist Carolbeth True and her trio will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and pianist/singer Jesse Gannon performs in a showcase at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

On Friday, pianist and Jazz St. Louis education director Phil Dunlap finally gets to bring his new quintet to the Saint Louis Art Museum, playing a free concert for their "Art After 5" series to make up for an outdoor show back in June that was canceled due to bad weather. In addition to Dunlap, the group features Danny Campbell (trumpet), Ben Reece (tenor sax), Jahmal Nichols (bass), and Montez Coleman (drums).

Also on Friday, singer and actress Liz Murphy will present the first of two performances of her cabaret show "The Best Is Yet To Come" at the Kranzberg Arts Center; Miss Jubilee performs at The Wine Press; bassist Darrell Mixon leads a trio at Cigar Inn; and drummer Chuck Kennedy will debut a new ensemble featuring saxophonist Jerry Greene, pianist Arthur Toney and bassist Marc Torlina, plus some special guest performers, at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Saturday, trumpeter Randy Holmes brings his quintet to Robbie's, while a couple of blocks away, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play at C.J. Muggs. Also on Saturday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will duet at Candicci’s Italian Restaurant in Ballwin, and singer Ann Dueren's trio performs at Il Bel Lago.

Then on Sunday afternoon, a number of local musicians and singers will team up to present a benefit performance for keyboardist Tony Simmons at Union Memorial United Methodist Church, 1141 Belt Ave. The show will raise money toward Simmons' medical expenses, incurred earlier this year when his legs had to be amputated due to complications from diabetes. Scheduled performers announced so far include Denise Thimes, Joe Mancuso, Anita Jackson, Tim Cunningham, Jeremiah Allen, Cheryl Brown and Joy Bryant.

On Sunday evening, the Dave Dickey Big Band plays their monthly gig at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company, with an intermission performance by the Lindbergh High School jazz band; and pianist Tony Suggs and drummer Montez Coleman will co-lead a quartet for two sets at the Bistro at Grand Center, the first of which already is sold out.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Dizzy Atmosphere will play at The Shaved Duck, and saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Then on Tuesday, there's a double dose of big band action, as the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra, directed by Jim Widner, performs as part of the "Notes From Home" series at the  Sheldon Concert Hall, while the Genesis Jazz Project, under the baton of Bob Waggoner, will play a concert at Midwest Music in Ballwin. 

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.)

Mars Williams, Darin Gray and Tyler Damon to play free concert on Friday, August 23 at St. Louis Art Museum

Chicago saxophonist Mars Williams will team up with St. Louis bassist Darin Gray and drummer Tyler Damon for an concert of improvised music at 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 23 on Art Hill outside the Saint Louis Art Museum.

The event is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by New Music Circle and the museum's Outdoor Music Series.

Gray is one of the St. Louis area's best-known representatives on the national free-improvised music scene, while Williams (pictured) has bridged the gap from new wave and punk to free jazz in a varied career that has include work with the Waitresses and Psychedelic Furs as well as Liquid Soul, the late Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble, Ken Vandermark, and Peter Brotzmann.

Gray calls Damon, who's from Bloomington, IN, "a great listener...capable of responding in subtle and dynamic ways, while still being being able to play with a tremendous energy that pushes the music forward. For me, he is the up-and-coming young drummer in the Midwest."

In the case of bad weather, updates about the concert will be available on SLAM's website, Facebook and Twitter and by calling 314-655-5345.

Phil Dunlap Quintet to debut Saturday, June 29 at SLAM, with Nicholas Payton as special guest

As director of education for Jazz St. Louis, Phil Dunlap certainly gets ample opportunities to use his piano chops during the regular working week. However, the SIUE alumnus also does a fair amount of playing on the side, doing casual gigs and leading both a trio and the Legacy Jazz Quintet, a group that draws on the repertoire of well-known jazz composers for gigs at Jazz at the Bistro and elsewhere.

Now Dunlap (pictured, top left) is launching a new jazz quintet, which will make its debut in a special performance at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, June 29 for the grand opening of the new wing of the St. Louis Art Museum.

The lineup of Dunlap's new quintet includes drummer Montez Coleman, bassist Jahmal Nichols, saxophonist Ben Reece and trumpeter Danny Campbell. They'll be joined for the performance at SLAM by several special guests, including the well-known New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton (pictured, lower left), who played here last season at the Bistro, plus fellow St. Louisans Willie Akins on tenor sax and Brian Owens on vocals.

Given Dunlap's fondness for the hard-bop sound, "we will definitely include some (music) from that era, including some Blue Mitchell and Chick Corea tunes from the 50s," he told StLJN. "The set will also include some original compositions, written specifically for this ensemble."

The Phil Dunlap Quintet concert with Nicholas Payton at the St. Louis Art Museum is free and open to the public. (Fans and friends also should note that Dunlap also will be performing this Friday at the Bistro, teaming with pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson of Good 4 The Soul for "88 Squared," a rare two-keyboard effort backed by Nichols and drummer Marty Morrison.)

Matt Ulery's LOOM Trio to perform Friday, September 28 at Saint Louis Art Museum

Chicago bassist and composer Matt Ulery is bringing his group LOOM Trio to St. Louis to perform at 7:00 p.m. Friday, September 28 in the Grigg Gallery of the Saint Louis Art Museum.

According to the news release sent out by the museum, the gig also will feature members of the Chicago-based new music group eighth blackbird, five of whom were part of the nine-piece ensemble on Ulery's most recent album By A Little Light.

The concert is part of the museum's "Art After 5" series and is free and open to the public. However, since space is limited, tickets will be required. Tickets will be available at the museum's information desk beginning Friday, September 1, with a limit of four per person.

Ulery (pictured) has released four albums as a leader, and has performed with musicians including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Fareed Haque, Howard Levy, Patricia Barber, Ron Perrillo, and Jeff Parker, as well as with the group Eastern Blok and many others. In addition to Ulery on bass, LOOM Trio also includes pianist Ben Lewis and drummer Jon Deitemyer.

A two-CD set, By A Little Light was released earlier this year on trumpeter Dave Douglas' Greenleaf Music label and so far seems to be getting an enthusiastically favorable reception from critics. Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune called it a "magical, profoundly musical release," while a review in the July issue of DownBeat magazine gave it 4 and 1/2 stars.

You can hear two sample tracks from By A Little Light on Ulery's SoundCloud page here. In the embedded video window below, you can hear a five-piece version of LOOM playing Ulery's composition "Constant" at a gig in 2010 in Chicago.

Jazz this week: Jeremy Davenport, Tatsu Aoki, Anna Blair, and more

Though it's a holiday weekend, there still are some notable happenings around St. Louis for fans of jazz and creative music. Here's a short-form summary of the highlights:

On Friday and Saturday, trumpeter, singer and St. Louis native Jeremy Davenport (pictured) returns home for what 's become an annual Thanksgiving weekend gig at Jazz at the Bistro.

For a taste of Davenport performing material from his latest CD, check out the videos here; for a biography and background, see this post. Also, late word via the Jazz St. Louis Twitter feed is that the 8:30 sets for both nights are already sold out, so definitely call ahead for reservations if you'd like to see one of the 10:15 sets.

Also on Friday, bassist/multi-instrumentalist Tatsu Aoki, who combines jazz with traditional Japanese music, will perform a free concert at the Saint Louis Art Museum's Grigg Gallery. For more on Aoki, see this post.

Elsewhere this weekend, on Friday the Robert Edwards Big Band plays at Robbie's House of Jazz, and singer and local legend Mae Wheeler returns to Seasons St. Louis in Chesterfield. On Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True, which features her son David on drums, will take the stage at Robbie's.

On Sunday, singer and actress Anna Blair is doing a cabaret show of Fran Landesman songs at the Kranzberg Arts Center. Jim Dolan of The Presenters Dolan tells me that Blair was a supporting player in Landesman's own cabaret show in St. Louis last year, which inspired her to develop a show of her own centered around Landesman's lyrics, aided and abetted by pianist Joe Dreyer.

Editor's note: Barring any major breaking news, StLJN will be on a light posting schedule through the rest of the holiday weekend. Look for the Saturday Video Showcase as usual, but otherwise things may be relatively slow here for a few days.

In the meantime, for information on more jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond, check out the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, available for viewing on the left sidebar, or by clicking here. Also, you can follow St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes and become a "fan" by signing up 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.)

Tatsu Aoki to play free concert on Friday, November 27 at Saint Louis Art Museum

Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist Tatsu Aoki (pictured), who blends traditional Japanese music, jazz and experimental sounds, is coming to St. Louis to play a free concert at 7:00 p.m. Friday, November 27 in the Saint Louis Art Museum's Grigg Gallery.

Aoki, who plays bass, taiko drums, and shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese lute), was born in Tokyo but has lived in Chicago since 1977. He has worked with musicians such as Art Ensemble of Chicago members Malachi Favors, Roscoe Mitchell and Don Moye, pipa player Wu Man, and saxophonist Fred Anderson. Aoki also is a filmmaker who teaches film production and history courses at the Art Institute of Chicago, and a noted advocate for Chicago's Asian-American community. You can see a short interview with Aoki and an excerpt from one of his shamisen performances in the embedded video window below.

Aoki's concert is part of the Museum's free Art After 5 series, and is presented in conjunction with the new fall exhibit "Five Centuries of Japanese Screens: Masterpieces from the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago."

Eastern Blok to play free concert on Friday, August 28 at Saint Louis Art Museum

The "pan-cultural ensemble" Eastern Blok (pictured) is returning to St. Louis to play a free concert at 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 28 in the Saint Louis Art Museum's Grigg Gallery. The performance is part of the Museum’s "Art After 5" series, which features free concerts from solo and ensemble musicians on the fourth Friday of each month.

Based in Chicago, Eastern Blok "blends classical and jazz music with the rich folkloric traditions of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia." The group, which last performed in St. Louis in November 2007 at Pop's Blue Moon, includes guitarist Goran Ivanovic, saxophonist and flute player Doug Rosenberg, bassist Matthew Ulery and drummer Michael Caskey. Ivanovic also has played here before as a solo act, at the now-closed Finale Music and Dining in Clayton. You can see and hear Eastern Blok performing a song called "Gates to the Unknown" in the embedded video window below.

For more information about the "Art After 5" series or the Saint Louis Art Museum, call 314-721-0072 or visit www.slam.org.

Jazz this week: Good 4 The Soul, Lamar Harris, Le Jazz Hot, and more

There's only time for a short post today, as yr. humble editor is in the process of setting up a new computer here at StLJN HQ to replace the on-its-last-legs system I've been using, but I did want to call to your attention a handful of jazz-related events happening this weekend in St. Louis.

On Friday and Saturday, the jazz/funk/R&B group Good 4 The Soul returns once again to Jazz at the Bistro, closing out the venue's summer 2009 season. JATB will go dark during August, with clarinetist Scott Alberici scheduled to kick off the 2009-10 season on September 4 and 5.

Also on Friday, trombonist/low brass man Lamar Harris will do a free concert on the grounds of the Saint Louis Art Museum as part of the Museum's Art After Five series. In case of rain, the show will move inside the Museum to the Grigg Gallery.

Meanwhile, over at the St. Louis Jazz Cafe, Le Jazz Hot, with pianist Ptah Williams (pictured), saxophonist Chad Evans, bassist Daryl Mixon and drummer Bensid Thigpen, will perform on Friday; the Usual Suspects Quartet will play on Saturday; and pianist Dave Becherer's trio will be providing the music for Sunday brunch.

For more listings of jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Peter Martin

This week, we feature a couple of videos with pianist Peter Martin, a St. Louis native who has worked with internationally known jazz musicians such as Dianne Reeves, Chris Botti, Christian McBride and many others. Martin will be playing a free solo concert at 7:00 p.m. next Friday, July 17 in the Saint Louis Art Museum's Grigg Gallery as part of the museum's Art After Five series.

The clip up top is an excerpt from a free performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall earlier this summer that was scheduled at the last minute when Martin's concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at Missouri Botanical Garden was rained out. Martin is joined by fellow St. Louisan Montez Coleman on drums plus Reginald Veal on bass and Victor Goines on saxophones.

Down below, you can see Martin in a 2004 performance at the Jazz Baltica Festival with singer Dianne Reeves, playing "You Go To My Head" with a band that also includes trumpeter Roy Hargrove, bassist James Genus and drummer Greg Hutchinson.

Martin also has his own YouTube channel, which features a mix of travel videos, piano instruction, and some performance clips, including a nice one of him doing a solo performance of "Viva La Vida", a tune from the rock band Coldplay that's also featured on Martin's new solo piano CD Set of Five. Alas, none of those clips can be embedded here, because they're all in widescreen format, which breaks the Blogger layout template, but you can see them all by going here.

Peter Martin, Lamar Harris to perform free concerts at Saint Louis Art Museum

Pianist Peter Martin (pictured) and trombonist/producer Lamar Harris will each play a free concert during July at the Saint Louis Art Museum during July as part of the Museum's Art After 5 series.

Martin, who has worked with internationally known jazz performers such as Dianne Reeves, Chris Botti and Christian McBride, will perform at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 17 in the Museum's Grigg Gallery.

Harris will play with his groups the L and Groove Therapy at 7:00 p.m. Friday, July 24 outside on the Museum grounds. If the weather's bad, Harris' concert will move inside to the Grigg Gallery.

The Saint Louis Art Museum is celebrating a century of free admission in 2009 with a month-long series of events in July. For more details and a complete schedule of events, call 314-721-0072 or visit www.slam.org.

African Arts Festival, St. Louis Art Museum to present Mamadou Diabate, Zimbabwe Nkenya

Next weekend's St. Louis African Arts Festival includes a couple of events at the Saint Louis Art Museum that may be of interest to local fans of jazz and creative music.

Kora player Mamadou Diabate (pictured) will give a free concert at 7:00 p.m, Friday May 22 in the Grigg Gallery as part of the Museum's Art After 5 series. A native of Mali, Diabante has played at festivals and concert halls across North America, performing music that blends his African griot heritage with jazz and other contemporary sounds.

Then at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, the Museum will present St. Louis' own bassist, composer and mbira player Zimbabwe Nkenya in a musical "listen-and-learn" session as part of its Family Sunday series.

Both programs are free and open to the public, and admission to the Saint Louis Art Museum is free to all every day. For more information about the Saint Louis Art Museum, call 314-721-0072 or visit www.slam.org.

Reginald Robinson to play free concert on January 23 at St. Louis Art Museum

The Saint Louis Art Museum has announced that pianist and composer Reginald R. Robinson (pictured) will perform a free concert for the museum's "Art After 5" series at 7:00 p.m., Friday, January 23 in the Grigg Gallery.

Robinson is a Chicago native known for his performances of ragtime, semi-classical, Latin American, and early jazz and blues styles. He has played all across the country and in Europe, and in 2004 was honored with the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, aka the "Genius Grant," for his work to revitalize ragtime music.

For a sample of Robinson's pianistic prowess, check the embedded video window below, where you can see and hear him performing an original composition called "Lady of Honor" at the 2007 "Blind" Boone Ragtime & Jazz Festival in Columbia, MO.

Film Festival to include screening of Japanese film Crossroads (Jujiro) with live improvised soundtrack

The St. Louis International Film Festival has grown into a major event, with dozens of screenings at several different venues, and a variety of programming including Q&A sessions with directors; evenings devoted to animation, short films and St. Louis films; and much more. This year's SLIFF, which runs from November 8 through November 18, also will include a screening of the Japanese silent classic Crossroads (Jujiro) with a live, improvised soundtrack courtesy of an ensemble of as-yet-unnamed musicians supplied by New Music Circle.

Crossroads will be shown at 7 p.m. this Saturday, November 10 at the Saint Louis Art Museum Auditorium. The 1928 film, directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa, is set in 18th-century Japan and tells the story of "a young ronin who, having killed a man in a duel over a geisha, turns to his protective older sister for help, thereby putting her in great peril. Madness, prostitution, rape, murder, blindness ensue, all captured with Kinugasa’s astonishing artistry. The expressionistic sets and costumes, moving camera, intense close-ups, and hallucinatory and subjective shots conspire to give Crossroads a haunting beauty of visual experimentation."

To open the program, NMC music director Rich O'Donnell will accompany seven silent short films made for the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts’ current “Water” exhibit, using "water-based instruments of his own devising."