Sunday Session: July 26, 2015

Kamasi Washington

For your Sunday reading, here are some interesting music-related items that have hit StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* After 20 Years, New Orleans Band Galactic Lifts Off With New Voices (NPR)
* This Year’s DownBeat Critics Poll Kerfuffle (Outside-Inside-Out)
* Digitized and Now Available: Mahler’s Marked Score of Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony (New York Philharmonic)
* 'Inside Out' composer Michael Giacchino is on a roll (Los Angeles Times)
* The key to perfection: how a Steinway piano is made (Financial Times)
* How Hip-Hop Is Becoming the Oldies (New York Times)
* Swing It Loud: Duke Ellington’s Early Black-Pride Music (WFIU)
* How MTV Is Trying to Reinvent Itself to Combat Sinking Ratings and Disinterested Teens (Billboard)
* 'Kid Charlemagne': A Close Reading Of Steely Dan's Ode To Haight Street's LSD King (SFist)
* To Stream or Not to Stream? That is the Wrong Question (New Music Box)
* How Music Magazines Are Changing to Stay Alive (Billboard)
* Why do pop singers like Lady Gaga keep releasing jazz albums? The upsides are tremendous. (Washington Post)
* Apple Music is a nightmare and I'm done with it (The Loop)
* SpokFrevo Orquestra, Redman Spark North Sea Jazz Festival (DownBeat)
* LA jazz: how Kamasi Washington and Thundercat are breathing new life into the west coast scene (The Guardian UK)
* Impulse To Release Haden-Rubalcaba Duo Album (DownBeat)
* Zappa Family Gives Access For New Frank Zappa Documentary (JamBase.com)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Keep On Keepin' On, the new documentary about trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry that's playing for the next week at the Tivoli Theater, was reviewed for the Post-Dispatch by Calvin Wilson. (To find out how to get free tickets to selected screenings of the film tonight, tomorrow and Sunday, read this post.)

* Also here this weekend, Brazilian big band SpokFrevo Orquestra wraps up their US tour with a performance on Sunday night at The Sheldon. You can read a review of their shows last week at NYC's Lincoln Center here, courtesy of AllAboutJazz.com's Nick Catalano.

* And via Nate Chinen of the New York Times, here's a review of saxophonist Joshua Redman's just-completed gig at NYC's Village Vanguard. Redman's trio will open a four-night stand this coming Wednesday at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Speaking of the Bistro, while he was here last week to play at the club, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli also visited KWMU's program "CityScape" for an interview and brief performance.

* And in a semi-related bit of news, Jazz St. Louis announced this week that the Bistro will begin serving a weekly jazz brunch, complete with live music, from 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. Sundays starting November 16. Singer-guitarist Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing will provide the sounds for the first three weeks, with pianist and Jazz St. Louis education director Phil Dunlap's trio taking over for the month of December. You can see the menu devised by Catering St. Louis and more details here.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake has posted on SoundCloud a preview track, "6 & 3," from the new release by his Organ Quartet.

* And speaking of new albums, the Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured) have posted on Facebook a video "teaser" for their next recording, scheduled for release in November.

* Electronic musician Eric Hall has posted on Bandcamp a recording of his recent performance at the Public Media Commons in Grand Center.

* Singer/pianist Steve Ross' show last weekend for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Down Beat magazine has announced the results of their 2014 Readers Poll, which include a win in the "Historical Album" category for Miles Davis' Miles At The Fillmore—Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3. You can see the complete results of the poll here.

* Meanwhile, Blue, the note-for-note remake of Davis' Kind of Blue by the band Mostly Other People Do The Killing, continues to incite controversy and commentary, the most recent examples being pianist George Colligan's blog post about the album and Ottawa Citizen jazz writer Peter Hum's list of "50 Records To Listen To Before Checking Out That Kind Of Blue Remake."

* Following a meeting between the St. Louis Police Department and representatives of downtown music venues, police say they have "strong leads" for finding the group of thieves who have been robbing the vehicles of touring bands. Read more on the story from the Riverfront Times and KWMU/St. Louis Public Radio.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,” DJ Calvin Wilson will delve into compositions associated with Miles Davis that have become jazz standards, as performed by Davis, Donald Harrison, Don Byron, and others. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m., on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen. 

On Sunday, this week's guest on WSIE's "Jazz Talk" will be singer Tony Viviano.The program airs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on 88.7 FM, and also can be heard online.

Then Sunday night on St. Louis Public Radio's "Jazz Unlimited," host Dennis Owsley will feature the music of Chick Corea. Listen in from 9:00 p.m. to midnight over the air at 90.7 FM or online.

Jazz this week: SpokFrevo Orquestra, Jesse Gannon and Truth, Dave Dickey Big Band, a new film about Clark Terry, and more

The schedule of jazz and creative music for this Halloween weekend in St. Louis features everything from intimate cabaret shows to roaring big bands, plus the local debut of a new documentary film featuring a St. Louis-born jazz legend. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, the Gaslight Cabaret Festival resumes with Ken Haller presenting the first of two performances of his show "Mama's Boy" at the Gaslight Theater; and saxophonist Adam Schefkind will become the first Washington University student to headline a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series.

Also tonight, Sandy Weltman will lead a harmonica workshop at Mozingo Music's O'Fallon location; and the Tavern of Fine Arts will present their monthly "Experimental Arts Open Improv Night" with live improvised music.

Tomorrow, pianist and singer Jesse Gannon and his band Truth will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro, becoming the first St. Louis act to make their Bistro debut in the new, renovated version of the room.

Also tomorrow, singer Dean Christopher no doubt will be breaking out the celebrity impressions during the performance of his "Rat Pack and More" show at the Ozark Theatre; singer Erika Johnson and guitarist Tom Byrne will duet at Robust Wine Bar's downtown location; Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and bassist Darrell Mixon leads a trio at Cigar Inn.

And let's not forget that Friday also is the first evening that Keep On Keepin' On, the new documentary about trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry, will be showing at the Tivoli Theater. The bad news is that the film is only playing here locally for a week; the good news is that the producers are offering free tickets to selected showings this weekend. For more about all of that, see this post.

On Saturday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play swing, hot jazz and jump blues at Evangeline's; singer Ron Wilkinson will perform at the Ozark Theatre; and the Gaslight Cabaret Festival will present a "Webster Senior Showcase" featuring Webster University students Michael Williams, Eden Rain Eernissee, and Michael Dewar at the Gaslight Theater

Then on Sunday, the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show will present their November event at the  American Czech Hall, 4690 Lansdowne at Kingshighway on the south side.

That evening, listeners can choose between two big band concerts, both happening in the Grand Center district. At Jazz at the Bistro, the Dave Dickey Big Band will be making their debut at the venue, having moved their monthly shows from their former location at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

Meanwhile, just a couple of short blocks away, the Brazilian big band SpokFrevo Orquestra (pictured), which mixes jazz with styles associated with the Brazilan carnival, will be wrapping up their eight-city tour of the USA with a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

As shown in the video of a full concert included in part three of StLJN's fall 2014 jazz preview, this a musically accomplished and sonically explosive group, and it's too bad that their appearance here seems to be flying under the radar of much of the local media.

Fortunately for big band enthusiasts, the shows start two hours apart, meaning that it should theoretically be possible to catch the first set of the Dickey band at the Bistro, then hustle on over to Sheldon to hear SpokFrevo Orquestra. (The only downside to this plan is that it likely means missing the intermission set at the Bistro by the Lindbergh High School Jazz Ensemble.)

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the free jazz and improvising ensemble Numbers returns to Tavern of Fine Arts; and Webster University's student jazz combos will be performing at the University's Community Music School.

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

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2014 jazz preview, part 3

It's the third chapter of our Fall 2014 video preview of jazz and creative music performers coming to St. Louis, and today we'll cover the touring acts that will be in town during the first part of November. (You can find part one of the fall jazz preview here, and part two here.) 

Today's first video features the SpokFrevo Orquestra, a 17-piece Brazilian big band who will make their St. Louis debut on Sunday, November 2 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Seen here performing a full set in 2011, the group blends jazz with frevo, a high-energy Brazilian musical genre associated with Carnival time.

After the jump, you can see saxophonist Joshua Redman, who will return to lead a trio with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Greg Hutchinson starting Wednesday, November 5 through Saturday, November 7 at Jazz at the Bistro. Redman is seen here playing two songs - his own composition "I'll Go Mine" and Gil Evans' "Barracudas" - in March of this year at the Visioninmusica festival in Terni Italy, accompanied by pianist Aaron Goldberg, Rogers, and Hutchinson.

That same weekend, the Gaslight Cabaret Festival will be spotlighting three performers from Chicago. Beckie Menzie and Tom Michael, who will perform "That '60s Show" on Friday, November 7, are seen in the next clip dueting on "You and the Night and the Music" at the Chicago Cabaret Professionals 2011 annual gala. After that, it's Joan Curto, who will perform the music of Cole Porter on Saturday, November 8, singing "Change Partners" in a clip recorded at the 2013 Chicago Humanities Festival.

That same weekend, New Music Circle will present a double-bill concert on Saturday, November 8, at the new location of The Luminary, 2701 Cherokee St. The concert will feature separate sets from improvising percussionist Eli Keszler and electronic musician Rashad Becker. Both men are seen here in videos recorded earlier this year (in May and March, respectively) at Cave 12 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Closing out our preview of the first half of November is singer Sheri Sanders with a rendition of the song "Pieces" from the musical Salvage, recorded last year in NYC. Sanders is coming to St. Louis on Thursday, November 13 to do her show "Rock It" as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival.

Look for part four of StLJN's Fall 2014 jazz preview next week, and you can see the rest of today's videos after the jump.

Sheldon Concert Hall announces 2014-15 season schedule

The Sheldon Concert Hall today announced the schedules for their various 2014-15 subscription series and special concerts, and as usual, there's some programming that will be of interest to StLJN readers.

With regard to the Sheldon's main jazz series, as tipped here on StLJN back in December 2013, it will get underway this fall with concerts featuring pianist Chick Corea (Saturday, October 11) and guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo (Saturday, November 15).

Also on tap for the jazz series is the Dizzy Gillespie Afro-Cuban Experience (Saturday, March 21, 2015), which is led by the late, legendary trumpeter's former bassist John Lee. The current iteration of the group also includes Mario "Machito Jr." Grillo, son of the famed percussionist, as well as trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, who's played in the Gillespie memorial big band and worked with former St. Louisan Oliver Lake, among others; plus saxophonist Sharel Cassity, guitarist Yotam Silberstein, and drummer Robby Ameen.

Perhaps the most intriguing jazz series offering is the final one, as the much-talked-about singer Cécile McLorin Salvant (pictured) will make her St. Louis debut at the Sheldon on Saturday, May 2, 2015.

Winner of the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Vocals Competition, the 24-year-old Salvant was raised in Miami but went to Paris to study music. After winning the Monk competition, her career gained momentum in the States thanks to her work with pianist Jacky Terrasson and with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and took off in earnest with the release last year of her American debut album WomanChild.

As for the rest of the Sheldon's 2014-15 schedule, pianist Peter Martin will continue his eponymous series with concerts on Friday, November 21 and Friday, February 27, with the specifics of both programs TBA.

Also returning will be the new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound*, whose first performance of their third St. Louis season will be as part of "250 Years of St. Louis Music: American Music at its Best!" a special event on Friday, October 17 that also will include jazz, blues, ragtime and more from Denise Thimes, Peter Martin, Kim Massie, Billy Peek, and other St. Louis favorites.

On their own, AWS will perform in concert on Saturday, December 11 - tentatively scheduled to be the North American premiere of Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy's extended work The Hunger - and on Friday, January 23 and Thursday, May 28, 2015.

The Coffee Concerts series will include performances from Cornet Chop Suey (Tuesday, October 7 and Wednesday, October 8) and Swing Set (Tuesday, April 21 and Wednesday, April 22, 2015), and the St. Louis Stompers will play a non-subscription Coffee Concert on Tuesday, February 10, 2015. Miss Jubilee also will put in an appearance, playing an 11 a.m. Saturday matinee on March 7, 2015.

Lastly, a couple of the "special concerts" may be of interest as well. South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela will perform with singer Vusi Mahlasela in a program called "20 Years of Freedom" on Saturday, October 4, and though the evening ostensibly will focus on "South Africa’s Freedom Songs," I'll bet you a nickel that Masekela finds a way to work in a bit of "Grazin' In The Grass" before the night is over.

Also, fans of big band, Latin jazz and/or Brazilian music may want to check out SpokFrevo Orquestra on Sunday, November 2. Led by Brazilian saxophonist Inaldo Cavalcante de Albuquerque, aka Spok, the 18-piece big band mixes jazz with frevo, a carnival rhythm and musical genre popular in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.

Subscription tickets for the jazz series are $150 orchestra, $135 balcony. Subscriptions also are available for the Coffee Concerts and Peter Martin series. New subscriptions will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Monday, May 12 and continue through the first concert in each series.

Single tickets for the jazz series range from $35 to $50, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Saturday,August 9 via MetroTix. You can find all the details on subscriptions, single ticket prices, and all the various series at the Sheldon on their website. 

* As mentioned here several times before, yr. humble StLJN editor is employed by a local public relations firm to, among other things, assist Alarm Will Sound with publicity in St. Louis and Columbia, MO. However, given the scope of StLJN's coverage, I'd be mentioning them even if I wasn't working for them. Now that you know this information, I trust that you, the reader, are capable of making your own judgments about any AWS-related hype and/or potential conflicts of interest.