Sunday Session: June 30, 2019

Dave Bartholomew

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* In Memoriam: Dave Bartholomew (WWOZ)
* Dave Bartholomew, A Father Of Rock And Roll, Dead At 100 (NPR)
* Paul McCartney opens up about Abbey Road, the Beatles' breakup in wide-ranging interview (CBS News)
* Spotify: We ‘overpaid’ songwriters and their publishers in 2018, and we would like our money back (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* The hologram concert revolution is here, whether you like it or not: Meet the company touring Whitney Houston and Buddy Holly (Fast Company)
* Tacuma and The Last Poets Move Beyond the Nation’s Combative Moment (DownBeat)
* Pro Audio Weighs the Troubles with Tariffs (Pro Sound News)
* The music industry is tackling streaming fraud with a pointless ‘Code’. It won’t work… but these ideas might (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* 'Frank Zappa Coloring Book' to Be Released in November (Hollywood Reporter)
* Scenes From The Life Of A Young Jazz Musician (AllAboutJazz.com)
* This Drum Company Has Hardly Changed Since Lincoln Was President. Now It Serves the World's Best Musicians (Inc)
* Tony Bennett Boldly Delivers Imaginative Set at Ravinia (DownBeat)
* Riding high with Stanley Clarke (Jerusalem Post)
* No Cliches Allowed: Guitar Innovator Mary Halvorson Forges a New Way Ahead (SFJAZZ.org)
* Universal Music Group Archivist: Vault Fire Damage 'Surprisingly Overstated,' But Any Loss Is 'Painful for Us' (Billboard)
* A Beginner’s Guide to the epic music of King Crimson (TrebleZine.com)
* Took You By Surprise: John and Paul’s Lost Reunion (Longreads.com)
* Sadao Watanabe, Japan's godfather of jazz, passes on his wisdom (Japan Times)
* Searching for Scrapper Blackwell, the Most Popular Bluesman You've Never Heard (GuitarWorld.com)
* College music department resurrects long-lost funk music (Associated Press)
* Jenny Scheinman on Risk, Adventure and Starting a New Band with Allison Miller (DownBeat)
* Terence Blanchard on How Dr. John Captured the Sound of New Orleans (Time)
* Sound Hounds: How One Research Team Is Helping Preserve the Acoustics of Historic Places (SavingPlaces.org)
* Saying goodbye to Dr. John: Mac Rebennack’s memorial (Offbeat)
* The Accidental Beatle (Slate)
* British jazz gets a chance to shine at Glastonbury (The Guardian)

Sunday Session: December 17, 2017

Pharoah Sanders

Here's the roundup of various music-related items of interest that have appeared in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Hearing Otis Redding’s 'Try a Little Tenderness' as a Song of Resistance (The Atlantic)
* Review: Chasing Trane (Jazz Journal)
* My Name Is Dave, I Collect Vinyl Records, and I Have a Problem (The Stranger)
* The Loneliness of the Long Distance Rocker (The Baffler)
* The Cosmos Is Still Catching Up to Pharaoh Sanders' Earliest Records (Vice.com)
* Matt Wilson Talks About Making Spirits Bright, On the Eve of a Tour with His Christmas Tree-O (WBGO)
* Frankie Newton: The Forgotten Trumpeter (Jazz History Online)
* NRBQ, Steve Ferguson, and the pursuit of the impossible guitar lick (Oxford American)
* Stream 74 Sun Ra Albums Free Online: Decades of “Space Jazz” and Other Forms of Intergalactic, Afrofuturistic Musical Creativity (OpenCulture.com)
* How to Fix the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Variety)
* MAJOR CHORDS | Can We Really Take Pleasure From Music Born From Suffering? (Ludwig-Van.com
* Stanley Clarke Is the Reason You Love Music (Vice.com)
* Mingus & Joni Mitchell: The Black Saint & the Singer Lady (Jazz Times)
* Irvin Mayfield indicted by federal grand jury on fraud, money laundering charges (NOLA.com)
* The FCC Just Shrunk the Music Industry (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Ben Allison and Think Free Bring 'Layers of the City' into Our Studio, on The Checkout (WBGO)
* Junk Shop Classical On Joyce Hatto: Music Stories Told £1 LP By £1 LP (TheQuietus.com)
* Marc Ribot: “It's good to understand not only how to play guitar, but also why to play guitar” (MusicRadar.com)
* Ikue Mori: Sustenance and Renewal in Downtown Music (NationalSawdust.org)
* Minneapolis jazz band the Bad Plus prepares for final shows with original lineup (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
* Institutions raced to dump James Levine. They should look hard at themselves (Washington Post)
* The neuroscience of jazz (PRI.org)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Multi-instrumentalist Dwayne Bosman of the Bosman Twins (pictured) is one of ten recipients of a Regional Arts Commission Artist Fellowship for 2015.

Each of the ten selected artists receives $20,000, which is intended to "allow for the advancement of the individual artist’s creative journey to include time and space to study, reflect, experiment, explore and create."

* The late Don Wolff was remembered and memorialized by local media outlets including St. Louis Public Radio, St. Louis magazine, KMOV-TV, and HEC-TV.

* Euclid Records was featured in a recent "In Your Neighborhood" segment on KTVI/Fox 2 News.

* Just in time for his annual Thanksgiving weekend gig at Jazz at the Bistro, here's a a fairly lengthy new interview with trumpeter and singer Jeremy Davenport, via HollywoodSoapbox.com.

* Jazz St. Louis education director Phil Dunlap was featured by the Post-Dispatch in an "#STLStreetStyle" video.

* Bassist Stanley Clarke's concert last Saturday at the Touhill Performing Arts Center was reviewed by Terry Perkins for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

* Singer/songwriter Susan Werner's show last weekend for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival was reviewed by Chuck Lavazzi of KDHX.

* Groove Jazz, a new streaming jazz radio station based in St. Louis, is now online and available to hear for free at www.theroots.fm and via free apps available in the iTunes and Google Play stores.

Described in a news release as "primarily a Contemporary Jazz station, featuring artists like Boney James, Paul Hardcastle, Cindy Bradley, George Benson and David Benoit," the station's playlist also will feature "Straight-Ahead Jazz, World Music, Fusion, Funk and other styles." Weekday hosts are Jason Church, Kristi Carson, Eddie Becton, and Darrel Eason, while the weekend voices include Kris Kelly, Bill Poole, Robin Boyce and C.J. Ellis.

Jazz this week: Omaha Diner, Eliane Elias, Stanley Clarke, Susan Werner, and more

It's shaping up to be another busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with a handful of visiting headliners in town at various venues, a couple of homecoming shows featuring former St. Louisans, and a full schedule of performances from local players as well. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, November 18
The quartet Omaha Diner (pictured, top left), featuring guitarist Charlie Hunter, saxophonist Skerik, drummer Bobby Previte, and trumpeter Eric Bloom, makes their St. Louis debut in the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

As an ensemble, they're both high concept - performing nothing but songs that have reached number one on the Billboard pop charts - and loose-limbed, taking considerable liberties with the material while still maintaining the sort of funky grooves associated with Hunter, who, in his customary fashion, simultaneously provides both bass lines and chords. To get a better idea of what this actually sounds like, you can see and hear Omaha Diner in action in this video post from last Saturday.

Thursday, November 19
Guitarist Vincent Varvel plays a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, November 20
Singer/songwriter Susan Werner closes out the fall series of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival with the first of two performances at the Gaslight Theater; Dreaming in Colour will play jazz-fusion at the Ozark Theatre; and the contemporary chamber ensemble Alarm Will Sound returns to the Sheldon Concert Hall with a program of music from St. Louis composers including pianist Peter Martin, Wash U music professor Christopher Stark, and multimedia artist and activist Damon Davis.

Also on Friday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will be swinging at Backstreet Jazz & Blues in Westport; the Sentimental Journey Dance Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and the Funky Butt Brass Band will be back for their regular monthly gig at Broadway Oyster Bar.

Saturday, November 21
Pianist and singer Eliane Elias returns to St. Louis for the first time since 2010 for a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The Brazilian-born Elias (pictured, center left) first gained wide recognition outside her home country in the 1980s as a member of the fusion band Steps Ahead. She subsequently teamed up with her ex-husband, trumpet player Randy Brecker, for a number of albums mixing straight-ahead, contemporary and Brazilian jazz before going solo with a varied menu of projects that have ranged from a big-band album arranged by Bob Brookmeyer to a tribute to pianist Bill Evans.

Elias has spend a good portion of this year touring in support of her most recent album Made In Brazil, which came out last spring and marked the first time she had gone back to her home country to record since moving to the United States in 1981. You can read more about that in the interview Elias did in August with Keyboard magazine.

Also on Saturday night, bassist Stanley Clarke will be playing at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Clarke, who was here last year at The Pageant, just wrapped up a two-week run at the Blue Note in NYC that included guest appearances from drummer Lenny White and pianists McCoy Tyner and George Cables.

He also has a new album out this month, a trio recording with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and guitarist Biréli Lagrène called D-Stringz. For the show at the Touhill, though, Clarke (pictured, lower left) will perform with the current version of his electric band, which includes pianist Beka Gochiashvili, keyboardist Cameron Graves, and drummer Michael Mitchell.

Elsewhere on Saturday night, guitarist Tom Byrne and singer Erika Johnson take the stage at Thurman Grill; singer, actor and St. Louis native Craig Pomranz is back home from NYC to perform his cabaret show "Love Takes Time" at Cyrano's; and singer Danita Mumphard will be interpreting the music of Whitney Houston at the Ozark Theatre.

Sunday November 22
Trumpeter Ally Hany returns home from NYC to celebrate the release of her first album Journeys Ahead with a performance at Ferring Jazz Bistro, and Jay Hutson and Da Wolvez will play at Nathalie's.

Monday November 23
Dizzy Atmosphere plays Gypsy jazz and swing at The Shaved Duck, and trumpeter Keith Moyer and band will perform at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Tuesday November 24
Genesis Jazz Project will play a benefit concert for the Circle of Concern Food Pantry at the Midwest Music Conservatory in Ballwin; and student jazz ensembles from Webster Groves High School will perform in a fundraiser for the school's music programs at Highway 61 Roadhouse.

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.)

Updated after posting to correct info on this week's Jazz at Holmes show. 

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2015 jazz preview, part 5

This week, it's the fifth and final installment of StLJN's fall 2015 jazz video preview, offering an advance look at jazz and creative music performers who will be visiting St. Louis between now and year-end.

Parts one, two, three and four covered September, October and the first part of November, so today's post begins with Omaha Diner, who will make their St. Louis debut with performances starting Wednesday, November 17 through Saturday, November 21 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Comprised of guitarist Charlie Hunter, saxophonist Skerik, drummer Bobby Previte, and trumpeter Eric Bloom (in for original member Steven Bernstein), Omaha Diner is premised on the idea of performing only original arrangements of songs that have made it to number one on the Billboard pop charts. And so, in the first clip up above you can see them playing "Thrift Shop," which was a hit for hip-hop duo Macklemore & Lewis.

After the jump, you can see a clip featuring singer Susan Werner, who will close out the fall edition of the Presenters Dolan's Gaslight Cabaret Festival with performances on Friday, November 20 and Saturday, November 21 at the Gaslight Theater. Werner, who's associated with folk and country as much as cabaret, can be seen here performing "(Why Is Your) Heaven So Small" a a gig in August 2014 in Nashville.

Next up is pianist Eliane Elias, who's playing Saturday, November 21 to kick off the 2015-16 jazz series at  The Sheldon. Elias is seen in the third clip performing "So Danço Samba" at the 2015 International Jazz Day Global Concert in Paris, with some help from trumpeter Claudio Roditi, percussionist Mino Cinélu, and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.

The same evening as Elias' concert, the Stanley Clarke Band will be in town for a concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The fourth clip features the bassist and his electric ensemble in a full set at this year's North Sea Jazz Festival.

After that, it's trumpeter Sean Jones, who returns to St. Louis to play Wednesday, December 2 through Saturday, December 5 at Jazz at the Bistro. Jones is seen here performing his deconstructed version of "How High The Moon" last month at the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Connecticut.

Also in town that same weekend will be the duo of pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and violinist Mark Feldman, who will perform in a concert presented by New Music Circle on Friday, December 4 at The Stage at KDHX. They're represented here by a video shot by an audience member in 2014 during their set at NYC's Winter Jazzfest.

Today's final clip features drummer Matt Wilson Christmas Tree-O, who will be spreading holiday cheer from Wednesday, December 16 through Saturday, December 19 at Jazz at the Bistro. The video shows them performing in 2011 for NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series.

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* New music ensemble Alarm Will Sound's two performances this weekend are previewed by Stef Russell of St. Louis magazine.

* Meanwhile, the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson takes a look at tonight's "250 Years of St. Louis Music" show at the Sheldon Concert Hall, which features Alarm Will Sound* playing a new work by Peter Martin, plus performances from a diverse list of St. Louis jazz, blues and roots musicians.

* Drummer/bandleader and U City native Ronnie Burrage is the subject of a feature article in Jazz Times.

* To promote an upcoming gig at LA's Jazz Bakery, saxophonist Greg Osby has put together a brief online playlist of some of his favorite music.

* St. Louis singer Katie McGrath will perform her cabaret show "Love in the Desert, Romance in an Age of Scarcity" at NYC's Metropolitan Room next Thursday, October 23.

* Keep On Keepin' On, the new documentary about trumpeter Clark Terry and his student Justin Kauflin, was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Mark F. Turner. 

* Miles Davis' "Blue Xmas" b/w "Devil May Care" will be released as a limited edition 7" blue vinyl single (pictured) for Record Store Day's annual Black Friday event on November 28.

* In more Davis-related news, Jazz Times critic Nate Chinen weighs in on Mostly Other People Do The Killing's controversial note-for-note remake of Davis' Kind of Blue, and Popmatters has an interview about the record with MOPDTK bassist and bandleader Moppa Elliott.

* In response to the controversy, the Davis estate felt the need yesterday to issue an official statement: "I Vincent Wilburn Jr., drummer and nephew of Miles Davis, and Cheryl A. Davis, daughter of Miles Davis, want to clarify that “Blue” the ultimate tribute by the band Mostly Other People Do The Killing, is not supported by us, nor done with our cooperation or participation."

* Saxophonist David Sanborn's performance this week in San Diego was previewed by the local daily the Union-Tribune.

* The performances last week by Sanborn at Jazz at the Bistro and Chick Corea at the Sheldon Concert Hall were reviewed by Calvin Wilson for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

* Bassist Stanley Clarke's show Tuesday at The Pageant was documented via a photo set posted on Facebook by Hip 96.3 FM.

* The Riverfront Times this week published a set of photos by Mabel Suen showing off the newly renovated Jazz at the Bistro.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band's version of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" was listed at #4 in an article on the website Mashable about "13 Brass Band Cover Songs That Are Better Than The Originals."

Not only that, but while on a recent trip to Arkansas to play the King Biscuit Blues Festival, the FBBB stopped off in Memphis for a visit to the Stax Records museum, where saxophonist Ben Reece, trumpeter Adam Hucke and trombonist Aaron Chandler met famed trumpeter Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns.

* KDHX has posted online a photo set of Wack-A-Doo's performance last week at one of the station's "Harvest Sessions."

* Speaking of photo sets, the Midwest Jazz-tette has posted two of them to Facebook, documenting performances earlier this year at First Unity Church and Cigar Inn

* Trombonist Dave Dickey is moving his monthly big band gig to Jazz at the Bistro, effective Sunday, November 2. The band now will play on the first Sunday of each month, continuing in their new location the practice of having local student bands perform at intermission. Their run of monthly shows at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company lasted three years. Tickets for the November 2 debut performance at the Bistro go on sale at 10:00 a.m. today via Metrotix.

* The Regional Arts Commission is accepting applications for the 2015 Katherine Dunham Internship, which provides hands-on experience in arts administration for an African-American student. The deadline to apply is Monday, November 3.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,” host Calvin Wilson explores the landscape of extended improvisation via tracks from Henry Threadgill, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis and more. 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.

* Disclaimer: I've been working with Alarm Will Sound since 2010 on publicity for their gigs in Columbia and St. Louis, including this one. However, given their demonstrated accomplishments and StLJN's usual editorial focus, I'd be writing about them here even if I had no relationship with them.

Jazz this week: David Sanborn, Rebirth Brass Band, Chick Corea, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Stanley Clarke Band, and more

It's the busiest week for jazz and creative music so far this fall in St. Louis, with a half-dozen touring headliners passing through town in the next seven days. Let's go to the highlights....

Tonight, alto saxophonist and Kirkwood's own David Sanborn returns home to begin a four-night run continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Sanborn will be accompanied on this visit by an all-St. Louis rhythm section, with Eric Slaughter on guitar, U City's Peter Martin on piano and Chris Thomas on bass, plus East St. Louis' Montez Coleman on drums. As you might guess, advance reservations are a must; at last report, tickets were scarce for the 7:30 p.m. shows but some seats still may be available for the 9:30 p.m. sets.

Also tonight, The 442s will be joined by pianist Peter Henderson for a free concert that's part of Powell Symphony Hall's "On Stage" series, which, as the name implies, puts the musicians and audience together on the hall's ample stage. 

Tomorrow, New Orleans' Rebirth Brass Band will be back to perform at The Gramophone. Along with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Rebirth are one of the standard-bearers for their hometown's brass band tradition, adding their own contemporary twists and over the the years serving as a launching pad for several solo careers, including that of trumpeter Kermit Ruffins. If you like New Orleans music, they're definitely a must-see.

Also tomorrow, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will present "Freedom Summer '64: A Love Supreme," a free concert featuring the music of John Coltrane as performed by a group including saxophonists Freddie Washington and Paul DeMarinis, guitarist William Lenihan, drummers Maurice Carnes and Steve Davis, and pianist Kara Baldus.The concert will be preceded by panel discussion let by Wash U professor Patrick Burke, author of the 2008 book Come In And Hear the Truth: Jazz and Race on 52nd Street.

Other Thursday night possibilities include jazz-fusion group Common Time, who will perform at The Engine Room; and singer Erika Johnson and guitarist Tom Byrne's trio at Venice Cafe.

On Friday, singer Feyza Eren will perform at the Ozark Theatre; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will return to Nathalie's; the St. Louis Big Band will play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and saxophonist Kendrick Smith leads a trio at Cigar Inn.

On Saturday, pianist Chick Corea will play a solo piano concert at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Though Corea has performed here in various contexts over the last couple of decades - with his Elektrik Band, the reunited Return to Forever, and most recently in a duo with banjo player Bela Fleck - this will be the first time he's ever played here solo. For some video samples of Corea alone at the piano, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, trombonist Ku-umba Frank Lacy will be in town to perform at the Ozark Theatre. The Houston native, once called "the baddest sideman in jazz" by Down Beat magazine, served as music director for Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, has been a member of the Mingus Big Band, and has a long list of collaborators that includes St. Louis musicians such as Greg Osby, Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill, and Lester Bowie, as well as Henry Threadgill, Carla Bley, Dizzy Gillespie, Abdullah Ibrahim, Bobby Watson, David Murray, McCoy Tyner, and numerous R&B and hip-hop performers.

Elsewhere around town that evening, Miss Jubilee will be swinging the Casa Loma Ballroom, and the Gaslight Cabaret Festival resumes with singer Katie McGrath performing her show "Love in the Desert: Romance in an Age of Scarcity" at the Gaslight Theater.  And still more local vocal talent will be on offer Saturday in the form of  Joe Mancuso at EdgeWild Restaurant & Winery; the Ann Dueren Trio at Il Bel Lago; and Mary Dyson and Diane Vaughn at Troy's Jazz Gallery

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday drummer and St. Charles native Dave Weckl, who first gained wide recognition as part of Corea's Elektrik Band, will be in town to present a clinic sponsored by the Fred Pierce Studio Drum Shop at the Hilton St. Louis Airport

Also on Monday, percussionist Joe Pastor will bring his group to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups; and guitarist John Farrar and the Park Avenue Trio will be at Evangeline's, which now serves as the lone outpost for their weekly sessions after they recently wrapped up a 16-year run (!) of Wednesdays at Hammerstone's.

Then on Tuesday, bassist Stanley Clarke, yet another former compatriot of Corea's, will lead his electric band in a concert at The Pageant. Clarke's latest album Up was released on September 30 by Mack Avenue Records, and features members of his touring group as well as an all-star roster of guest musicians. St. Louis' Bach to the Future will open the show, which is a benefit for the not-for-profit adoption agency Dillon International.

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 2

Today, it's part two of StLJN's video preview of the touring jazz and creative music performers who will be playing in St. Louis this fall. You can find part 1, which covered the month of September, here.

The first videos up above feature trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who will be returning here on Thursday, October 2 and Friday, October 3 to re-open the newly renovated and expanded Jazz at the Bistro. These two clips represent a complete show from the 2013 Jazz San Javier festival.

(For more footage of Marsalis and JaLCO, see this post about their touring production "Abyssynian," which played here last October; this one, about Marsalis' "Swing Symphony," which they performed here in 2012 with the St. Louis Symphony; and the video showcase posts previewing their appearances here in 2008 and 2010.)

(Update, 9/7/14: The Thursday performance by Marsalis and JaLCO is for Jazz St. Louis donors only, and Friday's is now sold out. Contrary to the info in the original version of this post, there is no performance scheduled on Saturday. StLJN regrets the error.)

After the jump, you can see fluegelhornist Hugh Masekela, who will team with singer Vusi Mahlasela to perform their show "20 Years of Freedom" on Saturday, October 4 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. This video shows Masekela and his band performing a show titled "Celebrate Mama Africa" for the 2011 Estival Jazz Lugano in Switzerland.

Next, it's alto saxophonist (and Kirkwood's own) David Sanborn, peforming "Comin' Home Baby" in 2012 at the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia. Sanborn will be back home again to play with an all-St. Louis rhythm section of Peter Martin (piano), Chris Thomas (bass), and Montez Coleman (drums) starting Wednesday, October 8 through Saturday, October 11 at Jazz at the Bistro.

(For more Sanborn on video, you can check out the showcase posts that preceded his appearances here in 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2008, as well as this post about Quartette Humaine, his 2013 album with Bob James.)

That same week, the Rebirth Brass Band will return to St. Louis to perform on Thursday, October 9 at The Gramophone. They're seen here in a video of a full set recorded in 2012 at the club Howlin' Wolf in their hometown of New Orleans.

On Friday, October 11, pianist Chick Corea will be in town for a solo performance at The Sheldon. Corea, who has performed here in recent years with banjo player Bela Fleck and with Return to Forever, is seen in a clip from 2009 playing his composition "Alegria" at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr in Dortmund, Germany.

A few days later, bassist Stanley Clarke will be here with the latest version of his electric band to play on Tuesday, October 14 at The Pageant. The video here shows Clarke's touring band from last year, with keyboardists John Beasley and Nick Smith, drummer Ronald Bruner Jr., and violinist Zach Brock, performing in August 2013 at the Telluride Jazz Festival in Colorado.

Next up, it's the new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, who will begin their third St. Louis season by taking part in the "250 Years of St. Louis Music" concert on Friday, October 17 at The Sheldon.

Along with performances from Denise Thimes, Kim Massie, Billy Peek, the St. Louis Ragtimers, and other St. Louis jazz and blues favorites, AWS* will play a set including a new work composed by Peter Martin specifically for the occasion. In this clip, you can see them in 2013 giving the world premiere performance of a very different sort of piece, composer Jason Thorpe Buchanan's "Asymptotic Flux Second Study in Entropy," at the Mizzou International Composers Festival in Columbia.

Also on Friday, October 17, singer Karen Mason will be in town for the first of two performances for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival at the Gaslight Theater. Mason, who will do her show "Secrets of the Ancient Divas" again on Saturday, October 18, is seen here singing a medley of "My Favorite Things" and "Count Your Blessings" from a performance last December in Norwalk, CT.

Below that, you can see guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli playing a solo version of "The Way You Look Tonight" recorded in August of this year in the offices of Fretboard Journal magazine. Pizzarelli will be back in St. Louis to perform Wednesday, October 22 through Saturday, October 25 at Jazz at the Bistro. You can see more of him on video in previous posts from 2012 and 2013.

Closing out our jazz preview of October in St. Louis is singer and pianist Steve Ross, who will return to perform as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival on Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25. Although Ross has been a fixture on the cabaret scene for decades, oddly there's almost no video online of him performing, so a very brief clip of him singing "You Were Never Lovelier" by Johnny Mercer and Jerome Kern will have to suffice for now.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump. Look for part three of the fall 2014 jazz preview here next week.

Stanley Clarke Band to perform Tuesday, October 14 at The Pageant

Bassist Stanley Clarke is coming back to St. Louis to perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 14 at The Pageant.

Clarke (pictured) played here most recently in May, 2012 at Jazz at the Bistro with a trio featuring pianist Ruslan Sirota and drummer Ronald Bruner, Jr.

This time around, he'll have his electric band, along with St. Louis' jazz/classical fusion quartet Bach to the Future as an opening act.

The latter's presence on the bill is no coincidence, for this concert is being produced by BTTF members (and brothers) Mike Silverman and Rob Silverman as a benefit for the not-for-profit adoption agency Dillon International, which promotes standards and policies for inter-country adoptions and has helped to establish adoption programs in several countries.

Clarke's last album as a leader, an electric outing with Sirota, Bruner and keyboardist Hiromi titled simply The Stanley Clarke Band, came out in 2010. More recently, he's been working on a new all-star recording paying tribute to his old musical partner, the late George Duke, and he was just invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in recognition of his work as a composer for film and TV.

Tickets for Stanley Clarke at The Pageant are $25 for general admission and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, July 18 via Ticketmaster.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The old Saum Hotel building in the Shaw neighborhood - once the site of performances by swing era bandleader Eddie Randle and the Blue Devils, who provided early professional experience for Miles Davis - is the subject of a post by the history blog Sherlock Homes STL.

* Baritone saxophonist Roger Lewis of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (pictured) was interviewed by the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson. The DDBB will perform tonight at the Old Rock House.

* The Sheldon Concert Hall and Metrotix over the holiday weekend are offering 50% off tickets to see "Miller Magic: The Music of Glenn Miller" featuring Bob Coleman's Legacy Big Band on Sunday, June 3 at the Sheldon. Regular prices are $35 and $30, but with the discount, purchasers only have to pay $17.50 and $15. To access the offer, go to this page on Metrotix.com before 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 28. No promo code is needed.

* One of Wednesday night's sets by bassist Stanley Clarke's trio at Jazz at the Bistro was reviewed by KDHX's Wil Wander. Clarke continues at the Bistro through tomorrow night.

* Speaking of Clarke, NPR's program Jazz Set has reposted online a recording of a live performance from the 2009 Monterey Jazz Festival featuring the bassist's trio with pianist Chick Corea and drummer Lenny White.

* Electronic musician Eric Hall has just put online a full-length audio recording from his performance on Wednesday night at Laumeier Sculpture Park with pianist Thollem McDonas and multi-instrumentalist Arrington de Dionyso. Download it for free from Hall's Bandcamp page here. You also can see video of the concert, divided into five segments, here.

* City Music & Education Center this summer will present a jazz ensemble camp for students in grades 7 through 12 from Monday, August 6 through Friday, August 10.. The instructor is keyboardist Pete Ruthenburg. Get details on this and the store's other summer camps - for songwriting, pop vocals, "Caribbean Kids," and one aimed at devotees of the music of Jimmy Buffett, aka "Parrotheads"- on their website.

* The St. Louis American's Chris King interviewed Oliver L Jackson, one of the visual artists who back in the day belonged to the Black Artists Group. Jackson has a solo show at the "project room" at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Ave., continuing through June 10.

Jazz this week: Stanley Clarke Trio, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Dead Kenny Gs, Glendale Jazz Festival, and more

Memorial Day weekend is always a busy time, and there's lots to do in St. Louis over the next several days, including the annual Bluesweek Festival, which this year has moved from fall to spring. Fortunately, that packed calendar of events also includes a number of jazz and creative music performances worth checking out. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, virtuoso bassist Stanley Clarke (pictured) opens a four-night stand continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Clarke was at the Bistro last year in a duo with pianist Hiromi Uehara; this time, he's playing in a trio format with pianist Ruslan Sirota and drummer Ronald Bruner Jr. They'll likely draw on some of the material from Clarke's recent trio albums - one featuring Hiromi and drummer Lenny White, the other with White and pianist Chick Corea - as well as a few of his best-known compositions rearranged for an acoustic trio. (To whet your appetite, you might want to check out this post from last year featuring some videos of Clarke.)

Also tonight, pianist Thollem McDonas is back in town for two performances, the first at 6:00 p.m. at Laumeier Sculpture Park with multi-instrumentalist Arrington de Dionyso and electronic musician Eric Hall, the second at 9:00 p.m. at Floating Laboratories on a bill with Hall, de Dionsyo, Raglani, Kevin Harris and Ghost Ice.

Tomorrow, the New Orleans Suspects, which features members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Radiators and the Neville Brothers' backing group, make their St. Louis debut at the Old Rock House. The Suspects include DDBB saxophonist Kevin Harris, a founding member of that group, and its current guitarist Jake Eckert; bassist Reggie Scanlan, formerly with the Radiators; drummer Willie Green, who's been touring and recording with the Neville Brothers since the mid-1980s; and keyboard player and vocalist CR Gruver.

And speaking of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, they'll be in town and performing at the Old Rock House on Friday night. For an update on what's been happening with the DDBB, see this interview with founding member Roger Lewis just published in Kansas City's Pitch Weekly.

Also on Friday, the 13th annual Glendale Jazz Festival (.pdf file) takes place at Glendale City Hall, 424 N. Sappington Rd. Performers at the free event include Cornet Chop Suey, the Terry Thompson Swing Alive Band, and blues/rock guitarist and singer Billy Peek. Don Wolff will serve as MC.

And as if that weren't enough for one evening, Friday also is the date for "Da-Dum-Dun," a mini-festival honoring the legacies of Miles Davis, write Henry Dumas and choreographer Katherine Dunham. The free event will feature a variety of performances, including music from the Bosman Twins, and takes place at the SIUE-ESL Higher Education Campus, 601 J.R. Thompson Dr. in East St. Louis.

On Saturday, the "punk jazz" trio the Dead Kenny Gs come to town to perform at 2720 Cherokee. While the DKG's crazy quilt mix of musical styles driven by punk-rock-style aggression isn't everyone's cup of tea, some find it quite entertaining. And there's no doubt that percussionist/vocalist Mike Dillon, saxophonist/keyboardist Skerik, and bassist and saxophonist Brad Houser display some interesting chops in the process. You can see them perform on video and make your own judgment in this video post from last Saturday.

Then on Sunday, trombonist Dave Dickey brings his big band back to Kirkwood Station Brewing Company for their monthly gig.

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.)

(Edited after posting to the link to the Stanley Clarke video post.)

Return to Forever, Zappa Plays Zappa to perform Thursday, August 25 at the Fox Theatre

This just in: A new lineup of the seminal fusion band Return to Forever (pictured) will hit the road for 32 dates in the USA this summer, including a performance on Thursday, August 25 at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

Zappa Plays Zappa, the Frank Zappa repertory ensemble headed by the late guitarist and composer's son Dweezil, will serve as the support act for the entire tour.

The new RTF lineup includes Chick Corea on keyboards, Stanley Clarke on bass and Lenny White on drums, along with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, who's played with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Frank Zappa, and guitarist Frank Gambale, who's previously worked with Corea, Clarke and Ponty on various projects of theirs.

This version of the band already has toured Australia, performing "an amalgam of Return To Forever classics, highlights from each member’s solo repertoire, and brand-new compositions written for the RTF IV lineup." You can see setlists and photos from those shows here and read some selected reviews here. To hear the new RTF lineup playing "Senor Mouse," click on the embedded audio player below.

Return to Forever last played in St. Louis in 2008 at the Fox, while Zappa Plays Zappa has performed here at The Pageant several times in the past five years, most recently in December 2010.

Tickets for the 2011 Return to Forever/Zappa Plays Zappa tour will go on sale this Saturday, May 21 Friday, May 20. Ticketing for the Fox Theatre usually is handled locally by Metrotix, but there also will be VIP packages presold through the Return to Forever website beginning Thursday, May 19.

UPDATE, 5:30 p.m., 5/18/11: Tickets for the concert are priced from $30 to $60. The Fox and Metrotix will offer an online pre-sale of tickets for the Return to Forever/Zappa Plays Zappa show beginning from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 19. To access the offer, use promo code CLARKE.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The St. Louis American's Chris King has written an article previewing next Saturday's performance featuring poet Quincy Troupe, guitarist Kelvyn Bell (pictured) and (now added to the bill) saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, to be presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown. Get the story online here.

* If by chance you're heading down to Columbia, MO for Sunday's concert by pianist Ellis Marsalis, know that the pre-show discussion featuring Marsalis and Washington University's Gerald Early has a new time, date and location. The talk, with Q&A session to follow, has been moved to 2:00 p.m. Sunday in the Piccadilly Room of the Holiday Inn Select. It's free, but space still is limited, so make advance reservations by calling 573-449-3001. Marsalis will perform in the hotel's ballroom that evening at 8:00 p.m.; for tickets, contact the We Always Swing jazz concert series.

* Lisette Dennis of the Regional Arts Commission sends word that the music department of Howard University will be holding scholarship auditions for St. Louis area high school seniors starting at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, March 3 in the band room at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, 3125 S. Kingshighway. Additional auditions will be held as needed on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5. For more information, or to schedule an audition, email Cherri at cherri_t2002 @ yahoo.com.

* Musician and author Peter Buffett is coming to the St. Louis area next week to perform in a benefit for the Virtual Learning Center of Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis, which helps to integrate technology into area classrooms. Buffett, the son of investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett, will present his "Concert & Conversation" at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 16 at the St. Charles Convention Center. The show is billed as the live companion to Buffett's New York Times best-selling book Life is What You Make It: Find Your Own Path to Fulfillment, and features live piano, vocals and cello along with video clips of his film and TV work. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door, $25 for college students with valid student ID, and can be purchased online here.

* When bassist Stanley Clarke was in town last week to perform with pianist Hiromi at Jazz at the Bistro, the staff at Jazz St. Louis got him in front of a video camera for a few minutes to talk about our city's jazz legacy. You can see the clip online here, and check out some photos of Clarke and Hiromi's performance on the JSL Facebook page here.

Stanley Clarke, Hiromi reschedule postponed sets for Monday, February 28

Although bassist Stanley Clarke and pianist Hiromi did manage to make it to St. Louis to perform this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro, they weren't able to play as scheduled on Wednesday after the inclement weather caused their original flight to be canceled.

Jazz St. Louis today announced that those Wednesday sets have been rescheduled for Monday, February 28. Tickets for the Wednesday performances will be valid for the same set on the new date, or can be returned to their original point of purchase for a refund. Tickets that were exchanged for another show in the run will not be valid for the new dates.

If you have questions, you can call the Jazz St. Louis box office at 314-289-4030.

Jazz this week: Stanley Clarke and Hiromi, Sister Swing, "O That Jazz," Hard Bop Heritage, and more

While the worst of this week's winter storm seems to have missed the immediate St. Louis area, it has caused travel problems throughout the region, with many businesses closing and a number of events canceled, postponed or rescheduled.

Most notably for local jazz fans, bassist Stanley Clarke and keyboardist Hiromi were scheduled to begin a series of duo shows tonight at Jazz at the Bistro, but the inclement weather prevented them from flying in on schedule. That forced them to cancel a performance scheduled last night in Columbia, MO as well as tonight's sets at the Bistro.

The latest word from Jazz St. Louis is that Clarke and Hiromi still are coming to St. Louis, and their performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will go on as scheduled. However, at this writing, all shows except for the 10:15 set on Thursday are sold out. There may be some tickets available on the resale market, or, if you're feeling lucky, I suppose you could go down to the Bistro, wait, and see if anyone cancels their reservations, but frankly, that seems like a long shot, so caveat emptor.

For more about Clarke and Hiromi, see this video showcase post from last Saturday; this interview the bassist did with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson, published earlier this week; and this piece by Chris King from last week's St. Louis American

(Jazz St. Louis has said they'll try to reschedule Wednesday's shows; Clarke and Hiromi already have reset their gig in Columbia for Sunday, February 27, so perhaps they'll be able to get here right after that. More details on that as they become available...)

Elsewhere around town, the majority of this weekend's events involve local musicians, most of whom ought to be able to get back to work as the roads are cleared and the area finishes digging out. The exception would be the California-based vocal trio Sister Swing, who are scheduled to perform Sunday at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey; one would hope things will be back to normal at the airport well before then.

Still, given the week's events, it can't hurt to check the local weather conditions, and to call ahead to your venue of choice before heading out in this frigid weather, OK?

Also on Thursday, the sextet Hard Bop Heritage, led by trumpeter Randy Holmes, plays a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and the jazz bands from Webster Groves High School and Middle School will raise money for their band program with their "Cool Nights, Hot Jazz" concert at The Pageant.

On Friday, there's another benefit, as parents and friends of the school music programs in O'Fallon, IL will present "O That Jazz," a fundraising event for the district's student bands. The evening will feature dinner, dancing, and swing music from Wack-A-Doo, and takes place at The Fountains Hotel & Conference Center in Fairview Heights.

Also on Friday, saxophonist Willie Akins will be at Robbie's House of Jazz, accompanied by pianist Simon Rowe, bassist Willem vom Hombracht and drummer Montez Coleman, who back in the early 90s helped him record Alima, his only CD as a bandleader. Akins and the band also will do a free performance and workshop at 11:00 a.m. this Saturday at Saxquest.

On Saturday evening, pianist Heather Bosshardt will lead a trio at Robbie's in celebration of her debut CD release.

On Sunday, the Bossa Nova Restaurant and Lounge in Alton presents their monthly jam session hosted by a band including saxophonist Jason Swagler, guitarist Eric Slaughter, bassist Nick Jost and drummer Marty Morrison.

Looking beyond the weekend, the Sessions Big Band will play on Monday at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, and on Tuesday, Robbie's will host their weekly open jam session.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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.)

(Updated after posting to add the WGHS event at the Pageant.)

Stanley Clarke, Hiromi postpone Wednesday night shows at Jazz at the Bistro

This just in, from Jazz St. Louis director of operations and artistic administration Bob Bennett:

"Due to flights being canceled coming into Lambert Airport on Wednesday, February 2, 2011, Stanley Clarke and Hiromi will not be able to begin their engagement at Jazz at the Bistro until Thursday, February 3, 2011.

We are working on rescheduling Wednesday's performances for a later date and will announce the new date as soon as possible.

Tickets for Wednesday night's shows may be returned to the point of purchase for a refund, or can be used for the new date once announced. All other dates of the engagement will proceed as scheduled."

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Veteran freelance scribe Terry Perkins talked with singer/songwriter/guitarist Javier Mendoza for a St. Louis Beacon story previewing Mendoza's shows this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Meanwhile, St. Louis American editor Chris King interviewed bassist Stanley Clarke about his gig next weekend at the Bistro.

* Radio host, author and photographer Dennis Owsley has a new post this week on St. Louis magazine's Look/Listen blog looking at big bands in the St. Louis area.

* Gutiarist Charlie Hunter, who was in town last week to play the Bistro, also stopped by the studios of KPLR (Channel 11) for a brief interview and performance segment, which has been archived online here.

* Washington University's Gerald Early will serve as moderator and host for a discussion with Ellis Marsalis (pictured) when the veteran New Orleans pianist (and father of Wynton, Branford, Jason and Delfeayo Marsalis) appears next month in Columbia, MO to perform for the We Always Swing concert series.

The discussion, with Q&A session and reception afterward, will take place at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, February 12 in the Monsanto Auditorium of the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center on the Mizzou campus. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited; call 573-449-3001 to reserve a spot. Marsalis and his trio, including son Jason on drums, will perform at 8:00 p.m. the next evening, Sunday, February 13, at the Windsor Ballroom of the Holiday Inn Select in Columbia. Tickets are $20-$35, and can be bought through Ticketmaster or by calling the We Always Swing offices.

* The jazz bands from Webster Groves Middle and High Schools have rescheduled their "Cool Nights, Hot Jazz" concert at The Pageant for Thursday, February 3. The performance, which is a fundraiser for the jazz program in Webster Groves schools, originally was scheduled for last week but was postponed due to snow.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A Stanley Clarke sampler

Today, we shine our video spotlight on bassist Stanley Clarke, who will be back in St. Louis to play a duo gig with pianist Hiromi Uehara starting Wednesday, February 2 through Saturday, February 5 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Clarke has been in St. Louis a couple of times recently, teaming up with keyboardist George Duke in 2006 at the St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival, and during Return to Forever's reunion tour, which played the Fox Theatre in 2009. Both of these shows featured Clarke playing electric bass, an instrument he helped re-define during his rise to fame in the 1970s.

The first video up top features a recent performance of Clarke's signature song "School Days," which served as the title track to the 1976 album that cemented Clarke's status as a trendsetter. This version, from the Northsea Jazz Festival, is undated, but probably comes from the mid-2000s. Down below, though, we go all the way back in the day with our second clip, which features a bushy-haired Clarke working out on his song "Hot Fun" at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival.

As much fun as it is to watch Clarke do his electrified thing on those well-known tunes, the gig at the Bistro will feature Clarke's acoustic bass playing, not his electric work. So, our third clip is an excerpt from a duo gig Clarke did with Hiromi - who customarily goes by her first name only - in June 2010 at the Dakota in Minneapolis, and features both players showing off their considerable chops without amplification. While this performance feels somewhat overstuffed for my taste, I suspect that it's a fairly representative example of what they'll be doing at the Bistro in a couple of weeks.

To balance the scales a bit, the fourth video features a Hiromi/Clarke performance that I liked a bit more. It's from a 2009 acoustic trio gig at the Dakota with Clarke and drummer Lenny White, and features the pianist delivering a relatively concise, hard-boppish solo on "Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise" as Clarke supports her with fast walking lines underneath. Personally, I doubt if I'll ever become a big fan of Hiromi's "more is more" style of pianism, but as always, dear readers, your mileage may vary. For more on the Clarke/Hiromi collaboration, check out this 2009 interview with the bassist.

Notes from the Net: John Zorn's Montreal controversy, Kevin Eubanks unbound, 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:

* In the latest Miles Davis-related news, Michael Bourne reviewed the "We Want Miles" exhibit in Montreal for DownBeat magazine. Coincidentally enough, there's a new live DVD just out of a 1985 Davis concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Elsewhere in North America, Austin, Texas trumpeter Jeff Lofton's Electric Thang recently mounted a tribute to Davis' album Bitches Brew; and bassist Michael Henderson, who anchored Davis' funk-oriented early 1970s bands, is suing rapper Snoop Dogg over music samples.

* Speaking of Montreal, saxophonist (and one-time Webster University student) John Zorn recently led a retrospective of his various Masada ensembles at the Montreal Jazz Festival, then found himself at the center of a controversy after audience members walked out of his subsequent festival concert with Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson. One local journalist even compared the audience response to the premiere of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, a famously contentious event back in 1913.

Coming up for Zorn in August: A three-night stand at Yoshi's in Oakland, featuring a duo concert with Terry Riley, a performance of the improv game "Cobra" with Bay Area improvisors, and more.

* Turning to news of coming attractions, guitarist Kevin Eubanks recently talked with NPR's "Tell Me More" about life after The Tonight Show, while a recent Eubanks gig at LA's Baked Potato is reviewed here by Tony Gieske of the International Review of Music. Eubanks will play at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis on Thursday. July 29.

* Bassist Stanley Clarke's latest CD, featuring the single-named keyboardist Hiromi as part of the band, is reviewed here by AllAboutJazz.com's Jeff Winbush, while AAJ's Ernest Barteldes has a review of a double bill last month at NYC's Carefusion Jazz Fest featuring Clarke's band and the McCoy Tyner Quartet. Clarke and Hiromi will be in St. Louis in February to perform at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Meanwhile, the reunited Jazz Crusaders and Al Jarreau, both set to perform next season at the Touhill under the auspices of Jazz St. Louis, are among the headliners of this year's Long Beach Jazz Festival

* Guitarist John McLaughlin is the subject of Jazz Times' cover story for the July/August issue. You can read an excerpt of the article by Geoffrey Himes here. McLaughlin will be in St. Louis in November to play at Sheldon Concert Hall.

* The Bad Plus' upcoming album Never Stop is set for release on September 14, and will be their first disc to feature all original material (and their eighth release overall). TBP will be the first touring act to play the Bistro in 2011, which will be the fifth consecutive year they've opened at the club.

* Lastly, let's wrap up this installment with links to two pairs of articles of more general interest to jazz fans. First up, PopMatters.com's Will Layman has yet another take on the long-forecast "death" of jazz, while Fred Kaplan, writing for Stereophile magazine, asks "Is Jazz a Young Person's Music After All?" And in another pair of synchronicitous items, the website The Root looks at the economics of being a working jazz musician, while the New York Times' Nate Chinen blogs about jazz and music publishing rights.