Sunday Session: April 5, 2020

Wallace Roney

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

* Out of the Blues: Reflections on the 1960s Revival (Acoustic Guitar)
* What Bob Dylan Is Doing in “Murder Most Foul” (The New Yorker)
* The making of King Crimson's Starless And Bible Black (LouderSound.com)
* Mahler versus Slowthai! - what happened when our pop and classical critics traded jobs? (The Guardian)
* What happens to musicians when all the gigs stop? (The Undefeated.com)
* Robert Glasper On Nu Deco Collab, Crossing Over, Blue Note NYC, Surprise Sets With Dave Chappelle & More [Interview] (LiveForLiveMusic.com)
* Stefon Harris — Vibraphonist, Educator, Thinker — Teaches Empathy From The Bandstand (NPR)
* Van Morrison in lockdown: ‘I am trying to get back into writing songs’ (The Independent)
* Why Astrud Gilberto Is So Much More Than ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Wallace Roney, Intrepid Jazz Trumpeter, Dies From COVID-19 Complications At 59 (NPR)
* The blistering cosmic music of The Black Unity Trio (The Wire)
* Reinventing the Sound of Protest (The Nation)
* Jazz and the Vinyl Renaissance (Jazz Times)
* Here’s Every Painstaking Step That Goes Into Making a Steinway & Sons Grand Piano (RobbReport.com)
* More Jazz Added to National Recording Registry (Jazz Times)
* In Memoriam: Ellis Marsalis (1934–2020) (DownBeat)
* Ellis Marsalis, New Orleans Jazz Patriarch, Dies at 85 (Billboard)
* Pianist and Educator Ellis Marsalis Dies at 85 (Keyboard)
* Branford Marsalis Pays Tribute to His Late Father, Ellis Marsalis Jr. (Billboard)
* Legendary guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli dies at 94 (NJArts.net)
* Bucky Pizzarelli, Jazz Guitarist And Prolific Session Musician, Dead At 94 (NPR)
* Remembering Bucky Pizzarelli (DownBeat)
* From Big Pink to Whitney’s Dream House: Here’s What It’s Like to Live in a Pop Star’s Former Home (Rolling Stone)
* Lakecia Benjamin Pursues a Spiritual Quest (DownBeat)
* Downsizing Is Good at Winter NAMM 2020 (Jazz Times)
* The Revolutionary Free Jazz of Irreversible Entanglements (Bandcamp.com)
* ‘Lean On Me,’ ‘Lovely Day’ singer Bill Withers dies at 81 (Associated Press)
* A Moment to Rethink How We Support Music (The New Yorker)

Jazz this week: Stefon Harris, Nevermore Jazz Ball, Quincy Troupe, Regina Carter, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features not one, but two DownBeat poll-winning musicians on their respective instruments - vibes and violin - plus the year's biggest local event for swing dancers, a spoken-word performance from a confidant of Miles Davis, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 31
Vibraphonist Stefon Harris and his band Blackout return for the first of five nights of performances at Jazz St. Louis.

Winner of this year's DownBeat Critic's Poll as "best vibraphonist," Harris (pictured, top left) is touring in support of his new album Sonic Creed, which his first release as a leader since 2009. For more about that, plus some videos of Harris performing, check out this post from last Saturday.

Thursday, November 1
The eighth annual Nevermore Jazz Ball, a weekend of swing dance events that attracts enthusiasts from all over the country, gets underway with a performance by the Arcadia Dance Orchestra at 2720 Cherokee. Though all-event passes for the weekend are sold out in advance, tickets for the individual events will be sold at the door pending availability.

Also on Thursday, guitarist Vincent Varvel, multi-instrumentalist William Lenihan, drummer Steve Davis and bassist Ric Vice will present a "Tribute to John Abercrombie" in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Elsewhere around town, the Gaslight Cabaret Festival resumes with singer Bob Gerchen's show "Joe Cocker: Never Forget" at the Gaslight Theater, and trumpeter Keith Moyer and his quartet return to The Dark Room.

Friday, November 2
The Nevermore Jazz Ball continues with Miss Jubilee performing at the Casa Loma Ballroom, followed by an after-hours event with music from Austin, TX-based clarinetist Jon Doyle's sextet at the South Broadway Athletic Club.

Also on Friday, poet, author and Miles Davis biographer Quincy Troupe (pictured, center left) will give a spoken-word performance with music from trumpeter George Sams' quartet at St. Louis University's Xavier Hall.

Elsewhere around town, singer and actress Carrie St. Louis performs for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival in the first of two nights at the Gaslight Theater; and keyboardist Jay Oliver's trio and Bach To The Future will share a double-bill at 50/Fifty Kitchen.

Saturday, November 3
Nevermore Jazz Ball continues with three events on Saturday, starting at noon with the "Cherokee Street Jazz Crawl," featuring free live music from more than a dozen bands and solo acts at various locations along Cherokee St. between Jefferson Ave and Nebraska Ave.

The NJB's Saturday evening dance then will feature music from Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders at Casa Loma Ballroom, followed by an after-hours event with the Emily Asher Band at the South Broadway Athletic Club.

Also on Saturday, jazz-fusion band Dreaming In Colour plays a late-afternoon show at BB's Jazz Blues & Soups

Sunday, 
November 4
The St. Louis Record Collector & CD Show presents their fall event at the American Czech Educational Center, while the Friends of Scott Joplin's monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" takes place at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site.

Also on Sunday afternoon, violinist Regina Carter (pictured, bottom left), another DownBeat poll winner, headlines a benefit concert for Community Women Against Hardship at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Elsewhere around town, the Nevermore Jazz Ball wraps up for 2018 with one final performance from Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders at the Boo Cat Club.

Monday, November 5
The Student Jazz Combos from Webster University perform at Webster'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: Stefon Harris and Blackout's "Sonic Creed"

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring vibraphonist Stefon Harris, who's coming to St. Louis to perform starting next Wednesday, October 31 and continuing through Sunday, November 4 at Jazz St. Louis.

Considered one of the top mallet percussionists in jazz, Harris has played here several times in the last few years, most recently as the guest artist with Jazz St. Louis' JazzU student ensemble in June, 2016 at the Bistro.

This time, though, he's got a new album to promote, having just released Sonic Creed at the end of September. It's his first recording as a bandleader since 2009, and eighth overall (not counting the two albums of the "Ninety Miles" project that Harris co-led with trumpeter Christian Scott and saxophonist David Sánchez from 2010 to 2012). It's also Harris' debut release on the Motéma label after putting out seven records on Blue Note, which signed him to his first recording contract back in the late 1990s.

The album features Harris' band Blackout, which includes East St. Louis native Terreon Gully on drums, and seems to be getting a positive response in early reviews. AllAboutJazz.com's Dan Bilawsky praised it as "Harris at his honest and unswerving best," while JazzTrail.net called it "a smooth voyage to the world of jazz masters with imaginative, regenerating sounds deep-rooted in the powerful African American culture."

You can get a taste of some of the material from Sonic Creed in the first video up above, a full set of music recorded just a few weeks ago on September 17, 2018 at the Jazz and Heritage Center in New Orleans. After the jump, you can see a short video "trailer" for the album.

That's followed by clips of a couple of older performances - the first featuring Harris and pianist Alex Brown performing “I Fall in Love Too Easily” in April 2015 at Parlance Chamber Concerts in Ridgewood, NJ, and the second showing a performance of "Ninety Miles" from the 2012 Copenhagen Jazzfestival.

Next, there's an extended video of a performance and demonstration Harris did at a Virginia high school back in 2009, in which he teaches students what to listen for in jazz and talks about his approach to music. Produced by the Kennedy Center, it's obviously somewhat dated, but there's some nice performance footage as well as some interesting insights into Harris' process and personality.

The final video is an extended interview from 2015, recorded as part of New York University's Steinhardt Jazz Interview Series, in which Harris, who teaches at NYU, talks with fellow faculty member David Schroeder about a variety of topics.

For more about Stefon Harris and Sonic Creed, read the cover story about him from the November 2018 issue of DownBeat, and listen to him being interviewed on a recent episode of the revived "Jazz Session" podcast.

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

Jazz this week: Stefon Harris, Miles Davis Jazz Festival, Jeremy Davenport, and more

The unofficial start of summer in St. Louis this week brings with it several jazz and creative music events that local audiences have come to expect around this time of year, including the annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival in Alton; the start of the Whitaker Music Festival; benefit performances raising money for the Sheldon Concert Hall and for music scholarships awarded by Jazz St. Louis; and a gathering of ragtime musicians from all around the country. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, June 1
Tonight, singer Feyza Eren will perform in a free concert kicking off the summer-long Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Thursday, June 2
Minnesota-based jump-blues and swing band Davina and the Vagabonds will play at the Broadway Oyster Bar

Friday, June 3
The fried-dough enthusiasts comprising the staff of Jazz St. Louis will celebrate "National Donut Day" on Friday morning with a free, public event at the Ferring Jazz Bistro, featuring free coffee, milk and donuts from 15 local shops and bakeries, plus live music from students in JSL's education programs, kids' activities, and more.

That evening, vibraphonist Stefon Harris (pictured, top left) will join students from Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program for their annual weekend of performances as Jazz at the Bistro, with two sets on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Also on Friday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to Thurman Grill; the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and saxophonist Austin Cebulski leads a quartet at Cigar Inn.

Saturday, June 4
On Saturday afternoon, Stefon Harris will lead a free workshop for musicians at Jazz at the Bistro, talking about the "Harmony Cloud" ear training system he's created with trombonist and software developer Clif Swiggett.

Saturday evening, the 11th annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival will take place at the Jacoby Arts Center in Alton, featuring pianist Phil Dunlap leading a nonet playing music from Davis' Birth of the Cool, plus sets from saxophonist Fred Walker, the Dilbert Caldwell Band, and the duo Me and Bob.

Elsewhere around town, South Korean saxophonist Lukas Insung Lee will play at Evangeline's; guitarist Dave Black will present a concert of his original music at Focal Point; and trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Randy Bahr's All-Star Band returns to Nathalie's.

Sunday, June 5
Sunday afternoon offers several noteworthy shows, starting with trumpeter, singer and U City native Jeremy Davenport (pictured, bottom left) who will be back home to headline the annual spring benefit for the Sheldon Concert Hall.

At about the same time, the Friends of Scott Joplin will present their "Ragtime Afterglow Party" at Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, featuring informal performances from various musicians involved in this weekend's Scott Joplin Festival in Sedalia, MO.

Meanwhile, Jazz St. Louis will be presenting the third annual Richard McDonnell Scholarship Concert at Jazz at the Bistro. The event, which raises money for music scholarships awarded in the name of the late founder of MAXJAZZ Records, runs from mid-afternoon through the evening, with performers including Jazz St. Louis' student All-Stars, alumni of JSL's JazzU program, pianist Carolbeth True's trio, Funky Butt Brass Band, Good 4 the Soul with singer Anita Jackson, a closing set featuring trumpeter Sean Jones and pianist Peter Martin, and more.

Monday, June 6
Trombonists Wayne Coniglio and Scott Whitfield will team up to lead a quintet at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

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.)

Sunday Session: April 17, 2016

Cecil Taylor

Some interesting music-related items that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Steve Miller with Jimmie Vaughan: Live at JALC - Blues, roots and "Blue Skies" (Jazz Times)
* Tony Conrad: 1940–2016 (Frieze.com)
* Tony Conrad: 10 Essential Recordings From the Drone Pioneer (Rolling Stone)
* This Is How Much Summer Festival Players Earn -- From VIP Experience Valets to Main-Stage Bookers (Billboard)
* See Newly Discovered Photos Of Jazz Legends Playing In Portland (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
* Bill Evans Studio Album Unearthed (DownBeat)
* John Cage composition hidden for 38 years makes its debut in Los Angeles (The Guardian UK)
* Clarksdale Mississippi’s Juke Joint Festival Is Revitalizing the Birthplace of the Blues (AmericanBluesScene.com)
* Here’s why the music labels are furious at YouTube. Again. (Recode.net)
* What Are The Odds Of Landing A Pop Hit? (TheFader.com)
* Jazz Fest Producer Quint Davis on Surviving Katrina, the 'Economics of Creativity' and Making an Eclectic Lineup Work (Billboard)
* The Cleanest Recordings of 1920s Louis Armstrong Songs You’ll Ever Hear (OpenCulture.com)
* Moog’s DIY Kit Is a Fantastic Crash Course for Synth Noobs (Wired)
* Free, Open Spaces: Brian Eno's Favourite Records (The Quietus)
* Gordon Presents Original Film Score at Savannah Music Fest (DownBeat)
* Omnivore To Release Singer-Songwriter Box Set by Beat Poet Allen Ginsberg (DownBeat)
* Despite health problems, jazz legend Sonny Rollins, 85, vows to return to form (South China Morning Post)
* Even Superlungs has to pay the pawn shop (Washington Post)
* The Unoriginal Originality of Led Zeppelin (The New Yorker)
* The 28 best jazz films (The Telegraph UK)
* Sounds of the Future: A Historical Primer on Synths in Sci-Fi Movies (Soundfly.com)
* The Untold History of Aretha Franklin's Irrevocable "Respect" (Elle)
* Review: Cecil Taylor at the Whitney Museum - Episodic and reactive, a series of unfolding events (Jazz Times)
* Cecil Taylor review – double helping of magic from free jazz pioneer (The Guardian UK)
* Q&A With Stefon Harris: A Manifestation of Artistry (DownBeat)
* Tom Waits Makes a List of His Top 20 Favorite Albums of All Time (OpenCulture.com)

Jazz this week: Chris Botti, JazzU with Stefon Harris, Don Cunningham, U City Jazz Festival, Daniel Bennett, and more

This week's lineup of jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis encompasses musicians with a vast range of experience, from young teenage players getting their first chances onstage at a showcase club to an elder statesman who got his start more than a half-century ago in the fabled Gaslight Square entertainment district. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, June 3
Billed as the "New York Jazz Ensemble," bassist Tom Kennedy, saxophonists George Garzone and Steve Wirts, guitarist Joe Cohn and drummer Miles Vandiver will play an early evening show at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Also on Wednesday, the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra will make their debut at Jazz at the Bistro.

Thursday, June 4
Singer Feyza Eren teams with guitarist Brian Vaccaro's trio to re-imagine songs from a variety of genres at the Tavern of Fine Arts; guitarist Dave Black and friends, featuring singer Joe Mancuso, return to Nathalie's; and saxophonist Jim Stevens and band will perform at Hammerstone's.

Friday, June 5
If there's a sentimental favorite among this week's jazz and creative music attractions, it would have to be singer, multi-instrumentalist and St. Louis native Don Cunningham.

Cunningham (pictured, top left), a veteran of the Gaslight Square era who now lives in Las Vegas, is returning to his hometown this weekend for his first performances since his wife and musical partner, singer and pianist Alicia Cunningham, passed away back in December.

He'll be joined by singer Jeanne Trevor and a local rhythm section for shows paying tribute to his wife and the late St. Louis singer Gene Lynn on Friday and Saturday nights, plus a Sunday matinee, at the Ozark Theatre.

Also on Friday, trumpeter Chris Botti (pictured, center left) returns to St. Louis for the first time since 2012 for a performance with the St. Louis Symphony at Powell Hall; and the students from Jazz St. Louis' JazzU and Jazz St. Louis All-Stars programs will begin their annual weekend showcase at Jazz at the Bistro, with a little help from special guest vibraphonist Stefon Harris (pictured, lower left).

Elsewhere around town, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will perform at Evangeline's; the Funky Butt Brass Band check in for their monthly gig at Broadway Oyster Bar; and the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom.


Saturday, June 6
Starting mid-afternoon and continuing through the evening, the annual U City Jazz Festival in Heman Park will present free performances by drummer Demarius Hicks' quartet, the Silverman Brothers Band, trumpeter Anthony Wiggins with drummer Maurice Carnes, pianist Philip Gomez' trio, and the student band Nexus.

Also on Saturday, pianist Greg Mills and the Perihelion Ensemble return to the Tavern of Fine Arts; and The People's Key offer instrumental interpretations of the music of Michael Jackson at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Sunday, June 7
The Friends of Scott Joplin present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" matinee at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, this month welcoming performs who will have just played the annual Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia; and Good 4 The Soul plays their monthly show at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Tuesday June 9
Saxophonist Daniel Bennett, touring in support of his new album The Mystery at Clown Castle, will play a free concert with his trio in the auditorium at the downtown branch of the St. Louis Public Library.

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

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

Jazz this week: Kenny Barron & Stefon Harris, No BS! Brass Band, Branford Marsalis, and more

Considering that it's still mid-winter and pre-Mardi Gras, it looks like there's a nice variety of jazz and creative music over the next few days in St. Louis, with everything from intimate duets to roaring big bands on the musical menu. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 4
Pianist Kenny Barron and vibraphonist Stefon Harris (pictured, top left) begin a four-night run of duo performances at Jazz at the Bistro. You can get a close-up look and listen to Barron's considerable pianistic skills in this video post from last Saturday.

Also tonight, the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra offers "A Tribute to Stan Kenton" at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Thursday, February 5
Guitarist Chris Burchett will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, while guitarist Stuart Johnson plays standards at Thurman Grill.

Friday, February 6
The Ambassadors of Swing will play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; singer Joe Mancuso fronts a trio at EdgeWild Restaurant & Winery; and keyboardists Matt Villinger and Adam Maness will team up to perform at Thurman Grill.

Over on the east side of the Mississippi, the Midwest Jazz-tette will bring their West Coast "cool jazz" inspired sound to The Abbey Espresso Bar & Cafe in Belleville; and pianist Dave Becherer leads a trio at Cigar Inn.

Saturday, February 7
Pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True will play the house concert venue KindaBlue, 6101 1/2 Idaho;  trumpeter Jim Manley and pianist Arthur Toney will be at One 19 North Tapas and Wine Bar; the Sidemen will play vintage swing at Evangeline's; and singer Feyza Eren will lead a quartet in concert at The Chapel.

Sunday, February 8
Inspired by the New Orleans brass band tradition but hailing from Richmond, Virginia, the No BS! Brass Band (pictured, lower left) will perform at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Also on Sunday, the Dave Dickey Big Band plays their monthly gig at Jazz at the Bistro, with an intermission performance by the Ft. Zumwalt North HS Jazz Band.

Monday, February 9
While saxophonist Branford Marsalis' one-nighter at Jazz at the Bistro has been sold out for some time now,  there are several other jazz performances happening on Monday, including pianist Kim Portnoy's trio at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium; singer Dean Christopher's "Rat Pack & More" at One 19 North Tapas and Wine Bar; and Animal Children at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Tuesday, February 10
The Sheldon Concert Hall will be presenting jazz both morning and night, with the St. Louis Stompers playing a "Coffee Concert" in the morning, and vocal group Java Jived teaming up with the Midwest Jazz-tette for a "Notes From Home" concert in the evening.

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

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Kenny Barron

Today, let's take a look at some video clips featuring pianist Kenny Barron, who will be performing with vibraphonist Stefon Harris starting next Wednesday, February 4 through Saturday, February 7 at Jazz at the Bistro. This will be his first time playing at the Bistro since 2010, when he did a run of duo piano performances with the late Mulgrew Miller. He also led his own group there back in 2006.

Now 71 years old, Barron is a Philadelphia native who first gained wide attention in the early 1960s working with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. He's also performed and recorded with Stan Getz, Yusef Lateef, James Moody, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, and many other significant jazz musicians, and is known for exploring the music of Thelonious Monk as a co-leader of the group Sphere.

When not engaged in these sorts of collaborations, leading his own bands, or playing solo, Barron also is a jazz educator who taught music for more than 25 years at Rutgers University and currently teaches at Juilliard. Though perhaps not quite as well-known among casual jazz fans as his contemporaries Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, or McCoy Tyner, Barron is a versatile and technically accomplished player who's very well-regarded among his fellow musicians, and he was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2010.

In the first video up above, you can see and hear him playing "Autumn Leaves" in a trio with bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Alan Dawson (undated but presumably from the early 1990s, as Dawson passed away in 1996). After the jump, there's a clip of Barron playing "Have You Met Miss Jones" with Cranshaw and Grady Tate on drums, recorded in 1995 in Japan 

That's followed by two duets with bassist Dave Holland, another recurring collaborator of Barron's in recent years. They're seen here playing "Billie's Bounce" and "Calypso" in 2012 at the Jazz à la Villette festival in France.

The last two videos are solo performances - first, "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," recorded in 2000 at the Jazz à Marciac festival, also in France, followed by a medley of Duke Ellington songs including "Lotus Blossom," "Single Petal of a Rose," "Melancholia,' and "Star-Crossed Lovers," recorded in 2010 at Marciac.

For more about Kenny Barron, check out this interview from 2013; this 2013 compilation from writer Ted Panken of a 2005 Down Beat feature and WKCR Interviews From 1991 and 2004; and this 2003 "fireside chat" from AllAboutJazz.com.

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2015 jazz preview, part 2

Today, we continue with part two of StLJN's winter/spring 2015 jazz preview, this time covering musicians and groups who will be visiting St. Louis during the first part of February. (To see part 1, which covers January, go here.)

The month will begin with a series of performances featuring pianist Kenny Barron and vibraphonist Stefon Harris, starting Wednesday, February 4 and continuing through Saturday, February 7 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Though Barron and Harris have paired up before, this short clip featuring a Barron solo from the 2013 Marciac Jazz Festival seems to be the only video documentation online. So instead, we've got clips here featuring each of them individually. Barron can be heard up top with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Carl Allen playing his composition "Cook's Bay" in October 2013 at the Jarasum International Jazz Festival in South Korea. Down below, Harris and his band, including Nic Payton on trumpet and David Sanchez on saxophone, perform "Ninety Miles" at the 2012 Copenhagen Jazz Festival.

After that, you can check out the No BS! Brass Band playing their version of Charles Mingus' "Haitian Fight Song" in August 2013 for the web series Audiotree Live. They'll be here in St. Louis on Sunday, February 8 to play at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Next up is saxophonist Branford Marsalis, who brings his band to St. Louis the very next evening (Monday, February 9) for a one-nighter at Jazz at the Bistro. Marsalis is seen here sitting in on a gig led by his pianist Joey Calderazzo this past summer at Pizza Express in London, in which the two of them plus bassist Orlando Le Fleming and drummer Donald Edwards take on "The Mighty Sword" from Marsalis' 2012 album Four MFs Playin' Tunes.

On Saturday, February 14, actors and cabaret singers Liz Callaway (the sister of longtime St. Louis favorite Ann Hampton Callaway) and Jason Graae will perform their show "Happily Ever Laughter: A Valentine's Party" at 560 Music Center for Washington University's "Ovations" series.

In addition to her live performances, Callaway over the years also has been the singing voice of a number of characters in animated movies, and here she can be seen in a audience-filmed clip from this past July performing "Journey to the Past" from the 1997 film Anastasia. That's followed by Graae singing "The Moment Has Passed," also filmed this past July as part of a tribute to Off-Broadway musicals staged in NYC by the indie label and production company Kritzerland.

Today's final video features keyboardist Jeff Lorber, who will bring his band featuring saxophonist Eric Marienthal and bassist Jimmy Haslip to St. Louis from Wednesday, February 18 through Saturday, February 21 to play at Jazz at the Bistro. They're seen here playing Lorber's song "Rain Dance" at a gig in June 2013 at Spaghettini in Los Angeles.

Look for part three of the winter/spring 2015 jazz preview here next week. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Jazz this week: Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, Oikos Ensemble, Lauren Sevian, Freddie Washington, Cornet Chop Suey, and more

It's another busy weekend for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with a number of touring musicians in town for the ninth annual Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival and an extensive menu of shows featuring St. Louis musicians, too. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, baritone saxophonist Lauren Sevian will present an early evening performance and master class at Saxquest. Sevian is in town to serve as a clinician/adjudicator for the daytime, educational portion of the GSLJF, which involves a competition for student jazz big bands and combos from around the area. She'll also be a guest with the UMSL Big Band during their festival performances, opening the show for Friday and Saturday's headliners.

Right around the time Sevian is wrapping up, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and trumpeter Sean Jones will be teaming up for the first of two sets at Jazz at the Bistro. Harris and Jones also have been serving as clinician/adjudicators for the student combo portion of the GSLJF, and from what I can tell, it sounds like they're using Harris' band as the rhythm section for their gig at the Bistro. (You can read a review of Harris' show last week in Kansas City here.)

Update, 4:30 p.m., 4/19/12: The latest word now is that Harris, in fact, did not bring his band with him, and he and Jones will be backed by Ken Kehner (piano), Marty Morrison (drums) and Jahmal Nichols (bass). The latest tweet from Jazz St. Louis also indicates they'll be playing familiar material including "Soul Eyes," "Resolution," "Dolphin Dance," and "Giant Steps,"

For more about the GSLJF, check out this video preview post from last Saturday, and this post over at St. Louis magazine's Look/Listen blog based on an interview with Jim Widner, director of the UMSL jazz program and the GSLJF.

Also on Thursday night, saxophonist Freddie Washington will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Washington's gig is the final Jazz at Holmes show of the semester, and the email announcement for it also stated that, unlike the past couple of years, there will be no summer Jazz at Holmes series this year. So, looks like this week's JaH concert will be the last one until September, which seems like a long time away.

On Friday, the GSLJF continues with percussionist Poncho Sanchez and his band with guest trumpeter Terence Blanchard (pictured) at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. They'll be playing music from Chano y Dizzy!, their 2011 CD paying tribute to conga drummer/composer Chano Pozo and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. The UMSL Big Band will open the show.

Also on Friday, guitarist Matthew Von Doran will be the featured performer in the second installment of the new Friday night series at City Music; Three Central will bring their smooth jazz sound to Robbie's House of Jazz; the St. Louis Big Band plays a concert at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 4029 Blow St.; and guitarist Eric Slaughter and his trio are playing at the Cigar Inn.

On Saturday, there are a couple of notable daytime events, as trad jazz and swing band Cornet Chop Suey plays a mid-day show at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra clarinetist Diana Haskell presents a workshop and performance at Saxquest.

Then on Saturday night, the GSLJF concludes with the St. Louis debut of bassist Christian McBride's big band at the Touhill. Again, the UMSL Big Band is scheduled to open the show.

Also on Saturday night, the Funky Butt Brass Band will perform at the newish Midtown venue Plush; and saxophonist Matt McKeever's trio plays at Robbie's.

On Sunday afternoon, the Oikos Ensemble, featuring saxophonist Clifford Aerie, will present a performance at First Congregational Church in Webster Groves to benefit the Sunshine Cultural Arts Center in East St. Louis.

Also on Sunday afternoon, Cornet Chop Suey will play a matinee concert at Lewis & Clark Community College; and a bit later on, the Dave Dickey Big Band will take the stage for their monthly gig at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company, with Metrobones as the intermission act.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Webster University Jazz Singers will give their final performance of the semester at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the main Webster campus.

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

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Previewing the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival

This week, let's take a look at the musicians who will be performing at next week's Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival.

The GSLJF actually will begin on Wednesday with a series of performances and adjudications of local high school jazz combos at Jazz at the Bistro. That continues on Thursday, followed by a similar program of performances and adjudications for student big bands at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on Friday and Saturday. The festival schedule (.pdf file) says these events are free and open to the public, but there's no specific information there or anywhere on the GSLJF site about starting or ending times, or which bands might be playing when.

The festival's headlining performances begin on Thursday evening, when vibraphonist Stefon Harris and trumpeter Sean Jones will play two sets at the Bistro. You can see Harris in the embedded video window up above, performing "The Afterthought" with bassist Ben Williams, pianist Sullivan Fortner, and drummer (and East St. Louis's own) Terreon Gully. Down below, you can see Jones perform the song "Transitions" in a clip from the 2010 Detroit Jazz Festival.

On Friday night, percussionist Poncho Sanchez and his band plus special guest trumpeter Terence Blanchard will be at the Touhill. They'll be playing material from Chano y Dizzy!, their 2011 CD paying tribute to conga drummer/composer Chano Pozo and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, whose pioneering collaboration in the 1940s laid the groundwork for today's Latin jazz.

Today's clip of them is excerpted from a performance in February 2011 at Yoshi's in Oakland, and features a cover of Mongo Santamaria's "Besame Mama" in which Blanchard and Sanchez' regular trumpeter Ron Blake trade eight-bar breaks. For more about the Sanchez/Blanchard alliance, check out this review of a show of theirs from earlier this year in Virginia.

The GSLJF wraps up on Saturday night with a performance by bassist Christian McBride's big band at the Touhill. McBride won the 2012 Grammy Award for "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Recording" for the band's debut release The Good Feeling, but there's not really any performance video of them online, except for an electronic press kit created to support the CD's initial release.

To fill in some of the back story, I had hoped to interview McBride for a piece to run next week on the RFT Music Blog, but alas, his "people" turned down the request for an interview. (Whether this was out of general disdain for the press, St. Louis, or the GSLJF, or a more specific disdain for the RFT or yours truly, is anyone's guess. Said "people" implied that interviews were granted to others here in St. Louis, so I suspect the latter, but we'll have to wait and see what sort of coverage turns up elsewhere in the next few days. )

Until then, all that's left to do is put up a couple more clips, the first of which shows McBride and the Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra in 2011 playing "Shake and Blake," the leadoff track from the Good Feeling CD. While next Saturday's concert at the Touhill no doubt will feature a completely different lineup of musicians, this video and the one below it of the song "Broadway," also from The Good Feeling and recorded at the same Detroit gig, at least provide some examples of McBride's approach and arranging style.

Jazz St. Louis adds more performers to 2011-12 season

Jazz St. Louis today announced several more performances by touring jazz artists that will be part of their 2011-12 season.

A double bill of singer Dianne Reeves and pianist Ahmad Jamal, each appearing separately with their own group, has been booked for Sunday, November 6 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, filling the third date in Jazz St. Louis' new "Legends" series that was listed as "TBA" when the bulk of JSL's 2011-12 season was announced last month.

In addition, pianist Robert Glasper (pictured) has been booked to play at Jazz at the Bistro on Friday, February 10 and Saturday, February 11; and vibraphonist Stefon Harris and trumpeter Sean Jones will team up to perform on Thursday, April 19 at the Bistro as part of that week's Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival.

The big surprise here is Glasper, who at one point seemed to have burned his bridges with JSL after canceling some previous dates at the Bistro on relatively short notice. Obviously, those bridges got repaired, and now St. Louis jazz fans finally will get a chance to see Glasper, whose attempts to combine jazz, hip-hop and experimental sounds have made him one of the most talked-about pianists of his generation.

Reeves, Jamal, Jones and Harris all have played St. Louis within the past couple of years - and Reeves has an additional connection to our town in the person of her pianist and music director Peter Martin - but the double bill involving the first two and the collaborative effort of the latter two should put slightly different twists on the respective performances, and both pairings certainly offer additional value for ticket buyers.

Tickets for Dianne Reeves and Ahmad Jamal are priced at $150, $60 and $40 and go on sale at 10:00 a.m. next Tuesday, June 14 via the Touhill ticket office or by phone at 314-516-4949. Tickets for Robert Glasper will be $25 and $10 for students; and for Harris and Jones, $30 and $10 for students. Those shows go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 16 online via Metrotix or by phone at 314-534-1111.

Tickets now on sale for JEN Conference concerts

Single tickets are now on sale for the three evening concerts that will be presented as part of the first-ever Jazz Education Network Conference, which takes place Thursday, May 20 through Saturday, May 22 in St. Louis.

All three concerts, as well various other conference events, will be presented at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The show on the evening of Thursday, May 20 will feature the Brubeck Institute Quintet; the Caswell Sisters; the JEN All-Stars, hosted by bassist John Clayton; and the Army Blues “Pershing’s Own,” directed by CW5 Charles Vollherbst.

Then on Friday, May 21, it's the acappella vocal sextet Sixth Wave; bassist Rufus Reid (pictured) and his Out Front Trio; and the University of Missouri - St. Louis Big Band, directed by Jim Widner with special guests percussionist Ruben Alvarez, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and trumpeter Wayne Bergeron.

The concert on Saturday, May 22 features the Hannes Sigfridsson Trio, a group of young musicians from Sweden; a duo set from trumpeter Marvin Stamm and pianist Bill Mays; singer Rosana Eckert & Friends, with pianist Shelly Berg, bassist Lou Fischer, drummer Ndugu Chancler and percussionist Gary Eckert; and the Clayton Brothers Quintet, featuring bassist John Clayton, his brother Jeff Clayton on alto sax and his son Gerald Clayton on piano, plus trumpeter Terell Stafford and drummer Obed Calvaire.

Tickets (or in the conference's parlance, "registrations") for each evening concert are $30, and can be purchased online here (Thursday), here (Friday) and here (Saturday). Those who register for the entire conference or purchase a one-day pass get their tickets as part of the package; for more information on conference registrations, go here.

Jazz St. Louis polling fans on potential Bistro bookings

Once again this year, Jazz St. Louis is looking for input from local jazz fans regarding who they'd like to see booked next season at Jazz at the Bistro. Interested individuals may offer their opinions by responding to a survey on the Jazz St. Louis Web site.

Musicians listed in the poll as under consideration for the Bistro's 2010-11 season include Patricia Barber, Bill Charlap, Stefon Harris, Lionel Loueke, Russell Malone, Gretchen Parlato, Jeremy Pelt, Chris Potter, Christian Scott, Esperanza Spalding (pictured) and Tierney Sutton.

Jazz St. Louis also is accepting "write-in" suggestions on their Facebook fan page and, presumably, via other means such as email, postal mail and in person as well. Many of the artists in this year's survey have played the Bistro at least once before, with the exceptions including Loueke, Parlato, Potter and Scott. JSL usually announces the next season's lineup for the Bistro in the latter part of May.

Jazz this week: Stefon Harris, Eastern Blok, poetry and music from BAG, a benefit for the Backstoppers, and more

Topping this week's list of jazz musicians performing in St. Louis is vibraphonist Stefon Harris (pictured), who's playing at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday. Harris has worked as a sideman with well-known players such as Kenny Barron, Steve Turre and Charlie Hunter, and has released several critically acclaimed albums as a leader, distinguishing himself as one of the most important new voices on his instrument to emerge in recent years.

Elsewhere on the "touring artists" front, on Saturday the Chicago based-group Eastern Blok, featuring guitarist Goran Ivanovic, will bring their fusion of jazz, classical, folk and Balkan music to Pop's Blue Moon.

There also are some noteworthy shows involving St. Louis musicians this weekend. starting tonight, when guitarist Steve Schenkel does a free concert at Washington University as part of the Jazz at Holmes series.

On Friday, BAG presents a program of poetry and music featuring Alima Sadiq Afsal and Zimbabwe Nkenya at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe. And on Sunday, Anita Rosamond, the Tom Kennedy Trio, Wild Cool & Swingin' and several other local jazz and pop artists will team up for a concert at The Pageant to benefit the Backstoppers. Read more in my RFT Critic's Pick on the show, found online here. Beyond the weekend, singer Denise Thimes has a concert scheduled Tuesday at the Sheldon as part of the venue's "Notes From Home" series.

For more, please consult the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar. (Please note that, as is usual around the first of the month, new listings are still being added as they come in from various venues and musicians.)

(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 at the Movies: Stefon Harris, plus Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers

This week, we've got more "coming attractions" previews, starting with a clip of mallet percussionist Stefon Harris, who comes to Jazz at the Bistro for a four-night stand beginning on Halloween. Perhaps on opening night Harris will have some suitably eerie/spooky/monstrous material appropriate to the occasion, but here you can see seven minutes worth of his composition "And This Too Shall Pass," recorded live at a soundcheck last year. That's St. Louis native Greg Osby on saxophone, and the pianist is Jason Moran, who will headline his own gig at the Bistro next year from January 30 - February 2.

The second video features the traditional jazz and swing sounds of singer Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, who will be in St. Louis on Saturday, November 10 to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The nine minute clip was recorded just last month, and shows them doing "I Want A Little Boy" and "Walk Right In".