Brian Culbertson to perform Sunday, November 21 at The Pageant

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson will return to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, November 21 at The Pageant.

Culbertson (pictured) has a new album, The Trilogy: Red, set for release in September. He had been scheduled to perform at The Pageant in May 2020 as part of the tour supporting his then-most-recent album, 2020's XX, but the concert was postponed due to the COVID pandemic. Before that, his last St. Louis appearance was in September 2019 as part of the "Smooth Jazz Cruise on Land" at Chesterfield Amphitheater.

Tickets for Brian Culbertson at The Pageant start at $49.50, and will go on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday, July 30 via Ticketmaster and The Pageant box office.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The concert by singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina that streamed live last Saturday from The Pageant now can be viewed online.

* The Kranzberg Arts Foundation has published the results of their survey asking audience members about what would make them feel safe returning to live performance venues in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic..

* Upcoming outdoor concerts at The Dark Room and the National Blues Museum were previewed in a story from St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin.

* Pianist Adam Maness' arrangement of "America the Beautiful" has been recorded by singer Malena Smith and musicians from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as part of "Songs of America," a new patriotic-themed video series from SLSO. You can see the music video for the song here, and the rest of the "Songs of America" series here.

Jazz this week: COVID-19 outbreak leads to cancellations, postponements

With the COVID-19 crisis leading to restrictions on the size of public gatherings and the closing of local bars and restaurants for everything but delivery and takeout service, all live music in St. Louis is effectively shut down for the next eight weeks.

A number of local presenters and venues have announced specific details about closings, cancellations, postponements, refunds for tickets already purchased, and related issues. Those announcements include:

* Jazz St. Louis released a statement this week saying that they are postponing all performances at their facility until at least Wednesday, May 27, and are suspending educational programs, including Jazz U and Jazz Academy, until at least April 3.

The statement continued, "Ticketholders do not have to do anything at this time except keep their tickets. They will be honored for the rescheduled show. We already are working with the artists to reschedule this Spring’s shows. Once we have done so, we will notify you of the dates and you will have the opportunity at that time to change nights or apply the value of your tickets toward a different show."

* The Sheldon Concert Hall has canceled or postponed all scheduled events through May 1. Plans to reschedule some events are underway, and ticket buyers have been told to retain their current tickets, as they will be honored for the new date. For details on which shows have been postponed and which will not be rescheduled, see The Sheldon's website.

* The Pageant, Delmar Hall and Blueberry Hill have postponed or cancelled all shows through the end of April. Details on rescheduling, refunds and related issues can be found on a dedicated page on The Pageant's website.

* The Kranzberg Arts Foundation has closed all its associated venues, including The Dark Room, Kranzberg Arts Center, .ZACK, Grandel Theatre, Sophie's Artist Lounge and High Low, through May 11. Ticket holders for events at these venues will be contacted by Metrotix to ask if they want a refund or would like to donate the money to KAF.

* A post on social media from Broadway Oyster Bar announced that "BOB's dining and music venues will be closed until further notice," while the restaurant continuing to offer carryout and delivery service.

* Blue Strawberry sent out an email stating that they will be "closing our doors for the next 16 days. Our next currently open day is Thursday, April 2." Tickets already purchased will honored for rescheduled dates, can be exchanged for another scheduled show, or can be refunded, depending on the buyer's preference.

While not every venue or presenter has made a specific announcement yet, given current conditions the default assumption at this time should be that they are closed. For specific details, check their websites (many of which are linked on the sidebar here) and/or social media, or call.

As for StLJN, since a lot of the coverage here revolves around live shows, things here will be changing for the time being, too.

This likely will be the last "Jazz This Week" post for a while, until local presenters and venues start up again. The regular round-ups of local news and recent music-related links will continue on Fridays and Sundays, respectively, and there will be Saturday video posts, though they'll be focused on topics other than previewing upcoming performances.

In addition, StLJN will continue to cover any relevant breaking news as it happens, so to make sure you don't miss out on anything, subscribe to the StLJN email digest (it's free!), and follow StLJN on Facebook and Twitter.

Brian Culbertson to perform Saturday, May 2 at The Pageant

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson is returning to St. Louis next year to perform on Saturday, May 2 at The Pageant.

Culbertson (pictured) will be touring in support of his upcoming album XX, which will be released in April 2020. He previously played here most recently in September of this year as part of the "Smooth Jazz Cruise on Land" at Chesterfield Amphitheater.

Tickets for the all-ages show are $49.50 and $39.50, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. next Friday, November 15 via Ticketmaster and the Pageant box office.

Jazz this week: Terence Blanchard, Matthew Whitaker, Trombone Shorty, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features a couple of noteworthy free events, the local debut as a leader of an up-and-coming keyboardist, the return of one of New Orleans' favorites, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, June 5
Trumpeter Terence Blanchard and his electric band, the E-Collective (pictured, top left), will play a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Blanchard has been a frequent visitor in recent months as Opera Theatre of St. Louis prepares to premiere his second opera, Fire Shut Up In My Bones, later this month. For this gig, he and the E-Collective likely will be leaning on material from their two Blue Note releases, 2015's Breathless and 2018's Live, but perhaps Blanchard will use the occasion to try out something new as well.

Also on Wednesday, keyboardist Matthew Whitaker makes his Jazz St. Louis debut as a bandleader with the first of five nights of performances continuing through Sunday.

A late addition to the season schedule to compensate subscribers for Dr. Lonnie Smith's cancelled dates last fall, Whitaker is an 18-year-old phenom originally from New Jersey. Although blind since birth, he has progressed rapidly to professional status after studying at Harlem School of the Arts and the Manhattan School of Music's pre-college program.

Whitaker released his first album in 2017 with a supporting cast including heavyweights like bassist Christian McBride and saxophonist James Carter, and already has played major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and the Apollo Theater.

Thursday, June 6
Pianist Adam Maness' trio is back at Thurman's in Shaw, fusion trio Tracer plays at  The Dark Room, and saxophonist Vince Sala leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, June 7
Trombonist, trumpeter and singer Trombone Shorty (pictured, bottom left) and his band Orleans Avenue will perform at The Pageant.

You can see some recent video of Shorty (real name: Troy Andrews) and find out more about what he's been up to recently in this post from last Saturday. 

Also on Friday, singer Jan Shapiro and pianist Dave Venn, abetted by bassist Ben Wheeler, will reunite with an old friend, drummer Henry Ettman, for a show at the Ozark Theatre.

The gig brings together Shapiro, Venn and Ettman for the first time in more than 40 years; look for more on that in Friday's "So What" post.

Elsewhere around town, the Hard Bop Messengers return to Evangeline's; Tony Viviano sings music associated with Dean Martin at Table Three; and guitarist Brian Vaccaro leads a trio at Cigar Inn.

Saturday, June 8
Due to conflicts between city government and the organizers of Fair U City, the U City Jazz Festival, for this year at least, has moved to Gazebo Park in Webster Groves and been renamed the Old Orchard Jazz Festival.

Featured performers at the free event, which runs from early afternoon through the evening, will include the Fusion Warriors, led by bassist Darrell Mixon, offering a "Tribute to Stanley Clarke," as well as Bach to the Future, Joe Mancuso, Soul Cafe, Mo Egeston All-Stars, The Avant-Gardians with Maurice Carnes, and Morphelonious.

If you're planning to attend, you may want to arrive early, as Gazebo Park is smaller than Heman Park, the fest's usual/previous site, and the event also is running concurrently with the Webster Arts Fair. The Arts Fair, with music by Dizzy Atmosphere, the Webster Groves HS Jazz Band, and various other acts on Saturday, will be happening just a few blocks to the west on the grounds of Eden Seminary, which means parking in the general vicinity could be scarce.

Update, 4:30 p.m. 6/5/19: Due to the possibly of bad weather on Saturday, the Old Orchard Jazz Fest has been moved indoors to the Ozark Theatre, located on Lockwood Ave to the east of gazebo Park, and will run from 2:00 p.m.  to 10:00 p.m.

Also on Saturday, the Alton Museum of History and Art presents their annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival, this year featuring saxophonist Michael Fitzgerald, guitarist Tim Jarden and singer Carmen Bonner, at Jacoby Arts Center

Sunday, June 9
Bassist and singer Janet Evra plays for brunch at The Dark Room, and the St. Louis Symphony with singers Dee Daniels and Denzal Sinclaire will pay tribute to the Cole family of pop/jazz fame with a program called "Unforgettable: Nat and Natalie" at Powell Hall.

Monday, June 10
Pianist and singer Jesse Gannon returns to The Dark Room.

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 Trombone Shorty

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring Trombone Shorty and his band Orleans Avenue, who will be returning to St. Louis to perform next Friday, June 7 at The Pageant.

Since he last played here in 2015, Shorty (aka Troy Andrews) has continued to enjoy crossover success, touring frequently in the USA and overseas and putting out the album Parking Lot Symphony, released in 2017 on Blue Note Records.

This year, he also was selected as the closing act for New Orleans Jazzfest, a spot that traditionally has been reserved for the most popular local act, and was occupied for many years by the Neville Brothers. It was a passing-the-torch sort of moment, marking Trombone Shorty as a leader among his generation of NOLA musicians.

Given his multiple previous appearances and already-considerable fanbase here in St. Louis, today's collection of clips skips the introductions to focus on recent performances, starting up above with "Where It At?," recorded during Shorty's appearance in January of this year on the PBS series Austin City Limits.

After the jump, you can see two more performances, "Hurricane Season" and "Do to Me/When the Saints Go Marching In," that were recorded for that same Austin City Limits show but not included in the broadcast.

Next, you can see Shorty demonstrate his circular breathing technique on a version of the venerable standard "On The Sunny Side of the Street," as recorded in March of this year at a gig in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

That's followed by a full set of music recorded in February 2019 at Sweetwater Brewery in Atlanta, and finally, a version of "Tripped Out Slim" captured for posterity during a visit in August 2017 to the studios of radio station KCRW in Santa Monica, CA.

For more of the latest about Trombone Shorty, read his interview from earlier this year with UDiscoverMusic.com; the recent feature story about him at Relix.com; and a review of his show last New Year's Eve in Washington DC.

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

Jazz this week: Pedrito Martinez, Boney James, STL Free Jazz Collective, a New Music Circle "pop-up" concert, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis offers Afro-Cuban rhythms, smooth jazz with a backbeat, free improvisation, a tribute to one of the greatest composers and bandleaders in jazz, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...


Wednesday, April 24
Percussionist Pedrito Martinez brings his band to Jazz St. Louis for the first of five nights of performances, continuing through Sunday.

Born in Cuba and now based in NYC, Martinez (pictured, top left) has spent the past two decades lending his considerable talents to a variety of well-known jazz and pop performers, and in recent years has been getting more attention as a bandleader, too.

You can find out more about him and see some videos of his band in action in this post from Saturday before last.

Thursday, April 25
The 442s and Erin Bode will headline "Hope Happens - 15th Annual Evening of Hope," a benefit for the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at Washington University School of Medicine, at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Also on Thursday, singer Jan Shapiro, pianist Dave Venn and bassist Ben Wheeler perform at the Ozark Theatre, and singer Chuck Flowers croons at Jazzy 159, a relatively new spot across the river in Fairview Heights.

Friday, April 26
Saxophonist Boney James still a popular favorite among those who enjoy jazz in the form of R&B- and funk-infused grooves, plays at The Pageant.

Though James (pictured, center left) hasn't released any new music since his most recent St. Louis appearance at the Gateway Jazz Festival last summer, fans no doubt will relish the opportunity to hear a full-length show while seeing him up close.

You can see him on video performing some of the material from his most recent album, 2017's Honestly, in this post from last Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, the Hot Club of St Louis, a new group featuring guitarists Joe Park and Paul Davis, violinist/guitarist Christopher Voelker, and bassist Willem von Hombracht, will make their debut playing Gypsy jazz and vintage swing at Focal Point; and Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson return to Parkside Grille.

Also on Saturday, out west in Union, MO the Dave Dickey Big Band will headline the East Central College Jazz Festival at Anglin Performing Arts Center on the ECC campus.

Saturday, April 27
In their first performance since the passing of one of their founding members, poet Michael Castro, the STL Free Jazz Collective (pictured, bottom left) is inviting other poets to sit in with them for a concert at Link Auditorium in the Central West End.

Also on Saturday, the Funky Butt Brass Band returns for their monthly gig at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, April 28
In what they're caling a "pop-up" show, New Music Circle has a last-minute addition to their 60th season schedule, presenting an concert of improvised music by trombonist Steve Swell, percussionist Michael Zerang, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and saxophonist Gebhard Ullmann at Foam.

Monday, April 29
Pianist Christopher Parrish leads a quartet celebrating the legendary pianist, composer and bandleader with a show called "Duke Ellington's 120th Birthday: Ellington Plugged In" at Focal Point.

Tuesday, April 30
Trumpeter Jim Manley and keyboardist Chris Swan return to Evangeline's.

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

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Boney James

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring saxophonist Boney James, who's coming to St. Louis to perform next Friday, April 26 at The Pageant.

Born in Massachusetts, James was raised in upstate New York,then Los Angeles, and attended UCLA, where he earned a degree in history. After graduating, he got into the music business in the mid-1980s as a sideman, playing saxophone and keyboards in support of R&B and funk performers including Morris Day, the Isley Brothers, Bobby Caldwell, Randy Crawford, Teena Marie, and others.

James released his first album as a leader on a small independent label in 1992, which led to him being signed to Warner Brothers records a couple of years later. His time at Warners established him as a headliner and festival and major venues in the USA and around the world, with three of his albums for the label earning gold records.

In all, James has put out 16 albums, the most recent being 2017's Honestly, and earned four Grammy nominations as well as a number of other awards along the way. He last performed here in St. Louis in July 2018 as part of the Gateway Jazz Festival at Chesterfield Amphitheater.

Though he's often categorized as a smooth jazz performer and his repertoire includes some obligatory slow jams, James' experiences in funk and R&B help make his music a bit grittier than many others in the genre. You can see and hear some of that in today's videos of recent live performances by James and his band, starting with the first clip up above, the set opener "Up All Night" as recorded last Sunday, April 14 at the Buffalo State Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY/

After the jump, you can see three more performances from that show, starting with "Butter," then "On The Prowl," and finally, an excerpt in which James fakes out the audience with a brief snippet of Grover Washington Jr.'s "Mister Magic," then segues directly into "Batucada," featuring a solo by drummer Omari Williams.

Next, there's a version of "Tick Tock," recorded in October 2018 at a show in Newport Beach, CA, followed by an extended excerpt from James' set at the 2017 San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival.

For more about Boney James and Honestly, read his 2018 interview with AXS.com and his Q&A from 2017 with artsnla.com.

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

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue to perform Friday, June 7 at The Pageant

New Orleans multi-instrumentalist and singer Trombone Shorty and his band Orleans Avenue are returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Friday, June 7 at The Pageant.

Shorty (pictured) last played here in August 2015 at Ballpark Village. His most recent album Parking Lot Symphony was released in 2017 on the Blue Note label.

Tickets for Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are $40 for reserved seats, $30/$35 for general admission (advance/day of show), with a $2 surcharge for minors, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, March 22 via Ticketmaster.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Two St. Louis venues made it onto the music business trade publication Pollstar's list of the Top 200 Club Venues for worldwide ticket sales in 2018. The Pageant came in at number four on the list, while its sibling just down the street, Delmar Hall, was ranked at number 54.

* Keyboardist and singer Jesse Gannon was interviewed about his new eponymous album by the Riverfront Times' Christian Schaeffer.

* Saxophonists Dave Liebman and Jeff Coffin are featured on On The Corner Live: The Music of Miles Davis, a tribute to Davis' "electric period" that will be released Friday, March 1 on Ear Up Records. Liebman was part of Davis' band from 1970 to 1974. The album (pictured), which was recorded live in 2015 in Nashville, also includes bassist Victor Wooten, drummer Chester Thompson, guitarist James DaSilva, and keyboardist Chris Walters.

* The Arts and Education Council is offering a $20,000 prize for arts entrepreneurs in the St. Louis region via its the third-annual stARTup Creative Competition. The purpose of the competition is "to identify and support organizations filling a hole in the local arts economy." The deadline to apply is Friday, March 1; for more information or to submit an application, go here.

* In what must be the weirdest local music-business story of the week, St. Louis media are reporting that organizers of the ill-fated Loufest are suing the firm that was contracted to provide sound and lights for the event. The suit claims intentional sabotage, and alleges an attempt to hijack the festival's concept after the 2018 event was cancelled.

* The Missouri History Museum has launched "The Townsend Piano Project," a campaign to raise $25,000 to restore a piano that belonged to the late St. Louis blues musician Henry Townsend and incorporate it into the museum's "St. Louis Sound" exhibition planned for 2021. The Museum is accepting donations online, and will stage a fund-raising concert on Sunday, May 26 at BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2019 jazz preview, part six

Today, here's the sixth and final part of StLJN's winter/spring 2019 jazz preview, featuring videos of bands and musicians who will be coming to St. Louis to perform in the next few months. You can see part one of the series here, part two here, part three here, part four here, and part five here.

Picking up where last week's installment left off, the first video up above features percussionist Pedrito Martinez, who's returning with his group to perform Wednesday, April 24 through Sunday, April 28 at Jazz St. Louis. The video shows their entire set from the 2018 Springfield Jazz Festival this past summer in Springfield, MA.

After the jump, you can see saxophonist Boney James, who will be here for a concert on Friday, April 26 at The Pageant. The video shows James playing "Tick Tock" in 2017 at The Wave/Honda Soundstage in Los Angeles.

Next up, it's pianist Arturo O'Farrill, who will perform with his Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble from Wednesday, May 1 through Sunday, May 5 at Jazz St. Louis. The video shows them performing a full set of music recorded in July 2018 at The Greene Space, the performance venue of radio stations WNYC and WQXR in New York City.

The following week, the acclaimed young vocalist Jazzmeia Horn will make her St. Louis debut with shows starting Wednesday, May 8 and continuing through Sunday, May 12 at Jazz St. Louis. The third clip after the jump shows Horn's entire set from the jazzahead! festival in April 2018 in Bremen, Germany.

The next video features singer Shoshana Bean, who will perform on Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 16 at Jazz St. Louis to wrap the cabaret series JSL presented this year in conjunction with Cabaret Project of St. Louis. The clip shows Bean singing the song "Ain't No Way," made famous by Aretha Franklin, as recorded in 2017 at Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles.

A few days later, saxophonist James Carter will team up with pianist Peter Martin's trio for a matinee concert on Sunday, May 19 at The Sheldon. He can be seen in the next clip getting nice and greasy on a tune called "Soul Street," recorded last year at Jazzwoche Burghausen in Germany.

That same evening of May 19, jazz-fusion band Snarky Puppy will return to kick off the outdoor concert season at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion. The next-to-last video shows their entire set from the 2018 LEAF Spring festival in Asheville, NC

Today's final video shows guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli and singer Catherine Russell performing "All of Me" as part of their collaborative show "Billie & Blue Eyes," which features their interpretations of music associated with Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. They'll be here to perform the show starting Wednesday, May 22 through Sunday, May 26 at Jazz St. Louis.

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

Boney James returning to perform Friday, April 26 at The Pageant

Saxophonist Boney James (pictured) is returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Friday, April 26 at The Pageant.

James' most recent album is Honestly, which came out in September 2017. He last played in St. Louis in July of this year as part of the Gateway Jazz Festival at the Chesterfield Amphitheater.

Tickets for Boney James at The Pageant are priced from $35 to $50 and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, October 12 via Ticketmaster.

Jazz this week: Terell Stafford, STL Free Jazz Collective, Brian Culbertson, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes return visits from a top mainstream trumpeter, a popular smooth jazz groove-maker, and an acclaimed new music ensemble, as well as free improv, vintage jazz, big band swing, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, May 9
Trumpeter Terell Stafford (pictured, top left) returns with his quintet for the first of four nights of performances at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also on Wednesday, new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound will perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features the Alberto Patiño Duo at The Stage at KDHX, a jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, May 10
Saxophonist Michael Foster and drummer Dane Rousay will perform free improv duets at Kismet Creative Center, with opening sets from locals Danielle Taylor Williams and the trio of NNN Cook, Mabel Suen and Chris Trull.

Also on Thursday, the New Orleans Suspects return to the Broadway Oyster Bar; guitarist Dave Black and singer Bridgette Kossor will perform at the The Pat Connolly Tavern; saxophonist Harvey Lockhart returns to The Dark Room; and pianist Adam Maness' trio is back at Thurman's in Shaw.

Friday, May 11
The Wire Pilots will play original jazz/fusion, with guest appearances from singer Erin Bode and saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, at the Webster Groves Concert Hall/Ozark Theatre.

Elsewhere around town, the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and The Gaslight Squares will be back at Yaquis on Cherokee.

Saturday, May 12
Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson (pictured, bottom left) performs at The Pageant.

Culbertson is touring in support of his most recent release Colors of Love, which cam out earlier this year and, in something of a contrast to his usual groove-based material, offers a program of piano-based love songs.

You can read more about that and see some live performance videos of Culbertson in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, the STL Free Jazz Collective will play a free concert at the 14th St Artist Community; the Midwest Jazz-tette returns to Evangeline's; and the Gateway City Big Band will provide the music for dancers at the Concord Farmers Club.

Sunday, May 13
Mother's Day no doubt will mean a booming business for brunches this Sunday, and if you'd like some live jazz served with your meal, you can hear swing and Gypsy jazz from Dizzy Atmosphere at The Dark Room; enjoy fusion, funk and R&B from 3X Groove and vocalist Truenessia Combs at Troy's Jazz Gallery; or check out some vintage jazz and swing from Miss Jubilee at Evangeline's.

Monday, May 14
Trumpeter Jim Manley returns to Momo's Greek Restaurant, and guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran will play at Yaquis on Cherokee.

Tuesday, May 15
Drummer Montez Coleman and guitarist Eric Slaughter host "The Tuesday Night Hit" jam session at the The Dark Room, and saxophonist and singer Cary Colman's trio plays at Evangeline's.

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

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Brian Culbertson returns to The Pageant

This week, the StLJN video spotlight shines on multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson, who will be in St. Louis to perform next Saturday, May 12 at The Pageant.

While some purists may find his mix of smooth jazz, funk and R&B to be un-challenging and/or overly commercial, Culbertson since his debut in the mid-1990s has developed a legion of fans who appreciate him for making enjoyable, groove-based music and putting on an entertaining show.  His most recent St. Louis appearance was in October 2016, also at The Pageant.

Culbertson currently is touring in support of his latest album Colors of Love, which was released in February of this year and spotlights his acoustic piano playing on a collection of love songs and ballads.

The first video up above, released in January of this year to help promote Colors of Love, shows Culbertson in the studio performing the song "Through The Years" from the album.

After the jump, you can see excerpts from several of Culbertson's live shows from previous tours, starting with a clip recorded in September, 2015 at Pizza Express in London in which he kicks off a set with "Always Remember" from his 2008 album Bringing Back The Funk.

That's followed by a video from the 2017 San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival showing Culbertson performing "Get Ready" from his 2016 album Funk; another depicting the opening of his set at the 2016 Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Florida; and a full set recorded in November 2016 at the Mount Airy Lodge and Casino in Pennsylvania.

Last but not least, you can see an episode of Washington Full Circle, a local TV program in Washington DC, recorded in December 2016 that features an interview with and performances by Culbertson.

Read more about Brian Culbertson, Colors of Love, and his current tour in this interview published earlier this year on GrownFolksMusic.com.

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

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2018 jazz preview, part six

Today, it's the sixth and final part of StLJN's winter/spring 2018 jazz preview, featuring videos of jazz and creative music performers who will be coming to St. Louis in the first few months of the new year. (If you missed the previous installments, you can see part one here, part two here, part three here, part four here, and part five here.)

Resuming in chronological order where we left off last week, today's first video features the John Scofield - Joe Lovano Quartet, who will be returning to St. Louis to perform starting Wednesday, April 25 through Saturday, April 28 at Jazz at the Bistro. They're seen here performing a full set at the 2015 Leverkusener Jazztage festival in Leverkusene, Germany.

The next weekend, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will be in town for three performances of Marsalis' “Swing Symphony” with the St. Louis Symphony on Friday, May 4; Saturday, May 5; and Sunday, May 6 at Powell Hall.

Unfortunately, though "Swing Symphony" has been performed a number of times in the USA and Europe, the only good video of the work is stuck behind a paywall. So instead, after the jump, you can see a clip of Marsalis discussing "Swing Symphony" with conductor Simon Rattle, recorded at the Berlin Philharmonie in June 2010.

A couple of days after Marsalis and company leave town, guitarist Dweezil Zappa will be back for a performance on Tuesday, May 8 at The Ready Room.

Given his ongoing legal dispute with the Zappa Family Trust, it's unclear at this time what material DZ will be performing on this year's tour. However, the next clip, a full show recorded in July 2016 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, features material spanning several decades of his dad Frank Zappa's career, and though the video (shot by an audience member) is a bit shaky, the audio is solid and serves as a good demonstration of his touring ensemble's capabilities.

That same week, trumpeter Terell Stafford will be here with his quintet to play Wednesday, May 9 through Saturday, May 12 at the Bistro. Stafford, who at one time recorded for the St. Louis based MAXJAZZ label and has performed frequently here over the last decade, probably needs to introduction to local audiences.

Nevertheless, he and his band can be seen in today's fourth video, performing a tribute to the late Lee Morgan in October 2016 at Dizzy's Club in New York City. Along with the leader on trumpet and his fellow Philadelphian Tim Warfield on tenor sax, this edition of Stafford's group featured another MAXJAZZ alumnus, pianist Bruce Barth, along with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Billy Williams.

Next up, it's multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson, who will visit St. Louis on Saturday, May 12 for a show at The Pageant. He's seen here performing "Been Around The World" in October 2016 at the Aliante Casino in Las Vegas.

The following week, trumpeter Terence Blanchard will return for a concert on Sunday, May 20 at the Grandel Theatre. Blanchard will be accompanied by his band The E-Collective, which includes Charles Altura (guitar), Fabian Almazan (keyboards), Donald Ramsey (bass), and Oscar Seaton (drums). They're seen here performing a full set at the 2015 North Sea Jazz Fest in Rotterfam, Netherlands.

Today's final video features another familiar face, percussionist Poncho Sanchez, who's developed a following here over the years and will return for a four-night engagement from Wednesday, May 23 through Saturday, May 26 at the Bistro. The clip shows Sanchez and his band playing what he calls the "Poncho Sanchez Medley" at a show in December 2017 in Las Vegas.

That wraps up StLJN's winter/spring 2018 jazz preview, although if/when any other performers of interest are booked for concerts here in St. Louis, you'll find the latest news here. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Brian Culbertson to perform Saturday, May 12 at The Pageant

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson is returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, May 12 at The Pageant.

Culbertson (pictured) will be touring in support of his forthcoming album Colors of Love, which is scheduled for release in early February. He last played in St. Louis in October 2016, also at The Pageant.

Tickets for Brian Culbertson are $39.50 for reserved seating, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, December 15 via Ticketmaster and The Pageant box office.

Jazz this week: Donny McCaslin, Brian Culbertson, Brand X, James Carter, Sylvaine Hélary's Spring Roll Quartet, and more

It's one of the busiest weeks of the year for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with enough activity and musical variety to test both the stamina and the financial resources of even the most devoted music lovers.

There's so much going on that the week defies easy summary, so instead, let's go to the highlights....

Wednesday, October 19
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin (pictured, top left) makes his St. Louis debut as a bandleader in the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

It's been a big year for McCaslin, who's gone from working with the late David Bowie on his final recording Blackstar to releasing his own new album, Beyond Now. For more about McCaslin and his new recording, see the interview he did with Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch and StLJN's video post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also on Wednesday, funk/jazz keyboardist Brian Culbertson, who's touring in support of his own new album Funk!, returns to St. Louis for the first time in four years for a performance at The Pageant. For more about that, see Culbertson's conversation with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

Thursday, October 20
The reunited British jazz/fusion band Brand X will play at the Wildey Theatre, featuring three key members from the band's original run - guitarist John Goodsall, bassist Percy Jones, and drummer Kenwood Dennard - plus keyboardist Chris Clark and percussionist Scott Weinberger. This show will be only the second of the group's reunion tour, so even if there are a few rough spots, the energy should be high.  

Also on Thursday, trumpeter George Sams and friends will play a free show of improvised music for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and the funky saxophones-and-drums trio Moon Hooch returns for a gig at the Old Rock House.

Friday, October 21
The St. Louis GypsyJazz Festival opens for the first of three days and nights of perfomances, jam sessions and workshops at Evangeline's. The lineup of musicians this year includes violinist/mandolinist Jason Anick, singer Miles Griffith, and guitarist Dario Napoli, plus St. Louis-based groups Franglais, Phatz Django, and Fleur De Lou. For more about the festival and video samples of the visiting performers, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, the Gaslight Cabaret Festival resumes with singer Storm Large returning for an encore performance at the Gaslight Theater.

Saturday, October 22
Saxophonist James Carter (pictured, bottom left) and his organ trio will provide the music for the annual "ArtSounds" benefit at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Carter, a free-spirited yet technically accomplished improviser who can play soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes with near-equal facility, is always worth hearing, and if you need an extra incentive, The Sheldon yesterday announced a "buy one, get one free" offer for concert-only tickets bought in pairs. To purchase online and take advantage of the offer, go here and enter the promo code CARTER16.

Also on Saturday, New Music Circle present flute player and composer Sylvaine Hélary's Spring Roll Quartet at the The Stage at KDHX.

The group, which includes Hélary, Antonin Rayon (piano, synthesizer), Hugues Mayot (saxophones, clarinets), and Sylvain Lemêtre (vibraphone, percussion), offers "thematically dense surrealist arrangements with percussive counterpoint" which incorporate "a span of styles in an almost collage-like manner."

Sunday, October 23
"Days to Say Goodbye - A Celebration of the Life of David Troncoso" will provide an opportunity to remember and reminisce for, family, friends and fans of the veteran St. Louis bassist, who died this past July at age 70. The event, which features music from guitarist Dave Black, pianist Dave Venn, singer Tony Viviano, the Park Avenue Duo, Troncoso's own Latin Jazz Group and more, takes place at the Anheuser Busch Brewery Biergarten.

Also on Sunday afternoon, the US Navy Band Commodores, the Navy's top jazz big band, plays a free concert at the 560 Music Center. The group features two area natives - Petty Officer 1st Class David M. Perkel of St. Louis on lead trombone, and Chief Petty Officer Timothy D. Stanley, who grew up in Belleville, on trumpet.

Monday, October 24
To mark the event's silver anniversary, the Webster University TKT Scholarship Fund 25th Anniversary Concert will take place off-campus this year at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The concert features Webster jazz faculty and students performing to raise money for music scholarships at Webster in memory of Terry Jackson, Kirk Cappello, and Tony Saputo, three Webster alumni who were among the members of singer Reba McEntire’s road band killed in a 1991 airplane crash.

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 2016 jazz preview, part 2

This week, it's part two of StLJN's Fall 2016 jazz preview, offering a look at the touring jazz and creative music performers who will be coming to St. Louis this fall. (You can see part one here.)

Continuing in chronological order from the last installment, today's first clip features cabaret singer Marilyn Maye, who will be returning to perform for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival on Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15 at the Gaslight Theater. Maye is seen here performing "Secret of Life" this past February at Feinstein's in NYC.

After the jump, you can see a video of multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson, who will be back in St. Louis for the first time in more than four years to perform on Wednesday, October 19 at The Pageant. This clip shows the start of Culbertson's set at this year's Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City Beach, FL.

Next up is saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who will be making his St. Louis debut as a bandleader with a week of shows from Wednesday, October 19 through Saturday, October 22 at Jazz at the Bistro. McCaslin, who's played with Steps Ahead and trumpeter Dave Douglas, among others, and been in the news this year for his work on the late David Bowie's final recording, is seen in this clip playing the title song from his most recent album Fast Future at the 2016 North Sea Jazz Festival.

That same week, the British jazz-fusion band Brand X will make a stop on Thursday, October 20 at Edwardsville's Wildey Theatre as part of a reunion tour making its way through US this fall. There's really no recent video footage of the band available online, but you can find out a little more about the band and the reunion tour in the promotional clip included here.

Below that, you'll find a video of "The Thought" recently uploaded by the band Moon Hooch to their YouTube channel. The trio, which features two saxophonists and a drummer mining stripped-down funk grooves, will be back in St. Louis on Thursday, October 20 for a show at the Old Rock House.

Also in town that weekend will be singer Storm Large, who will return to the Gaslight Cabaret Festival for a performance on Friday, October 21 at the Gaslight Theater. In this clip, Large can be seen performing "Hopelessly Devoted To You" during a show last November at Joe's Pub in NYC.

And as if all that wasn't enough for one week, there are two more acts of potential interest to StLJN readers that will be playing gigs here that weekend. Saxophonist James Carter's organ trio will headline the annual "ArtSounds" benefit on Saturday, October 22 at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and today's penultimate clip features a full set from them, recorded in 2015 at the Jazz à la Villette festival in France.

Finally, there flute player and composer Sylvaine Hélary's Spring Roll Quartet, who will make their St. Louis debut in a concert presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, October 22 at The Stage at KDHX. Today's final video shows excerpts from a performance they did in July 2014 in Germany.

Look for part three of StLJN's Fall 2016 jazz preview in this space next week. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Brian Culbertson to perform Wednesday, October 19 at The Pageant

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson is coming to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 19 at The Pageant.

Culbertson, who plays keyboards and trombone, currently is wrapping up a crowd-funding campaign via IndieGoGo to complete work on his upcoming album FUNK!, which he calls "a throwback, old-school, funkadelic record in the style of P-Funk meets Prince" and is scheduled for release in September.

His St. Louis date is part of an extended tour promoting the record that begins September 23 and will continue through December. Culbertson (pictured) last played St. Louis in August, 2012, also at the Pageant, as part of a series of gigs that year with saxophonist David Sanborn. 

Reserved seats for Culbertson's October 19 show at The Pageant are $35 each, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Friday, June 24.

(An online pre-sale will take place starting at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, June 23 and continuing until 10:00 a.m. the next day. To purchase tickets during the pre-sale, go here and enter the promotional code FUNCTOR.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* This week's celebration of Miles Davis' 90th birthday in his birthplace of Alton, IL is the subject of a feature story by the Alton Telegraph's Kelsey Landis.

* Singer and pianist Freddy Cole was interviewed by Calvin Wilson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Cole and saxophonist Harry Allen are performing through Saturday night at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Pianist Robert Glasper was interviewed about Everything's Beautiful, his new album remixing and paying tribute to Miles Davis, by Kenya Vaughn of the St. Louis American.

* A news feature on St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOV spotlighted a music therapy program for children with neurofibromatosis developed by Jazz St. Louis in conjunction with the Washington University Neurofibromatosis Center.

* Drummer Emanuel Harrold and bassist Jahmal Nichols, the two St. Louis natives who are part of singer Gregory Porter's band, got some more time on national TV on Wednesday night as Porter performed on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live. You can see a video of their appearance here.

* Trumpeter and St. Louis native Lester Bowie (pictured) will be remembered with a performance of his music on Saturday, June 4 at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center in NYC. Tuba player Bob Stewart, who worked with Bowie on many occasions, will serve as music director for a brass ensemble featuring a number of alumni of Bowie's Brass Fantasy bands.

* The Pageant has teamed up with SoundGirls.org to offer a "Live Sound Camp for Girls" starting Monday, July 25 through Friday, July 29 at The Pageant. The week-long day camp is for girls ages 12-18 who are interested in learning about live music production. The curriculum includes hands-on sessions covering a variety of audio- and production-related topics, with campers producing and running a live show to end the week. For details, go to http://SoundGirls.org/stlouiscamp.

* The Riverfront Times has announced the lineup of performers for the annual RFT Music Showcase, which will be held Saturday, June 18 at various venues along Manchester Rd. in the Grove neighborhood.

Reflecting the paper's music coverage, the 80-act roster is heavy on alt-rock and hip-hop, but there also are some acts of potential interest to StLJN readers, including Animal Children, Tommy Halloran, Eric Hall, and the Vernacular String Trio. See the complete lineup of bands and venues at http://rftmusicshowcase.com/

* In other festival news, the just-announced lineup for the 2016 LouFest will include the Preservation Hall Jazz Band as a token jazz act, while the first-ever Murmuration Festival will feature a set from jazz- and electronica-influenced hip-hop producer Flying Lotus among its musical attractions.

The Murmuration fest, which will take place the weekend of September 23-25 on the Cortex Innovation Community campus in midtown, also will include "include new technologies and public art exhibitions, all-ages interactive exhibits, and local food trucks."