Todd Mosby releases new album Aerial Views

Guitarist Todd Mosby has released a new recording titled Aerial Views.

The album (pictured) is the third in a series of concept albums highlighting natural elements, following Eagle Mountain, a tribute to earth, and Open Waters, about the seas.

It includes 12 original compositions by Mosby, drawing on his experiences riding in and later flying a plane owned by his father, a professional pilot. "We spent a lot of time in the air, feeling a special freedom and independence whenever we took to the sky," he said in a news release. "As I got older, that freedom evolved into an ever expanding musical and spiritual journey."

With production by Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton, Aerial Views features Mosby on guitar and electric Imrat guitar, an 18-stringed sitar-guitar hybrid that he helped design, plus a supporting cast of musicians including violinist Charlie Bisharat, bassist Tony Levin, drummer Jerry Marotta, bassist Michael Manring, percussionist Jeff Haynes, multi-instrumentalist Premik Tubbs, and pianist and vocalist Lola Kristine.

Aerial Views is available now via Bandcamp, on Mosby's website, and on major digital services including iTunes and Spotify. Mosby also has produced a short "making of" video to promote the release, which can be seen here.

Jazz this week: Etienne Charles, University City Symphony, Marilyn Maye, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a Trinidadian trumpeter with a distinctive sound, the grand dame of cabaret singers, a community orchestra collaborating with local jazz musicians, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 4
Trumpeter Etienne Charles (pictured, top left) performs for the first of five nights continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis

Originally from the island nation of Trinidad, Charles incorporates Caribbean rhythms and culture into his style, which he calls "Creole soul." Look for his sets to feature material from his most recent album Carnival: The Sound Of A People, Vol. 1, which was released last year.

Thursday, March 5
Trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi's band will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and The Dark Room has a double bill featuring Chicago-based pianist Lara Driscoll and her trio at the dinner hour, and saxophonist Carlos "Scooter" Brown in late night.

Also on Thursday, pianist Adam Maness and his trio return to Thurman's in Shaw, and saxophonist Vince Sala will play at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, March 6
Experimental guitarist Mark Shippy, another Chicago-based musician who's known for his work with noise-rockers U.S. Maple, Shorty, Invisible Things, and various other projects, will perform at Flood Plain.

Also on Friday, singer and bassist Janet Evra plays at the Wildey Theatre, and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher presents "A Dean Martin Tribute" at Blue Strawberry.

Saturday, March 7
Saxophonist Tim Cunningham performs at Troy's Listening Room, and keyboardist Mo Egeston and friends will bring the "Late Night Grooves" at The Dark Room.

Also on Saturday, singer Robert Nelson returns to the Parkside Grille, and the Triplets of Grubville play Swing and Gypsy jazz at Evangeline's.

Sunday, March 8
The University City Symphony presents a free concert at the 560 Music Center, with guest performances including pianist Ptah Williams playing Gershwin and selections featuring Bach to the Future with violinist Tracy Silverman and guitarist Dave Black, plus two orchestral works composed by guitarist Todd Mosby.

Monday, March 9
Guitarist Eric Slaughter returns to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Tuesday, March 10
Marilyn Maye (pictured, bottom left), the nonagenarian phenomenon known to many as the "grand dame of cabaret," will front the Jazz St. Louis Big Band for the first of three nights of performances, with some tickets still remaining as of this writing.

Also on Tuesday, keyboardist and singer Jesse Gannon returns to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

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: Mardra & Reggie Thomas, Jahmal Nichols, Todd Mosby + Bach to the Future, Lamar Harris, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis puts the spotlight on hometown performers, with the return of a local favorite couple who have moved away, a show teaming up two bands with distinctive approaches to jazz fusion, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 15
Bassist Jahmal Nichols, who's spent most of his time in recent years on the road with singer Gregory Porter, is back home for a visit and will lead his own band for the first of two nights performing at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Wednesday, drummer Steve Davis leads a trio at Evangeline's, Miss Jubilee performs at Schlafly Bottleworks, and trumpeter Jim Manley continues his weekly gig at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, 
January 16
Guitarist Todd Mosby (pictured, center left) and his New Horizons Ensemble team up with Bach to the Future for a double-bill of jazz-fusion at Sky Music Lounge, and singer Anna Blair performs her cabaret show "Always..." at Blue Strawberry.

Also on Thursday, singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul perform at the Chase Club; keyboardist Ryan Marquez and his trio return to The Dark Room; and keyboardist Adam Maness' trio continues their weekly gig at Thurman's in Shaw.

Friday, January 17
Spouses and former St. Louisans Mardra and Reggie Thomas (pictured, top left), on vocals and keyboards respectively, will be back in town to headline "An Evening Of Jazz" at Chaminade College Preparatory School.

Also on Friday, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Elsewhere around town, electro-jazz trio Vehachi plays at the house-concert venue the Judson House, and The Way Out Club hosts "Descension 1" the first installment in a new experimental music series produced by Josh Levi, this time featuring Jack Callahan aka die Reihe, Brain Transplant, and Martin Carriel and Joann McNeil.

Saturday, January 18
Multi-instrumentalist Joe Bozzi and his band return to Evangeline's, and The Dark Room features pianist Jesse Gannon at the dinner hour and drummer Kaleb Kirby's quintet for the late show.

Sunday, January 19
Singer and bassist Janet Evra (pictured, bottom left) performs for brunch at Evangeline's, while singer and guitarist Tommy Halloran is on stage at The Dark Room.

Then on Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents a matinee performance of vintage jazz by The Gaslight Squares in the Oasis Room of the Moolah Shrine Center.

Also on Sunday afternoon, Oikos Ensemble presents "Dreams and Visions - A Jazz Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King" at St. John United Church of Christ in Collinsville.

Monday, January 20
The Folk School of KDHX hosts their weekly Traditional Jazz Jam Session.

Tuesday, January 21
Cabaret Project of St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge.

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer Ronnie Burrage (pictured) was interviewed in the August issue of The Wire.

* Trumpeter Ally Hany Albrecht wrote an essay for the blog El Paso Jazz Girls about her experiences being in an Air Force band.

* Billboard magazine presented the online premiere of "So Emotional," a track from the forthcoming "lost" Miles Davis album Rubberband (featuring vocals from Lalah Hathaway) that will be released on Friday, September 6.

* Elsewhere on the Miles Davis beat, NPR this week devoted the latest episode of their program "Jazz Night In America" to a retrospective look at Davis' album Bitches Brew, with music from bassist Marcus Miller's tribute to the trumpeter's electric bands.

* Guitarist Todd Mosby was featured in a story by St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin.

* Also on St. Louis Public Radio, singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo was interviewed by "St. Louis On The Air" host Sarah Fenske.

* Tonina also is featured in a video released last week by the Lo-Fi Saint Louis project, which shows her performing "Mercy" at Earthbound Beer on Cherokee St.

* Trio 3, which includes saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake along with drummer Andrew Cyrille and bassist Reggie Workman, will receive a major grant from Chamber Music America.

Edited after posting to add Tonina video link.

Jazz this week: Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chicago Cellar Boys, Funky Butt Brass Band, "Django Guitar Summit," and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis has a definite retro vibe, with shows coming up featuring one of the Swing Era's best-known bands, several performances by traditional jazz groups, and even a look back at local music history by a currently popular group. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 14
The Glenn Miller Orchestra (pictured, top left) brings their deep catalog of Swing Era hits to the Sheldon Concert Hall. You can see some videos of the present-day version of the Miller band in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and bassist Ben Wheeler's band Solid Ghost at The Dark Room at the Grandel Theatre.

Thursday, August 15
Saxophonist Larry Johnson and guitarist Randy Bahr will play duets at Rendezvous Cafe & Wine Bar; keyboardist Ryan Marquez brings his trio to The Dark Room; and singer Robert Nelson returns to the Chase Club in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.

Friday, August 16
The Funky Butt Brass Band performs for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis. It's the first official gig for the band's newest member, saxophonist Bryan Fritz, and reportedly will feature cover versions of songs by famous St. Louis bands and musicians.

Also on Friday, guitarists Joe Park, Gary Hunt, Paul Davis and Eric Slaughter will be featured in the  "2nd Annual Django Guitar Summit" at Focal Point.

Elsewhere around town, the Hard Bop Messengers return to Evangeline's; Schlafly Tap Room has a triple bill of experimental music including Temporal Marauder, John Wiese, and Flanger Magazine; and fusion trio 3XGroove plays at Troy's Listening Room.

Saturday, August 17
On Saturday afternoon, Dennis Owsley, host of the "Jazz Unlimited" program airing Sunday nights on St. Louis Public Radio, will sign copies of his new book St. Louis Jazz: A History at the Book House in Maplewood.

Then on Saturday evening, traditional jazz band Chicago Cellar Boys (pictured, bottom left) with singer Roya Naldi will play at Focal Point, and guitarist Todd Mosby leads his World Fusion Ensemble in a performance at First Congregational Church of Webster Groves.

Also on Saturday, singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina will headline a show at Delmar Hall, and pianist Carolbeth True and singer Kim Fuller will perform music associated with Billie Holiday at the Ozark Theatre.

Sunday, August 18
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents Red Lehr and the St. Louis Rivermen playing traditional jazz at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport, and Cornet Chop Suey plays a free concert at Carondelet Park.

Monday, August 19
The Dark Room introduces "Monday Night Mix-Up," a new event aimed at music and hospitality industry workers, this week featuring sounds from bassist and beatsmith Tristaño.

Tuesday, August 20
Nashville-based quintet The Cosmic Collective returns to Evangeline's, and guitarist Tom Byrne leads a trio in a concert at the Gaslight Theater.

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Bernie Hayes wrote a column for the St. Louis American about the recent demolition of Archway Studios, which was the professional home to saxophonist and producer Oliver Sain and significant in jazz history as the place where saxophonist Julius Hemphill recorded his landmark album Dogon A.D.

* Trumpeter Russell Gunn is set to release Pyramids, a new album by his Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra, on Friday, August 30.

* Guitarist Todd Mosby promoted the release of his new album Open Waters with a performance last week on KTVI - Fox 2's 9:00 am newscast.

* A recent show by singer Alicia Olatuja (pictured) at Dazzle in Denver, CO was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Geoff Anderson.

* The Lab, a new educational program for high school music students being run by multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris, was the subject of a feature in St. Louis magazine.

* Pianist Dred Scott's latest album Rides Alone was reviewed by the website PartTimeAudiophile.com.

* Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo was a guest on a recent episode of the podcast "Nina Talks!"

* The Miles Davis official merchandise store is offering fans a chance to win a $100 shopping spree in exchange for an email address. You can enter the drawing here.

Todd Mosby releasing new album Open Waters on August 1

St. Louis guitarist Todd Mosby is set to release his fifth album, Open Waters, on Thursday, August 1.

The album (pictured) features 12 tracks of original music composed by Mosby, incorporating elements of jazz, new age, folk and Indian musics, and drawing significantly on his 13 years of study with the late Indian master musician Imrat Khan.

Mosby is featured playing both conventional guitars and the Imrat guitar, a 20-stringed hybrid sitar/guitar he invented with Imrat Khan and luthier Kim Schwartz to help bridge the sounds and styles of Western and Indian musics.

He's accompanied on the recording by musicians including bassist Michael Manring, violinist Charlie Bisharat of the band Shadowfax, percussionist Jeff Haynes, woodwind player Premik R. Tubbs, vocalist Lola Hennecki, and pianist Fiona Joy.

Open Waters was produced by Windham Hill Records founder Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton, whose credits include more than 25 years worth of Windham Hill releases as well as dozens of albums with folk and acoustic musicians such as Harvey Reid, Vance Gilbert, Melissa Ferrick, and many others.

Mosby will promote the release of Open Waters with a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 17 at the First Congregational Church of Webster Groves. Billed as the Saint Louis World Fusion Ensemble, the concert will feature Mosby on Imrat guitar with vocalist Seema Kasthuri and guitarist and percussionist Farshid "Etniko" Soltanshahi.

Tickets are $20 and are on sale now via EventBrite. Copies of Open Waters can be pre-ordered now from Apple Music, and will be available at the concert and via the usual digital and retail outlets for recorded music.

Edited 7/20/19 to add additional links.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* St. Louis magazine's annual "A List" issue is out, and the winners in the readers poll include Vintage Vinyl for "Record Store," the Whitaker Music Festival for "Free Music Series," and singer Erin Bode for "Musical Artist, Female."

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo also got a special mention from the editors as a "Musician So Good, Barack Obama Loves Her." You can see the complete list of 2019 "A List" winners here.

* Following up his 2006 tome City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973, radio host, photographer, and author Dennis Owsley has written Jazz in St. Louis: A History, which he calls "a new book on St. Louis jazz that brings everything up to date." The book (pictured) comes out on Monday, July 15 from The History Press and can be pre-ordered here. (Full disclosure: StLJN and yr. humble editor are name-checked on page 122.)

* Guitarist Todd Mosby will release a new album, Open Waters, on Thursday, August 1.

* Saxophonists and former St. Louisans Oliver Lake, Marty Ehrlich, and the late Hamiet Bluiett are among the 33 musicians interviewed by bassist William Parker for his new book Conversations 3, now available (in English) from the French publishers RogueArt.

* With Opera Theatre of St. Louis' production of Terence Blanchard's opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones set to close this Saturday night, reviews still are coming in, including notices locally from the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn and KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

Jazz this week: Branford Marsalis Quartet; Wilson, Miles & Strickland; Toby Foyeh & Orchestra Africa; and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a week full of headliners at Jazz St. Louis, plus noteworthy shows featuring Afrobeat, free improvisation, vintage swing, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, April 3
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis' quartet continues their run at Jazz St. Louis, with the 7:30 shows pretty much sold out, but with tickets available (as of this writing) for the 9:30 sets both tonight and Thursday.

Marsalis and company are touring in support of their new album The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, which was released last month. For more about that, and some videos featuring live performances of some of their new material, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black perform at SqWires Restaurant & Annex, and trumpeter Jim Manley will be doing his regular weekly gig at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, April 4
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert of improvised music featuring trumpeter George Sams, violinist India Cooke, pianist Greg Mills, clarinetist Eric Mandat and cellist Tracy Andreotti.

Update, 8:00 p.m. 4/3/19: George Sams has informed StLJN of a couple of late-breaking personnel changes on the gig, as violinist Alyssa Avery will perform in place of India Cooke, and bassist Darrell Mixon will be there instead of Tracy Andreotti.

Also on Thursday, guitarist Todd Mosby and his New Horizons Ensemble promote the release of a Mosby's new CD Open Water with a performance at Sky Music Lounge.

Elsewhere around town, fusion trio Tracer, with pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Darrell Mizon and drummer Gary Sykes, will be back at The Dark Room; singer Cherilyn Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; and saxophonist Vince Sala leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, April 5
In town this week for educational residencies with Jazz St. Louis. drummer Matt Wilson, trumpeter Ron Miles, and saxophonist Marcus Strickland (who's stepping in for the previously announced Jeff Coffin) will wrap up their stay by joining forces for the first of two nights of performances at the Bistro.

Of the three (pictured, top left), Wilson is the most familiar to St. Louis audiences, having played here numerous times before with various bands of his own and as a sideman. However, both Miles, who's worked with Bill Frisell and Joshua Redman among others, and Strickland, whose credits include Roy Haynes, Christian McBride's New Jawn, and Dave Douglas, are formidable players and bandleaders in their own right.

Also on Friday, The Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League, a six-piece vintage swing band from Minneapolis, will be in town for a one-nighter at Evangeline's; Miss Jubilee performs for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and keyboardist and singer Jesse Gannon is back at The Dark Room.

Saturday, April 6
Guitarist Dan Rubright of the Wire Pilots plays a late-morning matinee featuring his original compositions at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Saturday evening, guitarist Toby Foyeh (pictured, bottom left) and Orchestra Africa will bring their lively mix of Afrobeat, jazz, rock, and more to the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Sunday, April 7
Pianist Adam Maness plays solo for Sunday brunch in a new weekly gig at Thurman's in Shaw, while Anita Jackson returns to The Dark Room.

Later that afternoon, the Ozark Theatre re-opens for the season with a performance from singer Wendy Gordon celebrating the birthday of Billie Holiday, followed by an open jam session; and the Genesis Jazz Project returns to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Then on Sunday evening, guitarist Tom Byrne will lead a quartet in a concert spotlighting some of his original music at Focal Point.

Monday, April 8
The faculty members who make up the Webster University Jazz Collective will present their final performance of the semester at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, April 9
The Gaslight Squares play the first of two morning "coffee concerts" at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold (pictured) is the guest on the latest episode of the Burning Ambulance podcast.

* Guitarist Todd Mosby's New Horizons Ensemble is the subject of a short feature in the Joplin Globe, occasioned by their upcoming performance in nearby Pittsburg, KS.

* Quincy Troupe's spoken word performance with the George Sams Quintet tonight at St. Louis University is previewed in an article by the St. Louis American's Chris King.

* St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin previews the 2018 St. Louis International Film Festival, which starts this weekend, with a story including a bit about the fest's screening of the documentary Jazz Ambassadors.

* BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups got a mention in an article in the UK newspaper The Telegraph explaining "How the American Midwest became the most important music destination in the US."

* St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts is presenting another of their "Business Edge' workshops, "What’s in a Name?" at 6:30 p.m. Monday, November 12 at The Stage at KDHX, 3524 Washington Avenue in Grand Center.

Panelists will discuss the importance of naming for bands and brands, and then attorney Kevin Haynie will talk about the pros and cons of registering a trademark. The cost is $10 in advance, $15 at the door, and you can register and reserve a spot here.

Jazz this week: Jon Batiste, Gaslight Cabaret Festival fall series opens with "Broadway's Greatest Hits," and more

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music in St. Louis offers the chance for a close-up look at a top TV bandleader, the start of this fall's Gaslight Cabaret Festival, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 17
Since it doesn't seem to have been publicly announced anywhere else, this seems like a good place to note that organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, who previously was announced as performing Wednesday through Sunday of this week at Jazz St. Louis, last month cancelled a number of upcoming performances, including his St. Louis dates, due to illness.

While we all no doubt wish Smith a speedy and complete recovery, the late-breaking nature of this unfortunate development means that the Bistro, presumably unable to secure a suitable replacement in time, will be dark for the next week.

However, the weekly  "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" continues as usual, with Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo and friends at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and band at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club; Wright's Project plays fusion and funk at Al's Lounge; and trumpeter Jim Manley is back for his weekly performance at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, October 18
The Poor People of Paris will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and singer Joe Mancuso is back at 50/Fifty Kitchen.

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Harvey Lockhart and the Collective will perform at The Dark Room, and the Stephen Haake Trio returns to The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, October 19
The fall series of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival begins with the first of two nights of "Broadway's Greatest Hits of All Time," as performed by singers Lianne Marie Dobbs and William Michals at the Gaslight Theater.

Also on Friday, keyboardist Ryan Marquez, his trio, and special guest vocalist Lola will play at the Kranzberg Arts Center; bassist and singer Janet Evra performs at Evangeline's; drummer Steve Davis brings his "Super Band" with singer Feyza Eren to the Ozark Theatre; and singer Erin Bode performs (with only a few seats left for purchase at the door) at Focal Point.

Saturday, October 20
Keyboardist Jon Batiste (pictured), the New Orleans native known for leading the house band on CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, will officially open this season's jazz series at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and guitarist Todd Mosby will play a solo concert at the Webster Groves Garden Cafe.

Sunday, October 21
Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran plays for brunch at The Dark Room, while Annie and the Fur Trappers will perform for the brunch crowd at Evangeline's.

Monday, October 22
Dizzy Atmosphere returns to The Shaved Duck.

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: The Bad Plus v 2.0, Storm Large, "Winter Jazz Fest," and more

It's a big week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with one performance that's literally drawing international attention, the debut of a new festival, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...


Wednesday, January 17
The gig making headlines all over the globe is the live debut of the revised lineup of The Bad Plus, who will be doing their first-ever performances with new pianist Orrin Evans starting Wednesday night and continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Evans, who replaces founding member Ethan Iverson, already has recorded an album with the group, which is being released this week and was spotlighted last week by NPR's "First Listen" feature. (NPR also will be recording The Bad Plus during their stay in St. Louis for a future episode of the network's "Jazz Night In America" program.)

While that live stream of the new album may have expired by the time you read this, those who are curious about The Bad Plus v 2.0 (pictured, top left) but can't make it to the Bistro this week can watch a live online stream of Friday night's first set for free, starting at 7:30 p.m. on Jazz St. Louis' Facebook page.

Also on Wednesday, singer Storm Large returns, this time with her band Le Bonheur, for a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall. While her several previous appearances here in recent years have been in a cabaret setting and with the dance orchestra Pink Martini, this show will offer Large a chance to show off more of her rock-oriented material with a full band.

Thursday, January 18
Guitarist Todd Mosby's New Horizons Ensemble performs at Sky Music Lounge; The People’s Key will play at the Chase Club; and saxophonist Ben Reece‘s Unity Quartet returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, January 19
Saxophonist Kendrick Smith begins a new weekly residency, leading a trio every Friday starting this week at Thurman's in Shaw; and the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday,
January 20
The first-ever "Winter Jazz Fest," headlined by jazz/fusion band Yellowjackets, will take place at the Grandel Theatre.

Unlike the long-established, week-long, multi-venue New York City event with which it shares a name, this fest is a single-night, single-location concert, with an emphasis on electric contemporary jazz.

In addition to Yellowjackets (pictured, bottom left), the show also will feature saxophonist Eric Marienthal, Bach to The Future, Tracer (aka pianist Ptah Williams' trio in fusion mode), pianist Royce Martin, and the adjacent Dark Room's regular Saturday night performer, keyboardist Mo Egeston.

If you're thinking about going but don't yet have tickets, Metrotix is offering a "buy one ticket, get the second at half-price" discount to online buyers. To access the offer, go to this page and enter the promo code WINTERJAZZ.

Also on Saturday, saxophonist Dave Stone's begins a new weekly gig at Thurman's in Shaw; Miss Jubilee returns to the Casa Loma Ballroom; and the Funky Butt Brass Band will do their monthly performance at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, January 21
The Dave Dickey Big Band performs in the first of a projected series of gigs this year at the Grandel Theatre, with the Lindbergh HS Jazz Ensemble as opener and intermission act.

Monday, January 22
Dizzy Atmosphere plays swing and Gypsy jazz for diners at The Shaved Duck, and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher will present his "Rat Pack and More" show at One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar.

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Storm Large (pictured) was interviewed Wednesday by St. Louis Public Radio's Alex Heuer in advance of her performance next Wednesday, January 17 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* Singer and St. Louis native Alicia Olatuja is the subject of a short feature story in the current issue of Jazz Times.

* A new article on the website Jazz in Europe looks at the impact of Miles Davis' landmark 1970 album Bitches Brew.

* Speaking of Davis, an article in On Milwaukee magazine recounts the story of the trumpeter's 1959 "legendary show that wasn't" at a club there called the Brass Rail.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn appeared Thursday on the morning news at New York City's WABC, promoting his gigs this weekend at BB King's in NYC.

* Lea DeLaria's performance last month at Jazz at the Bistro was reviewed for CabaretScenes.org by Chuck Lavazzi.

* Keyboardist Michael Silverman of Bach to the Future and Silverman Productions was interviewed by St. Louis County Arts Blog's Valerie Tichacek.

* Gene Dobbs Bradford of Jazz St. Louis was profiled on the website of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis. Bradford will be one of seven 2018 recipients of the council's St. Louis Arts Awards, which will be presented at an event on Monday, January 22 at the Chase Park Plaza hotel.

* Guitarist Todd Mosby's performance next week in Rolla is previewed on the Three Rivers Publishing website, which compiles news from several small towns in east central Missouri.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Just in time for what will be a long holiday weekend for some, the recently released film Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary is getting a St. Louis run starting today and continuing through Thursday, July 6 at the Tivoli Theatre.

* Trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran, an influential player, bandleader and educator in Chicago for more than six decades, has died at age 90. Though Cohran is best known for his work in the Chicago avant-garde scene and for playing with Sun Ra, he also had a St. Louis connection.

According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune (linked above), Cohran moved to St. Louis with his family from Oxford, MS "when he was about 10, immersing himself in the city's robust jazz scene and playing alongside trumpeter Clark Terry in the late 1940s" and lived here until he was drafted into the military in 1950.

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris has posted a recording of "Harvest For The World," as performed last week during his Isley Brothers-themed shows at Jazz at the Bistro, to his SoundCloud page

* The Gaslight Squares have made a music video of "Nicklin' & Dimin'" as part of producer/director Bill Streeter's Lo-Fi St. Louis series.

* Speaking of videos, pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness made one this week recorded live on Facebook to talk about their Open Studio Network's new "Elements of Jazz Piano" online video course.

* Completing today's video troika, guitarist Todd Mosby has posted a video of his composition "Moon Song" on YouTube.

* Trombonist Joseph Bowie has just released a new duet album with percussionist Adam Rudolph. Good Medicine by IG-BO Duet: Joseph Bowie & Adam Rudolph is available now as a digital download from Rudolph's BandCamp page and as a CD.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* St. Louis magazine's annual "A-List" issue is out, and among the honorees for "Culture and Amusements" are the STL Free Jazz Collective (pictured) and Yaquis on Cherokee, which features live traditional jazz and blues on weekends.

* Also in St. Louis magazine, pianist Adam Maness' regular Thursday night gig at Thurman's in Shaw is the subject of a brief feature story by Thomas Crone.

* Mr. Handy's Blues, a new documentary about the life and legacy of "St. Louis Blues" composer W.C. Handy, will get its first showing this Sunday at a private event at the MX theater on Washington Avenue.

* St. Louis native Greg Osby will join fellow saxophonists Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman as the newest member of "Saxophone Summit" for a five-night run next week at Birdland in NYC. The group, which in this iteration also includes bassist Cecil McBee, drummer Billy Hart, and pianist Phil Markowitz, will play the club starting Tuesday, June 27 through Saturday, July 1.

* A video with highlights from pianist Ethan Leinwand's St. Louis Piano Festival, which showcased an assortment of ragtime, blues, and stride pianists earlier this month at BB's Jazz Blues & Soups, has been posted to Vimeo.

* Pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio Network is rolling out a new video course, "Elements of Jazz Piano," featuring Martin and Adam Maness. You can find out more and see a preview here.  

* Jazz St. Louis is looking to hire a part-time box office associate. For details on the job and how to apply, visit their website.

* Guitarist Todd Mosby has posted on YouTube a new live performance video of his composition "Moon Song."

* Multi-instrumental Lamar Harris' Isley Brothers tribute show "Ballad of Atlantis," which is being presented this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro, was previewed on KTVI's morning newscast and in a Post-Dispatch feature story by Kevin Johnson.

* Drummer Maurice Carnes has posted to YouYube a video of his band Avant Gardians playing the music of Ornette Coleman earlier this month at the U City Jazz Festival.

* Trumpeter Russell Gunn, originally from East St. Louis and now residing in Georgia, is one of alt-weekly Creative Loafing's "6 rising Atlanta music MVPs for 2017". As mentioned last week in this space, Gunn recently launched a crowd-funding campaign to finance his next recording.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Webster University will host the Audio Engineering Society's 11th Annual Central Regional Student Summit from Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 26 on the main Webster campus.

The event will include presentations from audio experts on recording techniques and related topics such as technical ear training, sound system design, and psychoacoustics, plus a mix competition for students and a recording critiques panel. For more information, go to http://www.websteraes.org/.

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Eric Person (pictured) will join forces with fellow saxophonist (and unrelated namesake) Houston Person for two nights of "Person2Person" next Wednesday, March 8 and Thursday, March 9 at Dizzy's Club in NYC's Jazz at Lincoln Center.

* Guitarist Todd Mosby has posted online a new video of his song "Western Sky."

* Pianist Peter Martin's company Open Studio Network is looking for looking for interns to help with video editing, social media, and curating and annotating musical content. Get the details via OSN's website.

* The video of Martin's version of "Another Day of Sun" from the soundtrack of Oscar-nominated film La La Land was featured on the website ClassicFM.com as part of a compilation of the best cover versions of music from the film.

* The online station UMSL Radio aka "The U" is now airing "Jazz on the U" from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. every Monday through Saturday. Check out the live stream, programmed by Steve Engelmeyer, at http://umslradio.com/.

* For his work as artistic director of the Sopot Jazz Festival in Sopot, Poland, saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby has been named the city's "Cultural Personality of 2016."

Jazz this week: "Music at the Intersection," Tammy McCann, Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival, Koplant No, and more

While this weekend's calendar of jazz and creative music in St. Louis offers a number of noteworthy events, yr. StLJN editor's efforts remain hampered by my recent hand injury, which means today's post once again will be rather short and to the point.

Let's go to the highlights....

Thursday, September 15
Guitarist Todd Mosby (pictured, top left) plays a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and the Young Friends of Jazz St. Louis host their first event of the season, "The Jazz Age," at Jazz at the Bistro, featuring music from the Phil Dunlap Quintet and one of the JazzU student ensembles

Also on Thursday, trumpeter Alan Hood presents a master class at Fazio's Music in Ellisville, and guitarist Dave Black, singer Feyza Eren and friends perform at Nathalie’s.

Friday, September 16
Grand Center will present the final installment of this year's "Music at the Intersection" series, featuring local jazz and blues acts performing in various venues located near the intersection of Grand and Washington. The Funky Butt Brass Band gets thing started with a happy-hour set at Strauss Park, with more music from Montez Coleman, Anita Jackson, Bob DeBoo Trio, Miss Jubilee, Cafe Danza with Farshid Etniko, Jesse Gannon and the Dark Room All-Stars at venues including Jazz at the Bistro, Kranzberg Arts Center, Lucha, Curtain Call Lounge, Vito's, and The Dark Room.

Also on Friday, singer Tony Viviano returns to serenade diners at Fortel's, and saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays at Troy's Jazz Gallery
.

Saturday, September 17
The Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival will feature nearly 12 hours of music on two outdoor stages in the Old Webster Business District, centered at the intersection of Lockwood & Gore.

This year's lineup for the free, "family friendly" event leans heavily toward the jazz side, with "Old Webster’s Got Talent" contest winner Liberation Organ Trio kicking things off at mid-day, followed by sets from Scott A.F.B's Shades Of Blue, Anita Rosamond, the Webster University Jazz Ensemble's “Tribute To Verve Records,” Bach To The Future, Hipjaz Quintet, Matthew Von Doran Trio, the Webster Groves High School Jazz Band, Feyza Eren, Alan Oxenhandler, and Tracer, plus the Green McDonough Band and guitarist and singer Marquise Knox leading a "Blues Revue".

Also on Saturday, Chicago-based singer Tammy McCann (pictured, bottom left) is back with a show called "Ella Loves Gershwin" at The Emerald Room at The Monocle; jazz/fusion band Koplant No will make their debut at Jazz at the Bistro; and new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound will present a full staging of Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy's "The Hunger" at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Sunday, September 18
Trumpeter Jim Manley plays for brunch at Nathalie's, while Miss Jubilee returns to Evangeline's.

Monday, September 19
Saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, singer Debby Lennon and keyboardist Nick Schlueter will perform at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, and the St. Louis Legacy Ensemble plays at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soup. 

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: Big Sam's Funky Nation, Louis Armstrong Festival, and more

This weekend's calendar of jazz and creative music in St. Louis has a bit of a New Orleans flavor, with two of that city's favorite working bands playing gigs here, plus two nights of a locally produced tribute to one of the essential New Orleans musicians, Louis Armstrong.

Let's go to the highlights...

Thursday, August 11
Big Sam's Funky Nation (pictured) returns to St. Louis to perform at the Broadway Oyster Bar. Led by trombonist and singer "Big Sam" Williams, they recently were named “Best Band In New Orleans” by the local magazine Where Y’At in the publication's 19th annual writer’s poll. You can check out some of their insistent grooves on video in this post from a couple of Saturday ago.

Also on Thursday, drummer Kevin Bowers and friends will present a show celebrating the release of his new album Nova at Off Broadway; Dizzy Atmosphere plays swing and Gypsy jazz at Missouri Botanical Garden; and the Liberation Organ Trio performs at Evangeline's.

Friday, August 12
The Louis Armstrong Festival at the Ozark Theatre in Webster Groves will feature two nights of music associated with the legendary trumpeter and singer, performed by a band led by trumpet player Randy Holmes and including trombonist Brett Stamps, clarinetist Scott Alberici, and various special guests.

In case you need a reminder of his greatness, you can see some videos of Armstrong, including recently discovered footage that's the only filmed record of one of his recording sessions, in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, New Orleans' John "Papa" Gros, former frontman of the band Papa Grows Funk, will be in town to play at the Broadway Oyster Bar; and the Funky Butt Brass Band, with help from the St. Louis Burlesque All-Stars, will present a show they're calling "Shake Your Tailfeather: Babes and Brass Salute the Blues Brothers" will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro. (Update, 10:00 p.m. 8/11/16: It has been brought to StLJN's attention that the Blues Brothers and burlesque angles apparently were ditched sometime between the original announcement of JSL's summer season and now, and this weekend's performances now are being billed as "Backyard BBQ with Funky Butt & Friends".)

Elsewhere around town, singer Tony Viviano will serenade diners at Fortel's in Creve Coeur, and Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, August 13
Guitarist Todd Mosby plays acoustic at The Dark Room; trumpeter Danny Campbell and his Jazz Collective perform at  Troy's Jazz Gallery; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to the Venice Cafe; and singer David Giuntoli will perform his cabaret show "Sinatra...The Man and His Music" at The Emerald Room at The Monocle.

Sunday, August 14
Singer Joe Mancuso will lead a quartet in a matinee performance at Peno in Clayton, and guitarists Tommy Halloran and Joe Park will duet at Tamm Avenue Grill.

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.)