"New Music/Free Improv" CD release event reset for Tuesday, July 12 at Jackson Pianos

The release party for New Music/Free Improv Live at the Tavern of Fine Arts, a new CD collecting improvised performances by 14 different St. Louis musicians, has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 12 at Jackson Pianos, 4354 Olive St in the Central West End.

(The event originally was scheduled to take place at the album's titular Tavern of Fine Arts, but had to be moved after that venue closed on Saturday, June 25.)

Produced by flute player/composer Fred Tompkins and pianist Greg Mills, the album (pictured) contains ten tracks recorded at a half-dozen different events held between March 2014 and March 2016 at the now-shuttered tavern. Performers include Tompkins, Mills, cellist Tracy Andreotti, poet Michael Castro, percussionist Henry Claude, violinist Alex Cunningham, keyboardist James Hegarty, clarinetist Eric Mandat, trombonist Jeremy Melsha, guitarist Lee Scott Price, trumpeter George Sams, saxophonist Dave Stone, bassist Josh Weinstein, and percussionist Thomas Zirkle.

Pressed in a limited edition of 100 CDs, the album will be available to buy for $10 at the CD release event, and also is now on sale at local retailers Euclid Records and Vintage Vinyl.

The CD release event is free and open to the public, and will feature performances from most of the musicians who appear on the album, plus "free drinks and snacks."

New CD release showcases St. Louis free improvisors

A loosely organized collective of St. Louis improvising musicians is releasing a CD documenting their live performances over the past two years.

New Music/Free Improv Live at the Tavern of Fine Arts contains ten tracks recorded at a half-dozen different events held between March 2014 and March 2016 at the Central West End restaurant and bar referenced in the album's title.

With production overseen by flute player/composer Fred Tompkins and pianist Greg Mills (both of whom also perform on some of the tracks), the album compiles music from monthly jam sessions at the ToFA; last fall's "3 Nights In September" festival; and more, all recorded live to two-track by Tompkins.

In addition to the two producers/project managers, performers include cellist Tracy Andreotti, poet Michael Castro, percussionist Henry Claude, violinist Alex Cunningham, keyboardist James Hegarty, clarinetist Eric Mandat, trombonist Jeremy Melsha, guitarist Lee Scott Price, trumpeter George Sams, saxophonist Dave Stone, bassist Josh Weinstein, and percussionist Thomas Zirkle.

To help promote the album (pictured), the various musicians involved will stage a CD release event at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 13 at the ToFA. Admission is free.

Update, 12:00 a.m., 6/17/16: The proprietors of the Tavern of Fine Arts announced late yesterday that they'll be closely permanently on Saturday, June 25, meaning that the CD release event on Wednesday, July 13 is canceled. If it is rescheduled at another venue, depending on the timing there will be either another update or a new post here on StLJN.

Pressed in a limited edition of 100 CDs, the album will be available to buy for $10 at the event on July 13, and also will be available for purchase from the participating musicians and soon, at local retailers Euclid Records and Vintage Vinyl. Plans for a digital release are pending, said Tompkins.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A look at outside St. Louis

It's been too hot here for the last week and a half in St. Louis to spend much time outside physically, so today we've got some videos for you that go outside in a musical sense. This sampling of live performance clips from area musicians whose work might be called experimental, free-form, or avant garde includes:

* Electronic musician Eric Hall, seen up above in a solo set recorded at Washington University's Steinberg Auditorium in December 2010;

* Flute player and composer Fred Tompkins and keyboardist/composer Jim Hegarty, seen in the first clip down below joining forces to perform Tompkins' piece "My Changes." The performance, recorded in January 2011 at the St. Charles Coffee House, starts with what Tompkins calls "certain points of reference - tonalities, a general idea of style and overall form" while leaving the exact note choices and length of each section open;

* An excerpt from one of the "Drum Line" concerts presented in 2011 by the Nu-Art Series, featuring drummers Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Gary Sykes, Jerome "Scrooge" Harris and Johnny Johnson;

* Part of an electronic music performance from Joe Raglani and Jeremy Kannapell, recorded last year at the music and art venue Floating Laboratories;

* An improvisation by percussionists Thomas Zirkle and Matt Henry, who sometimes perform together under the name HaZmaT;

* More improv from the Off-Topic Collective, a project that included Hegarty, bassist Willem von Hombracht, percussionist Henry Claude, and saxophonist Dave Stone. The clip was shot in February 2009 at the Kranzberg Arts Center;

* And finally, yet another live improv featuring Stone and friends (the clip is too dark to identify most of the players) recorded last August at El Leñador.

Obligatory disclaimer: Due to the nature of free improvisation, what you see in these clips may or may not resemble what any of these musicians may do on their next live gig. Also, the players seen here certainly aren't the only people in town doing this sort of thing. Think of this post as being merely a representative sample of some names to watch for...

Three new jams added to local musical menu

The jam session has proved to be a durable institution in jazz for a number of reasons. For musicians, a jam session can be a proving ground, a laboratory and a networking opportunity. For listeners, it's a source of novel, spontaneous entertainment. And for bar, restaurant and club owners, a jam session can be a way to vary their musical offerings and perhaps attract additional patrons at times when business otherwise might be a bit slack.

No surprise then, that even as the rest of the music business has changed drastically, the jam session has remained something of a staple over the years. One current local example of the format is the weekly Tuesday night session at Robbie's House of Jazz, a venue that also hosts a "jam" expressly for vocalists on Wednesday nights. Certain other regular gigs, such as the Voodoo Blues Band's weekly Sunday matinees at Hammerstone's, may not be billed specifically as jam sessions, but have developed a reputation as being open to sit-ins from visiting musicians.

Now, whether it's a sign of impending Spring or just a coincidence, it looks like the local jam session scene is about to enjoy a growth spurt, with three recurring events being added to the musical menu:

* The group Nu-Element, which previously has been involved with jam sessions at a couple of different local venues, now will hold forth from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. every Thursday at Hwy 61 Roadhouse in Webster Groves. Trumpeter/leader Keith Moyer says the band, which also includes Grant Krener (guitar), Charlie Brown (piano), Rich Mendoza (bass) and Ron Carr (drums), will welcome sit-ins on the gig - and with thriving jazz programs nearby at both Webster University and Webster Groves High School, there's already a good-sized pool of potential jammers right in the neighborhood.

* The Tavern of Fine Arts, located in the Central West End at 313 Belt Ave. (near Pershing), now is sponsoring a monthly "Avant-Garde Arts Night" starting at 7:30 p.m. the last Tuesday of every month, with the next one scheduled this coming Tuesday, February 28. While it's not quite an open jam per se, percussionist Thomas Zirkle leads a core group of players - some associated with presenting organization New Music Circle - in a free form improv session, with guest musicians joining in and painters or sculptors creating new works on the spot.

* Starting on Sunday, March 4, bassist Willem von Hombracht, a mainstay of Tuesday nights at Robbie's, will add another session to his portfolio with "Willem's Sunday Jazz Jam," a weekly event at Johnny Gitto's bar and restaurant, 6997 Chippewa (just inside the city limits). Singer Joe Mancuso, who's organizing the sessions with von Hombracht, says the bassist will anchor a three-piece rhythm section for an open jam from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. each week. Gitto's also will be offering specials on food and drink during the weekly sessions, said Mancuso.

Jazz this week: Waverly Seven, Laetitia Sonami, Corey Christiansen, and more

Although the the jazz calendar this weekend isn't exactly packed, there are definitely a few shows happening that are worthy of attention, starting with Waverly Seven (pictured), who are performing at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday.

The NYC-based septet, which features two keyboard players, bass and drums in its rhythm section behind a front line of saxophonist/clarinetist Anat Cohen, her brother Avishai Cohen on trumpet and Joel Frahm on tenor sax. They're a relatively new band that made their public debut earlier this year and, since the members are all bandleaders and/or in-demand side players in their own right, has played only a half-dozen gigs so far. As a result, they don't have much of a track record yet as a group, but given the considerable talents of the individual members, they seem worth checking out. Part of each set will be a quartet performance fronted by Anat Cohen, hopefully providing an opportunity to spotlight her very fine clarinet work.

Also making a debut this weekend is a new St. Louis jazz trio featuring pianist James Hegarty, drummer Tom Zirkle and bassist Luis-Michael Zayas. They'll perform a program of original compositions in a free concert on Friday night at the Mildred E. Bastian Performing Arts Center at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park.

On Sunday afternoon, guitarist Corey Christiansen returns to the St. Louis area to perform a concert in the Donald D. Shook Fine Arts Building of at St. Charles Community College. Before moving back to his home state of Utah earlier this year, Christiansen lived in St. Louis for several years while working for Mel Bay Publications. He's a very solid player in the mainstream jazz guitar style, and definitely worth a listen if you enjoy that genre.

On Sunday night, New Music Circle presents mixed-media performance artist Laetitia Sonami in a concert at SLCC-Forest Park. Born in France and now a resident of Oakland, California, Sonami is a composer, dancer, and sound installation artist who uses technology in combination with text, dance, and “found sounds" to create works the Los Angeles Times has called "visceral and engaging.” One of the pieces she will perform is called “The Appearance of Silence (The Invention of Perspective),” and it incorporates her instrument “the lady’s glove,” a sensor-studded controller made of black lycra that is worn on the hand to allow movements to control sounds, mechanical devices, and lights in real time.

For more, please consult the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, with the caveat that since the new month arrives over weekend, schedule updates from clubs and bands likely will be ongoing for the next several days.

(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.)

Hegarty, Zirkle and Zayas to launch trio with November 30 concert at SLCC-Forest Park

Electronic musician, pianist and composer James Hegarty sends word that he's launching a new jazz trio with a free concert at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 30 at the Mildred E. Bastian Performing Arts Center at St. Louis Community College - Forest Park.

Hegarty's co-conspirators in the as-yet-unnamed trio are bassist Luis-Michael Zayas, a Washington University music student who also performs with the Latin jazz ensemble Musica Slesa, and percussionist Tom Zirkle, also a member of Musica Slesa as well as the head of the music program at SLCC-Forest Park (where Hegarty taught before getting his current gig as director of the jazz program at Principia College). Hegarty describes the program as "a collection of original tunes that combine cool jazz harmonies with fusion and world music inspired rhythms in a post-bop style."