Sunday Session: August 15, 2021

Gerald Cleaver

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

* Gerald Cleaver about Griots, Ghost Orbits and Modular Synthesis (15Questions.net)
* De La Soul Have Finally Acquired Their Masters, According to Talib Kweli (Consequence.net)
* Inside look: How Sun Studio's music and magic have carried on for almost 70 years (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
* Staunchly Original: Marking 20 Years of Pi Recordings (WBGO)
* Chronology: Quincy Jones in the 1950s (Jazz Times)
* Jazz Fest Canceled; New Orleans Reacts (DownBeat)
* This Musician's Unlikely Duet Partner? The Golden Gate Bridge (NPR)
* Famous Harlem Block Renamed Art Kane Harlem 1958 Place (Jazz Times)
* SFJAZZ Collective: Reflecting the Moment (SFJAZZ.org)
* Chops: Min Xiao-Fen on the Pipa (Jazz Times)
* Tony Bennett Cancels Fall 2021 Tour (Variety)
* Tony Bennett retires from performing (AVClub.com)
* The New York Jazz Museum: 1972-1977 (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Living Spaces: Preserving Jazz Homes (Jazz Times)
* AEG To Require Proof Of Full Vaccination At All U.S. Venues Beginning October 1st (LiveForLiveMusic.com)
* Sonic Temples - The resurgence of Memphis’ classic recording studios. (MemphisMagazine.com)
* Historic St. Louis Church Could Become National Center For Gospel Music (StLouisPublicRadio.org)
* Are NFTs The New Napster? This Time The Music Industry Isn’t Taking Chances (Forbes.com)

Sunday Session: April 25, 2021

Larry Carlton

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

* Catching Up With Laurie Anderson, An Artist Always Ahead Of Her Time (NPR)
* And all that jazz: innovative album covers from the 1950s on – in pictures (The Guardian)
* Jazz Artists Remember Chick Corea (Jazz Times)
* Apple Music Says It Pays One Penny Per Stream — 2-3 Times What Spotify Pays (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Does Spotify pay artists a fair rate? Here’s what musicians, managers and Apple Music have to say (Los Angeles Times)
* Ethan Iverson: From The Bad Plus to Bebop, Bud Powell and Bach (JazzWeekly.com)
* Tony Bennett: A Hero's Journey in Authenticity (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Sonny Simmons and the Backwoods (The Wire)
* Larry Carlton: My Career in Five Songs (Guitar Player)
* UnitedMasters’ Steve Stoute: ‘Record companies’ ownership in artists’ intellectual property will diminish.’ (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* Chops: Branford Marsalis and Howard Alden on Ghost Performances in Movies (Jazz Times)
* Prince’s go-to synths and drum machine: a career in music tech gear (MusicRadar.com)
* 2021 NEA Jazz Masters: A Q&A with Phil Schaap (SFJAZZ.org)
* Why is classical music used in cartoons? (ABC.net.au)
* Tomorrow’s Warriors at 30 - the power behind London’s jazz revival (The Standard)
* 45 Lost Albums We Want To Hear (Stereogum.com)
* International Jazz Day's Global Celebrations Are On, And Again Online (NPR)
* Sounding Out Electronic Music’s Female Pioneers (Metrograph.com)
* Tom Holkenborg: “I think I paid about £15 for my Memorymoog synth - in 1983 you couldn’t give them away” (MusicRadar.com)
* SFJazz hosts inspiring virtual Jazz Masters Tribute Concert (San Francisco Chronicle)
* Recordable and portable: the cassette tape miracle (NewFrame.com)
* Steve Reich: Humans Love to See Other Humans Play Music (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Frank Zappa’s Final American Concert to Be Released as Live Album (Consequence of Sound)
* Sisters With Transistors: inside the fascinating film about electronic music’s forgotten pioneers (The Guardian)

Sunday Session: February 7, 2021

Femi Kuti

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

* The Autobiography of Phil Woods: April in Paris 1968 (Jazz Times)
* Spotify’s latest invention monitors your speech, determines your emotional state… and suggests music based on it (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* YouTube says music artists' income could fall if it must pay more for streams (The Guardian)
* Tony Bennett's Battle With Alzheimer's (AARP.org)
* Mississippi Delta: The root of the blues in photos (Nashville Tennessean)
* Playlist: Haitian Rhythms And The Music Of New Orleans (NPR)
* The Velvet Mafia: the gay men who helped shape music in the 60s (The Guardian)
* Different beat: how Fela Kuti’s son and grandson are modernising the dynasty (The Guardian)
* A Time For The Blues (DownBeat)
* The Greatest and Yacht-iest of the Doobie Brothers, According to Michael McDonald (Vulture.com)
* Got the blues? Listen to these 25 essential Mississippi Delta blues songs (Beauregard Daily News)
* Revisiting the Tender Sounds of Dusty Springfield (The New Yorker)
* Mozart did not consider himself a tortured genius (Christian Science Monitor)
* Ben Sidran: The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma (Nardis) (Jazz Times)
* Here’s Where You Can Donate to Help Struggling Music Industry Workers (Rolling Stone)
* How pianist Jason Moran is exploring art and Black influences to get through the pandemic (NBC News)
* The Last Remaining Juke Joints in America (SPIN)
* Planning for the Future of Van Gelder Studio (Jazz Times)
* Danny Ray, James Brown’s Longtime ‘Cape Man’ and Emcee, Dead at 85 (Rolling Stone)
* STEAL THIS PLAN (AntiGravityMagazine.com)
* Ma Rainey’s Blues Power (Tidal.com)
* Hermosa Beach’s Lighthouse Cafe plans to reopen in March under new ownership (Hermosa Beach Daily Breeze)
* Music Venue Owners And Artists Reflect On How The Pandemic Changed Their Industry (NPR)
* How Black Composers Shaped the Sound of American Classical Music (NPR)
* You might know the Bakersfield Sound, but how well do you know the Lakeview Sound? (KGET)
* Béla Fleck’s Journey To Find Truth In Origins Of The Banjo (WBUR)
* How the US Civil War Influenced Music (History.com)
* While Hollywood Had the Sunset Strip, East L.A. Had the ‘Latin Strip’ (LATaco.com)

Sunday Session: December 22, 2019

Gerald Cleaver

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

* Mars Williams brings his Albert Ayler Xmas across Europe and back home to Chicago (Chicago Reader)
* Gershon Kingsley, Moog Synthesizer Pioneer, Dies at 97 (Billboard)
* Wayne Shorter Continues to Forge Ahead (DownBeat)
* 'We loved each other': America’s first racially integrated all-girl swing band (The Guardian)
* A small Wisconsin company stored thousands of people’s CDs, then suddenly vanished (TheVerge.com)
* Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Finally Recognizes Woman Who Practically Invented Rock and Roll (Jezebel.com)
* Dave Brubeck’s Legacy Enters a New Era (DownBeat)
* The Siren Sound of the Clash’s ‘London Calling,’ 40 Years Later (TheRinger.com)
* How Many Spotify Streams Do You Need To Live Above The Poverty Line? (HaulixDaily.com)
* Terence Blanchard, American jazz trumpeter weaving opera history (Prothomalo.com)
* Don Was On The Past, Present, And Future Of Blue Note Records (ClashMusic.com)
* On The Scene: Tony Bennett—The Visual Artist (The Aquarian)
* Why Are There No New Christmas Songs? (NPR)
* George Benson: the album that changed my life (Jazzwise)
* Gerald Cleaver Bridges the Divide Between Structure and Freedom (DownBeat)
* Chamber Music America Grants $180,000 to Female-Led Jazz Ensembles (Jazz Times)
* The South African Songbook: Jazz Musicians Who Stayed During Apartheid (NPR)
* Tony Bennett Brings the Holiday Spirit With His Animated Yule Log (Parade)
* A Major Music Distributor Has Stifled Vinyl Sales for Record Stores and Indie Labels, Sources Say (Pitchfork.com)
* 'It's a Total Nightmare': Problems at Direct Shot Distributing Have Made New Vinyl and CDs Scarce (Billboard)
* No Other Love Is the B-Side of the Chicago Gospel Story (Chicago)
* How headphones are changing the sound of music (QZ.com)
* A Bessie Smith Christmas (Jazz Times)

Sunday Session: September 15, 2019

Mary Lou Williams

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

* The thrilling evolution of British jazz has reached a whole new audience (BigIssue.com)
* Chris Potter: What Influences the Influencer? (AllAboutJazz.com)
 * What do music/tech startups REALLY think about working with major labels? (Medium.com)
* Why is Chicago jazz so successful in Europe? (Chicago Reader)
* Tony Bennett, at 93: ‘I just want to keep learning and expressing the truth’ (San Diego Union Tribune)
* Apple Wanted to Revolutionize the Way Streaming Pays. Here’s Why It Wasn’t Allowed (Rolling Stone)
* Abdullah Ibrahim: A Focus on Spirituality (DownBeat)
* The Beatles, Stones, and… Olivia Newton-John?: These are the 50 most valuable records in the world (NME.com)
* Not All 'Lost' Jazz Albums Are Created Equal (NPR)
* Inside Hemen & Co: the tiny Kolkata sitar shop that supplied the Beatles (The Guardian)
* How Mary Lou Williams Shaped The Sound Of The Big-Band Era (NPR)
* How composer Terence Blanchard wove history into the score for “Harriet” (Fast Company)
* The Bad Plus announce new album; tour dates (GratefulWeb.com)
* 'This tape rewrites everything we knew about the Beatles' (The Guardian)
* What Happens When DJs Don’t “Own” Their Record Collections Anymore? (5Mag.net)
* Gearhead: How Gene Krupa Kicked the Drum Kit into the Jazz Age (Jazz Times)
* ‘Nobody Is Scrutinizing This’: How Labels Pay to Get Songs on the Radio (Rolling Stone)
* Two Chicago institutions bridge jazz and blues (Chicago Reader)
* When the Pianos Went to War (AtlasObscura.com)
* Chops: Streaming Jazz on the Installment Plan (Jazz Times)
* George Benson: “I’ve always been an experimenter. When I was young, I thought I was going to be a scientist” (MusicRadar.com)
* The best classical music works of the 21st century (The Guardian)
* Free jazz research and guerrilla scholarship: an interview with John Gray (The Wire)
* A Blue Note Founder’s View of Jazz Music’s Private Side (The New Yorker)
* Average Music Listening Time Is Down. How Much Does That Matter? (Billboard)
* With New Ensemble Members, SFJAZZ Collective Builds a Bigger Tent (DownBeat)
* New World Prophecy (The American Scholar)
* Soul On Soul: Allison Miller And Derrick Hodge On Honoring Mary Lou Williams (NPR)

Sunday Session: June 30, 2019

Dave Bartholomew

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

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

Sunday Session: October 14, 2018

Esperanza Spalding

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* BBC 'to make classical music archive available' (BBC)
* Quincy Jones, From A to Z (Rolling Stone)
* From Studio to Screen: Becoming a Composer (FactMag.com)
* Roy Orbison hologram concert in L.A. invites awe and debate (Los Angeles Times)
* Barcelona’s Jazz Festival Thrives at 50 (DownBeat)
* Visualizing 40 Years of Music Industry Sales (VisualCapitalist.com)
* Women Run the Show at Monterey Jazz Fest (San Francisco Classical Voice)
* Louis Armstrong's unseen artifacts almost ready for public view (AMNY.com)
* Radiohead, the Cure, Rage, Janet Jackson Nominated for Rock Hall of Fame 2019 (Pitchfork)
* Esperanza Spalding Casts First of “12 Little Spells” Online (Jazz Times)
* Shelved: Bill Evans’ Loose Blues (LongReads.com)
* “Automation Divine”: Early Computer Music and the Selling of the Cold War (New Music Box)
* Ahmad Jamal at 88: Still playing hard and on his way to Chicago (Chicago Tribune)
* A Labor of Love Supreme: Saving John Coltrane's Home Studio (Pro Sound News)
* Elvis Costello Explains His Great New Album, ‘Look Now’ (Rolling Stone)
* Into the Vault: Erroll Garner Uncovered (NPR)
* Key Music Modernization Act Proponents Disinvited to White House Signing Ceremony (Billboard)
* Marc Ribot Leads a Musical Army Protesting Against Trump (The Daily Beast)
* Lindsey Buckingham sues Fleetwood Mac for kicking him out (Associated Press)
* Famed jazz saxophonist accused of sexual misconduct by former protégé now suing for defamation (New York Daily News)
* Ben Wendel Takes ‘The Seasons’ from Video Project to Album (DownBeat)
* Tony Bennett & Diana Krall: They Like a Gershwin Tune (Jazz Times)
* Berklee to Launch Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice (Jazz Times)
* Maxine Gordon Ended Up Married to the Music (Publishers Weekly)
* The Unearthing of Thelonious Monk’s Lost Live Classic (Bandcamp.com)

Sunday Session: October 7, 2018

Jerry González

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* This Record Label Is What The Future Of Music Business Looks Like (Forbes)
* Wynton Marsalis on his animal ballet, teen funk band days, kazoos and Jazz at Lincoln Center's 31 years (San Diego Union Tribune)
* Q&A: Betty Davis looks back at her fiery funk legacy (Now Toronto)
* It’s Still Not Betty Davis Time, But We’re Getting There (Jazz Times)
* Guggenheim Says Spotify’s Major Label Renegotiations Will Significantly Lower Royalty Obligations (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Tony Bennett & Diana Krall: Streetwise, Yet Sophisticated (DownBeat)
* Jerry González Dies After Fire in His Madrid Home: Report (Billboard)
* Jerry González, Latin Jazz Visionary, Dies After House Fire (NPR)
* Jerry González Dies at 69 (Jazz Times)
* New Doc ‘Fire Music’ Sets the Record Straight on Free Jazz (Rolling Stone)
* Quincy Jones: Celebrating Seven Decades of Music (Billboard)
* Dizzy Gillespie Documentary in the Works (Jazz Times)
* Review: One Note At A Time (Jazz Journal)
* Monterey Jazz Festival Features Highly Charged Performances (DownBeat)
* Tom Petty’s Biographer on the Story He Didn’t Tell (Rolling Stone)
* Jazz Needs A "LeBron James Mentality": A Conversation With The West Coast Get Down's Cameron Graves (SFJAZZ.org)
* How the Music Modernization Act will help artists get paid more from streaming (TheVerge.com)
* How Geoff Emerick Helped the Beatles Reinvent Music (Rolling Stone)
* Geoff Emerick threw himself into the Beatles' experiments (The Guardian)
* Joey Baron’s Deep Listening Manifesto (DownBeat)
* New York Hot Jazz Festival Celebrates Music of New Orleans and Paris (DownBeat)
* Jaimie Branch on International Anthem Fostering Community (DownBeat)
* Hear the Earliest Surviving Radio Broadcast by Duke Ellington, A Historic Find, in Deep Dive (WBGO)
* The 40 Greatest Movie Soundtracks of All Time (Vulture.com)
* Guest Blog: Musicians Deserve More (Offbeat)
* Do Not Seek For Things Outside Yourself: The Compositional Journey of Tyshawn Sorey (BrooklynRail.org)
* Ethan Iverson: At the Crossroads of Jazz and Classical Music (DownBeat)
* The Art Ensemble of Chicago Celebrates 50 Years Of Channeling And Challenging History (NPR)
* Kamasi Washington on Igor Stravinsky, Art Blakey, and a Certain Vintage Arcade Game (WBGO)
* A Look Back At How Virtuoso Jimmy Blanton Changed The Bass Forever (NPR)

Sunday Session: June 25, 2017

Ahmad Jamal

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

* 'It’s just me, on the phone in my son’s bedroom.' The church hall that became contemporary music’s hottest venue (The Guardian)
* Thelonious Monk: Lost Liaison - Inside the Forgotten 1959 Studio Session (Jazz Times)
* Is the Printed Circuit Board a Form of Musical Notation? (New Music Box)
* The Story Behind ‘I’ll Be Around’ (Wall Street Journal)
* Alice Coltrane: “The Gifts God Gave Him” (Jazz Times)
* Team-Ups & Supergroups Power San Francisco Jazz Festival (DownBeat)
* In New Orleans, Party Buses Drive The Legacy Of Bounce Music (TheFader.com)
* Generation Next: Four Voices From Seattle (AllAboutJazz.com)
* The Story of Tropicália in 20 Albums (Pitchfork.com)
* Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah On World Cafe (NPR)
* Money Ain’t a Thang: 11 of the Most Expensive Albums Ever Produced (Soundfly.com)
* Philadelphia Orchestra composer Hannibal finds humanity amid the loss (Philly.com)
* Tony Bennett to Receive Library of Congress Gershwin Prize (Rolling Stone)
* Ann Hampton Callaway Says Her Return to Singing Is ‘Scary and Thrilling’ (Playbill)
* Q&A with Ahmad Jamal: Continuum of Influence (DownBeat)
* "My goal is to reach people on an emotional level" — The Kenny Barron interview (Ottawa Citizen)
* Paul McCartney on making music with Kanye West: ‘You basically don’t write songs’ (NME.com)
* Why my guitar gently weeps - The slow, secret death of the six-string electric. And why you should care (Washington Post)
* Mills College’s Plan to Ax Jazz Legend Roscoe Mitchell Draws International Outrage (East Bay Express)
* Red Hook Jazz Festival: Neighborhood Feel, Avant Sound (DownBeat)
* The Secret Lives of Playlists (CashMusic.org)
* What I'm Listening to Now: Mats Gustafsson (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Why didn’t famous composers write national anthems? (Classical-Music.com)
* The Ethereal Genius of Craig Taborn (New York Times)
* Artist’s Choice: Bobby Watson on Unsung New York Masters - The saxophonist and educator reflects on his mentors (Jazz Times)
* Langston Hughes Creates a List of His 100 Favorite Jazz Recordings: Hear 80+ of Them in a Big Playlist (OpenCulture.com)
* Bon Iver’s Dad Helped Me Discover the Secret Jazz History of His Hometown (Vice.com)
* Is Jazz Still Sexist? (Jazz Times)
* The Weird World Of One-Hit Wonders (UDiscoverMusic.com)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Fans of adventurous music and/or craft beer can support New Music Circle at a fundraiser scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. next Tuesday, June 13 at Urban Chestnut brewery's Midtown location, 3229 Washington Ave. A portion of beverage purchases made during those hours will be donated to NMC.

* The Boston Creme donut from Old Town Donuts in Florissant is the winner of Jazz St. Louis' "Best Donut" award for 2017, as determined last Friday during JSL's annual "National Donut Day" celebration. You can see photos from the event in a Facebook album here.

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby, who's been spending a lot of time in Europe recently, last month conducted two workshops for young musicians in Spain, working under the auspices of the US Embassy with students at the Teresa Berganza music conservatory in Madrid and the Padre Antonio Soler music school in San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

* Singer-songwriter Norah Jones' performance on Tuesday at the Scottrade Ceneter was reviewed for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Dan Durchholz.

* Singer Dee Daniels (pictured), who will perform this Sunday with the St. Louis Symphony as part of their "Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and the Ladies of Swing," was interviewed by St. Louis magazine.

* The newly renamed Webster Groves Concert Hall, formerly the Ozark Theatre, is the subject of a St. Louis County Arts blog feature by Valerie Tichacek.

* As one of 77 local bands that will perform in the Riverfront Times' upcoming ShowcaseSTL, the  Funky Butt Brass Band were profiled this week by the RFT's Roy Kasten.

* Singer Tony Bennett's show Wednesday night at the Fox Theatre was reviewed by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, and the Post also published an "IParty" album of photos from the evening.

* This weekend's U City Jazz Festival and Fair U City are previewed in the Post's "Hot List" section.

* Mozingo Music is presenting a free workshop on audio recording at 7:00 p.m. Monday, June 26 at their store at 4689 Hwy. K in O'Fallon, MO. The 90-minute workshop will feature manufacturer's rep Michael Canning demonstrating the use of PreSonus software and hardware and Audio Technica microphones in a live recording session. Admission is free, but since space is limited, advance reservations are required.

Jazz this week: Tony Bennett, two Miles Davis tributes, U City Jazz Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the return of a legendary vocalist; two different events paying tribute to this city's most influential jazz musician ever; several free outdoor events featuring live jazz, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, June 7
Singer Tony Bennett (pictured, top left), who remarkably is still touring regularly as a nonagenarian, returns to perform at the Fox Theatre. Some tickets are still available as of this writing; for details, visit the "rush" section of the Fox's website. To when your appetite with some live performance videos of Bennett, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, the weekly Grand Center Jazz Crawl continues with live music at four different venues in the district; and the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra performs at First Unity Church of St. Louis.

Thursday, June 8
Pianist Adam Maness returns with his trio to Thurman's in Shaw.

Friday, June 9
Keyboardist Adaron Jackson, guitarist Eric Slaughter, saxophonist Ben Reece (pictured, center left) and drummer Montez Coleman, doing business as Jackson, Slaughter, Reece & Coleman, will revisit the sounds of some of the classic organ/tenor soul-jazz combos of 1950s and '60s for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also on Friday, trumpeter Randy Holmes leads his quintet in the first of two nights of the "St. Louis Miles Davis Festival," performing music associated with Davis at the Webster Groves Concert Hall (formerly the Ozark Theatre).

Elsewhere around town, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; ; and saxophonist Paul DeMarinis and guitarist Dave Black, collaborators in several past bands, will debut a new group called Breathtet, also featuring bassist Mark Wallace and drummer Kevin Cheli, in a show at The Focal Point,

Saturday, June 10
It's a good day to hear some jazz at a free outdoor festival, with three different events happening in the afternoon and evening.

Starting in mid-afternoon, the U City Jazz Festival will feature music from drummer Demarius Hicks, pianist Ptah Williams (pictured, bottom left), guitarist Dave Black, Bach to the Future, and the St. Louis Jazz All-Stars, continuing through the evening at Heman Park,

A little later in the afternoon and just a few miles away, the City of Clayton Music + Wine Festival will include performances from The Gaslight Squares, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes, and Miss Jubilee as part of a free outdoor concert at Carondelet Plaza.

At the same time a little further to the east, the Central West End Cocktail Party will include a stage at Euclid and McPherson with live performances from bands including the Twin Cities' Gatsby Gang and St. Louis' own Funky Butt Brass Band.

Also on Saturday, the Alton Museum presents the 12th annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival in the town where the iconic trumpeter was born, featuring music from blues singer Big George Brock Jr. and the NGK Band, piano/vocal duo Bob and Me, guitarist Tim Jarden, and saxophonist Fred Walker at the Jacoby Arts Center.

Sunday, June 11
The St. Louis Symphony presents a "Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and the Ladies of Swing" featuring singer Dee Daniels at Powell Symphony Hall; the St. Louis Jazz Club's monthly show will feature John Gillick and the Impacts with pianist Bob Row at the DoubleTree Hotel; and the Ambassadors of Swing return to Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

Monday, June 12 
Trumpeter Jim Manley will play his weekly gig serenading diners and drinkers at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, June 13
Saxophonist Adam Larson will be in town to present a free masterclass and performance at Saxquest, backed by guitarist Matt Sewell, bassist Bob DeBoo, and drummer Matt Wilson.

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: Steppin' out with Tony Bennett

This week, let's check out some videos featuring singer Tony Bennett, who will be returning to St. Louis to perform next Wednesday, June 7 at the Fox Theatre.

Bennett, still remarkably active for a 90-year-old, has stayed newsworthy into the 21st century, thanks most recently to the Duets albums pairing him with currently popular singers ranging from Lady Gaga to Carrie Underwood.

On his own in concert, Bennett's distinctive voice inevitably is showing some effects of age, but his performances continue to please audiences who appreciate his taste in songs, superb timing, choice of musicians, and continued craftsmanship as a singer and showman.

Today's collection of videos shows off those attributes as they have evolved over the last 40 years, from the present day back to the mid-1970s. To start, you can get a sense of Bennett's approach to a song circa 2015 in the first video up above, a duet with pianist Bill Charlap on "The Way You Look Tonight" as recorded on their album The Silver Lining: The Music of Jerome Kern.

After the jump, you can see Bennett and one his most storied duet partners, pianist Bill Evans (who's also an important inspiration for Charlap), in Together Again, a half-hour television special recorded in 1976 for the Canadian TV network CBC. While this period may have been a low point in history for Bennett in terms of commercial appeal and critical notice, the performances provide clear evidence that he was still singing very well.

Below that, there are four more recent live shows, recorded over a 20-year period beginning as Bennett's career entered a second act, nearly unprecedented in pop culture, in which he became more popular than ever.

The first complete show is from 1991 at the Prince Edward Theatre in London, England, followed by Bennett's set from the 2002 Newport Jazz Festival.

Next, in a performance that foreshadows those Duets projects, you can see Bennett joined by singer k.d. lang for a 2002 concert in San Francisco. The final video is from Bennett's 85th birthday concert in 2012 at the London Palladium, and includes guest performances from British singers Cleo Laine and Leona Lewis.

For more about what Tony Bennett has been up to recently, check out his interview from last November on the Boston radio station WBUR, and his video interview from April 2017 with PBS' Tavis Smiley.

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

Tony Bennett returning for concert on Wednesday, June 7 at the Fox Theatre

Singer Tony Bennett is returning to St. Louis to perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 7 at the Fox Theatre.

Bennett, still remarkably active after turning 90 years old last August, is touring in support of his most recent album, the not-coincidentally-titled Tony Bennett Celebrates 90, which came out in December 2016.

His daughter Antonia Bennett, also a singer and a graduate of Berklee College of Music, will open the show.

Bennett (pictured) last performed in the St. Louis area in September 2015 at Lindenwood University's Scheidegger Center for the Arts.

While the announcement received by StLJN did not include prices, tickets for Tony Bennett at the Fox Theatre will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, March 24 via MetroTix and the Fox box office.

Sunday Session: August 14, 2016

"A Great Day In Harlem"

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

* We’ve Passed Peak Vinyl – Here Comes The Collapse (Stereogum)
* What It Takes for an Independent Record Store to Survive Now (Pitchfork)
* Twang Time: Scofield Explores Country Music on New Album (DownBeat)
* A Conversation With ... Norah Jones (FYIMusicNews.ca)
* Norah Jones Teams with Jazz Icons for Day Breaks (DownBeat)
* Kittens, Kisses, And Razorblades: Behind Star Trek's Iconic Sounds (AudibleRange.com)
* 5 Musicians Pick Their Favorite Herbie Hancock Recordings (NPR)
* The Collapse of Music Dealers and Music Licensing’s “Race to the Bottom” (ConsequenceOfSound.net)
* Harry Connick Jr. joining daytime talk world and all that jazz (Fresno Bee)
* Herman Leonard’s intimate portraits of jazz greats draw viewers into smoky clubs (Washington Post)
* Paul McCartney Looks Back: The Rolling Stone Interview (Rolling Stone)
* SoundGirls Go To Camp (Pro Sound News)
* Bonerama Sends Love to Roswell Rudd (MySpiltMilk.com)
* Reviving a Detroit jazz legacy: Terry Jean Pollard was queen of the vibes (Detroit Metro Times)
* Tunisia’s Dying Jazz (Foreign Policy)
* From Gladiators to Bog Bodies: How inventive, evocative museum sound design is created today (ASoundEffect.com)
* Epic Records Whips Up Hit Album Out of Thin Air (and Online Streams)(New York Times)
* Tony Bennett's Season of Celebration: At 90, the Singer Reflects On A Life Rich with Collaborations, from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga (Billboard)
* Randy Weston Archive Provides Glimpse Into the History of Jazz in America and Africa (Harvard.edu)
* A visual chronicle of Tokyo’s disappearing jazz bars (TheVinylFactory.com)
* 12 Sound Artists Changing Your Perception of Art (Artnet.com)
* Cruisin’: Vintage photos of cars tricked out with record players (DangerousMinds.com)
* Stoop Summit - How a Harlem brownstone was immortalized when the living legends of jazz assembled there for an iconic photograph (New York Daily News)
* Inside Elvis Presley's Legendary Man-Cave Studio (Rolling Stone)
* Review: Herbie Hancock, Basking in a Boundless Legacy of Fusion (New York Times)
* Saving American Music: Heather West (ElmoreMagazine.com)
* Robert Glasper Experiment Returns with Eclectic ArtScience (DownBeat)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Tony Bennett's performance last Saturday night at Lindenwood University was reviewed for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Dan Durchholz.

* This week's "Jazz St. Louis at 20" festivities at Jazz at the Bistro were previewed in articles in the Post-Dispatch and in Ladue News. Jazz St. Louis also has posted to Facebook some photos from Wednesday night's show featuring Christian McBride, Cyrus Chestnut, Gregory Hutchinson, Russell Malone, Terell Stafford, and Tim Warfield.

* Speaking of pictures, there's a photo set from last Saturday's Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival now online at the KDHX website.

* Singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli talked about his just-released album of Paul McCartney songs with KMOX radio's Charlie Brennan.

* A brief article in St. Louis magazine previews the upcoming season from New Music Circle.

* Music from the STL Free Jazz Collective (pictured) is included in the latest edition of Taran's Free Jazz Hour podcast.

* The Midwest Jazz-tette has produced and uploaded to YouTube a new promotional video/electronic press kit.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake will be back in action next week with Trio 3 for three dates at the Blue Note in NYC. Lake, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille will be joined by a different guest pianist every night, with The Bad Plus' Ethan Iverson playing on Tuesday, Vijay Iyer on Wednesday, and Jason Moran on Thursday.

* A new exhibit at the Luminary Center for the Arts that includes posters, poetry chapbooks, and other materials from the Black Artists Group is the subject of a story on St. Louis Public Radio. Titled "The Marvelous is Free," the exhibit displays the BAG artifacts with "other art from The Black Arts Movement, Gay Rights Movement and the fight for Latino rights during the late 1960s and early ’70s," and will continue through November 6.

Jazz this week: Tony Bennett, Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival, Two Times True, Montez Coleman, "3 Nights in September," and more

As St. Louis prepares to mark the turn of seasons into autumn, the jazz and creative music presenting season is starting to roll, with offerings this week ranging from the return of one of the foremost interpreters of the "Great American Songbook" to a three-day gathering of local improvisors and experimentalists. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 16
Pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with guest saxophonist Larry Johnson (pictured, top left) return to Jazz at the Bistro for the first night of a two-night engagement; Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Open Mic Night" at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes duo will play at The Feasting Fox.

Thursday, September 17
Trumpeter Danny Campbell and band will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and guitarist Dave Black and friends, featuring singer Feyza Eren, will return to Nathalie’s.

Also on Thursday, New Music Circle will anticipate the beginning of their 57th season with a "welcome/fundraiser" event at the Tick Tock Tavern, 3459 Magnolia Ave. The event is free to attend, and will feature "drinks, live DJs (Josh Weinstein and Jeremy Kannapell), and raffle prizes such as vinyl LPs, CDs, and tickets to NMC concerts." Bar proceeds from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. will go into NMC's coffers to help fund their concert season and associated programs.

Friday, September 18
Drummer Montez Coleman will lead a quintet for a one-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro that originally was billed as a date to be co-led by saxophonist Willie Akins.

Instead, the evening has been re-purposed as a tribute to Akins, whose recently worsening health issues have left him unable to perform. With the veteran saxophonist unavailable, Coleman (pictured, center left) has enlisted two up-and-coming alumni of Jazz St. Louis' all-star student ensemble, trumpeter Brady Lewis and saxophonist Carlos Brown Jr, with guitarist Eric Slaughter and bassist Bob DeBoo completing the ensemble. 

Also on Friday, the Air Force Band of Mid-America's "Shades of Blue" jazz combo will perform in concert at Alton's Jacoby Arts Center; the 4.5 Smooth Groove Band will play smooth jazz, R&B and fusion at the Ozark Theatre; and the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, September 19
Beginning at mid-day and continuing until well past dark, the annual Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival will feature two stages of music in the area around the intersection of Lockwood and Gore Avenues in Webster Groves' Old Webster Business District.

Performers at the free event will include saxophonist Eric Marienthal, guesting with St. Louis' Bach to the Future; the Webster University faculty jazz ensemble; Miss Jubilee; blues guitarist and singer Marquise Knox, and more. For more about the OWJBF, check out this interview that festival music director Terry Perkins did with St. Louis magazine.

Then on Saturday evening, legendary singer Tony Bennett (pictured, center right) will make his first appearance in the St. Louis area since 2011, performing at the J. Scheidegger Center For The Arts on the Lindenwood University campus in St. Charles.

If you don't have tickets already, though, you may be out of luck, as the Scheidegger Center's website currently shows the concert as a sellout. You can find out about potential returns, cancellations, and/or any other last-minute availabilities by calling the box office at (636) 949-4433.

Also on Saturday evening, the Jim Manley/Randy Bahr All-Star Group will return to Nathalie's.

Monday, September 21
The Webster University jazz faculty ensemble will pay tribute to one of the key jazz record labels of the 1960s and '70s with "On Impulse - A Celebration of Impulse Records" at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

The ensemble, featuring Keith Moyer (trumpet), Paul DeMarinis (flute, alto and tenor saxophones), Steve Schenkel (guitar), Kim Portnoy (piano), Willem von Hombracht (bass), Kevin Gianino (drums), and Debby Lennon (vocals), will perform St. Louis native Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" from Nelson's classic Impulse album Blues and the Abstract Truth, plus eight more selections recorded for Impulse by John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett and others.

Also on Monday, "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Tuesday, September 22
It's the first of "3 Nights in September," a mid-week festival of improvised and experimental music organized by cellist Tracy Andreotti at the Tavern of Fine Arts. Tuesday's program will include performances from Brain Transplant, NNN Cook, Michael Williams, and the Hess/Cunningham Duo (pictured, bottom left).

The festival then continues on Wednesday and Thursday with two more completely different lineups of bands and musicians; see the event's Facebook page for the latest details.

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.)

Tony Bennett returning for concert on Saturday, September 19 at Scheidegger Center

Legendary singer Tony Bennett is booked to return to the St. Louis area this fall to perform at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, September 19 at Lindenwood University's J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts, 2300 W Clay in St Charles.

Bennett (pictured) last appeared in St. Louis in November 2011 at the Fox Theater. Since then, his duet album with pop diva Lady Gaga, Cheek to Cheek, and a followup live album, both released last year, became unexpected hits, and the ever-swinging octogenarian, now 88 years old, is touring once again this summer with Gaga.

Bennett's concert on September 19 will be the first in Scheidegger Center's 2015-16 "main stage" performing arts series, which also will feature another event of potential interest to jazz fans, as Frank Sinatra, Jr. presents "Sinatra Sings Sinatra - The Centennial Celebration" on Saturday, December 19.

Described as "a one-of-a-kind multi-media experience," the tribute performance incorporates "stories, photos, videos, and songs," and features a big band including former sidemen of Sinatra, senior.

Other shows in the venue's "Main Stage" series will include the Doobie Brothers (October 10), Natalie Cole (December 12), standup comic Sinbad (January 30), Michael Bolton (February 11), BeeGees tribute act Stayin' Alive (March 19), a touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (April 7): and "Roots and Boots," with country singers Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin, and Pam Tillis (April 16).

Tickets for Tony Bennett are priced from $69.50 to $99.50, while ducats for "Sinatra Sings Sinatra - The Centennial Celebration" will set you back from $59.50 to $89.50. Tickets for all the shows in the Scheidegger Center's "main stage" series will be on sale online only at http://luboxoffice.com/ starting next Monday, July 13, and then also at the Scheidegger Center box office beginning Monday, July 27.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Tony Bennett's concert Wednesday night at the Fox Theatre was reviewed for the Post-Dispatch by Terry Perkins. And if you're curious about Bennett's new CD Duets II, check out this review of the disc from Jazz Times' Christopher Loudon.

* Meanwhile, Kurt Elling, who's in town through Saturday performing at Jazz at the Bistro, went on the afternoon newscast Thursday at local Fox affiliate KTVI to perform a duet of "The Waking" with bassist Clarke Moore. See the video here.

* The RFT Music Blog has video of electronic musician Eric Hall's performance last weekend At Laumeier Sculpture Park.

* Speaking of electronic musicians, Keith Fullerton Whitman has posted online an 11-minute audio excerpt of his performance here last weekend for New Music Circle at White Flag Projects.

* And speaking of the RFT Music Blog, a recent post by Jaime Lees entitled "100 St. Louis Bands, 100 Drink Pairings: A Comprehensive Guide" includes drink recipes (auto-generated from search results by the website Drinkfy.org) for several St. Louis jazz musicians, including Hamiet Bluiett ("1 bottle Red Wine. Serve on rocks. Stir vigorously. Garnish with maraschino cherry.") and Peter Martin ("10 oz. Vodka, 10 oz. Grenadine, 6 oz. Monster Energy Drink. Combine in highball glass and serve. Stir quickly. Garnish with glowstick.") Martin (pictured) plays tomorrow night at the Sheldon Concert Hall with the New Orleans Modern Jazz Masters.