Jazz St. Louis sets 25th anniversary celebration for Friday, October 2

Jazz St. Louis will celebrate their 25th anniversary with a free online event on Friday, October 2.

From its origins as the "Just Jazz" concert series presented by the late Barbara Rose at the Majestic Hotel downtown, Jazz St. Louis has grown into a top presenter of touring and local jazz performers with its own venue in the Grand Center district, renovated in 2014 and now officially known as the Ferring Jazz Bistro.

In addition to presenting live performances, the organization also offers various educational programs for local students from ranging from pre-school to high school age.

The 25th anniversary celebration will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a "pre-event concert" featuring students in the organization's JazzU program.

Then starting at 7:00 p.m., Jazz St. Louis CEO Gene Dobbs Bradford and pianist Peter Martin will serve as hosts for the main event, which will include performances by violinist Regina Carter (pictured), The Bad Plus, singer and pianist Ann Hampton Callaway, and more.

To wrap up the evening, singer Denise Thimes will perform an "after-party" set at 8:00 p.m.

Jazz St. Louis' 25th anniversary celebration will be available for viewing for free via their Facebook page. You can find out more details about the celebration here, and RSVP to receive a reminder email about the event here.

J.D. Parran and K. Curtis Lyle to perform Saturday, February 8 at SLU's Xavier Hall

Multi-instrumentalist and St. Louis native J.D. Parran (pictured) is coming home to team up with poet K. Curtis Lyle and a group of local improvisors for a performance at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 8 at Xavier Hall on the campus of St. Louis University.

The concert is part of the "Jazz 'n Tongues" music-and-poetry series sponsored by SLU and the Nu-Art Series. Nu-Art's impresario George Sams will be part of the ensemble on trumpet and flugelhorn, along with bassist Darrell Mixon, violinist Alyssa Avery, and cellist Tracy Andreotti.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Nu-Art Series returning with poet Gerald Nicosia, River City Sound Clinic on Saturday, November 2 at Kranzberg Arts Center

Trumpeter and impresario George Sams' Nu-Art Series is returning to action next month with "Jazz n' Tongues: Musical Improvisation to the poetry of Gerald Nicosia," which will be presented at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, November 2 at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

The event, which is presented in conjunction with the St. Louis University music department, is free and open to the public. It will feature Sams and Nicosia (pictured) plus an ensemble of St. Louis improvising musicians dubbed the River City Sound Clinic, including cellist Tracy Andreotti, violinist Alyssa Avery, percussionist Henry Claude, clarinetist Eric Mandat, pianist Greg Mills, bassist Darrell Mixon, and saxophonist Aaron Parker.

Gerald Nicosia, who lives in Marin County, CA, is a poet, critic, and writer best known as the author of Memory Babe: A Critical Biography of Jack Kerouac; a historian of the Beats, the Sixties, and the Vietnam War; and the author of the 2001 book Home to War, about the experiences of Vietnam veterans returning to the US. His fourth and most recent collection of poetry, Night Train to Shanghai, was published in 2014 by Grizzly Peak Press.

As for the Nu-Art Series, Sams tells StLJN that he's got more events planned for the 2019-20 presenting season, most notably a residency and concert by trumpeter Eddie Henderson in the spring. Watch this space for more details as they become available...

Jazz St. Louis expands Whitaker Jazz Speaks series for 2018-19 season

Clockwise from top left: Blackburn, Gioia, Kahn, Riccardi

Jazz St. Louis has expanded their "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series for the 2018-19 season, and will present seven different free programs during the year featuring an impressive lineup of authors and scholars.

Four of the events will be co-produced with local libraries, with the other three taking place at Jazz St. Louis' headquarters in Grand Center.

The series begins on Wednesday, September 12 downtown at the St. Louis Public Library's Central Branch auditorium with "The Crisis in Music," featuring author and critic Ted Gioia.

Gioia, whose books include The History of Jazz and Delta Blues, will discuss "disruptions that are changing -- and perhaps destroying -- the fragile music infrastructure in America" and "will provide predictions on how our songs and performances might change over the next ten years."

Next up is "1950: The Year Jazz Changed on Two Coasts," which will be presented by Marc Myers on Wednesday, October 10 at the Ferring Jazz Bistro in Grand Center. Myers, who blogs at JazzWax.com, is a Wall Street Journal contributor, and the author of Why Jazz Happened, will discuss the development of West Coast and cool jazz, followed by a performance of Miles Davis’s complete Birth of the Cool and music from Dave Brubeck, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Gerry Mulligan.

The final program of 2018 will feature author and NPR jazz critic Kevin Whitehead previewing his book Play the Way You Feel on Wednesday, November 14 at the St. Louis County Library's Grant's View Branch. The book "examines how fiction and biographical films from 1927 to 2016 tell stories about jazz music and musicians," with Whitehead’s talk focused on "screen representations of early jazz in such films, illustrated with clips from Birth of the Blues (1941) and Syncopation (1942)."

The new year starts with a program featuring Julia Blackburn, author of With Billie: A New Look at the Unforgettable Lady Day on Wednesday, February 13 at the St. Louis County Library headquarters. Blackburn will discuss her biography of Billie Holiday, which was compiled entirely from interviews with people who knew the singer, including "piano players and dancers, pimps and junkies, lovers and narcs, producers and critics, each recalling intimate stories of the great Lady Day."

The following month, the Jazz St. Louis Big Band and pianist Reggie Thomas will honor the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nat "King" Cole with a performance of music associated with the pianist and vocalist on Wednesday, March 20 at the Bistro.

Then in April, author Ashley Kahn will present "A Love Supreme: The Music and Message in John Coltrane's Magnum Opus" on Wednesday, April 10 at the St. Louis Public Library's Schlafly Branch auditorium. Kahn, who has written books about both A Love Supreme and Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, will conduct "a deep dive into the mind and process of the man that gave us one of the most important recordings in jazz."

The final program of the 2018-19 season will feature Ricky Riccardi, author and director of research collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum, on Wednesday, April 17 at the Bistro. Riccardi will discuss Armstrong's early works, focusing on his Hot 5 and Hot 7 ensembles, followed by a performance of some of the most famous material from those two bands.

All the Whitaker Jazz Speaks programs begin at 7:00 p.m. and are free and open to the public, but because of limited seating capacity, RSVPs are requested for the three programs held at the Bistro. For more information or to reserve a spot, visit the series page on the JSL website. 

Win tickets to see Nels Cline 4 at Delmar Hall

Nels Cline is coming to St. Louis to perform next Friday, August 10 at Delmar Hall, and StLJN has a pair of free tickets to the show to give away to one lucky reader.

The Wilco guitarist (pictured) is touring with his band Nels Cline 4, which also features fellow guitarist Julian Lage, in support of their album Currents, Constellations, released earlier this year on the Blue Note label. You can see some videos of them in action in this post from last Saturday.

For a chance to win the tickets, leave a comment on this post before 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 6. At that time, yr. editor will use a random number from the generator at random.org to select one commenter as the winner. Good luck!

Update - 6:30 pm, Monday, August 6: The random number came up "2," so as the second commenter, "Tommy" wins the tickets. Congratulations! Tommy, please send an email to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com with your full name, as shown on whatever ID you have (driver's license, student ID, etc). Tickets will be held at the Delmar Hall box office, and they'll want to see that ID to make sure they're giving the tickets to the right person.

Whitaker Music Festival announces 2018 schedule

The Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden has announced their schedule for 2018.

The free concert series, presented Wednesday nights at the Garden from late May through the end of July, seems to be recalling its roots as "Jazz in June" a bit with this year's schedule. It features more jazz (or at least jazz-adjacent) performers than it has in the recent past, starting with multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris (pictured) on Wednesday, June 6.

Other concerts that may be of particular interest to StLJN readers include trombonist Charlie Halloran (June 13), Acoustik Element (June 27), Funky Butt Brass Band (July 4), and trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber and the Electro Funk Assembly (July 25).

The series kicks off on Wednesday, May 23 with a show by soul singer Gene Jackson, and also will include performances by rock/Americana acts Brothers Lazaroff (May 30) and John Henry (June 20), blues guitarist Ivas John (July 11), and Al Holliday and The East Side Rhythm Band (July 18).

The Whitaker Music Festival shows start at 7:00 p.m., and all concerts are free and open to the public.

Douglas Ewart to perform with STL Free Jazz Collective on Saturday, December 2

Multi-instrumentalist Douglas Ewart is coming to St. Louis to perform with the STL Free Jazz Collective at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 2 at the 14th Street Artist Community, 2701 N 14th St in the Old North neighborhood.

The concert is free and open to the public, thanks to funding from the Regional Arts Commission.

Ewart (pictured), who plays various saxophones and woodwind instruments, hand drums, and instruments of his own design, was an early member of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and served as the AACM's president from 1979 to 1986.

He has collaborated in performance and on recordings with many of the well-known musicians associated with the AACM, as well as with Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, and numerous other creative improvisors and composers. Ewart, who now lives in Minneapolis, last played in St. Louis in 2010 at Webster University's Community Music School.

The STL Free Jazz Collective includes "Baba" Mike Nelson (trumpet, shells, percussion), Jerome "Jay Dubs" Williams (alto sax), Jim Hegarty (piano, electronics), Paul Steinbeck (bass), Gary Sykes (drums, percussion), and Michael Castro (poet). You can see a video of their last performance at the 14th St. Artist Community here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer and actor Alice Ripley's cabaret show  was previewed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson.  Ripley performs here tonight and Saturday night for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival.

* Electronic musician and composer John Wiese will present a free, public composition workshop at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 8 in Room 4 of Tietjens Hall on the Washington University campus. Wiese (pictured) will be in St. Louis for a concert presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, November 11 at St. Louis University's Xavier Hall theater.

* The 2018 St. Louis International Film Festival, which will take place November 2-12 at various venues around town, includes a number of films with musical subjects, notably the local premiere of Mr. Handy's Blues, a documentary about "St. Louis Blues" composer W.C. Handy.

The festival's screening of the Handy bio at The Stage at KDHX will be paired with a live performance by singer Valerie "Miss Jubilee" Kirchoff, cornetist TJ Muller, and pianist Ethan Leinwand. You can see the entire festival schedule here.

* Drummer Dave Weckl and bassist Tom Kennedy are headed for Europe next month, touring with guitarist Mike Stern and saxophonist Bob Malach as the Mike Stern/Dave Weckl Band. The group will play dates in Germany, Austria, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, The Netherlands, Switzerland, England, Slovakia and Poland, and then return to the USA for a half-dozen shows in December on the West Coast.

* Pianist Peter Martin's music education video company Open Studio Network was featured in an article on AVClub.com.

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby was interviewed on Philadelphia radio station WRTI's program "The Bridge"

Jazz at Holmes announces Fall 2017 schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University has announced their schedule of free concerts for the Fall 2017 semester.

The series will begin on Thursday, September 14 with British bassist Tony Grey (pictured), who's probably best known as a member of pianist Hiromi's working band.

Grey will be accompanied by Jay Oliver on keyboards; Wash U faculty member and Jazz at Holmes series director William Lenihan on guitar; and Roger Guth on drums.

In addition to Grey and various shows featuring a selection of St. Louis performers, the Fall 2017 series also will include themed programs exploring Italian film music; the intersection of experimental jazz and contemporary classical; and folk and protest songs of the 1960s.

Here's the entire schedule in chronological order:

Thursday, September 14; Tony Grey
Thursday, September 21: Freddie Washington Quartet
Thursday, September 28: Montez Coleman/Eric Slaughter Quartet

Thursday, October 5: Kim Fuller
Thursday, October 19: "From Torino - Music of Italian Film Composers: Morricone, Gaslini, Rota, Umiliani, Giordano" with Filippo Cosentino, William Lenihan, and the Sogni D'Alba String Trio.
Thursday, October 26: "Streams of Extremity II" with Ptah Williams, William Lenihan, Steve Davis, Amy Greenhalgh, and Marcia Mann

Thursday, November 2: "Voices of Freedom, Songs of Social Justice" with R. Scott Bryan, Rick Schuler, and band.
Thursday, November 9: Joe Mancuso Organ Trio
Thursday, November 16: Arc of Light Ensemble with Paul DeMarinis, Randy Holmes, Wayne Coniglio, William Lenihan, and band
Thursday, November 30 - Vincent Varvel Quartet

Thursday, December 7: Holiday concert featuring Wash U singers & musicians TBA.

All concerts are free and open to the public. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. and are presented in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, which is located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Jazz this week: Gateway Jazz Festival, Ptah Williams, Emily Wallace, and more

Due to some temporary time constraints and computer-related difficulties here at StLJN HQ, this week's survey of upcoming live jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis may be a day later than usual, but there still are shows worth noting, so let's go straight to the highlights...

Thursday, July 27
This week's performance wrapping up the Jazz at Holmes "Jazz in July" series of free concerts at Washington University will feature a trio with pianist Ptah Williams, drummer Stephen Haake, and bassist Jacob Zengerling.

Also on Thursday, percussionist Joe Pastor breaks out his vibes to lead a trio at The Dark Room; guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing will play at Joe's Cafe & Gallery; and this month's edition of the Bruxism experimental music series, with GristleMcThornbody, ChelseaGray and AVPlug, will be presented at Schlafly Brewery & Tap Room

Friday, July 28
Singer Emily Wallace, accompanied by the Funky Butt Horns, will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Wallace (pictured, bottom left), who is making her debut as a headliner at the Bistro, is best known as part of the folk/Americana duo The Sleepy Rubies, in which she sings with her sister Ali Ruby, and has made guest appearances on various Funky Butt Brass Band gigs.

Also on Friday, singer Erin Bode will perform outside the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park before the museum's film series screens Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief. Both the concert and the film are free and open to the public. 

Saturday, July 29
The Gateway Jazz Festival at Chesterfield Amphitheater will present a day-long bill of acts including Pieces of a Dream (pictured, top left); singer Maysa; saxophonist Najee; the "Gateway Jazz All-Stars" with saxophonist Steve Cole, guitarist Nick Colionne, and keyboardist Brian Simpson; guitarists Chieli Minucci, Steve Oliver and Chris Standring; bassist Julian Vaughn; and saxophonist Tim Cunningham. You can see video samples of the performers in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Latin jazz/salsa band El Caribe Tropical will be staging a reunion gig at Club Viva.

Sunday, July 30
The Usual Suspects Trio will perform for brunch at The Dark Room while Miss Jubilee plays at Evangeline's. Later that afternoon, the Folk School of KDHX will present their monthly traditional jazz jam session.

Monday, July 31
Trumpeter Jim Manley plays for diners at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, August 1
Rhythms of the Caribbean plays a free outdoor concert at Lucier Park in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood.

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: Chesterfield Jazz Festival, "Ballad of Atlantis," Denise Thimes, and more

For the first official week of summer, the calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features some noteworthy free outdoor concerts; shows paying tribute to a jazz guitar giant and some old-school soul/funk favorites; and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, June 21
Though there's no live music at Jazz at the Bistro until the weekend, the weekly Grand Center Jazz Crawl proceeds as usual, with live music at four different venues within the district.

Also on Wednesday, guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran will play the Venice Cafe, and singer Feyza Eren will be among the performers taking part in an observance of "Make Music Day St. Louis" at Evangeline's.

Thursday, June 22
Saxophonist Ben Reece’s Unity Quartet will perform at The Dark Room; the Gateway City Big Band plays a free outdoor concert at the Chesterfield Amphitheater; and singer Erin Bode returns to Cyrano's.

Friday, June 23
The Jazz Edge Big Band will offer a "Tribute to Wes Montgomery" featuring guest guitarists Eric Slaughter, Rick Haydon and Gregg Haynes at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Over on the other of Grand, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris (pictured, center left) will be presenting "Ballad of Atlantis: The Music of The Isley Brothers" for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Saturday, June 24
The free, outdoor Chesterfield Wine and Jazz Festival will feature performances from the Wooten Brothers (pictured,top left), Bach to the Future with violinist Tracy Silverman, singer Anita Jackson, Soul Cafe, and singer Kim Fuller-Barnes at the Chesterfield Amphitheater.

For more about the Wooten Brothers - bassist Victor Wooten and drummer Roy "Futureman" Wooten, of Bela Fleck's Flecktones, plus their siblings Regi on guitar and Joseph on keyboards - plus some video of them in action, see this post from last Saturday.

Sunday, June 25
The St. Louis Record and CD Collector's Show will present their summer event at the American Czech Educational Center; the Folk School of KDHX hosts their monthly traditional jazz jam session; and singer Denise Thimes (pictured, bottom left) will perform in a free outdoor concert at Ivory Perry Park.

Monday, June 26
Singer and impressionist Dean Christopher returns with his "Rat Pack and More" show to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar

Tuesday, June 27
Saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, and saxophonist and singer Cary Colman's trio plays at Evangeline's.

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

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

All Angles Orchestra to perform Wednesday, July 5 at Grandel Theatre

The All Angles Orchestra is coming to St. Louis to perform at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 5 at the Grandel Theatre.

Based in Colorado, the 15-piece ensemble is led by trombonist, composer, and arranger Mike Conrad, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music who in recent years has won four ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards and five Downbeat Student Music Awards for composition and arranging.

Eschewing the traditional instrumentation of a jazz big band, the All Angles Orchestra (pictured) instead "forces the classical and jazz worlds to collide" with a "combination of orchestral woodwinds, a string quartet, a mix of brass instruments, and a jazz rhythm section." 

They're touring a half-dozen Midwestern cities in July in support of their debut album New Angle, which is set for release at the end of this month. The recording features all original music and arrangements by Conrad and other members of the group, including trumpeter and St. Louis native Greg Weis and pianist Thomas Amend. It also includes guest performances from NYC trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, who's worked with Dave Holland, Mingus Dynasty, Michael Brecker and others, but is not part of the tour.

The All Angles Orchestra's concert at the Grandel Theatre is free and open to the public. You can hear some samples of their music on their Bandcamp page, and see some brief performance excerpts and interview segments in the promotional video clip below.

Jazz at Holmes reveals schedule for 2017 "Jazz in July" series

The Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University has announced the schedule for this summer's "Jazz in July" shows. 

The series begins on Thursday, July 6 with pianist and singer Curt Landes (pictured) and his band, followed by a show on Thursday, July 13 by pianist Kara Baldus' trio.

The slate of keyboard-centric performances continues on Thursday, July 20 with a quartet featuring Dallas-based pianist Myles Tate, with Paul Steinbeck on bass, Jeff Anderson on tenor sax, and Maurice Carnes on drums; and concludes on Thursday, July 27 with a trio led by pianist Ptah Williams.

Admission to the "Jazz in July" concerts is free and open to the public. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Big Sam's Funky Nation headlining Schlafly Tap Room festival on Saturday, March 11

New Orleans sensation Big Sam’s Funky Nation is returning to St. Louis to play at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, March 11 at the Schlafly Tap Room.

The free performance will be part of the Tap Room's annual Stout and Oyster Festival, and will cap a two-day event also featuring sets by the Funky Butt Brass Band and others.

Led by trombonist "Big Sam" Williams, the Funky Nation (pictured) has been visiting St. Louis at fairly regular intervals in recent years, and last performed here in August 2016 at the Broadway Oyster Bar. Shortly before that show, they were named “Best Band In New Orleans” by the local magazine Where Y’At in the publication's 19th annual writer’s poll.

Williams, a great-grandson of legendary New Orleans cornetist Buddy Bolden, previously played with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and with famed singer/songwriter and pianist Allen Toussaint, and from 2010 to 2013 also had a recurring role on the HBO series Treme. 

You can check out some videos of Big Sam's Funky Nation in action via this post that ran on StLJN before their last gig here.

Jazz at Holmes series announces Fall 2016 concert schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of concerts at Washington University has announced their schedule for the fall semester of 2016.

With eleven concerts on ten dates starting this Thursday, September 8 and ending the first week in December, the Fall 2016 series will feature local musicians plus homecoming visits from several St. Louis expats of note, including pianist Jay Oliver, multi-instrumentalist J.D. Parran, singer Jan Shapiro, and bassist Dan Loomis of The Wee Trio (pictured), who will be touring this fall in support of their fifth album Wee + 3.

The series also will feature a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the release of Round Midnight, a dramatic film by French director Bernard Tavernier that starred saxophonist Dexter Gordon as a thinly disguised version of himself.

Here's the complete schedule for the semester:

Thursday, September 8: Ptah Williams, William Lenihan & Steve Davis
Thursday, September 15: Todd Mosby Group
Thursday, September 22: William Lenihan/Jay Oliver Quartet (4:00 p.m. at the Missouri History Museum)
Thursday, September 22: Dave Venn Trio (preceded by "History of the Piano Trio and St. Louis Pianists," a lecture from professor Henry Ettman at 6:00 p.m. in the Goldberg Formal Lounge, Danforth University Center.)

Thursday, October 6: Vince Varvel Group
Thursday, October 13: George Sams & J.D. Parran
Thursday, October 20: Nick Savage Quintet

Thursday, November 3: The Wee Trio
Thursday, November 10: Mark Holland Group
Thursday, November 17: Jazz and Film: 30th Anniversary of Bernard Tavernier's Round Midnight

Thursday, December 1: Jan Shapiro

All concerts are free and open to the public and, except for Thursday, September 22, will begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, which is located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Jazz at Holmes series announces 2016 "Jazz in July" schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University has announced the schedule for this year's "Jazz in July" performances.

The Liberation Organ Trio will kick things off with a concert on Thursday, July 7, followed by performances by singer Feyza Eren (pictured) on Thursday, July 14; a quartet led by trumpeter Danny Campbell on Thursday, July 21; and a trio featuring guitarist Eric Slaughter and bassist Glen Smith on Thursday, July 28.

Admission to the "Jazz in July" concerts is free and open to the public.

In a change from previous years, all the concerts this summer will begin at 6:00 p.m., and will be held in the Tisch Commons of the Danforth University Center on the Wash U campus.

Music Education Monday: A master class with David Liebman's Expansions

This week for Music Education Monday, it's a video master class with saxophonist David Liebman and his band Expansions, who will be in St. Louis to perform for one night only this Saturday, April 23 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Liebman, who's now 69 years old, has played thousands of live dates and made hundreds of recordings over the last 45+ years, leading his own groups and working with notable musicians including Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and many more.

He's also been involved seriously with jazz education for most of his career, giving master classes and workshops at colleges and universities around the world  - one of which was showcased right here last September - and writing several books, including Self Portrait Of A Jazz Artist, A Chromatic Approach To Jazz Harmony And Melody, and Developing A Personal Saxophone Sound.

Liebman (pictured) also serves as an artist-in-residence at the Manhattan School of Music in NYC and a guest lecturer at the University of Toronto and Berklee College of Music, and is the founder and artistic director of the International Association of Schools of Jazz, a network of schools in nearly 40 countries.

Expansions is a group of young musicians, including a couple of Liebman's former students, that the saxophonist formed a couple of years ago as a way to get a fresh perspective on music and as another way to pass along some of his knowledge. In addition to Liebman on soprano sax and flute, the group includes Matt Vashlishan (alto sax, clarinet, flutes), Bobby Avey (keyboards), Tony Marino (bass), and Alex Ritz (drums).

In the video below, you can see Liebman and the members of Expansions as they present a master class last October at the University of Louisville School of Music. After an introduction, they alternate short performances with discussions of the material just played, which gives them an opportunity to talk about very specific musical choices and ideas as well as broad concepts and philosophy.

If this video master class whets your appetite, know that you can see Liebman presenting a workshop and performance in person from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 23 at Saxquest. Part of an ongoing series of master classes and performances at the shop, the event is free and open to the public.

Whitaker Music Festival announces schedule for 2016 concert series

Expressed as a percentage of the whole, there's a 40% chance of jazz at this summer's Whitaker Music Festival.

Put another way, the lineup announced Monday for the 2016 edition of the free summer concert series presented Wednesday nights at Missouri Botanical Garden will feature four performers of particular interest to jazz fans among ten weeks of shows.

Specifically, singer Feyza Eren (pictured) will kick off this year's series with a concert on Wednesday, June 1, with additional jazz performances to follow by pianist Ptah Williams (July 13); singer Erin Bode, who will have a new album out this summer (July 20); and singer Joe Mancuso, who's doing the series' final show of the year on August 3 to make up for a 2015 date cancelled due to inclement weather.

Other performers for this year's Whitaker Music Festival will include the Steve Ewing Band (June 8), Clusterpuck (June 15), The Grooveliner (June 22), Saint Louis Social Club (June 29), Jay Farrar (July 6), and the Cree Rider Family Band (July 27).

All Whitaker Music Festival concerts are free and open to the public, and begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Cohen Amphitheater at Missouri Botanical Garden. For more information, visit the series' website or call 314-577-5100.

Jazz at Holmes series announces winter/spring 2016 concert schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of concerts at Washington University has announced their schedule for the winter/spring semester of 2016.

The ten concerts will include three performances featuring visiting musicians, perhaps most notably drummer Thurman Barker, a longtime member of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and veteran of the 1960s free jazz scene, who will bring a trio to St. Louis to perform on Thursday, April 7.

A professor at Bard College in New York since 1993, Barker (pictured) spends most of his time these days teaching and composing, but his extensive resume includes past performances and recordings with many important free jazz musicians, including Joseph Jarman, Muhal Richard Abrams, Pheeroan akLaff, Anthony Braxton, Billy Bang, Henry Threadgill, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Sam Rivers, and others.

The Jazz at Holmes schedule also including return dates for bassist Gary Peacock and pianist Marc Copland, who did an off-campus concert sponsored by the series in 2013 at 560 Music Center; and for German-born, Zurich-based saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen, who played a Jazz at Holmes show back in 2010.

Here's the complete schedule for the semester:

Thursday, February 4: Ken Kehner, Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris
Thursday, February 11: STL Free Jazz Collective
Thursday, February 18: Paul DeMarinis Group
Thursday, February 25: Jay Oliver, William Lenihan, and Steve Davis

Thursday, March 3: Gary Peacock, Marc Copland, and Mark Ferber
Thursday, March 10: Mosaic Whispers & Java Jived
Thursday, March 24: Montez Coleman Quartet

Thursday, April 7: Thurman Barker Trio
Thursday, April 14: Nicole Johänntgen with William Lenihan, Jay Oliver & Steve Davis
Thursday, April 21: Kasimu Taylor Quartet

While most Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public, the Marc Copland/Gary Peacock and Thurman Barker performances will be ticketed events, priced at $25 and $10 respectively. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Edited after posting.

Miles on Monday: Win a free copy of Miles Davis: The Last Word, and more

This week in Miles Davis-related news:

* Just announced: Actor/director Don Cheadle's film about Davis, Miles Ahead, will receive its international premiere in a screening at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival, which takes place from February 11 to February 25.

The film is scheduled to be released in the US on April 2, and in the UK on April 22.

* MusicNews.com is holding a drawing to give away to readers a total of three free copies of the just-reissued box set Miles Davis - The Last Word: The Warner Bros. Years. To find out more about the box set (pictured) and enter to win, go here.

* Speaking of those years at Warner Brothers, the website Dangerous Minds last week had an article looking at Davis' interest in the mid-80s synth-pop band Scritti Politti, whose song "Perfect Way" was covered by the trumpeter on Tutu, his first album for Warner Brothers.

The story includes bandleader Green Gartside's account of how Davis reached out to him, and subsequently agreed to record a guest performance with Scritti Politti on their 1988 single "Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy)".

* This week in Miles Davis history:  Today, January 18 is the birthday of two of Davis' former sidemen: drummer Al Foster (born 1943) and saxophonist Steve Grossman (1951). Back in 1965, Davis recorded his album E.S.P. in three days of sessions on January 20, 21, and 22. On January 19, 1987, the trumpeter began laying down tracks with producer Marcus Miller for the score for the film Siesta, eventually released as the album Music from Siesta. And on that same date in 1991, Davis began recording sessions for Doo-Bop, his final studio album.