So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Goldenrod Showboat, which for years served as the site of jazz, ragtime and other musical performances on the St. Louis riverfront, finally could be headed for the scrapyard, according to this article from the Post-Dispatch's Mark Schlinkmann.

A not-for-profit group called the Historic Riverboat Preservation Association has launched an IndieGoGo campaign trying to raise the $30,000 needed to rescue the boat (pictured, in a photo from steamboats.org) from a docking facility in Kampsville IL, where it's been since 2001.

* Speaking of IndieGoGo campaigns, trumpeter Terence Blanchard has begun one to finance a recording of Champion, his opera that debuted last summer at Opera Theatre St. Louis.

* Last Saturday's performance of Tim Schall's cabaret show 1961 was reviewed by Andrea Braun for the Vital Voice. Schall will present an encore of the show as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival on Saturday, March 22.

* Photos of Miles Davis taken by Aram “Al” Avakian, brother of former Columbia Records producer George Avakian, are among the shots accompanying a New York Times article by Al Avakian's daughter Alexandra Avakian.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted on their Facebook page an album of photos from last week's shows by bassist Christian McBride's trio.

* And speaking of photo albums, the Sheldon Concert Hall has posted to their Facebook page some photos from the most recent concert there by pianist Peter Martin.

* Drummer Andre "Dre" Boyd, still in London with the touring company of Cirque du Soleil, has turned up in yet another endorsement video, this one from music software maker PreSonus.

* The Missouri Arts Council this week published an article on their website called "Snapshots of the Missouri Arts Blogosphere," and included not only St. Louis Jazz Notes but also StLJN's sibling music video blog Heliocentric Worlds. Thanks to Barbara MacRobie of MAC for the mentions, and if you'd like to see the article, visit https://www.missouriartscouncil.org/ and click on the headline/link in the middle of the page.

* This Saturday night on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else," will present a program of Charlie Parker music previously scheduled for February 1 but delayed due to “technical difficulties.” You can hear music from the Parker songbook performed by trumpeter Roy Hargrove, Junk Genius, saxophonist Anthony Braxton, and others at 8:00 p.m. Saturday via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Jazz this week: Marissa Mulder, Jazz St. Louis benefit gala, Hamiet Bluiett & George Sams, Roger Ingram, and more

It's Mardi Gras weekend in St. Louis, and though the "official" Mardi Gras events in recent years have tended to feature rock cover bands and DJs rather than jazz and blues, there will be plenty of jazz and creative music around town this week, if you know where to look.

For the Funky Butt Brass Band, St. Louis' best known exponents of the New Orleans brass band sound, the next few days are the equivalent of the week before Christmas for Santa Claus' various helpers and stand-ins. The FBBB will kick off the weekend this evening at Blues City Deli's King Cake Party, then team up with NOLA R&B/zydeco tribute band Gumbohead for gigs on Saturday at the Old Rock House and Tuesday at the Broadway Oyster Bar.
 
Elsewhere around town tonight, singer Marissa Mulder (pictured) makes her St. Louis debut as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, performing her show "The Songs of Tom Waits" at the Gaslight Theater.  Mulder will do the show twice more, on Friday and Saturday, while the Gaslight Cabaret Festival continues weekends through April 26. .

Also tonight, singer Denise Thimes performs at the Ethical Society of St. Louis; pianist Ptah Williams' trio will play a free concert featuring the music of Chick Corea for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and the Tavern of Fine Arts will present their monthly "Experimental Arts Open Improv Night" with live improvised music from keyboardist Jim Hegarty, flute player Fred Tompkins, and others.

Tomorrow night, Jazz St. Louis will hold their annual benefit gala at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Clayton, featuring the legendary funk saxophonist Maceo Parker as the headline entertainment, plus dinner, drinks, a silent auction, and more. As of this writing, there still are some tickets available, starting at $400 per person; call 314-289-4034 for details.

Also on Friday, pianist Pete Ruthenberg will play "The Music of Herbie Hancock" at the Kranzberg Arts Center; trombonists Doug Bert and Rodney Lancaster join forces for a gig at Robbie's House of Jazz; singer/pianist Jesse Gannon and his band Truth return to The Engine Room; and Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

On Saturday afternoon, trumpeter George Sams will re-start his Nu-Art Series by playing a duo concert with baritone sax great Hamiet Bluiett at a new location, the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site downtown.

Then on Saturday evening, Roger Ingram, known as lead trumpeter for Harry Connick Jr.'s big band and as as jazz educator much in demand, will be the featured guest performer at this year's Mineral Area College Jazz Festival down in Park Hills.

Also on Saturday evening and a bit closer to home, pianist Dave Venn and saxophonist Willie Akins will team up for a one-night-only performance at Jazz at the Bistro; the Coleman-Hughes Project with singer Adrienne Felton will play at Troy's Jazz Gallery; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will return to The Wine Press, and pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson will take the stage at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Sunday, the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show will hold their first event of the year - January's show was canceled due to bad weather - at the usual location, the American Czech Hall at 4690 Lansdowne in south St. Louis.

Also on Sunday, trumpeter Russell Gunn will be back home, performing on a bill with singer Dionne Ferris of Arrested Development at the Casino Queen's Club Sevens.While the first show is sold out, a second show at 8:30 p.m. has been added.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday guitarist Tom Byrne is at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; and on Tuesday, the St. Louis Community College at Meramec Jazz Combos will present a free performance at Meramec Theatre on campus.

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.)

(Updated after posting with info on the Russell Gunn show.) 

Trebor Tichenor 1940 - 2014

Trebor Tichenor, the St. Louis native who became internationally known as a ragtime pianist and historian, has died. He was 74. An obituary in Tuesday's Post-Dispatch says he died Saturday at Laclede Groves in Webster Groves after having suffered a stroke in December.

As pianist for the St. Louis Ragtimers, Tichenor (pictured) was a regular performer on St. Louis stages and at ragtime and traditional jazz festivals across the country for five decades. He accumulated what was said to be one of the world's largest collections of ragtime, totaling more than 10,000 piano rolls and pieces of sheet music.

Tichenor also wrote a noted book, Rags and Ragtime, on the history of ragtime; composed a series of original rags that were published in three folios; and for many years hosted radio programs and taught college classes about the music he loved. To paraphrase the title of an article former Post-Dispatch music critic James Wierzbicki wrote about Tichenor for Ragtimer magazine in 1978, he "lived, breathed and collected ragtime music."

The Post-Dispatch obit, linked above, has a good overview of Tichenor's life and career, and there are more details at Tichenor's Wikipedia page. Tichenor discussed his youth, early influences, and St. Louis' ragtime history in a November 2010 article for St. Louis magazine. Also, St. Louis Ragtimers fan Bob Whiteside has compiled some vintage photos and audio of the group at a tribute website.

Survivors include a daughter, Virginia Tichenor, also a ragtime pianist, of Oakland, CA; a son, Andy Tichenor, a trumpeter living in Edwardsville; a brother, Bruce Tichenor of Concord, CA; and two granddaughters. His wife Ethel Taft Tichenor died in 1986.

Visitation will be from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday at Kutis Affton Chapel, 10151 Gravois Road. The funeral will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday at same location, with burial at Sunset Cemetery.

In the first embedded video window below, you can see and hear Trebor Tichenor playing "Maple Leaf Rag," one of the most famous compositions by one of his favorite musicians, Scott Joplin. The second clip shows the St. Louis Ragtimers performing "Red Rose Rag" for the Saint Louis Jazz Club in July, 2011. In addition to Tichenor, the band includes Al Stricker (banjo & vocal), Don Franz (tuba), Bill Mason (cornet), Eric Sager (clarinet), and Joe Thompson (trombone).

The third video window features a recording of Tichenor playing "Boomtown Echoes" from his LP of the same name, accompanied by a slide show of photos of the pianist, his family, friends and fellow musicians, which according to the accompanying notes were taken by George C. Willick at Tichenor's home between 1979 and 1981.

Update, 9:00 a.m., 3/14/14: KWMU's "CityScape" program last week aired an hour-long tribute to Tichenor, which can be heard online here.

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

As we occasionally like to mention in this space, StLJN has a sibling site called Heliocentric Worlds devoted to showcasing online music videos from a variety of genres, including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock, experimental, and more.

Recent posts have featured live performance videos from musicians including Dr. Lonnie Smith, Pharoah Sanders, Average White Band, Matthew Shipp, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, Deep Purple, Kenny Burrell, Sun Ra Arkestra, John Scofield Organic Trio, Dr. John, Gil Evans Orchestra, Kenny Barron Quintet, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Johnny Winter, Manu DiBango and the Soul Makossa Gang, Ray Anderson-Marty Ehrlich Quartet, Terence Blanchard, Bruford, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Deodato, Clark Terry's Big Bad Band, Nat "King" Cole, Allman Brothers Band, Art Blakey/Tony Williams Group, Brian Auger, Stan Getz, Randy Newman, Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Zappa, Tower of Power, and Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley & Pee Wee Ellis.

If you somehow have missed out up to this point, not to worry, because they're all still there waiting there for you, along with thousands more carefully curated clips from the incomparable archives. Just point your browser to http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/, then click, listen and enjoy! 

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The funky cosmos of Galactic

This week, we've selected for your viewing and listening enjoyment some recent videos of Galactic, who will be back in St. Louis to perform on Thursday, March 6 at The Pageant.

Comprised of Stanton Moore (drums), Jeff Raines (guitar), Robert Mercurio (bass), Rich Vogel (keyboards), and Ben Ellman (saxophone), the New Orleans-based funk/jazz/hip-hop band has been making an annual St. Louis appearance in close proximity to Mardi Gras for a number of years now, often bringing at least a couple of guest stars with them.

This time, they'll have along singer Maggie Koerner, a recent transplant to New Orleans from her native Shreveport, as their special guest, with the Mike Dillon Band as opening act. (Given Galactic's proclivity for jamming with others featured on the same bill, it seems a safe bet that they'll all end up on stage together at some point, too.)

In the first clip, you can see them performing "Go Go" at the 2013 Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival, held last July in Bridgeport, CT. Down below, there's a multi-song performance recorded last year during their visit to the studios of KEXP in Seattle.

Below that, you can see a full set from Galactic's show last August at the Telluride Jazz Festival in Colorado, including some vocals from their former lead singer Theryl DeClouet, who left the band in 2004 but recently has been making some appearances with them.

That's followed by the first half of their show from the 2013 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which includes guest performances from Mike Dillon on percussion as well as Cory Henry (trombone), Corey Glover (vocals), Jazz Henry (trumpet), and David Shaw (vocals).

The final two embeds are parts one and two of a complete show from last April at the Vogue in Indianapolis, also with Shaw as guest vocalist.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist David Sanborn is performing through Sunday at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco with an all-star band including vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, organist Joey DeFrancesco, and drummer Billy Hart.

Of particular interest for those of us who can't make it to the West Coast: "We just completed an album together that was produced by Don Was," wrote Sanborn on his Facebook page. "The album will be released on Blue Note Records later this year."

* The IndieGoGo campaign to crowd-fund the debut recording by drummer Marcus Baylor's Baylor Project ends at midnight tonight.

* Drummer Dave Weckl (pictured) is the featured guest on the latest episode of the online video program DrumsmackTV.

* Drummer Andre "Dre" Boyd, currently playing in London with one of the touring companies of Cirque du Soleil, explains and demonstrates his kit in a video for UK music retailer Soundattak.

* Someone at New Music Circle unearthed and linked to an audio recording of a 2012 gig in Los Angeles by Joshua Abrams' Natural Information Society. Abrams and NIS will play here in St. Louis tomorrow night in a concert presented by NMC at Joe's Cafe.

* The Touhill Performing Arts Center is ranked as #10 on BestCollegeReviews' list of "The 25 Most Amazing College Campus Theaters."

* According to a story this week in the Post-Dispatch, the local building that once housed the Castle Ballroom (and hosted performances by Miles Davis, Count Basie and many other jazz greats) has suffered serious damage from weather and neglect, and may have to be demolished soon.

* And speaking of weather damage to local music venues, last night's high winds tore the sign and part of the facade right off the Kranzberg Arts Center on Grand Blvd, as documented by a witness in this YouTube video. Fortunately, there are no reports of injuries or damages inside, and performances at the venue this weekend should be able to go ahead as scheduled.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday night on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' "Somethin' Else," host Calvin Wilson will spin tracks featuring legendary bandleader and composer Duke Ellington in his role as small-group pianist with saxophonists Johnny Hodges and Coleman Hawkins and others.

Then on "The Jazz Collective," host Jason Church will play music from Ahmad Jamal, Nathan East, Paolo Rustichelli, Bob James and David Sanborn, U-Nam, Herbie Hancock, Chuck Mangione, Joe Sample, Herb Alpert, Funky Butt Brass Band, Michael and Robert Silverman, Al Hammerman, Miss Jubilee, and more

Wilson's program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Nu-Art Series returning with three concerts this spring

After more than a year of dormancy following the closing of its primary venue, the Metropolitan Gallery, the Nu-Art Series will return to presenting music starting next month with a series of concerts at the Scott Joplin House Historic Site, 2658 Delmar.

As frequently was the case in the series' past, the first set of performances in 2014 will present musicians wth a connection to the Black Artists Group and St. Louis' avant-jazz scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, the series' organizer, trumpeter George Sams, is taking a slightly different approach this time around, participating directly as a performer in all three concerts as well as producing them.

On Saturday, March 1, Sams will team with baritone saxophonist and clarinetist Hamiet Bluiett (pictured) for a duo performance. Then on Saturday, March 15, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and pianist David Parker will be featured along with Sams.

The spring series wraps up on Saturday, April 12 with another duo concert featuring multi-instrumentalist J.D. Parran and Sams.

All concerts start at 3:00 p.m., and admission is $10 at the door. For more information, call 314-340-5790.

Jazz this week: Christian McBride Trio, Gaslight Cabaret Festival, Joshua Abrams' Natural Information Society, and more

Has the dreadful winter of 2014 finally released its icy grip on the St. Louis area? We can only hope so, because there's a lot of interesting jazz and creative music to hear around town over the next few days. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, bassist Christian McBride begins a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro, this time with the latest iteration of his trio, featuring drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. and the up-and-coming pianist Christian Sands.

Their first album together, Out Here, was released last August as McBride's fifth recording for Mack Avenue Records. With a sound firmly "in the tradition," it's gotten generally positive reviews, as has their live show, which the New York Times' Ben Ratliff called "constant sleek fun, organized and coordinated."

Elsewhere around town tonight, the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra returns to Kirkwood Station Brewing Company, and Cabaret Project St. Louis will present their monthly open mic night at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Tomorrow night, actor/singer Ken Page, a St. Louis native who starred in the original companies of Ain't Misbehavin', Cats, and other Broadway hits, opens the Gaslight Cabaret Festival with the first of two performances of his show "Old, New, Borrowed & Blue" at the Gaslight Theater. The festival continues through April 26, and you can hear more about that and Page's show during this interview he did last week with KWMU's "Cityscape" program.

Also on Thursday night, the Rainbow Band, a quartet with guitarists William Lenihan and Vincent Varvel, bassist Eric Stiller, and drummer Steve Davis, will play a free concert for Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

On Friday, vibraphonist Peter Schlamb leads a trio at Robbie's House of Jazz; keyboardist Matt Villinger brings his group to The Engine Room; Second Generation Swing plays for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will perform at CJ Muggs in Webster Groves; and pianist Peter Schankman will present a trio concert at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

On Saturday, New Music Circle will present multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams’ Natural Information Society at Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave. in the Central West End. As a bassist, Abrams is a mainstay of Chicago's improvised music scene, but the Natural Information Society is something a bit different, as it's built around his work on the guimbri, a three-string acoustic bass from west Africa.

The band's lineup for this concert will include drummers Frank Rosaly and Mikel Avery, Emmett Kelly on electric guitar, Ben Boye on autoharp and Lisa Alvarado on harmonium. For more about Abrams and some video footage of the band in action, check out this post from last Saturday. Abrams also was interviewed for a preview story by St. Louis magazine's Stef Russell, and the show even is the subject of a full-page cartoon in this month's issue of Eleven magazine.

Also on Saturday, the Gaslight Cabaret Festival continues with St. Louis' own Tim Schall performing his show "1961" at the Gaslight Theater; singer Feyza Eren and pianist Scott Sheperd will duet at The Wine Press; saxophonist Mike Fitzgerald returns to Jazz On Broadway; and the Funky Butt Brass Band headlines an evening of funk at The Gramophone

On Sunday, the Coleman-Hughes Project will play smooth jazz, R&B, and more at Nathalie's; and the Dave Dickey Big Band will be back for their monthly gig at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday faculty members from Webster University will join together as the Webster Jazz Collective for a concert at  Winifred Moore Auditorium on the main campus in Webster Groves; and saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective will return to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Then on Tuesday, guitarist Dave Black will be featured in a "Notes From Home" show at the Sheldon Concert Hall, aided and abetted by violinist Asako Kuboki, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, singer Joe Mancuso, bassist Willem von Hombracht, and drummer Steve Davis.

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.)