Terence Blanchard to perform Sunday, May 20 at Grandel Theatre

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard and his band The E-Collective are returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, May 20 at the Grandel Theatre.

Blanchard (pictured) last played in St. Louis in June 2015 at Jazz at the Bistro, and was a frequent visitor here in 2012 and 2013 as Opera Theatre St. Louis was preparing for the world premiere of his opera Champion in June 2013.

His most recent jazz album Breathless was released in May, 2015 on Blue Note, and was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award for "Best Jazz Instrumental Album." A prolific film composer, Blanchard also released a soundtrack album for the film The Comedian, directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Robert DeNiro, in February of this year.

Tickets for Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective are priced from $35 to $75, and will go on sale via Metrotix at 10:00 a.m. next Friday, November 17. However, there's an online pre-sale happening now, which can be accessed by going here and entering the promo code BLANCHARD.

Jazz this week: A tribute to Art Blakey, TAP Dynamics, Route 66 Jazz Orchestra, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music events in St. Louis features a little cabaret, a little tap-dancing, a tribute to one of the most influential drummers and bandleaders in jazz, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 27
Singer and actor Kyle Dean Massey, a Missouri State University graduate who's appeared on Broadway and in ABC-TV's show Nashville, performs a cabaret-style show for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also on Wednesday, violinist Alex Cunningham performs music from his latest release atop a bill of experimental and improvisational musicians at Foam.

Thursday, September 28
Drummer Montez Coleman and guitarist Eric Slaughter will co-lead a quartet in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; bassist Willem von Hombracht heads up a trio with guest saxophonist Freddie Washington at The Pat Connolly Tavern; and trumpeter Keith Moyer's quintet returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, September 29
Montez Coleman, saxophonist Ben Reece,  trumpeter Danny Campbell, bassist Bob DeBoo and pianist Adam Maness will join forces at Jazz at the Bistro for the first of two nights of "The Art of Blakey,"  paying tribute to the hard bop sound of the legendary drummer/bandleader and his Jazz Messengers.

Also on Friday, singer Tony Viviano and guitarist Dave Black will perform at Magpie's in St. Charles; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to Evangeline's in the Central West End; and guitarist Tom Byrne leads a trio at Cigar Inn in Belleville.

Saturday, September 30
Dance St. Louis kicks off its 2017-18 season with the first of two performances of "TAP Dynamics" at the Grandel Theatre.  The show features dancers Jason Samuels Smith, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, and Derick K. Grant performing with a live jazz trio - music director and drummer Allison Miller (pictured, top left), pianist Carmen Staaf and bassist Noah Garabedian - playing original music and "favorite selections from Miles Davis." The program repeats on Sunday afternoon.

Also on Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson return to the Parkside Grill, and Tropical Mood plays salsa, Latin jazz, and more at the Webster Groves Concert Hall

Sunday, October 1
Trumpeter Jim Manley and pianist Dave Venn play their monthly brunch gig at Scarlett's Wine Bar; saxophonist Tim Cunningham is back for one more matinee at Mount Pleasant Winery; and the Friends of Scott Joplin will present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe.

Monday, October 2 
Singer Debby Lennon performs with the Jeremy Pfeffer Trio in a concert at Webster University's  Winifred Moore Auditorium.

Tuesday, October 3
The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra (pictured, bottom left) plays a show for the "Notes From Home" series at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

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

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

Jazz this week: Shawn Maxwell's New Tomorrow, The People's Key, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features a couple of multi-artist performances of experimental music, an up-and-coming new contemporary jazz quintet from Chicago, plus some local favorites. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 2
This week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" has trumpeter T.J M�ller at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe; the jam session with bassist Bob Deboo and friends at Kranzberg Arts Center; and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, The Luminary has a quadruple bill of experimental music, with the sampler/turntable duo Colin Andrew Sheffield & James Eck Rippie; Alex Keller & Sean O�Neill, who combine modified field recordings with vintage electronics; and St. Louis' own electronic musicians Raglani and NNN Cook.

Thursday, August 3
Drummer Marty Morrison leads a trio at The Dark Room, and there's another interesting experimental music bill, this time at the combination live music venue/recording studio Gaslight, featuring the Andrew Weathers Ensemble, Tree branch Twig, Eric Hall, and NNN Cook.

Friday, August 4
The "sleeper" show of the week involves Chicago-based saxophonist, flutist and composer Shawn Maxwell's quintet New Tomorrow (pictured, top left), who will be in town Friday to perform at the Webster Groves Concert Hall.

In a review last year, the Chicago Tribune's Howard Reich praised Maxwell's "intricately detailed scores bristling with surprises" and called him "a composer not content to settle into predictable musical patterns," and based on a sampling of the group's performances on YouTube, they're definitely worth checking out.

Elsewhere around town, The People's Key (pictured, bottom left) will bring their contemporary spin on the jazz organ combo sound to Jazz at the Bistro for the first of two nights; and the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra pays tribute to the big band era with a program called "Swing, Swing, Swing" at Queeny Park.

Saturday, August 5
If you're looking for some live jazz during the day on Saturday, the Liberation Organ Trio is playing for brunch at Evangeline's.

Then on Saturday evening, keyboardist Marvin Cockrell is promoting a new music video release called St. Louis Bounce with a show at the Grandel Theatre; singer Danita Mumphard will interpret songs associated with the late Whitney Houston at the Jacoby Arts Center; and singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will head to West County to perform at Benedetto's On Main.

Sunday, August 6
Jazz brunch opportunities proliferate on Sunday, as the Jazz Troubadours play at The Dark Room, Miss Jubilee performs at Evangeline's, and trumpeter Jim Manley and pianist Dave Venn return to Scarlett's Wine Bar.

Later that afternoon, the Friends of Scott Joplin will present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe.

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: All Angles Orchestra, River City Mess Around, Good 4 The Soul, and more

The calendar of upcoming live jazz and creative music events over the next several days in St. Louis includes a weekend-long gathering of swing dancers from around the country; a jazz tribute to Prince; the local debut of a genre-spanning big band touring in support of their first album; and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 5
The big band in question would be the All Angles Orchestra (pictured, top left), a Colorado-based group whose tour in support of their recently released debut album includes a stop here at the Grandel Theatre.

Led by arranger, composer and trombonist Michael Conrad, the 15-member group includes orchestral woodwinds, a string quartet, a mix of brass instruments, and a jazz rhythm section, performing Conrad's original music that "forces the classical and jazz worlds to collide."

The concert is free and open to the public as a part of the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl," which also includes live music with no admission charge at four other venues in the district.

Elsewhere around town, singer Feyza Eren will lead a trio at Evangeline's and trumpeter Jim Manley will be doing his weekly gig at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, July 6
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University begins their "Jazz in July" concerts with a performance by keyboard player and singer Curt Landes; and trumpeter Keith Moyer will bring his quintet to The Dark Room.

Friday, July 7
Jazz/funk quartet Good 4 The Soul (pictured, center left) will play the music of Prince for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro; and the Funky Butt Brass Band will perform for the free Friday evening "Jungle Boogie" concert series at the St. Louis Zoo

Also on Friday, swing dancers from around the country will be in St. Louis for the start of the "River City Mess Around," an annual summer event presented by the St. Louis Jitterbugs. (For a look at the St. Louis 'vintage jazz' scene, including some of the local bands performing for the Mess Around, see this post from last Saturday.)

The festivities officially get underway on Friday with a performance by Tommy Halloran�s Guerrilla Swing at the City Museum, and continue throughout the weekend. (In addition to the events mentioned here on StLJN, there are "unofficial" pre- and after-parties, and more. See the link above for full details.)

Saturday. July 8
The "River City Mess Around" continues with a daytime dance featuring music from The Gaslight Squares at the Lemp Mansion pavilion, and an evening event with sounds from Miss Jubilee at the Webster Groves Masonic Lodge

Sunday, July 9
The "River City Mess Around" officially concludes with another daytime dance featuring the Nashville-based Moonshine Rhythm Club (pictured, bottom left) at 2720 Cherokee; and the Coleman Hughes Project will perform for the "Soulful Sundays" series at the National Blues Museum downtown.

Monday, July 10
Dizzy Atmosphere plays for diners at The Shaved Duck, and Miss Jubilee will be the featured performer with the Compton Heights Concert Band in a free concert at Tower Grove Park.

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.