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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Six bands reviving (and re-imagining) vintage jazz

St. Louis has a long and storied history with jazz and blues music, and in the last decade, a number of performers on the local scene have had success reviving vintage jazz from the 1920s and '30s and, in some cases, making new music of their own that evokes those older styles.

Today, let's take a look at six of those bands and musicians, all of whom currently can be heard with some regularity at various venues around town.

First up are Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes, seen at the top of this post performing the classic "St. Louis Blues" in a music video filmed at singer Sarah Ulrich's south side "secret headquarters," The Deco Fortress.

After the jump, it's the Sidney Street Shakers playing "Yaas Yaas Yaas" at the Blues City Deli in November, 2015.

Next, it's Miss Jubilee (aka Valerie Kirchoff), performing "Throw Me In The Alley" during a promotional appearance last year on the morning newscast at KTVI in St. Louis.

That's followed by The Gaslight Squares, led by trumpeter and vocalist TJ Muller (who also plays with the Sidney Street Shakers), with an energetic version of "A Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia," recorded in a performance last year at The Stage at KDHX.

The fifth clip features Wack-A-Doo playing their original song "They Call Me Hairy" in 2014 at KDHX.

Last but not least, it's guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran doing his tune "Gardenias For Rita" from his 2016 album Moan and Shout, with some help from bassist Andy Hainz and violinist Abbie Steiling.

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Just in time for what will be a long holiday weekend for some, the recently released film Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary is getting a St. Louis run starting today and continuing through Thursday, July 6 at the Tivoli Theatre.

* Trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran, an influential player, bandleader and educator in Chicago for more than six decades, has died at age 90. Though Cohran is best known for his work in the Chicago avant-garde scene and for playing with Sun Ra, he also had a St. Louis connection.

According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune (linked above), Cohran moved to St. Louis with his family from Oxford, MS "when he was about 10, immersing himself in the city's robust jazz scene and playing alongside trumpeter Clark Terry in the late 1940s" and lived here until he was drafted into the military in 1950.

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris has posted a recording of "Harvest For The World," as performed last week during his Isley Brothers-themed shows at Jazz at the Bistro, to his SoundCloud page

* The Gaslight Squares have made a music video of "Nicklin' & Dimin'" as part of producer/director Bill Streeter's Lo-Fi St. Louis series.

* Speaking of videos, pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness made one this week recorded live on Facebook to talk about their Open Studio Network's new "Elements of Jazz Piano" online video course.

* Completing today's video troika, guitarist Todd Mosby has posted a video of his composition "Moon Song" on YouTube.

* Trombonist Joseph Bowie has just released a new duet album with percussionist Adam Rudolph. Good Medicine by IG-BO Duet: Joseph Bowie & Adam Rudolph is available now as a digital download from Rudolph's BandCamp page and as a CD.

Jazz this week: Fourth annual Richard McDonnell Scholarship Concert, Gerald Albright, No BS! Brass Band, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a concert raising funds for music scholarships in honor of a much-loved local jazz supporter; gigs from a popular, groove-oriented saxophonist and a New Orleans-style brass band, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, June 14
The third annual Richard McDonnell Scholarship Concert will take place at Jazz at the Bistro, featuring drummer Matt Wilson, members of Good 4 The Soul and the Funky Butt Brass Band, and various other guest musicians.

The event raises money for music scholarships for St. Louis area students in the name of Richard McDonnell, the late founder of MAXJAZZ Records who also was a board member of Jazz St. Louis and an enthusiastic, well-liked supporter of the local jazz scene before his sudden death in 2014.

Also on Wednesday, The Gaslight Squares will play a free outdoor concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Thursday, June 15
The Dark Room is changing up their regular music offerings a bit starting this week. Going forward, they're booking a different band every week on Thursdays, with pianist Ptah Williams moving to a regular weekly trio show at "happy hour" on Fridays. This week's debut of the "Thursday Night Revue" will feature drummer Kaleb Kirby's band Animal Children.

Also on Thursday, Cabaret Project St. Louis will present their monthly "Broadway Open Mic" at the Curtain Call Lounge.

Friday, June 16 
Saxophonist Gerald Albright (pictured, top left), will headline a "Salute to Fathers/Mentors" at the Sheldon Concert Hall, with support from saxophonist Tim Cunningham, comedian James Stephens III and singer Denise Thimes. For more about what Albright has been up to lately, and some videos of recent live performances, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, guitarist Farshid Etniko Soltanshahi brings his multi-ethnic "world music" sound to Jazz at the Bistro; drummer Steve Davis leads a group with singer Feyza Eren in a free show at the Webster Groves Concert Hall; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to the Venice Cafe.

Over on the east side, Gypsy jazz/swing trio The Bonbon Plot will play a concert at Jacoby Arts Center; and drummer Marty Morrison leads a trio at Cigar Inn.

Saturday, June 17
The Gaslight Squares will play a matinee at the Blues City Deli; and keyboardist and singer Jesse Gannon and his band The Truth will perform at Jazz at the Bistro.

Sunday, June 18
The Grand Center district will be the site of not one, but two different Frank Sinatra tributes for Father's Day, as singer/impressionist Dean Christopher will do his "Sinatra...and Other Stuff" show for brunch in the relatively intimate confines of The Dark Room, while singer Steve Lippia will be featured with the St. Louis Symphony for a matinee of "Sinatra: 100 Years and Beyond" at the spacious Powell Symphony Hall.

Sunday night, the No BS! Brass Band (pictured, bottom left), a Virginia-based group offering their own contemporary take on the traditional New Orleans ensemble sound, will play at the Old Rock House.

Monday, June 19
A triple bill of free-improvising musicians featuring guitarist Shane Parish, the duo of Christopher E. Trull and Mabel Suen, and the Vernacular String Trio will play at Foam.

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.)