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Performance / Tour

Don Carter Trio Brings Jazz To Venues In Area

Source: Ted Ricci
March 30, 2012

Accomplished Jersey City jazz drummer Don Carter remembers his early days - back in elementary school - beating on his desk with his hands standing in as drumsticks. His teacher repeatedly asked him what he was doing, and he simply explained he had found the rhythm. He didn't pick up the sticks for real until he was a teenager. “Jazz has inspiration and good challenges," he explains today, in between performances at area venues. “Jazz itself can go from (one) ...

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Performance / Tour

Madeleine Peyroux to Perform Sunday, May 20 at the Sheldon

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 30, 2012

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Madeleine Peyroux (pictured) will make her St. Louis debut in a performance at 7:30 p.m., Sunday May 20 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Noted for a vocal sound that's been compared frequently to Billie Holiday, Peyroux released her first record back in 1996, but didn't really gain widespread attention until her 2004 album Careless Love. She's put out three more albums since then, and over the course of her career has covered material associated with musicians ...

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Performance / Tour

Alan Evans Trio to Play Saturday, May 5 at the Old Rock House

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 30, 2012

Drummer Alan Evans (pictured) of the funk/jazz group Soulive is bringing his new trio to St. Louis to perform at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 5 at The Gramophone. Evans will be touring this spring in support of the release of his album Drop Hop, which, much like Soulive, incorporates the influence of Booker T. and the MGs, the Meters, and the organ-driven soul/jazz groups of the 1960s and '70s. The record features Evans on drums, organist Beau Sasser and ...

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Performance / Tour

Orbert Davis' Orchestra And Vocalists To Sing The Praises Of Ella

Source: Ted Ricci
March 29, 2012

Music lovers probably will argue for all time over whether Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday was the greatest female jazz vocalist of the 20th century. But whichever side of that debate you take, there's no question that Fitzgerald set a still- unmatched standard for scat singing and improvisational techniques of her own making. That she conquered both the swing and bebop eras, while also crossing over into mass popularity via the “Songbook" albums she recorded for Norman Granz, attests to ...

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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Nicholas Payton, Larry Ochs and Kinhoua, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 29, 2012

From free improv to fusion to big band to neo-soul/hip-hop influenced experimentation, this week's schedule of jazz and creative music in St. Louis has a variety of offerings to suit different musical tastes. Let's go to the highlights... Tonight, New Music Circle presents saxophonist Larry Ochs and Kihnoua in concert at Kranzberg Arts Center. In addition to Ochs, the group features Scott Amendola on drums and electronics, Dohee Lee on vocals, and special guest bassist Trevor Dunn. Also tonight, trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist ...

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Performance / Tour

SFJazz Collective returns to Stevie Wonder tunes this weekend at Yoshi's-Oakland

Source: Michael Ricci
March 28, 2012

Growing up in Auckland, New Zealand, bassist Matt Penman played with a rock band called The Itch, covering tunes by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stevie Wonder. The group enjoyed jamming out on Wonder's reggae-ish “Master Blaster (Jammin')," recalls Penman, who was 16 at the time. He also played bass in a jazz group, covering “All Blues" and “Freddie Freeloader," chestnuts by Miles Davis, along with “You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and “Sir Duke" — by Wonder, ...

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Performance / Tour

Mills College Premieres Renowned Musician Roscoe Mitchell's Compositions

Source: Katie Ismael
March 28, 2012

Lesser-known side of the iconic jazz performer and Mills College professor to be showcased at the Littlefield Concert Hall on March 31 The Mills College Music Department is proud to present a concert of recent works by its Distinguished Darius Milhaud Professor of Music Roscoe Mitchell. Acclaimed for its academic excellence and innovation, the Music Department announces the West Coast orchestral premiere of the legendary artist's distinctive new compositions on Saturday, March 31, at 8:00 pm in the Jeannik Méquet ...

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Performance / Tour

Columbus Jazz Orchestra Pays Tribute To Legends Of Soul In "R.E.S.P.E.C.T." - April 11-15

Source: Michael Ricci
March 28, 2012

Columbus, OH In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (JAG) returns to the historic Southern Theatre to pay “R.E.S.P.E.C.T" (April 11-15). Under the direction of Artistic Director Byron Stripling, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and guest vocalists Chris Pierce and Bobbi Townes salute the legendary figures of soul including “The Godfather of Soul" James Brown, Sam Cooke, “Mr. Excitement" Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Ike & Tina, and “The Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin. Each April, Jazz ...

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