Results for "AAJ Staff"

Passings: DeFranco, Benford, Belletto

December 28, 2014

The past seven days have seen the deaths of three musicians who came to prominence as young men and had long careers in the swing, bebop and post-bop eras. Buddy DeFranco, who in the 1940s was the first to successfully adapt the clarinet to the complexities of bebop, died the day before Christmas at age 91. ...

Rounding up the "Best Jazz of 2014" lists

December 28, 2014

It's that time of year again, as jazz journalists, DJs, critics, and bloggers are publishing their annual “Best Of" lists. And once again, for the eighth consecutive year, St. Louis Jazz Notes eschews the compilation of such a list, instead offering a meta-list with links to all of the other “Best Jazz of 2014" lists we ...

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2015 jazz preview, part 2

December 28, 2014

Today, we continue with part two of StLJN's winter/spring 2015 jazz preview, this time covering musicians and groups who will be visiting St. Louis during the first part of February. (To see part 1, which covers January, go here.) The month will begin with a series of performances featuring pianist Kenny Barron and vibraphonist Stefon Harris, ...

Buddy De Franco (1923-2014)

December 27, 2014

Buddy De Franco, a highly accomplished and exquisite jazz clarinetist who began his career in several leading swing bands of the 1940s before pivoting to bebop in the late 1940s and early '50s and teaming with leading jazz artists throughout the LP era, died on Dec. 24. He was 91. Buddy's first recording in 1943 was ...

The Lead Sheet: Twin Cities Live Jazz, December 26- January 1

December 27, 2014

If the survival of jazz in the Twin Cities depended on newspaper coverage, I could stop writing this! Fortunately there's too much good music this week to spend the time pondering the Strib's near total neglect of the genre in its “best of" lists. (Only Pamela Espeland took note of jazz at all, highlighting the merits ...

Jazz this week: Good 4 The Soul returns to the Bistro, Okoiucho, and more

December 25, 2014

The weeks of Christmas and New Year's Day usually are relatively slow for live jazz and creative music here in St. Louis, as most touring bands are off the road while many local musicians and venues also are enjoying a brief respite. Still, once we get to the weekend, there are some shows of note around ...

Frank and Bing XMAS Special

December 25, 2014

Mike King of Berklee Online Looks Back On 2014

December 24, 2014

Mike King, course author, instructor and Assistant VP of Marketing for Berklee Online is up next on Hypebot.com's Year End Virtual Panel. Discussing what 2014 meant for Berklee Online, King says “Massive Open Online Courses have made a significant, positive, impact on our business over the past year.  We have seven free online courses available on Coursera right now, ...

Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra to headline 2015 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival

December 24, 2014

The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra will headline the final night of the 12th annual Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, which will be held next year on Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Led by drummer Jeff Hamilton, bassist John Clayton and his brother, saxophonist Jeff Clayton, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra ...

8 Jazz Clips for XMAS Eve

December 24, 2014

Jazz musicians and singers always provide a little something extra to any holiday song. Perhaps it's a bit of blues. Or maybe just a keen sense of how to give a commercial melody a soulful spin. Here are eight you may not know: Here's Bill Evans singing and playing Santa Claus Is Coming to Town...   ...