John Coltrane Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest: * Former Police Guitarist Andy Summers Reminisces On Montserrat Sessions In ‘Under The Volcano’ (Forbes.com) * Angry concert-goer files complaint with Ohio Attorney General after missing James Taylor-Jackson Browne show at Blossom (Cleveland Plain Dealer) * Highest Trane: John Coltrane’s World-Building Ascension (Jazz Times) * Under The Volcano Review: Inside George Martin’s Musical Paradise (DenOfGeek.com) * The Bad Plus Reformulates Again, Now as a Quartet with Ben Monder and Chris Speed (WBGO) * A ..read more

This week, let's take a look at some more performances of video by musicians who topped the "Rising Star" categories in this year's DownBeat Critics Poll. As with any article or feature based on poll results, readers are encouraged not to view those results too seriously in terms of who's the "best" on a given instrument, but rather to use them as a starting point for conversation and exploration of artists you may not have heard before. The first video up above is is from singer and mukti-instrumentalist Jacob Collier, who's become a sensation on YouTube on the way to winning "Rising Star ..read more

Here's StLJN's weekly wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest: * Singer and bassist Janet Evra will provide the musical entertainment for “Wine and Jazz Under the Stars,” a benefit for Classic 107.3 (Radio Arts Foundation) to be held starting at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, September 12 at The Public School House in St. Charles. The ticket price of $95 per person also includes appetizers by Russo’s Catering, wines from A. Bommarito Wines, free on-site parking, and the chance to participate in a silent auction of items including Cardinals baseball tickets, a wine-tasting packag ..read more

Gerald Cleaver Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest: * Gerald Cleaver about Griots, Ghost Orbits and Modular Synthesis (15Questions.net) * De La Soul Have Finally Acquired Their Masters, According to Talib Kweli (Consequence.net) * Inside look: How Sun Studio's music and magic have carried on for almost 70 years (Memphis Commercial Appeal) * Staunchly Original: Marking 20 Years of Pi Recordings (WBGO) * Chronology: Quincy Jones in the 1950s (Jazz Times) * Jazz Fest Canceled; New Orleans Reacts (DownBeat) * This Musician's Unlikely Duet Partner? The Go ..read more

This week, let's take a look at some live performances from some of the musicians who won awards in the "Rising Star" categories in this year's DownBeat Critic's Poll. As with any poll, the results may make for interesting conversation and provide a snapshot of who's in the news at a given time, but they shouldn't be taken to heart or regarded as definitive. First up is pianist Gerald Clayton, who was the winner in two categories, "Rising Star - Jazz Artist" and (with his trio) "Rising Star - Jazz Group." He's seen here doing a duet performance with guitarist Peter Bernstein, recorded earli ..read more

Here's StLJN's weekly wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest: * St. Louis music venues this week continued to adjust their admission policies to cope with the regional resurgence of COVID and proliferation of the Delta variant. As reported by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, Blue Strawberry made the first move, announcing that it would require patrons to provice proof of vaccination. The Pageant, Delmar Hall, and Off Broadway quickly followed by announcing that they too will require proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test for entry. * Nine PBS on ..read more

Stevie Wonder Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest: * Snug Harbor canceling performances due to rising Covid cases (Offbeat) * Don Marquis, esteemed jazz author and New Orleans Jazz Museum founder, has died at 88 (NOLA.com) * At Lollapalooza 2021, there's one question hanging over everything (AVClub.com) * Musical artist Suzanne Ciani feeds deepfake program below Morrison Hall (DailyCal.org) * Anatomy Of A Bad Gig: Recalling A Show 40 Years Ago Where Virtually Nothing Went Right (ProSoundWeb.com) * Labels are going to become more like VCs than they pr ..read more

This week, let's continue with a look at live performances from some of the winners in this year's DownBeat Critics Poll. (You can see music from some of the other top vote-getters in part one, posted a coupld of weeks ago.) The first video features the late Chick Corea, who was the poll winner in three different categories this year, "Piano," "Keyboard" and "Jazz Artist." Remarkably prolific and busy with a variety of projects until shortly before he passed away in February of this year, Corea is seen here with two of his closest musical associates, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave ..read more

Here's StLJN's weekly wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest: * The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony, the seven-CD set drawn from the archives of saxophonist and Black Artists Group co-founder Julius Hemphill and released earlier this year, is the subject of a short feature/review for Jazz Times by Ted Panken. * Trumpeter and East St. Louis native Russell Gunn, now based in Atlanta, has released the second recording from his band The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra. Titled The Sirius Mystery opus 4 no. 1, the album is out today via Ropeadope Records on all digital ..read more

It's the start of another new month, which means it's time once again to check in on StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds, where each day there's a new online music video posted, drawing on genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock, experimental and more. The five most-watched videos added to the site last month were: Airto Moreira & Flora Purim - Live in California Eddie Fisher - "Cosmic Blues" Otis Rush and Friends - Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival Aretha Franklin - "Lift Every Voice and Sing" Linda May Han Oh Quartet - Live at Bimhuis Other recent post ..read more