It's official: Jazz at the Bistro is now Jazz St. Louis

As reported here earlier, the organization known for the last 10 years as "Jazz at the Bistro" has officially adopted the new name "Jazz St. Louis." Here's the official news release:

THE "JAZZ AT THE BISTRO" ORGANIZATION
CELEBRATES 10 YEARS AND ANNOUNCES
NAME CHANGE TO "JAZZ ST. LOUIS".

Jazz St. Louis will present the performance series
"Jazz at the Bistro" and expand educational and
outreach initiatives for both youth and adults

St. Louis, MO - January, 2006. The non-profit organization, Jazz at the Bistro, is now titled Jazz St. Louis to better reflect their mission to present, promote and perpetuate the best of jazz to the greater St. Louis community and to enhance St. Louis' reputation as a center of jazz activity. Jazz St. Louis is unlike any organization of its kind in the region and one of only a handful of non-profit jazz organizations nationally.

"The former name "Jazz at the Bistro" sounded as though the organization was limited within the walls of The Bistro performance venue in Grand Center, when in reality the organization was also bringing acclaimed jazz performers into schools, hosting national jazz educator conferences in conjunction with Washington University, creating a signature high school jazz ensemble, and so much more," states Gene Dobbs Bradford, executive director for Jazz St. Louis. "The name Jazz St. Louis signifies that we are dedicated to bringing jazz and the education of jazz to the whole of the St. Louis Region. I think the name Jazz St.Louis is more clear, concise, and accessible which will help achieve our goals."

Jazz St. Louis will continue to present the performance series Jazz at the Bistro which brings nationally and locally recognized artists to The Bistro "listening room" in Grand Center. Performances are on an 18-week schedule, every week, four nights per week, two sets each night, from September through July. During the last 10 years, Jazz at the Bistro has entertained over 200,000 concert goers during 1,250 performances. Past performers include Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Dianne Reeves, Ahmad Jamal, Chucho Valdes and many other notables. Jazz St. Louis does not own or operate The Bistro at Grand Center restaurant where the Jazz at
the Bistro Series takes place, but is provided with space at no cost.

The education initiatives of Jazz St. Louis will expand to encompass all ages and are integrally linked to the performances hosted by Jazz St. Louis. The live performance of jazz is ultimately the most effective tool in the process of educating people about the genre. Current programs include The Whitaker Jazz Education Collaborative, which has reached over 45,000 St. Louis school children in the last 5 years through unique in-school jazz workshops, youth concerts, and master classes presented by jazz legends in the classrooms. The THF Realty All-Star Student Ensemble, with support from The Trio Foundation of Saint Louis, is an exemplary student ensemble of emerging high school musicians who receive coaching and training from Jazz at the Bistro artists. Future programming will include an Adopt-a-School program which will provide schools with a high level of interaction with Jazz St. Louis, the Trio Foundation of Greater St. Louis master class workshop series with additional support from the Norman J. Stupp Foundation, a lecture series in conjunction with Washington University and an Avant-Garde Jazz Series which will take jazz to various regional venues.

Jazz St. Louis has received numerous accolades for their efforts in the community and will be recognized with the prestigious St. Louis Excellence in the Arts Award presented by the Arts and Education Council at the January 30th awards gala. Jazz at the Bistro has been touted as one of the "100 Great Jazz Clubs" by DownBeat magazine.

In-tandem with the name change is a new "branding" of the organization which is comprised of new logos for Jazz St. Louis and Jazz at the Bistro along with the appropriate support materials. Local firm, Rodgers Townsend, designed the new image pro-bono and the result is an updated identity which conveys a crisp and contemporary look and reflects the cool feel of jazz.

Jazz St. Louis was founded in 1995 by Barbara Rose, who brought the program to the Grand Center Arts and Entertainment District after her popular "Just Jazz" Series was discontinued at the Hotel Majestic. Grand Center recognized that a series featuring world-class jazz music would be an excellent addition to the district and changed the name to "Jazz at the Bistro". At its inception, Jazz St. Louis operated under the fiscal umbrella of Grand Center on a program of declining financial support. In April of 1998, Jazz St. Louis received independent status as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and has been successfully fulfilling its mission and financial goals.

Jazz St. Louis will be moving their offices into the Centene Center for the Arts in early February. To reach the Jazz St. Louis office, call 314-531-1012 or visit www.jazzstl.org. Jazz at the Bistro is located at 3536 Washington Blvd. and concert tickets may be purchased at www.jazzstl.org or by calling MetroTix at 314-534-1111.

So, there you have it. The www.jazzstl.org Web address is now active, and currently leads to the familiar Jazz at the Bistro site, but one would assume a makeover will soon be in the works there, too.

As for the substance of the announcement, the only thing I have to add to previous comments is that I'm particularly looking forward to seeing what happens with the proposed Avant Garde series, which is something that hadn't been mentioned before. I've criticized the organization in the past for not taking enough musical chances in the Bistro series, and so it's good to see them moving to present a wider variety of sounds through this new venture. More details as they become available...

(edited immediately after posting to clean up some formatting problems)