Jazz this week: Joey DeFrancesco, Peter Martin & Jeremy Davenport, J.D. Parran, Craig Hultgren, and more

Warmer weather is in the forecast for St. Louis, but before you make plans to spend the whole weekend outdoors, you also may want to check out what's coming coming up in jazz and creative music over the next few days.

Tonight, organist Joey DeFrancesco begins a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. There's always been an enthusiastic audience for bluesy, organ-driven jazz in St. Louis, and in the past DeFrancesco has proven to be a good draw here, so advance reservations are recommended. For some video samples of DeFrancesco in action, see this post from last Saturday.

On Thursday, guitarist Vince Varvel will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series on Washington University campus, and the Black Rep's production of the Louis Jordan musical Five Guys Named Moe resumes at the Grandel Theatre, where it will continue through April 25.

On Friday afternoon, guitarist Steve Schenkel and singer Ashley Mason are doing a short Good Friday matinee concert at Webster University's Thompson Music Building.

Then on Friday evening, pianist Peter Martin resumes his eponymous series at the Sheldon Concert Hall with a show featuring two fellow University City natives - trumpet player and singer Jeremy Davenport and bassist Chris Thomas - plus drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. At this writing, word from Martin's Twitter feed is that the concert is approaching a sell-out, but if you can't get tickets, you still can check out the live, streaming webcast of the show.

Also on Friday evening, singer Jeanne Trevor will perform at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Saturday afternoon, another St. Louis expat returns home, as multi-instrumentalist J.D. Parran (pictured) brings his saxophones, flutes, clarinets and assorted other woodwinds to the Metropolitan Gallery to play original compositions and the music of John Coltrane for this week's Nu-Art Series jazz composers concert.

On Saturday evening, New Music Circle is presenting cellist Craig Hultgren in concert at the Kranzberg Arts Center. Hultgren, who lives in Birmingham, AL, plays both improvised and composed music, including many pieces commissioned especially for him, and often employs extended techniques, amplification and electronic effects to expand his sonic pallette.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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 by becoming a "fan" of 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.)

Pianist Monika Herzig schedules two St. Louis performances in May

The German-born jazz pianist Monika Herzig, who teaches music a couple of states over at the University of Indiana, is coming to the St. Louis area for two performances in May.

Herzig, who played here most recently at last year's St. Louis Art Fair, will back singer Jeff Hall for a gig at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 20 at Lone Wolf Coffee Company, 15480 Clayton Road in Ballwin. Hall is a protege of the well-known Kansas City jazz vocalist Kevin Mahogany, and has just released his first recordings on the Mahogany Digital label. There will be a $5 cover at the door.

The pianist then will headline her own show starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 22 at Robbie's House of Jazz. Herzig will be joined by a band including drummer Steve Davis, bassist Peter Kienle, singer Janiece Jaffee, and "possibly other surprise guests." Admission will be $10 for adults, $5 for students with valid I.D.

In addition to teaching, Herzig also has performed at many clubs and festivals in the U.S. and Germany. She has recorded with the fusion group BeebleBrox and produced four albums of acoustic jazz as a leader, with another release planned for 2011.

Peter Martin/Jeremy Davenport concert this Friday at the Sheldon to be webcast live on The Global Loop

Pianist Peter Martin has announced that his performance with trumpet player and singer Jeremy Davenport this Friday, April 2 at the Sheldon Concert Hall will be webcast live by the site The Global Loop.

The concert, the second in Martin's eponymous series at the Sheldon, also will feature bassist Chris Thomas and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. It starts at 8:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Daylight Time), and you can access The Global Loop's webcast here.

UPDATE - 12:00 p.m., 4/3/10: Excerpts from the concert are archived online and available for viewing here and here.

MFLA, The Sheldon seek donations of musical instruments

Do you have a old or unused musical instrument sitting in your basement, garage, attic, closet or spare bedroom? If so, consider making a donation to Music For Lifelong Achievement, a local not-for-profit organization that is teaming with the Sheldon Concert Hall for a month-long drive to gather musical instruments for underprivileged students at St. Louis area schools.

To contribute, you can bring your instrument to any concert in April at the Sheldon, or drop it off there during normal business hours (9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday). All donors will receive a coupon for a free beignet from Café Ventana, and MFLA provides a "thank you" letter that serves as a tax deduction receipt for the value of the donation.

Over the past eight years, MFLA instrument drives have collected hundreds of instruments, which have been recycled to St. Louis City and County school districts and community music programs.

If you don’t have an instrument to donate, MFLA also welcomes financial contributions to help pay for necessary repairs to donated instruments and for accessories such as strings, reeds and sheet music. For more information or to make a donation, call the Sheldon at 314-533-9900 or visit www.supportmfla.org.

Dennis Owsley reading St. Louis jazz history on Wednesday, April 14 at Urban Eats Cafe

Jazz DJ, historian, photographer and author Dennis Owsley will read from his book City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St Louis, 1895-1973 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 14 at Urban Eats Cafe, 3301 Meramec St.

Published in 2006 through a collaboration between Reddy Press, the Sheldon Concert Hall and the Sheldon Art Galleries in St. Louis, City of Gabriels (pictured) is the only comprehensive history of jazz in St. Louis. The April 14 event is part of the cafe's "Well-Read Wednesdays" series, and will include a discussion and the opportunity to purchase a copy of City of Gabriels and have it signed by the author.

For more information or to RSVP, you can go to the Urban Eats Cafe's Facebook page and click on the Events tab.

Peter Brötzmann and Hamid Drake to perform Sunday, April 25 at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center

Saxophonist Peter Brötzmann (pictured) is returning to St. Louis for a duo performance with percussionist Hamid Drake at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, April 25 at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.

Brötzmann played at the LNAC last June with his trio as part of the venue's "Jazz to the Wall" festival. Drake, who like Brötzmann is based in Chicago but tours around the world, has been part of the improvised music scene since the 1970s, working with Fred Anderson, David Murray, William Parker, Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders, Ken Vandermark and many others.

For more on Brötzmann's recent activities, check out this article published last month in the Chicago Reader. You also can see some video of him in action here.

Regarding tickets, the LNAC website says that "All shows are all ages and $5.00 unless otherwise noted," and currently there are no other notations specific to the Brotzmann/Drake show. More details if/when we get 'em...

UPDATE - 11:20 a.m., 4/10/10: According to the press release received today at StLJN HQ, tickets for the Brötzmann/Drake performance will be $12 at the door.

Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club to meet Tuesday, April 13

The Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club will hold its next meeting at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 13 at Borders, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd in Brentwood.

The featured CD for the month will be Stanley Turrentine's Sugar (pictured), with JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford serving as moderator and Carol Daniel of KMOX radio and KMOV's Great Day St. Louis as special guest.

(An editorial aside: Though she is a capable and well-liked broadcaster, Ms. Daniel seems like a strange choice for this gig, given that she has scant professional connections to jazz. Her official biographies at the websites of KMOX and KMOV make no mention of any interest or involvement in jazz; the only reference to music in either bio is to note Ms. Daniel's philanthropic support for the Cameron Youth Orchestra, a classical music group. When I inquired as to what Ms. Daniel's qualifications to lead a discussion about jazz might be, I was told that she's attended shows at the Bistro and has interviewed several musicians on her television program.

This seems like a rather thin set of credentials for the task. Consider this: During her time in St. Louis, I'd bet that Ms. Daniel has attended some Cardinal games and interviewed a few ballplayers, but you don't see her being asked to appear on sports programs discussing the team's prospects for 2010. That's because there are plenty of other people who are much better qualified to discuss that particular topic - broadcasters and writers who cover the game on a regular basis, former players, coaches, and so on.

Similarly, one would think there are at least one or two music professors, professional musicians, critics, scholars or music journalists in the St. Louis area who would have something interesting or relevant to say about Stanley Turrentine and Sugar. So why bring in someone without a significant connection to jazz?

Using a local semi-celebrity as a guest as a way to entice casual fans into taking more of an interest in jazz is a defensible idea, but it seems at odds with the CD Listening Club's alleged purpose of helping listeners "explore and understand great jazz recordings while building their personal jazz libraries."

It should be noted that JSL did have Glenn Zimmerman, who does the weather for KTVI, as the featured guest at an earlier CD Listening Club meeting, but Zimmerman at least plays a musical instrument and is known around town as an avid music hobbyist who attends all sorts of concerts. Perhaps Ms. Daniel will surprise the audience with relevant insights on, say, Turrentine's use of motivic development, or the impact of Creed Taylor's production style on the music's commercial prospects, but yr. humble editor remains skeptical. )

The CD Listening Club is free and open to the public. However, because space is limited, interested parties are asked to reserve a spot by calling Devin Rodino at 314-289-4144.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Getting organized with Joey DeFrancesco

This week, let's check out some clips of organist Joey DeFrancesco, who's returning to St. Louis this coming week to perform Wednesday, March 31 through Saturday, April 4 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Considered by many to be the heir to the legendary Jimmy Smith, DeFrancesco is the son of jazz organist "Papa" John DeFrancesco and grew up near Philadelphia, attending the same high school as bassist Christian McBride. DeFrancesco began sitting in on his dad's gigs while still in grade school, and got his big break - a chance to perform and record with Miles Davis - when he was just 17.

He toured Europe and recorded the album Amandla with Davis, then went on to play with guitarist John McLaughlin, Pat Martino and others. These days, DeFrancesco works tirelessly as leader of his own bands, but he did take some time off recently to back up saxophonist and former St. Louisan David Sanborn on a tour supporting Sanborn's latest CD.

Today's four videos show Joey D tackling four well-known tunes, starting with the standard "Fly Me To The Moon" in the first slot up above. Down below, it's "Just In Time," followed by Wes Montgomery's "Four On Six" and Thelonious Monk's "Evidence." All four amply demonstrate DeFrancesco's mastery of classic jazz organ techniques ranging from swinging bass lines to timely, seamlessly exectured registration changes.

Notes from the Net: Marsalises on tour, Buble at MSG, plus news, reviews, interviews, and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* In this week's Miles Davis news, Miles Davis Online recaps a series of posts on Davis-related art, and has more photos of Davis, including a nice early 1960s pic of the trumpeter and film star/fellow icon of cool Steve McQueen, and a link to a gallery of photos of Davis by famed music photographer Jim Marshall, who died this week at age 74.

And in this week's Davis-tribute-related news, drummer Gerry Gibbs and his Electric Thrasher Orchestra have a new 2-CD set featuring interpretations of music from Miles Davis' early electric period (1967-1975). The discs include 26 selections taken from Bitches Brew, Nefertiti, Sorcerer, Live Evil, Dark Magus, Big Fun, several live Fillmore recordings and others, with liner note commentary from Davis alumni including Bennie Maupin, Gary Bartz, Dave Liebman, Billy Hart and Airto Moreira.

* You'd think he'd have played there at some point before this, but saxophonist/composer John Zorn finally is making his debut in Cleveland this weekend with his Masada Sextet, performing at the Cleveland Museum of Art. (Which raises the question: Given that Zorn hasn't played in St. Louis in something like 15 years, when will someone here invite the former Webster University student back to perform? )

* St. Louis music journalist, DJ and record store guy Steve Pick has a review of bassist Dave Holland's latest CD Pathways online now at Blurt.com.

* Turning to news of recent visitors, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who were here two weeks ago to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall, are still on tour, and their stop in Buffalo prompted an assessment of Marsalis' impact on jazz by Buffalo News arts editor Jeff Simon. Meanwhile, the JaLCO will be headed to England in June for a residency at London's Barbican Centre (home of the London Symphony), and Marsalis has signed to be one of the headliners at this year's Newport Jazz Festival.

* Saxophonist Branford Marsalis, another member of the famous New Orleans family, played in St. Louis last month at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Since then, he's been to New Zealand, where his concert closing the 2010 NZ International Arts Festival earned rave reviews. It also was announced this week that Marsalis (pictured) will headline the sixth anniversary fundraiser for Canada's JazzFM91 in Toronto.

* Singer Sutton Foster, who headlined a benefit for Cabaret St. Louis in February at the Sheldon, has a couple of concerts coming up in Los Angeles.

* Opening the "coming attractions" file, bassist John Clayton is offering a free online bass lesson at the website ArtistShare.com. The Clayton Brothers Quartet, which features John and his brother, saxophonist Jeff Clayton, will be in St. Louis to perform April 9 & 10 at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli is performing this weekend in Clayton, NC, and was profiled by the local paper here. Pizzarelli will be in St. Louis from April 14 -17 to play the Bistro.

* Singer Michael Buble, who's coming to St. Louis' Scottrade Center on June 25, just played NYC's Madison Square Garden to good notices from both the New York Times' Stephen Holden and the NY Post.

* Pianist Dave Brubeck is one of the latest subjects of blogger Steve Cerra's Jazz Profiles. Brubeck is scheduled to return to St. Louis in October to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of the first American Arts Experience-St. Louis festival.

* Last but not least, in the nearly five years StLJN has been online, there hasn't been a week go by without at least a few hits from people searching for the sheet music (or "jazz notes," if you will) for W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues."

Well, the search is over, because a lead sheet with melody and chord changes for "St. Louis Blues" is freely available online at Wikifonia, which also has similar sheets for hundreds more well-known tunes ranging from public domain classical themes and folk songs to jazz standards and pop hits.

The site also lets you transpose the music into any key at the click of a mouse, which certainly is a handy feature. You'll find the music for "St. Louis Blues" here, and you can browse the rest of Wikifonia's lead sheet collection here.

April is Jazz Appreciation Month

Once again this year, April has been designated Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History as a way of "paying tribute to jazz both as a historic and living American art form."

According the Smithsonian's website, JAM is "intended to stimulate the current jazz scene and encourage people of all ages to participate in jazz — to study the music, attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio and recordings, read books about jazz, and support institutional jazz programs."

To promote JAM, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has commissioned a poster of a jazz legend again this year. This year's poster (pictured) features an image of pianist Dave Brubeck, a 2009 Kennedy Center honoree, created by artist Leroy Neiman. The museum has printed 250,000 posters for free distribution to music and jazz educators, librarians, music merchants and manufacturers, radio stations, arts presenters, and U.S. embassies worldwide. To request a copy, send an email to jazz@si.edu. You can also download the poster in PDF format.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is home to jazz collections that include 100,000 pages of Duke Ellington’s unpublished music and objects such as Ella Fitzgerald’s famous red dress, Dizzy Gillespie’s angled trumpet, John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme manuscript and Benny Goodman’s clarinet. The museum has reopened after a two-year renovation.

To help interested listeners find jazz events during the month, The Smithsonian also publishes a calendar of JAM-related events nationwide. While no St. Louis presenters have announced plans for a formal celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, there will be plenty of live jazz to enjoy here in April, and you can see a schedule of upcoming events by visiting the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

Metrotix starting online pre-sale of Jeff Beck tickets this Thursday, March 25

Tickets for guitarist Jeff Beck's show on Thursday, April 29 at the Fox Theatre are scheduled to go on sale officially this Saturday, but Metrotix and the Fox also are offering an online pre-sale starting at 10:00 on Thursday, April 25.

To access the pre-sale, which ends at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, March 26, go to metrotix.com and use the promo code MMBECK.

Mike Lee to present free master class Sunday, March 28 at Saxquest

This just in: Saxophonist Mike Lee (pictured), whose credits include work with the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, Joe Lovano, Bobby Watson, the Maria Schneider Orchestra and many others, will be in St. Louis to present a free saxophone clinic at 2:00 p.m. this Sunday at Saxquest, 2114 Cherokee St.

Lee and his quartet New Tricks also will perform that evening at 7:00 p.m. at the Highway 61 Roadhouse in Webster Groves. In addition to Lee, New Tricks features Ted Chubb on trumpet, Kellen Harrison on bass and Shawn Baltazor on drums.

For more information on the master class, call Saxquest at 314-664-1234.

Jazz this week: Tiempo Libre, Eric Person, Musica Slesa, and more

Once again, there's a varied selection of jazz and creative music on tap this weekend in St. Louis, and time is short, so let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, there's a memorial for Blake Travis at the Sheldon Concert Hall, the first of two events this week honoring the late percussionist, singer and storyteller.

Though Travis didn't usually work in the jazz idiom per se, he played with all sorts of St. Louis musicians over the course of his career, and many of them, including pianist Carolbeth True and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman, will gather tonight to pay tribute to him. The roster of performers also will include Lydia Ruffin, Tom Hall, Lisa Campbell, Tim Albert, the Road Apples, January Kiefer, Barton and Sweeney, Charlie Pfeffer, John Higgins and Colleen Heine.

This evening also is the first preview performance for the Black Rep's production of the Louis Jordan musical Five Guys Named Moe, which runs at the Grandel Theatre through April 25. For more about the show, see this post.

On Thursday, pianist Kara Baldus and her group will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Then on Friday, the weekend takes on a distinct Latin flavor as the Miami-based band Tiempo Libre (pictured) brings their mix of jazz and Cuban rhythms to Washington University's Edison Theatre. For more about Tiempo Libre and some video of them in action, see this post from Saturday.

Meanwhile, a few miles to the east, the St. Louis-based Latin jazz band Musica Slesa will open a weekend stand at Jazz at the Bistro. Jazz St. Louis' Bob Bennett tells me that Musica Slesa has proved to be a good draw at the Bistro, and you can hear samples of their music on their MySpace page.

Also on Friday, the performance space Open Lot has a triple bill of ambient/noise music, featuring electronic musician Kyle Parker a.k.a. Infinite Body, the tape loops and guitar of Earn, and music and 8mm film from Ghost Ice.

On Saturday afternoon, drummer Jerome "Scrooge" Harris and his band will play the music of Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter at the Metropolitan Gallery as part of the Nu-Art Series' jazz composers shows. Saturday evening will provide a double dose of swinging vocals, as Jeanne Trevor performs at Robbie's House of Jazz and Denise Thimes takes the stage at Harris-Stowe State University in a benefit concert for the Delta Child Development Center.

On Sunday, saxophonist Eric Person is back in town to headline a show paying tribute to (and raising funds for) his father Thomas Person, who's recovering from a stroke. The event at the Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., will get started at 4:00 p.m. with a jam session, followed by sets featuring Philip Gomez, Ed Nicholson, Person and pianist Ptah Williams, and Willem Von Hombracht's X-tet.

Also on Sunday, there will be a "jazz funeral" for Blake Travis at the Schlafly Tap Room, with music from the Funky Butt Brass Band and others.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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 by becoming a "fan" of 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.)

Boney James performing Thursday, July 8 at Bottleneck Blues Bar

Smooth jazz saxophonist Boney James (pictured) is returning to the St. Louis area this summer to perform at 8:00 p.m., Thursday, July 8 at the Ameristar Casino's Bottleneck Blues Bar.

James last played here in March 2009, also at the Bottleneck Blues Bar. His most recent recording is 2009's Send One Your Love.

Tickets for Boney James at the Bottleneck Blues Bar are $45 and $50, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m., Monday, April 5 at the Ameristar Casino or online at www.tickets.com.

Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival announces schedule of events

The Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival has announced the complete schedule of events for this year's fest, which will be held Thursday. April 15 through Saturday, April 17 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL).

The 2010 GSLJF will feature concerts by trombonist Conrad Herwig's Latin Side All-Stars at 8:00 p.m., Friday, April 16 and Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, April 17.

Herwig (pictured) has played with Joe Henderson, Tom Harrell, Joe Lovano, Eddie Palmieri, the Mingus Big Band and many others, and has recorded 19 albums as a leader. In addition to his concert, Herwig will present two free jazz clinics at the TouPAC that will be open to the public, at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday.

The Big Phat Band returns to the GSLJF for an encore after performing at the 2007 fest. Formed in 2000, the 18-member group includes many top studio musicians from Los Angeles, and has released four albums on Silverline Records.

While the weekend concerts are the public face of the GSLJF, the event also includes three days of performances, clinics and critiques for student musicians from around the St. Louis metro area. Six high school combos and UMSL's small ensemble will play on Thursday, with more than 30 big bands representing area middle schools, high schools and colleges scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

The student ensembles will work with a roster of clinicians including bassist Jim Widner, who directs UMSL's jazz program and the GSLJF; saxophonists Jamey Aebersold, Rick Condit and David Seiler; bassist Lou Fischer; trumpeters Ron Modell and Allen Beeson; and trombonist/euphonium player Peter Madsen.

For more information about the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, visit the GSLJF website. To purchase tickets for the concerts by Conrad Herwig and Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, go to the TouPAC's site.

Free download of Funky Butt Brass Band now online at Archive.org

The Funky Butt Brass Band has put online a recording of their performance last Saturday night at Jazz at the Bistro, and you can download it for free from Archive.org.

The download includes a number of the FBBB's staples, as well as versions of "It's All Over Now" and "Where Y'At?" with guest solos from trumpeters Sean Jones and Marcus Printup of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who played earlier that same evening around the corner at the Sheldon Concert Hall. You can get individual tracks or the whole show here.

Black Rep to open Louis Jordan musical on Wednesday, March 24

Having just closed its production of Yesterdays: An Evening With Billie Holiday with singer Vanessa Rubin, the Black Rep has another musical coming up that also may appeal to St. Louis jazz fans. The company's staging of Five Guys Named Moe, which is based on the music of saxophonist and singer Louis Jordan, opens next Wednesday, March 24 and continues through Sunday, April 25 at the Grandel Theatre.

Combining elements drawn from big band swing and rhythm & blues with a hefty dose of humor, Jordan (pictured) was hugely popular in the 1940s with songs like "Let The Good Times Roll," "Caledonia," "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens," "Choo-Choo Ch' Boogie," and many others.

Five Guys Named Moe takes its name from another of Jordan's hits, and originated in London in 1990 before premiering on Broadway in 1992. The show features two dozen of Jordan's songs, knitted together by a storyline devised by actor and writer Clarke Peters (who played the thoughtful detective Lester Freamon on the HBO TV series The Wire). The Black Rep production stars Drummond Crenshaw, Sean Walton, Gary Vincent, Herman Gordon, Horace E. Smith and Anthony Tarvin, Jr. Black Rep founder and producing director Ron Himes is directing the show, with pianist Charles Creath serving as musical director.

Tickets are priced from $17 to $43, and can be purchased online here. Performances times are 7:00 p.m. Thursdays; 8:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 3:00 p.m. for Saturday and Sunday matinees. There also will be student matinee performances at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 31 and Wednesday, April 14. For more information, call the Black Rep at 314-534-3810 or visit their website.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Tiempo Libre

Today we train our video spotlight on Tiempo Libre, who are coming to St. Louis next Friday, March 26 to perform at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus.

The Miami-based group, which blends Latin jazz with traditional Cuban rhythms, is made up of seven musicians who received classical music training at Cuba’s premiere conservatory, La ENA. Formed in 2001, Tiempo Libre has played major festivals, concerts and clubs all over the United States, Europe, Asia and South America. Their most recent album, 2009's Bach to Havana, blends Bach compositions with Afro-Cuban rhythms and feature a guest appearance by saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera.

Today's first clip shows the band in concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center with guest stars Jose "Pepito" Gomez and "El Kid." Video quality is a little rough, but the excerpt does provide some of the flavor of the band's live performance in a jazz-oriented setting.

Down below is a clip - apparently taken at some sort of street festival but otherwise unidentified - of Tiempo Libre performing "Ayer Te Llame". (Yes, the picture is in B&W, so don't attempt to adjust the setting on your monitor. The audio quality is suprisingly good, considering.)

The third video is a half-hour special produced by Michigan State University that chronicles Tiempo Libre's visit to the MSU campus to perform Rumba Sinfónica, a symphonic work composed by the group's pianist and leader Jorge Gomez. And today's fourth and final clip shows the band's appearance last year on the ABC-TV program "Dancing With The Stars," for which they perform "Tu Conga Bach" from the Bach to Havana album.

(Edited after posting to correct the day and date.)

Senator McCaskill weighs in on KFUO sale

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) has joined her Show-Me State colleague Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Missouri) in expressing support for the classical music programming of KFUO (99.1 FM). In a post on the Culture Club blog yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller published the following statement made by Senator McCaskill last week during a conference call with Missouri radio stations:

“I’m not aware what, if anything, we’ve heard back from the FCC on that, but I’m happy to look into it. I know that a lot of people have weighed in about it and this is another area that’s very interesting. With the FCC, it is the public airwaves, but there’s also a fine line between government control and the free market so it’s a little tricky but I love that radio station. I listen to it all the time at home so a bunch of us are trying to help.”

Senator Bond last week called for a congressional inquiry into the pending sale of KFUO, which has been controversial since it was first announced last year. The station currently is the only one in St. Louis that broadcasts classical music, and prospective owners Gateway Creative Broadcasting want to change the format to contemporary Christian music. There also have been questions about the structure of the deal, the financial wherewithal of the buyers, and whether or not all necessary information was disclosed according to FCC rules.

StLJN has been following the story because KFUO also is home to Don Wolff's long-running program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights. For links to past coverage, click here.

Notes from the Net: Hancock to score Miles Davis movie; Osby at the Vanguard; plus news, reviews, interviews, and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* In this week's Miles Davis news, the feature film about the trumpeter came one step closer to reality with the announcement that pianist Herbie Hancock, who first gained wide public attention as a member of Davis' 1960s quintet, will write the score for the movie.

Also, the "We Want Miles" exhibit that closed earlier this year in Paris is set to reopen next month at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Austin (TX) trumpeter Jeff Lofton has put together a tribute to Davis' 1950s groups.

* Turning to news of other former St. Louisans, saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby (pictured) is performing this week at NYC's Village Vanguard in a trio with drummer Paul Motian and pianist Jason Moran.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn (who grew up in Kirkwood) will be one of the headliners at this summer's Toronto Jazz Festival. The fest, which is held from June 25 to July 4, also will feature pianist Dave Brubeck and trumpeter Roy Hargrove.

* Here's a review of Rollo Coaster, the most recent CD from saxophonist and Webster University grad Chris Cheek, written for AllAboutJazz.com by Martin Gladu.

* And here's a review of The Wee Trio's new one, Capitol Diner Vol. 2: Animal Style, written by Mark F. Turner for AAJ. The group's bassist Dan Loomis is from St. Louis.

* Turning to news of recent visitors, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, here last Saturday to play the Sheldon Concert Hall, are generating plenty of press coverage on their current tour, including an interview with saxophonist and arranger/composer Ted Nash from the Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, and a conversation with trumpeter Sean Jones from the Minnesota Post.

* Guitarist Fareed Haque's band Garaj Mahal has a couple of new recordings, More Mr. Nice Guy and Discovery, which spotlights Haque's work on the Moog Guitar. One of Haque's other bands, the Flat Earth Ensemble, plays tonight at 2720.

* Singer and pianist Jamie Cullum, who was here on Sunday to play the Roberts Orpheum Theatre, was featured this week on NPR. For more on Cullum and his new CD The Pursuit, see this interview with AccessAtlanta.com

* Pianist Vijay Iyer, who was here in January to play at Jazz at the Bistro, just won a German Echo Music prize for his album Historicity. (Note that the link is to a Babelfish translation from the original German.)

* Lastly, from the "coming attractions" file, we've got another review of guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli's latest, Rockin' In Rhythm, written by Bill Donaldson for eJazzNews, and an interview with Pizzarelli about the Ellington tribute project, done by Matthew Warnock for AllAboutJazz.com. Pizzarelli will be in St. Louis from April 17 through April 20 to perform at Jazz at the Bistro.

Jazz St. Louis plans NYC trip for May 19 - 23

Jazz St. Louis has scheduled its third annual group trip to New York City for Wednesday, May 19 through Sunday, May 23. This year, the St. Louis Art Museum is co-sponsoring the excursion with JSL, and the itinerary will be expanded to include tours of galleries, artists studios and private collections as well as visits to jazz venues and restaurants.

For more information, call JSL's director of development Melissa Jones at 314-289-4037 or email her at melissa@jazzstl.org.

Jazz this week: Caribbean Jazz Project, Fareed Haque, Diverse and more

Along with the official start of spring, this weekend brings several events of interest to fans of jazz and creative music in St. Louis.

The weekend's best-known headliners are Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project, who will open a four-night run this evening at Jazz at the Bistro. You can see some video of the CJP in action here, and listen to a podcast interview with Samuels here

On Thursday evening, drummer Ben Thigpen leads his group in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Also on Thursday, guitarist Fareed Haque and the Flat Earth Ensemble will play at 2720, and Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum returns to Brandt's.

(Parenthetically, Brandt's website domain name seems to have expired and fallen prey to the dreaded domain-jackers, as has the website for Seasons St. Louis, which has featured jazz performers such as Erin Bode and Mae Wheeler. If anyone reading this knows more about what's going on with either place, please drop me an email.)

Elsewhere this wekeend, Robbie's House of Jazz will feature guitarist Scott McCloud on Friday and the up-and-coming Kansas City band Diverse (pictured) on Saturday. Diverse are particular favorites of StLJN's cross-state counterpart Plastic Sax, which has provided ongoing coverage of the band and named trumpeter Hermon Mehari the Kansas City jazz "Person of the Year" for 2009. You can hear an interview with Mehari from late last year on Jason Crane's The Jazz Session, and read a review of Diverse's self-titled 2009 debut CD here.

On Sunday afternoon, saxophonist Willie Akins performs the music of Sonny Rollins at the Metropolitan Gallery as part of the Nu-Art Series' "re-arrangements & nu-compositions" concerts, and the St. Louis Jazz Club will present Cornet Chop Suey at Bel Air Bowl in Belleville. Also on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series presents a free blues concert by Big George Brock and the Houserockers at the Second Baptist Church.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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 by becoming a "fan" of 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.)

Imrat Khan, Todd Mosby to play benefit concert on Saturday, April 17

Sitarist and teacher Imrat Khan and his son, tabla player Shafaatulla Khan, will team with guitarist Todd Mosby (pictured) in a benefit concert called "Music for the Heart" at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, April 17 at the Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Road.

The event also will showcase the latest iteration of the Imrat Guitar, a hybrid of the guitar and sitar developed by Khan and Mosby. (For more about the instrument, see this 2007 piece from the Riverfront Times.) Khan was the first sitar teacher for Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles' George Harrison, and also is said to have influenced the music of John Mclaughlin and Zakir Hussain in the group Shakti. Mosby, a St. Lous native, veteran jazz guitarist and graduate of Berklee College of Music, has studied with Khan for the last 12 years.

Proceeds from the concert will benefit Community Alternatives Inc., a St. Louis not-for-profit organization that serves persons with severe mental illness. Tickets are $25 and are available by calling Julia Day of Community Alternatives at 314-772-8801, ext 242., or at the door on the night of the performance.

Presenters Dolan schedule six more cabaret performances at Kranzberg Arts Center

The Presenters Dolan have announced six more cabaret shows this spring at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Singer and pianist Daryl Sherman and singer Shana Farr (pictured) will make their first St. Louis appearances next month, while vocalists Jeff Wright, Monya Fisher, Alice Kinsella and Robert Breig each will offer encore performances of shows previously staged at the Kranzberg in February.

Farr, a native of Columbia, MO, will do her show "Pure Imagination" at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. First performed at the NYC cabaret venue Feinstein's, the show includes classic songs from Ira Gershwin, Kurt Weill, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen as well as contemporary hits by Carly Simon and Cyndi Lauper. Lennie Watts will direct, with Amanda Kirkpatrick as music director and additional accompaniment from bassist Jay Hungerford.

Sherman is known for her fifteen-year residency at NYC's Waldorf Hotel, where she played a piano formerly owned by Cole Porter, and comes to St. Louis following a month-long tour of the UK and Europe. Her show "Lounging At The Waldorf" at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, April 22 will spotlight material written Johnny Mercer, along with a few of Porter's songs. Bassist Dave Troncoso will back Sherman, with Don Wolff as MC.

As for the St. Louisans, Wright will revisit his show "The Dance" on Friday, April 16, while Fisher's "My Seasons of Music" will be performed on Sunday, April 18. The following week, Kinsella will do "A Stand Up Act" on Friday, April 23 and Brieg will perform "Feels Like Home" on Saturday, April 24. All four shows start at 8:00 p.m..

For more information or to purchase tickets for any of the upcoming Presenters Dolan shows, call 314-725-4200 EXT 10 or visit www.licketytix.com.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra reviewed in Post-Dispatch

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, directed by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, came to St. Louis this past Saturday to play for the Sheldon Concert Hall's annual benefit gala. Calvin Wilson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was there to review the show, and you can read his account of the evening online here.

Dave Samuels podcast interview now online

Jazz St. Louis has put online the latest in their series of podcast interviews with musicians who are coming to St. Louis to play Jazz at the Bistro.

The latest installment features a conversation with vibraphonist and marimba player Dave Samuels of the Caribbean Jazz Project, who will be here this week to perform Wednesday, March 17 through Saturday, March 20 at the Bistro. You can listen to an audio stream of the interview here, or download it as an .mp3 file here.

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

Time for another shameless plug for StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds, which each day features a different online music video from genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock and experimental.

Recent posts have included clips of Billie Holiday, Howlin' Wolf, Cecil Taylor Unit, Chris Potter's Underground, Bruce Springsteen, Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet, Ray Charles, Fred Wesley and the JBs, Gil Scott-Heron, Bob Dylan, the Crusaders, Phil Woods, Liquid Soul featuring Kurt Elling, Bill Evans, Benny Golson and John Scofield.

You can see them all, plus hundreds more lovingly selected videos from the archives, by visiting http://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: "Stolen Moments" with Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project

This week, let's spend a little time with Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project, who will be in St. Louis Wednesday, March 17 through Saturday, March 20 to perform at Jazz at the Bistro.

The group was formed in 1995 when Samuels, who had been the mallet percussionist for Spyro Gyra, joined forces with steel pan player Andy Narell and saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera for a concert in NYC's Central Park. They released two albums before Narell and D'Rivera moved on, leaving Samuels to put together a new lineup featuring flute player Dave Valentin and guitarist Steve Khan.

That group put out three more records, including the Grammy winning release The Gathering, before disbanding in 2002. Since then, Samuels and the CJP have toured and recorded with several different lineups of musicians, usually featuring a trumpet player or saxophonist along with Samuels' vibes and marimba and a rhythm section.

Today's first clip has a St. Louis connection and also serves to illustrate how CJP approaches a familiar jazz standard, as it features their version of St. Louis native Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments," taken from a concert at the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat, Isreal.

Down below are two clips from CJP's performance in 2008 at the J&R Music Festival in 2008. The first is "Arthur's Dance," an original Samuels tune named for his father, while the second features Samuels' solo on Latin jazz vibist Cal Tjader's well-known composition "Soul Sauce".

Entertainment St. Louis announces plans for downtown blues, jazz festivals

The production company Entertainment St. Louis has announced plans to stage a blues festival this summer in downtown St. Louis and also to take over and move an existing (but as yet unnamed) jazz festival to an unspecified downtown location.

The Riverfront Times' Nick Lucchesi was at the news conference on Thursday at which these and several other downtown events were announced, and posted about it on the A to Z blog here.

"Mike Kociela and K. Sonderegger, who collaboratively operate Entertainment St. Louis (and) who also organize the three-day Taste of St. Louis festival each October, couldn't confirm the date of the (blues) festival, but Kociela said more information would be released in the next two to three weeks," Lucchesi's post said. "The group plans to take on (but not "Shanghai," they note) a pre-existing jazz festival in St. Louis, and also move it downtown. Kociela wouldn't name the jazz festival in question."

So, to which local jazz festival could Entertainment St. Louis be referring? Let's ponder that for a moment and make some semi-informed guesses.

Given that there's a strong element of hometown promotion to them, events such as the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival, Belleville's Wine Dine and Jazz Festival, the Glendale Jazz Festival and the Miles Davis Jazz Festival in Alton all would seem to be bound tightly to their present communities.

With its emphasis on jazz education, the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival seems right at home on the UMSL campus, with the Touhill Performing Arts Center as its primary venue.

The Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden is a weekly series, not a one- or two-day festival like as the others, and also features other musical styles in addition to jazz. It's also quite popular, drawing large crowds to the Garden, and seems an unlikely candidate for a move unless the Garden no longer wants it.

The KMOX Jazz and Wine and Jazz Festival, held previously at Faust Park and Forest Park, lacks strong ties to a particular location and thus could conceivably be a candidate for a move. Given that KMOX's studios are located downtown, moving the event downtown would make a certain amount of sense.

As for the St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival, held from 2001 - 2008 in Clayton's Shaw Park, calling it "a pre-existing festival" might be a bit of stretch at this point. The last word from its organizers came way back in November 2008, when they announced they were "going on hiatus" for 2009. Since then, there have been no further public announcements about the event's fate; the website at www.saintlouisjazzfest.com has gone 404; and the website of producers Cultural Festivals, Inc, no longer makes any mention of the Jazz and Heritage Festival whatsoever.

To most observers, those signs would seem to indicate an event as dead as the Norwegian Blue parrot in that old Monty Python sketch. (For those unfamiliar with this paradigm, see the embedded video window below.) Perhaps someone somewhere might feel that the phrase "St Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival" has some value due to residual name recognition, but given the event's checkered history - click here for StLJN's past coverage - they might do better just to start over from scratch.

StLJN will have more details on this story as they are revealed. In the meantime, what do you think, dear readers? Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section.

Jazz this week: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jamie Cullum, Marvin Horne, Ron Carter, Funky Butt Brass Band, and more

It's going to be a jam-packed weekend of jazz and creative music in St. Louis, so, without further preamble, let's go straight to the highlights:

Tonight, the Meramec Jazz Lab Band from St. Louis Community College-Meramec performs at the Black Cat Theatre in Maplewood. This evening also marks the beginning of the closing weekend for Vanessa Rubin in the Black Rep's production of Yesterdays: An Evening With Billie Holiday. The show runs through Sunday at the Grandel Theatre.

On Thursday, guitarist Matthew Von Doran returns to the Broadway Bean Coffeehouse, while Jazz St. Louis presents its first-ever "High School Invitational," featuring the East St. Louis Senior High School Jazz Band and the Webster Groves High School Jazz Band, at Jazz at the Bistro. (There's no Jazz at Holmes concert this week, as Washington University is on spring break.)

On Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band returns to Jazz at the Bistro for the first of two nights, and saxophonist Ron Carter and the Northern Illinois University Jazztet begin a weekend stand at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Saturday afternoon, guitarist Chris Burchett will do the music of Freddie Hubbard for the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery. (Burchett will be subbing for trumpeter Anthony Wiggins, who's recovering from a brain aneurysm; however, despite the previous announcement here, the show will not be a benefit for the Wiggins family.)

Saturday night presents several intriguing options, starting with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (pictured) and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who will be performing at the Sheldon Concert Hall for the Sheldon's annual benefit gala. To see some video of Wynton and the JaLCO in action, check out this post.

That same evening, New Music Circle will present composer John Tamm-Buckle's "Droning Maud Land" at the Kranzberg Arts Center, while the world premiere of a Meredith Monk work by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, with the composer on hand, takes place just up the street at Powell Hall.

On Sunday, singer and pianist Jamie Cullum will play at the Roberts Orpheum Theatre. For more about Cullum and some performance videos, see this post from last Saturday. Also on Sunday, guitarist and St. Louis native Marvin Horne returns home for a gig with NYC drummer Greg Bandy and St. Louis bassist David Certain at BB's, Jazz Blues and Soups.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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 by becoming a "fan" of 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.)

Notes from the Net: More Miles Davis biopic news; Jamie Cullum's Pursuit; plus news, reviews, interviews, and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* Via Miles Davis Online, there's a bit more news this week about actor Don Cheadle and his interest in starring in the proposed film biography of the trumpeter.

* Saxophonist and former St. Louisan David Sanborn and pianist Joe Sample are among the headliners for the fifth annual Jazz in the Gardens at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on March 20 and March 21.

* Here's a review of Rollo-Coaster, the new CD from saxophonist and Webster University grad Chris Cheek and accordion player Victor Prieto, written by Dan Bilawsky for AllAboutJazz.com

* Turning to news of recent visitors, singer Vanessa Rubin was profiled last week by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Manny Theiner. Rubin finishes her run this Sunday as star of the Black Rep's production of Yesterdays: An Evening With Billie Holiday. On a related note, the Village Voice's Francis Davis recently reviewed two more tributes to Holiday by singers DeeDee Bridgewater and Stephanie Nakasian (via NPR's A Blog Supreme).

* Pianist Mulgrew Miller (pictured), who records for the St. Louis-based MAXJAZZ label and seems to make it here for a performance at least once a year, has been named Artist in Residence for the 2010 Detroit International Jazz Festival.

* After playing The Pageant here last month, Galactic and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe took their tour on to the Fillmore in Denver, where their performance was reviewed by Geoff Anderson for AllAboutJazz.com.

* Meanwhile, pianist Vijay Iyer , who was here in January to play Jazz at the Bistro, recently went to London for a duo performance with saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. Here's a review of their show from the LondonJazz blog.

* From the "coming attractions" file, singer and pianist Jamie Cullum's new CD The Pursuit was released last week, and he's featured in the current issue of Nylon magazine. He also will perform songs from his new CD on a live broadcast this Thursday evening, March 11, for Canada's JAZZ.FM91, which you can hear online here. JAZZ.FM91 also is offering Cullum's song "I Think I Love" as a free download this month in their iTunes Lounge. Cullum arrives in St. Louis this Sunday, March 14 to play the Roberts Orpheum Theatre.

* Saxophonist Houston Person just wrapped a gig at NYC's Jazz Standard, and Nate Chinen was there to review it for the New York Times. Person is coming to St. Louis on Sunday, April 11 to headline the Jazz St. Louis benefit gala at the Hilton at the Ballpark.

*Via Kansas City's jazz blog Plastic Sax, we see that Pat Metheny is on the cover of the March issue of Jazz Inside magazine, and learn of a Metheny fan who seems a little too excited about getting his copy of the guitarist's latest CD, Orchestrion. Metheny will be in St. Louis on May 8 to play the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

* Vocalist Michael Buble has been nominated for six Juno Awards this year, including Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. The Juno Awards are the Grammy Awards equivalent for Canadian-born recording artists. Buble comes to St. Louis' Scottrade Center on June 25.

Senator calls for inquiry into KFUO sale

In the latest development in the pending sale of radio station KFUO (99.1 FM), Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Missouri) today called for a congressional inquiry into the matter. The Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller has details in a Culture Club blog post here.

Miller also reported last week that prospective buyer Gateway Christian Broadcasting claim to have met their fundraising goal of $2 million needed to close the sale. "If the FCC approves the sale, it will mean the probable end of classical music broadcasting in the St. Louis area. It’s interesting to note that the projected date has been moved from early March to “late spring,” Miller concluded.

The sale has been controversial from the start because KFUO currently is the only radio station in St. Louis that plays classical music, and the prospective owners wish to change to format to contemporary Christian music. There also have been questions about the structure of the deal, the financial wherewithal of the buyers, and whether or not all necessary information was disclosed according to FCC rules.

StLJN has been following the story because KFUO also is home to Don Wolff's long-running program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights. For links to past coverage, click on the "KFUO" tag at the bottom of this post.