More about Mae

Following up on the death of the iconic singer Mae Wheeler, yesterday I talked with people who knew and worked with her for another article that's now up on the Riverfront Times website. Check it out!

Update - More coverage from around town of Wheeler's passing:

The Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson recalled the first time he met Wheeler, and reposted the story that resulted from that encounter. He followed up with a more detailed story/obituary, including comments from family members and Wheeler's musical colleagues, here.

Meanwhile, Sauce Magazine dug into their vaults for a 2007 article about Wheeler by Thomas Crone.

Local NBC affiliate KSDK ran a brief item about Wheeler's passing on their newscasts yesterday. It's good that they covered the story, but bad in that the text published on KSDK's site looks to be nothing more than a thinly disguised, condensed rewrite of my piece that ran Wednesday on the Riverfront Times website. A giant media corporation like Gannett, which owns KSDK and reportedly took in $5.4 billion (with a b) in revenues in 2010, really ought to be able to do their own reporting, don't you think?

That's what local CW affiliate KPLR did, sending a camera crew out to interview one of Wheeler's daughters.

On a related and happier note, Jazz Times mentioned and linked to StLJN's coverage of Wheeler and two other items in their weekly wrap-up of the jazz blogosphere, for which yr. humble editor is most grateful.

Finally, for those who'd like to hear more of Mae Wheeler's singing, Michael Major of Major Creative has posted several free MP3s of Mae Wheeler holding forth during a jam session at Brandt's. The recording date isn't specified, but given the location and the personnel announced by Wheeler during "Killer Joe" - Jeff Anderson on bass, Arthur Toney on keyboards, and "Marty" (perhaps Marty Spikener or Marty Morrison?) on drums - it's fairly recent.

Update - 7:20 p.m., 6/17/11: Funeral arrangements for Mae Wheeler have been announced. Here's the full text of a post made today on her Facebook account:

"THE FUNERAL FOR MAE "LADY JAZZ" WHEELER WILL BE HELD @ THE GREATER GRACE CHAPLE@3690 PERSHALL RD ST.LOUIS, MO - JUNE 26,2011. VIEWING AND VISITATIONS WILL BE HELD FROM 3 PM TO 4:30 PM FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BEGIN @ 5 PM REPASS TO FOLLOW.. *(FOR MAP GO TO WWW.GGCSTL.ORG)*
**THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS**"