Friday, June 06, 2014

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short local news items of interest:

* Today, we salute the memory of guitar great Grant Green (pictured), who was born in St. Louis on this day in 1935.

For more about Green, and a previously unreleased album of his recorded here in his home town back in 1959, check out this article from NPR's Kevin Whitehead. You can see the only known video footage of Green, playing "Blue Mist" with fellow plectrists Kenny Burrell and Barney Kessell, here.

* Drummer Dave Weckl is headed next month to Europe, where he'll spend July teaching large group clinics and one-day intensive workshops with just 12 to a class. Weckl will be in Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; Naples, Italy; Winterswijk, Norway; Treppendorf, Germany; Reykjavik, Iceland; and more.

For more about what Weckl's been up to lately, check out this new interview with the drum website The Black Page.

* Drummer Kimberly Thompson is featured in a new magazine ad for Gretsch drums.

* Saxophonist Eric Person has posted on Facebook an album of photos from his big band's gig last week at Dizzy's in NYC.

* Speaking of photo sets on Facebook, the Jazz Edge Big Band has posted an album of pictures from their show last Friday at the Touhill.

* And while he was in town last week to perform with Jazz Edge, trumpeter Keyon Harrold was the subject of a feature story on local NBC affiliate KSDK.

* Actor/director Don Cheadle this week talked with USA Today about Miles Ahead, his film about trumpeter Miles Davis that will shoot this summer in Cincinnati.

* In related news, Cheadle turned to crowdfunding via IndieGoGo to raise an additional $325,000 in funds for the film between now and July 6. As of Thursday night, the campaign had garnered $78,370 toward the total. For more, see the embedded video update from Cheadle below, or visit the campaign page on IndieGoGo.



* Jazz radio update: WSIE's spring fundraising drive begins today at 4:00 p.m. and continues, with some breaks, through 4:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. As part of a procession of supporting appearances from people involved with the local jazz scene, yr. humble StLJN editor will be on the air to help stump for pledges for a few minutes around 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Meanwhile on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, this Saturday's episode of Calvin Wilson's “Somethin’ Else” will highlight musicians who have performed at NYC's forward-looking Vision Festival, including pianists Myra Melford and Matthew Shipp and saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell.

Following that on "The Jazz Collective,"  host Jason Church will spin music from Mindi Abair, Harvey Mason, The Ault Sisters, The Rippingtons, Cookin' on 3 Burners, Oscar Peterson, Bob James, John Klemmer, Ramsey Lewis, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Clave Sol, The LP Outsiders, Jim Manley and Erin Bode.

Wilson's program airs at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen

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