Notes from the Net: Miles reviewed, Zorn premiered, Koester interviewed, and more

It's time once again for our periodic compendium of items interest from around the Web, focusing on musicians with St. Louis connections, those who have played here recently, and those who are coming here soon to perform.

* Regular readers know that, when possible, I like to start to these little linkfests with something about Miles Davis, and so this time, we've got a review of The Miles Davis Reader, the new book that compiles Down Beat magazine's many years of coverage of the trumpeter. Also on the Miles beat, take look at the recent item from The Bad Plus' blog Do The Math, which, in the course of remembering Oscar Peterson, revisits a rather harsh critique Davis once made of the late pianist.

* The Works and Process series in NYC just presented the world premiere of a new John Zorn work, featuring the composer. Zorn, who studied music here at Webster University way back in the 1970s, also has a new book, Arcana II.

* Blogcritics has an interview with former St. Louisan Bob Koester, who started his label Delmark Records here before moving to Chicago, where he now runs the label and the retail store Jazz Record Mart. Read part one here and part two here.

* If you can't get enough of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra after seeing them this past weekend at the Sheldon, here's a recent feature article about their recent concert in Santa Cruz, CA. Also, you can grab free MP3s of two cuts from JaLCO director Wynton Marsalis latest release Standards & Ballads, a compilation CD that includes the sample tracks."Embraceable You" and "I Can't Get Started" with Shirley Horn

* Speaking of the Sheldon, last week's edition of the NPR program JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater showcased a concert by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and The Dixie Hummingbirds that was recorded at the Sheldon Concert Hall in March of 2006. You can listen to the episode online here.

* Trumpeter Chris Botti, who played the Touhill Performing Arts Center last month, talks with the Associated Press about his career and latest CD Italia (via the International Herald Tribune). Bottiphiles may also want to read Jazz Monthly's review of Italia and this review from the Seattle Times of a recent Botti performance.

* And there's yet more coverage of trumpet players as LeRoy "The Jazzcat" Downs interviews trumpeter and MAXJAZZ recording artist Jeremy Pelt (pictured), while The Jazz Session podcast interviews trumpeter Avishai Cohen, who played Jazz at the Bistro last November with Waverly Seven.

*Turning to coming attractions, pianist Shelly Berg, who will be one of the visiting artists at the upcoming Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, is the subject of an interview recently published at AllAbout Jazz.com. Berg's trio also will be one of the featured acts at the Pensacola Jazz Festival in April.

* AAJ also has a new interview up with pianist Cyrus Chestnut, who returns to Jazz at the Bistro the first weekend in March.

* Singers Kurt Elling, who played the Bistro in November, and Sara Gazarek, who's there this week, will be among the headliners at Philippine International Jazzfest from February 29 to March 15.

* Last but not least,.from the "Miscellaneous items of interest" file: The Musical Instrument Museum recently broke ground outside Phoenix, AZ. It's expected to open in early 2010 at a cost of $125 million, and will include 75,000 square feet of exhibition space, an auditorium, a conservation laboratory open for viewing and a recording studio. The collection will have about 5,000 items, nearly 1,000 of which have been acquired and are in storage. According to the article from the New York Times, "the museum’s prizes so far include a century-old Javanese gamelan; an original saxophone built by Adolphe Sax, the instrument’s inventor; and large slit-gong drums from the Congo."