StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Happy birthday, David Sanborn!

Today, we interrupt our look at this year's poll-winning musicians begun last week to celebrate the birthday of a local favorite, saxophonist David Sanborn, who turned 76 years old yesterday.

Although he was born in Florida, Sanborn grew up and went to school in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, and after 50 years in the music business, he ranks with Miles Davis and Clark Terry as one of the best-known and most successful jazz musicians to come from this area.

So today, as a birthday tribute, here's a collection of clips looking back at various phases in his storied career. Each video is a full show featuring Sanborn with a different lineup of musicians, presented in chronological order starting up above with a performance recorded in 1986 in Baden-Baden, Germany for the TV program Ohne Filter. The band includes the saxophonist's longtime associates, the late Hiram Bullock on guitar and Ricky Peterson on keyboards, along with bassist Steve Logan, drummer Tony Smith, and percussionist Steve Scales. (Since the complete performance video seems to have disappeared from YouTube, there's a playlist of individual tracks now in its place.)

After the jump, you can see Sanborn's complete set recorded in August, 1998 at the Newport Jazz Festival. That's followed by a performance recorded in December of '98 for broadcast on ABC in the early hours of New Year's Day 1999, featuring Sanborn and his band along with guest performers including singers Cassandra Wilson and D'Angelo, hip-hop duo Gang Starr, and guitarist and singer Eric Clapton.

The fourth video features Sanborn with organist Joey DeFrancesco, with whom he made a couple of records around this time, and drummer Gene Lake, serving up a bluesy, stripped-down set at the 2010 Jazzwoche Burghausen festival in Germany.

Next, it's a show from Sanborn's 2013 "Quartette Humaine" tour, co-led with pianist Bob James and also featuring drummer Steve Gadd and bassist Scott Colley, that was recorded in November at the Leverkusener Jazztage festival in Germany.

Last but not least, you can see a full show from the 2015 edition of Sanborn's touring band, recorded in April of that year in Budapest, Hungary. Along with Sanborn and Ricky Peterson, the group features guitarist Nicky Moroch, bassist Andre Berry and drummer Chris Coleman, with German saxophonist Jan Prax sitting in on a couple of tunes.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold (pictured) spoke about his new role as creative advisor to Jazz St. Louis in a brief interview with Amanda Woytus of St. Louis magazine.

* Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the documentary film about the trumpeter that was released earlier this year, has been nominated for two Emmy awards, for "Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary" and "Outstanding Sound."

* And speaking of Davis, comedian and actor Alonzo Bodden this week was a guest on the podcast The 500, talking about his love for Davis' album Sketches of Spain.

* St. Louis Music Park, the new 4,500-seat outdoor concert venue in Maryland Heights, is the subject of a feature story from the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

Brian Culbertson to perform Sunday, November 21 at The Pageant

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson will return to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, November 21 at The Pageant.

Culbertson (pictured) has a new album, The Trilogy: Red, set for release in September. He had been scheduled to perform at The Pageant in May 2020 as part of the tour supporting his then-most-recent album, 2020's XX, but the concert was postponed due to the COVID pandemic. Before that, his last St. Louis appearance was in September 2019 as part of the "Smooth Jazz Cruise on Land" at Chesterfield Amphitheater.

Tickets for Brian Culbertson at The Pageant start at $49.50, and will go on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday, July 30 via Ticketmaster and The Pageant box office.

Sunday Session: July 25, 2021

Terri Lyne Carrington

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* The Strange Magic Of YouTube's '80s Remix Culture (NPR)
* Meet Terri Lyne Carrington (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Summer of Soul review – the best concert film ever made? (The Guardian)
* What Will Happen to My Music Library When Spotify Dies? (The Atlantic)
* The Sounds of Healing (ReasonsToBeCheerful.world)
* Pressing issues: vinyl revival held back by production capacity, Brexit and more (The Guardian)
* NEA Names Its 2022 Jazz Masters: Hart, Clarke, Wilson And Harrison (NPR)
* Billy Gibbons: storyteller, hot sauce merchant, lover of public transport (LouderSound.com)
* A Guide to the Early Music of John Coltrane on Prestige Records (Bandcamp.com)
* Are You Relivin’ the Years?: How Steely Dan Became a Cult Favorite for Millennials (TheRinger.com)
* The Essential Herbie Hancock (San Francisco Classical Voice)
* Thelonious Monk Estate Says Biopic Starring Yasiin Bey Is Unauthorized (Pitchfork.com)
* Yasiin Bey says he won’t play jazz legend Thelonious Monk in biopic since family disapproves (NME.com)
* Jazz Night's Favorite Grooves Of 2021, So Far (NPR)
* Funkadelic's 'Maggot Brain' At 50: R&B, Psychedelic Rock And A Black Guitarist's Cry (NPR)
* ‘My strength isn’t looking at a computer screen. I wouldn’t join the music business today, because I don’t want to be a typist.’ (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* From Soldier to Jazz Giant: The Life of Billy Bang (Bandcamp.com)
* Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram Reflects On Leaving – And Sharing – '622' (NPR)
* The greatest keyboard players of all time, revealed (MusicRadar.com)
* Monterey Jazz Festival Quickly Sells Out Despite No Vaccination Requirements (DigitalMusicNews.com)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Critics Poll winners in concert

The most recent issue of DownBeat contains the results of the magazine's annual Critics Poll, and while it's never a good idea to take any such poll too seriously, they at least can offer a snapshot of who's making news in a given year, and provide some food for thought and/or discussion.

Today's post offers a look at live performances from some of this year's winners, starting up above with Charles Lloyd, who was the top tenor saxophonist in this year's DB poll, and his band the Marvels, featuring guitarist Bill Frisell, who were voted top jazz group. They're seen here in a full set from January 2016 at Lincoln Center in NYC.

After the jump, you can see Rudresh Mahanthappa, this year's winner in the alto sax category, in a video from June 2020 with his Hero Trio, playing Charlie Parker's "Red Cross.".

Next up, it's the poll-winning soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, improvising to the poetry of Emily Dickinson in an April 2018 gig at Yamaha Artist Services' studio in New York City.

That's followed by a set from Gary Smulyan, voted top baritone saxophonist and seen here with his trio in a full set from 2017.

Nicole Mitchell, this year's top vote-getter in the flute category, is next, with a set of music recorded in July 2019 in Orlando, FL backed by bassist Doug Matthews and drummer Anthony Cole.

The final video shows Michael Dease, this year's winning trombonist, in May 2018 at Smalls in New York City, fronting his sextet on a tune called "Dease's Blues."

Look for more of this year's poll winners next week in this space. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Keyboardist and Metro East native David Garfield is set to release Stretchin' Outside The Box, the sixth and final installment in his "Outside The Box" series of albums, on Monday, September 27.

As the title suggests, the two-CD, 24-song set (pictured) features Garfield doing some extended jamming with an impressive array of guest stars, including Gerald Albright, Eric Marienthal, Chuck Loeb, Marcus Miller, Kirk Whalum, Paul Jackson Jr., Rick Braun, Randy Brecker, Nathan East, Steve Gadd, Greg Phillinganes, David Paich, and more.

* There's a new episode of David Sanborn's "Sanborn Sessions" posted online this week, with bassist and vocalist Sting as the special guest joining the saxophonist and friends in the studio. You can see this latest episode in the embedded video window at the bottom of this post, and check out previous installments via the series' YouTube channel.

* A story from St. Louis Public Radio's Evie Hemphill examines the potential effects of the opening of two new live music venues, The Factory and St. Louis Music Park, in west St. Louis County.

* Sunday, August 1 is the deadline to apply for the Kranzberg Arts Foundation's 2021-22 artist-in-residence program. You can get details and submit an application at the foundation's website.

* Also from the Kranzberg foundation this week comes word that the "Open Air" concerts outside the Grandel Theatre will continue through August (though the band lineup for the month contains more blues than jazz).

* Trumpeter Andy Tichenor, who's played in the pit orchestras at The Muny and Fox Theatre and with various local big bands, has been hospitalized with "a serious infection," and friends have started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his medical and living expenses.

J. Scheidegger Center arts series to feature Branford Marsalis Quartet, Tower of Power

The J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts at Lindenwood University today announced the 2021-22 season schedule for their touring artists series, and there are at least a couple of shows of potential interest to StLJN readers.

The biggest "get" from a jazz fan's perspective is the Branford Marsalis Quartet, who will close out the series next spring with a concert on Thursday, April 14.

Marsalis and company (pictured) will be immediately preceded on the schedule by legendary funk and soul band Tower of Power, who will perform at Lindenwood on Saturday, March 19.

Single ticket prices for Marsalis and TOP both start at $15 for rear balcony/obstructed view seating and go up to $95 per person for "platinum" seating.

The series also will include a holiday show from swing revivalists Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Thursday, December 23, as well as six other performances featuring country music, comedy, magic, and more.

Single ticket sales via the Scheidegger Center box office will begin on Tuesday, August 3, and there's also a "Pick-A-Pack" option that offers a discount when purchasing tickets to four shows at the same time. You can see the season brochure for the series online here.

Sunday Session: July 18, 2021

Juini Booth

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Rhodes returns: iconic electric piano brand is back with the promise of new keyboards (MusicRadar.com)
* ‘There is no fear’: how a cold-war tour inspired Pakistan’s progressive jazz scene (The Guardian)
* Miles Copeland Shares Tales Of The Police, The Go-Go’s And I.R.S. Records In His New Memoir (Forbes.com)
* The Good Doctor: An Interview With Eugene Chadbourne (TheQuietus.com)
* 'It's Fan Fiction For Music': Why Deepfake Vocals of Music Legends Are on the Rise (Billboard)
* Artist’s Choice: Gregory Porter Cooks Up Some Gumbo (Jazz Times)
* Immerse yourself in the Muscle Shoals Sound in northwest Alabama (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
* Bley, Corea, Schneider Top Critics Poll (DownBeat)
* A Conversation with Jackie McLean (AllAboutJazz.com)
* John McLaughlin Summons the Spirit of His Muses on a New Album, 'Liberation Time' (WBGO)
* The Leopolis Jazz Fest: Back in the (Ex)-U.S.S.R. (Jazz Times)
* The world's most endangered sound (BBC)
* High-profile Cuban musicians show rare public support to protesters (The Guardian)
* Over 66% of all music listening in the US is now of catalog records, rather than new releases (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* Re-Revising 'The History Of Jazz' (NPR)
* Arthur “Juini” Booth 1948–2021 (Jazz Times)
* Kamasi Washington is composing a ballet, writing a graphic novel, and returning to the Hollywood Bowl this weekend (KCRW)
* The Sly Stone mystery: why ‘the JD Salinger of Soul’ disappeared (Yahoo.com)
* A Conversation with Amiri Baraka (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Five Records Made With Invented Instruments (Bandcamp.com)
* The New Wave in Jazz, at 60: Jazz United Considers the Legacy of Impulse Records (WBGO)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Herbie Hancock's Harvard lectures

Each year since 1925, Harvard University selects a well-known artist to deliver what are called the Norton lectures, named for Charles Eliot Norton, a celebrated professor, university president, and editor of the Harvard Classics. During their tenure, each selected artist delivers six public talks on topics of their choosing, and in 2014, the lecturer was none other that Herbie Hancock, the celebrated pianist, composer, and bandleader.

Hancock's lectures were documented on video, and now you can see all of them right here. The titles of the six talks, in order, are "The Wisdom Of Miles Davis," "Breaking The Rules," "Cultural Diplomacy And The Voice of Freedom," "Innovation And New Technologies," "Buddhism And Creativity" and "Once Upon A Time." All together, the lectures offer a rare opportunity to "go deep" with one of the most forward-thinking and influential musicians of our time.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Bassist Tom Kennedy (pictured) was interviewed on a recent episode of NoTreble.com's podcast "Groove."

* Generations, the new album from Marcus and Jean Baylor's Baylor project, was reviewed by Martin Johnson of Jazz Times magazine.

* Trumpeter Jim Manley was a featured guest on last Thursday's episode of KTRS radio's "St. Louis In The Know with Ray Hartmann."

* An article by the Riverfront Times' Jack Probst previews the second installment of this year's "Record Store Day," happening this Saturday at music stores here in St. Louis and across the country.

Ronnie Burrage to perform Thursday, July 22 & Friday, July 23 at BB's with guest Greg Osby

Drummer, composer, bandleader and U City native Ronnie Burrage is coming home this month for a series of events including a musical memorial for a family member, an open jam session, and two nights of performances at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

As his first order of business, Burrage is producing a musical memorial service on Tuesday, July 20 for his cousin Kendra Mahr, who passed away earlier this year. The service will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Gloria Rogers Pavilion in Tilles Park in Ladue.

Then on Wednesday, July 21, he'll join bassist Bob DeBoo as a host musician for the weekly jam session at the "Open Air" tent on the grounds of the Grandel Theater.

Burrage (pictured) will wrap up his hometown visit with gigs at BB's on Thursday, July 22 and Friday, July 23 with a band that includes alto saxophonist and fellow St. Louis native Greg Osby as special guest. Showtime is at 7:00 p.m. both nights, and tickets, which start at $40 for a table for two on Thursday or $30 on Friday, can be reserved via BB's website.

A graduate of University City High School, Burrage emerged on the national jazz scene in the 1980s as a drumming phenom, touring with famed pianist McCoy Tyner before he was old enough to legally buy a post-gig beer. He has gone on to work with a long list of notable musicians, including Wayne Shorter, Archie Shepp, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Woody Shaw, Michael Brecker, David Murray, Jaco Pastorius, Joe Zawinul, Dianne Reeves, Wallace Roney, Gary Bartz, Jamalaadeen Tacuma, Olu Onabulé, World Saxophone Quartet, and more.

Now living in Brooklyn, NY, Burrage teaches at CUNY Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and SUNY Old Westbury Long Island in addition to recording and performing live. He released Dance of the Great Spirit, his most recent recording and the first from his trio Holographic Principle, early in 2019, earning a nomination for a Grammy Award as "Best Jazz Instrumental Album."

He's been working on the follow-up, tentatively titled Moving on as One, with pianist Alex Collins and longtime bassist Nimrod Speaks, plus an array of guest musicians including keyboardists Michal Wierba, Geffrey Keezer and Marc Cary, saxophonists Antoine Roney and Kendrick Smith, trumpeter Antoine Drye, trombonist Corey Wallace, and Camille Thurman and Terrol Jones on vocals. Basic tracks have been recorded, but "I still have to add strings, choir and surprise rappers to a couple of my compositions also," Burrage said.

(You can see a complete Holographic Principle show, recorded in February of this year at Keystone Korner in Baltimore with Collins, Speaks, and Thurman, here.)

Other recent recording activity has included Been Down This Road Before, an album with trombonist Clifton Anderson, nephew of Sonny Rollins and a veteran of Rollins' band, that came out last December; and more recently, sessions for a forthcoming tribute to Tyner, led by bassist Avery Sharpe and featuring Helen Sung on piano, Joe Ford on saxophone, and Steve Turre on trombone.

This all comes after more than a year of uncertainty caused by the pandemic. "The summer of COVID's height last year I had tour dates lined up in Europe for my band Holographic Principle, it was the first time in about 16 years I would've taken my band out as a leader," Burrage said in an email to StLJN. "I was ecstatic, but then it all went away... At incredible losses (covid and other illnesses) as well from very close friends and mentors and colleagues, this has just been a traumatic season. The (loss of) of greats I've played with, like Henry Grimes, Wallace Roney, Stanley Cowell and so many others during this period, is heartbreaking."

There were some positives, though - Burrage said he was able to use the time off to obtain a small business loan and do repairs on his mother's home, enabling her to resettle in St. Louis, and the involuntary hiatus also allowed him to compose new music.

Although Brooklyn will remain his home base, Burrage is looking forward to spending more time in St. Louis in the near future and establishing a local branch of his not-for-profit organization World Rhythm Academy. "I love the city where I grew up," he said. "My family, children, grandchildren and great grandson are there, not to mention people and friends that really love me," he said. "I'm coming back home and will thrive."

Sunday Session: July 11, 2021

Susie Ibarra

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Gatemouth Brown memorialized on the road he traveled, in the town where he lived (Nola.com)
* The Urge to Destroy a Violin (The New Yorker)
* Little Walter’s Song That Changed Everything for the Blues (TheDailyBeast.com)
* The Story of Louis Armstrong’s Final Tape (LouisArmstrongHouse.org)
* More really is more with new Lee Morgan jazz release (Denver Post)
* PAMA calls for “outdated” audio terms such as ‘master/slave’ and ‘male/female’ to be replaced (MusicRadar.com)
* Grand Funk Railroad Feed Off Crowd's Energy At First Concert Back (UltimateClassicRock.com)
* In Memoriam: Rick Laird (NoTreble.com)
* John McLaughlin Discusses Mahavishnu Orchestra, Liberation Time, and More (Jazz Times)
* Norwegian Company Creating Doomsday Vault to Preserve Music Recordings (Consequence.net)
* The Sound of Early Sci-Fi: Samuel Hoffman’s Theremin (Reverb.com)
* Back on the Road! Live Sound Gears Up for Reopening (MixOnline.com)
* Five things to know about Hamid Drake (Vancouver Sun)
* Susie Ibarra: Hybrid Culture (New Music Box)
* John McLaughlin Discusses Mahavishnu Orchestra, Liberation Time, and More (Jazz Times)
* Mulgrew Miller Saw Us Through (AdmissionsProjects.com)
* What People Actually Listen To In 2021 (Music3Point0.com)
* Numbers Don’t Lie: Lilli Lewis Talks Black Presence in Americana (Offbeat)
* Frank Sinatra And Quincy Jones: When The Voice Met The Dude (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Jam & Lewis: “With Prince, we learned to use synthesizers in a very musical way” (MusicRadar.com)
* Tony Scott: How A BeBop Jazz Clarinetist Invented New Age Music (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Legendary Pete Escovedo ready to help jump-start Bay Area jazz scene (San Jose Mercury News)
* Call It Mourning: Mark Ruffin Remembers Gil Scott-Heron on the 10-Year Anniversary of the Poet’s Death (Jazziz)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A look at the latest local livestreams

Thus week, let's take a look at some of the most recent performances live-streamed by the the "Open Air" series at the Grandel Theatre, along with a special online presentation staged by Jazz St. Louis as a Pride Month coda to their "Season of Stream."

The first of the Grandel shows, seen up above, features the latest appearance there by singer Anita Jackson on Friday, June 4..

After the jump, you can see shows by Acoustik Element from Sunday, June 6; keyboardist Mo Egeston and the Mo E AllStars, from Saturday, June 12; trumpeter Brady Lewis' BLStet, recorded on Friday, June 25; and singer Chuck Flowers, from Saturday June 26.

The sixth video is from Jazz St Louis, and documents a special "Season of Stream" show titled "Celebrate Pride Month" featuring singer and keyboardist Paige Alyssa that was recorded on June 14.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Merci, Miles! Live at Vienne, the newly released album of previously unheard recordings from Miles Davis' last concert (pictured), was reviewed in Jazz Times magazine.

* Generations, the new release from the Baylor Project (featuring St. Louis' own Marcus Baylor and spouse Jean Baylor) is among the albums named by NPR to their list of favorites of 2021 (so far).

* The Baylors also are featured this month in an article on Grammy.com spotlighting "8 Jazz Artists Honoring Black Geniuses."

* The Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival this week announced that the event will return on Saturday, September 19, featuring a dozen acts on two stages with headliners including blues guitarist/singer Marquise Knox, jazz-fusion band Bach to the Future, and singer Erin Bode.

* St. Louis magazine's annual "A-List" issue is out, and readers' picks for 2021 include the Funky Butt Brass Band as "Favorite Original Band", The Pageant as "Favorite Live Music Venue" and Erin Bode as "Favorite Vocalist." You can see the entire issue (albeit in flip-book format) here.

* Organizers of the upcoming Music at the Intersection festival have put together a Spotify playlist featuring the acts that will be playing at the three-day event.

Sunday Session: July 4, 2021

Sun Ra

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Congressmen Introduce American Music Fairness Act to Compel Radio to Pay Royalties on Recorded Music (Variety)
* Experimental Musicians Turn to Multimedia Art During the COVID-19 Pandemic (TheRoadToSound.com)
* Jon Hassell, avant garde US composer, dies aged 84 (The Guardian)
* How Sun Ra Taught Us to Believe in the Impossible (The New Yorker)
* Anitta, ‘The Girl From Rio,’ on Interpolating the Classic ‘Ipanema’ Melody for a U.S. Pop Breakthrough (Variety)
* Burton Greene, Pioneering Free Jazz Pianist, Dies at 84 (WBGO)
* Zenón Finds Light in Ornette (DownBeat)
* 20-Year-Old Pi Recordings Builds Path from Past to Future (DownBeat)
* The pop star versus the playlist (Vox.com)
* Spotify Executive Calls Artist ‘Entitled’ for Requesting Payment of One Penny Per Stream (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Elk Live promises next-gen remote collaboration: “play music together like you’re in the same room” (MusicRadar.com)
* The Smithsonian Institution to release 129-song anthology of rap music (NME.com)
* Queen are making £100,000 a day from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ biopic (NME.com)
* Rock sideman Earl Slick: ‘Bowie had gone levels into insanity’ (The Guardian)
* Less Than 5% of Pandemic Relief Funds for Nightlife Venues Have Been Distributed. Owners Fear the Show Might Not Go On (Time)
* “Blue” Gene Tyranny Was Texas’s Greatest Piano Prodigy (Texas Monthly)
* Herbie Hancock’s favourite books of all time (FarOutMagazine.co.uk)
* Nels Cline: "I had no desire to gyrate and hump my amplifier and set my guitar on fire – I wanted to take a modest path" (Guitar World)
* A Conversation with Mr. Ron Carter (BassMusicianMagazine.com)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase:"Lift Every Voice and Sing"

As the USA observes Independence Day weekend, let's take a look at some jazz interpretations of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," a song often referred to as the "Black national anthem."

"Lift Every Voice..." began in 1900 as a poem by James Weldon Johnson, and subsequently was set to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, and first performed in 1905 for the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Over the years, it has been done by singers both famous and unknown and as a instrumental, and while it has never been a commercial "hit" per se, it's become a standard that has proved adaptable to a variety of musical settings.

You can see a relatively straightforward vocal version of the song by Ray Charles in the first embed window up above.

After the jump, you can see three more vocal interpretations, by Aretha Franklin, Jazzmeia Horn, and Lisa Fischer (accompanied by Jason Moran on piano).

Next are three versions by solo instrumentalists, starting with guitarist Russell Malone, followed by St. Louis' own Scooter Brown on alto sax, and then harpist Brandee Younger.

Finally, there are three very different versions for larger ensembles, beginning with one from New Orleans' Preservation Hall Jazz Band; followed by pianist Orrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band, recorded at Smalls in New York City and featuring vocalist Miles Griffith; and finally one by trumpeter and East St. Louis native Russell Gunn's Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra, as recorded by an audience member at the 2019 Atlanta Jazz Festival.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Gateway Studio and Production Services, a new multi-million dollar music and video facility to be built in Chesterfield, is the subject of a feature story from St. Louis Public Radio's Kendall Crawford..

* Bassist and singer Janet Evra (pictured) announced this week in a Facebook post that she's been invited to join the Recording Academy, the organization that oversees the annual Grammy Awards. Evra is one of 2,710 invitees this year, including 48 percent female, 32 percent Black or African American+, 13 percent Hispanic or Latino/a/x+, and four percent Asian or Pacific Islander+, as the Academy works toward diversifying its membership.

* Guitarist Steve Schenkel has been appointed music director at First Unity Church of St. Louis in South County. Schenkel, who teaches music at Webster University and works as a player and contractor with the Fox Theatre and Muny orchestras, plans to invite various musician friends to perform at the church, starting this Sunday, July 4 with pianist and fellow Webster University faculty member Carolbeth True. (See the church's website for info on future guest performances.)

* Bassist Darin Gray once again has delved into his archives and come up with more previously unreleased music from On Fillmore, his duo project with drummer Glenn Kotche. The album is called Chicago 2002, and it's now available on Bandcamp.

* As reported by CBS News, Miya Ponsetto, the woman seen earlier this year in a viral video attacking trumpeter Keyon Harrold's teenage son, has been indicted by a Manhattan court on hate crime and other charges, including unlawful imprisonment, aggravated harassment, and endangering a child. Ponsetto's next court date related to the charges is October 20.

Recently on Heliocentric Worlds

It's the start of another new month, and so it's time once again to check in on StLJN's sibling site Heliocentric Worlds, where each day there's posted a new online music video, drawing on genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, classic rock, prog rock, experimental and more.

The five most-watched videos added to the site last month were:

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Live at the Umbria Jazz Festival
Thelonious Monk - Live in Belgium
Jimmy Reed - "Big Boss Man"
Ronny Jordan Quartet - Live in Paris
Return to Forever - Live at the Molde Jazz Festival

Other recent posts have featured performances on video by Johnny Guitar Watson, Tower of Power, Quincy Jones Big Band, John Scofield, Charles Lloyd Trio, Bonnie Raitt & Delbert McClinton, Miles Smiles, Eberhard Weber / Charlie Mariano Quartet, Herbie Hancock New Directions in Music, McCoy Tyner, The Bad Plus, Sound Prints, Gino Vannelli, Fleetwood Mac, Blue Öyster Cult, Carole King, Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin, Blondie, Kraftwerk, Linda Ronstadt, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Rickie Lee Jones, Eddie Palmieri and his Afro-Carribbean Jazz Sextet, Fania All-Stars, and Eddie Fisher.

If you've missed out on all this up until now, that's OK - you still can see all of these videos, plus thousands more from the archives, just by visiting https://heliocentricworlds.blogspot.com/.