So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* I Called Him Morgan, the new documentary film about the life and death of trumpeter Lee Morgan (pictured), opens its St. Louis run today at the Tivoli Theatre in University City. You can see a list of show times here.

* The website St. Louis Musicians Unite has a new post this week about St. Louis jazz, combining a mention of Jazz Appreciation Month, a (much-appreciated!) acknowledgement of StLJN's recent 12th anniversary, and a video annotation of our current "Jazz this week" post.

Edited by Christopher Davis, STLMU has content covering a variety of musical genres and interests, and also has a very active Twitter account, with daily updates on live music shows happening around town.

* Guitarist Bill Frisell is the subject of a feature story by the Riverfront Times' Roy Kasten. Frisell performs with his trio tonight at The Ready Room.

* Saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake has a new release on his Passin' Thru label. Offered on CD and as a digital download,  Right Up On features Lake collaborating on a program of original compositions with the Flux Quartet, a string quartet specializing in contemporary music.

* @Nesbys, the Sunset Hills restaurant and bar with a musical menu including occasional live jazz on weekends and a weekly jam session on Wednesday nights, will close after service this Saturday, April 29.

In a message on Facebook, the proprietors said, "The Econolodge stigma, and what will happen to the hotel in the future, as well as its patrons, was impacting our business. We are looking for another place where we can be successful for years to come!" According to the message, the owners will continue their catering business while looking for a new restaurant location, a process they hope to facilitate with help from a GoFundMe campaign.

* Two students in Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program have been selected for the 2017 edition of the Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Trombonist Wyatt Forhan, a student at St. Dominic High School in O'Fallon, MO, and drummer Christian McGhee, who attends Westminster Christian Academy in Town and Country, will tour with the band this summer.

* The upcoming Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis will include a production of Bertha in Paradise running from Wednesday, May 3 through Sunday, May 14 at the Curtain Call Lounge.

Imagining an alternate fate for the title character from Williams' play Hello from Bertha, the musical features singer Anita Jackson and pianist Charles Creath delivering "a saucy stew of bawdy songs" including "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl", "If It Don't Fit Don't Force It," and "I've Got You Under My Skin."

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The 10th annual Record Store Day celebration will be held this year on Saturday, April 22, and yr. StLJN editor once again will be playing a small part in the festivities at Vintage Vinyl in University City, serving as a "guest DJ" spinning tunes on the in-house sound system for an hour starting at 4:00 p.m.

In addition to this year's special RSD releases, VV's all-day event will feature live bands outside, guest DJs inside, and free Schlafly beer. Other St. Louis stores participating in RSD 2017 include Euclid Records, Planet Score Records, Music Record Shop, and Kismet Creative Center.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn talked about his friendship with the late drummer and fellow former St. Louisan Phillip Wilson for an interview published on Do The Math, the blog of The Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson.

* Trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi was profiled on KSDK's Show Me St. Louis in a segment by reporter Heidi Glaus highlighting his decades of service as a music teacher for schools in the St. Louis Archdiocese.

* Drummer Kimberly Thompson, back home this week for an educational residency at Jazz St. Louis and gigs this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro, is also back online in animated form, as the second episode of her children's program "Music Time with Kimberly Thompson" has been posted to YouTube. As part of that educational residency, Thompson returned to her alma mater Pattonville High School for a clinic with the school's jazz band. 

* Bassist, Washington University faculty member, and now, author Paul Steinbeck went to Chicago last month for a concert and book signing to promote Message To Our Folks, his new history of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and DownBeat magazine was there to cover the event.

* The weekly Wednesday night jam sessions at @Nesby's are the subject of a brief feature in St. Louis County Arts, a new blog started by Valerie Tichacek and writer/photographer Bill Motchan.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Andre Boyd, now living in New Orleans after leaving Cirque du Soleil's road show Quidam last year, was profiled by the New Zealand magazine elocal..

* Pioneering bassist Jimmy Blanton, who played his first professional gigs in the late 1930s with the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra in St. Louis before going on to fame with Duke Ellington's band, is one of 10 musicians eligible this year for election to Jazz at Lincoln Center's Jazz Hall of Fame. You can see a list of all the candidates and cast your vote by April 30 here.

* The 2017 Chesterfield Jazz Festival has announced this year's date and musical lineup. The free concert will be held Saturday, June 24 at the Chesterfield Amphitheater and will feature music from the Wooten Brothers, with bassist Victor Wooten, drummer Roy "Futureman" Wooton and siblings, along with Bach to the Future with Tracy Silverman, Anita Jackson, Soul Cafe, and Kim Fuller & Maurice Carnes.

Jazz this week: Kneebody, a tribute to Scott Joplin, "Sculptures in Sound," and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis offers a century-spanning variety of sounds, ranging from a tribute to legendary composer who helped lay the foundation for jazz to a group offering their own contemporary version of a musical melting pot.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 29
The eclectic electro-acoustic fusion quintet Kneebody performs for the first of four nights continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

The group (pictured, top left) is touring in support of their latest recording Anti-Hero, their eighth studio album, released earlier this month. For more about Kneebody, plus videos featuring performances of some of the music from Anti-Hero, see this post from Saturday before last.

Elsewhere in Grand Center, the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" proceeds with guitarist/singer Tommy Halloran at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe, Farshid Etniko at the Curtain Call Lounge, the jam session with bassist  Bob Deboo and friends at the Kranzberg Arts Center and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, the weekly jam session with pianist Curt Landes, bassist Glen Smith and drummer Chuck Kennedy continues at @Nesby's in South County.

Thursday, March 30
The Jazz at Holmes series presents a free concert by students from Washington University's jazz studies program; the Schlafly Tap Room hosts the March edition of the Bruxism experimental music series, this month featuring music from Ice, Catholic Guilt, and Beauty Pageant; and pianist Adam Maness' trio plays at Thurman's in Shaw.

Friday, March 31
Trumpeter Jim Manley returns to One 19 North Tapas and Wine Bar, and singer Tony Viviano will perform at @Nesby's.

Saturday, April 1
Paying tribute on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of Joplin's death, the Friends of Scott Joplin will present "Scott Joplin: A Centennial Reflection" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site.

The event will feature music by pianist John Reed-Torres (pictured, bottom left), members of the Confluence Chamber Orchestra, and vocalists from the University of Missouri St Louis, plus  speakers from UMSL's history department.

Saturday night, the St. Louis Artists' Guild's "Sculptures in Sound" series resumes with a concert from trumpeter Keith Moyer's quintet.

Sunday, April 2
The Friends of Scott Joplin continue their observance of the centennial of Joplin's death with their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, and the Jazz Troubadours will perform and host a jam session at Evangeline's.

Monday, April 3
Student from the jazz program at Webster University will present a free concert at Webster's Community Music School.

Tuesday, April 4
Singer Kim Fuller performs "A Tribute to Nancy Wilson" in the first of two late-morning "Coffee Concerts" - there's a second show on Wednesday morning - at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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 clicking the "Like" icon on 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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Riverfront Times is rethinking its annual Music Showcase this year. The paper has changed the name of the event to ShowcaseSTL, discontinued the accompanying annual music poll, and is asking readers for their suggestions as to who should perform. ShowcaseSTL will take place Saturday, June 17 at various locations in The Grove.

* On Fillmore, bassist Darin Gray's duo project with Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, is preparing to release a new album, Happiness of Living.

* Saxophonist Roland Clark, a busy performer on the St. Louis scene from the 1970s into the 90s with his band Sound Exchange, passed away on February 23 at his home in Highland, IL. He was 82.

* Music Record Shop's new location in Grand Center is the subject of a short feature from the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Organizers of the weekly jazz jam at @Nesby's have posted on Facebook a photo album from this week's session. 

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty (pictured) has a new solo piano release, One Question, available as a pay-what-you-will download from Bandcamp.

* The late jazz critic, author, and essayist Nat Hentoff, who died in January at age 91, is being honored here in St. Louis tonight with an event raising funds for his daughter Jessica's not-for-profit organization Circus Harmony, which teaches circus skills to St. Louis students of all ages.

* The Piano Technicians Guild will hold their 2017 Annual Convention & Technical Institute in St. Louis from July 12 through July 15 at St Louis Union Station Hotel.