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.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The latest episode of HEC-TV's I Love Jazz with Don Wolff premieres this Sunday, February 8, and features the jazz studies program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The show also looks in on the recording of pianist Phil Dunlap's debut CD, and includes vintage video spotlighting the late alto saxophonist and clarinetist LeRoy Harris.

I Love Jazz can be seen on Charter channel 989 and AT&T U-verse 99 at noon on Wednesdays; 8:00 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays; and 4:00 p.m. Fridays. (For other TV providers, check your program guide.) You also can watch episodes, including the latest one, online at the HEC-TV website, or download them for free from the "Beyond University" section of iTunes U.

* Pianist Peter Martin's performance with guitarist Romero Lubambo last week at South on Main in Little Rock was reviewed by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and also documented in a photo set posted to Facebook.

* Martin also will provide the music for the "Eleventh Annual Evening of Hope," a benefit for the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at Washington University School of Medicine to be held on Thursday, April 30 at the Sheldon. The evening includes cocktails, dinner, and the musical performance by Martin's trio and guest singer Brian Owens. For tickets or sponsorship information, call Hope Happens at 314-725-3888 or email them at info at hopehappens dot org.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake's latest album, a duet performance with bassist William Parker called To Roy, is out now on the Intakt label. The title is a dedication to the late trumpeter Roy Campbell, who died last January at age 61.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Andre "Dre Energy" Boyd has blogged about his experiences playing with Cirque du Soleil for Modern Drummer magazine.

* Videographer Chad Eivins of Chizmo.tv has posted online a video documenting last February's New Music Circle-sponsored concert by Joshua Abrams and; Natural Information Society at Joe's Cafe Gallery.

* You can get a close-up look at some of the unusual musical instruments from the Hartenberger World Music Collection recently donated to the Sheldon Art Galleries via a video posted online this week by the Riverfront Times. An exhibit featuring instruments from the collection opens tonight in conjunction with Grand Center's "First Friday" series of free gallery openings and events in the district.

* The Saxophone Museum at Saxquest has just acquired the original sample model bell for the Buescher 400 tenor saxophone, and Saxquest owner Mark Overton explains why it's "the coolest find of the year" in an article published on the shop's associated site Saxophone.org.

* Singer, actress, dancer and St. Louis native Josephine Baker (pictured) is just one of the black adventurers featured in a series of Black History Month illustrations recently created by comic artist Chris Schweizer. Baker, who spied for the resistance against the Germans in occupied France during World War II, is shown with her pet Chiquita the Cheetah.

* Jazz radio update: On this Saturday's edition of Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,” host Calvin Wilson will highlight music from composer Kurt Weill as performed by Michael Brecker, Nina Simone, Roy Hargrove, and more. The program airs at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Then on Sunday morning, WSIE's "Jazz Talk" will feature hosts Dick Ulett, Michael Silverman, and Rob Silverman chatting with drummer Ron Carr. The program airs from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on 88.7 FM, and also can be streamed online from the station's website.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has released online a new song, "Because It's Christmas." Proceeds from the sale of downloads of the tune will benefit Music for Lifelong Achievement, a St. Louis not-for-profit organization that collects and refurbishes used musical instruments and then distributes them to local students in need.

* Also just in time for Christmas, trumpeter Jeremy Davenport, who grew up in U City and now lives in New Orleans, made a music video of "Silent Night" as one of a series of holiday songs sponsored by the New Orleans Times-Picayune

* St. Louis native Andre Boyd (pictured), who's been drumming for Cirque du Soleil's touring production Quidam for the past four years, is number six on the UK drum magazine Rhythm's list of the "10 best new drummers in the world right now."

* Vintage Vinyl was featured on the vinyl-record enthusiast website Cooking With Vinyl.

* Jazz St. Louis is looking for feedback from patrons who have visited the remodeled Jazz at the Bistro this fall. If you'd like to weigh in with your opinion of the new digs, you can complete the online survey here.

* Photos of Clark Terry's 94th birthday celebration this past weekend have been posted to the trumpeter's official Facebook page.

* Also posted to Facebook, a photo album from new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound's performance last week at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,” host Calvin Wilson will present jazz recordings dealing with issues of social injustice from Billie Holiday, Ben Allison, Wallace Roney, and more. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Edited after posting to add the Jeremy Davenport link. 

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Keep On Keepin' On, the documentary film about the relationship between trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry and his student, the blind 23-year-old pianist Justin Kauflin, gets an official theatrical release starting Friday, September 19 with a premiere at the Arclight Theater in Los Angeles. Before that, though, the movie, which already has been shown at several film festivals, will play on Friday, August 29 at the Vail Jazz Festival in Colorado.

The film also is the subject of a feature story this week in USA Today, and the official trailer released this week was featured on on the film site IndieWire. (You can see it in the embedded video window below.)



* Get the lowdown on the Music Record Shop, an all-vinyl store that's the latest addition to the Grove district, via the Riverfront Times' Rick Giordano.

* Here's a video excerpt from drummer Andre Boyd's recent clinic at Sound Attak in London.

* KDHX (88.1 FM) is collecting items today and tomorrow for St. Stephens Food Bank in Ferguson. In addition to food, St. Stephens also has a need for paper goods, diapers and baby wipes, and toiletries. Items can be dropped off from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday at the Magnolia Café in the station's new HQ at 3524 Washington Ave in Grand Center.

* One of three men charged in the fatal shooting of Patrice Thimes, sister of singer Denise Thimes, pleaded guilty Thursday in the crime and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Patrice Thimes was killed on St. Patrick's Day in 2011 when she unknowingly drove into the middle of a gun battle in midtown. Two other defendants are awaiting retrial after jurors in May could not reach a verdict.

* Jazz radio update: On Saturday night's episode of “Somethin’ Else,” on Radio Art Foundation - St. Louis, host Calvin Wilson will be spinning the music of Brazil's Antonio Carlos Jobim as interpreted by Esperanza Spalding, Nellie McKay, Javon Jackson, and more. The program con be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen

Then Sunday on KWMU, "Jazz Unlimited" will feature the eighth part of host Dennis Owsley's 10-part documentary series on the history of St. Louis jazz. "The 1990’s-Rebuilding the Scene” covers events including the founding of the MAXJAZZ label and Just Jazz, the club in the Hotel Majestic that eventually evolved into the Jazz at the Bistro series. "Jazz Unlimited" can be heard from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Sundays over the air at 90.7 FM and online at http://www.stlpublicradio.org/listen.php.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Last weekend's fundraising event for the Miles Davis Memorial Project was a success, according to an article published this week in the Alton Telegraph.

The group seeking to place a statue of Davis in Alton, where he was born, also has posted to their Facebook page an album of photos from the fundraiser. The project's IndieGoGo campaign continues until September 4, and a "trivia night" fundraiser is scheduled for September 12 at the Commons on the campus of Lewis and Clark Community College.

* On a related note, Prestige Records announced this week that their 65th anniversary reissue series also will include a box set compiling Davis' work for the label.

* Meanwhile, Miles Ahead, actor/director Don Cheadle's feature film about Davis, shot some scenes last week at the former city jail in Dayton, OH, and was scheduled to complete principal photography today in Cincinnati.

* Drummer Dave Weckl and his new acoustic band, which also includes St. Louis native Tom Kennedy on bass, started their tour this week with three dates in California. After that, they'll go to Phoenix, back to Los Angeles and then on Washington DC and NYC.

* Trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry has been named chair of the honorary committee for the 2015 Billy Strayhorn Centennial.

* Drummer Andre Boyd (pictured) was interviewed by drummer/journalist Mike Dolbear.

* The Missouri Association for Jazz Education announced this week that trombonist Steve Wiest will direct the 2015 Missouri All-State Jazz Ensemble. The group will perform at the MMEA Conference in January at the Lake of the Ozarks.

* New Music Box has published the second of my four guest blog posts scheduled this month. It's about opportunities for Missouri students grades K - 12 to get involved in new music via the University of Missouri's Creating Original Music Project (C.O.M.P.) and a collaborative program offered by Alarm Will Sound and the Community Music School of Webster University. 

* Jazz radio update:  This Saturday on Radio Art Foundation- St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,” host Calvin Wilson will be spinning sounds from underappreciated jazz pianists including Sonny Clark, Andrew Hill and Herbie Nichols.The program con be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Then Sunday on KWMU, "Jazz Unlimited" host Dennis Owsley continues his 10-art documentary series on the history of St. Louis jazz with episode number six, covering the the 1970s and '80s. "Jazz Unlimited" is broadcast from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Sundays on KWMU (90.7 FM) and also can be heard online at http://www.stlpublicradio.org/listen.php.

So What: Local News, Notes and Links

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

* Trumpeter Jim Manley's recently released album Chilled Brass was reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello of AllAboutJazz.com.

* Meanwhile, Fast Friends, the new recording from trombonists Wayne Coniglio and Scott Whitfield, got a review from AAJ's Jack Bowers.

* Marty Ehrlich's most recent album Trumpet In The Morning, for which the multi-instrumentalist put down his various horns to conduct his original compositions arranged for big band, was reviewed by Troy Dostert of The Free Jazz Collective blog.

* Drummer Kimberly Thompson (pictured) of The Late Show with Seth Meyers has posted a new recording, A Child's Eyes, on iTunes. It features 14 of Thompson's original compositions performed by a quartet that also includes Eden Ladin (piano), Aaron Burnett (tenor sax), and Nick Jozwiak (bass).

* The June episode of HEC-TV's State of the Arts, which offers a look at the current local popularity of swing dancing and vintage jazz bands, is available for viewing online.

* A story by Allison Babka of the Riverfront Times this week revealed that the main location of the St. Louis Public Library downtown has a basic but functional recording studio available for library patrons to use for free.

* In this week's update from actor/director Don Cheadle on his forthcoming Miles Davis film, which is scheduled to begin shooting this month in Cincinnati, here's the latest as told by Cheadle to Down Beat magazine, the Times of India, and on a recent episode of The Queen Latifah Show. The IndieGoGo campaign to raise an additional $325,000 for the film ends on July 10.

* Hip 96.3 HD-3 has posted on Facebook a photo album from last Saturday's Chesterfield Jazz Festival.

* Speaking of photo sets, here's one from St. Louisan and Cirque du Soleil drummer Andre Boyd's recent drum clinic at Sound Attak in London.

* Also on the promotional tip, Bob Walther of Strictly Audio STL was quoted extensively in a news release from Soundcraft about his use of the company's Si Expression mixing console.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted their 2014-15 season brochure online.

* Jazz radio update: On this week's episode “Somethin’ Else” on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, host Calvin Wilson pays a virtual visit to the Village Vanguard with live recordings made at the famed NYC club by musicians including pianist Geri Allen, trumpeter Woody Shaw, guitarist Marc Ribot, and more. "Somethin' Else" can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Elsewhere on the radio dial, Dennis Owsley's "Jazz Unlimited" program will begin re-broadcasting Owsley's ten-part audio documentary on "The Jazz History of St. Louis"  starting this Sunday. "Jazz Unlimited" airs from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Sundays on KWMU/St. Louis Public Radio (90.7 FM), and also can be heard online at http://www.stlpublicradio.org/listen.php.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Goldenrod Showboat, which for years served as the site of jazz, ragtime and other musical performances on the St. Louis riverfront, finally could be headed for the scrapyard, according to this article from the Post-Dispatch's Mark Schlinkmann.

A not-for-profit group called the Historic Riverboat Preservation Association has launched an IndieGoGo campaign trying to raise the $30,000 needed to rescue the boat (pictured, in a photo from steamboats.org) from a docking facility in Kampsville IL, where it's been since 2001.

* Speaking of IndieGoGo campaigns, trumpeter Terence Blanchard has begun one to finance a recording of Champion, his opera that debuted last summer at Opera Theatre St. Louis.

* Last Saturday's performance of Tim Schall's cabaret show 1961 was reviewed by Andrea Braun for the Vital Voice. Schall will present an encore of the show as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival on Saturday, March 22.

* Photos of Miles Davis taken by Aram “Al” Avakian, brother of former Columbia Records producer George Avakian, are among the shots accompanying a New York Times article by Al Avakian's daughter Alexandra Avakian.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted on their Facebook page an album of photos from last week's shows by bassist Christian McBride's trio.

* And speaking of photo albums, the Sheldon Concert Hall has posted to their Facebook page some photos from the most recent concert there by pianist Peter Martin.

* Drummer Andre "Dre" Boyd, still in London with the touring company of Cirque du Soleil, has turned up in yet another endorsement video, this one from music software maker PreSonus.

* The Missouri Arts Council this week published an article on their website called "Snapshots of the Missouri Arts Blogosphere," and included not only St. Louis Jazz Notes but also StLJN's sibling music video blog Heliocentric Worlds. Thanks to Barbara MacRobie of MAC for the mentions, and if you'd like to see the article, visit https://www.missouriartscouncil.org/ and click on the headline/link in the middle of the page.

* This Saturday night on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else," will present a program of Charlie Parker music previously scheduled for February 1 but delayed due to “technical difficulties.” You can hear music from the Parker songbook performed by trumpeter Roy Hargrove, Junk Genius, saxophonist Anthony Braxton, and others at 8:00 p.m. Saturday via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist David Sanborn is performing through Sunday at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco with an all-star band including vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, organist Joey DeFrancesco, and drummer Billy Hart.

Of particular interest for those of us who can't make it to the West Coast: "We just completed an album together that was produced by Don Was," wrote Sanborn on his Facebook page. "The album will be released on Blue Note Records later this year."

* The IndieGoGo campaign to crowd-fund the debut recording by drummer Marcus Baylor's Baylor Project ends at midnight tonight.

* Drummer Dave Weckl (pictured) is the featured guest on the latest episode of the online video program DrumsmackTV.

* Drummer Andre "Dre" Boyd, currently playing in London with one of the touring companies of Cirque du Soleil, explains and demonstrates his kit in a video for UK music retailer Soundattak.

* Someone at New Music Circle unearthed and linked to an audio recording of a 2012 gig in Los Angeles by Joshua Abrams' Natural Information Society. Abrams and NIS will play here in St. Louis tomorrow night in a concert presented by NMC at Joe's Cafe.

* The Touhill Performing Arts Center is ranked as #10 on BestCollegeReviews' list of "The 25 Most Amazing College Campus Theaters."

* According to a story this week in the Post-Dispatch, the local building that once housed the Castle Ballroom (and hosted performances by Miles Davis, Count Basie and many other jazz greats) has suffered serious damage from weather and neglect, and may have to be demolished soon.

* And speaking of weather damage to local music venues, last night's high winds tore the sign and part of the facade right off the Kranzberg Arts Center on Grand Blvd, as documented by a witness in this YouTube video. Fortunately, there are no reports of injuries or damages inside, and performances at the venue this weekend should be able to go ahead as scheduled.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday night on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' "Somethin' Else," host Calvin Wilson will spin tracks featuring legendary bandleader and composer Duke Ellington in his role as small-group pianist with saxophonists Johnny Hodges and Coleman Hawkins and others.

Then on "The Jazz Collective," host Jason Church will play music from Ahmad Jamal, Nathan East, Paolo Rustichelli, Bob James and David Sanborn, U-Nam, Herbie Hancock, Chuck Mangione, Joe Sample, Herb Alpert, Funky Butt Brass Band, Michael and Robert Silverman, Al Hammerman, Miss Jubilee, and more

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