So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A performance by trumpeter and St. Louis native Keyon Harrold and a screening of the documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool will be featured during the upcoming "Celebration of Cool" at the famed Apollo Theater in NYC on Saturday, February 1.

* Euclid Records in Webster Groves (pictured) was noted as "The Largest Record Store In Missouri" by the website OnlyInYourState.com.

* New Music Circle administrator Jeremy Kannapell was interviewed about the organization's upcoming concerts by the Riverfront Times' Christian Schaeffer.

* A recent episode of the podcast The Funky Blues Show focused on St. Louis, offering "a celebration of the Jazz and Blues tradition of one of the great musical cities of the USA, with music from Albert King, Roosevelt Sykes, Chuck Berry, Clark Terry, Donny Hathaway and many more."

* St. Louis County will get a new outdoor music venue later this year with the opening of Saint Louis Music Park, a new 4,500 seat facility at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights. The venue will debut on May 25 with a show featuring pop singer Kesha and hip-hop star Big Freedia, with operators promising to book acts from a variety of musical genres going forward.

* Singer Anna Blair's cabaret show last week at Blue Strawberry was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A memorial service for the late Bryan Cather, ragtime historian and president of the Friends of Scott Joplin, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 25 at St. John's Episcopal Church, 3664 Arsenal (across from Tower Grove Park).

* The recent vinyl reissue box set (pictured) of Miles Davis' The Legendary Prestige Quintet Recordings was reviewed by Jazz Times.

* The soundtrack from director Stanley Nelson's documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is set for release on Friday, February 21.

Titled Music From and Inspired by Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool, the album has 28 tracks of music and dialog from the film selected by Nelson. One of those tracks is a previously unheard recording, "Hail to the Real Chief," which combines unreleased studio trumpet performances by Davis with music by drummer Lenny White, performed by White, Davis' nephew Vince Wilburn, Jr, Marcus Miller, Jeremy Pelt, Antoine Roney, John Scofield, Bernard Wright, and others. You can listen to "Hail to the Real Chief" here.

* Also on the Miles Davis beat, fans of the trumpeter are being invited to submit original artwork to be used on an upcoming vinyl single release of "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down" from Bitches Brew. For details, go to http://secret-7.com/

* KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi reviewed recent cabaret shows at Blue Strawberry by singers Christy Simmons and Emily Skinner.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The second episode of saxophonist David Sanborn's new online video series "Sanborn Sessions" went "live" this week on YouTube and elsewhere.

The episode is an all-St. Louis affair with singers Michael McDonald and Brian Owens (pictured, with Sanborn) as the featured guests, and you can see it in the video embed at the bottom of this post.

* Bryan Cather, a ragtime historian and president of the Friends of Scott Joplin, has died. He was 53 years old, and was found Sunday by friends at his south St. Louis home after he apparently suffered a heart attack.

Cather came to St. Louis in 2004 from Arlington, TX, and subsequently played a major role as a volunteer with the Friends and the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, as detailed in this obituary in Syncopated Times. Funeral arrangements are pending, but the article says that "a memorial service is likely to be held at Bryan’s John’s Episcopal Church in the Tower Grove Neighborhood of St. Louis and his cremains will be interred in Oklahoma."

* Treasure Shields Redmond, daughter of East St. Louis Poet Laureate Eugene Redmond, was a guest Thursday on St. Louis Public Radio's "St. Louis On The Air" to talk about the "Historic Jazz & Poetry Excursion" tour of East St. Louis, in which trumpeter Miles Davis and his now-restored childhood home play a major role.

* Also on the Davis beat, the recent biographical documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, directed by Stanley Nelson, has been nominated for a 2020 NAACP Image Award as "Outstanding Documentary (Film)."

* In a related story, Davis' son Erin and nephew Vincent Wilburn Jr. recently appeared on the program California Live on KNBC in Los Angeles to promote the film.

* And last but not least regarding Davis, a feature out this week from Jazzwise magazine looks at "How Miles Davis put together ‘the greatest rock ’n’ roll band you ever heard’."

* Pianist, singer and songwriter Rick Jensen's cabaret show last week at Blue Strawberry was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* A story in the St. Louis American offers a brief preview of the "34th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Statewide Celebration Kick-Off Program for Missouri," which takes place tomorrow night at Harris-Stowe State University and will include appearances by saxophonist Kirk Whalum and singer Denise Thimes.

* Bassist Sam AuBuchon, a senior at West County High School in Park Hills, MO and a member of the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, was the subject of a feature story in the St. Francois County Daily Journal.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Russell Gunn (pictured) has launched a crowd-funding campaign to pay for the next recording by his Royal Krunk Jazz Orchestra.

* Reid Anderson, bassist for The Bad Plus, was interviewed about the group's return to Jazz St. Louis next week by the Post-Dispatch's Daniel Durchholz.

* A new article in DownBeat recalls how the late trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry "fostered generations of performers."

* The closing last weekend of the south side venue Foam was the subject of stories by St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy D. Goodwin and St. Louis magazine's John J. Goddard.

* Singer Katie McGrath's show last Saturday at Blue Strawberry was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Funeral arrangements for the late pianist, singer and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum have been announced. A wake and memorial jam session is scheduled from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. today at Archway Memorial Chapel, 111 Taylor Road in Hazelwood. A funeral Mass will take place at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, January 4, at St. Elizabeth Mother of John church, 4330 Shreve Ave in St. Louis, with a repast immediately following. Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, January 6 at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Whalum's obituary as published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch can be seen here, and his passing also was noted in a story by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

* Radio host, author and photographer Dennis Owsley bade farewell to listeners of his "Jazz Unlimited" radio show with a message on Facebook (also published in abbreviated form on the St. Louis Public Radio website). In that message, he revealed that the program's Sunday night time slot will be filled, at least for the time being, by music from the nationally syndicated "Jazzworks" service (also heard on one of StLPR's digital sub-channels).

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and his wife, singer Jean Baylor (pictured), have launched a campaign via IndieGoGo to crowd-fund the next album by their group The Baylor Project.

* Chuck Lavazzi of KDHX reviewed recent shows at Blue Strawberry by David Giuntoli and John McDaniel.

* In related stories, St. Louis Public Radio's Sarah Fenske interviewed cabaret artists Beverly Brennan, Robert Brieg and Dionna Raedeke about upcoming shows at Blue Strawberry; and the venue also was the subject of a brief feature story from St. Louis magazine's Melissa Meinzer.

* Another item at St. Louis Public Radio's website notes the retirement of "Jazz Unlimited" host Dennis Owsley, mostly reiterating information already made public, but also adding the intriguing tidbit that "jazz music will continue on 90.7 KWMU-1 on Sunday nights from 9 to midnight" without any specifics. So, stay tuned...

* The Northsider has posted to Facebook a photo album from the Funky Butt Brass Band's early Saturday matinee of last weekend's "Holiday Brasstravaganza."

* With the southside venue Foam closing permanently this week, the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson took a look back at a decade of shows there.

* The Bosman Twins were interviewed by ChicagoJazz.com in advance of their gig this week at Winters Jazz Club.

* Trumpeter George C. Davis, one of the founders of the Jazz Edge Orchestra, has died.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* St. Louis magazine's annual "A List" issue is out, and the winners in the readers poll include Vintage Vinyl for "Record Store," the Whitaker Music Festival for "Free Music Series," and singer Erin Bode for "Musical Artist, Female."

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo also got a special mention from the editors as a "Musician So Good, Barack Obama Loves Her." You can see the complete list of 2019 "A List" winners here.

* Following up his 2006 tome City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973, radio host, photographer, and author Dennis Owsley has written Jazz in St. Louis: A History, which he calls "a new book on St. Louis jazz that brings everything up to date." The book (pictured) comes out on Monday, July 15 from The History Press and can be pre-ordered here. (Full disclosure: StLJN and yr. humble editor are name-checked on page 122.)

* Guitarist Todd Mosby will release a new album, Open Waters, on Thursday, August 1.

* Saxophonists and former St. Louisans Oliver Lake, Marty Ehrlich, and the late Hamiet Bluiett are among the 33 musicians interviewed by bassist William Parker for his new book Conversations 3, now available (in English) from the French publishers RogueArt.

* With Opera Theatre of St. Louis' production of Terence Blanchard's opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones set to close this Saturday night, reviews still are coming in, including notices locally from the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn and KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Today is the release date for The Sound of St. Louis - Jazz Compilation Volume 1, an album featuring original music from the nine participants in the Kranzberg Arts Foundation's music artists-in-residence program.

The album (pictured) will be available on streaming services, as a digital download, and as a CD, which will be sold locally at Vintage Vinyl, Music Record Shop, and Euclid Records, and at various KAF-affiliated venues such as Sophie’s Artist Lounge and The Dark Room.

* In more album-release news, singer Erin Bode is reissuing her 2016 album Here and Now as a vinyl LP, and will perform on Thursday, April 11 at The Sheldon to commemorate the event. 

* One of singer Marilyn Maye's performances last week with the Jazz St. Louis Big Band was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Singer and St. Louis native Alicia Olatuja was interviewed about her new album Intuition by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

* Also as reported in the American, four branches of St. Louis County Library now offer musical instruments, including guitars, keyboards and hand drums, that can be checked out by library patrons for free.

* Multi-instrumentalist and singer Tonina was profiled for a new local website, TheSTL.com, by writer Daniel Durchholz.

* NPR once again this year is holding a contest for unsigned musical acts that would like to perform in a Tiny Desk Concert, filmed at the network's HQ in Washington DC. Local affiliate St. Louis Public Radio has details on the contest and how to enter here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A new blog post from saxophonist Greg Osby, "Who's In The Band?", skeptically examines how a group's lineup of musicians can affect the way presenters view and market them.

* Sibling Revelry, the cabaret show featuring sisters Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway that played last week at Jazz St. Louis, was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* "The Moon Is Ours Tonight," a new song written and recorded on commission by singer Erin Bode with multi-instrumentalist Viktor Krauss, was the subject of a feature on KSDK's Show Me St. Louis.

* Saxophonist, music educator and St. Louis native Keith Fiddmont (pictured) will conduct the Santa Monica College Jazz Band in a concert "dedicated to the music contributed to the jazz lexicon by musicians from St. Louis, Missouri" on Sunday, October 21 at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA. The band will perform compositions by Clark Terry, Ernie Wilkins, Oliver Nelson and Miles Davis.

* The Baylor Project, led by drummer Marcus Baylor and singer Jean Baylor, is featured in the first episode of "Live From The Lobby," a new video series from JustJazzTV

* As recounted in a story from Washington University's news service, Holmes Lounge, which is the venue for the university's Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts, recently was refurbished with new furniture and carpeting.

* Nottelmann Music has started a blog and a podcast with content aimed at music educators in the St. Louis area, with both audio and text pieces compiled on a single page for easy access.

* Get It How You Live, the recent album release from trumpeter Russell Gunn's Royal Krunk Jazz Orchestra, was reviewed by JazzWeekly.com.

* Audri Bartholomew, a former student in Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program who's now attending Milliken University, is a contestant on this season of the NBC TV series The Voice.

* AllAboutJazz.com is polling readers on the "Top 100 Jazz Venues" for 2018, and you can cast a ballot here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Steward Family Foundation, already a major benefactor of Jazz St. Louis, will give a total of $1.3 million over four years to the University of Missouri-St. Louis to establish the David and Thelma Steward Institute for Jazz Studies at UMSL.

Funds from the gift will be used to help with student recruitment and to support scholarships, artists-in-residence, travel to advance jazz education and performance, and UMSL’s summer jazz camp.

* Get It How You Live, the new release from trumpeter Russell Gunn's Royal Krunk Orchestra (pictured), has been out for a week, and reviews are coming in, so far including positive notices from NextBop.com and Smooth-Jazz.de.

* Gunn also was the subject of a recent feature story on ArtsATL.com

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold's performance at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival was reviewed by the city's daily newspaper The Scotsman.

* Jazz/fusion band Koplant No has released a music video for their song "Knock Knock Ghost." The clip features dancer Belicia Beck of MADCO moving through spooky surroundings at the old Lemp Brewery complex.

* The recent performance of Bob Wetzel and Craig Becker's cabaret show "A Fine Bromance" at the Kranzberg Arts Center was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Miles Davis' son Erin Davis wrote an article about his relationship with his dad for Fatherly.com.

* According to a report from the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, trumpeter Herb Alpert's show on August 19 at the Grandel Theatre is sold out. (Link paywalled for non-subscribers)

* Also in the Post, Johnson interviewed Boney James in advance of the saxophonist's performance for the Gateway Jazz Festival this Saturday at Chesterfield Amphitheater. (Link paywalled for non-subscribers.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis is now accepting applications for 2018 Artist Support Grants.

The grants range in amount from $500 to $3000, and are available to individual artists of all disciplines for a variety of purposes, including equipment and materials, rental space, arts-related travel, conference fees, project completion, salaries, professional and artistic development, training, and other resources.

Applications are due by Thursday, March 15, and RAC will present the first of three free "how to apply" workshops this coming Monday, February 5 at their headquarters.

* Last Sunday's performance by trombonist Ryan Keberle and Catharsis at The Dark Room was reviewed for DownBeat magazine by Terry Perkins.

* Pianist Peter Martin talked with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson about his benefit concert for Metro Theater Company this Saturday night and the troupe's upcoming production of the "concert play" Bud, Not Buddy.

* In a couple of related conversations, trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard talked about his original score for Bud, Not Buddy in interviews with St. Louis Public Radio's Alex Heuer and the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold's new album The Mugician was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Thomas Earl. 

* KTVI - FOX2 News is looking for "bands of all genres" to perform live on their 9:00 a.m. weekday newscast. According to a post on Facebook from the station's Kim Hudson, they "need to see videos with clean lyrics and content appropriate for morning television. It always helps if you brag on yourself, too. So, let us know what concerts you have coming up and what big things you have done in the past. Send those videos and all that info to kim.hudson@tvstl.com."

* The 60th anniversary of the release of the movie Elevator to the Gallows, directed by Louis Malle and featuring a soundtrack by Miles Davis (pictured, with the film's star Jeanne Moreau), was noted in articles on LittleWhiteLies.com, DVDTalk.com, and Film School Rejects. 

* And speaking of Miles Davis, a post this week on OpenCulture.com highlights a Spotify playlist featuring 65 hours of Davis' music in chronological order of release.

* Jazz St. Louis is looking to hire an executive assistant to work with the executive director/CEO and the director of development. You can find details on the job and how to apply here.

* The Baylor Project, fronted by drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and his wife, singer Jean Baylor, were the subject of a brief feature by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson published before last Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony.

The Baylors, who were nominated for Grammys in two different categories, unfortunately did not take home any trophies on Sunday night, but they will be coming to St. Louis to make their local debut at Jazz at the Bistro from Wednesday, March 28 through Saturday, March 31.

The Baylors on Thursday also shared via email a compilation of photos and social media posts documenting their "Grammy Week" experiences.

* Last Saturday's performance by singer Barb Jungr and pianist/singer John McDaniel at the Kranzberg Arts Center was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Family and friends of Nathan Jatcko are setting up a scholarship in the late pianist's name at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Donations may be made online at http://www.siue.edu/give or by mail to Kyle Moore, Director of Development, College of Arts & Sciences, SIUE Foundation, Box 5048, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL 62026. The memo line on a check should read "Nathan Jatcko." Anyone with questions about online giving can contact Moore via email at kymoore (at) siue.edu or by phone at 618-650‑5048.

A "celebration of the life and music of Nathan Jatcko" also is planned for next Friday, February 8 at Off Broadway.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Storm Large (pictured) was interviewed Wednesday by St. Louis Public Radio's Alex Heuer in advance of her performance next Wednesday, January 17 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* Singer and St. Louis native Alicia Olatuja is the subject of a short feature story in the current issue of Jazz Times.

* A new article on the website Jazz in Europe looks at the impact of Miles Davis' landmark 1970 album Bitches Brew.

* Speaking of Davis, an article in On Milwaukee magazine recounts the story of the trumpeter's 1959 "legendary show that wasn't" at a club there called the Brass Rail.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn appeared Thursday on the morning news at New York City's WABC, promoting his gigs this weekend at BB King's in NYC.

* Lea DeLaria's performance last month at Jazz at the Bistro was reviewed for CabaretScenes.org by Chuck Lavazzi.

* Keyboardist Michael Silverman of Bach to the Future and Silverman Productions was interviewed by St. Louis County Arts Blog's Valerie Tichacek.

* Gene Dobbs Bradford of Jazz St. Louis was profiled on the website of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis. Bradford will be one of seven 2018 recipients of the council's St. Louis Arts Awards, which will be presented at an event on Monday, January 22 at the Chase Park Plaza hotel.

* Guitarist Todd Mosby's performance next week in Rolla is previewed on the Three Rivers Publishing website, which compiles news from several small towns in east central Missouri.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold (pictured) was interviewed this past Tuesday on Worldwide FM by British jazz broadcaster Gilles Peterson.

* Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran has finished his next album, Just As Good As Feeling Good, and before releasing it on physical media, he's made it available for a limited time as a free download from his website.

* Speaking of free downloads, keyboardist Jim Hegarty has made available for free a new recording in his "Secret Sessions" series, this one featuring cellist Tracy Andreotti, flute player Fred Tompkins, pianist Greg Mills, and clarinetist Eric Paul Mandat.

* The musical comedy Souvenir, starring singer Debby Lennon, was reviewed by Mark Bretz of Ladue News. The production runs through this Sunday, December 31 at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center.

* Lea DeLaria's show Wednesday at Jazz at the Bistro was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Multi-instrumentalist Dwayne Bosman of the Bosman Twins (pictured) is one of ten recipients of a Regional Arts Commission Artist Fellowship for 2015.

Each of the ten selected artists receives $20,000, which is intended to "allow for the advancement of the individual artist’s creative journey to include time and space to study, reflect, experiment, explore and create."

* The late Don Wolff was remembered and memorialized by local media outlets including St. Louis Public Radio, St. Louis magazine, KMOV-TV, and HEC-TV.

* Euclid Records was featured in a recent "In Your Neighborhood" segment on KTVI/Fox 2 News.

* Just in time for his annual Thanksgiving weekend gig at Jazz at the Bistro, here's a a fairly lengthy new interview with trumpeter and singer Jeremy Davenport, via HollywoodSoapbox.com.

* Jazz St. Louis education director Phil Dunlap was featured by the Post-Dispatch in an "#STLStreetStyle" video.

* Bassist Stanley Clarke's concert last Saturday at the Touhill Performing Arts Center was reviewed by Terry Perkins for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

* Singer/songwriter Susan Werner's show last weekend for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival was reviewed by Chuck Lavazzi of KDHX.

* Groove Jazz, a new streaming jazz radio station based in St. Louis, is now online and available to hear for free at www.theroots.fm and via free apps available in the iTunes and Google Play stores.

Described in a news release as "primarily a Contemporary Jazz station, featuring artists like Boney James, Paul Hardcastle, Cindy Bradley, George Benson and David Benoit," the station's playlist also will feature "Straight-Ahead Jazz, World Music, Fusion, Funk and other styles." Weekday hosts are Jason Church, Kristi Carson, Eddie Becton, and Darrel Eason, while the weekend voices include Kris Kelly, Bill Poole, Robin Boyce and C.J. Ellis.

Reviews now online of Sutton Foster, Dianne Reeves & Peter Martin

A couple of reviews of actress/singer Sutton Foster's performance Thursday night at the Sheldon Concert Hall are now online. St. Louis Post-Dispatch theater critic Judith Newmark weighs in on Foster's show here, and KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi offers his perspective here.

Also, Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch was at the Sheldon on Friday night to review the concert by singer Dianne Reeves and pianist Peter Martin. You can read his review online here.