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 U City native Ronnie Burrage (pictured) was interviewed on the "Jazz on the Tube" podcast.

* Singer Anita Jackson was the subject of a feature story by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Saxophonist, clarinetist and St. Louis native Dan Block's album Block Party was reviewed by London Jazz News.

* A decades-old trumpet track from Miles Davis is incorporated into a new version of "Quiet Nights, Quiet Stars" just released by singer Alexandra Jackson on her new album Legacy and Alchemy.

* The Regional Arts Commission's new plan for the future of St. Louis' arts scene was examined in an article by the Riverfront Times' Paul Friswold.

* Message To Our Folks, the book about the Art Ensemble of Chicago by bassist and Wash U assistant professor Paul Steinbeck, is out now in a paperback edition, which is available from the publisher University of Chicago Press as well as bookstores and online retailers.

* Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway's performance of their show "Sibling Revelry" this week at Jazz St. Louis was reviewed by Chuck Lavazzi of KDHX.

* Drummer Kimberly Thompson was interviewed by DailyMailTV.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris' theatrical production "Superheroes of Blackness" is the subject of preview stories by the Riverfront Times' Christian Schaeffer and the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson. The show plays tonight and tomorrow night at .ZACK in Grand Center.

* Singer Denise Thimes' upcoming gig at Dizzy's Club in New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center is previewed in a story by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn. Thimes (pictured) will perform at Dizzy's on Tuesday, March 6 and Wednesday, March 7.

* Fans of Dave Weckl, take note - Modern Drummer magazine now is offering a digital "artist pack" of content about the famed percussionist and St. Charles native, which "includes more than 120 pages on Dave Weckl, including cover-story interviews, transcriptions, classic advertisements, and more exclusive content from the Modern Drummer archives."

* Keyboardist and Metro East native David Garfield is ready to release “Outside the Box,” described as a "multi-part, genre-crossing project spanning various types of jazz, R&B, pop, country and rock."

The series will begin with the release on Friday, March 23 of Jazz Outside the Box, a straight-ahead jazz album featuring performances by Randy Brecker, Michael McDonald, The Doors’ drummer John Densmore, Tom Scott, bassist Jason Scheff of the band Chicago, Will Lee, Eric Marienthal, Steve Ferrone, Vinnie Colaiuta, John Clayton, Brian Auger, and more, along with full horn and string sections.

A second album in the series, a "smooth/contemporary" set called Jamming Outside the Box, is scheduled to come out this summer, with additional releases to follow.

* Saxophonist, clarinetist and St. Louis native Dan Block, now based in NYC, has released a new album, Block Party: A St. Louis Connection, featuring a couple of other former St. Louisans - his brother, guitarist and keyboardist Rob Block, and bassist Neal Caine - in the band. The album, which came out last month on Miles High Records, is Dan Block's third release for the label, and is the first recording that he and his brother have ever done together.