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:

* 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.

So What: Local, News & Notes

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

* Saxophonist David Sanborn (pictured) has released a new episode of his "Sanborn Sessions" online video series with bassist Marcus Miller as his featured guest, plus drummer Billy Kilson and pianist Geoffrey Keezer.

* Jazz St. Louis is one of 16 independent music venues across the country that this week received a grant from the Live Music Society. The grants, which range from $10,000 to $50,000, are intended to help smaller venues stay financially viable as the music industry attempts a post-pandemic restart.

* STLtoday has posted an album of photos from the Galactic shows last weekend at The Big Top.

* St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin has written a story reporting on the reopening plans of local concert venues including The Sheldon, The Pageant, The Big Top, and others.

* Mikie Sellers, the impresario behind the new "Jazz and Cars" outdoor concert series on the grounds of Gateway Classic Cars in O'Fallon, IL, was interviewed on FOX 2's morning newscast.

* An article by Mark Beckford on TheGrio.com looks at the ultimately unsuccessful effort to preserve St. Louis native Josephine Baker's famed cabaret in Paris.

* DePaul William "Willy" Smith, who played saxophone with the Original Knights of Swing, the Meramec Jazz Lab Band, and other groups around town, has died at age 90.

* JAZZIZ magazine's "The Week in Jazz" column for this week has a couple of St. Louis mentions, noting the announcement of the "Music at the Intersection" festival and previewing a track from keyboardist Michael Silverman's forthcoming album.

* Radio station Classic 107.3 will raise funds next month with "Classical Cocktails," an online event to be held on Sunday, June 13. The festivities will include dinner and cocktails from Salt + Smoke, plus music from pianists Orli Shaham and Dominic Cheli, the Pro Arte Quartet, the Arianna String Quartet, and violinist David Perry. For more info or to make a reservation, visit https://classic1073.org/classical-cocktails/.

* As reported by the Post-Dispatch's Steph Kukuljan, a company called Gateway Studios LLC has announced plans to acquire 32 acres of land just north of the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield to build an $88 million facilty for music, video and film production. Gateway Studios, which currently operates in Pennsylvania, will seek both tax incentives and publically financed bonds to help pay for the project.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Chuck Flowers (pictured) was interviewed on the webcast "Jazz in the AM."

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has released a clip from his most recent "Online Sessions" video, a version of "Georgia On My Mind" recorded with organist Joey DeFrancesco and drummer Billy Kilson.

* In a new video for Rhythm magazine, drummer Dave Weckl reveals the details of his home studio setup for playing and teaching online.

* Also on the Weckl beat, he and fellow drummer Rob Silverman were the guests on last week's Modern Drummer podcast, discussing their most recent recordings and the drumming contest being sponsored by the magazine and their label Autumn Hill Records.

* The Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson this week reported that Atomic Cowboy, the long-running bar, restaurant and music venue in The Grove neighborhood, has closed permanently and put all its equipment and fixtures up for auction.

* Also from Kevin Johnson in the Post, a look at how cabaret venue Blue Strawberry has adapted to present different types of live music during the pandemic.

* An article at UDiscoverMusic.com takes a retrospective look at Miles Davis' classic 1950s album Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet.

* In more Miles Davis-related news, tattoo artist Kat Von D is being sued by a Los Angeles photographer who alleges that a tattooed image of Davis rendered by Von D for one of her customers infringes on his copyrighted photo of the trumpeter.

* And finally, a short feature in Far Out magazine recounts the story of the time in 1969 when Davis was asked by guitarist Jimi Hendrix to form a "supergroup" that also would have included drummer Tony Williams and Beatles bassist Paul McCartney.

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 has written an essay for USA Today about the recent incident at a New York City hotel in which he and his teenage son were assaulted and falsely accused of theft.

* Keyboardist David Garfield's re-release of a track featuring singer-guitarist Boz Scaggs was the subject of a brief feature in American Songwriter magazine.

* Rhythm City, the recent album from pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Larry Kornfeld, and drummer Rob Silverman, received a four-star review in the February 2021 issue of DownBeat magazine.

* Singer Erika Johnson (pictured) talked about her new band The Gemini Project in an interview with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson. The group debuts this Saturday at Blue Strawberry.

* As also reported by Kevin Johnson in the Post-Dispatch, The Sheldon has postponed its "Coffee Concerts" series that had been scheduled to resume this spring until the fall and winter of 2021-22.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn is starting a new series of online master classes on Sunday, January 31. For details on the classes and pricing, or to register, visit his website.

* A story from St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin looks at the potential impact of government relief funds on local arts and cultural organizations affected by the COVID pandemic.

* AllAboutJazz.com recently surveyed readers to find out what they consider to be the "top jazz cities" in the world, and St. Louis came in at #42. (Insert your own Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy joke here.) The top five jazz cities as determined by AAJ.com readers are New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Paris, and London; Kansas City was ranked as #13.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The nascent Music at The Intersection festival in Grand Center, which originally was scheduled for September of this year but postponed due to the pandemic, has announced dates for 2021. The event, part of a proposed "St. Louis Music Week" sponsored by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation and the Steward Family Foundation, will take place the weekend of September 10-12.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn (pictured), who contributed memorably to David Bowie's 1975 hit "Young Americans' and the subsequent tour, will join other distinguished alumni of Bowie's band and some famous friends for "A Bowie Celebration," a tribute concert that will stream online on Friday, January 8.

* Singer Denise Thimes was interviewed about her holiday show on Sunday at Blue Strawberry by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Bassist Larry Kornfeld is the subject of a short feature in Bass magazine, highlighting the track "Pusherman" from Rhythm City, the recent Autumn Hill release from Kornfeld, pianist Ptah Williams, and drummer Rob Silverman.

* Mangia Italiano, the long running bar and restaurant on South Grand that for years featured jazz on Friday nights among its varied musical offerings, will close at the end of this month.

* Fictional Characters, the new release from guitarist Scott Jones, was reviewed by Mike Jacobs at AllAboutJazz.com.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Jean Baylor & Marcus Baylor

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

* Miles Davis is one of five musicians to be featured in "Space Is The Place," a radio series on the UK's JazzFM presenting "specially commissioned dramas...based on five pivotal moments in the lives of some of Jazz FM’s legendary artists." The other featured artists will include Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong and Sun Ra; the Davis episode will air on Monday, December 7.

* Nominees for the 2021 Grammy Awards were announced this week, and the list includes St. Louis' own Marcus Baylor, whose group The Baylor Project (co-led with his wife, singer Jean Baylor) was nominated for "Best Traditional R&B Performance" for their song "Sit on Down."

In addition, three more St. Louisans - bassist Jahmal Nichols, drummer Emanuel Harrold, and trumpeter Keyon Harrold - performed on singer Gregory Porter's All Rise, which was nominated in the "Best R&B Album" category.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has released another short video as part of his "Sanborn Sessions" web series, in which he teams up with various musical friends for some performances recorded in his home studio. The latest episode features Sanborn with his longtime collaborator, organist Joey DeFrancesco.

* Ahead of his gig this Sunday night at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, keyboardist Mark Harris II is the subject of a feature story from the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* The late trumpeter Lester Bowie, who grew up in St. Louis and went on to fame as a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, is being honored with an outdoor mural in Frederick, Maryland, the city where he actually was born.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Although David Sanborn has wrapped the "official" first season of his online video series "Sanborn Sessions," in recent weeks the saxophonist has added a couple of postscripts in the form of short "remote sessions" with keyboardist Cory Henry and singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke.

* Singer Mardra Thomas and her husband, pianist Reggie Thomas, both are part of the cast of "Day Dream," an online audio drama "inspired by the life of jazz artist and composer Billy Strayhorn." Reggie is handling the musical direction, while Mardra, appropriately, is playing the role of a jazz singer named Alice. Two of the eight planned episodes have been released so far, and can be heard at https://www.daydreamseries.com/.

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris (pictured) was interviewed on last Friday's episode of KTRS radio's "In The Know with Ray Hartmann."

* As reported by the Riverfront Times' Daniel Hill, The Monocle, the venue in the Grove neighborhood that sometimes featured cabaret and jazz performers as part of an eclectic entertainment policy, has closed permanently.

* In more venue news, according to a report from the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, construction has begun on The Factory, a new concert club located at The District in Chesterfield, on the site of what was the Chesterfield Outlets mall. The facility, which will have a maximum capacity of 3,000 people, will present a variety of musical genres and is scheduled to open in May, 2021.

* Also in the Post-Dispatch, Ian Froeb reports that the Venice Cafe will close "until spring 2021."

* Tomorrow will be the third and final "RSD Drops" day of 2020, replacing the annual Record Store Day celebration in April that was canceled due to the pandemic. For a list of participating stores in Missouri offering the special RSD releases, go here.

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 interviewed local "arts leaders" including Jazz St. Louis' Gene Dobbs Bradford and singer/songwriter Tonina for an article about how 2020 has changed the city's cultural institutions.

* The recently released album Miles Davis: The Lost Septet, which captures a live set by a 1970 lineup of the trumpeter's band that made no studio recordings, was reviewed in Jazz Journal.

* Another rare Davis performance - his oft-rumored but never-before-seen cameo appearance onstage with Prince - was revealed this week when the singer-songwriter's estate released to YouTube a video of the 1987 New Year's Eve gig in question.

* This Saturday, September 24 is the second of three "RSD Drops" presented in lieu of the annual National Record Store Day celebration cancelled earlier this year. Local stores including Vintage Vinyl and Euclid Records will be taking part by carrying some of the RSD releases; check with your preferred retailer for specific availability, store hours, and other details.

* Drummer Marcus Baylor (pictured) will do a Facebook Live interview at 2:00 p.m. EDT today on the Facebook page and YouTube channel of Sabian Cymbals.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn guest stars on fellow saxophone player Dave Koz's latest single "Side by Side," which can be heard here or wherever you stream or download music.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter, former member of the Black Artists Group and St. Louis native Baikida Carroll is the winner of the 2020 FONT Music Award of Recognition, which was presented to him in an online event Wednesday night as part of this year's Festival Of New Trumpet Music (aka FONT Music).

Carroll (pictured) was lauded for being "one of trumpet’s most original and creative voices since the early ‘70s." You can see an archived video of the award presentation, which includes performance footage featuring Carroll and commentary from fellow musicians, here.

* Singer and St. Louis native Alicia Olatuja will be one of four featured performers for the "Jazz's Rising Star virtual White Plains Jazzfest" at 8:00 p.m. EDT tonight. Olatuja, fellow vocalist Veronica Swift, and pianists Connie Han and Matthew Whitaker each will present short live sets, and then take part in a moderated discussion. You can preregister to view the event via Zoom here, or watch on Facebook.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has announced that he'll be teaching online master classes in November, sharing techniques and tips and taking questions from a group of 10 to 12 students for a couple of hours on four consecutive Sunday afternoons. Signup details are TBA via Sanborn's website and Facebook page.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake and his son, drummer Gene Lake, this week posted to YouTube a new, recorded-at-home duo performance called "One Afternoon."

* Multi-instrumentalist "Baba" Mike Nelson's use of music to comfort his elderly mother, who's been fighting the coronavirus while also suffering from Alzheimer's disease, is the subject of a feature story from the St. Louis American's Sylvester Brown, Jr..

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Tom "Papa" Ray, proprietor of Vintage Vinyl and presenter of the "Soul Selector" program airing Monday afternoons on KDHX (88.1 FM), is hosting a new program on local PBS affiliate Nine Network.

According to a report from the Riverfront Times' Daniel Hill, Papa Ray's Vintage Vinyl Roadshow is "envisioned as a documentary focused on the independent record store as a cultural entity." The show's pilot episode will air on the Nine Network a total of three times starting Thursday, September 3, with the possibility of becoming an ongoing series "if all goes well with the premiere."

* David Sanborn has a new release of old music, a 3-CD set (pictured) titled Anything You Want – The Warner, Reprise, Elektra Years 1975-1999, that compiles favorite material from early in the saxophonist's career.

* From the latest issue of trumpeter Nate Wooley's Sound American magazine, writer Chris Pitsiokos offers "Four Thoughts About Miles Davis's On the Corner."

* Also on the Miles Davis beat, writer Richard Williams of The Blue Moment reviews The Gil Evans Project's recent rerecording of music that Evans arranged for Davis' Sketches of Spain.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: "Sanborn Sessions" season one

St. Louis' own David Sanborn turned 75 this past Thursday, July 31, and to celebrate the six-time Grammy Award winning saxophonist's birthday, today StLJN offers an in-depth look at one of his latest projects, the six episodes making up the first season of "Sanborn Sessions."

The web video series, which debuted earlier this year, features Sanborn performing and conversing with musicians from a variety of genres. If that premise sounds a bit like Night Music (aka Sunday Night), the NBC program that Sanborn hosted for a couple of years at the turn of the 90s, it's no coincidence.

While Night Music has never been released in any home video format due to a variety of performance rights and music clearance issues, Sanborn cites the program as one of the inspirations for "Sanborn Sessions," though the latter is necessarily a much smaller-budget affair, since it's produced without the resources of a major broadcast network.

Resembling "Live from Daryl's House" more than Saturday Night Live, "Sanborn Sessions" brings the various guest artists into Sanborn's home studio to perform with him and the house band, which includes Ben Williams on bass, Billy Kilson on drums, Andy Ezrin on keyboards, Jon Herington on guitar, and Alice Soyer (who's also married to Sanborn) on vocals.

The episodes are presented here in the order in which they were released, starting up above with episode one, which features singer and keyboardist Kandace Springs with Sanborn and the band.

After the jump, you can see the St. Louis-centric second episode, with singers Michael McDonald and Brian Owens.

Episode three is next, featuring singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke and guitarist Charlie Hunter, followed by episode four with multi-instrumentalist and producer Terrace Martin

The fifth episode features vocalist Cyrille Aimée, while the sixth and final program of the season reunites Sanborn with his longtime friend and collaborator, keyboardist Bob James

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Bassist Jahmal Nichols (pictured) was interviewed by NoTreble.com.

* Drummer Dave Weckl and his wife, vocalist Clivia Tanisi, were featured on the latest episode of Jazziz magazine's "Last Call" web series.

* Guitarist Brian Vaccaro was the guest on the most recent episode of Shock City School of Music's "Coffee Conversations" podcast.

* Saxophonist Greg Osby shared his perspective on critics and readers polls and the ranking of  musicians in a recent blog post.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has released the sixth and final season one episode of his web series "Sanborn Sessions," with pianist Bob James as the featured guest star.

* Bassist and singer Janet Evra was interviewed on the latest episode of St. Louis magazine's "SLM Live" webcast.

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, nearly 20 local performing arts organizations including Jazz St. Louis and The Sheldon, and HEC TV are teaming up for "Arts United STL," a virtual benefit to support the RAC Artist Relief Fund that will take place starting at 7:00 p.m. this coming Sunday, May 31.

The free online event aims to raise more than $250,000 through sponsorships and 1,000 individual donations to provide emergency aid to St. Louis working artists whose livelihoods have been critically interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. You can watch on HEC-TV (see your TV provider's channel guide for info) or online at https://www.opera-stl.org/explore-and-learn/for-everyone/arts-united-stl.

* Drummer and East St. Louis native Terreón "Tank" Gully is featured in the latest episode of the online video series "Just Jazz Cafe."

* The latest episode of saxophonist David Sanborn's web series "Sanborn Sessions," featuring vocalist Cyrille Aimée, is online and available for viewing now.

* Trumpeter Jim Manley was the featured guest on last week's episode of the Shock City School of Music podcast "Coffee Conversations."

* The early Sixties transitional period between trumpeter Miles Davis' two "great quintets" was the topic of "Miles Between: Miles Davis 1961-1963," this week's episode of Indiana public radio station WFIU's "Night Lights" program.

* In honor of the 94th anniversary of Davis' birth, SiriusXM's "Real Jazz" channel last week aired "A Miles Davis Birthday Celebration" featuring three hours of the trumpeter's music.

Edited after posting to fix a typo.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has released the fourth episode of his web series "Sanborn Sessions," with saxophonist and keyboard player Terrace Martin as the featured guest.

You can see Sanborn and Martin (pictured) in this latest episode via the embed at the bottom of this post, or visit the "Sanborn Sessions" YouTube page to catch the entire series to date.

* Pianist Peter Martin and multi-instrumentalist and singer Tonina Saputo were among the performers interviewed for a St. Louis Public Radio story about how local musicians are coping with the COVID-19 shutdown.

* And speaking of Peter Martin, the pianist took questions from fans, friends, music students, and miscellaneous onlookers in a Reddit-style "Ask Me Anything" video recorded this past Tuesday.

* Drummer Dave Weckl now is offering private drum lessons for a limited number of students online via Zoom.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A David Sanborn retrospective

With no upcoming live shows to preview during the ongoing big shutdown, the last two installments of this weekly feature have spotlighted two of St. Louis' most famous jazz musicians, trumpeters Clark Terry and Miles Davis.

This week, we're going for a trifecta of sorts, with a collection of clips looking back at various phases in the storied career of another local favorite, alto saxophonist David Sanborn.

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.

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 latest wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest:

* Miles Davis' landmark 1970 album Bitches Brew "sounded like the future," according to an article in The Guardian about the recording's 50th anniversary.

* If you missed Tuesday's broadcast premiere of the documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool this week on PBS' American Masters, or want to watch it again, the entire film can be seen for the next 30 days streaming from the PBS website. In addition, the film's director Stanley Nelson and Davis' nephew Vince Wilburn also are featured on the latest episode of the American Masters podcast.

* In a related story, the various periods of Davis' musical career were examined, compared and contrasted by the DJs at WBGO radio.

* Singer Katie Karel's show last week at Blue Strawberry was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi for his blog Stage Left.

* Saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie and trumpeter Tim Osiek of the Oikos Ensemble have released Volume 7 in their "Worship Jazz" series of small-group arrangements.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn was the subject of a feature story in the San Jose Mercury News.

* Jazz St. Louis has published on their website a Q&A with pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson.

* Also from Jazz St. Louis (via St. Louis magazine) comes word that Joanna Serenko, a former student in the organization's JazzU program, is a contestant on the current season of the NBC program The Voice,

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist David Sanborn (pictured) has released the third episode of his new online video series "Sanborn Sessions." It features Sanborn with singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke and guitarist Charlie Hunter, accompanied by drummer Billy Kilson and bassist Ben Williams, and can be seen in the embed window at the bottom of this post.

* The Sheldon has posted to Facebook an album of photos from last Saturday's concert by pianist Christian Sands.

* Wednesday night's "Bitches Brew at 50" program at Jazz St. Louis was the subject of a feature story from St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin.

* Also from St. Louis Public Radio, singer and keyboardist Katarra Parson was profiled by reporter Chad Davis. Parson also can be heard on Thursday's episode of the station's "The Gateway" podcast.

* The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and guest saxophone soloist Timothy McAllister next month will present the U.S. premiere of "A Kind of Trane," a new concerto by French composer Guillaume Connesson that was inspired by John Coltrane.

* Speaking of premieres, the biographical documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is set to be broadcast for the first time on Tuesday, February 25 as part of the PBS series American Masters.

* The Circus Harmony band, which accompanies performances by circus pros and students at the City Museum and is directed by Webster University professor Jeffrey Carter, was the subject of a feature story in Webster's campus paper The Journal.

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:

* Broadcaster, author and photographer Dennis Owsley will end his long-running St. Louis Public Radio program "Jazz Unlimited" with a final broadcast on Sunday, December 29.

Owsley, who moved with his wife to Arizona this fall to be closer to his grandchildren, had been sending in pre-recorded shows from there.  He said the decision to sign off after 36 years of broadcasting was entirely his own, with no pressure from station management. With the notable exception of the St. Louis Symphony's live broadcasts, "Jazz Unlimited" is one of the last music programs on the St. Louis Public Radio schedule, which increasingly has emphasized news and talk since the mid-2000s.) 

The author of two books on the history of jazz in St. Louis, Owsley (pictured) has won honors including several Riverfront Times "Best of St. Louis" awards for best jazz radio program and a "Jazz Hero" award in 2016 from the Jazz Journalists Association. The Post-Dispatch's Joe Holleman has more here.

* Drummer Nate Smith recently did a brief Q&A that was published on the Jazz St. Louis website. Smith and his band KINFOLK will perform through Sunday night at the Bistro.

* Smith also has recorded a solo performance for an episode of Gaslight Studios' web series "Gaslight Sessions," which was released online Monday.

* The Grand Center district in midtown will be the site of a new concert venue with a capacity of 1,200 that's scheduled to open in 2021. The club, to be called The Sovereign, will book national touring acts, local and regional bands in a variety of genres, as well as corporate events, private parties and weddings.

The venture is the product of a team-up between Tim Weber, managing partner of Old Rock House and former general manager and talent buyer at Mississippi Nights, and Steve Smith, the CEO of Lawrence Group, an architectural and development firm involved in a number of real estate projects in the neighborhood. The P-D's Kevin Johnson has more, including some quotes from Weber, here.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has posted to Facebook an album of photos from his recent shows at the Blue Note Tokyo.