East St. Louis HS bands to perform two benefit shows in May at The Sheldon

The East St. Louis High School band will bring back one of its most well-known recent alumni, trumpeter Russell Gunn, as a special guest for the second of two benefit performances next month at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The first concert will feature the jazz combos from East St. Louis High School playing at 7:00 p.m., Monday, May 7 at the Sheldon. The second concert, at 7:00 p.m. on Monday May 14, will feature Gunn (pictured) along with the school's big band.

Gunn established himself on the national jazz scene in the mid-1990s, playing on Wynton Marsalis' Blood on the Fields and working with Branford Marsalis' Buckshot La Fonque, as well as backing Jimmy Heath, James Moody, R&B hitmaker Maxwell, and others. He has released 14 albums as a leader, the most recent being 2008's Love Stories.

The East St. Louis High School band is considered one of the top student jazz ensembles in the St. Louis area and, indeed, the nation, traveling in 2010 to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and making it to the finals of the national Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition in 2011. This year, they won first place in the Eastern Illinois University Jazz Band festival and competition.

Proceeds from both concerts will go to the East St. Louis Senior High Music Scholarship Foundation, which helps send students from the program to summer music camps that in turn help them compete for college scholarships.

Ticket for each concert are $15 for adults, $5 for students, or adults can purchase tickets for both shows for a combined price of $25. Tickets are on sale now via Metrotix; at the main office at East St. Louis HS, or from any member of the band.

(Edited after posting to fix a typo.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Local cable network HEC-TV's program I Love Jazz, hosted by Don Wolff, has been nominated for two Emmy Awards by the Mid-America chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts And Sciences.

One nomination is for the complete episode that originally aired in December 2010, which you can see online here, along with most of the other episodes of I Love Jazz produced to date. The other is for an educational segment featuring trumpeter Adam Hucke and Jazz St. Louis education director Phil Dunlap, and you can see that here.

Overall, HEC-TV received a total of 24 Emmy nominations, including "Station of Excellence." Along with Wolff, the team producing I Love Jazz includes John Baker, Madeline Dames, Julie Winkle and Christopher Martinez. This year's local Emmy winners will be named at a ceremony on October 22 at the Renaissance Grand Hotel.

* Speaking of awards, pianist Peter Martin (pictured) will be one of six recipients of the 2012 St. Louis Arts Awards, which will be presented by the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis at a gala event on January 23 at the Chase Park Plaza hotel. Martin will be honored for Excellence in the Arts. His next local performance will be on Friday, September 23 in a duo concert with pianist David Torkanowsky at the Sheldon.

* The Post-Dispatch had a nice feature by Amy Betrand on Sunday about the family of saxophonist Carlos Brown Jr., who plays with the East St. Louis High Sschool jazz band and the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars.

* The St. Charles Municipal Big Band recently was the subject of a feature story published by the St. Charles edition of Patch.com.

(Edited after posting to fix a typo.)

Miles Davis Festival regroups with sessions at BB's on August 29, September 11

A group of student musicians from East St. Louis High School will team up with three seasoned pros from the St. Louis jazz scene to pay tribute to Miles Davis at two performances taking place at 7:00 p.m. Monday, August 29 and 7:00 p.m. Sunday, September 11 at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

The "Miles To Go" ensemble assembled by ESL HS band director Delano Redmond includes trumpeter Brady Lewis; saxophonists Carlos Brown Jr., and Garrell Lewis; trombonist Javier Staples; bassist Marvin Cooper; and drummers Everette Benton and Kayla Coates. They'll be joined for the two performances at BB's by three veteran professional musicians - trumpeter Anthony Wiggins (pictured) and pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson, both alumni of East St. Louis' Lincoln High School, and saxophonist Willie Akins.

Both events are being presented under the banner of the Miles Davis Festival, which at a news conference in May at BB's announced an ambitious schedule of events for this summer and fall in St. Louis to coincide with the 85th anniversary of Davis' birth. The festival as originally proposed was to have included a series of performances by up-and-coming musicians at the Metropolitan Gallery under the auspices of the Nu-Art Series; an outdoor concert at a golf course in Illinois; a concert and art exhibit at the Sheldon Concert Hall and Galleries; and a giveaway of a deluxe CD box set collecting all of Davis' recordings for the Columbia label.

As it turns out, none of those events will happen, which festival organizer Deborah Granger, an East St. Louis native who now lives in Los Angeles, attributes to a lack of sponsors willing to underwrite the festival. Although the late trumpeter's estate and Sony/Legacy both ostensibly gave their blessings to the concept, financial support was supposed to have come from local businesses, foundations and other funders in the St. Louis area. With only a couple of months to fundraise in an economy still suffering from recession, Granger said she was unable to secure that support, which in turn has cast doubt on future plans. "We did want to launch an annual event, but that right now is up in the air," said Granger. "I'm wondering if St. Louis wants a Miles Davis Festival. "

(Edited after posting.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* PBS' Newshour ran a story this week about Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington competition that included brief appearances by East St. Louis High School's Carlos Brown, Jr. and ESLHS jazz band director Delano Redman. See it online here.

* And while we're on the subject of East St. Louis, the Belleville News-Democrat has coverage of last week's Miles Davis birthday celebration at ESL City Hall.

* With everything else going on this week, there hasn't been time until now to tell you about the first Float Yr Face festival of experimental music being held this weekend at Floating Laboratories on the south side. (It also didn't help that organizers somehow neglected to send any info on the event our way.) Fortunately, the Riverfront Times' Diana Benanti has the scoop and a schedule of events here.

* St. Louis native and jazz trumpet legend Clark Terry (pictured) has finally penned his autobiography, which will be released October 1. Amazon currently is offering a substantial discount on pre-orders placed now, selling the book at $23.07 when it eventually will list for $34.95.

Titled simply Clark: The Autobiography of Clark Terry, it tells the story of Terry's life and his long and storied career, which, among many accomplishments, has included work with both Duke Ellington and Count Basie as well as helping to break the network TV color barrier when he joined the band of NBC's Tonight Show in 1960. The book also includes a preface from Quincy Jones and a forward from Bill Cosby, as well as jacket blurbs written by famous names ranging from Dave Brubeck to Snoop Dogg.

(If you place your pre-order using this link, you'll not only get the discount, but a few pennies from the purchase will accrue to yr. humble StLJN editor; I promise the funds will be used for the purchase of blogging essentials such as tacos, caffeinated beverages, and bandwidth.)

(Edited 6/4/11 to fix a garbled sentence.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Mae "Lady Jazz" Wheeler's doctors sent her home from the hospital last week, saying that further medical treatment of her colon cancer and leukemia was unlikely to be effective. Freelance music journalist Terry Perkins visited Wheeler at her home, where she's spending time with family and friends, and wrote about her life and musical legacy in this feature story for the St. Louis Beacon.

* Dennis Owsley's latest blog entry for St. Louis magazine looks at two myths about St. Louis jazz that were dispelled by the research for his book City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis 1895-1973.

* The Belleville News-Democrat's Carolyn R. Smith talked with band members and parents for a feature about the East St. Louis High School Jazz Band's recent trip to NYC for the Essentially Ellington festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

* And speaking of East St. Louis High School, the St. Louis American's Rebecca S. Rivas has written a feature story about drummer Bryan Carter, an ESL HS alumnus who's also the son of its former band director, saxophonist Ronald Carter (who's now at Northern Illinois University). The younger Carter, now studying at the Juilliard School in NYC, has just released his first CD, Enchantment.

* Illustrator and music historian Kevin Belford has written an interesting blog post about the Palladium Building (pictured) on Enright just west of Grand. Once the home of the Club Plantation, site of many significant jazz and blues performances, the building is now in rough shape and up for sale.

Photo by Kevin Belford/Devil at the Confluence.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The East St. Louis High School jazz band (pictured) traveled to New York City last week to take part in the Essentially Ellington festival presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center. Although they were not selected for the final concert, several band members won individual awards, including Terreon Pete, Honorable Mention, Piano; Brady Lewis, Outstanding Trumpet; and Carlos Brown Jr., Outstanding Alto Saxophone. Jazz St. Louis has a recap of the trip (along with a fundraising pitch for their education programs that support music at ESLHS and other area schools) here.

* Radio station WSIE (88.7 FM), the only St. Louis area radio station with an all-jazz format, is now streaming their programming online. This represents a significant advance for WSIE, which has an over-the-air signal that's difficult to receive in many parts of the St. Louis metro area.

The station previously had eschewed streaming online because much of its schedule was made up of syndicated fare for which streaming rights were unavailable. But as of this month, much of WSIE's schedule is now given over to JazzWorks, a programming service based at Duquesne University's station WDUQ in Pittsburgh that lets participating stations customize jazz broadcasts for local use.

In addition to the JazzWorks programming, WSIE is slotting in student-produced shows on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, and running the NPR jazz programs Piano Jazz With Marian McPartland, Jazzset With Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Jazz At Lincoln Center With Wynton Marsalis as a block on Sunday mornings.

Yr. humble StLJN editor has tested the stream, and though I haven't listened for long enough to get a sense of just how local the JazzWorks broadcasts will be, or what the overall mix of music is like, it worked well from a technical standpoint. You can check out the stream at the link above, or from the front page of the WSIE website.

* Pianist Peter Martin was interviewed about the jazz scene in Japan for the latest issue of Belle Lettres, a magazine published by the Center for the Humanities at Washington University. You can read it online in .pdf format here.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band spent last weekend recording tracks for a new CD, and they've posted a video online offering a glimpse inside the sessions.

* Jazz St. Louis is looking to hire a Guest Relations Assistant to greet and seat guests at Jazz at the Bistro, among other duties. If you're interested, call Bob Bennett at 314-289-4032 or email him at bob @ jazzstl.org for more detailed information.

* The Riverfront Times has revealed the list of participating bands for the 2011 RFT Music Showcase on Saturday, June 4.

Photo courtesy of Jazz St. Louis.

Jazz this week: Rudi Mwongozi, Denise Thimes with Llew Matthews, Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, and more

The jazz and creative and music scene in St. Louis usually is in transition this time of year, as the presenting season for many local not-for-profit organizations is winding down and the various summer tours, concert series and other seasonal activities have yet to get underway. Still, there are some noteworthy sounds happening around town this week, so let's go to the highlights.

As graduation time approaches, the musical offerings this week at Jazz at the Bistro are all about youth. On Thursday, the East St. Louis High School Jazz Band will perform with special guests Mardra and Reggie Thomas in what's being billed as a send-off for the band's upcoming trip to NYC for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition and festival.

Then on Friday and Saturday, the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, a group of high school musicians drawn from Jazz St. Louis' educational programs, will take the stage for their annual gig at the Bistro. Although the group's lineup changes from year to year as the players graduate and new ones join, when I've heard them over the years I've always been impressed with the All-Stars' overall level of musicianship and poise. If you're the sort who enjoys checking out the potential "stars of tomorrow," you're likely to enjoy them.

Also on Friday night, saxophonist Willie Akins will play at Robbie's House of Jazz, and guitarist Tom Byrne's trio is performing at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

On Saturday afternoon, keyboard player Rudi Mwongozi (pictured, above left) will perform in a concert presented by the Nu-Art Series at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown. Mwongozi, who's from Oakland and leads a jazz/R&B/reggae group called SONWA (Sound Of New World Afrikah), will play the music of Duke Ellington with drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw, bassist Claude Montgomery, alto saxophonist Kendrick Smith, and the Nu-Art Series' own George Sams on trumpet.

On Sunday afternoon, singer Denise Thimes will present her 15th annual Mothers Day show at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Thimes customarily features a guest star or two on this show each year, and this time, it's pianist Llew Matthews (pictured at left), who's served as musical director for singer Nancy Wilson and recorded with well-known jazz musicians such as Kenny Burrell, Buddy Collette, Hubert Laws and Kevin Eubanks. For those looking to make an afternoon of it, a optional dinner buffet is also available before the concert; see the Sheldon's website for details.

Also on Sunday, BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups has a double bill of interest to jazz fans, with the funk/R&B/jazz group Good 4 The Soul performing in the early evening and the Tom Byrne Trio taking the late shift.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday BB's has the Sessions Big Band; and on Tuesday morning, the Sheldon Jazz Quintet, with Mardra and Reggie Thomas and guitarist Rick Haydon, will play a Coffee Concert at the Sheldon. (As usual for the Coffee Concerts series, the same program will be repeated on Wednesday. )

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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.)

East St. Louis High School Jazz Band to play Thursday, May 5 at Jazz at the Bistro

The East St. Louis High School Jazz Band (pictured) is preparing to head to New York later this month as one of only 15 high school jazz ensembles from across the USA taking part in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition and festival.

The Essentially Ellington events will be held May 12-14 in New York City, but before they go, the ESL band will tune up in a performance with special guests Mardra and Reggie Thomas at 8:30 p.m. this Thursday, May 5 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Proceeds from the gig will go to Jazz St. Louis' Adopt-A-School program, which supports music instruction at East St. Louis HS and other area schools. (Expenses for the band's trip to NYC already have been covered through a separate fundraising effort.) Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and can be purchased via Metrotix or by calling the Jazz St. Louis offices at 314-289-4030.

East St. Louis HS jazz band named one of 15 finalists in Essentially Ellington competition

The jazz band from East St. Louis High School (pictured) is one of 15 ensembles from across the United States to be accepted as finalists for Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2011 Essentially Ellington jazz band competition. (Link goes to .pdf file.)

The ESL HS band is directed by Delano Redmond, and was selected from among 110 bands that entered this year's competition. The 15 finalists will go to New York City May 12 through May 14 to compete and participate in workshops, jam sessions, and more, with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra serving as clinicians.

The three top-placing bands will perform at Avery Fisher Hall with Wynton Marsalis, JALC's artistic director, as guest soloist, followed by a performance by the 15-piece JaLCO and an awards ceremony honoring outstanding soloists, sections and the top three bands. This is the 16th year for the Essentially Ellington program, which also includes regional festivals, teaching resources, a summer academy for band directors Academy, monthly newsletters, and more.