So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Jim Widner may have retired last year as director of jazz studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, but the veteran bassist and educator is continuing his long-running business of running summer jazz camps, setting up this year at St. Charles Community College. Widner's summer 2021 camp will run June 13-17 and is open to high school, middle school and college students as well as adults who "want to hone their skills in the art of jazz."

Instructors will include trumpeter Bijon Watson (Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra), trombonist Scott Whitfield (Bill Holman and Bob Florence Big Bands), and saxophonists Chip McNeill (Doc Severinsen, Maynard Ferguson) and Mary Fettig (Stan Kenton Orchestra), plus local musician/educators such as Rick Haydon, Kevin Gianino, Brett Stamps, Jim Martin, and Ken Kehner. For more information, visit www.stchas.edu/yatp.

* Drummer Dave Weckl's new album Live In St Louis at the Chesterfield Jazz Festival was featured on the April 13 episode of the "Bitches Brew" podcast.

* Dozens of St. Louis musicians have teamed up to release a new compilation album (pictured) paying tribute to poet, promoter and former KDHX DJ Brett Underwood for his work promoting adventurous music in St. Louis as a collaborator, on his radio program "The No Show," and as a presenter of live performances, most recently at the Schlafly Tap Room downtown.

Produced by electronic musician Eric Hall, Horsey Can’t Swim - A Love Letter To Brett Underwood includes 43 tracks encompassing free improv, alt-rock, noise, experimental music, and more. Contributors to the the project include Jaap Blonk & Damon Smith, Syna So Pro, Ghost Ice, Raglani, Michael Williams, NNN Cook, Alex Cunningham, caveofswords, Tory Starbuck, and a number of others.

All the proceeds from the recording's pay-what-you-want sales on Bandcamp will go to Underwood, whose hours as a bartender and show booker at the Tap Room were cut back drastically when the COVID pandemic began.

* And speaking of the COVID pandemic, the efforts of the group "Keep Live Alive Saint Louis" to support local workers in the entertainment industry over the past year were spotlighted in a feature by Andrea Smith of Ladue News

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer and St. Louis native Alicia Olatuja (pictured) has signed a contract with Resilience Records, which will release her next album Intuition - Songs from the Minds of Women on February 1, 2019.

* Trumpeter Chris Botti, who performs with the St. Louis Symphony tonight at Powell Hall, was interviewed by Kevin Johnson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

* "1968: Let The Sunshine In," the new cabaret show by St. Louis native John McDaniel and Barb Jungr, is the subject of a brief feature on BroadwayWorld.com. The show plays this Saturday (October 27) at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

* The concert by pianist and singer Jon Batiste last Saturday at The Sheldon was reviewed by Daniel Durchholz for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

* Also for the Post-Dispatch, Durchholz interviewed singer, songwriter and pianist Jimmy Webb, who's performing in sold-out shows on Sunday and Monday for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival.  

* The Baylor Project, led by drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and his wife, singer Jean Baylor, was the subject of a brief feature in the Pittsburgh Current.

* Electronic musician Eric Hall has posted to Bandcamp an album of live recordings made during various tour dates this fall in Chicago, Louisville, Indianapolis, and elsewhere.

* Singer and pianist Billy Stritch will headline a fund-raising event for The Cabaret Project of St. Louis on Friday, December 7 at the St. Louis Club in Clayton.

* The results of this year's DownBeat Readers Poll are out, and there's a winner with a St. Louis connection, as Miles Davis & John Coltrane, The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 got the most votes in the "Historical Album" category.

* Saxquest will present their 2018 Woodwind Musical Instrument Expo from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 17 at the Donald D Shook Fine Arts Building on the campus of St. Charles Community College.

Participating manufacturers will include Buffet-Crampon, Selmer, Yamaha, Yanagisawa, Keilwerth, P. Mauriat, Eastman, Haynes, Powell, Muramatsu, Fox, Loree, BG, D'Addario and Vandoren, and attendees at the free event can pre-register to get access to a private sound room and more.

* The 2018 St. Louis International Film Festival, which will take place Thursday, November 1 through Sunday, November 11 at various venues around town, will include a couple of documentaries that may be of particular interest to StLJN readers.

The Jazz Ambassadors, which premiered earlier this year on PBS, will be shown at 4:00 p.m. Saturday, November 4 at Brown Hall on the Washington University campus. It tells the story of how American jazz musicians including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie toured the world during the Cold War on behalf of the US Government, examining the contradictions they faced in promoting the ideal of equality abroad while enduring segregation at home.

Also of interest, Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes will be screened at 6:00 p.m. Sunday, November 11 at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus, followed immediately by a performance by pianist Adam Maness' trio. The film "explores the vision behind the iconic American jazz label...through current recording sessions, rare archival footage, and conversations with iconic Blue Note artists."

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Jeanne Trevor (pictured) and pianist Dave Venn's gig Saturday night at Jazz at the Bistro was touted by St. Louis Post-Dispatch/STLtoday.com columnist Joe Holleman.

* Elsewhere in the P-D, theater critic Judith Newmark reviewed Max and Louie Productions' staging of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, which continues through Saturday, March 4 at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

* DK Annex, the business incubator and event space recently opened by drummer James Jackson and his wife Kristy, was spotlighted this week in the St. Louis American.

* The latest episode of pianist Peter Martin's podcast "The Process" features a chat with saxophonist Branford Marsalis and singer Kurt Elling.

* Also on the podcast front, drummer Dave Weckl is interviewed on a recent episode of DrumTalk.

* Electronic musician Eric Hall has released a new recording featuring guest musicians from the new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, with proceeds benefiting the American Civil Liberties Union.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Keep On Keepin' On, the new documentary about trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry that's playing for the next week at the Tivoli Theater, was reviewed for the Post-Dispatch by Calvin Wilson. (To find out how to get free tickets to selected screenings of the film tonight, tomorrow and Sunday, read this post.)

* Also here this weekend, Brazilian big band SpokFrevo Orquestra wraps up their US tour with a performance on Sunday night at The Sheldon. You can read a review of their shows last week at NYC's Lincoln Center here, courtesy of AllAboutJazz.com's Nick Catalano.

* And via Nate Chinen of the New York Times, here's a review of saxophonist Joshua Redman's just-completed gig at NYC's Village Vanguard. Redman's trio will open a four-night stand this coming Wednesday at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Speaking of the Bistro, while he was here last week to play at the club, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli also visited KWMU's program "CityScape" for an interview and brief performance.

* And in a semi-related bit of news, Jazz St. Louis announced this week that the Bistro will begin serving a weekly jazz brunch, complete with live music, from 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. Sundays starting November 16. Singer-guitarist Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing will provide the sounds for the first three weeks, with pianist and Jazz St. Louis education director Phil Dunlap's trio taking over for the month of December. You can see the menu devised by Catering St. Louis and more details here.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake has posted on SoundCloud a preview track, "6 & 3," from the new release by his Organ Quartet.

* And speaking of new albums, the Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured) have posted on Facebook a video "teaser" for their next recording, scheduled for release in November.

* Electronic musician Eric Hall has posted on Bandcamp a recording of his recent performance at the Public Media Commons in Grand Center.

* Singer/pianist Steve Ross' show last weekend for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Down Beat magazine has announced the results of their 2014 Readers Poll, which include a win in the "Historical Album" category for Miles Davis' Miles At The Fillmore—Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3. You can see the complete results of the poll here.

* Meanwhile, Blue, the note-for-note remake of Davis' Kind of Blue by the band Mostly Other People Do The Killing, continues to incite controversy and commentary, the most recent examples being pianist George Colligan's blog post about the album and Ottawa Citizen jazz writer Peter Hum's list of "50 Records To Listen To Before Checking Out That Kind Of Blue Remake."

* Following a meeting between the St. Louis Police Department and representatives of downtown music venues, police say they have "strong leads" for finding the group of thieves who have been robbing the vehicles of touring bands. Read more on the story from the Riverfront Times and KWMU/St. Louis Public Radio.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,” DJ Calvin Wilson will delve into compositions associated with Miles Davis that have become jazz standards, as performed by Davis, Donald Harrison, Don Byron, and others. 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. 

On Sunday, this week's guest on WSIE's "Jazz Talk" will be singer Tony Viviano.The program airs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on 88.7 FM, and also can be heard online.

Then Sunday night on St. Louis Public Radio's "Jazz Unlimited," host Dennis Owsley will feature the music of Chick Corea. Listen in from 9:00 p.m. to midnight over the air at 90.7 FM or online.

Noisefest celebrates 10th anniversary

Experimental music fans from St. Louis and throughout the Midwest will be heading this weekend to Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, as LNAC celebrates the 10th anniversary of Noisefest starting on Friday, November 1 and continuing through Sunday, November 3.

"This year we will expand the focus of the Festival to include workshops on electronics and the aesthetics and social impact of noise," said LNAC's Tom Hill in an email. "We also for the first time are including video artists whose work exemplify an experimental orientation and skill."

Billed as "the premiere Midwest experimental electronic noise Festival," Noisefest X kicks off with a concert at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 1 at the LNAC, 3301 Lemp. Another concert will take place at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, November 2, followed by a presentation of video art at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, November 3; and the final concert at 7:00 p.m. Sunday evening.

Admission is $7 per concert; weekend passes also are available for $20 at LNAC and Apop Records.

The annual "noise meeting," a free event, will take place at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, also at LNAC.

The full list of performers for the weekend includes Dear Satan, Nightgrinder, Within, Tony Renner, Noiseman433, Charlie, Sigulda, John Beabout, Eric Hall, Dan Wamhoff, Coppice, Mykel Boyd, Instinct Control, Peter Woods, Dave Stone, Kingston, Family Singers, John Tamm-Buckle, Jason Zeh (pictured), Of Course You Realize..., Rick Weaver, Chad Eivens, Kevin Harris, Brain Transplant, Josh Oberman, Clusterfuck, Ghost Ice, The Fluff of Murder, Lonely Procession, epicycle, Greg Farough, NNN Cook, and Matt Reis.

Noisefest organizers also have release a short promotional video for the event, which you can see and hear in all its static- and glitch-filled glory in the embedded window below...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Cornetist and composer Taylor Ho Bynum had a few words with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson for a concert preview story now published online. Bynum also answered a few questions about his music during another interview that's now posted on New Music Circle's website. NMC will present Bynum and his sextet in a performance tomorrow night at the Luminary Center for the Arts.

* Nevermore Jazz Ball has added another public event to this weekend's menu of happenings: a happy hour meet-and-greet with some of the festival's dance instructors, dancers, and musicians, held today at Rue Lafayette.

* Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra's recent visit to St. Louis included some time mentoring and performing with students from the East St. Louis High School jazz band in a concert at Washington University's 560 Music Center. Wash U's news service has a short article about the visit, along with a YouTube video, here.

* Electronic musician and composer Eric Hall has posted online his set from last weekend's Noisefest at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.

* When he comes to town at the end of this month to play at Jazz at the Bistro, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli (pictured) also will plug his new book World on a String: A Musical Memoir on the airwaves of KMOX radio. Pizzarelli's tome is the November selection for the KMOX/Fontbonne University Book of the Month Club, and he'll visit in person with the station's Charlie Brennan and listeners at an event at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 27 at the Heagney Theatre on the campus of Nerinx Hall, 530 East Lockwood in Webster Groves. There's no charge to attend, but reservations are required, and can be made by calling 314-444-1827. The interview also will be taped for airing on Brennan's program in December.

* The Metropolitan Artists Lofts in Grand Center will have a grand opening ceremony next Thursday, November 8. The building, just a short walk from Jazz at the Bistro, the Sheldon Concert Hall, Powell Symphony Hall and other venues in the district, has 72 units specifically designed as affordable housing for artists and musicians.

* Down Beat magazine has published their list of 2012 Reader's Poll winners, and as it turns out, a substantial number of them have played in St. Louis during the last couple of years. However, the only local actually to win an award this year was the late Miles Davis, who copped the "Historical Album" trophy for Miles Davis Quintet, Live In Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1 (Columbia/Legacy). See the complete results of the poll here.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A look at outside St. Louis

It's been too hot here for the last week and a half in St. Louis to spend much time outside physically, so today we've got some videos for you that go outside in a musical sense. This sampling of live performance clips from area musicians whose work might be called experimental, free-form, or avant garde includes:

* Electronic musician Eric Hall, seen up above in a solo set recorded at Washington University's Steinberg Auditorium in December 2010;

* Flute player and composer Fred Tompkins and keyboardist/composer Jim Hegarty, seen in the first clip down below joining forces to perform Tompkins' piece "My Changes." The performance, recorded in January 2011 at the St. Charles Coffee House, starts with what Tompkins calls "certain points of reference - tonalities, a general idea of style and overall form" while leaving the exact note choices and length of each section open;

* An excerpt from one of the "Drum Line" concerts presented in 2011 by the Nu-Art Series, featuring drummers Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Gary Sykes, Jerome "Scrooge" Harris and Johnny Johnson;

* Part of an electronic music performance from Joe Raglani and Jeremy Kannapell, recorded last year at the music and art venue Floating Laboratories;

* An improvisation by percussionists Thomas Zirkle and Matt Henry, who sometimes perform together under the name HaZmaT;

* More improv from the Off-Topic Collective, a project that included Hegarty, bassist Willem von Hombracht, percussionist Henry Claude, and saxophonist Dave Stone. The clip was shot in February 2009 at the Kranzberg Arts Center;

* And finally, yet another live improv featuring Stone and friends (the clip is too dark to identify most of the players) recorded last August at El Leñador.

Obligatory disclaimer: Due to the nature of free improvisation, what you see in these clips may or may not resemble what any of these musicians may do on their next live gig. Also, the players seen here certainly aren't the only people in town doing this sort of thing. Think of this post as being merely a representative sample of some names to watch for...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The old Saum Hotel building in the Shaw neighborhood - once the site of performances by swing era bandleader Eddie Randle and the Blue Devils, who provided early professional experience for Miles Davis - is the subject of a post by the history blog Sherlock Homes STL.

* Baritone saxophonist Roger Lewis of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (pictured) was interviewed by the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson. The DDBB will perform tonight at the Old Rock House.

* The Sheldon Concert Hall and Metrotix over the holiday weekend are offering 50% off tickets to see "Miller Magic: The Music of Glenn Miller" featuring Bob Coleman's Legacy Big Band on Sunday, June 3 at the Sheldon. Regular prices are $35 and $30, but with the discount, purchasers only have to pay $17.50 and $15. To access the offer, go to this page on Metrotix.com before 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 28. No promo code is needed.

* One of Wednesday night's sets by bassist Stanley Clarke's trio at Jazz at the Bistro was reviewed by KDHX's Wil Wander. Clarke continues at the Bistro through tomorrow night.

* Speaking of Clarke, NPR's program Jazz Set has reposted online a recording of a live performance from the 2009 Monterey Jazz Festival featuring the bassist's trio with pianist Chick Corea and drummer Lenny White.

* Electronic musician Eric Hall has just put online a full-length audio recording from his performance on Wednesday night at Laumeier Sculpture Park with pianist Thollem McDonas and multi-instrumentalist Arrington de Dionyso. Download it for free from Hall's Bandcamp page here. You also can see video of the concert, divided into five segments, here.

* City Music & Education Center this summer will present a jazz ensemble camp for students in grades 7 through 12 from Monday, August 6 through Friday, August 10.. The instructor is keyboardist Pete Ruthenburg. Get details on this and the store's other summer camps - for songwriting, pop vocals, "Caribbean Kids," and one aimed at devotees of the music of Jimmy Buffett, aka "Parrotheads"- on their website.

* The St. Louis American's Chris King interviewed Oliver L Jackson, one of the visual artists who back in the day belonged to the Black Artists Group. Jackson has a solo show at the "project room" at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Ave., continuing through June 10.

Thollem McDonas to perform Wednesday, May 23 at Laumeier Sculpture Park

Pianist Thollem McDonas, a frequent visitor to St. Louis in recent years, is coming back again this spring to perform at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 23 at Laumeier Sculpture Park.

McDonas (pictured) will play an hour-long set outdoors at Laumeier with multi-instrumentalist Arrington de Dionyso and electronic musician Eric Hall as part of Hall's year-long gig as the park's composer-in-residence. The event is free and open to the public.

McDonas was last in St. Louis in January 2011 to play a concert presented by New Music Circle at the Kranzberg Arts Center. His website also says he has another show on Wednesday, May 23 at Floating Laboratories, performing with de Dionyso, Hall, Kevin Harris, and Spelling Bee, but so far there's no mention of it either on Floating Laboratories' site or their Facebook page.

McDonas played at Floating Laboratories in May 2010 when he was in town for a visit that also included an on-air performance at KDHX and a show at the Tap Room with the band Tsigoti. If/when the details of that second May 23 performance are announced, we'll have an update for you here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Radio host and jazz historian Dennis Owsley's latest blog post for St. Louis magazine looks at the career of little-known local jazz pioneer Jesse Johnson.

* Guitarist John Scofield (pictured), who's playing with his quartet next week at Jazz at the Bistro, was just interviewed by the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson.

* Trumpeter Clark Terry continues to recover in an Arkansas hospital; the good news in this week's blog entry from his wife Gwen is that Terry is being moved to the rehab unit, which is the next necessary step before he'd be able to go home.

* Speaking of St. Louis trumpet greats, the website The Revivalist celebrates its first anniversary with an interview with Erin Davis and Vincent Wilburn, the son and nephew, respectively, of Miles Davis, talking about the newly issued CD/DVD set Miles Davis Second Great Quintet Live in Europe 1967.

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Eric Person has just one month to go in his effort to fund his next recording project via Kickstarter. The proposed project, Thoughts On God, is a jazz chamber suite for an 11-piece ensemble. You can find out more about it and pledge your support here. As of today, Person has 68 backers who have pledged $2,656 toward the goal of $20,580.

* The Riverfront Times' Joseph Hess reports on electronic musician Eric Hall's upcoming November 12 performance at Laumeier Sculpture Park, and the announcement that Hall will do a year-long residency at the park in 2012.

* St. Louis' own Funky Butt Brass Band is mentioned, and FBBB guitarist Tim Halpin quoted, in an article by Zachary Young in New Orleans' Offbeat magazine about non-NOLA brass bands.

Riverfront Times announces 2011 Music Award nominees

The Riverfront Times today announced the nominees for the 2011 RFT Music Awards. This year's contenders for "Best Jazz Artist" are guitarist Dave Black, saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, pianist Peter Martin, singer Denise Thimes and pianist Reggie Thomas.

In addition, several jazz and creative musicians and groups also showed up as nominees in other categories. Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris is nominated in the "Best Soul/R&B (Solo Artist)" category, and both Good 4 the Soul and the Funky Butt Brass Band are nominated in "Best Jam/Funk Group." Also, electronic musicians Raglani and Eric Hall both earned nods in the "Best One-Person Project" category, and guitarist Teddy Presberg scored a nomination as "Best Solo Artist."

The 2011 nominees for "Best Blues Artist" include Big George Brock, Roland Johnson and the Voodoo Blues Band, the Ground Floor Band, Rough Grooves, and Rockin' Jake, who recently decamped back to his hometown of New Orleans.

Ballots will be available soon online and in upcoming print issues of the RFT, and nominees from all the various categories will perform during the annual RFT Music Showcase, which will be held Saturday, June 4 at various locations along Washington Ave. downtown.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Eric Person (pictured) and his band Meta-Four are wrapping up a ten-day tour of Belgium today, and you can see a webcast of his final performance there at 2:00 p.m. St. Louis time this afternoon, Friday, December 10. (That's 3:00 p.m. EST here in the USA, or 9:00 p.m. in Belgium.) The webcast will be available via UStream here.

* Speaking of webcasts, if you missed the performance last week at the Sheldon Concert Hall by Peter Martin, Romero Lubambo, Erin Bode and Chris Thomas, or just want to revisit favorite moments from the show, there's archived video of it online now, courtesy of St. Louisan Rod Milam's website The Global Loop. You can see a clip of the song "Agua De Beber" here, and the entire webcast of the concert here. Also, while you're watching and listening, you can follow along with the setlist, which Martin has posted on his website here.

* And speaking of reliving shows from last week, electronic musician Eric Hall has posted online the audio from his performance at last Saturday's New Music Circle Showcase at Steinberg Auditorium on the Wash U. campus.

* The Riverfront Times music blog A to Z has photos of Wednesday's Zappa Plays Zappa concert at The Pageant, shot by photographer Todd Owyoung and available for viewing here.

* Freelance music journalist Terry Perkins has an article in the St. Louis Beacon this week about Play It Forward, a new local not-for-profit organization that finds unused musical instruments and gets them into the hands of kids who need them. Get the whole story here.

* Want a job working in the business of jazz? Jazz St. Louis is seeking an Accounting and Administrative Manager and an Arts Management Intern. There's more information about the positions and how to apply here.

* The Sheldon Art Galleries have won a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the upcoming exhibition "Ralston Crawford and Jazz." The exhibit and accompanying catalogue will feature images of New Orleans and its musicians made by Crawford, a painter and photographer who first visited NO in 1949 and returned many times until his death in 1978. It will be shown from September 30, 2011 to January 7, 2012 in the Sheldon ’s Gallery of Jazz History and Gallery of Photography.

* The Friends of The Sheldon will present their 3rd Annual Trivia Night on Friday, February 4. The event is a fundraiser for The Sheldon's educational programs. Tickets are $25 per person or $200 per table, and include refreshments, prizes, and so on. For reservations or information, contact Lauren Wilhite at 314-533-9900, ext. 17 or email her at lwilhite@thesheldon.org.

* Radio station KWMU (90.7 FM) announced Thursday that it has received an anonymous $50,000 donation to establish a St. Louis Public Radio Classical Music Endowment Fund in support of the station’s classical music broadcasts. The St. Louis Business Journal has the story here.

* The We Always Swing jazz series down the road in Columbia, MO is producing a fund-raising telethon from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m this Saturday, December 11, featuring eight different mid-Missouri jazz groups. Performers will include The Beeson Bunch with trumpeter Allen Beeson, Lee World Drumming Ensemble, Lisa Rose Trio, MU Concert Jazz Quintet with Arthur White, Tom Andes-John Turner Duo, Norm Reubling Band, La Movida, and the John D’Agostino/Tony Lotven Group. The event can be seen in mid-Missouri on Mediacom Ch. 85, Charter Ch. 24 and CenturyLink Ch. 603, and simulcast on Mediacom Connections Ch. 22; and also will be streamed online at wealwaysswing.org/telethon and columbiaaccess.tv.

LNAC fundraiser on Sunday, May 10 to benefit music education program

Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center (LNAC) is hosting a special fundraising event next Sunday, May 10, to benefit a new music education program called "Orchestrating Diversity."

As the name implies, "A Chocolate and Champagne Evening" will feature refreshments such as champagne, gourmet coffee and chocolate desserts, as well as music, supplied by a chamber ensemble of musicians from the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; a combo supplied by Jazz St. Louis with Phil Dunlap (piano), Adam Hucke (trumpet), Andy Ament (saxophone) and Brian Owens (vocals); and electronic musician Eric Hall, who has performed many times at LNAC.

Proceeds from the event will benefit “Orchestrating Diversity,” a collaboration between LNAC and Washington University intended to "provide intensive high level instrumental music education for promising young musicians with financial need."

The event begins at 6:00 p.m., with music starting at 7:00 p.m.. Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center is located at 3301 Lemp Ave. (at Utah, three blocks south of the Arsenal exit from I-55).

Individual tickets are $35 and patron tickets are $60, with tables of six available for $210 and $360. You can purchase tickets in person at LNAC, by calling Mark Sarich at 314-773-6769, or via PayPal on the LNAC Web site here.

"BioSonar" audio now online

Eric Hall has posted on the Echolocation Recordings MySpace page some audio from the "BioSonar" event held at Mad Art Gallery on Sunday, November 18.

So, if you missed the event, or just want to relive a bit of the experience, you can go here for streams or downloads of full performances from Epicycle; Jeremy Brantlinger, Ajay Khanna, and Aaron Smith; and Eric Hall and Sharon Hall, as well as excerpts from the performances by Learn, Artist; Andrew Hefner and Jeremy Kannapell; and Joseph Potthoff.

Hall also says a 3-CD set compiling all the performances from "BioSonar" is in the works, but there are no details yet on a release date.

Mad Art Gallery to host "BioSonar" this Sunday, November 18

Echolocation Recordings, a new venture from musicians Eric Hall and Jeremy Brantlinger, has organized an event called "BioSonar" that will take place from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. this Sunday, November 18, at Mad Art Gallery.

Billed as both a festival and an "indoor picnic," the event will feature music and sound art from a variety of performers, including Hall and Brantlinger's group Peanuts, Ghost Ice, Mike Pitts, Y Toros, Andrew Hefner, Raglani, Ajay Khanna and Chris Smentkowski, Mark Sarich, Worm Hands, Dave Stone, Joseph Potthoff, Tony Renner, James Weber Jr., Catholic Guilt, and more to be announced.

As for the picnic, it's potluck; the event description encourages audience members to "bring a blanket or pillow to lay out on the floor as you enjoy the various approaches to non-traditional musics, food provided by the organizers and audience, video/film projections, books from local writers and publishers, and a mini-shop set up by Cherokee St.'s Apop Records (offering a hand picked selection of music to compliment the event). The cover will be $7, or totally free if you bring any dish that can serve 10 or more people."