StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Summerset brings smooth jazz to Forest Park

When smooth jazz faded as a radio format a few years back, the listeners of those station and the bands and musicians whose works were played on those stations didn't just disappear.

The ability to hear those artists play live, however, varies widely from city to city. Here in St. Louis, The Pageant used to present two or three shows a year featuring touring smooth jazz musicians, which more recently has tapered off to just an occasional production, as when multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson played the venue earlier this year. Similarly, the local casinos, which collectively used to add a few more shows to each year's total, these days for the most part seem to be eschewing smooth jazz concerts.

That's left recent local presentations of touring smooth jazz performers mostly to one-off events and festivals, like Summerset, a three-night event taking place Thursday, July 12 through Saturday, July 14 at the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park.

Though this may seem an unlikely venue at first take, this is the event's fourth year there and the dwindling amount of seating shown as "available" on the ticketing website suggests sales have been relatively brisk. So, we're taking this opportunity to share videos of some of the musicians who will be appearing while there may still be a chance to score some seats.

On Thursday, July 12, the performers will be saxophonist Paul Taylor (who headlined the Chesterfield Jazz Festival here back in 2013) and saxophonist Pamela Williams.

You can see Taylor in the first video up above, performing "Awakening" at a gig last August in Columbus, OH. After the jump, you can see a full set by Williams and her band, exact date and location unknown, but seemingly recent.

Then on Friday, July 13, keyboardist Jeff Lorber, saxophonist Everette Harp, and guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. will be the featured performers.

You can see Lorber in the third video, playing "Test Drive" with his trio in April 2018 at a show in Cleveland, and again in the fourth clip, backing up Harp as the saxophonist covers Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" at a show recorded in 2015 at the Augsburg Smooth Jazz Festival in Germany.

That's followed by a video of Jackson performing "Bayshore Drive" at last year's Algarve Smooth Jazz Festival in Portugal.

The finale show on Saturday, July 14 puts the emphasis on vocals, and will feature St. Louis native Lynne Fiddmont along with R&B crooner Howard Hewett.

Fiddmont can been seen in the sixth clip, performing Stevie Wonder's "All I Do" at a gig in 2012 at Spaghettinis in Seal Beach, CA. (Alas, more recent live video of her seems to be rather scarce online.)

Lastly, you can see two clips of Hewitt. In the first, recorded in 2011 at the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles, he teams up with a band led by Stanley Clarke to perform "I'm For Real," which Hewett and Clarke co-wrote.

Finding more recent video of Hewett with a live band proved to be a challenge, but you can get an idea of what he looks and sounds like these days in the final clip, in which he performs to prerecorded tracks a medley of hits from his former group Shalamar - "Second Time Around" "Make That Move," "There's A Love For Me," and "A Night To Remember" - recorded in January of this year in Little Rock, AR.

Also on Saturday, a separately ticketed after-party will feature a set from St. Louis-born R&B singer Truth Hurts and music from DJ Prince Halim. For more information about Summerset, follow the links for individual dates above or visit their website.

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

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer, bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Femi Kuti was interviewed by writer Dan Durchholz for a Post-Dispatch story previewing Kuti's performance Saturday night at the Ready Room.

* Trumpeter Russell Gunn, originally from East St. Louis and now living in Atlanta, will release his latest recording The Sirius Mystery on Friday, August 12. According to a news release, the album (pictured) blends jazz with "EDM, American Trap, African Drums, Dub Step and Charlie Parker improvisation in a four movement suite that is inspired by and based on the “mythology” of the Dogon Tribe of Mali." A single from the album, "Sirius B (The Unseen Absolute)", already is available online.

* Meanwhile, singer and St. Louis native Lynne Fiddmont has released online the first single from her upcoming album, a cover of the Gamble and Huff song "Groovy People".  The song, first made famous in 1976 by Lou Rawls, will be included on Fiddmont's forthcoming CD Power of Love.

* A feature story on St. Louis Public Radio looked at Forest Park's new artist residency program, which this year included The 442s.

* Speaking of St. Louis Public Radio, the station has a new arts and culture editor, David Cazares, who comes to our town via Minnesota Public Radio, the NPR affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul. An avowed jazz fan, Cazares has gone public with an appeal to St. Louisans, inviting listeners to offer their input on the sort of arts coverage they'd like to hear.

* You can get a close-up look at the Fox Theatre's recently opened Curtain Call Lounge, which is featuring live jazz and cabaret performances on select nights, via this article from the firm that designed the space.

* Pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio Network has announced another new jazz education course available via online video, a "brand new" edition of drummer Gregory Hutchinsons's "Hutchology" offering "fresh content weekly, new studio recorded lessons, exclusive quick tips and more."

KMOX 2009 Jazz and Wine Festival set for Saturday, June 20 in Forest Park

Radio station KMOX (1120 AM) has scheduled its 2009 Jazz and Wine Festival for Saturday, June 20. The event will run from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the grounds of the historic Cabanne House in Forest Park (at the corner of Lindell and Union).

The station's Web page for the event promises "fine wine, delicious food & delightful music," and displays the logos of more than a dozen participating winemakers, but at present there's no information at all about who's performing - just the exhortation to "CHECK BACK SOON FOR MORE DETAILS". That said, singer Erin Bode's schedule for June, which went out to her email list today, shows her as playing the KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival on that date, with the performance time TBA.

Tickets for the KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival are $10 in advance, $15 at the gate, with a $3.00 fee per transaction for online ticket purchases.