Former owner of Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe gets probation in arson case

According to a story that went online this afternoon at STLtoday.com, the former owner of the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe has been sentenced to probation after admitting he set fire to the business last February and pleading guilty to an arson charge.

The story, bylined "From Staff Reports," said that "Lozell Stiles, 40, of the 1200 block of Herman's Orchard Drive, will have a five-year prison sentence suspended as long as he abides by the terms of his probation, according to the ruling delivered by St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Robert Cohen on Friday. He also has to pay $1,000 in restitution."

Known for years as simply the Halls Ferry Inn, the business had a long history in its North County neighborhood. It had reopened as the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe in September 2011 with Stiles as owner, featuring primarily smooth jazz and R&B. The contemporaneous posts about the fire and subsequent charges against Stiles were two of the most read items of the year here at StLJN.

Arson charges filed against owner of Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe

In the latest development in a story that's attracted a lot of interest over the past two days, STLtoday.com and the Post-Dispatch are reporting that Florissant police have charged Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe owner Lozell Stiles, 40, with second-degree arson in connection with the fire that destroyed the club early Sunday morning.

"Sgt. Kyle Lewis said Stiles was taken into custody Sunday and charged Monday. His bail was set at $10,000." the story continued. "Lewis said police did not have a motive for the arson at the restaurant and jazz club at 3425 North Highway 67."

It's understandable why neither police nor the Post can comment about motive, but anyone who's watched enough news reports and/or TV cop shows about arson cases probably can make their own suppositions. (For those unfamiliar with the conventions of televised crime fiction in the present-day USA: Generally, the business that gets torched during an episode of, say, CSI or Law and Order is losing money but covered by insurance, and thus worth more to its owners dead than alive.)

Having never visited the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe in its most recent incarnation, yr. humble StLJN editor likewise has no specific insights to offer about these particular circumstances. It is a bit odd, though, whenever a venue that ostensibly is relying on live music to draw in customers seems to have ongoing difficulties with booking and publicizing a schedule of performers in advance. That possibly could be an indicator of some sort of nefarious intent, but in my experience, can just as easily be plain old garden-variety ineptitude, too. In any event, if further information comes to light, this post will be updated as necessary.

And there is one bit of good news in this otherwise somewhat depressing tale: The cafe's next-door neighbor, a retail store called the Music House, came through relatively unscathed, thanks to a very substantial firewall separating the two businesses, and should be able to reopen soon.

Fire destroys Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe

STLtoday and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch are reporting that a fire early on Sunday morning has destroyed the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe.

"No one was injured in the fire, which started in the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe, 3425 North Highway 67, about 1:30 a.m.," the story said. Known for years as simply the Halls Ferry Inn, the restaurant and bar reopened under new ownership last fall with a new menu, new look, and live music policy, featuring musicians such as saxophonists Rod Tate and Michael Fitzgerald.

Firefighters are investigating the cause of the fire, the Post story said. Local CBS affiliate KMOV also has a brief story and a photo of the Cafe's burned-out storefront here. No word yet on whether the owner, Florissant businessman Lozell Stiles, plans to rebuild, but if/when there's more information released, we'll have it for you here.

UPDATE - 4:45 p.m., 2/20/12: The other local TV news operations also covered this story; you can see the report from NBC affiliate KSDK here, and the one from Fox affiliate KTVI here.

Jazz this week: Funky Butt Brass Band opens the Bistro's 2011-12 season, a musical trip back to 1961, and more

The fall season of presenting jazz and creative music in St. Louis gathers some momentum this week, as Jazz at the Bistro and Webster University open their 2011-12 seasons. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, saxophonist and East St. Louis native Andre Delano will perform with Good 4 The Soul at the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of the "Notes From Home" series. Another East St. Louisan, saxophonist Corey Allen, will open the show.

On Thursday, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University moves back indoors to its usual location in Ridgley Hall's Holmes Lounge for a free concert by trombonist Tom Hanson's octet, playing what's being billed as "West Coast jazz". Also on Thursday, guitarist and expat St. Louisan Daryl Darden, back home for a couple of weeks, teams up with keyboardist Curt Landes for a performance at the semi-private club Joe's Cafe.

On Friday and Saturday, the Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured) will open the 2011-12 presenting season at Jazz at the Bistro. Word is that each night they'll be performing some New Orleans favorites during the first set, and a mix of material, including songs from their new CD, in the second. Note also that the Bistro's new set times of 7:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. are now in effect, for this weekend and for all shows going forward.

It's also the weekend for the annual St. Louis Art Fair, which usually features a few performers of interest as part of its lineup of live entertainment. This year, Jazz St. Louis executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford will be playing with his blues band at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, and on Saturday, the event will include sets from Swing DeVille (11:00 a.m.), the Sheldon Jazz Quintet with Rick Haydon and Carolbeth True (3:30 p.m.), and the East St. Louis High School Jazz Band (6:30 p.m).

(The Art Fair and its producing organization Cultural Festivals, Inc are having some problems with their website at present - talk about bad timing! - but you can see the program book for the entire festival, which includes schedules for all the entertainment stages, in .pdf form here. )

Also on Friday, singer Ron Wilkinson will be at Robbie's House of Jazz; saxophonist Michael Fitzgerald plays the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe; singer Ellen Martinez and pianist Bob Werner play at Jazz on Broadway in Alton; and pianist Tim Garcia's trio with Jim Cady (bass) and Dave Sweet (drums) will perform at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

Also on Saturday, saxophonist Christopher McBride will play at Robbie's, and saxophonist Rod Tate will perform at the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe.

On Sunday, it's the fall edition of the quarterly St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show at the American Czech Center on the south side, and then early that evening, the Miles Davis Festival will present the group "Miles To Go" with special guest stars Willie Akins, Adaron "Pop" Jackson and Anthony Wiggins at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday night the Webster University jazz faculty will open their annual concert series with a program called "It Was A Very Good Year: Great Jazz Recordings of 1961" at Winifred Moore Auditorium. Details on the setlist are scarce, but given the number of outstanding jazz recordings that came out that year, they've got plenty of good material from which to choose. Also on Monday, the Sessions Big Band returns to BB's.

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.)

Jazz this week: A benefit for Willie Akins, a grand opening for a new venue, and more

As seems to be the case every year, the Labor Day weekend means that the jazz and creative music calendar in St. Louis is a bit sparse for the next few days. However, there still are a few noteworthy events happening, so let's go the highlights:

Tonight, guitarist and St. Louis native Daryl Darden is back home from the West Coast for a visit, and is playing at Robbie's House of Jazz with a group that will include pianist Nick Schlueter, drummer Leon King and bassist Willem von Hombracht.

Also tonight, drummer Bensid Thigpen opens the fall 2011 Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, leading his trio and special guest vocalist Marsha Evans in a free outdoor concert on the Quadrangle at Wash U's main campus. For more on the fall 2011 Jazz at Holmes series schedule, see this post.

On Friday and Saturday, singer Danita Mumphard (pictured) will perform for the grand opening of the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe. For more about this new jazz venue in Florissant, see this post.

Also on Friday, guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio is back at the Cigar Inn in Belleville, and pianist Roley Overmeyer will play at Jazz on Broadway in Alton.

On Sunday, there's a benefit and jam session for the veteran saxophonist Willie Akins at the Ambassador Events Center's Klub Klymaxx. Akins has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and although his prognosis is said to be good, the medical bills are piling up. No word on who the players at this benefit will be, but given Akins' reputation and long career in St. Louis, one would imagine there'll be a good turnout.

Also on Sunday, there's the monthly jam session at Bossanova Restaurant and Lounge in Alton, led by saxophonist Jason Swagler and Eric Slaughter's trio; and Good 4 The Soul plays an early evening show at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday night guitarist Tom Byrne's Pat Metheny-inspired project Have You Heard? will perform at BB's.

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.)

(Edited after posting to add the Jazz at Holmes show.)

New clubs featuring jazz open in Alton, Florissant

The St. Louis area in recent years has lost a number of bars and restaurants that regularly featured live jazz, so it's a welcome development to see two new jazz venues - one on each side of the Mississippi - opening for business.

Jazz on Broadway, located at 554 East Broadway in downtown Alton, IL was mentioned here briefly here in the "jazz this week" post a couple of weeks back, when the club held its grand opening with music from saxophonist Tim Cunningham.

This week, I got a chance to chat by phone with the club's owner Cindy Crawford, who told me that she plans to feature live music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The hours for most acts will be 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., though Crawford said she eventually hopes to present two separate shows, at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., on weekend nights.

In addition to Cunningham and guitarist Bryan White, who played for the club's soft opening in July, Jazz on Broadway (pictured) so far has booked pianist Roley Overmeyer, who's playing some Fridays, including September 2; and saxophonist Fred Walker, who's playing Sundays including September 4. Also on the schedule are the blues group Mondinband (September 3); Bob and Me, with singer Ellen Martinez and pianist Bob Werner (September 9); singer Danita Mumphard (October 22); saxophonist Jim Stevens (October 28); trumpeter Jim Manley (November 12) and keyboardist Brock Walker (November 18). Although the musicians booked to date lean toward smooth jazz and R&B, Crawford says she plans to present a variety of jazz styles.

In the near future, perhaps by October, Crawford said she hopes to work with radio station WSIE, SIUE and other local colleges to present open jam sessions on Wednesdays. She said the club, which holds about 200 people, also will offer special events for occasions such as Halloween, the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras.

Jazz On Broadway's website isn't online yet, but the club does have a Facebook page and an email list, which you can subscribe to by emailing them at jazzonbroadway@gmail.com; or you can call them at 618-465-JAZZ (5299).

Meanwhile, back on the Missouri side of the river up North County way, the Halls Ferry Inn Jazz Cafe, 3425 N. Lindbergh, will have its grand opening weekend this Friday, September 2 and Saturday, September 3 featuring music from singer Danita Mumphard and her band, with special guest guitarist Daryl Darden. Mumphard will perform at 7:30 and 9:30, and there's a $10 cover.

The HFIJC is open Tuesday through Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to midnight, with music from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.. Located on the site of the old Halls Ferry Inn, the club also serves food, with a menu that reportedly incorporates a few favorites from the previous tenants.

The club's website (warning: autoplay music) presently is a bit sparse, but among the upcoming bookings listed are "Special Guitarist & Patio music" on Thursday, September 8, saxophonist Michael Fitzgerald on Saturday, September 10, and "Coming Soon - Spoken word night (and) Comedy night." Yr. humble StLJN editor will try to track down some more details in the next week, but in the meantime, for more information you can check out the website or call HFIJC at 314-972-8410.

(Edited 9/1/11 to fix a typo.)