So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Funky Butt Brass Band sousaphonist Cody Henry was the featured guest on a recent episode of the Rock Paper Podcast.

* Bassist Darin Gray (pictured) this week released Soundtrack 1, an album of previously unheard recordings made in 2006 by On Fillmore, Gray's duo project with drummer Glenn Kotche.

* Singer and Webster University adjunct professor Debby Lennon will star in Max and Louie Productions' upcoming revival of "Songs for Nobodies," a one-woman play with music by Joanna Murray-Smith in which Lennon will perform songs associated with "legendary divas" Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and Maria Callas. The show will run Thursday, December 2 through Sunday, December 12 at the Grandel Theatre.

* Bob Koester, a former St. Louis University student who went on to found Chicago’s famed Jazz Record Mart and the Delmark record label, died Wednesday at age 88. Koester got his start in the music business selling records from his SLU dorm room, then dropped out in 1952 to open the Blue Note record shop here, which he ran until moving to Chicago in 1958.

* Saxophonist and educator Harvey Lockhart was a guest on Thursday's episode of the webcast talk program "The Own Your Now Show."

* Guitarist and former St. Louisan Carl Weingarten has a new release, Ember Days, out this month on his label Multiphase Records

* Saxophonist Julius Hemphill and The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony, the new seven-CD box set of his previously unreleased Hemphill's music, are the subject of an essay by Adam Schatz in the most recent New York Review of Books.
* Keyboardist Michael Silverman was interviewed by SmoothJazz.com.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer and educator Bernard Long Jr. has been named to the Percussive Arts Society's Education Committee for 2020-21. Long is band director at Normandy High School and also teaches at Lindenwood University.

* HEAL Center for the Arts, the not-for-profit organization founded by saxophonist and educator Harvey Lockhart (pictured), now has its own office space, having moved into the the former home of EarthWays Center, now known as Hansen House, at 3617 Grandel Square in Grand Center.

* Whatever Is Not Stone Is Light, the latest album release from bassist (and recent transplant to St. Louis) Damon Smith, was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Mark Corrato.

* Voting in DownBeat's annual readers poll is now open. You can see the nominees, which this year include St. Louis natives Oliver Nelson and Grant Green in the "Hall of Fame" category, and cast your ballot (or write in any favorites not listed) here.

* Edgar Wilkinson, bassist and tuba player who worked in St. Louis in the 1950s with the Dixie Stompers and other bands, died at age 87 in Highland Park, IL.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Harvey Lockhart (pictured) has been chosen as one of 25 semi-finalists this year for the national Music Educator Award given annually by the Recording Academy and Grammy Awards.

As reported by the Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller, Lockhart was recognized for his work as band director for Riverview Gardens High School - he subsequently joined the faculty at Cardinal Ritter this summer - and for his not-for-profit organization HEAL Center for the Arts. Ten finalists for the award will be named in December, with one winner selected to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony next year.

* Open Studio has posted to YouTube a video of last Saturday's concert by pianist Geoffrey Keezer.

* Musical instrument retailer and service center Saxquest will present their 2019 Woodwind Instrument Expo on Saturday, November 16 at St. Charles Community College. The event will offer musicians the opportunity to try instruments and accessories from a variety of manufacturers. Admission is free, but attendees who would like access to private rooms are encouraged to register in advance.

* An article by Charles Waring at UDiscoverMusic.com offers a reappraisal of guitarist Grant Green's Blue Note album Born to Be Blue, which recently was re-released as part of the label's "Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl" reissue series.

* The Sheldon has posted to Facebook an album of photos from saxophonist David Sanborn's concert last Friday night.

* And speaking of The Sheldon, HEC-TV has produced a feature story about the hall's new outdoor plaza.

* The impending opening next week of the new Central West End cabaret venue Blue Strawberry was the subject of a short feature story from Riverfront Times writer Ella Faust.

* Also in the RFT, the building that currently houses Vintage Vinyl is the subject of a "Then and Now" feature by Jaime Lees.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Fred Walker, a longtime veteran of the local music scene, is facing some serious health issues, having spent time earlier this year in the hospital for a collapsed lung.

Since doctors have told Walker that he no longer can perform on the saxophone, friends have set up a page on GoFundMe to help raise money for his medical and living expenses. There also will be a benefit concert for Walker featuring local blues and jazz performers from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 17 at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.

* Steve Pick of KDHX and Euclid Records has teamed up with fellow St. Louis writer Amanda Doyle to author St. Louis Sound, a newly released "illustrated timeline" of local music history.

Publishers Reedy Press are promoting the book (pictured) with a series of five shows this month featuring local musicians grouped by genre at different venues. It gets underway Saturday, March 23 with a jazz concert at the Grandel Theatre featuring the Adam Maness Trio, trumpeter Danny Campbell, singer Anita Jackson, and singer/multi-instrumentalist Tonina, with subsequent evenings focused on rock, blues, hip-hop, and Americana.

* Speaking of Tonina, she recently was the subject of a feature story in Alive! magazine.

* Clarinetist and former St. Louisan Chloe Feoranzo was the subject of a Riverfront Times feature by Thomas Crone. Feoranzo, who's now based in New Orleans, will be back in St. Louis for a concert next Wednesday, March 13 at Focal Point.

* Saxophonist and educator Harvey Lockhart got a nice mention in the South Florida Times for bringing the Point of View Ensemble, made up of his students from Riverview Gardens High School, to the 22nd annual Melton Mustafa Jazz Festival in Miami, FL.

* Jazz St. Louis is now accepting applications from middle- and high school student musicians for the 2019-20 year of their JazzU program. The deadline to apply is Saturday, April 26.

* 50/Fifty Kitchen, the south side restaurant that also served up live jazz weekly from singer Joe Mancuso and others, has closed.

* In a week marking 60 years since Miles Davis started recording his most famous album, an article in The Independent takes a look at "Kind of Blue: The jazz album by Miles Davis that transformed music," while author and critic Ted Gioia has recorded a video asking, "How Important Really Is Miles Davis’s "Kind Of Blue"?"

* Also on the Miles Davis beat: A remastered 180-gram vinyl LP reisssue of his 1957 album 'Round About Midnight is included among the just-announced list of special releases for this year's Record Store Day on Saturday, April 20; the trumpeter's mid-1950s recordings for the Blue Note label are the subject of an article just published on UDiscoverMusic.com; and representatives of the Davis estate will be at the SXSW conference in Austin, TX later this month, promoting various projects via the Miles Davis House.

Jazz this week: Bistro All-Stars with Sean Jones, Tia Fuller, Warren Wolf & Peter Martin; Chucho Valdes' "Jazz Bata"; and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis provides an opportunity to hear four bandleaders joining forces for the first time on one stage, a powerful pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz piano, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 30
The Bistro All-Stars (pictured, top left),  featuring trumpeter Sean Jones, saxophonist Tia Fuller, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and pianist Peter Martin, will perform for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Given that each of the four principals is a bandleader and composer in their own right, the All-Stars, assembled specifically for this gig, should have plenty of material to draw upon. And while an ad hoc group like this may not have the established chemistry of a regular working band, the jolt of discovery among musicians working together for the first time can be a lot of fun to watch.

Thursday, January 31
Guitarist Dave Black's newest ensemble, the itti bitti Swing Orchestra, plays a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and saxophonist Ben Reese's Unity Quartet returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, February 1
Ptah Williams will play solo piano for "happy hour" at The Dark Room, and pianist Adam Maness' trio with singer Malena Smith resumes their late-night Friday residency at Sophie's Artist Lounge and Cocktail Club.

Saturday, February 2
Anita Jackson will sing music associated with Ella Fitzgerald for a mid-day matinee at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Then on Saturday evening, The Wire Pilots play original jazz/fusion at The Focal Point, and the Funky Butt Brass Band performs at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, February 3
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents keyboardist Bob Row's "Mardi Gras Party" at Royale Orleans, and the Jazz Troubadours play an early evening show at Evangeline's.

Monday, February 4
Saxophonist Harvey Lockhart leads a quartet in a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus.

Tuesday, February 5
Cuban-born pianist Chucho Valdés (pictured, bottom left) will mix jazz with the rhythms and folk traditions of his home country in the first of three nights of performances with his "Jazz Bata" project at  Jazz St. Louis.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold this week was on NPR as a guest performer on singer Erykah Badu's Tiny Desk Concert.

* The latest episode of the cable TV series STL Live previewed Saturday's Hermann Wine & Jazz Festival.

* Saxophonist and educator Harvey Lockhart's HEAL Center for the Arts is one of several local organizations getting a grant for 2018-19 from the Arts and Education Council's Monsanto Creative Impact Fund.

* Singer and producer Wendy Gordon (pictured), saxophonist Kendrick Smith, and other cast members appeared on FOX 2's Thursday morning newscast to promote the latest installment of Gordon's "Jazz Heaven" series, happening this Saturday at the Florissant Civic Center Theater.

* Flute player and composer Fred Tompkins has reissued his late 1970s album Cécile on CD. The re-release includes all the tunes from the LP version, which feature performances from notable musicians such as bassist Anthony Jackson, guitarist Chuck Loeb, and others, plus some bonus tracks of more recent material.

* Thurman's in Shaw is adding a Sunday brunch, which will debut with a "soft opening" on Sunday, August 26. The venue also will celebrate two years of operations under the current ownership with an all-day event on Saturday, September 1 featuring live music, drink specials, and more.

Jazz this week: Maceo Parker, Barb Jungr & John McDaniel, Ryan Keberle, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features one of the godfathers of funk saxophone, cabaret interpretations of the music of the Beatles, the return of a popular free concert series, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 24
Saxophonist Maceo Parker opens a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Parker (pictured, top left) made his reputation in the 1970s and '80s as a member of James Brown's band, the JBs. He went on to play with George Clinton's P-Funk organization and numerous others, and over the last 20 years has developed a busy solo career extending and adding his own flavor to Brown's funk legacy.

Listeners at the Bistro can expect to hear interpretations of material like "Cold Sweat" and "Pass The Peas" from Brown's catalog as well as originals featuring Parker's tart, angular alto solos.

Also on Wednesday, the Ambassadors of Swing provide the music for "Shake And Shout Wednesdays," the first of what's projected as a monthly series of swing dance events at Tin Roof St. Louis; and Miss Jubilee and The Gaslight Squares perform on a double bill at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy as part of the venue's week of shows with free admission.

Thursday, January 25
Saxophonist Richard Deja leads a quartet in the first free concert of the semester from the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and singer Feyza Eren returns to Evangeline's.

Friday, January 26
Saxophonist Harvey Lockhart and The Collective play a late show at The Dark Room.

Saturday. January 27
Singer Barb Jungr and singer, pianist and Kirkwood native John McDaniel will present two performances of their cabaret show based on the music of The Beatles at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Sunday, January 28
Trombonist Ryan Keberle and his band Catharsis will perform at The Dark Room.

The NYC-based Keberle and band (pictured, bottom left) are in the Midwest for a week of one-nighters in support of their fourth album Find the Common, Shine the Light, which the Los Angeles Times called “a potent blend of cinematic sweep and lush, ear-grabbing melodies.”

Monday, January 29
Members of Webster University's jazz faculty will present a program called "As If It Were the Seasons" at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus. Singer Debby Lennon, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, pianist Nick Schlueter, bassist Ben Wheeler and drummer Nick Savage will perform a "repertoire that reflects on the distinct character of each of the four seasons," drawing on songs including "You Must Believe in Spring," "Summer in Central Park," "Autumn Nocturne" and more.

Tuesday, January 30
"Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective play their monthly gig at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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: Clayton Brothers Quintet, Nick Finzer, "Sculptures in Sound," and more

The news in St. Louis jazz and creative music this week is coming mostly from Grand Center, as the district rolls out an expanded version of their weekly Wednesday night "jazz crawl."

The first week includes a promising young musician making his St. Louis debut at a new venue for the event, the return of a popular group of seasoned jazz veterans to Jazz at the Bistro, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 1
The Clayton Brothers Quintet (pictured, top left) performs for the first of four nights continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Led by bassist John Clayton and saxophonist Jeff Clayton, and also including John's son, the talented pianist Gerald Clayton, the CBQ offers a spirited update of the classic hard bop sound. For more about them, and some video samples of live performances, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, NYC-based trombonist Nick Finzer will make his St. Louis debut, helping inaugurate the expanded version of the Grand Center Jazz Crawl with a performance at the Curtain Call Lounge.

Finzer is touring in support of his "politically charged" third album Hear & Now, released in February on his label Outside in Music. His set at the Curtain Call officially marks that venue's addition to the expanded Jazz Crawl, which is adding Wednesday sets there from local (and some touring) bands and a weekly swing dance event hosted by Lindy Hop St. Louis at the newly reopened Grandel Theatre.

The event will continue to include weekly happy hour sets at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe, guitarist/singer Tommy Halloran playing this week; a jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's trio at The Dark Room, now officially re-located in the Grandel Theatre; and the free video simulcasts in Jazz St. Louis' first-floor lounge when there's live music at the Bistro.

Elsewhere around town, pianist Curt Landes, bassist Glen Smith and drummer Chuck Kennedy will be hosting their weekly Wednesday jam session at @Nesby's in South County.

Thursday, March 2
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert featuring vocalists Katie Greenberg,  a Wash U student, and R. Scott Bryan interpreting music from a number of rock and pop songwriters, backed by a group including keyboardist Jay Oliver and a string trio.

Friday, March 3
During the afternoon, trombonist and St. Louis native Michael Vlatkovich
will present an open rehearsal and masterclass at the St. Louis Artists' Guild in Clayton. (He'll perform at the same venue Saturday night; see below.)

That evening, saxophonist Harvey Lockhart (pictured, bottom left) has a new Friday happy hour gig weekly at The Dark Room; the Jazz Troubadours play at Thurman's in Shaw; and jazz/fusion band SpaceShip returns to The Abbey in Belleville.

Saturday, March 4
Michael Vlatkovich helps launch the new "Sculptures in Sound" series at the Artists' Guild, with some help from saxophonists Christopher Braig and Jay Hutson.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Cory Christiansen, who lived in St. Louis in the early 2000s while working for Mel Bay Publishing, returns for a public concert at Webster Groves High School.

Sunday, March 5
The St. Louis Record and CD Collector Show will hold their March event at the American Czech Educational Center, and the Friends of Scott Joplin present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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 fix a typo.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Wee Trio, which includes St. Louis native Dan Loomis on bass, has launched a crowd-funding campaign raising money to record their fifth album. The recording, titled WEE + 3, will feature guest appearances from pianist Fabian Almazán, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, and guitarist Nir Felder.

* Jazz St. Louis' program last week pairing a performance of music from drummer Max Roach's We Insist! The Freedom Now Suite with a discussion of jazz, race, and social justice issues was the subject of a feature story by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

* New Music Circle will promote their upcoming 58th season with "an evening of drinks and DJs" from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 3 at the Tick Tock Tavern, 3459 Magnolia in the Tower Grove East neighborhood. The free event will feature Josh Weinstein and Jeremy Kannapell spinning records, plus raffles for various prizes including CDs, LPs, and tickets to upcoming NMC concerts. Proceeds from drinks purchased during the event will go to support NMC's various programs.

* Pianist Peter Martin's company Open Studio Network has started a new podcast, "The Process," which will feature "interviews with the best players in jazz and beyond." The first episode, with Martin and drummer Gregory Hutchinson (pictured), is online now.

* Saxophonist and educator Harvey Lockhart and the other winners of the 2017 St. Louis Arts Awards were profiled on the website of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis.

* Legendary singer, dancer and St. Louis native Josephine Baker's favorite places in France were the subject of an article in the New York Times travel section.

* The Regional Arts Commission is accepting applications for the next round of their $20,000 Artist Fellowships through Wednesday, August 10. A total of ten $20,000 fellowships will be awarded to individual St. Louis artists in any discipline as selected by an advisory committee of arts professionals, peers and RAC commissioners. RAC also is offering a workshop on how to apply for the fellowships on Tuesday, August 2 at the Vaughn Cultural Center.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby recently took part in a "Before and After" listening session for Jazz Times magazine, published in their June issue and now available online. Osby last week also sat in with the Dave Matthews Band as they began their summer tour with a show in Camden, NJ.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold co-wrote, produced, and is featured along with hip-hop emcee Common and singers Gregory Porter and Andrea Pizziconi on "Running (Refugee Song)," a new single aimed at raising funds and awareness of the plight of more than 60 million displaced persons around the world.

* Saxophonist Harvey Lockhart has been named "Arts Educator of the Year" as part of the annual St. Louis Arts Awards presented by the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis. Lockhart is being lauded for his work as director of bands and performing arts with the Riverview Gardens school district, and for forming and directing the North County Big Band, a jazz group based at the Sheldon Concert Hall that includes students from several area high schools.

* A photo set from last Saturday's Chesterfield Jazz Festival has been posted to Facebook.

* Also now online: a Flickr gallery of pics from last Thursday's edition of the Bruxism experimental music series at the Schlafly Tap Room.

* Guitarist Horace Bray, a St. Louis native and alumni of Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program who recently released his debut album, was profiled by Aarik Daneilsen of the Columbia Daily Tribune.

* The Grand Center district, home to jazz venues including Jazz at the Bistro, the Sheldon Concert Hall, The Dark Room, and the Kranzberg Arts Center, was featured in a special edition of KETC's program Living St. Louis.

* Local NBC affiliate KSDK reported this week that the late blues pianist Johnnie Johnson (pictured), whose work with Chuck Berry helped define the sound of early rock & roll, will receive a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for his service in World War II with the Montford Point Marines, an all-African-American unit that integrated the Marine Corps.