So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Jazz Journalists Association has named Gene Dobbs Bradford of Jazz St. Louis (pictured) as one of 27 local "Jazz Heroes" for 2020. The awards are given annually to "activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz" in different cities across the USA.

* Keyboardist Mo Egeston was the featured guest on last Friday's episode of "St. Louis In The Know" with Ray Hartmann on KTRS.

* St. Louis Public Radio reporter Chad Davis has the scoop on the Red and Black Brass Band, the impromptu ensemble who have been playing music during the shutdown while walking the streets of the Tower Grove neighborhood in south St. Louis. The band members also were interviewed by KMOX's Debbie Monterrey.  

* Also on St. Louis Public Radio, Christian Frommelt, dance teacher and co-organizer of the Nevermore Jazz Ball, was the subject of a feature story about how local swing dancers are still pursuing their hobby during the COVID-19 shutdown.

* As many cultural organizations dig into their vaults for video and audio material to share during the shutdown, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis has posted to YouTube a full concert performance "The Music of Miles Davis," recorded in November 2018 at the Rose Theater inside Lincoln Center in NYC.

* Also on the Miles Davis beat, LiveForLiveMusic.com has an article looking back at the night 50 years ago when Davis shared a bill with the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

Terry Perkins wins 2019 "Jazz Hero" award from Jazz Journalists Association

The Jazz Journalists Association has named Terry Perkins of St. Louis as one of its local "Jazz Heroes" for 2019.

In the announcement of this year's awards, the JJA defines "Jazz Heroes" as "advocates, altruists, activists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant impact in their local communities.” There are 22 individuals in this year's group of award winners, chosen from 20 cities across the USA.

Perkins (pictured) was born in North Carolina and grew up as a “military brat” at Air Force bases around the country. Moving to St. Louis in the 1970s, he worked as a manager for Streetside Records and eventually began to write freelance articles on music.

As a music journalist, he has written about jazz and other genres for local publications including the Riverfront Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis Beacon, St. Louis American, St. Louis magazine and Alive magazine, as well for as national and international outlets such as DownBeat, Jazz Times, RollingStone.com and the Oxford American.

Perkins also served for several years as creative director for the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival, and as coordinator for Music For Lifelong Achievement, a not-for-profit group based at the Sheldon Concert Hall that collects donated musical instruments for disadvantaged young people in the St. Louis area.

In addition, Perkins worked with JJA to get St. Louis included in the Jazz Hero awards program, and presented the awards to the first four local winners, including the late Don Wolff in 2015, Dennis Owsley in 2016, the late Richard Henderson in 2017, and Jim Widner in 2018.

Terry Perkins will get his own “Jazz Hero” award in a ceremony on Wednesday, April 17 at Jazz St. Louis, held before the 7:00 p.m. "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" presentation by author Ricky Riccardi on the music of Louis Armstrong's Hot 5 and Hot 7. The event is free and open to the public.

Jim Widner wins 2018 "Jazz Hero" award from Jazz Journalists Association

The Jazz Journalists Association has named Jim Widner of St. Louis as one of its local "Jazz Heroes" for 2018.

In a press release announcing the award, the JJA defines Jazz Heroes as "advocates, altruists, activists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant impact in their local communities.” There are 22 individuals in this year's group of award winners, chosen from 20 cities across the USA.

A bassist, bandleader and educator, Widner (pictured) has worked with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, Woody Herman Big Band, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Buddy DeFranco, as well as leading his own Jim Widner Big Band. Building on his experience working for Kenton, he founded and has run his own summer jazz camps for more than 30 years, with annual sessions in St. Louis and Omaha, NE. Widner has served since 2003 as director of jazz studies at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, where in 2004 he also founded the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival.

Widner is the fourth St. Louisan to win the "Jazz Hero" award. The late Don Wolff, a longtime jazz broadcaster, MC, and advocate for the music, won in 2015; Dennis Owsley - author, photographer, and host of "Jazz Unlimited" on St. Louis Public Radio - was a winner in 2016; and Richard Henderson, mentor to many young St. Louis musicians and an impresario and presenter with the local organization Crusaders for Jazz, won in 2017.

The JJA award will be presented to Widner in a ceremony in St. Louis, details TBA.

Richard Henderson wins 2017 "Jazz Hero" award from Jazz Journalists Association

The Jazz Journalists Association has named Richard Henderson of St. Louis as one of its local "Jazz Heroes" for 2017.

In a press release announcing the award, the JJA defines Jazz Heroes as "the Jazz A Team: activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz. They are the people who, many times quietly and behind the scenes and other times in a very public way, keep jazz thriving in our local communities.” There are 26 individuals in this year's group of award winners, chosen from 20 cities across the USA.

Described as "a constant, recognized presence on the local jazz scene for more than five decades," Henderson (pictured) has served as a mentor to several generations of young St. Louis musicians, and in 1997 was a co-founder of the not-for-profit organization Crusaders for Jazz, which presented jazz performances and also raised money for college scholarships for local music students.

Among those students were drummer Kimberly Thompson and trumpet player Keyon Harrold, who both are now internationally known and, as fate would have it, will be performing on Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Henderson is the third St. Louisan to win the "Jazz Hero" award. The late Don Wolff, a longtime jazz broadcaster, MC, and advocate for the music, won in 2015, and Dennis Owsley - author, photographer, and host of "Jazz Unlimited" on St. Louis Public Radio, was a winner in 2016.

Richard Henderson will be presented with his “Jazz Hero” award in a ceremony held from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. this Saturday, April 8 in the first-floor lounge at Jazz St. Louis headquarters, 3536 Washington Ave. in Grand Center.

Hosted by Jazz St. Louis, the event is free and open to the public, and will feature live music from a group of JazzU students and complimentary Brother Thelonious Ale. A cash bar also will be available. The festivities will end at 6:00 p.m., with separate admission required for the 7:30 p.m. set at Jazz at the Bistro featuring Harrold, Thompson, pianist and St. Louis native Lawrence Fields, and saxophonist Adam Larsen.

Edited after publication to correct the total number of 2017 winners and remove an erroneous reference to the year the awards started.

Dennis Owsley named a "Jazz Hero" by Jazz Journalists Association

Dennis Owsley, the longtime host of "Jazz Unlimited" on St. Louis Public Radio and author of a book about the history of St. Louis jazz, has been named a "Jazz Hero" for 2016 by the Jazz Journalists Association.

The award is one of 26 given this year by the JJA to "advocates, altruists, activists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant impact in their local communities." Owsley (pictured) will be the second St. Louisan to be honored by the organization, which last year included the late Don Wolff among 23 "Jazz Heroes" nationwide.

Owsley will receive his "Jazz Hero" award in a ceremony held from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, April 9 at the Ferring Jazz Bistro. The event is free and open to the public and will feature live music by a combo of Jazz St. Louis' JazzU students and complimentary Brother Thelonious Ale. A cash bar also will be available. (Separate admission will be required for the 7:30 p.m. set at the Bistro by Anat Cohen, Matt Wilson, Marquis Hill and Linda Oh.)

Dennis Owsley's book City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz In St. Louis 1895-1973 was published in 2006 and remains the definitive volume on the subject. His radio program, which began in 1983, continues to air weekly from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Sundays on KWMU/St. Louis Public Radio (90.7 FM). He also is an accomplished photographer who over the years has shot many pictures of jazz musicians, some of which can be seen on his website.

Based in NYC, the Jazz Journalists Association is a national non-profit organization "dedicated to promoting the best use of media of all kinds --new and old, online and off-- to tell the story of jazz and develop new jazz audiences."