So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist David Sanborn (pictured) has released the third episode of his new online video series "Sanborn Sessions." It features Sanborn with singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke and guitarist Charlie Hunter, accompanied by drummer Billy Kilson and bassist Ben Williams, and can be seen in the embed window at the bottom of this post.

* The Sheldon has posted to Facebook an album of photos from last Saturday's concert by pianist Christian Sands.

* Wednesday night's "Bitches Brew at 50" program at Jazz St. Louis was the subject of a feature story from St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin.

* Also from St. Louis Public Radio, singer and keyboardist Katarra Parson was profiled by reporter Chad Davis. Parson also can be heard on Thursday's episode of the station's "The Gateway" podcast.

* The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and guest saxophone soloist Timothy McAllister next month will present the U.S. premiere of "A Kind of Trane," a new concerto by French composer Guillaume Connesson that was inspired by John Coltrane.

* Speaking of premieres, the biographical documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is set to be broadcast for the first time on Tuesday, February 25 as part of the PBS series American Masters.

* The Circus Harmony band, which accompanies performances by circus pros and students at the City Museum and is directed by Webster University professor Jeffrey Carter, was the subject of a feature story in Webster's campus paper The Journal.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer Kevin Bowers' band Nova's performance tonight at Winter Jazzfest in New York City was previewed in articles by Kevin Johnson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Cara Wegener of Alive magazine.

* Trumpeter Miles Davis is the subject of a new children's book, Birth of the Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound by Kathleen Cornell Berman. Aimed at readers ages 8 to 12, the book (pictured) is scheduled for release on Tuesday, April 16.

* Jazz St. Louis is conducting an online survey of audience members, asking about their experiences of the venue, preferences for show times, and more. Anyone completing the questionnaire will be entered in a drawing for four free tickets to an upcoming performance, with two ticket packages to be awarded. If you'd like to take the survey, go here before end of business next Friday, January 18.

* Though The Dark Room has live music seven nights a week, the blog on their website has been devoted almost exclusively to describing the kitchen's daily/weekly specials - until now. Production manager Kevin Koehler announced this week that he'll be blogging about the various bands and musicians playing the room, starting with a look back at a Mo Egeston performance last September, which you can see here.

* HEC-TV has released online Gateway Sound, a new documentary about changing technology in the music industry that was directed by Justin Fisher, head audio engineer at SmithLee Productions.

* Webster University professor and department of music chair Jeffrey Carter is the new music director for Circus Harmony, the not-for-profit organization based at the City Museum that teaches circus skills to children and teens.

* St. Louisans may be mildly surprised to learn that a recent study named our town "the best city for nightlife in America." As reported by the Riverfront Times' Daniel Hill, the study by the magazine Apartment Guide based its rankings on "how many nightlife options were available per resident while excluding cities with a population of less than 100,000. Using those metrics, St. Louis' abundance of bars, breweries, clubs and music venues, coupled with our smaller population, sees us leading the pack with one nightlife-related business for every 1,143 people."