So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Next month's New Music Circle concert featuring bassist Josh Abrams' Natural Information Society is previewed by Stefene Russell of St. Louis magazine.

* Lamar Harris discusses his instrumental tribute to the music of Jay-Z, coming up tomorrow night at the Kranzberg Arts Center, for an article by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Drummer Matt Wilson talks about his new album Gathering Call with the website Search and Restore and with Aarik Danielsen of the Columbia Daily Tribune. Wilson's quartet and special guest John Medeski will play tonight and tomorrow at Jazz at the Bistro, head to Columbia on Sunday, and then return to St. Louis to perform again on Monday to make up for Wednesday's postponed sets.

* Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center is looking for volunteers for its street team, which helps distribute posters and handbills around town. If you'd like to get involved, get in touch via LNAC's Facebook page or by sending an email to contact@lemp-arts.org.

* St. Louis native Dan Loomis, bassist for The Wee Trio, talks at length about the group's album Live at the Bistro album with AllAboutJazz.com's Fiona Ord-Shrimpton.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Mark Colenburg (pictured) performed with pianist Robert Glasper last week on NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert."

* Meanwhile, Kim Thompson, fellow drummer and St. Louis expat, has a new album, Live at Marian's, available on iTunes.

* The latest episode of HEC-TV's I Love Jazz is now available on the channel's website, spotlighting the jazz program at Webster University and performances from last fall's TKT scholarship concert, "Jazz Interpretations of the Music of Irving Berlin".

* Miles Davis' 1970 shows at NYC's Fillmore East will be reissued next month in an expanded box set. You can hear a sample track, "Spanish Key," here.

* The iconic trumpeter's sense of style also got him included in a list of eight jazz icons featured on the website of men's clothing retailer Mr. Porter.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' "Somethin' Else," host Calvin Wilson continues the previous episode's focus on Davis, showcasing music from the trumpeter's famed 1960s quintet with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams.

Then "The Jazz Collective" host Jason Church will feature tracks from Davis, Grant Green, The Rippingtons, Dudley Moore, Jeff Lorber Fusion, Joel Del Rosario & SureWill, Bob James &  David Sanborn, Jim Stevens, Brian Vaccaro, and Christopher Braig.

Wilson's program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.   

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Winter/spring 2014 jazz preview, part 2

This week, it's part two of our winter/spring 2014 preview taking a look at some of the touring jazz and creative music performers who will be visiting St. Louis next year.

Part one, published last week, covered the month of January. Today, we pick up the timeline at the start of the following month for our first clip, featuring Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, who will be returning here on Saturday, February 1 to perform at The Demo.

They're seen here performing "The Burning" in a gig last August at Jazzfestival Saalfelden in Germany. Written for their album The Race Riot Suite, this piece (and the whole record) features the core JFJO band - pianist Brian Haas,bassist Jeff Harshbarger lap steel guitarist Chris Combs, and drummer Josh Raymer - augmented by a five-piece horn section, comprised of Steven Bernstein (trumpet, slide trumpet), Peter Apfelbaum (tenor and baritone saxophone), Mark Southerland (tenor saxophone), Skerik (saxophones) and Matt Leland (trombone).

Down below, you can see pianist Bill Charlap who will be in St. Louis to team up with saxophonist Houston Person to play Wednesday, February 5 through Saturday, February 8 at Jazz at the Bistro. The video, recorded in October 2013 at KPLU radio in Seattle, features Charlap doing brief solo interpretations of "All The Things You Are" and "Sophisticated Lady."

Meanwhile, Person can be seen in the third clip, playing Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'" in June of this year at the Blue Note in NYC, accompanied by pianist Joe Alterman, bassist James Cammack and drummer Alex Raderman.

The following weekend, the Cuban-born pianist Chucho Valdés and his quintet will perform on Saturday, February 15 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The fourth video features their complete set from this year's Barcelona Jazz Festival.

A few days later, bassist Christian McBride checks into Jazz at the Bistro, where he'll play with his new trio from Wednesday, February 19 through Saturday, February 22. The group, which features pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens Jr., is featured on McBride's latest album Out Here. They're seen here playing "My Favorite Things" in November 2013 at the Teatro Verdi in Padova, Italy.

The sixth and final video features bassist Josh Abrams’ Natural Information Society, who will be here to play in a concert presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, February 22 at Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave. Although Abrams is known primarily for playing the standard acoustic bass, the Natural Information Society is premised on his use of the guimbri, "a three-stringed animal hide bass traditionally used by the Gnawa of north Africa in healing ceremonies," which you can see him play in this undated clip.

Next week, we'll present part three of StLJN's winter/spring 2014 jazz preview...