So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A story in the latest DownBeat reveals more about saxophonist David Sanborn's proposed online video series Sanborn Sessions, comparing it to the much-loved Night Music, which Sanborn hosted from 1988 to 1990 on NBC.

With a 14-minute "sampler" episode already recorded, Sanborn (pictured) now has launched a crowd-funding campaign to help finance production of full episodes.

* An article by the Riverfront Times' Daniel Hill noted multi-instrumentalist and singer Tonina Saputo's presence on NPR's "Slingshot" list of 40 emerging musicians to watch this year. You can cast a vote in NPR's "Best New Artist of 2018" contest here.

* Also in the RFT, writer Thomas Crone talked with guitarist Joe Park for an article about Park's upcoming album release show, set for Saturday, December 1 at Focal Point.

* Keyboardist David Garfield will be a guest on this weekend's episode of saxophonist Dave Koz's nationally syndicated radio program.

* Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater's concert tomorrow night at The Sheldon was previewed by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Also in the Post, Johnson has written a brief profile of The Sheldon's new executive director Peter Palermo.

* NPR jazz critic Kevin Whitehead was interviewed Tuesday by St. Louis Public Radio's Don Marsh. Whitehead was in town to give a talk for Jazz St. Louis' "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series on Wednesday night at St. Louis County Public Library's Grant's View branch.

Jazz this week: Jeff Lorber Fusion, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Christina Bianco, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features a pioneering jazz-fusion keyboardist; a quick-thinking musical impressionist who first gained fame online; one of the top female vocalists in jazz taking on some soul and blues classics; and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, November 14
Keyboardist Jeff Lorber (pictured, top left) will perform for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis. Lorber, who last played here in February 2015 at the Bistro, this time is supporting a new release, Impact, that came out in August on Shanachie Records.

With a band that includes bassist Jimmy Haslip, drummer Gary Novak, guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., and saxophonists Andy Snitzer and Dave Mann, Impact features 10 new original compositions by Lorber, some of which no doubt will get played this weekend. (You can listen to all the tracks from Impact here.)

Also on Wednesday, Jazz St. Louis' "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series presents a talk by NPR jazz critic Kevin Whitehead at St. Louis County Library's Grant's View Branch. Whitehead will discuss his forthcoming book Play the Way You Feel, which examines how fiction and biographical films from 1927 to 2016 told stories about jazz music and musicians.

Thursday, November 15
Guitarist Dave Black leads his latest project, In Touch, in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. In addition to Black, the group features Kyle Honeycutt on drums, Ben Wheeler on bass, the St. Louis Symphony's Asako Kuboki on violin, and Paul DeMarinis on saxophones and clarinets.

Also on Thursday, Nashville-based singer/songwriter Kristen Cothron performs at The Wolf, and trumpeter Danny Campbell leads a trio at The Dark Room.

Friday, November 16
Singer Christina Bianco, who's gotten tens of millions of views on YouTube for her impressions of various celebrity vocalists, will perform her show "Diva Moments" for the first of two nights at the Gaslight Theater.

Saturday, November 17
Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater brings her tribute to Memphis blues and soul to the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Backed by a group dubbed The Memphis Soulphony, Bridgewater has been touring with a show based on her 2017 album Memphis...Yes I'm Ready, which features her interpretations of (mostly) well-known songs associated with her hometown.

You can find out more about the project and see some videos of her performing the Memphis show in this post from last Saturday. Also, the Sheldon is offering a $10 discount for online purchases of tickets to the concert, which can be accessed by going here and using the promo code MEMPHIS10.

Elsewhere around town, Jeanette Harris who's billed as the "scintillating saxtress of smooth jazz," will play two shows at .ZACK.

Sunday, November 18
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Pat Joyce and clarinetist Scott Alberici at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Louis - Westport; bassist and singer Janet Evra celebrates the release of her debut album with a performance at .ZACK; and singer Ken Haller wraps up the Gaslight Cabaret Festival's fall series with one last performance of his show "Happy Haller Days!" at the Gaslight Theater.

Monday, November 19
Faculty members in the Webster University Jazz Collective will perform at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

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.)