So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Radio host, author and photographer Dennis Owsley and his new book St. Louis Jazz: A History were the subjects of a feature story in the Webster-Kirkwood Times. 

* Trumpeter Russell Gunn was interviewed by NextBop.com about Pyramids, the new album from his Royal Krunk Jazz Orchestra.

* Meanwhile, saxophonist Andre Delano (pictured) has released a new single, "Where Will You Go," an instrumental version of a tune by R&B crooner Babyface, for whom Delano currently serves as musical director and bandleader. 

*  Trumpeter Kasimu Taylor, members of the Saint Boogie Brass Band, and saxophonist Kwanae Johnson appeared Monday on the morning newscast at KTVI (Fox 2). They were promoting the benefit show this Sunday at .ZACK raising money for Johnson and his family, who recently lost their home to a fire. 

* Trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard's opera Fire Shut Up In My Bones, which premiered last season at Opera Theater St. Louis, next year will be the first opera by an African-American composer ever to be performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

* At the New York opening weekend of the new documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the film's director Stanley Nelson and writer Quincy Troupe, who co-authored Davis' autobiography, took part in a Q&A session, which was recorded and now has been posted on YouTube.

* Davis and his landmark album Birth of the Cool are the subjects of an essay in the latest Jazz Times by composer and arranger Ryan Truesdell

* The latest episode of the podcast "Jazz at 100" features music recorded by Davis' quintet and sextet between 1956 and 1959.

* Davis' late 1950s music also was the subject of a recent tribute concert by Richard Pite’s Jazz Repertory Company at Cadogan Hall in London, which was reviewed by London Jazz News.

* Lastly, the Miles Davis estate has announced the impending release of a new music video for "Moon Dreams," as recorded by Davis in 1949 for Birth of the Cool. The video is "influenced by Miles Davis’ own sketches and imagines a night in New York City through every era of jazz."

Jazz this week: Joshua Redman Quartet, a benefit for Kwanae Johnson, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features the return of one of the top tenor saxophonists in modern jazz; a benefit concert to raise funds for a local musician in need of help; and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 25
Saxophonist Joshua Redman and his quartet return for the first of five nights of performances at Jazz St. Louis.

Redman (pictured, top left) and the quartet last performed here in January 2018 at the Bistro, but this time, they've got a new album to support.

Though they first played together more than 20 years ago, Redman's quartet with pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Greg Hutchinson has had long stretches of inactivity while the leader pursued other projects, including in recent years tours with the cooperative band James Farm and with The Bad Plus.

As a result, the new album Come What May, released this spring on the Nonesuch label, actually is the quartet's first recording since 2001, and only their third overall.  Featuring seven new Redman originals, the album likely will provide the backbone of at least a few of their sets this week, although the extended run also should provide opportunities to get into the back catalog as well.

Also on Wednesday, the free "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" in Grand Center features Tommy Halloran and Rob Nugent at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and guitarist Joe Park's trio at The Dark Room.

Thursday, September 26
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert from saxophonist Harvey Lockhart and his quintet; the French father-and-son guitar duo Paquito and Sandro Lorier (pictured, center left) play Gypsy jazz and swing at Joe's Cafe; and trumpeter Brady Lewis and his BLStet return to The Dark Room

Friday, September 27
Vincent Varvel presents a guitar recital at 560 Music Center; keyboardist Ryan Marquez and his trio with guest vocalist Lola return to Evangeline's; and jazz/funk collective Orchestrated 9th offers a tribute to the music of Herbie Hancock at Troy's.

Saturday, September 28
Singer and bassist Janet Evra teams up with Americana group The Main Street Remnants for a performance at The Monocle; singer Jan Shapiro and the Dave Venn Trio return to the Ozark Theater; and The Gaslight Squares are back at the Frisco Barroom

Sunday, 
September 29
On Sunday afternoon, "ONE LOVE: A Benefit For Kwanae Johnson & Family" at .ZACK will raise money for saxophonist Kwanae Johnson and his family, who earlier this year lost their home to a fire. The event will feature music from trumpeter Kasimu Taylor, singer and bassist Janet Evra, the Funky Butt Brass Band, R&B vocalist Roland Johnson, and more.

Also on Sunday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Mount Pleasant Estates, and the Ambassadors of Swing play a free outdoor concert at the Sunset Hills Community Center.

Then on Sunday evening, Dallas-based drummer Stefan Gonzalez (pictured, bottom left), who's the son of veteran free-jazz trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez, will team up with violinist Alex Cunningham and bassist Damon Smith, a recent transplant to St. Louis, for a performance of improvisational music at Foam.

Tuesday, October 1
Kicking off this year's "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series, Jazz St. Louis presents "An Evening with Benny Golson," featuring a conversation with the veteran saxophonist and composer, plus a short performance. While the free event already is "sold out," it might be worth checking with the box office on the day of the event for cancellations or no-shows.

Also on Tuesday, the Tick Tock Jazz Band plays traditional jazz in their monthly gig at the Tick Tock Tavern.

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:

* A newly restored version of Say Amen Somebody, the award-winning 1982 documentary about gospel music that features St. Louisans including Willie Mae Ford Smith, Zella Jackson Price, and the O'Neal Twins, is being re-released in theaters this fall. The film will play locally from Friday, September 13 through Thursday, September 19 at the Chase Park Plaza Cinemas.

* A performance by Miss Jubilee earned a favorable mention in The Syncopated Times' review of the 2019 Bix Biederbecke Memorial Jazz Festival in Davenport, IA.

* St. Louis saxophonist Kwanae Johnson and his family recently lost their home to a fire, and friends are stepping up to help. A concert to raise funds for the Johnsons, with details still TBA, will be presented from noon to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 29 at .ZACK. For those who can't attend that day or prefer to give directly, there's a donation page on Facebook.

* Also in need of a hand right now is guitarist Dave Black (pictured), a mainstay of the St. Louis music scene for more than 30 years. Black last week was involved in a serious cycling accident, suffering injuries that will keep him from performing or teaching for several months.

A benefit concert is in the works, but in the meantime, friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help Black with medical and living expenses during his recovery. Black's situation also was the subject of a story by KMOX radio's Maria Keena.

* As reported by St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy D. Goodwin, a new $30 million development will bring single family homes (and some new apartments) to the Grand Center arts district.

* Jazz St. Louis has announced the selections for this year's edition of their book club, which once again will be led by Washington University professor Gerald Early. You can see the complete list of books and meeting dates here.

* The second annual St. Louis Drum Show will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 19 at the Koken Art Factory.

* Neuka Bowie Mitchell, an executive with Bayer and the daughter of trumpeter Lester Bowie and singer Fontella Bass, has been named to the board of directors of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis.

* Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the new documentary about the famed trumpeter, was the subject of a feature story in DownBeat. The film also was reviewed by Glenn Kenny for the New York Times  and by the Los Angeles Times' Glenn Whipp.

* The music made by Davis in 1959, including Kind of Blue and the Gil Evans-arranged Porgy and Bess, will be revisited at a tribute concert by Richard Pite’s Jazz Repertory Company on Saturday, September 21 at Cadogan Hall in London.