So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* According to posts on social media, Music Record Shop has relocated from the Grove neighborhood to Grand Center.

The retailer will take up residence in temporary space at 3526 Washington (right next door to KDHX) until January, when they'll move into a permanent home in the district's new "arts incubator" .ZACK - and yes, it's pronounced "dot zack" - in the former Cadillac Building at 3224 Locust St (pictured).

* The website ThisIsHermann.com has published online a photo set from last Saturday's Hermann Wine & Jazz Festival.

* Dan Connor, drummer and bandleader for Miss Jubilee, was profiled in the Belleville News-Democrat.

* The MAXJAZZ catalog of jazz recordings has been acquired by the Detroit-based Mack Avenue label. The St. Louis based independent label had been essentially dormant since the death of founder Richard McDonnell in February, 2014.

Richard McDonnell Memorial Concert to be held Sunday, May 24 at Jazz at the Bistro

Jazz St. Louis has announced that the second annual Richard McDonnell Memorial Concert will take place starting at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, May 24 at Jazz at the Bistro.

The concert will feature performances by St. Louis musicians including Peter Martin, Funky Butt Brass Band, Adam Maness, Bob DeBoo, Eric Slaughter, Montez Coleman, Jesse Gannon, and more.

McDonnell (pictured), who died suddenly on February 8, 2014, was a long-time board member of Jazz St. Louis; founder and owner of the St. Louis based independent record label MAXJAZZ; and a well-liked and near-ubiquitous presence around the local jazz scene.

Tickets for the 2015 Richard McDonnell Memorial Concert are $25 for general admission, $100 for VIP reserved seats, and are on sale now. All the musicians are donating their time so that all proceeds from the concert can go towards a scholarship fund for student musicians in McDonnell’s name.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Rene Marie gets "evil" like Eartha Kitt

Today, let's spend some video time with singer Rene Marie, who's coming to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, March 4 through Saturday, March 7 at Jazz at the Bistro.

A Virginia native who will turn 60 in November, Rene Marie was something of a late bloomer, not beginning her professional singing career until she was past 40 and her two sons nearly grown. She was one of the first artists to sign with the St. Louis-based MAXJAZZ label in 1999, and put out a total of five albums with them over the next six years, and also making several live appearances during the same time period here in St. Louis at the Bistro.

After self-releasing several recordings in the mid-2000s, Marie struck a deal with the indie label Motéma in 2011, and since then has put out three more albums, the most recent of which was 2013's I Wanna Be Evil (With Love to Eartha Kitt).

The idea of doing a straight-up tribute album was something of a departure for Marie, who usually writes a good portion of her own material and also is noted for creative arrangements and medleys of others' songs. But as it happens, her musical approach turned out to be a good match for material associated with Kitt, whose eclectic career ranged over seven decades, beginning in the 1940s as a dancer with Katherine Dunham and eventually encompassing numerous roles in films and on Broadway, hit records including "Santa Baby" and "C'est Si Bon," and, famously, even a stint playing Catwoman on the 1960s TV version of Batman.

The album was generally well received, and Marie has built a number of recent live sets around the songs from I Want To Be Evil, including her show last November at the Chicago Humanities Festival, which you can see in its entirety in the embedded video window at the top of this post.

After the jump, you can see her performing "Peel Me A Grape," recorded at last year's Heineken Jazzaldia in San Sebastián, Spain; and an excerpt from her version of "It Might As Well Be Spring" from the 2013 ProJAZZ Festival in Dortmund, Germany.

Next is one of Marie's trademark medleys, joining the 1940s standard "Imagination" with the Temptations' "Just My Imagination," and a version of "Them There Eyes," both recorded in August 2012 at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in NYC. An acapella version of "When You're Smiling" from 2010 wraps up today's video selections.

For more about Rene Marie and I Want To Be Evil, check out this interview she did with NPR last April, and this conversation she had with fellow singer Roseanna Vitro, published in 2012 by Jazz Times.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Greg Osby did a brief Q&A for the website of the Pew Foundation, which made him one of their Pew Fellows in 2012.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake (pictured) has announced some major NYC gigs for this fall, including a show with his big band on Saturday, September 13 at Iridium and a week of performances leading various ensembles from October 21 through October 26 at The Stone.

* In other Lake-related news, here's a review of the reissue compilation Oliver Lake: The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint and Soul Note from Tim Niland of the blog Music & More.

* Pianist Jay Oliver has put online a video of "Incantation," a solo improvisation he recorded for Convergence, the new album from drummer Dave Weckl. The album, which also features fellow St. Louis native Tom Kennedy on bass, as well as Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Gary Meek, Dean Brown, Brandon Fields and more, can be obtained via Weckl's website.

* Former St. Louisan Benjamin Cawthra, author of the book Blue Notes in Black and White, blogged some thoughts about the situation in Ferguson.

* Most of the remaining jazz-related artwork from the collection of the late Richard McDonnell, founder of the indie label MAXJAZZ, now are scheduled to be sold in an auction to be conducted by Link Auction Galleries on Saturday, September 13. You can see items from McDonnell's collection that will be in the sale (and place online bids) starting here.

* Lindy Hop St. Louis was featured in a short video produced by the Riverfront Times.

* Singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black were interviewed last week on KMOX (1120 AM) by "Route 66" host Ron "Johnny Rabbit" Elz.

* Bassist Mark Wallace is the latest subject of St. Louis magazine's recurring feature "Seven Questions With..."

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,” host Calvin Wilson spotlights the music of pianist Cecil Taylor. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Meanwhile, over across the river in Edwardsville, WSIE (88.7 FM) has scheduled a new program called "St. Louis Jazz Talk" that will air at 11:00 a.m. Sundays beginning September 8. The show will be hosted by WSIE's Dick Ulett and musicians Mike Silverman, Robert Silverman, and Erika Johnson, and will feature interviews with and recordings by St. Louis musicians.

Jazz art from Richard McDonnell collection available for purchase on Saturday, June 14

A variety of jazz-related artwork collected by Richard "Rich" McDonnell, the late founder and owner of MAXJAZZ records, will be available for viewing and purchase in a special event from noon to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, June 14 at the MAXJAZZ offices, 115 Lockwood Ave in Webster Groves.

Jeff Appel, a photography dealer and friend of the McDonnell family who's managing the sale, says the collection encompasses more than 175 pieces, including photos, lithographs, etchings, sculpture, posters, and prints. McDonnell, who started MAXJAZZ in 1998 after retiring from a career as an investment banker, died from complications of a stroke in February of this year.

Before preparing for the sale, "I knew he had great quality, but I didn't realize the quantity," said Appel. The atmosphere of the event will be casual, he said, with drinks, music, and "no gallery stuffiness (no offense intended)."

The photo collection includes work by Jimmy Katz, who photographed many musicians for MAXJAZZ album covers; as well as pictures by William Gottlieb, William Claxton and Chuck Stewart, who's been in the news recently, as previously unseen photos he took of legendary saxophonist John Coltrane were rediscovered and donated to the Smithsonian. (Another of Stewart's famous photos of the saxophonist and his wife Alice Coltrane illustrates this post.)

There's also a 30-piece portfolio of images by Herman Leonard, which has been displayed for more than 10 years at Jazz at the Bistro and features iconic photos of Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and many more.

And speaking of Davis, McDonnell's collection of prints includes work by the trumpeter, who enjoyed drawing and painting when he wasn't making music, as well as William Tolliver and Joseph Holston, whose image of Coltrane was used for the poster for Jazz Appreciation Month this year.

"This is a great chance for new or experienced collectors to pick up a piece from the MAXJAZZ collection, and to see what a true lover of all things jazz that Richard was," said Appel. Prices will range from $50 for some modern reprints of historical posters, on up to $35,000 for a "huge" Holston painting, with much of the work in the $500 to $3,000 range.

"I know (that) isn't cheap," said Appel, "but a lot of it is museum-collected work that is rarely on the market, and for what it's worth, almost everything is nicely framed, and that is generally at least a $200 to $400 expense for a smaller piece that makes this work ready to hang and enjoy."

Appel said he's pleased that a number of the pieces already sold seem likely to stay in St. Louis collections, and will be available for loan to the Sheldon and the International Photography Hall of Fame for future exhibitions, "once again confirming the great taste that Richard had, as well as keeping his memory alive."

Memorial concert honoring MAXJAZZ's Richard McDonnell set for Sunday, May 25 at Jazz at the Bistro

A memorial concert honoring the late Richard "Rich" McDonnell and featuring artists from his MAXJAZZ label will take place starting at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, May 25 at Jazz at the Bistro.

The event will culminate in a headlining set at 7:00 p.m. featuring trumpeter Terell Stafford (pictured, above left), pianist Bruce Barth, saxophonist Tim Warfield, and singer Carla Cook, all of whom have recorded for MAXJAZZ, backed by St. Louis' Montez Coleman on drums and Bob DeBoo on bass.

Before that, though, the afternoon will feature a performance from Brilliant Corners, which is co-led by saxophonist Paul DeMarinis and guitarist Dave Black and was the first band to record on the MAXJAZZ label, as well as music from Good 4 the Soul, Jesse Gannon, Cheryl Brown, Funky Butt Brass Band, Jazz St. Louis' own Gene Dobbs Bradford and Phil Dunlap, and additional acts TBA. Look for a full schedule of bands on the Jazz St. Louis website the week of the event.

While the concert is free and open to the public with seating on a general admission basis, Jazz St. Louis is suggesting a donation of $25 at the door in honor of McDonnell, who died on February 8 of this year. An investment banker before he retired and founded MAXJAZZ, McDonnell (pictured, below left) also was a board member of Jazz St. Louis.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard's Champion, which premiered last summer at Opera Theatre St. Louis, has been named a finalist in the "World Premiere" category of the 2014 Opera Awards. Blanchard is back in St. Louis this weekend to perform on Saturday night at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* Jazz St. Louis' Gene Dobbs Bradford and Bob Bennett described their favorite releases from the late Richard McDonnell's MAXJAZZ label for an article by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Bassist Christian McBride's trio shows next week at Jazz at the Bistro are previewed in a Post-Dispatch article by Terry Perkins.

* The "Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60" tour, which features an all-star band including St. Louis' Peter Martin on piano, kicked off this past week with dates in Atlanta and Boston. The tour will play a total of 17 cities, ending here in St. Louis on Sunday, March 30 at The Sheldon. The band (pictured, from left) is comprised of singer Karrin Allyson, drummer Clarence Penn, bassist Larry Grenadier, clarinetist/saxophonist and musical director Anat Cohen, guitarist Mark Whitfield, trumpeter Randy Brecker, and Martin.

* St. Louis record stores Vintage Vinyl, Euclid Records and Record Exchange all got shout-outs in a recent post from the blog Vinyl Record Collector.

* Greg Osby, in conjunction with St. Louis retailer Saxquest, has put online a series of videos in which he demonstrates his new signature alto sax by P. Mauriat.

* Singer Tony Viviano makes an appearance at the end of a promotional video released this week by StL 250, the organization coordinating this year's celebration of St. Louis' 250th birthday.

* NPR this week had a story about how one difficult night for Miles Davis and his mid-1960s quintet resulted in two classic albums.

* In more Davis-related news, the legendary trumpeter is one a number of entertainment and sports figures whose portraits are featured in "American Cool," a new exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.

* Meanwhile, Miles Davis Online's Jeff Hyatt takes another look at the official Davis website, and still finds room for improvement.

* Online retailer Sheet Music Plus is offering a 20% discount on all Mel Bay products through next Tuesday, February 18. (When you use the link provided, StLJN gets a small commission on the sale.)

* Jazz radio update:  On this Saturday's episode of Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' "Somethin' Else," host Calvin Wilson spotlights contemporary jazz musicians based in New York City, including trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, violinist Jenny Scheinman and the trio Dawn of Midi.

Right after that, Jason Church's "The Jazz Collective," will feature a musical menu including tracks by Down To The Bone, Average White Band, Brian Bromberg, Cindy Bradley, Jeremy Davenport, Miles Davis, Al Caldwell, Tracy Heaston, Robert Silverman, and Dawn Weber.

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.      

(Edited after posting.)

Richard McDonnell 1946 - 2014

Richard "Rich" McDonnell, the former investment banker who founded and ran the independent St. Louis-based label MAXJAZZ, has died. He was 68.

Several reports from friends on Facebook say that McDonnell had a stroke on Friday night while watching Houston Person and the Bill Charlap trio at Jazz at the Bistro, where he was a subscriber and a board member of the parent organization Jazz St. Louis. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died on Saturday.

McDonnell (pictured) grew up in Kirkwood and graduated from Washington University. He started MAXJAZZ in 1998 while still working for AG Edwards, then took early retirement from the investment firm in 2002 to run the label full time.

MAXJAZZ began by recording St. Louis musicians including the Kennedy Brothers, pianist Dave Venn, Mardra and Reggie Thomas, and Brilliant Corners, featuring Paul DeMarinis and Dave Black, but McDonnell soon began signing artists from all over the country, starting with singers Laverne Butler and Carla Cook.

In a 1999 interview with the Riverfront Times' Rene Spencer Saller, he talked about why he got into the record business:

"It was a combination of the music side of me and the business side of me," McDonnell responds, adding that he studied saxophone for many years. "I missed the opportunity to be out playing jazz. Although I've been a listener most of my life, that wasn't totally satisfactory. I wanted to do something that was more active. There was also my feeling, with increasing age, maybe, that we ought to go out of the scene doing something worthwhile. I felt that I could make some contribution to the arts, and that's the way this business is run. It's run efficiently as a business, but in the end, if it's not profitable, it's still my way of contributing to the arts."

In the years since, the label has become known internationally among jazz fans for swinging, mainstream recordings from musicians including Terell Stafford, Mulgrew Miller, Russell Malone and many others. Now with a catalog of more than 75 albums, MAXJAZZ last year inked a distribution agreement with industry giant Naxos.

Even as MAXJAZZ expanded, McDonnell continued to be an enthusiastic presence on the St. Louis scene,  regularly attending performances around town and befriending local musicians. (He also was an early supporter of St. Louis Jazz Notes, offering frequent encouragement as well as passing along news of the label's activities and thanks for coverage of their artists.)

Survivors include three sons: Boyd McDonnell, Carter McDonnell, and Clayton McDonnell, who worked with his dad running MAXJAZZ. StLJN will have more on this story, including information on funeral arrangements, as details become available.

Update - 10:12 a.m., 2/10/14: A "memorial gathering" for Rich McDonnell will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. this Thursday, February 13 at Bopp Chapel, 10610 Manchester Rd. in Kirkwood. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be made in his name to Jazz St. Louis.

Update - 10:00 p.m., 2/11/13: More on Rich McDonnell:

"Remembering Richard McDonnell, MAXJAZZ Founder Dies At 68" by Terry Perkins, St. Louis Public Radio

"MAXJAZZ Label Owner Rich McDonnell Dies at 68" by Jeff Tamarkin, Jazz Times

"MAXJAZZ owner Richard McDonnell dies" by Kevin C. Johnson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
(Warning: autoplay video)

"RIP Richard McDonnell" and "A Visit to MAXJAZZ" by Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus, writing on his blog Do The Math

(Edited after posting to fix a typo and update the info on survivors.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Multi-instrumentalist and former U. Citian Marty Ehrlich's latest album A Trumpet In The Morning was reviewed in the Irish Times.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted to Facebook an album of photos from The Bad Plus' performances last week at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Meanwhile, while the group was in St. Louis, TBP pianist Ethan Iverson (pictured) visited the offices of the St. Louis independent label MAXJAZZ, and blogged about it, with photos, here.

* And speaking of photo albums, Saxquest has posted to their Facebook page a collection of pictures from last week's Jazz Education Network (JEN) conference in Dallas.

* Thirty-five years after the death of singer, pianist, songwriter and former St. Louisan Donny Hathaway, Duke University professor of African and African-American studies Mark Anthony Neal muses on Hathaway's legacy and what might have been.

* A track from singer/guitarist Tommy Halloran was featured as KDHX's "Song of the Day" download, while the album got an advance review from the Riverfront Times.

* Also in the RFT, music editor Daniel Hill takes a look at KDHX's new headquarters in Grand Center.

* And speaking of new albums, bassist Jahmal Nichols has a few words about his with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby is the guest on the latest "A Noise From The Deep Podcast" on trumpeter Dave Douglas' Greenleaf Music site, in which he chats with Douglas and co-host Michael Bates about generating creative ideas, finding new musicians, and more.

* Jazz radio update: On this Saturday's edition of Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' "Somethin' Else," host Calvin Wilson will rewind back to the 1950s to feature music from Miles Davis' storied quintet with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones.

After that, "The Jazz Collective" host Jason Church will feature music from Jeff Golub, Gabriel Mark Hasselbach, Keiko Matsui, Juris, Pieces of a Dream, Hilton Feldon, John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Jack McDuff, Larry Barker, Ron Goff, Elliott Ranney, and Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing.

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.  

MAXJAZZ deal with Naxos begins with three new releases

After an initial announcement was made back in July of this year, the latest three releases from the St. Louis-based independent label MAXJAZZ are the first to be distributed under a new agreement with Naxos of America.

Headquartered near Nashville in Franklin, Tennessee, Naxos is the leading independent distributor of classical music in the U.S. and Canada, and in recent years also has begun to add selected jazz labels to its roster.

The first three MAXJAZZ albums that Naxos is handling are bassist Ben Wolfe's From Here, first released back in August; Essential Elements, a trio date that came out in October and is the label's first from NYC pianist/organist Ben Paterson; and Where or When, the brand new release and MAXJAZZ debut from Italian saxophonist Emanuele Cisi (pictured).

Naxos distributes nearly 35,000 titles on CD and DVD to traditional retail stores, and also supplies a catalog of more than 30,000 albums to various digital music outlets. The company also offers marketing, publicity, e-commerce, and various other support services to its distributed labels.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Residents of Alton will get their first look this weekend at what the proposed statue of Miles Davis may look like when it's installed downtown.

Artist Preston Jackson will give a presentation to the community tomorrow, Saturday July 20, to help kick off the Alton Block Party, showing renderings of the Davis statue (pictured) situated on its eventual site.

The event takes place in the 200 block of W. 3rd St., starting with an hour of music by trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at 4:00 p.m., followed by Jackson's presentation at 5:00 p.m..

* And speaking of Miles Davis, CBC Music takes note of the 50th anniversary of the release of Davis' album Seven Steps to Heaven with a post on the "7 Passions of Miles Davis."

* The new Yellowjackets album Rise In The Road was reviewed for Jazz Times magazine by Philip Booth. The group will be in St. Louis the last week in September to kick off the fall season at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Trumpeter Kermit Ruffins had a few words with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson for a brief story found online here. Ruffins plays at The Gramophone next Wednesday and Thursday.

* Lindy Hop St. Louis continues its series of Saturday dance workshops next week with "Pirating: Enrich Your Lindy Hop with Stolen Dance Steps" from noon to 4:00 p.m., Saturday July 27 at Studio Forte in Maplewood.

* After being washed out by rainy weather a couple of weeks ago at the St. Louis Art Museum, pianist Phil Dunlap's new quintet will make their debut as part of the "American Music Showcase", a multi-band, multi-genre event to be held from 6:00 p.m. to midnight Saturday, August in seven different locations in the Grand Center district.

* For the vinyl lovers out there, Euclid Records now is marketing their own brand of record-cleaning solution called Euclid Juice. It's $10 for a spray bottle, $5 for a refill, and available at the store.

* The independent St. Louis based jazz label MAXJAZZ has announced that their catalog now will be distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Naxos of America, the largest independent distributor of classical music in North America.

* Voting is open in Down Beat magazine's 78th annual Readers Poll. You can cast your ballot for your favorite musicians, bands and recordings online here.

* Jazz radio update: WSIE (88.7 FM) reports that they purchased and on July 18 successfully installed a new backup generator, enabling to them to stay on the air even if the power grid goes down.

Over at Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, this Saturday's edition of Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else" will feature fresh tracks from present-day artists including Gretchen Parlato, the Bad Plus and James Farm, featuring saxophonist Joshua Redman. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen. 

A bit farther up the dial, the subject of Dennis Owsley's "Jazz Unlimited" program at 9:00 p.m. this Sunday on KWMU (90.7 FM) is "Music from the Newport and Monterey Jazz Festivals, Part 2.” The episode will feature the sounds of Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, The Donald Byrd-Gigi Gryce Jazz Lab Quintet, Dave Brubeck, the Don Ellis Big Band, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Horace Silver, Charles Lloyd with Keith Jarrett, the Thelonious Monk nonet, Max Roach, John Handy, The Charles Mingus Octet and the Monterey 50th Anniversary All-Stars.

Illustration of Miles Davis statue via the Alton Telegraph.

(Edited after posting to add the radio update & item on Kermit Ruffins.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Congratulations to Richard McDonnell and Clayton McDonnell, as their St. Louis based independent jazz label MAXJAZZ last weekend celebrated the 14th anniversary of its very first release. You can see the catalog of all the music they've put out over the years at http://www.maxjazz.com/.

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native David Sanborn has put his NYC home up for sale with an asking price of a cool $12 million. Once the pad sells, Sanborn plans to split time between a house in the country and a smaller, yet-to-be-purchased city home. He currently is touring with keyboardist Bob James in support of Quartette Humaine, their new album on the OKeh label.

* The recent induction of trumpeter Clark Terry, Art Blakey and Lionel Hampton to Jazz at Lincoln Center's Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame is the subject of a feature story at the website IRockJazz.com.

* Modern Luxury magazine speculates that, before a certain beer company appropriated the title for their commercial spokesman, the "most interesting man in the world" was none other than trumpeter Miles Davis.

* Trumpeter Terence Blanchard's Champion, opening tonight at Opera Theatre St. Louis, is the the subject of an Associated Press story by Charles Gans.

* Speaking of Blanchard, next Saturday's edition of Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else" program on Radio Arts Foundation will focus on the trumpeter's jazz recordings and includes an interview with him. First, though, this Saturday Wilson will present the second half of his feature on Sonny Rollins (who was scheduled to play in St Louis next weekend but had to cancel for health reasons). To listen, tune in at 8:00 p.m. at 107.3 FM, on HD radio at 96.3 HD2 or listen online at http://rafstl.org/listen/.

* Meanwhile, Dennis Owsley's "Jazz Unlimited" broadcast at 9:00 p.m. this Sunday on KWMU (90.7 FM) will feature tributes to the late Mulgrew Miller and the late Ed Shaughnessy, plus new music from Dave Douglas, Gerald Clayton, Lionel Loueke, Freddy Cole, Ian Dogole, the Bad Plus, Jack DeJohnette, Grant Green, John and Ravi Coltrane and Charles Lloyd, plus St. Louisans Keith Moyer, James “Jabbo” Ware and the Jim Widner Big Band. You can listen over the air or online at http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org. 

*The Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival has announced the lineup for this year's event, which will take place from noon to 10:00 p.m. Saturday, September 21. Two stages in the Old Webster Business District (on Lockwood between Gore and Allen) will feature music from Scott Air Force Band, Marquise Knox, Miss Jubilee, Webster University Jazz Ensemble, David Dee & The Hot Tracks Band, the Willie Akins/Montez Coleman Group, Sarah Jane & The Blue Notes (pictured), the Webster Groves High School Jazz Band, and the Javier Mendoza Latin Jazz Experience.

Once again this year, the opener on the Allen Ave. stage will be a musical act selected as the winner of the “Webster’s Got Talent” contest. To enter, download the application form as either a Word .doc or .pdf, and submit it with .mp3 audio files (limit of two) to webstersgottalent@gmail.com.

* Friends and fans of Jazz St. Louis are invited to a party previewing the organization's 2013-14 season at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 26 at Jazz at the Bistro. The event will be hosted by executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford and artistic director Bob Bennett, who will offer "an entertaining, behind-the-scenes look...complete with a multi-media presentation and Q&A with the audience." Complimentary hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine, and beverages will be served, and a cash bar also will be available. If you'd like to attend, RSVP no later than June 21 by calling 314-289-4034 or sending an email to daniel@jazzstl.org.

Edited after posting to correct the info on the next two weeks' "Somethin' Else" programs.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Tonight, the Webster University Film Series will show 60x60 Project: Presenter's Mix, for which "video artists Patrick Liddell, Sabrina Pena, Rachel Cosic & Zlatko Cosic created 60 original works to accompany 60 experimental music compositions from 60 different international composers, each composition being 60 seconds or less in duration." The screening starts at 7:30 p.m. at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

* KSDK's Art Holliday will show segments of his work-in-progress documentary film about St. Louis blues/rock piano great Johnnie Johnson for the Webster Groves Historical Society at 7:00 p.m. this Sunday, June 2. The event will take place at Hawken House, 1155 S. Rock Hill Rd., just south of Big Bend, and also will include a Q&A with Holliday. Admission is $1 for Historical Society members, $3 for non-members.

* Radio station WSIE (88.7 FM) will be holding another on-air fund-raising event this weekend, offering CDs and other premiums for supporters who make a contribution. The pledge drive also will feature guest appearances throughout the weekend from St. Louis musicians and various other people involved with the local jazz scene, including, if all goes to plan, yr. humble StLJN editor. (For updates on this, check out the the StLJN Twitter feed.)

* Meanwhile, on Saturday night over at Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's program "Somethin' Else" will spotlight saxophonists, while Jason Church's "The Jazz Collective" will feature new music from Kyle Eastwood, Terrence Blanchard, Keiko Matsui and George Benson, plus tracks from Bob James, Hilton Feldon, Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie and local music from Clave Sol, Dawn Weber and Naked Rock Fight, Dreaming In Colour and Tommy Halloran. Wilson's show starts at 8:00 p.m., with Church following him from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. broadcasting at 107.3 FM,, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

* Turning the radio dial to KWMU (90.7 FM), on Sunday night Dennis Owsley's "Jazz Unlimited" program will feature the ninth part of his audio documentary on the history of St. Louis jazz. Covering the early 2000s, the program will present music from more than two dozen current St. Louis jazz artists, plus interviews with Gene Dobbs Bradford, Erin Bode, Peter Martin, Randy Holmes and Reggie Thomas. It all starts at 9:00 p.m., and if you're outside the broadcast area, you can listen online at http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org.

* Trombonist Brett Stamps, former director of jazz studies at SIUE, is on the mend at a hospital in Springfield, IL. According to a post on Facebook from his wife Kim Stamps, "while performing in Sacramento, Brett developed bacterial pneumonia. Once home and diagnosed, he was put in the hospital and was then transferred to Springfield. He is getting great care and is progressing well."

* As usual, the anniversary of Miles Davis' birth last weekend inspired a number of online tributes; here's one of my favorites, a slide show from the New Yorker of photos of Davis.

* While guitarist Lionel Loueke was here a couple of weeks ago to play at Jazz at the Bistro, he also recorded a video interview for our town's Mel Bay Publishing. The first part of the three-part conversation is here; for the rest, follow the links.

* Shattinger Music, the St. Louis based retailer who has supplied sheet music to musicians and band directors all over the country since 1876, is going through some changes, according to this story from the Post-Dispatch's business reporter Tim Bryant. For now, they've shuttered their storefront at 1810 S. Broadway while seeking a new location, but still are doing business online.

* A local judge has issued an injunction blocking the City of St. Louis' proposed licensing requirements for street musicians. Saxophonist Fred Walker was one of the plaintiffs in a suit filed by the ACLU to block the law.

* Lastly, it is with sadness that we must report the death of pianist Mulgrew Miller (pictured), who recorded several albums for the St. Louis based MAXJAZZ label and played here at Jazz at the Bistro, the Touhill and other venues numerous times over the years. Miller, who was only 57, suffered a stroke last Friday at his home in Pennsylvania, and died on Wednesday at a nearby hospital. Down Beat magazine has more about Miller here, and the Lehigh Valley Express Times, the local paper from near where Miller lived, has a nice tribute here.

In a statement to the Washington Post, MAXJAZZ president Richard McDonnell said,“Mulgrew Miller was one of a kind. His gifts were both musical and humanitarian. He was held in the highest regard by the jazz community - musicians and fans alike. He mentored a number of young jazz musicians. Mulgrew Miller and his trio had the distinction of being the inaugural act to perform at The Kennedy Center Jazz Club on Thursday, September 5, 2002.”

Edited after posting to add the item about Brett Stamps. Edited on 6/3/13 to add statement from Richard McDonnell.)

MAXJAZZ releasing Ben Wolfe's new CD From Here I See on Tuesday, April 2

The St. Louis-based independent label MAXJAZZ has scheduled the release of bassist/composer Ben Wolfe's new CD From Here I See for Tuesday, April 2.

The album (pictured) is Wolfe's second for MAXJAZZ, which previously released his CD No Strangers Here back in 2008. The NYC-based Wolfe is known for his work with Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and also teaches at Juilliard.

His new recording features him with pianist Orrin Evans, drummer Donald Edwards, and saxophonist J.D. Allen, along with a string quartet on several tracks and special guest appearances by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, guitarist Russell Malone, and saxophonist Marcus Strickland. Audio samples of From Here I See should be online soon at Wolfe's page on the MAXJAZZ website.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A Terell Stafford sampler

As mentioned earlier here in this space, it's been a good fall season in St. Louis for fans of jazz trumpet, with gigs from the likes of Terence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Christan Scott and Mike Metheny already completed and more to come.

More specifically, last week we featured some videos of the sextet of Taylor Ho Bynum (technically a cornetist, not a trumpeter), who will be here next Saturday to perform at Luminary Center for the Arts. Today, let's take a look and a listen to Terell Stafford, who's coming back to St. Louis to perform this Wednesday, October 31 through Saturday November 3 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Stafford has played in St. Louis a number of times in the last few years, most recently in March at the Bistro with drummer Matt Wilson's Arts & Crafts. Born in Miami and raised in Chicago and Silver Spring, Maryland, he earned degrees in music education at the University of Maryland and classical trumpet performance at Rutgers University before beginning his professional career.

In addition to performing with his own groups and Arts & Crafts, Stafford has played with well-known jazz musicians including Benny Golson, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Barron, the Jimmy Heath Big Band, the Jon Faddis Orchestra, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and the Clayton Brothers Quintet. He can be heard on more than 90 albums as a sideman, and has recorded six albums as a leader, the most recent of which, This Side of Strayhorn, came out in 2011 on the St. Louis based MAXJAZZ label. The album, which explores some of the compositions of Duke Ellington's longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn, was Stafford's first to hit the Billboard charts and reached number one on JazzWeek's Jazz Radio Report.

Formerly a faculty member at the Julliard Institute of Jazz Studies in NYC, Stafford now serves as director of jazz studies and chair of instrumental studies at Temple University in Philadelphia and as a member of the board of the Jazz Education Network. In keeping with his interest in education, while he's in St. Louis to play at the Bistro, Stafford also will present a workshop at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, November 3 at Saxquest. He'll be accompanied by Eric Slaughter on guitar, Marty Morrison on drums, and Jeff Anderson on bass, and the event is free and open to the public.

Back at the Bistro, Stafford is expected to play material from his Strayhorn tribute, but unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of online video documenting previous performances of those songs. So instead, we've got a sampler of Stafford playing in a variety of jazz styles, starting with the first video above, in which he demonstrates his considerable skills playing a ballad at the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival earlier this year.

Down below, there's a clip of Stafford playing the standard "Taking a Chance on Love" back in 2006 at the Jazz Baltica festival, fronting a band with saxophonist Tim Warfield, bassist Martin Wind, Matt Wilson on drums and the formidable Mulgrew Miller on piano.

We fast-forward a couple of years for the next clip, a rendition of the hard-boppish "Berda's Bounce" recorded in 2008 at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis with Warfield, Bruce Barth on piano, Phil Palombi on bass, and Dana Hall on drums.

In the fourth clip, we're back in 2012 as Stafford teams up with Chady Eby (tenor saxophone), Peter Edwards (piano), Rodney Whitaker (bass), and Jerome Jennings (drums) to play the New Orleans chestnut "Second Line" at Trinity Church in London.

Below that are a couple of clips providing additional insight into Stafford's playing. The first documents a recording session for saxophonist Paul Carr's album Standard Domain, and shows Stafford soloing on four different takes of pianist Joey Calderazzo's "Bye George." The sixth and final clip features a brief interview Stafford did earlier this year in Vancouver, in which he talks about his approach to music and the Strayhorn project.

For more, you can hear Stafford and his quintet performing material from This Side of Strayhorn on this NPR broadcast, recorded last year at NYC's Village Vanguard. The trumpeter also talks about the Strayhorn project in this interview published last year on AllAboutJazz.com.











(Edited after posting to fix a garbled paragraph and some type-formatting issues.)

MAXJAZZ releases new solo CD by pianist Dena DeRose

The St. Louis based independent label MAXJAZZ has released a new CD by pianist Dena DeRose called Travelin' Light.

The album (pictured) is DeRose's fourth for the label and her first recording as a solo pianist. It was recorded live at The Chromatic Attic in Antwerp, Belgium, and features DeRose's interpretations of some familiar tunes (and some more obscure ones) from the "Great American Songbook."

DeRose will promote the release of Travelin' Light with performances on September 14 and 15 at The Kitano in NYC, playing with bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Steve Williams.

Travelin' Light is on sale now online and in retail stores.

MAXJAZZ to release David Budway's A New Kiss on Tuesday, November 8

MAXJAZZ has set Tuesday, November 8 as the offical release date for A New Kiss, pianist David Budway's debut recording for the St. Louis-based independent label.

A veteran performer and educator who plays classical and rock as well as jazz, Budway has played and/or recorded with many well-known musicians over the course of his career, including Branford Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Stanley Turrentine, Hubert Laws, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Jimmy Heath, Jon Faddis, Louie Bellson, Mark Murphy, Marlena Shaw, Ravi Coltrane, Joe Pass, Randy Brecker, Wynton Marsalis and George Benson.

A New Kiss (pictured) features performances by Marsalis and Watts, as well as bassist Eric Revis, guitarist Ron Affif, saxophonist Marcus Strickland and accordionist/keyboardist Joe Barbato. Budway will preview the official release of the CD with a performance on Thursday, October 20 at the NYC club Smoke, accompanied by a band that will include Watts, Affif, bassist James Genus, saxophonist Don Aliquo and flute player Hubert Laws.

MAXJAZZ to release Terell Stafford's This Side of Strayhorn on Tuesday, April 5

The independent St. Louis based record label MAXJAZZ has announced that they'll release trumpeter Terell Stafford's new recording This Side of Strayhorn (pictured) on Tuesday, April 5.

The CD offers Stafford's interpretations of the music of Billy Strayhorn, the famed composer of jazz standards including "Take The A Train" and "Lush Life" who served for years as Duke Ellington's arranger, auxiliary pianist, and virtual alter ego.

It features Stafford's working quintet, with saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist and arranger Bruce Barth, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Dana Hall, and was produced by the Grammy-winning bassist and composer John Clayton.

Stafford will celebrate the release of This Side of Strayhorn with a week of shows in March at NYC's Village Vanguard, while MAXJAZZ promises sound samples and pre-order info soon.

Notes from the Net: Still more Miles to cover; Brubeck on the mend; plus news, reviews, interviews, and more

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:

* Starting with some Miles Davis news, here's a recent article by PopMatters.com's Will Layman that asks, "How much Miles Davis is enough?" Well, for us, not just one item, that's for sure - so here's a review of the deluxe 40th anniversary collectors' edition of Bitches Brew, written for AllAboutJazz.com by Chris M. Slawecki. Meanwhile, yet another Davis-related book, Miles: The Companion Guide to the Autobiography, is currently scheduled for a February 2011 release date.

Also, via Miles Davis Online, there's news that hip-hop star/actor Q-Tip is working on a play about Davis (pictured) with author and filmmaker Nelson George. Also, there's another documentary film about Davis in the works, and the magazine The Revivalist just ran several stories on the Bitches Brew anniversary in their inaugural issue. The package includes interviews with saxophonist Bennie Maupin and drummer Lenny White, who played on the sessions for the album, and Davis' nephew Vince Wilburn, as well as a never-before-released live recording of “Directions.”

* Turning to news of other former St. Louisans, saxophonist Oliver Lake has just opened a show of his visual art in the galleries of radio station WBGO in Newark. The exhibit runs through January 28.

* Here's a review of guitarist Grant Green's CD Retrospective from Tim Niland of Music and More.

* In news of recent visitors, guitarist Russell Malone, who played Jazz at the Bistro in October and has a new CD on the St. Louis-based label MAXJAZZ, just did an interview on WBGO's The Checkout.

* And here's a review of drummer/keyboardist Gary Husband's latest, Dirty and Beautiful Volume 1, from AAJ.com's Ian Patterson. Husband was in St. Louis last month at The Sheldon with guitarist John McLaughlin's band 4th Dimension.

* The Rebirth Brass Band, who played at The Gramophone in October, have just released Rebirth Revisited, a collection of remixes by the band and various contributing producers. You can check out a sample track, "Do Whatcha Wanna (Jazzhouse SPD Remix)," by clicking on the embedded audio player below.



* Dave Brubeck is on the mend from the health difficulties that forced him to cancel his appearance here in October at the Sheldon. Here's a review of Brubeck's return to the stage at the Blue Note in NYC, courtesy of the Times' Nate Chinen, and a recent feature story on the venerable pianist and composer written by Marc Myers for the Wall Street Journal.

* Wrapping up with some items of more general interest, a recent story from the New York Times' Daniel J. Wakin chronicles the shrinking amount of work available to NYC freelance classical musicians, while another recent Times piece from A.G. Sulzberger looks at the ambivalent relationship that many working musicians have with holiday music.

* The first season of the HBO series Treme will be released on DVD in March. Pianist and former St. Louisan Tom McDermott is just one of many jazz and blues musicians who appeared earlier this year in the HBO series about New Orleans residents recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding of the city.

* Nominees for the 2001 Grammy Awards were announced last week, and though no St. Louis jazz musicians were nominated this year, a number of the jazz nominees have played here recently, as you can see if you check out the complete list here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's the latest wrap-up of links and short local news items of interest that you may have missed:

* The St. Louis based label MAXJAZZ once again is offering discounts on CDs purchased from their website for the holiday season. Between now and the end of the year, those who purchase a MAXJAZZ CD from their site at the full price of $16.99 can get up to four more releases at $12.99 each, with free shipping in the U.S.

* The Riverfront Times' Annie Zaleski looks at the music-related documentaries in this year's St. Louis International Film Festival in a blog post here. One film of particular interest to jazz fans is In My Mind, which "explores the parallels (and differences) between a 2009 concert by jazz pianist Jason Moran -- which paid tribute to the great Thelonious Monk -- and a gig that the late, great jazz legend performed exactly fifty years earlier." In My Mind screens at 1:15 p.m. next Saturday, November 20 at the Tivoli.

* Author/illustrator Kevin Belford's book on the history of St. Louis blues, Devil At The Confluence, got another nice review, this time from the blog In A Blue Mood.

* The Gaslight Square veterans in the group Banjos and Brass were featured in a recent story written by Chris Campbell for the Suburban Journals. The band plays on Fridays at The Sands in Shrewsbury.

* Mel Bay, the St. Louis-based publishers of music instructional books, CDs and DVDs, are holding a sweepstakes to give away a free Apple iPad with case and $250 worth of Mel Bay materials in the company's new eBook format. The contest closes on November 30; for details on how to enter, go here.

* Music retailer Webster Records (pictured) has announced that they've gone "back to the future" and are once again selling vinyl, with a selection of LPs and 45s in various genres including jazz, classical, rock and show tunes. The store also now is buying used vinyl from collectors, and will have a open house sale with refreshments and special pricing this Sunday, November 14 as part of the holiday season kickoff in the Old Webster business district.