So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Etienne Charles of the SFJAZZ Collective talked with the Post-Dispatch's Daniel Durchholz about the group's latest project, a re-imagining of music by Miles Davis and Sly Stone.

The Collective was scheduled to perform here in St. Louis tomorrow night at The Sheldon, but they've cancelled that show and the remainder of their spring tour due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

* Guitarist Dave Black was the subject of a short feature story in St. Louis magazine.

* This weekend's Carol Moore Memorial Jazz Festival at Mineral Area College, featuring trombonist Michael Dease (pictured), was previewed in a feature story in the Park Hills Daily Journal.

* Jazz St. Louis has published on their website a Q&A with keyboardist Dave Grelle. Grelle's band Playadors performs at the venue tonight and tomorrow night.

* The St. Louis Post-Dispatch/STLToday.com went into their archives to republish photos from when W.C. Handy, composer of "St. Louis Blues," came back to St. Louis for a visit in 1932.

* The venue formerly known as The Stage at KDHX will get a makeover and a new name, Bennie's Blues Room, as it becomes the new headquarters for the St. Louis Blues Society. Focusing on the history of St. Louis blues, the venue (named in honor of the late guitarist and singer Bennie Smith) will present live music, educational events, and more, as detailed in a story by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* The Regional Arts Commission this week unveiled a five-year plan that would have them working more closely with local arts groups to set priorities and foster collaborations as well as providing funding. For details, see this story by St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Dark Room has announced new hours of operation, with the biggest change being that the venue will be closed on Mondays.

New hours for the rest of the week are 4:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tuesdays; 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sundays.

* Last Friday's New Music Circle concert by Merche Blasco (pictured) and Sarah Hennies at the Contemporary Art Museum was reviewed by Julio Prato of the blog St. Louis Music Report.

* The weeknight jazz series at the Gaslight Theater is featured in an article by the Jewish Light's Ellen Futterman about current businesses in the old Gaslight Square district.

* St. Louis County Library this month has reopened to new submissions their "Listen Up" program, which makes recordings from local musicians available as part of the library's streaming audio service. Musicians can submit their works now through the end of March at https://www.slcl.org/content/listen-up-stl.

* The recent documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (available free online for a limited time via streaming from PBS) was reviewed in the UK magazine Jazz Journal.

* The 2020 Carol Moore Memorial Jazz Festival, coming up next weekend at Mineral Area College with trombonist Michael Dease as featured guest, was previewed in a news release published by the Park Hills Daily Journal.

* Audition dates are set for student musicians from St. Louis area middle schools and high schools who would like to take part in Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program next year. The auditions for the 2020-21 school year will take place Monday, June 8 through Thursday, June 11 at JSL's HQ in Grand Center. For details and/or to sign up, go to https://jazzstl.org/education/jazz-u/2020-21-jazzu-auditions/.

Jazz this week: Michael Dease with WGHS Jazz Bands, Javier Mendoza's Latin Jazz Experiment, Montez Coleman, Mary Dyson, Joe Mancuso, and more

The first part of January typically is time off for a lot of touring musicians who'd just as soon stay home as deal with bad weather, audiences suffering from empty pockets or the post-holiday blahs, and so on.

So even though the weather in St. Louis actually has been pretty nice for this time of year, it's no surprise that most of this week's jazz and creative music highlights are once again local in origin.

Tonight, the jazz/funk/R&B combo Good 4 The Soul returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups for an early evening show.

Tomorrow night, singer/songwriter Javier Mendoza once again will activate his Latin Jazz Experiment for the first of two evenings at Jazz at the Bistro. The performances will showcase Mendoza's original songs with an expanded version of his band featuring additional guitar from Dave Black, horn arrangements from saxophonist Jim Stevens and trumpeter Rob Endicott, and extra percussion (usually from R. Scott Bryan).

Also on Friday, trombonist Michael Dease will be in town to perform as guest soloist with the Webster Groves High School jazz bands in their annual concert at The Pageant. Dease is a Juilliard graduate who's played with numerous big bands, including those led by Illinois Jacquet, Dizzy Gillespie, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Jimmy Heath and Charles Tolliver, as well as with small groups led by Claudio Roditi, Sharel Cassity, and Wycliffe Gordon. Metrobones, the ensemble led by Dave Dickey that features more than a dozen student trombonists from local high schools and colleges, will round out the bill.

And if that weren't enough for one night, Friday also will find drummer Montez Coleman's trio with guitarist Eric Slaughter and bassist Chris Thomas at Cigar Inn; bassist Willem von Hombracht with singer Hannah McDonald and pianist Mike Carosello at Robbie's House of Jazz; and the St. Louis Big Band at the Casa Loma Ballroom

On Saturday, the eclectic south side venue Rue Lafayette reopens after a short winter break with a brunchtime performance from swing band the Sidemen.

On Saturday night, singer Mary Dyson and and keyboardist Brock Walker team up for a performance at Robbie's; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play swing, jump blues and more at the Venice Cafe.

Update: 10:30 a.m., 1/12/13: Mary Dyson has announced by email and on Facebook that tonight's performance at Robbie's House of Jazz is cancelled. 4:15 p.m.: Guitarist Eric Slaughter and Tom Byrne have been booked for a duo performance in Dyson's place.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday, the jazz fusion band Steizuello will be at at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.

Then on Tuesday, singer Joe Mancuso will do a "Notes From Home" concert at The Sheldon, performing standards from the Great American Songbook with an expanded band including special guest trumpeter Randy Holmes and saxophonist Willie Akins.

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.)

Webster Groves HS jazz bands to perform Christmas show on December 12, at The Pageant on January 11

The Webster Groves High School jazz bands have announced two upcoming public concerts.

Getting in the holiday spirit, WGHS' Jazz I big band will perform Stan Kenton's 1961 album A Merry Christmas in its entirety at 7:00 p.m. this Wednesday, December 12 at Webster Groves Presbyterian Church, 45 W. Lockwood Ave. The concert is free and open to the public, but donations will be accepted.

The Jazz I big band and other WGHS jazz ensembles also will be featured in the program's annual concert at The Pageant, which will take place at 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 11. The WGHS bands will be joined by MetroBones, the all-star student trombone ensemble directed by Dave Dickey, and bands from Hixson Middle School.

Trombonist and jazz educator Michael Dease (pictured), who's played with the big bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Jimmy Heath, Charles Tolliver and others and teaches at Michigan State University, will be the concert's guest artist. Tickets are $20 at the door.

WGHS director of bands Kevin Cole also reports that four members of the Jazz I ensemble made it into this year's Missouri All-State jazz band, with 3 more recognized as alternates.