So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Fans of adventurous music and/or craft beer can support New Music Circle at a fundraiser scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. next Tuesday, June 13 at Urban Chestnut brewery's Midtown location, 3229 Washington Ave. A portion of beverage purchases made during those hours will be donated to NMC.

* The Boston Creme donut from Old Town Donuts in Florissant is the winner of Jazz St. Louis' "Best Donut" award for 2017, as determined last Friday during JSL's annual "National Donut Day" celebration. You can see photos from the event in a Facebook album here.

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby, who's been spending a lot of time in Europe recently, last month conducted two workshops for young musicians in Spain, working under the auspices of the US Embassy with students at the Teresa Berganza music conservatory in Madrid and the Padre Antonio Soler music school in San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

* Singer-songwriter Norah Jones' performance on Tuesday at the Scottrade Ceneter was reviewed for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Dan Durchholz.

* Singer Dee Daniels (pictured), who will perform this Sunday with the St. Louis Symphony as part of their "Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and the Ladies of Swing," was interviewed by St. Louis magazine.

* The newly renamed Webster Groves Concert Hall, formerly the Ozark Theatre, is the subject of a St. Louis County Arts blog feature by Valerie Tichacek.

* As one of 77 local bands that will perform in the Riverfront Times' upcoming ShowcaseSTL, the  Funky Butt Brass Band were profiled this week by the RFT's Roy Kasten.

* Singer Tony Bennett's show Wednesday night at the Fox Theatre was reviewed by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, and the Post also published an "IParty" album of photos from the evening.

* This weekend's U City Jazz Festival and Fair U City are previewed in the Post's "Hot List" section.

* Mozingo Music is presenting a free workshop on audio recording at 7:00 p.m. Monday, June 26 at their store at 4689 Hwy. K in O'Fallon, MO. The 90-minute workshop will feature manufacturer's rep Michael Canning demonstrating the use of PreSonus software and hardware and Audio Technica microphones in a live recording session. Admission is free, but since space is limited, advance reservations are required.

Jazz this week: Jamison Ross, Mardra and Reggie Thomas, and more

Though not nearly as packed as last week's calendar, this week's schedule of jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis still offers listeners here their first look at a much-praised, up-and-coming jazz talent; the return of a couple of local favorites who have moved away; and a variety of shows from our own hometown performers.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 5
Drummer and singer Jamison Ross (pictured, top left) makes his St. Louis debut with the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Just 28 years old, Ross has been tagged as a rising star by both the jazz press and the mainstream media, thanks in large part to his self-titled debut album, which came out last year and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Jazz Vocal category.

You can see performances of some of the songs from that album and find out more about Ross in this video post from last Saturday.

Thursday, October 6
Guitarist Vincent Varvel will lead his group in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, October 7
Singer Tony Viviano returns to Fortel's Pizza Den, and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher will perform his cabaret show "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime: A Tribute to Dean Martin" for the first of two nights at The Emerald Room at The Monocle.

Also on Friday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and saxophonist Austin Cebulski and guitarist Tom Byrne will perform at Thurman's in Shaw.

Saturday, October 8
Saxophonist Christopher Braig will present a free clinic on jazz improvisation based on his book "Jazz Brain Training" during the day at Mozingo Music in O'Fallon, followed on Saturday evening by a performance celebrating the release of his new CD Blue Morph at the St. Louis Artists Guild in Clayton.

Also on Saturday, Franglais plays Gypsy jazz and swing at The Dark Room, and the Midwest Jazz-tette offers their inerpretation of West Coast cool jazz at Evangeline's

Sunday. October 9
Former St. Louisans Mardra and Reggie Thomas (pictured, bottom left) will be back in town to lend their vocal and keyboard talents, respectively, to the Unity Theatre Ensemble Reunion Tribute at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Monday,
October 10
Dizzy Atmosphere will play swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck.

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.)

Paul Taylor, Denny Jiosa presenting free workshops at Mozingo Music

Mozingo Music is presenting two workshops next month that may be of interest to local jazz musicians and fans.

Saxophonist Paul Taylor will be at Mozingo's O'Fallon store, 4689 Highway K, to present a workshop, performance, and "meet and greet" at 6:00 p.m. Friday, June 14. Taylor, an endorser for Cannonball Saxophones, has released eight albums as a leader and collaborated with jazz and R&B acts including the Rippingtons, LaToya London, Regina Belle and Terry Dexter. He'll be in town to perform the next night, Saturday, June 15, at the Chesterfield Amphitheater.

Next up, Nashville-based guitarist and engineer Denny Jiosa will present a program focusing on guitar effects at 7:00 p.m. Monday, June 24 at Mozingo's O'Fallon store. Jiosa (pictured) has a released a half-dozen albums as a bandleader, and also has been nominated four times for Grammy Awards as a recording engineer. An endorser of TC Electronics, he'll be demonstrating how he uses the company's line of pedals and guitar effects. TC Electronics reps will be on hand, and the store will offer special pricing on products from the company.

Both events are free and open to the public.

(Edited after posting to correct the day of the Paul Taylor event.)

Ronnie Burrage coming to St. Louis next month for performances, workshop

Drummer and U City native Ronnie Burrage is coming back home to St. Louis at the end of next month for a busy weekend of activities that will include three performances and a workshop:

* On Thursday, February 28, Burrage will perform a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, leading a trio with pianist Ptah Williams and bassist Darrell Mixon.

The show will get underway at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge on the Wash U campus, and will feature some of Burrage's more experimental and fusion-flavored original compositions. The trio also will be holding open rehearsals on campus for a couple of days before the show; more on that when details are available.

* The next two evenings, Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2, Burrage (pictured) will play at The Office, 5917 Delmar Blvd, with an expanded group including Williams, Mixon, saxophonist Freddie Washington, and, for at least one of the evenings, guitarist Eric Slaughter. He tells StLJN that the repertoire for these two gigs will feature some of his more mainstream original works, as well as a few familiar standards and covers. Times are TBA, but Burrage expects to play two sets, perhaps starting at 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m..

Advance tickets for the 21-and-up venue, which formerly was the site of Binion's restaurant and lounge, will be priced at $30 per person for a package that includes a buffet and first drink; $20 for regular admission, which also includes a drink; and $15 per person for groups of two or more students with ID. Prices at the door will be $5 more across the board; we'll update this post with info on how to purchase advance tickets as soon as it becomes available.

* At 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, Burrage will present a drum workshop sponsored by Mozingo Music at the Wolf Public House, 15480 Clayton Rd in Ballwin. He says the workshop will focus on independence, as he plans to demonstrate and explain his techniques for playing drums and keyboard simultaneously. Accompanied by Slaughter and bassist Bob DeBoo, Burrage said he also plans to mix in some history of jazz drumming.

Tickets for the workshop will be $15 for general admission, $12 for students with ID, and $10 for Mozingo students. In keeping with his interest in education, Burrage said he'll be providing scholarships for a few selected students from his alma mater,University City High School, and at least two other local high schools.

In addition to his performing and recording activities, Burrage currently teaches music at Penn State University. His credits include tours and albums with many of the top names in jazz, including Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Joe Zawinul, Frank Morgan, Wallace Roney, Jackie and Rene McLean, James Moody, Gary Bartz, Archie Shepp, Reggie Workman, Cedar Walton, Woody Shaw, Pepper Adams, Michael Brecker, Defunkt, and many others. For more about Burrage, check out this interview, published by the Riverfront Times last year when he came back to St. Louis to perform.