So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Pianist Tom McDermott had a few words with Terry Perkins for a St. Louis Beacon article about the St. Louis International Film Festival's presentation tomorrow of the film biography of New Orleans pianist James Booker. McDermott will perform a Booker-inspired solo set following the screening at Webster University.

* Meanwhile, KPLR had a short feature on The Pleasures of Being Out of Step, the biography of writer and jazz critic Nat Hentoff that's also being shown during this year's SLIFF.

* Trumpeter Jim Manley talks about his shows this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro in an article by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson.

* There's lots of Miles Davis news this week, starting with the release of a nine-CD box set of original mono versions of albums recorded by the trumpeter's first "great quintet" and with the arranger Gil Evans, and a review, via the Daily Beast, of the new book of Davis' artwork.

Meanwhile, the New York Times had a feature story on how Davis' heirs continue to promote his legacy more than 20 years after his death, which prompted blogger Jeffrey Hyatt of Miles Davis Online to assess the estate's official Internet presence.

But the biggest Davis-related news of the week is that actor Don Cheadle appears to have found financing for his long-awaited feature film about Davis, now titled Kill The Trumpet Player, with filming scheduled to begin next summer.

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby (pictured) has helped design and is endorsing a new line of signature saxophones made by P. Mauriat and distributed by St. Louis Music.

* KDHX has put online some new audio recordings of saxophonist C. Felton "Raven Wolf" Jennings and poet Dwight Bitikofer.

* If you missed the tenth anniversary of Noisefest a couple of weeks ago at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, you can check out excerpts from a number of the performances via the YouTube channel of "izzythepusher."

* Singer-songwriter Al Hammerman was interviewed by the website Pop Goes The Week.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else" expounds on the theme of "talent deserving wider recognition" with tracks from pianists Myra Melford and Kenny Barron, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, and more. Next up, Jason Church's "The Jazz Collective" will spotlight trumpeters including Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Hargrove, Dizzy Gillespie, Donald Byrd, Herb Alpert and Maynard Ferguson, as well as music from locals such as Jim Manley, Dawn Weber and the Funky Butt Brass Band. Wilson's program can be heard at 8:00 p.m., followed by Church's show at 9:00 p.m., via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Down the dial at KWMU (90.7 FM), "Jazz Unlimited" host Dennis Owsley this Sunday will present the second part of his historic survey of live jazz from Carnegie Hall, plus a tribute to the recently deceased saxophonist and flute player Frank Wess. The program airs from 9:00 p.m. to midnight and also can be heard online at http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org/.

Jazz this week: Martin & Bernstein play Blue Note, the Bosman Twins, Noisefest turns 10, Oleta Adams, and more

As if what happened to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series this week wasn't scary enough, it's also Halloween - but fortunately, there will be plenty of spirited jazz and creative music on local stages over the next few days to chase away any lingering bad vibes. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, Miss Jubilee will be doing double duty, swinging an early evening gig at the Blues City Deli, then heading down to Thaxton Speakeasy for the late shift.

Tomorrow night, longtime local favorites the Bosman Twins (pictured) open a two-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. For more about the saxophone-playing brothers, check out Terry Perkins' preview story for the St. Louis Beacon. Word is that the early shows are near sellouts, so if you're planning on attending, it'd be best to call ahead for reservations.

Also on Friday, Noisefest, the annual celebration of things that go skronk, boom, hum, and bleep, kicks off its tenth anniversary with the first of three nights of concerts at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. In addition to the evening concerts, this year's event also includes a program on Sunday afternoon devoted to experimental video. For more on the schedule and the extensive roster of performers, see this post from earlier in the week.

Elsewhere around town on Friday, members of Dizzy Atmosphere, Hot Club Caravan and Swing Set will convene for a "Hot Club Gypsy Jazz Summit" at the Kranzberg Arts Center; and Lindy Hop St. Louis presents their monthly "West End Stomp" swing dance at the Mahler Ballroom with live music from Coco Rico.

On Saturday, pianist Peter Martin resumes his eponymous series at the Sheldon Concert Hall, this time presenting a "Blue Note Records Celebration" featuring guitarist Peter Bernstein. Bernstein has played with Diana Krall, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Sonny Rollins and many others, and, appropriately, toured with the all-star ensemble Blue Note 7 a few years back to promote the label's 70th anniversary. For more about Bernstein and some video samples of his playing, consult this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, trombonist and singer Doug Burns and band will perform at Robbie's House of Jazz; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes play at Thurman Grill; singer Feyza Eren fronts a quartet at the house concert venue KindaBlue; and the Funky Butt Brass Band, depraved sugar fiends all*, will be eagerly soliciting leftover Halloween candy at the Broadway Oyster Bar. 

On Sunday, the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show has their last event of the year at the American Czech Hall, 4690 Lansdowne; and singer Joe Mancuso teams up with pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True for a concert at First Presbyterian Church, 100 E Adams Ave in Kirkwood.

Also on Sunday, the Community Women Against Hardship will hold a gala event at the Sheldon celebrating their 25th Anniversary, featuring a performance by singer Oleta Adams. Any remaining tickets will be available online until Friday, and then at the Fox Theatre box office until Sunday afternoon.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Webster University's student jazz combos will present a free performance at the Community Music School, 535 Garden Ave; and guitarist Tom Byrne plays at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Then on Tuesday, guitarist Dave Black will be at BB's, and vocal group Java Jived and the Midwest Jazz-tette perform in a "Notes From Home" show at the Sheldon.

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.)

*This writer has no actual knowledge of specific amounts of sugar, measured either by weight or volume, consumed by members of the Funky Butt Brass Band.

Noisefest celebrates 10th anniversary

Experimental music fans from St. Louis and throughout the Midwest will be heading this weekend to Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, as LNAC celebrates the 10th anniversary of Noisefest starting on Friday, November 1 and continuing through Sunday, November 3.

"This year we will expand the focus of the Festival to include workshops on electronics and the aesthetics and social impact of noise," said LNAC's Tom Hill in an email. "We also for the first time are including video artists whose work exemplify an experimental orientation and skill."

Billed as "the premiere Midwest experimental electronic noise Festival," Noisefest X kicks off with a concert at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 1 at the LNAC, 3301 Lemp. Another concert will take place at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, November 2, followed by a presentation of video art at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, November 3; and the final concert at 7:00 p.m. Sunday evening.

Admission is $7 per concert; weekend passes also are available for $20 at LNAC and Apop Records.

The annual "noise meeting," a free event, will take place at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, also at LNAC.

The full list of performers for the weekend includes Dear Satan, Nightgrinder, Within, Tony Renner, Noiseman433, Charlie, Sigulda, John Beabout, Eric Hall, Dan Wamhoff, Coppice, Mykel Boyd, Instinct Control, Peter Woods, Dave Stone, Kingston, Family Singers, John Tamm-Buckle, Jason Zeh (pictured), Of Course You Realize..., Rick Weaver, Chad Eivens, Kevin Harris, Brain Transplant, Josh Oberman, Clusterfuck, Ghost Ice, The Fluff of Murder, Lonely Procession, epicycle, Greg Farough, NNN Cook, and Matt Reis.

Noisefest organizers also have release a short promotional video for the event, which you can see and hear in all its static- and glitch-filled glory in the embedded window below...