So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Keyboardist Michael Silverman has been nominated for the Smooth Jazz Network's "Best Breakout Artist" award for 2020. Silverman (pictured) is one of 12 musicians contending for the prize. Listener/reader voting for the award continues through Monday, November 30.

* The documentary The Black Artists’ Group: Creation Equals Movement was touted as one of five "must see" films at this year's St. Louis International Film Festival in an article by the Riverfront Times' Evan Suit. SLIFF and the online screenings of the film continue through this Sunday, November 22.

* The Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson reports that the Kranzberg Arts Foundation and Jazz St. Louis will extend their "Open Air" concert series into 2021. The Grand Center presenters are expected to announce 40 additional weeks of programming for the series, with January and February's shows to be revealed early next month.

* Pianist Peter Martin's company Open Studio, which produces jazz instructional videos and educational materials, recently reached 50,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel, and to commemorate the occasion, they've compiled a video featuring the "Top 7 Highlights from 2020 with Peter Martin and Adam Maness."

* Also from the Post's Kevin Johnson, the Old Rock House, which had reopened on a limited basis this summer, will close temporarily again until some time in 2021, due to the recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases in the metropolitan area and the state.

* Singer Steve Brammeier's recent performance at Blue Strawberry was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Terence Blanchard's shows this week at Jazz St. Louis were previewed in a story by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

* Pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio is sponsoring a holiday giveaway with prizes including free access to their instructional videos featuring well-known jazz players, and more. Winners will be chosen at random and announced on Monday, December 23. You can find out more and enter (with a valid email address) here.

* The Kranzberg Arts Foundation's St. Louis Music Initiative was spotlighted this week by John Pertzborn of KTVI (Fox 2),who interviewed KAF's Sean Smothers and Gene Dobbs Bradford of Jazz St. Louis.

* Cabaret Project of St. Louis will hold a holiday fundraiser on Saturday, December 7, featuring musical entertainment by singer and impressionist Christine Pedi. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the CPStL website.

* The biographical documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, directed by Stanley Nelson and released earlier this year, was nominated this week for the 2020 Grammy Award for "Best Music Film."

* On a related note, the recently issued box set of Davis' complete Birth of the Cool recordings (pictured) was reviewed in DownBeat.

* Singer and keyboardist Katarra Parson's forthcoming debut recording Cocoa Voyage was the subject of a feature by the Riverfront Times' Christian Schaeffer. Parson, who is one of this year's Kranzberg Arts Foundation artists-in-residence, will promote the release with a show on Friday, November 29 at The Dark Room.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Harvey Lockhart (pictured) has been chosen as one of 25 semi-finalists this year for the national Music Educator Award given annually by the Recording Academy and Grammy Awards.

As reported by the Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller, Lockhart was recognized for his work as band director for Riverview Gardens High School - he subsequently joined the faculty at Cardinal Ritter this summer - and for his not-for-profit organization HEAL Center for the Arts. Ten finalists for the award will be named in December, with one winner selected to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony next year.

* Open Studio has posted to YouTube a video of last Saturday's concert by pianist Geoffrey Keezer.

* Musical instrument retailer and service center Saxquest will present their 2019 Woodwind Instrument Expo on Saturday, November 16 at St. Charles Community College. The event will offer musicians the opportunity to try instruments and accessories from a variety of manufacturers. Admission is free, but attendees who would like access to private rooms are encouraged to register in advance.

* An article by Charles Waring at UDiscoverMusic.com offers a reappraisal of guitarist Grant Green's Blue Note album Born to Be Blue, which recently was re-released as part of the label's "Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl" reissue series.

* The Sheldon has posted to Facebook an album of photos from saxophonist David Sanborn's concert last Friday night.

* And speaking of The Sheldon, HEC-TV has produced a feature story about the hall's new outdoor plaza.

* The impending opening next week of the new Central West End cabaret venue Blue Strawberry was the subject of a short feature story from Riverfront Times writer Ella Faust.

* Also in the RFT, the building that currently houses Vintage Vinyl is the subject of a "Then and Now" feature by Jaime Lees.

Jazz this week: David Sanborn, Norman Brown's "Summer Storm," The New Mastersounds, Diego Figueiredo, and more

It's a jam-packed week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with notable shows including a homecoming for one of our city's favorite sons, plus sounds from a visiting Broadway star, a British funk band, a Brazilian guitarist, and much more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 16
Singer and actress Rachel Bay Jones, known as one of the stars of the Broadway show Dear Evan Hansen, performs for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis as part of their series of co-presentations with Cabaret Project of St. Louis.

Nearby in Grand Center, the weekly "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" features Sweet & Low (guitarists Adam Wilke and Celia Shacklett) at The Stage at KDHX; the jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center; and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, October 17
Guitarist Bob Lanzetti of Snarky Puppy will perform at Pop's Blue Moon; and the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert of Argentinian and Brazilian music, featuring pianist Ken Kehner, guitarist William Lenihan, bassist Joseph Lepore, and drummer Steve Davis with Amy Greenhalgh (violin), Ranya Iqbal (cello), and Victoria Voumard (viola).

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Andy Ament leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern, and keyboardist Ryan Marquez returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, October 18
Saxophonist David Sanborn (pictured, top left) will be back home again for a performance at The Sheldon, helping to celebrate the completion and official debut of a plaza, walkway and vertical garden on the west side of the hall.

Also on Friday, Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo (pictured, center left) will perform with backing from bassist and singer Janet Evra's quartet at the Grandel Theatre; and Jazz St. Louis will be "Celebrating Ella Fitzgerald" for the first of two nights with singer Anita Jackson, pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson, bassist Jahmal Nichols, drummer Montez Coleman and saxophonist Ben Reece.

Elsewhere around town, the Original Knights of Swing plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; singer Jan Shapiro returns to the Ozark Theatre; and trumpeter Jim Manley will play a late evening gig at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club.

Saturday, October 19
British funk/jazz group The New Mastersounds (pictured, bottom left) returns for a performance at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

They're celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band with a new album, Shake It, released last month, and a tour featuring guest vocalist Lamar Williams, Jr. For more about Shake It plus some videos of recent performances, take a look at this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Norman Brown and his "Summer Storm" show, featuring saxophonist Euge Groove, singer Lindsay Webster, and the Coleman Hughes Project, will play two shows at the Grandel Theatre; pianist Geoffrey Keezer leads a trio in a concert at Open Studio in Grand Center's Centene Center for the Arts; and the New Orleans Suspects are back in town to play at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, October 20
Miss Jubilee performs for jazz brunch at Evangeline's, while guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran returns to The Dark Room.

Also on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents the Arcadia Dance Orchestra at the Moolah Shrine Center's Oasis Room.

Tuesday, October 21
Pianist and singer Jesse Gannon plays at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

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.)