So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Rev. Cliff Aerie, saxophonist with the Oikos Ensemble, was profiled in an article in the Webster-Kirkwood Times.

* The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony, the new 7-CD box set of previously unheard tracks from saxophonist Julius Hemphill, was reviewed by Mark Corroto for AllAboutJazz.com.

* Pianist Peter Martin's company Open Studio this week launched another podcast, titled "Upright Citizens" and hosted by bassists Reuben Rogers and Bob DeBoo. You can check out the first episode here.

* The new Dave Weckl Band album Live In St. Louis at the Chesterfield Jazz Festival was reviewed by Jim Worsley of AllAboutJazz.com and by Jim Hynes of online magazine Glide. The album (pictured) is out today on the Autumn Hill label and can be streamed via the major digital music services.

* An article at HotCars.com offers "A Detailed Look At Miles Davis' Lamborghini Miura."

* In more Miles Davis news, a new album, Champions, featuring tracks culled from the expanded box set The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions in 2003, is set for release on Saturday, July 17 as part of this year's Record Store Day "RSD Drops."

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Stories, the new album from bassist Tom Kennedy (pictured), was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Jim Worsley.

* Singer Ralph Williams Jr. was the featured guest on a recent episode of podcaster Brenda Moss' "All About That Jazz."

* Saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie and trumpeter Tim Osiek of the Oikos Ensemble have made ten of their "Worship Jazz" arrangements available as free downloads for use "in your worship streaming or for personal and group meditation."

The arrangements, along with YouTube links, lyrics (where applicable), and more, are available via individual posts on the "Worship Jazz" blog; go here and scroll down to see all the posts.

* The 50th anniversary of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew was the subject of a feature story on the website Get Into This.

* In celebration of that 50th anniversary, the Miles Davis Estate announced a vinyl reissue of Bitches Brew, and shared what seem to be some previously unseen video clips of a show by Davis from 1969 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

* And in related news, Consequence of Sound's podcast The Opus this week continued its season-long, in-depth focus on Bitches Brew with episode two, titled "Bitches Brew: The Indefinable Greatness of Miles Davis."

* Jazz Journal republished their original review from 1970 of Davis' In A Silent Way.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Italian guitarist and composer Filippo Cosentino will present a free, public lecture and discussion at 4:30 p.m. next Wednesday, October 18 in the Grand Room at the Washington University Alumni House (located behind the music department on Forsyth). Cosentino (pictured) will perform the following night (Thursday, October 19) for the Jazz at Holmes series at Wash U.

* Having wrapped up his duties as artistic director of the 2017 Sopot Jazz Festival in Poland, saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby will be back in the USA for a Thanksgiving week tribute to the electric music of Miles Davis at the NYC club Iridium. Other members of the tribute ensemble include trumpeter Randy Brecker, drummer Steve Smith (of Journey and Vital Information), and bassist Lonnie Plaxico.

* If you've ever wondered whether the arts are a moneymaker for the local economy, a study released this month by Americans for the Arts shows that in 2015, the not-for-profit arts and culture industry in the St. Louis area generated $591 million in annual economic activity, supporting 19,129 full-time equivalent jobs and yielding $57.7 million in local and state government revenue.

(Note that this figure doesn't include for-profit ventures in theater, visual arts, or the music industry - ranging from big arena shows and concert clubs, to one-person gigs at neighborhood venues, to support services like music stores and recording studios - so if anything, it probably understates the total economic impact of arts-related businesses.)

* St. Louis-based publishers Worship Jazz have released two new "jazz nativity" scripts for the holiday season, "What Child is This?" and "Angels from the Realms." Both include full staging instructions and music suggestions from the company's book Jazz Christmas Carols, Volume 2. For details, samples from the scripts, and pricing information, see the Worship Jazz website.

* Missouri student composers in grades K-12 can win awards and cash prizes for their original music in a variety of genres, via the University of Missouri School of Music's Creating Original Music Project (COMP). Entries for the 2018 competition are being accepted now; for more information, visit the COMP website.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* St. Louis was named one of "5 Unexpected Cities Experiencing a Live Music Renaissance" by Eventbrite.com.

* After teasing the audience by putting out a couple of advance tracks earlier this month, trumpeter Keyon Harrold announced that his new album The Mugician will be released on Friday, September 29.

Harrold will promote the release with shows on September 24 & 25 at the Blue Note in NYC, and he'll be back in the St. Louis area next month to headline the inaugural Alton Wine and Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 9 at the Riverfront Amphitheater in Alton.

* Keyboardist David Garfield (pictured) has released a new instrumental version of the Stevie Wonder tune "Go Home" featuring saxophonist Kirk Whalum, guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. You can see a video teaser with in-studio footage here, and listen to the entire track here.

* Trumpeter and Webster Groves native Ally Hany was profiled by the Peninsula Pulse newspaper in Door County, WI. 

* Violinist Alex Cunningham of the Vernacular String Trio was the subject of a brief feature from St. Louis magazine's Joseph Hess.

* Rev. Cliff Aerie and Tim Osiek of Worship Jazz have published a sixth volume in their series of jazz arrangements of sacred music. The book Worship in a New Key, Volume 6 is available only as a download from their website.

* Trumpeter Jim Manley is set to release a new album called Funk Factory 2 at the end of the month, and you can hear a sample track online here.

* Former WSIE disc jockey Eric Bueneman, known professionally as E.B. Stevenson, has a new podcast called The Jazz Mixer.

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty has released Crossroad, a download-only session of freely improvised music recorded last month in Brooklyn, NYC with famed bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Shane Del Robles.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden has announced its schedule for 2017, with ten free concerts in total, including performances from the trad jazz band Gaslight Squares on Wednesday, June 14 and pianist Ptah Williams on Wednesday, July 12.

* Kneebody keyboardist Adam Benjamin was interviewed for a brief article by St. Louis magazine's Erin Williams. The group continues their run at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday night.

* Riverbend Restaurant and Bar, the Richmond Heights spot that featured live jazz from trumpeter Jim Manley every Tuesday night alongside its creole and Cajun cuisine, has closed permanently.

* An album of pictures from percussionist Poncho Sanchez' shows last week at Jazz at the Bistro has been posted to Facebook by St. Louis trombonist Dave Dickey, who's friends with Sanchez and several members of his group and sat in with them at the Bistro.

* Electronic musician Nathan Cook (aka NNN Cook) was interviewed about his Rhizomatic series of recordings featuring St. Louis experimental musicians by Willis Ryder Arnold of St. Louis Public Radio.

* The website St. Louis Musicians Unite has a short feature about this weekend's events celebrating composer Scott Joplin, and also has put together a Spotify playlist collecting recordings by St. Louis jazz musicians.

* Trumpeter and St. Louis native Ally Hany has won second place in the jazz division of the 2017 National Trumpet Competition, held earlier this month at Metropolitan State University in Denver, CO. Hany, a graduate of Webster Groves High School and University of North Texas, currently is living in NYC, working on a master's degree at Manhattan School of Music and performing with ensembles including the MSM Jazz Orchestra and Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra.

* Pianist Makini Morrison, a senior at University City High School, is one of 17 finalists in the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation's 2017 St. Louis Teen Talent Competition. Morrison (pictured) has been part of Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program and also has played with the North County Big Band. The competition finals will take place Saturday, April 8 at the Fox Theatre.

* Jack Snelling, a senior at Webster Groves High School, has won first place in the high school jazz division of the Mizzou New Music Initiative's 2017 Creating Original Music Project (COMP), a statewide competition for Missouri student composers in grades K-12. Snelling's winning work "Lovesick" will be performed along with this year's other winning compositions as part of the COMP Festival on Saturday, April 15 on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia.

* Worship Jazz, the St. Louis-based publisher of jazz arrangements of sacred music, has added a collection of 12 "jazz liturgies" to the five volumes of jazz hymns already in their catalog. The liturgical resources are "intended to help church musicians create their own jazz worship services, with each focused on a specific liturgical theme with a complete worship format."

* The Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville is looking for a new production manager. If you're interested, you can find more information about the job and how to apply at http://www.cityofedwardsville.com/.

"Jazz for the Journey" symposium set for November 3-5 in Webster Groves

"Jazz for the Journey," a three-day event described as "an ecumenical symposium revitalizing worship and ministry through jazz" will take place Thursday, November 3 through Saturday, November 5 at Eden Theological Seminary and First Congregational Church UCC in Webster Groves.

The symposium will incorporate several jazz worship services and performances, including evening vespers, morning worship, a "sacred jazz" concert, and jam sessions, with the St. Louis-based Oikos Ensemble, led by saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie (pictured), serving as featured performers.

The three days also will include a variety of workshops, networking opportunities, and speakers such as keynote presenter Rev. Geoffrey Black, a visiting professor at Eden Seminary and retired general minister and president of the United Church of Christ.

For more information and details on registration, go to http://www.eden.edu/jazzjourney.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Tomorrow's Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival was previewed by KTRS' "McGraw Millhaven Show."

* Singer, actress, comedian and Belleville native Lea DeLaria was interviewed by the Belleville News Democrat. DeLaria will be back home to speak at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday, September 22 at Lindenwood Auditorium on Lindenwood University's Belleville campus. Her latest album House of David, released this summer, offers jazz interpretations of the music of David Bowie.

* Rev. Cliff Aerie, saxophonist and leader of the Oikos Ensemble, and Tim Osiek, the group's trumpeter, have co-authored Worship In A New Key - Jazz Hymnbook, Vol 1, a new book of jazz arrangements of well-known hymns. A second volume, covering Christmas music, is forthcoming.

* Regional Arts Commission is now accepting applications for the current round of their Artists Support Grants, and they're presenting a free workshop on how to apply for one at 5:30 p.m. next Monday, September 21 at the RAC offices, 6128 Delmar Blvd. The deadline to apply is Thursday, October 22.

* A video just posted to YouTube documents saxophonist Oliver Lake's recent performance with the Vijay Iyer Trio at the Jazz Poetry 2015 festival in Pittsburgh. Lake (pictured, with Iyer) also celebrated his 73rd birthday this past Monday, September 14.

* The late singer, songwriter, keyboardist and former St. Louisan Donny Hathaway's battle with mental illness is the subject of Twisted Melodies, a one-man show that just ended a run at the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago.