So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's the latest wrap-up of links and short local news items of interest that you may have missed:

* Riddle's Penultimate Wine Bar and Cafe (pictured), a mainstay in the U. City Loop area for 25 years, has closed "indefinitely," as reported variously this week by the Riverfront Times, Post-Dispatch and St. Louis magazine. Unfortunately, this means the loss of another local venue for jazz, as Riddle's had featured pianist Ptah Williams as a regular performer on Wednesdays, as well other local groups such as the St. Louis Jazz X-Tet, who recently had ended their long-running Sunday night gig there.

* On a slightly cheerier note, the city of St. Louis and the Grand Center district, home to music venues including Jazz at the Bistro, the Sheldon and the Kranzberg Arts Center, have ended the enforcement of on-street parking meters in the district after 7:00 p.m., reversing a decision made earlier this year to write tickets until 10:00 p.m..

* The fall edition of the St Louis Record Collector Show, which is held four times a year at the American Czech Hall, 4690 Lansdowne at Kingshighway, takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. this Sunday, November 7. A variety of vendors will offer all sorts of media and memorabilia, including LPs, 78s, 45s, CDs, posters, pictures, DVDs, VHS tapes, magazines, ephemera and more.

* PNC Financial Services Group , which recently entered St. Louis by taking over the locations of National City banks, this week offered to donate a total of $1 million to midsize and large St. Louis arts groups over the next two years through its PNC Arts Alive program. Applications for the grants, which will be for $20,000 or more, begin immediately, with winners to be announced in June. Here's hoping that our town's qualifying jazz presenters, such as Jazz St. Louis and the Sheldon, will get a share of the cash.

(Photo of Riddle's from the Riverfront Times.)

Jazz this week: Jeremy Davenport, a tribute to Dinah Washington, and more

Many of St. Louis' larger jazz presenters routinely avoid scheduling shows on holidays like Christmas, New year's and Independence Day, and since Labor Day is another weekend that falls into the same category, jazz activity in town will be relatively sparse over the next several days. Jazz at the Bistro and Robbie's House of Jazz are both closed for the holiday weekend, and other fall concert series won't get underway until later in the month.

As a result, the best-known jazz performer to play here in the next few days won't even get to St. Louis until after Labor Day. That would be trumpeter, singer and U. City native Jeremy Davenport (pictured) who's returning home from New Orleans to headline a free Twilight Tuesdays show next Tuesday outside the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Davenport remains a local favorite and, barring bad weather, should draw a good crowd, so get there early for the best seats.

However, while touring activity may be at a minimum, our town's local musicians are, as usual, working hard this Labor Day weekend. Tonight, singer Erin Bode plays the Tenderloin Room in the Chase Park Plaza hotel, and trumpeter Keith Moyer and his quartet perform an early-evening session at the downtown nightspot Lola.

On Friday, saxophonist Dave Stone will do his weekly gig at Mangia Italiano, and on Saturday afternoon, the Nu-Art Series presents Nikki Washington singing the music of Dinah Washington at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown helping to kick off the gallery's month-long exhibit of paintings by Cbabi Bayoc.

Also on Saturday afternoon, vibist and trumpeter Joe Bozzi leads his band Night Flight in a matinee at the Sands, while saxophonist Willie Akins plays his weekly show at Spruill's.

On Sunday, pianist Bob Row's group with clarinetist Scott Alberici does a matinee at the the Sands, and that evening, guitarist Teddy Presberg plays at Riddle's. And on Monday, bassist David Certain and his group CertainBeat WorldBop will take the stage at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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.)

Jazz this week: Support your local jazz musicians

It's the last weekend before the Labor Day holiday, and though many concert series and presenters are still on summer hiatus, and there are no major touring jazz performers in St. Louis over the next few days, there still are a number of noteworthy events on tap featuring local musicians.

On Thursday, Robbie's House of Jazz has singer Carmen Emborski doing a tribute to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with Bob Deboo (bass), Dave Stone (saxophones), Joe Pastor (vibes) and Paul Shaw (drums).

On Friday night, Robbie's will feature trumpeter Scott Vignassi's "Big Little Big Band." Vignassi has played with El Caribe Tropical and with various Air Force musical ensembles, most recently at Scott Air Force Base in southern Illinois. On Saturday afternoon, the club will host a reunion of performers from singer Mae Wheeler's "Divas" and "Troubadours" fundraisers, and on Saturday night, pianist Ed Nicholson's trio with vocalist Myla Brown will take the stage.

Elsewhere around town on Saturday, trumpeter Jim Manley and the Wild Cool & Swingin' Orchestra will perform a free concert at 6:00pm at Lafayette Park; and the Presenters Dolan have singer Pegi Johns at the Kranzberg Arts Center doing a World War II-themed cabaret show called "A Window Into Our Hearts: The Songs That Saw Us Through The War." The show includes songs made famous by the Andrews Sisters, Judy Garland, Glenn Miller, Cole Porter, Fats Waller, Richard Rodgers, Frank Loesser and Harold Arlen, with pianist Carolbeth True as music director and bassist Ric Vice as director.

On Sunday, Nu-Element, fronted by trumpeter Keith Moyer and keyboardist Dave Becherer, plays at Riddle's, and on Monday, pianist Phil Gomez and Clave Sol will do their Latin/jazz thing at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Also on Monday, it's the first Webster University jazz faculty concert of the semester at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus, featuring lesser known repertoire of Duke Ellington. Selections will include "The Feeling of Jazz," "Daydream," "All Too Soon," "I Didn't Know About You," "Star Crossed Lovers," "Isfahan," "Azure," "Drop Me Off in Harlem," and "Love You Madly," performed by Debby Lennon (vocals), Paul DeMarinis (pictured, tenor saxophone), Steve Schenkel (guitar), Kim Portnoy (piano), Willem von Hombracht (bass) and Kevin Gianino (drums).

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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.)

Jazz this week: Special "dog days" edition

It's the dog days of August here in St. Louis, and so we've got at least one more comparatively slow weekend in store before jazz concert and club activity begins to ramp up again. Next weekend brings "A Night of Jazz Greats" to Harris Stowe State University; Jazz at the Bistro resumes Labor Day weekend with clarinetist Scott Alberici, and after that, we're into September, with a number of shows scheduled that have already stirred up lots of interest, including Sonny Rollins at the Touhill and Chris Botti at the Fox.

But let's get back to this weekend. With many summer series wrapped up, fall series yet to begin, and no touring performers of note scheduled here for a few days, it's a good time to check out one or more of the recurring weekly gigs around town, like Dave Stone's Friday night hit at Mangia Italiano, Willie Akins' long running Saturday matinee at Spruill's, or the New St. Louis Jazz X-Tet's regular Sunday night session at Riddle's. You'll find all of these and a bunch more recurring gigs featuring local musicians listed on the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

Note: If you should encounter a minor glitch in calendar operations, it may be because yr. humble editor will be taking advantage of this relative lull in jazz concert action over the next several days to update the calendar with all the fall-season schedule information received so far here at StLJN HQ. In the meantime, as always, if you're wondering what's going on with a particular venue or musician, you can always check out their site directly by following the links over on the sidebar.

Once the calendar mega-update is complete, I hope next week to have not only the regular weekly highlights post, but also another post with a sort of preview/overview of upcoming jazz and creative music for the entire fall season. Stay tuned.

Jazz this week: Support your local jazz musicians

The Independence Day weekend is not usually a busy time for touring jazz acts visiting St. Louis, and that's true again this year. However, if you've got an urge to hear some jazz over the next few days amidst the flurry of backyard cookouts, fireworks displays, and similar seasonal activities, you can check out one or more of these performances featuring some of St. Louis' fine local musicians:

Tonight, Dizzy Atmosphere (pictured) will bring their blend of string-band swing and Gypsy jazz to the Missouri Botanical Garden in a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival.

Due to the holiday weekend, there's no Jazz at Holmes concert this Thursday, and Jazz at the Bistro is dark this weekend, too. However, it's business as usual at the St. Louis Jazz Cafe, which will present pianist James Matthews' trio on Thursday night, Good 4 The Soul on Friday, Trio Tres Bien on Saturday, and the Dave Becherer Trio for Sunday brunch.

Of course, there are a number of recurring weekly gigs around town that are worth hearing, starting tonight with guitarist John Farrar's Park Avenue Jazz at Hammerstone's and pianist Ptah Williams at Riddle's. On Thursday, you can check out singer Gene Lynn at Sasha's on Shaw, and on Friday saxophonist Dave Stone continues his long running engagement at Mangia Italiano.

Since Saturday is the big holiday, I'm not sure if saxophonist Willie Akins will be doing his regular weekly performance that evening at Spruill's, and the club's infrequently updated Web site is little help; best to call ahead if you're thinking of going. Last but not least, on Sunday you can check out trumpeter Jim Manley and keyboardist Mark Friedrich at Jimmy's Cafe on The Park for brunch, and the St. Louis New Jazz X-Tet will play their usual Sunday night show at Riddle's. Looking beyond the weekend, there's a free show by saxophonist Bennett Wood at The Gramophone on Tuesday.

As always, you can find more listings of jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond by visiting the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.)

Jazz this week: Notes from the dog days

It's still the dog days of August in St. Louis, and thus still one of the slower times of the year for jazz in our town, but if you're in the mood to hear some music over the next few days, here are a few possibilities you may want to consider:

On Friday, popular singer Erin Bode and her band return to The Gramophone, while Gaslight Square veterans Trio Tres Bien (pictured) with singer Danita Mumphard are at Cookie's Jazz and More, and the Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom. On Saturday, tenor saxophonist Willie Akins performs his weekly early evening gig at Spruill's, and on Sunday, the New St. Louis Jazz Xtet do their regular thing at Riddle's.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band is back at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups. On Tuesday, you can check out singer Jeanne Trevor at Brandt's, or head to The Gramophone for their free Tuesday night jazz series, which this week features a new band called Utter Chaos.

Utter Chaos are not, as the name might suggest, some sort of free-improv group, but rather are, according to The Gramophone's promotional email, "dedicated to recreating the unique sounds of the Gerry Mulligan/Bob Brookmeyer piano-less quartets of the mid 1950s. Baritone saxophonist Andy Ament is joined by Cody Henry on trombone, Chris Turnbaugh on bass and Jerry Mazzuca on drums. All members of the quartet are graduates of the SIUE jazz department."

To get your dose of free improv this week, you'll have to amble on down Wednesday to Apop Records, 2831 Cherokee St, , for the electric free jazz band Squid Choir Orkestra's concert in the store's Camp Concentration performance space. You can hear some samples of the SCO over on bandleader Jay Zelenka's Freedonia Music site.

For more St. Louis jazz-related events this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.

Jazz this week: Support your local musicians

With no touring jazz musicians coming to town this week, let's take the opportunity to tout some upcoming gigs from some of our fine St. Louis-based players.

On Friday, drummer Joe Pastor's group Jazz Trinity returns to Brandt's, the Dave Stone Trio will be doing their regular weekly show at Mangia Italiano, and Jazz Renaissance performs at Riddle's

On Saturday, you can catch master tenor saxophonist Willie Akins (pictured) doing his weekly gig at Spruill's.

On Sunday, Good 4 The Soul will do a set before Anita Rosamond and her band take the stage at at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups. Also, the St. Louis New Jazz Quartet, led by bassist Willem Von Hombracht, continue with their regularl Sunday night performances at Riddle's.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band plays at BB's, and on Tuesday, singer and pianist Hugh "Peanuts' Whalum is at Brandt's while saxophonist Bennett Wood returns to The Gramophone for another show in the club's free Tuesday night jazz series.

For more St. Louis jazz-related events this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.)