New recordings from Ryan Marquez, Jim Manley, Erika Johnson, and Janet Evra & Ptah Williams

Whether it's the coming of spring, the appearance of some light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, or something else entirely, St. Louis musicians have been busy, with several new releases of potential interest to StLJN readers announced or already out:

* Keyboardist Ryan Marquez of The People's Key and Fresh Heir is set to drop Saint Unity, a solo album featuring guest appearances from 20 St. Louis musicians and vocalists, including singers Anita Jackson, Erin Bode, Lola Kristine, Janet Evra, Paige Alyssa, and Chrissy Renick.

The material is a mix of Marquez's originals and covers, including songs by The Beatles, Foo Fighters, and No Doubt. A single, "Serenity," featuring Jackson and trumpeter Dawn Weber, already has been released, with the full album set to come out in June. For more, check out Marquez's interview with Kim Hudson of FOX 2 News and the feature story on the album from the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson. 

* Meanwhile, the ever-prolific trumpeter Jim Manley has released his second recording since the start of quarantine last year. Still Kickin' Brass includes 15 tracks of original music created in Manley's home studio, and is available now directly from his website as both a download and physical CD.

* Vocalist Erika Johnson will celebrate the release of her latest recording, Raising Standards, with a show next Tuesday, June 1 at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups. The album (pictured), which includes both Johnson originals and covers including "Strange Fruit," was produced by keyboardist Antonio Foster and saxophonist Carlos "Scooter" Brown, and already is available on the major streaming services.

* Last but not least, singer/bassist Janet Evra has teamed with pianist Ptah Williams on a new album titled New Friends, Old Favorites. Recorded live at the Sheldon Concert Hall with a band including saxophonist Kendrick Smith, drummer Demarius Hicks, and Evra's husband, guitarist Will Buchanan, the album features Evra and Williams' arrangements of ten familiar tunes, including songs associated with Ray Charles, Nina Simone, The Shirelles, and more. You can see their rendition of "My Baby Just Cares For Me" on Facebook Video, and find the album streaming online.

Jazz this week: Tribute to Count Basie, Clint Baker salutes New Orleans "cornet kings," Webster Groves Piano Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes tributes to one of the greatest big band leaders in jazz and to New Orleans' tradition of producing memorable cornet players, a free outdoor concert featuring four St. Louis pianists, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 21
Saxophonist Kendrick Smith (pictured, top left) has assembled an eight-piece band plus vocalist Joe Mancuso to pay "Tribute to Count Basie" in a concert at the Ozark Theatre.

Also on Wednesday, Jazz St. Louis will raise funds with "Cocktails for a Cause" at 33 Wine Shop & Bar, and this week's Grand Center Jazz Crawl features saxophonist Andy Ament at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the  Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor returning to The Dark Room.

Thursday, August 22
The Ptah Williams Trio with bassist Darrell Mixon and drummer Gary Sykes will play at Joe's Cafe, and trumpeter Jim Manley performs at Evangeline's.

Friday, August 23
The Focal Point continues their late-summer traditional jazz series with the Rudy Torrini Swing Project, featuring the St. Louis clarinetist and friends playing music from the 1920s, 30s and 40s.

Also on Friday, Miss Jubilee performs in a free outdoor show for "Jungle Boogie" at the St. Louis Zoo; and keyboardist Ryan Marquez will promote the release of his new CD Cosmic Perspective with a late-night show at The Dark Room.

Saturday, August 24
The first-ever Webster Groves Piano Festival
will feature music from Carolbeth True and Two Times True, Jay Oliver, Michael Silverman and Bach to the Future, and Ptah Williams with Darrell Mixon and Steve Davis, all for free on the front lawn of the Masonic Hall, 12 E. Lockwood Ave in downtown Webster.

Also on Friday, San Francisco-based multi-instrumentalist Clint Baker (pictured, bottom left) will offer "A Tribute to the Cornet Kings of New Orleans" with some help from cornetists T.J. Muller and "Wild" Bill Mason at the Focal Point; and Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at Urban Chestnut Midtown Brewery and Biergarten.

Sunday, August 25
Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to play for brunch at the Angad Arts Hotel, and the Folk School of KDHX presents their monthly Traditional Jazz Jam Session.

Monday, August 26
Drummer Kaleb Kirby and friends perform at The Dark Room.

Tuesday, August 27
Pianist Pat Joyce plays solo at Evangeline's.

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.)

Kranzberg Arts Foundation announces music artists-in-residence for 2019-20

The Kranzberg Arts Foundation has announced their new group of music artists-in-residence for 2019-20.

This year's roster includes (pictured, from left) pianist Andrew Stephen, bassist Ben Wheeler, keyboardist/vocalist Ryan Marquez, bassist and singer Janet Evra, singer and pianist Brianna "Be Be" Brown, drummer Kaleb Kirby, saxophonist Carlos Brown Jr., trumpeter Brady Lewis, pianist and singer Katarra Parson, and keyboardist Mark Harris II.

The artists-in-residence program, launched in March 2018, provides participants with performance opportunities at Kranzberg Arts Foundation venues, such as the Dark Room and the Grandel Theatre, plus co-working spaces at the foundation's .ZACK building, marketing support, networking opportunities, studio time at Clayton Studios and Gaslight Studios, and pro bono accounting and legal services.

Participants in 2018-19 also were featured on The Sound of St. Louis - Jazz Compilation Volume 1, a sampler album including one original track from each.

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 Public Radio will honor broadcaster, author and photographer Dennis Owsley (pictured) for 35 years of service to the station and the local music community with a celebration to be held at 7:00 p.m. next Thursday, July 19 at UMSL at Grand Center, 3651 Olive St.

The event is free and open to the public, and will include live music from saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, guitarist Eric Slaughter, bassist Jeff Anderson, and drummer Steve Davis.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold's recent gig at Ronnie Scott's in London was reviewed by Jazz in Europe.

* Harrold also was profiled briefly as one of "18 New Artists in the SFJAZZ 2018-19 Season."

* Multi-instrumentalist and singer Tonina Saputo was the subject of a feature story by St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin.

* Saxophonist, clarinetist and U City native Marty Ehrlich was interviewed in DownBeat on the occasion of the release of latest album, Trio Exaltation.

* A recent performance by Grant Green’s Evolution of Funk at the Jazz Standard in New York was reviewed by Jazz Times. The group, which features Green's son Grant Green, Jr on guitar, was formed in part to promote Resonance Records' recent release of previously unheard live recordings by the elder Green.

* Multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman has just released a new album titled Ukulele Nuthouse.  The recording features Weltman on ukuleles and harmonica with various accompanists, performing a mix of originals and covers,  and is available now from the usual digital outlets and from CD Baby.

* Keyboardist Ryan Marquez did a brief Q&A about jazz/funk band The People's Key's new album Unlocking Doors with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis has announced its grants for the coming presenting season, and some local arts organizations are upset about a new evaluation system that has resulted in 40 groups that previously had received money from RAC getting no funding at all for 2018-19.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer, actor, and Webster University faculty member Debby Lennon has won this year's award for "best actress in a comedy" from the St. Louis Theater Circle for her portrayal of would-be diva Florence Foster Jenkins in Max & Louie Productions' staging of Souvenir. The production won five awards in total from StLTC, including "outstanding comedy."

* St. Louis native and Washington University alumnus Olly Wilson (pictured), a composer, musician, musicologist, and emeritus professor of music at the University of California, Berkeley whose students included drummer Tony Williams, has died at age 80.

* Keyboardist Ryan Marquez appeared Thursday on the morning newscast at KTVI (FOX2) to promote his album release show this Saturday night at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

* The release this week of the CD box set Miles Davis/John Coltrane - The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 already has prompted media coverage including a column from The New Yorker's Richard Brody, a review on Pitchfork.com, and a story about "When Miles Davis and John Coltrane Scandalized Paris" via OZY.com.

* Pianist Peter Martin was profiled this week in Keyboard magazine's "Talent Scout" column.

* Just in time for New Orleans' tricentennial, singer, trumpeter (and University City native) Jeremy Davenport has released a song paying tribute to his adopted home, "One Way Ticket to New Orleans."

* Chris Hansen of the Kranzberg Arts Foundation was interviewed about the foundation's new residency program for musicians by McGraw Millhaven of KTRS .

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty has released a new recording in his Secret Sessions series, available as a free download from Bandcamp. The latest volume, recorded on February 25, documents a live improv session featuring Hegarty on modular synthesizer with Tracy Andreotti (cello), Eric Paul Mandat (clarinets), Greg Mills (piano, melodica), Claude Montgomery (bass), George Sams (flugelhorn), Steven Thomas (guitar), and Fred Tompkins (flute, bass flute).

* The Riverfront Times is looking for up to 30 local musical acts who would like to be part of  ShowcaseSTL 2018, a two-day "concert crawl" on Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17 that will feature more than 100 performances at various venues in the Grove. To find out more about the event and how to submit materials for consideration, go here.

Jazz this week: The Baylor Project, Don Dietrich & Ben Hall, "Essentially Ellington" festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features the local debut of a Grammy-nominated act featuring one of the city's own; a rare local appearance from a founder of one of the most uncompromising free jazz/noise bands of all time; several student ensembles showing off what they've learned this year, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 28
The Baylor Project makes their St. Louis debut with the first of four nights of performances at Jazz at the Bistro.

Led by singer Jean Baylor and her husband, drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor (pictured), they were nominated this year for Grammy awards in both jazz and R&B categories. You can find out more about them and see some videos of live performances in this post from last week.

Also on Wednesday, singer Joe Mancuso performs for the last night of his winter residency at Taha'a Twisted Tiki, and the "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features the St. Louis Steady Grinders at The Stage at KDHX, the weekly jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center; and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, March 29
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert featuring Washington University Jazz Studies Students; guitarist Dave Black leads a trio at The Dark Room; and saxophonist Andy Ament plays at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, March 30
The closing concert of the annual "Essentially Ellington" festival at SIU Edwardsville's Dunham Hall will feature the participating student bands, plus the SIUE Concert Jazz Band and jazz faculty and visiting clinicians including trumpeter Terell Stafford, pianist Reggie Thomas, bassists Rodney Whitaker and Jeff Campbell, and drummer Dennis Mackrel.

Also on Friday, Oikos Ensemble presents "Good Friday Blues - A Jazz Lamentation" at the First Congregational Church of Webster Groves; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to Evangeline's; and guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran wraps up his winter residency at Das Bevo Underground.

Saturday, March 31
Traditional jazz bands including the Riff Raff Jazz Band, Annie and the Fur Trappers, and Roya and the High Timers will perform in a benefit for clarinetist and sculptor Rudy Torrini at Yaquis on Cherokee;

Also on Saturday, keyboardist Ryan Marquez celebrates the release of his album Moving Forward In Time with a show at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and singer Feyza Eren and bassist Willem von Hombracht will duet at the KindaBlue Club.

Sunday, April 1
Saxophonist Don Dietrich, best known as one of the founding members of the apocalyptic free-jazz group Borbetomagus, teams with composer/sculptor Ben Hall for a performance at The Sinkhole; Tim Cunningham headlines a bill featuring fellow saxophonists Antoine Washington, Terry Grohman and Kendrick Smith at Troy's Jazz Gallery; and the The Jazz Troubadours return to Evangeline's.

Monday, April 2
Webster University Student Jazz Combos perform at Webster's Community Music School.

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.)