So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* With no new relief from the government this fall for businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic, St. Louis-area independent venues that are part of the Missouri Entertainment Alliance are asking music enthusiasts to contact Missouri legislators and urge them to provide industry-specific financial assistance at the state level.

Find more about the campaign and how to participate at https://www.missourientertainmentalliance.com/take-action.

* Singer Denise Thimes (pictured) led an online master class on "Interpretation of Performance Material" this past Tuesday for local students under the auspices of the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation. You can see the class on YouTube in three parts here, here and here.

* Rhythm City, a new recording from pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Larry Kornfeld and drummer Rob Silverman on the Autumn Hill label, was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Jim Worsley and by MakingAScene.org's Jim Hynes.

* St. Louis Post-Dispatch classical music critic Sarah Bryan Miller has died after a long battle with cancer. Miller was 68 years old and had been at the Post since 1999.

* A feature story in the latest issue of Jazz Times takes a look at Miles Davis' unreleased collaboration with singer-songwriter Prince.

* Also on the Miles Davis beat, Jo Gelbard, who was the trumpeter's "painting teacher, collaborator, and companion in the final seven years of his life" was interviewed about "The Paintings of Miles Davis" on the podcast "For Keeps."

* Bassist Jahmal Nichols talked about his new recording Black Frequencies in an interview with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Nine Network is reporting on social media that veteran St. Louis pianist and teacher Herb Drury has died. Drury was 92 years old, and was active on the local scene from the Gaslight Square era in the late 1950s into the early 2000s. You can see a profile of Drury from a 2008 episode of Nine's program Living St. Louis here.

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.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis has announced the winners of its 2020 St. Louis Arts Awards, and among the honorees will be pianist Adam Maness (pictured), who will receive the Arts Collaborator award at a banquet and ceremony to be held on January 27, 2020 at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.

* The Miles Davis Jazz Festival, held last Saturday at the Jacoby Arts Center in Alton, was the subject of a feature story in the Edwardsville Intelligencer.

* Stanley Nelson Jr., the director of the new Miles Davis documentary Birth of the Cool, was interviewed about the film by Jazz Times.

* Meanwhile, combination listening sessions and panel discussions on the new reissue of Davis' Complete Birth of the Cool, which was released last Friday, were presented in New York City and Los Angeles.

* Lastly, after putting out excerpts on a four-song EP for this year's Record Store Day, the Miles Davis estate and Rhino/Warner Records will release the full version of the trumpeter's "lost" album Rubberband, recorded in the mid-80s and then shelved in favor of what would become the album Tutu. The vinyl LP includes 11 tracks, which were completed by the original producers and Davis’ nephew Vince Wilburn Jr, with new vocals added by Lalah Hathaway and Ledisi.

* Fire Shut Up In My Bones, the new opera by trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard that premieres tonight at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, was previewed by Sarah Bryan Miller of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kenya Vaughn of the St. Louis American.

* Pianist and former St. Louisan Tom McDermott wrote about the music of the late Dr. John for The Daily Beast.

* Former Jazz St. Louis education director Phil Dunlap, who left the organization last month to take a job as director of the cultural division of Broward County, FL, was profiled in the south Florida publication Art Hive.

* Snarky Puppy's performance last month at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion was reviewed by KDHX's Joseph Ferber.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded Jazz St. Louis a $15,000 grant to support JSL's artist residency program.

* The St. Louis Symphony last weekend joined forces with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to perform Marsalis' "Swing Symphony" at Powell Hall, and the performances - which also were SLSO music director and conductor David Robertson's final concerts with the orchestra - were reviewed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller and KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Trumpeter Jim Manley has released a new album, Retro 80s, which is on sale now on all the usual online outlets, with CDs also available starting next Tuesday, May 15. The album (pictured) includes 10 original tunes by Manley featuring ""solo trumpet with a horn section and sounds of the 80s." You can listen to a compilation of some brief sample clips here.

* Speaking of new recordings, flute player and composer Fred Tompkins has just added a new track to his Bandcamp page and "Ongoing Additions" Facebook page. "The Sun" is a six-minute vocal piece incorporating texts by Emily Dickinson that was performed for the recording by mezzo-soprano Johanna Nordhorn, pianist Maryse Carlin, and drummer Kyle Honeycutt.

* Singer Denise Thimes was interviewed about this year's edition of her annual Mother's Day show by St. Louis Public Radio

* The St. Louis Stompers are headed to Fox Lake, WI next weekend to perform at the annual Bunny Berigan Jazz Jubilee.

* The Pocket, a combination bed-and-breakfast and rehearsal space geared to traveling bands and music fans, has opened for business in South St. Louis at 3501 Lemp, right next door to Off Broadway.

* The Sheldon Concert Hall has posted to Facebook an album of photos from Wednesday night's performance by Alarm Will Sound.

* The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has arrested four suspects and recovered hundreds of items, including musical instruments and equipment, that were stolen over the past four years from vehicles downtown. The thieves are believed to be responsible for at least some of the rash of thefts that in recent years have plagued touring bands visiting St. Louis. If you or someone you know lost something to the crooks, you can check online to see if it is among the recovered property.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* This weekend's Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival was previewed by the Belleville News-Democrat.

* The Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller wrote about how this weekend's closing of the Tavern of Fine Arts will affect local performers.

* Meanwhile, Thurman Grill and Provisions, another eating-and-drinking spot that frequently features live jazz, has been sold and will close temporarily for renovations at the end of June. The story quotes soon-to-be-former-owner Larry Weinles as saying the new regime plans a "continuation of live music," but there are no further details.

* KDHX has posted to their Flickr page a photo set from piano prodigy Joey Alexander's performance last Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro, and Kenya Vaughn of the St. Louis American reviewed the show.

* The Gaslight Squares posted to Facebook some photos from their recent gig for the St. Louis Jazz Club.

* The Riverfront Times this week announced the winners of the 2016 RFT Music Awards, with Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing finishing first in the "Jazz" category and the Funky Butt Brass Band taking home the trophy in "Soul/Funk." You can see the complete list here.

* Speaking of Hallorans, Tommy's trombone-playing brother Charlie Halloran, who now lives in New Orleans, was the subject of a brief St. Louis magazine feature by Thomas Crone. Halloran the trombonist will be back in St. Louis next month with the New Orleans Jazz Vipers for gigs at Foam, Joe's Cafe, Focal Point, and Blues City Deli.

* And speaking of the RFT, electronic musician Eric Hall has put on BandCamp a recording of his set at Handlebar from last Saturday's RFT Music Showcase.

* Also now on BandCamp for streaming and/or downloading: The 442s' latest album RELAY, which was released on CD earlier this month.

* Richard "Groove" Holmes (pictured), the renowned jazz organist who lived in St. Louis for the last years of his life, is the subject of a tribute on radio station WKCR, which broadcasts from Columbia University in NYC.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Frontenac Grill, which frequently featured live jazz on Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons, has closed.

* Quartette Humaine, the new album from saxophonist David Sanborn and pianist Bob James, was reviewed by Mike Joyce of Jazz Times and Curt Davenport of Curt's Jazz Cafe.

Meanwhile, C. Andrew Hovan of AllAboutJazz.com reviewed Sanborn & James' set last month at the San Francisco Jazz Festival.

* Oliver Lake was in Oakland last week for four gigs featuring four different lineups of musicians. His evening of duets with Roscoe Mitchell was reviewed by Richard Scheinin of the San Jose Mercury News, while Lake's show with saxophonist Philip Greenlief and guitarist Ross Hammond was the subject of a post, with photos, by blogger Mark Pino of Disaster Amnesiac.

* The Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller looked at the impact of Terence Blanchard's Champion on the recently concluded season of Opera Theater of St. Louis.

* Saxophonist and one-time Webster University student John Zorn is celebrating his 60th birthday this year with a variety of concerts and recordings, as chronicled in recent feature stories from the New York Times and Jewish Week. This weekend, Zorn is performing with guests including Mike Patton, Marc Ribot and Trevor Dunn at the Barbican in London.

* KDHX (88.1 FM) has launched a Kickstarter campaign raising funds to build a stage at the station's new headquarters in Grand Center, just a few doors down from Jazz at the Bistro. The live performance space will seat 125 people for what's being called "an intimate listening room experience."

Premiums for contributions to the campaign include everything from a t-shirt (pictured) on up to private parties at the venue and even naming rights for the green rooms. The goal is to raise $50,000 by July 26; as of this writing, the campaign has attracted 79 backers who have pledged $3,762. 

* Continuing with our radio update, this Saturday's edition of Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else", will feature the latest music from guitarists Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny and John Scofield. Right after that, Jason Church's "The Jazz Collective" will showcase tracks from trumpeter Dawn Weber's new project, plus music from Christian McBride, Peet Project, Spyro Gyra, David Sanborn and Ramsey Lewis.

Wilson's show is broadcast at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays and Church's at 9:00 p.m. on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The New Orleans Times-Picayune says that pianist and former St. Louisan Tom McDermott (pictured) will release an anthology of tracks from his back catalog curated by famed arranger/producer and performer Van Dyke Parks. Keyboard magazine has more on the story here.

* New Music Circle was recognized as best "Cutting Edge Arts Organization" in St. Louis' magazine's annual "A-List" issue, which is out this week.

* Reviews of trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard's opera Champion, which had its world premiere last Saturday at Opera Theatre St. Louis, are in from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller; former P-D columnist Harper Barnes, now writing for the St. Louis Beacon; and Denver Post classical music critic Ray Mark Rinaldi.

* Speaking of reviews, here's one by AllAboutJazz.com's Dan Bilawsky of Quartette Humaine, the new album from St. Louis native David Sanborn and keyboardist Bob James.

* The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra has posted on Facebook a photo album from their most recent show at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

* Two St. Louis music-related businesses have gotten some recent national attention, as Mel Bay Publishing won several 2013 Paul Revere Awards for Graphic Excellence from the Music Publishers Association, while Logic Systems Sound & Lighting was featured in the trade publication Lighting and Sound America.

* This week in jazz radio: If you still can't get enough of Terence Blanchard and Champion, Saturday's edition of Calvin Wilson's program "Somethin' Else," airing at 8:00 p.m. on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, features an interview with the trumpeter, plus music from his new Blue Note album Magnetic.

Right after that at 9:00 p.m., Jason Church's "The Jazz Collective" will have sounds from the great female vocalists of jazz - i.e. "Ella, Sarah, Billie, Nina" - in the first hour, with music in hour two from the Carolbeth True Trio, Commonwealth, Brian Owens, Jason Swagler, Brian Vaccaro Trio, Christopher Braig, Bela Fleck, Fourplay and Richard Boulger. You can hear both programs over the air at 107.3 FM and 96.3 HD-2, or online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Elsewhere on the radio dial, having finally completed the 10-week-long, updated version of his radio history of St. Louis jazz, Dennis Owsley will be back to regular programming on this Sunday's "Jazz Unlimited", airing at 9:00 p.m. on KWMU (90.7 FM). This week will have "new music featuring a duet between Jaki Byard and Tommy Flanagan, Ben Sidran, Joey Calderazzo, Monty Alexander, Keith Jarrett, Jaleel Shaw, the Jim Widner Big Band and a five part Suite called "Hagar’s Song" by Charles Lloyd and Jason Moran."

* Turning to what might be called "Crowd-Funding Corner," bassist Willem von Hombracht is in the final days of a campaign on Indie-A-Go-Go to raise money for the International Jazz Academy, which sends jazz musicians from the USA and elsewhere to work with music students in Eastern Europe; and guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran is using the same service to raise the cash needed to press the next CD from his band Guerilla Swing.

* Finally, here's a new promotional video from Wack-A-Doo for their song "The Black Bear Bounce," featuring, among other things:  the local bakery of the same name; a lot of local outdoor art; and a guy in a bear costume dancing and riding a unicycle. While film buffs might quibble that the shot selection gets a little repetitive after a while, overall it's a fun and imaginative way to promote a piece of instrumental music, setting an example that other local bands might do well to emulate.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Stages St. Louis' production of the Fats Waller musical Ain't Misbehavin' came under the scrutiny of the show's creator during its final weekend, as Richard Maltby Jr, who directed the original, Tony Award winning Broadway production, visited St. Louis to catch Friday's performance.

Calling the Stages production "Broadway level work (or higher)" and "one of the best productions this show has ever received," Maltby Jr. schmoozed with theater patrons and staff, and posed for photos with the show's cast and band (pictured). Seen in the photo here, from left, are saxophonists Kendrick Smith and Jason Swagler, drummer Bernard Long Jr, Maltby, trombonist Cody Henry, bassist Jahmal Nichols, and trumpeter Matt Bittles.

* Jazz St. Louis this week announced a $50,000 gift from the Monsanto Fund to support their JazzU program during the 2012-13 academic year. The gift will let JSL continue to offer JazzU at no cost to students, and to reimburse them for transportation costs when necessary. JazzU provides weekly private instruction in ensemble playing, improvisation, music theory, and listening strategies to middle school and high school students from all over the St. Louis area.

* There's also good news this week for saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby, who's one of thirteen recipients of a 2012 Pew Fellowship in the Arts worth $60,000. The awards go to Philadelphia artists from a variety of disciplines; the only other jazz musician to win one this year is saxophonist and Sun Ra Arkestra leader Marshall Allen.

* Another saxophonist and St. Louis expat, Eric Person, has a new album out this week. The new CD from TrioKinesis, with Person, bassist Joseph Lepore and drummer Shinnosuke Takahashi, is available on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby.com.

* Blues historian, author, illustrator and preservationist Kevin Belford is the latest local artist to take part in Feast magazine's "Booze Doodles" series.

* The St. Louis Rivermen played the annual Greater Olympia Dixieland Jazz Festival in Washington last weekend, and got a shout-out from the local paper.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has posted online an album of photos from their show last week for the St. Louis Zoo's "Jungle Boogie" concert series

* The US Air Force is downsizing its band program, and the ensembles based at Scott AFB in metro east are among those being discontinued. The Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller has a story about the last days of the 571st Air Force Band here.

* Condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and students of Matthew "Matt" Rice, band director at Fox High School in Arnold, who died Thursday of what news accounts say were natural causes. Rice, who was 37, directed several different ensembles at the school, including the jazz band.

Visitation is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday, July 9 at First Baptist Church, 2012 Missouri State Rd in Arnold. The funeral will take place at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 10 at the church, and Fox HS will hold a candlelight vigil at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday evening.

Jazz educators featured; Radio Arts Foundation suspends efforts

As the weekend winds down and the work week winds up, here are a couple of links related to stories we've been following:

A number of the musicians and teachers in St. Louis this weekend for the first Jazz Education Network conference also visited area schools to spread the word about jazz, and the Post-Dispatch's Sara Lenz wrote a feature story about it, which you can read online here.

Meanwhile, the Radio Arts Foundation, the local group of classical music enthusiasts who had hoped to purchase radio station KFUO, have put on hold their search for another local frequency to buy and convert to a classical format. The P-D's Sarah Bryan Miller has details in a Culture Club blog post here.

FCC approves KFUO sale

Bad news for St. Louis area fans of classical and jazz music: According to an item by Post-Dispatch music critic Sarah Bryan Miller on the Culture Club blog at STLtoday, the Federal Communications Commission has given final approval to the sale of radio station KFUO (99.1 FM). The blog post, in its entirety:

"The Federal Communications Commission has approved the sale of the license of KFUO-99.1 FM by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to Gateway Creative Broadcasting, which broadcasts “Christian contemporary” pop music as Joy FM. The sale is expected to be final in five days."

The sale means that, for the first time in at least 60 years, St. Louis will no longer have a radio station broadcasting classical music. It also means that Don Wolff, who has presented his long-running program "I Love Jazz" Fridays on KFUO since 2008, once again will be without a home on local broadcast radio. (Fortunately, Wolff's Internet radio show and the video version of I Love Jazz on cable network HEC-TV are both still continuing.)

UPDATE - 11:00 p.m., 5/7/10: Miller has added a follow-up post with reaction from the local arts community here, and a longer feature story with details on when the format change is expected to happen here. Also, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's Eddie Silva reacts to the news with a blog post here.

Senator McCaskill weighs in on KFUO sale

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) has joined her Show-Me State colleague Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Missouri) in expressing support for the classical music programming of KFUO (99.1 FM). In a post on the Culture Club blog yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller published the following statement made by Senator McCaskill last week during a conference call with Missouri radio stations:

“I’m not aware what, if anything, we’ve heard back from the FCC on that, but I’m happy to look into it. I know that a lot of people have weighed in about it and this is another area that’s very interesting. With the FCC, it is the public airwaves, but there’s also a fine line between government control and the free market so it’s a little tricky but I love that radio station. I listen to it all the time at home so a bunch of us are trying to help.”

Senator Bond last week called for a congressional inquiry into the pending sale of KFUO, which has been controversial since it was first announced last year. The station currently is the only one in St. Louis that broadcasts classical music, and prospective owners Gateway Creative Broadcasting want to change the format to contemporary Christian music. There also have been questions about the structure of the deal, the financial wherewithal of the buyers, and whether or not all necessary information was disclosed according to FCC rules.

StLJN has been following the story because KFUO also is home to Don Wolff's long-running program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights. For links to past coverage, click here.

Senator calls for inquiry into KFUO sale

In the latest development in the pending sale of radio station KFUO (99.1 FM), Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Missouri) today called for a congressional inquiry into the matter. The Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller has details in a Culture Club blog post here.

Miller also reported last week that prospective buyer Gateway Christian Broadcasting claim to have met their fundraising goal of $2 million needed to close the sale. "If the FCC approves the sale, it will mean the probable end of classical music broadcasting in the St. Louis area. It’s interesting to note that the projected date has been moved from early March to “late spring,” Miller concluded.

The sale has been controversial from the start because KFUO currently is the only radio station in St. Louis that plays classical music, and the prospective owners wish to change to format to contemporary Christian music. There also have been questions about the structure of the deal, the financial wherewithal of the buyers, and whether or not all necessary information was disclosed according to FCC rules.

StLJN has been following the story because KFUO also is home to Don Wolff's long-running program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights. For links to past coverage, click on the "KFUO" tag at the bottom of this post.

Update on pending sale of KFUO

There are a couple of items in the news this week related to the pending sale of radio station KFUO (99.1 FM).

First, as reported by the Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller in a post on the Culture Club blog, it looks as if the originally announced March 1 target date for closing the sale likely will pass without KFUO changing hands. Miller has more about the significance of this in her post here.

Second, via Chris King's blog Confluence City, word comes that on Wednesday U.S. Representatives John Shimkus (D -Illinois 19) and William “Lacy” Clay, Jr. (D - Missouri 1) spoke out against the proposed sale of KFUO on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“As a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, this is not a position that I take lightly, but I truly believe that the sale of our area’s lone classical music station does the church and the community wrong,” said Shimkus, who last year signed a petition to the Synod's board of directors opposing the sale. You can see a video of Congressman Shimkus' comments on the KFUO situation here

Petitioners challenging KFUO sale file a "supplement" with FCC

The Committee to Save KFUO-FM has filed a "supplement" to its petition to the Federal Communications Commission, alleging that KFUO's current owners, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, have been less than truthful in their handling of the sale. The Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller has the story in a Culture Club blog post here.

For anyone who's just coming in: The sale is controversial because KFUO is the only St. Louis radio station that features classical music, and the potential new owners want to change to another format. StLJN has been following the story because the station also is home to Don Wolff's program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights. (To see more on the subject, click on the "KFUO" tag at the end of this post.)

More filings in KFUO sale

While there were no major developments over the holidays in the pending sale of KFUO (99.1 FM), there have been more documents filed in the past couple of weeks, and the Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller has continued to follow the story. Here's a summary of recent news:

In a blog post headlined "KFUO/LCMS: The Concordia Seminary faculty is not pleased," Miller wrote of a letter from the faculty of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s Concordia Seminary in Clayton, where KFUO has its studios, stating that they have nothing to do with the decision to sell.

In another post titled "News story: “KFUO battle continues”," Miller reported the LCMS' response to petitions challenging the sale, including news on the fundraising efforts of prospective buyer Gateway Creative Broadcasting.

A follow-up story covered the response from the lawyers for those that want to preserve KFUO's classical music format, the Radio Arts Foundation and the Committee to Save KFUO-FM. They claim that Gateway did not have funding, as required by the FCC and as they said they did, when the application was made. The response also questioned whether the LCMS' effort to sell the station was consistent with FCC rules prohibiting discrimination, and included statements from leaders of nine local arts organizations opposing the sale. Miller added more details in a subesquent blog post.

In addition to being the St. Louis area's only radio station featuring classical music, KFUO also is home to Don Wolff's long-running program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights.

Buyers raising funds for KFUO purchase, responding to petitions

In a story published in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch, classical music critic Sarah Bryan Miller writes that fundraising help for the purchase of radio station KFUO (99.1 FM) by Gateway Creative Broadcasting is coming from a couple of somewhat surprising sources: the families of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes and current Cardinals star, first baseman Albert Pujols:

"After a significant fundraising campaign, the company has more than $350,000 in hand, over $1 million in donor pledges and, as of Dec. 1, a “commitment letter” from Cass Commercial Bank for a loan of $1.7 million. Much of the fundraising has been led by former Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes and his wife, Jennifer. Albert Pujols and his wife, Deidre, have also been involved."

In addition, "The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which is selling KFUO, and Gateway Creative Broadcasting, which as Joy FM seeks to buy it and change it to a Christian contemporary format, have filed their opposition" to two of the four petitions filed with the FCC by opponents of the sale. And in related developments, Miller wrote in two earlier posts of opposition to the proposed sale among faculty members at Concordia Seminary and of the formal response by the LCMS to a letter from church members questioning the transaction.

StLJN has been following the story because in addition to being the only St. Louis area radio station that plays classical music, KFUO also is home to Don Wolff's long-running program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights. We'll continue to recap significant developments as they occur...

Petitioners challenge KFUO sale

Reports published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch say that three petitions have been filed with the Federal Communications Commission in an attempt to stop the sale of radio station KFUO (90.7 FM). KFUO is the only radio station in the St. Louis area that broadcasts classical music, and also is home to Don Wolff's long-running program I Love Jazz, which airs on Friday nights.

In two blog posts and a news story, classical music critic Sarah Bryan Miller writes that petitions now have been filed with the FCC by three groups:

* The Committee to Save KFUO-FM, made up of local members of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, which currently owns KFUO;

* The Radio Arts Foundation, a group of St. Louisans drawn from the Radio Arts Board, which over the years raised more than $800,000 to support classical music on KFUO and sought to buy the station from the LCMS;

* A group calling itself Citizens of Metropolitan St. Louis and Citizens of the United States of America, which is inviting anyone interested in the issue to join their petition:

"Those who wish to have their name included as part of the public form of this document may contact buzzmusicmedia via email so their names can be given to the FCC, if and when The Commission asks for the list of citizens’ names and addresses...emails may be sent to buzzmusicmedia@gmail.com — I will gladly forward those names and addresses to those who hold the document."

Miller's story said the first two petitions raise the issue of whether prospective buyers Gateway Creative Broadcasting are financially qualified to purchase the license, and whether they filed all the FCC’s required forms and documents. The third group of petitioners "allege collusion in the sale - which wasn’t seriously opened up to anyone beyond the Joy FM folks by Omaha lawyer-LCMS board member-paid counsel Kermit Brashear, who will apparently pocket a bundle from the transaction - along with impact on the community and alleged insolvency on the part of Gateway."

In another post today with more details on the specific individuals involved with the petitioning groups, Miller adds: “The petitions are not lawsuits. Sources within the groups fighting the sale of the station said that separate lawsuits on other grounds might still be forthcoming."

In other recent related posts, Miller also has reported on the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's efforts to mobilize opposition to the sale, and the widening of a "gag order" imposed on employees of KFUO and the LCMS to prevent them from talking to the press about the sale.

KFUO files application for license transfer

The Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller reported today that the license assignment application to transfer ownership of KFUO (99.1 FM) from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to Gateway Creative Broadcasting (a.k.a. Joy FM) has been submitted to the FCC.

The proposed sale would put an end to St. Louis' only classical music radio station, also the current home of Don Wolff's long-running program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights. (For more background on the story, click the "KFUO" label at the bottom of this post to see all previous related posts.)

The 60 page application is supposed to be available at fcc.gov for viewing and commenting. However, it doesn't seem to be online yet, as a search for the application reference number 20091026AAX that was listed in Miller's story only turns up the commission's daily minutes acknowledging receipt of the form on Tuesday. (Presumably, it will be online soon, and if so, I'll update this post or make a new one, as seems appropriate. )

In the meantime, Miller has some analysis of the application in a follow-up post here; StLJN will have more on this story as it develops.

UPDATE - 1:00 a.m., 10/31/09 - A P-D reader has ferreted out the link to the application on the FCC Web site, and Miller has another follow-up post with specifics on the commenting procedure.

More on the KFUO sale

Although there's been no breaking news over the last few days regarding the proposed sale of radio station KFUO (99.1 FM), St. Louis Post-Dispatch classical music critic Sarah Bryan Miller has continued to dig and explore various aspects of the story via a series of posts on the paper's Culture Club blog.

Local jazz fans have an interest in the sale because in addition to being St. Louis' only classical music station, KFUO also is home to Don Wolff's long-running program "I Love Jazz," which airs on Friday nights. For those of you who are following the story, rather than attempting to summarize everything Miller has reported on, let's just link to all the related posts from the last several days:

KFUO/LCMS: Another precinct heard from with "Steadfast Lutherans"

KFUO poll results! Plus: somebody does the math on the Joy FM deal, and finds it wanting

KFUO/LCMS: An intriguing proposal from a St. Louis businessman

KFUO/LCMS: An editorial in the Jewish Light

KFUO/LCMS: Last chance to vote in the Culture Club poll

KFUO/LCMS: “An appeal to the Board of Directors”

KFUO/LCMS: The petition to the LCMS board of directors

More coverage of KFUO sale

The proposed sale of radio station KFUO (99.1 FM) is continuing to generate controversy and press coverage. Over the weekend, reporter Charles Jaco of local Fox affiliate KTVI (Channel 2) did a story on the sale that included an interview with Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra president Fred Bronstein. You can see that report online here.

(For more background on the sale of KFUO, and why it matters to local fans of jazz as well as classical music, see here, here, here, here and here. )

Also, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller has another sale-related post today on the paper's Culture Club blog - specifically, it seems that the station's current owners, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, now have told KFUO personnel to refrain from talking to the press about the sale.

Over the weekend, the Post also ran a piece from religion reporter Tim Townsend headlined "Evangelism at the heart of KFUO-FM sale," which prompted a sharp response from pro-classical music commenters as well as an answering post from Miller.

Last but not least, an earlier StLJN post on the subject prompted an interesting comment by reader "fromwis," which apparently also is being posted on comment threads related to the story on various media outlets around town. The comment indicates that not all the LCMS board members are happy with the terms of the proposed sale, and because the post in question has slipped off the front page, the comment is reproduced in full below:

"Used with the express permission of Dr. Paul L. Maier

Paul L. Maier, Ph.D., Litt.D, LL.D.
Department of History
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI 49008

(269) 387-4816 maier@wmich.edu Fax: (269) 387-4651

STATEMENT REGARDING KFUO

October 8, 2009

Selling KFUO-FM was a clear violation of Christian ethics. Primed with wrong information, the LCMS Board of Directors that authorized the sale ignored an appeal by 41 principal church leaders not to sell KFUO-FM, disregarded crucial ethical issues involved in betraying the trust of KFUO’s founders and supporters, and has now sold a vital mission of our church, gaining proceeds to which it was legally but not morally entitled. This was not Synod’s investment, but that of listeners across 85 years who prayed, worked, and gave sacrificially to support KFUO. Did the matter of basic ethics ever occur to board members, the obligation to do right rather than wrong? And in a church board, no less?

And all this while destroying one of our country’s great, pioneer radio stations and alienating the cultural community of St. Louis -- and the world.

Moreover, radio experts wonder why the Board relegated so important a decision to a small committee (one which avoided other options for Lutheran ownership), and are mystified that it would sell such an asset at the worst possible time economically. They deem the sales agreement “dead on arrival,” since the millions claimed in the sale have little chance of reali- zation. Joy-FM, the purchaser, is non-commercial and already owes $600,000 on its two “rim-shot” stations. One cannot escape the conclusion that this was one of the worst decisions ever made by any board in the history of our church body.

Paul L. Maier
Second Vice-President
The Lutheran Church—Mo. Synod"

(Edited after posting to add a link and fix a typo.)