Site news: A little spring cleaning, and a calendar update

Over the weekend, I had a chance to do some updating and spring cleaning around the site.

The first task was updating the local links sections on the right sidebar, with extensive revisions to the "Bands and Musicians" and "Concerts, Clubs and Festivals" categories. This (finally!) takes care of a big backlog in links to be added, and I also went through and deleted any dead links in those sections.

(If you've sent a link to be added in recent weeks, and it's not up there now, please re-send, as your request may have fallen through the proverbial cracks.)

Next, I got rid of Sphere, a plug-in that, for any given post, was supposed to pull up related stories from the web, but that never really worked all that well.

It's been replaced with LinkWithin, another plug-in that is supposed to serve up links to relevant related posts from within StLJN's own archives. So far, the selections it's pulling up seem to be somewhat random, but the software's authors say that after installation, it takes a while for it to crawl a site's archives and index everything. The plan is give it a couple of weeks, and see if there's any improvement in the relevance of the links.

Also added is what Facebook calls a "like box," which links to and shows how many people "like" StLJN's Facebook page. It also let readers "like" the FB page from the main StLJN site. I've also changed the mix of ads on the site, getting rid of some, adding some others and moving some things around on the page.

There may be some more small changes to the layout as additional tweaks are made, but even if things look a little funny for a short time, basic functionality should still be fine.

UPDATE - 5:30 p.m., 4/3/12: Almost forgot to mention that the old "AddThis" gadget that lets you easily share StLJN posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media has been replaced with a newer version. It appears at the bottom of each post, and also includes icons to let you email and/or print the specific post with one click. To avoid redundancy, the "email a post" function built into Blogger has been disabled.

Lastly, updates of the StLJN calendar for April and beyond are underway, and should be completed in the next day or so. If you're a jazz musician, band, venue or presenter, you can get your gigs on the calendar just by sending your information via email to stljazznotes @ yahoo . com.

Site news: A new mobile version, gig info wanted, and more

It's been a slow news week in St. Louis, and for yr. humble editor, some gigs and deadlines for actual paying work additionally have made for light blogging over the last few days...so this seems as good a time as any to catch up on a few site-related housekeeping items:

* Blogger has added an option to offer a mobile version of the site, which I've enabled for StLJN. (We've been without a mobile version for a few months, since the previous third-party provider shut down their free service.)

The new mobile site should come up automatically when you access StLJN from a smart phone or tablet. It's not fancy - much like the earlier incarnation, it's basically a re-skinning of the RSS feed. However, if you have any feedback on how well it works (or doesn't work), please feel free to let me know in the comments or via email.

* Once again, a reminder to all the musicians reading this site: StLJN wants your gig information for the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar! To get a free listing, just send an email to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. Your gig will get added to the site calendar, and it also could get featured in a post, mentioned in the "jazz this week" update, or otherwise selected for more extensive coverage.

The minimum information needed for a calendar listing is the name of the band or musician, the date, the place, and the starting time and ending time. Additional information - ticket prices, web addresses, more details on the event, whatever - may be helpful, and will be included in the listing as appropriate, but it's not required.

Again, this is a completely free service - but to continue to make the calendar as complete as possible, I need your help. After more than six years of publishing, I can usually get reasonably good information on performances put on by the larger jazz presenters, venues and concert series. However, information often is harder to come by for gigs like self-promoted concerts or charity benefits, or at places like neighborhood bars, coffeehouses or churches that may not regularly present jazz. That's where it's very helpful to hear directly from musicians; if you don't tell me about the gig, I may not find out about it all. So, send in those listings!

* StLJN is getting close to 500 "Likes" on Facebook, and near 400 followers on Twitter. If you use either service and don't already like/follow StLJN, please consider doing so, thereby helping us to reach those curiously gratifying round numbers.

* Lastly, if the current lull persists for a bit, there may be some dead-link pruning and minor adjustments to the current layout in store - nothing too dramatic, but if the site looks a bit strange on an upcoming visit, it's because you've stopped by while renovations were in progress, and things should stabilize soon.

I also anticipate launching a couple of new recurring features for StLJN in the not-too-distant future, about which I hope to have more later this week.

Site news: Calendar update and more

Yr. humble editor has just completed a fairly major update to the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found in the left-hand column of the main StLJN site; under the "Calendar" tab on StLJN's Facebook page, and on its very own page here.

The updated calendar has dozens of new listings, including the 2010-11 season schedules for Jazz at the Bistro, the Sheldon Concert Hall, New Music Circle and several other local presenters, as well as an assortment of other jazz events announced over the last few weeks. Next up will be a few additions to the StLJN links section, and some minor pruning of dead links, which should happen in the next day or two.

Remember, if you're playing or presenting jazz or creative music in the St. Louis area, StLJN can help get the word out to thousands of enthusiastic listeners. There's no charge for being listed; all you have to do is send in your info. So, if you have calendar items, band schedule information, links, news tips, 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.)

Site news: StLJN goes mobile, plus a map of St. Louis jazz venues, and more

It's a new week in a new month, and with it come some new features on this site:

* If you'd like to read St. Louis Jazz Notes using a iPhone, Blackberry or similar gadget, there's now a version of StLJN formatted especially for mobile devices available at http://stljazznotes.mofuse.mobi/. (I'll also be adding a permanent link for the mobile service over on the right sidebar, below the "Subscribe to StLJN" section.)

Essentially, it takes the RSS feed of the site and formats the text in a way that's optimized for a small screen. Lacking the requisite hardware, yr. humble editor hasn't had a chance yet to test the service, but I'm interested in feedback and comments from anyone who does, so please try it out and then leave a comment or send me an email with your impressions.

* Also finally up and running this week is a long-delayed project: a map of St. Louis jazz clubs and concert venues, which can be found at http://stljazznotesmap.blogspot.com/. (I've also added a permanent link to the map in the "Site Navigation" section.)

It's built on Google's map technology, so you can move the map around with your cursor; use the controls at upper left to zoom in and out; toggle between the map and satellite photos; and click on each "point of interest" for an annotations box with additional information, phone numbers, Web site URLs, and so on.

I imagine it's something that locals will use only occasionally, but it should be particularly handy for visitors and new arrivals. Again, please feel free to offer your suggestions, corrections, additions and observations via email or in the comments for this post.

* Meanwhile, the StLJN calendar of events can now be found at http://stljazznotescalendar.blogspot.com/, where it's gotten a makeover to match the map page, allowing for the addition of an identifying banner up top, plus a sidebar with links, ads and a visitor counter. (If you'd prefer to see the larger, unframed versions of the map and calendar, there are links at the bottom of each page that will let you do that.)

* Finally, just another reminder that you can now follow St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes and become a "fan" by signing up on the StLJN Facebook page.

Site news: Jazz calendar updated

Be advised that yr. humble & harried editor has just about completed an extensive update of the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

Among the additions are everything that' s been announced so far about the 2008-09 musical lineups for Jazz at the Bistro, the Sheldon Concert Hall, the Touhill Performing Arts Center, and New Music Circle, as well as fall schedules for the Jazz at Holmes and Kemper Museum series at Washington University and the St. Louis Jazz Club. There still are a handful of individual club and band listings that need to get plugged in here and there, but that work should be wrapped up tonight. Also, there are a couple of local presenters, notably the Webster University music department, who have yet to make their 2008-09 schedules public (at least anywhere that I can find). That information will be added as soon as it's available

Of course, the work of keeping the calendar up to date is never truly done, as your submissions of event information are always welcome. If you're a band, musician, presenter, promoter, club owner, venue operator, school band director, etc. you can get your concert, club gig or other jazz- or creative music-related event included in the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar simply by emailing the information to me at stljazznotes at yahoo dot com. The listings are free of charge, and you don't have to send an elaborate press release - a simple note will do, but please be sure to include the name of the musician or group and/or a brief description of the event; the time, date and place; and admission charge, if any.

Jazz this week: Tony DeSare at the Bistro, Erin Bode at SLAM, and more

This week in St. Louis jazz isn't nearly as busy as the last couple have been, but there are still some shows worth bringing to your attention.

For starters, singer/pianist Tony DeSare (pictured) is this week's featured attraction at Jazz at the Bistro, doing two sets a night through Saturday. DeSare started in musical theater, performing in, among other things, a show celebrating the music of Frank Sinatra. And the Sinatra influence remains present in what I've heard of DeSare's music, along with hints of Bennett, Torme and other Italian-American crooners, Harry Connick, Jr., and other jazz-pop performers.

Those influences may still be somewhat unassimilated at this point, but then again, DeSare is young and still evolving, and few, if any of the other artists mentioned above would do some of the material DeSare covers, such as songs from Carole King and Prince. DeSare made his St. Louis debut with a two-night engagement at the Bistro last season, and now merits a four-night stand, which tells me that he must have made a positive impression in terms of both musical quality and audience response.

You can see and hear a sample of DeSare by checking out the YouTube clip below, which was recorded in January 2007 and shows him doing a solo version of an original tune called "Mundy on Tuesdays".

UPDATE - 3/1/07 - The Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson has a brief interview with DeSare in today's paper, available online here.

Speaking of singers, St. Louis' own Erin Bode is performing a free concert at 6 p.m. Saturday night in the Griggs Gallery of the Saint Louis Art Museum. And speaking of free shows, guitarist Vince Varvel is doing one Thursday night for Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series.

There's more at the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, with updates for March in progress over the next couple of days as band and club schedules come in and data gets entered. Or if you're interested in finding out who's at a specific venue, please see the sidebar, where an extensive selection of fine links is available for your clicking and reading pleasure.

(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. No attachments, please.)