Miles Davis documentary opens Friday in St. Louis, with director Stanley Nelson attending

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the new biographical documentary about the famed trumpeter, will open this Friday at the Tivoli Theatre in University City, with director Stanley Nelson and representatives of the Davis estate attending.

Nelson, Davis' nephew Vince Wilburn Jr., and the trumpeter's son Erin Davis will attend and conduct a Q&A session at the 7:00 p.m. screening on Friday, September 6.

Nelson and Wilburn then will be on hand for three additional screenings this weekend, at 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 7 and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 8.

In a related event, Wilburn, Erin Davis, and Miles Davis' daughter Cheryl Davis will appear at "A HOME styled Meet & Greet" from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, September 5 at the House of Miles EStL (HOME), located in the trumpeter's restored childhood home at 1701 Kansas Ave in East St. Louis.

The East St. Louis High School Jazz Ensemble will provide music for the occasion.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Just in time for what will be a long holiday weekend for some, the recently released film Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary is getting a St. Louis run starting today and continuing through Thursday, July 6 at the Tivoli Theatre.

* Trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran, an influential player, bandleader and educator in Chicago for more than six decades, has died at age 90. Though Cohran is best known for his work in the Chicago avant-garde scene and for playing with Sun Ra, he also had a St. Louis connection.

According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune (linked above), Cohran moved to St. Louis with his family from Oxford, MS "when he was about 10, immersing himself in the city's robust jazz scene and playing alongside trumpeter Clark Terry in the late 1940s" and lived here until he was drafted into the military in 1950.

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris has posted a recording of "Harvest For The World," as performed last week during his Isley Brothers-themed shows at Jazz at the Bistro, to his SoundCloud page

* The Gaslight Squares have made a music video of "Nicklin' & Dimin'" as part of producer/director Bill Streeter's Lo-Fi St. Louis series.

* Speaking of videos, pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness made one this week recorded live on Facebook to talk about their Open Studio Network's new "Elements of Jazz Piano" online video course.

* Completing today's video troika, guitarist Todd Mosby has posted a video of his composition "Moon Song" on YouTube.

* Trombonist Joseph Bowie has just released a new duet album with percussionist Adam Rudolph. Good Medicine by IG-BO Duet: Joseph Bowie & Adam Rudolph is available now as a digital download from Rudolph's BandCamp page and as a CD.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* I Called Him Morgan, the new documentary film about the life and death of trumpeter Lee Morgan (pictured), opens its St. Louis run today at the Tivoli Theatre in University City. You can see a list of show times here.

* The website St. Louis Musicians Unite has a new post this week about St. Louis jazz, combining a mention of Jazz Appreciation Month, a (much-appreciated!) acknowledgement of StLJN's recent 12th anniversary, and a video annotation of our current "Jazz this week" post.

Edited by Christopher Davis, STLMU has content covering a variety of musical genres and interests, and also has a very active Twitter account, with daily updates on live music shows happening around town.

* Guitarist Bill Frisell is the subject of a feature story by the Riverfront Times' Roy Kasten. Frisell performs with his trio tonight at The Ready Room.

* Saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake has a new release on his Passin' Thru label. Offered on CD and as a digital download,  Right Up On features Lake collaborating on a program of original compositions with the Flux Quartet, a string quartet specializing in contemporary music.

* @Nesbys, the Sunset Hills restaurant and bar with a musical menu including occasional live jazz on weekends and a weekly jam session on Wednesday nights, will close after service this Saturday, April 29.

In a message on Facebook, the proprietors said, "The Econolodge stigma, and what will happen to the hotel in the future, as well as its patrons, was impacting our business. We are looking for another place where we can be successful for years to come!" According to the message, the owners will continue their catering business while looking for a new restaurant location, a process they hope to facilitate with help from a GoFundMe campaign.

* Two students in Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program have been selected for the 2017 edition of the Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Trombonist Wyatt Forhan, a student at St. Dominic High School in O'Fallon, MO, and drummer Christian McGhee, who attends Westminster Christian Academy in Town and Country, will tour with the band this summer.

* The upcoming Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis will include a production of Bertha in Paradise running from Wednesday, May 3 through Sunday, May 14 at the Curtain Call Lounge.

Imagining an alternate fate for the title character from Williams' play Hello from Bertha, the musical features singer Anita Jackson and pianist Charles Creath delivering "a saucy stew of bawdy songs" including "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl", "If It Don't Fit Don't Force It," and "I've Got You Under My Skin."

Lee Morgan documentary opening Friday, April 28 at the Tivoli Theatre

I Called Him Morgan, the well-reviewed new documentary about the life and death of trumpeter Lee Morgan, is getting a St. Louis engagement, opening on Friday, April 28 at the Tivoli Theatre.

Morgan, a major trumpet star of the 1960s, first gained fame as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and later had a big pop hit with "The Sidewinder." He was shot dead when he was just 34 years old by his common-law wife, Helen, in February 1972 during a gig at Slugs', a club in New York City.

Described as "part true-crime tale, part love story, and an all-out musical treat," I Called Him Morgan recounts the story of their volatile relationship and the killing, using an audio interview conducted with Helen more than 20 years later as the basis for the tale. 

The film, which was directed by Swedish filmmaker Kasper Collin and shot by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young, who worked on the recent hits  Arrival and Selma, also includes archival photographs and footage, interviews with Morgan's friends and fellow musicians, and recordings of his music.

You can watch the trailer for I Called Him Morgan in the embedded window below, and see a Q&A with the director, recorded at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, here.