So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Bassist Darin Gray talked with Terry Perkins for a St. Louis Beacon article about Saturday's New Music Circle concert featuring percussionist Chris Corsano (pictured), Gray, and saxophonist David Stone at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

* Perkins also has another piece up at the Beacon this week, about the closing of Webster Records.

* Meanwhile, Jason Rosenbaum of the Riverfront Times this week penned a birthday tribute to saxophonist Julius Hemphill.

* The Sheldon Concert Hall staff has posted photos of Sunday's concert by Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo to an album on the Sheldon's Facebook page.

* Also, saxophonist Jeff Riley has put up some photos on his Facebook page of his recent concert at The Chapel.

* Guitarist Brian Vaccaro sends word that his CD Going Through the Motions was listed among the "Notable CD's of 2011" list of the venerable author, critic, and jazz historian W. Royal Stokes, who's written for the Washington Post, Down Beat and many other publications.

* Pianist Peter Martin is offering a "buy two, get two free" deal on tickets for his next concert at the Sheldon. The show will feature Martin, bassist Robert Hurst, drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. and guest vocalist Vivian Sessoms in the debut of Inner Circle, Martin's new band that "interprets classic pop and R&B songs and originals through a jazz lens." The four-for-two offer is good only through next Tuesday, January 31; to get the discount, go to Metrotix.com to purchase your tickets and, when prompted, enter the promo code: CIRCLE.

* In more Martin-related news, the pianist was among the honorees Monday at the annual Arts and Education Council awards dinner at the Chase Park Plaza, and you can read an account of the evening's events from the Post-Dispatch's Deb Peterson here. The ceremony also included short videos about all the award winners; you can see the one about Martin online here, and the video about Jason Brown, trumpet player, music teacher in the Riverview Gardens school district and Arts Educator of the Year, here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Jazz St. Louis' Devin Rodino was on the local cable program STL TV Live this week talking about next Thursday's "Jazz Under The Stars" event at the St. Louis Science Center. You can see the interview here.

* Pianist Peter Martin will be the recipient of an Excellence in Arts award at the 2012 St. Louis Arts Awards, which will be presented Monday by the Arts and Education Council at a fundraiser at the Chase Park Plaza. Martin will perform at the event with singer Dianne Reeves, for whom he serves as musical director. The evening also will include a performance by trumpet player Jason Brown, fine arts director for the Riverview Gardens School District and Arts Educator of the Year, with the Jazz Edge Big Band.

* The Post-Dispatch's Margaret Gillerman filed a final story on the impending closing of Webster Records

* Guitarist Matthew Von Doran (pictured) is at the winter National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim, CA this week, and will perform with his trio at the convention tonight.

* Also tonight, the St. Louis Artists Guild opens "Oh! You Pretty Things: Indie Music and Design," an exhibition exploring graphic design in the St. Louis indie music scene with an emphasis on the D.I.Y (do-it-yourself) aesthetic and philosophy. The exhibit is free and open to the public, and continues through Saturday, March 17.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* There's good news in this week's blog entry from Gwen Terry, wife of legendary trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry. After spending three months in the hospital and having his right leg amputated below the thigh, Terry (pictured) has improved enough that doctors are about to let him return home.

In related news, Terry will be the subject of a tribute this Sunday night on Canada's Jazz.FM91. The 30 minute program will air at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time (9:00 p.m. here in St. Louis) and will be hosted by Celine Peterson, daughter of the legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson as part of the station's “Host Your Own Radio Show” series. The program can be streamed from anywhere in the world via http://www.jazz.fm.

* Speaking of radio, St. Louis' Smooth 96.3 HD-3 and its sister station KFTK-HD2 recently were featured in an article in Radio World, highlighting a promotion the stations did in conjunction with a concert last year by Steve Tyrell at the Sheldon. Smooth 96.3's main man Jason Church also tells StLJN that they've recently set up a Facebook fan page to keep listeners informed about what's going on at the station.

* One of The Bad Plus' sets last week at Jazz at the Bistro was reviewed for the Riverfront Times by Ryan Wasoba. Jazz St. Louis also has posted TBP's setlist from the week.

* Once again this year, Jazz St. Louis is polling fans about who they'd like to see perform next season at Jazz at the Bistro. Choices in this year's poll include trumpeters Arturo Sandoval and Dave Douglas; saxophonist Joe Lovano; pianists Jason Moran and Hiromi Uehara; singers Gregory Porter, Gretchen Parlato, Karrin Allyson, and Sachal Vasandani; and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. You can cast your ballot on the Jazz St. Louis Facebook page or on the front page of the JSL website. (Look on the right-hand side of the page for the poll.)

* Following up on last week's story that Webster Records will close on January 31, the RFT's Diana Benanti filed a report that added a key bit of info, namely that the proximate cause for the closing would seem to be that the store's lease is up at the end this month. Other coverage of the shuttering of the long-running retailer came from the Webster-Kirkwood Times, St. Louis Business Journal, KSDK, the Webster Groves site for Patch.com, and even a brief mention as part of larger trend story on NPR about the difficulties facing niche stores in the Internet age.

Webster Records to close January 31

According to a story by Deb Peterson published Wednesday on STLtoday.com, Webster Records will close permanently on January 31.

The story says the store has been in operation for 58 years, which would make it St. Louis' longest-running independent music retailer and one of the more long lived businesses in the Old Webster business district of Webster Groves. It's been a haven for local jazz fans throughout the years, stocking recordings from smaller labels that were hard to find elsewhere, and presenting occasional in-store events with local jazz musicians.

The story also said, "Until the shop is shuttered, remaining inventory will be on sale, store manager Jim Lovins said in an email. Starting today it's 30 percent off of retail and prices will be discounted through the month, he added."

Although no specific reasons for the closing were cited, and current owner Jennifer Bellm was not available for comment, one can surmise that the store, like many other indie music retailers, just couldn't survive both the long current economic downturn and the drastic ongoing changes in the music business brought on by the advent of digital distribution.

Unknown at this time is whether the store's closing will have an effect on the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival, for which Bellm has been a prime mover in recent years. StLJN will have more on that if and when there are any developments.

A personal note: Yr. humble editor grew up in Webster Groves and went to Bristol Elementary just a couple of blocks away, so while I can't be absolutely certain, I think Webster Records probably was the first music store I ever visited on my own, without parental supervision.

This was when the store was in its original location, across the street and down the block from the current address. Original owners Roy and Dorothy Gleason built their business primarily on classical, jazz, Broadway cast albums and pre-rock-era pop music, along with an apparently profitable niche business in square dance records, which had their own little section in the store. Eventually they began to stock more rock records as well, but most of my purchases were jazz records out of the bargain bin at the front of the store, which held both cut-outs and LPs that had been marked down for clearance.

Since the Gleasons' clientele tended more toward trad jazz, big bands and swing, whatever avant-garde jazz stuff found its way into the store - presumably through some sort minimum-order arrangement with distributors - often languished for a long time before being relegated to the bargain bin.

And so by the time I was in high school and starting to investigate the various styles of jazz in earnest, I occasionally was able to make some sweet scores there, grabbing Impulse LPs by Archie Shepp, Elvin Jones, Marion Brown and others for cheap prices, even by 1970s standards. Webster is also where I scored my prized vinyl copy of Sun Ra's Heliocentric Worlds Volume 2, a record on the rather spottily distributed ESP-Disk label that I hunted for two years before finally finding it there, albeit at full price, probably a then-outrageous-seeming six bucks or so. Although I haven't shopped at Webster Records since moving away from Webster Groves in the 1980s, I'll always have fond memories of the store for those experiences, and I'm sorry to see it close.

(Edited after posting to fix a typo.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Bassist Ron Carter, in town to play the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival tomorrow night at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, was interviewed by the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson.

* Tomorrow also is Record Store Day, a celebration of independent record stores across the nation, and here in St. Louis, several participating local music retailers will feature live music, in-store DJs, special limited-edition releases and more. The P-D's Kevin Johnson has an extensive rundown on the day's activities here.

Also note that as part of the festivities, yr. humble StLJN editor will be the guest DJ from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday at Vintage Vinyl in University City, spinning jazz, blues and who knows what else. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and check it out...

* Dennis Owsley's latest blog post for St. Louis magazine is up, and it's a love letter to Jazz at the Bistro.

* Reader M Wallgren writes with the news that's there's now a Facebook page devoted to St. Louis drummer Elijah "Lige" Shaw. Shaw was a mainstay in the popular local traditional jazz band of tuba player Singleton Palmer; helped desegregate the local musicians union; and backed many touring jazz musicians during their visits to St. Louis.

* Lastly, condolences to the family and friends of Dorothy Gleason, who died last Friday at age 80. With her late husband Roy, Gleason owned and ran Webster Records for more than 40 years. Visitation will be at Gerber Funeral Home in Webster Groves from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. this Saturday, April 16, with a memorial service to follow at 4:00 p.m.

Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival seeking musicians for 2011

The Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival is seeking musicians to play at this year's event, which will be held in September in the Old Webster business district of Webster Groves.

Jennifer Bellm of Webster Records heads up the OWJ&BF's booking efforts, and says she's especially interested this year in musicians and groups who have not played the event before.

Prospective performers should send Bellm a biography and music samples, either via email to goodtunes @ swbell.net - remove the extra spaces before hitting "send"! - or via postal mail to: Jennifer Bellm, Webster Records, 117 W. Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves, MO 63119. Bellm also can be reached via email or by phone at 314-961-4656 for questions or further information.

Jazz this week: Jane Monheit, Kenny G, and more

As the winter break begins for local universities and we head toward the holidays, the amount of jazz and creative music activity here in St. Louis tends to drop rather precipitously for a couple of weeks and then pick up again in the new year.

That said, there are several noteworthy events happening this week, starting with singer Jane Monheit (pictured), who this evening will open a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. Monheit's got a considerable fan base here in St. Louis, and word is that the early shows are already sold out. So if you're interested in going, advance reservations would seem to be a must.

Tomorrow night, saxophonist Kenny G brings his holiday show at the Family Arena in St. Charles. While the popular performer certainly has plenty of detractors, he's got his share of fans, too. (In fact, the stats show info on Mr. G's St. Louis performance has been one of the most-searched-for items here on StLJN over the last month.) If you're one of those fans, it appears that as of this writing, some tickets remain on sale.

Elsewhere around town, the Funky Butt Brass Band will present their second annual "Holiday Brasstravaganza" on Saturday at the south side rock club Off Broadway, and Robbie's House of Jazz has blues from singer/guitarist and teenage phenom Marquise Knox on Friday and Latin jazz from pianist Phil Gomez and Clave Sol on Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, Robbie's will host a jazz brunch and CD release event for trumpeter Randy Holmes.

That same afternoon and just around the corner, Webster Records will present free in-store performances from singer/pianist Anita Rosamond, guitarist Steve Schenkel and vocalist Kiersten Rose, and trumpeter Jim Manley. All the musicians will donate a portion of sales of their CDs that day to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, and Webster Records will kick a donation based on CD sales as well.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups for their final performance of the year.

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.)

(Edited after posting.)

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:

* The St. Louis based label MAXJAZZ once again is offering discounts on CDs purchased from their website for the holiday season. Between now and the end of the year, those who purchase a MAXJAZZ CD from their site at the full price of $16.99 can get up to four more releases at $12.99 each, with free shipping in the U.S.

* The Riverfront Times' Annie Zaleski looks at the music-related documentaries in this year's St. Louis International Film Festival in a blog post here. One film of particular interest to jazz fans is In My Mind, which "explores the parallels (and differences) between a 2009 concert by jazz pianist Jason Moran -- which paid tribute to the great Thelonious Monk -- and a gig that the late, great jazz legend performed exactly fifty years earlier." In My Mind screens at 1:15 p.m. next Saturday, November 20 at the Tivoli.

* Author/illustrator Kevin Belford's book on the history of St. Louis blues, Devil At The Confluence, got another nice review, this time from the blog In A Blue Mood.

* The Gaslight Square veterans in the group Banjos and Brass were featured in a recent story written by Chris Campbell for the Suburban Journals. The band plays on Fridays at The Sands in Shrewsbury.

* Mel Bay, the St. Louis-based publishers of music instructional books, CDs and DVDs, are holding a sweepstakes to give away a free Apple iPad with case and $250 worth of Mel Bay materials in the company's new eBook format. The contest closes on November 30; for details on how to enter, go here.

* Music retailer Webster Records (pictured) has announced that they've gone "back to the future" and are once again selling vinyl, with a selection of LPs and 45s in various genres including jazz, classical, rock and show tunes. The store also now is buying used vinyl from collectors, and will have a open house sale with refreshments and special pricing this Sunday, November 14 as part of the holiday season kickoff in the Old Webster business district.

Rubright, Ruffin to perform this Sunday at Webster Records

Webster Records will host a free live performance from guitarist Dan Rubright (pictured) and singer Lydia Ruffin as part of an "open house" sale to be held this Sunday, November 8.

Rubright and Ruffin will perform from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., playing songs from their new CD Christmas Cafe, which will be available for purchase.

The store also will be holding a bake sale in support of owner Jennifer Bellm's participation in the Phoenix Rock n' Roll Marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). Bellm hopes to raise $4,000 to fight blood cancers by taking part in the 26.2 mile run, which will be held in January.

Webster Records presenting free in-store performances on Saturday, December 20

As part of their efforts to entice holiday shoppers, Webster Records will offer two free in-store jazz performances this Saturday, January 20.

From 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., singer Anita Rosamond (pictured) will offer selections from her holiday CD This Is Christmas. Then, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., guitarist Art Ruprecht will performing "inspirational smooth jazz" from his new CD At The End Of The Day.

Webster Records is located at 117 W. Lockwood in the Old Webster business district of Webster Groves.

Jazz this week: Miguel Zenon, Elizabeth Harnik, Paul Metzger & Tim Kaiser, and more

It should be a good weekend to go out and hear some live music in St. Louis, and fortunately, there's a nice variety of jazz and creative music happening at local venues.

The biggest name in town and the pick show of the week is alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon (pictured), who's performing at Jazz at the Bistro nightly through Saturday, You can read more about Zenon and see some video of his playing in this post from last week.

On Thursday, Austrian pianist Elizabeth Harnik and her trio will do a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. English-languange info on Harnik seems to be somewhat scarce on the Internet, so I can't tell you too much about her music, other than that in addition to performing jazz and improvisational music, she also has classical training, composes music for chamber ensembles and theater, and has even written an opera.

On Friday, improvisational guitarist/banjoist Paul Metzger and multimedia performer Tim Kaiser return to Open Lot. You can read more about the show and them here. Also on Friday, keyboardist, electronic musician and composer James Hegarty will present a concert titled "Antithesis Reflex" at the Three Sinks Gallery, 8715 Big Bend Blvd in Webster Groves.

According to the promotional email sent out by New Music Circle, Hegarty's performance includes two movements; the first, "Space Churn Red," combines improvised piano with interactive computer accompaniment. The piece was inspired by a kinetic sculpture of the same title by George Rickey at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University (which Hegarty recently visited), and incorporates computer-manipulated recordings of kinetic sculptures, spoken dialogues, synthesis and environments. The second movement, "Antithesis Reflex," is for unaccompanied piano and "explores abstract and flexible formal structures as applied to improvisation."

Also on Saturday, the Ambassadors of Swing perform with ballroom dancers Alex Borodko and Angi Heren in a show at the Lucas School House to benefit the Family Center. And on Sunday afternoon, guitarist Steve Schenkel and singer Ashley Mason give a free in-store performance at Webster Records. They'll be playing music from their new holiday CD A Midnight Clear, which you can learn more about by reading this post.

UPDATE - 2:30 p.m., 11/8/08: Sunday also brings a benefit show for Mae "Lady Jazz" Wheeler at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. Wheeler has been battling cancer, and an impressive lineup of local blues singers will perform to raise money to help with the veteran vocalist's medical and living expenses. The show runs from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and scheduled performers include Kim Massie, Robbie Montgomery, Renee Smith, Uvee Hayes, Marsha Evans and Kari Liston of the Bottoms Up Blues Gang.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band is at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. On Tuesday, the Brookmeyer/Mulligan-inspired band Utter Chaos is at The Gramophone, and the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club will have its monthly meeting, spinning John Coltrane's Giant Steps with KSDK reporter/anchor Cordell Whitlock and JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford at the Borders Store in Brentwood, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd.

Last but not least, next Wednesday Erin Bode will begin a two-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro to promote the release of her new Christmas CD, while the "free jazz/power electronics" ensemble Squid Choir Orkestra will play the Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson, as the opening act for experimental rock band Skarekrau Radio.

You can find the latest updates and more 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.)

Steve Schenkel and Ashley Mason release Christmas CD

The holiday season is just a few weeks away, and guitarist Steve Schenkel and singer Ashley Mason (pictured) are ready with a new Christmas-themed CD titled A Midnight Clear. The just-released CD features the duo's interpretations of 15 favorite seasonal songs, and you can check out two of the tracks for free on Schenkel's Web site.

Schenkel and Mason also have scheduled several live performances of the music from A Midnight Clear. On Sunday, November 9, they'll do a free in-store concert at 1:00 p.m. at Webster Records, accompanied by guitarist Dan Rubright and bassist Ric Vice.

On Thursday, December 4, they'll perform a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University backed by Vice on bass and Carolbeth True on piano, and on Monday, December 15, they'll take the stage at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, once again backed by Rubright and Vice.

Bucky Pizzarelli to appear at Webster Records on Saturday, April 14

Veteran jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli (pictured), who's in St. Louis this week for four nights of performances at Jazz at the Bistro, will also make a public appearance at 10 a.m. this Saturday, April 14, for an instore promotion at Webster Records.

Pizzarelli will sign copies of his most recent CD and, one would hope, tell a few stories about his experiences as a studio musician, member of Doc Severinson's NBC orchestra, and on tour with jazz artists such as Benny Goodman, Zoot Sims and Stephane Grappelli. Note: the event is billed as strictly a meet-and-greet, with no performance scheduled.