So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The new Miles Davis album The Lost Septet, a live recording featuring the trumpeter's 1971 band that made no studio albums, was reviewed by London Jazz News.

* In related news, a previously unheard bootleg audio recording of Davis' 1970 band, made in August of that year in Nassau, Bahamas, has surfaced on the Internet via the blog The Heat Wraps.

* Two gospel-influenced releases by the late guitarist and St. Louis native Grant Green (pictured) were briefly reviewed by Jazzwax blogger Marc Myers at AllAboutJazz.com.

* The annual Record Store Day, usually held in April, this year was one of many events postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. To make up for the postponement, independent record stores including our town's Euclid Records and Vintage Vinyl are taking part in three days of "RSD Drops" spotlighting special releases originally intended for Record Store Day, the first of which will take place tomorrow (Saturday, August 29). Additional "RSD Drops" will take place at participating stores on Saturday, September 26 and Saturday, October 24.

* Saxophonist Amos Brewer, who's played with various R&B and jazz performers and bands around the St. Louis area, is ill, and friends have created a GoFundMe to raise money for his medical and personal expenses.

* Drummer Rob Silverman was the guest on the latest episode of the Hybrid Jazz podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and his wife, singer Jean Baylor (pictured), have launched a campaign via IndieGoGo to crowd-fund the next album by their group The Baylor Project.

* Chuck Lavazzi of KDHX reviewed recent shows at Blue Strawberry by David Giuntoli and John McDaniel.

* In related stories, St. Louis Public Radio's Sarah Fenske interviewed cabaret artists Beverly Brennan, Robert Brieg and Dionna Raedeke about upcoming shows at Blue Strawberry; and the venue also was the subject of a brief feature story from St. Louis magazine's Melissa Meinzer.

* Another item at St. Louis Public Radio's website notes the retirement of "Jazz Unlimited" host Dennis Owsley, mostly reiterating information already made public, but also adding the intriguing tidbit that "jazz music will continue on 90.7 KWMU-1 on Sunday nights from 9 to midnight" without any specifics. So, stay tuned...

* The Northsider has posted to Facebook a photo album from the Funky Butt Brass Band's early Saturday matinee of last weekend's "Holiday Brasstravaganza."

* With the southside venue Foam closing permanently this week, the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson took a look back at a decade of shows there.

* The Bosman Twins were interviewed by ChicagoJazz.com in advance of their gig this week at Winters Jazz Club.

* Trumpeter George C. Davis, one of the founders of the Jazz Edge Orchestra, has died.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Bassist, composer, former St. Louisan, and SIU Edwardsville alumnus Dan Loomis (pictured) has launched a crowd-funding campaign to pay for a recording of his jazz song cycle "Job's Trials." You can read more about the project and, if you like, pledge your support here.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold was interviewed about his guest spot on the new Nas album and more by HipHopDX.com

* The STL Free Jazz Collective has posted on YouTube a video of their performance on April 27 at the Link Auditorium, their first show without founding member and former St. Louis poet laureate, the late Michael Castro.

* Also new on YouTube, bassist and singer Janet Evra performing "Tenderly" for the web series Lo-Fi Cherokee 2019.

* Singer, actor and St. Louis native Craig Pomranz wrote a personal essay for CabaretScenes.org about how the late Doris Day taught him to sing.

* Pianist and St. Louis native Dred Scott was the subject of a feature story on the web site Berkeleyside.
 
* The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's collaboration with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on a recording of the trumpeter's "Swing Symphony" made Jazziz magazine's list of "10 Albums You Need To Know For July 2019."

* Voting in the 2019 DownBeat Readers Poll is open, and you can cast your ballot here.

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris is looking for young musicians in high school or their first year of college to participate in "From The Lab," a free educational program that will teach recording techniques, music business skills, and more. Applications for the first session starting in Fall 2019 are being accepted now on Harris' website.

* Pianist Kim Portnoy will have an original composition premiered by Chamber Project St. Louis during their upcoming 2019-20 season. Portnoy's "From an Imaginary Musical" will be on the program for the group's concert in April 2020 at the Missouri History Museum.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Gaslight Squares appeared last week on the morning news broadcast at Fox 2/KTVI, promoting their upcoming "coffee concerts" next Tuesday and Wednesday at The Sheldon.

* Bassist and Washington University faculty member Paul Steinbeck talked with Black Agenda Report about Message to Our Folks, his book recounting the history of the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

* The Cherokee Street venue Foam (pictured), purveyors of coffee and beer and home to performances of all sorts of music including free improv and (occasionally) vintage jazz, is continuing their GoFundMe campaign in an effort to keep their doors open.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has posted to their website audio recordings of their recent weekend gig at Jazz St. Louis.

* Student musicians in the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars will provide some live music for Big Muddy Dance Co's show “Footnotes” next week at the Grandel Theatre.

* Cabaret Project St. Louis has announced that this year's St. Louis Cabaret Conference will take place as three different educational "tracks," with the first starting Saturday, July 13 and the last wrapping up on Sunday, July 21. The organization also will present "Sing Center Stage," an intensive workshop specifically for singers of high school age, from Friday, July 12 to Tuesday, July 16.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Ben Reece, keyboardist Mo Egeston, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor were interviewed on a recent episode of Rock Paper Podcast. 

* Bassist and singer Janet Evra appeared Tuesday on KTVI/Fox 2's morning newscast.

* In advance of his debut later this month at SFJAZZ in San Francisco, trumpeter Keyon Harrold's past collaborations are the subject of an article on SFJAZZ.org's website. 

* Cabaret singer and pianist Rick Jensen's performance last Saturday at the Kranzberg Arts Center was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* The family of the late Hamiet Bluiett (pictured) is trying to raise money via crowd-funding for burial and memorial expenses, as the baritone sax great died last week without life insurance. If you'd like to contribute, go to https://www.gofundme.com/683jk7k. (You also can help by sharing the GoFundMe page URL on social media and elsewhere.)

A funeral service for Bluiett will be held at 10:00 a.m. today (Friday, October 12) at Lovejoy Temple Church of God, 511 Canal Street in Brooklyn, IL, followed by burial at 12:30 p.m. at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Want to help musicians who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey? The Jazz Foundation is providing assistance to Houston-area musicians who have been displaced or suffered losses due to the storm, as they did for more than 1,000 New Orleans musicians after Hurricane Katrina.

You can find out more and contribute, if you like, via their website.

If you're a musician in need of help due to the storm (or know of one), the organization MusiCares, an affiliate of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (best known for the Grammy Awards), also is inviting calls for assistance at 1-877-626-2748.

* On a much happier note, Jazz St. Louis is now enrolling children for the fall session of WeBop, an early-childhood education program first developed by Jazz at Lincoln Center that "invites families to stomp, strut, and swing to the rhythms of jazz." You can find out more and register at https://jazzstl.org/education-outreach/webop/.

* Keyboardist Reggie Thomas and singer Mardra Thomas (pictured) - spouses and former St. Louisans - will be among the performers at this weekend's Chicago Jazz Festival. The Thomases will take the stage Friday afternoon at the Jazz and Heritage Pavilion, accompanied by drummer Montez Coleman, saxophonist Geof Bradfield and bassist Ivan Taylor. Reggie Thomas currently heads the jazz program at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.

* Speaking of festivals, trumpeter Keyon Harrold is writing a new work for the 15th annual Festival Of New Trumpet Music (aka FONT Music) happening later this month in NYC. The work is part of the festival's Roy Campbell, Jr. Commissioning Project, which began in 2014 to honor the organization's co-founder who died that year. You can find out more, and if you like, contribute to Harrold's commission, via an IndieGoGo page set up by the fest.

On a related note, Harrold this week previewed "Wayfaring Traveler," another track from his forthcoming album The Mugician, on the website OkayPlayer. He'll be back in the St. Louis area next weekend to headline the free Alton Jazz and Wine Festival on Saturday, September 9 at Riverfront Amphitheater in Alton.

GoFundMe campaign set up to raise money for saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett

Baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett is ailing, and family members have set up a page at the website GoFundMe to raise money to help him.

From the message posted to the page by Bluiett's granddaughter Anaya:

"Recently, he's been hospitalized for several months because he has had numerous strokes and seizures. He was in the critical intensive care unit, then the hospital and two rehabs to help him get back to himself but it's still going to take some time. I am trying to raise money for him for his bills and traveling expenses, since he no longer will be able to work."

Considered by many fans and critics to be the top baritone saxophonist of his generation, Bluiett (pictured) originally is from Brooklyn, IL (aka Lovejoy), just across the river from St. Louis, and attended SIU-Carbondale.

Now 76 years old, Bluiett first gained wide recognition in the jazz world in the late 1960s as a member of the Black Artists Group, and then went on to form the World Saxophone Quartet with fellow BAG members Oliver Lake and Julius Hemphill plus David Murray.

In addition to more than 20 albums with the WSQ, Bluiett has made a similar number of recordings as a bandleader, and also has performed or recorded with well-known jazz and improvisational musicians including Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Anthony Braxton, Kahil El'Zabar, the Music Revelation Ensemble, and many others.

(On a more personal note, as longtime StLJN readers may have noticed, yr. humble editor is a big fan of Bluiett's many musical contributions to our culture. I've also interviewed him a couple of times, and found him to be candid, funny, and very quotable.) 

To find out more or to contribute to the GoFundMe campaign supporting Hamiet Bluiett, go here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A new effort aimed at restoring Miles Davis' childhood home in East St. Louis for use as a museum was the subject of feature stories on St. Louis Public Radio and in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch/STLtoday.com.

The restoration is the work of the not-for-profit organization House of Miles East St. Louis (HOME), which also plans to use the building (pictured, in a recent photo and in an artist's rendering of the finished project) for music education activities and as an event space for rent. They've started a crowd-funding campaign with a goal of raising $50,000 toward the costs of the renovations; as of this writing, 21 days in, they've collected $255 in pledges.

* Speaking of Miles Davis, the trumpeter's version of "My Funny Valentine" was among the tracks included on President Barack Obama's personal summer playlist, as released this week by the White House.

* And speaking of fundraising efforts, the Belleville News-Democrat has a feature story about the latest attempts to raise the $150,000 needed to make radio station WSIE self-sustaining within the next 18 months. The station, which broadcasts a mix of jazz, blues and R&B plus university news and sports from the campus of SIU Edwardsville, will lose funding from the state of Illinois after 2017 due to budget cuts.

* Drummer and songwriter Kevin Bowers' new album Nova was the subject of a brief feature story by Christian Schaeffer of the Riverfront Times.

* King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era, a newly revised biography of the famed pianist and composer, was reviewed by the journal The American Interest..

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Greg Osby's latest blog post wonders if NYC is now suffering from a "talent overload" of young musicians.

* In advance of her gig this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro, singer Denise Thimes did a brief interview with St. Louis magazine's Sarah Kloepple.

* Bassist John King (pictured), who plays with Good 4 The Soul, saxophonist Jim Stevens, and various other local acts, has more reasons than most to dislike the rainy weather we've had recently in St. Louis, as both his car and his bass amp were washed away last week in a flood. If you'd like to kick in a few bucks to help replace them, you can do it at this GoFundMe page.

* Dr. Aurelia Hartenberger, who recently donated her multi-million dollar collection of unusual and historic musical instruments to the Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries, will speak about the instruments of Africa, Asia and Latin America in a gallery talk at 6:00 p.m. this coming Tuesday, July 14 at the Sheldon.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibit "A World of Music: Africa, Asia and Latin America ~ Instruments from the Hartenberger World Music Collection," the talk is free and open to the public, but seating is limited so you must reserve a place in advance by emailing ssheppard@thesheldon.org or calling 314-533-9900, extension 37. 

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's program “Somethin’ Else” will feature music from throughout the career of the late saxophonist and musical innovator Ornette Coleman. You can tune in at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

The next evening on KWMU/St. Louis Public Radio, Dennis Owsley's "Jazz Unlimited" program will present alternate takes of famous tracks by musicians including Louis Armstrong, Charlie Christian, Art Tatum, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Ahmad Jamal, Art Blakey, Count Basie, Woody Herman, Herbie Hancock, and others. The program can be heard from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Sundays over the air at 90.7 FM and online at http://www.stlpublicradio.org/listen.php

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Jazz St. Louis has planted a Rose outside their box office, as a photo of the late Barbara Rose (pictured) has been hung there for all visitors to JSL's recently renovated headquarters to see.

Rose, who started the "Just Jazz" series at the Majestic Hotel that eventually became Jazz at the Bistro and subsequently led to the incorporation of Jazz St. Louis, was celebrated along with JSL's other founders at a luncheon held Tuesday at the Bistro. You can see more pictures from the "Founder's Day" event on Jazz St. Louis' Facebook page.

* Speaking of Jazz St. Louis, they're looking to hire additional employees, including a new box office manager, events manager, and marketing/public relations intern. To find out more about the available positions, visit the Jazz St. Louis website.

* And speaking of opportunities, the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival once again this year will sponsor "Old Webster's Got Talent," a battle of the bands leading to a chance to perform at this year's OWJBF on Saturday, September 19.

In a change from past years, just four acts will be selected to take part in a winner-take-all contest, which will take place on Thursday, September 3 at the Ozark Theater in Webster Groves. To be considered, bands and musicians should send MP3 samples of their music to Terry Perkins at webstersgottalent@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is Saturday, August 15. 

* Multi-instrumentalist and DJ Lamar Harris was interviewed by Katelyn Mae Petrin of KDHX.

* Saxophonist Eric Person has posted on Facebook a photo album from his performance at last Saturday's Chesterfield Jazz Festival

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake has created another promotional video now posted on YouTube, offering "an up-close and personal look" at his visual artwork.

* St. Louis magazine's annual "A-List Awards" issue came out this week, and among the awards for arts and entertainment, the renovated and renamed Ferring Jazz Bistro won for "New Music Venue," and Alarm Will Sound won in the "Concert" category for their premiere performance of John Luther Adams' Ten Thousand Birds last October at the Public Media Commons.

The award for "Music Accolade" went to the St. Louis Symphony for winning a Grammy for their album City Noir, while the actual "Album" award went to faux-rustic revivalist Pokey Lafarge for Something in the Water.

* St. Louis based sound and lighting contractor Logic Systems has acquired the road-case manufacturers Barry Products, Inc, Barry Cases, and affordable-cases.com. The Barry and Affordable Case lines of instrument and equipment cases will be added to subsidiary company St. Louis Case's existing lines of custom ATA cases and racks.

* Jazz radio update: WSIE (88.1 FM) has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for a new transmitter. The station currently is broadcasting from a transmitter that's more than 30 years old and showing signs of wear.

In an email announcing the campaign, station manager Greg Conroy noted that even obtaining replacement parts is getting more difficult and expensive, adding urgency to a fundraising effort which has been ongoing for some time now. (A previous crowd-funding campaign was pulled due to a conflict with Southern Illinois University regulations, but apparently that's been sorted out.)

Listeners who would like to contribute to keep WSIE on the air can find out more about the campaign and donate online here.

Elsewhere on the radio dial, this Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's program “Somethin’ Else” will be an encore presentation of a 2013 episode paying tribute to Duke Ellington.
The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Miles Davis Memorial Project launches IndieGoGo campaign

Hoping to accelerate the pace of raising money to put a statue of legendary trumpeter Miles Davis in downtown Alton, the Miles Davis Memorial Project has turned to online crowd-funding via an IndieGoGo campaign.

Funding levels for potential supporters range from $1 up to $5,000, with rewards including various sorts of imprinted swag (buttons, T-shirts, can coozies); commemorative bricks and blocks to be placed around the site of the statue; and some higher-end packages, such as one including an original print of Davis by artist Jin Kan, and, at the $5,000 level, one that includes a bronze maquette of the Davis statue being designed by artist Preston Jackson.

Jackson, who grew up in Decatur and now lives in Peoria, has taught at the Art Institute of Chicago and created numerous works of public art in Illinois and elsewhere. His statue of Davis will be placed in front of the Lauschke Building at 117 W. Third St. in downtown Alton. (Davis was born in Alton in 1926; the family moved to East St. Louis the following year.)

The Miles Davis Memorial Project IndieGoGo campaign has a goal of $25,000 and will continue through Thursday, September 4. Unlike some other crowd-funding services such as Kickstarter, IndieGoGo allows for partial funding of projects, so that money pledged will still go to the campaign even if the overall goal is not reached.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Goldenrod Showboat, which for years served as the site of jazz, ragtime and other musical performances on the St. Louis riverfront, finally could be headed for the scrapyard, according to this article from the Post-Dispatch's Mark Schlinkmann.

A not-for-profit group called the Historic Riverboat Preservation Association has launched an IndieGoGo campaign trying to raise the $30,000 needed to rescue the boat (pictured, in a photo from steamboats.org) from a docking facility in Kampsville IL, where it's been since 2001.

* Speaking of IndieGoGo campaigns, trumpeter Terence Blanchard has begun one to finance a recording of Champion, his opera that debuted last summer at Opera Theatre St. Louis.

* Last Saturday's performance of Tim Schall's cabaret show 1961 was reviewed by Andrea Braun for the Vital Voice. Schall will present an encore of the show as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival on Saturday, March 22.

* Photos of Miles Davis taken by Aram “Al” Avakian, brother of former Columbia Records producer George Avakian, are among the shots accompanying a New York Times article by Al Avakian's daughter Alexandra Avakian.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted on their Facebook page an album of photos from last week's shows by bassist Christian McBride's trio.

* And speaking of photo albums, the Sheldon Concert Hall has posted to their Facebook page some photos from the most recent concert there by pianist Peter Martin.

* Drummer Andre "Dre" Boyd, still in London with the touring company of Cirque du Soleil, has turned up in yet another endorsement video, this one from music software maker PreSonus.

* The Missouri Arts Council this week published an article on their website called "Snapshots of the Missouri Arts Blogosphere," and included not only St. Louis Jazz Notes but also StLJN's sibling music video blog Heliocentric Worlds. Thanks to Barbara MacRobie of MAC for the mentions, and if you'd like to see the article, visit https://www.missouriartscouncil.org/ and click on the headline/link in the middle of the page.

* This Saturday night on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else," will present a program of Charlie Parker music previously scheduled for February 1 but delayed due to “technical difficulties.” You can hear music from the Parker songbook performed by trumpeter Roy Hargrove, Junk Genius, saxophonist Anthony Braxton, and others at 8:00 p.m. Saturday 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:

* Drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and his wife, singer Jean Baylor (pictured), have launched a Kickstarter campaign raising money to complete the debut album by their new band The Baylor Project. You can read more about it and pledge your support here.

* The Miles Davis Memorial Project has scheduled another informational meeting at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 21, at Bossanova Restaurant and Lounge, 112 West Third St. in Alton.

The project's organizers will give a short presentation and show a video about the effort to place a statue of Davis in downtown Alton. For more information, call the Alton Pride office at 618-467-2375 or email them at pride at prideincorporated dot org.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has posted on Facebook an album of photos from last weekend's Holiday Brasstravaganza shows.

* Meanwhile, Jazz St. Louis has posted to their Facebook page an album of pictures from last week's performances by John Pizzarelli and Bucky Pizzarelli.

* A new interview with drummer Pheeroan ak Laff over at Destination: Out includes a track from saxophonist and former St. Louisan Oliver Lake.

* Jazz radio update: For 2013's final edition of “Somethin’ Else” on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, host Calvin Wilson will herald the coming of the new year with recordings by trumpeters including Tom Harrell, Ambrose Akinmusire and Russell Gunn. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

WSIE seeks money for new transmitter via IndieGoGo

WSIE (88.7 FM), which broadcasts jazz to the St. Louis metropolitan area and online from its home on the campus of Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, has launched a campaign to raise money for a new transmitter.

The station hopes to raise a total of $350,000 to replace its transmitter, which is the same one they've had since first going on the air 43 years ago in 1970. (The usual life of a transmitter is around 30 years, according to the campaign materials.)

Although WSIE historically has been funded by the state of Illinois, the state's own financial struggles in recent years not only have prevented investment in the station, they actually have resulted in serious funding cuts, leaving them with no budget for new equipment. And although WSIE in the last couple of years has begun conducting on-air pledge drives to raise money from listeners, their development operation isn't nearly as well established as those of other St. Louis area public broadcasters like KETC and KDHX.

As a result, station management now has turned to an IndieGoGo campaign to try to raise money for the new transmitter. Unlike KickStarter and some other crowd-funding services, donations to IndieGoGo are not contingent on whether or not the campaign meets its overall goal.

Instead, any money donated through this campaign will go to WSIE, regardless of how much is collected between now and the campaign's official ending at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, December 3. According to the campaign page at IndieGoGo, "If this goal is not reached in totality, we will continue our fund raising efforts until the transmitter can be replaced."

To contribute to WSIE's transmitter fund, go to http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/wsie-88-7-the-jazz-station.