So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Pianist Peter Martin was interviewed by Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch for a preview story about this Sunday's "Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60" concert at the Sheldon.

* In related news, the Sheldon and Metrotix now are offering tickets for the Newport tribute concert for just $25, a significant discount from the advertised prices of $45 and $40. The offer is good at all points of purchase; to get the discount price, use the promo code NEWPORT60.

* The Post-Dispatch's Nick Pistor has an informative look at how the City of St. Louis' proposed deal with music festival producers Summer Rocks compares to similar arrangements in Chicago, Milwaukee and elsewhere. Spoiler: Not that well.

* Meanwhile, the Musicians Association of St. Louis Local 2-197 has a statement on the music festival deal advocating for the employment of local producers, talent and vendors.

* The new Miles Davis CD box set Miles at the Fillmore – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3, touted in several items here last week, finally has gone on sale. The set (pictured) includes full unedited shows from the Fillmore East in NYC as well as 35 minutes of previously unheard bonus tracks from 1970 and 1971 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

* Another recent Davis reissue, the "bonus track version" of 1981's We Want Miles, was reviewed for AllAboutJazz.com by Karl Ackermann.

* Saxophonist and Webster U alum Chris Cheek's new recording with fellow reedman Seamus Blake was reviewed by London Jazz News.

* St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts' next Business Edge workshop will be "Anatomy of A Contract" at 7:00 p.m. this coming Monday, March 31 at the offices of the Regional Arts Commission. Tuition is $10 in advance; to reserve a seat, send an email to vlaa at stlrac dot org.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' "Somethin' Else," host Calvin Wilson offers some straight-ahead tracks from artists known for crossover success, including saxophonist David Sanborn and pianist Bob James, pianist Joe Sample and saxophonist Michael Brecker.

After that on The Jazz Collective, Jason Church will spin sounds from Chris Standring, David Pack, Citrus Sun, Down To The Bone, Freddie Hubbard, Euge Groove, Aloe Blacc, Stanley Turrentine, Jeff Kashiwa, Pete Belasco, and Joe Mancuso.

Wilson's program airs at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Newport Jazz Festival moments

With the 2013 Newport Jazz Festival happening this weekend, this edition of our video showcase pays tribute to one of jazz's longest-lived and best-known events by looking at some choice performances given there by various jazz greats over the years.

The first video is actually a full-length movie: Jazz On A Summer's Day, the film about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival by Bert Stern that generally is considered the first important jazz documentary. It features performances by Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Gerry Mulligan, Dinah Washington, Chico Hamilton, Anita O'Day, George Shearing, Jimmy Giuffre, Chuck Berry, Jack Teagarden, Thelonious Monk, Big Maybelle and numerous others.

Down below, it's Newport Jazz Festival 1962, a less well-known documentary with music from Count Basie, Johnny Hodges, Oscar Peterson, Clara Ward, Pee Wee Russell, Ruby Braff, Joe Williams, Roland Kirk, and Duke Ellington.

Below that, there's a clip featuring the Giants of Jazz, an all-star aggregation assembled in the early 1970s for a couple of albums and tours that included Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Thelonious Monk (piano), Sonny Stitt (saxophones), Kai Winding (trombone), Art Blakey (drums) and Al McKibbon (bass). They're seen here playing Monk's "Round Midnight" at the 1971 Newport Jazz Festival.

Next, we find guitarist and singer George Benson teamed with the Count Basie Orchestra at the 1990 festival, performing "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Basie's Bag."

The fifth clip pairs two friends, pianist George Shearing and singer Mel Torme, for a medley of tunes that looks to have been recorded sometime in the early to mid- 90s.

The final video features singer Tony Bennett, who's celebrating his 87th birthday today, and the late pianist Dave Brubeck performing the standard "That Old Black Magic" at the 2010 Newport Jazz Festival.

First-ever St Lou Fringe Festival to include tribute to Miles Davis

The first-ever St Lou Fringe Festival, taking place this weekend in four Midtown venues, will include a show honoring Miles Davis (pictured), the legendary jazz trumpeter who was born in Alton, IL and grew up in East St. Louis.

Cool Like That, A Tribute to Miles Davis, a production of Black Poet Ventures of Phoenix, AZ, will be staged at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, June 21; 10:00 p.m. Friday, June 22; 1:00 p.m. Saturday, June 23; and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, June 24 in the black box theater at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand.

Said to be adapted from Davis' autobiography (co-written with Quincy Troupe) and endorsed by Miles Davis Properties, the performance includes spoken word, music, vocals, and dance, and explores "the vibrant and robust life of musical genius Miles Davis amid the backdrop of the social and political climate of his time."

The St. Lou Fringe Festival is described as "a 5-day long immersion in cutting edge performing arts, connecting brave artists with bold audiences," and will include a variety of theatrical performances, from traditional to experimental theater, as well as "dance, movement, improv, music, voice, slam/spoken word, performance art, fashion, vaudeville, burlesque, mime, clowning, circus arts – all concentrated within several city blocks."

BlackPoet Ventures, founded in 2005, is "a multimedia performance arts and entertainment company dedicated to promoting, supporting and enhancing the oral tradition artistry of poetry and spoken work movements of the African Diaspora."

Festival goers who want to attend any of this weekend's events must buy a Festival button for $5, a one-time purchase that in turn lets you buy tickets to any of the individual shows. Tickets for Cool Like That: A Tribute To Miles Davis are $12, and can be purchased, along with Festival buttons, only at the performance space Fringeland, which is located around the corner from the Kranzberg at 3141 Locust and serves as the festival headquarters and box office.

Other performance venues are the rock music club Fubar, 3108 Locust, and the Nash Motor Company Building, 3000 Locust. The Festival also will include a number of street performances in the area around the four venues. For a complete schedule of events, see the St Lou Fringe Festival website.

"Da-Dum-Dun" festival on Friday, May 25 in East St. Louis to honor Miles Davis, Henry Dumas, and Katherine Dunham

"Da-Dum-Dun," a multi-arts festival in honor of musician Miles Davis, writer Henry Dumas, and dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham, will be held at 6:00 p.m. Friday, May 25 in Room 2083-84 of Bldg. “B” on the SIUE-ESL Higher Education Campus, 601 J.R. Thompson Dr. in East St. Louis.

The free event will include music from the Bosman Twins; dance and percussion from the Sunshine Cultural Arts Center's Community Performance Ensemble; and "literary expression" from Drumvoices writers including Pacia Anderson, Michael Castro, Roscoe “Ros” Crenshaw, Angela Cureton, Byron Lee, Susan “Spit-Fire” Lively, Charlois Lumpkin, Patricia Merritt, Treasure Shields Redmond, Mary Z. Rose, Darlene Roy, Cheryl D. S. Walker, Dr. Lena Weathers, and Jaye P. Willis. The three honorees also will be the subjects of a "multimodal exhibit" from the Eugene B. Redmond/SIUE Collection.

All three of the honorees are renowned creative figures associated in some way with the city of East St. Louis, and the event takes place the day before what would have been the 86th birthday of Davis. The trumpeter was born in Alton, but grew up in East St. Louis and graduated from Lincoln High School. Dunham, originally from Chicago, moved to East St. Louis in 1967 after an illustrious career and founded the performing arts school and museum bearing her name. Dumas, born in Arkansas and raised in Harlem, taught at SIUE-ESL’s Experiment in Higher Education in 1967 and '68.

The celebration also will be a book release party for Drumvoices Revue, a 700-page volume co-published by the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club and SIUE, co-sponsors of the event. Drumvoices Revue includes contributions from more than 200 writers, including Maya Angelou, Derek Walcott, Amiri Baraka, Andrea Wren, Gwendolyn Brooks and Richard Wright. Book sales and autographing will open and follow the event.

Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival set for Saturday, September 17

The Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival has announced the lineup for its 2011 event, which is scheduled from noon to 11:00 p.m., Saturday, September 17 in and around the intersection of Lockwood and Gore in the old business district of Webster Groves.

The free festival's two stages will feature ten bands, with a roughly equal split between jazz and blues. Acts returning for this year's event will include an ensemble of jazz faculty members from Webster University and the jazz big band from nearby Webster Groves High School, as well as the Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured), who this year will be on the Allen Ave. stage instead of marching around the festival site, and blues singer/guitarist Marquise Knox.

The Latin-pop-rock singer/songwriter/guitarist Javier Mendoza will make his debut at the festival, closing the night on the Allen Ave. stage with a version of the expanded ensemble he debuted last season at Jazz at the Bistro. Others playing the OWJ&BF for the first time include R&B-oriented saxophonist Jim Stevens (who also has worked with Mendoza); blues singer and guitarist Alvin Jett and Phat noiZ; guitarist Tom Byrne's Pat Metheny tribute Have You Heard?, including pop/R&B singer Ralph Butler (on a bit of a busman's holiday); and the Rum Drum Duo, from the old-timey blues band Rum Drum Ramblers.

The winner of something called the "Old Webster's Got Talent Contest" will kick off the day on the Gore Ave. stage, a slot which in years past usually has been filled with something that might most charitably be described as "budget-friendly." No word yet on who's involved with that contest or when it will take place, but presumably more details will follow.

At first glance, this could be a somewhat stronger musical lineup than last year's fest, although how much stronger obviously depends on one's opinions of the individual acts. I can't claim to be a fan of Mendoza's at all, as what I've heard of his music always has seemed rather bland to me, but he does have a fan base and his gig at the Bistro was well-received enough to merit a repeat performance, so I may be of a minority opinion there.

As for the rest, your mileage may vary. Last year, festival head Jennifer Bellm (who also runs Webster Records) took exception to StLJN's criticisms of the lineup, in particular our decrying the deployment of a blues band fronted a local television personality whose musical dues-paying remains highly suspect. At least this year's lineup doesn't repeat that misstep, so that's a plus. It'd be nice if the event also included some older jazz styles, which predominated in its first years, but I suppose tastes do change and no one event can be everything to everyone.

(Edited to add: To her credit, after our exchange last year Bellm also asked me if I had any suggestions as to who she should book this year. I sent her a list of musicians and bands, at least a couple of whom seem to have wound up on this year's lineup, though whether my recommendations played a role remains unknown. She also made a public effort to solicit demos from interested musicians, and I don't know the end result of that. Though I'm not all that enamored with one of this year's headliners, that's an issue of personal musical taste. In terms of opening up the process and being willing to try some new acts along with the tried-and-true, the OWJ&BF has moved in the right direction.)

On the positive side, the Webster faculty ensemble contains some very fine jazz musicians, and the WGHS big band is one of the stronger student groups in the area. Moreover, the Funky Butt Brass Band, Byrne, Stevens, Knox and Jett also are all pretty good at what they do, so as long as your expectations are calibrated properly - this is, after all, a free festival with a rather modest budget - in total there should be plenty of enjoyable musical moments at this year's Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival.

Edited after posting.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Looking at more news coverage of the closing of Brandt's, it appears that the commenters at the Riverfront Times' Gut Check blog and at the University City edition of community news site Patch.com agree that the venue's biggest problems were poor food and service, not rising crime in the Delmar Loop neighborhood.

* Terry Perkins wrote a piece for this week's St. Louis American about the news conference announcing the upcoming Miles Davis Festival.

* The southside music venue 2720 Cherokee (pictured) has made some adjustments to their format, and now will present two or more performances or events simultaneously on different floors of the building. The Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson has more here.

* A new episode of Don Wolff's TV program I Love Jazz is set to air starting next Thursday, June 16 on cable station HEC-TV. The episode features performance footage of the Bosman Twins live at Jazz at the Bistro, as well as coverage of the Nu-Art Series' recent presentation of "SoundArt," featuring poet and author Quincy Troupe, saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett and guitarist Kelvyn Bell.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* PBS' Newshour ran a story this week about Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington competition that included brief appearances by East St. Louis High School's Carlos Brown, Jr. and ESLHS jazz band director Delano Redman. See it online here.

* And while we're on the subject of East St. Louis, the Belleville News-Democrat has coverage of last week's Miles Davis birthday celebration at ESL City Hall.

* With everything else going on this week, there hasn't been time until now to tell you about the first Float Yr Face festival of experimental music being held this weekend at Floating Laboratories on the south side. (It also didn't help that organizers somehow neglected to send any info on the event our way.) Fortunately, the Riverfront Times' Diana Benanti has the scoop and a schedule of events here.

* St. Louis native and jazz trumpet legend Clark Terry (pictured) has finally penned his autobiography, which will be released October 1. Amazon currently is offering a substantial discount on pre-orders placed now, selling the book at $23.07 when it eventually will list for $34.95.

Titled simply Clark: The Autobiography of Clark Terry, it tells the story of Terry's life and his long and storied career, which, among many accomplishments, has included work with both Duke Ellington and Count Basie as well as helping to break the network TV color barrier when he joined the band of NBC's Tonight Show in 1960. The book also includes a preface from Quincy Jones and a forward from Bill Cosby, as well as jacket blurbs written by famous names ranging from Dave Brubeck to Snoop Dogg.

(If you place your pre-order using this link, you'll not only get the discount, but a few pennies from the purchase will accrue to yr. humble StLJN editor; I promise the funds will be used for the purchase of blogging essentials such as tacos, caffeinated beverages, and bandwidth.)

(Edited 6/4/11 to fix a garbled sentence.)

Miles Davis Festival to debut this year in St. Louis

The estate of the late jazz trumpeter Miles Davis will team up this summer and fall with several St. Louis area organizations and venues to present the Miles Davis Festival, a series of concerts, exhibits and celebrations of Davis’ musical legacy that organizers hope will become an annual event.

Yr. humble StLJN editor was at yesterday's press conference announcing the festival, and you can read more about it in my post for the Riverfront Times' music blog A to Z here.

Miles Davis Jazz Festival adds to 2010 lineup

Organizers of the Miles Davis Jazz Festival, which is scheduled for Saturday, August 14 at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, have informed StLJN of a couple of additions to this year's musical lineup.

Along with the previously announced acts - saxophonist Michael Anthony Fitzgerald, guitarist Brian White, and the Howard Neal Band - the 2010 MDJF also will feature sets from Chicago-based saxophonist Michael Salter's 5-piece band Freakjar and Kansas City saxophonist Dave Panico.

Salter (pictured) is a former St. Louisan and graduate of the jazz program at Northern Illinois University. Panico, who bills himself as "The Soaring Saxman," is active in both secular and contemporary Christian music.

The Miles Davis Festival is sponsored by the Madison County Arts Council, Illinois Arts Council and the Alton Foundation. General admission tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

Fifth annual Miles Davis Festival set for Saturday, August 14 at Lewis & Clark Community College

The fifth annual Miles Davis Festival will be held starting at 12:00 p.m. Saturday, August 14, at the Commons at Lewis & Clark Community College, 5800 Godfrey Road in Godfrey, IL.

Saxophonist Michael Anthony Fitzgerald (pictured) and guitarist Brian White return from last year's festival lineup to headline the 2010 event. Drummer Howard Neal and his band also will perform, doing a tribute to the music of the late R&B singer and longtime Southern Illinois resident Luther Ingram.

The Miles Davis Festival is sponsored by the Madison County Arts Council, Illinois Arts Council and the Alton Foundation. General admission tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

(Unfortunately, the website created for the 2009 festival doesn't seem to have been updated since last year, so that's about all we can tell you. More details if/when we get them...)

Cornet Chop Suey, St. Louis Rivermen to play Central Illinois Jazz Festival

St. Louis bands Cornet Chop Suey and the St. Louis Rivermen (pictured) are headed up the road this weekend to perform at the Central Illinois Jazz Festival, which will take place Friday, February 5 through Sunday, February 7 at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel in Decatur, IL.

This is the 35th year for the Central Illinois Jazz Festival, which presents traditional New Orleans and Chicago-style jazz, swing, ragtime and Gypsy jazz. Other groups performing at this year's event will include Vince Giordano's Nighthawks from NYC, New Jersey's Midiri Brothers, the Titan Hot Seven, the all-female band Mighty Aphrodite, and the Side Street Strutters from California. For more information, visit the festival's website.

New arts festival in October to include Dave Brubeck concert

A new St. Louis arts festival set to launch in October 2010 will feature a performance by pianist and composer Dave Brubeck at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and likely will include other jazz events as well.

According to a story by Diane Toroian Keaggy in the weekend Post-Dispatch, the American Arts Experience-St. Louis will "will showcase American dancers, playwrights, composers and musicians at the region's concert halls, theaters, museums and galleries" from October 1 - 17 in an effort modeled on the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC.

Participating institutions and organizations will include presenters of jazz such as the Sheldon, Jazz St. Louis and the Touhill Performing Arts Center as well as the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Dance St. Louis, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Edison Theatre, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Stages St. Louis, the Black Rep, COCA, Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis Zoo, Missouri Historical Society and the Regional Arts Commission.

Medeski Martin & Wood, Fareed Haque to perform in St. Louis this weekend at Loyal Earth Festival

Although the Loyal Earth Festival 2009 scheduled for this weekend in St. Louis will feature primarily musicians identified with the jam-band scene, the event also will include some acts of interest to jazz fans.

Billed as "5 Days of Music & Art to Celebrate Our Planet," it's being produced by local promoters Loyal Family and former Lucas School House proprietor Dan Jameson, and will take place Thursday, April 16 through Monday, April 20 at the Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St. in downtown St. Louis. Promising to "transform the Old Rock House property into a music & arts festival grounds," the event will includes more than 30 musical acts playing on two stages - one outdoors, the other inside - plus "live Art - Earth Awareness - Fire Dancers - Vendors - and More!"

The pick day for jazz fans would seem to be Sunday, April 19, when the organ-driven funk-jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood (pictured) will be playing outside from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., followed by guitarist Fareed Haque and the Flat Earth Ensemble inside from 10:30 to midnight. For a complete schedule of bands, go here.

Rodney Whitaker to be guest artist for SWIC Jazz Festival on February 21

Bassist Rodney Whitaker (pictured) will be the guest artist and clinician at the 2009 Southwestern Illinois College Jazz Festival, to be held on Saturday, February 21 at SWIC's Belleville Campus Theatre, 2500 Carlyle Ave.

Whitaker, who currently performs with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and serves as chair of jazz studies at Michigan State University, will give a master class at 1:00 p.m., perform with the SWIC Jazz Band at 2:00 p.m., and present a concert at 7:30 p.m. with a small group including pianist Reggie Thomas, guitarist Rick Haydon and drummer Marty Morrison.

Whitaker is a native of Detroit who has been active in jazz education throughout his career. In addition to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, his touring and recording credits include work with top trumpeters Terence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove and Wynton Marsalis, saxophonists Donald Harrison, Kenny Garrett and Carl Allen, keyboardist Bob James, and others.

The SWIC Jazz Festival begins at 8:30 a.m. and continues all day, with performances by student jazz ensembles from Belleville West High School, Althoff Catholic High School, O'Fallon High School and Central and West Junior High, as well as the SWIC Jazz Band. All events are free and open to the public.