Webster U faculty, alums to perform Monday, June 21 in support of jazz academy in Poland

St. Louis musicians associated with jazz studies at Webster University will perform in support of an international jazz education program in "Bebop, Blues, Ballads and Bossas," a concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 21 at the First Congregational Church, 10 W. Lockwood Ave. in Webster Groves.

The participating musicians all are current and former faculty members and alumni from Webster U, including trumpeter and former department of music chair Mike Parkinson; pianists Kim Portnoy, Carol Schmidt, and Carolbeth True; bassists Willem von Hombracht and Ben Wheeler; drummers Kevin Gianino and Joe Meyer; violinist Abbie Steiling; and saxophonists Paul DeMarinis, Hugh Jones, Mike Karpowicz, Chris Hubbard and Zac Minor.

They'll be playing in support of the International Summer Jazz Academy (ISJA) in Krakow, Poland, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. ISJA serves high school and college students from Poland and other countries, offering a curriculum that includes small combos, vocal jazz ensemble, music theory, history and improvisation, master classes, and nightly jam sessions for students and faculty. More than 100 students are expected at this year's session.

Parkinson was the ISJA's artistic director from 1995 to 2004, and von Hombracht served in the same capacity from 2008 to 2014. In addition, a number of Webster U faculty members and gradate students over the years have served as guest instructors or teaching assistants for the program.

Now, as the organization celebrates its 25th anniversary, both Parkinson and von Hombracht (pictured) have been invited to return for the anniversary festivities, which will be held July 25 through August 1 at the Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow. Proceeds from the June 21 concert will help to underwrite their travel expenses to and from Krakow.

General admission to "Bebop, Blues, Ballads and Bossas" is $10 per person, and tickets will be available only at the door.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer Emanuel Harrold's new EP Look Forward is the subject of a brief feature on the website Sounds So Beautiful. In other news, Harrold also recently signed an endorsement deal with BAY Custom Drums.

* Guitarist/singer Tim Halpin and drummer Ron Sikes of the Funky Butt Brass Band were guests on the latest episode of Rock Paper Podcast.

* St. Louis native Josephine Baker (pictured) was profiled in an article on OpenCulture.com tracing her path "from homeless street performer to international superstar, French resistance fighter & civil rights hero."

* The Barnes and Noble bookstore in Ladue will host a fundraiser for New Music Circle on Saturday, December 16, with a percent of any in-store purchases made on that date, including books, magazines, coffee and food, going to support NMC.

The event also will include a pop-up concert at 4:00 p.m. in the art section of the shop. Online shoppers can contribute to NMC by using code #12272563 for any purchases made on B&N's website from December 16 through December 21.

* Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran has posted to YouTube a music video of the song "She Loves Me, Too!" from his forthcoming album.

* Trumpeter and St. Louis native Ally Hany has completed her basic training for the US Air Force, earning the rank of Airman First Class and taking a chair in the trumpet section in the Air Force's Band of the Golden West, which is based at Travis AFB in California.

* Singer Sarah Ulrich of Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes was in the news the past week, but unfortunately, it wasn't for her music. Ulrich was interviewed Monday by local NBC affiliate KSDK's news department about an incident in which a gunshot shattered a historic glass door at her south St. Louis home, a renovated former drug store and medical office known as "The Deco Fortress."

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Musicians Association of St Louis will be collecting signatures supporting a referendum on Missouri's new "Right to Work" law from 10:00 a.m. to noon this Saturday, July 8 at the union hall at 2103 59th Street.

Union officials will be outside on the hall's back lot so that Local 2-197 members can drive up and sign the petitions, which seek to allow Missouri voters to approve or reject the state's recently enacted "Right to Work" law during the next statewide election in November, 2018.

* St. Louis County Library is seeking recorded original music from St. Louis bands and musicians for "Listen Up STL," described as "a pilot project that will give local musicians the opportunity to make their music available to a wider audience of SLCL cardholders" via a free streaming service. SLCL is accepting submissions until July 31; for more details on how to submit, go here.

* The Nevermore Jazz Ball, presented here each fall by Lindy Hop St. Louis, has become a sell-out event attracting swing dancers from all over the country. So this year the organizers are giving St. Louisans a chance to purchase tickets first in person via their "2017 Local Love Pre-Sale," which will be held this Sunday, July 9 during the "River City Mess Around" event at 2720 Cherokee. See the link for details on ticket costs and pre-sale procedures.

* Cabaret Project St. Louis still has a few tickets left for their annual fundraising gala scheduled for Friday, July 21 at the Fox Theatre. The event will feature performances from Tony Award winner Faith Prince, 89-year-old cabaret grande dame Marilyn Maye (pictured), and more.

* The Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition is looking for solo female or male vocalists of all nationalities who are not signed to a major record label. The sixth annual competition, sponsored by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and Indaba Music, is the first time that male singers have been allowed to participate, and will culminate in a live competition on Sunday, November 12 at NJPAC. For details and information on how to enter, go here.

* Saxophonist Charlie Cerpa was profiled by St. Louis magazine's Thomas Crone.

* A closing reception for the exhibit "The Music Seen: Beyond the Stage" will take place from 5:30 p.m. to  8:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 13 at Bullivant Gallery, giving photography aficionados one last chance to view (and perhaps purchase) music-related photos by Michael Eastman, David Godlis, Jason Lee, Charles Peterson, David Rocco, Ernest Withers, and Baron Wolman.

* Saxquest will hold an official "grand opening" event for their Saxquest West store on Saturday, August 12. The store, which shares space with Top Notch Violins, is located in an industrial park at 2614 Metro Blvd in Maryland Heights.

Miles on Monday: A new campaign to restore Miles Davis' childhood home, and more

This week in Miles Davis news:

* A new campaign to restore Davis' childhood home in East St. Louis will kick off with a fundraising event later this month, according to a post made last week on MilesDavis.com.

Per the invitation reproduced on the site, the event will take place starting at 5:00 p.m. at a private home located at 910 North 87th St. in East St. Louis. There's a notice that "YOUR DONATION IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE!" and just below that, "$500", which presumably is the price of admission. There are no further details about the event included.

Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP no later than this Friday, November 6 via email to houseofmilesstl@gmail.com or by mail to House of Miles East St. Louis, P.O. Box 243, East St Louis, IL 62201.

As documented in 2011 by the Riverfront Times and local NBC affiliate KSDK, the Davis home has been in dire condition since vandals stripped it of aluminum siding, plumbing, and anything else that could be sold for scrap. Photos published last year by a user of Reddit.com show the building in even worse condition than in the KSDK and RFT stories.

The Davis estate, which still owns the property, issued a statement at the time of those 2011 stories (reproduced in full at the KSDK link above) detailing their efforts over the years to secure and maintain the home and concluding, "Miles Davis Properties, LLC has put forth every effort possible to position the home as an historic site; to donate the property to charity and to the City of East St. Louis; and to regularly maintain the home and property from the effects of repeated vandalism."

Since then, there's basically been nothing at all in the news about the home, until last week's word of this new effort, which is being headed by East St. Louis' former mayor and current city manager Alvin Parks. Parks, like many East St. Louis politicians before him, has been a controversial figure, and though a detailed discussion of his terms in office and the past and present political situation in ESL is way beyond the scope of this post, the complete lack of local publicity for a $500-per-person fundraiser being mounted on a short time scale does raise some concerns about the potential viability of the campaign.

For what presumably will have to be a major fund-raising effort, relatively few pieces seem to be in place so far. An online search for "House of Miles East St. Louis" shows that there's a not-for-profit corporation by that name, with the ESL post office box noted above as a return address; and Parks' sister Lauren Parks, who worked as his administrative assistant while he was mayor, in July of this year registered the online domain "houseofmiles.org", though at present there's nothing there except a page of PHP code. There's also a "House of Miles East St. Louis" Facebook page, which as of this writing contains absolutely no information at all about the fundraiser or anything else.

In an ideal world, the Davis property could be preserved, restored and perhaps turned into something along the lines of the Louis Armstrong House Museum in NYC. A similar project now is underway at the former home of saxophonist John Coltrane in Dix Hills, NJ.

Both projects have involved extensive efforts over many years, with attendant publicity both locally and nationally. It seems unlikely that an effort to restore the Davis home can succeed without a similar level of commitment and public awareness. Is this upcoming fundraiser the beginning of a credible long-term effort? Watch this space, as StLJN will be following up on this story...

* Saxophonist and former Davis sideman Dave Liebman shared his liner notes for the reissues of Davis’ albums Dark Magus and Get Up With It.

* The Times of India reviewed the compilation CD The Best of Miles Davis.

* The website Quarto Knows shared an excerpt from the book Miles Davis: The Complete Illustrated History dealing with Davis' early years.

* Opera singer Stephen Costello picked Davis' version of "Bess You Is My Woman" Now to lead off his mix for the "Soundtrack" feature at the website Dinner Party Download.

* Milestones: A Miles Davis Archive has posted to YouTube an audio-only recording of a Davis performance on November 4, 1981 at the Bradford Hotel in Boston. The recording features Davis, saxophonist Bill Evans, guitarist Mike Stern, bassist Marcus Miller, drummer Al Foster, and percussionist Mino Cinelu performing a pretty typical early-80s setlist including "Back Seat Betty," "My Man's Gone Now," "Aida," "Fat Time," and "Jean Pierre".

Edited after posting.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Bobby Shew was interviewed by the Alton Telegraph about his upcoming appearance in Alton on Saturday, September 12 in conjunction with the unveiling of the Miles Davis memorial statue.

* You can take a look back at last Saturday's Hermann Wine and Jazz Festival via a short video posted on Facebook this week by the Hermann Advertiser-Courier.

* Also on Facebook, some photos of saxophonist Oliver Lake's big band's performance at last weekend's Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in NYC.

* Saxophonist Greg Osby has a new entry up on his blog, offering some back story and a reappraisal of  his 1998 album Banned in New York, which began as a Mini-Disc field recording and wound up being issued as an "official bootleg" by Blue Note .

* The Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University has announced their schedule for Fall 2015, starting with a return appearance from Italian pianist Antonio Figura (pictured) on Thursday, September 10. The series continues most Thursdays until the semester finale on December 10, featuring students from Wash U's jazz performance program. You can see the whole schedule here.

* Pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness and The 442s will be among the featured performers at the "Soul of Ferguson Community Festival" on Sunday, September 6 on the grounds of Ferguson Heights Church of Christ.

* The St. Louis Low Brass Collective is organizing a fund-raising "trivia night" on Saturday, September 12 at Shrewsbury City Center. For details or to reserve a spot, visit http://www.stllbc.org/trivia.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Clark Terry just got a birthday-week visit from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who detoured between scheduled stops on their current trek through the southern USA to perform for the legendary trumpeter at his bedside in a Little Rock hospital.

You can read JaLCO leader Wynton Marsalis' account of the visit here, and see more photos here. (In case you didn't know, Terry turns 94 on Sunday; StLJN will be paying tribute in this week's Saturday Video Showcase.)

* Speaking of photo albums, we've got links to several more today, starting with some shots from last week's New Music Circle concert featuring saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and pianist Craig Taborn.

* Also from last week, the Dave Dickey Big Band has posted some pics to Facebook of their most recent gig at Jazz At the Bistro.

* Lastly, the Kevin Mitchell 4 is one of several local groups and musicians tapped during the holiday season to serenade Metrolink riders from inside their train car, and they've posted the photographic evidence on Facebook here.

* The Lindbergh High School jazz ensemble was featured on Fox 2's Thursday morning newscast. The band heads to Chicago next week to perform at the Midwest Clinic International Band, Orchestra and Music Conference, but first, they'll play for the hometown crowd in a free preview concert at 7;00 p.m. this coming Monday, December 15 at Lindbergh HS, 5000 S. Lindbergh Blvd.

* The recently rediscovered recording of singer and East St. Louisan Leon Thomas performing with the British jazz-fusion group Nucleus at the 1970 Montreux Jazz Festival has been reviewed again for AllAboutJazz.com, this time by AAJ's Bruce Lindsay.

* And speaking of "recently rediscovered," a 43-minute video of St. Louis-born guitarist Grant Green playing live in 1969 in Paris has been made available online as a paid download. (A copy of the show briefly posted to YouTube was removed after a take-down notice from Green's son.)

Given that up until now, any video of Green (pictured) has been scarcer than the proverbial hen's teeth, it's certainly a welcome find, though $19.99 for a download - no packaging, no extra materials, just a video file - seems a bit steep, even for something of this relative rarity.

* John Fornaszewski, longtime owner of Fornaszewski Music in Granite City, drummer, and father of drummer and bandleader Stan Fornaszewski, died this past Saturday at age 74 after suffering a heart attack. Our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues...

* Jazz radio update: WSIE (88.7 FM) aka "The Jazz Station" is conducting another fund-raising drive today, tomorrow and Sunday. You can tune in to the broadcast or check out the live online stream for details on pledge premiums, and to listen throughout the weekend for special guests, interviews and more.

Meanwhile, this Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's “Somethin’ Else” program will feature the songs of Harold Arlen (composer of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," "Blues In The Night," and many more jazz and pop standards) as interpreted by Nicholas Payton, Max Roach, Dominique Eade, and others.

Right after that, Jason Church's The Jazz Collective will be in a holiday mood with season sounds from Harry Connick, Jr., Lynne Fiddmont, Candy Dulfer, Dave Koz, Vibraphonic, Manhattan Transfer, Mindi Abair, Al Hammerman, Dawn Weber, Funky Butt Brass Band, Jim Manley, and more.

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

Jane Monheit, John Pizzarelli to perform for The Sheldon's 2015 gala

Singer Jane Monheit and singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli (pictured) will be the featured performers at the 2015 fundraising gala for the Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries at 8:15 p.m., Saturday, April 18 at The Sheldon.

Both performers are familiar to St. Louis music fans, with Pizzarelli having just completed a four-night run at the new Jazz at the Bistro last month, and Monheit appearing at the Bistro most recently in May of this year. Their show for the Sheldon gala will be part of a joint tour beginning in December and continuing into next year under the banner "Singers Over Manhattan."

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Sheldon's concerts, gallery exhibitions and educational programs. Tickets for the gala can be purchased now by calling the Sheldon at 314-533-9900. Prices start at $500 per person, and include pre-concert cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, dinner, preferred concert seating, complimentary valet parking, and a tax deduction.

Concert-only tickets will be priced at $45 orchestra, $40 balcony, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 14 via all MetroTix outlets and online at The Sheldon's website.