So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony, the seven-CD set drawn from the archives of saxophonist and Black Artists Group co-founder Julius Hemphill and released earlier this year, is the subject of a short feature/review for Jazz Times by Ted Panken.

* Trumpeter and East St. Louis native Russell Gunn, now based in Atlanta, has released the second recording from his band The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra. Titled The Sirius Mystery opus 4 no. 1, the album is out today via Ropeadope Records on all digital platforms, plus limited editions on CD and vinyl LP.

* Bassist Damon Smith, a recent transplant to St. Louis, also has a new recording, Houston 2012, out this week on digital and as a double CD. The album teams Smith with guitarists Keith Rowe and Sandy Ewen and the ensemble Gooseberry Marmalade.

* And speaking of new releases, a Miles Davis performance recorded in 1991 at La Villette in Paris, France will be released as The Lost Concert on digital services and as a two-CD set on Wednesday, September 29, the 30th anniversary of his death. The album (pictured) is the third in a series from Sleepy Night Records that started with Miles Davis: The Lost Quintet and continued with The Lost Septet, both released last year.

The Lost Concert is particularly noteworthy because Davis' then-current band was augmented for the date by numerous guest stars and former sidemen, including Chick Corea, Al Foster, Steve Grossman, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Darryl Jones, John McLaughlin, Jackie McLean, John Scofield, and Joe Zawinul.

* Gene Dobbs Bradford of Jazz St. Louis was interviewed about the organization's upcoming 2021-22 season by the St. Louis American's Danielle Brown.

* One of St. Louis' most acclaimed young talents is leaving town, as singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo this week announced in a Facebook post, "I have accepted a job as an audio engineer at a media group in Los Angeles. I’ll be driving from STL to LA this weekend." Saputo will play what she's calling her final show as a St. Louis resident tonight at Tower Grove Park (though she also is on the bill for the Music at the Intersection festival in September).

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Gateway Studio and Production Services, a new multi-million dollar music and video facility to be built in Chesterfield, is the subject of a feature story from St. Louis Public Radio's Kendall Crawford..

* Bassist and singer Janet Evra (pictured) announced this week in a Facebook post that she's been invited to join the Recording Academy, the organization that oversees the annual Grammy Awards. Evra is one of 2,710 invitees this year, including 48 percent female, 32 percent Black or African American+, 13 percent Hispanic or Latino/a/x+, and four percent Asian or Pacific Islander+, as the Academy works toward diversifying its membership.

* Guitarist Steve Schenkel has been appointed music director at First Unity Church of St. Louis in South County. Schenkel, who teaches music at Webster University and works as a player and contractor with the Fox Theatre and Muny orchestras, plans to invite various musician friends to perform at the church, starting this Sunday, July 4 with pianist and fellow Webster University faculty member Carolbeth True. (See the church's website for info on future guest performances.)

* Bassist Darin Gray once again has delved into his archives and come up with more previously unreleased music from On Fillmore, his duo project with drummer Glenn Kotche. The album is called Chicago 2002, and it's now available on Bandcamp.

* As reported by CBS News, Miya Ponsetto, the woman seen earlier this year in a viral video attacking trumpeter Keyon Harrold's teenage son, has been indicted by a Manhattan court on hate crime and other charges, including unlawful imprisonment, aggravated harassment, and endangering a child. Ponsetto's next court date related to the charges is October 20.

New recordings from Ryan Marquez, Jim Manley, Erika Johnson, and Janet Evra & Ptah Williams

Whether it's the coming of spring, the appearance of some light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, or something else entirely, St. Louis musicians have been busy, with several new releases of potential interest to StLJN readers announced or already out:

* Keyboardist Ryan Marquez of The People's Key and Fresh Heir is set to drop Saint Unity, a solo album featuring guest appearances from 20 St. Louis musicians and vocalists, including singers Anita Jackson, Erin Bode, Lola Kristine, Janet Evra, Paige Alyssa, and Chrissy Renick.

The material is a mix of Marquez's originals and covers, including songs by The Beatles, Foo Fighters, and No Doubt. A single, "Serenity," featuring Jackson and trumpeter Dawn Weber, already has been released, with the full album set to come out in June. For more, check out Marquez's interview with Kim Hudson of FOX 2 News and the feature story on the album from the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson. 

* Meanwhile, the ever-prolific trumpeter Jim Manley has released his second recording since the start of quarantine last year. Still Kickin' Brass includes 15 tracks of original music created in Manley's home studio, and is available now directly from his website as both a download and physical CD.

* Vocalist Erika Johnson will celebrate the release of her latest recording, Raising Standards, with a show next Tuesday, June 1 at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups. The album (pictured), which includes both Johnson originals and covers including "Strange Fruit," was produced by keyboardist Antonio Foster and saxophonist Carlos "Scooter" Brown, and already is available on the major streaming services.

* Last but not least, singer/bassist Janet Evra has teamed with pianist Ptah Williams on a new album titled New Friends, Old Favorites. Recorded live at the Sheldon Concert Hall with a band including saxophonist Kendrick Smith, drummer Demarius Hicks, and Evra's husband, guitarist Will Buchanan, the album features Evra and Williams' arrangements of ten familiar tunes, including songs associated with Ray Charles, Nina Simone, The Shirelles, and more. You can see their rendition of "My Baby Just Cares For Me" on Facebook Video, and find the album streaming online.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Funky Butt Brass Band sousaphonist Cody Henry was the featured guest on a recent episode of the Rock Paper Podcast.

* Bassist Darin Gray (pictured) this week released Soundtrack 1, an album of previously unheard recordings made in 2006 by On Fillmore, Gray's duo project with drummer Glenn Kotche.

* Singer and Webster University adjunct professor Debby Lennon will star in Max and Louie Productions' upcoming revival of "Songs for Nobodies," a one-woman play with music by Joanna Murray-Smith in which Lennon will perform songs associated with "legendary divas" Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and Maria Callas. The show will run Thursday, December 2 through Sunday, December 12 at the Grandel Theatre.

* Bob Koester, a former St. Louis University student who went on to found Chicago’s famed Jazz Record Mart and the Delmark record label, died Wednesday at age 88. Koester got his start in the music business selling records from his SLU dorm room, then dropped out in 1952 to open the Blue Note record shop here, which he ran until moving to Chicago in 1958.

* Saxophonist and educator Harvey Lockhart was a guest on Thursday's episode of the webcast talk program "The Own Your Now Show."

* Guitarist and former St. Louisan Carl Weingarten has a new release, Ember Days, out this month on his label Multiphase Records

* Saxophonist Julius Hemphill and The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony, the new seven-CD box set of his previously unreleased Hemphill's music, are the subject of an essay by Adam Schatz in the most recent New York Review of Books.
* Keyboardist Michael Silverman was interviewed by SmoothJazz.com.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Jim Widner may have retired last year as director of jazz studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, but the veteran bassist and educator is continuing his long-running business of running summer jazz camps, setting up this year at St. Charles Community College. Widner's summer 2021 camp will run June 13-17 and is open to high school, middle school and college students as well as adults who "want to hone their skills in the art of jazz."

Instructors will include trumpeter Bijon Watson (Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra), trombonist Scott Whitfield (Bill Holman and Bob Florence Big Bands), and saxophonists Chip McNeill (Doc Severinsen, Maynard Ferguson) and Mary Fettig (Stan Kenton Orchestra), plus local musician/educators such as Rick Haydon, Kevin Gianino, Brett Stamps, Jim Martin, and Ken Kehner. For more information, visit www.stchas.edu/yatp.

* Drummer Dave Weckl's new album Live In St Louis at the Chesterfield Jazz Festival was featured on the April 13 episode of the "Bitches Brew" podcast.

* Dozens of St. Louis musicians have teamed up to release a new compilation album (pictured) paying tribute to poet, promoter and former KDHX DJ Brett Underwood for his work promoting adventurous music in St. Louis as a collaborator, on his radio program "The No Show," and as a presenter of live performances, most recently at the Schlafly Tap Room downtown.

Produced by electronic musician Eric Hall, Horsey Can’t Swim - A Love Letter To Brett Underwood includes 43 tracks encompassing free improv, alt-rock, noise, experimental music, and more. Contributors to the the project include Jaap Blonk & Damon Smith, Syna So Pro, Ghost Ice, Raglani, Michael Williams, NNN Cook, Alex Cunningham, caveofswords, Tory Starbuck, and a number of others.

All the proceeds from the recording's pay-what-you-want sales on Bandcamp will go to Underwood, whose hours as a bartender and show booker at the Tap Room were cut back drastically when the COVID pandemic began.

* And speaking of the COVID pandemic, the efforts of the group "Keep Live Alive Saint Louis" to support local workers in the entertainment industry over the past year were spotlighted in a feature by Andrea Smith of Ladue News

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Violinist Alex Cunningham will be featured alongside U.S. Maple guitarist Mark Shippy on a new duo recording called Ghost Note. The album (pictured), which features a series of improvised duets, will be released by the Personal Archives label as a vinyl LP and to digital music services on Friday, June 4.

* Drummer Dave Weckl's new album Live in St. Louis at the Chesterfield Jazz Festival was reviewed by Modern Drummer magazine. The album also is featured this month in a Jazziz magazine article, "Crate Digging: 10 Albums You Need to Know for April 2021."

* An essay by bassist and Wash U faculty member Paul Steinbeck about composer George Lewis has been republished on the website of the CTM Festival in Berlin

* Bassist Tom Kennedy's forthcoming album Stories was previewed in an article on BroadwayWorld.com.

* Across the state in Sedalia, MO, the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival has announced that while there will be no festival in 2021 due to COVID concerns, the annual event will return on June 1-4, 2022.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Rev. Cliff Aerie, saxophonist with the Oikos Ensemble, was profiled in an article in the Webster-Kirkwood Times.

* The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony, the new 7-CD box set of previously unheard tracks from saxophonist Julius Hemphill, was reviewed by Mark Corroto for AllAboutJazz.com.

* Pianist Peter Martin's company Open Studio this week launched another podcast, titled "Upright Citizens" and hosted by bassists Reuben Rogers and Bob DeBoo. You can check out the first episode here.

* The new Dave Weckl Band album Live In St. Louis at the Chesterfield Jazz Festival was reviewed by Jim Worsley of AllAboutJazz.com and by Jim Hynes of online magazine Glide. The album (pictured) is out today on the Autumn Hill label and can be streamed via the major digital music services.

* An article at HotCars.com offers "A Detailed Look At Miles Davis' Lamborghini Miura."

* In more Miles Davis news, a new album, Champions, featuring tracks culled from the expanded box set The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions in 2003, is set for release on Saturday, July 17 as part of this year's Record Store Day "RSD Drops."

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Ben Reece this week released a new recording with his Unity Quartet.

Titled Hard Times, the album (pictured) features 12 original compositions performed by Reece and Rob Nugent on saxophones, Cody Henry on sousaphone and Ron Sikes on drums. It was recorded "live in the studio" at Midtown Sound House in St. Louis, with Dan Merhmann engineering.

Hard Times is available now via Reece's Bandcamp page and the usual outlets for digital music.

* British drummer Moses Boyd offered his in-depth take Miles Davis’ mid-Sixties album Nefertiti on the latest episode of the web series "Classic Album Sundays."

* By way of commemorating the 14th anniversary of the demise of Mississippi Nights, the Post-Dispatch republished Daniel Durchholz's look back at the history of the eclectic riverfront music venue.

* The first development of artists' housing from the St. Louis Art Place Initiative, located in the Gravois Park neighborhood on the south side, is now accepting applications. The program is intended to build "wealth and equity through homeownership for low to moderate-income artists of all disciplines." Find out more at http://stlartplace.org/.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The nascent Music at The Intersection festival in Grand Center, which originally was scheduled for September of this year but postponed due to the pandemic, has announced dates for 2021. The event, part of a proposed "St. Louis Music Week" sponsored by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation and the Steward Family Foundation, will take place the weekend of September 10-12.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn (pictured), who contributed memorably to David Bowie's 1975 hit "Young Americans' and the subsequent tour, will join other distinguished alumni of Bowie's band and some famous friends for "A Bowie Celebration," a tribute concert that will stream online on Friday, January 8.

* Singer Denise Thimes was interviewed about her holiday show on Sunday at Blue Strawberry by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Bassist Larry Kornfeld is the subject of a short feature in Bass magazine, highlighting the track "Pusherman" from Rhythm City, the recent Autumn Hill release from Kornfeld, pianist Ptah Williams, and drummer Rob Silverman.

* Mangia Italiano, the long running bar and restaurant on South Grand that for years featured jazz on Friday nights among its varied musical offerings, will close at the end of this month.

* Fictional Characters, the new release from guitarist Scott Jones, was reviewed by Mike Jacobs at AllAboutJazz.com.

Todd Mosby releases new album Aerial Views

Guitarist Todd Mosby has released a new recording titled Aerial Views.

The album (pictured) is the third in a series of concept albums highlighting natural elements, following Eagle Mountain, a tribute to earth, and Open Waters, about the seas.

It includes 12 original compositions by Mosby, drawing on his experiences riding in and later flying a plane owned by his father, a professional pilot. "We spent a lot of time in the air, feeling a special freedom and independence whenever we took to the sky," he said in a news release. "As I got older, that freedom evolved into an ever expanding musical and spiritual journey."

With production by Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton, Aerial Views features Mosby on guitar and electric Imrat guitar, an 18-stringed sitar-guitar hybrid that he helped design, plus a supporting cast of musicians including violinist Charlie Bisharat, bassist Tony Levin, drummer Jerry Marotta, bassist Michael Manring, percussionist Jeff Haynes, multi-instrumentalist Premik Tubbs, and pianist and vocalist Lola Kristine.

Aerial Views is available now via Bandcamp, on Mosby's website, and on major digital services including iTunes and Spotify. Mosby also has produced a short "making of" video to promote the release, which can be seen here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* A "roll in" event put on last week by local sound, lighting and stage workers in support of the #SaveOurStages campaign was the subject of a feature story in the St. Louis Labor Tribune.

For more information on the campaign, which seeks federal relief for independent music venues affected by the pandemic, go to https://www.saveourstages.com/.

* Pianist and Webster U faculty member Kim Portnoy has released a new album of his compositions titled Caprice: The Chamber Music of Kim Portnoy.

* Rick Beato, a popular YouTuber who usually discusses and analyzes rock and pop music, turned his attention last week to jazz and Miles Davis with a video titled "The Picasso of Sound- The man who changed MODERN music."

* Drummer Rob Silverman's latest release Drumology was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Jim Worsley.

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:

* St. Louis natives Eric Person and Keyon Harrold are among the recipients of a new round of composer commissions from the NYC-based Jazz Coalition.

* The restoration of Miles Davis' childhood home (pictured) by the not-for-profit organization House of Miles - East St. Louis (HOME) is the subject of a feature story by Riverfront Times writer Eric Berger.

* Also on the Davis beat, an article at InsideHook.com looks at how in the 1980s the trumpeter became the spokesperson for an obscure Japanese liquor brand.

* Bassist and recent transplant to St. Louis Damon Smith has a new album, Universal or Directional, now available on Bandcamp.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Tom "Papa" Ray, proprietor of Vintage Vinyl and presenter of the "Soul Selector" program airing Monday afternoons on KDHX (88.1 FM), is hosting a new program on local PBS affiliate Nine Network.

According to a report from the Riverfront Times' Daniel Hill, Papa Ray's Vintage Vinyl Roadshow is "envisioned as a documentary focused on the independent record store as a cultural entity." The show's pilot episode will air on the Nine Network a total of three times starting Thursday, September 3, with the possibility of becoming an ongoing series "if all goes well with the premiere."

* David Sanborn has a new release of old music, a 3-CD set (pictured) titled Anything You Want – The Warner, Reprise, Elektra Years 1975-1999, that compiles favorite material from early in the saxophonist's career.

* From the latest issue of trumpeter Nate Wooley's Sound American magazine, writer Chris Pitsiokos offers "Four Thoughts About Miles Davis's On the Corner."

* Also on the Miles Davis beat, writer Richard Williams of The Blue Moment reviews The Gil Evans Project's recent rerecording of music that Evans arranged for Davis' Sketches of Spain.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold (pictured) was the featured guest on a recent episode of "Folded Space with Tony Minvielle" on the UK's JazzFM network.

* Keyboardist Michael Silverman and keyboardist/producer Jeff Lorber appeared last week on Jazziz magazine's "Last Call" video series to promote Silverman's latest album Human Spirit, which is out this week on his Autumn Hill label.

* Silverman and Lorber also were guests this week on BlogTalkRadio's "Hybrid Jazz" program with host Trish Hennessey.

* Willem von Hombracht, a longtime mainstay of the St. Louis music scene, has been ailing (though not with COVID-19), and earlier this week was discharged and sent home after a week and a half at St. Mary's Hospital. To raise money to help with von Hombracht's medical bills and other expenses, friends of the bassist have set up a GoFundMe page.

* New Music Circle has put together a collection of music video performances by some of the organization's board members, and after an online premiere this past Monday, has posted it to YouTube. The collection includes music from NNN Cook & Nestor, Michael Williams, Tracy Andreotti, Aaron E. Johnson, Fred Tompkins with Greg Mills, Alex Cunningham, and 18andCounting.

* Multi-instrumentalist and singer Tonina was profiled by the St. Louis American's Ashley Jones.

Jim Manley releases Quarantunes

Trumpeter Jim Manley is a familiar face on the St. Louis music scene, performing multiple times per week in a variety of formats from duo to full band, while also regularly recording and releasing original music at the rate of roughly an album per year.

Given that demonstrated work ethic, it probably should come as no surprise that though the COVID-19 pandemic may have curtailed all live performances for now, Manley has made good use of his time off from gigging to record and release a new self-produced album.

Titled Quarantunes, it includes thematically timely titles such as "Quarantine Funk," "Sanitize This," and "Wash Your Hands," written specifically to serve as a 20-second-long "timer" for proper hand-washing procedure.

In all, the album (pictured) features a dozen tracks of original music, recorded in Manley's home studio with a long-distance assist on some tracks from San Diego-based guitarist Jeff Snider.

Quarantunes is available for purchase now via Manley's website. A release via the major digital music distributors and a physical CD also are planned, with those dates TBA.

Fred Tompkins spans decades with new album Stretching Time

Flute player and composer Fred Tompkins has released a new album called Stretching Time.

The CD (pictured) includes eleven tracks spanning more than 40 years (hence the title), including eight new works mixing free improv with composed material that feature Tompkins on C flute and bass flute with pianist Greg Mills, clarinetist Eric Mandat, and cellist Tracy Andreotti.

The other three compositions date back to the late 70s when Tompkins was living in New York, and are performed by an ensemble including bassist Harvie Swartz (aka Harvie S), guitarist Chuck Loeb, French horn player John Clark, drummer Rick Cutler, and other NYC-based players.

While Tompkins anticipates the CD being available on the usual digital music services in the near future, and for purchase as a physical CD at Vintage Vinyl and Euclid Records once they've fully re-opened for business, for now, you can hear some audio excerpts and order it from his website at http://tompkinsjazz.com/.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter and Webster Groves native Ally Hany Albrecht recently was featured with the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West performing one of her original compositions on "AZAM," the morning newscast of the Fox affiliate in Phoenix, AZ. 

* A recent performance by saxophonist Eric Person (pictured) at The Falcon in Marlboro, NY was reviewed by writer Rudy Lu for the upstate NY arts website Nippertown.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band's new album Onward was reviewed by the Riverfront Times' Christian Schaeffer.

* Also in the RFT, a look at Takeshima Records, a new Japanese-style "listening room" and bar opening this week on Chouteau Avenue in the Grove.

* "Job's Blues," a track from bassist Dan Loomis' new album Job's Trials, this week was featured as a "Download of the Day" on AllAboutJazz.com. Loomis also was interviewed this week about the album and his career on the "Neon Jazz" radio program hosted by Joe Dimino on KCXL in Liberty, MO.

* Jazz St. Louis has published on their website a Q&A with saxophonist Tim Warfield, who's performing at the venue through Sunday night.

Fred Tompkins releases new CD The Fourth Arch - To Freedom

Flute player and composer Fred Tompkins has released a new album, The Fourth Arch - To Freedom.

The album (pictured) includes eight original compositions by Tompkins, plus one improvised track.

It was recorded at Shock City Studios and in Tompkins' home studio by a lineup of players including the composer on flute and bass flute, along with pianists Greg Mills and Maryse Carlin, mezzo-soprano Johanna Nordhorm, and drummers Gary Sykes, Kyle Honnicutt, Steve Davis, and Charlie Dent.

The Fourth Arch - To Freedom is on sale now at all major digital outlets, with physical CDs available for purchase on Tompkins' website, via CD Baby, and at Vintage Vinyl and Euclid Records.

Jazz this week: Tribute to Count Basie, Clint Baker salutes New Orleans "cornet kings," Webster Groves Piano Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes tributes to one of the greatest big band leaders in jazz and to New Orleans' tradition of producing memorable cornet players, a free outdoor concert featuring four St. Louis pianists, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 21
Saxophonist Kendrick Smith (pictured, top left) has assembled an eight-piece band plus vocalist Joe Mancuso to pay "Tribute to Count Basie" in a concert at the Ozark Theatre.

Also on Wednesday, Jazz St. Louis will raise funds with "Cocktails for a Cause" at 33 Wine Shop & Bar, and this week's Grand Center Jazz Crawl features saxophonist Andy Ament at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the  Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor returning to The Dark Room.

Thursday, August 22
The Ptah Williams Trio with bassist Darrell Mixon and drummer Gary Sykes will play at Joe's Cafe, and trumpeter Jim Manley performs at Evangeline's.

Friday, August 23
The Focal Point continues their late-summer traditional jazz series with the Rudy Torrini Swing Project, featuring the St. Louis clarinetist and friends playing music from the 1920s, 30s and 40s.

Also on Friday, Miss Jubilee performs in a free outdoor show for "Jungle Boogie" at the St. Louis Zoo; and keyboardist Ryan Marquez will promote the release of his new CD Cosmic Perspective with a late-night show at The Dark Room.

Saturday, August 24
The first-ever Webster Groves Piano Festival
will feature music from Carolbeth True and Two Times True, Jay Oliver, Michael Silverman and Bach to the Future, and Ptah Williams with Darrell Mixon and Steve Davis, all for free on the front lawn of the Masonic Hall, 12 E. Lockwood Ave in downtown Webster.

Also on Friday, San Francisco-based multi-instrumentalist Clint Baker (pictured, bottom left) will offer "A Tribute to the Cornet Kings of New Orleans" with some help from cornetists T.J. Muller and "Wild" Bill Mason at the Focal Point; and Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at Urban Chestnut Midtown Brewery and Biergarten.

Sunday, August 25
Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to play for brunch at the Angad Arts Hotel, and the Folk School of KDHX presents their monthly Traditional Jazz Jam Session.

Monday, August 26
Drummer Kaleb Kirby and friends perform at The Dark Room.

Tuesday, August 27
Pianist Pat Joyce plays solo at Evangeline's.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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.)