So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Regional Arts Commission is holding a workshop on how to apply for one of their Artist Fellowships at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 1 at RAC headquarters, 6128 Delmar Blvd.

Awarded annually, the fellowships recognize ten individuals with grants of $25,000 each, and are open to visual and performing artists from all disciplines.The workshop is free and open to the public; the application period for next year's fellowships ends on Thursday, August 10. For details or to RSVP, go here.

* The latest issue of the St. Louis Blues Society's Bluesletter includes writer Michael Kuelker's remembrances of Mark O'Shaughnessey, the late co-founder/owner of BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.

* Pianist and composer Samora Pinderhughes is the subject of a brief interview/feature written by musician Lamar Harris for St. Louis magazine.

Pinderhughes (pictured) will perform (with trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah as his special guest) next Thursday, July 20 at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

* DownBeat magazine has opened the voting in their 82nd annual Readers Poll. You can cast a vote for your favorites online here.

* Saxquest is posting to their YouTube channel more videos from their free monthly Saturday afternoon performance series, including the shows by Ben Reece's Unity Quartet in April and Hugh Jones in May.

* Pianist Jim Hegarty has posted another new free improv recording to his "Secret Sessions" BandCamp page, this time featuring clarinetist Eric Paul Mandat, pianist Greg Mills, trumpeter George Sams, and flute player Fred Tompkins.

* A couple of off-the-beaten-path items about Miles Davis showed up this past week in the media, as a story in Autoweek recounted the trumpeter's opinion on Ferraris, while OpenCulture.com compiled some of the insults hurled by Davis over the years at fellow musicians.

Jazz this week: Tony Bennett, two Miles Davis tributes, U City Jazz Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the return of a legendary vocalist; two different events paying tribute to this city's most influential jazz musician ever; several free outdoor events featuring live jazz, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, June 7
Singer Tony Bennett (pictured, top left), who remarkably is still touring regularly as a nonagenarian, returns to perform at the Fox Theatre. Some tickets are still available as of this writing; for details, visit the "rush" section of the Fox's website. To when your appetite with some live performance videos of Bennett, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, the weekly Grand Center Jazz Crawl continues with live music at four different venues in the district; and the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra performs at First Unity Church of St. Louis.

Thursday, June 8
Pianist Adam Maness returns with his trio to Thurman's in Shaw.

Friday, June 9
Keyboardist Adaron Jackson, guitarist Eric Slaughter, saxophonist Ben Reece (pictured, center left) and drummer Montez Coleman, doing business as Jackson, Slaughter, Reece & Coleman, will revisit the sounds of some of the classic organ/tenor soul-jazz combos of 1950s and '60s for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also on Friday, trumpeter Randy Holmes leads his quintet in the first of two nights of the "St. Louis Miles Davis Festival," performing music associated with Davis at the Webster Groves Concert Hall (formerly the Ozark Theatre).

Elsewhere around town, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; ; and saxophonist Paul DeMarinis and guitarist Dave Black, collaborators in several past bands, will debut a new group called Breathtet, also featuring bassist Mark Wallace and drummer Kevin Cheli, in a show at The Focal Point,

Saturday, June 10
It's a good day to hear some jazz at a free outdoor festival, with three different events happening in the afternoon and evening.

Starting in mid-afternoon, the U City Jazz Festival will feature music from drummer Demarius Hicks, pianist Ptah Williams (pictured, bottom left), guitarist Dave Black, Bach to the Future, and the St. Louis Jazz All-Stars, continuing through the evening at Heman Park,

A little later in the afternoon and just a few miles away, the City of Clayton Music + Wine Festival will include performances from The Gaslight Squares, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes, and Miss Jubilee as part of a free outdoor concert at Carondelet Plaza.

At the same time a little further to the east, the Central West End Cocktail Party will include a stage at Euclid and McPherson with live performances from bands including the Twin Cities' Gatsby Gang and St. Louis' own Funky Butt Brass Band.

Also on Saturday, the Alton Museum presents the 12th annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival in the town where the iconic trumpeter was born, featuring music from blues singer Big George Brock Jr. and the NGK Band, piano/vocal duo Bob and Me, guitarist Tim Jarden, and saxophonist Fred Walker at the Jacoby Arts Center.

Sunday, June 11
The St. Louis Symphony presents a "Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and the Ladies of Swing" featuring singer Dee Daniels at Powell Symphony Hall; the St. Louis Jazz Club's monthly show will feature John Gillick and the Impacts with pianist Bob Row at the DoubleTree Hotel; and the Ambassadors of Swing return to Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

Monday, June 12 
Trumpeter Jim Manley will play his weekly gig serenading diners and drinkers at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, June 13
Saxophonist Adam Larson will be in town to present a free masterclass and performance at Saxquest, backed by guitarist Matt Sewell, bassist Bob DeBoo, and drummer Matt Wilson.

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.)