So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trombonist Steve Swell will present a free, public "artist's talk" at 4:00 p.m. today (Friday October 6) in Room 102 of Washington University's music classroom building.

Swell (pictured) is in St. Louis to lead his quintet in New Music Circle's season-opening concert on Saturday night at The Stage at KDHX.

* Speaking of Washington University, bassist, educator and author Paul Steinbeck will discuss Message To Our Folks, his book about the history of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, as part of Wash U's library faculty book talk series at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 24 in room 142 of the Olin Library on the Wash U campus. The event is free and open to the public.

* Saxophonist and singer Grace Kelly is the subject of a photo feature on the website Sound of STL, and her performance Wednesday night at Jazz at the Bistro was briefly reviewed on the website of Sophisticated Living magazine. Kelly continues at the Bistro through Saturday night.

* The Wee Trio's upcoming concert on Tuesday, October 17 at SIU Edwardsville was previewed by the Edwardsville Intelligencer.

* KDHX's Magnolia Cafe, which serves as one of the sites on the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl," is getting a new menu, a new operator, and a new name. According to reports published this week by Feast magazine and others, chef Rob Connoley will take over the restaurant, renaming it Squatter's Cafe, on Wednesday, November 1.

* The annual musical instrument drive sponsored by Music for Lifelong Achievement was the subject of a feature story on KTVI-Fox 2's morning news.

* "Wayfaring Traveler," a track from trumpeter Keyon Harrold's new album The Mugician that features guest performances from Jermaine Holmes, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Robert Glasper, this week made it onto Apple Music's jazz playlist "The A List."

* Singer Debby Lennon will star in the upcoming production of the musical comedy Souvenir being staged by Max & Louie Productions from Thursday, December 14 through Sunday, December 31 at The Marcelle in Grand Center.

The show tells the story of the notoriously tone-deaf Florence Foster Jenkins, "a real-life socialite who set elite eardrums in Manhattan a-trembling in a series of notorious private concerts during the 1930s and 1940s...Her flamboyant costumes and uninhibited love of music was as much her trademark as her inability to sing on key."  Jenkins' story also was the subject of an eponymous 2016 feature film starring Meryl Streep in the title role.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The "TAP Dynamics" show this Saturday and Sunday at the Grandel Theatre, which features dancers performing to live music from a jazz trio led by drummer Allison Miller, was previewed by Kenya Vaughn of the St. Louis American, and by Calvin Wilson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

* Wilson also has a story in the Post previewing next week's appearances by saxophonist/singer Grace Kelly (pictured) at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold's new album The Mugician is being released today, and as part of the roll-out, the entire album was previewed on AllMusic.com and Harrold was interviewed by Salon.com.

* Music for Lifelong Achievement's annual musical instrument drive was featured in a report on local CBS affiliate KMOV (Channel 4).

* The deadline for applications for Regional Arts Commission's Artist Support Grants for this year is Thursday, October 12. RAC is presenting a free workshop on how to apply on Monday, October 2; for more on that, and details on the grant program, go to https://racstl.org/grant/artists-support-grants/.

* Composer and flute player Fred Tompkins is offering free downloadable and streamable music, both previously unreleased and from his back catalog, via a new Bandcamp page.

* The Gateway Jazz Festival, a day-long smooth jazz event that debuted this July at Chesterfield Amphitheater, has announced a date for 2018. The fest will return for a second year on Saturday, July 21, 2018, and discounted "early bird" tickets are on sale now at http://www.gatewayjazzfest.com/.

* The Riverfront Times' annual "Best of St. Louis" issue is out this week, and the winners in the annual Readers' Choice poll include the Broadway Oyster Bar for "Best Restaurant" and Record Exchange for "Best Record Store". You can see all the results of the RFT's Readers Choice poll here.

MFLA's musical instrument drive for local students starts Monday, September 25

Do you have an old, unused, or extra musical instrument taking up space in the basement, garage or spare room? If so, consider donating it to Music for Lifelong Achievement (MFLA).

MFLA is a local not-for-profit organization based at the Sheldon Concert Hall that collects used and new musical instruments and donates them to school and community music programs serving disadvantaged young people. Since its inception, MFLA has provided nearly 600 instruments to music students all over the St. Louis area.

This year's MFLA instrument drive will begin on Monday, September 25 and continues through Sunday, October 29.

There are two ways to help: by giving a musical instrument, or giving cash. Selected St. Louis-area Starbucks stores once again will serve as drop-off locations for used and new musical instruments during the drive. The donated instruments then will be repaired, if needed, and distributed to students who otherwise would not be able to afford an instrument. Donors get a letter documenting the value of the instrument for tax deduction purposes.

If you don�t have an instrument to donate, MFLA also happily accepts cash contributions, which are used to help pay for necessary repairs of donated instruments and provide accessories such as strings, reeds, and sheet music. These donations also are tax deductible. For more information or to make a donation, call The Sheldon at 314-533-9900 or visit www.supportmfla.org.