So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Guitarist and St. Louis native Kelvyn Bell has a new recording, Cubed Root Cure, set for release in January, and you can hear a sample now on SoundCloud.

The EP (pictured) will be available from CD Baby and all the major digital music services.

* The Gateway Jazz Festival, a day-long "smooth jazz" event that made its St. Louis debut last summer at the Chesterfield Amphitheater, has a date for 2018 - Saturday, July 21 - and a headliner, saxophonist Boney James.

Last year's event featured a half-dozen acts, including saxophonist Najee, singer Maysa, and Pieces of A Dream; the rest of the 2018 bill currently is TBA.

* "The World of Spectacular Strings" exhibit on view through Saturday, April 21 at the Sheldon Art Galleries was reviewed by Ladue News' Bryan A. Hollerbach.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has posted to Facebook a photo album of last weekend's  "Holiday  Brasstravaganza" shows. Friday's performance also was reviewed for KDHX.org. by Mike Vachow.

* Saxophonist Greg Osby will join forces with the experimental multimedia duo Mn'JAM for a performance in January at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and singer Jean Baylor, the husband-and-wife duo behind The Baylor Project, were interviewed Tuesday on the nationally syndicated radio program "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" about their two nominations in this year's Grammy Awards, their careers, and more.

* The Bosman Twins were interviewed for the most recent episode of KDHX's "Collateral Damage" podcast by guest host Hank Thompson.

* And speaking of podcasts, former WSIE DJ E.B. Stevenson has released a Christmas episode of his "The Jazz Mixer" podcast.

* Max and Louie Productions' current staging of Souvenir, the musical comedy starring singer and Webster U faculty member Debby Lennon as tone-deaf diva Florence Foster Jenkins, was reviewed by the Post-Dispatch's Judith Newmark and OnStL.com's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Also in the Post-Dispatch, singer Dom Thomas' show this Saturday at The Stage at KDHX is previewed in a short feature from the paper's Kevin Johnson.

* Voting is now open in Jazz Times magazine's annual readers poll.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Record megalabel Columbia/Legacy last week announced the release of a sixth volume in their "Bootleg Series" of Miles Davis live recordings.

Miles Davis & John Coltrane - The Final Tour is a four-CD set (pictured) documenting five shows from Davis' 1960 tour of Europe, and is set for release on Friday, March 23, 2018.

* A story in UMSL Daily details the upcoming travels of the UMSL Big Band directed by Jim Widner, including a trip next week to Chicago for the annual Midwest Clinic and appearances in January at the Jazz Education Network convention in Dallas and the Missouri Music Educators Association conference at the Lake of the Ozarks.

* Singer, actor and Belleville native Lea DeLaria was the subject of a feature story on the website OutInStL.com. DeLaria, who's starred on Broadway and in cabaret, TV, and film, will make her debut at Jazz at the Bistro with shows on Wednesday, December 27 and Thursday, December 28 that also will feature singer Janis Siegel of Manhattan Transfer as a guest performer.

* The STL Free Jazz Collective has posted to YouTube a video of their complete performance with multi-instrumentalist Douglas Ewart earlier this month at the 14th St. Artist Community. 

* Also on YouTube, saxophonist Eric Person has posted a video from his show with fellow saxophonist Houston Person in March of this year at Dizzy's Club in NYC.

* The Sheldon has posted to Facebook a photo album from the Spanish Harlem Orchestra's performance there last week.

* Guitarist Dave Black's upcoming album, a collaboration with blues guitarists Tom Hall and Brian Curran, is previewed in a Riverfront Times story by Thomas Crone.

* Also in the RFT, the Funky Butt Brass Band's "Holiday Brasstravaganza" and their new Christmas album are the subjects of a brief feature story by Christian Schaeffer.

* Right Up On, saxophonist/composer Oliver Lake's recent recording in collaboration with the FLUX Quartet, made the New York Times' recently published list of "The 25 Best Classical Music Recordings of 2017."

* Singer Debby Lennon's latest theatrical role, as tone-deaf diva Florence Foster Jenkins in Max and Louis Productions' upcoming staging of the musical Souvenir, is the subject of a short feature by St. Louis Post-Dispatch theater critic Judith Newmark.

* Percussionist Moacyr Marchini of Samba Bom will lead a series of eight Brazilian percussion workshops for adult students beginning Wednesday, January 10 at Lucha in Grand Center. For more info about the workshops and how to sign up, go here.

* The venerable Edwardsville drinking spot Laurie's Place, which in recent months has featured a jazz jam session on Tuesday nights, will close at the end of this year.

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:

* Citing his ongoing treatment for prostate cancer, trumpeter Hugh Masekela has cancelled all of his upcoming appearances, including his scheduled performance in St. Louis on Saturday, April 14 at The Sheldon as part of the Jazz Epistles reunion with pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya.

A statement released by The Sheldon said the concert still will go on as scheduled, with a replacement trumpeter to be announced at a later date.

* In advance of their show with Douglas Ewart this Saturday, STL Free Jazz Collective members Jim Hegarty and "Baba" Mike Nelson talked with writer Thomas Crone for a feature story in the Riverfront Times.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold's new album The Mugician (pictured) was reviewed favorably by Jazz Times and PopMatters.com.

* Drummer Mark Colenburg has released a new instructional book and video, The Beat Matrix Unlocked, which is described as creating "a new template for the art of hip-hop drumming."

* The subscription service Vinyl Me Please has made an LP reissue of Miles Davis' 1967 album Sorcerer their "record of the month" for December 2017.

The reissue was remastered from the original tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl colored "orchid purple," and includes an eight-page booklet with liner notes by former New York Times scribe Ben Ratliff plus a 12" x 12" original art print by Santiago Carrasquilla.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* HEC-TV has posted online a "lost episode" of the program I Love Jazz, featuring an interview with and performances by guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and his son, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli.

The episode was filmed in 2014, before the death of host Don Wolff in November 2015, but just now has been released for the first time.

* The Sheldon Art Galleries will present a free gallery talk by Dr. Aurelia Hartenberger on the history of stringed instruments at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 12.

The talk is presented in conjunction with the exhibit "The World of Spectacular Strings," which features more than 100 unique stringed instruments from around the world and continues until April 21, 2017. Admission is free, but you must reserve a seat in advance by calling Paula Lincoln at 314-533-9900 x 37 or emailing plincoln@TheSheldon.org.

* Speaking of The Sheldon, they've posted on Facebook an album of photos from last Saturday's concert by C�cile McLorin Salvant.

* Singer Chuck Flowers (pictured) appeared on KTVI-FOX 2's Wednesday morning newscast to promote his appearance tonight at The Dark Room.

* The online radio station Radio63119 has posted an interview featuring poet and percussionist David A.N. Jackson talking with bassist Darrell Mixon and drummer Gary Sykes about their careers in music and more.

* Another new episode of E.B. Stephenson's podcast "The Jazz Mixer" is online, featuring recordings from St. Louis musicians including the Sessions Big Band, Brett Stamps, Farshid Etniko, and more.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The St. Louis International Film Festival has posted on Facebook a photo album from the fest's screening of the documentary Mr Handy's Blues and accompanying musical performance.

* Tomorrow night's performance by singer C�cile McLorin Salvant (pictured) at the Sheldon Concert Hall is previewed by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

* Yaqui's on Cherokee, which frequently features The Gaslight Squares and other local performers of vintage jazz, was featured in an article on the Regional Arts Commission website.

* The jazz program at UMSL, directed by bassist Jim Widner, has produced a new fund-raising video.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band's "Holiday Brasstravaganza" and new album are previewed in a St. Louis magazine article by Thomas Crone.

* Also in St. Louis magazine, another article by Thomas Crone previews this Sunday's debut performance by cornetist TJ Muller's Arcadia Jazz Orchestra.

* Singer Katie McGrath's Gaslight Cabaret Festival show was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* Reaching back for some history about a St. Louis native, a new article in The Daily Beast looks back at "When Jazz Age Superstar Josephine Baker Spied on the Nazis."

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Jazz St. Louis' Gene Dobbs Bradford is one of the 2018 St. Louis Arts Awards winners featured in an article on the website of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis. The honorees will receive their awards at a ceremony on January 22 at the Chase Park Plaza.

* Drummer Emanuel Harrold (pictured) has a new promotional video out offering a preview of his forthcoming EP Look Forward.

* St. Louis based Entertainment Cruise Productions is offering special, limited-time two-for-one pricing on their upcoming "Blue Note at Sea" cruise. The cruise takes place January 27 - February 3,  and will feature performances from Charles Lloyd, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Marcus Miller, Robert Glasper, St. Louis' own David Sanborn, Chick Corea, Dr. Lonnie Smith and many others.

* Singer Ken Haller's Gaslight Cabaret Festival show "Happy Haller Days" was reviewed by the Ladue News' Mark Bretz and KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* And speaking of KDHX, the station now has a page on VuHaus.com, "a non-profit, digital music video service that introduces emerging and established artists to new audiences. Through a website and mobile app, VuHaus aggregates performance videos and interviews from leading "Music Discovery" public radio stations from markets across the U.S."

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* This weekend's Nevermore Jazz Ball, which features performances by several traditional jazz and swing bands including Asheville, NC's Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders (pictured), was previewed in an article in St. Louis magazine and on KSDK's Show Me St. Louis.

* New York theater impresario (and former St. Louisan) Scott Siegel, who created the �Broadway�s Greatest Hits of All Time!� musical revue that's playing tonight and tomorrow night at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, was interviewed by the St. Louis Jewish Light's Bill Motchan.

* Saxquest will present their 2017 Woodwind Musical Instrument Expo next Saturday, November 11 at the Sheraton Westport. The free, all-day event will feature representatives showing off the latest from major manufacturers of saxophones, flutes, clarinet and double-reed instruments, with private test rooms available by appointment.

They'll also be offering door prizes, discounts and free set-ups with instrument purchases, and more. You can register in advance online, by calling Saxquest at 314-664-1234, or by sending an email to info@saxquest.com.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold continues to get publicity surrounding the release last month of his latest album The Mugician, most recently on the latest episode of Jazziz magazine's podcast.

* "SongDay Afternoon," a web video series of solo performances produced by KDHX host Wil Wander and musician Tommy Halloran, is the subject of a St. Louis magazine feature story written by Thomas Crone.

* The Sheldon has shared on their Facebook page some photos from last Saturday's performance by guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli.

* St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts is sponsoring two "Every Artist Insured" informational sessions offering one-on-one, in-person guidance to artists (including musicians!) on how to purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchange. Trained counselors will be available to guide you through the enrollment process, help you find out if you qualify for subsidies, and compare plan prices and coverage details.

The sessions are scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Thursday, November 16 and 10:00 a.m. Saturday, December 9 at Regional Arts Commission, 6238 Delmar. The sessions are free, but you must reserve a spot in advance by sending an email (including a phone number) to vlaa@stlrac.org.

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty has put online another "Secret Sessions" recording available for free download or streaming on BandCamp, featuring improvisations from a group including Hegarty, clarinetist Eric Paul Mandat, keyboardist Greg Mills, flute player Fred Tompkins, and guitarist Steven Thomas. 

* And speaking of Fred Tompkins, he's added more free audio to his personal BandCamp page, most recently a piece called "Timeline."

Edited 11/8/17 to fix typos.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Tonight's 7:30 p.m. set by Sammy Miller and the Congregation at Jazz at the Bistro will be streamed live online by Jazz St. Louis. You can see it on JSL's website, their Facebook page, or on UStream.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold was named one of "10 New Artists You Need To Know" in the October issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

Harrold (pictured) also was featured on a recent episode of B-Side, a web series produced and curated by the BRIC arts and media nonprofit in Brooklyn, NYC.

* A recent show by saxophonist Dave Sanborn, and his kindness to a young fan, are the subjects of a feature story on AllAboutJazz.com.

* New Music Circle will present a free program of short films by composer and electronic musician John Wiese at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, November 9 at the Moolah Theatre & Lounge. Wiese will be in town for a concert presented by NMC on Saturday, November 11 at St. Louis University's Xavier Hall.

* In conjunction with a talk this week at Washington University, bassist, author and educator Paul Steinbeck was interviewed about Message to Our Folks, his book about the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

* Saxophonist Greg Osby was interviewed on a recent episode of the Neon Jazz podcast.

* The Sheldon has posted to Facebook a set of photos from the Hudson concert earlier this month.

* Euclid Records has released a free smartphone app, with a barcode scanner that provides access to sound samples, plus info on new releases and store events, and more. The app is available for both Android and iPhone via Google Play and the iTunes app store.

* Actor and singer Alice Ripley's show last weekend for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival was reviewed by KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi.

* The remains of the hull of the Goldenrod Showboat - which for decades on the St. Louis riverfront served as the site for performances of traditional jazz and ragtime - were destroyed in a fire last week in Calhoun County, IL.

* The Regional Arts Commission is surveying the St. Louis arts and culture community in conjunction with EVOKE, a new initiative described as "a cultural planning process that seeks to elicit, inspire and explore how the arts can become more relevant in addressing St. Louis�s cultural challenges...The outcome of the conversations, studies, data gathered and ideas shared will be a regional cultural plan designed to guide RAC�s work and evolve our vision for a more vibrant and equitable future for St. Louis." You can weigh in by taking the survey online here.

* Chasing Trane, the documentary about saxophonist John Coltrane that briefly played in movie theaters earlier this year, will be broadcast as part of the PBS series Independent Lens and will air in St. Louis at 10:00 p.m. Monday, November 6 on Nine PBS (aka KETC).

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Italian guitarist and composer Filippo Cosentino will present a free, public lecture and discussion at 4:30 p.m. next Wednesday, October 18 in the Grand Room at the Washington University Alumni House (located behind the music department on Forsyth). Cosentino (pictured) will perform the following night (Thursday, October 19) for the Jazz at Holmes series at Wash U.

* Having wrapped up his duties as artistic director of the 2017 Sopot Jazz Festival in Poland, saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby will be back in the USA for a Thanksgiving week tribute to the electric music of Miles Davis at the NYC club Iridium. Other members of the tribute ensemble include trumpeter Randy Brecker, drummer Steve Smith (of Journey and Vital Information), and bassist Lonnie Plaxico.

* If you've ever wondered whether the arts are a moneymaker for the local economy, a study released this month by Americans for the Arts shows that in 2015, the not-for-profit arts and culture industry in the St. Louis area generated $591 million in annual economic activity, supporting 19,129 full-time equivalent jobs and yielding $57.7 million in local and state government revenue.

(Note that this figure doesn't include for-profit ventures in theater, visual arts, or the music industry - ranging from big arena shows and concert clubs, to one-person gigs at neighborhood venues, to support services like music stores and recording studios - so if anything, it probably understates the total economic impact of arts-related businesses.)

* St. Louis-based publishers Worship Jazz have released two new "jazz nativity" scripts for the holiday season, "What Child is This?" and "Angels from the Realms." Both include full staging instructions and music suggestions from the company's book Jazz Christmas Carols, Volume 2. For details, samples from the scripts, and pricing information, see the Worship Jazz website.

* Missouri student composers in grades K-12 can win awards and cash prizes for their original music in a variety of genres, via the University of Missouri School of Music's Creating Original Music Project (COMP). Entries for the 2018 competition are being accepted now; for more information, visit the COMP website.

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.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Jazz St. Louis will be live-streaming video of tonight's 7:30 p.m. set by Yellowjackets at Jazz at the Bistro.

The gig is the first of four this season at the Bistro that will be live-streamed to the public for free, and you can tune in via the Jazz St. Louis website, their Facebook page, or UStream.

* The Playhouse at Westport Plaza has booked the show An Unforgettable Nat "King" Cole Christmas for the 2017 holiday season. The musical, which stars Chicago actor Evan Tyrone Martin (pictured) and features "a festive cocktail of signature songs and yuletide favorites" associated with Cole, will run from Thursday, December 7 through Sunday, December 17.

* To help promote his upcoming release The Mugician - due out next Friday, September 29 via Legacy Recordings/ Mass Appeal Records - trumpeter Keyon Harrold created a playlist of favorite tracks for the music streaming service Tidal.com.

* Improvising trombonist Steve Swell will present a lecture to the Washington University department of music at 4:00 p.m. Friday October 6 in the Music Classroom Building, room 102 on the Wash U campus.

Swell and his quintet, with pianist Dave Burrell, bassist William Parker, saxophonist Jameel Moondoc, and drummer Ches Smith, will perform in a concert sponsored by New Music Circle the next evening, Saturday, October 7, at The Stage at KDHX.

* Registration is open now for Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation's 8th annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition. The competition is open to all high school students in the St. Louis metropolitan area, and offers more than $30,000 in college scholarships, cash awards, and prizes, plus performance opportunities for the participating teens.

The entry deadline for 2018 is December 1, 2017. For more information or to register, go to http://www.foxpacf.org/programs/teen-talent-competition/.

* And speaking of local students, Music for Lifelong Achievement's annual drive gathering musical instruments for school and community music programs serving disadvantaged young people in St. Louis starts next Monday, September 26. For more information about MFLA and how to donate, go here.

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 was interviewed about his forthcoming album The Mugician by Billboard magazine.

* Last Saturday's Alton Wine and Jazz Festival, which was headlined by Harrold, was the subject of a feature story from the Alton Riverbender's Steven Spencer.

* In other Harrold family news, drummer Emanuel Harrold (pictured), who's Keyon's younger brother, was interviewed by Tony Minvielle of the UK online radio station Jazz FM. 

* The Brothers Lazaroff promoted their gigs this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro with an appearance on the morning news at KTVI - FOX 2.

* Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris was interviewed about his score for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis� presentation of Blow, Winds by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

The production, a re-imagining of King Lear written by Nancy Bell, will be performed at 8:00 pm nightly starting Friday, September 15 through Sunday, September 17 outside of the St. Louis Public Library�s Central Library Branch downtown.

* Saxophonist Donny Piela of the St. Louis Big Band was profiled by the Washington Missourian.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Jazz St. Louis announced this week that they'll be live-streaming online video of selected performances this season at Jazz at the Bistro.

According to a news release, "the series will highlight four artists from the 2017-18 performance season through pre-recorded videos hosted by local jazz pianist Peter Martin and live-streaming activities of the programs which will be available on the Jazz St. Louis website, Facebook page and Ustream".

Featured performances to be streamed include Yellowjackets (pictured) on Friday, September 22; Sammy Miller and the Congregation on Friday, October 27; The Bad Plus on Friday, January 19; and Sean Jones Quartet on Friday, March 2.

* The Alton Jazz and Wine Festival, set for tomorrow at the Riverfront Amphitheater in Alton, is the subject of a preview story in St. Louis magazine.

* Former St. Louisan Mark Deutsch, now living in California, has released The Picasso Tunings, a set of four related albums featuring the Bazantar,  the instrument he invented that combines acoustic bass and sitar. You can hear the new recordings, plus a newly remastered version of Deutsch's first solo album Fool, on his BandCamp page.

* The Gaslight Cabaret Festival was previewed by the West End Word.

* Applications for the latest round of Regional Arts Commission's Artist Support Grants are open now through Thursday, October 12. Grants are available from $500 to $3,000 to artists from all disciplines for a variety of purposes. For more info or to apply, go to https://racstl.org/grant/artists-support-grants/.

* Megan Kirk's cabaret show "Out of My Head," performed last week at The Stage at KDHX, was reviewed for the station by Chuck Lavazzi.

* Wide Open, the forthcoming album from singer, keyboardist and St. Louis native Michael McDonald, features guest performances from several well-known jazz musicians including Robben Ford, Marcus Miller and Branford Marsalis.

It's McDonald's first record of original material since 2000's Blue Obsession and is scheduled for release next Friday, September 15, but you can hear the whole thing now via an online stream from NPR Music�s �First Listen.� McDonald will support the release with a fall tour than includes a stop here on Friday, November 3 at Peabody Opera House.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Want to help musicians who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey? The Jazz Foundation is providing assistance to Houston-area musicians who have been displaced or suffered losses due to the storm, as they did for more than 1,000 New Orleans musicians after Hurricane Katrina.

You can find out more and contribute, if you like, via their website.

If you're a musician in need of help due to the storm (or know of one), the organization MusiCares, an affiliate of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (best known for the Grammy Awards), also is inviting calls for assistance at 1-877-626-2748.

* On a much happier note, Jazz St. Louis is now enrolling children for the fall session of WeBop, an early-childhood education program first developed by Jazz at Lincoln Center that "invites families to stomp, strut, and swing to the rhythms of jazz." You can find out more and register at https://jazzstl.org/education-outreach/webop/.

* Keyboardist Reggie Thomas and singer Mardra Thomas (pictured) - spouses and former St. Louisans - will be among the performers at this weekend's Chicago Jazz Festival. The Thomases will take the stage Friday afternoon at the Jazz and Heritage Pavilion, accompanied by drummer Montez Coleman, saxophonist Geof Bradfield and bassist Ivan Taylor. Reggie Thomas currently heads the jazz program at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.

* Speaking of festivals, trumpeter Keyon Harrold is writing a new work for the 15th annual Festival Of New Trumpet Music (aka FONT Music) happening later this month in NYC. The work is part of the festival's Roy Campbell, Jr. Commissioning Project, which began in 2014 to honor the organization's co-founder who died that year. You can find out more, and if you like, contribute to Harrold's commission, via an IndieGoGo page set up by the fest.

On a related note, Harrold this week previewed "Wayfaring Traveler," another track from his forthcoming album The Mugician, on the website OkayPlayer. He'll be back in the St. Louis area next weekend to headline the free Alton Jazz and Wine Festival on Saturday, September 9 at Riverfront Amphitheater in Alton.

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 was named one of "5 Unexpected Cities Experiencing a Live Music Renaissance" by Eventbrite.com.

* After teasing the audience by putting out a couple of advance tracks earlier this month, trumpeter Keyon Harrold announced that his new album The Mugician will be released on Friday, September 29.

Harrold will promote the release with shows on September 24 & 25 at the Blue Note in NYC, and he'll be back in the St. Louis area next month to headline the inaugural Alton Wine and Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 9 at the Riverfront Amphitheater in Alton.

* Keyboardist David Garfield (pictured) has released a new instrumental version of the Stevie Wonder tune "Go Home" featuring saxophonist Kirk Whalum, guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. You can see a video teaser with in-studio footage here, and listen to the entire track here.

* Trumpeter and Webster Groves native Ally Hany was profiled by the Peninsula Pulse newspaper in Door County, WI. 

* Violinist Alex Cunningham of the Vernacular String Trio was the subject of a brief feature from St. Louis magazine's Joseph Hess.

* Rev. Cliff Aerie and Tim Osiek of Worship Jazz have published a sixth volume in their series of jazz arrangements of sacred music. The book Worship in a New Key, Volume 6 is available only as a download from their website.

* Trumpeter Jim Manley is set to release a new album called Funk Factory 2 at the end of the month, and you can hear a sample track online here.

* Former WSIE disc jockey Eric Bueneman, known professionally as E.B. Stevenson, has a new podcast called The Jazz Mixer.

* Keyboardist Jim Hegarty has released Crossroad, a download-only session of freely improvised music recorded last month in Brooklyn, NYC with famed bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Shane Del Robles.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxquest will celebrate the grand opening of their new second location in Maryland Heights from noon to 4:00 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, August 12).

The free event will include guided tours of the new facility, free food, giveaways and door prizes, and live music from the Pyle Driver Saxophone Quartet, Renegade Saxophone Quartet, and Al Holliday and The East Side Rhythm Band. The original Saxquest store on Cherokee St. will close for the day so all staff members can help out with the grand opening.

* Trumpeter and Ferguson native Keyon Harrold (pictured) this week released two new songs commemorating the anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown three years ago in his hometown. You can hear �MB Lament� and �When Will It Stop� and see the accompanying videos via this YouTube playlist.

* Thurman's in Shaw was the subject of a short article on the website NearSay.com, highlighting the bar's weekly Thursday night jazz gigs featuring pianist Adam Maness' trio.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and his wife, singer Jean Baylor will bring their group The Baylor Project to NYC's Jazz Standard for the first time on Sunday, August 20 in support of their album The Journey. Along with the Baylors, the Project includes trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, tenor saxophonist Keith Loftis, pianist Terry Brewer, and bassist Corcoran Holt.

* Singer and former St. Louisan Marcella Hooks, now living in California, was the subject of a feature story in the Solano Daily Republic newspaper.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Maysa (pictured), who will perform as part of the Gateway Jazz Festival on Saturday at Chesterfield Amphitheater, was interviewed about her new album by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Miss Jubilee was profiled for St. Louis magazine by Thomas Crone.

* Drummer Kevin Bowers has posted to Facebook a photo album from his recent performance at Missouri Botanical Garden.

* Electronic musician Walter Whitney's latest project is the subject of a short feature story from the Riverfront Times' Christian Schaeffer.

* Saxquest has announced that they're adding some new services in conjunction with the grand opening on Saturday, August 12 of their new Maryland Heights location at 2614 Metro Blvd, near the I-270/Dorsett Rd interchange.

The new Saxquest Woodwind Teaching Institute will offer lessons for players of all ages and levels, from beginner to advanced, at both the west and Cherokee St locations.

The retailer also is beginning a new rental program this fall, for the first time offering rentals on clarinets and saxophones, including their own Saxquest brand instruments.

Lastly, the store will present the second annual Saxquest Expo on Saturday, November 11, at the Sheraton Westport Chalet in Westport Plaza, featuring representatives from major manufacturers showcasing instruments, mouthpieces, and accessories for all woodwind instruments.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer Montez Coleman (pictured) was interviewed by St. Louis magazine's Erin Williams in advance of his performances tonight and Saturday night at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Saxophonist Karl Denson talked with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson for a brief feature story. Denson and his band Tiny Universe perform tonight at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Emanuel Harrold, who's been part of singer Gregory Porter's band for the past few years, is set to release his first recording as a leader this fall, and is getting advance promotion from TheUrbanMusicScene.com and Afropunk.com for his song "Luv Hurt" and from SoulTracks.com for "Special Time."

* The website Sound of StL has a review with photos of The People's Key's recent performance at The Stage at KDHX.

* Euclid Records is looking to hire a "tech savvy music fan" who is "familiar with the workings of Excel, web design, E-Commerce as well as eBay, Amazon and Discogs." They're accepting resumes dropped off at the store or by email at store@euclidrecords.com.

* Pianist Peter Martin has a new post up at Medium.com, advising aspiring keyboard players on "The One Scale You Should Be Practicing Every Day."

* Trumpeter and Webster Groves native Ally Hany, who recently completed a master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music, announced in a post on Facebook that she's joining the Air Force Band of the Golden West. After completing basic training, Hany will be stationed at Travis Air Force Base in the San Francisco Bay area.

* The musical instrument and accessories manufacturer D'Addario has announced a free support program for instrumental music teachers called the D�Addario Education Collective, offering discounts on products, access to educational resources, and more. You can get details and sign up here.