“It’s incredible that a place like this exists, not just in St. Louis, but anywhere.”
-David Sanborn

Thanks to our sponsors, the David Sanborn Concert Event was a great success.  With their help in filling 24 tables—and with both nights sold out—we were able to raise over $30,000 that will go directly to our education and outreach programs, bringing more jazz to more students.  We could not have asked for a better start to our 15^th Anniversary Season. Thank you!

Furthermore, it was especially significant for us to welcome back a hometown musician; and all who participated in the event have directly underwritten Jazz St. Louis’ aim to educate and develop the next David Sanborn or Miles Davis.  Again, we thank all of you for helping us realize our mission to lead our community in advancing the uniquely American art of jazz through live performance, education, and outreach.

Sanborn In The Press

While in town, David Sanborn sat down with Art Holliday of Channel 5 News to talk about his performance at the Bistro.  He was also featured in a segment on KPLR 11 News with Dan Gray.

Additionally, Calvin Wilson of stltoday.com and Terry Perkins of JazzTimes.com have both reviewed the show at the Bistro. Check out their reviews here.

Debra Hollingsworth of AT&T, her husband Mark Stacye and Gene Dobbs Bradford with David Sanborn

Concert Event Sponsored By

Additional Sponsors:

Ameren

Jim and Cathy Berges

Dan Bishop and his son, Matthew

Centene Corporation

Cervantes & Associates

Jim Clanahan

Brad Currey and Julie Farrar

Sharon and Dale Fiehler

Flooring Systems, Inc.

Garden View Care Centers

Susan and Warren Gelman

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C.

Higley Law Group LLC

Michael Lazaroff of Jazz Cruises, producers of The Jazz Cruise and The Smooth Jazz Cruise

Moneta Group LLC

Senior Scripts

True Manufacturing

John and Cindy Wallach

Barbara and David Ware

Highlights of the lineup include the piano duo of Kenny Barron and Mulgrew Miller, Joshua Redman’s return with an acoustic trio, a duo show with bass legend Stanley Clarke and Japanese pianist Hiromi, and the return of the Ray Brown Tribute Band with Christian McBride, Benny Green and Gregory Hutchinson.

We are working to reschedule the performance and look forward to presenting this legendary group in St. Louis in the near future.

On Friday, February 11, 2011, Jazz St. Louis will present the incredible Al Jarreau at the Touhill.  Tickets for this engagement are priced at $150 (Gold-Circle w/post concert reception which Mr. Jarreau will attend), $50 and $40.

Tickets for the show go on sale Monday, August 9, 2010 at 10 a.m. via the Touhill’s Ticket Office at 314.516.4949 or online at www.touhill.org.

Because this show is being presented at a venue with their own ticketing system, tickets WILL NOT be available through the Jazz St. Louis box office or any Metrotix location.

Bass: Sam Fruend – Webster Groves High School
Drums: Joe Winstein-Hibbs – Webster Groves High School
Piano: Eliot Courtois – Lindbergh High School
Guitar: Joseph Clayton Floyd – Belleville East High School
Alto Saxophone: Matthew Baldwin – Westminster Christian Academy
Tenor Saxophone: Michael Ferrante – Ft Zumwalt West High School
Trombone: William Wolff – Belleville East High School

This year’s group will be led by saxophonist Jason Swagler and pianist Reggie Thomas.

Congratulations to all of these talented students.  Full bios and pictures of each student and faculty member will be available soon.

Auditions for the JazzU and Jazz St. Louis All-Star programs were conducted at the beginning of June and we saw more than a 60% increase in the number of students that auditioned in comparison to last year.  Faculty for the JazzU program include Anthony Wiggins (trumpet), Cody Henry (trombone), Aaron Lehde (saxophone), Andy Ament (saxophone) and myself, Phil Dunlap (piano).  Bios for the JazzU faculty can be found here. This year’s Jazz St. Louis All-Star group will be led by the great Jason Swagler (saxophone) who is a new addition to the Jazz St. Louis faculty.

A great new feature to the above programs is the addition of two permanent Artists in Residence.  We have always had our Residency program, but those artists are only in one week a year to work with our students.  This new addition takes advantage of the professional jazz artists that call St. Louis home, making them regular fixtures with specific groups in the JazzU and All-Star programs.  This year we add pianists Reginald Thomas (who will be Artist in Residence with the All-Stars) and Peter Martin (who will be Artist in Residence with the top group in our JazzU program).  These two phenominal artists will work directly with our students on a monthly basis.

The Jazz St. Louis Artist Residency program will bring four great artists into the St. Louis community for an entire week.  These artists include Dr. Gene Aitken, saxophonist Ronald Carter, and the great Cyrus Chestnut with special guest, Jon Faddis.

In November, Jazz St. Louis will be presenting a series of concerts at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center geared towards students of all ages.  The 2010 Youth Concerts feature JazzReach with Metta Quintet and include Stolen Moments:  The First One Hundred Years of Jazz (grades 6-12), Big Drum/Small World for KIDS! (grades 3-5) and Hangin’ with the Giants (grades k-4).  These great performances feature narration and an interactive media presentation along with music by Metta Quintet.  They are definitely not to be missed.

Of course, the venerable Emerson Jazz in the Schools program will continue to bring the world class artists that grace the Jazz at the Bistro stage out into schools and we will continue our partnerships with Normandy and East St. Louis High Schools through our Adopt-a-School program.

The newest addition to Jazz St. Louis’ education programs is Jazz from the Inside.  This program brings together students from St. Louis and all around the country using video conferencing technology and a fiber optic education network called Internet2.  We will be doing a number of Jazz from the Inside programs throughout the year….but more on that story as it develops.

As you can see, there are a lot of great things happening in education here at Jazz St. Louis and we are thrilled to be able to share them with students and teachers in the St. Louis area.  The greatest feature of our education programs is that they are all free.  Let me say that one more time.  They are all FREE.  We would not be able to keep these opportunities free without the generous support of so many corporations foundations and individuals such as yourself.

If you would like more information on our education programs or how to be involved, check out the education section of our website or give me a call, Phil Dunlap, at 314.289.4033.  Also, keep an eye out for our education brochure, which will be coming to a mailbox near you very soon.

Subscription Series

2010

Kenny Barron & Mulgrew Miller – September 22-25 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Joshua Redman – October 6-9 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Russell Malone Trio CD Release Party – October 20-23 | $25 Wed/Thur; $30 Fri/Sat

Regina Carter’s Reverse Thread – November 3-6 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Mike Stern Band featuring Dave Weckl, Tom Kennedy and Bob Malach – November 17-20 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Pat Martino Trio – December 1-4 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Jane Monheit – December 15-18 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

2011

The Bad Plus – January 5-8 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Charlie Hunter – January 19-22 | $25 Wed/Thur; $30 Fri/Sat

Stanley Clarke with Hiromi – February 2-5 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Ray Vega Latin Jazz Quintet – February 16-19 | $25 Wed/Thur; $30 Fri/Sat

Chris Potter Underground – March 2-5 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Christian McBride, Benny Green & Gregory Hutchinson – March 16-19 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Ann Hampton Callaway – March 30 – April 2 | $35 Wed/Thur; $40 Fri/Sat

The Yellowjackets – April 13-16 | $30 Wed/Thur; $35 Fri/Sat

Bill Charlap Trio – April 27-30 | $25 Wed/Thur; $30 Fri/Sat

Houston Person – May 11-14 | $25 Wed/Thur; $30 Fri/Sat

Sean Jones Quintet – May 25-28 | $25 Wed/Thur; $30 Fri/Sat

Special Events

David Sanborn – August 16-17, 2010 | $50 Mon/Tue

Special engagement to benefit Jazz St. Louis’ education & outreach programs.

Sponsored by AT&T

The Jazz Crusaders featuring Joe Sample, Wayne Henderson & Wilton Felder – September 18, 2010 | $100/$50/$35

*8:00 p.m. show at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

-Sponsored by World Wide Technology, Inc.

Jeremy Davenport – November 26-27, 2010 | $35 Fri/Sat

Al Jarreau – February 11, 2011 | $150/$50/$40

*8:00 p.m. show at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

-Sponsored by World Wide Technology, Inc.

All show times are at 8:30 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. unless otherwise noted.  On sale dates for David Sanborn, the Jazz Crusaders and Al Jarreau will be announced separately. Tickets for all other Jazz at the Bistro events go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at all Metrotix locations, via phone at 314.534.1111, online at www.metrotix.com or through the Jazz St. Louis box office at 314.289.4030. Student tickets are available for most shows.

Brian Owens – June 4-5 | $20 Fri/Sat

Denise Thimes – June 11-12 | $20 Fri/Sat

Tim Cunningham – June 18-19 | $15 Fri/Sat

Kim Massie – June 25-26 | $20 Fri/Sat

Erin Bode CD Release Party – July 1-3 | $20 Thu/Fri/Sat

Good 4 the Soul – July 9-10 | $20 Fri/Sat

Reggie Thomas Trio plays the music of Duke Ellington – July 16-17 | $20 Fri/Sat

Legacy Jazz Quintet plays the music of the Harlem Renaissance – July 23-24 | $15 Fri/Sat

Keyon Harrold Quartet CD Release Party – July 30-31 | $20 Fri/Sat

All show times at 8:30 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.  Tickets for all events go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 11, 2010 via all Metrotix locations or through the Jazz St. Louis box office at 314-289-4030.

Auditions for the 2010-2011  JazzU and the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars programs are Monday, June 7 and Monday, June 14, 2010 at Jazz at the Bistro. To be eligible to audition, you must be in middle or high school (grades 6-12) during the 2010-2011 school year. Acceptance into both programs is based on a live audition (students will be assigned an audition time once the required application materials have been submitted).  Applicants will be notified in July 2010 with weekly rehearsals beginning the following fall.

For All-Star audition information and application, click HERE.

For JazzU audition information and application, click HERE.

Over 400 people joined us for this incredible night of music and generosity, and in the end, Jazz St. Louis netted over $165,000 for its various education and outreach programs.  A big thank-you goes out to all who donated their time or money to making this event possible, especially Gala 2010 Chairs Richard and Kathie Winter, Corporate Chair Warner Baxter, Advisory Chair Joan Quicksilver, Development Chair Steve O’Loughlin and Board President Pam Trapp.  Also, thank you to Cordell Whitlock for being a wonderful emcee for the second year in a row and to Carlos Brown, Sr. for speaking on behalf of the JazzU program.  Let’s make Gala 2011 even better!

Check back soon for pictures from Extravajamza!