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

* Saxophonist Kendrick Smith was interviewed by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson, talking about this Saturday's jazz fundraiser show at the Grandel Theatre's "Open Air" tent. There's also a short video accompanying the article.

* Also from Kevin Johnson in the Post, pianist and singer John McDaniel talks up his return engagement tomorrow night at Blue Strawberry.

* Stories, the forthcoming album from bassist Tom Kennedy (pictured), is previewed in an article in Bass magazine. The album is set for release by Autumn Hill Records on Friday, May 21.

* The Sheldon Art Galleries will open a new exhibit of musical instruments created by local students on Friday, April 30 in the AT&T Children's Gallery.

* An interview with drummer Dave Weckl by Daniel Durchholz in the Post-Dispatch discusses Weckl's new live album, his recent move back to the St. Louis area, and more.

Esperenza Spalding

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* The life and tragic death of Lee Morgan: “He was a young man, already older than his years, thrilled with his talent and the wonders of the world around him” (Jazzwise)
* Islands in the Stream (American Prospect)
* 10 tracks by Herbie Hancock I can’t do without… by Jon Opstad (London Jazz News)
* Brian Bromberg Continues his Journey into the Eclectic (Jazz Times)
* Quincy Jones On Bebop, Jazz And His Streaming Venture, Qwest TV (Forbes)
* 2021 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert to Take Place Virtually April 22, 2021 (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Marion Brown's Musical Portrait of Georgia (The Bitter Southerner)
* 'Our music was born in hard times': How Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra keeps playing (Asbury Park Press)
* On "Let Me Tell You 'Bout It," JD Allen Discusses His New Creative Zeal, and a Solo Sax Album on the Horizon (WBGO)
* Morris 'B.B.' Dickerson, Founding Member of War, Dies at 71 (Billboard)
* From History to Biographies, Here Are the Best Books About Jazz (Billboard)
* Listening for baselines beyond anthropophony: An interview with Bernie Krause by D. Ferrett (AllAroundSound-Bloomsbury.com)
* Healing, grace and enlightenment: How Pharoah Sanders and Floating Points made a spiritual album for the dark ages (The Independent)
* Exit/In: Inside the Last-Ditch Effort to Save Nashville’s Legendary Music Club (Rolling Stone)
* How Tangerine Dream conquered the UK charts in the 70s (LouderSound.com)
* Warren Wolf: A Before & After Listening Session (Jazz Times)
* World-Class Trombonist Andre Hayward's Spiritual Journey (Austin Chronicle)
* Play It Forward: Angel Bat Dawid Knows How To Deliver Emotion Through Song (NPR)
* 2021 NEA JAZZ MASTERS: A Q&A with music director Miguel ZenÓn (SFJAZZ.org)
* Pino Palladino, pop's greatest bassist: 'I felt like a performing monkey!' (The Guardian)
* Meet the Man Recreating Ancient Musical Instruments Lost to Time (AtlasObscura.com)
* Inside the Dirty Business of Hit Songwriting (Variety)
* Flipping Alone: An Oral History of Record Stores During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Consequence of Sound)
* Esperanza Spalding’s New Songwrights Apothecary Lab Is the Music Therapy We Need Now (Vogue)
* The Treatment - Terence Blanchard: ‘Da 5 Bloods’
* ‘It has never been more pertinent’ – Margaret Atwood on the chilling genius of Laurie Anderson’s Big Science (The Guardian)
* Merry Clayton Bares Her 'Beautiful Scars' (NPR)
* The Film That Jazz Deserves (The New Yorker)
* 36 of America’s Best Independent Music Venues on Surviving and What’s Next (Pitchfork.com)
* Trevor Dunn: “It’s in my personality to sit back and groove with the drummer – I took to bass immediately“ (Guitar World)
* Live Music Should Be More Accessible For Disabled Fans (Vice.com)

When live shows shut down last March due to the pandemic, a performance by the New Orleans band Galactic scheduled at Delmar Hall was one of the first concerts to get canceled here in St. Louis. So perhaps it's fitting that they're one of the first bands to return here for a gig as restrictions are loosened and some venues are able to reopen.

In anticipation of that show on Sunday, May 16 at The Big Top, here's a grab-bag of (relatively) recent videos featuring Galactic and their current lead singer, Anjelika "Jelly" Joseph, starting up above with a full set of music recorded on New Year's Eve 2019 at the band's home venue, Tipitina's, which they've owned since the fall of 2018.

After the jump, you can see a version of "Walking On The Moon" recorded last fall at Tipitina's to benefit Georgia Comes Alive, a virtual festival to get out the vote in the Georgia Senate runoff elections.

That's followed by the music video for another single recorded during the pandemic, titled "Something’s Wrong With This Picture" and featuring Joseph and Ivan Neville.

The fourth video shows the band and Joseph performing "Heart of Steel" and "Hey Na Na" in September 2019 at Tipitina's.

The final two videos, both from May 2019, documents a Jazz Fest set at Tipitina's and an in-store performance at the Louisiana Music Factory.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

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."

In a welcome sign of touring bands resuming activity post-COVID, the New Orleans funk/jazz group Galactic has booked a show here in St. Louis at 7:00 p.m. Sunday, May 16 at The Big Top.

(If the name of the venue doesn't ring a bell, The Big Top is the tent used by Circus Flora, now installed semi-permanently as a multi-purpose venue at 3401 Washington Ave. in the Grand Center neighborhood.)

Regular visitors to St. Louis before the live music shutdown, Galactic (pictured) had been scheduled to play here most recently in March 2020 at Delmar Hall, but that show was among the first to be scuttled when the pandemic-related shutdowns began.

The group also has been in the news at various times over the past year for their ownership of Tipitina's, the famed New Orleans club that, like all live music venues, has been challenged to stay financially viable while being unable to present live performances.

Tickets for Galactic at the Big Top will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Friday, April 9 via Metrotix, though prices still are TBA as of this writing.