Kasimu-Tet (Kasimu Taylor, trumpet; Nathan Jatcko, piano; Ben Wheeler, bass; and Montez Coleman, drums) performs at the Dark Room.
St. Louis is, and has always been, a music city. But it's not always easy being a professional musician in a mid-sized town. Things just got a bit easier, though: the Kranzberg Arts Foundation has announced a new Music Artist-in-Residence program. In addition to offering performance spaces throughout Grand Center, including at The Grandel and The Dark Room, it offers office and rehearsal spots; marketing support; industry access; and opportunities to record. KAF has formally partnered with two other local arts orgs, Listen Live Entertainment, which produces LouFest, and Clayton Studios, founded by jazz musician and jazz fest organizer Michael Silverman.
"For the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, the pillar of our mission is infrastructure for the arts," says KAF Executive Director Chris Hansen. "And local musicians need infrastructure in a different way than a dance company or a visual artist." Supplying those resources, he adds, is something KAF has been doing informally for a while, but only recently did they feel like they had all the elements in place to offer a structured, formalized residency to bandleaders and talented musicians ready to take the next step in their career.
"We needed to insure it was something that was going to be meaningful, and have some lasting outcomes for local musicians in the residency program," he says. "When you couple performance opportunities with recording opportunities, rehearsal space, industry access, marketing support, and you do that for artists that are really ready to receive those opportunities, it’s a way to catapult their careers and start to create new revenue streams and start to put themselves on a new trajectory or an advanced trajectory."
Hansen adds that there is not a set period for the first batch of residents, since the goal is to "nurture these artists and get them to a point where they don’t need us as much, where they’re out there doing their thing, and making it happen," though KAF does have concrete goals that will happen in the first year, including the release of a compilation album featuring all of the musicians. Hansen says residents' set performance nights at KAF venues may end after a year, or shift and change depending how things evolve. But eventually, there will be a formal application process, and new groups of residents. Which, he says, will help more professional musicians remain here.
"We are putting in place the type of industry, and the type of resources, that you need to grow your career, raise your family, and put yourself in the best position to be successful here in St. Louis," Hansen says. "We're protecting these art forms, and we're ensuring these musicians have long-term trajectories...we think that’s important, to have a career in the arts in St. Louis without having to move without having to sign a major record deal, or do any of that. You can still be a professional and make a good living and raise your family here."
The first class of musicians includes:
Bob DeBoo: The jazz bassist grew up in Texas, studied at the University of North Texas in Denton, then did grad work at the New School in New York. In St. Louis, he's played with drummer Motez Coleman, the legendary saxophone player Willie Akins, Dave Stone, and Adam Maness, among others.
Mo Egeston: The hyper-versatile Maurice "Mo" Egeston is a pianist, bandleader, and educator; he studied chamber music at SIU-E, and his current projects include the Mo E All-Stars and the Mo E Trio. He was also a member STL indie bands Vargas (Swing), Urban Jazz Naturals, mo & dawn, and Bros. Lazaroff.
Jesse Gannon: He plays out as Jesse Gannon and The Truth (AKA jessegannontruth). A songwriter, pianist, and singer, Gannon is a genre-mixer and an improviser, infusing elements of "soul, broken-beat, and post-bop grooves with a sophisticated harmonic palette...and unforgettably lyrical melodies" into his performances.
Anita Jackson: Jackson, a St. Louis native, returned home after living in New York City for more than a decade. She’s both a vocalist and an actor, and has performed all over the world. In St. Louis, she’s appeared in several Black Rep productions, at the Tennessee Williams Festival, and has sung at Jazz at the Bistro, BB’s, and Sheldon Concert Hall.
Ben Reece: Reece's musical resume is varied; he's one of the founders of the Funky Butt Brass Band, and played in The Feed. Because of his saxophone chops, he often moonlights with other projects, including the Phil Dunlap Quintet, the Jazz St. Louis Big Band, and the Saxquest Jazz Orchestra. He's also the leader of the Ben Reece Unity Quartet, which plays The Dark Room at The Grandel on Thursdays.
Owen Ragland: Still in his teens, Ragland has collaborated with local music collaborative FarFetched; like a lot of young musicians (including several affiliated with FarFetched) Ragland's work weaves together multiple genres. Check out Thomas Crone's conversation with him here.
Tonina Saputo: This classically trained singer/songwriter/bassist/writer now calls St. Louis home. She studied bass with musicians from the St. Louis Symphony as a child, and went on to study at the Berklee School of Music. This January, she opened for Lalah Hathaway, and next month heads to the Catania Jazz Festival in Sicily.
Kasimu Taylor: This young trumpeter and bandleader, like Clark Terry and Miles Davis, comes out of St. Louis' tradition as a "City of Gabriels." He's a frequent reformer in Grand Center; you can catch him Wednesdays during Grand Center's regular jazz crawl.
Ptah Williams: The pianist is one of St. Louis' legendary old guard, who's toured internationally and shared the stage with Freddie Hubbard, George Benson, James Moody among others. His current trio features bassist Darrell Mixon and drummer Gary Sykes. He's also doing national tours of his show The Gershwin Connection, his tribute to that iconic jazz composer.
