^I think this is an AWESOME project! Another great project for the emerging Grand Center Arts & Entertainment district. Plus, St. Louis is making a statement with this jazz center as well as reclaiming some of its jazz roots.
Jazz at the Bistro closing, reopening as $10 million jazz center
3 hours ago • By Kevin C. Johnson
Jazz at the Bistro closes its doors later this month but will reopen in October as an all new state-of-the art venue and center for jazz.
The newly-christened Ferring Jazz Bistro will kick off with an October show from jazz legend Wynton Marsalis.
The Harold and Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz will be home to both the Ferring Jazz Bistro and the Centene Jazz Education Center. A jazz lounge and the headquarters of Jazz St. Louis are also part of the center.
The space expands next door into the former Greenberg Van Doren Gallery Building.
Mayor Francis Slay said “St. Louis has enjoyed jazz for over a century. The expansion will improve upon that legacy for many years.”
Slay called it big news for Grand Center, for St. Louis and for the jazz world.
The $10 million capital campaign includes leadership gifts from David & Thelma Steward, John & Alison Ferring, Centene Corporation, Ken & Nancy Kranzberg, Emerson, and the Jazz St. Louis board of directors, totaling in excess of $5.8 million.
The remaining $4 million will be raised during the public phase of the capital campaign.
The Ferring Jazz Bistro will be totally redesigned, and its capacity will jump from 150 to 220. The new capacity will be particularly helpful on weekends, when bookings typically sell out.
Construction has already begun in the new space next door.
The new concert venue portion of the jazz center will see the stage move to where the staircase is currently. The intimacy of the venue will be accentuated in a way in a way that more people will be closer to the stage with the new configuration.
The balcony will be opened up and suited for additional seating.
The space will be totally accessible for the first time.
A jazz lounge with a seating capacity for 75 features a video wall with live performances allowing people who may be unsure how they feel about jazz to “dip their feet into the pool, get a sample of what we do here,” says Bradford.
Performances will be both recorded and streamed for viewing worldwide.
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