As I was flying to New York recently to see St. Louis philanthropists, Thelma and David Steward, receive the Ed Bradley Award For Leadership for their generous support of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s programming and educational initiatives, of course I was singing, “New York, New York.”

Oh what a night it was at Lincoln Center. The stars were all there and sang in Rose Hall. Among them were Harry Connick Jr., Renee Fleming, Diana Krall, Alison Krauss, and Wynton Marsalis. In my head the lyrics to the song started popping again, “Start spreading the news.” That’s when I realized I wanted to spread the news to St. Louisans and let them know what’s going on here when it comes to local jazz. 

Truth be told, I’ve seen all the stars I just mentioned up close and personal right here in our great jazzy town. According to Gene Dobbs Bradford, executive director of Jazz St. Louis, our city is known nationwide as the center for jazz, dating back to Gaslight Square in the 1950s and ’60s to now, with the Harold & Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz in Grand Center, named for David Steward’s parents. Along with bringing in some of the biggest names in jazz worldwide to the Ferring Jazz Bistro, the Steward Center also houses the Centene Jazz Education Center, Nancy’s Jazz Lounge and the Jazz St. Louis headquarters.

Philip Dunlap, director of education at Jazz St. Louis, heads up “Jazz U” and the “Jazz St. Louis All Stars,” which is teaching the next generation of aspiring jazz musicians. There’s even a jazz program called the “We Bops” for grade schoolers.

Bob Bennett, artistic director of Jazz St. Louis, promises that the 2017-18 season with be filled with incredible “stand outs” such as Joshua Redman and Pancho Sanchez. Bennett also believes that Jazz St Louis’ programs rival any jazz program in the world. (To check out all the artists coming next season and learn more, go to jazzstl.org.)  

But that’s not all. Paul Reuter, executive director of the Sheldon, says its upcoming jazz series will feature artists such as South African trumpet legend Hugh Masekela as well as Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra from New Orleans (for a schedule, go to thesheldon.org). And Olivia Lahs-Gonzales, director of the Sheldon Art Galleries, reminded me of the many jazz -themed exhibitions that have been there, such as Dennis Owsley’s “City of Gabriels, the History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973,” “Ralston Crawford and Jazz” and a gallery-wide exhibition on Josephine Baker.

Also presented recently at University of Missouri-St. Louis was the annual St. Louis Jazz Festival, which under the tutelage of Jim Widner, brings top jazz artists to St. Louis for education, entertainment and appreciation. Founded by Widner, director of jazz studies at UMSL, the event kicked off as hundreds of jazz students from middle school to college converged on St. Louis. They attended clinics and performed on stage at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The students were able to interact with nationally acclaimed artists such as Terell Stafford and Wycliffe Gordon, and the audience was thrilled and inspired by the performances by the UMSL Student Jazz Ensemble as well as the jazz greats. 

Professor Gerald Early at Washington University is an American cultural critic and has written extensively about jazz. He was actually an advisor to filmmaker Ken Burns who wrote and directed a 10-part documentary series on jazz that first aired in 2001 on PBS. Early says, “When they study our civilization 2,000 years from now, there will only be three things that Americans will be known for: the Constitution, baseball and jazz music.”

So if you haven’t been out to hear jazz lately, put it on your list of things to do this summer. Every Wednesday night there is a free jazz crawl in Grand Center, which begins at 5 p.m. at KDHX (3524 Washington Ave.) and moves to the Kranzberg Art Center (501 N Grand Blvd.) at 7 p.m. for the Kranzberg Jazz Jam led by the great bassist Bob DeBoo. Then it’s onto either Mary Strauss’ Curtain Call next door to the Fox Theatre or the Dark Room at the newly remodeled Grandel Theatre (3610 Grandel Square). The Grandel also features jazz Wednesday through Saturday with a Jazz Brunch on Sundays.

So between all the jazz presenting venues in Grand Center and other places around town, one can hear jazz at least five nights a week. How many cities can say that?

For more of Nancy Kranzberg’s commentary, listen to KWMU (90.7) St. Louis on the Air the first Friday of each month at approximately 12:50 p.m. She also hosts a weekly Arts Interview podcast for KDHX (88.1), available at artsinterview.kdhxtra.org.