RAVEN WOLF C. FELTON JENNINGS II

RAVEN WOLF C. FELTON JENNINGS II, Healing Sound Recording Artist on the Pug Dog Records label

He shares the Healing Sounds of Peace, Joy and Love via his gifts of 'Drum Spiriting' and ..."Spiritual Jazz ...in the St. Louis Tradition" ...'Love is the Gift!'

...His Debut CD 'Spiritual Jazz ...on South 9th Street' released on November 11th, 2011 ...is Available for Purchase at http://www.pugdogrecords.com

RAVEN WOLF C. FELTON JENNINGS II, multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, orchestral flute, native style wooden flutes, djembe, electric bass, piano), singer/songwriter, music producer and private music instructor has created a musical sound/art form he calls 'Spiritual Jazz ...in the St. Louis Tradition'.

RAVEN WOLF shares his 'Magical Mystical Meditation Concerts' and his 'Healing Drum-Spiriting Concerts' throughout the Heartland bringing forth peace, beauty, mellow grooves and goodwill - truly music for all ages.

The RAVEN WOLF experience is a spiritual event -- from the stage-set design, which expresses the diversity of musical implements, to the aromatherapy of burning incense. His clothing is likened to a uniform of respect for his spiritual gift -- a gift that he openly, honestly and happily shares. You'll witness RAVEN WOLF stepping side to side in perfect rhythm -- his mind's eye sharing a musical riff. In a spiritual jazz improvisation he builds and layers these riffs -- sometimes in a frenzy or a frantic boogie, or sometimes to the whisper of bliss. Every musical phrase has its own nuance. RAVEN WOLF's music dispels darkness and negativity, for they cannot exist where joy and hope prosper and grow. The emotionally and spiritually worn will find rest and vigor to face each day. My brother in spirit, a true shaman bathed in charisma, is articulate, educated and approachable. Expect the need for more than just several meditative rides through his spiritual mind's eye on this CD. ~ Blu - Jae

Here in Saint Louis, a town with high expectations from its Blues Men, RAVEN WOLF stands as a master of soul and spirit. His brand of magical mystical blues and jazz is earthy, visceral, emotional. He whispers his soul into the saxophone and the music that flows out is alluring and tantalizing, like an ache deep inside your mind. He can make your heart cry with longing or lead you playfully into the coolest of cool jazz. His unique interpretation of the Native American flute is an experience not to be missed. RAVEN WOLF doesn't just play music, he takes you on a journey through many lands and cultures, introduces you to many styles and genres. His performances are adventures into the sacred and the sensual, where delights abound and the only thing you have to do is relax and enjoy. Come journey with him. ~ Connie Bollinger


RAVEN WOLF has performed in the play "EYE ON THE SPARROW: The World Within St. Louis" ...RAVEN WOLF portrays 'himself' in this amazing play written by Lee Paton Chiles ...bringing to the stage his 'Magical Mystical Meditation Concert'

...Press Related:

RAVEN WOLF in Hollywood, CA ...with three Concert performances with the Deli Llama Orchestra ...as they promoted their 'Soul Food' CD
...they will return to Hollywood, CA in March 2011

He’s a familiar sight to many and a friend to more than a few. On the east side of Soulard Market, every Saturday morning since June of 2009, RAVEN WOLF C. FELTON JENNINGS II has taken over a tiny portion of our city and has improved it, ever so subtly. Although he’s often seen and heard playing the tenor sax, he also brings with him a wide assortment of reeds and a djembe. In addition to the instruments, there’s a painting of himself, some posted laminated press clips, and various small totems. All of this he packs up at the end of a set, in an ingenious, collapsible, roll-away wagon.

It’s from this modest space where he performs to a wide audience, in the heat and the cold, essentially to anyone who passes outside of the Market, a polyglot group that reflect every ethnicity and age group in our region. Quite a few stop and talk, so his sets are broken up at almost any time, as someone drops a dollar bill into his tall tip bucket, or simply comes up to talk to him. While he does display the $25 annual permit required of any musical street performer in the City, he insists that what you’re hearing and seeing isn’t necessarily what you think.

“This is a Magical, Mystical, Meditative Concert,” he says, “not to be confused with busking.”

The music he plays is “Spiritual Jazz ...in the St. Louis Tradition,” and on the latter point, he feels that he’s a part of a still-evolving sound that’s endemic to this place. There’s also the spiritual context, obviously, and the CD he released just last week reflects that directly in the title: Spiritual Jazz... On South 9th Street.

The album runs 19 tracks and he feels that the work will surprise people who catch him in the Soulard context, as “they hear me play one instrument at a time. With the CD, now they’ll hear what I hear, this whole orchestra that I hear in my mind.”

On the disc, released on his own Pug Dog Records, the Rock Hill-based musician plays 11 instruments, including voice. There’s piano, chimes, and reeds, of course. At times it’s layered, at times sparse. He says that it’s a concept album, no doubt about it, with each song to be perceived as a “bread crumb that takes you on my spiritual journey.” Conversely, he also wants anyone who picks up an album to take a trip of their own, as “I want to take them to a place that they haven’t been in a while.”

This idea was sketched out to a young couple passing by on Saturday, not long after noon. The sky was overcast and the air was crisp. Though clad in his everyday wear of a dark suit and crisp hat, he also sported a long, leather coat and some ear warmers, better to fend off the pre-winter chill. As the couple stopped and spoke to him, they decided to go ahead and by a CD, which he explained, peaks in some respects on track 12, “i am You,” which, he says, sums up his feeling that all of us reflect or mirror one another and that we can take a piece of one another with us even in quick exchanges.

Maybe that conversation was a bit prophetic, because a few minutes later, a gent walked up to his de facto stage on 9th Street and dropped a $5 bill into the tip well. He asked RAVEN WOLF to play “Happy Birthday” for his mother, who stood just a few paces away. Deadpanning, the performer said that he couldn’t, which caused his new patron to pause, a funny expression quickly forming on his face. “I’m just kidding,” RAVEN WOLF reassured him. “And you didn’t have to say ‘please.’” And with that, for the next few minutes, RAVEN WOLF played his sax, drawing out the traditional melodies of “Happy Birthday” into something special and unique, something unrecorded and played only once, at this exact time and space.

By the end of the song, a small crowd had formed, maybe eight people, augmenting the family who’d stopped to hear a request. They applauded, and the man in the middle of it all tipped his cap, in his trademark style. What happened next, though, took the moment into an interesting new realm.

As the family walked away, RAVEN WOLF grabbed a CD and took a long step towards them. Handing over the CD to the surprised matriarch, he said, “This is a $20 value, so happy birthday, mom!” It was an interesting way of putting it, for sure, as he’d just suggested to the son that he buy his mom the disc. But this was a spontaneous, follow-up gesture, meant, obviously, as a gift. As mom began to dig in her pocket, RAVEN WOLF pushed his hands out, as if doing some tai chi, inflecting his voice with another “happy birthday.” She continued to look for a bill in her clothing, and this time, RAVEN WOLF exaggerated the motion again, pushing both hands outward, now open-faced, clearly indicating that the gift was on him and she should just accept, which was punctuated by his saying, with great relish, “Haaaaapy biiiiiirthday...”

The scene happened in a flash. It was so quick, yet filled with comments said and unsaid, multiple exchanges made along the way. Sometimes, you come across a moment like this and you have to chalk it up to luck. RAVEN WOLF, though, might suggest that something else might’ve been at play. Maybe when he blows that horn, interesting moments like this tend to happen just a bit more often.


Multi-instrumentalist Raven Wolf C. Felton Jennings II is another Ninth Street regular. He can be found playing outside Lakota Coffee every Friday. Jennings is a full-time musician who commutes from St. Louis to Columbia Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to perform.

Jennings says he started playing the streets of St. Louis after noticing a large disparity between the money he made playing corporate functions and what he was being offered to play clubs.

“I thought, ‘I could make more money playing on the street,’” Jennings says. This realization marked the beginning of a career as a professional musician, supported partly by playing anywhere from seven to 17 hours a day outside, sometimes in different parts of the state on the same day.

After gaining recognition across Missouri and releasing two records on his own label, Pug Dog Records, Jennings continues to play outdoors to reach people with his unique sound, which he calls spiritual jazz. “The reason I play on the street now is to heal hearts and heal the world a heart at a time,” Jennings says. “It’s an opportunity for me to play for anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 people a day. You don’t get that at a club.”

Columbia resident Jennifer Highbarger often stops to listen to street performers while she’s walking downtown. “I like my kids to go and see it, and I think it’s cool that (my kids) want to go,” she says. Highbarger says she admires the courage it takes for musicians to perform in public.

Website and YouTube Channel links below:

http://www.pugdogrecords.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/RavenWolfCFelton2012