In the next few weeks, saxophonist Steve Wilson will be firmly set in tribute mode. On December 10, he’ll join Jon Faddis and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble as a guest artist in the Windy City’s Harris Hall for a concert honoring the 50th anniversaries of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come. A day before that show, along with Faddis and fellow guest artist David Sánchez, Wilson will conduct a workshop at Columbia College of Chicago.A week after his Chicago gig, Wilson, recently nominated as “Alto Player of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association, will convene with his Steve Wilson Ensemble at Manhattan’s Jazz Standard for a four-night stand, during which the group will reprise last year’s one-off tribute to Joe Zawinul. From December 17-20, the saxman and his cohorts – Jeremy Pelt, Danny Grissett, Ugonna Okegwo and Lewis Nash – will showcase music from early Zawinul records The Rise and Fall of the Third Stream (1965) and Money In the Pocket (1966), along with a few hits from the late pianist’s days with Cannonball Adderley.

For more information, go to www.stevewilsonmusic.com and www.jazzstandard.net.

At the outset of 2008, Marco Benevento settled into Sullivan Hall, then a new Greenwich Village music venue, for a month-long residency. For five Thursday nights in January, the eclectic keyboardist invited a veritable who’s who of modern jazz and improvisational rock to play with him in various configurations.

Hauling his own baby-grand piano from his Brooklyn apartment to the Sullivan Hall stage for the shows, Benevento led his co-conspirators through two sets a night of daring improvisations. Whether it was the Bitches Brew-esque sonic explorations of his collaboration with Steven Bernstein, Bobby Previte and DJ Olive, the post-rock rumblings of his sets with Brad Barr and Joe Russo, or the keyboardist with his regular trio mates Reed Mathis and Andrew Barr celebrating the release of their debut disc, Invisible Baby, every session took on a life of its own.

Thankfully, director Karina Mackenzie captured all five nights on high-definition video along with multi-track recordings and artist interviews that are now available on a DVD release titled Marco Benevento & Friends: Live in NYC – The Sullivan Hall Residency. While Benevento’s name receives top billing, what the film documents is a family of fearless artists creating a rich tapestry of vital music.

In addition to the artists already mentioned, the DVD features appearances by Billy Martin, G. Calvin Weston, John Ellis, Marc Friedman, Skerik and Stanton Moore. Marco Benevento & Friends is available worldwide from The Royal Potato Family.

Starting today – Friday, November 20 – SIRIUS XM Radio will run five straight days of nothing but Miles Davis on SIRIUS channel 72 and XM channel 70. Dubbed Miles Davis Radio, the 24-hour commercial-free programming will be hosted by Davis’ son Erin Davis, his nephew drummer Vince Wilburn Jr. and jazz bassist Marcus Miller.

Naturally Davis’ landmark work will be showcased – everything from the trumpeter’s early collaborations with Charlie Parker to the great landmark albums: Kind of Blue, Birth of the Cool, Bitches Brew and so forth. In addition, listeners will hear composer and Davis’ former music director Robert Irving III premiere never-before-heard soundtrack music recorded by Davis for the 1986 film Wise Guys. Also scheduled for inclusion are special segments and interviews with former Davis band members and various guests, including drummer Jimmy Cobb, pianist Herbie Hancock, guitarist John Scofield, pianist Monty Alexander, record executives Bruce Lundvall and Clive Davis, Quincy Jones, Davis’ longtime road manager Gordon Meltzer, bassist Ron Carter, guitarist Carlos Santana and Rolling Stones bassist Darryl “Munch” Jones. Excerpts from the 1989 60 Minutes interview with the late Harry Reasoner will be aired as well, along with musician/broadcaster Ben Sidran’s 1989 conversation with Davis, conducted on the beach at Davis’ Malibu home.

Miles Davis Radio will run until Wednesday, November 25. For more information, go to www.sirius.com or www.xmradio.com.

A number of jazz documentaries, collectively labeled the Masters of American Music series, were originally broadcast in the 1980s. Until now, they were only available to the public in VHS format. Recently four of those documentaries were remastered and released as DVDs by Naxos of American, in conjunction with Medici Arts. Here are the titles: The Story of Jazz; Thelonious Monk: American Composer; Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday and Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker.

The Masters of American Music series was the first historical documentary series produced about jazz. Dispensing with critics and historians, the series featured dozens of interviews with musicians in addition to a wealth of vintage photographs and video footage. A second set documentaries from the series, due in early 2010, will profile John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan and Count Basie.

Pictured above: Thelonious Monk