Vocalist Al Jarreau (pictured) will headline Jazz St. Louis' 2007 benefit gala on Friday, March 23 at the Hilton at the Ballpark. Ticket prices have not yet been announced, but given that this is one of JSL's major fundraising events of the year, ducats are likely to be quite expensive. No word yet as to whether there will be a "concert-only" ticket offered.Jarreau has received significant media attention in recent months, thanks to the sales success of Givin' It Up, his duet album with guitarist/singer George Benson. Along with his previous release Accentuate The Positive, the CD offers what many critics and longtime fans consider a welcome return to a musical approach that gives significantly more weight to Jarreau's jazz roots than to the commercial R&B sound he's employed with varying results since the mid-1980s.
(To help refresh your memory of the more improvisational Jarreau, take a look at the video clip at the bottom of this post. It's a performance of "Spain," the Chick Corea song recorded by Jarreau during his early period of national success that became one of his concert staples for many years. This version features a all-star band including guitarist Buzzy Feiten, Philippe Saisse on keyboards, Freddy Washington on bass, Joe Sample on keyboards, Steve Gadd on drums and percussionist Lenny Castro.)
In other JSL news, they've added additional bookings at Jazz at the Bistro for winter/spring 2007, filling in all but one of the weekends that had been listed as "TBA" when the bulk of the Bistro season was announced back in May.
The performers who have been added to the schedule are singer Anita Rosamond (January 12 and 13); drummer Montez Coleman (January 26 and 27); saxophonist (and noted jazz educator) Ron Carter apperaing with OGD, the organ trio led by keyboardist Reggie Thomas (February 23 and 27); and the Bosman Twins (April 6 and 7).
In addition, the Bistro has scheduled yet another weekend of performances by singer Erin Bode - her third during the 2006-07 season, in case you're keeping track - on May 4 and 5, as well as a weekend devoted to the the THF Realty All-Star Student Ensembles (April 20 and 21) and one for the annual Jazz St. Louis open house, which will be held on May 18 and 19. The weekend of February 9 and 10 remains TBA.
To inject a bit of commentary here, while Bode is good at what she does, and presumably a reliable audience draw as well, booking her three times in one season seems like going back to the same well a bit too often. After all, there are other St. Louis jazz artists who are arguably deserving of a weekend gig at the Bistro who haven't been tapped multiple times in recent years.
For example, several of the musician/educators associated with Webster University, such as Carolbeth True, Kim Portnoy and Paul DeMarinis, have played the room years ago but seem to have been shut out recently. A number of other St. Louis players and groups with significant followings, skills, and/or achievements, such as saxophonist Dave Stone, trombonist Lamar Harris, the Downtown Trio, pianist Ptah Williams and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman have, to my knowledge, never been booked to play the Bistro. (Williams may have performed there backing someone else, but I don't think he's ever been the leader on a Bistro show.)
And given that longtime St. Louis favorite.Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum now has a recording contract with national/international distribution, it 'd be nice for him to be heard at least once in the Bistro's "listening room" atmosphere, too. If JSL really wants to develop new attractions and to encourage and promote a diversity of jazz in St. Louis, getting more and different local musicians into the booking mix at the Bistro would seem to be both appropriate and necessary.
(Edited after posting.)
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