Jane Monheit
Very few harmonica players are taken seriously as jazz soloists - and when most people think "jazz harmonica," Jean "Toots" Theilemans is the guy who comes to mind. The Belgian harmonicist, guitarist and whistler is perhaps best known as the composer of the standard "Bluesette" and for playing on movie soundtracks for films such as Midnight Cowboy. But he's also an innovator and standard-setter on his instruments who's been a jazz mainstay for a half-century, performing and recording with the likes of George Shearing, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Bill Evans, Jaco Pastorius, Natalie Cole, Pat Metheny, Paul Simon, Billy Joel and many more.
Though he still does his share of guest shots and all-star sessions, Theilemans' most frequent gigging partner is pianist Kenny Werner, and this week, their group visits Jazz at the Bistro for a four-night stand. There's nobody else who does what Theilemans does, the way he does it, so if you dig it, this is the main chance to see him up close and personal.
Also visiting St. Louis this week is vocalist Jane Monheit, who's played the Bistro and the U.S. Bank St. Louis Jazz Festival and now comes to the Sheldon for a concert Saturday night. Monheit is undeniably talented, pleasing to the eye, and has a lot of fans, but I personally think she's been a bit over-hyped relative to other equally talented singers who may be older and/or less photogenic. However, from all reports, she's also a hard worker and a nice young woman who seems to genuinely want to entertain her audience, so it's hard to hold her good fortune against her. And anyway, if you're a Monheit fan, you're probably already there, anyway, right?
Though it's good to have touring jazz acts visiting St. Louis, tickets to the Bistro or the Sheldon can be on the pricey side, and so each week we try to point out some budget-friendly alternatives, too. Along those lines, Carolbeth True brings her considerable piano skills to the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University for a free concert Thursday night, and don't forget Sunday afternoon's free mini-performances at COCA by the avant-punk-jazz band Gutbucket.
There's more in the St. Louis Jazz Notes calendar, with some additional November updates coming online in the next 24 hours. And for future reference, if you're a band or musician who'd like to get your event on the calendar, and perhaps mentioned in the weekly highlights post, email the pertinent information to me at stljazznotes at yahoo dot com.
(edited 11/4/05 to fix typos)
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