Kenny Barron
There's some spirited competition for the jazz entertainment dollar in St. Louis this week, starting with veteran pianist Kenny Barron, who opens a four-night run at Jazz at the Bistro tonight. Though he's not especially flashy or known as a major innovator, Barron's technique, tone, taste and experience nevertheless put him in the top tier of contemporary straight-ahead jazz pianists. He's well-regarded not only for for his work as a leader, but also for his interpretations of the music of Thelonious Monk as a founding member of the group Sphere, and for his long career as a first-call sideman to the likes of Stan Getz, Ron Carter, Freddie Hubbard and many more. (You can see Barron's discography here, and read an interview with him from several years ago here.)
Over in Clayton, tonight is the first of two nights at Finale for Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project. I wrote about Samuels and band for the RFT when they appeared in late 2004 at the Bistro, and their basic approach is still the same, so see that story for more details.
And yet another celebration of Josephine Baker is in the works this week, this one to be held Friday night at the Edison Theater on the Washington University campus. "Le Jazz Hot" features vocalist Rene Marie and the woodwind quintet Imani Winds in a multi-media tribute of sorts to the St. Louis-born entertainer. Local audiences already know Marie from her work on the MAXJAZZ label and her previous St. Louis appearances at the Bistro, and Imani Winds have been critically acclaimed for their eclectic mix of classical, jazz and world music.
Turning to our local musicians, saxophonist Willie Akins closes out this semester's Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University with a free concert on Thursday night, and the Mad Jazz series at Soulard's Mad Art Gallery continues this month with Guitar Circus, a co-presentation with New Music Circle that will feature guitarists Dave Black, Dan Rubright, Liam Christy, Todd Mosby, Tom Byrne and Walker McClellan, backed by tuba player Jeff Hoard and percussionist Henry Claude.
Of course, there's lots more going on besides these highlights, so for a more complete listing of this week's gigs, see the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.
(If you are a musician, band, venue or presenter who would like to have your event listed in the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, please email your news release or information to stljazznotes at yahoo dot com.)
(Edited 4/27/06 to fix a typo.)
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