The fall music season is picking up some serious steam this week, with a number of noteworthy events competing for the time, attention and disposable income of St. Louis jazz fans.On Wednesday, members of Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau, other Ferguson alumni and special guests will stage a tribute concert dedicated to the late trumpeter at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. With Ferguson fans coming in from around the country, tickets for this event are scarce, though the TouPAC's Web site still seemed to have a few remaining as of Tuesday afternoon. Also, there's always the possibility of some tickets showing up at the box office just before showtime due to cancellations, returns from the promoter, and so on. Ferguson fans will also be getting together for jam sessions, reminiscing and general fellowship tonight at Cookie's Jazz and More and after the concert Wednesday at Atomic Cowboy.
Also on Wednesday, vocalist Jane Monheit (pictured ) opens a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro with two shows per night through Saturday. With several appearances in St. Louis in recent years, including performances at the Bistro and in concert at the Sheldon, Monheit seems to have developed a fairly good fan base here. Given that, advance reservations are recommended. In addition, to help celebrate the beginning of the Bistro's new season, pianist Phil Dunlap and his trio will be performing a free set outside underneath the Bistro's new neon sign from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. This set is open to all, regardless of whether you have tickets for Monheit's performance.
And speaking of free shows, on Thursday local songstress Erin Bode will be giving a free outdoor concert at Union Station, and the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University kicks off its fall season with a free performance by the always impressive pianist Ptah Williams.
Next up, Tower of Power will bring their patented brand of jazz-influenced East Bay funk and soul to the Argosy Alton Casino for concert performances on Friday and Saturday night. I have no information on the advance sales for this show, but given the relatively small capacity and intimate nature of the music room there, the joint should be bumpin'.
Saturday brings two outdoor festival events: the Old Webster Jazz Festival in downtown Webster Groves and the KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival at Faust Park in Chesterfield.
Things in Webster get started early, with a free workshop for student and amateur musicians conducted by Webster University faculty members at the University's music annex, 8282 Big Bend, beginning at 10 a.m. The music starts at noon just down the road near the intersection of Lockwood and Gore, with two stages featuring performances from Billy Peek, Gumbohead, Uncle Albert, Erin Bode, Anita Rosamond, the USAF Big Band of Mid-America, Swing Cat Swing, the Webster University Jazz Band, the Webster Groves High School Jazz Band and Andrea Stevenson & Jazz Fusion. This is a free event, with music scheduled until 10 p.m.
Out in West County, the KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival runs from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will showcase sets by Denise Thimes, Kim Massie, Terry Artis and Natural Jazz, the Readus Miller Project and the apparently very industrious Ms.Bode. There is an admission charge for this event; for more information, see KMOX's Web site.
In addition to all these events, there's plenty happening on local club stages this week. For a more complete listing of local jazz events, please see the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.
(If you have calendar items, band schedule information, news tips, links, or anything else you think may be of interest to StLJN's readers, please email the information to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. No attachments, please.)
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