Coming attractions include Dr. John, Ann Hampton Callaway

Two singing piano players whose styles are widely divergent, yet both of interest to at least some portion of jazz fans, will be visiting St. Louis at the end of next month.

Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack (pictured), a walking repository of the piano styles and history of New Orleans jazz and rhythm & blues music, will be in our area on Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31 for shows at the Alton Argosy Casino. Dr. John was in St. Louis most recently in June 2006 to perform at the Saint Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival. Tickets are on sale now at $20 each, and can be obtained by calling 1-800-711-4263 or in person from the Guest Services department at the casino.

Meanwhile that same weekend, those whose tastes run more to the bright lights of Broadway than to the funk of the Crescent City can look forward to checking out Ann Hampton Callaway when she performs with the Gateway Men's Chorus at the Roberts Orpheum Theater on March 30 and 31. Callaway has been to St. Louis several times in recent years, performing at Jazz at the Bistro as well as for the cabaret series at the Grandel Theatre. According to this story in the Post-Dispatch, "Callaway will perform solo and with the 70-member chorus as it sings numbers from "Dreamgirls," "The Producers," "Anything Goes" and other Broadway favorites."

(Updated 2/24/07 with corrected information about Callaway's appearance. )