Jazz this week: Bucky Pizzarelli, NIU Jazz Ensemble with Ron Carter and John Clayton, and more

This week's highlights post will be another short one, as Blogger is acting particularly ornery again today.

The most familiar name in St. Louis this week is guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, who's doing two sets a night through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Pizzarelli may be best known these days as the father of singer/guitarist John Pizzarelli, but he's also an acknowledged master of traditional chord-melody style jazz guitar and a studio veteran with six decades of experience backing some of the biggest names in the music business. Pizzarelli may not employ the flash or pyrotechnics used by some younger players, but make no mistake - he can still get the job done in elegant and swinging fashion, and I'd expect the place to be full of guitarists representing all categories from aspiring to professional.

On Sunday, the Northern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble under the direction of saxophonist and former East St. Louisan Ronald Carter comes to St. Louis for what has become an annual appearance at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The band customarily features a well-known guest musician on its spring concert, and this year it's bassist, composer/arranger and noted clinician John Clayton (pictured) of Los Angeles' Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra. If you're interested in attending this show, note that it has a somewhat unusual 5 p.m. start time.

Elsewhere in town, there are three noteworthy shows tonight. Artist, musician and instrument builder Brian Ransom will be performing at Christ Church Cathedral; guitarist Chris Burchett gives a free concert at Washington University as part of the Jazz at Holmes series; and ever-popular singer Erin Bode returns to Finale Music and Dining for two shows.

On Friday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham is at Finale, and looking ahead to Monday, Webster University's student Big Band and Mini-Big Band will be giving a free concert in Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

For more St. Louis jazz events this weekend and beyond, 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.)