Jazz this week: Jeremy Davenport, Karl Denson, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and more

In years past, the first week in June was the beginning of the slow season for St. Louis jazz fans, musicians and venues.

Not so in 2007, for with Jazz at the Bistro opening its summer season, Finale Music and Dining continuing to book jazz acts, summer series like the Whitaker Music Festival getting underway, and other clubs and concert venues bringing in the occasional jazz group, this summer looks to offer quite a bit more from which to choose than previous summers.

Speaking of the Whitaker Music Festival, the annual free concert series at the Missouri Botanical Garden opens this week with a show at 7:30 tonight by trumpeter, vocalist and St. Louis native Jeremy Davenport, who's once again residing in New Orleans but returns home for this performance. Subsequent Wednesdays in June will feature more jazz, and then the focus shifts to other genres in July and August.

On Thursday night, saxophonist Karl Denson appears with his trio to do two sets at Finale Music and Dining. Denson was just here in St. Louis a few weeks ago with the reunited Greyboy Allstars, and is reported to be working on another recording with his band Tiny Universe. In the meantime, though, he's keeping his chops sharp and getting back to his jazz roots by doing a few dates with his trio, which also features keyboardist Anthony Smith and drummer Brett Sanders.

Also on Thursday, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (pictured) is back in town, appearing at the outdoor stage at Harrah's Casino St. Louis. Too bad this on the same night as Denson's show, for there must be at least some people who would take in both if given the chance. Still, the DDBB puts on an entertaining show, even if they have disppointed brass band purists a bit by adding a guitarist and conventional drum kit in place of the band's original two-drummer setup.

Elsewhere this weekend, Jazz at the Bistro begins its summer season by hosting a reunion of alumni from Jazz St. Louis' THF Realty All-Star student ensemble on Friday and Satureday nights. The Bistro will feature St. Louis-based groups for three weeks in June, the play host over the next four weeks to groups led by bassist Ben Allison, saxophonists Greg Osby and Red Holloway, and guitarist Russell Malone, before going dark for the month of August.

And on Sunday afternoon, the Saint Louis Jazz Club closes its spring 2007 series with a matinee concert featuring the St. Louis based traditional jazz and swing band Cornet Chop Suey at the Moolah Shrine Center in West County.

These are just the highlights of the weekend, so for a more complete picture, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar. (The Calendar is in the process this week of getting a major update for the summer, so if your favorite venue or band's schedule has not been added yet, please forgive us, and remember that you can find links to most every St. Louis jazz venue and musician with a Web presence over on the sidebar.)

(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.)