Jazz this week: Average White Band, Konk Pack, Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum, KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival, John Jorgenson, and more

It's another busy week for jazz in St. Louis, with performances representing a variety of subgenres including mainstream, experimental improv, funk, and even some 1930s-style string band hot jazz in the spirit of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt.

On Thursday night, 1970s funk heroes Average White Band will play at Jazz at the Bistro. This was a late addition to the Bistro's schedule this year, and obviously AWB are a bit different than the venue's usual straightahead jazz fare. Still, given that the group's last St. Louis appearance a couple of years ago was at the much larger (and now defunct) Mississippi Nights, I'd expect enough of a turnout from AWB fans to pack the place. And judging from video of recent incarnations of the group, and the assessment of a someone who saw that last St. Louis show, those fans expecting spirited renditions of funky hits such as "Pick Up The Pieces" and "Cut The Cake" likely will be quite pleased with what they hear.

For the weekend, the Bistro goes in a completely different stylistic direction with shows on Friday and Saturday by St. Louis veteran pianist, singer and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum. A local fixture since the Gaslight Square era, Whalum plays frequently around town and is well known for his classy renditions of jazz standards and numbers from the Great American Songbook. However, the chance to hear him work in the Bistro's "listening room" format is both a welcome acknowledgement of his continued appeal and artistic vitality and a good opportunity for fans used to hearing him in noisier settings to catch all the nuances of Whalum's performance.

There's plenty happening beyond the Bistro, too, starting with experimental pianist Thollem McDonas, who must like St. Louis; he was just here in June and this week he's back in town once again, doing another intimate concert performance at Jackson Pianos , 3131 Cherokee, on Friday night and returning for another performace at the St. Louis Brewery and Tap Room downtown on Saturday.

Friday night also brings a show by the improv trio Konk Pack, who will kick off New Music Circle's 2007-08 season with a performance in an "alternative space" downtown at the Kerr Foundation Building, 21 O’Fallon Street (on the riverfront just north of Laclede's Landing.)

On Saturday, this year's edition of the KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival takes place at Faust Park in Chesterfield, with a lineup of popular performers including Kim Massie, Denise Thimes, the Bosman Twins and Anita Rosamond. I'm told that last year's event attracted several thousand people, and, weather permitting, this year's should be well-attended, too, which somehow seems a bit ironic considering that Saturday night is also the final time KMOX will air Don Wolff's long-running jazz radio broadcast.

Closing out the weekend, guitarist John Jorgenson (pictured) and his quintet will perform Sunday night at Trinity Presbyterian Church in University City as part of the church's "Reverberations" concert series. From the samples I've seen and heard, Jorgenson is definitely a highly proficient picker, and fans of both Gypsy jazz and great guitar playing in general will want to check him out.

Other noteworthy shows this week: Saxophonist Paul DeMarinis will do a free concert Thursday night at Washington University as part of the Jazz at Holmes series. Also, Cookie's Jazz and More has Trio Tres Bien with singer Danita Mumphard on Friday, and an event for alumni of Webster University's jazz studies program on Saturday. Last but not least, on Sunday, Brandt's has singer Mae Wheeler and Friends for another late-afternoon/early evening performance.

Update - 9/27/07, 4 p.m.: There's one more pick to add for the weekend: Bassist Ric Vice emailed with late news that the Kim Portnoy Trio will be playing a concert at 7:30 p.m. this Sunday at Eliot Chapel, 100 N. Taylor in Kirkwood. The show will feature a number of pianist/composer Portnoy's originals, and a portion of the proceeds from CDs sold at the show goes to benefit Habitat for Humanity.
As always, these highlights are but a sampling of what's out there, so for more St. Louis area jazz-related events, please visit 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. If you have photos, MP3s or other digital files, please send links, not attachments.)