Bob Dorough to perform at the Bistro on Sunday, December 9

Fans of Diana Krall know Bob Dorough (pictured) as the composer of "Devil May Care," which over the years has become a concert staple for Krall, showing off her skills as both a vocalist and piano player.

Miles Davis fans may know that Dorough is one of the very few musicians to get a vocal performance onto a Miles record. (Dorough actually shows up on two of Miles' LPs, writing "Blue Xmas" at Davis' request for the trumpeter's Christmas album, then recording another track, "Nothing Like You," that was issued later on the Sorcerer album.)

Meanwhile, those of the right age to have grown up watch up Saturday morning cartoons in the 1970s and 1980s may not know Dorough's name, but millions of them know his songs for ABC's "Schoolhouse Rock" by heart.

Now Dorough, a singer, songwriter and pianist whose long and colorful career has also included stints backing taboo-busting standup comic Lenny Bruce, working in the nightclub act of boxing champ Sugar Ray Robinson, and co-producing 1960s pop group Spanky and Our Gang, is coming to St. Louis to perform at the Bistro on Sunday, December 9.

Dorough will do sets at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., backed by a trio including guitarist Steve Berger, Jeff Anderson on bass and Jerome "Scrooge" Harris on drums. Note that while this show is taking place in the Jazz at the Bistro space, it's not a Jazz St. Louis production; instead, it's the work of Jorge Martinez, who's been part of the St. Louis scene as a club owner, promoter and artist since the Gaslight Square era.

Ticket price and purchasing information should be forthcoming from the promoters any minute now, and when said info arrives, I'll update this post. In the meantime, for a bit more on Dorough, an Arkansas native who turns 84 three days after his St. Louis gig, check out this interview he did with Mike Zwerin in 1999, or this Village Voice review from Gary Giddins. Better yet, read Dorough's own account of how he came to St. Louis in 1960 to star in a play called "A Walk on the Wild Side," or dig the live version of "Conjuction Junction" in the embedded video window below.

UPDATE - 5:50 p.m., 11/14/07: Tickets for Dorough will be $30 each, and can be purchased in advance with credit card or check by calling 314-968-1898. Any seats that remain on show day will be sold at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.