Jazz this week: Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Linda Presgrave, Wolfgang Seligo, Paul DeMarinis Group, and more

There's quite a variety of jazz and improvised music on tap in St. Louis this weekend, so let's go right to the highlights, presented in chronological order:

Thursday night offers at least three gigs of note, starting with Austrian pianist Wolfgang Seligo, who's doing a free concert at Washington University as part of the Jazz at Holmes series.

That same evening, pianist Carolbeth True and her son David True, a drummer, are performing at Finale Music and Dining to celebrate the release of their new collaborative CD, Two Times True. Haven't heard the record yet, but Carolbeth True is one of St. Louis' most reliable jazz pianists, and so I'd certainly expect something good from what must have been a labor of love for all concerned.

(As a parenthetical note, while there are plenty of familial collaborations in jazz, the mother-son variety seems relatively rare. I know Alice Coltrane and her son Ravi Coltrane worked together on occasion, but I'm hard pressed to think of any other examples; if you, dear reader, can think of any, please share your information in the comments.)

Thursday is also the night for big band fans to get their fix at the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra's monthly show at Jazz at the Bistro. Here's hoping the SLJO will continue to draw a crowd sufficient to warrant extending their run into 2008.

On Friday and Saturday, the Bistro will host saxophonist Paul DeMarinis' group, who reportedly will be doing a bunch of new music written by DeMarinis. The band includes Debby Lennon on vocals, Dave Black on guitar, Nick Schlueter on piano, bassist Ben Wheeler and Kyle Honeycutt on drums, and though I haven't heard this particular configuration yet, a trusted source tells me they're sounding very good.

Saturday night also brings a couple of touring acts to St. Louis. Singer Lavay Smith (pictured) and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers will perform traditional jazz and swing in a concert at the Sheldon, and pianist Linda Presgrave, a former St. Louisan now based in NYC, returns home for a quartet gig at Cookie's Jazz and More.

Also on Saturday evening, New Music Circle and the St. Louis International Film Festival are presenting a screening of the classic Japanese silent film Jujiro with a live improvised musical soundtrack at the St. Louis Art Mueseum Auditorium.

Then on Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Jean Kittrell and the St. Louis Rivermen in a concert of traditional jazz at the Moolah Shrine Center in Maryland Heights.

Those are just some of the highlights of a very busy weekend; to see more local 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.)