It looks like spring is finally coming to St. Louis, and along with warmer weather, the next few days will bring a diverse array of jazz and creative music performances to the Gateway City.The biggest name in town this week is guitarist Mike Stern (pictured) who's at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday. Stern, known for his work with Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Steps Ahead, Blood Sweat & Tears and many others, is accompanied on this gig by two St. Louis natives, bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Dave Weckl, plus tenor saxophonist Bob Franceschini. I had a chance to catch Stern's second set last night, and enjoyed it very much. With a good-sized crowd on hand for a Wednesday, the musicians seemed loose and comfortable on the Bistro stage, and since the 80-minute-plus set consisted of just five tunes, everyone got a chance to stretch out at some length. Confirmed fans of Stern, Weckl, or fusion jazz in general definitely will want to see this show; the merely curious should be forewarned that the sound, while clean and relatively well-balanced, is a good deal louder that what you'll hear from a typical acoustic jazz group playing the Bistro, so caveat auditor.
Playing what looks like a fairly stock Telecaster through two Fender Twin Reverb amps, Stern rocks harder than just about any other jazz guitarist out there, but he also delivered some nice quieter moments playing solo and in duet with Kennedy, with some effective and subtle use of delay and chorus to fatten the guitar sound. Franceschini, who seems to have been influenced significantly by Michael Brecker, doubled melody lines with Stern and provided another assertive solo voice, while Weckl and Kennedy both showed the expected impressive chops when soloing and in the ensemble.
Yes, parts of the set did bring to mind the old jest about fusion musicians playing as if they're getting paid by the note, but when you've got the kind of skills that Stern, Weckl and company bring to the bandstand, the temptation to whip 'em out must be overwhelming, especially with a room of full of fans cheering on the more bombastic moments. Given the high level of musicianship on display and the players' obvious conviction and enthusiasm, one can forgive the occasional moments of excess in favor of appreciating a generally well-crafted and well-paced whole.
Elsewhere in town this weekend, singer Erin Bode officially opens the new live music venue The Gramophone on Friday. You can read StLJN's previous coverage of the run-up to the club's opening here, and Post-Dispatch pop critic Kevin Johnson wrote a feature article about The Gramophone for today's paper, available online here.
On Saturday, New Music Circle presents "Sp(l)aces," a concert of electronic music and dance featuring composer James Hegarty and dancer/choreographer Mary Jean Cowell. Described as "an extended work for music, dance, and projected computer graphics" that will "explore the dynamics of interconnections and personal intensity," the event begins at 8:00 p.m. at the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio, which is located in Mallinckrodt Center at Washington University, 6445 Forsyth Blvd.
Beyond the weekend, on Monday the very fine St. Louis pianist Carolbeth True and her percussionist son David bring their band Two Times True to Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium. On Tuesday, improvisational guitarist/banjoist Paul Metzger and performance artist Tim Kaiser will play at the Open Lot arts collective and performance space at 1310 S. 18th St.
As usual, this is but a sampling of what's happening on St. Louis stages this weekend and beyond, so for 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.)
(Edited after posting to add tags.)
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