Jazz this week: JALC Band Director Academy Faculty, free summer concerts, and more

Some non-StLJN deadlines are pressing yr.humble editor this week, so this post will have to be a relatively brief look at what's going on with jazz in St. Louis over the next few days. Let's go to the highlights, presented in chronological order:

There are two free shows of possible interest to jazz fans tonight, as singer Kim Massie performs at the Missouri Botanical Garden as part of the Whitaker Music Festival, and the Sentimental Journey Dance Band plays at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey as part of that city's series of summer concerts

On Thursday, there's another free concert, as guitarist Vince Varvel performs for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. The Jazz at Holmes email list message for this week says Varvel will be joined by Paul DeMarinis on saxophones, Eric Stiller on bass and Miles Vandiver on drums.

On Friday, singer Jeanne Trevor brings her song stylings to Brandt's, while Two Times True with Larry Johnson are at Cookie's Jazz and More, the Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and the funk/hip-hop/jazz group Fresh Heir takes the stage at The Gramophone.

On Saturday, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Band Director Academy Faculty will perform at Jazz at the Bistro. This is a one-time-only gig from an all-star ensemble of musicians and educators featuring Alvin Atkinson (drums), Ronald Carter (saxophone, pictured), Rick Haydon (guitar), Steve Sveum (saxophone and clarinet), Reggie Thomas (keyboards) and Rodney Whitaker (bass). Also on Saturday, Wild Cool and Swingin' will present their brassy, old school Vegas-style blend of jazz and pop in a free concert at Lafayette Park

Looking beyond the weekend, trumpeter Keith Moyer brings his group to BB's Jazz Blues and Soups on Monday night, and on Tuesday, keyboardist Ryan Marquez' trio will perform at The Gramophone as part of the free Tuesday night jazz series that the club is co-sponsoring with Jazz St. Louis..

For more St. Louis jazz-related events this weekend and beyond, 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.)