Jazz this week: The Bad Plus, and more

This week's calendar of jazz and creative of music in St. Louis isn't very busy, though given the current frigid temperatures and forecasts for lots of snow, that may not be entirely a bad thing.
Nevertheless, there's at least one act in town this week that's definitely worth making the effort to get out and hear: The Bad Plus (pictured), who this evening will open a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro.

This is the fourth consecutive calendar year that TBP has opened at the Bistro, and so it seems likely that many St. Louis jazz fans are familiar with them by now. Still, for more on this week's gig and what the critically acclaimed trio have been up to lately, you can check out this video post from last Saturday; this brief interview I did with bassist Reid Anderson for the Riverfront Times' "A to Z" music blog; this interview with drummer David King done by Dan Durchholz for the Post-Dispatch/STLtoday; and this Jazz St. Louis podcast, which features a chat between King and JSL's Bob Bennett.

Elsewhere around town, there's not much happening this week on the concert front. That's not unusual at all for St. Louis this time of year, as the first couple of weeks of a the new year usually represent a seasonal trough in live music activity.

That said, in the bars and clubs - blizzard conditions notwithstanding - stalwart locals like saxophonists Dave Stone and Willie Akins and pianist Ptah Williams will be playing their usual weekly gigs at the usual spots. You'll find details on those performances and more on the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar - which can be found on the left sidebar of the site, or by clicking here. (Note also that there's still some 2010 updating to be done on the calendar, so please check back for the latest information on more jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond. )

You that you also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or by becoming a "fan" of the StLJN Facebook page.

(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.)