Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey performing Thursday, March 31 at Cicero's

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (pictured) is coming to St. Louis to perform on Thursday, March 31 at Cicero's.

Founded in 1994 in Tulsa, the jazz/funk/jam band has changed personnel and evolved its sound considerably over the years. They started as an eight-piece group, pared down to a trio in 1999, and most recently became a quartet in 2008. The current lineup include founding member Brian Haas on keyboards, with Josh Raymer on drums, Chris Combs on lap steel guitar, and Jeff Harshbarger on bass.

All those changes have been amply documented on 19 recordings, including two in 2010: The Sensation of Seeing Light, a 7" vinyl single released for Record Store Day in April, and Stay Gold, which came out in June on both CD and double 12" vinyl. Last year also saw the premiere of "Ludwig," JFJO's reinterpretations of Beethoven's 3rd and 6th Symphonies, with a 50 piece orchestra at the OK Mozart Festival. They've just completed sessions for another recording tentatively titled Race Riot Suite, inspired by historic events in Tulsa, that features guest performances from saxophonists Jeff Coffin, Peter Apfelbaum and Mark Southerland and trumpeter Steven Bernstein.

The St. Louis trio Juanita Place and Nashville singer/songwriter Lauren Lucas will open. Show time is 8:00 p.m., and tickets are $7 at the door.

(Edited after posting. Updated 3/2/11 with a new photo of the band.)