Jazz this week: Bill Charlap Trio, Tony DeSare & Bucky Pizzarelli, and more

It's been a week of waterlogged weather here in St. Louis, but the soggy circumstances can't put a damper on all the jazz and creative music coming up in town over the next few days. Let's go the highlights...

Tonight, the fine pianist Bill Charlap and his trio open a four-night run continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. While Charlap has played in St. Louis before, this is the first time his trio has performed at the Bistro. You can find out more about Charlap and see some video clips by checking out this post from last Saturday.

Also tonight, the Meramec Jazz Lab Band, directed by Bob Boedges and now featuring singer Valerie Tichacek, will perform a concert at the Black Cat Theatre.

On Thursday, singers Alice Kinsella and Deborah Sharn will perform a cabaret show at the Kranzberg Arts Center under the auspices of the Presenters Dolan, with another performance on Friday night.

Also on Friday, Latin jazz group Ritmo Caliente performs at Robbie's House of Jazz, and keyboardist Nick Schlueter's trio with bassist Jessica Sacks and drummer Josh Costello will play the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

On Saturday, pianist/singer Tony DeSare and guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli will team up for a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Saturday. Given that DeSare is influenced greatly by the swing, bop and Great American Songbook classics that have been Pizzarelli's bread and butter throughout his long career, this seems like a pretty good pairing. What's more, The Sheldon is offering a discount on tickets to the concert; see this post for details.

Also Saturday, saxophonist and instrument designer Peter Ponzol will present a free sax clinic at Saxquest; singer Mae Wheeler performs at Seasons American Cuisine in Chesterfield; saxophonist Stan Coleman's University Youth Jazz Big Band will be at Robbie's, and electronic musician and former St. Louisan Tom Hamilton will do a concert for New Music Circle at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

On Sunday, it's time once again for the monthly jam session at Bossanova Restuarant and Lounge in Alton featuring saxophonist Jason Swagler and guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio. Also on Sunday, those who still enjoy their recorded jazz in physical media formats may want to check out the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show at the American Czech Center on the south side.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, which can be found on the left sidebar of the site or by clicking here. You also can keep up with all the latest news by following St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes or clicking the "Like" icon on 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.)

(Edited to correct the dates of the Presenters Dolan shows.)