Jazz this week: Arturo O'Farrill Sextet, Fidel Morales Trio, and more

This week's menu of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis has a bit of what Jelly Roll Morton once called "the Latin tinge," with two different touring Latin-jazz performers passing through town, plus the usual variety of local sounds, from Gypsy jazz and big band swing to funkified Beatles and New Orleans-style brass.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 21
Tonight, pianist Arturo O’Farrill (pictured, top left) and his sextet will make their debut at Jazz at the Bistro, continuing with two sets nightly through Saturday.

O'Farrill, the son of legendary Latin bandleader Chico O'Farrill, is a fine pianist with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Latin-jazz idiom, and his big band put on a powerful show when they performed at the now-defunct St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival back in the mid-2000s. Though this ensemble may be smaller, the energy level and musicianship should be equally high.

Also tonight, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "open mic" night at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes trio will perform at The Feasting Fox .

Thursday, January 22
This semester's Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University begins with a free concert from bassist Eric Warren and his quartet; and pianists David Parker and Greg Mills will play at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Friday, January 23
The Funky Butt Brass Band return for their monthly performance at the Broadway Oyster Bar, while the Webster Groves HS Jazz Band, Hixson MS Jazz Band and WGHS Alumni Jazz Band will play their annual concert at The Pageant.

Elsewhere around town, Second Generation Swing will play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and singer Joe Mancuso leads a quartet at Nathalie's.

Saturday January 24
Percussionist Fidel Morales (pictured, below left), who teaches at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and has performed with well-known musicians including Danilo Pérez, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Eddie Gómez, and Jon Faddis, brings his Afro Cuban Jazz Trio to Voce.

Also on Saturday, The People's Key interpret the Beatles in their show "Sgt. Pepper's Jazzy Hearts Club Band" at the Kranzberg Arts Center;  trumpeter Jim Manley will be back at One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar; Wack-A-Doo performs at Evangeline's ; and singer Feyza Eren and pianist Curt Landes will be at The Wine Press

Sunday, January 25
Gypsy-jazz group Franglais plays for brunch at Evangeline's.

Monday, January 26
Jazz-fusion quartet Common Time will play at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the campus of Webster University; and saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

For more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, 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.)