John Abercrombie, Eric Person to headline winter/spring Jazz at Holmes schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University has announced its schedule of free concerts for the winter/spring semester of 2015, and along with the usual sampling of local working musicians, the roster features two particularly noteworthy shows from visiting headliners.

Saxophonist Eric Person, a St. Louis native now living in Brooklyn whose credits include work with McCoy Tyner, Chico Hamilton and the World Saxophone Quartet, will lead his trio in a Jazz at Holmes performance on Thursday, April 2. Person (pictured, top left) has released nine albums as a bandleader, the most recent being the Kickstarter-fueled 2012 big band release Thoughts on God, and last gigged here in his hometown back in 2010.

The following week, guitarist John Abercrombie (pictured, bottom left), who has collaborated with jazz luminaries such as Jack DeJohnette, Charles Lloyd, and Dave Holland, will lead a quartet in a concert on Tuesday, April 7. Abercrombie's most recent release as a leader is 39 Steps, a quartet date with pianist Marc Copland, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Joey Baron that came out in 2013 on the ECM label.

Update, 1/20/15: Unlike most Jazz at Holmes shows, there will be an admission charge for the John Abercrombie concert. Though the exact price is yet to be determined, Bill Lenihan, guitarist and Wash U faculty member who curates the Jazz at Holmes series, tells StLJN that it likely will be along the lines of $10 for students with ID, $20 for the general public. More details on that when we get 'em.

Also, the schedule posted below now lists different dates for three of the concerts than were published here originally, reflecting an updated version of the semester schedule that was posted to the Jazz at Holmes Facebook page on Friday, January 17.

Here's the complete schedule* for the semester:

Thursday, January 22: Eric Warren
Thursday, January 29: Ptah Williams

Thursday, February 5: Chris Burchett
Thursday, February 12: Tim Fischer
Thursday, February 19: Kristian Baarsvik 
Thursday, February 26: Kara Baldus, William Lenihan, and Steve Davis

Thursday, March 5: Scott Alberici, Steve Schenkel & Ric Vice
Thursday, March 19: Carolbeth True and Two Times True
Thursday, March 26: The Poor People of Paris

Thursday, April 2: Eric Person Trio
Tuesday, April 7: John Abercrombie Quartet
Thursday, April 9: Wash U jazz performance program students

Presented most Thursday evenings when school is in session, the Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

* Schedule revised as of 1/17/15