Jazz this week: Warren Wolf, Susan Alcorn & Frank Rosaly, Bonerama, and more

While the winter weather may have taken a turn for the worse this week in St. Louis, the jazz and creative music touring activity here is heating up, with three (or four, depending on you count) visiting headliners in town over the next few days, plus an eclectic assortment of shows from local performers. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 20
Vibraphonist Warren Wolf (pictured, upper left) and his band Wolfpack will begin a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro

Wolf, now considered one of the top mallet percussionists in jazz (and who also plays piano and drums) was here most recently in November 2014, co-leading a band with trumpeter Sean Jones and saxophonist Tia Fuller for a weekend at the Bistro. This time, he's fronting his own group, which includes saxophonist Tim Green, who also contributes as a composer, plus pianist Alex Brown, bassist Kris Funn and drummer Billy Williams Jr.

Also on Wednesday, Cabaret Project St. Louis will present their monthly "Open Mic Night" at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Thursday, January 21
Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play vintage swing and blues in the Ritz Carlton Hotel's Lobby Lounge; guitarist Dave Black and Friends featuring singer Feyza Eren will perform at Nathalie’s; and actress/singer Anna Blair offers her latest cabaret show, "I am Reddy, Hear Me Roar" at The Emerald Room at The Monocle.

Friday, January 22
Pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn, who usually works solo, will team up with drummer Frank Rosaly (pictured, lower left with Alcorn) for a duo concert of improvised music presented by New Music Circle at Joe’s Cafe.

Also on Friday, New Orleans-based brass/funk/rock band Bonerama is back for another performance at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Elsewhere around town, the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; singer Joe Mancuso leads a quartet at Nathalie's; and guitarist Tom Byrne's trio will play at Cigar Inn.

Saturday, January 23
On Saturday afternoon, singer Wendy L. Gordon returns to J&C BBQ and Blues, and the Stan Coleman - Darrell Mixon Quartet performs at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Saturday evening, Wack-A-Doo serves up swing, pop, and Americana at Evangeline's; singer Erika Johnson and guitarist Tom Byrne will duet at Thurman Grill; and guitarist Brian Vaccaro's trio plays at the house concert venue Kinda Blue Club.

Sunday, January 24
The Jazz Edge Big Band returns to Kirkwood Station Brewing Company, and trumpeter Jim Manley plays at Nathalie's.

Monday, January 25
Trumpeter Randy Holmes leads his quintet in a concert at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

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.)