StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2016 jazz preview

This week, it's part one of StLJN's Fall 2016 jazz preview, in which we present videos featuring various touring jazz and creative music performers who will be visiting St. Louis in the next several months.

Going in chronological order, the first clip showcases Chicago-based singer Tammy McCann, who will be presenting her cabaret show "Ella Loves Gershwin" on Saturday, September 15 at The Emerald Room at The Monocle under the auspices of the Presenters Dolan. McCann can be seen in the first video up above, which shows an excerpt from a set she did at Birdland in NYC in January of this year.

After the jump, you can see a video of organist Dr. Lonnie Smith’s Evolution, who will be in town from Wednesday, September 21 through Saturday, September 24 to kick off the fall season at Jazz at the Bistro.

Named after Smith's most recent album, which features a horn section and second drummer added to the organist's usual trio, Evolution is seen here playing "Straight No Chaser" in October 2015 at BRIC JazzFest in Brooklyn. (Alas, the touring version of the band is a five-piece that only includes one drummer, so St. Louis audiences won't get a chance to hear the sort of interplay between the percussionists that's featured here.)

Right after Smith concludes his run at the Bistro, guitarist Pat Metheny will return to St. Louis with a brand new quartet featuring drummer Antonio Sanchez, bassist Linda Oh, and pianist Gwilym Simcock for a performance on Sunday, September 25 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Metheny is seen here with his Unity Group (Sanchez, bassist Ben Williams and saxophonist Chris Potter) performing the song "Kin" in 2014 at the the Five Angels Theater in New York.

Next up is pianist Bill Charlap, who will perform with his trio on Wednesday, September 28 and Thursday, September 29 at Jazz at the Bistro. The third clip after the jump shows Charlap's entire set from the 2015 Jazz San Javier festival in Spain.

That same week, the Bistro features one of their major "gets" of the season, as singer Al Jarreau checks in for two evenings of intimate duo performances on Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1. In today's video, you can see Jarreau singing "Take Five" with an all-star band at the 2016 International Jazz Day concert, held in April at the White House in Washington DC.

That particular weekend is shaping up to be a busy one, as percussionist Jason Marsalis' Vibes Quintet also will be performing here on Saturday, October 1 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Marsalis, who recently moved from his native New Orleans to France, is seen here playing "Offbeat Personality" in 2015 at the Blue Note in Milano, Italy.

And as if those two shows weren't enough for one evening, New Music Circle also will begin their season on Saturday, October 1 with a concert featuring duo performances by pianists Craig Taborn and Kris Davis at the 560 Music Center.

Since the Taborn/Davis tour hasn't even started yet, there's no video of the two of them playing together. So instead, in the next two clips you can see Taborn with his trio in 2015, playing "All True Night" and "Future Perfect" at the Salle Poirel in Nancy, France; and Davis and her trio playing in January 2015 at Klaviersalon MERTA in Linz, Austria.

Today's penultimate video features drummer, singer and songwriter Jamison Ross, who will be making his St. Louis debut as a leader with shows from Wednesday, October 5 through Saturday, October 8 at Jazz at the Bistro. The clip features Ross and his band performing "These Things You Are to Me" in February of this year at the studios of KPLU in Tacoma, WA.

The final video features guitarist Dweezil Zappa, who will return with his band to perform on Thursday, October 13 at The Ready Room. Though currently fighting a legal battle with his family over the rights to perform his father Frank Zappa's music, Dweezil is using the current tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of FZ's debut album Freak Out. You can hear what that sounds like in the video, an entire show show as shot by an audience member on July 8, 2016 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY.

Part two of the Fall 2016 jazz preview will appear next week in this space. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...