Jazz this week: Keyon Harrold, a tribute to Michael Jackson, Mardi Gras, and more

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the return of a favorite local son, a tribute to the late "King of Pop," various Mardi Gras festivities, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 7
Trumpeter Keyon Harrold returns home to perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro

Harrold (pictured, top left) currently is riding high thanks to the critical and commercial success of The Mugician, his second album as a leader, and the publicity last year surrounding the feature film Miles Ahead, which prominently featured the Ferguson native on its soundtrack.

This is his first appearance in St. Louis since the album was released back in September, so advance reservations would seem to be a must. For more on Harrold and some video samples of recent performances, check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, bassist Glen Smith and guitarist Eric Slaughter are back at Evangeline's, and singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will return to Taha'a Twisted Tiki.

Thursday, February 8
Kicking off the Mardi Grad parade weekend, the Funky Butt Brass Band will play for the annual "King Cake Party" at the Blues City Deli.

Also on Thursday, new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound returns for their first performance of the year at the Sheldon Concert Hall; drummer Steve Davis and his band, featuring vocalist Feyza Eren, will play a free concert for the  Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; trumpeter Keith Moyer's quintet will perform at The Dark Room; and friends, family and musical colleagues will be presenting a "Celebration of the Life & Music of Nathan Jatcko" at Off Broadway.

Friday, February 9
The People's Key (pictured, bottom left) with guest multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris will reprise their "Jazz Memories of Michael Jackson" show for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also on Friday, singer Erin Bode teams up with The Wire Pilots for a concert at Focal Point, and singer Anita Jackson returns to The Dark Room.

Saturday, February 10
Although the "official" Mardi Gras events on parade day once again are relying on DJs and rock cover bands, Beale on Broadway will feature blues and jazz bands including a morning set from Miss Jubilee and a late-afternoon performance from the Funky Butt Brass Band.

Also on Saturday night, guitarists Paul Davis, Joe Park and Glenn Meyers will pay "Tribute to the Masters" at Evangeline's; and percussionist Herman Semidey and Orquesta Son Montuno will play salsa, Latin jazz and more at VooDoo St. Louis downtown.

Sunday, February 11
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Bob Row's "Mardi Gras Celebration" at the Ladue Elks Club.

Monday, February 12
Dizzy Atmosphere returns to The Shaved Duck, and pianist Kim Portnoy and band will perform at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

Tuesday, February 13
The Funky Butt Brass Band will wrap up Mardi Gras for 2018 with a Fat Tuesday gig at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

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.)