Let's go to the highlights...
Wednesday, December 12
Pianist Robert Glasper will perform with his trio for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis.
Glasper (pictured, top left), has spent the past year working on a variety of projects, including dates with the electrified "supergroup" R+R=NOW, production work for several other artists, and a month-long residency in October at the Blue Note in NYC, so a week's worth of shows with his trio should be a prime opportunity for some back-to-basics music-making for the versatile pianist.
Also on Wednesday, the "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features the Beto Jazz Trio at The Stage at KDHX, the weekly jam session at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.
Pianist Geoffrey Keezer (pictured, center left) leads a trio in a one-night-only concert at pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio, located inside the Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive St. in the Grand Center district.
Starting as an 18-year-old phenom with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Keezer over the last three decades has compiled an impressive list of credits and recordings, working with current stars like Christian McBride and Chris Botti as well as elders like Blakey, bassist Ray Brown and Benny Golson. You can check out some samples of his playing on video in this post from two Saturdays ago.
Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode returns to Edwardsville for her annual show at the Wildey Theatre, and saxophonist Ben Reece's trio Threebird is back at The Dark Room.
December 14
Saxophonist Kirk Whalum (pictured, bottom left) brings this year's edition of his "Gospel According to Jazz Christmas" show, with guest stars including percussionist Sheila E, and singers Lynn Mabry, John Stoddart and Kevin Whalum, to Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church.
This is the seventh annual outing for Whalum's holiday show, and you can find out more about it and see some video samples of the saxophonist in action in this post from last Saturday.
Also on Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band present the first of five "Holiday Brasstravaganza" shows this year at Off Broadway. Though the family-friendly matinees already are sold out, some tickets may remain for the evening shows; call ahead or check Off Broadway's website for availability.
Elsewhere around town, the Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom, and guitarists Farshid Soltanshahi and Dave Black and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman team up for a show at The Focal Point.
Saturday, December 15
The Oikos Ensemble, featuring saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie, pianist Carolbeth True and more, will welcome vocal ensemble Java Jived as special guests for their annual "Jazz Noel" concert at Parkway United Church of Christ. (They'll present the same program again on Sunday afternoon at the First Congregational Church in Webster Groves.)
Also on Saturday, keyboardist Mo Egeston and friends will be serving up late night grooves at The Dark Room.
Sunday, December 16
Miss Jubilee performs for brunch at Evangeline's.
Monday, December 17
The 442s and various friends. including singers Erin Bode and Brian Owens, pianist Peter Martin, and more, present the first of two performances of their "Holiday Spectacular" at 560 Music Center, with a second show set for Tuesday night. Both performances were close to selling out at publication time, so if you don't already have tickets, be sure to call ahead regarding availability.
Tuesday, December 18
The Jazz St. Louis Big Band will perform Duke Ellington's arrangements of music from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker", plus additional Ellingtonia, for the first of three nights at Jazz St. Louis.
Also on Tuesday, trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Rick Haydon will play at Evangeline's.
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.)
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