Jazz this week: Tim Warfield Organ Band, Bonerama, Keyon Harrold, and more

Given that Mardi Gras is almost upon us, New Orleans-derived music plays a significant role in this week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis, but there's also a swinging saxophonist from Philly, a brief return home for a celebrated local trumpeter, and mich more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 19
Saxophonist Tim Warfield (pictured, top left) will perform for the first of five nights continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis.

Warfield is a Philadelphia native who's played at the Bistro several times before, but this is his first time at the venue as leader of his Organ Band, which includes keyboardist Pat Bianchi and Warfield's hometown friend and frequent collaborator, trumpeter Terell Stafford.

Also in Grand Center, this week's "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" features pianist Dave Venn early and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor late at The Dark Room, plus a jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Thursday, 
February 20
Right on time to warm up for parade Saturday and Fat Tuesday, New Orleans' own Bonerama (pictured, center left) returns to perform at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Their sets likely will feature some music from their most recent album Bonerama Plays Zeppelin, which, as the name suggests, features their trombone-centric interpretations of music from the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. You can find out more about that project, and see some of the music being performed live (on video) in this post from a week ago Saturday.

Also on Thursday, keyboardist Jim Hegarty brings his trio to Evangeline's; singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club; keyboardist Ryan Marquez and his trio are back at The Dark Room; and guitarists William Lenihan and Vincent Varvel will team up to present a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, February 21
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina will perform at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, and bassist and singer Janet Evra and her quartet will play at The Judson House.

Also on Friday, guitarist Joe Park will promote the release of his latest recording with a show at Focal Point, and Samba Bom will do carnaval Brazilian style at Bar Italia.

Saturday, February 22
The Nashville-based group Cosmic Collective returns to Evangeline's, and singer Robert Nelson and  Genesis Jazz Project will be the featured performers in "The B3 Experience: Big Band, Burlesque and Bourbon" at .ZACK.

Also on Saturday, the Funky Butt Brass Band plays a post-parade show at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy; the Mosaic Jazz Sextet brings their hard bop sound to the Dark Room; and Dizzy Atmosphere will play vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at Urban Chestnut Midtown Brewery and Biergarten.

Sunday, February 23
Trumpeter Jim Manley plays for brunch at Evangeline's.

Later that afternoon, singer Anita Jackson and trumpeter Keyon Harrold (pictured, lower left) will headline a matinee "Benefit for Community Women Against Hardship" at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, followed at the venue by a dinner-hour show from singer Chuck Flowers.

Monday, February 24
Webster University faculty members including pianist Kim Portnoy, percussionist David Werfelmann, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, and violinist Matt Pickart will explore "Improvisational Environments" in a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, February 25
Celebrate Fat Tuesday in a New Orleans style at the "Central West End Second Line Parade," featuring the Saint Boogie Brass Band and Annie and the Fur Trappers, and/or by catching the double bill of the Funky Butt Brass Band and "Funkify Your Life: A Tribute To The Meters" at Broadway Oyster Bar.

Also on Tuesday, electro-jazz trio Vehachi plays in concert at the Gaslight Theater, and the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra returns to The Sheldon.

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.)