So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's StLJN's latest wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest:

* The University of Missouri-St. Louis Department of Music and the David and Thelma Steward Institute for Jazz Studies at UMSL have named pianist and educator Adaron "Pops" Jackson as the university's new director of jazz studies. Jackson succeeds the program's founder, bassist Jim Widner, who retired at the end of the 2018-19 academic year.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn was interviewed by John Carney on Monday's episode of "The Carney Show" on KTRS (550 AM).

* Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo (pictured) was interviewed about her new album St. Lost by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson. Saputo is promoting the release with a performance tonight at Sophie's Artist Lounge and Cocktail Club. St. Lost this week also was the subject of a short promotional feature on BassMagazine.com

* Inventor and audio engineer Bob Heil was profiled in a story by KSDK's Art Holliday.

* WSIE (88.7FM) will celebrate Miles Davis' birthday from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. this Sunday, May 26 with a two-hour special about his life and music. Listeners outside the St. Louis area can catch the program via the station's online stream.

* The Black Rep's production of Nina Simone: Four Women was reviewed by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn. The play with music, which includes singer Denise Thimes in the cast, continues through Sunday, June 2 at Washington University’s Edison Theatre.

* Vaughn also filed a story for the American about the funeral service for Shirley Bradley LeFlore, former St. Louis poet laureate who worked with many jazz and creative musicians.

* Pianist Phillip Graves will play the title role in Next to Normal: The Thelonious Monk Story, a play by Mariah L Richardson that will be performed at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 12 and Thursday, June 13 at Jazz St. Louis.

The production, which is presented by A Call to Conscience, Inc. and directed by Fannie Belle Lebbie, will celebrate Monk's music and career while also examining "issues of mental illness as it relates to disparities in health care, police interaction, education, and social acceptance."

The performance on June 12 will be followed by a talk and Q&A about Monk led by Washington University professor Gerald Early, and a panel discussion on living with and overcoming the challenges posed by mental illness. Admission to both performances is free, but RSVPs are requested via EventBrite.

* Remember the lawsuit filed by seemingly-defunct-music-festival LouFest against their former sound contractors? Well, per new reporting on Thursday by St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy Goodwin, the suit has been dropped.

Stages St. Louis production of Fats Waller musical Ain't Misbehavin' opens June 1

Stages St. Louis will present a revival of the Fats Waller musical Ain't Misbehavin' beginning at 8:00 p.m., Friday, June 1 and continuing through Sunday, July 1 at the Robert G. Reim Theatre, 111 S. Geyer Rd. in Kirkwood.

The show, which premiered on Broadway in 1978 and was one of the first successful examples of the now ubiquitous jukebox musical, is built around performances of well-known songs associated with Waller, including the title tune, "The Joint Is Jumpin'," "Lounging at the Waldorf," "Honeysuckle Rose," and many others. The original Broadway production included St. Louis native Ken Page in its cast, and won both the Tony and Drama Desk awards for best musical.

The cast for Stages' production of the show includes Raena White, Willena Vaughn, Eric Lajuan Summers, Dwelvan David and Wendy Lynette Fox. The band, which appears on stage as part of the show, will be led by pianist Adaron “Pops” Jackson, who also has a named role as "Luther," after Luther Henderson, pianist and musical director for the original Broadway cast. The band also will include Jason Swagler (alto sax), Kendrick Smith (tenor sax), Cody Henry (trombone), Matt Bittles (trumpet), Jahmal Nichols (bass) and Bernard Long, Jr. (drums). Stages' co-founder and artistic director Michael Hamilton is directing the show, with Lisa Campbell Albert as musical director.

After the opening weekend, Ain't Misbehavin' will play Tuesdays through Sundays until the conclusion of the run. Tickets are priced from $55 to $35, and are available in advance by phone at 314-821-2407 or online at www.stagesstlouis.org. Stages also offers $15 student/senior rush tickets, which are sold at the box office just before showtime if seats are available.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short local news items of interest:

* If you're a musician, artist or other creative type in the St. Louis area, the Regional Art Commission really, really wants you to complete their "Artists Count" survey.

You can register to win an iPad upon completing the 20-minute version of the survey, which does require a fair amount of detail regarding hours worked, income earned, and so on. There's also a five-minute version for the time-challenged. You'll find both survey forms online at http://www.artistscount.com/

* Next Monday, April 30 is the first-ever International Jazz Day, with celebrations in various cities around the globe including concerts from some big-name musicians streaming for free online at the link above. Locally, Jazz St. Louis will celebrate the occasion with a jam session at Jazz at the Bistro, with pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson's trio as host musicians.

Unfortunately, saxophonist Willie Akins, who had been announced as a special guest for the jam session, will be unable to appear, as he's been told by his doctor to rest and refrain from playing for a while after a recent hospital stay. Here's hoping for a full recovery and a quick return to action...

* Speaking of Jazz St. Louis, they've just posted online a setlist from the recent two-night gig at the Bistro by pianist Brad Mehldau and saxophonist Josh Redman.

* The Meramec Jazz Band (pictured), who apparently now have dropped the word "Lab" from their name, have a new promotional video up on YouTube.

* Vintage Vinyl and Euclid Records both have posted photo albums on Facebook documenting last Saturday's Record Store Day festivities at their respective locations.

* When StLJN reached its seventh birthday this week, yr. humble editor got a nice congratulatory email from Michael Ricci, founder and head of the website AllAboutJazz.com, which, along with its original reviews, features, and interviews, republishes StLJN's content and that of many other jazz blogs.

In the message, Ricci passed along word that StLJN recently took over first place in pageviews among the blogs featured on AAJ. While there's no telling if, or how long, we might retain that lofty ranking, it's good to know that people are checking out the news about jazz in St. Louis, and I'm grateful to Ricci and everyone at AAJ for their continued interest and support.

Miles Davis Festival regroups with sessions at BB's on August 29, September 11

A group of student musicians from East St. Louis High School will team up with three seasoned pros from the St. Louis jazz scene to pay tribute to Miles Davis at two performances taking place at 7:00 p.m. Monday, August 29 and 7:00 p.m. Sunday, September 11 at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

The "Miles To Go" ensemble assembled by ESL HS band director Delano Redmond includes trumpeter Brady Lewis; saxophonists Carlos Brown Jr., and Garrell Lewis; trombonist Javier Staples; bassist Marvin Cooper; and drummers Everette Benton and Kayla Coates. They'll be joined for the two performances at BB's by three veteran professional musicians - trumpeter Anthony Wiggins (pictured) and pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson, both alumni of East St. Louis' Lincoln High School, and saxophonist Willie Akins.

Both events are being presented under the banner of the Miles Davis Festival, which at a news conference in May at BB's announced an ambitious schedule of events for this summer and fall in St. Louis to coincide with the 85th anniversary of Davis' birth. The festival as originally proposed was to have included a series of performances by up-and-coming musicians at the Metropolitan Gallery under the auspices of the Nu-Art Series; an outdoor concert at a golf course in Illinois; a concert and art exhibit at the Sheldon Concert Hall and Galleries; and a giveaway of a deluxe CD box set collecting all of Davis' recordings for the Columbia label.

As it turns out, none of those events will happen, which festival organizer Deborah Granger, an East St. Louis native who now lives in Los Angeles, attributes to a lack of sponsors willing to underwrite the festival. Although the late trumpeter's estate and Sony/Legacy both ostensibly gave their blessings to the concept, financial support was supposed to have come from local businesses, foundations and other funders in the St. Louis area. With only a couple of months to fundraise in an economy still suffering from recession, Granger said she was unable to secure that support, which in turn has cast doubt on future plans. "We did want to launch an annual event, but that right now is up in the air," said Granger. "I'm wondering if St. Louis wants a Miles Davis Festival. "

(Edited after posting.)

Jazz this week: Houston Person; "Rapology" with Troupe, Bell and Burrage; Larry Ochs; "A Jazz Heaven"; and more

It's another busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, so let's go right to the highlights:

Tonight, saxophonist Houston Person (pictured) opens a four-night stand that continues through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. A seasoned veteran who's had a lifetime of experience wrapping blues, bop and ballads into a crowd-pleasing package, Person was in St. Louis most recently at the end of August to perform in a benefit concert at Harris Stowe State University for the Wolff Jazz Institute.

You can see a video sample of his playing in a post previewing that show here, and hear a podcast interview with Person here. Note also that tickets for some of Person's sets will be available at half price if purchased in advance via Metrotix.

Also tonight, the Washington University Music Department presents its "Chance Aesthetics" concert at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. The free event will feature performances of music by John Cage and Terry Riley, plus an improvised piece.

On Thursday, guitarist William Lenihan leads a tribute to Miles Davis' classic album Birth of the Cool in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University

There are three noteworthy shows on Friday, starting with the first of two nights of the Quincy Troupe/Kelvyn Bell/Ronnie Burrage collaboration "Rapology" at Robbie's House of Jazz. For more about Troupe, Bell and Burrage plus some video samples of all three in action, see this post.

Also on Friday, New Music Circle presents saxophonist Larry Ochs' Sax and Drumming Core at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Ochs, who's known for his work with the Rova Saxophone Quartet, will be joined by drummers Donald Robinson and Scott Amendola, Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, and Satoko Fujii on synthesizer and piano to perform a mix of original compositions and collective improvisations.

That same evening, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra presents "Swing, Swing, Swing" a program of swing music including songs made famous by Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, just around the corner from the Sheldon at Powell Symphony Hall.

On Saturday night, the Chicago Afrobeat Project returns to The Gramophone.

Then on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents clarinetist Bud Shultz and the You Can't Beat Experience Jazz Band in a matinee performance of traditional New Orleans style jazz and swing at the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield.

Also on Sunday afternoon, singer Wendy Gordon and a cast of musicians and singers including longtime local favorite Jeanne Trevor will perform Gordon's cabaret musical A Jazz Heaven at the Kranzberg Arts Center. For more about the production, which pays tribute to jazz icons including Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis, see these two posts.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Chicago-based guitarists Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic will perform a duo show at The Gramophone.

Tuesday evening brings the monthly meeting of Jazz St. Louis' CD Listening Club at Borders bookstore, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd. in Brentwood. This month's featured CD, Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, will be discussed by JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford and Dr. Gerald Early of Washington University.

Then on Wednesday evening, Jazz St. Louis will present a free concert of Hancock's music by keyboardist Adaron "Pops" Jackson and his group at the Community Music School of Webster University, 535 Garden Avenue in Webster Groves.

For more jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond, check out the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, available for viewing on the left sidebar or by clicking here.

(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.)

(Edited after posting to fix a formatting problem. Edited again to add a couple of Houston person-related links.)

Jazz St. Louis to present the music of Herbie Hancock at CD Listening Club, Whitaker Community Concert

Jazz St. Louis will feature the music of Herbie Hancock in two upcoming programs that were announced this week.

The next meeting of JSL's CD Listening Club will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13 at Borders Books and Music, 1519 S. Brentwood, and will focus on Hancock's album Maiden Voyage, a critical and commercial breakthrough for the pianist and composer as he was establishing his solo career in the 1960s.

JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford and Dr. Gerald Early, Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters at Washington University in St. Louis, will lead the discussion. The CD Listening Club is free and open to the public, but those interested in attending are asked to reserve a place by calling Kedra Tolson at 314-289-4034.

The next evening, pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson and his band will perform a tribute to Hancock for JSL's first Whitaker Community Concert of the fall season. The concert is free and open to the public, and will take place at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 14 at the Community Music School of Webster University, 535 Garden Avenue in Webster Groves.

Eric Person to perform at the Ambassador on Saturday, October 3

Saxophonist and St. Louis native Eric Person (pictured) is coming home next month to perform Saturday, October 3 at the Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd in St. Louis.

Backed by bassist John King and pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson of Good 4 The Soul and drummer Kevin Kelly, Person will do two sets, at 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 and will be available for purchase in person at all Metrotix outlets or the Ambassador box office, online at www.metrotix.com, or by calling 314-534-1111. For more information, you can call the Ambassador at 314-869-9090.

Robbie's House of Jazz to open Friday, August 14 with Hamiet Bluiett

The corner storefront at 20 Allen Ave. in Webster Groves once known as Cookie's Jazz and More is getting a second life as a jazz club starting next weekend.

Robbie's House of Jazz, operated by Dorothy and Robert Edwards, will have a "soft opening" this weekend for friends, family and neighboring businesses, and will open to the public on Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15 with performances by baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett (pictured). Dorothy Edwards says the club also will have a grand opening celebration sometime after Labor Day.

Robert Edwards, a trombonist who's now retired from a career as band director at Normandy High School, will book the music for the club, while his spouse serves as owner/manager. Edwards' ensemble will provide music for the soft opening, and once things are up and running, plans are to feature musicians such as saxophonist Ron Carter, trumpeter Melton Mustafa, singers Denise Thimes, Larry Hamilton and Mae Wheeler, and pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson.

Dorothy Edwards says while they've redecorated with new paint, drapes and pictures, they've
kept the space in the same basic configuration as when it was Cookie's, which closed in December 2008. As was the case with Cookie's, the club's liquor license is for beer and wine only, augmented by a menu including coffee, tea, juices, soft drinks and appetizers. Ms. Edwards says that in addition to featuring jazz on Fridays and Saturdays, they plan to book occasional shows during the week and also to make the space available for business and community meetings and fundraisers.

Hamiet Bluiett will perform starting at 8:15 p.m. on Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling 314-968-5556. Robbie's House of Jazz - which is named after Dorothy Edwards' jazz-loving mother, and not, as some might guess, a nickname for her husband - has a Web site in the works, but not yet online; when it goes up, we'll have the link for you right here.

Jazz this week: Peter Brötzmann, St. Louis Stompers, Linda Presgrave, "Simply Sinatra," Adaron "Pops" Jackson, and more

Whether you like your jazz to be old-school, modern or free-form, there's something for you this weekend somewhere around the St. Louis area. Here's a brief look at the local jazz and creative music highlights for the next several days:

Tonight, the St. Louis Stompers will perform traditional New Orleans-style jazz in a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Tomorrow night, the summer Jazz at Holmes series gets underway with a free concert by pianist, composer and St. Louis expat Linda Presgrave, who will perform with a quintet including her husband, saxophonist Stan Chovnick, and trumpeter Randy Holmes.

Friday brings the Jazz to the Wall Festival to the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, featuring the Full Blast Trio with legendary German free jazz saxophonist Peter Brötzmann (pictured), drummer Marino Pliakas and electric bassist Michael Wertmueller. Brötzmann and Full Blast will perform at 7:00 p.m., with a separate show featuring Yowie, Aleuchetistas and Upsilon Acrux at 9:00 p.m. This week's Riverfront Times has a brief preview story by Paul Friswold on the Brötzmann show, which you can read online here. For some video samples of Brötzmann's work, see this previous post.

Also on Friday, pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson of Good 4 The Soul opens a two-night run at Jazz at the Bistro. Though G4TS is known for mixing jazz with funk, R&B and other genres, word is that Jackson's gig this weekend will feature a quartet playing straight-ahead jazz. Friday is also when the Sheldon Art Galleries will host a free opening reception for its summer exhibits, including the extension of the "Visions of Sound" exhibit of musical instruments.

On Saturday, singer Steve Lippia will perform his tribute show "Simply Sinatra" with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra at Powell Symphony Hall.

Then on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Michael Lacey and his New Orleans Swing at the Bel-Air Bowl in Belleville, and singer Erin Bode and her band will perform in a free outdoor concert at Sunset Park in Festus.

As usual, time and space constraints mean that these are just some of the notable performances happening over the next few days; for more listings of jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.)

Jazz at the Bistro announces summer schedule

Jazz St. Louis has announced the summer 2009 lineup of shows at Jazz at the Bistro. For regulars at the Bistro, it's a mostly familiar group of artists, with one notable exception: guitarist and singer Javier Mendoza, who will perform at the Bistro on Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30, filling the dates vacated when trumpeter Terence Blanchard's gig at the club was rescheduled to the first week in June.

Mendoza usually is categorized as a Latin/pop/rock performer, but, according to JSL operations director Bob Bennett, he's been wanting to do something more in a Latin jazz vein for a while and is putting together a special presentation for his dates at the Bistro. Bennett said guitarist Dave Black will be part of Mendoza's band for the gig (which certainly adds some jazz credibility to the proceedings) and that JSL's hope was that doing something "a little bit different" with Mendoza might "get some new people into the club."

Similar pragmatic concerns were at the forefront in booking the rest of the summer lineup, as Bennett says musicians were selected primarily based on who had drawn the biggest crowds during the 2008-09 season, and would be likely to draw well again during the summer. Here's the complete summer schedule for the Bistro, including Blanchard's previously announced gig:

Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30: Javier Mendoza
Wednesday, June 3 - Saturday, June 6: Terence Blanchard (new rescheduled dates)
Friday, June 12 & Saturday, June 13: Adaron “Pops” Jackson
Friday, June 19 & Saturday, June 20: Musica Slesa
Friday, June 26 & Saturday, June 27: Funky Butt Brass Band
Friday, July 10 & Saturday, July 11: Reggie Thomas' OGD with Willie Akins
Friday, July 17 & Saturday, July 18: Jim Manley (pictured)
Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25: Good 4 the Soul

A few thoughts about this lineup: While Mendoza's Latin jazz venture is an unknown quantity, all the rest of these musicians and groups are of proven quality, so there's not much to quibble with from that standpoint. There's a pretty good range of stylistic diversity represented, too.

However, as I have in the past, I wonder once again if Jazz St. Louis is going back to the same wells too often - or, if you prefer, putting too many eggs in too few baskets. When one group and its spin-offs and individual members end up playing four or five weekends a year at the Bistro, as happened during 2008-09, it seems like overkill - especially given that there's certainly no shortage of very good musicians who'd like the chance to play there.

One can certainly understand the impulse to go with proven commodities, especially in these recessionary times, but promoting a diverse roster of acts not only makes sense in terms of JSL's artistic mission, over time it should establish a greater number of groups as the sort of proven attractions that presenters need. That said, credit where it's due: overall I think Jazz St. Louis has done a reasonably good job, especially during the last couple of season, of working different groups and musical styles into the mix at the Bistro. Here's hoping that trend continues when the 2009-10 season schedule is announced.

Single ticket prices for Jazz at the Bistro's summer series will be $20 for OGD with Willie Akins and for Good 4 The Soul, and $15 for the other shows. Tickets will go on sale at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, May 12 and will be available at all MetroTix outlets, online at metrotix.com, or by phone at 314-534-1111.

Jazz this week: Victor Wooten, Rachael Price, Funky Butt Brass Band, and more

There's plenty of interesting stuff on tap for jazz fans in St. Louis over the next few days, including visits from two touring musicians and a couple of free concerts featuring two of the area's talented jazz pianists.

The first of those free shows is tonight, when keyboard player Adaron "Pops" Jackson performs in a free concert at the newly renovated Soulard Preservation Hall as part of Jazz St. Louis' Whitaker Community Concerts series. Jackson, who also plays with Good 4 The Soul, and members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra will perform the music of legendary alto saxophonist and bebop progenitor Charlie Parker.

On Friday, bass virtuoso Victor Wooten, best known for his work with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, takes the stage at The Pageant. In general, Wooten's solo projects seems to be a bit more funk-oriented than the Flecktones, but the bassist also displays a similarly wide range of musical influences, and of course, he's got the sort of chops that bring out the guitar-magazine-reading, bass-fanboy contingent in droves. Depending on your point of view, this may or may not be a good thing, but there's no doubt Wooten can flat out play.

Also on Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band opens a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. The six-member group draws on jazz, funk and the New Orleans brass band tradition, mixing in some unexpected song choices and interpretations of their own. After a busy Mardi Gras season, they should be well-lubricated for their debut appearance at the Bistro.

On Saturday, singer Rachael Price (pictured) performs at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The 23-year-old Price, born in Australia and raised in Nashville, is considered by some critics to be one of the more promising new female jazz vocalists of the last few years. For example, writing in the Los Angeles Times, the respected veteran jazz critic and producer Don Heckman said that "she is clearly a talent with extraordinary potential."

However, from what (admittedly little) I've seen and heard of her so far, Price still seems a little green to be a major headliner, a talented youngster trying a bit too hard to mimic the sound and persona of an older, wiser and more world-weary woman. For my money, she sounds most natural on the country/jazz/bluegrass recording she made with the group The Tennessee Terraplanes, but Price seems determined to try to be another Ella Fitzgerald or Nancy Wilson.

As is always the case in such subjective matters, your mileage may vary, and I suppose if nothing else, it's good that the Sheldon is taking a chance on a new talent. (Price fans, if you're out there, please feel free to try to turn me around by pointing me to any online audio or video that showcases her jazz singing in a better light. )

On Sunday, there's another free concert, featuring the Ptah Williams Trio with singer Marsha Evans at Second Baptist Church in Richmond Heights as part of the church's St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series. Williams' combination of harmonic sophistication and sheer pianistic force is always impressive, and it should be fun to hear Evans, a shrewd and gutsy singer and entertainer who's usually heard around town singing blues, soul and R&B with her own group, the Marsha Evans Coalition, go to work on some jazz material.

As always, these are just a few of the highlights happening around St. Louis over the next few days; to see listing for more jazz-related events this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.)

Jazz this week: Guitars and Saxes, Hamiet Bluiett, the music of the Crusaders, "Sworn To The Drum," and more

The major touring jazz attraction in St. Louis this week is the 2008 edition of Guitars and Saxes, which will be here on Sunday to play The Pageant as part of Rick Sanborn's "Smooth Summer Party" series. The featured performers for this year's version of Guitars and Saxes are guitarists Peter White and Jeff Golub, saxophonist Gerald Albright and keyboard player Jeff Lorber (pictured) .

Though the Guitars and Saxes headliners may have the marquee names, there's also plenty of good music this week from St. Louis' hometown talent, including several free concerts. The freebies start this evening, when Le Jazz Hot, featuring pianist Ptah Williams, saxophonist Chad Evans, drummer Bensid Thigpen and bassist Darrell Mixon, performs a free concert as part of the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden

On Thursday, there are two more free shows, as pianist Curt Landes plays for the summer Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and the Whitaker Urban Evenings series at St. Louis Place Park (located at Rauschenbach Ave and St. Louis Ave) kicks off with a concert by singer Kim Massie. Working his second job as a blues harmonica player, Jazz St. Louis executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford and the Blues Inquisition will open the show for Massie.

On Friday and Saturday, you can get in a jazz-funk groove with Adaron "Pops' Jackson, keyboard player for the group Good 4 The Soul, as he performs the music of the Crusaders during a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro, or soak up a retro-Vegas vibe from singer Dean Christopher, who brings his Rat Pack-themed show featuring the music of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and more.for two nights at the Cabaret at Savor. Also this weekend, Cookie's Jazz and More will present two longtime St. Louis favorites, with Trio Tres Bien and singer Danita Mumphard taking the stage on Friday and singer/pianist Sherry Drake doing "A Tribute To Ella" on Saturday.

Sunday offers two more free performances, with the internationally known baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett and his Improvising Youth Orchestra playing outdoors at Ivory Perry Park, while Black Artists Group presents "Sworn To The Drum" featuring "Baba" Mike Nelson and friends indoors at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe. Also on Sunday, there's a blues benefit show for former Ike and Tina Turner saxophonist Jim Koerber at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. Though you probably won't hear any jazz at this last performance, there will be a nice selection of St. Louis blues talent, including the Soulard Blues Band and the Mighty Big Band, performing for a good cause.

For more St. Louis jazz-related events this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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.)

(Edited 6/18/08 to correct the location of St. Louis Place Park.)