Jazz this week: Diana Krall & Chris Botti, tributes to Charlie Parker and Tony Bennett, and more

As summer winds down, there's lots to do in St. Louis, and though the fall season won't really get going full steam for another couple of weeks, there are some noteworthy jazz events competing for your time, attention and entertainment dollars this weekend.

Most prominently, singer/pianist Diana Krall (pictured) and trumpeter Chris Botti bring their joint tour to St. Louis this evening for a performance at the Fox Theatre. As of this writing, Metrotix is not showing the concert as a sellout, which means there indeed still may be some tickets available; I'd suggest calling ahead, though, rather than just showing up at the box office.

As for the rest of the Labor Day weekend, on Thursday you can catch trumpeter Randy Holmes and Hard Bop Heritage doing a tribute to Charlie Parker at Finale Music and Dining, or the Denver-based Mike Beck Trio, in town to play a one-nighter at Cookie's Jazz and More.

On Friday, Finale present singer Anita Jackson fronting a band led by drummer Jerome "Scrooge" Harris; Brandt's has singer/pianist/tenor saxophonist/raconteur Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum; and trumpeter Jim Manley brings his band Wild, Cool and Swingin' to Cookie's.

Saturday night is a bit skimpier, but if you don't feel like seeing singer Al Oxenhandler and the Carolbeth True Trio doing their "salute to Tony Bennett" at Finale, there's always Willie Akins' weekly gig at Spruill's.

More local jazz-related events can be found by consulting the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, with the caveat that said calendar will be in a state of more or less continuous update for the next several days as September schedules straggle into the StLJN mailbox from area clubs and musicians.

(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.)

Finale to present shows by Acoustic Alchemy, Diane Schuur

It's been a while since we've checked out the coming attractions at Finale Music and Dining, and since one of the club's notable shows with a touring headliner is happening next week, now seems like an opportune time to mention that Finale will present smooth jazz/world music group Acoustic Alchemy next Thursday, August 2. Also, although it's not yet on Finale's Web site, thanks to Pollstar, it has been revealed that the club also has booked a return appearance for singer and pianist Diane Schuur on Thursday, October 4 and Friday, October 5.

In between, Finale has scheduled appearances by a number of local and regional musicians of interest to jazz listeners, including return gigs by singer Debby Lennon (doing a Cole Porter tribute show on Saturday, August 4); saxophonist Tim Cunningham (Friday, August 10 and Friday, September 7); singer/impressionist Dean Christopher (Saturday, August 11); singer Anita Rosamond (Saturday, August 18); and Wild, Cool and Swingin' (Friday, September 21).

Also coming up at Finale: a tribute to Charlie Parker by trumpeter Randy Holmes and Hard Bop Heritage (Thursday, August 30); drummer Jerome "Scrooge" Harris with singer Anita Jackson (Friday, August 31); singer/pianist Al Oxenhandler (Saturday, September 1); Downtown Trio's "Bach To The Future" show (Friday, September 14); and a "tenor battle" from saxophonist David Fatek and his organ quartet (Thursday, September 20). And let's not forget the John Coltrane tribute from Holmes and Hard Bop Heritage (Saturday, September 22) and a two-night stand for the "Sinatra Songbook" show (Thursday, September 27 and Friday, September 28).

Finally, to add a little visual interest to this post, there's a bit of YouTubery above and below the text. The video up top shows Acoustic Alchemy performing "Playing for Time", while the one below features Schuur and her quartet doing "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)". Schuur's band in this clip include Rod Fleeman, an excellent guitarist with Kansas City roots who some may also recall as a member of the 1970s fusion group Dry Jack.

Terrene now featuring jazz on Sundays

The Central West End restaurant Terrene, 33 N. Sarah, has begun a new music policy, featuring live jazz outdoors on what it calls "the CWE's largest private patio" from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Sunday evening in May.

This Sunday, May 6, singer Al Ovenhandler (aka "Al Ox") will perform with pianist Curt Landes and guitarist Vince Martin. On Sunday, May 13, guitarist Todd Mosby will play, followed by clarinetist Scott Alberici on May 20 and singer Debby Lennon on May 27.