Jazz this week: Ann Hampton Callaway & Liz Callaway, Alex Mercado Trio, Dave Venn & Jeanne Trevor, Moon Hooch, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features two sisters singing in an intimate cabaret show; two noteworthy pianists; an improvising trio with a danceable sound bridging multiple genres; and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 26
Singer and longtime St. Louis favorite Ann Hampton Callaway returns with her sister, singer Liz Callaway, to perform their cabaret show "Sibling Revelry" for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis. 

The Callaways (pictured, top left) will do one set each on Wednesday and Thursday, plus a "coffee concert" on Thursday morning.

Also on Wednesday, the "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features singer Wendy Gordon and friends at The Stage at KDHX, a jam session at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, September 27
Saxophonist Ben Reece's Unity Quartet returns to The Dark Room; singer Joe Mancuso and friends will perform at 50/Fifty Kitchen; and students from Washington University's Jazz Performance Program will present a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, 
September 28
Two veterans of the storied Gaslight Square era will be back in the spotlight as pianist Dave Venn trio and singer Jeanne Trevor will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday night, pianist Alex Mercado, one of the top jazz musicians in Mexico, makes his St. Louis debut in a late-night concert at the  Kranzberg Arts Center.

Here at the end of a brief Midwest tour, Mercado (pictured, center left) will be backed by Rodrigo Villanueva on drums and St. Louis' own Bob DeBoo on bass. You can find out more about Mercado and see some examples of his playing on video in this post from last Saturday.

Elswhere around town, singer Erin Bode performs at the Jacoby Arts Center; pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson will play at the Ozark Theatre; and drummer Montez Coleman's band takes the stage for the late show at The Dark Room.

Saturday, September 29
Urban Chestnut Brewing's Oktoberfest St. Louis will feature free live music throughout the afternoon and evening from bands including Tonina Saputo, The People's Key, St. Boogie Brass Band, Jesse Gannon, Lamar Harris and more.

Also on Saturday, bassist Darrell Mixon leads a trio at Troy's Jazz Gallery, and saxophonist Dave Stone's trio returns to Thurman's in Shaw.

Sunday, 
September 30
Pianists Dave Becherer and Ryan Marquez will team up in a dual-keyboard performance for brunch at The Dark Room, and percussionist Herman Semidey and Orquestra Son Montuno will play a matinee at the Ozark Theatre.

Then on Sunday night, the funky, genre-busting saxophones-and-drums trio Moon Hooch (pictured, bottom left) returns for a show at the Old Rock House. Currently in the middle of a tour that runs through mid-November, they've also released an EP, Light It Up, since their last appearance here a year ago.

Tuesday, October 2
A new version of 1990s swing revivalists Squirrel Nut Zippers, led by founding member Jimbo Mathus, will perform at Delmar Hall.

Also on Tuesday, the Tick Tock Jazz Band will play traditional jazz for their monthly gig at the Tick Tock Tavern.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing Alex Mercado

Today, let's take a look at some videos featuring pianist Alex Mercado, who will make his St. Louis debut in a concert next Friday, September 28 at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

The date is part of a brief tour of the Midwest, for which Mercado will be accompanied by Rodrigo Villanueva on drums and St. Louis' own Bob DeBoo on bass. While he's here, Mercado also will present a free, public master class at 1:00 p.m. on Friday in Room 103 of Washington University's Music Classroom Building, 6500 Forsyth Blvd.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Mercado is considered to be one of Mexico's top jazz musicians. He's released four albums as a leader, including 2014's Symbiosis, which was selected as one of DownBeat magazine's Editors’ Picks for 2014, and his most recent recording Paisajes, which came out at the end of 2017.

You can see a performance of the title track from Paisajes in the first video up above, which features Mercado with bassist Israel Cupich and drummer Gabriel Puentes and was released online in January 2018

After the jump, you can see the same three musicians playing "Búsqueda," also included on Paisajes, and "What Lays Beyond," the latter recorded live at this year's North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

That's followed by a full set, recorded in 2015, and a solo piece called "Prisma," recorded live in 2016. Last but not least, there's another trio performance, of the title track from the Symbiosis album as recorded in 2015 at the Festival de Jazz Nuevo León in Mexico.

For more about Alex Mercado, read the Q&As with him published by JazzCorner.com and AllAboutJazz.com.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Grand Center venues add shows by Dave King & Chris Weller, Alex Mercado Trio

The Kranzberg Arts Foundation has announced two concerts of interest to StLJN readers that will be presented in September at their venues in Grand Center:

* Drummer Dave King and saxophonist Chris Weller will play a duo show at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, September 23 at The Dark Room.

King (pictured) is well-known to St. Louis audiences as the drummer for frequent visitors The Bad Plus, as well as Happy Apple and several other side projects, while Weller is a Berklee graduate based in Chicago who has worked with a number of ensembles in that city's busy jazz and improvised music scene.

Unlike most performances at The Dark Room, this will be a ticketed show, with admission priced at $15 for adults, $10 for artists and students via Metrotix.

* That same week, pianist Alex Mercado will perform at 10 p.m. Friday September 28 at the Kranzberg Arts Center. Mercado, who has released four albums as a leader and is considered by many to be one of Mexico's top jazz musicians, will be accompanied by Rodrigo Villanueva on drums and St. Louis' own Bob DeBoo on bass.

Tickets for the Alex Mercado Trio are $10 for adults, $8 for students in advance, also via Metrotix, or $15 and $12 at the door.