Jazz this week: All That Tap XXIV, "Swinging for the Fences," Good 4 The Soul, and more

It's another sultry mid-summer week in St. Louis, and though there are no major touring headliners in town this week, there's plenty of activity involving local jazz and creative musicians, offering sounds ranging from nostalgic to experimental. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 29
Tonight, the Spiritual Revolution Ensemble will make their official debut at the Tavern of Fine Arts. Formed after a jam session in May at ToFA, the group of free improvisors features a core band of saxophonists Jerome “J-Dubz” Williams, Aaron Parker, and Rahtu Johnson, pianist David Parker and percussionist Glenn "Papa" Wright, augmented for this performance by guests including guitarist Kendra Mahr, poets Pacia Anderson and Jana Thomas, and pianist Greg Mills.

Also tonight, Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing will play a free outdoor concert for the Missouri Botanical Garden's Whitaker Music Festival; and guitarist Vincent Varvel leads a trio at Nathalie's.

Thursday, July 30
Jazz St. Louis continues their series of events looking at the relationship between jazz and baseball with "Jazz & the Negro Leagues", a free lecture by author and Washington University professor Gerald Early, followed by a reception at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also on Thursday, drummer Montez Coleman leads a quartet in a free concert wrapping up the summer edition of the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and the St. Louis Big Band and singer Joe Scalzitti will open the second weekend of performances of their tribute show "Sinatra at 100" at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Elsewhere around town, Miss Jubilee will make up for a rainout earlier this summer with a free concert at Ellisville's Bluebird Park, and singer Erin Bode returns to Nathalie's.

Friday, July 31
Good 4 The Soul (pictured, upper left) returns to Jazz at the Bistro for the first of two evenings, with guitarist Shaun Robinson, bassist John King and drummer James Jackson joined for the weekend by keyboardist Pete Ruthenberg, subbing for Adaron "Pops" Jackson.

Also on Friday, singer Tony Viviano will serenade diners at Fortel's, guitarist Eric Slaughter and bassist Glen Smith will take the stage at Thurman Grill; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will be swinging at the Venice Cafe.

Saturday, August 1
The annual St. Louis Tap Festival culminates with All That Tap XXIV, an evening of tap dance performances and music at the Grand Center Arts Academy's Sun Theatre.

This year's event serves as a tribute to Tap Festival founder Robert L. Reed, who died earlier this month in Oklahoma City, and will feature Reed's daughter Robin Reed (pictured, lower left) performing in his stead.

Pianist Carolbeth True's trio once again will provide the music for a lineup of featured dancers including Charon Aldredge, Christopher Broughton, Omar Edwards, Anthony LoCascio, Avi Miller & Ofer Ben, Jason Samuels Smith, and Dorneshia Sumbry-Edwards. You can read a brief preview of the performance from St. Louis magazine here.

Also on Saturday, percussionist Joe Pastor and the St. Louis Legacy Ensemble will play a free outdoor concert at Lafayette Park

Sunday, August 2
The Friends of Scott Joplin will present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous," a free event at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site.

Also on Sunday, Jazz St. Louis wraps up their "Swinging for the Fences" series with a "Town Picnic" at Lafayette Park. The free event is open to the public and will feature a "vintage" baseball game played with period uniforms and rules, followed by Lindy Hop dance lessons and a concert of traditional jazz and swing by the Spats 'n' Flapper Speakeasy Orchestra, who are from Clear Lake, IA.  

Monday, August 3
Singer Erika Johnson and guitarist Tom Byrne will return to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

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.)

Jazz this week: St. Louis Cabaret Festival, Bull of Heaven, "All That Tap XXIII," and more

Though the dog days of August are looming nigh, it's a busy week for live jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with local festivals representing two different branches of jazz-related performance, a rare live gig from a much-talked-about experimental music duo, and a whole lot more. Let's go the highlights...

Tonight, Broadway star Faith Prince kicks off the St. Louis Cabaret Festival with a performance of her show "Have A Little Faith" at the Sheldon ballroom. Produced by Cabaret Project of St. Louis, the festival takes place in conjunction with their annual St. Louis Cabaret Conference. You can read more about it and see some video of Prince and the festival's other headliners in this post from last Saturday.

Tomorrow, the Cabaret Festival continues with longtime St. Louis favorite Ann Hampton Callaway (pictured) presenting "The Streisand Songbook" at the Sheldon.

Also on Thursday, pianist Kara Baldus, bassist Eric Stiller and drummer Kyle Honeycutt will play a free concert to wrap up Washington University's summer Jazz at Holmes series, which is being staged at Tisch Commons in the Danforth University Center; and the Tavern of Fine Arts will present their monthly "Experimental Arts Open Improv Night" with live improvised music.

On Friday, the Cabaret Festival presents a double bill at the Sheldon, with pianist and singer Billy Stritch opening with his own show entitled "I've Got Your Number: The Jazz of Cy Coleman" and then accompanying singer Marilyn Maye for her headlining set. Given Maye's status as one of the reigning grande dames of cabaret, this seems a likely sellout, so if you're interested in going, advance reservations would be a must.

Fortunately, if you can't get tickets in time, there will be plenty of St. Louis jazz vocal talent on display around town on Friday, too, as Miss Jubilee plays a free show at the St. Louis Art Museum; Wendy Gordon and pianist Arthur Toney return to DeLeo's Cafe & Deli; the Ann Dueren Trio performs at Il Bel Lago; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will be swinging at Evangeline's. And should you be out west in Union, MO, you can catch singer Joe Mancuso's quartet at Domenic's Ristorante and Social Club (membership in la familia not required.).

On Saturday, the Cabaret Festival wraps up with the St. Louis Cabaret Conference Showcase at the Kranzberg Arts Center, featuring performances from a roster of up-and-coming singers in town to take part in the conference.

That same evening, the spotlight shines on yet another part of the jazz diaspora as the annual St. Louis Tap Festival comes to a conclusion with "All That Tap XXIII", presented this year at the Edison Theatre.

Pianist Carolbeth True's trio will provide the music for a lineup of dancers including the festival's founder, Robert L. Reed; Emmy Award-winning choreographer Jason Samuels Smith; dancer and author Karen Callaway Williams; the Israeli dance team of Avi Miller and Ofer Ben; Reed’s protégé Logan Miller; multi-media choreographer Bob Audy; Evan Ruggiero; Maud and Chloe Arnold, who were featured on this past season of the Fox network's So You Think You Can Dance; Martin 'Tre' Dumas III; and Megan Maltos.

Elsewhere around town on Saturday, the experimental duo Bull of Heaven will be in town for a rare live performance at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. As much a conceptual art project as a performing unit, Bull of Heaven reportedly have released hundreds of thousands of hours of audio since being formed in 2006, including individual "songs" that are hundreds of hours long, as well as "music puzzles" using some of the peculiarities and specifics of digital technology to deliver unexpected results. For a bit more about them, and links to interviews with the group's members, see this post.

And if all that's not enough for one Saturday night, the Funky Butt Brass Band will be making a comparatively rare non-holiday appearance at Off Broadway; and singer Tony Viviano will present his "Tony Bennett 88th Birthday Tribute" at Four Seasons Winery in Chesterfield.

On Sunday, the Friends of Scott Joplin will host their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site; singers Mary Dyson and Dianne Vaughn will be this week's guest stars with saxophonist Willie Akins' quartet at Troy's Jazz Gallery; and guitarist Dave Black will play at Pomme Cafe & Wine Bar.

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.)

"All That Tap XXIII" set for Saturday, August 2 at Edison Theatre

Jazz fans and musicians historically have taken an interest in tap dancing, as the two art forms evolved in parallel, often sharing the same dance halls and theaters, during the middle of the 20th century. Famed drummer Buddy Rich actually started his show business career as a child tap dancer, and other jazz drummers, including Max Roach and Louis Bellson, have been tap dancers, or at least tap fans, too.

Here in present-day St. Louis, the connection between jazz and tap will be demonstrated for local enthusiasts once again during "All That Tap XXIII," the grand finale of the week-long St. Louis Tap Festival that will take place at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, August 2 at the Edison Theatre.

Pianist Carolbeth True's trio will provide the music for a cast of dancers including the festival's founder, Robert L. Reed (pictured); Emmy Award-winning choreographer Jason Samuels Smith; dancer and author Karen Callaway Williams; the Israeli dance team of Avi Miller and Ofer Ben; Reed’s protégé Logan Miller; multi-media choreographer Bob Audy; Evan Ruggiero; Maud and Chloe Arnold, who were featured on this past season of the Fox network's So You Think You Can Dance; Martin 'Tre' Dumas III; and Megan Maltos.

(If you'd like to know more about the connections between jazz and tap dancing, check out the links here, here, here and here.)

Audiences also are invited to attend some of the Festival's other special events held throughout the week of July 28 at the Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel, including the annual "Tap Jam," a free event at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 30; a free panel discussion at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, July 31; and the annual "Participants Showcase," which has a $5 admission charge, at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 1.

Tickets for "All That Tap XXIII" are $25 each and are on sale now at the Edison box office and online.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* With a little more than 24 hours to go, KDHX (88.1 FM) yesterday met their Kickstarter campaign goal of $50,000 to build a 125-seat performance space at the station's new headquarters on Washington Ave in the Grand Center district.

The campaign's final days were marked by a social media push on Facebook and Twitter involving local music fans and bloggers, and also got some coverage from reporter Heidi Glaus of local NBC affiliate KSDK. The various premiums still are available to anyone who pledges before the campaign ends at noon on Friday.

* Metrotix and Tap Heritage, Inc. are offering a $5 discount on tickets for "All That Tap XXII," this year's installment of the annual tap dance festival to be held Saturday at the Edison Theater on the Washington University campus.

The event features tap stars of movies, Broadway and TV performing in tap dance styles from jazz to hip-hop, with live music from pianist Carolbeth True's trio. The regular ticket price is $25, so the discounted price is $20 per ticket. To access the offer, go to the Metrotix site and enter promo code ATT.  The offer ends at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

* Quartette Humaine, the new album from David Sanborn and Bob James, was reviewed by Chris Parker for London Jazz News.

* Jim Widner (pictured)  - bassist, bandleader, educator and head of the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival - was the subject of a profile by Ruth Ezell of local PBS affiliate KETC's Living St. Louis, as well as a feature story by the UMSL Daily.

* And speaking of profiles, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes this week were the subjects of one written by Terry Perkins for the St. Louis Beacon.

* Perkins this week also wrote for the Beacon a preview of the upcoming St. Louis Cabaret Festival.

* And on the same subject, singer Jason Graae, who will be appearing at the Cabaret Festival and accompanying conference, was interviewed by KDHX's "Break A Leg" podcast.

* The St. Louis Stompers are headlining this weekend at the 21st annual Lakeside DixieFest in Clear Lake, IA.

* Jazz St. Louis this week announced that the organization posted double-digit percentage increases in subscription and single ticket sales revenues this past season, with total revenue for all Jazz at the Bistro activity up 17% over the previous year.

Subscription revenue grew by 13% to $151,417, with total subscription seats sold rising 8% to 5,755. New subscription seats sold for Jazz at the Bistro increased 26% over fiscal 2012, and average per-set attendance increased 7% compared to the previous year. In a press release, Jazz St. Louis' Bob Bennett attributed the growth to a record number of new subscription seats purchased, an 85% renewal rate, and an overall increase in the number of shows subscribers are purchasing.

JSL also announced this week that Wells Fargo Advisors will contribute $100,000 to be "presenting sponsor" of the 2013-14 Jazz at the Bistro season, marking the third year the company has made a "leadership gift" to the organization.

* Jazz radio update: This week at Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, saxophonist Joe Henderson's  achievements as a bandleader, composer and accompanist will be the subject of this week's episode of Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else." In addition to music from Henderson, the program also will feature sounds from saxophonist Marcus Strickland and singer Holly Cole. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen. 

Elsewhere on the radio dial, Dennis Owsley's "Jazz Unlimited" program this Sunday will feature the music of Fats Waller, as interpreted by Waller himself and pianists James P. Johnson, Earl Hines and Dick Hyman, plus St. Louis’s own Ralph Sutton and his sister Barbara Sutton Curtis.

Owsley also will spin new music from Ralph Alessi, Melton Mustafa, the Joel Harrison 19, Mark Gross, Oliver Jones, Fred Hersch, Laszlo Gardony, Kenny Barron, Jacky Terrasson, Edward Simon, Scott Newman, Ben Monder, and RJ and the Association. "Jazz Unlimited" can be heard from 9:00 pm to midnight Sundays on KWMU (90.7 FM) or online at http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org.

Jazz this week: Kermit Ruffins, Nora Germain, Good 4 The Soul, All That Tap XXI, Dave Dickey Big Band, and more

The weekend starts early for fans of jazz and creative music in St. Louis, as Kermit Ruffins - trumpeter, singer, entrepreneur, bon vivant and ambassador of New Orleans music - will be playing at The Gramophone tonight and again on Thursday evening.

While he's in town, Ruffins also will be doing a meet-and-greet and signing copies of his new album We Partyin' Traditional Style on Thursday morning at Vintage Vinyl.

Ruffins (pictured), who helped found the Rebirth Brass Band and has been seen as a recurring character on the HBO series Treme, is known as a winning showman as well as a fine trumpeter. For much more about Ruffins, and footage of him and his band the Barbecue Swingers in action, see this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also tonight, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Then on Thursday, Los Angeles violinist Nora Germain, a 21-year-old USC student and protege of Cowbop guitarist Bruce Forman, will bring her band to Robbie's House of Jazz as part of a Midwest tour called "Music Licks on 66".

Also on Thursday, drummer Maurice Carnes and his group will play a free concert to wrap up the summer Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and the Tavern of Fine Arts presents their monthly "Avant Garde Arts Night" featuring live improvised music.

On Friday, Good 4 The Soul, featuring pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson, drummer James Jackson, bassist John King and guitarist Shaun Robinson, will play for the first of two nights to close out the summer season at Jazz at the Bistro.

(Except for a couple of one-off shows related to the upcoming St. Louis Cabaret Festival and American Music Festival, the Bistro is scheduled to be dark for nearly two months, until the week of September 25 - 28 when Yellowjackets come to town to open the 2013-14 Jazz at the Bistro season.)

Also on Friday, guitarist Tom Byrne and Have U Heard play at Jazz on Broadway; saxophonist Kendrick Smith leads a trio with bassist Charles Clements and drummer Micah Walker at Cigar Inn; and saxophonist Jay Hutson and Da Wolvez, featuring singer Tamesha Foote, are at Robbie's.

On Saturday night, it's the 21st annual "All That Tap' festival at the Touhill Performing Arts Center Edison Theater, featuring a lineup of top tap-dancing talent from across the USA demonstrating their terpsichorean skills with music from pianist Carolbeth True's trio.

Also on Saturday, Miss Jubilee plays a free outdoor concert at Lafayette Park; Tommy Halloran and Guerilla Swing will perform at the Venice Cafe; and singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will duet at Chaser's Lounge in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.

On Sunday, the Dave Dickey Big Band will be back after a month's hiatus for their usual fourth-Sunday gig at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective will play at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; and on Tuesday, saxophonist Dave Cheli's Tribal Chicken and friends, including Ajay Khanna, Dave Stone, Chris Smentkowski and Jeremy Melsha, will present a show of free improv at Foam on S. Jefferson.

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.)

Edited 7/25/13 to correct the venue for All That Tap XXI.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Quartette Humaine, the new album from St. Louis' own David Sanborn and keyboardist Bob James, was officially released this week. Sanborn and James start their tour in support of the album (pictured) in a couple of weeks at NYC's Town Hall, but first, James did manage to make it back home to Marshall, Missouri this month for the annual jazz festival bearing his name.

* Also officially released this week is saxophonist Oliver Lake's new big band album Wheels. You can hear a sample track, a big band version of Outkast's "The Whole World," here, and purchase the album as either a CD or digital download here.

* Calvin Wilson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis has a brand new website for his program "Somethin' Else."  Wilson can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

* This Sunday's "Jazz Unlimited" program on KWMU (90.7) will feature the eighth part of Dennis Owsley's documentary on the jazz history of St. Louis. This segment covers the 1990s, and will include music from Joe Charles, Herb Drury, Carolbeth True, the Kim Portnoy Big Band, Reggie and Mardra Thomas, Jean Kittrell and the Dixie Stompers, Christine Hitt, Asa Harris, and Denise Thimes, plus an interview with drummer Gary Sykes.

* Jefferson Barracks Park will be the site of a musicians swap meet to be held from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9 at Jefferson Barracks Visitors Center. Tables are $10 and must be reserved by May 31. Admission is $1, which lets you enter the show and bring any instrument or music-related item to sell or trade. For more information or to reserve a space, call 314-544-5714 or email mkladky@stlouisco.com.

* While singer Bobby McFerrin was in town to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall earlier this month, he was interviewed by the PBS program Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. You can see both McFerrin and the Sheldon in the episode which airs at 10:30 a.m. this Sunday, May 26 on local PBS affiliate KETC (Channel 9) and also can be seen online.

* A new music store, Dead Wax Records, has opened on Cherokee St.

* Trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, whose opera Champion will get its world premiere next month here at Opera Theatre St. Louis, also has a new jazz album, Magnetic, coming out next week. You can hear a preview of the album here. Blanchard also appeared this week on PBS' Tavis Smiley Show to talk about the album and the opera, and you can see that interview online here.

* And speaking of TV interviews, here's one that HEC-TV did recently with St. Louis Tap Festival founder Robert Reed. The annual festival, which each year features performances from some of the world's most accomplished tap dancers accompanied by live jazz music, takes place in July, with the grand finale on July 27 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Jazz this week: Ronnie Burrage, Musica Slesa, All That Tap, Della Reese, and more

It's another week of extreme heat here in St. Louis, and yet the work of presenting jazz and creative music goes on unabated, with a homecoming gig for drummer and U City native Ronnie Burrage; the annual All That Tap festival; and several other noteworthy events. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, trumpeter Kasimu Taylor debuts a new quintet in the subterranean confines of the Cigar Inn, featuring Montez Coleman on drums, Bob DeBoo on bass, Eric Slaughter on guitar and Nicole Jonas on vocals. Taylor has gigged around town with a number of different funk, R&B, jazz and swing bands, but this reportedly is his first venture in a while as a leader, so here's your chance to get in on the ground floor, so to speak.

Also tonight, it's the monthly "Avant Garde Arts Night" at the Tavern of Fine Arts, featuring live improvised music from keyboardist Jim Hegarty, percussionist Tom Zirkle and a cast of co-conspirators. Word is that Hegarty will be bringing out his Moog Voyager for the gig, so if you're into vintage-style analog synthesis, this could be the show for you.

On Friday, drummer and U. City native Ronnie Burrage (pictured) will be back in town for the first of two evenings at Robbie's House of Jazz. Burrage, who's been teaching at Penn State University in recent years, will be fronting a hybrid version of his Band Burrage, bringing Philadelphia saxophonist Rick Tate with him, but also enlisting the aid of locals Bob DeBoo (bass) and Eric Slaughter (guitar).

In addition to drumming, Burrage is a keyboardist, singer and composer, and all those skills should be on display this weekend. For more about him, check out this Saturday video post that preceded his appearance here last summer. Also, I did an interview with Burrage that will be published shortly on the RFT Music Blog; once it's online at the RFT's site, there will be a link here, too.

Elsewhere on Friday, Latin-jazz group Musica Slesa will open a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro, and actress and singer Della Reese will perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall in a benefit for the Eugene Field Foundation. The Sheldon and Metrotix are offering a discount on the last of the regularly priced tickets for Reese's show; for details on that, go here.

On Saturday, it's the annual All That Tap concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, featuring a stellar lineup of tap dancers demonstrating their art with a musical assist from pianist Carolbeth True's trio.

Also on Saturday, saxophonist Jim Stevens will play a free outdoor concert at Lafayette Park; the Schlafly St. Louis Brewery & Tap Room will present a show of improvised/experimental music featuring the Darin Gray/Bill Horist Duo, Larva and Ghost Ice; and Jazz St. Louis' Young Friends organization will be having a patio party outside the Bistro while Musica Slesa is performing inside.

On Sunday, string-band swing band Dizzy Atmosphere will perform at the Tap Room; world music group Farshid Etniko plays a free outdoor concert at Carondelet Park; and the eclectic roots-music band Sins of the Pioneers will team up with the Compton Heights Concert Band for a free outdoor show at Francis Park, Eichelberger & Donovan. (The SOTP/CHCB will be repeated Monday night at Tower Grove Park.)

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.)

All That Tap XXI scheduled for Saturday, July 28 at the Touhill

The connections between jazz music and tap dancing will be on display once again during All That Tap XXI, the grand finale of the week-long St. Louis Tap Festival that will take place at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, July 28 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Pianist Carolbeth True's trio (pictured) will provide the music for a cast of dancers including Bob Scheerer, Claudia Rahardjanoto, Logan Miller, Denise Caston, Martin 'Tre' Dumas III, Dormeshia Sumbry Edwards, Robin Reed, Evan Ruggiero. and the festival's founder, Robert L. Reed.

(Jazz and tap have been associated throughout the history of both art forms, and tap dancing has been an interest of a number of notable jazz musicians, including drummers such as Buddy Rich (who started in show business as a child tap dancer), Max Roach and Louis Bellson. For more on the connection between jazz music and tap dancing, see here, here, here and here. )

The spontaneous nature of tap also will be highlighted at another of the festival's events, a "tap jam" to be held at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 25 at the Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel, 7730 Bonhomme Ave in Clayton. The free event is billed as "an evening of live music and tap improvisation" and will feature appearances from the Tap Festival's faculty.

Tickets for All That Tap XXI are $35 for general admission, and can be purchased by calling 314-516-4949 or online at http://www.touhill.org/.

(Edited 6/29/12 to fix a typo.)

Jazz this week: Good 4 The Soul, Lowdown Brass Band, Bonerama, All That Tap XX, and more

While the summer weather here in St. Louis continues to define the word "sweltering," this week also brings a variety of jazz and creative music suitable for beating the heat. Let's see what's coming up...

Tonight, the summer edition of the Jazz at Holmes Series at Washington University wraps up with a free concert from The Poor People of Paris. (The series will be on hiatus for the month of August and then, presumably, will resume again in September.)

On Friday, Good 4 The Soul (pictured) begins a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro, offering an instrumental brew of jazz, funk, fusion, gospel and R&B.

Also on Friday, Chicago's Lowdown Brass Band will perform at Robbie's House of Jazz. If you like St. Louis' Funky Butt Brass Band, or are looking for a fix of New Orleans-style brass band music after last week's show from Rebirth Brass Band, you may want to check out LBD, as they're known in their hometown.

That same evening, drummer Paul Shaw leads a trio with pianist Ptah Williams and bassist Bob DeBoo at the Cigar Inn in Belleville, and the Original Knights of Swing will play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Also on Saturday, the young pianist Samson Mengsteab, once a member of the jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble and now studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston, will front a trio at Robbie's; bassist/DJ Josh Weinstein and poet Brett Underwood team up to present a free performance at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts playing off the current exhibit "Dreamscapes"; and the annual tap dance extravaganza All That Tap XX takes place at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

The event is the finale of the week-long St. Louis Tap Festival, and will feature music from the Carolbeth True Trio behind dance performances from Robert L. Reed, Arthur Duncan, Harold Cromer and many others.

On Sunday, the Sheldon Concert Hall and The Gramophone are joining forces to present the New Orleans band Bonerama in the Sheldon's upstairs ballroom. Founded by veterans of Harry Connick, Jr's band, Bonerama features a front line of four trombones and combines traditional New Orleans jazz and brass band sounds with rock, funk, free improv and more. You can see some videos of Bonerama in action in this post.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday guitarist Tom Byrne bring his Pat Metheny-inspired project Have You Heard? to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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.)

(Edited after posting.)

All That Tap XX set for Saturday, July 30 at the Touhill

As noted here before, jazz music and tap dancing have been connected throughout the history of both art forms, and tap dancing has been an interest of a number of notable jazz musicians, including drummers such as Buddy Rich (who started in show business as a child tap dancer), Max Roach and Louis Bellson.

St. Louis tap dance guru Robert L. Reed no doubt is well aware of that connection, as he once again has enlisted the services of the Carolbeth True Trio to provide live music for All That Tap XX, the tap dancing extravaganza that will be held this year at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 30, at the Touhill Performing Arts Center

The event is the finale of the week-long St. Louis Tap Festival, and will feature performances from Reed, Arthur Duncan of the Lawrence Welk Show (pictured), Broadway veteran Harold Cromer, and many others. Actor, dancer and clown Bill Irwin, who has appeared in numerous feature films and TV shows, also is listed as a special guest, "schedule permitting," and actress Cloris Leachman will serve as mistress of ceremonies. Tickets for All That Tap XX are $15, $20 & $25, and are on sale now via the Touhill box office.

(For more on the connection between jazz music and tap dancing, see here, here, here and here.)

Jazz this week: Rick Braun and Richard Elliot, All That Tap XVII, Good 4 The Soul, and more

Though things are starting to slow a bit as July winds down and we head toward the dog days of August, there are still a few noteworthy shows of interest to jazz fans in St. Louis this week. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, the Poor People of Paris, led by saxophonist/vocalist Elsie Parker, bring their blend of French cabaret, pop and jazz to Missouri Botanical Garden for a free concert as part of the Whitaker Music Festival

On Thursday, the very busy drummer:Miles Vandiver gets a chance to lead his own group in a free concert as part of Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series. Vandiver will be joined by Nick Jost on bass, Peter Schlamb on vibes and Jason Schwagler on saxophones. Also on Thursday, Jazz St. Louis' Bob Bennett, who plays tenor sax in addition to serving as JSL's operations director, will team up with Good 4 The Soul for a free concert at St. Louis Place Park as part of the Whiatker Urban Evenings series.

On Friday, Rick Sanborn's Smooth Summer Party series at The Pageant continues with a show by R 'n R, featuring trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Richard Elliot (pictured). (You can read more about Braun and Elliot in a preview story on the show written by Terry Perkings for the Post-Dispatch, available online here.)

Also on Friday, Wild, Cool and Swingin' performs at Cookie's Jazz and More, and Good 4 The Soul starts a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro to wrap up that venue's summer season. The Bistro will go dark until Friday, September 5, when the Craig Russo Latin Jazz Project kicks off the club's 2008-09 season.

On Saturday, the 2008 St. Louis Tap Festival concludes with the concert presentation All That Tap XVII at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The event will feature more than a dozen pro tap dancers with experience in TV, movies and/or Broadway performing with musical accompaniment by the Carolbeth True Trio. The Post's Calvin Wilson interviewed festival director Robert L. Reed for a feature story that you can read right here.

Also on Saturday, singer Anita Rosamond is performing a concert at the Black Cat Theatre in Maplewood to celebrate the release of her latest CD. She talked with the Post's Kevin Johnson about the CD and the show for an article that's available online here.

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.)

(Updated 7/23/08 to add two more events and links to three Post-Dispatch stories.)

"All That Tap" previewed in West End Word

The West End Word had a story this week previewing the "All That Tap" festival, which will be held all this week at the Sheraton in Clayton. After a week of classes, workshops and panel discussions, the festival will wrap up on Saturday, July 26 with a concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center featuring more than a dozen professional tap dancers from stage and screen performing with live musical accompaniment from pianist Carolbeth True and her trio. You can read the article online here.

Carolbeth True Trio to perform at All That Tap XVI on July 26

All That Tap XVII, the 2008 installment of the annual celebration of tap dancing created and produced by St. Louis tap dancer, choreographer, teacher and historian Robert L. Reed (pictured), will take place starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 26 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

The event is the culmination of the weeklong St. Louis Tap Festival, and will feature a multi-generational cast of dancers from all over the country performing in styles from Jazz to Funk to Broadway with live musical accompaniment from pianist Carolbeth True's jazz trio. For ticket information, see the TouPAC's Web site.

All That Tap festival to feature music from Carolbeth True Trio

Jazz music and tap dancing have been connected throughout the history of both art forms. Of course, jazz's swing and syncopation have made it the preferred musical accompaniment for many a hoofer, but the art of tap dancing also has fascinated many jazz musicians, especially drummers such as Buddy Rich (who started in show business as a child tap dancer), Max Roach and Louis Bellson.

Given that connection, it makes perfect sense that St. Louis tap dance guru Robert L. Reed has selected the Carolbeth True Trio to provide the music for All That Tap XVI, the tap festival that will be held this year at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at the Touhill Performing Arts Center

Featured tap dancers at the event will include Avi Miller and Ofer Ben, Rod Ferrone, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Robert Reed III, Bril Barrett, Karen Callaway Williams, Shelley Oliver, Wizdom & Dee Mac, Logan Miller and Melba Huber. Special guests will include tap legends Prince Spencer (of the Four Step Brothers), Jimmy Slyde, Harold Cromer and special honoree Marion Coles.

(To learn a bit more about the connection between jazz music and tap dancing, check out these three articles.)