Jazz this week: Alyssa Graham; a benefit for Anthony Wiggins; Paul DeMarinis; Chris Burchett plays Monk; and more

With better, almost springlike weather in the offing, it should be a good weekend to get out and hear some live music in St. Louis, and there are a number of events coming up of interest to fans of jazz and creative music.

You can get started tonight, when singer Alyssa Graham opens a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. This is Graham's debut performance in St. Louis, and her vocal style and blend of jazz, folk and pop influences would seem likely to appeal to fans of local favorite Erin Bode. You can find out more and see some videos of Graham in this post, and hear an interview with her here. Also, Jazz St. Louis has a two-for-one deal on tickets for Graham; for details on that, go here.

Also on Wednesday evening, pianist Jay Oliver is doing a free concert starting at 8:00 p.m. at 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave in University City. Oliver will be joined by guitarist William Lenihan, bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Roger Guth. According to the Jazz at Holmes email list, compared to Saturday's concert by Oliver this one will feature "more straight-ahead jazz with the possibility of some more modern things."

Also tonight, the Black Rep's production of Yesterdays: An Evening With Billie Holiday, with Vanessa Rubin starring as Holiday, resumes its run. There are evening performances Wednesday through Saturday, plus matinees on Saturday and Sunday, through March 14.

On Thursday, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis will do a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Then on Friday evening, trumpeter Randy Holmes will take the stage at Robbies House of Jazz to play the music Art Farmer and Jim Hall with Steve Schenkel (guitar), Eric Warren (bass), and Kevin Gianino (drums).

On Saturday afternoon, guitarist Chris Burchett will play his own compositions and the music of Thelonious Monk for the lastest installment of the Nu-Art Series' "Re-Arrangements and Nu-Compositions"

Sundaybrings a benefit show for trumpeter and jazz educator Anthony Wiggins starting at 4:00 p.m. at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. Wiggins is recovering from a brain aneurysm suffered last month, and this event will raise money for him and his family. Scheduled performers include Par 3, Arvell Keithley, Good 4 the Soul, Mystic Voyage, and J-Rob. A minimum $10 donation will be requested at the door.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday morning, trumpeter Bob Ceccarini and pianist Pat Joyce will play a "Coffee Concert" at the Sheldon Concert Hall., with the same program repeating at the same time on Wednesday. Tuesday evening, the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club will have its monthly meeting at Borders in Brentwood, with JSL's Gene Dobbs Bradford and DJ and author Dennis Owsley leading a discussion of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme.

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 by becoming a "fan" of 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.)

Alyssa Graham podcast interview now online

Jazz St. Louis has just posted the latest installment in their series of podcast interviews: a chat between JSL's Gene Dobbs Bradford and singer Alyssa Graham, who will be making her St. Louis debut this Wednesday, March 3 through Saturday, March 6 at Jazz at the Bistro.

You can listen to an audio stream of the interview here. Also, after a bit of tinkering by the web gurus on the recently re-designed JSL site, visitors once again have the option of downloading an .mp3 file of the interview. Glad to see JSL has restored that feature for those who may choose to use it.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing Alyssa Graham

This week, we've got some clips of singer Alyssa Graham, who will be making her St. Louis debut starting Wednesday, March 3 and continuing through Saturday, March 6 at Jazz at the Bistro.

The New Jersey native released her first album What Love Is in 2005 and followed up with her sophomore effort Echo in 2008. Along with Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Brazilian music, Graham cites singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young as important influences, and her synthesis of jazz, folk and pop seems likely to appeal to fans of singers like St. Louis' own Erin Bode.

The first clip shows Graham performing her song "Arkansas" live at Dizzy's in NYC. Down below, you can see the music video for "Pictures of You," from Echo. Below that, there's a brand new, apparently homemade clip showing Graham doing a solo performance of an unreleased tune called "Let's Start It All". In the fourth slot, you can see a short interview with Graham put together by Billboard magazine.

Jazz St. Louis offering 2-for-1 ticket discount for Alyssa Graham

Jazz St. Louis is offering a 2-for-1 discount on tickets to hear singer Alyssa Graham, who's coming to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, March 3 through Saturday, March 6 at Jazz at the Bistro.

The gig will be the St. Louis debut for Graham (pictured), who blends jazz, folk and Brazilian influences and released her second album Echo in 2008.

Without the discount, tickets are priced at $25 for Wednesday and Thursday, $30 for Friday and Saturday, but the two-for-the-price-of-one offer is available for all of Graham's sets. To take advantage of the offer, call 314-289-4030 and mention the promotional code AG2010.

Joey DeFrancesco, Alyssa Graham switch 2010 dates at Jazz at the Bistro

Jazz St. Louis has announced another change in the season schedule for Jazz at the Bistro. From the letter sent out to subscribers:

"Due to scheduling conflicts, Joey DeFrancesco has been forced to reschedule his dates for March of 2010. To make things easier for everyone, we have switched his dates with those of Alyssa Graham. The new dates will be:

Alyssa Graham: March 3 - 6, 2010
Joey DeFrancesco: March 31 - April 3, 2010

This will not affect our Series One, Three or Four subscribers, as both shows are in your series. For others of you who have purchased tickets to one or both shows, those tickets are now good for the new dates of each artist. If you unable to make the newly scheduled dates, you may return your tickets to the point of purchase for a full refund.

We sincerely hope that this will be the last schedule change we have this season and appreciate everyone's patience as we try to accommodate both our patrons and our artists."

JSL's Bob Bennett tells StLJN that the scheduling conflict arose when DeFrancesco, considered one of the top organ players in jazz, agreed to be part of saxophonist David Sanborn's band for a tour next year. Some of Sanborn's dates overlapped DeFrancesco's scheduled stint at the Bistro, prompting the switch with Graham (pictured), a singer who will be making her Bistro debut.