Jazz this week: Jeremy Davenport, Steve Ross, Jeanette Harris & Althea René, and more

While this week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis is slightly curtailed by the Thanksgiving holiday, there nevertheless are several noteworthy gigs happening, including the annual return of a noted local expat now living in New Orleans; a visit from one of NYC's most storied cabaret performers; and a tour stop by two "Queens of Soul Jazz." Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, November 27
This week's free "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" in Grand Center features multi-instrumentalist Jacob Alspach and friends at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Brady Lewis and BLStet at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black are back at Scarlett's Wine Bar; Miss Jubilee performs vintage swing, hot jazz and more at Schlafly Bottleworks; and trumpeter Jim Manley does his weekly gig at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Friday, November 29
Trumpeter, singer and U City native Jeremy Davenport (pictured, top left) returns to his hometown for the first of two nights of his annual post-Thanksgiving performances at Jazz St. Louis. Davenport, who leads the house band at the Ritz-Carlton in his adopted home in New Orleans, usually draws a sell-out crowd, so advance reservations are strongly advised.

Elsewhere around town, singer and pianist Steve Ross, nicknamed the "Crown Prince of Cabaret" and a noted interpreter of the music of Cole Porter, will perform songs by Porter and more for the first of two nights at Blue Strawberry.

Also on Friday, there are two shows by local acts promoting debut recordings, with Annie and the Fur Trappers playing traditional jazz at the Focal Point and singer and pianist Katarra Parson offering songs from her album Cocoa Voyage at The Dark Room.

Saturday, November 30
Saxophonist Jeanette Harris and flute player Althea René (pictured, bottom left) bring their "Queens of Soul Jazz" tour to the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The two teamed up earlier this year to release the singer "We Are One," but both have had successful solo careers leading up to the collaboration. For more about both women, and some live performance videos, check out this post from Saturday before last.

Also on Saturday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham is back at Troy's Listening Room; pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True return to the Parkside Grille; and The Gaslight Squares are playing at the Frisco Barroom.

Sunday, December 1
Dizzy Atmosphere plays Gypsy jazz and vintage swing for brunch at The Dark Room; the Jazz Troubadours play their monthly show at Evangeline's; and pianist and singer Jesse Gannon leads a trio at The Judson House.

Monday, December 2
The Folk School of KDHX hosts their weekly Traditional Jazz Jam Session.

Tuesday, December 3
The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra plays their fourth annual "1/2 a Christmas Concert" at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

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: Donny McCaslin; Lea Bertucci & Sarah Davachi; Brian Blade & John Patitucci in "Winter Jazz Festival"; and more

Though the weather forecast for this weekend is looking a bit dicey, the calendar of upcoming live jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis provides a number of good reasons to get out of the house, including the return engagement of a top tenor saxophonist; a double-bill of experimental composer-performers making their local debuts; and a benefit event featuring a stellar lineup of touring and local musicians.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 16
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin returns for the first of five nights of performances continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis.

McCaslin (pictured, top left) in October released his latest album Blow, which features the same band he led  accompanying David Bowie on Bowie's final album Blackstar, plus guest vocalists.

The recording has earned generally positive reviews, with Rolling Stone's Hank Steamer praising the band's choice to "step boldly into hybrid, tough-to-classify musical terrain, grafting their trademark sleek, emotive electrojazz onto lush, proggy art rock."

Though McCaslin will have a different lineup of musicians in St. Louis,  it seems likely that he'll include at least some of the material from Blow in his sets here, which should provide some interesting opportunities for contrast with the recorded versions of those tunes.

Also on Wednesday, pianist Jim Hegarty leads a trio at Evangeline's, and this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features multi-instrumentalist TJ Muller and friends at The Stage at KDHX, the weekly jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and his band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, January 17
Saxophonist Tim Cunningham brings his smooth jazz and R&B sounds to The Laugh Lounge STL, and guitarist Vincent Varvel leads a trio at The Dark Room.

Friday, January 18
Singer Erin Bode performs for the first of two nights at the Emerald Room at The Monocle; trumpeter Keith Moyer leads a quartet at Evangeline's; and the Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, 
January 19
New Music Circle presents electronic musician and composer Sarah Davachi and saxophonist and composer Lea Bertucci (pictured, bottom left) performing in separate sets at Link Auction Galleries in the Central West End.

Also on Saturday, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade headline the "Winter Jazz Festival" at the Grandel Theatre. The event also will feature performances by Bach to the Future, violinist Tracy Silverman, guitarist Dave Black, keyboardists Jay Oliver, Mo Egeston, and Ptah Williams,  drummer Lucrezio de Seta, and multi-instrumentalist William Lenihan, with proceeds benefiting the Dillon International adoption agency.

Sunday, January 20
Singer and guitarist Tommy Halloran plays for brunch at The Dark Room, and the St. Louis Jazz Club presents Annie and the Fur Trappers in a matinee performance at the Moolah Shrine Center.

Monday, January 21
Guitarist Tom Byrne leads a quartet in a concert at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

Tuesday, January 22
Singer and bassist Janet Evra will play a "Notes From Home" concert at The Sheldon.

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.)