Jazz this week: Max Weinberg Big Band, Russell Malone, Straight Ahead, and more

It looks to be another nice fall weekend in St. Louis, with a number of opportunities to get out and hear some jazz and creative music. Here's what's going on over the next few days:

Tonight, the versatile guitarist Russell Malone (pictured) opens a four night stand at Jazz at the Bistro in support of his upcoming CD Triple Play, which will be released November 2 by the St. Louis-based label MAXJAZZ.

Malone, who has played with Diana Krall, Ron Carter, Dianne Reeves, and many others, just did a Jazz St. Louis podcast interview in anticipation of his Bistro gig and CD release, and you also can see some a sampling of his playing over the years on video here.

On Thursday, drummer Max Weinberg's Big Band will perform at the Argosy Alton Casino. Weinberg seems to be bringing lots of energy and enthusiasm to the project, and judging from the video clips we featured in this post on Saturday, the 15-piece group is drawing enthusiastic crowds as well.

UPDATE - 12:30 p.m., 10/21/10 - Riverfront Times freelancer Matt Wardlaw yaks with Max about the Big Band, Weinberg's recent heart surgery, and more for an article available online here and here.

Also on Thursday night, pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Eric Stiller and drummer Miles Vandiver will play a free concert featuring the music of Herbie Hancock for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and electronic musician Christopher Willits will be performing “An Evening of Neuroscience and Music” at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

The event begins with "a lively conversation about art, perception and the human experience" with associate curator Laura Fried and neuro-psychiatrist Abhilash Desai, followed by a live performance from Willits, who blends live instrumentation with electronic sounds created using custom software.

On Friday, singer Wendy Gordon will perform at Robbie's House of Jazz, backed by pianist Arthur Toney, bassist Jeff Anderson and drummer Marty Morrison; and singer Kim Massie does a show for the "Encore!" music series at the JCC's Mirowitz Performing Arts Center.

UPDATE - 12:35 p.m., 10/21/10 - Just got word that Florida-based flute player Galen Abdur-Razzaq will play an informal concert at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Maryville University Student Center. Abdur-Razzaq will be backed by pianist Matt Scotty Villinger, drummer Marty Morrison Drummer and bassist Willem von Hombracht, and the event is free and open to the general public.

(A parenthetical note about Saturday: The concert by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band that had been scheduled for October 23 at the Family Arena in St. Charles has been postponed until April 13, 2011.)

On Sunday, the Detroit-based, all-female group Straight Ahead will play at the Sheldon Concert Hall in a benefit performance for Community Women Against Hardship (CWAH), while Good 4 The Soul does an early evening set at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.

UPDATE - 12:40 p.m., 10/21/10 - Also on Sunday, there's a benefit for radio station WSIE from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Sharky's, 601 N. Shore Dr. in St. Charles county. The event will feature music from guitarist Tom Byrne, pianist Reggie Thomas, the SIUE Student Jazz Combo and the Eric Slaughter Trio. Suggested donation at the door is $20, and for more information, call 636-250-3300, or go to sharkysontheriver.com

Then on Monday, the music department at Webster University presents its annual TKT Scholarship concert, featuring members of the jazz faculty and special guests performing at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Proceeds benefit a scholarship established in memory of former Webster music students Terry Jackson, Kirk Cappello and Tony Saputo, who in 1991 were killed in a plane crash while on tour with country singer Reba McIntyre.

Afterward, if you're up for still more music on Monday evening, bassist David Certain's free-form/funk outfit CertainBeat WorldBop is playing at BB's.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The Max Weinberg Big Band

This week, let's take a look at some clips of the Max Weinberg Big Band, who will be in the St. Louis area to perform at 7 p.m. this Thursday, October 21 at the Argosy Alton Casino. Known both for his long tenure as the drummer for singer, guitarist and songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and as the bandleader for late-night TV host Conan O'Brien, Weinberg debuted the 15-piece group last year while on hiatus from O'Brien's show.

With Weinberg having passed on the chance to be part of the comic's upcoming new TBS program, the big band is currently on an extended US tour, showcasing a repertoire significantly influenced by three Bs - Buddy (Rich), (Count) Basie and the Boss (in this case, Springsteen, and not the late trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, whose band members sometimes referred to him by the same nickname). To give you an idea of how they actually come across on the bandstand, we've got clips of four songs, recorded at three different gigs this past June.

In the first video up above, you can hear the MWBB tackle "Basically Blues," a straight-ahead number from Rich's catalog that was recorded during a show at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA. Down below, there's a version of the theme from the short-lived 1950s TV show "M Squad," written by Basie, arranged by Benny Carter and taken from the band's gig at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ.

Below that, there are two tunes from their performance in Newport Beach, CA: a version of "Bugle Call Rag" that revisits the arrangement used by the Rich band and includes a Weinberg drum solo; and a big band take on Springsteen's "Kitty's Back," featuring a solo from tenor saxophonist Joey Berkley.

The overall verdict? Judging from these clips, while they're not exactly breaking any new musical ground, the band is solid and swinging, Weinberg clearly is having a good time, and the audiences seem to be enjoying it as well. For tickets to hear the Max Weinberg Big Band at the Argosy Alton Casino, go here.

Max Weinberg Big Band to perform Thursday, October 21 at Argosy Alton Casino

Drummer Max Weinberg (pictured), known for his work with Bruce Springsteen and as leader of late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien's band, will get a chance to show off his jazz chops when he brings his big band to the St. Louis area for a performance at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, October 21 at the Argosy Alton Casino.

The 15-piece aggregation, which "continues the traditions established by Max’s musical heroes including Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Doc Severinsen, and Maynard Ferguson," has been a pet project of Weinberg's in recent years when not on duty with Springsteen or O'Brien. The group made its debut at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach during Christmas Week of 2009, and has since performed at the Count Basie Theater in New Jersey, Yoshi’s in San Francisco, the Ottawa Music Festival and the Newport Beach Summer Jazz Series.

Now, they're out on an extended tour that will run for most of October and November. The Max Weinberg Big Band's repertoire includes original arrangements and tunes made famous by Basie, Rich, and others, plus some vintage TV themes and a segment called "Boss Time" in which they "take a couple of Bruce (Springsteen's) songs and have re-worked them in a big band swing style," according to Weinberg. For more, check out this blog post, which has comments about and a set list from their show this past June at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ.

Tickets for the Max Weinberg Big Band at the Argosy Alton Casino are $35 for general admission and $50 for VIP seating, and can be purchased online here. For more information, call 618-709-6426, or visit the Facebook page of show promoters Spectrum Entertainment Group.

Jazz this week: Ahmad Jamal, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Typhanie Monique, a benefit for KWMU, and more

This week brings two significant touring jazz headliners to St. Louis to help dispell winter's chill. If you're a fan of traditional New Orleans-style jazz, or just want to celebrate Carnival with some seasonally appropriate sounds, check out the Preservation Hall Jazz Band performing at Argosy Alton Casino on Friday and Saturday nights. Based on what I saw of the PHJB at the 2006 St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival, it should be an entertaining, if not especially profound, evening of music.

If you're into a more laid-back, intimate sound forged in the post-bop era, you may enjoy veteran pianist Ahmad Jamal (pictured), who returns to St. Louis for a concert at the Sheldon on Saturday. Jamal's influence isn't nearly as pervasive as, say, Bill Evans or McCoy Tyner, to pick a couple of players from roughly the same age cohort, and back in the day some derided him as a mere "cocktail pianist." Yet, much to his credit, Jamal's music has continued to find an audience throughout a career spanning more than 50 years, and his best work continues to evince both very solid musicianship and a certain conceptual consistency that no doubt has played a role in his longevity.

Also visiting St. Louis this week is Chicago-based singer Typhanie Monique, who will perform in the first free Jazz at Holmes concert of the year Thursday night at Washington University.

That same night, singer Mardra Thomas and the Jazz Gentlemen Quartet - that's Mardra's husband Reggie Thomas' band, with Adaron "Pops" Jackson subbing for the leader on piano - will play at a benefit event for KWMU (FM 90.7) to be held at the Bistro at Grand Center. In addition to raising money for the radio station, the benefit also pays tribute to DJ, author and photographer Dennis Owsley, who hosts KWMU's Sunday night program Jazz Unlimited and will be there to emcee.

On Friday and Saturday, trombonist and "brass specialist" Lamar Harris will bring his band to Jazz at the Bistro, taking over the weekend originally scheduled for drummer Montez Coleman. St. Louis Post-Dispatch pop critic Kevin Johnson's column this week includes an interview with Harris that previews the performances; read it online here.

Other noteworthy gigs coming up: Cookie's Jazz and More has some solid straight-ahead sounds with trumpeter Randy Holmes' quintet on Friday and Trio Tres Bien with singer Danita Mumphard on Saturday. And looking beyond the weekend, on Monday guitarist Tom Byrne will lead an ensemble in a concert at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

For more St. Louis area jazz events, 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.)

Coming attractions include Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Michael Buble, Wayne Bergeron

A recent check of the online touring information service Pollstar revealed some shows coming to the St. Louis area that may be of interest to jazz listeners.

On Friday, January 25 and Saturday, January 26, the Argosy Alton Casino will warm up for Mardi Gras with two concerts by New Orleans' Preservation Hall Jazz Band (pictured). Touring almost non-stop since Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent failure of the levees devastated their hometown, the PHJB has been to the St. Louis area a couple of times recently. I saw them perform at the St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2006, and they put on an entertaining performance, albeit one that included blues, swing and even a rendition of a Thelonious Monk tune in addition to the expected traditional jazz fare.

Also coming to the Gateway City in the near future is singer Michael Buble, who will perform at the Scottrade Center on Wednesday, March 5. While Buble's vocals aren't everyone's cup of tea, I think he deserves at least some credit for introducing a new generation of listeners to some great American songs. That said, the cavernous confines of the Scottrade Center, home to pro hockey, college basketball and other large-scale events, don't exactly provide the sort of intimacy that many of those songs demand. However, Buble's current popularity would seem to preclude him from playing a smaller venue any time soon, so I suppose his fans will have to take what they can get.

Last but not least, Pollstar shows that trumpeter Wayne Bergeron, a veteran of the Maynard Ferguson band who's also a busy session player in Los Angeles, is coming to the area for two engagements this spring. First, he'll be at Mineral Area College in Park Hills on Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15, performing as guest soloist with the college's big band at the community center on campus.

The following month, Bergeron will be in St. Louis on Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19, playing at the Touhill Performing Arts Center as one of the guest soloists for the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival. While the GSLJF has yet to make an official announcement about their 2008 lineup, Begeron's personal Web site also lists him as one of the event's guests, so Pollstar's information seems fairly credible.

(Also listed on Bergeron's site are the other guests already announced by Jazz St. Louis as performers for the festival's small group show Wednesday, April 16 at Jazz at the Bistro - saxophonist Tom Scott, trombonist Paul McKee, and pianist Shelly Berg - as well as clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, who, like Bergeron, apparently won't be part of Wednesday's show but will take part in the weekend's GSLJF concerts.)