Steve Schenkel and Ashley Mason releasing new CD on Valentine's Day

Guitarist Steve Schenkel and singer Ashley Mason will issue their latest duo CD, Hold On To Love, on Sunday, February 14.

An official release date on Valentine's Day makes perfect sense thematically, since "this is an album of songs about all aspects of love - romantic love, love for family, and love for friends," said Schenkel. Blending jazz, rock and pop influences, Hold On To Love (pictured) features 15 tracks penned by an eclectic selection of songwriters ranging from Jerome Kern and Bob Dorough to Bruce Springsteen, Karla Bonoff, Sting and U2.

Schenkel and Mason's first CD, the holiday-themed A Midnight Clear, was released in 2008. For their latest effort, Schenkel, who has been Professor of Music at Webster University since 1980, once again plays guitar, bass and keyboards, while Mason, a 2005 grad of Webster U., handles the vocals.

Hold On To Love will be on sale here in St. Louis at Webster Records, and available online via CDBaby, which also will oversee distribution through iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon and other Internet vendors. You can hear samples from the CD on Schenkel's website.

Jazz and Blues Vespers series schedules concerts by Willie Akins, Ptah Williams, Steve Schenkel & Ashley Mason

St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers has scheduled the artists for the final three concerts in the current series, with saxophonist Willie Akins set to perform at 6:00 p.m., Sunday, February 15 at Second Baptist Church, 9030 Clayton Rd.

Pianist Ptah Williams will perform on Sunday, March 14, and guitarist Steve Schenkel and singer Ashley Mason will wrap up the series with a concert on Sunday, April 19. The St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers concerts are free and open to the public.

Jazz this week: Harry Connick Jr, Nnenna Freelon, Steve Schenkel & Ashley Mason, Kim Portnoy Trio, St. Louis Rivermen and more

It's a potentially busy week for fans of jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with two major touring headliners in town, a lot of activity from local musicians, and holiday-themed concerts a-plenty, too.

Let's go to the highlights, starting with singer Nnenna Freelon, (pictured) who's in town to perform at Jazz at the Bistro tonight through Saturday. For more about Freelon and some video clips of her in action, see this post from last Saturday.

The other major name in town this week is ever-popular singer and pianist Harry Connick Jr., who will brings his big band's holiday show to the Fox Theatre on Sunday. Connick Jr. has a new Christmas CD out this year, so look for Sunday's concert to draw heavily on that material as well as from his previous holiday albums.

On the local front, guitarist Steve Schenkel and singer Ashley Mason will perform material from their new Christmas CD A Midnight Clear in a free concert Thursday night for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Also on Thursday, singer Jeanne Trevor and pianist Dave Venn headline a holiday-themed show at the Black Cat Theatre in Maplewood.

On Friday night, keyboardist Mo Egeston and trombonist Lamar Harris bring their new collaborative band The Urban Groov Project to Brandt's. And on Saturday, trumpeter Randy Holmes and his Quintet featuring singer and flute player Margaret Blanchetta will perform a tribute to the music of Cannonball Adderley and Nancy Wilson at Cookie's Jazz and More.

On Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents the traditional jazz sounds of the St. Louis Rivermen in a matinee concert at the Moolah Shrine Center, 12545 Fee Fee Rd. That evening, the Kim Portnoy Trio, featuring the leader on piano, Ric Vice on bass and Kevin Gianino on drums with Steve Schenkel as special guest guitarist, will perform a program of original compositions at Eliot Chapel, 216 E. Argonne in Kirkwood. (A portion of proceeds from the show will go to benefit the Eliot Music Fund.)

Monday finds the Sessions Big Band back at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups, and there are three noteworthy events on Tuesday, starting in the morning when Swing Set plays a 10:00 a.m. "Coffee Concert" at the Sheldon Concert Hall. (The same program will be repeated at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday.)

Tuesday evening, the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club has its monthly meeting, this time to discuss the Louis Armstrong CD from the series of albums issued in conjunction with Ken Burns' PBS series "Jazz." Radio and television personality/jazz advocate Don Wolff and jazz journalist Terry Perkins will host and moderate the event, which takes place at the Brentwood location of Borders, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd. That same night, the Gerry Mulligan/Bob Brookmeyer-inspired band Utter Chaos returns to The Gramophone.

On Wednesday, Squid Choir Orkestra brings their mix of free jazz and "power electronics" back to the Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson, as the middle act on a bill that includes electronic improv group Worm Hands and avant-rockers Skarekrau Radio.

You can find more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond by visiting 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.)

Jazz this week: Miguel Zenon, Elizabeth Harnik, Paul Metzger & Tim Kaiser, and more

It should be a good weekend to go out and hear some live music in St. Louis, and fortunately, there's a nice variety of jazz and creative music happening at local venues.

The biggest name in town and the pick show of the week is alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon (pictured), who's performing at Jazz at the Bistro nightly through Saturday, You can read more about Zenon and see some video of his playing in this post from last week.

On Thursday, Austrian pianist Elizabeth Harnik and her trio will do a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. English-languange info on Harnik seems to be somewhat scarce on the Internet, so I can't tell you too much about her music, other than that in addition to performing jazz and improvisational music, she also has classical training, composes music for chamber ensembles and theater, and has even written an opera.

On Friday, improvisational guitarist/banjoist Paul Metzger and multimedia performer Tim Kaiser return to Open Lot. You can read more about the show and them here. Also on Friday, keyboardist, electronic musician and composer James Hegarty will present a concert titled "Antithesis Reflex" at the Three Sinks Gallery, 8715 Big Bend Blvd in Webster Groves.

According to the promotional email sent out by New Music Circle, Hegarty's performance includes two movements; the first, "Space Churn Red," combines improvised piano with interactive computer accompaniment. The piece was inspired by a kinetic sculpture of the same title by George Rickey at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University (which Hegarty recently visited), and incorporates computer-manipulated recordings of kinetic sculptures, spoken dialogues, synthesis and environments. The second movement, "Antithesis Reflex," is for unaccompanied piano and "explores abstract and flexible formal structures as applied to improvisation."

Also on Saturday, the Ambassadors of Swing perform with ballroom dancers Alex Borodko and Angi Heren in a show at the Lucas School House to benefit the Family Center. And on Sunday afternoon, guitarist Steve Schenkel and singer Ashley Mason give a free in-store performance at Webster Records. They'll be playing music from their new holiday CD A Midnight Clear, which you can learn more about by reading this post.

UPDATE - 2:30 p.m., 11/8/08: Sunday also brings a benefit show for Mae "Lady Jazz" Wheeler at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. Wheeler has been battling cancer, and an impressive lineup of local blues singers will perform to raise money to help with the veteran vocalist's medical and living expenses. The show runs from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and scheduled performers include Kim Massie, Robbie Montgomery, Renee Smith, Uvee Hayes, Marsha Evans and Kari Liston of the Bottoms Up Blues Gang.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band is at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. On Tuesday, the Brookmeyer/Mulligan-inspired band Utter Chaos is at The Gramophone, and the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club will have its monthly meeting, spinning John Coltrane's Giant Steps with KSDK reporter/anchor Cordell Whitlock and JSL executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford at the Borders Store in Brentwood, 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd.

Last but not least, next Wednesday Erin Bode will begin a two-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro to promote the release of her new Christmas CD, while the "free jazz/power electronics" ensemble Squid Choir Orkestra will play the Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson, as the opening act for experimental rock band Skarekrau Radio.

You can find the latest updates and more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond by visiting 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.)

Steve Schenkel and Ashley Mason release Christmas CD

The holiday season is just a few weeks away, and guitarist Steve Schenkel and singer Ashley Mason (pictured) are ready with a new Christmas-themed CD titled A Midnight Clear. The just-released CD features the duo's interpretations of 15 favorite seasonal songs, and you can check out two of the tracks for free on Schenkel's Web site.

Schenkel and Mason also have scheduled several live performances of the music from A Midnight Clear. On Sunday, November 9, they'll do a free in-store concert at 1:00 p.m. at Webster Records, accompanied by guitarist Dan Rubright and bassist Ric Vice.

On Thursday, December 4, they'll perform a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University backed by Vice on bass and Carolbeth True on piano, and on Monday, December 15, they'll take the stage at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, once again backed by Rubright and Vice.