Jazz this week: Anat Cohen, Eliane Elias, Michael Rosen, Bill McNally, and more

The calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis for the week before Mardi Gras is packed with performances in a variety of styles, with a handful of visiting headliners hitting local stages, plus some noteworthy shows from our hometown performers. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 27
Clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen (pictured, top left) brings her quartet to Jazz St. Louis for the first of five nights of performances, continuing through Sunday.

Voted the top clarinetist in jazz in the most recent DownBeat critic's poll, Cohen is a versatile player who can navigate a variety of styles with both technical facility and feeling. You can find out more about Cohen and see videos of her playing (in several different musical idioms) in this post from Saturday before last.

Also on Wednesday, this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features the Jazz Troubadours at The Stage at KDHX, along with the jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor at The Dark Room.

Thursday, February 28
Saxophonist Michael Rosen, a New York native and Berklee grad who expatriated to Italy in the late '80s and has made a name for himself on the European jazz scene, will play in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, accompanied by keyboardist Jay Oliver, guitarist and bassist William Lenihan. and drummer Steve Davis.

Elsewhere on Thursday, trumpeter Keith Moyer leads a jam session at Rendezvous Cafe & Wine Bar in O'Fallon, MO; Samba Bom brings a bit of Brazilian carnival to Joe's Cafe & Art Gallery; Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz for the Missouri Botanical Garden's "Orchid Nights"; and saxophonist Ben Reece's Unity Quartet plays the music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk at The Dark Room.

Friday, March 1
New music ensemble Alarm Will Sound returns to the Sheldon Concert Hall with a program featuring music by their late founding member Matt Marks, who died suddenly after a concert here last year; and Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, March 2
The Friends of Scott Joplin present ragtime pianist 
Bill McNally in a matinee concert at the Opera House of Pacific.

On Saturday evening, pianist and singer Eliane Elias (pictured, bottom left) will perform at The Sheldon. Having already proved her skills at jazz-fusion, the music of her native Brazil, and much more, Elias on her most recent recording explores something a bit different, re-imagining the score of the Broadway show Man of La Mancha in a Latin jazz style.

You can see some recent performances by Elias on video in this post from last Saturday. Also, The Sheldon and Metrotix have cut the price of some remaining tickets for the concert to $25. To get the discount, go here and use the promo code LAMANCHA.

Also on Saturday, Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion will play music from composers including Steve Reich and Wilco's Glenn Kotche in a concert at 560 Music Center.

Sunday, March 3
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents keyboardist "Bob Row's "Mardi Gras Party" at Royale Orleans; Genesis Jazz Project plays at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; and the Jazz Troubadours return to Evangeline's.

Tuesday, March 5
The Funky Butt Brass Band will play for Fat Tuesday revelers at the Broadway Oyster 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.)

Jazz this week: Bistro All-Stars with Sean Jones, Tia Fuller, Warren Wolf & Peter Martin; Chucho Valdes' "Jazz Bata"; and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis provides an opportunity to hear four bandleaders joining forces for the first time on one stage, a powerful pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz piano, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 30
The Bistro All-Stars (pictured, top left),  featuring trumpeter Sean Jones, saxophonist Tia Fuller, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and pianist Peter Martin, will perform for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Given that each of the four principals is a bandleader and composer in their own right, the All-Stars, assembled specifically for this gig, should have plenty of material to draw upon. And while an ad hoc group like this may not have the established chemistry of a regular working band, the jolt of discovery among musicians working together for the first time can be a lot of fun to watch.

Thursday, January 31
Guitarist Dave Black's newest ensemble, the itti bitti Swing Orchestra, plays a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and saxophonist Ben Reese's Unity Quartet returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, February 1
Ptah Williams will play solo piano for "happy hour" at The Dark Room, and pianist Adam Maness' trio with singer Malena Smith resumes their late-night Friday residency at Sophie's Artist Lounge and Cocktail Club.

Saturday, February 2
Anita Jackson will sing music associated with Ella Fitzgerald for a mid-day matinee at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Then on Saturday evening, The Wire Pilots play original jazz/fusion at The Focal Point, and the Funky Butt Brass Band performs at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, February 3
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents keyboardist Bob Row's "Mardi Gras Party" at Royale Orleans, and the Jazz Troubadours play an early evening show at Evangeline's.

Monday, February 4
Saxophonist Harvey Lockhart leads a quartet in a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus.

Tuesday, February 5
Cuban-born pianist Chucho Valdés (pictured, bottom left) will mix jazz with the rhythms and folk traditions of his home country in the first of three nights of performances with his "Jazz Bata" project at  Jazz St. Louis.

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: Marcus Roberts, Bethany Pickens, a tribute to Lee Morgan, and more

This week's schedule of jazz and creative music in and around St. Louis features performances from two talented touring pianists, as well as an eclectic assortment of shows featuring local bands and musicians. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 17
Pianist Marcus Roberts and his trio (pictured, top left) will play the first of four nights continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

After first gaining wide attention in the 1980s as a member of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis' band, Roberts has evolved into something of a keeper of the jazz piano tradition, incorporating re-imaginations of the works of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, and many other historically important pianists into his sets alongside his original material.

His last gigs in St. Louis were in 2012 and 2014 at The Sheldon, and compared to the relatively concise format required in a concert hall performance, playing eight sets this week at the Bistro should give Roberts ample opportunity to delve into that extensive catalog of tunes.

The pianist's conception of his trio also includes giving ample solo space to his bandmates, longtime drummer Jason Marsalis and bassist Rodney Jordan. For more about that, and what else to expect from him this week, read Roberts' comments in the preview story written by Calvin Wilson for the Post-Dispatch.

Also tonight, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Open Mic Night" at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Thursday, February 18
Singer Eve Seltzer (pictured, center left) will make her cabaret debut at The Monocle with an evening of songs tracing St. Louis jazz history that she's calling "Going Back to Gaslight Square"; and saxophonist Paul DeMarinis and his band will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, February 19
Trumpeter Kasimu Taylor will pay tribute to an influential trumpeter of the hard bop era with "Here's Lee Morgan - The Music of A Jazz Legend" at the Kranzberg Arts Center. The songlist will include Morgan's signature 1960s hit “The Sidewinder” plus other tunes such as “Ceora” and “Since I Fell for You” that are associated with him, as interpreted by Taylor, tenor saxophonist Kwanae Johnson, pianist Adam Maness, bassist Ben Wheeler, and drummer Montez Coleman.

Also on Friday, Miss Jubilee will perform in concert at Alton's Jacoby Arts Center; and Second Generation Swing plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, February 20
Kansas City's Shades of Jade, an up-and-coming act led by trumpeter and former St. Louisan Joshua Williams that mixes jazz with hip-hop and neo-soul, will return to St. Louis for a concert presented by Robbie's House of Jazz at Kranzberg Arts Center.

Also on Saturday, twenty-four St. Louis drummers and percussionists will pair up for a dozen duo performances in "Drummers Only Deux", a benefit show raising money for the International Institute St. Louis and the Organization for Black Struggle at The Luminary; guitarist Vincent Varvel leads a trio at the house concert venue KindaBlue Club, and percussionist Herman Semidey's Orquesta Son Montuno will play salsa and Latin jazz at Club Viva.

Sunday, February 21
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Bob Row and friends playing traditional jazz and swing in a matinee concert at the DoubleTree Hotel at Westport, and pianist Bethany Pickens (pictured, bottom left), daughter of the fine Chicago pianist Willie Pickens, will be the featured performer at a benefit for Community Women Against Hardship at the Ferring Jazz Bistro.

Monday, February 22
The Webster University Jazz Collective, featuring members of the university's jazz faculty, will perform music by Bob Mintzer, Thad Jones, Don Sebesky and more at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

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.)