Ronnie Burrage's RoBu Big Band to perform October 3 & 4 at Voce

Drummer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and U City native Ronnie Burrage will be back in St. Louis next month, reassembling his RoBu Big Band for performances on Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October at Voce, 212 S. Tucker downtown.

Burrage, who now lives in Pennsylvania, performed here most recently in June of this year, fronting a quintet and the big band in a weekend of gigs at the same venue.

The RoBu Big Band (pictured) plays a mix of jazz standards and original compositions by Burrage. In addition to the leader , the group's announced lineup for the October shows includes another well-known St. Louis expat, guitarist Kelvyn Bell, plus saxophonists Willie Akins, Jeff Anderson, Stanley Coleman, Chad Evans, and Jerome "JDubz" Williams; trumpeter Khamali Cuffie-Moore; bassist Darrell Mixon; pianist Ptah Williams; percussionist Henry Claude; and vocalists Kendra Mahr and Charisse Swan.

Tickets are $25 and are on sale now via EventBrite.

Jazz this week: Gaslight Cabaret Festival, Bosman Twins, Dave Dickey Big Band, and more

It's been a busy spring so far for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, and though this week's lineup may be light on touring performers, there still are plenty of gigs featuring local musicians to sate your appetite for live sounds. Let's go to the highlights...

Thursday, April 9
Pianist Greg Mills' Perihelion Quartet, with saxophonist Dave Stone, percussionist Henry Claude, and cellist Tracy Andreotti will perform at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Elsewhere around town, the Gaslight Cabaret Festival begins its final weekend of this spring's series with singer Gina Otto (pictured, top left) performing her show "The Lovers, The Dreamers - and Me" at the Gaslight Theater; the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University ends their season with a performance from Wash U  jazz performance program students; and bassist Willem von Hombracht and trumpeter Randy Holmes will duet at Thurman Grill.

Friday, April 10
If you don't already have tickets to see the Bosman Twins (pictured, center left) this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro, you're likely out of luck, as all four shows celebrating the release of their new CD When Lions Roar are sold out.

Should you want to go down there in hopes that a ticket holder cancels or returns their seats, remember that sets at the new Bistro are simulcast on the video screen in the adjacent lounge space, providing a handy fall-back position.

Elsewhere around town, singer Ann Dueren's trio will be providing music all weekend for the Art Fair at Queeny Park, with sets Friday night, Saturday and Sunday; Ken Haller performs his show "Mama's Boy" for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will return to Nathalie's; and trumpeter Jim Manley and pianist Arthur Toney play at Thurman Grill.

Saturday, April 11
If you're in the mood for a matinee, Miss Jubilee will be at the Blues City Deli. Then that evening, Springfield, IL based jazz-fusion group Dreaming In Colour will be at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, and the Belgian new music ensemble Thelema Trio, with Rik De Geyter (clarinets), Peter Verdonck (saxophones), and Ward De Vleeschhouwer (piano), will perform at Tavern of Fine Arts.

Also on Saturday night, Kay Love will close out the Gaslight Cabaret Festival with her tribute to female songwriters, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun! (the women who wrote the songs)"; singer Feyza Eren and pianist Carolbeth True will duet at The Wine Press; and saxophonist "Raven Wolf" C. Felton Jennings II will play while poets Dwight Bitikofer, Cheeraz Gormon and Hart L’Ecuyer declaim verse at Stone Spiral Coffee and Curios.

Sunday, April 12
Saxophonists Chad Evans and Readus Miller will be among the featured performers in an early evening "Sounds of Jazz" event for the Sumner HS class of 1985 at Deja Vu II Cafe; trumpeter Anthony Wiggins and friends will be playing at Fairview Memorial VFW Post 8677 in Fairview Heights; and the Dave Dickey Big Band (pictured, bottom left) returns for their monthly gig at Jazz at the Bistro, with the Belleville East HS Concert Jazz Orchestra and Ensemble playing at intermission.

Monday, April 13
Guitarist Steve Schenkel will perform at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

Tuesday, April 14
Singer Joe Mancuso, trumpeter Jim Manley and pianist Curt Landes will team up for a "Tribute to Louis Armstrong and Chet Baker" at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

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 at Holmes series announces Fall 2013 schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University has announced their schedule of free concerts for Fall 2013.

The series begins on Thursday, September 12 with trumpeter Randy Holmes performing the music of saxophonist, composer and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson.

Other highlights of the semester will include an appearance by Italian pianist Antonio Figura (September 12); a tribute to St. Louis drummer Joe Charles (October 24); and a collaborative event involving choreographer Ashley Tate and company (November 14), which was rescheduled after a postponement this past spring.

Though born in Sicily, Figura (pictured) actually is something of a Wash U veteran, presenting seminars there from 2003 to 2007 and performing in 2005 on the Jazz at Holmes series with the band Cyclo.

Here's the complete lineup of concerts:

Thursday, September 12:  Randy Holmes plays the music of Oliver Nelson
Thursday, September 19:  Chad Evans Quartet
Thursday, September 26:  Antonio Figura Trio with William Lenihan and Steve Davis

Thursday, October 3:  Eric Slaughter/Tom Byrne Quartet
Thursday, October 10:  Three Tenors of St. Louis: Freddie Washington, Willie Akins & Paul DeMarinis
Thursday, October 24: A Tribute to Joe Charles

Thursday, November 7:  Jeff Anderson Quartet
Thursday, November 14:  Freedom Jazz Dance - Ashley Tate Dance Company
Thursday, November 21:  Carolbeth True Trio

Thursday, December 5: Washington University Jazz Students Performance

Presented most Thursday evenings when school is in session, the Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Wendy Gordon, Jeanne Trevor and friends going "Under The Rainbow" on Sunday, October 14 at Florissant Civic Center Theatre

Wendy Gordon is staging another production in her "A Jazz Heaven" series that promises to be the most ambitious yet in the singer's budding career as a concert presenter. Set for 5:30 p.m. Sunday, October 14 at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre, "Under The Rainbow" will feature a dozen St. Louis singers and musicians in a tribute to some of the most-loved performers in jazz history.

In addition to Gordon,  who will sing songs associated with Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, Jeanne Trevor (pictured) will return to the "Jazz Heaven" cast to reprise her interpretations of the music of Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. Other featured performers will include Joe Mancuso as Frank Sinatra; Chuck Flowers as Joe Williams; Barbara Helmer as Rosemary Clooney; Clayton McCants as Langston Hughes; and Sheila Reed as the narrator.

Band members Adrian Bowers (trumpet) and Chad Evans (saxophones) will do double duty, also portraying the characters of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, respectively, with pianist Arthur Toney, bassist Jeff Anderson and drummer Gary Sykes holding it all together as the show's rhythm section.

Tickets for "A Jazz Heaven: Under The Rainbow" are $25 for reserved seats, $23 for groups of 10 or more, and can be purchased by calling 314-921-5678 or online from the Florissant Civic Center Theatre site.

Jazz this week: Vanessa Rubin as Billie Holiday, Jay Oliver, the Bosman Twins, McElwee's "Modular Mazes" and more

From a dramatic portrayal of a legendary diva to some straight-ahead and soulful jazz to a multimedia event with video, animation and an improvised soundtrack, there's lots going on in St. Louis this weekend to interest fans of jazz and creative music. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, the Black Rep presents the first performance of its production of Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday starring Vanessa Rubin (pictured) as Holiday. The show runs Wednesdays through Sundays at the Grandel Theatre through March 14. For more on the production and Rubin, see this post and this post.

On Thursday, longtime local favorite Jeanne Trevor brings her swinging song stylings back to Brandt's .

On Friday evening, the Bosman Twins open a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. It's been a while since the reed-playing brothers have performed at the Bistro, and the latest word from JSL's Devin Rodino on Twitter indicates that tickets are moving briskly.

Also on Friday, band boosters in O'Fallon, IL are sponsoring the benefit event "O'That Jazz" at the Regency Conference Center to raise money for the high school's marching band program. Featured performers will include the St. Louis Jazz All-Stars, with Dawn Weber, Jason Swagler, Shaun Robinson, Zeb Briskovich, Miles Vandiver and Charlie Brown; Twilight Jazz Club; and the O’Fallon High School Band Jazz Combos, with and Ross Gentile as MC. (Dinner reservations are no longer available, but they will be selling tickets at the door for the concert portion of the evening.)

Also on Friday, the Presenters Dolan kick off a weekend of cabaret shows at the Kranzberg Arts Center, with Alice Kinsella on Friday, Christine Rios on Saturday and Monya Fisher on Sunday.

On Saturday afternoon, saxophonist Chad Evans will play his own compositions and the the music of legendary saxophonist and bebop originator Charlie Parker as part of the Nu-Art Series' jazz composers' concert series at the Metropolitan Gallery.

Meanwhile, Robbie's House of Jazz has a double-header on Saturday, with a matinee featuring swing and classic songs from vibraphonist and trumpeter Joe Bozzi and an evening performance spotlighting the funk and fusion of Good 4 The Soul.

Also on Saturday, pianist and St. Louis native Jay Oliver returns home for a performance at Holmes Lounge on the Washington University campus, and New Music Circle presents Van McElwee and Friends in a multimedia event called "Modular Mazes" at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium. The NMC event will include new video creations from McElwee, 3D animation (with glasses provided!) from Casper McElwee, and live audio from musicians including the Semi-Acoustic Noise Ensemble (SANE).

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.)

Nu-Art Series matinees to feature St. Louis musicians interpreting famous jazz composers

The Nu-Art Series has announced a new series of weekend matinees presenting St. Louis musicians performing their own work and the music of a famous jazz composer.

"The Jazz Composers Series: Re-Arrangements & Nu-Compositions" will begin Saturday, February 6 with a concert featuring bassist Darrell Mixon's quartet and the music of Charles Mingus and continue each weekend until April 17. Each concert will feature one set of the musician's own compositions and one set highlighting the work of a jazz great.

Notable dates include a concert on Saturday, February 13 featuring the music of Eric Dolphy as interpreted by drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw, a key member of the Black Artists Group and improvised music veteran whose local gigs have been comparatively rare in recent years; and the return of multi-instrumentalist and St. Louis expat J. D. Parran (pictured), who will perform the music of John Coltrane on Saturday, April 3. Here's the complete schedule:

Saturday, February 6:
Darrell Mixon Quartet/Charles Mingus

Saturday, February 13:
Charles "Bobo" Shaw Art Ensemble/Eric Dolphy

Saturday, February 20:
Ptah Williams Trio/Bud Powell

Saturday, February 27:
Chad Evans Ensemble/Charlie Parker

Saturday, March 6:
Chris Burchett Quartet/Thelonious Monk

Saturday. March 13:
Anthony Wiggins Quintet/Freddie Hubbard

Sunday, March 21:
Willie Akins Quartet/Sonny Rollins

Saturday, March 27:
Jerome "Scrooge" Harris Ensemble/Miles Davis & Wayne Shorter

Saturday, April 3:
J.D. Parran/John Coltrane

Saturday, April 17:
Stan Coleman Youth Jazz Band/Duke Ellington

Aadmission is $10 at the door, and all performances are from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Metropolitan Gallery, 2936 Locust St. For more information, call 314-535-6500, send email to nu-artseries@charter.net, or visit the Nu-Art Series website.

Jazz this week: New Year's Eve jazz in St. Louis, and more

While New Year's Eve isn't usually a particularly big night for live jazz in St. Louis, there seem to be slightly more than the usual number of jazz-related options out there this year.

Among the more noteworthy revels occurring this Thursday evening:

* Singer Erin Bode (pictured) and her band will be doing two performances at the Joe Buck Show Room, which is part of the sportscaster's JBuck's restaurant downtown on Clark St.;
* The Robert Edwards Big Band will play at Robbie's House of Jazz;
* Singer Kim Massie will be at Brandt's;
* Singer Cherilyn Evans & CEE JazzSoul are performing at Smoking Joe's Bar-Be-Que downtown on Washington Ave;
* Singer/pianist Anita Rosamond teams up with guitarist Grant Krener at Chandler Hill Wineries in Defiance.

As has been the case for the last few years, the city's premiere jazz room, Jazz at the Bistro, will be dark on New Year's Eve, yielding the streets in the immediate neighborhood to Grand Center's annual First Night event, which usually features a variety of music in addition to dance, theater, visual arts and family oriented activities.

Acts scheduled to perform at this year's First Night include singers Wendy Gordon and Jeannie Trevor; multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman's gypsy-jazz band Hot Club Caravan; singer Brian Owens; Le Jazz Hot (with pianist Ptah Williams, saxophonist Chad Evans, bassist Daryl Mixon and drummer Bensid Thigpen); Wackadoo (with singer Valerie Tichacek); and Jazz St. Louis executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford's blues band, the Blues Inquisition. For a complete schedule of performances, visit the First Night website.

Beyond New Year's Eve, it looks to be a relatively uneventful few days for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, save for some regular weekly standing gigs carrying over into the new year. That's not unusual - the first couple of weeks of the year are usually a slow time for live music, and with many people still on holiday, a lot of January schedule information from musicians and clubs has yet to arrive here at StLJN HQ.

As that info comes in, I'll be updating the the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar - which can be found on the left sidebar, or by clicking here - with the latest information on more jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond. 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.)

Jazz this week: Good 4 The Soul, Lamar Harris, Le Jazz Hot, and more

There's only time for a short post today, as yr. humble editor is in the process of setting up a new computer here at StLJN HQ to replace the on-its-last-legs system I've been using, but I did want to call to your attention a handful of jazz-related events happening this weekend in St. Louis.

On Friday and Saturday, the jazz/funk/R&B group Good 4 The Soul returns once again to Jazz at the Bistro, closing out the venue's summer 2009 season. JATB will go dark during August, with clarinetist Scott Alberici scheduled to kick off the 2009-10 season on September 4 and 5.

Also on Friday, trombonist/low brass man Lamar Harris will do a free concert on the grounds of the Saint Louis Art Museum as part of the Museum's Art After Five series. In case of rain, the show will move inside the Museum to the Grigg Gallery.

Meanwhile, over at the St. Louis Jazz Cafe, Le Jazz Hot, with pianist Ptah Williams (pictured), saxophonist Chad Evans, bassist Daryl Mixon and drummer Bensid Thigpen, will perform on Friday; the Usual Suspects Quartet will play on Saturday; and pianist Dave Becherer's trio will be providing the music for Sunday brunch.

For more listings of jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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.)

Whitaker Music Festival announces 2008 lineup

The Whitaker Music Festival, a series of free concerts held each summer at the Missouri Botanical Garden, has announced its 2008 lineup. The series opens June 4 with Erin Bode, who will make up a date that was rained out in 2007, and continues on Wednesdays through August 13.

Other shows in the series that may be of potential interest to jazz listeners include Two Times True, with pianist Carolbeth True and her son, drummer David True, on June 11; Le Jazz Hot, featuring pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Darrell Mixon, drummer Bensid Thigpen and saxophonist Chad Evans, on June 18; the Tony Simmons Band on June 25; singer Anita Rosamond (pictured) on July 2; singer Kim Massie on July 16; and French cabaret music purveyors the Poor People of Paris on July 23.

All concerts start at 7:30 p.m., and admission to the Garden is free after 5 p.m. on concert days. The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis, just off I-44 at Vandeventer. For more information and a complete schedule, visit the Garden's Web site or call 314-577-9400 or 1-800-642-8842.