Local jazz featured at upcoming charitable benefits

Two upcoming charitable benefits will feature music from St. Louis jazz performers:

* Guitarist Chris Burchett (pictured) is presenting "Stop The Violence, Make Some Music," at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, July 21 at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd.

The concert is a fundraiser to enable Burchett's foundation to offer free music lessons to underprivileged youth, and will feature performances by singers Jeanne Trevor, Wendy Gordon and Joe Mancuso, with broadcaster and author Bernie Hayes as MC.

Tickets are $35 and are on sale now via Metrotix or the Chris Burchett Foundation.

UPDATE: 1:00 p.m., 7/13/13: Last night, STLJN got an email from the Chris Burchett Foundation stating that they were "postponing" the concert on July 21. The message from executive director Trinity Birge said, "Everyone that has purchased tickets for our "Stop The Violence - Make Some Music" benefit concert featuring Wendy L. Gordon and friends will be reimbursed in full."

* Meanwhile, the Bosman Twins have been tapped to provide the sounds for the 2013 edition of "Chocolate, Wine and All That Jazz," to be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, September 7 at the Yacht Club of St. Louis, 105 Lake Village Drive in St. Charles.

The event is the kickoff for the annual fundraising campaign of the Tri-County Division of United Way of Greater St. Louis, and will include "wine, food, chocolate and live jazz," with all proceeds benefiting the United Way.

Tickets are $60 each until August 15, when the price goes up to $70, and are available via the United Way's website.

Edited 7/4/13 to correct the address for the Ethical Society.

Jazz at Holmes series announces summer schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University has announced the lineup for this summer's series, which has been dubbed "Jazz in July."

The series will feature four shows, starting with the concert by pianist Linda Presgrave and her quintet on Thursday, July 9 that we told you about here a couple of weeks ago.

Guitarist Tom Byrne and his quartet will perform on Thursday, July 15, followed by drummer Maurice Carnes and friends on Thursday, July 22. Guitarist Chris Burchett (pictured) and his quartet will wrap up the summer series on Thursday, July 29.

All concerts are free and open to the public, and begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, which is located in Ridgley Hall, on the west side of Brookings Quadrangle near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Jazz this week: Alyssa Graham; a benefit for Anthony Wiggins; Paul DeMarinis; Chris Burchett plays Monk; and more

With better, almost springlike weather in the offing, it should be a good weekend to get out and hear some live music in St. Louis, and there are a number of events coming up of interest to fans of jazz and creative music.

You can get started tonight, when singer Alyssa Graham opens a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. This is Graham's debut performance in St. Louis, and her vocal style and blend of jazz, folk and pop influences would seem likely to appeal to fans of local favorite Erin Bode. You can find out more and see some videos of Graham in this post, and hear an interview with her here. Also, Jazz St. Louis has a two-for-one deal on tickets for Graham; for details on that, go here.

Also on Wednesday evening, pianist Jay Oliver is doing a free concert starting at 8:00 p.m. at 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave in University City. Oliver will be joined by guitarist William Lenihan, bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Roger Guth. According to the Jazz at Holmes email list, compared to Saturday's concert by Oliver this one will feature "more straight-ahead jazz with the possibility of some more modern things."

Also tonight, the Black Rep's production of Yesterdays: An Evening With Billie Holiday, with Vanessa Rubin starring as Holiday, resumes its run. There are evening performances Wednesday through Saturday, plus matinees on Saturday and Sunday, through March 14.

On Thursday, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis will do a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Then on Friday evening, trumpeter Randy Holmes will take the stage at Robbies House of Jazz to play the music Art Farmer and Jim Hall with Steve Schenkel (guitar), Eric Warren (bass), and Kevin Gianino (drums).

On Saturday afternoon, guitarist Chris Burchett will play his own compositions and the music of Thelonious Monk for the lastest installment of the Nu-Art Series' "Re-Arrangements and Nu-Compositions"

Sundaybrings a benefit show for trumpeter and jazz educator Anthony Wiggins starting at 4:00 p.m. at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. Wiggins is recovering from a brain aneurysm suffered last month, and this event will raise money for him and his family. Scheduled performers include Par 3, Arvell Keithley, Good 4 the Soul, Mystic Voyage, and J-Rob. A minimum $10 donation will be requested at the door.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday morning, trumpeter Bob Ceccarini and pianist Pat Joyce will play a "Coffee Concert" at the Sheldon Concert Hall., with the same program repeating at the same time on Wednesday. Tuesday evening, the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club will have its monthly meeting at Borders in Brentwood, with JSL's Gene Dobbs Bradford and DJ and author Dennis Owsley leading a discussion of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme.

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.)

Anthony Wiggins on the mend; benefits set for March 7 & 13

Trumpet player and jazz educator Anthony Wiggins, who was hospitalized earlier this month after suffering a brain aneurysm, is on the mend. The good news comes via Wiggins' Jazz St. Louis colleague Phil Dunlap, who stopped by St. Louis University Hospital for a visit on Tuesday evening. "He is out of the ICU and in good spirits," said Dunlap via email. "He is already talking about his return to playing. Obviously, rehabilitation may take awhile, but he is expected to make a full recovery."

In related news, Wiggins ' friends and colleagues have organized a couple of benefits in March to raise funds for the trumpeter and his family. The first event will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Sunday, March 7 at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. Scheduled performers include Par 3, Arvell Keithley, Good 4 the Soul, Mystic Voyage, and J-Rob. A minimum $10 donation will be requested at the door. Also, any musicians who'd like to donate their time to perform may contact Brock Walker via email at mrbrock1 (at) aol (dot) com.

The second benefit performance at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, March 13 at the Metropolitan Gallery will take the place of a gig that Wiggins originally was supposed to play for the Nu-Art Series' jazz composers concerts. George Sams of the Nu-Art Series tells StLJN that guitarist Chris Burchett will perform in Wiggins' stead, with all proceeds from the show going to the Wiggins family. For more information, call 314-535-6500, send email to nu-artseries@charter.net, or visit the Nu-Art Series website.

UPDATE - 5:00 p.m., 3/10/10: While Burchett will indeed be subbing for Wiggins on Saturday, March 13, playing the music of Freddie Hubbard as well as his own, efforts to organize the show as a benefit for the Wiggins family apparently have fallen through.

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.