Jazz this week: Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge, Jay Oliver, Jazz St. Louis gala, and more

With a forecast for spring-like weather in the offing, it should be a good weekend to get out and hear some live music in St. Louis.

However, if you're headed down to the annual Mardi Gras parade on Saturday, don't expect to find much jazz or blues among the musical options.

With the notable exception of the Funky Butt Brass Band, who will make appearances at the Mayor's Ball on Friday night, at the parade tent in Soulard on Saturday afternoon, and at the Old Rock House on Saturday, the corporate-dominated event unfortunately continues to rely mostly on DJs and rock cover bands, ignoring the genres most associated with Mardi Gras in the popular imagination.

That said, if you want to find some live jazz around St. Louis this week, you're in the right place. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 22
Guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge (pictured, top left) will play a duo show at Off Broadway (relocated from the originally announced venue, the Old Rock House).

Known individually for their work in jazz (Lage) and bluegrass (Eldridge), the two joined forces a few years back for an album, and have continued the project with intermittent touring between their commitments to other bands.

Now, with a new record, Mount Royal, set for release on Friday, they're doing a series of live dates in support of the release. For more about that, and some video samples of them in action, see this post from last Saturday. 

Also on Wednesday, trumpeter Rob Endicott leads a quintet in the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Thursday, 
February 23
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a performance by keyboardist and St. Louis native Jay Oliver (pictured, center left), accompanied by bassist/guitarist William Lenihan and drummer Steve Davis.

A childhood friend of Dave Weckl, Oliver was a member of Weckl's band in the 1990s, recording four albums with the drummer, but he's had his greatest commercial successes as a producer, programmer and songwriter for rock acts including Sheryl Crow, Jimmy Buffett and the Eagles.

More recently, Oliver's "world music" project Aomusic has released four albums of original compositions and also created theme music for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Given all the time he spends in the recording studio, this show should give Oliver a good opportunity to cut loose in a live situation, and given his hometown connection, there should be a good turnout. (Note that while most Jazz at Holmes shows are free, this show will have a $10 admission charge at the door.)

Also on Thursday, the Funky Butt Brass Band kicks off Mardi Gras weekend with an early evening show at Blues City Deli; saxophonist Jason Swagler will be giving his faculty recital at Dunham Hall on the SIUE campus in Edwardsville, and saxophonist Dave Stone's trio will play at Thurman's in Shaw.

Friday, February 24
Jazz St. Louis holds their annual fundraising gala at the Sheldon Concert Hall, featuring a cocktail hour, dinner and auction; a concert from teenage piano phenom Joey Alexander's trio; and an after-party with music from singer Denise Thimes. Some tickets for Alexander's concert may still be available via Metrotix; for ticket availability for the gala, check with the Jazz St. Louis box office.

Also on Friday, percussionist Henry Claude will perform at the 560 Music Center, joined by the Vernacular String Trio, Perihelion Quartet, and trumpeter George Sams; singer Feyza Eren's quartet will play a free show at the St. Louis Art Museum; and vibraphonist Tom Rickard's trio returns to the Cigar Inn.

Saturday, February 25
Two veteran local musicians whose careers stretch back to the Gaslight Square era, pianist Dave Venn and singer Jeanne Trevor, will take the stage for one night only at Jazz at the Bistro; pianist Greg Mills will present new compositions for solo piano at  Jackson Pianos; and Miss Jubilee will perform at Jacoby Arts Center in Alton.

Sunday, February 26
The Folk School of KDHX presents a traditional jazz jam session; and the Ambassadors of Swing return for an early evening performance at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

Monday, February 27
Dizzy Atmosphere plays swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge

With appearances here this week by both Mike Stern and Ralph Towner, it's already been a good month in St. Louis for fans of jazz guitar, and it's not over yet.

Guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge, who will perform next Wednesday, February 22 at Off Broadway, may operate in a very different stylistic realm than either Stern or Towner, but their skills are equally worthy of attention from serious guitar enthusiasts. .

Lage, 29 years old, was a child phenom who's been in the public eye since he was the subject of the 1997 documentary Jules at Eight. A graduate of Berklee School of Music, he has recorded four albums as a leader, the most recent being Arclight, released last year on Mack Avenue.

In addition to his own group and his duo project with Eldridge, Lage also works with bands led by vibraphonist Gary Burton and drummer Eric Harland, and has been heard on recordings by Burton, Harland, pianist Taylor Eigsti, saxophonist Dayna Stephens, guitarist Nels Cline, and others.

Eldridge, 34, is the son of noted bluegrass guitarist Ben Eldridge, and is best known as a member of the eclectic acoustic band the Punch Brothers, who blend bluegrass with rock, classical and extended forms.

He began his music career working with his dad's band The Seldom Scene, and after attending Oberlin University, helped found the bluegrass band The Infamous Stringdusters. Originally begun in 2006 as a side project for Eldridge and mandolinist Chris Thile, the Punch Brothers eventually turned into a full-time band, and have released six albums on the Nonesuch label.

Lage and Eldridge released their first recording as a duo in 2013 and as their schedules permit have continued to play live dates intermittently since then, blending genres in an all-acoustic presentation that draws on material ranging from honky-tonk country and bluegrass to jazz and pop standards to original compositions.

In the first clip up top, you can see Lage and Eldridge performing "Bone Collector" from their second album Mount Royal, which will be released next Friday, February 24 on Free Dirt Records.

After the jump, there's a video of them playing "Butter and Eggs" and "For Critter" as recorded in September 2016 at Flathead Lake in Montana, followed by a clip of "Whiskey Before Breakfast," which was recorded October 30, 2016 at The Bell House in Brooklyn, NY.

The next video features a version of "Mean Mother Blues" recorded in November, 2015 at the first-ever Fretboard Summit in Santa Cruz, California. The final two clips are "Ginseng Sullivan," from August 2013 at the Loveless Cafe in Nashville, and "Someone To Watch Over Me" from January, 2014 at the Sinclair in Cambridge, MA.

For more about the Lage/Eldridge duo, check out their 2013 chat with Fretboard Journal, and the 2014 review of their live show by Alec Wilkinson of The New Yorker. For more about their new album and another sample track, see the recent short feature about them from American Songwriter.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Jazz this week: Benny Green, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge, Dave Dickey Big Band, and more

As Jazz Appreciation Month winds down and we head into May, it's another busy weekend for live jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with several touring headliners in town and a number of noteworthy events featuring local performers, too.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, April 29
Pianist Benny Green returns with his trio for the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro, in what will be his first appearance at the club since a duo gig with guitarist Russell Malone way back in March 2006.

Now 50 years old, Green (pictured, top left) began his career during the "Young Lions" period of the 1980s, demonstrating his skills as a swinging, hard-bop/mainstream pianist with Betty Carter, Art Blakey and Freddie Hubbard before a long run in the trio of bassist Ray Brown.

Green also has recorded numerous albums leading his own trio, the latest being the forthcoming Live In Santa Cruz, which will be out next month on Sunnyside Records. Last fall, he also formalized his long-standing interest in jazz education by taking a job as an assistant professor teaching jazz and improvisation at the University of Michigan.

Also tonight, you can hear more jazz just a short walk from Bistro in the Grand Center neighborhood, both before and after Green's sets, via the weekly jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's weekly trio gig, with frequent sit-ins, at The Dark Room.

UPDATE, 4:50 p.m. 4/29/15 - Bob Deboo posted on Facebook and the Kranzberg Arts Center has confirmed via Twitter that tonight's jam is cancelled. No reason was specified, but Taylor's gig at The Dark Room is still on.

Thursday, April 30
While the International Jazz Day festivities in Paris will get underway at 1:00 p.m. for those of us here in the USA's Central time zone, St. Louisans also will have several opportunities to celebrate that evening, starting with the presentation of a 2015 Jazz Journalists Association "Jazz Hero" Award to Don Wolff at Jazz at the Bistro, followed by a brief reception with live music from students in Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program. The event is free and open to the public.

Elsewhere around town, pianist Peter Martin's trio will be providing the musical entertainment  for the "Eleventh Annual Evening of Hope" at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge, from the Americana band The Punch Brothers, (pictured, center left) will be playing as a duo at Off Broadway

Also on Thursday, trumpeter Jim Manley, guitarist Travis Mattison and pianist Chris "Luppy" Swan will join forces at Thurman Grill, and the Tavern of Fine Arts will present their monthly "Experimental Arts Open Improv Night" with live improvised music.

Friday, May 1
Saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Troy's Jazz Gallery, while Miss Jubilee will be jumping, jiving and perhaps even wailing at Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, May 2
Singer Cécile McLorin Salvant, one of the more talked-about new jazz vocalists of the last several years, will make her St. Louis debut at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

For more about Salvant (pictured, lower left) and some video samples of her live performances, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, singer Feyza Eren will lead a quartet in concert at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Sunday, May 3
During the day, the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show will have their bi-monthly sale/event at the American Czech Hall, 4690 Lansdowne (at Kingshighway), while the Friends of Scott Joplin will present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, 2648 Delmar (at Beaumont).

Then that evening, singer Debby Lennon and pianist Carolbeth True will be performing at Nathalie's, and the Dave Dickey Big Band's monthly show at Jazz at the Bistro will feature a "Tribute to Buddy Rich," along with an intermission performance from the Principia Upper School Jazz Band.

(For the record, trombonist and bandleader Dave Dickey has emphatically denied that the Buddy Rich tribute will include any replaying or live re-enactment of the infamous "bus tapes," so the show should be suitable for all ages.) 

Monday, May 4
The Genesis Jazz Project will play a free concert at Midwest Music, 15977 Clayton Rd in Ballwin.

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.)

Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge playing Thursday, April 30 at Off Broadway

Guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge (pictured) are coming to St. Louis to perform a duo show at 8:00 p.m., Thursday, April 30 at Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave.

Lage has toured and recorded with vibraphonist Gary Burton, and his 2009 debut album Sounding Point was nominated for the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

Eldridge is the guitarist for the Americana and bluegrass band the Punch Brothers, and also has worked with well-known musicians including Fiona Apple, Paul Simon, John Paul Jones, Justin Timberlake, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, Jerry Douglas, Del McCoury and others.

Their duo project, documented on the 2014 album Avalon, is described as "a collaborative effort founded in the roots of acoustic music, exploring the worlds of improvisation and composition."

Tickets for the all-ages show are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, with a $3 surcharge for minors, and are on sale now via Ticketfly.