Jazz this week: Jeremy Davenport and more

As often happens here around major holidays, it's a slow week for touring jazz and creative music performers, but there still are a number of noteworthy performances by locals (plus one returning St. Louis expat) happening around town.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, November 21
This week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features singer Jenna Bauer and guitarist Dave Black at The Stage at KDHX; the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, Cabaret Project of St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club; and bassist/singer Janet Evra performs at Evangeline's.

Friday, November 23
Trumpeter, singer and U City native Jeremy Davenport (pictured) is back home from New Orleans for the first night of his annual Thanksgiving weekend gig at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday, Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Troy's Jazz Gallery; and percussionist Herman Semidey and Son Montuno will play Latin jazz, salsa and more at The Dark Room.

Saturday, November 24
The St. Louis Jazz Club is presenting what's intended as the first in a series of monthly Saturday matinee jam sessions, hosted by pianist Bob Row, drummer Jon Gillick and & Scott Alberici, at J P's Corner in South County.

Saturday night, trumpeter Jim Manley and band return to Evangeline's; guitarist Dan Rubright will perform in a concert at .ZACK; and the Funky Butt Brass Band plays their monthly show at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, November 25
Drummer Montez Coleman and friends play for brunch at The Dark Room; the Folk School of KDHX hosts their monthly traditional jazz jam session; and DJ Pockets will be behind the turntables for his monthly "1950s/60s Jazz Record Spin" at The Royale.

Monday, November 26
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage 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.)

Jazz this week: Jeremy Davenport comes home, the Miles Davis Memorial Project moves forward, and more

Though the holiday means fewer touring jazz and creative musicians than usual will be passing through town over the next few days, this weekend will bring at least one significant musical visitor to St. Louis, as well as some noteworthy performances from local jazz players and a public meeting about an important jazz-related project. Let's go the the highlights...

If you're in the mood for some jazz today along with your Thanksgiving Day meal, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Randy Bahr will be spending a good part of the day serenading diners at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel's Starlight Roof. (As for other bars and/or restaurants featuring live music, some may be open today or tonight, but as always on major holidays, we suggest you call ahead first before venturing out.)

Tomorrow night, trumpeter, singer and University City native Jeremy Davenport returns home for his annual post-Thanksgiving weekend at Jazz at the Bistro. Davenport (pictured), who now lives in New Orleans and leads the house band at the Ritz Carlton hotel there, has been coming home to play the Bistro at this time of year for nearly a decade now, and remains a popular attraction in his hometown.

Given that continued popularity, and the "homecoming" aspect of the gig, reservations would be a must if you're planning to go to the Bistro this weekend. For more about Davenport, and some video samples of his playing, check out these two posts presented in conjunction with a couple of his previous appearances here.

Also on Friday, brothers Dan Rubright (guitar) and Ted Rubright (percussion) bring their new band the Wire Pilots to the Kranzberg Arts Center; saxophonist Willie Akins leads a quartet at Cigar Inn; singer Tony Viviano performs at Talayna's in Chesterfield, saxophonist Tim Cunningham continues his string of Friday night gigs downtown at The Precinct; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes play at Venice Cafe.

On Saturday afternoon, the Miles Davis Memorial Project will hold an open public meeting at Alton Museum of History & Art, 2809 College Ave, to discuss the current status of the project to build a statue of Davis in Alton. (For more about the project, see this story.)

Then on Saturday night, Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom; trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi performs at Thurman Grill; saxophonist Jim Stevens plays at the River City Casino's 1904 Steakhouse; and bassist Bob Deboo and Friends continue their Saturday night session at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

On Sunday, singer Denise Thimes will perform at a benefit event for East St. Louis' Katherine Dunham Center for the Arts And Humanities to be held at the Grand Marias Golf Club, 5802 Lake Drive in Centreville.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday guitarist Dave Black returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. 

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.)

Rubright, Ruffin to perform this Sunday at Webster Records

Webster Records will host a free live performance from guitarist Dan Rubright (pictured) and singer Lydia Ruffin as part of an "open house" sale to be held this Sunday, November 8.

Rubright and Ruffin will perform from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., playing songs from their new CD Christmas Cafe, which will be available for purchase.

The store also will be holding a bake sale in support of owner Jennifer Bellm's participation in the Phoenix Rock n' Roll Marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). Bellm hopes to raise $4,000 to fight blood cancers by taking part in the 26.2 mile run, which will be held in January.

Jazz this week: Liz Callaway, the Sheldon's "Mardi Gras Mambo," Good 4 The Soul, Jeanne Trevor's "Love Notes," Dan Rubright, and more

It looks like this weekend will bring a break in the winter weather here in St. Louis, so it should be a good time to go out an here some live music. Here's a brief look at what's happening over the next few days:

The new not-for-profit presenter Cabaret St. Louis resumes its inaugural season this week with shows by Liz Callaway on Thursday and Friday upstairs at the Sheldon. Like many cabaret performers, Callaway's background is more in musical theater than in jazz - she's performed in a number of Broadway shows, including a long run in Cats - but she also seems to share a sense of humor, some serious vocal chops and an ability to swing with her sister, singer, pianist and songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway, who is well-known to St. Louis listeners from appearances at the Sheldon, Jazz at the Bistro and elsewhere. .

Also this evening, there's a free Jazz at Holmes concert at Washington University that was not mentioned in the news release referenced in the post here yesterday. (I only found out about via an email listserv.) The featured performers are 4 City Saxes, and I wish I could tell you more about them, but there's not much information available from Wash U, or anywhere else online. Google does tell me they performed as pre-show entertainers last summer at the Muny, and were part of UMSL's woodwind festival in December, but beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. .

On Friday and Saturday, Good 4 The Soul bring their mix of jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop and various other genres to Jazz at the Bistro, replacing trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who was originally supposed to play this week but had to postpone until May. Also on Friday, singer Jeanne Trevor teams up with pianist/singer Kevin Kurth for a Valentine's themed show called "Love Notes" at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand (at Olive, in the Big Brothers-Big Sisters building).

Sunday night brings the Sheldon Concert Hall's big "Mardi Gras Mambo" benefit gala, with music from the Neville Brothers and Dr. John and the Lower 911. Single tickets for this show have been sold out for several weeks now, but it's possible there still may be some of the $250 and $150 "patron" tickets left. For the latest information, call the Sheldon directly at 314-533-9900.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday guitarist Dan Rubright and Tangole are performing at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium. This particular project is new to me, but judging from the name, it seems to have something to do with tango and/or Latin music. Regardless of genre, Rubright is a fine player with wide-ranging musical ideas and tastes, so it's probably going to be worth hearing.

On Tuesday, it's the monthly meeting of the Jazz St. Louis CD Listening Club at Borders in Brentwood. Dr. Gerald Early of Washington University and Gene Dobbs Bradford of Jazz St. Louis. will discuss the "golden age" of the Blue Note label and the compilation CD The Best Blue Note Record in the World. Also on Tuesday, the quartet Utter Chaos plays a no-cover-charge show at The Gramophone.

Then on Wednesday, there's another free event presented by Jazz St. Louis, as keyboardist Reggie Thomas and his Hammond organ-jazz ensemble OGD will put on a concert dubbed "A Celebration of Blue Note Records" at Third Baptist Church, 620 N. Grand (just across Washington Ave from the Bistro).

As always, these are just a few of the highlights of what's going on around town, so for more 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.)

Schenkel, Rubright to perform duo concert on October 21

Via email, guitarist Steve Schenkel sends word that he and fellow guitarist Dan Rubright will do a free concert at 7 p.m. on Sunday, October 21 at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 9 South Bompart in Webster Groves.

"For many years I have been doing duo jazz guitar concerts with Dan," writes Schenkel. "We do jazz versions of familiar hymns and spirituals, and we have recorded three CDs of this material." While admission to the concert is free, donations and/or free will offerings will be accepted.