Jazz this week: Edward Simon, Shake 'Em Up Jazz Band, a tribute to Art Blakey, and more

As we head into Labor Day weekend, the calendar of upcoming live jazz and creative music performances coming up in St. Louis includes noteworthy visitors from New Orleans, San Francisco and elsewhere, plus a varied selection of sounds from our hometown players.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 28
This week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" includes Miss Jubilee at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and guitarist Brian Vaccaro's Spiral Trio at The Dark Room.

Thursday, August 29
Trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Randy Bahr return to Rendezvous Cafe & Wine Bar, and pianist Ryan Marquez plays at Evangeline's.

Also on Thursday, trumpeter Brady Lewis and his BLStet return to The Dark Room, and the experimental music series Bruxism will present sets from Head Dress (aka Ted Butler), Syna So Pro, and Philosopher's Culture at the Schlafly Tap Room.

Friday, August 30
Saxophonist Harvey Lockhart's HEAL Center For The Arts presents the first of two fundraisers titled simply "An Evening of Jazz," featuring the center's student group Point of View Ensemble, at the event space The OC @ Central West End. (The event will be repeated on Saturday night.)

Also on Friday, saxophonist Kendrick Smith is back at Thurman's in Shaw, and fusion trio 3XGroove performs at Troy's.

Saturday, August 31
Pianist Edward Simon (pictured, top left) will perform solo in a concert presented by Open Studio at Centene Center for the Arts.

Perhaps best known as a longtime member of the SFJAZZ Collective, the native of Venezuela also has recorded more than a dozen albums as a leader, the most recent being 2016's Latin American Songbook.

Update, 10:00 a.m. 8/31/19: Open Studio has informed StLJN that Edward Simon's St. Louis concert has been cancelled "due to a death in the family." The event will be rescheduled for a later date.

Also on Saturday, New Orleans' Shake ‘Em Up Jazz Band (pictured, center left) will perform for the first of two nights at Focal Point. The all-woman ensemble, which includes clarinetist and former St. Louis resident Chloe Feoranzo, will play again at Focal Point on Sunday night.

Elsewhere around town, pianist Laura Dubin, visiting from Rochester NY, leads a trio at Evangeline's; pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True return to the Parkside Grille; and singer Jan Shapiro, pianist Dave Venn, bassist Bob DeBoo and drummer Henry Ettman play at the Ozark Theatre.

Sunday, September 1
Dizzy Atmosphere plays for brunch at The Dark Room, and the Jazz Troubadours return for a dinnertime gig at Evangeline's.

Tuesday, September 3
The Mosaic Jazz Sextet (pictured, bottom left) is a new group formed by trombonist Dave Dickey that includes trumpeter Danny Campbell and saxophonist Ben Reese plus the rhythm section of pianist Adam Maness, bassist Bob DeBoo, and drummer Montez Coleman. Their debut performance will be a "Tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers" at the Gaslight Theater.

Also on Tuesday, the Tick Tock Jazz Band plays their monthly show of traditional jazz at the Tick Tock Tavern.

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: Marilyn Maye, Jeanne Trevor & Dave Black, Funky Butt Brass Band, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes return gigs for an acclaimed veteran of cabaret singing and a favorite local act at the city's premier jazz club; a rare performance by one of St. Louis' own jazz divas; and more.

Let's go to the highlights...


Wednesday, March 7
Marilyn Maye (pictured, top left), who's sometimes called "the grand dame of cabaret," returns for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Not unlike Tony Bennett, Maye, who's set to turn 90 next month, draws on a deep knowledge of the Great American Songbook and seven decades of show business experience to deliver still-relevant performances seemingly in defiance of the passage of time. If you have any serious interest in cabaret singing and are not already a fan, catch her while you can, but know that Maye has a substantial local fan base, thanks to multiple appearances here in recent years, so advance reservations definitely are suggested.

Maye's opening night performance will be video-simulcast to the first-floor lounge adjacent to the Bistro as part of this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl," which also features guitarist Eric Slaughter and bassist Glen Smith at The Stage at KDHX; the jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, March 8
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will present a free concert titled "Women's Voices in Music" featuring Wash U students Helen Kaul, Hannah Gilberstadt, Nadia Irvin, Ella-Marie West, and Eden Diamond, accompanied by clarinetist Linda Gurney, pianist Kara Baldus, bassist Jeff Anderson, and drummer Eddie Campbell.

Also on Thursday, singer Jeanne Trevor will make a rare appearance in a duet with guitarist Dave Black at The Pat Connolly Tavern, and the fusion/funk band SpaceShip returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, March 9
The Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured, bottom left) will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro, with various friends sitting in to augment the ensemble, including singers Roland Johnson and Anita Jackson, guitarist Jimmy Griffin, keyboardist Dave Grelle, and more.

Also on Friday, the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, March 10
Troy's Jazz Gallery celebrates five years in business with music from the Coleman Hughes Project; saxophonist and singer Cary Colman and her trio return to Evangeline's; and saxophonist Dave Stone and his trio continue their Saturday night residency at Thurman's in Shaw.

Sunday, March 11
Singer Chuck Flowers and pianist Dave Becherer will play for brunch at The Dark Room, and then that evening, the Dave Dickey Big Band returns to the adjacent Grandel Theatre, this month featuring guest vocals from singer Anita Jackson and an intermission performance by the Parkway Central High Schooll Jazz Band.

Monday, March 12
Trumpeter Jim Manley continues his regular Monday night gig at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, March 13
Miss Jubilee plays for the weekly "NOLA Swing" event at HandleBar.

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: The Bad Plus v 2.0, Storm Large, "Winter Jazz Fest," and more

It's a big week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with one performance that's literally drawing international attention, the debut of a new festival, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...


Wednesday, January 17
The gig making headlines all over the globe is the live debut of the revised lineup of The Bad Plus, who will be doing their first-ever performances with new pianist Orrin Evans starting Wednesday night and continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Evans, who replaces founding member Ethan Iverson, already has recorded an album with the group, which is being released this week and was spotlighted last week by NPR's "First Listen" feature. (NPR also will be recording The Bad Plus during their stay in St. Louis for a future episode of the network's "Jazz Night In America" program.)

While that live stream of the new album may have expired by the time you read this, those who are curious about The Bad Plus v 2.0 (pictured, top left) but can't make it to the Bistro this week can watch a live online stream of Friday night's first set for free, starting at 7:30 p.m. on Jazz St. Louis' Facebook page.

Also on Wednesday, singer Storm Large returns, this time with her band Le Bonheur, for a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall. While her several previous appearances here in recent years have been in a cabaret setting and with the dance orchestra Pink Martini, this show will offer Large a chance to show off more of her rock-oriented material with a full band.

Thursday, January 18
Guitarist Todd Mosby's New Horizons Ensemble performs at Sky Music Lounge; The People’s Key will play at the Chase Club; and saxophonist Ben Reece‘s Unity Quartet returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, January 19
Saxophonist Kendrick Smith begins a new weekly residency, leading a trio every Friday starting this week at Thurman's in Shaw; and the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday,
January 20
The first-ever "Winter Jazz Fest," headlined by jazz/fusion band Yellowjackets, will take place at the Grandel Theatre.

Unlike the long-established, week-long, multi-venue New York City event with which it shares a name, this fest is a single-night, single-location concert, with an emphasis on electric contemporary jazz.

In addition to Yellowjackets (pictured, bottom left), the show also will feature saxophonist Eric Marienthal, Bach to The Future, Tracer (aka pianist Ptah Williams' trio in fusion mode), pianist Royce Martin, and the adjacent Dark Room's regular Saturday night performer, keyboardist Mo Egeston.

If you're thinking about going but don't yet have tickets, Metrotix is offering a "buy one ticket, get the second at half-price" discount to online buyers. To access the offer, go to this page and enter the promo code WINTERJAZZ.

Also on Saturday, saxophonist Dave Stone's begins a new weekly gig at Thurman's in Shaw; Miss Jubilee returns to the Casa Loma Ballroom; and the Funky Butt Brass Band will do their monthly performance at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, January 21
The Dave Dickey Big Band performs in the first of a projected series of gigs this year at the Grandel Theatre, with the Lindbergh HS Jazz Ensemble as opener and intermission act.

Monday, January 22
Dizzy Atmosphere plays swing and Gypsy jazz for diners at The Shaved Duck, and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher will present his "Rat Pack and More" show at One 19 North Tapas & Wine 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: Take 6, Tatsuya Nakatani, Bonerama, Xmas jazz around town, and more

It's going to be a busy few days for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, and though a couple of high-profile shows are sold out (or nearly so), there's still going to be plenty of music - holiday and other - available on local stages. Let's go to the highlights.

Wednesday, December 13
Acappella vocal group Take 6 returns for the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro. The run of shows was described by Jazz St. Louis on Tuesday as "nearly sold out," so if you want to hear the multiple Grammy winners in the intimate confines of the Bistro, you'll definitely need to call ahead for advance reservations, and perhaps a bit of luck as well.

As an alternative, you can see a live video stream of Wednesday's shows in the first floor lounge on the west side of Jazz St. Louis HQ, available with no cover charge in conjunction with the free, weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl".

This week's crawl also features the Jazz Troubadours at The Stage at KDHX, plus the jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, the musical show "An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas" resumes its run,  continuing with performances through Sunday afternoon at the Playhouse at Westport Plaza.

Thursday, December 14
Singer Dianne Reeves, who had been scheduled to headline "Gospel Christmas: A Soulful Celebration" with the St. Louis Symphony at Powell Hall, announced on Thursday that she would be unable to perform due to an unspecified health issue. Simultaneously, the SLSO announced that the show would go on as scheduled, with St. Louis' own Brian Owens standing in for Reeves.

Also on Thursday, singer Erin Bode will be in Edwardsville for a holiday concert at the Wildey Theatre; guitarist Dave Black will play at The Pat Connolly Tavern; and trumpeter Keith Moyer and his quintet return to The Dark Room

Friday, December 15
Percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani (pictured, top left) will be back for what has become an annual convening here of his Gong Orchestra, in which he teams up with and trains a group of local musicians in specific techniques for each performance.  This year's edition, presented at the William A Kerr Foundation on the riverfront, will feature a solo percussion set by Nakatani, followed by the Gong Orchestra set with him and 14 collaborators from St. Louis.

Also on Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band kicks off their annual "Holiday Brasstravaganza" weekend at Off Broadway. As of this writing, a few tickets may remain for Friday, but the Saturday night show and a newly added, family friendly Saturday matinee are already sold out.

Elsewhere around town, the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; singer Feyza Eren performs at the house concert venue KindaBlue Club; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play vintage swing, jump blues and more at the Venice Cafe

Saturday, 
December 16
New Orleans' trombone-centric band Bonerama (pictured, bottom left) returns to perform at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy.

Currently touring in support of their new album Hot Like Fire - their first release as part of a new deal with New Orleans' Basin Street Records - Bonerama have been regular visitors to St. Louis for most of this decade, playing at venues including the Old Rock House, Broadway Oyster Bar and The Sheldon. If you've missed out on their brass/funk/rock sound up until now, you can find our more and see some video samples of recent performances in this post from last Saturday. 

Also on Saturday, Wack-A-Doo returns to Evangeline's; saxophonist Dave Stone's trio will play at Thurman's in Shaw; and Miss Jubilee performs at the Casa Loma Ballroom .

Sunday, December 17
There's more holiday jazz in the offing, as the Oikos Ensemble presents "Jazz Noel: A Child is Born" at the First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, while the Dave Dickey Big Band celebrates a "Big Band Christmas" with singer Anita Jackson and guest intermission performers, the North County HS Jazz Ensemble, at .ZACK in Grand Center.

Monday, December 18
Trumpeter Jim Manley plays his weekly Monday night gig at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, December 19
Still more holiday jazz on tap, as the Jazz St. Louis Big Band will play Duke Ellington's "Nutcracker" Suite (plus additional Ellingtonia) for the first of three nights at Jazz at the Bistro, and The 442s present their "Holiday Spectacular" at 560 Music Center

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: SFJAZZ Collective, Bill Frisell, Tomas Fujiwara's The Hook Up, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features three noteworthy touring acts with widely disparate styles, plus a couple of Sunday big band performances, some free jazz, some vintage swing, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, 
April 26
The SFJAZZ Collective opens a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

The all-star ensemble's featured composer this year is Miles Davis, and they'll be performing a repertoire drawn from their latest album, which features eight new arrangements of music associated with the iconic trumpeter, plus new original music by each of the group's eight members.

You can see and hear the SFJAZZ Collective perform some of that material on video, and find out more about their Miles Davis project in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday night, singer Erin Bode will perform for the Chapel Concerts series at St. Vincent Home for Children in north county; the Grand Center Jazz Crawl offers live music at four different venues in the district, and the weekly jazz jam session at Nesby's in South County welcomes both players and listeners.

Thursday, April 27
Singer Brian Owens headlines "Evening of Hope," an event at the Sheldon Concert Hall benefiting the Hope Center at Washington University; and around the corner, pianist Ptah Williams, guitarist Eric Slaughter and company will be performing at The Dark Room.

Friday, April 28
Guitarist Bill Frisell (pictured, top left) will lead a trio with his frequent collaborators, bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen, in a performance at The Ready Room.

Recently the subject of a feature-length documentary about his life and music, the prolific Frisell last year released When You Wish Upon a Star, featuring interpretations of songs from Hollywood films and TV, and also did an album and a series of live dates with with saxophonist Charles Lloyd's latest group, The Marvels.

Frisell's next project, a series of duets with bassist Thomas Morgan called Small Town, is due out in May, but given his long history with Scherr and Wollesen, he could be pulling material from deep in his catalog for Friday's show, his first St. Louis performance since 2013.

Also on Friday, the STL Free Jazz Collective will present a free concert at the 14th Street Artist Community in the Old North neighborhood.

Saturday, April 29
Drummer Tomas Fujiwara’s The Hook Up (pictured, bottom left) will perform in a concert presented by New Music Circle at The Stage at KDHX.

Fujiwara and guitarist Mary Halvorson played a concert for NMC in 2014 as part of the trio Thumbscrew, and in some ways, The Hook Up seems a bit like a superset of that band, with Adam Hopkins in for Formanek on bass and the addition of saxophonist Brian Settles and trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson.

Starting in 2010, The Hook Up has released three recordings so far, the most recent being 2015's After All Is Said, which New York City Jazz Record described as “layered and cohesive, rhythmically diverse, with a lean but muscular sound that defines Fujiwara’s distinctive approach to melody and harmony,” and AllAboutJazz.com called “one of the most accessible, challenging and inventive recordings of recent vintage.”

Also on Saturday, trumpeter Randy Holmes' quintet will celebrate the birth of Duke Ellington with a free concert of his music at the Ozark Theatre; and Evangeline's has a day-night double-header of live jazz, with The Sidemen performing at brunch and Wack-A-Doo during the evening.

Sunday, April 30
The St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show will present their spring event at the American Czech Educational Center, and Folk School of KDHX will host their monthly traditional jazz jam session.

A little later in the day, the student performers of the North County Big Band will team up with the pros in the Gateway City Big Band for a joint concert at the The Sheldon. Meanwhile, out in St. Charles County, the Dave Dickey Big Band will play an early evening show at Brewskeez in O'Fallon, with the Pattonville High School Jazz Ensemble performing at intermission.

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's StLJN's latest wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest:

* The Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden has announced its schedule for 2017, with ten free concerts in total, including performances from the trad jazz band Gaslight Squares on Wednesday, June 14 and pianist Ptah Williams on Wednesday, July 12.

* Kneebody keyboardist Adam Benjamin was interviewed for a brief article by St. Louis magazine's Erin Williams. The group continues their run at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday night.

* Riverbend Restaurant and Bar, the Richmond Heights spot that featured live jazz from trumpeter Jim Manley every Tuesday night alongside its creole and Cajun cuisine, has closed permanently.

* An album of pictures from percussionist Poncho Sanchez' shows last week at Jazz at the Bistro has been posted to Facebook by St. Louis trombonist Dave Dickey, who's friends with Sanchez and several members of his group and sat in with them at the Bistro.

* Electronic musician Nathan Cook (aka NNN Cook) was interviewed about his Rhizomatic series of recordings featuring St. Louis experimental musicians by Willis Ryder Arnold of St. Louis Public Radio.

* The website St. Louis Musicians Unite has a short feature about this weekend's events celebrating composer Scott Joplin, and also has put together a Spotify playlist collecting recordings by St. Louis jazz musicians.

* Trumpeter and St. Louis native Ally Hany has won second place in the jazz division of the 2017 National Trumpet Competition, held earlier this month at Metropolitan State University in Denver, CO. Hany, a graduate of Webster Groves High School and University of North Texas, currently is living in NYC, working on a master's degree at Manhattan School of Music and performing with ensembles including the MSM Jazz Orchestra and Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra.

* Pianist Makini Morrison, a senior at University City High School, is one of 17 finalists in the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation's 2017 St. Louis Teen Talent Competition. Morrison (pictured) has been part of Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program and also has played with the North County Big Band. The competition finals will take place Saturday, April 8 at the Fox Theatre.

* Jack Snelling, a senior at Webster Groves High School, has won first place in the high school jazz division of the Mizzou New Music Initiative's 2017 Creating Original Music Project (COMP), a statewide competition for Missouri student composers in grades K-12. Snelling's winning work "Lovesick" will be performed along with this year's other winning compositions as part of the COMP Festival on Saturday, April 15 on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia.

* Worship Jazz, the St. Louis-based publisher of jazz arrangements of sacred music, has added a collection of 12 "jazz liturgies" to the five volumes of jazz hymns already in their catalog. The liturgical resources are "intended to help church musicians create their own jazz worship services, with each focused on a specific liturgical theme with a complete worship format."

* The Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville is looking for a new production manager. If you're interested, you can find more information about the job and how to apply at http://www.cityofedwardsville.com/.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's this week's wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest:

* HEC-TV has released the final episode of I Love Jazz, the program created and hosted by the late Don Wolff (pictured).

Hosted by Cordell Whitlock, the last episode pays tribute to Wolff, who died last November, and also includes stories on the jazz program at Washington University and the dedication last September of the statue honoring Miles Davis in Alton, IL. You can see the episode online here.

* Tomorrow is the annual celebration of independent music retailers known as Record Store Day, and St. Louis stores taking part in the event with special pricing and promotions, live music, and more will include Euclid Records, Music Record Shop, Planet Score Records, Record Exchange, and Vintage Vinyl. There's also a new store on Cherokee Street, Endless Planets, that will be holding its grand opening celebration that day..

As mentioned last week in this space, yr. humble StLJN editor once again will be among the local music writers doing hour-long "guest DJ" sets at Vintage Vinyl, spinning tunes on the in-house sound system from 2:30 p.m. from 3:30 p.m.

You can find guides to all the local Record Store Day activities in both the Riverfront Times and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. And if you're looking for a list of the various record labels' special jazz releases for RSD 2016, DownBeat has all that info for you here.

* The 442s appear on the latest episode of the TV program STL Up Late, which can be seen online here.

* Wack-A-Doo has posted photos from their recent "Coffee Concert" performances at The Sheldon to Flickr and Facebook.

* St. Louis Legacy Ensemble has posted to YouTube a video of "Lafayette," a new original song by percussionist and bandleader Joe Pastor.

* Guitarist Todd Mosby has posted video of a new original song, "Ode to Joe," on Facebook. Mosby will perform it and other songs from his new album in a CD release event on April 30 at Focal Point

* Trombonist Dave Dickey's performance at tomorrow's North County Jazz Festival in Park Hills, MO is previewed in an article in the Park Hills Daily Journal.

* The Belleville News Democrat reports that student jazz bands from Belleville made a good showing in the annual Illinois State Jazz Invitational last weekend, as Central Junior High took first place in the statewide competition's junior high division and the District 118 Jazz Combo won first place in the high school division.

* According to a Riverfront Times article by Thomas Crone, the proprietors of 2720 Cherokee are reorganizing both their live music offerings and their physical space, including opening a new, smaller-scale lounge called Barcade within the 2720 building.

* Saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie and trumpeter/pianist Tim Osiek have published Hymns of the Spirit: Pentecost and Beyond, the fourth volume of arrangements in their Worship Jazz series. The downloadable book features hymns "arranged in a variety of jazz genres: straight ahead, Latin, Dixieland, funk and more," with all 12 selections transposed for C, Bb, Eb and bass clef instrumentation.

* Lindy Hop St. Louis, organizers of the annual Nevermore Jazz Ball weekend held in the fall, have announced the dates for the 2016 River City Mess Around. The fourth annual edition of the summer swing dance weekend will be held July 1 through July 4, with venues and exact schedule of events TBA.

Jazz this week: Danilo Pérez, Jay Oliver, Denise Thimes, a big band Sunday, and more

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a visit from a top touring jazz pianist, the return of a favorite local singer to the city's showcase club, and one day that may seem like a time warp back to the big band era.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 24
Singer Denise Thimes (pictured, top left) returns to Jazz at the Bistro for the first of three evenings, continuing through Friday.

Also tonight, the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra plays at Riverbend Restaurant & Bar.

Thursday, February 25
Keyboardist and St. Louis native Jay Oliver is back in town for a visit and will team up with guitarist/bassist William Lenihan and drummer Steve Davis to play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Elsewhere on Thursday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black perform at Thurman Grill; and the Tavern of Fine Arts presents their monthly "Open Improv Night" with live improvised music.

Friday, February 26
Singer Tim Schall does his cabaret show "1961" at The Stage at KDHX; singer Chuck Flowers performs at Tavern of Fine Arts; and The Sidemen play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom

Saturday,
February 27
Pianist Danilo Pérez (pictured, lower left) plays the Sheldon Concert Hall, featuring music from his 2014 recording Panama 500, a sort of world-fusion concept that posits the music of that nation as part of a continuum of styles stretching around the globe. For more about that, and to see and hear Pérez performing some of the music from the album, check out the video showcase post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also on Saturday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to Thurman Grill, and singer Eve Seltzer will perform at Evangeline's.

Sunday, February 28
While the "big band era" is supposed to have ended officially more than 60 years ago, you wouldn't necessarily know that by looking at the calendar for Sunday, which features four different big band performances in St. Louis on the same day.

For starters, the students in the McKinley High School Goldbug Jazz Band will be celebrating their first recording as a group with a matinee concert & CD release party at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Meanwhile, just a few blocks to the south, The Big Little Big Band will present a free concert at the Scottish Rite Cathedral Auditorium on Lindell.

Then on Sunday evening, the Dave Dickey Big Band will present their monthly performance at Jazz at the Bistro, with the North County HS Jazz Ensemble playing at intermission, while the Jazz Edge Big Band
returns to the Kirkwood Station Brewing Company (where Dickey's band played until the opening of the expanded Ferring Jazz Bistro in 2014).

Monday, February 29
Saxophonists Christopher Braig and Paul DeMarinis will join forces for a concert at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium; Dizzy Atmosphere plays swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck; and pianist Ptah Williams continues his Monday night residency at Thurman Grill.

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: Billy Childs' tribute to Laura Nyro; Funky Butt Brass Band; and more

This week in St. Louis jazz and creative music, the Sheldon Concert Hall resumes their jazz series with pianist Billy Childs' tribute to an under-appreciated singer-songwriter of the 1960s and 70s; two local favorites play two nights each at Jazz at the Bistro; and more. Let's go the highlights...

Wednesday, January 27
Pianist Ptah Williams leads a group in the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro; singer Erin Bode performs for the monthly concert series at the World Chess Hall of Fame; and Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris return to Nathalie's.

Thursday, January 28
Bassist Darrell Mixon and friends will be at The Dark Room, substituting for Ptah Williams as he plays the Bistro, while the Tavern of Fine Arts presents their monthly "open mic" night with live improvised music. Also on Thursday, Miss Jubilee plays swing, jump blues and more at Thaxton Speakeasy and singer Joe Mancuso returns to Thurman Grill.

Friday, January 29
The Funky Butt Brass Band get warmed up for Mardi Gras season in the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro, and trumpeter Jim Manley plays at Thurman Grill.

Saturday, January 30
Pianist Billy Childs will present "Re-Imagining Laura Nyro," featuring live performances of the material from his best-selling, Grammy Award winning album Map to the Treasure, at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Childs (pictured, upper left) first came to wide attention with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's group in the late 1970s, and still takes the occasional road gig in support of Chris Botti, but these days most of time and artistic energy seems to be spent on arranging and composing, including writing a number of commissioned works for symphony orchestra.

His latest project features interpretations of music written by Nyro, a teenage songwriting prodigy whose tunes were huge hits for The Fifth Dimension, Blood Sweat and Tears, and others, but who then experienced various career and health setbacks before her untimely death from ovarian cancer in 1997, when she was only 49 years old. For more about the project, read the preview story about Childs' concert by Calvin Wilson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch/STLtoday.com.

(The Sheldon and Metrotix are offering a discount on tickets for Childs' concert to online buyers, reducing prices to $30 for orchestra seats, $25 for the balcony. To get the discount, go here and enter the promotional code TREASURE.)

Also on Saturday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes perform at Evangeline's; trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber is at Nathalie's; and the Liberation Organ Trio plays the house concert venue KindaBlue Club.

Sunday, January 31
The Dave Dickey Big Band (pictured, lower left) will present their monthly show at Jazz at the Bistro, with the Francis Howell Central HS Jazz Band playing at intermission.

Monday, February 1
Singer Debby Lennon and members of the Webster University jazz faculty will perform 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.)

Jazz this week: Kat Edmondson, Houston Person, Dave Dickey Big Band, and more

While goblins, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and zombies may rule the upcoming Halloween weekend, there's also plenty of live jazz and creative music to be found in and around St. Louis over the next few days.

Here's a brief look at some of the most noteworthy shows...

Wednesday, October 28
Multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris and singer Anita Jackson will team up for the first of two nights of what's billed as a tribute to Nina Simone at Jazz at the Bistro.

Thursday, October 29
The Gaslight Cabaret Festival resumes with singer Kat Edmonson performing music from her new album The Big Picture for the first of two nights at the Gaslight Theater. (While Friday's show is sold out, as of this writing some tickets remain for Thursday.) For more about Edmondson (pictured, top left), check out this interview she did to promote her new release last month with NPR.

Also on Thursday, Stephen Koch, a writer and musician from Little Rock, Ar who penned a biography of saxophonist Louis Jordan, will present "Roll, Jordan, Roll: The Legacy of Louis Jordan, Father of R&B" at The Stage at KDHX;  and the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents "Bernstein and Sondheim: Musical Theatre and the Jazz Vernacular," a free concert featuring vocalist Katie Greenberg, pianist Kara Baldus, guitarist William Lenihan, drummer Steve Davis, and a string section.

Friday, October 30
Saxophonist Houston Person (pictured, bottom left) returns for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro. The veteran tenor man, who excels equally at blues, bop and ballads, will be backed by a rhythm section of St. Louis musicians including pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson, bassist Jahmal Nichols and drummer Montez Coleman.

Also on Friday, Miss Jubilee will play a Halloween-themed swing dance at the Casa Loma Ballroom; saxophonist Tim Cunningham is back at Troy's Jazz Gallery; and singer Erika Johnson and guitarist Tom Byrne will perform at Montrey's Cigar Lounge.


Saturday, October 31
Dizzy Atmosphere will play Gypsy jazz as part of SIUE's "International Night" at the Meridian Ballroom in Morris University Center on the SIUE campus; and Elsie Parker & the Poor People of Paris will perform at Nathalie's.

Sunday, November 1
The Dave Dickey Big Band will play their monthly gig at Jazz at the Bistro, with an intermission performance from the Lindbergh HS Jazz Ensemble directed by David Wyss; and drummer Montez Coleman will lead his trio plus guest vocalist Brian Owens in a concert at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Monday, November 2
Pianist Greg Mills and friends will play improvised music at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and some of Webster University's student jazz combos will show off what they've learned so far this semester in a performance at Webster's Community Music School.

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: Monty Alexander, Antonio Figura, the Miles Davis statue unveiled, Dave Dickey Big Band, and more

While jazz fans from all over the world will be taking note of the long-awaited unveiling of the Miles Davis statue Saturday in Alton, IL, there also will be plenty of other interesting jazz and creative music events happening all around the St. Louis area. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 9
In his first St. Louis show in more than a decade, pianist Monty Alexander (pictured, top left) and his trio will perform for the first of two evenings at Jazz at the Bistro.

Alexander, who was born in Jamaica and came to the US as a child, began his jazz career in the mid-1960s, working as a sideman for musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, Benny Golson, Jimmy Griffin and Frank Morgan. He began leading his own bands in the 1970s, and past editions of his trios have included highly-regarded players such as John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, Ed Thigpen and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.

More recently, Alexander has become known for making music specifically connected to his Caribbean roots, recording several times with Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin and also issuing several albums of his own mixing jazz with reggae and other regional sounds.

Also on Wednesday, singer Eve Seltzer returns to Nathalie's.

Thursday, September 10
Italian pianist Antonio Figura returns to St. Louis to play a free concert kicking off this semester's Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, September 11
There's no jazz at the Bistro until Sunday this weekend, as Friday is the folk/bluegrass installment of Grand Center's "Music at the Intersection" series, and a Saturday show that was set to feature bassist Jahmal Nichols got scrubbed a while back due to Nichols' tour schedule with singer Gregory Porter.

However, this year's St. Louis Art Fair, which runs through Sunday, will have a dedicated jazz stage, with   Friday's offerings including sets from singer/pianists Jesse Gannon and Anita Rosamond plus a set from the Bosman Twins. Also at the Art Fair, the Funky Butt Brass Band will take an early evening turn over on the main stage.

Elsewhere on Friday, guitarist Dave Black and band will play a free outdoor concert at Ferguson CityWalk; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to Nathalie's; and the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, September 12
After more than a year of anticipation, the Miles Davis Memorial Project will unveil the statue of the legendary trumpeter created by sculptor Preston Jackson, which finally will be installed in its permanent location on Third St. in downtown Alton.

The unveiling ceremony will be preceded and followed by live music from trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet on an outdoor stage near the statue, and several bars and restaurants nearby will feature live jazz on Saturday evening. Most notably, the veteran trumpeter Bobby Shew (pictured, center left) will be as a guest performer with drummer Montez Coleman's band at Elijah P's, with gigs featuring trumpeters Jim Manley and Dan Smith, guitarist Tom Byrne with singer Erika Johnson, and others happening at various other downtown spots.

Back on the west bank of the Mississippi, Miss Jubilee will be performing in a free outdoor concert at Lafayette Park, and the Art Fair's lineup for the day will include sets from the Jazz Edge Big Band, singer Denise Thimes, pianist Ptah Williams, Good 4 the Soul, and more.

Sunday,
September 13
If you're looking for something to do during the day, the early fall edition of the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show will take place at the American Czech Hall, while the Art Fair will feature performances from singer Wendy Gordon, trumpeter Dawn Weber, and Animal Children on the jazz stage and singer Tony Viviano on the main stage.

That evening, the Dave Dickey Big Band (pictured, lower left) will resume their monthly residency at Jazz at the Bistro, with the University of Missouri's jazz band, directed by saxophonist Arthur White, as the intermission performers.

Monday, September 14
Guitarist Daryl Darden will be back home to headline a show at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, and Dizzy Atmosphere plays 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: 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.)

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.)