Jazz this week: Grand Marquis, Anita Jackson, a tribute to Louis Armstrong, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a tribute to Louis Armstrong, a couple of summer concert series coming to a close for the year, jump blues from Kansas City, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 25
Trumpeter and vocalist Dawn Weber and her Electro Funk Assembly play a free concert to wrap up this summer's Whitaker Music Festival at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Also on Wednesday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black perform at SqWires Restaurant & Annex; and this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features Feyza Eren 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, July 26
Kansas City jump-blues band Grand Marquis (pictured, top left) returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; and saxophonist Kendrick Smith leads a quartet in a free concert for Jazz at Holmes' summer series at Washington University, 63105

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Ben Reece's Unity Quartet performs at The Dark Room, and singer Erin Bode will be the special guest of the Alton Municipal Band for a free concert at Riverview Park. (The same program also will be presented Sunday at Alton's Haskell Park.)

Friday, July 27
Singer Anita Jackson (pictured, bottom left) performs for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis, and trumpeter Randy Holmes leads a sextet in the first of two nights of a "Louis Armstrong Festival" at the Ozark Theatre.

Saturday, July 28
Miss Jubilee presents a free outdoor concert at Eckert's in Belleville; the Dave Stone Trio is back at Thurman's in Shaw; and keyboardist Mo Egeston holds down the late night slot at The Dark Room.

Sunday, July 29
Guitarist Tom Byrne and singer Kim Fuller perform for brunch at The Dark Room; saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays on the patio at Mount Pleasant Estates in Augusta; and the Folk School of KDHX presents their monthly traditional jazz jam session.

Monday, July 30
Singers Chuck Flowers and Tambra Cross lead a tribute to 1970s funk in a free concert at Heman Park in U City.

Tuesday, July 31
"Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return 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.)

Jazz this week: Dawn Weber, Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective, "Honoring Our Own" with Wycliffe Gordon, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features plenty of brass, with performances headlined by one local trumpeter and singer; one visiting trumpeter who's become quite familiar to local listeners; one star trombonist who's helping pay tribute to some St. Louisans; and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, May 16
Cabaret Project St. Louis has found a new home for their monthly "Broadway Open Mic," which starting this week will take place at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club on the second floor of the .ZACK building at 3224 Locust St.

Also on Wednesday, the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and his band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, May 17
The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra with singers Valerie Tichacek and Dean Christopher performs at Jazz at the Bistro; saxophonist Ben Reece's Unity Quartet returns to The Dark Room; and singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will celebrate Mancuso's birthday with a show at Parkside Grille in West County.

Friday, May 18
Trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber and friends will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro, and the St. Louis Big Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Also on Friday, saxophonist Kendrick Smith's trio continues at Thurman's in Shaw, and bassist Darrell Mixon leads a trio at Cigar Inn in Belleville.

Saturday, May 19
The Friends of Scott Joplin present the string band Mound City Slickers in a matinee concert at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe.

Then on Saturday evening, percussionist Herman Semidey and Orquesta Son Montuno will play salsa, latin jazz, and more at the Webster Groves Concert Hall, and the Funky Butt Brass Band returns to the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, May 20
Trumpeter Terence Blanchard and his band, the E-Collective (pictured, top left), will perform at the Grandel Theatre.

Blanchard and company currently are touring in support of their most recent album Live, which came out earlier this year. For more about that, and Blanchard's ongoing relationship with St. Louis, see this post from last Saturday. 

Also on Sunday, singer Wendy Gordon and friends -  including special guest star, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon (pictured, bottom left) - will present "Honoring Our Own," a tribute to St. Louis trombonist and educator Robert Edwards and actor/singer J. Samuel Davis, at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

That same evening, saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie and the Oikos Ensemble are offering another of their "Inner Jazz" programs at the First Congregational Church in Webster Groves.

Monday, May 21
While we haven't heard the band yet and thus cannot offer an informed recommendation, this seems like as good a place as any to note that The Dark Room has started offering live music on Mondays, presenting a quartet led by the young drummer Keith Bowman, a recent graduate of Webster University. 

Tuesday, May 22
Pianist "Ragtime" Jack Radcliffe, a specialist in pre-war jazz, blues, and, yes, ragtime, who's from Massachusetts, performs at Evangeline's.

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.)

Whitaker Music Festival announces 2018 schedule

The Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden has announced their schedule for 2018.

The free concert series, presented Wednesday nights at the Garden from late May through the end of July, seems to be recalling its roots as "Jazz in June" a bit with this year's schedule. It features more jazz (or at least jazz-adjacent) performers than it has in the recent past, starting with multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris (pictured) on Wednesday, June 6.

Other concerts that may be of particular interest to StLJN readers include trombonist Charlie Halloran (June 13), Acoustik Element (June 27), Funky Butt Brass Band (July 4), and trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber and the Electro Funk Assembly (July 25).

The series kicks off on Wednesday, May 23 with a show by soul singer Gene Jackson, and also will include performances by rock/Americana acts Brothers Lazaroff (May 30) and John Henry (June 20), blues guitarist Ivas John (July 11), and Al Holliday and The East Side Rhythm Band (July 18).

The Whitaker Music Festival shows start at 7:00 p.m., and all concerts are free and open to the public.

Jazz this week: Dawn Weber, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes CD release, and more

Longtime observers of St. Louis' live music scene know there sometimes can be a slight lull in activity between New Year's Day and the run-up to Mardi Gras.

But while there may not be any significant touring jazz or creative music acts passing through St. Louis this week, it's a big weekend for two local ensembles fronted by females, with one performing for the first time at the newly remodeled Jazz at the Bistro and the other releasing a new album. For more on these shows and other noteworthy upcoming gigs, let's go to the highlights...

Thursday, January 29
Pianist Ptah Williams plays solo in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, January 30
Trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber opens a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro, accompanied by a band including saxophonist Jason Swagler, bassist Bob DeBoo, keyboardist Nathan Jatcko, drummer Jerry Mazucca, and guitarist Phil Ring.

Also on Friday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes (pictured, top left) will celebrate the release of their second CD Sarahnade En Bleu with a performance at Venice Cafe.

Elsewhere around town, Lindy Hop St. Louis' monthly "West End Stomp" at the Mahler Ballroom will feature music from Miss Jubilee; the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and trumpeter Jim Manley and guitarist Randy Bahr will take the stage at Thurman Grill.

Saturday, January 31
Singer Feyza Eren (pictured, below left) and guitarist Tom Byrne will duet at Thurman Grill.

Sunday, February 1
In a late-afternoon session before the big football game kicks off, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will be recording a music video at Nathalie's.

Monday, February 2
Webster University celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Billie Holiday with a concert from singer Kim Fuller and members of the Webster jazz faculty at Winifred Moore Auditorium on campus.

Tuesday, February 3
Pianists David Parker and Greg Mills present another performance under the auspices of their Society for Creative Survival, teaming up for "The Rites of Musick/ Tribute to John Cage" 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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Harry Connick Jr's concert on Sunday night at the Fox Theatre was reviewed by Terry Perkins for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

* The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra (pictured) has put on YouTube two videos of their recent performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted on Facebook a photo set from saxophonist Donald Harrison's visit last week to Central Elementary School in St. Charles.

* The November episode of HEC-TV's I Love Jazz features trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber and will debut on the cable network at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, November 14. To find HEC on your system and see the times for subsequent showings, consult your TV provider's program guide. Episodes also are posted on the HEC website after their first airing.

* The Friends of Scott Joplin are moving their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" to a new location. Starting in November, the open-piano event will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month at the New Rosebud Cafe at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, 2658 Delmar Blvd. The Rosebud Cafe has two pianos for performers, and "accessibility will not be a problem for those who find stairs difficult." Snacks and soft drinks will be sold, and guests also can bring in their own food and drink.

* The 442s have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to record and manufacture their debut album.

* A new post on Kevin Belford's Devil at the Confluence blog looks at the career and influence of St. Louis trumpeter Charles Creath. 

* DownBeat this week announced the results of their 2013 Readers Poll. While no living St. Louis musicians will take home trophies this year, the Miles Davis Quintet's Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 was the winner in the Historical Album category.

* In more Davis-related news, Miles Davis: Legendary Concerts, recorded by the trumpeter at the 1985 North Sea Jazz Festival, was reviewed by AllAboutJazz.com's Chris May.

* There's also news this week about the proposed feature film biography of Davis that actor Don Cheadle has been developing for several years, as actors Ewan McGregor and Zoe Saldana are said to be in talks for undisclosed roles. Cheadle still plans to direct and star as Davis, and Herbie Hancock has agreed to write the score for the film, which now is titled Kill The Trumpet Player.

* Saxquest has announced that they are now an official authorized dealer for Yamaha, with the first shipment of instruments arriving this week. The store will offer a selection of Yamaha saxophones and clarinets, with full professional set-ups on all new instruments.

* Jazz radio update: On this week's edition of "Somethin' Else," host Calvin Wilson makes the case for an underrated decade of jazz, spotlighting some favorite recordings from the 1990s including tracks from saxophonist Branford Marsalis, pianist Geri Allen, guitarist Pat Metheny, and more. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://rafstl.org/listen/.

Then on Sunday, Dennis Owsley's "Jazz Unlimited" program will survey the six-decade career of trombonist, pianist and composer/arranger Bob Brookmeyer, along with featured tracks from pianists Roger Kellaway and Hank Jones; saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Al Cohn, Richie Kamuca, Bill Perkins and Jerome Richardson; clarinetist Pee Wee Russell; bassist Milt Hinton; and drummers Jo Jones and Mel Lewis. You can listen in starting at 9:00 p.m. on KWMU (90.7 FM) or online at http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org.

On a related note, Owsley was interviewed this week on KWMU-2's Arch City Radio Hour about St. Louis jazz history and his work as a broadcaster, photographer and author. The episode also includes a segment previewing next week's Nevermore Jazz Ball.

Jazz this week: Joe Sample Trio, Eric Marienthal & Bach to the Future, NIU Rosebud Foundation Jazztet, and more

With last weekend's record snowfall melted, and more seasonable weather forecast for this weekend, it should be a good time in St. Louis to get out and hear some live jazz and creative music. Let's see what's coming up over the next few days...

Tonight, Joe Sample (pictured) and his trio begin a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Though perhaps still best known as the pianist for the Crusaders (nee Jazz Crusaders), Sample also has had a thriving solo career since the late 1970s, mixing the Crusaders' trademark funk with more straight-ahead, Latin and smooth R&B-influenced sounds. For more about that, and some video samples of his trio in action, check out this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also tonight, trumpeter Jim Manley is at Sasha's Wine Bar in Clayton; and guitarist John Farrar and Park Avenue Jazz play at Hammerstone's. 

Tomorrow night, singer Joe Mancuso leads a quartet in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; Samba Bom is playing for a "Bossa Nova Dinner" at Yemanja Brasil; and the Tavern of Fine Arts will be presenting live improvised music from pianist Jim Hegarty, flute player Fred Tompkins and others at its monthly "Avant Garde Arts Night."

On Friday, saxophonist Eric Marienthal and Bach to the Future will headline a multi-band bill at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The Autumn Hill Jazz Festival, named after BTTF keyboardist and event organizer Mike Silverman's indie label, also will feature music from trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber, pianist Ptah Williams, and guitarist Tom Byrne. For more about the show, check out this article by Stef Russell of St. Louis magazine.

Also on Friday, Northern Illinois University's Rosebud Foundation Jazztet, a group of undergraduate and graduate scholarship students from the program directed by saxophonist Ron Carter, will open a two-night stand at Robbie's House of Jazz; and singer Zena Bott-Goins aka Zena Star and her band will play at the Cigar Inn.

On Saturday, the Klezmer Conspiracy will perform at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman and pianist Carolbeth True are doing a duo gig at Oceano Bistro in Chesterfield. 

Then on Sunday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play the Sunday matinee at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, filling in for Miss Jubilee, who's gigging in Chicago this weekend.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Webster University Student Jazz Combos will perform at Webster's Community Music School. Then on Tuesday morning, singer Dean Christopher will perform his "Tribute to Frank Sinatra" for a Coffee Concert at the Sheldon, repeating the same program on Wednesday. 

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: Made in St. Louis

While there are no major touring jazz or creative music headliners scheduled to be here for the next few days, St. Louis musicians will be filling a variety of local venues with all sorts of sounds. And so, as a way of demonstrating the wide variety of activity on our local scene, this week's picks consists of fifteen different bands and musicians playing at fifteen different locations over the next five days. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, guitarist Brian Vaccaro leads his trio in a free concert kicking off the winter/spring semester for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. The group will perform their interpretations of music from the Beatles, with an emphasis on the Fab Four's later post-Revolver material.

Also tonight, up-and-coming Chicago saxophonist Christopher McBride is back in the area to play at the Cigar Inn; cellist Tracy Andreotti, percussionist Henry Claude and keyboardist Jim Hegarty will offer free improv and more at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and trombonist Doug Bert leads a quintet at the house-concert venue Joe's Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave in the Central West End..

Tomorrow night, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris (pictured) and trumpeter/singer Dawn Weber will join forces for the first of two evenings at Jazz at the Bistro. Although this is the first time the two have headlined together at the Bistro (or anywhere else), making it somewhat difficult to know exactly what their collaboration will sound like, both Harris and Weber have an affinity for danceable beats and electronic sounds that should make for a compatible pairing.

Update, 1 p.m. 1/24/13: Via the magic of Facebook, StLJN has just learned that Harris and Weber will be backed by the aforementioned Christopher McBride and his band, consisting of pianist Andrew Lawrence, bassist Bob Deboo and drummer Marcus Evans. While this could mean they're taking a more straightahead musical direction, rather than emphasizing the electronic elements that both Harris and Weber often deploy, there's really no way to know until the deal goes down on the bandstand.

Also Friday, saxophonist Jay Hutson plays R&B, funk and soul/jazz at Robbie's House of Jazz;  Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will offer jump blues and swing just down the street at CJ Muggs in Webster Groves; and Miss Jubilee will perform at Flaco's Cocina in University City.

On Saturday, the Funky Butt Brass Band will play at The Gramophone; singing sisters Feyza Eren and Ayse Eren will team up for a performance at the Wine Press; and guitarist Dave Black plays solo at Mojo Tapas.

Then on Sunday, the Dave Dickey Big Band will celebrate a year of monthly gigs at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company. This show will feature a guest performance from the fine pianist Chip Stevens, who teaches at the University of Illinois, along with an intermission set from the All-Suburban Honor Jazz Band.

Also Sunday, jazz-fusion band The Freedom returns to the Level 2 Platinum Club, 7555 Olive St. Rd in University City.
 
Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the group Two Times True, featuring pianist Carolbeth True, will perform in the first jazz faculty concert of the semester at Webster University's Moore Auditorium; and 
saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective will play at 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.)

Eric Marienthal to perform with Bach to the Future on Friday, March 29 at The Sheldon

Saxophonist Eric Marienthal will join forces with St. Louis' Bach to the Future for a performance at 7:00 p.m. Friday, March 29 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Organized by Bach to the Future keyboardist Mike Silverman, the "Autumn Hill Jazz Festival," as the show is being billed, also will feature singer/trumpeter Dawn Weber's trio and pianist Ptah Williams. (Autumn Hill is the label name used by Silverman and BTTF to release their recordings.)

Marienthal (pictured) is a Berklee graduate who first gained international fame playing with Chick Corea's Elektrik Band. In addition to working as a leader, he also currently performs and records with fusion band The Rippingtons and with Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. Marienthal has been in St. Louis a couple of times in recent years, in October 2011 playing with keyboardist Jeff Lorber, and in May 2008 subbing for Bob Mintzer with Yellowjackets, both at Jazz at the Bistro. He was recruited last year by Silverman to do some recording with Bach to the Future for an upcoming project of theirs, which led to this live appearance.

Proceeds from the Autumn Hill Jazz Festival concert will go to benefit Music for Lifelong Achievement, the not-for-profit organization based at the Sheldon that collects and refurbishes used musical instruments and gives them to financially disadvantaged local music students. Tickets are $15 general admission, and are on sale now via Metrotix.

Jazz St. Louis announces winter/spring bookings for Jazz at the Bistro

Jazz St. Louis has announced additional bookings for this winter and spring at Jazz at the Bistro.

Singer-songwriter Javier Mendoza’s Latin Jazz Experiment will be the first local/regional act to play the Bistro in 2013, returning on Friday, January 11 and Saturday, January 12.

Two weeks later, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris and singer/trumpeter Dawn Weber will team up for performances on Friday, January 25 and Saturday, January 26.

Next up, The Wee Trio, formed in NYC but featuring former St. Louisan Dan Loomis on bass, will return to the Bistro to record a live CD on Friday, February 8 and Saturday, February 9.

And speaking of recordings, the Willie Akins/Montez Coleman Group will have a CD release party for their upcoming album The St. Louis Connection on Saturday, February 23.

Also returning to the Bistro will be the Funky Butt Brass Band, with a one-nighter announced for Friday, March 22.

Lastly, as in years past, the Bistro will be the site of the opening show for the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, with clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen (pictured) and drummer Matt Wilson paired for a performance on Thursday, April 18. (The GSLJF previously had announced concerts at the Touhill Performing Arts Center featuring the Monterey Jazz Festival 55th anniversary tour on Friday, April 19 and the Doc Severinsen Big Band on Saturday, April 20.)

The announcement from Jazz St. Louis did not include prices, but tickets for all of the performances at the Bistro will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Saturday, December 1 via Metrotix. To purchase tickets for the GSLJF shows at the Touhill, call their ticket office at 314-516-4949 or visit the Touhill website.

Jazz this week: Terence Blanchard, Snarky Puppy, U City Jazz Festival, and more

With the fall presenting season now in full swing, the next few days in St. Louis offer a pleasingly varied selection of gigs for the jazz and creative music fan. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, trumpeter Terence Blanchard (pictured) opens a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. Blanchard is a familiar figure to St. Louis audiences from several previous appearances here both at the Bistro and at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Having composed many film scores for director Spike Lee and others, the New Orleans native now also is writing an opera that will receive its world premiere next year at Opera Theatre St. Louis. For this gig at the Bistro, though, Blanchard will be leading a small group and and seems likely to showcase his customary post-bop sound, spiced with a bit of syncopated New Orleans flavor.

Also tonight, The Cabaret Project presents their monthly Cabaret Open Mic night at the Tavern of Fine Arts, with actor/singer Bob Mitchell as host and Carol Schmidt at the keyboard.

Tomorrow night, the Texas-based jazz/funk/world music outfit Snarky Puppy comes to town to perform at The Gramophone. Comprised mostly of former students from the well-known music program of the University of North Texas, Snarky Puppy on record is a sprawling collective that includes a couple dozen members. The live band, though smaller in numbers, emphasizes the same expansive grooves to underpin improvisations from a varied cast of soloists.

On Friday, pianist and singer Jesse Gannon brings a trio to Robbie's House of Jazz; vocalist Zena Bott-Goins leads a group at the Cigar Inn; and the Funky Butt Brass Band returns to the Broadway Oyster Bar

Saturday, it's the second-ever U City Jazz Festival, a free, all-day affair held outdoors in Heman Park, off of Olive St. Rd. This year's lineup features Trio Tres Bien with singer Danita Mumphard and special guest multi-instrumentalist Don Cunningham, plus the St, Louis Metrobones; pianist Ptah Williams leading a reunion of his fusion group Tracer; trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber; Bach to the Future; and a Miles Davis tribute.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Todd Mosby and Farshid Etniko will be among the performers at a benefit for Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children at Logan College of Chiropractic's Purser Center; experimental violinist Joey Molinaro will play at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center; and saxophonist Jerry Greene leads a quartet at Robbie's.

Then on Sunday, the Dave Dickey Big Band will play their monthly gig at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company. This month's performance will feature the music of Count Basie, and the venue is clearing some floor space for swing dancers who wish to strut their stuff.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday guitarist Tom Byrne and his Pat Metheny-inspired ensemble Have You Heard? will play at Webster University's Moore Auditorium.

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.)

Second annual U City Jazz Festival to be held Saturday, September 22

The second annual U City Jazz Festival will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 22 in Heman Park in University City. Festival organizer Michael Silverman announced the date in a Facebook post yesterday, and also revealed the list of musicians who will play the event this year.

The musical lineup for 2012 will include the STL Metrobones; trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber; a reunion concert featuring pianist Ptah Williams and his 1980s jazz-fusion group Tracer; Bach to the Future; a tribute to Miles Davis with drummer Maurice Carnes' Hipjaz Quintet; and Trio Tres Bien (pictured).

The event is free and open to the public.

(Edited 6/6/12 to fix a broken link and add tags.)

Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival set for Friday, June 10 & Saturday, June 11

Belleville's Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival has announced the lineup of performers for this year's event, which will be held on Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11 in the square in downtown Belleville, Illinois.

The festival runs from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday and 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Friday's performers will include Usual Suspects with Gypsy Brown, the Dawn Weber Group and the Jim Stevens Group, while the lineup on Saturday features the USAF Starlifter Jazz Band, Tony D and the Groove (pictured), the Santana tribute band Stantana, and the Vince Martin Band.

Festival goers also can sample wines from Illinois vintners and purchase food from various Belleville restaurants. The Wine, Dine and Jazz Festival is free and open to the public. For more details and a complete schedule of events, visit the festival's Web site.

Jazz this week: Erin Bode's CD release, Nu-Art's jazz singers series, and more

The weekend of Independence Day usually isn't a busy one for live jazz performances in St. Louis, and this year is no exception. However, there are a few noteworthy shows coming up over the next several days, most of which seem to involve female vocalists:

Tonight, singer and trumpet player Dawn Weber will perform a free concert at the Missouri Botanical Garden for the Whitaker Music Festival series. Since this show features Weber's Electro-Funk Assembly, the emphasis will be on danceable grooves, not improvisation, but you can probably expect a bit of jamming during the show.

On Thursday, singer Erin Bode (pictured) opens a three-night run at Jazz at the Bistro promoting the release of her new CD Photograph. With no advance copy in hand, all we can tell you is that the CD is self-released, with no record company involved; features all-new original songs written and performed by Bode and her longstanding bandmates; and purportedly finds them using more electronic instruments and a more pop-oriented production style.

You can read a bit more about the release in this preview story, written by Terry Perkins for the Post-Dispatch. Also, if you hunt around a bit here, you may still be able to access a clip of a recent Bode appearance on the morning news at local Fox affiliate KTVI (Channel 2).

On Friday, keyboardist Tony Simmons and singer Cheryl Brown will perform at Robbie's House of Jazz, and on Saturday afternoon, the Nu-Art Series will present singer Nikki Washington doing the songs of Sarah Vaughan. The show at the Metropolitan Gallery is the first in a set of four concerts in July featuring St. Louis singers performing work associated with famous jazz vocalists.

Looking beyond the weekend, BB's Jazz Blues and Soups will feature drummer Joe Pastor's trio on Monday night.

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 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.)

(Edited 7/1/10 to correct a typo in the name of Erin Bode's CD.)

Jazz benefit to raise funds for O'Fallon HS band

St. Louis area jazz musicians and student bands will perform to raise money for the marching band program at O'Fallon (IL) High School during "O' That Jazz," a benefit event at 6:00 p.m. Friday, February 26 at the Regency Conference Center, 360 Regency Park Drive in O'Fallon, IL.

Performers will include the St. Louis Jazz All-Stars, fronted by trumpet player and singer Dawn Weber (pictured) and including Jason Swagler (saxophone), Shaun Robinson (guitar), Zeb Briscovich (bass), Miles Vandiver (drums) and Charlie Brown (keyboards).

Other performers will include the Twilight Jazz Club and the O’Fallon High School Band Jazz Combos, with radio personality Ross Gentile serving as MC. The evening also includes dinner, dancing and a live oral auction for items including sports, entertainment and music memorabilia and tickets to sports events.

You can see a flyer for the event here (.pdf file). Tickets are $35 and $40, and can be purchased online (before February 23) here. Event chair Betsy Layfield also tells StLJN that those unable to make dinner can pay $20 at the door and come in at 7:45 p.m. for the concert only.

(Updated 2/22/10 with details on the All-Stars and day-of-show tickets.)

Jazz this week: A jazz tribute to Woodstock; music at the St. Louis Art Fair; a new book about the St. Louis blues; and more

While this weekend in St. Louis offers no shows featuring big name jazz musicians - think of it as a chance to save up a bit for next weekend's concerts by Sonny Rollins, Trio 3 and/or Chris Botti - there are still some jazz-related events over the next few days that may merit your attention. Here's a look at some highlights:

Tonight, the fall series of free weekly Jazz at Holmes concerts at Washington University begins with guitarist William Lenihan leading "a jazz tribute to Woodstock" outdoors on the Brookings Quadrangle.

Presumably, it's not a concert featuring jazz versions of songs that were played at Woodstock and/or written by musicians who performed there, or they would have just described it as such. (You can read Wash U's rather uninformative blurb on the show, and my initial reaction to it, here. ) Still, with a lineup of very capable musicians including Lenihan, Jason Swagler (who's listed in the show's promotional email as playing guitar, rather than his more usual alto sax), pianist Ptah Williams, drummer Kyle Hunnicutt, percussionist Henry Claude, and bassist Zeb Briskovich, there's certainly plenty of potential for some good music, even if the concept is a bit vague.

On Friday, St. Louis artist and writer Kevin Belford will be at Mad Art Gallery, signing copies of his new book Devil at the Confluence: The Pre-War Blues Music of St. Louis and showing his original paintings of St. Louis blues musicians that illustrate the tome. The free event also will include a performance from singer/guitarist Tom Hall, vintage film footage of St. Louis blues legends, and a spin of the book's companion CD. .

Friday night is also the beginning of the official "grand opening" weekend for Robbie's House of Jazz, which is located in the old Cookie's Jazz and More space at 20 Allen Ave. in Webster Groves. The featured performers this weekend will be the 16-piece Robert Edwards Big Band, which delves into a variety of big band jazz styles and includes trombonist Lamar Harris and pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson among its members. (For more about Robbie's, see this previous post. I've also got a new post about the club scheduled to go online today at the Riverfront Times music blog, A to Z; when it goes live, I'll post a link here.)

The annual St. Louis Art Fair also gets underway on Friday, but there's not much music of interest to jazz fans until Saturday, when the event will feature performances from the Funky Butt Brass Band and the Sheldon Jazz Quintet, comprised of Rick Haydon (guitar), Mardra Thomas (vocals), Reggie Thomas (piano), Miles Vandiver (drums) and Zeb Briskovich (bass).

Jazz St. Louis executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford's band the Blues Inquisition also will perform on Saturday, and Sunday's musicians of interest include pianist Monika Herzig's group, and trumpeter/vocalist Dawn Weber (pictured) and her band Electro Funk Assembly.

On Sunday, there will be a benefit performance for singer Elaine Donahue from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups, 700 S. Broadway. Performers will include Willie Akins, Marty Abdullah and members of the Soulard Blues Band, Denise Thimes, Skeet Rogers, the Bosman Twins, Mae Wheeler, Jeanne Trevor, Roland Johnson, Wendy Gordon, Marsha Evans, Eugene Johnson, Renee Smith and more. All proceeds will go to medical and living expenses for Donahue, who has been fighting cancer and has been unable to work as a singer or at her day job in the treasurer’s office for the city of East St. Louis. In addition to leading her own group, Donahue has worked with Akins, pianist Ed Nicholson’s trio, and many others.

For more jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond, check the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, available for viewing on the left sidebar or by clicking here.

(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.)

(Edited 9/10/09 to fix problems with tags & add additional tags. Edited again on 9/11/09 to restore a paragraph accidentally dropped during the editing process.)

Jazz this week: The Cunninghams, Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, St. Louis Ragtimers, Dawn Weber, Erin Bode, and more

Though summer vacation season is officially underway, the next few days will offer St. Louis jazz fans a pretty fair number of musical choices during what's usually a relatively slow time of year.

Tonight, the Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Orchestra (pictured at left), a select ensemble of mostly teenage musicians from the West Coast that's touring the country this summer, stops in St. Louis for a performance at Jazz at the Bistro. The East St. Louis High School Jazz Band will open the show.

There are also a couple of noteworthy free concerts tonight, as trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber plays for the at Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and singer Erin Bode takes the stage for the Whitaker Urban Evenings concert series at St. Louis Place Park, located at St. Louis and Rauschenbach Avenues on the near North Side. Rounding out the musical menu for Thursday is drummer Joe Pastor's trio at the St. Louis Jazz Cafe.

On Friday and Saturday, Jazz at the Bistro will feature keyboardist Reggie Thomas' jazz-organ trio OGD, augmented for the occasion by the great tenor saxophonist Willie Akins, while the St. Louis Jazz Cafe has the Usual Suspects Quartet on Friday and smooth jazz saxophonist Tim Cunningham on Saturday.

On Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club will present a concert featuring the St. Louis Ragtimers plus special guest pianist Dr. Dave Majchrzak. Note that while yhis show originally had been announced as playing at one of the SLJC's longtime venues, the Moolah Shrine Center in Maryland Heights, it's been moved to a new location, the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield.

Then on Sunday night, the jazz vocal duo The Cunninghams (pictured at right) , featuring multi-instrumentalist and former St. Louisan Don Cunningham and his wife, singer and pianist Alicia Cunningham, will perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Now a resident of Las Vegas, Don Cunningham got his start in the music business in St. Louis' Gaslight Square, and this show is being billed as "Coming Home One Mo' Time," perhaps in recognition of the reduced touring schedule he and Alicia have adopted in recent years after spending the previous couple of decades criss-crossing the U.S., Asia and Europe as headliners of their own show and special guests with the Count Basie Orchestra.

I won't reiterate all of StLJN's previous coverage of the Cunninghams, because, hey, that's what links are for. Suffice it to say that they are fine musicians and old-school entertainers in the best possible sense, the sort of jazz veterans who should be heard and celebrated while the opportunity is still there, so go check 'em out.

As always, these are just some of the notable performances happening over the next several days; 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.)

Jazz at Holmes annnounces summer schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University has announced its schedule of free concerts for summer 2009.

Pianist and former St. Louisan Linda Presgrave and her quintet will kick off the series at 8:00 p.m., Thursday, June 11, with concerts to follow on subsequent Thursdays through July 23 (except July 2). .

Other performers for summer 2009 will include pianist Curt Landes, the Legacy Jazz Quintet, trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber (pictured), trombonist Wayne Coniglio and pianist Nathan Jatcko. Here's the complete schedule:

Thursday, June 11: Linda Presgrave Quintet
Thursday, June 18: Curt Landes
Thursday, June 25: Legacy Jazz Quintet
Thursday, July 9: Dawn Weber
Thursday, July 16: Wayne Coniglio
Thursday, July 23: Nathan Jatcko Quartet

All Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public. Holmes Lounge is located in Ridgley Hall, on the west side of Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives. For more information, call Sue Taylor at 314-862-0874 or send email to staylor@wustl.edu.