Jazz this week: Yellowjackets, Peter Martin, Dave Bennett, Tatsuya Nakatani, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis offers an album release event from one of the city's favorite homegrown piano players, plus funk and fusion, free improv, cabaret, swing, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 7
The popular fusion band Yellowjackets (pictured, top left) return to St. Louis to begin a four-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro, with a new member, bassist Dane Alderson, as part of the swarm.

Alderson, who's originally from Australia, replaces Felix Pastorius, who played with the group during their last visit to St. Louis in June 2014. Pastorius had replaced co-founder Jimmy Haslip as a touring member in 2012.

Thursday, October 8
The Gaslight Cabaret Festival begins its fall series with New Hampshire-based singer Wendee Glick performing her show "Moon Over The Mississippi" at the Gaslight Theater.

Meanwhile, this week's free Jazz at Holmes concert at Washington University will feature a tribute to saxophonist John Coltrane's early years on the Blue Note label, with the lineup of musicians still TBA at post time.

Update, 2:15 p.m., 10/7/15: The band for the Jazz at Holmes Coltrane tribute will be Paul DeMarinis (saxophones), Danny Campbell (trumpet), Kara Baldus (piano), Jeff Anderson (bass), William Lenihan (guitar), and Steve Davis (drums).

Friday, October 9
The Gaslight Cabaret Festival continues with singer Maxine Linehan in the first of two performances of "An Immigrant’s Journey From Ireland To America" at the Gaslight Theater.

Elsewhere around town, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to Nathalie's; The Sidemen play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; the Midwest Jazz-tette will perform West Coast-style "cool" jazz at Cigar Inn; and the Funky Butt Brass Band will be back for their monthly outing at Broadway Oyster Bar.

Saturday, October 10
Pianist Peter Martin (pictured, center left) will resume his eponymous concert series and celebrate the release of his new album What Lies Ahead with a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

For much more about the album - which features Martin, bassist Reuben Rogers, drummer Gregory Hutchinson, and various guests - plus video samples of a couple of tracks, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Tom Byrne leads a trio at the house concert venue Kinda Blue; and Franglais will bring some late-night Gypsy jazz to Mangia Italiano.

Sunday, October 11
Keyboardist Mo Egeston's trio will be substituting for Tommy Halloran's band this week for Jazz at the Bistro's Sunday brunch.

That afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club will present clarinetist Dave Bennett in a matinee performance at the DoubleTree Hotel at Westport. Bennett is a 31-year-old Michigan native who "brings to life the classic sound and music of Benny Goodman with incredible technique, style, beauty of tone and naturalness."

Shortly after that, saxophonist Harvey Lockhart will kick off a late-afternoon quintet performance at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Then on Sunday evening, percussionist and improvisor Tatsuya Nakatani (pictured, lower left) once again will convene his Gong Orchestra at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, enlisting up to ten local musicians in his quest to draw unexpected sounds from an array of gongs of all sizes.

Monday, October 12
Bassist Ben Wheeler leads a quartet of musicians who all played with Willie Akins in a concert paying tribute to the late saxophonist at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

Tuesday, October 13
The Saxquest Jazz Orchestra will hold another open rehearsal and performance at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and Miss Jubilee plays for the weekly "Tuesday Night Swing" event presented by Lindy Hop St. Louis at Grandel Theatre.

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.)

Fall festivals spotlight diverse styles

While St. Louis currently may lack a large-scale annual jazz festival with the scope and diversity of those found in Chicago, Detroit, Rochester, or even Indianapolis, over the past decade a number of smaller events have come along to at least partially fill the void.

This fall, three of those smaller-scale festivals will spotlight three different sub-genres from within the jazz and improvised music universe:

* This coming Sunday, September 6 and Monday, September 7, the St. Louis Jazz Club's Gateway Jazz Festival will feature a variety of local acts playing traditional, pre-WWII jazz and swing at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westport.

Performers will include Cornet Chop Suey (pictured, top left),  Michael Lacey's New Orleans Swing, Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi, Pat Joyce and Friends, the St. Louis Stompers, Red Lehr's Powerhouse 5, and the Funky Butt Brass Band. Bands will play in three separate sessions, on Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, and Monday afternoon, with every group except the Funky Butt Brass Band playing at least two sets over the two days.

Tickets are $35 per session or $80 for an all-events pass. For more details, call 314-972-8298 or visit http://stlouisjazzclub.org/

* Later this month, the Tavern of Fine Arts will host "3 Nights in September," an event organized by cellist Tracy Andreotti that will feature St. Louis musicians presenting free improv and experimental sounds on Tuesday, September 22; Wednesday, September 23; and Thursday, September 24.

Tuesday's scheduled performers include Brain Transplant, NNN Cook, Michael Williams, and the Hess/Cunningham Duo. Wednesday's concert will feature Ghost Ice & Mister Ben; Dave Stone with Henry Claude, Glenn "Papa" Wright & Joe Hess; and the Perhelion Ensemble. The Experimental Arts Ensemble STL, Vernacular String Trio, and the STL Free Jazz Collective (pictured, center left) will wrap things up on Thursday.

Admission to "3 Nights in September" is just $5 per night, payable in cash only, at the door.

* Last but not least, singer Eve Seltzer and her husband, guitarist Ben Wood - both of the Gypsy jazz band Franglais - have organized a Gypsy Jazz Festival that's scheduled to take place Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25 at Evangeline's.

All three nights will feature evening performances and late-night jam sessions, with brunch-time performances also set for Saturday and Sunday.

In addition to Franglais (pictured, lower left) the musical lineup will include accordionist Dallas Vietty, singer Miles Griffith, bands Swing '39, Bedlam Swing, and Coco Rico, and more.

Admission prices and ticket info for the event are TBA; watch this space for more details.

Edited 9-3-15 to fix a typo.