Jazz this week: "A Night of Jazz Greats" with Clark Terry; Eastern Blok; free outdoor concerts; and more

Vacation season is winding down, and there are a number of noteworthy jazz and creative music performances over the next few days in St. Louis, including several free concerts. Let's take a look at the shows in chronological order:

Tonight, saxophonist Willie Akins and his group will give a free concert as part of a city-sponsored series at O'Fallon Park.

On Friday evening, the Chicago-based ensemble Eastern Blok will perform in the Saint Louis Art Museum's Grigg Gallery in a free show that's part of the Museum’s "Art After 5" series. That same night, Jazz St. Louis is holding a fundraiser spotlighting the work of local artist Russell Kraus at Jazz at the Bistro.

The biggest event of the weekend is on Saturday, when "A Night of Jazz Greats" comes to Harris-Stowe State University. The concert, which benefits the Wolff Jazz Institute at Harris-Stowe, will feature trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry (pictured) along with an all-star band including trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, tenor saxophonist Houston Person, trumpeter Randy Sandke, drummer and vibes player Chuck Redd, pianist Rossano Sportiello, bassist and singer Nicki Parrott, and drummer Eddie Locke, as well as St. Louisans Jim Widner on bass and Denise Thimes on vocals. For more on the event, Clark Terry, and the other musicians who will be performing, see these two posts.

Also on Saturday, there's a triple bill of electronic and experimental music at Open Lot, 1310 South 18th Street, featuring two acts from southern California - the cello and electronics duo Pedestrian Deposit and solo ambient electronics performer Infinite Body (aka Kyle Parker) - plus St. Louis electronic musician Joe Raglani, who, after getting his equipment stolen on tour earlier this year, has assembled a new arsenal of machines.

Update - 8;30 p.m., 8/27/09: Just got an email from Open Lot saying that Infinite Body will not be performing, so Saturday night's bill now includes Pedestrian Deposit; "power drone" group Earn (aka Privy Seals); St. Louis' The Lonely Procession; and "if you're lucky, a collaboration between RAGLANI (St. Louis) and TREETOPS!"

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday the Missouri History Museum's Twilight Tuesdays series features a free outdoor concert from singer Denise Thimes.

For more jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar. However, note that if you look more a couple weeks into the future, you'll see that last week's promised mega-update of the calendar has yet to happen. There are several reasons for for the delay which will become clear in the very near future, but in the meantime, please be patient and know that there is indeed work going on to bring you an improved and up-to-date calendar of St. Louis jazz events.

Eastern Blok to play free concert on Friday, August 28 at Saint Louis Art Museum

The "pan-cultural ensemble" Eastern Blok (pictured) is returning to St. Louis to play a free concert at 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 28 in the Saint Louis Art Museum's Grigg Gallery. The performance is part of the Museum’s "Art After 5" series, which features free concerts from solo and ensemble musicians on the fourth Friday of each month.

Based in Chicago, Eastern Blok "blends classical and jazz music with the rich folkloric traditions of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia." The group, which last performed in St. Louis in November 2007 at Pop's Blue Moon, includes guitarist Goran Ivanovic, saxophonist and flute player Doug Rosenberg, bassist Matthew Ulery and drummer Michael Caskey. Ivanovic also has played here before as a solo act, at the now-closed Finale Music and Dining in Clayton. You can see and hear Eastern Blok performing a song called "Gates to the Unknown" in the embedded video window below.

For more information about the "Art After 5" series or the Saint Louis Art Museum, call 314-721-0072 or visit www.slam.org.

Jazz this week: Godfathers of Groove, Eastern Blok, Dixie Daredevils, Paul DeMarinis, and more

This week brings another eclectic mix of jazz and creative music performances to St. Louis. Here's a look at some of the highlights happening over the next few days:

Tonight, the all-star soul-jazz ensemble Godfathers of Groove begin a four- night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. Comprised of veteran organist Reuben Wilson (pictured), drum legend Bernard Purdie and guitarist Grant Green Jr., the Godfathers emphasize the bluesy, funky side of jazz, offering a 21st century take on the jazz organ group sound popularized in the 1950s and 1960s. For some video of the Godfathers of Groove in action, see this post.

If your mood this evening is more free jazz than funky, saxophonist Jay Zelenka's Squid Choir Orkestra is performing at the South Side alt-rock haven the Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson, with electronic musician Eric Hall's new group as opening act.

Tomorrow night, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis and singer Debby Lennon team up to do a free concert for Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman and Hot Club Caravan bring their gypsy jazz sound to Brandt's.

On Saturday, the Chicago-based group Eastern Blok featuring guitarist Goran Ivanovic returns to St. Louis, bringing their "Balkan Jazz" to The Gramophone. Also on Saturday, singer and guitarist John Pizzarelli will be in town to play a benefit for the Susan G. Komen Foundation at the Ritz Carlton; however, with tickets priced at $250 per person, only the well-heeled and/or truly fanatical would seem inclined to attend.

Then on Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents a traditional jazz concert from Peoria, IL's Dixie Daredevils at the Moolah Shrine Center.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday night Paul DeMarinis has another concert, performing with his sextet at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, while the Sessions Big Band takes the stage at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

And next Tuesday brings three events of note, with the Gerry Mulligan/Bob Brookmeyer-inspired quartet Utter Chaos playing at The Gramophone; radio and television personality Don Wolff doing a live cablecast of his I Love Jazz TV show from the Kemper Museum; and the first meeting of Jazz St. Louis' new CD Listening Club at Borders Books and Music in Brentwood.

As usual, these are just some of the week's highlights, so to see listings of more jazz-related events in and around 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 this week: Stefon Harris, Eastern Blok, poetry and music from BAG, a benefit for the Backstoppers, and more

Topping this week's list of jazz musicians performing in St. Louis is vibraphonist Stefon Harris (pictured), who's playing at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday. Harris has worked as a sideman with well-known players such as Kenny Barron, Steve Turre and Charlie Hunter, and has released several critically acclaimed albums as a leader, distinguishing himself as one of the most important new voices on his instrument to emerge in recent years.

Elsewhere on the "touring artists" front, on Saturday the Chicago based-group Eastern Blok, featuring guitarist Goran Ivanovic, will bring their fusion of jazz, classical, folk and Balkan music to Pop's Blue Moon.

There also are some noteworthy shows involving St. Louis musicians this weekend. starting tonight, when guitarist Steve Schenkel does a free concert at Washington University as part of the Jazz at Holmes series.

On Friday, BAG presents a program of poetry and music featuring Alima Sadiq Afsal and Zimbabwe Nkenya at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe. And on Sunday, Anita Rosamond, the Tom Kennedy Trio, Wild Cool & Swingin' and several other local jazz and pop artists will team up for a concert at The Pageant to benefit the Backstoppers. Read more in my RFT Critic's Pick on the show, found online here. Beyond the weekend, singer Denise Thimes has a concert scheduled Tuesday at the Sheldon as part of the venue's "Notes From Home" series.

For more, please consult the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar. (Please note that, as is usual around the first of the month, new listings are still being added as they come in from various venues and musicians.)

(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.)

Eastern Blok to invade Pop's Blue Moon on Saturday, November 3

Chicago-based guitarist Goran Ivanovic, whose last St. Louis performance was at Finale in July 2006, is coming back to town with his group, now renamed Eastern Blok, to perform on Saturday, November 3 at Pop's Blue Moon. The gig will serve as the local CD release party for the group's latest effort, Folk Tales, which showcases their signature mix of jazz, classical and Balkan influences. You can hear some samples from the CD here.