Jazz this week: Jim Manley's birthday bash, "60 years of Giant Steps," and more

While this weekend feels like a bit of a post-holiday lull, thanks to the way the calendar lined up this year, there still are some noteworthy jazz and creative music performances happening around St. Louis over the next few days to get 2020 started. Let's go to the highlights...

Thursday, 
January 2
Pianist and singer Rick Jensen presents his cabaret show "With A Little Help From My Friends," featuring guest vocalists Beverly Brennan, Robert Breig, Dionna Raedeke and Angie Nicholson, at Blue Strawberry.

Also on Thursday, The Dark Room has guitarist Dave Black playing at the dinner hour and saxophonist Scooter Brown for late night sets; and saxophonist Vince Sala returns to The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, January 3
Pianist Ptah Williams plays for dinner at The Dark Room; saxophonist Kendrick Smith continues his weekly gig at Thurman's in Shaw; and bassist Darrell Mixon leads a trio at Cigar Inn.

Saturday, January 4
Trumpeter Jim Manley (pictured, top left) celebrates his birthday with a performance at Evangeline's, and trombonist John Covelli and friends pay tribute to "60 Years of Giant Steps" at The Dark Room.

Also on Saturday, "Out Sounds," a new experimental music series affiliated with New Music Circle, will present Austin, TX-based improvising percussionist and instrument inventor Lisa Cameron in a performance at Flood Plain.

Sunday, January 5
Miss Jubilee performs for brunch at Evangeline's, with Dizzy Atmosphere returning to The Dark Room. Also on Sunday, the St. Louis Record Show presents their first event of the year at the American Czech Center.

Monday, January 6
The Folk School of KDHX hosts their first Traditional Jazz Jam Session of the year.

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: Marco Benevento, Ken Page, Joey DeFrancesco, Adrian Legg, Damon Smith & Friends, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a couple of inventive keyboardists, an internationally acclaimed guitarist, a multi-national group of free improvisers, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, November 13
Keyboardist Marco Benevento (pictured, top left) will perform at the Old Rock House, with the jazz duo of twin brothers The Mattson 2 opening.

Benevento has gone through some changes since the last time he played in St. Louis nearly five years ago, steering his expansive sound toward danceable beats and pop song forms. You can find out more about that, and see some videos from recent performances in this post from last Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, singer and St. Louis native Ken Page will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis as part of their series co-presented with Cabaret Project of St. Louis; and journalist and author Nate Chinen will give a talk for JSL's "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series, based on his recent book Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century, at the St Louis Public Library's Schlafly branch in the Central West End. For a preview of the latter, read Chinen's interview with the Post-Dispatch's Daniel Duchholz.

Thursday, November 14
Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series moves for one night to the 560 Music Center for  "The Bridge #2.2," a free concert teaming Chicago saxophonist Mai Sugimoto and Wash U faculty member Paul Steinbeck on electric bass with two French musicians, guitarist Raymond Boni and acoustic bassist Paul Rogers.

Also on Thursday, guitarist Dave Black will team up with singer Wendy Gordon at The Pat Connolly Tavern; and singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club.

Friday, November 15
Organist Joey DeFrancesco (pictured, center left) will perform with the Jazz St. Louis Big Band for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

DeFrancesco, who also plays trumpet and recently has taken up tenor sax as well, reportedly will play big band arrangements of music from his latest album In The Key Of The Universe, which was released in March on Mack Avenue Records.

Elsewhere around town, British guitarist Adrian Legg will perform at Focal Point. Cited for his “astonishing virtuosity" by Q magazine and called “simply the best acoustic guitar player I’ve ever heard” by guitarist Joe Satriani, Legg also has been described as “kind of cross between Robert Fripp and Garrison Keillor” for his combination of expert musicianship and sly storytelling.

Also on Friday, Dizzy Atmosphere plays swing and Gypsy jazz at Urban Chestnut Midtown Brewery and Biergarten, and keyboardist Mark Harris II returns to The Dark Room.

Saturday, November 16
Saxquest presents their free, all-day Woodwind Musical Instrument Expo at St. Charles Community College's Donald D Shook Fine Arts Bldg, with instruments and accessories from many different manufacturers, educational programs, and more.

Then on Saturday evening, saxophonist Tim Cunningham will play at Troy's Listening Room; singer and actor KT Sullivan presents her cabaret show "I Can Cook" at Blue Strawberry; and the Funky Butt Brass Band returns to the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, November 17
Your jazz brunch music options for Sunday include Miss Jubilee at Evangeline's and guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran at The Dark Room.

Later in the afternoon, singer and impressionist Dean Christopher brings his "Rat Pack and More" show to the Hatheway Cultural Center on the campus of Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey.

Monday, November 18
Bassist Damon Smith, a recent transplant to St. Louis, will be joined by an ensemble of improvisers including Chicago trombonist Jeb Bishop (pictured, bottom left), Dutch composer and performance artist Jaap Blonk, and drummer Weasel Walter of Flying Luttenbachers fame for a show at the Cherokee Street art gallery Flood Plain.

Also on Monday, the Webster University Jazz Collective, featuring members of the university's jazz faculty, will perform in a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, November 19
Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge, and singer Joe Mancuso plus guest vocalists Kim Fuller-Barnes and Robert Nelson will perform music from "The Great American Songbook" at the Gaslight Theater.

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: Cyrille Aimée, Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features the return of a rising star vocalist, a free, day-long festival, and more. Let's go to this highlights...

Wednesday, 
September 18
Singer Cyrille Aimée (pictured, top left) returns to perform for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis as part of the series they're co-presenting with Cabaret Project of St. Louis.

Aimée, who first performed in St. Louis in 2016 at the Bistro, released her ninth album Move On: A Sondheim Adventure in February of this year. (For more about her, check out this video showcase post from her previous appearance here.)

Also on Wednesday, NYC-based singer Miss Maybell and pianist Charlie Judkins continue their mini-tour of local nightspots with a show at Evangeline's; and this week's "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" in Grand Center features pianist Ethan Leinwand at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, September 19
Pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and keyboardist Ryan Marquez and his trio will return to The Dark Room.

Friday, September 20
Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris will provide the music for "Wine & Jazz Under the Stars," a benefit for radio station Classic 107.3 FM at the Columbia Foundation for the Arts on The Hill.

Also on Friday, trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi and his band return to Evangeline's and the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, September 21
The annual Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival starts at mid-day and continues through the evening with two stages in the Old Webster Business District, near the intersection of Lockwood & Gore Aves.

The free, family-friendly event will feature sets from the Webster University Faculty Jazz Ensemble, Bach to the Future, Dizzy Atmosphere (pictured, center left), Webster Groves High School Jazz Band, and trumpeter Jim Manley, plus blues performers including David Dee, Marquise Knox, Jeremiah Johnson, and more.

Also on Saturday, Miss Maybell wraps up her visit here with a performance at the Frisco Barroom (just down the road from the festival site); and Chicago-based guitarist, composer and improviser Daniel Wyche performs at Flood Plain gallery, with St. Louis' JoAnn McNeil and Michael Williams offering an opening set of electronics, found-sound manipulation, and guitar.

Sunday, September 22
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents pianist Bob Row's Mardi Gras Jazz Band at the Moolah Shrine Center's Oasis Room; and keyboardist Mo Egeston and his trio will perform at The Judson House.

Monday, September 23
Pianist Peter Martin and guitarist Romero Lubambo (pictured, bottom left) celebrate the release of their new duo album Rio Meets New Orleans: Live From Tokyo with a performance at the Open Studios space at Centene Center for the Arts in Grand Center.

Also on Monday, pianist Carolbeth True and her trio will play a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus.

Tuesday, September 24
Pianist Curt Landes and his trio plus singer Feyza Eren will perform in concert at the Gaslight Theater.

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.)