Jazz this week: Wynton Marsalis & the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, George Benson, Garage A Trois, and more

With nice weather forecast for St. Louis for the next few days and a diverse menu of music that includes both fine local players and big-name touring acts, it should be a good weekend to get out and hear some live jazz. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, singer Erin Bode and her group will do a free outdoor concert at Kirkwood Plaza Station in downtown Kirkwood.

Also tonight, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert from a group billed as "St. Louis Swing." Though announcements from the JAH series typically list the musicians who are playing, the description for this week doesn't mention anyone specifically: "Featuring a 7-piece band consisting of clarinet, trumpet, trombone, banjo, piano, bass, and drums, this performance will run the gamut of swing music from Count Basie and Lester Young to Benny Goodman." I really have no idea why they're being so darned cryptic about the lineup of players, but if you enjoy that era of jazz, it's a free show, so why not check it out, right?

On Friday, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra return to St. Louis to perform once again at the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of a benefit for the Sheldon's educational programs. At last word, this show was very close to a sell-out, but if you really want to go, it may be worth it to call the Sheldon directly to see if there have been any last-minute cancellations or returns.

Also on Friday, the funk/fusion/rock/jam band Garage A Trois will be back in town for a show at 2720 Cherokee. For more about them, plus a sampling of their performances on video, see this post that ran here on StLJN before their last St. Louis gig in August 2010.

And if that's not enough, there's still more fusion on Friday, thanks to the debut of the new local group Rare Departure, who that evening will open a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. The band features Rick Haydon (guitar), Miles Vandiver (drums), Zeb Briskovich (bass), Jason Swagler (alto sax) and Adaron "Pops" Jackson (keyboards) playing electrified fusion jazz in the style of Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Yellowjackets, and Return to Forever.

In addition to all of the above on Friday, bassist Bob DeBoo will lead a quartet with Ptah Williams on piano and Willie Akins on tenor sax at Robbie's House of Jazz; and guitarist Tom Byrne will bring his trio with bassist Chris Watrous and drummer Ron Carr to the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

On Saturday, singers Jeanne Trevor and Wendy Gordon will be at Robbie's to perform "Billie Holiday & Nina Simone Meet," a cabaret show devised by Gordon. There's a package deal that includes dinner before the show; see the website or call Robbie's for details.

On Sunday, guitarist and singer George Benson (pictured) will be back in town for the first time in more than five years to perform at the Touhill Performing Arts Center under the auspices of Jazz St. Louis. As one of the most famous jazz musicians of the last 40 years, Benson likely needs no further introduction to readers of this site, but if you'd like to sample some of his guitar prowess on video, check out this post from last Saturday. Also, Benson recently spoke with Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch for an article that's now online here.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Benson's keyboard player David Garfield is staying in town to join forces with saxophonist Jim Stevens for an early set at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups; and on Tuesday, the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra, directed by bassist Jim Widner, will play at the Touhill.

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.)

Garage A Trois to perform Friday, September 30 at 2720 Cherokee

Jazz/rock/funk group Garage A Trois (pictured) is returning to St. Louis for a performance at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, September 30 at 2720 Cherokee.

The group was last seen in St. Louis in September 2010 at the Old Rock House. Garage A Trois was formed in 1999 by drummer Stanton Moore, single-named saxophonist Skerik (nee Eric Walton) and guitarist Charlie Hunter. The band's current lineup includes Moore, Skerik, Mike Dillon on vibes and Marco Benevento on keyboards.

For this visit, they have a brand new album, titled Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil, which was recorded at Studio In The Country in Bogalusa, LA with the assistance of engineer/producer Randall Dunn and released in April in CD, vinyl LP and MP3 formats.

You can listen to some music samples from Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil on Garage A Trois' MySpace page. (Also, you can see some older video of Garage A Trois in performance in this StLJN Saturday Video Showcase post from last August.)

Although the show is listed on 2720 Cherokee's website, there's no price information or on-sale date yet. As soon as that information is released, we'll add it here.

Jazz this week: Christian McBride & Peter Martin, Hamiet Bluiett, The Cunninghams, Garage A Trois, Ben Sidran, and more

The fall presenting season of jazz and creative music in St. Louis gets off to a fast start this week, with season openers from three different concert series; homecoming visits from some St. Louis natives; and two local musicians with international reputations playing on local stages. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, Cabaret St. Louis opens its season with actress and singer Linda Purl's show "Come Rain or Come Shine," which runs through Saturday at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Then on Thursday, the jazz vocal duo The Cunninghams, featuring St. Louis native, multi-instrumentalist and Gaslight Square veteran Don Cunningham, make their way from their current home in Las Vegas back to the Gateway City for a concert at the Sheldon Concert Hall. For more about them and Don Cunningham's history in St. Louis, see this post.

Also on Thursday, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University begins its fall schedule with a free outdoor concert on Brookings Quadrangle featuring the St. Louis Nu-Jazz Quintet.

On Friday, guitarist Eric Slaughter and his trio begin a two-night stand to open the fall season at Jazz at the Bistro; and the jazz-influenced experimental rock band Ahleuchatistas plays at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.

Also on Friday, Robbie's House of Jazz will kick off their first-anniversary weekend with guitarist Daryl Darden, a St. Louis native who's back from California for a visit. Then on Saturday, the club presents baritone sax giant Hamiet Bluiett (pictured), who played for their opening weekend a year ago, with keyboardist Reggie Thomas. Bluiett is unquestionably one of the all-time great baritone saxophonists in jazz history, and any opportunity to hear him play, especially in an intimate venue like Robbie's, is worth seizing. It's a bit problematic this weekend, though, because Bluiett isn't the only internationally known St. Louis musician gigging locally on Saturday.

That same evening, pianist Peter Martin will continue his eponymous series at the Sheldon Concert Hall via a duo performance with bassist Christian McBride. McBride is one of the most in-demand bassists on the music scene, and you can read more about him (and see and hear samples of his playing) here and here. To make this performance extra-special, Martin says they're planning on doing it without microphones - something possible only in an acoustically superior venue like the Sheldon, which was designed before mics and PA systems were even invented.

UPDATE, 10:00 a.m., 9/10/10: Martin talked to the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson for a short feature about his duo concert with McBride, and you can read it online here. Also, Metrotix is offering a last-minute "buy one, get one free" deal on tickets for the concert. To access the offer, go online here and use promo code PM2010.

Choosing between the two aforementioned shows is tough, but I suppose one could always catch Martin and McBride, then hustle out to Webster Groves for Bluiett's second set, and in any event, there are worse problems to have. And as if that weren't enough for one evening, Saturday is also the night singer Denise Thimes headlines a benefit for the United Way at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles.

On Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club holds its annual picnic at the Concord Farmer's Club, 10140 Concord School Rd, with traditional jazz, swing and ragtime music from the Big Little Big Band, the St. Louis Banjo Club, and Bud Schulz and the You Can't Beat Experience Jazz Band with Polly Waddell.

That evening, pianist and singer Ben Sidran comes to town to talk and play at Kol Am Temple, 1023 Chesterfield Parkway in Chesterfield, with a CD and book signing to follow and KWMU's Dennis Owsley as MC.

Then on Monday, guitarist Steve Schenkel and friends perform at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, and on Tuesday, the jam/funk/fusion band Garage A Trois takes the stage at the Old Rock House. (You can see some videos of Garage A Trois here.)

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Jamming with Garage A Trois

Today, let's check out some video footage of the band Garage A Trois, who are coming to St. Louis on Tuesday, September 14 to perform at the Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St.

Garage A Trois was formed in 1999 by drummer Stanton Moore, single-named saxophonist Skerik (nee Eric Walton) and guitarist Charlie Hunter. Hunter left the group a couple of years ago to pursue other musical interests, and their current lineup includes Moore and Skerik along with Mike Dillon on vibes and percussion and Marco Benevento on keyboards. Garage A Trois' most recent CD is Power Patriot, which came out in October 2009.

Although Garage A Trois often are identified as part of the jam-band scene, their music doesn't sound much like the Grateful Dead or Phish. There's a strong influence from 1970s fusion bands, especially Weather Report, and Dillon's vibes sometimes evoke the sound of latter-day fusionistas Steps Ahead. Asymmetrical melodies played as staccato, unison licks recall the music of Frank Zappa, as do titles like the first selection above, "Fat Redneck Gangster," recorded earlier this year at The Mint in Los Angeles.

In contrast, the song in the the second clip down below, "Real Morning Party," which was recorded in 2009 at the Bear Creek Music Festival in Florida, has some of the flavor of a 1960s rock instrumental. (Warning: The audio on this one is somewhat distorted due to volume.) Below that, you can see and hear a performance of the song "Computer Crimes" from the Power Patriot CD, taped last December at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle, and an excerpt from Garage A Trois' in-store performance at the Louisiana Music Factory during the 2010 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Garage A Trois to play Tuesday, September 14 at the Old Rock House

The jazz/funk combo Garage A Trois (pictured) is coming to St. Louis on Tuesday, September 14 to perform at the Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St.

Garage A Trois was formed in 1999 by drummer Stanton Moore, single-named saxophonist Skerik (nee Eric Walton) and guitarist Charlie Hunter. The band's current lineup includes Moore and Skerik along with Mike Dillon on vibes and Marco Benevento on keyboards. Their most recent CD Power Patriot came out in October 2009.

For their performance at the Old Rock House, the doors open at 8:00 p.m., and show time is 9:00 p.m. It's an "all ages" show, and tickets are $15 general admission, plus a $2 surcharge for minors.