Jazz this week: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Brothers Lazaroff album release, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a visit from one of the most popular bands of the 1990s swing revival, a local group releasing a new album, a birthday tribute to jazz's first real virtuoso soloist, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 31
This week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" includes guitarist Joe Park at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and bassist Chano Cruz leading a trio at The Dark Room.

Thursday, August 1
Saxophonist Carlos Brown Jr. plays at The Dark Room, and singer Joe Mancuso brings his organ trio to the Chase Club.

Friday, August 2
Nineties swing revivalists Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (pictured), remarkably on the verge of celebrating 30 years together as a band, perform at River City Casino & Hotel.

Also on Friday, the Brothers Lazaroff will play for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis, promoting the release of their new album Sisters And Brothers.

Elsewhere around town, the Brian Sullivan Quartet reunites for the first time in nearly six years for a performance at Foam; the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom; and singer Tony Viviano returns to Table Three.

Saturday, August 3
Guitarist Brian Vaccaro leads his quartet in a live recording session at Gaslight Studio & Lounge; saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Troy's; and Dizzy Atmosphere will play vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at the Missouri Botanical Garden's "Garden Party Lights Biergarten."

Sunday, August 4
Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes perform for brunch at the Angad Arts Hotel; trumpeter Randy Holmes leads a birthday tribute to Louis Armstrong at the Ozark Theatre; and the Jazz Troubadours play an early evening gig at Evangeline's.

Tuesday, August 6
The Tick Tock Jazz Band plays traditional jazz at the Tick Tock Tavern.

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: Jazzmeia Horn, a master class with Nate Smith, "A Retrospective on Langston Hughes," Denise Thimes, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the local debut of one the top young vocalists in jazz, a master class from a first-call drummer, a musical look at the works of a world-famous poet and playwright with Missouri roots, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, May 8
Singer Jazzmeia Horn (pictured, top left) performs for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis.

One of the most talked-about and critically acclaimed jazz vocalists to emerge in recent years, Horn will be making her St. Louis debut with these shows. You can find out more about her and see some videos of recent performances in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, drummer Nate Smith, who's worked with bassist Dave Holland and saxophonist Chris Potter, will present a master class and solo performance at Gaslight Studios.

Thursday, May 9
Guitarist Vincent Varvel's trio will perform at The Dark Room; saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays at Jazzy 159 Lounge & Bar in Fairview Heights; and percussionist Joe Pastor will lead his St. Louis Legacy Ensemble in hosting a jam session at Evangeline's.

Friday, May 10
The Nu-Art Series wraps up its Spring 2019 poetry-and-jazz series with "A Retrospective on Langston Hughes," featuring poets Roscoe Crenshaw, Cheeraz Gormon, Shirley LeFlore, Eugene Redmond, Abdul Waahid Jones, and Claude Montgomery along with trumpeter George Sams and saxophonist Kendrick Smith at Xavier Hall on the St. Louis University campus.

Also on Friday, new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound plays their final concert of the season at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and singer Anita Jackson performs for the late show at The Dark Room.

Saturday, May 11
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents their monthly jam session, hosted by keyboardist Bob Row and drummer John Gillick at J P's Corner.

Also on Saturday afternoon, the electronic jazz-fusion ensemble Koplant No will play a free show at Saxquest, and the annual Art Fair at Laumeier Sculpture Park will feature sets from musicians including guitarist Dave Black and the Funky Butt Brass Band.

Saturday evening, Chicago-based jazz-rock band Marbin returns to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Sunday, May 12
If you're headed out for brunch, musical options to accompany your meal include Miss Jubilee at Evangeline's and singer and bassist Janet Evra at The Dark Room.
 
Later on Sunday afternoon, Denise Thimes will present her annual Mother's Day concert raising money to fight pancreatic cancer at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, with some help from friends including vocalist Jermaine Smith and keyboardist Matthew Whitaker.

Monday, May 13
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck.

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.)

Nate Smith to present master class on Wednesday, May 8 at Gaslight Studios

Drummer Nate Smith, whose notable jazz credits include work with bassist Dave Holland and saxophonist Chris Potter, is coming to St. Louis to present a master class and solo performance at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 8 at Gaslight Studios.

Smith (pictured) recently released his first-ever solo drumset album, Pocket Change, on Ropeadope Records. His previous albums as a bandleader are 2008's Workday, Waterbaby Music, Vol. 1.0 and 2017's Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere, and he's also performed on records by Holland, Potter, guitarist Adam Rogers, and others.

Tickets for the Nate Smith master class and performance are $35 in advance, $45 day of show, and are on sale now.