Jazz this week: Stanley Clarke and Hiromi, Sister Swing, "O That Jazz," Hard Bop Heritage, and more

While the worst of this week's winter storm seems to have missed the immediate St. Louis area, it has caused travel problems throughout the region, with many businesses closing and a number of events canceled, postponed or rescheduled.

Most notably for local jazz fans, bassist Stanley Clarke and keyboardist Hiromi were scheduled to begin a series of duo shows tonight at Jazz at the Bistro, but the inclement weather prevented them from flying in on schedule. That forced them to cancel a performance scheduled last night in Columbia, MO as well as tonight's sets at the Bistro.

The latest word from Jazz St. Louis is that Clarke and Hiromi still are coming to St. Louis, and their performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will go on as scheduled. However, at this writing, all shows except for the 10:15 set on Thursday are sold out. There may be some tickets available on the resale market, or, if you're feeling lucky, I suppose you could go down to the Bistro, wait, and see if anyone cancels their reservations, but frankly, that seems like a long shot, so caveat emptor.

For more about Clarke and Hiromi, see this video showcase post from last Saturday; this interview the bassist did with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson, published earlier this week; and this piece by Chris King from last week's St. Louis American

(Jazz St. Louis has said they'll try to reschedule Wednesday's shows; Clarke and Hiromi already have reset their gig in Columbia for Sunday, February 27, so perhaps they'll be able to get here right after that. More details on that as they become available...)

Elsewhere around town, the majority of this weekend's events involve local musicians, most of whom ought to be able to get back to work as the roads are cleared and the area finishes digging out. The exception would be the California-based vocal trio Sister Swing, who are scheduled to perform Sunday at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey; one would hope things will be back to normal at the airport well before then.

Still, given the week's events, it can't hurt to check the local weather conditions, and to call ahead to your venue of choice before heading out in this frigid weather, OK?

Also on Thursday, the sextet Hard Bop Heritage, led by trumpeter Randy Holmes, plays a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and the jazz bands from Webster Groves High School and Middle School will raise money for their band program with their "Cool Nights, Hot Jazz" concert at The Pageant.

On Friday, there's another benefit, as parents and friends of the school music programs in O'Fallon, IL will present "O That Jazz," a fundraising event for the district's student bands. The evening will feature dinner, dancing, and swing music from Wack-A-Doo, and takes place at The Fountains Hotel & Conference Center in Fairview Heights.

Also on Friday, saxophonist Willie Akins will be at Robbie's House of Jazz, accompanied by pianist Simon Rowe, bassist Willem vom Hombracht and drummer Montez Coleman, who back in the early 90s helped him record Alima, his only CD as a bandleader. Akins and the band also will do a free performance and workshop at 11:00 a.m. this Saturday at Saxquest.

On Saturday evening, pianist Heather Bosshardt will lead a trio at Robbie's in celebration of her debut CD release.

On Sunday, the Bossa Nova Restaurant and Lounge in Alton presents their monthly jam session hosted by a band including saxophonist Jason Swagler, guitarist Eric Slaughter, bassist Nick Jost and drummer Marty Morrison.

Looking beyond the weekend, the Sessions Big Band will play on Monday at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, and on Tuesday, Robbie's will host their weekly open jam session.

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.)

(Updated after posting to add the WGHS event at the Pageant.)

Jazz this week: Hard Bop Heritage, Erin Bode and more

The first part of January is typically a slow time for touring acts, so it's no big surprise that there are no national or international jazz musicians performing in St. Louis this week. Still, there are a number of locally based musicians deserving of your attention playing over the next few days, so let's take a quick look at a few of the highlights:

Jazz at the Bistro has the always listenable Hard Bop Heritage on Friday and Saturday nights, while singer Erin Bode (pictured) will perform at the Cabaret at Savor on Saturday.

Brandt's will present perennial favorite Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum on Friday, and the Sidney Street Trio, a new group featuring James Warfield Jr. on saxophone, Darryl Mixon on bass and Joe Pastor on percussion, on Saturday. Cookie's Jazz and More has the TMM Trio on Friday and violinist Nikki Glenn with Eddie Randall and Friends on Saturday.

Looking beyond the weekend, guitarist Todd Mosby will perform at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups on Monday night.

Last but not least, our esteemed colleague Dennis Owsley has something special planned for this week's edition of his Jazz Unlimited radio program. Owsley's devoting this installment to jazz vocals, showcasing tracks from the 30 greatest jazz vocal albums of all time as selected by a panel of 72 singers for a 2004 article in Down Beat magazine. He'll play a track from each album during the first and third hours of the program, with the second hour devoted to an extended interview with singer Kurt Elling. You can hear it all by tuning into KWMU (90.7 FM) from 9 p.m. to midnight on Sunday, and also discuss the topic with Owsley over on KWMU's online forum.

For more St. Louis jazz-related events this weekend and beyond, please consult 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.)

(Edited after posting to add tags.)

Jazz this week: Good 4 The Soul, a tribute to Chet Baker, Anita Rosamond's holiday show, and more

With Christmas fast approaching, there are no touring jazz groups in St. Louis this week. But if you've got time in your busy schedule over the next few days to go out and hear some music, there are some performances worth noting by some of our fine homegrown talent.

On Thursday, singer Mae Wheeler will perform at Brandt's. The club's Web site indicates a 5 p.m. start time, earlier than the usual for a weeknight, so if you're thinking of going it might be wise to call ahead for details.

On Friday and Saturday night, the jazz/funk/soul quartet Good 4 the Soul returns to Jazz at the Bistro. The band is made up of four veteran musicians from East St. Louis - Adaron "Pops" Jackson on keyboards, John King on bass, Shaun Robinson on guitar and drummer James Jackson - and you may have seen one or more them in various configurations backing other artists around town, including singers Brian Owens and Kim Massie and Jazz St. Louis' own tenor sax man/director of operations Bob Bennett. I still haven't had a chance to hear all four members of G4TS play as an ensemble yet, but the audio excerpts on their Web site sound promising, and I've been impressed with the musicianship of the individual members when I've heard them in other contexts.

UPDATE - 12/21/07, 11 p.m.: Terry Perkins did a feature story about Good 4 The Soul that appeared in yesterday's Post-Dispatch. The article is available online here.

On Friday, trumpeter Randy Holmes leads his Hard Bop Heritage group in a tribute to Chet Baker at Finale Music and Dining. Vocalist Dean Christopher, who's fronted his own Rat Pack-themed show at Finale a number of times, will be a special guest, singing some of the tunes Baker once interpreted. Also on Friday, singer, pianist and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum performs at Brandt's, and Cookie's Jazz and More hosts a reunion for their Young Jazz All-Stars ensemble.

On Saturday, singer Anita Rosamond (pictured) brings her holiday show to Finale. Rosamond will draw on material from her 2006 holiday CD This is Christmas, backed by a band including Mark Christopher on saxophone, Philip Burton on bass, guitarist Grant Krener and drummer Josh Costello.

UPDATE - 12/21/07, 7 p.m.: Just got an email that Boston-based improvising saxophonist Bhob Rainey is making one of his periodic trips to St. Louis and will be performing at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Also on the bill are St. Louis musicians Jim Hegarty, Mark Sarich, Jeremy Kannapell and Andrew Heffner.

For more local jazz-related events this week and into the New Year, 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 St. Louis announces additions to 2008 schedule

Jazz St. Louis has announced some additions to the Jazz at the Bistro schedule for 2008, filling in dates that had been left open in the second half of their 2007-08 season.

Most of the musicians and singers added to the schedule should be familiar to local listeners, including Hard Bop Heritage (January 11 and 12), Montez Coleman (January 25 and 26), Mardra and Reggie Thomas (February 8 and 9), Erin Bode (May 2 and 3) and Kim Massie (May 15 and 16).

In addition, JSL education director Phil Dunlap's band, the Legacy Jazz Quintet, will perform on March 21 and 22, and the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, JSL's student ensemble, will play April 18 and 19. The Bistro also will continue the series of monthly Thursday night performances by the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra next year, with the SLJO taking the stage on February 7, March 6, April 3, and May 1.

Last, bur certainly not least, on Wednesday, April 16, the club will once again host a performance by some of the guest musicians in town for the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, including stellar session saxophonist Tom Scott (pictured), pianist Shelly Berg and trombonist Paul McKee, who will be backed by St. Louis' Jim Widner on bass and Miles Vandiver on drums.

Tickets for all these shows will go on sale next Thursday, December 14 via Metrotix.

Jazz this week: Roy Haynes, two tributes to John Coltrane, twin tenors do battle, and more

It's a busy week for jazz in St. Louis, with one of the music's legendary drummers in town for an extended engagement, two tributes to the late John Coltrane, and lots more. Let's go to the highlights...

The drummer in question is Roy Haynes (pictured), who over the course of six decades in the music business has played with a host of legends, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis and yes, even Coltrane. Since making the late-career transition to leading his own bands, the octogenarian works mostly with musicians young enough to be his children and/or grandchildren, remaining remarkably active, proficient and hip for someone whose career began in the mid-1940s. Haynes will perform at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday, and then will stay in town to do one of Jazz St. Louis' "Jazz Perspectives" discussions on Sunday afternoon.

And speaking of Coltrane, the weekend offers two tributes to the hugely influential saxophonist on the occasion of what would have been his 80th birthday. On Friday night, Hard Bop Heritage will perform at Finale Music and Dining with a six-piece lineup, drawing primarily on Coltrane's historic Blue Train album but also adding some of Trane's later compositions from his quartet period in the 1960s.

Then on Sunday, BAG II kicks off its fall season at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe with a free concert celebrating Coltrane and featuring poets K. Curtis Lyle, Shirley LeFlore and Michael Castro, trumpeter and percussionist Mike Nelson, drummer Gary Sykes and bassist Zimbabwe Nkenya.

Other noteworthy shows this week: Tonight, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University continues with a free concert featuring pianist Carolbeth True and trumpeter Randy Holmes, while over at Finale, the David Fatek Organ Quartet will present what's being billed as "an old-fashioned tenor battle" featuring Fatek and guest saxophonist Tim Stamps.

On Friday, True and her trio will play Cookie's Jazz and More; Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum will be at Brandt's; and Wild Cool and Swingin' take the stage at Finale. On Saturday, pianist Ptah Williams returns to Cookie's, and on Sunday, Jean Kittrell and the St. Louis Rivermen bring their traditional jazz sound to the Sheldon for a matinee concert.

For more local jazz-related events, 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.)