Jazz this week: The Bad Plus, Emily Skinner's "Broadway My Way," and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the return of one of the most acclaimed trios in modern jazz, a visit from a Broadway diva performing in an intimate cabaret setting, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 8
The Bad Plus (pictured, top left) continue their decade-plus-long tradition of a week of January performances here, playing for the first of five nights continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis.

Since their appearance here last year, TBP in October released a new album, Activate Infinity, their second since pianist Orrin Evans replaced founding member Ethan Iverson in 2018.

The album, their first for the British label Edition Records, features eight tracks of new original material, with two written by Evans, two by drummer Dave King, and four by bassist Reid Anderson. Fans can expect to hear most of those new pieces during their shows here, and given the trio's continuing popularity here, advance reservations are advised.

Thursday, January 9
Keyboardist Mo Egeston will have new original material plus some guest stars for an "All-Star Birthday Groove" performance at Joe's Cafe, and Dean Christopher returns with his "Rat Pack and More" show to LoRusso's Cucina.

Also on Thursday, guitarist Dave Black and saxophonist Paul DeMarinis will play duets at The Pat Connolly Tavern, and singer Christy Simmons performs her cabaret show "When Life Gives You Lemons" at Blue Strawberry.

Friday, January 10
Singer and actress Emily Skinner (pictured, bottom left), known for her leading roles in musicals including Billy Elliot, Side Show, and Dinner at Eight, will present her cabaret show "Broadway My Way" for the first of two nights at Blue Strawberry.

Also on Friday, Herman Semidey and Orquestra Son Montuno will play salsa, Latin jazz and more in their debut performance at Troy's Listening Room, and pianist and singer Curt Landes performs solo at The Judson House.

Elsewhere around town, trumpeter Jim Manley returns to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar; and singer Anita Jackson performs at Sophie's Artist Lounge.

Saturday, January 11
Bassist and singer Janet Evra plays at Evangeline's, and guitarist Brian Vaccaro leads a quartet at the house concert venue KindaBlue Club.

Sunday, January 12
Miss Jubilee performs for brunch at Evangeline's, and the Arcadia Dance Orchestra returns to Focal Point.

Monday, January 13
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck, and the Southwestern Illinois College Jazz Band performs at Main Street Brewing Company in Belleville.

Tuesday, January 14
Guitarist Eric Slaughter will perform at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

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: No BS! Brass Band, a Grover Washington Jr. tribute, Funky Butt Brass Band turns 10, and more

The calendar of live jazz and creative music calendar typically thins out a bit this time of year, as summer concert series begin to wind down and the fall presenting season still is weeks away.

Nevertheless, there are several noteworthy shows happening over the next week, including a birthday celebration for one of St. Louis' most popular jazz-adjacent bands, plus soul-jazz, Latin jazz, traditional jazz and swing, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 1
No BS! Brass Band (pictured, top left) returns to perform at the Old Rock House. Based in Richmond, VA, they put their own spin on the classic New Orleans sound, as you can see in the videos contained in this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also on Wednesday, trumpeter Jim Manley is at Sasha's Wine Bar; guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran plays at Evangeline's; and this week's edition of the free "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features pianist Marty Eggers at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor at The Dark Room.

Thursday, August 2
Guitarist Dave Black brings his "In Touch" trio with bassist Marc Torlina and drummer Kyle Hunnicutt to The Dark Room.

Friday, August 3
Jazz St. Louis presents the first of two nights of "Groovin' on Grover Washington Jr,"  a tribute show featuring saxophonist Amos Brewer (in for the previously announced Tim Cunningham) with bassist John King, keyboardist Pete Ruthenburg, guitarist Leland Crenshaw and drummer Montez Coleman.

Also on Friday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes perform at The Abbey in Belleville; vibraphonist Tom Rickard leads a trio at Cigar Inn; and saxophonist Kendrick Smith plays at Thurman's in Shaw.

Saturday, August 4
The Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured, bottom left) celebrates their tenth birthday with an early show at Broadway Oyster Bar.

Also on Saturday, percussionist Herman Semidey and Orquestra Son Montuno play salsa, Latin jazz and more at the Ozark Theatre
and Dizzy Atmosphere performs in the beer garden at Missouri Botanical Garden's Flora Borealis exhibit.

Sunday, August 5
Miss Jubilee plays for brunch at Evangeline's, and the Friends of Scott Joplin present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe.

Tuesday, August 7
The Tick Tock Jazz Band, featuring multiple generations of traditional jazz musicians going back to the Gaslight Square era, will play the first of what's projected to be a monthly series of gigs 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: Yellowjackets, Pangea, Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features the return of a jazz-fusion favorite; a weekend of Latin jazz and salsa at a free outdoor festival, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, September 20
Jazz-fusion band Yellowjackets (pictured, top left) opens a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Although Jazz St. Louis at this writing is describing the shows as "almost sold out," a few tickets remain; call the box office for availability.  For those that can't make it in person, video of the set at 7:30 p.m. Friday will be streamed live on the Jazz St. Louis website and Facebook page and on UStream.

Thursday, September 21
Saxophonist Freddie Washington leads a quartet in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and saxophonist Harvey Lockhart will perform at The Dark Room.

Friday, September 22
Percussionist Herman Semidey and Orquestra Son Montuno will play salsa, Latin jazz, and more at the Greater St Louis Hispanic Festival, a free event running through Sunday at Soulard Park; and the Funky Butt Brass Band returns to the Broadway Oyster Bar

Saturday, September 23
Pangea,"a contemporary world music band" featuring composer/multi-instrumentalists Hong Wang and Albert Chang, plays at the Touhill Performing Arts Center; singer Erin Bode will perform at Missouri Baptist University's Pillsbury Chapel Fine Arts Center; and Chicago Latin Groove (pictured, bottom left) provides the soundtrack for the evening at the Hispanic Festival.

Sunday, September 24
Jazz brunch possibilities for the day include Miss Jubilee at Evangeline's and drummer Montez Coleman and friends at The Dark Room; and later that afternoon, the Folk School of KDHX will present their monthly "Traditional Jazz Jam Session." 

Monday, September 25
Bassist Ben Wheeler leads a quartet in a concert at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

Tuesday, September 26
Farshid Etniko will present their brand of multi-ethnic fusion in a free outdoor concert for the Missouri History Museum's "Twilight Tuesdays" series

 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: Thumbscrew, U City Jazz Festival, Funeral Bonsai Wedding, and more

There's lots going on this week with jazz and creative music in St. Louis, as two concert series offer their first shows of the season; a free fall festival returns; and other stages around town will be filled with even more improvised music influenced by everything from funk to flamenco. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University begins the fall semester with a free concert reuniting the jazz-fusion trio Tracer, with pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Darrell Mixon and drummer Gary Sykes.

Also tonight, Good 4 The Soul will play their monthly show at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups; and trumpeter Jim Manley will be doing his weekly gig at Joyia Tapas.

On Friday, it's the start of another season for New Music Circle, as guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tomas Fujiwara, aka Thumbscrew (pictured), will perform at the house-concert venue Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave.

Also on Friday, the St. Louis Big Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Troy's Jazz Gallery; singer Joe Mancuso enlists the support of not just one, but two guitarists, as he joins forces with Dave Black and Steve Schenkel for an evening of Beatles covers at the Tavern of Fine Arts; saxophonist Jim Stevens plays a free outdoor show at Ferguson Citywalk; and singer Tony Viviano returns to Talayna's in Chesterfield.

On Saturday, the U City Jazz Festival will take place in Heman Park, located at Olive & Midland in University City. This year's free outdoor concert is headlined by funk/fusion band Pieces of A Dream, with supporting acts including Bach to the Future, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True, the Tony Viviano Big Band, trumpeter Anthony Wiggins, and the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble.  

Also on Saturday, Funeral Bonsai Wedding will be in town from Chicago to promote their debut release with a performance at The Stage at KDHX. The newly formed group features singer-guitarist Steve Dawson, best known as the front man for the roots-rock band Dolly Varden, backed by vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, drummer Frank Rosaly and bassist Jason Roebke, who all work regularly in Chicago's jazz and improvised music scene.  

Elsewhere around town that evening, percussionist Herman Semidey and his Orquesta Son Montuno will continue the new jazz series at the Ozark Theatre; and singers Mary Dyson and Diane Vaughn will perform at Troy's Jazz Gallery.

On Sunday, there are a couple more free outdoor shows in the offing, as Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play swing, hot jazz and vintage blues at Benton Park, while the St. Charles Municipal Big Band will hold forth by the river in Frontier Park.

That evening, jazz meets flamenco in a performance by EviscerArt, featuring pianist Cristian de Moret, guitarist Eduardo Pachecho, and dancer Vanesa Aibar, at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Webster University jazz faculty will present their tribute to  "Great Jazz Records of 1964" at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus; and on Tuesday, guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran will play the music of Randy Newman in a "Notes From Home" concert at The Sheldon.

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.)

Ozark Theatre to begin new jazz series this weekend with Randy Holmes, Carolbeth True

The Ozark Theatre, a refurbished movie house at 103 E. Lockwood in Webster Groves, will begin a new jazz series this weekend with shows from trumpeter Randy Holmes and pianist Carolbeth True.

Holmes and his quintet will present "A Tribute to Horace Silver" at 8:00 p.m. this Friday, September 5, while True and her band Two Times True with guest saxophonist Larry Johnson will perform at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, September 6. 

Dorothy Edwards, who was co-owner and general manager of the now-closed Robbie's House of Jazz, is booking the series. The Ozark Theatre (pictured) is about a half-mile east of the former Robbie's location at 40 Allen Ave. in the Old Webster business district.

Other dates so far in the "Robbie's at the Ozark" series include percussionist Herman Semidey and his Orquestra son Montuno (Saturday, September 13); singer Sarah Maria Labeat  (Friday, September 19); a quartet featuring vibraphonist Ben Porter, pianist Matt Villinger, bassist Nathan Pence, and drummer Joseph Winstein Hibbs (Saturday, September 20); and singer Joyce Byers Hines (Friday, September 26). 

Tickets for all shows are $15 for general admission, $10 for students, and can be purchased at the door or in advance via the Ozark Theatre website.