Jazz this week: Alicia Olatuja, jazz for Valentine's Day, and more

For the second consecutive week, the calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features performances by a local expat making a triumphant return home after earning national acclaim.

For more about that and the other jazz shows happening around town, let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 14
Singer Alicia Olatuja (pictured) performs for the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Known by her maiden name Alicia Miles while growing up in St. Louis, Olatuja has seen her career take off since she gained national attention in 2013 as a featured soloist at President Barack Obama's second inauguration.  With one solo album under her belt and another set for release later this year, she's not a household name yet, but her star definitely seems on the rise.

Olatuja was a featured guest last year during harmonica player Gregoire Maret's week at the Bistro, and she'll be back in a few weeks with drummer Ulysses Owens Jr's "Songs of Freedom" project, but this will be her debut performance as a headliner at the venue, so expect a good turnout from the hometown crowd. For more about Alicia Olatuja, plus some video samples of past live performances, see this post from last Saturday.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, singer Erin Bode will be doing two shows at Cyrano's; the Joe Bozzi Band plays at Evangeline's; and there are a number of other gigs happening specifically for Valentine's Day - see the St. Louis Jazz Notes calendar for the complete listings.

Thursday, February 15
Singer Tony Viviano will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Broadway Open Mic" at the Curtain Call Lounge; and bassist/singer Tonina Saputo's quartet is back at The Dark Room.

Friday, February 16
Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, saxophonist Tim Cunningham is doing a special Valentine's-themed dinner-and-show at Troy's Jazz Gallery (advance reservations suggested), and saxophonist Kendrick Smith returns to Thurman's in Shaw.

Saturday, February 17
The Gaslight Squares will play an early afternoon show at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe as part of a new Saturday matinee concert series presented by the Friends of Scott Joplin.

At the dinner hour, check out pianist Ptah Williams playing at The Dark Room, and later in the evening, saxophonist Dave Stone trio's continues their weekly residency at Thurman's in Shaw.

Sunday, February 18
Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran will play for brunch at The Dark Room, while Miss Jubilee serenades the brunch crowd as Evangeline's.

Monday, February 19
Faculty members comprising the Webster University Jazz Collective will play a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

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: Ellington's "Nutcracker, "A Very Manley Christmas," and more

Although most touring jazz and creative music performers now are off the road until the holiday season is over, there's still some noteworthy music - holiday and otherwise - to be heard this week, thanks to our local St. Louis musicians and singers.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 20
The Jazz St. Louis Big Band continues their presentation of Duke Ellington's adapation of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" plus additional Ellingtonia through Thursday night at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also on Wednesday, singer Joe Mancuso continues at Taha'a Twisted Tiki; singer Feyza Eren returns to Evangeline's; and this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, December 21
Guitarist Stuart Johnson plays for diners at The Shaved Duck; Cabaret Project St. Louis presents a holiday edition of their "Broadway Open Mic" at the Curtain Call Lounge; and bassist Chano Cruz leads a trio at The Dark Room

Friday, December 22
Trumpeter Jim Manley (pictured) convenes his Mad Brass & Rhythm septet for the first of two nights of "A Very Manley Christmas" at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also on Friday, the Big Little Big Band with vocalist Steve Shininger will present a "Frank Sinatra Christmas" at The Abbey Espresso Bar & Cafe in Belleville.

Saturday, December 23
If you haven't had your fill of holiday music yet, there's one last chance, as Webster Groves Christian Church presents “A Jazz and Choral Christmas” with Two Times True and the church's Chancel Choir, and the Yule Vibe Trio, with guitarist Tom Byrne, percussionist Joe Pastor, and bassist Bob DeBoo, plays at the KindaBlue Club.

Also on Saturday, multi-intrumentalist Joe Bozzi and his band return to Evangeline's, and drummer Chuck Kennedy has put together a "Christmas Eve Eve Jam Session" at Mike Duffy's in downtown Kirkwood.

Sunday, December 24
Miss Jubilee performs for jazz brunch at Evangeline's, while drummer Montez Coleman and friends play at The Dark Room.

Tuesday, December 26
Saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective play their last gig of the year at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soup. 

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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

Here's StLJN's latest wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest:

* The 10th annual Record Store Day celebration will be held this year on Saturday, April 22, and yr. StLJN editor once again will be playing a small part in the festivities at Vintage Vinyl in University City, serving as a "guest DJ" spinning tunes on the in-house sound system for an hour starting at 4:00 p.m.

In addition to this year's special RSD releases, VV's all-day event will feature live bands outside, guest DJs inside, and free Schlafly beer. Other St. Louis stores participating in RSD 2017 include Euclid Records, Planet Score Records, Music Record Shop, and Kismet Creative Center.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn talked about his friendship with the late drummer and fellow former St. Louisan Phillip Wilson for an interview published on Do The Math, the blog of The Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson.

* Trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi was profiled on KSDK's Show Me St. Louis in a segment by reporter Heidi Glaus highlighting his decades of service as a music teacher for schools in the St. Louis Archdiocese.

* Drummer Kimberly Thompson, back home this week for an educational residency at Jazz St. Louis and gigs this weekend at Jazz at the Bistro, is also back online in animated form, as the second episode of her children's program "Music Time with Kimberly Thompson" has been posted to YouTube. As part of that educational residency, Thompson returned to her alma mater Pattonville High School for a clinic with the school's jazz band. 

* Bassist, Washington University faculty member, and now, author Paul Steinbeck went to Chicago last month for a concert and book signing to promote Message To Our Folks, his new history of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and DownBeat magazine was there to cover the event.

* The weekly Wednesday night jam sessions at @Nesby's are the subject of a brief feature in St. Louis County Arts, a new blog started by Valerie Tichacek and writer/photographer Bill Motchan.

* Drummer and St. Louis native Andre Boyd, now living in New Orleans after leaving Cirque du Soleil's road show Quidam last year, was profiled by the New Zealand magazine elocal..

* Pioneering bassist Jimmy Blanton, who played his first professional gigs in the late 1930s with the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra in St. Louis before going on to fame with Duke Ellington's band, is one of 10 musicians eligible this year for election to Jazz at Lincoln Center's Jazz Hall of Fame. You can see a list of all the candidates and cast your vote by April 30 here.

* The 2017 Chesterfield Jazz Festival has announced this year's date and musical lineup. The free concert will be held Saturday, June 24 at the Chesterfield Amphitheater and will feature music from the Wooten Brothers, with bassist Victor Wooten, drummer Roy "Futureman" Wooton and siblings, along with Bach to the Future with Tracy Silverman, Anita Jackson, Soul Cafe, and Kim Fuller & Maurice Carnes.

Concert paying tribute to Ross Gentile set for Sunday, September 8 at SIUE

A concert paying tribute to the late Ross Gentile is scheduled for 8:00 p.m., Sunday, September 8 in the Meridian Ballroom, located in the Morris University Center on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Gentile (pictured) hosted the "Standards In Jazz" program on WSIE for 15 years, at one point working on-air for the station seven days a week. He also worked as a DJ for WIBV, KSHE and WZQZ, and was a regular presence as an MC at live jazz events in the St. Louis area. He died in February at age 60 after a heart attack.

Musical performers at the tribute concert will include the Gary Dammer Big Band, Rick Haydon, Denise Thimes, Sherry Drake, Joe Bozzi, and others. Also appearing will be friends and colleagues of Gentile's, including Dr. Ed Wolf, Marvin Cohen, Adam Tracy, Buddy Moreno, and Don Wolff.

Tickets for the Ross Gentile tribute concert are $20. For more information, call 618-409-1389. To purchase in advance, send a cashiers check, money order or check payable to "Dianne Turek" to Box #240, 407 Belt Line Rd., Collinsville, IL, 62234. Tickets also will be sold at the door.

Family members also have set up a "Standards in Jazz" website and Facebook page to promote the concert and Gentile's legacy.

Photo of Ross Gentile from standardsinjazz.com.

Jazz this week: Jeremy Davenport, a tribute to Dinah Washington, and more

Many of St. Louis' larger jazz presenters routinely avoid scheduling shows on holidays like Christmas, New year's and Independence Day, and since Labor Day is another weekend that falls into the same category, jazz activity in town will be relatively sparse over the next several days. Jazz at the Bistro and Robbie's House of Jazz are both closed for the holiday weekend, and other fall concert series won't get underway until later in the month.

As a result, the best-known jazz performer to play here in the next few days won't even get to St. Louis until after Labor Day. That would be trumpeter, singer and U. City native Jeremy Davenport (pictured) who's returning home from New Orleans to headline a free Twilight Tuesdays show next Tuesday outside the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Davenport remains a local favorite and, barring bad weather, should draw a good crowd, so get there early for the best seats.

However, while touring activity may be at a minimum, our town's local musicians are, as usual, working hard this Labor Day weekend. Tonight, singer Erin Bode plays the Tenderloin Room in the Chase Park Plaza hotel, and trumpeter Keith Moyer and his quartet perform an early-evening session at the downtown nightspot Lola.

On Friday, saxophonist Dave Stone will do his weekly gig at Mangia Italiano, and on Saturday afternoon, the Nu-Art Series presents Nikki Washington singing the music of Dinah Washington at the Metropolitan Gallery downtown helping to kick off the gallery's month-long exhibit of paintings by Cbabi Bayoc.

Also on Saturday afternoon, vibist and trumpeter Joe Bozzi leads his band Night Flight in a matinee at the Sands, while saxophonist Willie Akins plays his weekly show at Spruill's.

On Sunday, pianist Bob Row's group with clarinetist Scott Alberici does a matinee at the the Sands, and that evening, guitarist Teddy Presberg plays at Riddle's. And on Monday, bassist David Certain and his group CertainBeat WorldBop will take the stage at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

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.)

Jazz this week: Randy Holmes Quartet, Mike Nelson, "All That Tap" and more

Time is short today, due to a deadline for (paying) work, but there are still several jazz performances on St. Louis stages this week that are worth noting as we head into the dog days of summer:

Tonight, trumpeter Randy Holmes (pictured) leads his quartet in a free concert at Washington University as part of the Jazz at Holmes summer series.

On Friday, BAG II presents percussionist and trumpeter Mike Nelson in a free concert called "Talking With Drums" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site. Also on Friday, trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi will take the stage for two shows at Finale Music and Dining.

On Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and her trio will serve as the backing band for this year's All About Tap festival held at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Of course, you can also check out local favorites at their regular recurring gigs, including pianist and singer Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum at Brandt's tonight; the Dave Stone trio at Mangia Italiano on Friday; and tenor sax kingpin Willie Akins at Spruill's on Saturday. For a more extensive list of local jazz-related events, 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.)

Photo of Randy Holmes by Dennis Owsley.

Joe Bozzi featured in Press-Journal

Trumpet player and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi (pictured) is the subject of a feature story in the West County Press Journal, prompted by his upcoming gig later this month at Finale Music and Dining.

You can read the article online here.

Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival announces 2007 lineup

The Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival has announced the lineup for its 2007 event, which will be held from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, September 15 on two outdoor stages in the Webster Groves business district near the intersection of Gore and Lockwood.

Once again, the acts are split between jazz and blues - and interestingly, after a couple of years billing itself a jazz festival, which was never strictly the case, the event has gone back to its original, more accurate moniker.

Performers at the 2007 edition of the free event will include Wild Cool & Swingin' (pictured), the New Orleans R&B cover band Gumbohead, the Webster University Faculty Jazz Band, singer Anita Rosamond, blues prodigy Marquise Knox, the SIU-E Faculty Jazz Ensemble, Joe Bozzi, the Webster Groves High School Jazz Band and David's Guitar Loft Jazz Fusion, an ensemble of local guitar students.

The festival's finale is billed as a tribute to the late blues/rock piano great Johnnie Johnson, who played the event several times before his passing; however, no personnel or other details of the tribute were announced.