Jazz this week: Anita Jackson sings King, Mitchell & Nicks, Miss Jubilee, Funky Butt Brass Band, and more

With the Independence Day holiday coming up, there's not much going on over the next few days in terms of touring jazz and creative music performers visiting St. Louis.

Yet while much of the city will be occupied with fireworks, backyard barbecues, and, perhaps, Fair St. Louis, our intrepid local musicians and singers still will be plying their trade on local stages. Let's see what's coming up...

Wednesday, June 28
The weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" proceeds as usual with live music and no cover charge at four different venues in the district. Also on Wednesday, trumpeter Jim Manley will be playing his weekly gig at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, June 29
Percussionist Joe Pastor brings his trio to The Dark Room's new Thursday night series; guitarist and singer Victor Andrada plays at Evangeline's; and pianist Adam Maness and his trio will be back at Thurman's in Shaw.

Friday, June 30
Singer Anita Jackson (pictured, top left) will return to Jazz at the Bistro for the first of two nights interpreting music from singer-songwriters Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Stevie Nicks. She'll be backed by Dave Black on guitar, Phillip Graves on keyboards, Theodore Brookins on bass, and Demarius Hicks on drums.

Also on Friday, the Original Knights of Swing will play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and the Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured, bottom left) will be back for their monthly gig at the Broadway Oyster Bar,

Saturday, July 1
Miss Jubilee plays swing and jump blues at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Sunday, July 2
The Friends of Scott Joplin will present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site.

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 the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest:

* The deadline for student musicians to apply to Jazz St. Louis’ JazzU program for the 2015-16 school year is coming up next week on Friday, May 1.

Auditions for JazzU, which offers weekly jazz instruction to middle school and high school students in a small-combo setting, will take place Monday, June 1 through Thursday, June 4. For more information or to submit an application, call 314-881-3093 or visit the website.

* Coincidentally, JazzU and its current crop of student players also are featured in an article in the May issue of DownBeat, penned by St. Louis freelance writer Terry Perkins. The issue (pictured) also contains a nice tribute to the late Clark Terry, written by longtime DB contributor John McDonough.

* Speaking of Clark Terry, now that Keep On Keepin' On has been released on Netflix, the documentary film about the St. Louis-born trumpeter got a recommendation from London Jazz News.

* Pianist Herbie Hancock and filmmaker Ken Burns, whose PBS series Jazz is still the most extensive history of the music to air on TV in the US, are two of the five people receiving honorary degrees from Washington University this year. The commencement ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m., Friday May 15 in Brookings Quadrangle on the main Wash U campus.

* Drummer and St. Charles native Dave Weckl's Acoustic Band begins a European tour this week, with dates scheduled in Norway, Greece, the UK, Italy, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France and Sweden.

* Last Saturday's Record Store Day celebration was the subject of a feature story from St. Louis Public Radio's Willis Ryder Arnold. (And if you'd like to hear the tunes that yr. humble StLJN editor laid on the shoppers at Vintage Vinyl during my RSD DJ set there, you can listen to the whole set online here.)

* Guitarist Eric Slaughter is profiled by drummer (and now, writer) Joe Pastor in the latest issue of the St. Louis Blues Society's Bluesletter (PDF).

* The Funky Butt Brass Band are the Reader's Pick in the "Best Local Band" category of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's 2015 GO! List Awards.

* In his latest CD reviews in the Post-Dispatch, Calvin Wilson opines on the new releases from bassist Kyle Eastwood and tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby’s band Tubacello.

* Jazz radio update:  Meanwhile, on Saturday's edition of his Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis program  “Somethin’ Else,” Wilson will compare and contrast music from recent recordings by pianists Vijay Iyer and Myra Melford.

After that on "The Jazz Collective," host Jason Church will be playing some tracks from the new album by The Bosman Twins, as well as music from Wes Montgomery, Chuck Mangione, Miles Davis, 3rd Force, Dizzy Gillespie, Spyro Gyra, David Sanborn, and more

"Somethin' Else" can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by "The Jazz Collective" at 9:00 p.m. on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

A guide to this year's holiday jazz in St. Louis

The holiday season always brings with it plenty of thematic music, and those who like to mix some jazz with their jingle bells will have plenty of opportunities this month in St. Louis. Here's a quick look at some noteworthy holiday shows planned by local jazz musicians:

Brian Owens - "Soul of the Season"
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 4
Centene Center for Arts & Education, 3547 Olive
Though Owens at one point a couple of years ago explicitly denied being a jazz singer, he's included here due to the presence of his special guests, pianist Peter Martin and The 442s, who seem likely to infuse at least a bit of improvisational sensibility into the proceedings. $20 & $30.

Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at the Anheuser Busch Holiday Lights Walking Tour
6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday, December 6
Anheuser Busch, 1200 Lynch St.
Tours of the annual light display at the St. Louis HQ of A-B are something of a local holiday tradition, and this year's lineup of musical accompaniment includes the swing and jump blues of singer Sarah Ulrich and her band. They'll perform again at the same time on December 21 and 28. Free and open to the public.

Sarah Jane & Friends - "All Holiday Revue"
8:00 p.m. Saturday, December 7
Robbie's House of Jazz
Continuing in the holiday spirit, Ulrich also has assembled a cast of Blue Notes and special guests for a holiday themed show at the Webster Groves jazz club. $10, $5 for students with ID.

"Follow That Star: A Jazz Nativity" featuring Oikos Ensemble
7:00 p.m. Saturday, December 7
First Congregational United Church of Christ, 10 W. Lockwood Ave., 63119
Now that saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie is based here in St. Louis, his group Oikos Ensemble is performing regularly as part of a monthly series at Kirkwood United Church of Christ, and this year they'll also be bringing their Christmas concert to several churches in the area. In addition to the Rev. Aerie on sax and his daughter, singer Arianna Aerie, the group includes singer Kim Fuller, pianist Carolbeth True, trumpeter Danny Campbell, bassist Dave Troncoso, and drummer Kevin Gianino.

They'll perform "Follow That Star" again at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, December 8 at Parkway United Church of Christ, 2841 N. Ballas Rd.,  and at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, December 14 at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ, 20 E. Fifth St. in Washington. Performances are free and open to the public, but donations will be accepted.

UMSL's Jazz for the Holidays
3:00 p.m. Sunday, December 8
Touhill Performing Arts Center
UMSL's annual presentation "showcases upbeat holiday classics with a jazzy flair," performed by UMSL's Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Jim Widner; choral ensemble Vocal Point, conducted by Jim Henry; and the University Orchestra, conducted by Robert Charles Howard. Free and open to the public.

Jazz St. Louis Big Band plays Duke Ellington's "Nutcracker Suite"
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 11
Jazz at the Bistro
The newly formed Jazz St. Louis Big Band, featuring numerous alumni of the jazz program at SIUE, will perform Ellington’s re-imagining of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker as well as other Ducal classics including “Take the A-Train,” “Cottontail,” “Koko,” “The Mooche,” and more, all played from the original charts.

"Feliz Navidad" with Musica Slesa
7:30 p.m. & 9::30 p.m., Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14
Jazz at the Bistro
The Latin-jazz band made up of area music educators offers their take on some seasonal favorites. $25, $10 for students with ID.

John McDaniel - "Home For The Holidays"
7:00 p.m. & 9:00 p.m., Friday, December 20
Kranzberg Arts Center
The Kirkwood native, who's known for his successes in cabaret and on Broadway as well as his six-year, Emmy Award-winning stint as pianist and musical director for Rosie O'Donnell's TV show, returns home with a show featuring guest singers Mary Beth Black and Cindy Degnan. $25.

Funky Butt Brass Band Holiday Brasstravaganza
9:00 p.m., Friday, December 20 & Saturday, December 21
Off Broadway
St. Louis' own New Orleans-style brass band stages the fifth annual edition of their holiday show, now expanded to two nights and no doubt featuring additional seasonal shenanigans and related tomfoolery. Advance tickets are $12 for 21+, $15 for under 21; day of show prices are $15 and $18.

Joe Pastor Christmas Jazz Show
8:00 p.m. Sunday, December 22
BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups
The percussionist, his trio, and perhaps some special guests will offer their take on songs of the season, all for the cost of BB's usual cover of $5 - $10. 

Do you know of any holiday jazz shows in St. Louis that we missed? If so, please share the relevant info in the comments.

Edited after posting to add the "Nutcracker Suite" info.

Jazz this week: Support your local musicians

With no touring jazz musicians coming to town this week, let's take the opportunity to tout some upcoming gigs from some of our fine St. Louis-based players.

On Friday, drummer Joe Pastor's group Jazz Trinity returns to Brandt's, the Dave Stone Trio will be doing their regular weekly show at Mangia Italiano, and Jazz Renaissance performs at Riddle's

On Saturday, you can catch master tenor saxophonist Willie Akins (pictured) doing his weekly gig at Spruill's.

On Sunday, Good 4 The Soul will do a set before Anita Rosamond and her band take the stage at at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups. Also, the St. Louis New Jazz Quartet, led by bassist Willem Von Hombracht, continue with their regularl Sunday night performances at Riddle's.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band plays at BB's, and on Tuesday, singer and pianist Hugh "Peanuts' Whalum is at Brandt's while saxophonist Bennett Wood returns to The Gramophone for another show in the club's free Tuesday night jazz series.

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