Jazz this week: Mike Dillon Band, Erin Bode sings standards, Phil Dunlap Quintet with Nicholas Payton, and more

Though many touring jazz stars are busy playing the festival circuit this month, there's still plenty of live jazz and creative music this weekend in St. Louis. Here's what's coming up over the next few days...

Tonight, the Mike Dillon Band returns to perform at The Demo. Led by percussionist Mike Dillon (pictured), the MDB were here last in February, opening for Umphrey's McGee at The Pageant. They mix up jazz, funk, rock and punk in an energetic and entertaining way, and you can check out some samples of them on video in this post from a couple of weeks ago.

Also tonight, guitarists Eric Slaughter and Tom Byrne play at the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood; the Tavern of Fine Arts features live improvised music for its monthly "Avant Garde Arts Night"; and and saxophonist Tim Cunningham plays a free outdoor concert at Bluebird Park in Ellisville.

On Friday, singer Erin Bode returns to her musical roots as a student in the jazz program at Webster University, opening a two-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro during which she'll revisit material from the "Great American Songbook." Though Bode performs mostly original songs these days, those who remember her early gigs here know that she's a capable interpreter of standards, too.

Elsewhere on Friday, saxophonist Michael Anthony Fitzgerald performs at Jazz on Broadway, Second Generation Swing takes the stage at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and guitarist Brian Vaccaro's trio will play a mini-concert at a rather unusual venue, the Clayton cafe and spa Sip Salon. There's also another free outdoor show of interest on Friday, as trumpeter Jim Manley performs before a screening of The Big Chill for the Old Orchard Gazebo Music and Movie series in Webster Groves. 

Saturday brings a couple of very different grand openings  - one on the Hill, the other on Art Hill - with jazz accompaniment. First up, in the afternoon singer Tony Viviano and band will perform to celebrate the new outdoor cafe at J. Viviano & Sons grocery and deli, located in the heart of South St. Louis' famed Italian neighborhood.

Then a few hours later and just a couple of miles away in Forest Park, pianist and Jazz St. Louis director of education Phil Dunlap will debut a new quintet at the long-awaited grand opening of the new wing of the St. Louis Art Museum. Dunlap's quintet, with drummer Montez Coleman, bassist Jahmal Nichols, saxophonist Ben Reece and trumpeter Danny Campbell, will be augmented for the occasion by special guests including trumpeter Nicholas Payton, saxophonist Willie Akins and singer Brian Owens.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Larry Brown Jr. is back home from Chicago to lead his group at Robbie's House of Jazz; singer Feyza Eren is at Thurman Grill; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes perform at the Wine Press; and singer Jerome Elliott presents his cabaret show "My Favorite Springs" at The Chapel.

On Sunday, trumpeter/singer Dawn Weber and multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris (in his alternate identity as "DJ Nune") will supply the sounds for Sauce Magazine's annual "Saucy Soiree" at the Four Seasons Hotel; and singer and pianist Jesse Gannon will promote the release of his new CD with a show at The Gramophone.

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.)

Coming attractions include Larry Brown Jr's Marvin Gaye tribute, Chris Hazelton & Cory Weeds, Marco Benevento

Recent days have brought details on three more upcoming shows of interest to St. Louis jazz fans:

* Guitarist Larry Brown Jr., a native of Venice, IL and graduate of SIUE who's now working in Chicago, will return home to perform "I Remember Marvin: A Jazz Tribute to Marvin Gaye" at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 5 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.  The performance is  part of The Sheldon's "Notes From Home" series.

Brown (pictured) will be joined for the concert by fellow SIUE alumnus Alphonzo Jones on drums, St. Louisan Bob DeBoo on bass, and two Chicago musicians, pianist Collin Clauson and singer Saalik Ziyad, who placed in the "Male Vocalist - Rising Star" category of the 2012 DownBeat Critics Poll.

The concert will feature Brown's arrangements of favorite tunes recorded by Gaye, including original compositions such as "Mercy Mercy Me" and "Inner City Blues" as well as standards like "The Shadow of Your Smile," which Gaye cut during the 1960s at a time when Motown head Berry Gordy was working to get some of the label's stars booked in Las Vegas.

Tickets for "I Remember Marvin: A Jazz Tribute to Marvin Gaye" will be $10 at the door.

* Kansas City-based organist Chris Hazelton's trio will team up with Vancouver saxophonist Cory Weeds for a gig at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, March 9 at Robbie's House of Jazz. Hazelton, who studied with Hammond organ master Dr. Lonnie Smith while living in NYC for a few years, gigs regularly around the KC area, while Weeds frequently plays in the organ-trio format and also operates his own club, the Jazz Cellar, in his home city.

Tickets for the Chris Hazelton Trio with Cory Weeds will be $10 at the door.

* Finally, there's word that keyboardist Marco Benevento will be returning to St. Louis as part of his spring 2013 tour, playing on Saturday, April 6 at 2720 Cherokee. Benevento, who performed here most recently last September at the Old Rock House, will be going out for a total of 20 dates in March and April, hitting St. Louis between shows in Louisville, KY and Chicago.

Details on ticket prices and the on-sale date for his show here have yet to be released, but it is is listed on 2720 Cherokee's website and so would seem a fairly safe bet to happen. Watch this space for more information...

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* We regret to report that there's some more difficult news on Clark Terry's health this week, as the legendary trumpeter had to go back into a hospital near his home in Arkansas and undergo surgery to amputate his left leg. Terry's wife Gwen has details about his condition in a blog post titled "Quitting Is Not An Option".

There is some good news, though - the amputation site on Terry's right leg, which doctors removed just a few weeks ago, is "healing very well." And according to a Twitter message sent out last night by JazzCorner.com, which hosts Terry's web site, "Clark Terry's leg amputation went well. He's in ICU & resting comfortably. Prayers r being answered!"

* The Sheldon Concert Hall announced this week that drummer Karriem Riggins will be replacing Ulysses Owens, Jr. on the upcoming concert by Peter Martin on Saturday, March 10. The show will mark the debut of Inner Circle, Martin's new band that "interprets classic pop and R&B songs and originals through a jazz lens." In addition to Martin and Riggins, the concert also will feature bassist Robert Hurst and guest singer Vivian Sessoms.

No reason for the switch was announced, but Riggins (pictured) certainly brings an interesting resume to the mix. His first big jazz gig at age 19 was with bassist Ray Brown's trio, and he currently works with singer/pianist Diana Krall, among others. But he's also has done production work with hip-hop artists included Common, J Dilla, The Roots, Talib Kweli and others, and is featured on the new album by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney.

* Guitarist Larry Brown Jr, a native of Venice, IL and alumnus of SIUE who's now living in Chicago, is the subject of the latest "Jazz Preview" segment airing on radio station WSIE (88.7 FM). The interview with Brown will be broadcast at 10:00 a.m. Friday, February 24; 2:00 a.m. Saturday, February 25; 2:00 p.m. Saturday, February 25; 6:00 p.m. Sunday, February 26; and 2:00 p.m. Monday, February 27.

* Jazz on Broadway has posted on their Facebook page an album of photos from saxophonist Tim Cunningham's weekly "Jazzy Friday" gig, which currently is scheduled to continue through the end of April.

* New Orleans funk band Galactic, who will be in St. Louis on Wednesday, March 14 to play The Pageant, have released a new music video, "Heyna," from their new album Carnivale Electricos.

(Edited after posting to fix a typo.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake (pictured) talked about his new book of poetry and visual art with Chris King for an article in the St. Louis American. Lake also briefly mentioned his upcoming big band album, but for some reason, didn't plug the crowd-sourced fundraising campaign for it on the website IndieGoGo. Currently, the campaign has raised $1,235 of Lake's $6,000 goal, with 60 days left.

* Saxophonist David Sanborn has recorded a short promotional video on the importance of jazz to help Jazz St. Louis hype their upcoming annual fundraising gala. The gala takes place Friday, March 9 at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, and will feature music from the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, the Funky Butt Brass Band and special guest Greg Osby.

* Gutiarist Larry Brown Jr's CD There Can Only Be One was reviewed for AllAboutJazz.com by Edward Blanco.

* Trombonist Dave Dickey has an album of photos on his Big Band's Facebook page from the group's debut gig two weeks ago at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company. Dickey says the band will be playing at the same venue from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. every fourth Sunday, starting February 26.

* The February edition of HEC-TV's I Love Jazz is playing now on the local cable network - check your program guide for listings - and also can be viewed online. This month's show focuses on jazz at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and includes an interview with and performance from guitarist Rick Haydon, who heads the Jazz Studies program. Also on tap are an education segment with Jazz St. Louis' Phil Dunlap; an archival performance from guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli; and the second part of an interview with bassist Stanley Clarke.