Jazz this week: Charlie Hunter Trio with Lucy Woodward, Good 4 The Soul, and more

With the summer weather in St. Louis forecast to be somewhat less sweltering than usual for a few days, it should be a good time to get out and hear some music. Here's what's happening with live jazz and creative music around town this week:

Wednesday, July 24
Singer Jenna Bauer and guitarist Dave Black will duet at Evangeline's; Miss Jubilee performs at Schlafly Bottleworks; and guitarist Joe Park's trio plays at Yaquis on Cherokee.

Thursday, July 25
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University wraps up their "Jazz in July" schedule of free concerts with a performance by drummer Maurice Carnes and his band.

Also on Thursday, guitarist Brian Vaccaro leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern, trumpeter Brady Lewis and his BLStet perform at The Dark Room, and singer Robert Nelson and the Eddie Randle Jr. Trio are at the Angad Arts Hotel.

Friday, July 26
Funk/jazz quartet Good 4 The Soul (pictured, bottom left) returns for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band plays at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Saturday, July 27
Singer Jan Shapiro and pianist Dave Venn's trio return to the Ozark Theatre; trumpeter Jim Manley and band play at Evangeline's; pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True will perform at Parkside Grille; and The Gaslight Squares will bring their vintage jazz and swing to the Frisco Barroom.

Sunday, July 28
Guitarist Charlie Hunter brings his latest trio, featuring singer Lucy Woodward (pictured, top left with Hunter) and drummer Keita Ogawa to Off Broadway. Though Hunter has had a number of trios in the past, adding a singer definitely has brought new dimensions to his sound. You can see and hear for yourself by checking out the videos in this post from a week ago Saturday.

Elsewhere around town. the Folk School of KDHX presents their monthly Traditional Jazz Jam Session on Sunday afternoon, and singer and bassist Janet Evra performs in a free, outdoor concert Sunday evening at Oak Knoll Park in Clayton.

Monday, July 29
Pianist and singer Jesse Gannon returns to the Dark Room.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Charlie Hunter Trio with Lucy Woodward

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring guitarist Charlie Hunter's latest trio with singer Lucy Woodward and drummer Keita Ogawa, who are coming to St. Louis to perform on Sunday, July 28 at Off Broadway.

Hunter, whose distinctive technique on the seven-string guitar lets him play leads, bass lines and accompaniment more or less simultaneously, has played St. Louis a number of times in recent years with various configurations of musicians. And while he's frequently used the trio format, most often it's been with a saxophonist out front, so bringing in a vocalist instead definitely puts a different spin on his sound.

Hunter and Woodward first connected more than a year ago, when she stepped up to perform on a tour Hunter originally had booked with Mexican singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada, whose visa application was denied at the last minute by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

They've followed up that first tour with more live dates and, in April of this year, an album, Music!Music!Music!, which includes their interpretations of songs from a variety of sources, from Blind Willie Johnson and Bessie Smith to Nina Simone and Terence Trent D’Arby.

Today's videos show them performing most of the material from that album and more, starting in the first video up above with "Spoonful," the Willie Dixon tune made famous by Howlin' Wolf.

That performance was recorded in 2018 at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City, as was “Can’t Let Go," the first video after the jump.

Next is the Hunter/Woodward version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You," recorded in February 2018 at the GroundUp Music Festival in Florida.

If you're up for more after that, the last three videos all show full sets of music - the first recorded in April 2019 at Ambrose West in Asheville, NC, the second in February, 2018 at The Acoustic in Bridgeport, CT, and the last one at the Red Light Cafe in Atlanta, also in February 2018.

For more about Charlie Hunter, Lucy Woodward and Music!Music!Music!, read the review of the album from AllAboutJazz.com's Doug Collette; the review of their show in April of this year at Indianapolis' Jazz Kitchen by AAJ's Patrick Burnette; and Woodward and Hunter's joint interview published in April in the Greenville (SC) Journal.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Charlie Hunter Trio with Lucy Woodward to perform Sunday, July 28 at Off Broadway

Guitarist Charlie Hunter and his trio, featuring vocalist Lucy Woodward and drummer Keita Ogawa, are returning to St. Louis to perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28 at Off Broadway.

Hunter, who's known for using his seven-string guitar to play bass lines, accompaniment, and leads more or less simultaneously, first connected with Woodward last year, when she joined him for a tour originally booked with Mexican singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada, whose visa application was denied at the last minute by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Woodward has released four albums as a solo artist, has sung live with with Pink Martini and the WDR Big Band, and done background vocals for pop singers including Rod Stewart, Celine Dion, and Barbra Streisand.

In April, Hunter and Woodward (pictured) released their first collaborative album Music!Music!Music!, which includes their interpretations of songs from a variety of artists, ranging from Blind Willie Johnson and Bessie Smith to Nina Simone and Terence Trent D’Arby.

Tickets for the Charlie Hunter Trio at Off Broadway are $20 in advance, $25 day of show and are on sale now.