Jazz this week: Jeremy Davenport, Sinatra Songbook, Genesis Jazz Project, St. Louis Blues and Soul Revue, and more

It's Thanksgiving week, and though that means a temporary slowdown in terms of touring musicians visiting St. Louis, it also presents an opportunity to be grateful for the many fine jazz musicians our town has produced over the years.

One of those musicians, trumpeter and vocalist Jeremy Davenport (pictured), is returning home to St. Louis from New Orleans to perform at Jazz at the Bistro on Friday and Saturday. Davenport grew up in University City, but moved to the Crescent City in the 1990s to establish his music career there. After the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the subsquent flooding of the city, Davenport came back to St. Louis temporarily, spending most of 2006 here performing as the house act at Busch's Grove. When the Ritz Carlton hotel in New Orleans reopened in January of this year, Davenport moved back to resume his house gig there.

This is first time in St. Louis since then, and in addition to the shows on Friday and Saturday, Davenport also is doing a Sunday matinee performance as a benefit for PanCAN, a not-for-profit organization that raises money and awareness for the fight against pancreatic cancer.

Besides Davenport, there's plenty of other noteworthy homegrown talent on St. Louis stages this weekend. On Friday, the Sinatra Songbook, featuring vocalist Tom Heitman fronting the Steve Schankman Orchestra, plays at Finale Music and Dining, and Wild Cool & Swingin' returns to Cookie's Jazz and More.

On Saturday, flute player and vocalist Margaret Bianchetta brings her group into Brandt's, and Trio Tres Bien, ably abetted by Danita Mumphard on vocals, will perform at Cookie's. Looking ahead to the Monday after the holiday weekend, the Genesis Jazz Project big band will do a free concert that evening at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

I'd also like to call your attention to one more event this weekend that isn't jazz, but should provide a good time for fans of roots music. On Friday night, the Soulard Blues Band and some special guests will be presenting a show they're calling the St. Louis Blues and Soul Revue upstairs at the Sheldon.

It's styled as an old-school R&B review featuring vocalists Marty Abdullah, Renee Smith, Stacy Johnson and Margaret Bianchetta. All four singers will be backed by the SBB, augmented for the occasion by keyboardist Matt Murdick and a three-piece horn section, and they'll be doing a non-stop playlist of soul and blues classics, including some special material they've worked up just for this gig. (Disclaimer: I know most of the folks involved with this show, and have worked quuite a bit with Renee Smith and SBB guitarist Tom Maloney.)

These are just a few highlights of the holiday weekend, but you can see a more extensive list of jazz-related events in the St. Louis area by visiting 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.)

Jazz This Week: Mary Stallings, the St. Louis Jazz Club picnic, free music at the Art Fair, and more

Apologies to all for for the relative lateness of this post; several unpleasant and/or inconvenient events have conspired to delay the usual heads-up on this week's jazz highlights, one of which would have been the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra's return to Jazz at the Bistro on Thursday night. That ship has sailed, so speak, but not to worry, as the ensemble led by Jim Widner will be making monthly appearances at the Bistro at least through the end of the year, and presumably longer.

So, for the rest of this missive, let's concentrate on the music that hasn't actually happened yet - like singer Mary Stallings (pictured), who will be at the Bistro tonight and tomorrow night. Stallings recorded a CD not too long ago for the local MAXJAZZ label, but she's been around since the early 1960s, when a record she made with vibist Cal Tjader helped establish her on the scene. She later performed with Count Basie for several years. After taking some time off to raise her daughter, Stallings returned to the stage work and continues to work and to be held in high esteem in her hometown of San Francisco. You can read an interview with her here and a brief biography here.

Another noteworthy event this weekend is the St. Louis Jazz Club's annual picnic, which runs from noon to 6 p.m. at the Concord Farmers Club, 10140 Concord School Rd. The event is open to the public, including non-members of the StLJC, and will feature music from the St. Louis Stompers, the St. Louis Banjo Band and the St. Louis Ragtimers.

If traditional jazz isn't your thing, maybe you'd rather take in some of the free music at the St. Louis Art Fair, which runs Friday through Sunday and is put on by the same organization that presents tthe St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival. There are at least a half-dozen acts appearing over the three days that are of potential interest to jazz fans, including Latin jazz group Clave Sol, Carbondale combo The New Arts Jazztet and pianist Carolbeth True and her trio with special guest Larry Johnson on saxophone. See the event's Web site for all the details.

Also especially worth noting are two more gigs on Friday night, when smooth jazz saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Finale Music and Dining, and singer/flute player Margaret Bianchetta brings a trio to Brandt's.

For more local jazz-related events, please see the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, (which has received several updates over the last week but still has more to go).

(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.)

(Edited slightly after posting.)