Jazz this week: Chucho Valdés & Joe Lovano, Jen Shyu, "Jazz Explosion," and more

Here's what's happening with live jazz and creative music over the next few days in St. Louis...

Wednesday, November 9
Keyboardist Adaron “Pops” Jackson takes a seat behind the Hammond organ as he and guitarist Eric Slaughter co-headline a two-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro themed "To B3 or Not To B3."  Saxophonist Jason Swagler and drummer Miles Vandiver will complete the ensemble.

Also on Wednesday, The 442s will perform in a public concert at St. Vincent Home for Children.

Thursday, November 10
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Jen Shyu (pictured, top left) will present a free, public artist's talk and workshop at the Lewis Center, the Washington University School of Art building located off-campus at 721 Kingsland Ave in U City. (For info on Shyu's New Music Circle concert, see Friday's listing.)

Also on Thursday, Native American flute player Mark Holland and his band will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; singer Joe Mancuso performs at The Monocle; and fusion band Spaceship and the Liberation Organ Trio sill share a double bill at the Old Rock House.

Friday, November 11
Jen Shyu performs in a concert presented by New Music Circle at Kranzberg Arts Center. For more about Shyu and some video samples of her work, see this post from last Saturday. 

Also on Friday, trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber performs for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro; and the Gaslight Cabaret Festival resumes with stride and ragtime pianist Judy Carmichael. Carmichael,  who's also an engaging storyteller thanks to her experience hosting radio programs for NPR and Sirius XM, will play for one night only at the Gaslight Theater.

Elsewhere around town, the Gateway City Big Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and trumpeter Jim Manley returns to Thurman's in Shaw

Saturday, November 12
Pianist Chucho Valdés and saxophonist Joe Lovano (pictured, bottom left), who are collaborating this year for a series of dates, will play the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Based on the reviews of the tour so far, this has the potential to be one of the top shows of the fall. Lovano, last seen here in 2014 at the Bistro with his band Us Five, is one of the top tenor players working today, while Valdés has helped shape Afro-Cuban music and Latin jazz for decades as a founding member of Irakere and a solo artist and bandleader.

And if you need more incentive, the Sheldon and Metrotix yesterday announced a "buy one, get one free" offer for online purchases of the remaining tickets for the show. To access the offer, go here and enter the promo code CHUCHO16.

Also on Saturday, trumpeter Randy Holmes and his quintet will present a "Tribute to Clifford Brown" at the Ozark Theatre.

Sunday, November 13
The St. Louis Jazz Club hosts a matinee performance by the Funky Butt Brass Band at the Moolah Temple.

Sunday evening, "Jazz Explosion" with Pieces of A Dream, saxophonist Marion Meadows, and keyboardist Mark Harris II, comes to the Emerson Theater at Harris Stowe State University.

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: Delfeayo Marsalis, Diane Schuur, John Pizzarelli, Frank Sinatra Jr., Marion Meadows, and more

With five very different touring headliners in town for performances between now and Sunday, the St. Louis jazz scene has shows to suit a variety of musical tastes this weekend.

Let's go in chronological order, starting with Delfeayo Marsalis, who's performing at Jazz at the Bistro from Wednesday through Saturday. Delfeayo is the third-youngest Marsalis brother, and is known for his work as a producer of other artists as well as a musician in his own right. What little I've heard of his own stuff seems mostly inclined toward well-executed hard bop and post-1960s modernism, with occasional New Orleans-style trimmings, and, as one might expect from a Marsalis, he's definitely got skills on his chosen instrument. For more about his live show, check out this review of a January 2007 performance at NYC's Blue Note.

Next up is singer and pianist Diane Schuur, who returns to Finale Music and Dining to perform on Thursday and Friday. Schuur's brassy style has always seemed a bit overbearing to me, but there's no questioning her chops. If you're a fan, this seems like a great chance to see her in a very intimate setting.

On Saturday, singer and guiitarist John Pizzarelli (pictured) kicks off the Sheldon Concert Hall's jazz series for 2007-08. By now, Pizzarelli's a familiar figure around these parts, and seems to have built a substantial fan base here thanks to past performances at the Bistro, the Sheldon and elsewhere. He's an able entertainer as well as a fine guitar player, and I'd expect him to draw a big crowd at the Sheldon.

Speaking of entertainers, on Sunday afternoon Frank Sinatra Jr. will play the Touhill Performing Arts Center. His current show pays explicit tribute to his famous father, and, according to his publicity materials, features a 38-piece orchestra to recreate the arrangements used on some of Old Blue Eyes' most famous recordings.

To close out the weekend, on Sunday night the Roberts Orpheum will host a smooth jazz show headlined by saxophonist Marion Meadows and also featuring keyboard players Alex Bugnon and Bob Baldwin.

Other noteworthy jazz performances this weekend include trombonist Brett Stamps, who plays a free concert at Washington University on Thursday night as part of the Jazz at Holmes series, and smooth jazz/R&B saxophonist Rod Tate, who will be at Finale on Saturday.

Looking beyond the weekend, the Sessions Big Band is at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups on Monday night; singer Anita Rosamond will do a couple of 10 a.m. "Coffee Concerts" at the Sheldon on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings; and singer Brian Owens performs in a "Notes From Home" concert at the Sheldon on Tuesday night.

For more St. Louis jazz-related events, please visit the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendat

(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.)