Jazz this week: Joe Sample Trio, Eric Marienthal & Bach to the Future, NIU Rosebud Foundation Jazztet, and more

With last weekend's record snowfall melted, and more seasonable weather forecast for this weekend, it should be a good time in St. Louis to get out and hear some live jazz and creative music. Let's see what's coming up over the next few days...

Tonight, Joe Sample (pictured) and his trio begin a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Though perhaps still best known as the pianist for the Crusaders (nee Jazz Crusaders), Sample also has had a thriving solo career since the late 1970s, mixing the Crusaders' trademark funk with more straight-ahead, Latin and smooth R&B-influenced sounds. For more about that, and some video samples of his trio in action, check out this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also tonight, trumpeter Jim Manley is at Sasha's Wine Bar in Clayton; and guitarist John Farrar and Park Avenue Jazz play at Hammerstone's. 

Tomorrow night, singer Joe Mancuso leads a quartet in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; Samba Bom is playing for a "Bossa Nova Dinner" at Yemanja Brasil; and the Tavern of Fine Arts will be presenting live improvised music from pianist Jim Hegarty, flute player Fred Tompkins and others at its monthly "Avant Garde Arts Night."

On Friday, saxophonist Eric Marienthal and Bach to the Future will headline a multi-band bill at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The Autumn Hill Jazz Festival, named after BTTF keyboardist and event organizer Mike Silverman's indie label, also will feature music from trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber, pianist Ptah Williams, and guitarist Tom Byrne. For more about the show, check out this article by Stef Russell of St. Louis magazine.

Also on Friday, Northern Illinois University's Rosebud Foundation Jazztet, a group of undergraduate and graduate scholarship students from the program directed by saxophonist Ron Carter, will open a two-night stand at Robbie's House of Jazz; and singer Zena Bott-Goins aka Zena Star and her band will play at the Cigar Inn.

On Saturday, the Klezmer Conspiracy will perform at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman and pianist Carolbeth True are doing a duo gig at Oceano Bistro in Chesterfield. 

Then on Sunday, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play the Sunday matinee at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, filling in for Miss Jubilee, who's gigging in Chicago this weekend.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Webster University Student Jazz Combos will perform at Webster's Community Music School. Then on Tuesday morning, singer Dean Christopher will perform his "Tribute to Frank Sinatra" for a Coffee Concert at the Sheldon, repeating the same program on Wednesday. 

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: Russell Malone & Cyrus Chestnut Trio, Craig Hultgren & Luna Nova, NIU Jazz Ensemble & Victor Lewis, and more

It's a mixed bag of jazz and creative music happening this weekend around the St. Louis area, with performances including straight-ahead, mainstream jazz sounds from both small groups and big bands; a triple bill of female guitarists; a cabaret take on Southern rock; an innovative cellist who bridges free improv and contemporary compositions; and more. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, guitarist Russell Malone and pianist Cyrus Chestnut and his trio will team up for the first time ever in St. Louis*, beginning a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. Both Malone and Chestnut have proved popular with local jazz fans, and to sweeten the deal, Jazz St. Louis is offering two tickets for the price of one for Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Tomorrow night, Lewis and Clark Community College presents a "Musicians' Gathering" at Jazz on Broadway in Alton, while saxophonist Paul Antion, a senior at Washington University, is the featured performer for this week's Jazz at Holmes concert on the Wash U. campus.

Friday, the Old Rock House will host "La Guitara," a package show highlighting female guitarists including singer-songwriter Patty Larkin, "new acoustic music" performer Muriel Anderson, and Vicki Genfan, whose resume includes a variety of genres including jazz.

Also on Friday, singer Jeffrey M. Wright, backed by pianist Carol Schmidt and guitarist Steve Schenkel, performs the first of two nights of his "Southern Roots" cabaret show at Kranzberg Arts Center under the auspices of the Presenters Dolan; saxophonist Jay Hutson leads a quartet at Robbie's House of Jazz; and saxophonist Tim Cunningham is back at Jazz on Broadway, where management has announced that he'll continue weekly through at least June 8.

On Saturday, New Music Circle presents cellist Craig Hultgren (pictured) and members of the Memphis-based experimental music group Luna Nova at Christ Church Cathedral. Hultgren has played St. Louis several times before, but if you don't know him or his music yet, you can catch up by checking out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, singer Feyza Eren performs at Robbie's, fronting a rhythm section including pianist Brad Ellebrecht, bassist Willem Von Hombracht and drummer Tom Kernan.

On Sunday afternoon, the Northern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of saxophonist Ron Carter, will return with a special guest, veteran drummer Victor Lewis, to play at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Also on Sunday, the Saint Louis Jazz Club will present pianist Pat Joyce and his All-Stars in a matinee performance at the DoubleTree Hotel Westport.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band returns for their monthly performance at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.

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.)

*Update - 4/11/12, 11:50 p.m.: As longtime reader (and stalwart fan of Russell Malone) Kandie Webster points out in the comments, this week's gig at the Bistro is not the first time Malone and Cyrus Chestnut have played together, as stated in the first version of this story. That statement was based on information supplied by Jazz St. Louis that may have been incorrect, or simply just misinterpreted by me. At any rate, this week's gig definitely is the first time they've played together here in St. Louis...

NIU Jazz Ensemble, Victor Lewis to perform on Sunday, April 15 at the Sheldon

The Northern Illinois University (NIU) Jazz Ensemble will perform in concert with special guest drummer Victor Lewis at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, April 15 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The NIU Ensemble is led by the noted jazz educator and saxophonist Ron Carter, who spent nearly 20 years teaching music in this area before accepting the job of director of jazz studies at NIU.

The concert at the Sheldon will also feature jazz ensembles from SIUE, led by Rick Haydon, and East St. Louis High School, led by Delano Redman. Carter and the NIU students will conduct workshops with students from both of those schools and students from University City throughout the following day.

Active on the national jazz scene since the late 1970s, Lewis has played with a number of well-known musicians, including St. Louis' own David Sanborn, Woody Shaw, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Johnny Griffin, Art Farmer, J.J. Johnson, Mike Stern, John Stubblefield, Grover Washington Jr., Manhattan Jazz Quintet, Bobby Hutcherson, Bobby Watson, and Kenny Barron. In 2003, he joined the faculty of Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he teaches drummers and coaches jazz combos.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for students, and will be available at the door, beginning one hour before the concert.

Benny Golson to play with Ronald Carter and the NIU Jazz Ensemble on April 12 at the Sheldon

Saxophonist and composer Benny Golson (pictured) is coming to St. Louis to join the Northern Illinois University jazz ensemble and its director, saxophonist Ronald Carter, for a benefit performance at 5:00 p.m., Sunday, April 12 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The event is the fifth annual "Youth in the Arts" benefit for the Genesis Academy of Arts and Fine Arts Ministry (GAAFAM), an organization founded and directed by Tracy Holliway-Wiggins, formerly of the Black Rep, that also includes local jazz trumpeter (and Holliway-Wiggins' spouse) Anthony Wiggins as music director.

Golson, who recently turned 80 years old, is the composer of jazz standards such as "Along Came Betty," "Killer Joe" and "I Remember Clifford," and was named an NEA Jazz Master in 1995. The NIU jazz ensemble under Carter's direction has become an internationally recognized, award-winning group that has shared stages with many jazz greats, including Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Bellson, Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Jimmy Heath, Tito Puente, Wynton Marsalis and many others.

Tickets for the April 12 concert at the Sheldon are $25 for general admission, $15 for students, and can be purchased at the door the night of the concert or online at the GAAFAM Web site.

Jazz this week: Bucky Pizzarelli, NIU Jazz Ensemble with Ron Carter and John Clayton, and more

This week's highlights post will be another short one, as Blogger is acting particularly ornery again today.

The most familiar name in St. Louis this week is guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, who's doing two sets a night through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Pizzarelli may be best known these days as the father of singer/guitarist John Pizzarelli, but he's also an acknowledged master of traditional chord-melody style jazz guitar and a studio veteran with six decades of experience backing some of the biggest names in the music business. Pizzarelli may not employ the flash or pyrotechnics used by some younger players, but make no mistake - he can still get the job done in elegant and swinging fashion, and I'd expect the place to be full of guitarists representing all categories from aspiring to professional.

On Sunday, the Northern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble under the direction of saxophonist and former East St. Louisan Ronald Carter comes to St. Louis for what has become an annual appearance at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The band customarily features a well-known guest musician on its spring concert, and this year it's bassist, composer/arranger and noted clinician John Clayton (pictured) of Los Angeles' Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra. If you're interested in attending this show, note that it has a somewhat unusual 5 p.m. start time.

Elsewhere in town, there are three noteworthy shows tonight. Artist, musician and instrument builder Brian Ransom will be performing at Christ Church Cathedral; guitarist Chris Burchett gives a free concert at Washington University as part of the Jazz at Holmes series; and ever-popular singer Erin Bode returns to Finale Music and Dining for two shows.

On Friday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham is at Finale, and looking ahead to Monday, Webster University's student Big Band and Mini-Big Band will be giving a free concert in Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

For more St. Louis jazz events this weekend and beyond, see 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. No attachments, please.)