Jazz this week: David Sanborn, Norman Brown's "Summer Storm," The New Mastersounds, Diego Figueiredo, and more

It's a jam-packed week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with notable shows including a homecoming for one of our city's favorite sons, plus sounds from a visiting Broadway star, a British funk band, a Brazilian guitarist, and much more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 16
Singer and actress Rachel Bay Jones, known as one of the stars of the Broadway show Dear Evan Hansen, performs for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis as part of their series of co-presentations with Cabaret Project of St. Louis.

Nearby in Grand Center, the weekly "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" features Sweet & Low (guitarists Adam Wilke and Celia Shacklett) at The Stage at KDHX; the jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center; and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, October 17
Guitarist Bob Lanzetti of Snarky Puppy will perform at Pop's Blue Moon; and the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert of Argentinian and Brazilian music, featuring pianist Ken Kehner, guitarist William Lenihan, bassist Joseph Lepore, and drummer Steve Davis with Amy Greenhalgh (violin), Ranya Iqbal (cello), and Victoria Voumard (viola).

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Andy Ament leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern, and keyboardist Ryan Marquez returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, October 18
Saxophonist David Sanborn (pictured, top left) will be back home again for a performance at The Sheldon, helping to celebrate the completion and official debut of a plaza, walkway and vertical garden on the west side of the hall.

Also on Friday, Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo (pictured, center left) will perform with backing from bassist and singer Janet Evra's quartet at the Grandel Theatre; and Jazz St. Louis will be "Celebrating Ella Fitzgerald" for the first of two nights with singer Anita Jackson, pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson, bassist Jahmal Nichols, drummer Montez Coleman and saxophonist Ben Reece.

Elsewhere around town, the Original Knights of Swing plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; singer Jan Shapiro returns to the Ozark Theatre; and trumpeter Jim Manley will play a late evening gig at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club.

Saturday, October 19
British funk/jazz group The New Mastersounds (pictured, bottom left) returns for a performance at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

They're celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band with a new album, Shake It, released last month, and a tour featuring guest vocalist Lamar Williams, Jr. For more about Shake It plus some videos of recent performances, take a look at this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Norman Brown and his "Summer Storm" show, featuring saxophonist Euge Groove, singer Lindsay Webster, and the Coleman Hughes Project, will play two shows at the Grandel Theatre; pianist Geoffrey Keezer leads a trio in a concert at Open Studio in Grand Center's Centene Center for the Arts; and the New Orleans Suspects are back in town to play at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, October 20
Miss Jubilee performs for jazz brunch at Evangeline's, while guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran returns to The Dark Room.

Also on Sunday, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents the Arcadia Dance Orchestra at the Moolah Shrine Center's Oasis Room.

Tuesday, October 21
Pianist and singer Jesse Gannon plays 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.)

Jazz this week: Diana Krall, Norman Brown, Charlie Halloran, Bosman Twins, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features the first appearance here by a major crossover star after a long absence; a benefit featuring star of smooth jazz guitar; some homecoming shows from an expat-made-good; plus noteworthy gigs from a number of local performers. Let's go to the highlights... 

Wednesday, June 13
Trombonist Charlie Halloran, back home from New Orleans for a visit, will be the featured performer at this week's free Whitaker Music Festival concert at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Also on Wednesday, the "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" will include drummer Alberto Patiño at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, June 14
If you missed Charlie Halloran on Wednesday, there's another chance to catch him Thursday night at Joe's Cafe & Gallery.

Also on Thursday, pianist Adam Maness' trio is at Thurman's in Shaw; guitarist Dave Black will be joined by singer Kittie Moeller and keyboardist Vince Golomski of the group Fanfare at The Pat Connolly Tavern; and saxophonist Ben Reece's Unity Quartet is back at The Dark Room

Friday, June 15
Singer and pianist Diana Krall returns to St. Louis for the first time in nearly five years for a concert Peabody Opera House.

Krall (pictured, top left) currently is on the third North American leg of an extended tour promoting her 2017 album Turn Up The Quiet. For more about that, and some videos of live performances of material from the album, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, The Bosman Twins (pictured, bottom left) begin a six-show run at Jazz St. Louis, with two sets on Friday and Saturday nights, plus a matinee and an early-evening show for Father's Day on Sunday; and guitarist and singer Norman Brown performs at the Sheldon Concert Hall in a benefit for the Eta Boule Foundation, with support from St. Louis' own Denise Thimes and Tim Cunningham.

Elsewhere around town, trumpeter Jim Manley and band will perform at Evangeline's, and Second Generation Swing plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, June 16
Singer Danita Mumphard performs at the Webster Groves Concert Hall (aka Ozark Theatre); and guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran returns to Das Bevo

Sunday, June 17
Troy's Jazz Gallery presents "Mo' Better & Beyond," a Father's Day show featuring saxophonist Kendrick Smith and trumpeter Danny Campbell.

Monday, June 18
Jim Manley continues his residency at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, June 19
Bassist and singer Tonina Saputo and her quartet will host "The Tuesday Night Hit" at 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.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Mardra Thomas and her husband, keyboardist Reggie Thomas (pictured), will join the cast of the gospel musical Crowns for two weeks of performances in August at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in Evanston, IL.

The play by writer/director Regina Taylor "reveals the story of African-American women and the hats they wear to church. Each hat holds a story of a wedding, a funeral and a baptism as the women share their life stories of how they moved through life’s struggles."

* Pianist Peter Martin has posted a new blog entry at Medium.com explaining "7 Cool Left Hand Voicings."

* Miles Davis' soundtrack for the 1958 Louis Malle film Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud is being reissued as a deluxe set of three 10" LPs. Scheduled for release by the Verve label on Friday, June 22, it will be the first vinyl release to feature both the film music and complete takes from the December 1957 recording session.

* Improvising percussionist Drew Gowran was the subject of a short Riverfront Times feature by Thomas Crone.

* Singer, actor and Belleville native Lea DeLaria was profiled in San Francisco Classical Voice.

* Guitarist Norman Brown's concert next Saturday at The Sheldon was previewed by the St. Louis American's Kenya Vaughn.

* Also in the American, Vaughn previews saxophonist Stan Coleman's concert this Sunday at The Sheldon. 

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold was interviewed this week on an episode of BBC3's "Jazz Now" (available to hear online through June 20).

Kirk Whalum's "Gospel According to Jazz" set for Sunday, December 13 at Friendly Temple

Saxophonist Kirk Whalum is bringing the Christmas edition of his "Gospel According to Jazz" show to St. Louis for a performance at 6:00 p.m. Sunday, December 13 at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 5515 Dr Martin Luther King Dr.

Joining Whalum (pictured) will be his brother, singer Kevin Whalum, along with saxophonist Gerald Albright, guitarist Norman Brown, singer Shelea, and keyboardist and singer John Stoddart, plus Tiffany Mosley, Leslie Johnson, Darius Bradford, the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church Mass Choir, and the R.F. Specials Choirs.

The Memphis-based saxophonist, who's the nephew of St. Louis pianist, saxophonist and singer Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum, brought the "Gospel According to Jazz" to St. Louis previously in December, 2012, also at Friendly Temple. His most recent album, the fourth volume in the "Gospel According to Jazz" series, came out in 2014. Whalum and Albright's "Sax for Stax" tour also stopped at The Pageant back in the summer of 2009.

Tickets for the 2015 "Gospel According to Jazz" Christmas show are $20 for balcony seats, $30 for floor seats, and $55 for VIP seating, and are on sale now via the Friendly Temple website and by phone at 314-367-9700.

Jazz this week: Norman Brown & Richard Elliot, Denise Thimes, Monterey County All-Star Band, and more

It's jazz festival season in many parts of the US and Europe, so touring jazz groups are bit thin on the ground this time of year in non-festival cities like St. Louis. Still, with many local summer free concert series underway and local musicians at the usual venues, there's a pretty decent variety of live jazz happening around town over the next few days. Here's a look at some of the most noteworthy upcoming events:

On Thursday, the Funky Butt Brass Band will play a free outdoor concert at Strauss Park in Grand Center as part of radio station KDHX's "Music and Movies" series. The film for the evening is, fittingly, The Music Man, though as far as I know, the FBBB has no plans to add 75 additional trombones for the occasion. (And for those who may not know, Strauss Park is the small, triangle shaped park at Washington at Grand, across the street from the Fox Theatre and right outside the front door of the Bistro at Grand Center. )

On Friday and Saturday, singer Denise Thimes returns to Jazz at the Bistro. A popular performer locally who's also developing something of a national reputation thanks to appearances with Clark Terry and other name-brand jazz performers, Thimes usually seems to draw well at the Bistro, so if you plan to go, advance reservations would be a good idea.

Also on Friday, guitarist Farshid Soltanshahi's salsa music group Café Danza will play a free concert at the St. Louis Art Museum as part of SLAM's "Art After 5" series; saxophonist Jim Stevens is doing a free outdoor performance for Ferguson Citywalk in downtown Ferguson; and drummer Marty Spikener and the On Call Band will play at Robbie's House of Jazz.

Moving a bit further from the Arch that same evening, saxophonist Dave Cheli's group Tribal Chicken, with guest Fred Tompkins on flute, will play the St. Charles Coffeehouse; and guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio with drummer Marty Morrison and bassist Nick Jost will return to the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

Saturday brings the week's touring headliner, a double-bill of guitarist and singer Norman Brown and saxophonist Richard Elliot (pictured) at The Pageant. You can read my Riverfront Times Critic's Pick on that show here, and see some videos of Elliot in performance in this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also on Saturday, the Gateway City Big Band will play a free, early evening outdoor concert at Kirkwood Park, 111 S. Geyer Rd; and singer Tony Viviano and his band are presenting a dinner-and-a-show package called "Sophisticated Lady" at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Sunday, many local musicians and music fans no doubt will be in attendance at the funeral services for the late singer Mae "Lady Jazz" Wheeler that will be held that afternoon.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday you can check out some of the proverbial "stars of tomorrow" as the Monterey County All-Star Band and Vocal Honor Ensemble, a student band associated with the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, brings their summer tour to Jazz at the Bistro. Also on Monday, bassist David Certain's CertainBeat WorldBop will be back at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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: Four from Richard Elliot

Whether headlining his own show, playing with the Jazz Attack package tour, teamed with trumpeter Rick Braun in the group RnR, or in some other configuration, it seems like saxophonist Richard Elliot has turned up in St. Louis every summer in recent years for a gig of some sort. This time around, he'll be sharing a bill with guitarist and singer Norman Brown on Saturday, June 25 at The Pageant.

To mark the occasion, today we've got four clips of Elliot performing some favorite tunes in his groove-oriented, R&B-flavored style. The first clip up above shows the saxophonist and his band covering Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" at a gig last August in San Antonio. Down below, the second clip has a version of "Who" from the same gig.

The third clip shows Elliot playing the title track of his 2009 CD Rock Steady, a tune made famous, of course, by Aretha Franklin. And just for fun, the fourth clip goes back to the early 1990s, showing Elliot performing the song "Stiletto Heels" on the German TV show Ohne Filter. As this clip demonstrates, Elliot's basic approach to music hasn't changed all that much over the years, but I for one am glad he's not still sporting that mullet or the purple suit...

Norman Brown, Richard Elliot to play Saturday, June 25 at The Pageant

Guitarist Norman Brown (pictured) and saxophonist Richard Elliot are coming to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, June 25 at The Pageant.

Elliot was here most recently last July to perform at The Pageant on a bill with trumpeter Rick Braun. Brown hasn't been to St. Louis since 2006, when he played a holiday-themed show at the same venue with singer Will Downing and saxophonist Gerald Albright. Along with the Candy Dulfer show announced last week, their concert this year would seem be a continuation of The Pageant's recent practice of booking several smooth jazz shows during the summer months.

Tickets for the Norman Brown/Richard Elliot concert at The Pageant are $40 and $50, and will go on sale at 5:00 p.m. this Friday, April 1 via Ticketmaster and The Pageant box office.