Jazz this week: Jon Batiste, Gaslight Cabaret Festival fall series opens with "Broadway's Greatest Hits," and more

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music in St. Louis offers the chance for a close-up look at a top TV bandleader, the start of this fall's Gaslight Cabaret Festival, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 17
Since it doesn't seem to have been publicly announced anywhere else, this seems like a good place to note that organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, who previously was announced as performing Wednesday through Sunday of this week at Jazz St. Louis, last month cancelled a number of upcoming performances, including his St. Louis dates, due to illness.

While we all no doubt wish Smith a speedy and complete recovery, the late-breaking nature of this unfortunate development means that the Bistro, presumably unable to secure a suitable replacement in time, will be dark for the next week.

However, the weekly  "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" continues as usual, with Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo and friends at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and band at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club; Wright's Project plays fusion and funk at Al's Lounge; and trumpeter Jim Manley is back for his weekly performance at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, October 18
The Poor People of Paris will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and singer Joe Mancuso is back at 50/Fifty Kitchen.

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Harvey Lockhart and the Collective will perform at The Dark Room, and the Stephen Haake Trio returns to The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, October 19
The fall series of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival begins with the first of two nights of "Broadway's Greatest Hits of All Time," as performed by singers Lianne Marie Dobbs and William Michals at the Gaslight Theater.

Also on Friday, keyboardist Ryan Marquez, his trio, and special guest vocalist Lola will play at the Kranzberg Arts Center; bassist and singer Janet Evra performs at Evangeline's; drummer Steve Davis brings his "Super Band" with singer Feyza Eren to the Ozark Theatre; and singer Erin Bode performs (with only a few seats left for purchase at the door) at Focal Point.

Saturday, October 20
Keyboardist Jon Batiste (pictured), the New Orleans native known for leading the house band on CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, will officially open this season's jazz series at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and guitarist Todd Mosby will play a solo concert at the Webster Groves Garden Cafe.

Sunday, October 21
Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran plays for brunch at The Dark Room, while Annie and the Fur Trappers will perform for the brunch crowd at Evangeline's.

Monday, October 22
Dizzy Atmosphere returns to The Shaved Duck.

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: Ben Reece Unity Quartet, California Guitar Trio, Kevin Bowers' NOVA, "Sculptures in Sound," and more

With performances inspired by pre-historic cave paintings, the upcoming solar eclipse, Bach, Tennessee Williams, French silent film, and more, this week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis draws from a vast variety of influences.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, May 3
Saxophonist Ben Reece’s Unity Quartet will make their debut in the first of the two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

The band features Reece (pictured, top left) and fellow saxophonist Austin Cebulskii (who replaced him in the Funky Butt Brass Band) plus drummer Marty Morrison and bassist Bob DeBoo, playing Reece's original music and arrangements of standards.

Also tonight in Grand Center, Bertha in Paradise, a play-with-music featuring singer Anita Jackson and pianist Charles Creath that's part of the Tennessee Williams Festival, opens a run continuing through Sunday, May 14 at the Curtain Call Lounge, while the rest of the Grand Center Jazz Crawl proceeds as usual.

Elsewhere around town, there are just two days left to catch a local screening of I Called Him Morgan, the new documentary about trumpeter Lee Morgan, at the Tivoli Theatre.

Thursday, May 4
The California Guitar Trio (pictured, center left) performs at the Old Rock House. Although none of them are actually from  California, acoustic guitarists Bert Lams (who's from Belgium), Hideyo Moriya (a native of Japan), and Paul Richards (who grew up in Utah) offer a crowd-pleasing variety of instrumental styles, from jazz to classical to surf music, delivered with technical polish.

Friday, May 5
Drummer Kevin Bowers' NOVA will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro. Named after Bowers' recent album - described as an imaginary "soundtrack to a movie starring Fred Astaire and Lena Horne, directed by Federico Fellini" - the ensemble will play Bowers' original music incorporating influences from Africa, Brazilian samba, and psychedelic rock; solo drum pieces; and more.

Also on Friday, the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles will hold a fundraiser with music from the Sentimental Journey Dance Band; and the Mizzou New Music Ensemble will be in from Columbia to perform "Eclipse Symphony," a new multi-part work by student composers, in a free concert at the McDonnell Planetarium in Forest Park.

Saturday, May 6
On Saturday morning, the St. Louis Art Museum presents a screening of the 1930 French silent film Au Bonheur Des Dames (Ladies' Paradise) with a live musical score by Elsie Parker and The Poor People of Paris.

Saturday night, the St. Louis Artists' Guild will wrap up their "Sculptures in Sound" series this spring with a performance from saxophonist Christopher Braig's Aboriginal Quartet, featuring trumpeter and Indiana University faculty member Patrick Harbison (pictured, bottom left), bassist Ben Wheeler and drummer Steve Davis.

The event will present a long-form work by Braig, inspired by 30,000-year-old cave paintings discovered in southern France in 1994, that will combine "multiple musical styles, movement, live painting, storytelling, lighting and the natural resonances of the St. Louis Artists’ Guild gallery into a multisensory experience."

Sunday, May 7
Pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with singer Kim Fuller will perform in a special service at Second Presbyterian Church in the Central West End, and the Friends of Scott Joplin present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site.

Monday, May 8
Saxophonist Jamison Williams and bassist Thomas Milovac, two free improvising players from Florida, will perform at the Grand Center art gallery Duet, with the Vernacular String Trio opening.

Tuesday, May 9
The St. Louis Bach Festival, a month-long celebration of the composer's music, will present "Jazz & Bach" at Jazz at the Bistro. The program features guitarist Steve Schenkel, pianist Kim Portnoy, and singer David Gordon using Bach's music as a springboard for improvisation.

Also on Tuesday, guitarist Tom Byrne and singer Erika Johnson perform at Evangeline's, and the new weekly jam session hosted by drummer Montez Coleman will be happening at Troy's Jazz Gallery.

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 at Holmes series announces winter/spring 2016 concert schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of concerts at Washington University has announced their schedule for the winter/spring semester of 2016.

The ten concerts will include three performances featuring visiting musicians, perhaps most notably drummer Thurman Barker, a longtime member of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and veteran of the 1960s free jazz scene, who will bring a trio to St. Louis to perform on Thursday, April 7.

A professor at Bard College in New York since 1993, Barker (pictured) spends most of his time these days teaching and composing, but his extensive resume includes past performances and recordings with many important free jazz musicians, including Joseph Jarman, Muhal Richard Abrams, Pheeroan akLaff, Anthony Braxton, Billy Bang, Henry Threadgill, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Sam Rivers, and others.

The Jazz at Holmes schedule also including return dates for bassist Gary Peacock and pianist Marc Copland, who did an off-campus concert sponsored by the series in 2013 at 560 Music Center; and for German-born, Zurich-based saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen, who played a Jazz at Holmes show back in 2010.

Here's the complete schedule for the semester:

Thursday, February 4: Ken Kehner, Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris
Thursday, February 11: STL Free Jazz Collective
Thursday, February 18: Paul DeMarinis Group
Thursday, February 25: Jay Oliver, William Lenihan, and Steve Davis

Thursday, March 3: Gary Peacock, Marc Copland, and Mark Ferber
Thursday, March 10: Mosaic Whispers & Java Jived
Thursday, March 24: Montez Coleman Quartet

Thursday, April 7: Thurman Barker Trio
Thursday, April 14: Nicole Johänntgen with William Lenihan, Jay Oliver & Steve Davis
Thursday, April 21: Kasimu Taylor Quartet

While most Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public, the Marc Copland/Gary Peacock and Thurman Barker performances will be ticketed events, priced at $25 and $10 respectively. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Edited after posting.

2012 St. Louis International Film Festival to include music-related films, live performances

The schedule has been released for the 2012 St. Louis International Film Festival, and as in years past, the menu of movies includes several with musical subjects or themes.

This year's SLIFF will take place from Thursday, November 8 to Sunday, November 18, with films screening at venues including the Hi-Pointe Theatre, Tivoli Theatre, Plaza Frontenac Cinema, Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium, Washington University's Brown Hall Auditorium and the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.

Among the programs that may be of particular interest to StLJN readers:

* The 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics, which was the feature film debut of singer, dancer and St. Louis native Josephine Baker (pictured). It will be shown at 7:00 p.m., Friday, November 16 at Webster University with live musical accompaniment by the Poor People of Paris.

* The Entertainers, a documentary about ragtime pianists competing for the title of "World’s Greatest Old-Time Piano Player." It will play at 3:00 p.m., Saturday November 15 at Webster University, with live performances from pianists Faye Ballard, Ethan Uslan, and former St. Louisan Donald "Four Arrows" Jacobs following the film.

* A program of films by Georges Méliès, including a restored version of his most famous movie, A Trip to the Moon (1902); a docudrama on the filmmaker; and a sampling of Méliès shorts with original musical accompaniment by the Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra. The Méliès program will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 9 at Webster University and at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, November 10 at the Wildey Theatre

* Beware of Mr. Baker, about the innovative yet often irascible drummer Ginger Baker, who's played jazz at various stages of his career but is best known for incorporating African rhythms into rock music with bands including Cream, Blind Faith, and Air Force. The documentary, which features interviews with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, Carlos Santana, Alex Van Halen, Jack Bruce, and others, will be shown at 9:00 p.m. Saturday, November 10 at Webster University and at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, November 17 at the Wildey Theatre.

Other films incorporating music as a subject or theme will include the biographical documentary Charles Bradley: Soul of America, as well as features such as A Late Quartet, the story of a fictional string quartet about to celebrate its 25th anniversary, starring Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener; Wagner & Me, in which British actor and writer Stephen Fry examines his enthusiasm for Richard Wagner's music and confronts the composer's associations with anti-Semitism and Hitler; Floating Oceans, the third installment in a surrealistic multimedia opera from musician, composer and animator Alexis Gideon; and Mariachi Gringo, which stars X-Men's Shawn Ashmore as a Nebraskan who moves to Mexico to become a mariachi singer.

In all, more than 400 features, documentaries and short films will be screened during the festival. For a complete schedule, plus ticket and venue information, visit the SLIFF Web site.

Jazz at Holmes sets summer series schedule

Although there's been no formal announcement yet, the Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University apparently has set their schedule for this summer.

A recent update to their site (linked above) lists four concerts for July 2011, starting with a performance on Thursday, July 7 by Ritmo Caliente, "one of St. Louis' premier Latin Jazz groups fusing modern improvisation with Caribbean and Brazilian music."

The following Thursday, July 14, it will be the St. Louis Jazz Ensemble with Maurice Carnes playing "straightahead modern repertoire and original music. The ensemble rotates a roster of the best of St. Louis' jazz community."

Next up on Thursday, July 21 is a trio led by guitarist Brian Vaccaro (pictured), playing "modern jazz...new sounds and music for the traditional instrumentation of guitar, bass and drums."

The Jazz at Holmes summer 2011 series will wrap up on Thursday, July 28 with The Poor People of Paris, "presenting traditional jazz along with European song."

All Jazz at Holmes concerts are free and open to the public, and begin at 8:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, which is located in Ridgley Hall, on the west side of Brookings Quadrangle near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Jazz this week: Sean Jones, Glendale Jazz Festival, a Miles Davis birthday celebration, and more

Want to listen to some live jazz this Memorial Day weekend in St. Louis? Here's what's on tap for for the next few days:

The best-known musician visiting town this week is trumpeter Sean Jones (pictured), who will perform tonight through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. A technically accomplished and versatile player, Jones probably is best known for his five years as lead trumpeter for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, a position he left last year to devote more time to his solo career and other musical ventures.

This is shaping up to be an eventful week for the trumpeter, as No Need for Words, his latest CD on Mack Avenue Records, was released officially yesterday, and he'll celebrate his 33rd birthday on Sunday. For more about Jones and some videos of him in action, check out this post from last Saturday. Also, you can read my Riverfront Times Critic's Pick about Jones here.

Elsewhere around town, jazz bookings are a bit scarce as many other not-for-profit presenters have ended their seasons, and even some commercial establishments, such as Robbie's House of Jazz and Casa Loma Ballroom are taking the holiday weekend off. Still, in addition to the usual weekly gigs (which you can find listed on the StLJN calendar), there are a few other noteworthy jazz-related events happening around town.

At noon on Thursday, the city of East of St. Louis will hold birthday celebration for Miles Davis, the city's most famous native son, at City Hall. The event will feature several live performances, including music from Reggie Thomas.

On Friday evening, the city of Glendale presents the 12th annual Glendale Jazz Festival at Glendale City Hall, 424 N. Sappington Rd. The free event will feature music from the St. Louis Stompers, Terry Thompson's Swing Alive Band, and blues/rock guitarist Billy Peek, with Don Wolff as MC.

Also on Friday, guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio with drummer Marty Morrison and bassist Nick Jost will play the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

This also is the weekend for the annual African Arts Festival at the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. The event features a variety of musical offerings, including blues, reggae, African drumming, and jazz from the Bosman Twins on Sunday and the group Le Jazz Hot, with pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Daryl Mixon, drummer Ben Thigpen and saxophonist Chad Evans, on Monday.

Also on Sunday, BB's Jazz Blues & Soups will present "A Night of Jazz" from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., though there's no indication on their site as to who the players are. (Alas, calls to BB's attempting to ascertain the musicians' identities were not returned by publication time.)

On Tuesday, the Poor People of Paris will bring their jazz-inflected French cabaret sound to the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of the Sheldon's Notes From Home series.

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.)

Jazz at Holmes announces summer 2008 schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of free concerts at Washington University is presenting a summer schedule again this year, and they released information on the lineup for summer 2008 to the public today:

The series kicks off next Thursday, June 12 with the French cabaret and jazz sounds of vocalist and woodwind player Elsie Parker (pictured) and The Poor People of Paris. The rest of the schedule is as follows:

Thursday, June 19 - Pianist Curt Landes
Thursday, July 10 - Drummer Bensid Thigpen & group play the music of Wayne Shorter
Thursday, July 17 - Guitarist Vincent Varvel
Thursday, July 24 - Drummer Miles Vandiver
Friday, August 8 - Trumpeter Randy Holmes and his sextet
Thursday, August 14 - Pianist Ptah Williams (outdoors in Brookings Quadrangle.)

All performances are free and open to the public and take place from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. in Holmes Lounge, unless otherwise noted. Holmes Lounge is located in Ridgley Hall, on the western side of Brookings Quadrangle. For more information, you can call 314-862-0874 or send an email to staylor@wustl.edu.

Whitaker Music Festival announces 2008 lineup

The Whitaker Music Festival, a series of free concerts held each summer at the Missouri Botanical Garden, has announced its 2008 lineup. The series opens June 4 with Erin Bode, who will make up a date that was rained out in 2007, and continues on Wednesdays through August 13.

Other shows in the series that may be of potential interest to jazz listeners include Two Times True, with pianist Carolbeth True and her son, drummer David True, on June 11; Le Jazz Hot, featuring pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Darrell Mixon, drummer Bensid Thigpen and saxophonist Chad Evans, on June 18; the Tony Simmons Band on June 25; singer Anita Rosamond (pictured) on July 2; singer Kim Massie on July 16; and French cabaret music purveyors the Poor People of Paris on July 23.

All concerts start at 7:30 p.m., and admission to the Garden is free after 5 p.m. on concert days. The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis, just off I-44 at Vandeventer. For more information and a complete schedule, visit the Garden's Web site or call 314-577-9400 or 1-800-642-8842.