Jazz this week: The Bad Plus and more

While the first part of January is famously a slow time for the music business in general, and the touring industry in particular, there still are jazz and creative music performances happening this week in St. Louis that should be worth braving the winter chill.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, January 4
The Bad Plus opens a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro, marking the tenth consecutive year that pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson, and drummer Dave King have been the first touring band of the new year to play the Grand Center venue.

After making a return visit to the Bistro last April with saxophonist Joshua Redman, the trio released their most recent album It’s Hard, which came out in August and features a return to the sort of unexpected cover songs, from Prince and Kraftwerk to Johnny Cash and Ornette Coleman, that helped make their early albums distinctive.

In addition to his work with The Bad Plus, Iverson has been involved in some outside projects this year, including a solo album called The Purity of the Turf, a trio effort with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Nasheet Waits that was released in September. Iverson talked about that and The Bad Plus' latest with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson for a preview story, which you can read online here.

Thursday, January 5
The Schlafly Tap Room will host a bill featuring the improv duo Marble//Wall, Vernacular String Trio, and singer/songwriter Toni Saputo, and pianist Ptah Williams and guitarist Eric Slaughter will play their weekly gig at The Dark Room.

Friday, January 6
Pianist Peter Martin will host "A Conversation With The Bad Plus," a free, public lunchtime event at Jazz at the Bistro featuring a discussion with the members of TBP about the band's history and music that also will be recorded for Martin's podcast "The Process."

Then on Friday evening, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black return to the Sidecar Lounge at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; trumpeter Jim Manley leads a trio at Evangeline's; and the quartet Danbury Street plays at The Abbey Espresso Bar and Cafe in Belleville.

Saturday, January 7
Trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi brings his band to Evangeline's, and saxophonist/singer Cary Colman's trio plays at Howard's in Soulard.

Sunday, January 8
The First Unitarian Church of St. Louis in the Central West End will offer a special "Jazz Sunday" Service with music from guitarist Rick Haydon and pianist Greg Hoeltzel, and the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show will present their first event of the year at the American Czech Center.

Also on Sunday, Miss Jubilee will provide music for the jazz brunch at Evangeline's, and trumpeter Keith Moyer returns to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups for a matinee show.

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.)

Updated 6:00 p.m. 1/4/16 with info about "A Conversation With The Bad Plus."

SIUE, St. Louis Jazz Club to present Essentially Ellington Regional Festival on Friday, March 27

The jazz studies program at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and the St. Louis Jazz Club are teaming up to present the Essentially Ellington Regional Festival on Friday, March 27 at Dunham Hall on the SIUE campus.

Funded by a grant from the Jazz Club and co-produced by NYC's Jazz at Lincoln Center, the festival includes a full day of performances and workshops involving high school jazz ensembles from around the St. Louis metro area, culminating in a public concert at 7:30 p.m. featuring the participating bands, clinicians, and the SIUE Concert Jazz Band.

The visiting clinicians for the event will include saxophonist Ron Carter (pictured), former director of jazz studies at NIU, as well as former Count Basie Orchestra drummer Dennis Mackrel, trumpeter Derrick Gardner; tuba player Bob Stewart; and bassist Jeff Campbell. Participating musicians from the SIUE jazz faculty will include guitarist and jazz studies director Rick Haydon, trombonist Brett Stamps, saxophonist Jason Swagler, trumpeter Garrett Schmidt, pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson, and drummer Miles Vandiver.

Tickets for the concert are $12 for general admission, $9 for seniors and under 18, and free to SIUE students with valid student ID.

Jazz this week: Sean Jones, Galactic, Pat Metheny Unity Group, Andre Delano, a tribute to Eddie Lang, and more

As the city wakes up the morning after Fat Tuesday, there's no post-Mardi Gras slump in the schedule of jazz and creative music in St. Louis. This week includes shows from several noteworthy touring musicians, plus a homecoming performance from a well-known expat, and much more. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, Sean Jones returns to Jazz at the Bistro to open a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday. The former lead trumpeter with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jones (pictured) has been a frequent visitor to St. Louis on his own in recent years, most recently performing at the Bistro in 2013 with both the "Triumph of Trumpets" show and as guest soloist with the student JazzU ensembles. For this visit, he'll be accompanied by a top-notch group including pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Obed Calvaire.

Tomorrow night, another group of frequent visitors returns, as New Orleans' funk/jazz/hip-hop band Galactic checks in for their annual appearance at The Pageant, this time with singer Maggie Koerner as special guest and the Mike Dillon Band as opening act. For more about Galactic, plus some recent performances of theirs on video, check out this post from a couple of Saturday ago.

Elsewhere around town on Thursday, saxophonist/clarinetist Elsie Parker's group featuring pianist Ken Kehner will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; singer Feyza Eren and pianist Scott Shepard will star in "Colored Sky: An Evening of St. Louis Jazz," a benefit for the Diversity Awareness Partnership presented at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and the Gaslight Cabaret Festival continues with a performance of Ken Haller's "The TV Show" at the Gaslight Theater.

On Friday, the husband-and-wife team of pianist Joe Dreyer and singer Rosemary Watts continue the Gaslight Cabaret Festival with their show "Swing Into Spring"; singer Wendy L. Gordon returns to DeLeo's Cafe & Deli; vibraphonist Tom Rickard leads a trio at Cigar Inn; and the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom

Then on Saturday, Connie Fairchild, the soulful singer best known for the long-running local rock band bearing her last name, will make her debut as a cabaret performer with a show called "Down By The River" at the Gaslight Theater.

Also on Saturday, Wack-A-Doo will be at the Tavern of Fine Arts; saxophonist Jay Hutson and Da Wolvez play R&B-inflected tunes at Robbie's House of Jazz; jazz-fusion band The Freedom make their debut at Thurman Grill; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to the Venice Cafe.

On Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents a tribute to guitarist Eddie Lang at the Sheraton Westport, featuring guitarist Rick Haydon, trombonist Brett Stamps, clarinetist Scott Alberici, drummer Miles Vandiver, and bassist Zeb Briskovich.

Sunday evening offers dueling headliners, as saxophonist and East St. Louis native Andre Delano will be back home to play two shows at the Bistro at Grand Center, while guitarist Pat Metheny brings his Unity Group to town for a highly anticipated performance at The Pageant. For more about the Pat Metheny Unity Group and their brand new album Kin, see this post from last Saturday.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday percussionist Joe Pastor and his group are back at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Then on Tuesday, the jazz-fusion group Common Time (formerly known as Steizuello) will be joined by a string quartet for a "Notes From Home" performance at the Sheldon; and Boisyiac, a new quartet including guitarist Mason Baran, bassist Nathan Pence, drummer Joe Winstein-Hibbs, and keyboardist Matt Villinger, will play at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

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.)

(Edited 3/6/13 to add some links and clean up typos.) 

Jazz this week: Rick Haydon Quartet, Terence Blanchard, ragtime at Scott Joplin's house, Oikos Ensemble, and more

If you're looking to get out hear some live jazz in St. Louis, there's there's plenty of local music on tap over the weekend, with some new weekly gigs getting underway, plus some visiting players coming to town to play free concerts next week. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, singer Joe Mancuso and his band begin a new weekly Thursday gig at Cafe Eau in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, and Miss Jubilee performs downtown at Thaxton Speakeasy.

On Friday, guitarist Rick Haydon will take the stage for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro. Haydon, who plays a seven-string guitar not unlike those used by Bucky and John Pizzarelli, is a longtime member of the jazz faculty at SIUE, and just wrapped up his first year heading the jazz studies program there. He'll be backed at the Bistro by Kara Baldus Vandiver on keyboards, Roger Guth on drums and Jim Mayer on bass.

Also Friday, the Funky Butt Brass Band is doing a free outdoor show for the annual Art & Air Festival, held on the grounds of Eden Seminary in Webster Groves; Lindy Hop St. Louis presents their monthly West End Stomp swing dance at the Mahler Ballroom, with music from The Sidemen; and the Ambassadors of Swing will play for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom.

On Saturday, saxophonist Willie Akins and his quartet will bring Akins' long-running Saturday matinee to a new location, the Cigar Inn in Belleville. As longtime local jazz fans know, Akins played Saturdays at the now-defunct Spruill's for many years before the venue closed last year. Since then, he's tried several different venues for the gig before landing now at Cigar Inn, which is going smoke-free for Akins' performances.

Then on Saturday night, guitarist Randy Bahr and pianist Carolbeth True will duet at One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes are at Thurman Grill; and singer-guitarist Tommy Halloran plays at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Sunday, singer Danita Mumphard teams up with saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie and the Oikos Ensemble for another concert in the "Inner Jazz' series at Kirkwood United Church of Christ.

Also on Sunday, trumpeter Delano Redmond, who spends his work weeks directing the acclaimed jazz band program at East St. Louis High School, is stepping out front to lead a quartet in a new weekly gig at Troy's Jazz Gallery. UPDATE - 8:30 p.m., 6/6/13: A few minutes after this post went up, Redmond posted on Twitter that there's no show this week, and the new Sunday gig now will commence on June 16. More as we get it...

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band will return to BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.

Then on Tuesday, the "Election Tour for A Stranger America," a politically themed music and performance piece by Jeffrey Young and Paul Pinto, comes to the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. LNAC's Marc Sarich and the Dave Stone Trio also are on the bill; for more, see this post.

On Wednesday, the Friends of Scott Joplin and the Scott Joplin State Historic Site will present a free ragtime concert at the Joplin site, 2658 Delmar at Beaumont. The late-afternoon event will feature pianists Andrew Barrett, Max Keenlyside, John Reed-Torres, William McNally and more.

Then on Wednesday evening, trumpeter Terence Blanchard (pictured), who will be in town for the premiere next week of his opera Champion at Opera Theatre St. Louis, will play a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden. He'll follow up that up on Thursday with another free show for the Whitaker Urban Evenings series at St. Louis Place Park.

Given that local audiences have repeatedly paid good money to hear the New Orleans native perform here at the Bistro, The Sheldon and elsewhere, these two shows definitely qualify as the best deals of the week. For more about Blanchard and some samples of his music, see this post from last Saturday.

And if that weren't enough, there's also a new weekly gig happening on Wednesdays, as bassist Willem von Hombracht and his New St. Louis Jazz X-Tet will be holding forth at midweek until further notice at the aforementioned Cafe Eau at the Chase Park Plaza.

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.)

Concert paying tribute to Ross Gentile set for Sunday, September 8 at SIUE

A concert paying tribute to the late Ross Gentile is scheduled for 8:00 p.m., Sunday, September 8 in the Meridian Ballroom, located in the Morris University Center on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Gentile (pictured) hosted the "Standards In Jazz" program on WSIE for 15 years, at one point working on-air for the station seven days a week. He also worked as a DJ for WIBV, KSHE and WZQZ, and was a regular presence as an MC at live jazz events in the St. Louis area. He died in February at age 60 after a heart attack.

Musical performers at the tribute concert will include the Gary Dammer Big Band, Rick Haydon, Denise Thimes, Sherry Drake, Joe Bozzi, and others. Also appearing will be friends and colleagues of Gentile's, including Dr. Ed Wolf, Marvin Cohen, Adam Tracy, Buddy Moreno, and Don Wolff.

Tickets for the Ross Gentile tribute concert are $20. For more information, call 618-409-1389. To purchase in advance, send a cashiers check, money order or check payable to "Dianne Turek" to Box #240, 407 Belt Line Rd., Collinsville, IL, 62234. Tickets also will be sold at the door.

Family members also have set up a "Standards in Jazz" website and Facebook page to promote the concert and Gentile's legacy.

Photo of Ross Gentile from standardsinjazz.com.

Jazz St. Louis announces summer lineup for Jazz at the Bistro

Jazz St. Louis has announced the lineup of local acts that will play this summer at Jazz at the Bistro. The schedule is:

Friday, May 31 & Saturday, June 1:
Two Times True with Larry Johnson

Friday, June 7 & Saturday, June 8:
Rick Haydon Group

Friday, June 14 & Saturday, June 15:
Willie Akins/Montez Coleman Group

Friday, June 21: Adaron “Pops” Jackson & Phil Dunlap with Jahmal Nichols and Marty Morrison

Friday, June 28 & Saturday, June 29: Erin Bode sings the Great American Songbook

Friday, July 5 & Saturday, July 6: Farshid Etniko featuring Sandy Weltman

Friday, July 12 & Saturday. July 13: Anita Jackson

Friday, July 19 & Saturday, July 20: Tim Cunningham (pictured)

Friday, July 26 & Saturday, July 27: Good 4 The Soul

Tickets are priced at $25 for the Akins/Coleman group, Jackson & Dunlap, and Bode, and $20 for the other shows. Tickets go on sale at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7 and can be purchased via Metrotix or by calling the Jazz St. Louis box office at 314-289-4030.

Mardra and Reggie Thomas coming home to perform Saturday, February 9 at Robbie's House of Jazz

Singer Mardra Thomas (pictured) and keyboard player Reggie Thomas will be returning to St. Louis next month to perform at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, February 9 at Robbie's House of Jazz.

Longtime fixtures on the St. Louis jazz scene, the Thomases moved to Michigan in 2011 after Reggie, who formerly taught at SIUE, got a new job teaching music at Michigan State University. In most years of the decade-plus before their move, the husband-and-wife team performed some time around Valentine's Day at Jazz at the Bistro, prompting the nickname "the Sweethearts of Jazz," so this show is something of a continuation of that tradition.

They'll be joined for the gig at Robbie's by two familiar collaborators, guitarist Rick Haydon and drummer Montez Coleman. No info available yet as to the ticket price, but Robbie's typically charges a $10 cover on the weekends (with higher amounts occasionally for some touring performers). More details here and on the St. Louis Jazz Notes calendar as they're released.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Drummer Dave Weckl and keyboardist Jay Oliver talk more about their new crowd-funded recording project in a new interview published on PledgeMusic.com.

* In the latest news from Clark Terry's blog, the trumpeter's autobiography published last year has won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' (ASCAP) Deems Taylor Award, and the and Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research.

* John Pizzarelli, in town to play at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday night, had a few words about the gig and his current with the Post-Dispatch's Calvin Wilson.

While he's here, the singer-guitarist also has been doing some school performances and educational events for Jazz St. Louis. He'll be playing with his quartet this afternoon for students at Fort Zumwalt High School, and did a workshop yesterday with Rick Haydon's guitar students at SIU-Edwardsville (pictured). Publicist Madeline Dames, who kindly provided the above photo of Pizzarelli's visit to SIUE, reports that he's doing record-breaking business at the Bistro, with "standing room only three deep upstairs" for Thursday night's first set.

* Trumpeter and singer Jeremy Davenport, who was back home last week to play at the Bistro, also dropped by local NPR affiliate KWMU for an interview, which has been archived online here.

* Vintage Vinyl co-owner Lew Prince was one of a dozen small business owners from across the nation who this week met with President Barack Obama to discuss economic and tax policy. Local coverage of the event included pieces from NBC affiliate KSDK and the U. City edition of Patch.com. Prince later went on MSNBC's The Ed Show to talk about his views and his visit with the President. Meanwhile, Prince and VV's other co-owner Tom Ray also recently were the subjects of a profile in the Journal at Webster University, where both are alumni.

* The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis will be presenting a Grant Writing Workshop at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 11 at RAC's HQ, 6128 Delmar Blvd. The workshop is free, but advance reservations are required; you can RSVP with an email to carol @ stlrac.org.

St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers concert series announces 2012-13 season schedule

The St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series has announced their schedule of free concerts for the 2012-13 season.

The concerts take place on the third Sunday of each month, except in December, starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church of St. Louis, 9030 Clayton Rd. (1/3 mile west of the St. Louis Galleria at McKnight).

The 2012-13 series will open on Sunday, October 21 with a performance featuring saxophonist Ray Vollmar and singer Deborah Sharn. The complete schedule for the 2012-13 season is:

Sunday, October 21: Ray Vollmar and Deborah Sharn
Sunday, November 18: Montez Coleman
Sunday, January 20: Ptah Williams
Sunday, February 17: Marquise Knox
Sunday, March 17: SIUE Jazz Faculty with Rick Haydon (pictured) and Jason Swagler
Sunday, April 21: Anita Rosamond

All concerts are free and open to the public, with no tickets needed. Free parking is available on the church's upper lot for guests who need to enter the building at sanctuary level, and also on the lower lot on the south side of the building.

Jazz this week: Peter Martin & Inner Circle, Jack Wright, Rick Haydon, Jazz St. Louis' annual gala, Delfeayo Marsalis, and more

There's lots going on this week with jazz and creative music in St. Louis, and due to impending deadlines, not much time to tell you about it. So, without further preamble, let's go to the highlights....

Tonight, the free improvising saxophonist Jack Wright returns to St. Louis for the first time in four years for a performance at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Always eager to collaborate with other improvisors, Wright will be aided and abetted by saxophonist Dave Stone and multi-instrumentalist Ajay Khanna, with epicycle (aka LNAC's Mark Sarich) and bassist Andrew Hefner opening.

On Friday, guitarist Rick Haydon will open a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. Haydon is well known for his work teaching in the SIUE jazz program, and seems to be a favorite of many other professional guitar players around town as well. Interestingly, though he's played the Bistro many times as a sideman, this will be his debut there as a leader, joined by a group including bassist Zeb Briskovich, drummer Miles Vandiver, pianist Kara Vandiver, clarinetist Scott Alberici and vocalist Kim Fuller.

The staff of Jazz St. Louis no doubt will be working feverishly that evening, as in addition to Haydon's performance, it's also the night of the organization's annual fundraising gala at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark. The event features cocktails, dinner, an auction, and music from the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, the Funky Butt Brass Band and this year's special guest, saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby. Tickets start at $250 each; call the Jazz St. Louis offices at 314-534-3663 for info on last-minute availability.

Also on Friday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham is back at Jazz on Broadway; singer Joe Mancuso's trio with bassist Willem von Hombrecht and pianist Tim Garcia will play at the Cigar Inn; and, after performing at the Hilton, the Funky Butt Brass Band will hustle on over to 2720 Cherokee, where they'll be taking part in the "Funk n Horny Spring Revue" along with Hip Grease, Rhythm Section Road Show, Hazard to Ya Booty, and Lamar Harris.

On Saturday, pianist Peter Martin (pictured) returns to the Sheldon Concert Hall for the latest performance in his eponymous series there, now ongoing for more than two years. This one marks the debut of a new ensemble, Inner Circle, that's intended as a vehicle to interpret pop and R&B material in a jazz context, though Martin hasn't released much in advance about the specific repertoire. As has become usual for his Sheldon performances, Martin has recruited some first-rate musicians for Inner Circle, including bassist Robert Hurst, drummer Karriem Riggins and guest vocalist Vivian Sessoms.

Also on Saturday but a bit farther afield, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis will be the featured artist at the Carol Moore Memorial Jazz Festival at Mineral Area College down in Park Hills, MO. Marsalis will be backed by the Mineral Area Kicks Band, with an opening set by the Mineral Area Jazz Ensemble.

On Sunday, von Hombracht and Mancuso will present the second installment of "Willem's Sunday Jazz Jam" at Johnny Gitto's bar and restaurant; and the Bistro at Grand Center will be the venue for "A Tribute to Whitney Houston" featuring singers Cheryl Brown, Anita Jackson and Latoya Brown and a band with keyboard player and singer Jeremiah Allen, bassist Jeff Taylor, drummer Gerald Warren, guitarist Eric Slaughter, and saxophonist Jim Stevens.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band will be back in action for their monthly gig 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.)

(Edited 3/8/12 to fix a typo.)

Sheldon Concert Hall to present benefit for tornado relief on Wednesday, May 18

A diverse lineup of local musicians will donate their time to raise money for St. Louis area victims of the recent tornadoes and floods in a concert to be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The event will feature performances from traditional jazz band the St. Louis Stompers, pianist Carolbeth True with harmonica player Sandy Weltman, guitarist Rick Haydon, and pianist Stephanie Trick (pictured), as well as folk musicians John Higgins and Charlie Pfeffer, Beatles tribute band Pepperland and the gospel group Reborn.

All proceeds from the concert will go to the American Red Cross "to help local victims of the recent tornadoes and floods, and future disasters that impact our community." Tickets are $15 for general admission, and will go on sale 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 10 via Metrotix and www.thesheldon.org.

Jazz this week: Ronald Carter and OGD, Peter Martin, Craig Rubano, Funky Butt Brass Band, and more

Assuming you've recovered sufficiently from this past week's Mardi Gras revelry and haven't given up live music for Lent, there are a number of jazz and creative music gigs in St. Louis this week that you may want to check out. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, drummer Ben Thigpen leads his group in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. The series then will be hiatus for two weeks as the campus goes on spring break, but will resume on March 30 with a performance by pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True.

Also tonight, St. Louis native Craig Rubano returns home to open a three-night run of his cabaret show "We Can Be Kind" at the Kranzberg Arts Center under the auspices of the Presenters Dolan. Rubano will perform songs from composers such as Cole Porter, Richard Rogers, Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon, with musical direction from pianist Beth Ertz.

On Friday night, saxophonist Ronald Carter (pictured) will team up once again with the organ-jazz trio OGD, featuring Reggie Thomas at the keyboard and Rick Haydon on guitar, for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

The former band director at East St. Louis High School, Carter performed last weekend at Jazz St. Louis' benefit gala and still is a frequent visitor to our area from his current home base at Northern Illinois University. Look for a mix of hard bop, soul jazz and more as Carter reunites with OGD, with whom he's worked numerous time.

Also on Friday, vibraphonist Peter Schlamb will front his quartet at Robbie's House of Jazz, and on Saturday, pianist Peter Martin will play at 560 Music Center in a benefit performance for Kids Place. If you're in the mood for a road trip Saturday evening, saxophonist/clarinetist Anat Cohen is performing down I-79 at the Blue Note in Columbia for the We Always Swing jazz series.

On Sunday afternoon, the spirit of Mardi Gras will linger for just at bit longer, as the Funky Butt Brass Band undoubtedly will be reprising some New Orleans carnival-time favorites when they perform at the Doubletree Hotel at Westport under the auspices of the St. Louis Jazz Club.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band is back at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups , and on Tuesday, Robbie's House of Jazz continues their series of weekly jam sessions.

Then on Wednesday evening, Robbie's will begin "Golden Voices," a new weekly open mic night intended to showcase jazz vocalists, who are invited to sit in with accompanist Becky Alexander.

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.)

(Edited 3/10/11 to correct the location of the Funky Butt Brass Band/St. Louis Jazz Club show.)

Jazz this week: A jazz tribute to Woodstock; music at the St. Louis Art Fair; a new book about the St. Louis blues; and more

While this weekend in St. Louis offers no shows featuring big name jazz musicians - think of it as a chance to save up a bit for next weekend's concerts by Sonny Rollins, Trio 3 and/or Chris Botti - there are still some jazz-related events over the next few days that may merit your attention. Here's a look at some highlights:

Tonight, the fall series of free weekly Jazz at Holmes concerts at Washington University begins with guitarist William Lenihan leading "a jazz tribute to Woodstock" outdoors on the Brookings Quadrangle.

Presumably, it's not a concert featuring jazz versions of songs that were played at Woodstock and/or written by musicians who performed there, or they would have just described it as such. (You can read Wash U's rather uninformative blurb on the show, and my initial reaction to it, here. ) Still, with a lineup of very capable musicians including Lenihan, Jason Swagler (who's listed in the show's promotional email as playing guitar, rather than his more usual alto sax), pianist Ptah Williams, drummer Kyle Hunnicutt, percussionist Henry Claude, and bassist Zeb Briskovich, there's certainly plenty of potential for some good music, even if the concept is a bit vague.

On Friday, St. Louis artist and writer Kevin Belford will be at Mad Art Gallery, signing copies of his new book Devil at the Confluence: The Pre-War Blues Music of St. Louis and showing his original paintings of St. Louis blues musicians that illustrate the tome. The free event also will include a performance from singer/guitarist Tom Hall, vintage film footage of St. Louis blues legends, and a spin of the book's companion CD. .

Friday night is also the beginning of the official "grand opening" weekend for Robbie's House of Jazz, which is located in the old Cookie's Jazz and More space at 20 Allen Ave. in Webster Groves. The featured performers this weekend will be the 16-piece Robert Edwards Big Band, which delves into a variety of big band jazz styles and includes trombonist Lamar Harris and pianist Adaron "Pops" Jackson among its members. (For more about Robbie's, see this previous post. I've also got a new post about the club scheduled to go online today at the Riverfront Times music blog, A to Z; when it goes live, I'll post a link here.)

The annual St. Louis Art Fair also gets underway on Friday, but there's not much music of interest to jazz fans until Saturday, when the event will feature performances from the Funky Butt Brass Band and the Sheldon Jazz Quintet, comprised of Rick Haydon (guitar), Mardra Thomas (vocals), Reggie Thomas (piano), Miles Vandiver (drums) and Zeb Briskovich (bass).

Jazz St. Louis executive director Gene Dobbs Bradford's band the Blues Inquisition also will perform on Saturday, and Sunday's musicians of interest include pianist Monika Herzig's group, and trumpeter/vocalist Dawn Weber (pictured) and her band Electro Funk Assembly.

On Sunday, there will be a benefit performance for singer Elaine Donahue from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups, 700 S. Broadway. Performers will include Willie Akins, Marty Abdullah and members of the Soulard Blues Band, Denise Thimes, Skeet Rogers, the Bosman Twins, Mae Wheeler, Jeanne Trevor, Roland Johnson, Wendy Gordon, Marsha Evans, Eugene Johnson, Renee Smith and more. All proceeds will go to medical and living expenses for Donahue, who has been fighting cancer and has been unable to work as a singer or at her day job in the treasurer’s office for the city of East St. Louis. In addition to leading her own group, Donahue has worked with Akins, pianist Ed Nicholson’s trio, and many others.

For more jazz and creative music events this weekend and beyond, check the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, available for viewing on the left sidebar or by clicking here.

(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 9/10/09 to fix problems with tags & add additional tags. Edited again on 9/11/09 to restore a paragraph accidentally dropped during the editing process.)

The Sheldon sending jazz quintet to Pinckneyville

In a news release this week, The Sheldon organization has announced that it will begin presenting jazz outside of its own historic Concert Hall, sending a group dubbed the Sheldon Jazz Quintet to Pinckneyville, IL for a concert later this month.

The Quintet, "featuring top St. Louis area jazz musicians including guitarist Rick Haydon, pianist Reggie Thomas and vocalist Mardra Thomas," will perform jazz standards beginning at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, April 26 at United Methodist Church, 315 W. South Street in Pinckneyville, which is about an hour's drive from St. Louis.

By way of explanation of this new venture into concert promotion, the release says, "With the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis is touring music ensembles to Missouri and Illinois communities during the 2009 season." (There's nothing else in the release to indicate what music ensembles or communities may be involved in future concerts; stay tuned to StLJN for any future announcements.)

This concert is co-sponsored the Foundation for Pinckneyville, and the Pinckneyville Community Jazz Band will open the show. Tickets are $5 for general admission and will be available in Pinckneyville at First National Bank, Murphy Wall State Bank (ask for Carrie Trail or Susan Davis), and First National Insurance Services. For more information, call The Sheldon at 314-533-9900 or the Foundation for Pinckneyville at 618-571-1171.

Rick Haydon, Reggie & Mardra Thomas release Eastern Central Pacific

Guitarist Rick Haydon, keyboardist Reggie Thomas and singer Mardra Thomas have collaborated on a new CD released by the St. Louis-based Victoria Records label.

Titled Eastern Central Pacific, the disc features jazz standards performed by Haydon and the Thomases with help from drummer Harold Jones, a jazz veteran who has played with stars including Count Basie, Eddie Harris and Tony Bennett, and bassist Jeff Campbell, a member of the Rochester (NY) Philharmonic Orchestra and a faculty member at Eastman School of Music. Campbell also is the program director at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Wisconsin, and that's where the group, dubbed Standard Time for purposes of the CD, came together while the various members were teaching summer sessions there.

Eastern Central Pacific can be purchased via the Victoria Records site, and also may be available at select local retailers such as Webster Records, which seems to carry many Victoria releases. You can read more about Haydon and the making of Eastern Central Pacific in this article written by Vicky Bennington for the Alton Telegraph.

Rodney Whitaker to be guest artist for SWIC Jazz Festival on February 21

Bassist Rodney Whitaker (pictured) will be the guest artist and clinician at the 2009 Southwestern Illinois College Jazz Festival, to be held on Saturday, February 21 at SWIC's Belleville Campus Theatre, 2500 Carlyle Ave.

Whitaker, who currently performs with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and serves as chair of jazz studies at Michigan State University, will give a master class at 1:00 p.m., perform with the SWIC Jazz Band at 2:00 p.m., and present a concert at 7:30 p.m. with a small group including pianist Reggie Thomas, guitarist Rick Haydon and drummer Marty Morrison.

Whitaker is a native of Detroit who has been active in jazz education throughout his career. In addition to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, his touring and recording credits include work with top trumpeters Terence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove and Wynton Marsalis, saxophonists Donald Harrison, Kenny Garrett and Carl Allen, keyboardist Bob James, and others.

The SWIC Jazz Festival begins at 8:30 a.m. and continues all day, with performances by student jazz ensembles from Belleville West High School, Althoff Catholic High School, O'Fallon High School and Central and West Junior High, as well as the SWIC Jazz Band. All events are free and open to the public.

SIUE faculty, students have three jazz events coming up

From the StLJN mailbox: Brett Stamps, local trombonist of note and Director of Jazz Activities at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, sends word of some upcoming events involving the University's jazz program.

First up is an evening promoting the recent release of Stamps' own debut CD In Your Own Sweet Way, which came out in February on the St. Louis-based Victoria Records label. Stamps premiered material from the CD that month at the Sheldon, and on Thursday, May 17 he'll do more of it during two sets at Jazz at the Bistro, accompanied by Rick Haydon on guitar, Zeb Briskovich on bass and Miles Vandiver on drums.

Then, as previously mentioned here, on Saturday, June 2 the SIUE Concert Jazz Band (which features primarily students along with some guest musicians drawn from the faculty) will perform from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the main stage at the Saint Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival in Clayton's Shaw Park.

Finally, on Monday June 4, members of the SIUE Jazz Faculty will give a free concert on their campus as part of the university's Summer Arts series. The event is open to the public, and begins at 7:00 pm in room 1109 of SIUE's Dunham Hall. Featured performers will include Stamps, Haydon and Vandiver along with Jason Swagler (alto saxophone), Reggie Thomas (piano) and Tom Kennedy (bass).