Jazz this week: Adam Larson, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Summerset festival, and more

It's a busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with festivals presenting smooth jazz and swing dance; New Orleans music from one of that city's classic bands and from a St. Louis expat; and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 11
Saxophonist Adam Larson is in town and will present a free public performance/workshop at Saxquest.

Larson is an up-and-coming young musician who already has headlined and co-headlined shows at Jazz St. Louis' Bistro and other top venues, so the chance to see him for free makes this gig one of the week's top picks.

Also on Wednesday, the free "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" resumes after an Independence Day break with the Jazz Troubadours at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, July 12
Having celebrated four decades together in 2017,  the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (pictured, top left) will be back in St. Louis for the first time in several years for a show at the Old Rock House. You can see and hear some recent DDBB performances in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Thursday, the Summerset smooth jazz festival presents the first of three concerts this weekend, kicking off with a show from saxophonists Paul Taylor and Pamela Williams at the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. You can find out more and see videos of all the various musicians who will playing the fest in this post from a couple of weeks ago.

Elsewhere around town, pianist and St. Louis native Tom McDermott is back from New Orleans for a visit and a show at Joe's Cafe; and vocal group Java Jived will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University.

Friday, July 13
The Summerset festival continues with a show featuring keyboardist Jeff Lorber, saxophonist Everette Harp and guitarist Paul Jackson Jr; and the annual River City Mess Around, the mid-summer swing dance weekend presented by STL Jitterbugs, officially begins with a dance at City Museum featuring music from singer/guitarist Tommy Halloran and band.

Also on Friday, multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris presents "Headnotic," described as "his newest project, focusing on brand new, original compositions," for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis; the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and singer Anita Jackson returns to The Dark Room.

Saturday, July 14
The Summerset festival concludes with a performance by singer and St. Louis native Lynne Fiddmont (pictured, bottom left) and singer Howard Hewitt; and the River City Mess Around continues with a dance featuring Miss Jubilee at the Webster Groves Masonic Lodge No 84.

Also on Saturday, The WirePilots play original jazz fusion in a free concert at Kirkwood Park Amphitheatre; The People's Key will perform at The Stage at KDHX; and trumpeter Jim Manley and his band return to Evangeline's.

Sunday, July 15
Singer Jan Shapiro, former head of the vocal department at Berklee College of Music who recently retired and moved back home to St. Louis, will team up with guitarist Tom Byrne for a matinee tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass at the Webster Groves Concert Hall.

Then on Sunday night, the River City Mess Around concludes with a performance by the Arcadia Dance Orchestra at Off Broadway.

Monday, July 16
"Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective return to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Tuesday, July 17
Multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo and her band 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.)

Jazz this week: All Angles Orchestra, River City Mess Around, Good 4 The Soul, and more

The calendar of upcoming live jazz and creative music events over the next several days in St. Louis includes a weekend-long gathering of swing dancers from around the country; a jazz tribute to Prince; the local debut of a genre-spanning big band touring in support of their first album; and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, July 5
The big band in question would be the All Angles Orchestra (pictured, top left), a Colorado-based group whose tour in support of their recently released debut album includes a stop here at the Grandel Theatre.

Led by arranger, composer and trombonist Michael Conrad, the 15-member group includes orchestral woodwinds, a string quartet, a mix of brass instruments, and a jazz rhythm section, performing Conrad's original music that "forces the classical and jazz worlds to collide."

The concert is free and open to the public as a part of the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl," which also includes live music with no admission charge at four other venues in the district.

Elsewhere around town, singer Feyza Eren will lead a trio at Evangeline's and trumpeter Jim Manley will be doing his weekly gig at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, July 6
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University begins their "Jazz in July" concerts with a performance by keyboard player and singer Curt Landes; and trumpeter Keith Moyer will bring his quintet to The Dark Room.

Friday, July 7
Jazz/funk quartet Good 4 The Soul (pictured, center left) will play the music of Prince for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro; and the Funky Butt Brass Band will perform for the free Friday evening "Jungle Boogie" concert series at the St. Louis Zoo

Also on Friday, swing dancers from around the country will be in St. Louis for the start of the "River City Mess Around," an annual summer event presented by the St. Louis Jitterbugs. (For a look at the St. Louis 'vintage jazz' scene, including some of the local bands performing for the Mess Around, see this post from last Saturday.)

The festivities officially get underway on Friday with a performance by Tommy Halloran’s Guerrilla Swing at the City Museum, and continue throughout the weekend. (In addition to the events mentioned here on StLJN, there are "unofficial" pre- and after-parties, and more. See the link above for full details.)

Saturday. July 8
The "River City Mess Around" continues with a daytime dance featuring music from The Gaslight Squares at the Lemp Mansion pavilion, and an evening event with sounds from Miss Jubilee at the Webster Groves Masonic Lodge

Sunday, July 9
The "River City Mess Around" officially concludes with another daytime dance featuring the Nashville-based Moonshine Rhythm Club (pictured, bottom left) at 2720 Cherokee; and the Coleman Hughes Project will perform for the "Soulful Sundays" series at the National Blues Museum downtown.

Monday, July 10
Dizzy Atmosphere plays for diners at The Shaved Duck, and Miss Jubilee will be the featured performer with the Compton Heights Concert Band in a free concert at Tower Grove Park.

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.)