Jazz this week: "Double Vision Revisited," Emily Wallace & Adam Maness Trio, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features a homecoming gig for one of the most famous jazz musicians ever to come from this area, plus a number of noteworthy performances from local players and singers. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, August 7
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo performs in a free concert to close out this year's Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden, making up for her date that was rained out earlier this summer.

Also on Wednesday, the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" includes trumpeter TJ Muller and friends at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and Farshid Etniko at The Dark Room.

Thursday, August 8
Singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, and saxophonist Kendrick Smith brings his trio to The Dark Room.

Friday, August 9
Singer Emily Wallace (pictured, bottom left) teams up with pianist Adam Maness' trio for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis; the Midwest Jazz-tette plays West Coast-style "cool" jazz at Evangeline's; and drummer Steve Davis' band, featuring singer Feyza Eren, performs at the Ozark Theatre.

Elsewhere around town, percussionist Herman Semidey and Son Montuno play salsa, Latin jazz and more at The Dark Room; and the Schlafly Tap Room presents a three-band bill of improvising musicians, featuring the duo of guitarists Shane Parish and Wendy Eisenberg, Apathist! with guitarist Chris Trull and violinist Alex Cunningham, and bassist Darin Gray.

Saturday, August 10
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents their monthly jam session matinee, hosted by pianist Bob Row and drummer John Gillick at J P's Corner; singer Wendy Gordon and friends will perform in a matinee at Hwy 67 BBQ; and keyboardist Andrew Stephen's Texturz will play the late show at The Dark Room.

Sunday, August 11
Music choices with brunch this Sunday include Miss Jubilee at Evangeline's and Janet Evra at The Dark Room. Later that afternoon, guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran plays at Alpha Brewing Company, and singer Chuck Flowers returns to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Monday, August 12
Dizzy Atmosphere plays vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at The Shaved Duck, and singer-impressionist Dean Christopher and his "Rat Pack and More" show return to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar.

Tuesday, August 13
The "Double Vision Revisited" tour, featuring saxophonist and former St. Louisan David Sanborn, pianist Bob James and bassist Marcus Miller (pictured, top left), comes to the Sheldon Concert Hall.

For more about Sanborn, who just celebrated his 74th birthday last week, plus some videos of live performances of music from the Double Vision album,  check out this post from last Saturday.

Also on Tuesday, mandolinist Knez Jakovac and his quartet plus guest vocalist Janet Evra will perform at the Gaslight Theater.

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: Kenny Barron Trio, Brandon Seabrook Trio, Anthony Braxton, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features the much-anticipated local debut of the iconic saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and conceptualist Anthony Braxton, plus some superlative mainstream jazz piano from an NEA Jazz Master, new music from an adventurous, genre-busting guitarist, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 3
Pianist Kenny Barron (pictured, top left) and his trio will perform for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Barron, named an NEA Jazz Master in 2010, has played with many jazz greats over the last 50+ years, and also is known as a premiere interpreter of the music of Thelonious Monk, thanks in large part to his membership in the group Sphere in the 1980s and 90s. You can see some samples of more recent performances by Barron, with his trio and playing solo, in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra performs at the Ozark Theatre.

Thursday, October 4
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will present a free concert of "Early Jazz & Blues - Music of the St. Louis Riverboats" as performed by an ensemble including trumpeter Randy Holmes, guitarist William Lenihan, trombonist Wayne Coniglio, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, drummer Steve Davis, pianist Ken Kehner, and bassist Paul Steinbeck.

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Vince Sala leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, October 5
Saxophonist Tim Cunningham returns to Troy's Jazz Gallery, and pianist and singer Jesse Gannon will play the late show at The Dark Room.

Saturday, October 6
The Funky Butt Brass Band will play a matinee at the Blues City Deli.

Then on Saturday night, guitarist Brandon Seabrook brings his new trio to the Schlafly Tap Room, with locals Pat Sajak Assassins and Apathist opening the show.

Seabrook (pictured, center left) explicitly incorporates metal and punk influences into his improvisations, sounding quite unlike most traditional conceptions of "jazz guitar."

His latest album Convulsionaries features an all-strings lineup, but with no drums, as detailed in a recent feature in Rolling Stone magazine and as seen and heard on this tour.

Also on Saturday, pianist Greg Mills, cellist Tracy Andreotti and clarinetist Eric Mandat will present a free convert of improvised music in the recital studio of St. Louis University's Xavier Hall.

Sunday, October 7
Singer Anita Jackson performs for brunch at The Dark Room, and the Friends of Scott Joplin will present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe.

Later on Sunday, drummer Montez Coleman's "Jazz All-Stars" will team up with the Coleman Hughes Project for two performances of the "Music of Grover Washington & Phyllis Hyman" at .ZACK in Grand Center.

Monday, October 8
New Music Circle presents the St. Louis debut of multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton, who will be performing with harpist Jacqueline Kerrod at St. Louis University's Xavier Hall.

It's a little hard to believe that Braxton (pictured, bottom left), who's traveled around the world playing music many times over the last 50 years, has never done a gig here before, even in the late-1960s heyday of the Black Artists Group. But according to NMC, StLJN's own research, and a consultation with St. Louis jazz historian Dennis Owsley, that seems to be the case.

Still, better late than never, and on Monday, the St. Louis audience finally will get a chance to hear in person one of the most talked-about (and often, argued-about) composers, improvisors and thinkers in contemporary music. StLJN will have more on Braxton in this week's Saturday video post...

Also on Monday, saxophonist Paul DeMarinis, singer Debby Lennon, and pianist Nick Schlueter will perform at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium.

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: A tribute to Joe Sample & George Duke, free outdoor concerts, and more

While things may be relatively quiet for the next week in terms of touring artists visiting St. Louis, the calendar of live jazz and creative music does feature a variety of sounds from hometown performers to suit almost any taste, including several free outdoor concerts.

Here's a look at what's coming up...

Wednesday, 
June 27
Acoustik Element plays a free concert for the Missouri Botanical Garden's Whitaker Music Festival, and the Ambassadors of Swing are back at Tin Roof for another "Shake & Shout Wednesday."

Elsewhere around town, this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features bassist Glen Smith and guitarist Dave Black at The Stage at KDHX along with the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, June 28
Guitarist and violinist Christopher Voelker of Dizzy Atmosphere leads a trio at The Pat Connolly Tavern, and singer Joe Mancuso will do what's now a regular Thursday night gig at 50/Fifty Kitchen.

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Ben Reece's Unity Quartet is back at The Dark Room, and this month's edition of Nathan Cook's "Bruxism" series will features experimental music from William Morris, Tony Patti, and Deux Plex at the Schlafly Tap Room.

Friday, June 29
Funk/jazz quartet Good 4 The Soul teams up with keyboardist Reggie Thomas (pictured) plus other special guests to offer a one-night-only tribute to "The Sounds of Joe Sample & George Duke" at Jazz St. Louis.

Saturday, June 30
Catch some vintage jazz sounds for free at an outdoor concert with Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing at Eckert's in Belleville or Miss Jubilee at Kirkwood Park.

Also on Saturday, the Funky Butt Brass Band headlines a bill of funk and Louisiana-influenced bands at the Old Rock House 's day-long "Summer Gras" event.

Sunday, July 1
The Friends of Scott Joplin present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe.

Monday, July 2
Trumpeter Jim Manley plays his weekly gig at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

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: TAUK, Jeff Hamilton, Etienne Charles, Big Sam's Funky Nation, and more

This week's jazz and creative music calendar in St. Louis is all about the one-nighters, with an eclectic handful of headlining acts in town for single-serve appearances.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 8
NYC-based funk/fusion band TAUK plays at the Old Rock House, and pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True with saxophonist Larry Johnson will perform at Evangeline's.

Also on Thursday, Jazz St. Louis in cooperation with COCA presents a "Rent Party Concert" at Jazz at the Bistro, a free event featuring unspecified performers who will "celebrate the music of the Harlem Renaissance" with songs made famous by Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, and more.

Thursday, March 9
Drummer Jeff Hamilton (pictured, top left) will perform with his trio, featuring bassist Christoph Luty and pianist Tamir Hendelman, at Jazz at the Bistro. Hamilton, who co-leads the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and has served as a sideman for jazz luminaries from Oscar Peterson to Diana Krall, also will perform on Saturday at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, MO (see below).

Also on Thursday, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert by pianist Adam Maness and bassist Bob Deboo; and guitarist Dave Black and saxophonist Freddie Washington will play duets at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, March 10
The jazz-fusion tribute project Weather Forever returns for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro; the Funky Butt Brass Band will headline the musical entertainment for the first night of the Schlafly Tap Room's Stout and Oyster Festival; and Wright's Project plays at Thurman's in Shaw.

Saturday, March 11
Trumpeter Etienne Charles (pictured, bottom left) makes his St. Louis debut as a bandleader with a performance at the Sheldon Concert Hall

Mixing jazz with Caribbean popular musical styles like reggae, calypso and soca, Charles has developed a distinctive, crowd-pleasing sound that seems to resonate with a variety of music fans. For more about him, and some video samples of his "Creole Soul" ensemble, check out last Saturday's post.

Also on Saturday, Big Sam's Funky Nation will be back from New Orleans for another visit to serve as featured performers for the second night of the Schlafly Tap Room's Stout and Oyster Festival.

A bit farther afield, if you can't catch Jeff Hamilton on Thursday at the Bistro and don't mind a bit of a drive, you can head down to Park Hills, MO to see him and his trio headlining Mineral Area College's Carol Moore Memorial Jazz Festival. Hamilton will present a master class at noon and perform in the fest's evening concert, with the Mineral Area College Jazz Ensemble and the Mineral Area College Kicks Band opening.

Sunday, March 12
The St. Louis Jazz Club presents boogie-woogie and stride pianist Carl "Sonny" Leyland in a matinee concert at the Moolah Shrine Center; trumpeter Keith Moyer returns for a matinee performance at BB's Jazz. Blues & Soups; and the Ambassadors of Swing will be back to play at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

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.)

Big Sam's Funky Nation headlining Schlafly Tap Room festival on Saturday, March 11

New Orleans sensation Big Sam’s Funky Nation is returning to St. Louis to play at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, March 11 at the Schlafly Tap Room.

The free performance will be part of the Tap Room's annual Stout and Oyster Festival, and will cap a two-day event also featuring sets by the Funky Butt Brass Band and others.

Led by trombonist "Big Sam" Williams, the Funky Nation (pictured) has been visiting St. Louis at fairly regular intervals in recent years, and last performed here in August 2016 at the Broadway Oyster Bar. Shortly before that show, they were named “Best Band In New Orleans” by the local magazine Where Y’At in the publication's 19th annual writer’s poll.

Williams, a great-grandson of legendary New Orleans cornetist Buddy Bolden, previously played with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and with famed singer/songwriter and pianist Allen Toussaint, and from 2010 to 2013 also had a recurring role on the HBO series Treme. 

You can check out some videos of Big Sam's Funky Nation in action via this post that ran on StLJN before their last gig here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby recently took part in a "Before and After" listening session for Jazz Times magazine, published in their June issue and now available online. Osby last week also sat in with the Dave Matthews Band as they began their summer tour with a show in Camden, NJ.

* Trumpeter Keyon Harrold co-wrote, produced, and is featured along with hip-hop emcee Common and singers Gregory Porter and Andrea Pizziconi on "Running (Refugee Song)," a new single aimed at raising funds and awareness of the plight of more than 60 million displaced persons around the world.

* Saxophonist Harvey Lockhart has been named "Arts Educator of the Year" as part of the annual St. Louis Arts Awards presented by the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis. Lockhart is being lauded for his work as director of bands and performing arts with the Riverview Gardens school district, and for forming and directing the North County Big Band, a jazz group based at the Sheldon Concert Hall that includes students from several area high schools.

* A photo set from last Saturday's Chesterfield Jazz Festival has been posted to Facebook.

* Also now online: a Flickr gallery of pics from last Thursday's edition of the Bruxism experimental music series at the Schlafly Tap Room.

* Guitarist Horace Bray, a St. Louis native and alumni of Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program who recently released his debut album, was profiled by Aarik Daneilsen of the Columbia Daily Tribune.

* The Grand Center district, home to jazz venues including Jazz at the Bistro, the Sheldon Concert Hall, The Dark Room, and the Kranzberg Arts Center, was featured in a special edition of KETC's program Living St. Louis.

* Local NBC affiliate KSDK reported this week that the late blues pianist Johnnie Johnson (pictured), whose work with Chuck Berry helped define the sound of early rock & roll, will receive a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for his service in World War II with the Montford Point Marines, an all-African-American unit that integrated the Marine Corps.

Jazz this week: Ronnie Burrage, a trio of local festivals, Fred Lonberg-Holm, and more

It's another busy weekend for live jazz and creative music in and around the St. Louis area, with homecoming visits from a couple of distinguished expats, local festivals taking place in three different parts of the metro area, a performance from a notable participant in Chicago's thriving improvised music scene, and more.  Let's go to the highlights...

Thursday, June 25 
The Gateway City Big Band plays a free outdoor concert at Chesterfield Amphitheater, and the Tavern of Fine Arts presents their monthly "Experimental Arts Open Improv Night," this month featuring live improvised music performed with video art.

Also on Thursday, singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Tom Byrne perform at Thurman Grill; and yr. humble StLJN editor also has been meaning to mention that there's now an open jam session every other Thursday at The Night Owl, the bar upstairs above the vegetarian restaurant Tree House, 3177 S Grand Blvd.

Friday, June 26
Drummer and U. City native Ronnie Burrage, who's currently living in Pennsylvania, will be back home for a weekend of performances at Voce, 212 S. Tucker. Burrage (pictured, top left) will lead a small group with guitarist Eric Slaughter, bassist Nathan Pence and singer Kendra Mahr, plus trumpeter Danny Campbell on Friday, and Jeff Anderson on tenor sax on Saturday. For more about Burrage and some video samples of him performing, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, the annual Wine, Dine & Jazz Festival, held in the public square in downtown Belleville, kicks off its first night with sets from trumpeter Jim Manley, the Usual Suspects, and singer Anita Rosamond. Saturday's lineup will feature saxophonist Jim Stevens, trumpeter and singer Dawn Weber (pictured, center left), the Christian blues band Kingdom Brothers, and Soul Cafe.

Elsewhere around town, Tavern of Fine Arts will host "Soliloquy II," a program of solo and duo improvised performances featuring cellist Tracy Andreotti, percussionist Henry Claude, violinist Alex Cunningham, pianist Greg Mills, saxophonist Dave Stone, and flute player Fred Tompkins. 

A bit further south, pianist and singer Carol Schmidt, multi-instrumentalist and singer Michele Isam, and singers Debbie Schuster and Katie McGrath team up to perform as "Women Under the Influence" at Soulard Preservation Hall, 1921 South Ninth St.

And back in midtown at Grand Center, Jazz at the Bistro is trying something a bit different this weekend, on Friday pairing a group of local burlesque dancers billed as the Randy Dandies with live music from the Funky Butt Brass Band for "Babes in Brassland." A similarly themed program titled "Tassles 'n Tunes," with music from Tommy Halloran’s Guerrilla Swing, is set for Saturday night.

Saturday, June 27
The Miles Davis Jazz Festival celebrates its tenth year with performances from drummer Montez Coleman's trio, trumpeter Danny Campbell's quartet, and saxophonist Fred Walker at the Jacoby Arts Center in Alton.

Also on Saturday, Chicago-based cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm will be in town to headline a show at the Schlafly Tap Room. Lonberg-Holm, who's collaborated with well-regarded improvisors such as Ken Vandermark, Joe McPhee, and Peter Brötzmann, will perform in a duo with percussionist Ståle Liavik Solberg. The Vernacular String Trio and DJ Ghost Ice also are on the bill.

Saturday also is the day for this year's edition of the Chesterfield Jazz Festival, a free event at the Chesterfield Amphitheater that will feature a headlining performance from saxophonist and St. Louis native Eric Person, backed by pianist Ptah Williams, bassist Darrell Mixon and drummer Gary Sykes, plus sets from Bach to the Future, singer Feyza Eren, bassist Bob DeBoo, and singer Tony Viviano.

Elsewhere around town, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will return to the Venice Cafe; Miss Jubilee performs for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; and singer Eve Seltzer and band will host a late-night jam session at Evangeline's.

Sunday, June 28
The summer edition of the St. Louis Record Collector and CD Show will take place at the American Czech Hall, 4690 Lansdowne (at Kingshighway).

Also on Sunday, Ronnie Burrage leads his RoBu Big Band in a matinee performance at Voce. The ensemble will feature Danny Campbell and Jeff Anderson from the drummer's small-group shows, along with saxophonists Chad Evans, Jerome "JDubz" Williams, Stanley Coleman, and Willie Akins; pianist Ptah Williams; bassist Darrell Mixon; percussionist Henry Claude; singer Charisse Swan, and other special guests.

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

* Saxquest has posted to their Facebook page a photo album from last Saturday's workshop and performance featuring saxophonist Frank Catalano.

* The Schlafly St. Louis Brewery and Tap Room downtown has expanded its performing space and likely will be presenting more live music, according to this article from the RFT's Mabel Suen.

* Writing for the St. Louis Beacon, Terry Perkins previews this Sunday's performance by the Tony Suggs/Montez Coleman quartet at the Bistro at Grand Center. 

* This week's performance by saxophonist David Sanborn and keyboardist Bob James (pictured) at the London Jazz Festival was reviewed by London Jazz News.

* Seven of saxophonist Oliver Lake's albums for the Black Saint and Soul Note labels have been remastered and reissued as a new CD box set.

* There's still time to vote in Jazz Times' magazine's annual readers poll; balloting ends on Tuesday, December 3.

* Jazz radio update: For this Saturday's edition of "Somethin' Else" on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, host Calvin Wilson will spin tracks featuring collaborations between Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, including a live recording from a Thanksgiving weekend concert in the 1950s. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

(Edited after posting to add the St. Louis Beacon link.)

Ahleuchatistas headlining "Wrong Division" anniversary on Saturday, September 28 at Schlafly Tap Room

The experimental music duo Ahleuchatistas (pictured) will headline a free, all-ages show celebrating the fifth anniversary of KDHX's "Wrong Division" program at 9:00 p.m. Saturday, September 28 at the Schlafly St. Louis Brewery and Tap Room. Also on the bill will be Yowie, Gnarwhal and Good Luck at the Hog Slaughter.

Described as a "math rock duo that mix influences of jazz, progressive rock, avant-garde, and experimental," Ahleuchatistas - a.k.a. guitarist Shane Perlowin and drummer Ryan Oslance - first came together in 2002 in Asheville, NC. They've released seven albums in total, the last three for the noted avant label Cuneiform Records, including 2012's Heads Full of Poison.

Originally known as "Spazztick Radio" when it debuted in August 2008, "Wrong Division" airs weekly on KDHX (88.1 FM) from 1:00 a.m to 3:00 a.m. Fridays, and features "experimental music, abrasive punk and weirdo hardcore." "Wrong Division" hosts Mabel and Joe also have a blog by the same name that tracks upcoming St. Louis shows in those genres.

Jazz this week: James Carter Organ Trio, Ozomatli, TSIGOTI, Willerm Delisfort, Stephanie Trick, and more

Though the biggest jazz name in St. Louis this weekend is a saxophonist, it's also a good week to hear some piano players, with four different events featuring talented pianists working in styles ranging from ragtime and stride to swing, bop and blues to free-form and experimental. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, saxophonist James Carter's Organ Trio begins a four-night run at Jazz at the Bistro. A versatile performer with a wide stylistic range and serious chops on a half-dozen different horns, Carter (pictured) also will give a free clinic/masterclass this Saturday at Saxquest. For more about Carter and some video of his organ trio in action, see this post from last Saturday.

Also tonight, the experimentally minded pianist Thollem McDonas will do a solo concert at Luminary Center for the Arts, 4900 Reber Place on the south side. This show was a late addition for McDonas, who's back in town primarily for a performance Thursday with the band TSIGOTI at the Schlafly Tap Room downtown. Described by their label ESP-Disk as "an international band combining revolutionary politics and intelligent semi-acoustic avant-punk," TSIGOTI are touring in support of their latest CD, Private Poverty Speaks to the People of the Party.

On Friday, the Latin/funk/jazz/hip-hop band Ozomatli plays at Blueberry Hill. Originally scheduled for Powell Symphony Hall as a collaboration with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, the show last week was moved to Blueberry Hill for reasons that still are unexplained. The performance was announced as a sellout earlier today - no big surprise considering the relative capacities of the two venues - but it's possible some ticket brokers may still have seats, or you can always try your luck at the venue right before the gig me and hope for a cancellation, no-show, or to run across someone with extra tickets for sale.

Elsewhere on Friday, pianist Willerm Delisfort will play at Robbie's House of Jazz. A native of Miami, FL, Delisfort studied at Northern Illinois University, where the much-esteemed educator Ronald Carter heads the jazz program, and also is a protege of the fine Chicago pianist Willie Pickens. (Warning: Delisfort's website has one of those annoying Flash interfaces that launches another window and autoplays music as soon as it loads. Fortunately, the music sounds pretty good, but those with finicky browsers should be wary.)

On Sunday afternoon, the husband-and-wife team of pianist Reggie Thomas and singer Mardra Thomas will do a free concert titled "Your Blues Ain't Like Mine" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday pianist Stephanie Trick will perform in a "Notes From Home" event at the Sheldon Concert Hall. A 2009 graduate of the University of Chicago, Trick specializes in ragtime and pre-WWII jazz piano styles, and the examples of her playing available online show some impressive technique. Jazz broadcaster Don Wolff, who will MC Tuesday's concert, recently recorded an interview with Trick for his radio show, and you can hear it online here.

Also on Tuesday, the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club presents “Da-Dum-Dun,” a event honoring three world-class artists associated with East St. Louis. The tribute to jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, writer Henry Lee Dumas and dancer Katherine Dunham will include live jazz from saxophonist Kendrick Smith and pianist Brian Harrison; poetry from Redmond, Michael Castro, Roscoe Crenshaw, Byron Lee, Susan Lively, Patricia Merritt, Darlene Roy, Lena Weathers, Treasure Williams and Jaye Willis; dance from students at the SIUE-ESL Center for the Performing Arts; and what's being called a "multimodal exhibit." It starts at 6:00 p.m. in Room 2083 of Bldg. B on the SIUE-East St. Louis Higher Education Campus, 601 J.R. Thompson Dr.

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.)

TSIGOTI performing at the Tap Room on Thursday, May 13

Pianist Thollem McDonas is returning to St. Louis with his latest project, the band TSIGOTI (pictured), for a free concert at 8:00 p.m., Thursday, May 13 at the Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust downtown. The St. Louis band Magic City will open the show.

McDonas, who has performed in St. Louis several times in recent years as part of his seemingly non-stop touring, incorporates elements of free improvisation, classical music, jazz, rock and more into his solo work. TSIGOTI, signed to the famed free-jazz label ESP-Disk, is described as "a collaborative and improvisational quazi-punk band dedicated to expressing their opposition of war, authoritarian regimes, and violent religious extremes."

TSIGOTI's album Private Poverty Speaks To The People Of The Party was released in January, just after they wrapped up a tour of Italy. Besides McDonas on piano and vocals, TSIGOTI includes Jack Andrews (guitar), Ben Itchy (bass) and Andy Cap (drums).

(Edited 4/1/10 to correct band members' names.)