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 this week: Kneebody, a tribute to Scott Joplin, "Sculptures in Sound," and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis offers a century-spanning variety of sounds, ranging from a tribute to legendary composer who helped lay the foundation for jazz to a group offering their own contemporary version of a musical melting pot.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 29
The eclectic electro-acoustic fusion quintet Kneebody performs for the first of four nights continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

The group (pictured, top left) is touring in support of their latest recording Anti-Hero, their eighth studio album, released earlier this month. For more about Kneebody, plus videos featuring performances of some of the music from Anti-Hero, see this post from Saturday before last.

Elsewhere in Grand Center, the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" proceeds with guitarist/singer Tommy Halloran at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe, Farshid Etniko at the Curtain Call Lounge, the jam session with bassist  Bob Deboo and friends at the Kranzberg Arts Center and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, the weekly jam session with pianist Curt Landes, bassist Glen Smith and drummer Chuck Kennedy continues at @Nesby's in South County.

Thursday, March 30
The Jazz at Holmes series presents a free concert by students from Washington University's jazz studies program; the Schlafly Tap Room hosts the March edition of the Bruxism experimental music series, this month featuring music from Ice, Catholic Guilt, and Beauty Pageant; and pianist Adam Maness' trio plays at Thurman's in Shaw.

Friday, March 31
Trumpeter Jim Manley returns to One 19 North Tapas and Wine Bar, and singer Tony Viviano will perform at @Nesby's.

Saturday, April 1
Paying tribute on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of Joplin's death, the Friends of Scott Joplin will present "Scott Joplin: A Centennial Reflection" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site.

The event will feature music by pianist John Reed-Torres (pictured, bottom left), members of the Confluence Chamber Orchestra, and vocalists from the University of Missouri St Louis, plus  speakers from UMSL's history department.

Saturday night, the St. Louis Artists' Guild's "Sculptures in Sound" series resumes with a concert from trumpeter Keith Moyer's quintet.

Sunday, April 2
The Friends of Scott Joplin continue their observance of the centennial of Joplin's death with their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, and the Jazz Troubadours will perform and host a jam session at Evangeline's.

Monday, April 3
Student from the jazz program at Webster University will present a free concert at Webster's Community Music School.

Tuesday, April 4
Singer Kim Fuller performs "A Tribute to Nancy Wilson" in the first of two late-morning "Coffee Concerts" - there's a second show on Wednesday morning - at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

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: Clayton Brothers Quintet, Nick Finzer, "Sculptures in Sound," and more

The news in St. Louis jazz and creative music this week is coming mostly from Grand Center, as the district rolls out an expanded version of their weekly Wednesday night "jazz crawl."

The first week includes a promising young musician making his St. Louis debut at a new venue for the event, the return of a popular group of seasoned jazz veterans to Jazz at the Bistro, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 1
The Clayton Brothers Quintet (pictured, top left) performs for the first of four nights continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

Led by bassist John Clayton and saxophonist Jeff Clayton, and also including John's son, the talented pianist Gerald Clayton, the CBQ offers a spirited update of the classic hard bop sound. For more about them, and some video samples of live performances, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, NYC-based trombonist Nick Finzer will make his St. Louis debut, helping inaugurate the expanded version of the Grand Center Jazz Crawl with a performance at the Curtain Call Lounge.

Finzer is touring in support of his "politically charged" third album Hear & Now, released in February on his label Outside in Music. His set at the Curtain Call officially marks that venue's addition to the expanded Jazz Crawl, which is adding Wednesday sets there from local (and some touring) bands and a weekly swing dance event hosted by Lindy Hop St. Louis at the newly reopened Grandel Theatre.

The event will continue to include weekly happy hour sets at KDHX's Magnolia Cafe, guitarist/singer Tommy Halloran playing this week; a jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's trio at The Dark Room, now officially re-located in the Grandel Theatre; and the free video simulcasts in Jazz St. Louis' first-floor lounge when there's live music at the Bistro.

Elsewhere around town, pianist Curt Landes, bassist Glen Smith and drummer Chuck Kennedy will be hosting their weekly Wednesday jam session at @Nesby's in South County.

Thursday, March 2
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents a free concert featuring vocalists Katie Greenberg,  a Wash U student, and R. Scott Bryan interpreting music from a number of rock and pop songwriters, backed by a group including keyboardist Jay Oliver and a string trio.

Friday, March 3
During the afternoon, trombonist and St. Louis native Michael Vlatkovich
will present an open rehearsal and masterclass at the St. Louis Artists' Guild in Clayton. (He'll perform at the same venue Saturday night; see below.)

That evening, saxophonist Harvey Lockhart (pictured, bottom left) has a new Friday happy hour gig weekly at The Dark Room; the Jazz Troubadours play at Thurman's in Shaw; and jazz/fusion band SpaceShip returns to The Abbey in Belleville.

Saturday, March 4
Michael Vlatkovich helps launch the new "Sculptures in Sound" series at the Artists' Guild, with some help from saxophonists Christopher Braig and Jay Hutson.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Cory Christiansen, who lived in St. Louis in the early 2000s while working for Mel Bay Publishing, returns for a public concert at Webster Groves High School.

Sunday, March 5
The St. Louis Record and CD Collector Show will hold their March event at the American Czech Educational Center, and the Friends of Scott Joplin present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe.

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 after posting to fix a typo.

"Sculptures in Sound" series launching Saturday, March 4 at St. Louis Artists' Guild

The St. Louis Artists' Guild has announced a new concert series of jazz and creative music called "Sculptures in Sound."

The series, curated by saxophonist and educator Christopher Braig, will begin with a concert featuring trombonist Michael Vlatkovich at 8:00 p.m. this Saturday, March 4 at the Artists' Guild, 12 N Jackson Ave in Clayton.

A St. Louis native who moved to Los Angeles in 1973, Vlatkovich (pictured) has toured extensively in the USA, Canada and Europe, and has worked as a collaborator and sideman with a variety of singers and instrumentalists, including Vinny Golia, Peggy Lee, Brian Setzer, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, Bryan Adams, Bobby Bradford, Gerry Hemingway, and Rob Blakeslee.

Though he's played jazz, rock, pop and world music, and can be heard on a number of film and TV soundtracks, Vlatkovich's own music emphasizes free improvisation, working in formats including solo performance, in a duo with poet Dorothea Grossman, and leading a trio or quartet.

For his St. Louis show, Vlatkovich will be joined by Braig and fellow St. Louis saxophonist Jay Hutson. And while he's here, the trombonist also will present a free, public open rehearsal and masterclass starting at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, March 3 at the Artists' Guild.

Subsequent concerts in the "Sculptures in Sound" series will feature performances by trumpeter Keith Moyer's quintet on Saturday, April 1, and Christopher Braig's Aboriginal Quartet with trumpeter Pat Harbison on Saturday, May 6.

Single tickets for any of the concerts in the series are $25 for general admission and a CD; $15 for general admission only; or $10 for students with ID, and can be purchased online or at the door. Series tickets are available for $40 for all three concerts, or $70 for three concerts plus three CDs.