Jazz this week: Fred Frith, "A Very Manley Christmas," The Motet, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the long-awaited return of an influential experimental guitarist, a whole bunch of holiday-themed shows, and more. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 11
The Jazz St. Louis Big Band will perform Duke Ellington's arrangements of Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker' plus more Ellington favorites at Jazz St. Louis, with one more performance on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Grand Center, the weekly "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" will feature Miss Jubilee at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session led by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and bassist Ben Wheeler's Sketchbook at The Dark Room.

Thursday, December 12
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University wraps up the semester with a free concert from the university's jazz combo students; singer Tony Viviano returns to Fallon's Grill & Tap; and saxophonist Kendrick Smith brings his trio to The Dark Room.

Friday, December 13
Trumpeter Jim Manley (pictured, center left) returns with his holiday show "A Very Manley Christmas" for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday, guitarist Dave Black and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman bring their "3rd Annual Holiday Show" to Focal Point, and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher reprises his "A Rat Pack Christmas" at Blue Strawberry

Elsewhere around town, the Second Generation Swing Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, and traditional jazz and swing band Annie and the Fur Trappers return to the Frisco Barroom.

Saturday, December 14
Guitarist Fred Frith (pictured, top left) will perform solo in a concert presented by New Music Circle at Joe's Cafe. He'll also present a free artist talk/workshop on Sunday afternoon at 14th Street Artist Community.

Frith has been an important voice in improvised music for nearly a half-century, bringing innovative guitar techniques to a variety of bands and collaborative projects. For a brief overview of his storied career, plus some videos of recent solo performances, take a look at this post from Saturday before last.

Also on Saturday, the Oikos Ensemble presents this year's edition of their annual "Jazz Noel" program in a matinee at Parkway United Church of Christ (with another performance on Sunday at First Congregational Church in Webster Groves); and Chicago pianist Paul Asaro, last seen here in November as part of the Nevermore Jazz Ball, headlines an evening at Casa Loma Ballroom.

Sunday, 
December 15
Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes are back to perform for brunch at the Angad Arts Hotel, while just across Grand, guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran will play at The Dark Room,

Then on Sunday night, Denver-based funk/jam band The Motet (pictured, bottom left) returns to the Old Rock House. After putting out their ninth album Death or Devotion in January, they've been doing shows all year to promote the release, including the current 30-date tour that brings them here.

Monday, December 16
Eclectic instrumental quintet The 442s and some special guests will perform in their annual "Holiday Spectacular" for the first of two nights at 560 Music Center.

Tuesday, December 17
Cabaret Project St. Louis presents a "gala holiday edition" of their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge.

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: The Motet, St. Louis Art Fair, Wendy Gordon's "Cafe Society" and more

As yr. StLJN editor is still recovering from a hand injury, this post is both a bit late and necessarily on the terse side. The good news is that, barring any unforeseen complications, I should be sufficiently recovered that things will be back to more-or-less normal around here in a week or two.

For now, better late than never, let's go to this week's live jazz and creative music highlights in and around St. Louis...

Friday, September 9
The St. Louis Art Fair begins its annual three-day run, with one of the entertainment stages devoted to local jazz acts booked with help from Jazz St. Louis; see the website fora complete schedule.

Also tonight, the Denver-based funk-jazz band The Motet (pictured, top left) returns for a performance at The Ready Room; the Coleman Hughes Project begins a two-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro; trumpeter Randy Holmes and his quintet offer a tribute to the music of Horace Silver at the Ozark Theatre; and guitarist Tom Byrne plays at Thurman's in Shaw, the new name for the recently renovated South Side spot formerly known as Thurman Grill and Provisions.

Saturday, September 10
LouFest, the two-day rock festival held this weekend in Forest Park, will feature the Preservation Hall Jazz Band as its token jazz act, performing on Saturday afternoon. (Also of potential interest: blues guitarist Buddy Guy's set on Sunday afternoon.)

Elsewhere on Saturday afternoon, the Twin Cities-based jump blues and swing band Davina and the Vagabonds will be in town for a matinee at the Blues City Deli.

On Saturday evening, the Midwest Jazz-tette will perform at Evangeline's; the Wire Pilots play at 1900 Park Creative Space; and the Funky Butt Brass Band will do their monthly show at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

Sunday, September 11
The St. Louis Record & CD Collector Show will present their Fall 2016 event at the American Czech Hall.

Also on Sunday, Wendy Gordon (pictured, bottom left) and a diverse lineup of local singers and musicians will present "Cafe Society: Where Entertainers Met," the latest installment in Gordon's annual "Jazz Heaven" series, at the Florissant Civic Center Theater.

Monday, September 12
Webster University's jazz faculty will present "A Tribute to Verve Records" at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

Tuesday, September 13
The St. Louis Legacy Ensemble, percussionist Joe Pastor's project that puts student jazz musicians and professionals side-by-side on stage, will perform as part of the "Notes From Home" series 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.)