Jazz this week: Harry Connick Jr, Take 6, "A Very Manley Christmas" and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features one last round of holiday music performances, including shows from two noteworthy touring headliners, plus some local favorites.

Let's go to the highlights...


Wednesday, December 19
The Jazz St. Louis Big Band will present the final two performances this year of Ellington's "Nutcracker" at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Wednesday, Cabaret Project of St. Louis has their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club; and the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features the Jazz Troubadors at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, December 20
Pianist and singer Harry Connick Jr. (pictured, top left) celebrates this holidays New Orleans style at the Stifel Theatre; vocal group Take 6 teams up with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for the standing-room-only "A Gospel Christmas" at Powell Hall; and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher presents a "Rat Pack Christmas" at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Friday, 
December 21
Trumpeter Jim Manley (pictured, bottom left) and his Mad Brass and Rhythm band present "A Very Manley Christmas" for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday, singer Tony Viviano and band will perform seasonal favorites and more at  Table Three; keyboardist Owen Ragland's quintet plays at The Dark Room; and pianist Adam Maness' trio plus singer Malena Smith will be back at Sophie's Artist Lounge.

Saturday, December 22
Musicians including Webster Groves High School band director Kevin Cole, multi-instrumentalist Kevin Mitchell and friends will perform in a late-afternoon matinee benefit for the WGHS jazz band at Hwy 61 Roadhouse in Webster.

Saturday evening, piano and cello duo HämmerString plays at Evangeline's, and saxophonist Dave Stone and his trio will be at Thurman's in Shaw.

Sunday, December 23
Miss Jubilee performs for brunch at Evangeline's, while mandolinist Knez Jackovac and band are playing at The Dark Room.

Then on Sunday evening, there's one last chance for the year to hear some holiday-themed jazz, from singer Anita Jackson 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: Alicia Olatuja, jazz for Valentine's Day, and more

For the second consecutive week, the calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features performances by a local expat making a triumphant return home after earning national acclaim.

For more about that and the other jazz shows happening around town, let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, February 14
Singer Alicia Olatuja (pictured) performs for the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Known by her maiden name Alicia Miles while growing up in St. Louis, Olatuja has seen her career take off since she gained national attention in 2013 as a featured soloist at President Barack Obama's second inauguration.  With one solo album under her belt and another set for release later this year, she's not a household name yet, but her star definitely seems on the rise.

Olatuja was a featured guest last year during harmonica player Gregoire Maret's week at the Bistro, and she'll be back in a few weeks with drummer Ulysses Owens Jr's "Songs of Freedom" project, but this will be her debut performance as a headliner at the venue, so expect a good turnout from the hometown crowd. For more about Alicia Olatuja, plus some video samples of past live performances, see this post from last Saturday.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, singer Erin Bode will be doing two shows at Cyrano's; the Joe Bozzi Band plays at Evangeline's; and there are a number of other gigs happening specifically for Valentine's Day - see the St. Louis Jazz Notes calendar for the complete listings.

Thursday, February 15
Singer Tony Viviano will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Broadway Open Mic" at the Curtain Call Lounge; and bassist/singer Tonina Saputo's quartet is back at The Dark Room.

Friday, February 16
Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom, saxophonist Tim Cunningham is doing a special Valentine's-themed dinner-and-show at Troy's Jazz Gallery (advance reservations suggested), and saxophonist Kendrick Smith returns to Thurman's in Shaw.

Saturday, February 17
The Gaslight Squares will play an early afternoon show at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site's Rosebud Cafe as part of a new Saturday matinee concert series presented by the Friends of Scott Joplin.

At the dinner hour, check out pianist Ptah Williams playing at The Dark Room, and later in the evening, saxophonist Dave Stone trio's continues their weekly residency at Thurman's in Shaw.

Sunday, February 18
Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran will play for brunch at The Dark Room, while Miss Jubilee serenades the brunch crowd as Evangeline's.

Monday, February 19
Faculty members comprising the Webster University Jazz Collective will play a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster campus.

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 at Holmes series announces winter/spring 2018 concert schedule

The Jazz at Holmes series of concerts at Washington University has announced their schedule for the winter/spring semester of 2018.

Here's the entire lineup in chronological order:

Thursday, January 25: Richard Deja Quartet

Thursday, February 1: Freddie Washington/Tom Byrne Quartet
Thursday, February 8: Steve Davis Band
Thursday, February 15: Tony Viviano (pictured)
Thursday, February 22: Eileen G'Sell (poet) with Jay Oliver, William Lenihan & Steve Davis

Thursday, March 1: Kara Baldus-Mehrmann Trio
Thursday, March 8: "Women's Voices in Music" with Washington University student musicians & singers
Thursday, March 22: "52nd Street/To Be Or Not To Bop" with Randy Holmes Quintet & a pre-show lecture by Patrick Burke
Thursday, March 29: Washington University jazz studies students

Thursday, April 5: Brianna Black Band

All concerts are free and open to the public. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. and are presented in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, which is located on Washington University’s campus at the west end of the Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Jazz this week: Music for the dog days

Yes, it's officially the dog days of August, a time of year most identified with pervasive slacking off.

And though it'll be a few more weeks before the fall presenting season begins, bringing a variety of touring jazz and creative music performers to town, in the meantime St. Louis' own homegrown musicians still are out there working hard, week in and week out.

Here are some of the more noteworthy shows happening around town over the next few days...

Wednesday, August 3
Speaking of the fall presenting season, in a portent of things to come, New Music Circle will hold a "58th Season Kickoff and Fundraiser" at the Tick Tock Tavern, just down the street from the old KDHX studios on Magnolia Ave. The free event will feature music from DJs Josh Weinstein and Jeremy Kannapell, raffles of CDs, LPs, and other music-related items, and a first look at NMC's 2016-17 season.

Elsewhere around town, singer Tony Viviano is presenting a "90th Birthday Tribute to Tony Bennett" at  Patrick's Westport Grill, with singer Dawn Turlington along to duet on some of the material Bennett has recorded recently with pop diva Lady Gaga; and singer Joe Mancuso will close out this year's Whitaker Music Festival series of free concerts at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Thursday, August 4
Guitarist Dave Black and Friends, featuring singer Feyza Eren, return to Nathalie's, and pianist Ptah Williams and guitarist Eric Slaughter will continue their Thursday night residency at The Dark Room.

Friday, August 5
The Funky Butt Brass Band will play a free outdoor concert at Schroeder Park in Manchester, while flutist Oliver Nelson, Jr., the son of famed saxophonist, arranger and St. Louis native of the same name, will present a rare performance in his dad's hometown, playing a free concert at 370 Lakeside Park in St. Peters. The younger Nelson received his doctorate in music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earlier this year.

Also on Friday, singer, guitarist and former St. Louisan Javier Mendoza, now living in Nashville and known professionally as Hobo Cane, will be back in town to play with Javier Mendoza’s Estereotipo (pictured), aka the Javier Mendoza Latin Jazz Project, for the first of two nights of performances at Jazz at the Bistro.

Saturday, August 6
Trumpeter Jim Manley, guitarist Randy Bahr and their "All-Star Band" return to Nathalie's;  percussionist Herman Semidey and Orquesta Son Montuno will play Latin jazz, salsa and more at Club Viva; and Animal Children perform at The Dark Room.

Sunday, August 7
Miss Jubilee will provide music for the weekly jazz brunch at Evangeline's, and the Friends of Scott Joplin will present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site.

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 news items of local interest:

* Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran's new album State Streets was reviewed by the Riverfront Times' Christian Schaeffer.

* Composer and sound artist Chris Kallmyer, who's based in Los Angeles, created a piece of music this fall for the Pulitzer Arts Foundation that was performed with bells made from clay dug in the St. Louis area, and now you can hear a recording of that composition via a report from St. Louis Public Radio.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake has posted to Facebook a set of photos from his gig with bassist William Parker and drummer Dieter Ulrich last week in Luzern, Switzerland.

* A recent workshop and perofrmance by drummer Dave Weckl (pictured) in Dubai was the subject of a feature story in the Khaleej Times (via Yahoo News).

* Singer Tony Viviano was interviewed about his Frank Sinatra 100th birthday tribute show tonight by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* St. Louis-based Entertainment Cruise Productions announced the debut of The Contemporary Jazz Cruise, a luxury full-ship charter that will feature performances by Pat Metheny, Marcus Miller, Terence Blanchard, Gregory Porter, Dianne Reeves, Joshua Redman, Robert Glasper Trio, Chucho Valdes, The Bad Plus, Lalah Hathaway, Marcus Miller, Candy Dulfer, and more.

The cruise aboard the ship Celebrity Summit will sail February 4-11, 2017 from Ft Lauderdale, traveling to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.

* KDHX has added to their website a page collecting their reviews, photos, and other coverage of St. Louis cabaret performances.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Singer Tony Viviano visited the podcast A Concert Pitch to talk about his show celebrating the 100th birthday of Frank Sinatra next Friday, December 11 at Patrick's Westport Grill.

* Miss Jubilee's show tonight at the Wildey Theatre was previewed by EdGlen.com.

* A featured by Tim Bryant in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at what the National Blues Museum will offer to visitors when it opens downtown in April.

* Saxophonist Jim Stevens (pictured) will be playing with some big names this Sunday in southern California, as keyboardist and Metro East native David Garfield has invited him to take part in the 18th annual memorial concert for drummer Carlos Vega at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, CA. The lineup for the show features a number of nationally and internationally known musicians, including bassist Will Lee, drummer Steve Ferrone, ex-Steely Dan guitarist Denny Dias, singer Alex Ligertwood, and more.

* In a story that broke last week just after this column went online, the city of St. Louis has canceled its contract with Los Angeles-based production company International Creative Management granting exclusive rights for up to ten years to oversee a series of outdoor rock, pop, and country concerts in downtown St. Louis. The city now is seeking potential local producers for new events in 2016 and beyond.

* Genesis Jazz Project reports that their performance last week benefiting the local food bank Circle of Concern raised more than $350 in cash and collected nearly 400 food items for the charity.

* The Baylor Project, featuring drummer and St. Louis native Marcus Baylor and his wife, singer Jean Baylor, will make their Boston debut next Thursday, December 10 at Sculler's Jazz Club. The band also features pianist Sullivan Fortner, bassist Eric Wheeler, and saxophonist Keith Loftis.

* Former bandleader and broadcaster Carlos "Buddy" Moreno has died. He was 103 years old, and lived at Delmar Gardens North assisted living facility. A native of Los Angeles, Moreno began his career during the Great Depression, working with bands led by Griff Williams, Dick Jurgens (with whom he recorded "one Dozen Roses," a number one hit in 1942) and Harry James before forming his own big band in 1944.

Moreno moved to St. Louis in the 1950s to lead the house band at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, and also directed orchestras at the Fox Theatre and the Muny. He subsequently got into broadcasting, hosting The Buddy Moreno Show on local CBS affiliate KMOX-TV (now KMOV) and appearing on radio stations WIL-FM, WEW, and WSIE, where he hosted a weekly program playing big band music until 2005.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Jazz St. Louis' observance of today's "National Donut Day" holiday was the subject of a feature story on Fox 2/KTVI's morning newscast.

* Multi-instrumentalist Adam Maness and guitarist Tim Fischer have formed the First Tuesday Composers Club "to give an outlet for professional and amateur musicians and composers to experiment and share new music".

The "informal, open" group will meet monthly at The Dark Room in Grand Center, with the first session scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 7.

* The soundtrack from the Clark Terry documentary Keep On Keepin' On will be released as as a double vinyl album on June 23. Promo materials for the two-LP set call it "basically a Best Of collection from legendary trumpet player Clark Terry (that) features many of his most iconic recordings, including his performances with some of the all-time jazz greats: Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Count Basie, and Quincy Jones."

* East St. Louis' own Terreon Gully (pictured) drums and gets a co-producer credit on vibraphonist Joe Locke's latest album Love Is A Pendulum, released last week by Motéma Music. The recording features all original compositions by Locke, performed with help from Gully, Robert Rodriguez (piano), and Ricky Rodriguez (bass), plus special guests Rosario Giuliani (alto/soprano sax), Donny McCaslin (tenor sax), Victor Provost (steel pan), Theo Bleckmann (voice), and Paul Bollenback (guitar).

* The recently formed STL Free Jazz Collective has set up a BandCamp page with a free-to-download live album recorded at Tavern of Fine Arts. The group also has posted on YouTube a short promotional video with some live footage from ToFA.

* In a new blog post, saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby shares some responses to a post from last fall about how jazz critics might benefit from a greater knowledge of the day-to-day life of working musicians.

* The Route 66 Jazz Orchestra has posted on Facebook a photo album from their performance Wednesday night at Jazz at the Bistro. Also on Facebook, photo albums from the North County Big Band on Sunday at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and a recent Sound Unlimited show at Candicci's

* First Capitol News offered some impressions of singer Tony Viviano's recent Bobby Darin tribute show at Patrick's in Westport.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's program “Somethin’ Else” will celebrate 80 years since the birth of soulful guitarist and St. Louis native Grant Green by showcasing some of Green's finest recordings, including tracks from his quartet with pianist Sonny Clark.

After that, "The Jazz Collective" and host Jason Church return with a new program featuring tunes from Craig Sharmat, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Fagen, Joshua Redman, Bob James, Maxwell, Down To The Bone, Big Brother Thunder & The MasterBlasters, The Brian Vaccaro Trio, Dawn Weber and Feyza Eren.

"Somethin' Else" airs at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by "The Jazz Collective" at 9:00 p.m., on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Then on Sunday, Dennis Owsley's "Jazz Unlimited" program on St. Louis Public Radio will present “West Coast Jazz-Part 1,” with music from Dave Brubeck, Wardell Gray, Hampton Hawes, Stan Kenton Orchestra, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Shelly Manne, Shorty Rogers, Bud Shank, Laurindo Almeida, Russ Freeman, Milt Bernhart, Jack Montrose, Clifford Brown & Max Roach, Teddy Edwards, Carl Perkins, Russ Freeman, Jack Sheldon, Bob Cooper, Claude Williamson, Dexter Gordon, John Graas, Bill Perkins, Marty Paich, Andre Previn, Art Pepper, and more.

You can listen in from 9:00 pm to midnight Sundays on KWMU (90.7 FM) and online at http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org.

Jazz this week: New Year's Eve and more

While the usual holiday-season dearth of touring jazz acts continues, St. Louis' own jazz and creative musicians nevertheless will be taking to local stages this week to celebrate New Year's Eve and subsequently usher in the first weekend of 2015. Here's what's on the schedule...

Wednesday, December 31
The annual First Night St. Louis will feature several bands and musicians of interest to StLJN readers, including both trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's quartet and pianist/singer Jesse Gannon at the Kranzberg Arts Center; the Funky Butt Brass Band at Sheldon Concert Hall; bassist Bob DeBoo & Friends at St. Xavier College Church (at Grand and Lindell); and The People's Key playing music from their "Jazz Memories of Michael Jackson" show at Third Baptist Church.

Unfortunately, these sets are timed and spaced so that it will be difficult to catch more than two of them during the evening, but of course, First Night also offers a variety of other performances and activities as part of the package. For details, see the event program on their website.

Elsewhere around town on New Year's Eve, singer Tony Viviano will return to the Four Seasons Wine House in Chesterfield; Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will play the "1920s Bootlegger's VooDoo Ball" at Evangeline's in the Central West End; and singer Erin Bode will do two shows at Cyrano's in Webster Groves.

Also, the St. Louis Big Band will perform for a dinner and dance at St. Matthias the Apostle Catholic Church, 800 Buckley Rd in South County; trumpeter Randy Holmes' quintet will share a bill with singers Ron Wilkinson and Mary Dyson and their band at Voce downtown; and trumpeter Jim Manley and keyboardist Arthur Toney will duet at Riverbend, which recently relocated to the space formerly occupied by Harvest at 1059 S. Big Bend Blvd in Richmond Heights.

Friday, January 2
Though perhaps still nursing hangovers, assessing damage, and/or attempting to settle assorted legal disputes and moral conundrums arising in the aftermath of their annual "Holiday Brasstravanganza," the Funky Butt Brass Band, showbiz troopers that they are, will check in for the first of two nights of semi-organized revelry at Jazz at the Bistro.

Also on Friday, singer Wendy Gordon will perform her last monthly gig at DeLeo's Cafe & Deli, which is closing at the end of January; and Lindy Hop St. Louis will present their monthly "West End Stomp" swing dance at the Mahler Ballroom.

Saturday, January 3
The Sidemen will play swing and hot jazz at Evangeline's, while keyboardist Matt Villinger will enlist some old friends including vibraphonist Peter Schlamb for a "Cool Jazz Party" at Thurman Grill.

Also on Saturday, David Parker and Greg Mills' Society for Creative Survival presents "T 4 tú," an evening of duo performances at the Tavern of Fine Arts featuring Mills, Parker, Tracy Andreotti, Henry Claude, Ajay Khanna, Dave Stone, Fred Tompkins, and Joshua Weinstein.

Sunday, January 4
Singer and guitarist Tommy Halloran takes over the musical duties for the weekly Sunday brunch at Jazz at the Bistrountil further notice; and then later in the day, the Dave Dickey Big Band will return for the second gig in their new monthly series at the Bistro, with the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble performing at intermission.

With both month-end and year-end fast approaching, StLJN HQ still is receiving info from musicians and venues about upcoming gigs in January, so for more jazz-related events in and around St. Louis, please check back and 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.)

A guide to holiday jazz in St. Louis

Along with parties and presents, the holidays always include plenty of seasonal music, and if you're the sort who likes some jazz with your jingle bells, you'll have plenty of choices this month in St. Louis.

Here's a quick look at some noteworthy holiday shows from local and visiting jazz musicians, listed in chronological order:

Wednesday, December 3 - Saturday, December 6
Joey DeFrancesco Trio - "Home for the Holidays"
7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Jazz at the Bistro
$35 Wednesday & Thursday, $40 Friday & Saturday
The organist's return to the Bistro coincides with the release of Home For The Holidays, a new album of seasonal material, and he'll be incorporating selections from it into his show.

Saturday, December 6
Oikos Ensemble - "What Child is This? A Jazz Nativity"
3:00 p.m., First Congregational Church, 10 W Lockwood Ave., 63119
Free
This year's holiday program from saxophonist Rev. Cliff Aerie and friends will be performed at three different locations over two weekends.

Sunday, December 7
Funky Butt Brass Band - "A Funky Butt Holiday Concert" with the St. Louis Community College-Meramec Orchestra, Symphonic Band and Concert Choir
3:00 p.m., Meramec Theatre, St Louis Community College-Meramec
Free
St. Louis' favorite New Orleans-style brass band teams up with three different ensembles from StLCC-Meramec.

Oikos Ensemble - "What Child is This? A Jazz Nativity"
3:00 p.m., Parkway United Church of Christ, 2841 N Ballas Rd, 63131
Free

UMSL's Jazz for the Holidays with the UMSL Jazz Ensemble, Vocal Point and University Orchestra
3:00 p.m., Touhill Performing Arts Center
Free
This annual presentation showcases three of UMSL's student ensembles.

"A Common Time Christmas" with Joe Mancuso, Michelle Knollhoff, and more
5:00 p.m., The Duck Room at Blueberry Hill
$15
Jazz-fusion band with guest vocalists offers their take on holiday songs.

Dave Dickey Big Band and Webster Groves H.S. Jazz Band 1 - "Big Band Christmas"
6:00 p.m., Jazz at the Bistro
$15 adults, $5 students
This month's gig by the DDBB features original big band arrangements of holiday favorites

Erin Bode - "Christmas Jazz and Dessert Concert"
6:00 p.m., Third Baptist Church, 620 N. Grand
$18
Bode and her band will perform holiday favorites, both traditional and original. Admission price includes beverage and dessert.

Monday, December 8
Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O
7:30 p.m., Joe's Cafe
$20 adults, $8 students and "struggling music supporters"
The versatile drummer and friends reprise some of the music from their 2010 holiday album.

Friday, December 12
Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O with Webster Groves HS Jazz Big Bands
7:00 p.m., Webster Groves HS Auditorium, 100 Selma Ave, 63119
$10 general admission
Culminating a week-long residency, Wilson and the Tree-O this time will be supported by big band arrangements performed by student musicians from WGHS.

Friday December 12 & Saturday, December 13
Jim Manley’s Mad Brass & Rhythm - "A Very Manley Christmas"
7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Jazz at the Bistro
$25 adults, $10 students
One of St. Louis' favorite trumpeters and his seven-piece band "bring you holiday cheer."

Saturday, December 13
Oikos Ensemble - "What Child is This? A Jazz Nativity"
3:00 p.m., St. Paul United Church of Christ, 115 West B Street, Belleville, 62220
Free

Kevin Mitchell 4 Christmas Show
7:00 p.m., Evangeline's
No cover charge
Jazz-pop combo serves up "martini music" with a sprig of mistletoe.

Thursday, December 18
Tony Viviano - "Christmas in St. Louis"
6:30 p.m., Four Seasons Wine House
$50 (includes buffet dinner and show)
Sinatra-inspired singer celebrates the holidays Italian-American style.

Friday, December 19 and Saturday, December 20
Funky Butt Brass Band Holiday Brasstravaganza
9:00 p.m., Off Broadway
General admission $15 advance, $18 DOS; reserved balcony seating $25 advance, $28 DOS; plus $3 surcharge for minors
Now in its sixth year, the FBBB's annual holiday show has grown too popular to be contained in just one night.

Monday, December 22 and Tuesday, December 23
Jazz St. Louis Big Band plays Duke Ellington’s “Nutcracker”
7:30 p.m., Jazz at the Bistro
$25 adults, $10 students
A big band featuring mostly SIUE grads turned local pros performs Ellington's re-imagining of Tchaikovsky's classic, plus favorites from the Duke's vast catalog.

Do you know of any holiday jazz shows in St. Louis that we missed? If so, please share the relevant info in the comments.

(Edited 12/5/14 to add the Erin Bode event.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard's Champion, which premiered last summer at Opera Theatre St. Louis, has been named a finalist in the "World Premiere" category of the 2014 Opera Awards. Blanchard is back in St. Louis this weekend to perform on Saturday night at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

* Jazz St. Louis' Gene Dobbs Bradford and Bob Bennett described their favorite releases from the late Richard McDonnell's MAXJAZZ label for an article by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

* Bassist Christian McBride's trio shows next week at Jazz at the Bistro are previewed in a Post-Dispatch article by Terry Perkins.

* The "Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60" tour, which features an all-star band including St. Louis' Peter Martin on piano, kicked off this past week with dates in Atlanta and Boston. The tour will play a total of 17 cities, ending here in St. Louis on Sunday, March 30 at The Sheldon. The band (pictured, from left) is comprised of singer Karrin Allyson, drummer Clarence Penn, bassist Larry Grenadier, clarinetist/saxophonist and musical director Anat Cohen, guitarist Mark Whitfield, trumpeter Randy Brecker, and Martin.

* St. Louis record stores Vintage Vinyl, Euclid Records and Record Exchange all got shout-outs in a recent post from the blog Vinyl Record Collector.

* Greg Osby, in conjunction with St. Louis retailer Saxquest, has put online a series of videos in which he demonstrates his new signature alto sax by P. Mauriat.

* Singer Tony Viviano makes an appearance at the end of a promotional video released this week by StL 250, the organization coordinating this year's celebration of St. Louis' 250th birthday.

* NPR this week had a story about how one difficult night for Miles Davis and his mid-1960s quintet resulted in two classic albums.

* In more Davis-related news, the legendary trumpeter is one a number of entertainment and sports figures whose portraits are featured in "American Cool," a new exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.

* Meanwhile, Miles Davis Online's Jeff Hyatt takes another look at the official Davis website, and still finds room for improvement.

* Online retailer Sheet Music Plus is offering a 20% discount on all Mel Bay products through next Tuesday, February 18. (When you use the link provided, StLJN gets a small commission on the sale.)

* Jazz radio update:  On this Saturday's episode of Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' "Somethin' Else," host Calvin Wilson spotlights contemporary jazz musicians based in New York City, including trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, violinist Jenny Scheinman and the trio Dawn of Midi.

Right after that, Jason Church's "The Jazz Collective," will feature a musical menu including tracks by Down To The Bone, Average White Band, Brian Bromberg, Cindy Bradley, Jeremy Davenport, Miles Davis, Al Caldwell, Tracy Heaston, Robert Silverman, and Dawn Weber.

Wilson's program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays, followed by Church at 9:00 p.m., via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.      

(Edited after posting.)

Jazz this week: Holiday jazz continues, Doug Lawrence, St. Louis Rivermen, and more

The rush to the holidays is on, and if you're looking for some seasonal jazz this weekend in St. Louis, there's plenty to be had, along with an assortment of other jazz and creative music events. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, there's a trifecta of big band shows, as the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra plays at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company; the St. Charles Community College Jazz Big Band and Jazz Faculty Sextet perform a free concert at the Shook Fine Arts Building on the SCC campus, and the new Jazz St. Louis Big Band will offer a program centered on Duke Ellington's "Nutcracker Suite" in a sold-out show at Jazz at the Bistro.

Tomorrow, Jazz St. Louis' JazzU student ensemble will play for early evening shoppers at Whole Foods Market in Brentwood, and multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman will share some of his harmonica knowledge in another workshop at Mozingo Music.

On Friday, the parade of holiday-themed shows continues as the Latin jazz group Musica Slesa returns to Jazz at the Bistro for the first of two nights of a "Feliz Navidad" celebration. Also in keeping with the holiday theme, the Webster Groves High School Jazz Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra will present a free performance of Ellington's "Nutcracker Suite" and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker at the St. Louis Art Museum.

Elsewhere around town on Friday, singer Tony Viviano pays tribute to Frank Sinatra's birthday at the Four Seasons Winery in Chesterfield; singer Joe Mancuso and guitarist Dave Black will duet at the Tavern of Fine Arts; and vocal group Java Jived takes the stage at Robbie's House of Jazz. On the instrumental side, the St. Louis Big Band will play for dancers at Casa Loma Ballroom, pianist Ptah Williams leads a trio at Cigar Inn, and guitarist Tom Byrne will mix holiday songs with music from Pat Metheny at the house concert venue KindaBlue.

On Saturday afternoon, the veteran saxophonist Doug Lawrence will be in town for a free performance and workshop at Saxquest. Lawrence (pictured) currently is the featured tenor saxophonist with the Count Basie Orchestra, and has an extensive list of credits that includes work with Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Roy Eldridge, Buck Clayton, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Wild Bill Davis, Hank Jones, Mel Lewis, George Cables and many others.

On Saturday evening, Three Central will perform in a holiday concert at Blessed Hope Bible Church; violinist David McNair leads a quartet at Robbie's House of Jazz, and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to the Venice Cafe.

On Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club will present their final concert of the year, featuring traditional jazz from the St. Louis Rivermen at the Doubletree Hotel in Westport.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the eclectic acoustic music group The 442s will be at the Tavern of Fine Arts, and the Sessions Big Band will play at BB's Jazz, Blues & 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.)

Jazz this week: Jazz on New Year's Eve, and more

For whatever reasons, in recent years New Year's Eve has not been a particularly good time to hear jazz in St. Louis, and once again NYE 2008 looks to be an evening of relatively few options for jazz aficionados.

If you're looking to have dinner and drinks and hear a band play some straight-up instrumental jazz, the best possibilities might very well be a couple of regular weekly gigs that this year just happen to fall on NYE - specifically, pianist Ptah Williams (pictured) and his group at Riddle's in University City, and Park Avenue Jazz at Hammerstone's in the Soulard neighborhood.

Beyond that, as mentioned earlier, while Jazz at the Bistro is closed for New Year's Eve, the annual First Night event in Grand Center will include a number of musicians of potential interest to jazz fans, such as Kim Massie, the Nuclear Percussion Ensemble, Farshid Etniko, Jeanne Trevor, El Caribe Tropical, and the Urban Groove Project. To see the complete schedule of First Night performances, go here (.pdf file).

If the indoor/outdoor, alcohol-free, family-friendly celebration is not your cup o' tea, a scan of local entertainment listings reveals a few more musical possibilities at places that don't regularly feature jazz. For example, singer Erin Bode and her band will be part of the New Year's Eve entertainment package at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront (the old Adam's Mark hotel), along with the Soulard Blues Band, 1970s folk-rockers Brewer & Shipley, Steely Dan tribute band GrooveThang, and others.

Elsewhere in the city, Kim Massie will be doing an early set from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Van Goghz Martini Bar & Bistro, and the West End Grill and Pub will present what's being billed as a "New Orleans-style" event with music from the Louisiana-flavored funk/R&B/zydeco group Gumbohead.

Beyond the city limits, guitarist Todd Mosby will play solo at Bistro Alexander in Clayton; Tony Viviano will sing and swing at the Columns Banquet Center in St. Charles; and singer/pianist/saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum is one of a number of entertainers listed as performing at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis.

As for this weekend, Jazz at the the Bistro will remain closed until next Wednesday, January 6, when The Bad Plus begins a four-night run. Also, because of the holidays and the onset of a new month and new year, schedule information from other local clubs is still a bit sketchy, though we can say that Brandt's will feature Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum on Friday night, and other regular weekly gigs, such at saxophonist Dave Stone's trio at Mangia Italiano on Friday and saxophonist Willie Akins and his group at Spruill's on Saturday, should be happening as usual.

For the most timely information, you can check your fave venue's Web site directly - see the StLJN sidebar for a list of links - or consult the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar, where I'll be posting any new listings of jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond as they arrive.

(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: Acoustic Alchemy, Jazz at Holmes summer series, Tommy Money Orchestra, and more

Compared to some past years, it's been a relatively busy summer so far for jazz in St. Louis, but the activity level will be dropping a bit in the month of August, as it's the height of vacation season, and most of the not-for-profit presenters, concert series, university affiliated programs, and so on won't resume until the beginning of September.

Still, the cupboard is not entirely bare this weekend - for starters, the British smooth jazz group Acoustic Alchemy (pictured) will be in town tonight to do two sets at Finale Music and Dining, providing fans with the opportunity to see them up close in an intimate club setting.

Also tonight, Washington University's Jazz at Holmes summer series of free concerts continues with pianist Ptah Williams and singer Tony Viviano teaming up for a program focused on the music of Tony Bennett. At first consideration, this seems like an odd pairing - Williams is a hard-driving pianist with a distinctly modern, post-bop style, while Viviano is a genial crooner specializing in classic pop and tunes from the Great American Songbook. Then again, sometimes musicians with contrasting styles can draw each other into new places, and I certainly wouldn't put it past these two to find an interesting middle ground.

On Saturday, trumpeter Tommy Money will squeeze his big band onto the stage at Cookie's Jazz and More, which is reopening this weekend after a brief mid-summer vacation.

Other noteworthy gigs over the next several days include a troika of singers: Jeanne Trevor at Brandt's on Thursday; Debby Lennon doing a Cole Porter tribute at Finale on Saturday; and Mae "Lady Jazz" Wheeler in an early evening show at Brandt's on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, radio host, jazz historian, author and occasional StLJN co-conspirator Dennis Owsley continues his "Jazz Decades" series of broadcasts with a program featuring three house of music recorded in the years 1965-1969 by artists such as Albert Ayler, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, John Handy, Charles Lloyd and Anthony Braxton. To hear it, tune in to KWMU 90.7 FM from 9 p.m. to midnight, or catch the online stream at KWMU's Web site.

For a more extensive listing of local jazz performances, please consult the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar.

(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 at Holmes presenting summer concert series

Washington University's Jazz at Holmes concert series, which presents free jazz concerts in the University's Holmes Lounge during the school year, is also sponsoring a series of free shows this summer.

Pianist Curt Landes and guitarist/bassist/vocalist Vince Martin will perform from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. this coming Thursday, July 19, followed by the Randy Holmes Quartet on July 26, singer Tony Viviano and pianist Ptah Williams on August 2, and the Todd Mosby Group on August 9.

All concerts are free and open to the public and take place in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, except for the August 9 concert, which will be in Brookings Quadrangle.

(Note: The series actually started this past Thursday, July 12 with a show by Willie Akins. However, StLJN didn't receive notice of the concerts from Wash U until late Thursday night, when a news release Google Alert containing a University news release dated that morning arrived via email. While I'd hope to be able to offer information on future University events in advance, that depends largely on their ability and willingness, or lack of same, to distribute that information on a timely basis.)

(Edited 7/24/07 to correct the sourcing of the Wash U news release.)