Jazz this week: Trio Globo, Box Deserter Trio, Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, and more

After a veritable banquet of musical activity last week, the menu of jazz, improvisation and creative music this weekend in St. Louis is a bit shorter, but still offers some potentially tasty choices. Also notable in these recessionary times is the fact that the two touring attractions in town are both doing shows with no admission fees or cover charges, which is certainly good news for anyone who may have already spent their live music budget for the month. .

One of those touring groups is Trio Globo, featuring keyboardist/harmonica player Howard Levy, cellist Eugene Friesen and percussionist Glen Velez (pictured). They'll be in residency at St. Louis Community College-Meramec on Thursday and Friday, doing a series of free workshops and rehearsing during the day, and then closing things out with a free concert on Friday night in the Meramec Theatre on campus, accompanied by the Meramec orchestra and choir. For more on Trio Globo and a complete schedule of events, please see this post.

The other touring ensemble in question is the Box Deserter Trio, featuring pianist Thollem McDonas, saxophonist Skeeter Shelton, and bassist/multi-instrumentalist Joel Peterson. They're also performing on Thursday and Friday, doing a pair of free shows downtown at the Schlafly St. Louis Brewery and Tap Room. On Thursday, the opening acts will be the bands Holy! Holy! Holy! and Allgorithms, and on Friday, it's poet K. Curtis Lyle with multi-instrumentalist David A.N. Jackson and bassist and mbira player Zimbabwe Nkenya.

This is also the weekend when the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, the ensemble featuring the top students from JSL's educational programs, does their annual gig at Jazz at the Bistro. They'll be on stage for two sets a night on Friday and Saturday, showing off what they've learned over the past year of rehearsing, performing, workshopping with visiting artists including Greg Osby and Bruce Barth, and studying with their regular instructors, trumpeter Anthony Wiggins and pianist/JSL education director Phil Dunlap.

UPDATE - 4/23/09, 12:10 p.m.: Drummer T. S. Monk, son of the legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, is also in the St. Louis area this weekend, performing with his sextet on Saturday night at SIU-Edwardsville as part of the University's Arts and Issues series. Tickets are $27 for general admission, $12 for students, and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Meridian Ballroom of the Morris University Center.

Elsewhere this weekend, the St. Louis Jazz Cafe has smooth jazz saxophonists Readus Miller on Thursday and Michael Anthony Fitzgerald on Friday, then singer Danita Mumphard on Saturday night and the Usual Suspects Duo for Sunday brunch. On Sunday, Bud Shultz and the You Can't Beat Experience Jazz Band will offer their monthly session of traditional jazz at the Alton VFW hall, and on Tuesday, neo-swing group Swing DeVille will play at The Gramophone/

As always, these are just some of the noteworthy shows happening around St. Louis over the next few days. To see more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, please visit 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.)

Trio Globo to give free concerts, workshops on April 23 & 24 at SLCC-Meramec

Trio Globo (pictured), the eclectic jazz/folk/classical/world music band that includes (from left) cellist Eugene Friesen, multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy, and percussionist Glen Velez, will be in St. Louis next week on Thursday, April 23 and Friday, April 24 for a residency at St. Louis Community College-Meramec.

Levy, Friesen and Velez will take part in two days of workshops and concerts, all of which are free and open to the public. The residency will culminate with a concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Meramec Theatre featuring Trio Globo with the Meramec Orchestra and Choir and other Meramec Arts students.

Levy was the keyboard and harmonica player in the original lineup of Bela Fleck's Flecktones, who share with Trio Globo a proclivity for mixing musical genres from all around the world. Friesen has been a member of the Paul Winter Consort since 1978, and is known for incorporating the cello into unusual musical settings and for his use of extended techniques. Velez also has worked extensively with Paul Winter, as well as with composer Steve Reich's ensemble, and has collaborated with other well-known performers ranging from Pat Metheny to the New York City Ballet.

Here's the complete schedule of events for Trio Globo's St. Louis residency:

Thursday, April 23
Noon: Trio Globo Opening Concert in the Meramec Theatre,
1:30 p.m.: Choir rehearsal, Eugene Friesen, HW102
2:30 p.m.: Overtone singing, Glen Velez, HW102
3:30 p.m.: Harmonica Workshop, Howard Levy, HW102
3:30 p.m.: Improvisation/spoken word, Eugene Friesen, Theatre
7:30 p.m.: Dress Rehearsal, Trio Globo with the Meramec Orchestra and Choir, Theatre

Friday, April 24
10 a.m.-Noon: String Workshop, Eugene Friesen, HW102
10 a.m.-Noon: Improv and Movement, Glen Velez and Howard Levy, HE131
1:30 p.m.: History of Harmonica, Howard Levy, HW102
2:30 p.m.: Percussion workshop, Glen Velez, HW102
3:30 p.m.: The New Cello, Eugene Friesen, HW102
7:30 p.m.: Trio Globo Concert with Meramec Orchestra, Concert Choir, Arts students, Theatre

For a sample of some of Trio Globo's music, check out the embedded video window below. For more information on the Trio Globo workshops and concerts at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, you can call the SLCC-Meramec community relations office at 314-984-7529 or the music department at 314-984-7639.