Jazz this week: Etienne Charles, University City Symphony, Marilyn Maye, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a Trinidadian trumpeter with a distinctive sound, the grand dame of cabaret singers, a community orchestra collaborating with local jazz musicians, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, March 4
Trumpeter Etienne Charles (pictured, top left) performs for the first of five nights continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis

Originally from the island nation of Trinidad, Charles incorporates Caribbean rhythms and culture into his style, which he calls "Creole soul." Look for his sets to feature material from his most recent album Carnival: The Sound Of A People, Vol. 1, which was released last year.

Thursday, March 5
Trumpeter and vibraphonist Joe Bozzi's band will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and The Dark Room has a double bill featuring Chicago-based pianist Lara Driscoll and her trio at the dinner hour, and saxophonist Carlos "Scooter" Brown in late night.

Also on Thursday, pianist Adam Maness and his trio return to Thurman's in Shaw, and saxophonist Vince Sala will play at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, March 6
Experimental guitarist Mark Shippy, another Chicago-based musician who's known for his work with noise-rockers U.S. Maple, Shorty, Invisible Things, and various other projects, will perform at Flood Plain.

Also on Friday, singer and bassist Janet Evra plays at the Wildey Theatre, and singer and impressionist Dean Christopher presents "A Dean Martin Tribute" at Blue Strawberry.

Saturday, March 7
Saxophonist Tim Cunningham performs at Troy's Listening Room, and keyboardist Mo Egeston and friends will bring the "Late Night Grooves" at The Dark Room.

Also on Saturday, singer Robert Nelson returns to the Parkside Grille, and the Triplets of Grubville play Swing and Gypsy jazz at Evangeline's.

Sunday, March 8
The University City Symphony presents a free concert at the 560 Music Center, with guest performances including pianist Ptah Williams playing Gershwin and selections featuring Bach to the Future with violinist Tracy Silverman and guitarist Dave Black, plus two orchestral works composed by guitarist Todd Mosby.

Monday, March 9
Guitarist Eric Slaughter returns to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Tuesday, March 10
Marilyn Maye (pictured, bottom left), the nonagenarian phenomenon known to many as the "grand dame of cabaret," will front the Jazz St. Louis Big Band for the first of three nights of performances, with some tickets still remaining as of this writing.

Also on Tuesday, keyboardist and singer Jesse Gannon returns to 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: Mark Guiliana Quartet, Mwata Bowden, Ahmad Jamal, Grand Marquis, Branford Marsalis Quartet, and more

It's another busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with a calendar featuring noteworthy performances by several visiting headliners, plus an assortment of gigs in various styles from hometown players. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, 
March 27
Drummer Mark Guiliana and his quartet will perform for the first of five nights at Jazz St. Louis

The NYC-based Guiliana is known for mixing acoustic drums and electronic beats in his own projects and while working with musicians including Brad Mehldau, Avishai Cohen, David Bowie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Lionel Loueke, and more.

However, for his St. Louis debut as a bandleader, he'll be bringing in a more straight-ahead, acoustic group, featuring bassist Chris Morrissey, saxophonist Jason Rigby, and pianist Shai Maestro.

Also on Wednesday, the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features singer Wendy Gordon and Friends 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 quartet at The Dark Room.

Thursday, March 28
Multi-instrumentalist Mwata Bowden (pictured, top left) will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Bowden, a longtime member of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the head of the jazz program at the University of Chicago, will be joined by Wash U faculty members William Lenihan on guitar and piano and Paul Steinbeck on bass, plus drummer Steve Davis.

Friday, March 29
Singer Feyza Eren returns to Evangeline's; percussionist Herman Semidey and Son Montuno will play Latin jazz, salsa and more at The Dark Room; and the Sentimental Journey Dance Band performs at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, March 30
Pianist Ahmad Jamal (pictured, center left) performs for the annual benefit gala at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Now 88 years old, Jamal plays just a few selected dates a year, so his performance here should be a special occasion, both for diehard fans who have followed him over the course of his seven-decade career and for younger listeners seeking to experience his distinctive style in person.

For more about Jamal and some video samples of recent performances (plus a couple of throwback sets), check out this post from last Saturday. 

Elsewhere around town, Kansas City-based jump blues and swing band Grand Marquis returns to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups; trumpeter Keith Moyer leads a quartet at Evangeline's; and Dizzy Atmosphere will play vintage swing and Gypsy jazz at Urban Chestnut Midtown Brewery and Biergarten.

Sunday, March 31
The University City Symphony Orchestra  presents a program titled "Jazzy Classical" at the 560 Music Center. The free concert will feature works by George Gershwin, Aaron Copland and William Grant Still performed by the orchestra with guest musicians including pianist Ptah Williams, Bach to the Future, guitarist Dave Black, and violinist Tracy Silverman.

Monday, April 1
Webster University's Student Jazz Combos will show off what they've learned this year with a performance at Webster's Community Music School.

Tuesday, April 2
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis (pictured, bottom left) and his quartet will perform for the first of three nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Appearing in St. Louis for the first time since their January, 2017 gig with singer Kurt Elling at the Bistro, Marsalis and his longtime band - pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner  - are touring in support of a new album, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, which was released last month to favorable reviews.

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.)