Jazz this week: Peter Brötzmann Trio, Peter Martin & Vivian Sessoms, Kurt Elling, New Mastersounds, Jamie Cullum, and more

It's the first week of a new month, and a very busy one for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with several noteworthy headliners in town. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, the all-star free jazz trio of saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, drummer Hamid Drake and bassist William Parker (pictured) performs at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.

If you have any interest at all in free jazz, this concert is an absolute must-see, as all three of the players are adventurous, uncompromising improvisors with international reputations, and this is their first tour together in more than a decade. You can find out more and hear all three musicians, together and apart, via this recent Saturday video showcase post.

Also tonight, Chicago's Lowdown Brass Band will be at the Broadway Oyster Bar with the Funky Butt Brass Band as opening act; and pianist Peter Martin leads a quartet plus special guest singer Vivian Sessoms to kick off this year's Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

For more about that show and what else Martin has coming up in the near future, check out this article by Terry Perkins for St. Louis Public Radio.

On Thursday, Sessoms and Martin's trio will team up for another performance, this time spotlighting Sessoms in the intimate confines of the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Also on Thursday, the New Orleans Suspects, featuring musicians associated with the Neville Brothers, the Radiators, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and James Brown, will be back in town to play at the Broadway Oyster Bar; and Good 4 The Soul returns for their monthly gig at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

On Friday, singer Kurt Elling, who's become a local favorite thanks to numerous appearances over the years at Jazz at the Bistro, will make his debut at the Sheldon Concert Hall, performing in a benefit for the Sheldon Art Galleries. Some concert-only tickets may still be available; call the Sheldon directly at 314-533-9900 for details.

Also on Friday, the British funk/jazz quartet The New Mastersounds will play at the Old Rock House, with Dopapod as opening act. For more about them, plus some performance videos, see this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Elsewhere around town on Friday, percussionist Craig Russo's Latin Jazz Project, based up the road in the Champaign/Urbana area, will be back in St. Louis to play at Robbie's House of Jazz; and guitarist Brian Vaccaro's trio will serve as the nucleus for the first in a prospective series of jam sessions at The Wolf in West County.

On Saturday, Carolbeth True and Two Times True are at Robbie's House of Jazz, and Miss Jubilee plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Then on Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club will present pianist Pat Joyce and his "All-Stars" at the DoubleTree Hotel at Westport. Joyce will be aided and abetted by Jerry Epperson (reeds), Bob Ceccarini (trumpet), Jay Hungerford (bass), Joe Berger (drums) and Cody Henry (trombone).

Sunday evening, singer and pianist Jamie Cullum will be back in St. Louis for the first time in four years to perform at The Pageant. For more about Cullum and his latest album Momentum, plus recent performance videos and interviews, see this post from last Saturday.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Dean Christopher brings his "Rat Pack & More" show back to One 19 North Tapas & Wine Bar, and percussionist Joe Pastor 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: Peter Martin & Inner Circle, Jack Wright, Rick Haydon, Jazz St. Louis' annual gala, Delfeayo Marsalis, and more

There's lots going on this week with jazz and creative music in St. Louis, and due to impending deadlines, not much time to tell you about it. So, without further preamble, let's go to the highlights....

Tonight, the free improvising saxophonist Jack Wright returns to St. Louis for the first time in four years for a performance at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Always eager to collaborate with other improvisors, Wright will be aided and abetted by saxophonist Dave Stone and multi-instrumentalist Ajay Khanna, with epicycle (aka LNAC's Mark Sarich) and bassist Andrew Hefner opening.

On Friday, guitarist Rick Haydon will open a two-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. Haydon is well known for his work teaching in the SIUE jazz program, and seems to be a favorite of many other professional guitar players around town as well. Interestingly, though he's played the Bistro many times as a sideman, this will be his debut there as a leader, joined by a group including bassist Zeb Briskovich, drummer Miles Vandiver, pianist Kara Vandiver, clarinetist Scott Alberici and vocalist Kim Fuller.

The staff of Jazz St. Louis no doubt will be working feverishly that evening, as in addition to Haydon's performance, it's also the night of the organization's annual fundraising gala at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark. The event features cocktails, dinner, an auction, and music from the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars student ensemble, the Funky Butt Brass Band and this year's special guest, saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby. Tickets start at $250 each; call the Jazz St. Louis offices at 314-534-3663 for info on last-minute availability.

Also on Friday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham is back at Jazz on Broadway; singer Joe Mancuso's trio with bassist Willem von Hombrecht and pianist Tim Garcia will play at the Cigar Inn; and, after performing at the Hilton, the Funky Butt Brass Band will hustle on over to 2720 Cherokee, where they'll be taking part in the "Funk n Horny Spring Revue" along with Hip Grease, Rhythm Section Road Show, Hazard to Ya Booty, and Lamar Harris.

On Saturday, pianist Peter Martin (pictured) returns to the Sheldon Concert Hall for the latest performance in his eponymous series there, now ongoing for more than two years. This one marks the debut of a new ensemble, Inner Circle, that's intended as a vehicle to interpret pop and R&B material in a jazz context, though Martin hasn't released much in advance about the specific repertoire. As has become usual for his Sheldon performances, Martin has recruited some first-rate musicians for Inner Circle, including bassist Robert Hurst, drummer Karriem Riggins and guest vocalist Vivian Sessoms.

Also on Saturday but a bit farther afield, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis will be the featured artist at the Carol Moore Memorial Jazz Festival at Mineral Area College down in Park Hills, MO. Marsalis will be backed by the Mineral Area Kicks Band, with an opening set by the Mineral Area Jazz Ensemble.

On Sunday, von Hombracht and Mancuso will present the second installment of "Willem's Sunday Jazz Jam" at Johnny Gitto's bar and restaurant; and the Bistro at Grand Center will be the venue for "A Tribute to Whitney Houston" featuring singers Cheryl Brown, Anita Jackson and Latoya Brown and a band with keyboard player and singer Jeremiah Allen, bassist Jeff Taylor, drummer Gerald Warren, guitarist Eric Slaughter, and saxophonist Jim Stevens.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday the Sessions Big Band will be back in action for their monthly gig at BB's Jazz Blues and 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.)

(Edited 3/8/12 to fix a typo.)

Peter Martin, Vivian Sessoms to perform Saturday, March 10 at the Sheldon

Pianist Peter Martin will resume his eponymous series at the Sheldon Concert Hall with a performance featuring guest vocalist Vivian Sessoms (pictured) at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, March 10. Bassist Bob Hurst and drummer Ulysses Owens will join Martin and Sessoms for the show.

Sessoms is a native New Yorker who's been performing professionally since she was a child, but got her first widespread exposure as a grown-up through working with film composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. Since then, she's developed a solo career as a cabaret performer, and has recorded and/or toured as a background singer with the likes of P. Diddy, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Sinead O'Connor, Stevie Wonder and Lalah Hathaway. Sessoms also has sung on many national commericals as a session vocalist, and most recently has partnered in the neo-soul group Albright with multi-instrumentalist/producer Chris Parks.

Tickets are $50 for VIP seating, $30 orchestra, $25 balcony and $15 students, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Monday, January 23 via MetroTix.