Jazz this week: New Year's Eve and more

The week between Christmas and New Year's usually is fairly quiet for live jazz in St. Louis, and New Year's Eve, contrary to what you might think, hasn't been an especially busy night either in recent years. Nevertheless, there are a few noteworthy shows coming up, and a handful of NYE jazz performances as well. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, Robbie's House of Jazz continues its policy of periodically presenting little-known young musicians with the debut of the Andrew Williams/Tim Aubuchon Quartet, featuring up-and-coming saxophonists Williams and Aubuchon with Chris Turnbaugh on bass and Brian Steever on drums.

On Friday, Wack-A-Doo plays at the Map Room in Soulard; drummer Paul Shaw's trio with Daryl Mixon (bass) and Ptah Williams (piano) will be at Cigar Inn; and Robbie's will feature guitarist Stan Stapleton and his band in a tribute to Santana. Also on Friday, singer Dean Christopher, pianist Carolbeth True and bassist Dave Troncoso will perform at the Frontenac Grill.

New Year's Eve offerings on Saturday night include singer Erin Bode (pictured) and her band at Cyrano's; saxophonist Tim Cunningham , singer Anita Jackson and keyboard player/singer Jeremiah Allen at Jazz on Broadway; and guitarist Eric Slaughter's trio with singer Erika Johnson at Robbie's.

Meanwhile, Jazz at the Bistro once again will be dark on New Year's Eve this year, as the club's location in the Grand Center neighborhood puts it near the center of the annual First Night celebration, which runs from 6 p.m. to midnight on Saturday. The alcohol-free event features a variety of live entertainment and "family friendly" activities, and includes a number of performers who may be of interest to jazz fans, including singers Wendy Gordon and Jeanne Trevor and the husband-and-wife piano/vocal duo Joe Dryer and Rosemary Watts at the Kranzberg Arts Center; Le Jazz Hot at St. Francis Xavier College Church; Samba Bom and Kim Massie at the Sheldon; and Funky Butt Brass Band at the Third Baptist Church.

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 12/29/11 to fix a typo and add the Dean Christopher/Carolbeth True gig.)

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* While in St. Louis last week to play at Jazz at the Bistro, guitarist John Scofield was interviewed by KSDK's Art Holliday on the NBC affiliate's 4:00 p.m. newscast.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted photo albums with shots of pianist Ahmad Jamal in performance last Sunday at the TouPAC, and of the reception following the concert by Jamal and singer Dianne Reeves.

* Retro-swing string band Wack-A-Doo (pictured) was spotlighted this week in the Post-Dispatch's "Listen" music video feature, performing "By The Sea" at the Fox Theatre.

* Bassist and luthier David Certain sends word that bassist and St. Louis native Mark Peterson will be playing a CertainBass Model One on an upcoming recording with pianist Bob James. You can see Peterson and his instrument with singer Ben E. King's band here.

* In more celebrity recording news, keyboardist Michael Silverman of the Classical Jazz Quartet says that famed fusion guitarist Scott Henderson has agreed to record on CJQ's next album project, The Rebirth of Fusion. Henderson, known for his work with Tribal Tech and Chick Corea's Elektrik Band, will lay down his tracks in January.

* St. Louis Kids magazine is giving away four tickets to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's November 27 performance of the "The Nutcracker Meets Jazz," featuring music by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Duke Ellington. The performance is presented in partnership with Jazz St. Louis, and specifically designed to introduce children to the symphony. To enter the drawing for the free tickets, go here.

* NPR's Kevin Whitehead last week reviewed the new, limited-edition CD reissue of saxophonist Julius Hemphill's landmark debut album Dogon A.D., with the NY Times Ben Ratliff weighing in on the disc here. The reissue is limited to 1,500 copies, and was done by the small International Phonograph label, which earned plaudits for its earlier re-issue of another long-out-of-print session, trumpeter Bill Dixon's Intents and Purposes. The reissue already is out of stock or back-ordered at some online retailers, but if you like, you still can download and hear a free .mp3 rip of the original recording via this StLJN Audio Archive post from back in August.

Dinner/dance on February 4 to benefit O'Fallon Township HS bands

Once again this year, parents and friends of the band program at O'Fallon Township High School in O'Fallon, IL are putting on a jazz-themed event to raise money for music education at OTHS.

The swing group Wack-A-Doo (pictured), featuring vocalist Valerie Tichacek, will provide the entertainment for the second annual "O’ That Jazz" fundraiser, which will take place from 6:00 p.m. to midnight, Friday, February 4 at The Fountains Hotel & Conference Center, 319 Fountains Parkway in Fairview Heights.

Tickets for the event are $40 per person for seating around the dance floor, $35 for all others, and include dinner, dancing, and the chance to bid in oral and silent auctions. The event is open to the community, and tickets can be purchased online at www.Showclix.com/event/othsband. For more information, visit the OTHS band program website.

(Edited after posting to fix some typos.)