Jazz this week: Nate Smith + Kinfolk, John McDaniel, Funky Butt Brass Band, and more

The week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a top drummer's local debut as a bandleader, a holiday homecoming from a well-known St. Louis native, the season's last holiday-themed shows, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, December 18
Drummer Nate Smith (pictured, top left) and his band KINFOLK will perform for the first of five nights, continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis.

Known for his work with bassist Dave Holland, saxophonist Chris Potter and more, Smith named his band after his debut album as a bandleader, which came out in 2017 and earned praise from critics - NPR Music lauded its "catchy, singable melodies and spring-loaded backbeats" - as well as a couple of Grammy nominations for Smith for "best instrumental composition" and "best arrangement." The five-piece ensemble's week-long run should give them plenty of time to expound on the material from that album, and more.

Also on Wednesday, singer Erin Bode will present a "Holiday Concert" at the Wildey Theatre. (At publication time, this show was nearly sold out; call ahead for ticket availability.)

Elsewhere in Grand Center, this week's "Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl" features traditional jazz band Annie and the Fur Trappers at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob Deboo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, December 19
The Dark Room has a double-header of live jazz, with guitarist Dave Black at the dinner hour and keyboardist Ryan Marquez and his trio taking over for the late-night sets.

Also on Thursday, singer David Giuntoli evokes the styles of Sinatra and Bennett in "A Swinging Holiday Soiree" at Blue Strawberry; and the Bruxism experimental music series returns to the Schlafly Tap Room with a triple bill including JoAnn McNeil, Wamhoda (aka Dan Wamhoff), and Grass Whistle, a collaboration between series organizer NNN Cook and multi-instrumentalist David Burnett.

Friday, 
December 20
The Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured, bottom left) gets their "Holiday Brasstravaganza" underway with a show at Delmar Hall, followed by two matinees and another evening show on Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, pianist, singer and Kirkwood native John McDaniel, known for his work on Broadway and as musical director for actor/comedian Rosie O'Donnell's TV show, is back home from NYC to present "A John McDaniel Christmas" at Blue Strawberry.

Also on Friday, Miss Jubilee returns to the Casa Loma Ballroom, and guitarist Joe Park's trio will play music associated with jazz guitar legend Wes Montgomery at Focal Point.

Saturday, December 21
The Broadway Collective returns with guest vocalist Cara Dineen to BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups; bassist and singer Janet Evra performs at Evangeline's; and singer Ken Haller reprises his "Happy HallerDays!" cabaret show at Blue Strawberry.

Sunday, December 22
Singer and impressionist Dean Christopher will present his 'Rat Pack and More' Christmas show one more time this season at St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre.

Monday, December 23
Singer Robert Nelson will serve up some seasonal songs and more 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.)

A guide to holiday jazz in St. Louis

The holiday season always comes with lots of thematic music, and here in St. Louis, listeners can take in plenty of performances aimed at those who'd like to mix some jazz with their jingle bells.

Although this year's calendar includes fewer touring shows than last year, our hometown performers are stepping up with a variety of seasonal programs to suit a diversity of musical tastes.

Here's a quick look at some noteworthy holiday-themed jazz (and jazz-adjacent) shows starting next week and continuing throughout the next month:

Route 66 Jazz Orchestra - "1/2 a Christmas Concert"
7:30 p.m., Tuesday, December 3
Sheldon Concert Hall
St. Louis-based Route 66 Orchestra presents one set of big band jazz and one set of holiday music. $15 at the door.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis - "Big Band Holidays"
7:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 4
Powell Hall
NYC-based big band led by the famed trumpeter offers swinging arrangements of holiday tunes. $50 - $90.

Funky Butt Brass Band - "Holiday Warmup"
8:00 p.m., Thursday, December 5
Joe's Cafe
St. Louis' New Orleans-style brass band gets ready for their annual "Holday Brasstravaganza' (see below). $15 at the door.

Debby Lennon - "My Favorite Christmas"
8:00 p.m., Thursday, December 5
Blue Strawberry
Singer and Webster University voice teacher offers her versions of seasonal favorites. $30 & $35.

Dean Christopher - "A Rat Pack Christmas"
8:00 p.m., Friday, December 6 & Friday, December 13
Blue Strawberry
Singer and impressionist offers seasonal songs in the style of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and more. $25 & $30.

Cornet Chop Suey - "St. Louis Jazz Club Christmas Party"
2:00 p.m. Sunday, December 8
Moolah Shrine Center - Oasis Room
St. Louis-based septet plays traditional jazz and swing, plus some selected holiday music. $15 members, $20 non-members, Free for students with ID

UMSL Jazz Orchestra, Vocal Point & Wind Ensemble - "Jazz for the Holidays"
3:00 p.m. Sunday, December 8
Touhill Performing Arts Center
UMSL music students perform in their annual holiday concert. Free and open to the public.

Jazz St. Louis Big Band plays "Ellington's 'Nutcracker"
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 10 continuing daily until Thursday, December 12
Jazz St. Louis
Duke Ellington's re-imagining of Tchaikovsky's famous work played live by a big band of St. Louis musicians, plus additional favorites from the Ellington catalog. $10 & $26.

Jim Manley - "A Very Manley Christmas"
7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., Friday, December 13 & Saturday, December 14
Jazz St. Louis
St. Louis trumpeter and his seven-piece band offer high-energy versions of holiday favorites. $10 & $21.

Dave Black & Sandy Weltman - "3rd Annual Holiday Show"
8:00 p.m., Friday, December 13
Focal Point
Guitarist Black and multi-instrumentalist Weltman play acoustic versions of seasonal tunes. $15.

The 442s - "Holiday Spectacular"
7:30 p.m., Monday, December 16 & Tuesday, December 17
560 Music Center
Eclectic instrumental quintet (plus guest stars) presents originals and holiday favorites. $30, $25 & $15.

Erin Bode - "Holiday Concert"
7:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 18
Wildey Theatre
One of St. Louis' favorite vocalists sings original music and seasonal songs. $25.

David Giuntoli - "A Swinging Holiday Soiree"
Thursday, December 19⋅8:00 – 9:30pm
Blue Strawberry
Holiday music in the vintage style of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. $30 & $25.

Funky Butt Brass Band - "Holiday Brasstravaganza"
8:00 p.m., Friday, December 20 & Saturday, December 21
3:00 p.m., Saturday, December 21
Delmar Hall
St. Louis' popular New Orleans-style brass band moves to a new venue for the ninth year of their holiday show, with a family-friendly Saturday matinee in addition to two evening shows. $20 advance, $25 day of show for evening performances; $10 for Saturday matinee (free for kids under 5 years old).

John McDaniel - "A John McDaniel Christmas"
8:00 p.m., Friday, December 20
Blue Strawberry
St. Louis native, singer and pianist, known for his work on Broadway and on TV's Rosie O'Donnell Show, returns home for a solo performance in an intimate setting. $30 & $35.

Ken Haller - "Happy HallerDays!"
8:00 p.m., Saturday, December 21
Blue Strawberry
A St. Louis cabaret favorite reprises his popular holiday show. $30 & $25.

Dean Christopher - "A 'Rat Pack and More' Christmas Show"
6:30 p.m., Sunday, December 22
St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre
Singer & impressionist offers holiday favorites with an expanded seven-piece band. $15.

Katie McGrath - "Home(sick) for the Holidays"
8:00 p.m., Saturday, December 28
Blue Strawberry
Singer and former St. Louisan, now based in New York City, performs her versions of seasonal songs. $35 & $30.

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

Jazz this week: The Bosman Twins, Nick Colionne, Chesterfield Jazz Festival, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis puts local talent in the spotlight, with homegrown performers and returning expats headlining a diverse schedule of shows at a variety of venues. Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, June 12
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tonina Saputo performs in a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Update, 3:30 p.m., 6/12/19: The concert by Tonina Saputo at Missouri Botanical Garden has been postponed due to the possibility of bad weather, and has been rescheduled for Wednesday, August 9.

Also on Wednesday, Next to Normal: The Thelonious Monk Story, a play with music starring pianist Philip Graves in the title role, is presented with free admission for the first of two nights at Jazz St. Louis.

Thursday, June 13
Guitarist Mark Tonelli, an assistant professor of music at Millikin University in Decatur, IL, visits to lead his trio in a show at The Dark Room.

Also on Thursday, Miss Jubilee performs at Joe's Cafe; singer Cheri Evans and CEEJazzSoul return to the Chase Club; and guitarist Dave Black and friends play at The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, June 14
Multi-instrumentalists The Bosman Twins (pictured, top left) perform for the first of three nights, continuing through Sunday at Jazz St. Louis.

Also on Friday, the Gateway City Big Band plays for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom; singer Erin Bode interprets material from the Great American Songbook in a concert at the Wildey Theatre
in Edwardsville; and singer Anita Jackson performs the late show at The Dark Room.

Saturday, June 15
The Chesterfield Wine & Jazz Festival runs from mid-afternoon through the evening at Chesterfield Amphitheater, featuring music from drummer Dave Weckl and his band, featuring St. Louisans TOm Kennedy on bass and Jay Oliver on keyboards, plus Bach to the Future with saxophonist Eric Marienthal and guitarist Dave Black, singer Kim Fuller, the Steve Davis Band with singer Feyza Eren, and Tracer.

You can see some recent videos featuring headliner and St. Charles native Dave Weckl (pictured, bottom left) in this post from last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, guitarist Nick Colionne with special guest, singer and St. Louis native Lynne Fiddmont, performs in the "Eta Boule Foundation Salute to Fathers & Mentors" at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard's latest opera, Fire Shut Up In My Bones, has its world premiere at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, with five more performances scheduled this month.

Sunday, June 16
Possibilities for jazz brunch this Father's Day include pianist Adam Maness playing solo at Thurman's in Shaw, and singer/guitarist Tommy Halloran and band at The Dark Room.

Then on Sunday evening, singer Feyza Eren and her quartet perform at the house-concert venue Judson House.

Monday, June 17
Keyboardist Ryan Marquez brings his trio to The Dark Room.

Tuesday, June 18
Pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True plus guest vocalist Kim Fuller perform at the Gaslight Theater.

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: Grace Kelly, Steve Swell Quintet, Kevin Eubanks, a benefit for Puerto Rico, and more

The fall presenting season is gathering some momentum this week, as the calendar of jazz and creative music for the next few days in St. Louis includes three significant touring headliners - two of whom are making their local debuts - plus a benefit raising money for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 4
Saxophonist and singer Grace Kelly (pictured, top left) makes her St. Louis debut in the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

For more about Kelly and some video samples of recent performances, take a look at this post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also on Wednesday, guitarist Dave Black plays solo at Evangeline's, and the weekly "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" features saxophonist Andy Ament at KDHX's Magnolia Café, a jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor at The Dark Room.

Thursday, October 5
Singer Kim Fuller will perform in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, percussionist Joe Pastor leads a trio at The Dark Room, and saxophonist Vince Sala brings his trio to The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, October 6
The Puerto Rican Society of St. Louis presents "STL Stands Up For Puerto Rico," a benefit performance to raise money for hurricane relief on the island, at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park. The event will feature music from Orquestra Son Montuno, Farshid Etniko, Clave Sol, Mark Holland, and more.

Saturday, October 7
Veteran free-jazz trombonist Steve Swell makes his St. Louis debut, leading an all-star quintet in a concert presented by New Music Circle at The Stage at KDHX.

Swell's band (pictured, bottom left) features pianist Dave Burrell, bassist William Parker, drummer Chad Taylor, and saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, and you can find out more of them and see some video performances here.

Sunday, October 8
Guitarist Kevin Eubanks, who's gotten very good notices for his post-Tonight Show efforts both on stage and on records. returns to the St. Louis area to perform in the intimate confines of the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville. 

Also on Sunday night, the Coleman Hughes Project plays an early evening show at Troy's Jazz Gallery.

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.)

Guitarist Kevin Eubanks to perform Sunday, October 8 at Wildey Theatre

Guitarist Kevin Eubanks and his band are returning to the St. Louis area to perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 8 at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.

Eubanks (pictured) first gained wide attention in the jazz world in the 1980s, but probably still is best known to the general public for his stint as bandleader for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 1992 to 2010.

Since Leno stepped down, Eubanks has refocused on his music career, working with bassist Dave Holland in the band Prism, touring with his own group, and putting out a couple of well-received albums, the most recent being 2016's East West Time Line. He last performed in St. Louis in October 2015 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Tickets for Eubanks' show at the Wildey are $50 each, and are on sale now.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* The Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden has announced its schedule for 2017, with ten free concerts in total, including performances from the trad jazz band Gaslight Squares on Wednesday, June 14 and pianist Ptah Williams on Wednesday, July 12.

* Kneebody keyboardist Adam Benjamin was interviewed for a brief article by St. Louis magazine's Erin Williams. The group continues their run at Jazz at the Bistro through Saturday night.

* Riverbend Restaurant and Bar, the Richmond Heights spot that featured live jazz from trumpeter Jim Manley every Tuesday night alongside its creole and Cajun cuisine, has closed permanently.

* An album of pictures from percussionist Poncho Sanchez' shows last week at Jazz at the Bistro has been posted to Facebook by St. Louis trombonist Dave Dickey, who's friends with Sanchez and several members of his group and sat in with them at the Bistro.

* Electronic musician Nathan Cook (aka NNN Cook) was interviewed about his Rhizomatic series of recordings featuring St. Louis experimental musicians by Willis Ryder Arnold of St. Louis Public Radio.

* The website St. Louis Musicians Unite has a short feature about this weekend's events celebrating composer Scott Joplin, and also has put together a Spotify playlist collecting recordings by St. Louis jazz musicians.

* Trumpeter and St. Louis native Ally Hany has won second place in the jazz division of the 2017 National Trumpet Competition, held earlier this month at Metropolitan State University in Denver, CO. Hany, a graduate of Webster Groves High School and University of North Texas, currently is living in NYC, working on a master's degree at Manhattan School of Music and performing with ensembles including the MSM Jazz Orchestra and Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra.

* Pianist Makini Morrison, a senior at University City High School, is one of 17 finalists in the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation's 2017 St. Louis Teen Talent Competition. Morrison (pictured) has been part of Jazz St. Louis' JazzU program and also has played with the North County Big Band. The competition finals will take place Saturday, April 8 at the Fox Theatre.

* Jack Snelling, a senior at Webster Groves High School, has won first place in the high school jazz division of the Mizzou New Music Initiative's 2017 Creating Original Music Project (COMP), a statewide competition for Missouri student composers in grades K-12. Snelling's winning work "Lovesick" will be performed along with this year's other winning compositions as part of the COMP Festival on Saturday, April 15 on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia.

* Worship Jazz, the St. Louis-based publisher of jazz arrangements of sacred music, has added a collection of 12 "jazz liturgies" to the five volumes of jazz hymns already in their catalog. The liturgical resources are "intended to help church musicians create their own jazz worship services, with each focused on a specific liturgical theme with a complete worship format."

* The Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville is looking for a new production manager. If you're interested, you can find more information about the job and how to apply at http://www.cityofedwardsville.com/.

Jazz this week: Donny McCaslin, Brian Culbertson, Brand X, James Carter, Sylvaine Hélary's Spring Roll Quartet, and more

It's one of the busiest weeks of the year for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with enough activity and musical variety to test both the stamina and the financial resources of even the most devoted music lovers.

There's so much going on that the week defies easy summary, so instead, let's go to the highlights....

Wednesday, October 19
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin (pictured, top left) makes his St. Louis debut as a bandleader in the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

It's been a big year for McCaslin, who's gone from working with the late David Bowie on his final recording Blackstar to releasing his own new album, Beyond Now. For more about McCaslin and his new recording, see the interview he did with Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch and StLJN's video post from a couple of Saturdays ago.

Also on Wednesday, funk/jazz keyboardist Brian Culbertson, who's touring in support of his own new album Funk!, returns to St. Louis for the first time in four years for a performance at The Pageant. For more about that, see Culbertson's conversation with the Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson.

Thursday, October 20
The reunited British jazz/fusion band Brand X will play at the Wildey Theatre, featuring three key members from the band's original run - guitarist John Goodsall, bassist Percy Jones, and drummer Kenwood Dennard - plus keyboardist Chris Clark and percussionist Scott Weinberger. This show will be only the second of the group's reunion tour, so even if there are a few rough spots, the energy should be high.  

Also on Thursday, trumpeter George Sams and friends will play a free show of improvised music for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; and the funky saxophones-and-drums trio Moon Hooch returns for a gig at the Old Rock House.

Friday, October 21
The St. Louis GypsyJazz Festival opens for the first of three days and nights of perfomances, jam sessions and workshops at Evangeline's. The lineup of musicians this year includes violinist/mandolinist Jason Anick, singer Miles Griffith, and guitarist Dario Napoli, plus St. Louis-based groups Franglais, Phatz Django, and Fleur De Lou. For more about the festival and video samples of the visiting performers, see this post from last Saturday.

Also on Friday, the Gaslight Cabaret Festival resumes with singer Storm Large returning for an encore performance at the Gaslight Theater.

Saturday, October 22
Saxophonist James Carter (pictured, bottom left) and his organ trio will provide the music for the annual "ArtSounds" benefit at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Carter, a free-spirited yet technically accomplished improviser who can play soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes with near-equal facility, is always worth hearing, and if you need an extra incentive, The Sheldon yesterday announced a "buy one, get one free" offer for concert-only tickets bought in pairs. To purchase online and take advantage of the offer, go here and enter the promo code CARTER16.

Also on Saturday, New Music Circle present flute player and composer Sylvaine Hélary's Spring Roll Quartet at the The Stage at KDHX.

The group, which includes Hélary, Antonin Rayon (piano, synthesizer), Hugues Mayot (saxophones, clarinets), and Sylvain Lemêtre (vibraphone, percussion), offers "thematically dense surrealist arrangements with percussive counterpoint" which incorporate "a span of styles in an almost collage-like manner."

Sunday, October 23
"Days to Say Goodbye - A Celebration of the Life of David Troncoso" will provide an opportunity to remember and reminisce for, family, friends and fans of the veteran St. Louis bassist, who died this past July at age 70. The event, which features music from guitarist Dave Black, pianist Dave Venn, singer Tony Viviano, the Park Avenue Duo, Troncoso's own Latin Jazz Group and more, takes place at the Anheuser Busch Brewery Biergarten.

Also on Sunday afternoon, the US Navy Band Commodores, the Navy's top jazz big band, plays a free concert at the 560 Music Center. The group features two area natives - Petty Officer 1st Class David M. Perkel of St. Louis on lead trombone, and Chief Petty Officer Timothy D. Stanley, who grew up in Belleville, on trumpet.

Monday, October 24
To mark the event's silver anniversary, the Webster University TKT Scholarship Fund 25th Anniversary Concert will take place off-campus this year at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The concert features Webster jazz faculty and students performing to raise money for music scholarships at Webster in memory of Terry Jackson, Kirk Cappello, and Tony Saputo, three Webster alumni who were among the members of singer Reba McEntire’s road band killed in a 1991 airplane crash.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Fall 2016 jazz preview, part 2

This week, it's part two of StLJN's Fall 2016 jazz preview, offering a look at the touring jazz and creative music performers who will be coming to St. Louis this fall. (You can see part one here.)

Continuing in chronological order from the last installment, today's first clip features cabaret singer Marilyn Maye, who will be returning to perform for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival on Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15 at the Gaslight Theater. Maye is seen here performing "Secret of Life" this past February at Feinstein's in NYC.

After the jump, you can see a video of multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson, who will be back in St. Louis for the first time in more than four years to perform on Wednesday, October 19 at The Pageant. This clip shows the start of Culbertson's set at this year's Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City Beach, FL.

Next up is saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who will be making his St. Louis debut as a bandleader with a week of shows from Wednesday, October 19 through Saturday, October 22 at Jazz at the Bistro. McCaslin, who's played with Steps Ahead and trumpeter Dave Douglas, among others, and been in the news this year for his work on the late David Bowie's final recording, is seen in this clip playing the title song from his most recent album Fast Future at the 2016 North Sea Jazz Festival.

That same week, the British jazz-fusion band Brand X will make a stop on Thursday, October 20 at Edwardsville's Wildey Theatre as part of a reunion tour making its way through US this fall. There's really no recent video footage of the band available online, but you can find out a little more about the band and the reunion tour in the promotional clip included here.

Below that, you'll find a video of "The Thought" recently uploaded by the band Moon Hooch to their YouTube channel. The trio, which features two saxophonists and a drummer mining stripped-down funk grooves, will be back in St. Louis on Thursday, October 20 for a show at the Old Rock House.

Also in town that weekend will be singer Storm Large, who will return to the Gaslight Cabaret Festival for a performance on Friday, October 21 at the Gaslight Theater. In this clip, Large can be seen performing "Hopelessly Devoted To You" during a show last November at Joe's Pub in NYC.

And as if all that wasn't enough for one week, there are two more acts of potential interest to StLJN readers that will be playing gigs here that weekend. Saxophonist James Carter's organ trio will headline the annual "ArtSounds" benefit on Saturday, October 22 at the Sheldon Concert Hall, and today's penultimate clip features a full set from them, recorded in 2015 at the Jazz à la Villette festival in France.

Finally, there flute player and composer Sylvaine Hélary's Spring Roll Quartet, who will make their St. Louis debut in a concert presented by New Music Circle on Saturday, October 22 at The Stage at KDHX. Today's final video shows excerpts from a performance they did in July 2014 in Germany.

Look for part three of StLJN's Fall 2016 jazz preview in this space next week. You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...

Brand X reunion tour includes show on Thursday, October 20 at Wildey Theatre

The British jazz-fusion band Brand X has announced a reunion tour for Fall 2016 that includes a performance at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, October 20 at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.

Originally active from the mid-1970s into the early '80s, Brand X made six recordings and fielded 11 different lineups of musicians in a six-year period, including for a couple of albums Phil Collins, then the drummer for prog-rock band Genesis and subsequently a major pop star.

A reunion in the 1990s, featuring founding members Percy Jones on bass and John Goodsall on guitar, yielded two more albums, the last of which was Manifest Destiny in 1997.

The 2016 edition of Brand X (pictured) includes Jones and Goodsall, as well as drummer Kenwood Dennard, who wasn't an original member but played on the band's second album and subsequent tours.

Playing music from the first three Brand X albums, they'll be joined for the reunion tour by keyboardist Chris Clark, whose credits include the John Entwistle Band, and percussionist Scott Weinberger, who's played with Adrian Belew and King Crimson's Trey Gunn. To promote the tour, the band has made a short video, which you can see in the embedded player below.

Tickets for Brand X at the Wildey Theatre are $35, and are on sale now.

Jazz this week: Molly Ringwald, Grand Marquis, "Great Guitars 2013," Hot Club of Cowtown, Bob Sheppard, Reunion Jazz Band, and more

In this slightly early edition of StLJN's weekly highlights post, we find a lineup of jazz and creative music performances that includes a movie star-turned-singer, plus a variety of musical styles ranging from jump blues and Western swing to straight-ahead jazz to fusion, both electric and acoustic. Let's see what's happening in the next few days....

Tonight, the aforementioned movie star, singer and actress Molly Ringwald (pictured), comes to town for the first of two evening at Jazz at the Bistro.

The daughter of a jazz pianist, Ringwald reportedly considered going into music even before she ever began acting in hit films like Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club. More  recently, she has acted and sung on stage in musicals such as Chicago. Now, nearly 30 years after conquering multiplexes all over the USA, she recently released her first album, Except Sometimes, to generally favorable notices. Though Ringwald's celebrity has attracted a measure of local media attention, there may be some tickets still remaining; call the Jazz St. Louis box office for the latest.

Also tonight, funk organ trio Downstereo plays their last regular Tuesday night gig at the Crow's Nest before going on a hiatus from performances to do some recording. According to the band's Facebook page, they'll also wrap up their weekly Thursday shows at Atomic Cowboy for the time being.

Tomorrow night, the Cabaret Project of St. Louis will present their monthly open mic night at the Tavern of Fine Arts, and singer Sarah Jane and a scaled-down version of her band the Blue Notes are playing at the Feasting Fox.

On Thursday, the Kansas City jump blues and swing band Grand Marquis will be back in town for a performance at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups.The group is preparing to release a new album, Blues and Trouble, next month, and so this gig likely will feature some of the 12 original songs from that project.

On Friday, Jazz at the Bistro offers up the first of two nights of a specially assembled program called "Great Guitars 2013," featuring six-string slingers Tom Byrne, Shaun Robinson and Eric Slaughter, backed by drummer Montez Coleman and bassist Jahmal Nichols. Byrne and Slaughter have been doing some gigs together recently, so they've already got some shared repertoire as a result of that; an email from Byrne says this weekend's gigs will feature a mix of originals and covers with a jazz-fusion sound.

Also Friday, the jazz/Western swing trio Hot Club of Cowtown will be in Edwardsville to perform at the Wildey Theatre; pianist Ptah Williams brings his trio to the Cigar Inn; and singer Tony Viviano and his band will return to Fortel's Creve Coeur.

On Saturday, the Bosman Twins will reunite with some old friends for a gig billed as the Reunion Jazz Band at Robbie's House of Jazz; singer Feyza Eren will perform at the Wine Press; and guitarist Randy Bahr and pianist Carolbeth True will be at One 19 North Tapas and Wine Bar.

On Sunday afternoon, saxophonist Bob Sheppard, who's toured with Steely Dan and recorded countless sessions for TV, movies and albums, will be in town for a free concert and clinic at Saxquest.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and the Broadway Collective are at BB's; and the eclectic acoustic quartet The 442s, with multi-instrumentalist Adam Maness and bassist Syd Rodway of Erin Bode's group plus violinist Shawn Weil and cellist Bjorn Ranheim, plays at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

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 local news items of interest:

* The Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured) was profiled by Terry Perkins for the St. Louis Beacon in advance of their gig tonight at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Also in the Beacon, a look at how the re-opening of the Wildey Theatre has affected downtown Edwardsville.

* Over at the Post-Dispatch, Kevin Johnson notes the "official" opening of Troy's Jazz Gallery in an article that otherwise mostly rehashes information already covered months ago here at StLJN and last week in the Beacon.

* Legacy Recordings has announced that they'll re-release original mixes of Miles Davis' albums Round About Midnight, Milestones, and Someday My Prince Will Come on 180-gram vinyl for Record Store Day 2013 on Saturday, April 20.

* The St Louis Low Brass Collective has posted on YouTube some videos from last month's concert featuring trombonist Jim Pugh at Maryville University. You can see Pugh and an ensemble of local trombonists playing "Cogent Caprice" here, and Pugh, the trombonists, and a rhythm section performing "Sea Song" here.

* From publicist Dawn DeBlaze comes word that singer and pianist Alicia Cunningham of vocal duo The Cunninghams currently is battling cancer, and would welcome cards and letters from friends and fans. Alicia and her husband, multi-instrumentalist and St. Louis native Don Cunningham, live in Las Vegas but have performed here several times in the past few years, most recently in September 2012 at the U City Jazz Festival. You can send mail to Don and Alicia Cunningham at 3740 S. Garden Drive, Las Vegas, NV, 89121 or contact them via email at thecunninghamsda @ hotmail.com.

* Lastly, just a reminder that if you haven't voted yet to elect St. Louis' own Clark Terry to Jazz at Lincoln Center's Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame, you've got until March 31 to cast your ballot at http://jalc.org/2013-jazz-hall-of-fame-vote.

Jazz this week: Dan Hicks, John Clayton & Gerald Clayton, Lotte Anker Trio, Danny Fox, and more

With a bit of spring in the air this week in St. Louis, there's also plenty of live jazz and creative music happening around town to get out and enjoy over the next few days. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, singer-guitarist Dan Hicks returns to the St. Louis area for a performance at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.  Hicks' mix of Gyspy jazz, swing, country, blues and folk has been entertaining audiences for nearly fifty years now, and continue to draw appreciative crowds even when he doesn't have a new recording to promote. For more on his colorful career and some video samples of him and the the current edition of his band, the Hot Licks, in action, see this post from last Saturday.

Also tonight, the father-son team of bassist John Clayton and pianist Gerald Clayton (pictured, with drummer Jeff Hamilton) returns to open a four-night stand of duo gigs at Jazz at the Bistro. The two last appeared here in October 2011 as part of Clayton Brothers Quintet, which also includes John's sax-playing sibling Jeff Clayton. Since then, Gerald Clayton's star has continued to rise. He's now signed to Concord Records, and the label will release his debut for them, Life Forum, next month. The younger Clayton also can be heard on Cover Art, Concord's recently released album by the Next Collective, which is an eclectic group of 20-something musicians assembled by label exec Chris Dunn.

Tomorrow night, New Music Circle presents Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker in a concert at 560 Music Center. Teamed for this show with keyboardist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver, Anker is known here in the USA mostly as an improvisor, but also has a compositional sensibility that helps provide a sense of structure to many of her improvised flights. For more about Anker, and some video samples of her performing, check out this post from a couple of weeks ago.

Also tomorrow night, singer Erin Bode and band return to Crave coffeehouse on the south side.

On Friday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham will settle in for what's projected as a recurring weekly gig at Troy's Jazz Gallery,  saxophonist Jay Hutson is at Robbie's House of Jazz; singer Joe Mancuso performs for the first of two nights at Chaser's Lounge in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel; and saxophonist Austin Cebulski's quartet is at the Cigar Inn.

Then on Saturday, the trio of NYC-based pianist Danny Fox will be in town for a performance at Robbie's. Fox, a Harvard grad, has toured with drummer Max Weinberg's big band and the Tommy Dorsey "ghost band," among others. The trio's debut album The One Constant was released in 2011, and you can hear samples on Fox' website.

Also on Saturday, Two Times True with pianist Carolbeth True will perform at the south side house-concert venue Kinda Blue, 6101 1/2 Idaho; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes bring their swing and jump blues sound back to Venice Cafe.

On Sunday, a group billed as the SIUE Jazz Faculty Ensemble, led by guitarist Rick Haydon and saxophonist Jason Swagler, will play a free concert presented by St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers series at Second Baptist Church.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday pianist Kim Portnoy's ensemble will perform at Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium; and on Tuesday, the weekly swing dance presented by Lindy Hop St. Louis at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center will feature live music from The Sidemen.

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.)

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The hot licks of Dan Hicks

This week, let's check out some video clips of singer-guitarist Dan Hicks, who will be in Edwardsville this coming Wednesday, March 13 to perform at the Wildey Theatre. Hicks' quirky blend of Gypsy jazz, swing, folk, country, and blues has been entertaining and amusing audiences for more than 40 years, ever since he emerged as part of the San Francisco rock scene of the 1960s.

The Arkansas native first gained a measure of fame in the mid-60s as a drummer for the folk-rock group the Charlatans before launching his own band, the first edition of Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks, in 1969. That group enjoyed a good deal of success with albums including Where's The Money?, Striking It Rich and Last Train To Hicksville before breaking up in 1973.

Hicks subsequently recorded and toured as a solo act, eventually put together a couple of other groups (the Acoustic Warriors and Bayside Jazz), and also has done some work as a graphic artist. Reforming a new version of the Hot Licks in 1998, Hicks has managed to find a new generation of fans as well as hang on to many of the old ones, and continues to tour and release occasional recordings, the most recent of which was 2010's Crazy for Christmas. His last appearance in the St. Louis area was in April 2012 at the Old Rock House.

Today, we've got a grab-bag of clips from various stages of Hicks' career, starting up above with a version of the Swing Era standard "Avalon" take2 from a performance in 2010 in Denver.

Down below, we go back in time to find Hicks performing one of his signature songs, "I Scare Myself," in 1990 on David Sanborn's Night Music TV program. Along with fiddler Brian Godchaux and The Groovettes on vocals, Hicks is backed by the Night Music house band, including Sanborn on sax, Don Alias on percussion, Hiram Bullock on guitar, Philippe Saisse on keyboards, Tom Barney on bass and Omar Hakim on drums.

Below that, the third clip takes us all the way back to 1972, and shows Hicks and the "classic" lineup of the Hot Licks - Sid Page (violin), John Girton (guitar), Jaime Leopold (bass) and singers Maryann Price and Naomi Eisenberg - performing "By Hook or by Crook" and "Shorty Falls in Love" during rehearsals for an appearance on The Flip Wilson Show. While there are a few bits of extraneous audio that seem to be coming from somewhere else on the sound stage, it's worth seeing as a rare look at the band during that period.

The last three clips bring us back closer to the present day, beginning with a version of Tom Waits' song "The Piano Has Been Drinking," recorded in 2011 at guitarist Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch. Below that, there's a rendition of "Along Comes A Viper" (styled here as "'Long Comma Viper") recorded at Hicks' 70th birthday party in April 2012 at Davies Hall in San Francisco. And today's final clip features another Hicks favorite, "How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away," recorded in July 2012 during an outdoor show in Egg Harbor, WI.

For more about Dan Hicks, check out this extended interview, done in 2001 for the website PureMusic.com; a slightly more recent conversation with PopMatters.com; and and this interview, published just last month on the website Music Illuminati.

Dan Hicks to perform Wednesday, March 13 at the Wildey Theatre

Singer-guitarist Dan Hicks (pictured) and His Hot Licks will be returning to the St. Louis area next year for a performance at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 13 at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.

Hicks, who's been combining jazz, Western swing, folk, Gypsy music, blues and rock with wry humor since the late 1960s, played here most recently in July at the Old Rock House. Tickets are $35 and are on sale online now.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Trombonist Brett Stamps (pictured) will make his final appearance as director of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) Concert Jazz Band in a concert at 8:00 p.m. this coming Tuesday, April 17 at the Wildey Theatre. Stamps is retiring as director of jazz studies at SIUE after 33 years on the job.

The concert will include music from Doc Severinsen and Woody Herman as well as charts by Stamps and SIUE graduate Mike Dee, plus a grand finale featuring graduates of the SIUE jazz program from the last 30 years. Tickets are $10, $7 for seniors and under age 18, free to SIUE students with ID, and will be available at the door.

* Meanwhile, pianist Reggie Thomas, who formerly taught at SIUE, is featured on The Teacher, the debut CD release by the MSU Professors of Jazz. The group is made up of faculty members from Thomas' new professional home at Michigan State University. They'll debut the CD, which includes three of Thomas' compositions and a guest appearance from spouse/singer Mardra Thomas, in a concert this Saturday at the Creole Gallery in Lansing, MI.

* The Regional Arts Commission is conducting a survey of St. Louis area artists, musicians and other creative types. To complete the "Artists Count" questionnaire and enter a drawing to win a free iPad, go here.

* Singer Erin Bode reported this week on Twitter that her song "The Little Garden" will be used in the episode of the CW Network program Hart of Dixie airing on Monday, May 7. The comedy/drama series stars Rachel Bilson as a big-city doctor transplanted to a small town in the South, and airs locally on KPLR (Channel 11).

* John King, bassist for Good 4 The Soul, saxophonist Jim Stevens, and several other local bands, has released a single, "Introducing The Pharaoh," on iTunes.

* Guitarist Russell Malone, in town this week to play at Jazz at the Bistro, appeared on the 4:00 p.m. newscast at local NBC affiliate KSDK for a brief interview and performance. Malone and pianist Cyrus Chestnut's trio continue at the Bistro through Saturday.

* The Webster Journal has a profile of Dr. Aurelia Hartenberger, whose collection of unusual musical instruments currently is featured in an exhibit at the Sheldon Art Galleries.

* The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the nominations for their 2012 JJA Jazz Awards, and the "Best Historical or Boxed Set" category includes two albums with a St. Louis connection: Miles Davis' Bootleg Sessions, Vol 1, Quintet Live in Europe 1967 (Columbia Legacy) and the long-awaited reissue of Julius Hemphill's Dogon A.D. by the International Phonograph label. You can see the complete list of 2012 JJA Awards nominees here.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Saturday's concert by guitarist Tom Byrne's group Have U Heard at the Wildey Theatre is the subject of a preview story by Bill Tucker of the Edwardsville Intelligencer.

* Jazz St. Louis has a new podcast online, featuring an interview and "blindfold test" with trumpeter Byron Stripling. Stripling (pictured) will be here next week to do an educational residency for JSL and perform on Friday and Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro.

* Radio station KDHX's (88.1 FM) website has a brief review of last Saturday's performance by Chucho Valdés at the Sheldon Concert Hall, written by the station's Jared Corgan.

* Writing on Facebook, saxophonist Oliver Lake says he's just completed the first of two recording sessions for his next album, which will feature his Big Band. Lake is trying to raise money for the production via the website IndieAGoGo. As of this writing, he's raised $1,460 toward a goal of $6,000, with 44 days left in the campaign.

* Time magazine has just put online 13 never-before-published photos of Miles Davis, from the archives of now-defunct sister magazine Life.

* Because of the snowy weather on Monday, the St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts had to reschedule the workshop "Inside the Music Biz: Legal Essentials" that was to have been presented that evening. The new date is Monday, April 16; registration info is at the first link above.

* New Orleans funk band Galactic will be in St. Louis to perform on Wednesday, March 14 at The Pageant in support of their new album Carnivale Electricos, which is being released to the public next Tuesday. However, you can get a first listen to the new album online right now, via a free audio stream on the website of talk show host Conan O'Brien.

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A brief appreciation and farewell to Reggie and Mardra Thomas

The St. Louis jazz scene is losing two outstanding musicians this summer, as keyboardist Reggie Thomas and his wife, singer and actress Mardra Thomas, are moving to East Lansing, MI, where Reggie has accepted a job at Michigan State University. Working together and separately, both have delivered many fine performances to St. Louis audiences, and Reggie Thomas also has taught and mentored many young jazz musicians in SIU Edwardsville's jazz program. They will be missed.

The Thomases will say goodbye to St. Louis next weekend with performances on Friday and Saturday night at Jazz at the Bistro and on Sunday afternoon at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville. Today, in recognition and appreciation of their contributions to St. Louis' local culture over the past two decades, we present some brief video clips of them in action.

Up above is what seems to be the only full-length performance video by both Thomases available online. It's a version of the Ray Charles song "Unchain My Heart" shot last summer at O'Fallon Park, and though we've featured it once before in this space, the scarcity of videos with either Thomas is sufficient to warrant an encore.

Down below, you can three short videos featuring keyboard solos by Reggie Thomas. In the first, he plays the standard "Cherokee" with a student ensemble in Purchase, NY. The next two both were shot at Jazz at the Bistro, and feature Thomas demonstrating his skills on Rhodes and synth, accompanied backed by bassist John King and drummer Montez Coleman, who also gets a solo in both clips.

(Both clips were posted by videographer James Ross, who shares a lot of short clips of St. Louis musicians to YouTube, but, for whatever reason, seems to eschew complete versions of songs. Mr. Ross, if you happen to read this: You seem to have good taste in musicians, and have done some capable work capturing them on video. Please consider recording some entire songs, not just excerpts, and posting them to YouTube.)

Though both Thomases certainly merit a more extensive tribute, these clips seem to be the only ones available online. To see and hear more, you'll just have to catch them next weekend at the Bistro or the Wildey; as of this writing, tickets remain available from both venues.