Jazz this week: Jon Batiste, Gaslight Cabaret Festival fall series opens with "Broadway's Greatest Hits," and more

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music in St. Louis offers the chance for a close-up look at a top TV bandleader, the start of this fall's Gaslight Cabaret Festival, and more.

Let's go to the highlights...

Wednesday, October 17
Since it doesn't seem to have been publicly announced anywhere else, this seems like a good place to note that organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, who previously was announced as performing Wednesday through Sunday of this week at Jazz St. Louis, last month cancelled a number of upcoming performances, including his St. Louis dates, due to illness.

While we all no doubt wish Smith a speedy and complete recovery, the late-breaking nature of this unfortunate development means that the Bistro, presumably unable to secure a suitable replacement in time, will be dark for the next week.

However, the weekly  "Grand Center Jazz Crawl" continues as usual, with Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes at The Stage at KDHX, the jam session hosted by bassist Bob DeBoo and friends at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and band at The Dark Room.

Also on Wednesday, Cabaret Project St. Louis presents their monthly "Singers Open Mic" at Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club; Wright's Project plays fusion and funk at Al's Lounge; and trumpeter Jim Manley is back for his weekly performance at Sasha's Wine Bar.

Thursday, October 18
The Poor People of Paris will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, and singer Joe Mancuso is back at 50/Fifty Kitchen.

Also on Thursday, saxophonist Harvey Lockhart and the Collective will perform at The Dark Room, and the Stephen Haake Trio returns to The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Friday, October 19
The fall series of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival begins with the first of two nights of "Broadway's Greatest Hits of All Time," as performed by singers Lianne Marie Dobbs and William Michals at the Gaslight Theater.

Also on Friday, keyboardist Ryan Marquez, his trio, and special guest vocalist Lola will play at the Kranzberg Arts Center; bassist and singer Janet Evra performs at Evangeline's; drummer Steve Davis brings his "Super Band" with singer Feyza Eren to the Ozark Theatre; and singer Erin Bode performs (with only a few seats left for purchase at the door) at Focal Point.

Saturday, October 20
Keyboardist Jon Batiste (pictured), the New Orleans native known for leading the house band on CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, will officially open this season's jazz series at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and guitarist Todd Mosby will play a solo concert at the Webster Groves Garden Cafe.

Sunday, October 21
Guitarist and singer Tommy Halloran plays for brunch at The Dark Room, while Annie and the Fur Trappers will perform for the brunch crowd at Evangeline's.

Monday, October 22
Dizzy Atmosphere returns to The Shaved Duck.

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.)

Gaslight Cabaret Festival announces fall series

The Presenters Dolan have announced the fall 2017 series of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, which will include seven different shows over five weekends at the Gaslight Theater in the Central West End.

The series will begin with jazz singer Paula West on Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14.

West (pictured), who's known for her ability to interpret a wide range of material, from the Great American Songbook to contemporary pop and rock, will be accompanied by pianist and music director Bruce Barth, bassist Ben Wheeler, and drummer Montez Coleman.

Next up is Alice Ripley, who won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Next to Normal, and was in the original Broadway casts of Les Misérables, Sunset Boulevard, Side Show, The Rocky Horror Show, and American Psycho. She'll take the stage of the Gaslight Theater on Friday, October 20 and Saturday, October 21.

The following weekend, singer/pianist Eric Comstock and singer Barbara Fasano will present a show called "Downton Abbey Road: The Best of Britain" on Friday, October 27. As the name suggests, the show is built on songs from an eclectic selection of British songwriters, from Noel Coward and Anthony Newley to the Beatles and Sting.

After that, Ken Haller, one of two St. Louis performers in the series, will present a new holiday-themed show, "Happy Haller Days!" on Thursday, November 2 and Thursday November 9.

Singers Farah Alvin and William Michals will be the next to take the festival stage, bringing their show "Broadway's Greatest Hits of All Time" from Feinstein's in New York City to St. Louis on Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4.

For the series' final weekend, former St. Louisan Katie McGrath, who moved to NYC last year, will return on Friday, November 10 with her show "Significant Others," and Emily Skinner, who's been nominated for Tony Awards for her work in Broadway shows including Side Show, Billy Elliot and The Full Monty, will wrap things up with a performance called "Broadway Her Way" on Saturday, November 11.

Single ticket prices for the Gateway Cabaret Festival range from $30 to $45, depending on the show, and there's a 10% discount for a subscription of five shows or more. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the Gaslight Cabaret Festival website.