Blue Strawberry bringing cabaret sounds to Central West End starting October 31

Clockwise from top left: Haller, Sullivan, Ross, Watts & Dreyer

 

St. Louis is getting a new venue for cabaret-style entertainment with the debut next week of Blue Strawberry at 364 N Boyle in the Central West End.

Set to open on Thursday, October 31, Blue Strawberry is owned by Jim Dolan, who through his company The Presenters Dolan has been producing cabaret shows here since the mid-2000s in a variety of locations, the most recent being the Gaslight Theater, which has hosted several iterations of Dolan's Gaslight Cabaret Festival just a few doors down the street on Boyle.

Blue Strawberry, which also will offer a full bar and food menu, will feature performances by a mix of local and touring singers on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with additional live music on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

St. Louis cabaret favorite Ken Haller will provide the entertainment for opening night with his new show "When I'm 65." Others scheduled for the first month include St. Louis' own Rosemary Watts and Joe Dreyer on Friday, November 1; singer and actress K.T. Sullivan with a tribute to the late Barbara Cook on Saturday, November 16; and the "Crown Prince of New York cabaret" Steve Ross with a show of Cole Porter songs on on Friday, November 29 and Saturday, November 30.

You can see a complete schedule of upcoming performances and purchase advance tickets at the Blue Strawberry website or at LicketyTix.com.

Craig Pomranz to perform "Love Takes Time" Saturday, November 21 at Cyrano's

Singer, actor, author and St. Louis native Craig Pomranz is returning home this month to perform his cabaret show "Love Takes Time" at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, November 21 at Cyrano's, 603 E. Lockwood in Webster Groves.

Called "one of New York's most critically-acclaimed saloon singers" by New York magazine, Pomranz (pictured) won the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) award for “Best Male Vocalist 2012” and was nominated for best male vocalist in that same year's BroadwayWorld.com Awards. His previous St. Louis performances in recent years include shows in 2011 and 2012 at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Tickets for Craig Pomranz at Cyrano's are $20 each, plus a service charge for online purchases. For reservations, call 314-965-2526 or buy online at Brown Paper Tickets.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Euclid Records has acquired the vinyl collection of the late St. Louis jazz DJ Leo Chears, and will be offering 6000 items from it this weekend in what they're calling "The Red Vest Sale" in a nod to Chears' signature apparel.

Chears (pictured), who died in 2006, had jazz programs on WAMV, KADI, KSD, WESL and WRTH over the course of a career than spanned five decades. Euclid's sale runs Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at their store in Webster Groves.

* Tim Schall, performer, producer and faculty member of the St. Louis Cabaret Conference, and Carol Schmidt, pianist and music director for a number of St. Louis performers, will be teaching two classes for aspiring cabaret singers this fall. "Cabaret 101" begins Monday, September 21 and runs for four weeks, followed directly by "Cabaret 201," which begins on Monday, October 19 and concludes on November 9

* Also on the education beat, multi-instrumentalist Adam Rugo will be teaching an African Drum Ensemble course starting Wednesday, September 16 at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park. No previous experience is required, and drums are provided. To sign up, go to http://www.stlcc.edu/mySTLCC and use the self-service system to register for MUS 144.

* Pianist Peter Martin is a partner in a new startup, Open Studio Network, which will offer online music lessons from Martin and other well-known musicians, so far including guitarist Romero Lumbabo and drummer Greg Hutchinson.

* Saxophonist Eric Person has posted to Facebook a photo album of a recent gig with trumpeter Wallace Roney.

* Drummer Dave Weckl's Acoustic Band will be touring Asia this month, starting September 15 in Seoul, South Korea. The group which also features St. Louis native Tom Kennedy on bass along with pianist Makoto Ozone and saxophonist Gary Meek, will go on to play multiple dates in Japan before finishing up September 27 in Taiwan.

* The late trumpeter and St. Louis native Clark Terry figures prominently in an archival article about jazz on television in 1965 that was reposted this week by DownBeat.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake has posted to YouTube a video from his residency last fall at The Stone in NYC - specifically, an excerpt from a set with drummers Bill McClellan and Ed Nicholson.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* Lew Prince, half of the partnership that has run the local indie record store Vintage Vinyl (pictured) for the last 35 years, has sold his stake in the business to co-proprietor Tom "Papa" Ray.

Prince told the Riverfront Times' Jaime Lees that after a break, he'll be looking for a new job or project. Ray will continue to operate VV as sole owner.

* Also in the RFT, contributor Bob McMahon looks at the current state of the recording studio business in St. Louis, and finds it to be "thriving."

* The application period is now open for the Regional Arts Commission's 2015 Artist Fellowships. RAC will award $20,000 each to ten St. Louis artists "in varied disciplines" to provide "funds to allow for more time and space to study, reflect, experiment, explore, practice, and create." Applications must be submitted by Friday, August 7; for more information or to apply, visit RAC's website.

* An essay at New England Public Radio suggests that the late Clark Terry's musical versatility qualified him as an unexpected postmodernist.

* Jim Dolan of The Presenters Dolan will be hosting a group trip in October to NYC's Cabaret Convention. The package includes opportunities to take in cabaret and Broadway shows, as well as special events and parties specifically for the tour group. To find out more, visit The Presenters Dolan website.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake has put together a short video introducing himself and his work that's now posted on Youtube.

* To promote his Whitaker Music Festival show this past Wednesday - unfortunately, postponed until next year due to wet conditions at Missouri Botanical Garden - singer Joe Mancuso did a brief interview with St. Louis magazine and appeared on KSDK's Show Me St. Louis.

* The Funky Butt Brass Band has posted to Facebook photo albums from saxophonist Ben Reece's farewell show last week at Broadway Oyster Bar, and new saxophonist Aaron Cebulske's official debut at a concert for the St. Louis Jazz Club.

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday on Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, Calvin Wilson's program “Somethin’ Else” will greet the solstice with summer-themed music from Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Abbey Lincoln, and others. "Somethin' Else" airs at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

So What: Local News, Notes & Links

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

* St. Louis native Lawrence Fields (pictured) can be heard playing piano on the upcoming release Live at Monterey Jazz Festival by SoundPrints, the Wayne Shorter-inspired band led by saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Dave Douglas. The album goes on sale everywhere Tuesday, April 7.

* Jazz St. Louis has posted on Facebook a photo album from Kneebody's opening night this week at Jazz at the Bistro. The group performs there through Saturday, with two sets per night plus a FREE lunchtime set open to the general public at 12:00 p.m. today (Friday, March 21).

* Did the late pianist Johnnie Johnson get a fair shake from the courts fifteen years ago when he sued rock 'n roll legend Chuck Berry claiming joint authorship of some of Berry's most famous songs? In an article published this week in St. Louis magazine, Byron Kerman talked to attorney Tim McFarlin, who after all these years has a new take on the case's implications.

* In a related development, McFarlin will give a "Business Edge" presentation for St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts on Monday, March 30 titled "The Case of Johnnie Johnson v. Chuck Berry and What Artists Should Do Before They Collaborate."

* Now that City of Music, Nine Network's special about the history of St. Louis music, has had its broadcast premiere, you can watch both parts of the program online at Nine's website. The special, which was filmed last October at the Sheldon and features performances from Alarm Will Sound, Denise Thimes, Peter Martin, Billy Peek, Illphonics, Carolbeth True and more, also will get a repeat broadcast airing at 7:00 p.m. this coming Tuesday, March 25.

* The 2015 St. Louis Cabaret Conference has added two-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown as a guest faculty member and festival performer. Deadline for performers wishing to attend this year's conference to submit their audition materials is Monday, April 13.

* Last week's funeral services for singer and nightclub owner Gene Lynn were covered by local Fox affiliate KTVI (Channel 2)

* A post this week on the Riverfront Times' music blog spotlights New Music Circle's sliding scale ticket prices for "struggling artists."

* Drummer and St. Charles native Dave Weckl will be one of the instructors at a "Drum Fantasy Camp" to be held this summer from August 7 - 11 in Chicago at Vic's Drum Shop/Music Garage.

* Saxophonist Oliver Lake will reunite with bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille as Trio 3 for a week-long gig starting this coming Tuesday, March 24 at NYC's Village Vanguard.

* The latest remastered vinyl reissue of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue gets an "extended analysis" from AllAboutJazz.com's Nenad Georgievski.

* Jazz radio update: On this Saturday's episode of Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis' “Somethin’ Else,” host Calvin Wilson will be spinning contemporary pop tunes given jazz interpretations by musicians including Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, and Jason Moran. "Somethin' Else" can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Jazz this week: Sean Jones, Galactic, Pat Metheny Unity Group, Andre Delano, a tribute to Eddie Lang, and more

As the city wakes up the morning after Fat Tuesday, there's no post-Mardi Gras slump in the schedule of jazz and creative music in St. Louis. This week includes shows from several noteworthy touring musicians, plus a homecoming performance from a well-known expat, and much more. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, Sean Jones returns to Jazz at the Bistro to open a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday. The former lead trumpeter with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jones (pictured) has been a frequent visitor to St. Louis on his own in recent years, most recently performing at the Bistro in 2013 with both the "Triumph of Trumpets" show and as guest soloist with the student JazzU ensembles. For this visit, he'll be accompanied by a top-notch group including pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Obed Calvaire.

Tomorrow night, another group of frequent visitors returns, as New Orleans' funk/jazz/hip-hop band Galactic checks in for their annual appearance at The Pageant, this time with singer Maggie Koerner as special guest and the Mike Dillon Band as opening act. For more about Galactic, plus some recent performances of theirs on video, check out this post from a couple of Saturday ago.

Elsewhere around town on Thursday, saxophonist/clarinetist Elsie Parker's group featuring pianist Ken Kehner will play a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University; singer Feyza Eren and pianist Scott Shepard will star in "Colored Sky: An Evening of St. Louis Jazz," a benefit for the Diversity Awareness Partnership presented at the Sheldon Concert Hall; and the Gaslight Cabaret Festival continues with a performance of Ken Haller's "The TV Show" at the Gaslight Theater.

On Friday, the husband-and-wife team of pianist Joe Dreyer and singer Rosemary Watts continue the Gaslight Cabaret Festival with their show "Swing Into Spring"; singer Wendy L. Gordon returns to DeLeo's Cafe & Deli; vibraphonist Tom Rickard leads a trio at Cigar Inn; and the Ambassadors of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom

Then on Saturday, Connie Fairchild, the soulful singer best known for the long-running local rock band bearing her last name, will make her debut as a cabaret performer with a show called "Down By The River" at the Gaslight Theater.

Also on Saturday, Wack-A-Doo will be at the Tavern of Fine Arts; saxophonist Jay Hutson and Da Wolvez play R&B-inflected tunes at Robbie's House of Jazz; jazz-fusion band The Freedom make their debut at Thurman Grill; and Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes return to the Venice Cafe.

On Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Jazz Club presents a tribute to guitarist Eddie Lang at the Sheraton Westport, featuring guitarist Rick Haydon, trombonist Brett Stamps, clarinetist Scott Alberici, drummer Miles Vandiver, and bassist Zeb Briskovich.

Sunday evening offers dueling headliners, as saxophonist and East St. Louis native Andre Delano will be back home to play two shows at the Bistro at Grand Center, while guitarist Pat Metheny brings his Unity Group to town for a highly anticipated performance at The Pageant. For more about the Pat Metheny Unity Group and their brand new album Kin, see this post from last Saturday.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday percussionist Joe Pastor and his group are back at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

Then on Tuesday, the jazz-fusion group Common Time (formerly known as Steizuello) will be joined by a string quartet for a "Notes From Home" performance at the Sheldon; and Boisyiac, a new quartet including guitarist Mason Baran, bassist Nathan Pence, drummer Joe Winstein-Hibbs, and keyboardist Matt Villinger, will play 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.)

(Edited 3/6/13 to add some links and clean up typos.) 

Ken Page added to Gaslight Cabaret Festival

The Gaslight Cabaret Festival has added a major attraction to its lineup, as festival producers The Presenters Dolan have announced that singer/actor, Broadway veteran, and St. Louis native Ken Page will perform to kick off the multi-week event with shows at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 20 and Friday, February 21 at the Gaslight Theater.

Although Page (pictured) has appeared in movies, on TV, and as a voiceover performer for animation, he's best known for his many starring roles in musical theater, including being part of the original casts of the Fats Waller musical Ain't Misbehavin', Cats, The Wiz, and the hit revival of Guys and Dolls.

For the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, Page will perform a show called "Old, New, Borrowed & Blue," which according to promotional materials will feature "a range of songs from Old Broadway, New Broadway, his favorite artists, and the blues." (For more about Ken Page, see this 2012 feature story from St. Louis magazine.)

Tickets for Ken Page at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival are $35 and $40, and are on sale now online at http://www.licketytix.com and by phone at 314-725-4200 ext 10.

Gaslight Cabaret Festival to be held February 22 - April 26 at Gaslight Theater

Cabaret producers The Presenters Dolan yesterday announced a new series of performances called the Gaslight Cabaret Festival that will begin February 22 and continue through the end of April at the Gaslight Theater, 358 Boyle in the Central West End.

Twelve acts are booked for a total of twenty-two performances, including three touring headliners - Marissa Mulder (pictured), Emily Bergl, and rocker/reality-TV-star Storm Large - making their St. Louis debuts, as well as a number of St. Louis' favorite homegrown performers.

The schedule in chronological order is:

Saturday, February 22:  Tim Schall - "1961"
Thursday, February 27 - Saturday, March 1:   Marissa Mulder - "The Songs of Tom Waits"

Thursday, March 6:  Ken Haller - "The TV Show"
Friday, March 7:  Joe Dreyer and Rosemary Watts - "Swing Into Spring"
Saturday, March 8:  Connie Fairchild - "Down By The River"
Thursday, March 13 - Saturday, March 15:  Emily Bergl - "Until the Real Thing Comes Along"
Saturday, March 29:  Joe Dreyer and Rosemary Watts - "Swing Into Spring"

Thursday, April 3:  Morgan A. Faulkner - "I Got It All From My Mother"
Friday, April 4:  Katie McGrath - "Love in the Desert: Romance in an Age of Scarcity"
Saturday, April 5:  Todd and Kelly Decker - "They Can't Take That Away from Me: Songs and Stories of George and Ira Gershwin"
Thursday, April 10:  Taylor Pietz - "If I Only Had a Brain"
Friday, April 11 & Saturday, April 12:  Storm Large - "Taken By Storm: songs of seduction and obsession"
Friday, April 25 & Saturday, April 26:  Lara Teeter - "An Evening With..."

Four-show subscriptions are available at $139 for premium seating, $121 for regular seating, while single tickets are priced from $22 to $45, depending on the performance and seating option selected. Subscriptions and single tickets for the Gaslight Cabaret Festival are on sale now via http://www.licketytix.com or by phone at 314-725-4200, ext 10.

Jazz this week: St. Louis Cabaret Festival with Marilyn Maye, American Music Showcase, Kelley Hunt, and more

This weekend may mark the beginning of the dog days of summer, but it's one of the busiest times of the year for Cabaret Project St. Louis, as the organization presents its annual St. Louis Cabaret Festival
and conference this week.

In addition to a week's worth of educational programs for prospective singers, there are four nights of performances on tap, starting this evening as singer and pianist Billy Stritch performs songs associated with Mel Torme at the Bistro at Grand Center.

The Festival's biggest event is tomorrow night, as singers Marilyn Maye (pictured) and Jason Graae will take the stage for separate sets at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The Sheldon extravaganza will be followed by two more shows at the Bistro, featuring singer and pianist John Bucchino on Friday and a showcase of students from this week's workshops on Sunday. You can read an interview that Maye did with the Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller, including more details on the Festival, here.

Elsewhere around town tonight, it's an alpha-and-omega kind of thing, as the St. Louis New Jazz X-Tet plays their final Wednesday gig at the Chase Park Plaza's Cafe Eau, while trumpeter Delano Redmond is in just the second week of his new weekly engagement at Premier Lounge.

Also on Thursday, trumpeter Jim Manley starts a new weekly gig at Joyia Tapas in the Grove neighborhood; and Miss Jubilee performs swing and jump blues at Thaxton Speakeasy.

On Friday, singer Ron Wilkerson will be at Robbie's House of Jazz; guitarist Tom Byrne leads a trio at Cigar Inn; and saxophonist Tim Cunningham is downtown at former St. Louis Cardinal Jim Edmonds' Fifteen Steakhouse, where he'll be playing Fridays all this month.

Then on Saturday, pianist Phil Dunlap's new quintet, washed out by rain a few weeks ago at the St. Louis Art Museum, finally will give their debut performance as part of the American Music Showcase, a multi-band, multi-venue event in the Grand Center district.

Also on Saturday, singer Tony Viviano celebrates the birthday of Tony Bennett with a tribute show at Talayna's; young Chicago guitarist Chuck Tripp is at Robbie's; and Coco Rico will play Gypsy jazz and swing at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

On Sunday, BB's Jazz Blues and Soups has a matinee from Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes, followed by an evening performance from Kansas City pianist and blues singer Kelley Hunt, long a favorite around these parts, who will showcase some material from her upcoming album. Also on Sunday, the Friends of Scott Joplin present their monthly "Ragtime Rendezvous" jam session at Dressel's Pub.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Tuesday Dizzy Atmosphere plays a "Notes From Home" show at the Sheldon Concert Hall. They'll be joined by an extensive list of guest performers including multi-instrumentalist Sandy Weltman, bassist Willem von Hombracht, keyboardist Carl Pandolfi, and several others.

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:

* With a little more than 24 hours to go, KDHX (88.1 FM) yesterday met their Kickstarter campaign goal of $50,000 to build a 125-seat performance space at the station's new headquarters on Washington Ave in the Grand Center district.

The campaign's final days were marked by a social media push on Facebook and Twitter involving local music fans and bloggers, and also got some coverage from reporter Heidi Glaus of local NBC affiliate KSDK. The various premiums still are available to anyone who pledges before the campaign ends at noon on Friday.

* Metrotix and Tap Heritage, Inc. are offering a $5 discount on tickets for "All That Tap XXII," this year's installment of the annual tap dance festival to be held Saturday at the Edison Theater on the Washington University campus.

The event features tap stars of movies, Broadway and TV performing in tap dance styles from jazz to hip-hop, with live music from pianist Carolbeth True's trio. The regular ticket price is $25, so the discounted price is $20 per ticket. To access the offer, go to the Metrotix site and enter promo code ATT.  The offer ends at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

* Quartette Humaine, the new album from David Sanborn and Bob James, was reviewed by Chris Parker for London Jazz News.

* Jim Widner (pictured)  - bassist, bandleader, educator and head of the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival - was the subject of a profile by Ruth Ezell of local PBS affiliate KETC's Living St. Louis, as well as a feature story by the UMSL Daily.

* And speaking of profiles, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes this week were the subjects of one written by Terry Perkins for the St. Louis Beacon.

* Perkins this week also wrote for the Beacon a preview of the upcoming St. Louis Cabaret Festival.

* And on the same subject, singer Jason Graae, who will be appearing at the Cabaret Festival and accompanying conference, was interviewed by KDHX's "Break A Leg" podcast.

* The St. Louis Stompers are headlining this weekend at the 21st annual Lakeside DixieFest in Clear Lake, IA.

* Jazz St. Louis this week announced that the organization posted double-digit percentage increases in subscription and single ticket sales revenues this past season, with total revenue for all Jazz at the Bistro activity up 17% over the previous year.

Subscription revenue grew by 13% to $151,417, with total subscription seats sold rising 8% to 5,755. New subscription seats sold for Jazz at the Bistro increased 26% over fiscal 2012, and average per-set attendance increased 7% compared to the previous year. In a press release, Jazz St. Louis' Bob Bennett attributed the growth to a record number of new subscription seats purchased, an 85% renewal rate, and an overall increase in the number of shows subscribers are purchasing.

JSL also announced this week that Wells Fargo Advisors will contribute $100,000 to be "presenting sponsor" of the 2013-14 Jazz at the Bistro season, marking the third year the company has made a "leadership gift" to the organization.

* Jazz radio update: This week at Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, saxophonist Joe Henderson's  achievements as a bandleader, composer and accompanist will be the subject of this week's episode of Calvin Wilson's "Somethin' Else." In addition to music from Henderson, the program also will feature sounds from saxophonist Marcus Strickland and singer Holly Cole. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays via 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2 and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen. 

Elsewhere on the radio dial, Dennis Owsley's "Jazz Unlimited" program this Sunday will feature the music of Fats Waller, as interpreted by Waller himself and pianists James P. Johnson, Earl Hines and Dick Hyman, plus St. Louis’s own Ralph Sutton and his sister Barbara Sutton Curtis.

Owsley also will spin new music from Ralph Alessi, Melton Mustafa, the Joel Harrison 19, Mark Gross, Oliver Jones, Fred Hersch, Laszlo Gardony, Kenny Barron, Jacky Terrasson, Edward Simon, Scott Newman, Ben Monder, and RJ and the Association. "Jazz Unlimited" can be heard from 9:00 pm to midnight Sundays on KWMU (90.7 FM) or online at http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org.

Marilyn Maye to perform on Thursday, August 1 at The Sheldon

Famed cabaret singer Marilyn Maye has joined the faculty of this year's St. Louis Cabaret Conference, and will perform for the accompanying St. Louis Cabaret Festival at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, August 1 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Maye (pictured), replaces Faith Prince, who originally was scheduled to come to St. Louis for the conference but has been cast in a Broadway revival of Annie. Jason Graae, another of the conference's faculty, will join Maye on the bill at the Sheldon.

The Maye/Graae show will be book-ended by performances by their fellow faculty members Billy Stritch, singing songs associated with Mel Torme at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 31 at the Bistro at Grand Center; and pianist and singer John Bucchino, at 8:00 p.m. Friday, August 2 at the Bistro.

The public portion of the conference wraps up with a "Final Showcase" featuring all of the conference's participants at 7:00 p.m. Sunday, August 4 at the Bistro.

Thursday's concert had been scheduled for the Bistro as well, but Maye's addition to the festivities prompted the move to the Sheldon, a testament to her renewed popularity in recent years following a well-received appearance at the 2006 New York Cabaret Convention.

The Kansas City native "has appeared on The Tonight Show a record 76 times, has a recording in the Smithsonian, was one of Ella Fitzgerald's favorite singers and is currently performing all over the country with multiple engagements in New York," including Feinstein's, 54 Below, Birdland and Carnegie Hall. Her last performance in St. Louis was in 2008 at the Sheldon.

Maye, the other performers mentioned above, musical director John Randall, and singer-director and conference organizer Tim Schall will lead a group of 30 singers through five days of intensive workshops and master classes, culminating in the Sunday night performance. Admittance to the workshops is by audition only; for details, email Schall at info @ stlouiscabaretconference.com.

Tickets for the public performances are $40 and $45 for Maye and Graae; $35 for the other performances; and are available now via Metrotix.

Craig Pomranz to perform December 7 & 8 at Kranzberg Arts Center

Cabaret singer and St. Louis native Craig Pomranz (pictured) is returning home this weekend to perform "The Break-Up Show" at 8:00 p.m. Friday, December 7 and Saturday, December 8 at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Pomranz, who's currently based in NYC, recently was nominated for Best Male Vocalist in the 2012 BroadwayWorld.com Awards. He performed in St. Louis most recently in December of last year at the Kranzberg.

"The Break-Up Show," as the title suggests, features songs about lost love, from vintage tunes such as "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)” and “It Never Entered My Mind” to more recent pop including "My Eyes Adored You.” You can read a brief review of the show from Cabaret Scenes here.

Tickets for Craig Pomranz' "The Break-Up Show" are $20 and are available by phone at 314-965-2526 or online from Brown Paper Tickets.

Jazz this week: Dave Easley, Alan Evans Trio, "Webster's Got Talent" contest finals, and more

With heavy rain from Hurricane Isaac expected to reach well up into the Midwest this Labor Day weekend, organizers of outdoor events like the Big Muddy Blues Festival on Laclede's Landing and the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden are hustling to implement their bad-weather contingency plans and/or inform the public of possible schedule changes.

Fortunately, while there are a couple of outdoor jazz events scheduled for the weekend, there also are plenty of jazz and creative music events happening indoors where it's safe and dry. Let's go to the highlights...

Tonight, the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival will present the finals of their "Webster's Got Talent" contest at Robbie's House of Jazz, with the winner getting an opening slot at the OWJ&BF on Saturday, September 15. The finalists performing are North of the Quarter, Sarah Jane & the Blue Notes, Sarah LeBeau & Friends, and singer Ron Wilkerson & Friends.

Also tonight, it's the monthly "Avant-Garde Arts Night," featuring live improvised music, at the Tavern of Fine Arts.

Tomorrow night, drummer Maurice Carnes leads a quartet with saxophonist Freddie Washington and guitarist Chris Burchett at Robbie's House of Jazz, while saxophonist Willie Akins and drummer Montez Coleman will bring a quartet to the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

Also on Friday, the Gaslight Theater is the venue for "Labors of Love," a cabaret show featuring singers Anna Blair, Robert Breig, Ken Haller, Charlene Reimann and Chuck Lavazzi with pianist Carol Schmidt; and the Funky Butt Brass Band plays at the Broadway Oyster Bar.

On Saturday, there's a chance to hear a virtuoso improviser on an instrument rarely used in jazz, as pedal steel player Dave Easley (pictured) comes to town for a gig at Robbie's. Easley, who's based in New Orleans, has played with drummer Brian Blade's Fellowship, Coco Robcheaux, and numerous other well-known performers, as well as with several local jazz groups in NOLA.

Then on Sunday, the St. Charles Community Big Band has a free concert scheduled for Frontier Park on the St. Charles riverfront, and keyboardist Pete Ruthenberg will play an early evening set at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

On Monday afternoon, the Funky Butt Brass Band plays a free outdoor concert in Benton Park, and that evening, guitarist Tom Byrne and Have You Heard? return to BB's.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, drummer Alan Evans of Soulive and his new trio will pay a return visit to the Old Rock House. The group, which also features organist Beau Sasser and guitarist Danny Meyer, was here back in May at the same venue, promoting their recent debut release Drop Hop.

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: David Sanborn & Brian Culbertson, Steve Davis, Dave Dickey Big Band, and more

With the return of one of the best known jazz musicians ever to come out of St. Louis, plus a nice variety of local gigs on tap, this week's jazz and creative music calendar is relatively busy for the end of August, which usually is a fairly slow time of year. So without further ado, let's go to the highlights...

The local-boy-made-good is saxophonist and Kirkwood native David Sanborn (pictured), who last performed here a year ago with Marcus Miller and George Duke at the Touhill. Sanborn's touring partner this year is multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson, and they'll be in town on Thursday night at The Pageant.

The two have been touring together all summer, and rather than an opening act/headliner arrangement, they're co-fronting the same band and alternating feature tunes during the set. For interviews and some sample performances recorded earlier in the tour, see this post from last Saturday.

Elsewhere around town, on Friday saxophonist Jay Hutson will be at Robbie's House of Jazz; guitarist Eric Slaughter leads a trio at Cigar Inn; and saxophonist Corey Allen will play at Jazz on Broadway. Also on Friday, singer Christy Simmons will perform her cabaret show "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" at the Gaslight Theater in the Central West End.

On Saturday, drummer Steve Davis will lead a band featuring guitarist Matthew Van Doran at Robbie's; singer Feyza Eren and guitarist Tom Byrne will play at Mojo Tapas Restaurant and Bar; saxophonist Jerry Greene and singer Sarah Jane Ulrich of Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will offer a tribute to Billie Holiday at the Wine Press; and Good 4 The Soul will perform at Jazz on Broadway.

Then on Sunday, the Dave Dickey Big Band will play their monthly gig at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday saxophonist "Blind" Willie Dineen and his Broadway Collective will perform their monthly show at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups; and on Tuesday, guitarist Dave Black will take the stage for an early show at BB's.

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: The Great Barrier Reefs, St. Louis Cabaret Festival, Don Schroeder's Happy-Go-Lucky Jazz Band, and more

This week's jazz and creative music calendar in St. Louis features some Caribbean-flavored jazz-fusion, three nights of cabaret, and some traditional prewar jazz, plus much more. Let's go to the highlights:

Tonight, the aforementioned Caribbean flavor manifests itself in the form of the Nashville-based funk/fusion band The Great Barrier Reefs (pictured), who are playing at Pop's Blue Moon. The island vibe of the five-member Reefs comes in large part from steel pan player and keyboardist Tony Hartman, but the rest of the band is quite capable, too, and their sound bridges several genres in an entertaining and appealing way. You can check them out on video in this post from last Saturday.

Also tonight, the Funky Butt Brass Band plays a free, late afternoon outdoor show at Strauss Park, across the street from the Fox Theatre; Good 4 The Soul has the early evening slot at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, and pianist Nathan Jatcko plays solo at the Cigar Inn in Belleville.

Tomorrow night, the St. Louis Cabaret Festival, sponsored by the St. Louis Cabaret Conference and The Presenters Dolan, starts a three-night run of performances at the Bistro at Grand Center with a show featuring cabaret and Broadway star Karen Mason.

Also on Friday night, guitarist Vince Varvel plays at City Music and Education Center; guitarist Tom Byrne leads a trio with bassist Willem von Hombracht and drummer Chris Gianino at Cigar Inn; the Funky Butt Brass Band performs at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company; and bassist Darrell Mixon will front a trio with drummer Gary Sykes and vibraphonist Jon Whiting at Robbie's House of Jazz.

On Saturday, the Cabaret Festival will present a multi-artist bill at the Bistro that includes Barbara Fasano, Eric Comstock, Jason Graae and Rick Jensen. Also on Saturday, guitarist Dave Black leads a group at Robbie's; saxophonist Jim Stevens plays at BB's; and saxophonist Michael Fitzgerald performs at Jazz on Broadway in Alton.

Then on Sunday, the Saint Louis Jazz Club will present Don Schroeder's Happy-Go-Lucky Jazz Band in a matinee concert at the DoubleTree Hotel at Westport. The Cabaret Festival concludes Sunday evening with the St. Louis Cabaret Conference Showcase, directed by Graae and Fasono and featuring 20 singers from in and around St. Louis.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday Tom Byrne is back in action, this time with his Pat Metheny-inspired ensemble Have You Heard?, at BB's.

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.)

St. Louis Cabaret Festival set for Friday, August 10 - Saturday, August 12

The St. Louis Cabaret Conference and co-sponsors The Presenters Dolan have announced the lineup of public performances for the 2012 St. Louis Cabaret Festival, which will take place starting Friday, August 10 through Sunday, August 12 at the Bistro at Grand Center, 3536 Washington Ave.

Cabaret and Broadway star Karen Mason (pictured) will kick off the weekend with a performance at 8:00 p.m., Friday, August 10 at the Bistro. Mason, who will be making her St. Louis cabaret debut with this show, has headlined at nearly every major nightclub and concert hall in New York and is the winner of 10 MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) Awards, 3 Bistro Awards, and the Nightlife Award.

Her Broadway performances include lead roles in Hairspray, Mamma Mia, and Sunset Boulevard, for which she received standing ovations on Broadway and in Los Angeles for her portrayal of Norma Desmond. Mason also has performed musical theater in St. Louis, starring at The Muny as Mama Rose in Gypsy.

At 8:00 p.m. on Friday, the Festival will present a diverse bill of performers including Barbara Fasano, Eric Comstock, Jason Graae and Rick Jensen that is designed to showcase "the breadth and depth of cabaret."

Fasano and Comstock - her husband, performing partner, and pianist - will team up to present their take on Great American Songbook standards, while Graae's approach emphasizes his skills as a comic performer. Singer and music director Jensen will round out the show with some of his original pop material.

The Festival concludes at 7:00 p.m. Sunday with the annual St. Louis Cabaret Conference Showcase. Directed by Graae and Fasono, the showcase will feature 20 singers from in and around St. Louis who have taken part in the Conference's four days of intensive workshops and master classes.

Tickets are priced at $35 each for the Friday and Saturday shows, and $20 each for Sunday's showcase. Tickets can be purchase online at http://www.licketytix.com or by phone by calling 314-725-4200, ext 10.

Presenters Dolan announce new cabaret shows from Donna Weinsting & Lara Buck, Jeffrey M. Wright

The Presenters Dolan have announced dates for two cabaret shows to be presented this spring at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand.

Singer/actors Lara Buck (pictured, above left) and Donna Weinsting (below left) will team up for "Bold, Bawdy, Blonde - and Funny," an election-year themed show billed as "standards meet standup and politics greets parody" that will play at 8:00 p.m., Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31.

Buck has done political parody before, spending two years in the satiric musical revue Political Idol, while Weinsting is a veteran of local theater productions and winner of a Kevin Kline award for "outstanding lead actress in a play" in the New Jewish Theatre's 2006 production of From Door To Door. Tim Schall will direct, with Greg Schweizer serving as music director.

The following month, Jeffrey M. Wright will return to the Kranzberg stage with "Southern Roots" at 8:00 p.m. Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14. Described as "an evening of songs inspired by growing up south of the Mason-Dixon line," Wright's show will feature Carol Schmidt as music director.

Tickets are $25 each for "Bold, Bawdy, Blonde - and Funny," $20 each for "Southern Roots," and can be purchased online at http://www.licketytix.com/ or by phone at 314-725-4200, ext 10.

(Edited 2/14/12 to fix a strange-looking line break.)

Craig Pomranz to perform “Love and the Clock” on Saturday, December 17 at Kranzberg Arts Center

Singer and St. Louis native Craig Pomranz (pictured) will return to his hometown for performances of his new cabaret show "Love and the Clock" at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 17 at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand.

Called "one of New York's most critically-acclaimed saloon singers" by New York magazine, Pomranz will be accompanied by music director Stephen Bocchino. His new show, which most recently played to sell-out crowds in Los Angeles, deals with "the tick tock of love and how the clock rules the heart" and includes songs from writers ranging from Stephen Sondheim to Cindy Lauper.

Tickets for Craig Pomranz' "Love and the Clock" are $25 each, and are available in advance by phone at 314-965-2526 or online at www.brownpapertickets.com.

Jazz this week: Tim Cunningham, Rodney Lancaster's St. Louis Trombone Ensemble, "DreamScapes" at the Pulitzer, and more

With various summer concert series wrapping up and the fall presenting season yet to begin, the middle of August usually is a relatively slow time with regard to touring jazz and creative music performers visiting St. Louis.

However, that doesn't mean the scene is entirely devoid of activity, as there still are some noteworthy shows over the next few days featuring local and regional musicians. Let's see what's happening...

On Friday, guitarist Eric Slaughter will bring his trio with Nick Jost and Marty Morrison to Robbie's House Of Jazz, while across the river in Belleville, guitarist Dave Black will perform with his trio, including drummer Kevin Gianino and bassist Willem von Hombracht, at the Cigar Inn. That same evening, the Ambassadors of Swing will play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom

Also on Friday, saxophonist Tim Cunningham (pictured) will open a two-night stand at Jazz on Broadway, a new club that's just opened in Alton, IL. The club doesn't yet have a website, and several calls by yr. humble StLJN editor to their phone number have gone unanswered, but the Alton Telegraph's Jill Moon has a few more details about the place in this article. Look for a followup post here as soon as I can make contact with someone who can speak for the new venue....

On Saturday, trombonist and former St. Louisan Rodney Lancaster will present his St. Louis Trombone Ensemble with Doug Bert at Robbie's; and DJ/bassist Josh Weinstein and poet Brett Underwood will give one more DreamScapes performance at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts before the associated exhibit there closes.

On Sunday, saxophonist Jeff Riley's trio will play for brunch at Rue Lafayette, and that evening, Latin jazz band Clave Sol will perform at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups.

Also on Sunday evening, the St. Louis Cabaret Conference 2011 will present its final showcase at the Bistro at Grand Center. The performance will feature 24 singers directed by Andrea Marcovicci and Jason Graae, with music direction by Rick Jensen and Shelly Markham. Tickets are $20 at the door or in advance via www.brownpapertickets.com.

Looking beyond the weekend, on Monday, the Sessions Big Band is at BB's, and on Tuesday, the club has Dave Black's four-piece group.

For more jazz-related events in St. Louis this weekend and beyond, 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.)

Jimmy Webb to perform for Presenters Dolan's upcoming cabaret series

The Presenters Dolan have announced a new schedule of cabaret shows to be presented in February and March at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

The upcoming series' best known performer is singer and songwriter Jimmy Webb (pictured), who will play the Kranzberg from Thursday, March 17 through Saturday, March 19.

Webb, the Grammy Award winning writer of 1960s vintage pop hits such as "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Didn't We" and "MacArthur Park", will be singing his own songs and "telling stories about them and the people who sang them over the years." Webb should have some interesting stories to tell, as his tunes have been recorded by an extraordinarily diverse group of performers, including Glen Campbell, the actor Richard Harris, Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Frank Sinatra, Nanci Griffith, Linda Ronstadt, Judy Collins, Elvis Presley, Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson.

The performers for the other four shows all have a St. Louis connection. The husband and wife team of pianist Joe Dreyer and singer/actress Rosemary Watts will open the series on Friday, February 11 and Saturday, February 12 with their new show "Crazy Relationships - Love in Many Aspects," supported by Scott Alberici on clarinet and Dave Troncoso on bass.

St. Louis native Craig Pomranz is up next, returning home for performances on Friday, February 18 and Saturday, February 19. Pomranz' show is directed by Ron Cohen, with Stephen Bocchino as musical director.

Pianist Carol Schmidt then takes the stage on Friday, February 25 and Saturday, February 26, accompanied by Ric Vice on bass and a lineup of guest singers including Robert Breig, Michele Isam, and Dionna Raedeke. Schmidt's show will include several originals from her forthcoming CD The Significance of Scenery, which she plans to release this fall.

Roundin out the series is St. Louis native, actor and singer Craig Rubano, whose show "We Can Be Kind: Songs of Passion, Songs of Hope" will run Thursday, March 10 through Saturday, March 12. Rubano's show includes songs from writers such as Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon, with Beth Ertz as music director and accompanist.

Tickets range in price from $20 for Schmidt's performances to up to $55 for preferred seating for Jimmy Webb, and are on sale now online at licketytix.com.