Wednesday, March 07, 2018

Jazz this week: Marilyn Maye, Jeanne Trevor & Dave Black, Funky Butt Brass Band, and more

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes return gigs for an acclaimed veteran of cabaret singing and a favorite local act at the city's premier jazz club; a rare performance by one of St. Louis' own jazz divas; and more.

Let's go to the highlights...


Wednesday, March 7
Marilyn Maye (pictured, top left), who's sometimes called "the grand dame of cabaret," returns for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro.

Not unlike Tony Bennett, Maye, who's set to turn 90 next month, draws on a deep knowledge of the Great American Songbook and seven decades of show business experience to deliver still-relevant performances seemingly in defiance of the passage of time. If you have any serious interest in cabaret singing and are not already a fan, catch her while you can, but know that Maye has a substantial local fan base, thanks to multiple appearances here in recent years, so advance reservations definitely are suggested.

Maye's opening night performance will be video-simulcast to the first-floor lounge adjacent to the Bistro as part of this week's "Grand Center Jazz Crawl," which also features guitarist Eric Slaughter and bassist Glen Smith at The Stage at KDHX; the jam session led by bassist Bob DeBoo at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and trumpeter Kasimu Taylor's band at The Dark Room.

Thursday, March 8
The Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will present a free concert titled "Women's Voices in Music" featuring Wash U students Helen Kaul, Hannah Gilberstadt, Nadia Irvin, Ella-Marie West, and Eden Diamond, accompanied by clarinetist Linda Gurney, pianist Kara Baldus, bassist Jeff Anderson, and drummer Eddie Campbell.

Also on Thursday, singer Jeanne Trevor will make a rare appearance in a duet with guitarist Dave Black at The Pat Connolly Tavern, and the fusion/funk band SpaceShip returns to The Dark Room.

Friday, March 9
The Funky Butt Brass Band (pictured, bottom left) will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro, with various friends sitting in to augment the ensemble, including singers Roland Johnson and Anita Jackson, guitarist Jimmy Griffin, keyboardist Dave Grelle, and more.

Also on Friday, the Original Knights of Swing play for dancers at the Casa Loma Ballroom.

Saturday, March 10
Troy's Jazz Gallery celebrates five years in business with music from the Coleman Hughes Project; saxophonist and singer Cary Colman and her trio return to Evangeline's; and saxophonist Dave Stone and his trio continue their Saturday night residency at Thurman's in Shaw.

Sunday, March 11
Singer Chuck Flowers and pianist Dave Becherer will play for brunch at The Dark Room, and then that evening, the Dave Dickey Big Band returns to the adjacent Grandel Theatre, this month featuring guest vocals from singer Anita Jackson and an intermission performance by the Parkway Central High Schooll Jazz Band.

Monday, March 12
Trumpeter Jim Manley continues his regular Monday night gig at Momo's Greek Restaurant.

Tuesday, March 13
Miss Jubilee plays for the weekly "NOLA Swing" event at HandleBar.

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.)

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