Jazz this week: Jeremy Davenport, Tatsu Aoki, Anna Blair, and more

Though it's a holiday weekend, there still are some notable happenings around St. Louis for fans of jazz and creative music. Here's a short-form summary of the highlights: On Friday and Saturday, trumpeter, singer and St. Louis native Jeremy Davenport (pictured) returns home for what 's become an annual Thanksgiving weekend gig at Jazz at the Bistro. For a taste of Davenport performing material from his latest CD, check out the videos here; for a biography and background, see this post. Also, late word via the Jazz St. Louis Twitter feed is that the 8:30 sets for both nights are already sold out, so definitely call ahead for reservations if you'd like to see one of the 10:15 sets.

Also on Friday, bassist/multi-instrumentalist Tatsu Aoki, who combines jazz with traditional Japanese music, will perform a free concert at the Saint Louis Art Museum's Grigg Gallery. For more on Aoki, see this post.
Elsewhere this weekend, on Friday the Robert Edwards Big Band plays at Robbie's House of Jazz, and singer and local legend Mae Wheeler returns to Seasons St. Louis in Chesterfield. On Saturday, pianist Carolbeth True and Two Times True, which features her son David on drums, will take the stage at Robbie's.

On Sunday, singer and actress Anna Blair is doing a cabaret show of Fran Landesman songs at the Kranzberg Arts Center. Jim Dolan of The Presenters Dolan tells me that Blair was a supporting player in Landesman's own cabaret show in St. Louis last year, which inspired her to develop a show of her own centered around Landesman's lyrics, aided and abetted by pianist Joe Dreyer. Editor's note: Barring any major breaking news, StLJN will be on a light posting schedule through the rest of the holiday weekend. Look for the Saturday Video Showcase as usual, but otherwise things may be relatively slow here for a few days.
http://stljazznotes.blogspot.com/2009/11/jazz-this-week-jeremy-davenport-tatsu.html