March Must See Musicians

Unfortunately, March jazz events in the St. Louis area began with the postponement of Regina Carter's appearance's at Jazz at the Bistro March 2-5 and at the Blue Note in Columbia, MO on March 1. The stated reason was a "family emergency." Our best wishes to Regina and her family at this time... we're thinking of you. Her concerts at Jazz at the Bistro have been rescheduled for June 1-4... and her Blue note appearance has been postponed but not yet rescheduled as of March 4. For more information about ticket exchanges, refunds or rescheduled dates in St. Louis, contact Jazz at the Bistro. For info on Carter's Columbia concert, visit the We Always Swing Jazz series website.

But there's plenty more jazz music on the horizon. The Bistro has a full schedule for the rest of March — starting with guitarist Henry Johnson & the Organ Express on Friday and Saturday, March 11 & 12. Johnson, who works in the Wes Montgomery/George Benson style, has worked with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie and Marlena Shaw to Jimmy Smith and Joe Williams. Bassist extraordinaire Christian McBride brings his innovative approach to the Bistro March 16-19, followed by local favorites the Bosman Twins on March 25 & 26. Trumpeter Terrell Stafford takes the schedule into April with performances from March 30-April 2.

The Sheldon Concert Hall and the Blue Note in Columbia will both play host to performances by the Wynton Marsalis Quintet this month. The We Always Swing series will present Wynton and his band in two shows at the Blue Note on March 17. The opening 6:30 show is very close to selling out, but tickets remain for the 9 p.m. concert. Tickets are also going fast for the Sheldon's presentation of the group at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.

There's a new music club making its debut in St. Louis this month — Finale. Located in Clayton (specifically at 8025 Bonhomme Ave., in the Clayton on the Park Hotel), Finale will feature a mix of music and comedy acts — with quite a few jazz performers listed on the schedule. Maynard Ferguson will open the club March 16-19, and MAXJAZZ label vocalist Erin Bode appears on March 30 & 31. For more info, check out the Finale website.

RIFFS:

Don't forget a couple of interesting shows at Webster University this month. On Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m., Paul DeMarinis headlines a concert at Winifred Moore Auditorium called "Tributes: A Personal Reflection on the Influence of Some Great Jazz Masters." It will feature original music by DeMarinis — each composition written in tribute to a specific jazz musician. Some of the musicians honored in these works include' Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Steve Lacy, Wayne Shorter and Ornette Coleman. DeMarinis will perform with Dave Black, Michael Parkinson, Kim Portnoy, Kyle Honeycutt and Ben Wheeler.

On Monday March 21 (same time, same location, same admission) guitarist Steve Schenkel and bassist Dan Eubanks will perform a duo program called "That's Not Jazz!" The focus will be on jazz interpretations of rock and country tunes by the likes of Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Roy Acuff and Sting.