Dweezil Zappa to perform Tuesday, May 8 at The Ready Room

Guitarist Dweezil Zappa will be returning to St. Louis next year to perform at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 8 at The Ready Room.

Zappa (pictured), the son of guitarist and composer Frank Zappa, has been touring and playing his father's music for the past decade using the name Zappa Plays Zappa, with his last performance in St. Louis having been in October 2016 at The Ready Room.

Since then, he's become involved in a dispute with the Zappa Family Trust, the legal entity that controls the rights to Frank Zappa's image, music, and other intellectual property and that now is headed by Dweezil's brother Ahmet and sister Diva.

Though a complete recounting of the details is beyond the scope of a short blog post, the gist of the problem is that the ZFT wants Dweezil Zappa to pay to license future live performances of his father's music, as well as a cut of his merchandise sales. Dweezil, understandably, finds this unfair, since in recent years he's dedicated most of his working life to keeping FZ's music before the public via frequent touring, while bearing all the expenses of putting a band together and taking it on the road.

The immediate result of the disagreement was that Dweezil stopped using the name Zappa Plays Zappa for his group, and instead toured in 2017 as "50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%K He Wants." This fall, the latest twists in the saga have included a new proposal from Dweezil to resolve the situation, and an announcement from the ZFT sanctioning something called "Frank Zappa � Back On The Road: The Hologram Tour" that supposedly will begin sometime in 2018.

Will the Zappa family's internal dispute be resolved by next May? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, tickets for Dweezil Zappa at The Ready Room are $25 in advance for general admission, $50 for a "VIP Soundcheck Party" that includes a 45-minute event before the doors open and a show poster, and are on sale now via Ticketfly.

Jazz St. Louis adds shows to Bistro's winter/spring schedule, including Keyon Harrold, Ken Page, and more

Jazz St. Louis has announced additions to the winter/spring 2018 schedule for the Ferring Jazz Bistro, filling out the previously announced slate of touring acts with more than a dozen shows featuring St. Louis musicians and singers

Most notably, trumpeter Keyon Harrold (pictured, top left) will return home to perform Wednesday, February 7 and Thursday, February 8, and singer and actor Ken Page will make his debut at the Bistro with performances on Wednesday, April 4 and Thursday, April 5.

Harrold, a native of Ferguson now living in NYC, has gained considerable career momentum in the last two years, thanks to his participation in the soundtrack for Don Cheadle's film Miles Ahead and the recent released of The Mugician, his highly anticipated second album as a leader.

Page (pictured, bottom left) is a St. Louis native famed for his Broadway roles in the original casts of Ain't Misbehavin' and Cats (as well as in many other musicals including The Wiz and Guys and Dolls), and for his voice acting in Tim Burton's animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas.

He's been developing a cabaret show for the last several years, and presented a version of it in 2014 at the Gaslight Theatre as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival.

Also of note, the "Whitaker Jazz Speaks" series will continue with a program called "Harlem�s Renaissance" on Wednesday, April 18. The free event will begin with a discussion led by Gerald Early of Washington University, followed a performance of music from the period by Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong.

As for the rest of the schedule, keyboardist Nathan Jatcko will make his Bistro debut as a leader with a standalone date on Thursday, April 19, and The Peoples Key and guest multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris will reprise their "Jazz Memories of Michael Jackson," first staged in 2014 at the Kranzberg Arts Center, on Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10.

Other local performers getting return engagements include the Funky Butt Brass Band "and Friends" (Friday, March 9 & Saturday, March 10), singers Brian Owens (Wednesday, March 21 & Thursday, March 22) and Denise Thimes (Friday, March 23 & Saturday, March 24), drummer Kevin Bowers (Friday, April 20 & Saturday, April 21), the JazzU Big Band student ensemble (Sunday, April 29), the Route 66 Jazz Orchestra (Thursday, May 17) and trumpeter/vocalist Dawn Weber and Friends (Friday, May 18 & Saturday, May 19).

Lastly, there's a new program called "Juice Box Jazz" for kids in pre-K through elementary school. It will be presented on three Sunday afternoons - January 21 with members of the Funky Butt Brass Band, March 4 with keyboardist/guitarist Adam Maness, and April 8 with trumpeter Riley Mulherkar - and will include musical performances, snacks, and jazz-themed activities that "will have the whole family learning and loving what jazz music is all about."

Tickets for all these performances will go on sale at !1:00 a.m. this Friday, December 15 via the Jazz St. Louis website or by phone at 314-571-6000.

Brian Culbertson to perform Saturday, May 12 at The Pageant

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson is returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, May 12 at The Pageant.

Culbertson (pictured) will be touring in support of his forthcoming album Colors of Love, which is scheduled for release in early February. He last played in St. Louis in October 2016, also at The Pageant.

Tickets for Brian Culbertson are $39.50 for reserved seating, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, December 15 via Ticketmaster and The Pageant box office.

Victor Wooten Trio returning to perform Tuesday, March 27 at Old Rock House

Bassist Victor Wooten's trio, featuring drummer Dennis Chambers and saxophonist Bob Franceschini, is coming back to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 27 at the Old Rock House.

Interestingly, the gig will come exactly 364 days after their last performance here at the Old Rock House, on Tuesday, March 28, 2017.

Since then, Wooten in September of this year released TRYPNOTYX, which is his first new recording in five years and features the trio (pictured).

Wooten also played here in June with his family band, the Wooten Brothers, headlining the Chesterfield Jazz Festival at the Chesterfield Amphitheater.

Tickets for the all-ages show are $32 and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, November 30 via the Old Rock House's website and all Metrotix outlets.

Ramsey Lewis to headline benefit gala on Friday, April 13 at The Sheldon

Pianist Ramsey Lewis is returning to St. Louis next year to headline the Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries' annual benefit gala at 8:30 p.m., Friday, April 13.

Lewis (pictured), an NEA Jazz Master who's known for groove-oriented hits from "The In Crowd" to "Sun Goddess" and more, will perform a program featuring his interpretations of the music of the Beatles, including songs such as �And I Love Her� and �A Hard Day�s Night,� plus some favorites from his own extensive catalog.

Lewis last played in St. Louis in November 2015 for The Sheldon's "ArtSounds" benefit. His most recent recording is 2011's Taking Another Look on the Hidden Beach label.

Tickets for the benefit gala are on sale now, starting at $500, and can be purchased by calling The Sheldon at 314-533-9900. Gala tickets include pre-concert cocktails and hors d�oeuvres, dinner, preferred concert seating, complimentary valet parking and a tax deduction. Proceeds from the event will benefit the concerts, gallery exhibitions and educational programs of the Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries.

Concert-only tickets will be $45 orchestra, $40 front balcony, $35 rear balcony, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Friday, March 2 via The Sheldon's website and from MetroTix.

Maceo Parker to play Wednesday, January 24 - Saturday, January 27 at Jazz at the Bistro

Funk/jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker is coming to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, January 24 through Saturday, January 27 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Parker (pictured) probably still is best known for his time with "Godfather of Soul" James Brown, but he also has made significant contributions to recordings by George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Prince, and numerous others.

Since leaving Brown's employ in the late 1980s, he's enjoyed a successful solo career, fronting his own band and occasionally teaming up with fellow former JB sidemen Fred Wesley and/or Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis.  Parker's most recent recording, Soul Classics was released in 2012.

Tickets for Maceo Parker at Jazz at the Bistro are $40 for the Wednesday and Thursday shows, $45 for Friday and Saturday, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, November 24 via the Jazz St. Louis box office. 

Kirk Whalum's "Gospel According to Jazz" set for Sunday, December 10 at Friendly Temple

Saxophonist Kirk Whalum is bringing his "A Gospel According to Jazz Christmas" concert back to St. Louis for a performance at 7:00 p.m. Sunday,  December 10 at the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church

Whalum (pictured) released his first "Gospel According to Jazz" recording back in 1998, with three more albums added to the series over the years, and began touring the Christmas show in 2012. This year's edition also will feature singer and guitarist Jonathan Butler, singers Shel�a, John Stoddart and Kevin Whalum (who is Kirk's brother), and special guests.

Tickets for the concert are priced at $20 balcony, $35 floor, and $50 for VIP seating, and are on sale now via the Friendly Temple office and bookstore and online.

Terence Blanchard to perform Sunday, May 20 at Grandel Theatre

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard and his band The E-Collective are returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, May 20 at the Grandel Theatre.

Blanchard (pictured) last played in St. Louis in June 2015 at Jazz at the Bistro, and was a frequent visitor here in 2012 and 2013 as Opera Theatre St. Louis was preparing for the world premiere of his opera Champion in June 2013.

His most recent jazz album Breathless was released in May, 2015 on Blue Note, and was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award for "Best Jazz Instrumental Album." A prolific film composer, Blanchard also released a soundtrack album for the film The Comedian, directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Robert DeNiro, in February of this year.

Tickets for Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective are priced from $35 to $75, and will go on sale via Metrotix at 10:00 a.m. next Friday, November 17. However, there's an online pre-sale happening now, which can be accessed by going here and entering the promo code BLANCHARD.

Douglas Ewart to perform with STL Free Jazz Collective on Saturday, December 2

Multi-instrumentalist Douglas Ewart is coming to St. Louis to perform with the STL Free Jazz Collective at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 2 at the 14th Street Artist Community, 2701 N 14th St in the Old North neighborhood.

The concert is free and open to the public, thanks to funding from the Regional Arts Commission.

Ewart (pictured), who plays various saxophones and woodwind instruments, hand drums, and instruments of his own design, was an early member of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and served as the AACM's president from 1979 to 1986.

He has collaborated in performance and on recordings with many of the well-known musicians associated with the AACM, as well as with Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, and numerous other creative improvisors and composers. Ewart, who now lives in Minneapolis, last played in St. Louis in 2010 at Webster University's Community Music School.

The STL Free Jazz Collective includes "Baba" Mike Nelson (trumpet, shells, percussion), Jerome "Jay Dubs" Williams (alto sax), Jim Hegarty (piano, electronics), Paul Steinbeck (bass), Gary Sykes (drums, percussion), and Michael Castro (poet). You can see a video of their last performance at the 14th St. Artist Community here.

Storm Large to perform Wednesday, January 17 at The Sheldon

Singer Storm Large is returning to St. Louis to perform at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 17, at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Large (pictured) first came to national attention in 2006 as a contestant on the CBS reality television show Rock Star: Supernova. Since then, she's worked in a variety of styles, from rock to cabaret to performances with orchestras including the New York Pops, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Memphis Symphony, and BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Large has played here St. Louis previously as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival and with the band Pink Martini. For this date, she'll be accompanied by her band Le Bonheur, with whom she cut an eponymous album in 2014 featuring "sublime and subversive interpretations of the American Songbook."

Tickets for Storm Large at The Sheldon are $55 and $45 for orchestra seating, $40 and $35 for the balcony, and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Friday, November 17 via all MetroTix outlets, by phone at 314-534-1111, or online at http://thesheldon.org/.

New Orleans funk/jazz band Galactic to perform Thursday, March 15 at Delmar Hall

The New Orleans-based funk/jazz band Galactic (pictured) is returning to St. Louis to perform on Thursday, March 15 at Delmar Hall.

Over the last few years, they've played here several times at Delmar Hall's sibling venue The Pageant, most recently in March 2014. Their most recent recording is Into the Deep, which came out in 2015 on the Provogue label.

Tickets for Galactic at Delmar Hall are $25 in advance, $30 day of show, with a $2 surcharge for minors, and will go on sale at 10:00 this Friday, October 20.

The Wee Trio to play Tuesday, October 17 at SIU Edwardsville's Dunham Hall

The Wee Trio, featuring bassist and St. Louis native Dan Loomis, will return to the St. Louis area to perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 17 at SIU Edwardsville's Dunham Hall.

The performance is part of SIUE's "Arts & Issues" serie, and the SIU Edwardsville jazz faculty ensemble will open the show.

The Wee Trio (pictured) last appeared in St. Louis in November 2016 in a free concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University, supporting the release of their most recent album Wee + 3.

Tickets for The Wee Trio at SIU Edwardsville are $20 for the general public; $18 for seniors age 65 or older and for SIUE staff, faculty, retirees, and alumni; $15 for students with ID; and are on sale now.

Guitarist Kevin Eubanks to perform Sunday, October 8 at Wildey Theatre

Guitarist Kevin Eubanks and his band are returning to the St. Louis area to perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 8 at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.

Eubanks (pictured) first gained wide attention in the jazz world in the 1980s, but probably still is best known to the general public for his stint as bandleader for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 1992 to 2010.

Since Leno stepped down, Eubanks has refocused on his music career, working with bassist Dave Holland in the band Prism, touring with his own group, and putting out a couple of well-received albums, the most recent being 2016's East West Time Line. He last performed in St. Louis in October 2015 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Tickets for Eubanks' show at the Wildey are $50 each, and are on sale now.

Jazz St. Louis adds shows to Bistro schedule

Jazz St. Louis has announced nine more events for the 2017-18 season at Jazz at the Bistro, filling in some gaps in the previously-announced schedule for the fall and adding one more headliner in the spring.

Three of the shows are co-productions with Cabaret Project of St. Louis, as the two organizations will team up to present singer and actor Kyle Dean Massey on Wednesday, September 27 and Thursday, September 28; actor, singer and Bellevile native Lea DeLaria (pictured), who will make her debut at the Bistro with shows on Wednesday, December 27 and Thursday, December 28; and Marilyn Maye, the 89-year-old known as the "grand dame of cabaret," on Wednesday, March 7 and Thursday, March 8.

Three other newly-scheduled events will pay tribute to jazz greats.

Drummer Montez Coleman will helm "The Art of Blakey," a celebration of the iconic drummer and his Jazz Messengers, on Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10, joined by saxophonist Ben Reece, trumpeter Danny Campbell, bassist Bob DeBoo, and pianist Adam Maness.

Coleman, DeBoo and Maness then will return the following month for a "Thelonious Monk Centennial" tribute on Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26.

Then on Wednesday, November 5, a free event titled "Duke Ellington and Film" will examine Ellington's music for film and his onscreen appearances via a talk by John Edward Hasse, curator of American music at the Smithsonian Institute, and a performance from the Jazz St. Louis Big Band.

Also added to the fall schedule are a performance by the JazzU Big Band student ensemble on Sunday, October 29, and return dates for the 1970s jazz-fusion tribute Weather Forever on Friday, November 10 and Saturday, November 11, and trumpeter Jim Manley's holiday show "A Very Manley Christmas" on Friday, December 22 and Saturday, December 23 .

Tickets for all these shows are available now via the Jazz St. Louis website.

A reunited Brand X to perform Wednesday, September 13 at Old Rock House

The reunited British jazz-fusion band Brand X will return to the St. Louis area to perform at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 13 at the Old Rock House.

The current edition of the band features founding members John Goodsall (pictured) on guitar and Percy Jones on bass, plus recent additions Chris Clark (keyboards), Scott Weinberger (percussion), and Kenny Grohowski (drums).

They're touring in support of But Wait, There's More/Live 2017, a two-CD set of live performances that is their first official release since a previous reunion in the 1990s produced two albums, the last being 1997's Manifest Destiny.

Originally active from the mid-1970s into the early '80s, Brand X made six albums and performed with 11 different lineups of musicians (including, for a couple of albums, drummer Phil Collins) in a six-year period. After their mid-90s reunion, they had another hiatus of 20 years before reuniting again in 2016 for a tour that included a show in October at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.

Tickets for Brand X at the Old Rock House are $30 general admission for all ages, and are on sale now.

Rebirth Brass Band to perform Friday, September 1 at Atomic Cowboy Pavilion

New Orleans' Rebirth Brass Band will return to St. Louis to perform (with special guests TBA) on Friday, September 1 at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

Formed in 1983 by brothers Keith and Phillip Frazier, Rebirth Brass Band (pictured) has grown over the years from a local act playing bar gigs into a touring attraction recognized internationally for their contemporary re-imagining of the classic New Orleans brass band sound.

Their most recent recording is 2014�s Move Your Body on the Basin Street Records label, which was the follow-up to their 2012 Grammy Award-winning album Rebirth of New Orleans. RBB's last St. Louis performance was in September 2016, also at the Atomic Cowboy Pavilion.

Tickets for Rebirth Brass Band will go on sale next Thursday, July 13 via Ticketmaster, prices TBA.

Samora Pinderhughes to perform Thursday, July 20 at Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

Pianist Samora Pinderhughes is coming to St. Louis to perform at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, July 20 at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in Grand Center.

Pinderhughes (pictured) will play music inspired by the Pulitzer's exhibition "Blue Black" and by his score for the documentary film Whose Streets?, which was co-directed and produced by St. Louis activist and artist Damon Davis (aka FarFetched). He'll be accompanied by bassist Luques Curtis, percussionist Mark Whitfield, Jr. and special guest trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah.

A Juilliard graduate who's in his mid-twenties, Pinderhughes grew up in Berkeley, CA and now lives in Harlem. In addition to his solo career, he's performed or recorded as a sideman with Scott, Branford Marsalis, Harvey Mason, and others.

Pinderhughes also has made news recently with his album The Transformations Suite, released last year as part of a multimedia work that NPR calls "inspired by African-American resistance and protest movements, as well as the oppression that many still endure."

While Pinderhughes' performance at the Pulitzer is free and open to the public, promotional materials say that "a suggested donation of $5-20 in support of the artists is welcomed. Please pay only what you can. Space will be limited, so early arrival is encouraged."

All Angles Orchestra to perform Wednesday, July 5 at Grandel Theatre

The All Angles Orchestra is coming to St. Louis to perform at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 5 at the Grandel Theatre.

Based in Colorado, the 15-piece ensemble is led by trombonist, composer, and arranger Mike Conrad, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music who in recent years has won four ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards and five Downbeat Student Music Awards for composition and arranging.

Eschewing the traditional instrumentation of a jazz big band, the All Angles Orchestra (pictured) instead "forces the classical and jazz worlds to collide" with a "combination of orchestral woodwinds, a string quartet, a mix of brass instruments, and a jazz rhythm section." 

They're touring a half-dozen Midwestern cities in July in support of their debut album New Angle, which is set for release at the end of this month. The recording features all original music and arrangements by Conrad and other members of the group, including trumpeter and St. Louis native Greg Weis and pianist Thomas Amend. It also includes guest performances from NYC trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, who's worked with Dave Holland, Mingus Dynasty, Michael Brecker and others, but is not part of the tour.

The All Angles Orchestra's concert at the Grandel Theatre is free and open to the public. You can hear some samples of their music on their Bandcamp page, and see some brief performance excerpts and interview segments in the promotional video clip below.

Moon Hooch to perform Friday, October 13 at Old Rock House

The saxophones-and-drums trio Moon Hooch will return to St. Louis to perform at 10:00 p.m. Friday, October 13 at the Old Rock House.

After spending most of this summer in Europe, Moon Hooch (pictured) will be touring the US in the fall in support of their upcoming album Live At The Cathedral, a three-CD/DVD package recorded in 2015 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City that will be released on Friday, June 30.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 day of show, and are on sale now.