Jazz & Blues Lounge » Missouri

Jazz in Old Webster Near St. Louis

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:00:48 +0000

I went to Webster University which is located in Webster Groves, which is a suburb just west of St. Louis. It is a quaint little place, Webster Groves, with quiet tree-lined streets and lots of suburbanites. Of course, most of St. Louis is suburbanites, but this is a very picturesque kind of place. It has a section known as “Old Webster” which is the downtown area. This is the even-more quaint original part of the town. It has streets that actually are still cobblestone.

This is also the location of the “Old Webster Jazz Festival” and it’s one day, not far from Chicago and in a very cool place to hear some cool music.

OLD WEBSTER JAZZ AND BLUES FESTIVAL

When? Saturday September 20, 2008
Start time? Noon
End time? 11:00 p.m.

Who is going to play?

According to the website “St. Louis Jazz Notes” (which is linked above):

“A total of ten bands will be featured on two outdoor stages, with headlining sets from singer Erin Bode (on the Allen Avenue stage) and the New Orleans-style funk/R&B/zydeco band Gumbohead and special guests the Funky Butt Brass Band (on the Gore Avenue stage).

The event also will include jazz performances from guitarist Todd Mosby (pictured), the Pfeffer Trio with Debby Lennon, Anita Rosamond, the Webster University Faculty Jazz Band and the Webster Groves High School Jazz Band, as well as blues from the Soulard Blues Band, the SteamRollers, and Marquise Knox.”

How much does it cost? Like most of your truly cool and hip jazz and blues festivals, this one is totally free to the public.

The Schedule, which you can find on the official Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival website is:

Gore Avenue Stage
12 noon – 2 pm: Todd Mosby
2 pm – 4 pm: Pfeffer Trio + Debby Lennon
4 pm – 6 pm: Marquise Knox Blues Band
6 pm – 8 pm: Webster University Faculty Jazz Band
8 pm – 11 pm: Gumbohead
with Special Guest Funky Butt Brass Band

Allen Avenue Stage
12 noon – 2 pm:: SteamRollers
2 pm – 4 pm: Souldard Blues Band
4 pm – 6 pm: Anita Rosamond
6 pm – 7 pm: Webster Groves High School Jazz Band
7:30 pm – 10 pm: Erin Bode

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The Jazz You Can Find in St. Louis

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:00:29 +0000

St. Louis is a pretty cool town. I went to school in St. Louis and that is where I developed my love and appreciation for jazz. They have a great radio station down there, WSIE, that is student run and out of Southern Illinois University that plays jazz. It’s pretty cool. I lived there for three years after college as well and it is definitely one of the major hubs for jazz and blues fans. If you are planning some kind of cross-country jazz and/or blues pilgrimmage, you need to book at least a night or two in St. Louis.

St. Louis is also cool for us Chicagoans because it isn’t all that far. It’s a five hour drive or a half-an-hour plane ride to the south and, voila, there you are. It is a baseball heaven, has the Bowling Hall of Fame and it’s a great place to check out some cool jazz and blues.

One of the very cool things that is going on there is taking place at the Missour Botanical Gardens and it is known as the Whitaker Music Festival 2008. The cool thing about this one is that the festival isn’t just a few days in a row and the nothing more. This is every Wednesday night from June 4 – August 13. This is the 14th season for the Whitaker Music Festival and it is great jazz music and blues, folks, along with some other cool forms of music, for all tastes and styles.

Here is the schedule for the rest of the summer, so plan your trip accordingly:

June 25 Tony Simmons Band Jazz, Motown and funk
July 2 Anita Rosamond Jazz and pop newcomer
July 9 Javier Mendoza Contemporary acoustic pop-rock
July 16 Kim Massie Beloved St. Louis blues singer
July 23 Poor People of Paris Vintage French cabaret music
July 30 FolknBluesGrass Just what the name says…
Aug. 6 Laytham and Holmes Las Vegas revue
Aug. 13 Alvin Jett & the Phat noiZ Raucous blues and funk

According to the website:

“Picnicking is allowed on these nights, so concertgoers are invited to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic suppers to enjoy. Food and drink may also be purchased.”

It’s a little like a less-organized Ravinia here in Chicago and it’s not far away for you Midwesterners. So, check it out and tell them you heard about it right here.

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The Big Muddy Blues Festival

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:00:08 +0000

Well, I spent time on Friday looking up jazz and blues festival within the 100 mile radius of Chicago. Of course, there are blues and jazz festivals all over the country. I am only one man, however, so I am sticking close to home. I often get to places like St. Louis and Milwaukee, so I included those in my search.

I had originally planned to go through this list and then try to present them to you in order of their dates. Yeah, well, that seems like it will take a lot of time, so I am just going to present them to you, over the next few days and weeks, as I found them. I am going to start with one from St. Louis called the Big Muddy Blues Festival.

There is no denying that St. Louis is a great blues town. It’s really kind of cool how most of your big cities on the Mississippi are big jazz and blues towns. It really shows you how that music started on the banks of that river and people travelled up and down the thing, bringing the music as they went.

The following is from STLBlues.net, which is linked above there:

Festival Information:

612 North Second St.
St. Louis, MO 63102
www.bigmuddyblues.com

Saturday, August 30

Festival Lineup – NOT YET ANNOUNCED
12:00PM to 10:00PM
The 2008 Big Muddy Blues Fest
The Big Muddy Blues fest is a world-class music event. This years Big Muddy promises to be an artistic success, after all, it does showcase that St. Louis sound, with some great national headliners added in! St. Louis is a river city long known for its place on the Blue Highway that stretches from the Delta. A city that is home to a red-hot Blues scene!

When you check out the BigMuddyBlues website above you will see how cool the festival is. There ain’t nothing like blues right on the Mississippi River and in a great town like St. Louis. In fact, over the next few days and weeks you are going to find out that Illinois and the surrounding area is loaded with great blues and jazz music and festivals.

Stay tuned!

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

One More St. Louis Article

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:19:07 +0000

I am back in Chicago now, but I had to write one more article about St. Louis. Like I said, St. Louis has a great musical tradition and it is certainly a major center for the music of jazz and blues. As such, you can also always find a cool jazz club and blues club and there is almost always a festival.

There was one this past weekend as well and it was in a great part of town where I went to school. You see, I attended Webstery University in the St. Louis area. It is in a very nice suburb of St. Louis known as Webster Groves.

This past weekend, on Saturday, was the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival. There were two stages and the whole thing was a tribute to the late Lonnie Johnson. They blocked off the streets of Gore and Allen right in downtown Webster Groves, which is also known as “Old Webster.” At the end of each of those streets was a stage. The whole event kicked off at noon.

The Gore Avenue stage featured the following:

Noon: Joe Bozzi Band

2pm: Anita Rosamond

4pm: Gumbohead

6pm: Webster University Jazz Band

8:00pm: Johnnie Johnson Band Featuring Kim Massie, Brian Owens and Special Guests

Meanwhile, the Allen Avenue stage featured:

Noon: David’s Guitar Loft Jazz Fusion

2pm: SIUE Faculty Jazz Ensemble

4pm: Marquise Knox Blues Band

6pm: Webster Groves High School Jazz Band

7pm: Jim Manley’s Wild Cool & Swingin’

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