Events

Tom Byrne, Dave Black At BB’s

Guitarists Tom Byrne & Dave Black will be performing together at BBs Jazz Blues & Soups (700 S. Broadway in St. Louis; 314-436-5222) on May 6 from 8-10:30 pm, along with Montez Coleman on drums and Terry Coleman on bass.

‘Champion’ World Premiere Set For June 15

New Orleans native Terence Blanchard has co-written “Champion,” an “opera with jazz,” along with librettist and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael Cristofer. The piece, which will have its world premiere June 15 at the Loretto Hilton Center in Webster Groves, was co-commissioned by Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Jazz St. Louis.

Blanchard is a renowned jazz trumpeter and composer who has toured worldwide to appreciative audiences, including soldout dates at Jazz at the Bistro in St. Louis. As a composer, Blanchard is deeply committed to developing the careers of future musicians and inspiring new audiences to engage with the power of great music.

“Champiopn” tells the true story of Emile Griffith, a prize fighter and immigrant from the Virgin Islands who claimed the title of World Welterweight Champion in a 1962 fight which left the two-year-old son of his opponent, Benny “The Kid” Paret, without a father. That fatal fight transformed Griffith into a contemporary tragic hero—a man of strength and courage, consumed ultimately by regret and by the truth of what may have caused his terrible rage that night.

The opera continues June 19, 21, 25, 27 and 30; tickets are available on line at ExperienceOpera.org or by calling (314) 961-0644.

St. Louis Big Band To Play The Sheldon

The St. Louis Big Band–along with vocalists Joe Mancuso, Sarah Jane and Courtney Loveless, to name a few–will be performing at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, at The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis. More information is available by calling (800) 293-5949, or, online at stlbigband.com