Jazz at Holmes

St. Louis saxophonist Freddie Washington, a popular mainstay of Gaslight Square clubs in the 1960s, will launch Washington University’s eighth annual Jazz at Holmes series with a performance from 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9.

Jazz at Holmes features professional jazz musicians from around St. Louis and abroad performing in a relaxed coffeehouse-style setting most Thursday evenings throughout the fall and spring semesters. All concerts are free and open to the public and take place in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, located on the west side of Brookings Quadrangle, near the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives.

Born St. Louis in 1937, Washington began playing tenor saxophone in the eighth grade and was performing professionally by age 16. After enlisting in the Navy, in 1956, he attended the Navy’s music school in Washington, D.C., but in 1959 returned to St. Louis, where he began long associations with John Chapman, the legendary pianist, and John Mixon, a bass player who recorded with Miles Davis. Over the years, Washington has toured with Mongo Santamaria and performed with such notable musicians as Wilbur Ware, Emily Remler and Leon Thomas.

Subsequent Jazz at Homes performances will feature guitarist Steve Schenkel and his quartet (Sept. 23); the Kevin Gianino Quartet (Oct. 14); the Vince Varvel Trio (Oct. 28); the Kyle Honeycutt Quartet (Nov. 4); The North End (Nov. 11); the Kara Baldus Quartet (Nov. 18); and Circle East (Dec. 2).

For more information or schedule updates, call (314) 935-4841 or visit http://artsci.wustl.edu/~music/calendar/calander.year.html.

Jazz at Holmes is sponsored by Washington University’s College of Arts & Sciences, Department of Music in Arts & Sciences and Student Union.