Jeremy Davenport

If the famously tragic jazzman Chet Baker had avoided heroin and depression and instead taken to sipping cocktails and cracking wise with the Rat Pack, he might have ended up sounding a bit like Jeremy Davenport, the trumpeter, singer and St. Louis native who's returning home for his annual Thanksgiving weekend gig at Jazz at the Bistro. On both his own songs and familiar standards, Davenport's suave vocals provide a tart contrast to the bright tone of his horn. His recent CD, We'll Dance 'til Dawn, evokes a swingin' world of sharp-dressed people and swanky lounges like the one at the New Orleans Ritz-Carlton, where — except for a brief post-Katrina interregnum — Davenport has been a fixture since graduating from Harry Connick sideman to headliner.