© Andrea Canter
Seems out
of season but this week we find out who’s been naughty or nice (at least in
song), hear from one of the true living legends of jazz drumming, salute New
Orleans, take a journey through Afro-Peruvian culture, and enjoy one of the
masters of the mighty bari sax going head to head with stars of tomorrow.
Highlights This Week
April 6. “Naughty Songs for Nice Girls”
finds local singers Rhonda Laurie and Bobbi Miller digging into the “delicious
double entendre, innocuous innuendo and subtle sass” of popular songs, …from
Mae West to Dinah Washington,
Marlene Dietrich to Marilyn Monroe.” In
the theater at Bryant Lake Bowl, this is the first of two Friday nights of
stories and songs inspired by “nice girls who loved being a little naughty.”
Nice guys
getting a little naughty at Studio Z? Friday evening in St.
Paul finds Todd Clouser back in town after a brief respite in his Baja, Mexico
home. He’ll bring the edgy Love Electric band to the stage in tandem with
master improviser Tim O’Keefe and his percussion ensemble, Batucada do Norte.
Sounds like a lot of naughty mayhem! (Clouser turns up again at Café Maude with
some impressive cohorts named Weinbeck and Johnson on Tuesday, 4/10.)
At
Orchestra Hall, Minnesota Orchestra’s Artistic Director for Jazz, Irvin
Mayfield brings his quintet up the Mississippi to perform with some
special guests—Aaron Neville, Bill Summers, Jason Marsalis; host Soledad O’Brien
narrates from Mayfield’s “Love Letter to New Orleans,” with accompanying music
from the companion suite.
April 6-7. As drummer for Weather Report, Eric
Kamau Gravatt drew serious praise from Wayne Shorter. And as drummer
for McCoy Tyner, Gravatt has enjoyed a gig spanning the decades. Home in the
Twin Cities, his band Source Code has undergone a series
of transformation, with the latest edition sporting pianist Gene Rush, vibes
man Dave Hagedorn, and bassist Ron Evaniuk. Always an exhibition of volcanic
propulsion and nonstop thrills.
April 7. If you are looking for something
more relaxing for your Saturday night, how about a west suburban coffee house with
a tropical-influenced duo? Prolific composer with a Brazilian bent, guitarist/vocalist
John
Penny has been bringing folks into Munkabeans in downtown Hopkins, and his
frequently cohort is percussionist/conguero Rey Rivera.
April 10. Some have compared Peña
to the Buena Vista Social Club but that might be a cultural transgression. Peña,
headed by young guitarist Cory Wong and cajón specialist Chico Chavez, is all
about Afro-Peruvian culture and the magic of the cajón, the box that serves as
the percussive center of the ensemble. What started out as merely a trip to Peru grew into band that brings the music of Peru’s 16th and 17th
century African slaves into the modern era. On the TCJS Jazz From J to Z
series, this night at Southwest
High School, the band
includes Chavez (cajón), Eric Foss (percussion), Andy Schuster (bass), Wong and
Chris Olson (guitars), and Gloria Rivera and Geraldine Jerez (vocals). Special
treat—a short opening set from the exemplary Southwest Jazz Ensemble. Students
will be coming off an afternoon clinic with Peña artists.
In St. Paul
at the Artists Quarter, the little big band ensemble from McNally Smith College
of Music, the X-Tet (not surprisingly led by Pete Whitman) will perform with
the acclaimed bari saxophonist Gary Smulyan, who has been in town
conducting clinics at the college. A four-time winner
of the DownBeat Readers Poll, he’s
also topped the Jazz Journalists Association Award for Baritone Saxophonist of
the Year and is a five-time Grammy Award winner for his work with B.B. King, Joe
Lovano, Dave Holland, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Check out his latest
release, Smul's Paradise. Better yet,
check him out live at the AQ!
More Jazz, All Week
Where
can you find live jazz? Everywhere. Visit the live jazz calendar managed by
Pamela at Bebopified; you will also find it linked from the Jazz Police Twin Cities page.
·
Friday, April 6: Benny Weinbeck Trio at
D’Amico Kitchen (Le Meridien/Chambers Hotel); Joann Funk and Jeff Brueske
at the Lobby Bar (St Paul Hotel); Community Pool/Deep End at the Black Dog with
Deric
Dickens, Kurt Knuffe, Brian Roessler and Pete Hennig; Milo Fine Free Jazz
Ensemble at the West Bank School of Music; Doug Haining’s Twin
Cities Seven at Jazz Central
·
Saturday, April 7: Benny Weinbeck Trio at D’Amico Kitchen (Le
Meridien/Chambers Hotel); Joann Funk and Jeff Brueske at the
Lobby Bar (St Paul Hotel); Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson at The
Lexington; JazZen at The Nicollet; Vicky Mountain and Chris Lomheim at
First Course Bistro; Roxy and Joe Cruz at Ingredients Café;
Le
Jazz Cool All-Stars at Vincent’s; Lila Ammons Quintet at the Red Stage;
Nachito
Herrera at the Dakota
·
Sunday, April 8: Joann Funk and Jeff Brueske, Easter Brunch at the St Paul Hotel; Patty
and the Buttons, brunch at the Aster Café; Zacc Harris Trio at the
Riverview Wine Bar; Charmin Michelle and Joel Shapira at the Red Stage; JT
Bates at Barbette
·
Monday, April 9: Charmin Michelle and Denny
Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; Headspace at the Artists Quarter; Dennis
Spears CD Release at the Dakota; Dave Karr and Dave Schmalenberger at
Jazz Central
·
Tuesday, April 10: Nick Haas at The
Nicollet; Dan Musselman Trio (early set) at the Artists Quarter; Todd Clouser with Benny Weinbeck and Gordy Johnson at Café Maude;
Cedar
Ave Big Band at the Shorewood; Jack Brass at the Driftwood Charbar
·
Wednesday, April 11: Steve Kenny and the Bebop Bastids
at the Artists Quarter; Zacc Harris Quartet at Café Maude; Dan and Reuben
Ristrom at School II Bistro
·
Thursday, April 12: Francois Rabbath master class at the U of M (see coming soon events); Connie
Evingson at The Lexington; Southside Aces (Music of Louis
Armstrong) at Eagles Aerie Club
·
Coming Soon!
·
April
13-14, Bill Carrothers at the Artists Quarter
·
April
14, Legends at the Capri, tribute to Frank
Sinatra with Jason Richards and the Rick Carlson Trio
·
April
14, Francois Rabbath at Antonello Hall, MacPhail Center for Music
·
April
15, PipJazz Sunday with Solomon Parham, Pippi Ardennia at Landmark Center,
Weyerhauser Auditorium
·
April
15, MacPhail Center for Music Combo Festival and Spotlight Concert featuring
Adam Niewood, the Dakota Combo, and MacPhail Jazz Faculty
·
April
19, KBEM’s REEL Jazz, “An Evening with Both DeFlores” (Louis Armstrong) at the Trylon Microcinema
·
April
20, Dafnis Prieto at McNally
Smith College
(noon)
·
April
20-21, Cory Wong, CD Release at the Artists Quarter
·
April
21, JazzMN Orchestra with Terell Stafford at the Hopkins
High School Performing Arts Center
·
April
21, Judi Donaghy, Jazz@ St Barney’s
·
April
22, Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education Fund Raiser Brunch at the Dakota
·
April
22, Grace Kelly at the Dakota
·
April
22, Doug Haining Quintet, Tribute to Cannonball Adderley (TCJS Jazz From J to
Z) at the Artists Quarter
·
April
26, Maud Hixson and Dean Magraw at Como
Planetarium
·
April
28, Bruce Henry Tribute to Marvin Gaye at the Hopkins Center for the Arts
·
April
29-30, Steve Tyrell at the Dakota
·
May
4, Tortoise and Twin Cities Jazz All-Stars at the Walker Art Center
·
May
8-9, Poncho Sanchez at the Dakota
·
May
10, Dakota Combo at MacPhail
·
May
11-12, Zacc Harris Group CD Release at the Artists Quarter
·
May
12, Evan Christopher with Lee Engele at the Hopkins Center
for the Arts
·
May
13, Debbie Duncan with PipJazz Sundays at Landmark Center
·
May
20-21, Ramsey Lewis Trio at the Dakota
·
May
25-27, Eric Alexander at the Artists Quarter
·
May
26, Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Orchestra Hall
·
June
18-19, Stanley
Clarke and George Duke at the Dakota
·
June
22, A Love Electric/Adam Meckler Orchestra at the Ritz Theater
·
June
28-30, Twin Cities Jazz Festival, Mears
Park (headliners Bad Plus
with Joshua Redman; Delfeayo Marsalis; Francisco Mela’s Cuban Safari)
·
July
1-2, Bill Frisell at the Dakota
·
September
4-5, Pat Metheny Unity Band at the Dakota
·
September
26-27, Chick Corea and Gary Burton at the Dakota
·
October
30-31, Maria Schneider Orchestra at the Dakota
Photos (top to bottom): Eric Kamau Gravatt; Rhonda Laurie; John Penny; Gary Smulyan; JT Bates (all photos by Andrea Canter)
