© Andrea Canter
Memorial
Day Weekend in Minnesota
typically is cool and rainy. And while
the weather can interfere with holiday activities, neither rain nor wind,
neither heat nor chill can put a damper on the hot and steamy jazz coming our
way! This weekend, you can hear “Young Lions” at Studio Z and the Dakota;
veteran standouts at the Lexington,
Dakota, Artists Quarter and Orchestra Hall; the opening rounds of of summer
music in the parks and more; and look ahead to some of our favorite performers
during the week ahead.
Highlights, This Week
May 25: The KBEM riverboat cruise (with Trio
Bossa Nova) is sold out, but there’s a lot more around town tonight.
Sassy swinging vocalist Nichola Miller and monster pianist
Tanner Taylor hold the stage at Hell’s Kitchen, while the “Dean” of jazz
guitar, Dean Granros, makes an all-too-rare appearance at the Artists
Quarter, with Billy Peterson and Kenny Horst. Short on experience but long on
talent and energy, the Javier Santiago Trio, with pianist
Javi’s former teen cohorts Chris Smith and Miguel Hurtado, turn musical
somersaults on the Dakota stage in the Late Night slot. We first heard these
guys in the teen band, The Eggz, and now they are working musicians, Javi and
Chris in New York where they graduated from
the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music,
Miguel in the Twin Cities after completing studies at the Manhattan School of
Music. They were in the groove last night at the AQ!
May 25-26. Recently announced as winner of
the American Heritage Award from the American Immigration Council, Cuban dynamo
pianist Nachito Herrera keeps things afire at the Dakota, be it some
traditional son, rhumba or cha-cha, Ellington, or even Rachmaninoff.
May 26. Zacc Harris closes his Jazz at
Studio Z season by presenting a Young Lion’s Showcase with three
outstanding ensembles. First up, the Miguel Hurtado Group, featuring old
South High pals Javi Santiago and Chris Smith (fresh off their AQ and Dakota
gigs), along with guitarist Zacc and saxophonist Nelson Devereaux. It’s the
best blend of young talents from New York and
the Twin Cities. MHG will be followed by the Adam
Meckler Quintet. Trumpet star Adam has already proven to be a creative
bandleader, leading both large ensemble (the Adam Meckler Orchestra, on Jazz
Central’s Big Band Tuesday schedule on 5/29) and quintet, which includes
another list of “young lions”—Harris, Brandon Wozniak, Graydon Peterson and
Zach Schmidt. The evening closes with the Max Corcoran Project, featuring
saxman Max, bassist Andrew Foreman, and again, drummer Zach Schmidt. All in
all, there’s eleven of a new generation of jazz stars on the Z stage tonight!
That’s not even $1 per artist for your $10 cover.
The Preservation
Hall Jazz Band has been a hit with Twin Cities audiences over the past
few years, appearing at Orchestra Hall and the Dakota. Tonight they join forces
with Irvin Mayfield and his New Orleans Jazz Orchestra to launch
the renovation of Peavy
Plaza and the Orchestra
Hall lobby, which will shut down the facility for a year. Naturally there will
be a Second Line March out of the
concert hall following an evening of red hot New Orleans brass.
May 26-27. It’s become a tradition to bring Eric
Alexander to the Artists Quarter for Memorial Day Weekend. The Midwest native now based in New York, Alexander is
considered one of the leading voices on tenor sax in modern jazz, a prolific
recording artist and composer, and leader of his acclaimed quartet and One for
All. Last visit, Eric literally ran into a dog with open jaws, seriously
lacerating a finger before his night at the AQ. Despite the bandage, he played
with joyous abandon. Even that dog would have been mesmerized. We should be
able to enjoy Eric with ten good digits this weekend! Two sets each night, be
sure to check the AQ website for
set times.
May 28. The Lake Harriet Bandshell opens
its summer music season in style with Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson. Bring
a picnic or come over after the barbecue, and just relax as Maud sings songs
that you thought you knew well, and some that you maybe have not yet heard at
all. And when she steps back for the piano solo, husband Rick conjures the
likes of Art Tatum, Fats Waller, and Basie himself. If it looks like rain,
bring an umbrella! Maud will have you “singing in the rain.”
Remember,
the Dakota, Artists Quarter, and many other venues are closed for the holiday!
May 29. Two amazing, long-popular songbirds
grace stages on either end of the Cities tonight. Connie Olson has been
brightening bands since her teens, from rock and pop to jazz, and most recently
in tribute to Doris Day. She has not been doing that many public gigs lately so
this night at The Nicollet is extra special. She’s fronting a group known as
Toyz in the Attic, including keyboardist Fred Flowerday, bass
guitarist Jonathan Thomas, saxophonist Andrew Schwandt, and percussionist C Harris.
Their repertoire includes sambas, originals, and melodic jazz rhythms.
You can catch Connie in Minneapolis and still make it to the Artists
Quarter in time to hear all or most of
the Vicky Mountain Quartet. Vicky is also a long-time presence on
the Twin Cities music scene, doing rock, pop and R&B back in the 70s before
moving more firmly into jazz. Head of
Voice at MacPhail, Vicky infuses her music with bits of Ella and Sarah
and whole lot of Vicky.
May 31. It’s always a special night at the Artists
Quarter when the Pete Whitman X-Tet is on stage. Not quite a combo, not quite a
big band, Pete makes it the best of both worlds, including a A-List of Twin
Cities musicians playing original and inventive arrangements of jazz covers.
More Music
Every Night
I hear, too often, “How do you know what’s going on?” If
you are reading this blog, you are internet-savvy enough to check the listings
on Bebopified and Jazz Police! Or tune into KBEM radio
(88.5 FM). Some more suggestions:
·
Friday, May 25: Benny
Weinbeck Trio at D’Amico Kitchen; Patty
Peterson and Friends at Bunkers
·
Saturday, May 26:
Ticket to Brasil at Loring Pasta Bar; Joann Funk and Jeff Brueske at the Lobby
Bar (St Paul Hotel); Benny Weinbeck Trio at D’Amico Kitchen; Maud Hixson with Tanner Taylor and Keith Boyles at The Lexington; Blue Camel (Viv
Corringham, Tim O’Keefe, Pat O’Keefe) at the Black Dog; Southside Aces at the
Dakota (Late Night)
·
Sunday, May 27: Patty
and the Buttons at the Aster Café;
Mouldy Figs at Shamrocks; Zacc Harris Trio at Riverview Wine Bar;
Charmin Michelle and Jerry O’Hagan Orchestra at Cinema Ballroom; Paul Renz Quintet at Brit's Pub; Cellar (James
Buckley, Bryan Nichols, Joey Van Phillips) at Barbette
·
Monday, May 28:
Charmin Michelle and Denny Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; Scott Agster at Jazz
Central (AQ, Dakota closed for holiday)
·
Tuesday, May 29: Cory
Wong Quartet, early show at the Artists Quarter; Jack Brass Band at the
Driftwood Char Bar
·
Wednesday, May 30: Steve
Kenny and the Bastids followed by the Galactic Soul Arkestra at the Artists
Quarter; Wolverines Trio at Hell’s Kitchen; Charmin Michelle and Denny Malmberg
at Fireside Pizza; Dan and Reuben Ristrom at Schoolhouse II Bistro
·
Thursday, May 31: Gypsy
Mania at Hell’s Kitchen; Arne Fogel at The Lexington; Mark Bloom with Sim Glaser and Darryl Boudreaux at the 318 Cafe; Josh Granowski and
Patrick Harrison at Barbette
Coming Soon!
·
June
1-2, Red Planet at the Artists Quarter
·
June
2, Bruce Henry at the Dakota
·
June
3, Sophie Millman at the Dakota
·
June
4, Russ Peterson Big Band at the Old Log Theater
·
June
5, Dean Magraw and Davu Seru with guest Brandon Wozniak at the Black Dog
·
June
5, Bill Simensen Big Band at Jazz Central
·
June
7, Rachelle Ferrell at the Dakota
·
June
10, Connie Evingson, CD Release at The Jungle Theater
·
June
10, Barbara Leshoure, Pippi Ardennia, PipJazz Sundays at Landmark Center
·
June
10, Jazz on the Prairie Festival at Staring Lake Park
Amphitheater
·
June
10, Wadda Leo Smith with Douglas Ewart at Weyerhauser Memorial Chapel, Macalester College
·
June
10-11, Roy Hargrove Quintet at the Dakota
·
June
12, Cedar Avenue
Big Band at Jazz Central
·
June
12, Maryann Sullivan and Rhonda Laurie at The Nicollet
·
June
13, Dean Brewington, Rondo Outreach Library (St Paul), Twin Cities Jazz Festival
·
June
14, Peterson Family at Edina Performing Arts Center,
Edina High School
·
June
15-16, Paul Bollenback at the Artists Quarter
·
June
16, Jana Nyberg Group at Hayden Heights Library (St Paul), Twin Cities Jazz Festival (2 pm)
·
June
16, Barbary Coast 45th Anniversary at the Black Box, Bloomington Center for the
Arts
·
June
18, Laura Caviani at Jazz Central
·
June
18-19, Stanley
Clarke and George Duke at the Dakota
·
June
20, St Peter Street Stompers, St Anthony Park Library (St Paul), Twin Cities Jazz Festival
·
June
22, A Love Electric/Adam Meckler Orchestra at the Ritz Theater
·
June
28, Jack Brass Band at St Paul
Central Library (11:30 am), Twin Cities Jazz Festival
·
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
·
July
5, Dean Magraw & Marcus Wise,
PipJazz Sundays at Landmark
Center
·
July
9-10, Victor Wooten at the Dakota
·
July
28, Dakota StreetFest on Nicollet Mall
·
August
1-2, Tribute to Jimmy Smith with Joey D’Francesco, Larry Coryell & Jimmy
Cobb at the Dakota
·
September
4-5, Pat Metheny Unity Band at the Dakota
·
September
26-27, Chick Corea and Gary Burton at the Dakota
·
September
30, John Scofield Trio at the Dakota
·
October
30-31, Maria Schneider Orchestra at the Dakota
Photos (top to bottom): Eric Alexander, wounded but undaunted at the AQ in 2011; Javi Santiago, Chris Smith and Miguel Hurtado (composite); Adam Meckler; Irvin Mayfield with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at the Dakota; Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson; Vicky Mountain; Bill Frisell. (All photos by Andrea Canter)
