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| Eric Kamau Gravatt at the Icehouse |
© Andrea Canter
This is my
favorite weather, sunny and in the 70s. But prefer my jazz either really cool
or really hot. And there is plenty of both to enjoy this weekend and beyond.
Highlights This Week
August 17-18. Last spring, Brandon Wozniak, Adam
Linz and Eric Kamau Gravatt got together at the Artists Quarter to try out a new
trio. It all clicked, and a few weeks ago they gave it another whirl at the new
Icehouse. Now they are back at the AQ for a weekend of free-wheeling improvising on familiar jazz
fare (Coltrane, Coleman, Shorter) and
original works. One of the most compelling aspects of this collaboration is the
opportunity to hear each musician take extended solos – few ensembles give this
much attention to the skills of the bassist, and Adam has plenty to hold our
attention. Ditto for drum solos, and Eric Gravatt has a wealth of experience
with the best in the business. And hearing saxman Brandon in this context is another blessing,
as bass and drums push him to even higher summits of sound experiments, and the
solo moments reinforce his reputation as one of the top horn players around.
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| Chris Bates |
The Icehouse is fast becoming a favorite
music venue among the most serious jazz fans as well as the most serious
musicians. Weekends have been set aside for piano/bass duos this summer, and
this weekend features two of the best
imaginable, both featuring bassist Chris Bates, with Bryan Nichols on keys
Friday and Tommy O’Donnell on Saturday. This is considered the “dinner sets”
starting at 7 pm, but this is hardly “dinner music.” Figure Friday will have more edge, Saturday
will have more swing. Both nights will be extraordinary. And no cover with
dinner.
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| 2011, Dakota Combo at Burnsville Fest |
August 18. It’s the 9th annual Burnsville Art and All That Jazz Festival,
a day of music and family fun, all free, and featuring some pretty hefty jazz
sets. The young lions of the Dakota Combo, playing the last public gig for this
2011-2012 edition of the band, will open at Noon, followed by the Hot Swing
Trio (guitarist Robert Bell and vocalist Erin Schwab), Doug Little’s Charanga
Tropical, the popular fusion band Super Pilots, and closing out around sunset
with the incomparable Randy Brecker. And this is all free.
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| Jake Baldwin and his new trumpet |
Even if you
make to the full festival in Burnsville,
you will have time to end your jazzy day with an exciting ensemble of young
monsters. The Jake Baldwin Quintet reprises their January Late Night at the Dakota gig, with a new twist—two
trumpets. And one of those trumpets has a couple extra valves! Jake, soon to
begin his senior year at the New England Conservatory of Music, has again
assembled a band of talented cohorts, including pianist Joe Strachan (U of M),
bassist Cory Grindberg (Northwestern U), drummer Miguel Hurtado (Manhattan
School of Music alum), and tonight, a trumpet partner, Noah Ophoven-Baldwin (U
of M). But if Jake’s own trumpet looks a bit odd, note that he has been working
at a trumpet factory this summer, and finally took matters into his own hands,
building his own trumpet with extra valves for quarter notes and for a downward
extension of the horn’s range. He tried it out last weekend when he was a guest
on the PipJazz Sundays concert at Landmark
Center. Not many
musicians play an instrument they actually built.
August 20. It’s sort of an update of the old
B-3 Organ Night, but now it’s at Jazz Central. Tonight Tanner Taylor shows off
his organ chops, with Zacc Harris on guitar and Mac Santiago on drums. And it’s
also a fund raiser for some repairs to the Jazz Central organ. We don’t hear
Tanner often on the B-3, but he’s as skilled on the organ as he is on the acoustic
piano.
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| Graydon Peterson |
August 22. Often a sideman, now Graydon
Peterson leads an up and coming quartet of his own at the Artists
Quarter, featuring the very busy Adam Meckler (trumpet), Vincent Rose (guitar)
and Adrian Suarez (drums). With his own compositions in the forefront here,
expect some interesting experiments with time atop some melodic and hard
groovin’ tunes. Come early for the weekly bash with Steve Kenny and the Bastids
to refuel your bebop ears. And it is a
“taco night” with the best and cheapest concoctions from the Lopez Sisters,
making this the best bargain for dinner and music. (Whatever they have for
dessert tonight, get it.)
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| Snowblind |
August 23. One of my favorite brass
ensembles, Snowblind adds a new wrinkle to their sound with guest pianist
Phil Aaron as the guys salute Blue Note Records, particularly the recordings of
Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, and Blue Mitchell. The
core band includes Shilad Sen (sax), Adam Rossmiller (trumpet), Scott Agster
(trombone), Graydon Peterson (bass), and Reid Kennedy (drums). When they
started out about six years ago, Sen, Rossmiller and Kennedy were still working
their way through music programs at the U of M, relatively unknowns on the Twin
Cities jazz scene. Now they are among the elite class of first-call performers
as well as educators passing it on. The addition of a rhythm instrument just
might stir the pot in all sorts of new directions, even as they pay homage to
iconic music.
More Jazz Every Night and Day!
It’s hard
to keep up so thank goodness Don Berryman and Jazz Police help to do it for us. Visit
the Twin Cities Live Jazz Calendar on the home page; listen to KBEM and KFAI
for daily calendar updates and visit your favorite jazz venue website. A few
more suggestions:
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| Reynold Philipsek and Matt Senjem |
Friday, August 17. Reynold Philipsek Trio with Matt
Senjem and Michael Bissonnette at the 318 Café; Nichola Miller with Tanner
Taylor at Hell’s Kitchen; Maurice Jacox at The Lexington; Todd Harper and
Nathan Hanson at the Black Dog
Saturday, August 18. Lucia Newell and Zacc Harris at Eat Street Social (early afternoon); Nachito Herrera at the Dakota; Dorothy Doring and Phil Mattson at The Lexington
Sunday, August 19. Zacc Harris Trio at the Riverview
Wine Bar; River Falls Cultural Project at Emma’s Bar Downtown (River Falls);
Charmin Michelle with the Jerry O’Hagan Orchestra at Cinema Ballroom
Monday, August 20. Charmin Michelle and Denny
Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; Lee Engele and Reynold Philipsek at Red Stag;
Headspace at the Artists Quarter; Erin Bode at
the Dakota; Jazz Implosion at the Icehouse; Firebell at Barbette
Tuesday, August 21. Cory Wong Quartet followed by the
Peter Schimke Trio with Dave Brattain at the Artists Quarter; Doug
Haining/Scott Agster Big Band at Jazz Central; Jack Brass Band at the Driftwood
Charbar; Carei Thomas and Alden Ikeda at the Black Dog; Orange Mighty Trio at
Café Maude
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| Charmin Michelle |
Wednesday, August 22. Charmin Michelle and Denny
Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; Wolverines Trio at Hell’s Kitchen
Thursday, August 23. Viva Brasil at the Dakota; The
Neighborhood Trio at the Red Stag; Robb Henry at Barbette
Coming Soon!
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August
24, Media Addicts CD Release at the Artists Quarter
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August
24, Nichola Miller at The Lexington
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August
24, Boot Camp (Jeremy Walker) at the Dakota (late night)
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August
25, Whitman/Schimke/Lewis/Horst at the Artists Quarter
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August
25, Lucia Newell at The Lexington
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August
30, Birthday Bash with Jeanne Arland Peterson, Irv Williams and Cliff Brunzell
at the Artists Quarter
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August
31, Arne Fogel at The Lexington
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August
31-September 1, Phil Hey Quartet at the Artists Quarter
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September
4-5, Pat Metheny Unity Band at the Dakota
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September
8, Selby Avenue
Jazz Festival
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September
9, Dakota Combo Auditions at MacPhail
Center for Music
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September
9, Ben Sidran at the Dakota
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September
11-12, Marcus Miller at the Dakota
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September
14-15, Chris Bates’ Red 5 CD Release at the Artists Quarter
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September
15, Arne Fogel, Jazz @St. Barney’s (St. Barnabas Arts Center, Plymouth)
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September
18, John Scofield Trio at the Dakota
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September
19, Delfeayo Marsalis at the Dakota
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September
21, Saxophone Day at McNally
Smith College
with Bob Sheppard
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September
21-22, Bob Sheppard at the Artists Quarter
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September
26-27, Chick Corea and Gary Burton at the Dakota
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September
30, Esperanza Spalding’s Radio Society at the State Theater
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September
30, Men With Mics (Gregg Marquardt, Reeves Carey, Dan Ristrom) at the Artists
Quarter (TCJS, Jazz From J to Z)
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October
6, Wayne Bergeron with the JazzMN Orchestra at the Hopkins
High School Performing Arts Center
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October
13, Connie Evingson, Jazz @St. Barney’s (St. Barnabas Arts Center, Plymouth)
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October
14-15, Cassandra Wilson
at the Dakota
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October
23, Kurt Elling at the Dakota
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October
30-31, Maria Schneider Orchestra at the Dakota
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November
4, Spiral Visions (Milne, Hagedorn, Aaron, Lewis, Hey) at Landmark Center
(TCJS Jazz From J to Z)
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November
9, Anat Cohen and Evan Christopher at Minneapolis Convention
Center (MN Orchestra)
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November
10, Anat Cohen and Klezmatics at Minneapolis
Convention Center (MN
Orchestra)
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November
11, Duke Ellington Orchestra with Evan Christopher at Minneapolis Convention
Center
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December
7, Manhattan
Transfer at the Dakota
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| Lucia Newell, coming to The Lexington on August 25th |
