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| AQ owner Kenny Horst |
© Andrea Canter
Enjoy these
lovely late summer days – we know it won’t last. Still time to enjoy dining al
fresco, late season flowers, and all-season jazz. And this week presents jazz
for all seasons and all tastes, from a neighborhood jazz festival to an
evening with master storyteller Ben Sidran to the funk of Marcus Miller.
Highlights This Weekend
Friday, September 7. Last minute change! Instead of the Tuesday Night Band, the Artists Quarter presents a volcanic quartet, with Phil Aaron, Dean Magraw, Billy Peterson and Kenny Horst. Four masters of their instruments and exceptional collaborators as well.
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| Brad Bellows |
Over at the
Black Dog, two renowned horn veterans collaborate with their quartet—valve trombonist
Brad
Bellows and saxophonist Donald Washington. The intimate
performance space at the Black Dog serves as an incubator for some interesting
inventions when these two artists join forces.
Friday-Saturday,
September 7-8. For
a night cap, the Icehouse hosts late (11 pm) sets this weekend with firebrand
trio Happy
Apple (Michael Lewis, Erik Fratzke, Dave King). For these guys, the
night is quite young and who knows how late they will go as they explore the
far corners of jazz and improvisation?
Looking for
a more relaxed evening with sterling vocals? Celebrate the first week of
school, the end of summer, the beginning of cooler weather…. Whatever with
dinner, drinks, and song bird Maud Hixson on Friday, crooner Arne
Fogel on Saturday at The
Lexington, one of the brightest additions to the area music scene with one or
two nights of scat and swing every weekend.
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| Yolande Bruce and Pippi Ardennia |
Saturday, September 8. The annual Selby Avenue Jazz Festival
gets underway at noon and features the neighborhood event’s usual line up of
mostly jazz with some R&B flavorings. Hear Dick and Jane’s Brass Band, the Walker West
Music Academy’s
Legends of Jazz, Brio Brass, the Jazz
Heritage Showcase with Pippi Ardennia teaming with Yolande Bruce followed by Timotha
Lanae, and the closing set with headliner guitarist Abdul Zuhri and vocalist
Cheryl Pepsii Riley. Free admission, concessions, family fun at the
intersection of Selby and Milton in St.
Paul.
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| Debbie Duncan |
Over at the
Artists Quarter (and an easy ride after spending the day at the Selby Avenue
festival), one of the great voices of any season takes the stage. Debbie
Duncan puts aside any apprehension about the success of a vocalist at
the Artists Quarter, packing the house every time and giving everyone her all
as entertaining and singer, be it blues, ballads or classic standards.
Saturday
marks the opening of a new season of jazz in the Lobby Bar of the St. Paul
Hotel. Pianist/vocalist Joann
Funk returns to the lobby with bassist Jeff Brueske for their
weekly sets of elegance and good humor. Joann premiered her Blossom Dearie show
in August and we can expect some of those songs will find new audience this
fall.
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| Trio Bossa Nova |
Sunday, September 9. Put some Latin in your step and
samba with Ticket to Brasil, Trio Bossa Nova, Talking Strings and Lee Engele at
the Adieu Summer annual concert at Como Lakeside Pavilion. TTB sponsors this event and will play the
opening and closing sets, moving from their typical quintet format to a
10-piece band for the finale. There’s no finer Brazilian band in the region,
and both Trio Bossa Nova and Talking Strings share TTB personnel. Outdoors,
rain or shine.
It’s time
again for the monthly PipJazz Sundays concert at Landmark,
hosted by vocalist Pippi Ardennia. Special guest this month is the incomparable
Dennis
Spears, along with student guest, drummer Jonas Taghavi from Central High School.
These concerts encourage families with a 5 pm start time, and the student
guests (as well as 17 year old Zosha Warpeha who plays violin with the house
band) inspire their peers to reach as high as they can.
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| Ben Sidran |
At the
Dakota, popular pianist, composer and storyteller Ben Sidran returns, this
time in support of his new project, “Jews, Music and the American Dream,”
highlighting some of the greatest songwriters of all time, from Irving Berlin
to George Gershwin and beyond.
Highlights, Week Nights
Monday, September 10. Young saxophonist Nelson
Devereaux is turning up all over town as an inventive sideman, but
tonight he gets star billing at Jazz Central. A student at the U of M, he has
been seen lately with Jake Baldwin, Pat Moriarty, and Adam Meckler. At the
Dakota, the dynamic Charmin (Michelle) and (Joel) Shapira expand their duo to a
quintet for Charmin & Shapira and Friends, a swinging ensemble to make “Foodie
Night” swing and sparkle.
Tuesday/Wednesday, September
11-12. Monster
bassist/producer Marcus Miller has a list of Grammies, and now brings his
funk-jazz excitement to the Dakota for two nights.
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| Jack Brass Band |
Thursday, September
13. Jack Brass Band seems to be turning up everywhere, and now they have a Thursday night
gig at the Icehouse, the hippest new joint in town and one presenting really
serious music to some of the most serious listeners around—other musicians. Good timing, as for now they have completed a one-year residency at the Driftwood CharBar in south Minneapolis.
More Music, Every Night
You can
find jazz—of every style—most any night of the week in the Twin Cities. Check
the calendar on Jazz Police,
announcements on KBEM and KFAI, your copy of TCJS CODA, even the Star Tribune
or Pioneer Press. Send your gigs to tc@jazzpolice.com
More
suggestions:
Friday, September 7. Bryan Nichols and James Buckley at
the Icehouse; Vicky Mountain and James Allen at the Wine Market; Ginger
Commodore and Debbie Duncan at the Dakota
Saturday, September 8. Nachito Herrera at the Dakota; Roxy Cruz and Jeremy Walker at
Ingredients Café; Lila Ammons Quintet at Honey; Body Omara at Café Maude; Arne
Fogel at The Lexington
Sunday, September 9. Dakota Combo Auditions at MacPhail
Center for Music (grades 9-12, Noon – 4 pm; auditions only); Zacc Harris Trio
at Riverview Wine Bar; River Falls Cultural Project at Emma’s Bar (River Falls); Jerry O'Hagan Orchestra with Charmin Michelle at Cinema Ballroom
Monday, September 10. Charmin Michelle and Denny
Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; Milo Fine Free Jazz Ensemble at Homewood Studios; JT’s
Jazz Implosion at Icehouse
Tuesday, September 11. Cory Wong Quartet followed by the River Falls Cultural Project at the Artists Quarter; Frankhouse at Hell’s Kitchen; Cedar
Avenue Big Band at Jazz Central
Wednesday, September
12. Steve Kenny
and the Bastids followed by Lulu’s Playground at the Artists Quarter; Charmin
Michelle and Denny Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; Joey Van Phillips and Brandon
Wozniak at Café Maude
Thursday, September 13. Lee Engele and Reynold Philipsek
at Centennial Lakes Farmers Market (4 pm); Arne Fogel at Hell’s Kitchen; Wolf
Jabbr at the Black Dog; Black Heralds Quartet at the Artists Quarter
Coming Soon!
·
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)
·
September
18, John Scofield Trio at the Dakota
·
September
19, Delfeayo Marsalis at the Dakota
·
September
21, Saxophone Day at McNally
Smith College
with Bob Sheppard
·
September
21-22, Bob Sheppard at the Artists Quarter
·
September
26-27, Chick Corea and Gary Burton at the Dakota
. September 27-29, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Anthony Cox & Brandon Ross at the Icehouse
·
September
28-29, Bryan Nichols Quintet at the Artists Quarter
·
September
30, Esperanza Spalding’s Radio Society at the State Theater
·
September
30, Men With Mics (Gregg Marquardt, Reeves Carey, Dan Ristrom) at the Artists
Quarter (TCJS, Jazz From J to Z)
·
October
6, Wayne Bergeron with the JazzMN Orchestra at the Hopkins
High School Performing Arts Center
·
October
12-13, Ari Honig Trio with Bill Carrothers at the Artists Quarter
·
October
13, Connie Evingson, Jazz @St. Barney’s (St. Barnabas Arts Center, Plymouth)
·
October
14-15, Cassandra Wilson
at the Dakota
·
October
23, Kurt Elling at the Dakota
·
October
30-31, Maria Schneider Orchestra at the Dakota
·
November
4, Spiral Visions (Milne, Hagedorn, Aaron, Lewis, Hey) at Landmark Center
(TCJS Jazz From J to Z)
·
November
9, Anat Cohen and Evan Christopher at Minneapolis Convention
Center (MN Orchestra)
·
November
10, Anat Cohen and Klezmatics at Minneapolis
Convention Center (MN
Orchestra)
·
November
11, Duke Ellington Orchestra with Evan Christopher at Minneapolis Convention
Center
·
November
11, PipJazz Sundays Youth Showcase at Landmark Center
·
November
12-13, Bettye LaVette at the Dakota
·
November
26-27, Karrin Allyson at the Dakota
·
December
7, Manhattan
Transfer at the Dakota
·
December
12-13, John Pizzarelli at the Dakota
·
December
14-15, Reid Anderson, Jeff Ballard, SPCO, Liquid Music at SPCO Music Room
·
December
27-29, Bad Plus at the Dakota
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| Delfeayo Marsalis, coming to the Dakota September 19th |
(All photos by Andrea Canter)
