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| Aakash Mittal performs twice this weekend |
© Andrea Canter
Hard to
believe August is here already! Seems the Jazz Festival was just last week. But
we’re enjoying some very decent weather , so let’s there be jazz, inside and
out! This coming week offers many opportunities to enjoy some of our amazing
veterans.
Big Gigs This Week
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| Debbie Duncan |
In the
southwest metro, tonight Parma
8200 hosts Connie Olson, one of those
marvelous voices that we hear way too seldom in club settings. If you have not
yet been to Parma,
check it out – a warm bar/lounge, inviting menu, and a real grand piano in a
space that seems like it actually was designed for music. And if you have not
heard Connie for a while, this is a perfect opportunity to hear some Doris Day
and more, with mighty fine Mary Louise Knutson on piano.
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| Vicky Mountain |
And if you
want a fun evening outdoors, and the forecast looks cooperative, the Music at
Kelly Park series (Apple Valley) closes its season with MaPhail faculty, featuring vocalist Vicky Mountain with guitarist
James Allen, bassist Tom Pieper, and drummer Mac Santiago. It’s a nice suburban
setting, with activities for kids, food and beverages, and of course some really
fine music from a veteran ensemble.
Saturday, August 3. Just like an AQ Tuesday night
gathering of jazz centric pals, four of the area’s top performers come together
for one night of art and mayhem. AQ owner Kenny Horst keeps the time for Pete
Whitman, Dave Hagedorn and Chris Bates in what promises to be a night of fun
and surprise. If all goes as expected, this might have to become part of the
regular AQ rotation.
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| Aakash Mittal Quartet |
Saturday, August
3-Sunday, August 4. Some think the best jazz begins when most of us are ready to call it a
night. This weekend, there is some truth to that, at least in Minneapolis. In town to celebrate the release
of his latest recording (Ocean),
Denver-based alto saxophonist Aakash
Mittal returns with a new quartet, playing back-to-back late shows at the
Dakota (Saturday, 11:30 pm) and the Icehouse (Sunday, approximately 10 pm).
Mittal’s all original repertoire infuses the wide spaces and natural beauty of
his native Colorado with the post bop fire of muses from Parker to Coltrane to
Mahanthappa and the traditional rhythms and harmonies of his father’s homeland,
India. Mittal has studied with the masters in India, and will soon head to
Kolkata for a year studying Hindustani saxophone techniques and ragas. But
first, a tour in support of Ocean. At
the Icehouse, Mittal’s quartet follows an opening set from a newly formed
quartet of Brandon Wozniak, Bryan Nichols, Kurt Schweitz and Devin Drobka;
Schweitz and Drobka form half of the Aakash Mittal Quartet.
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| Irv Williams |
Monday, August 5. The Old Log Theater again presents
the Minnesota Jazz All-Stars, an
opportunity to see our multi-generational living legends on stage together.
This year’s ensemble includes Cliff Brunzell, violin;
Tanner Taylor, piano; Irv Williams and Dave Karr, saxophones; Clyde Anderson,
bass; Reuben Ristrom, guitar; and Mac Santiago, drums, with charming vocalist
Charmin Michelle.
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| Cory Wong |
Tuesday,
August 6. You can hear three of the best guitarists in the area tonight…
and it is actually possible to hit all three. Starting at 7 pm, Cory Wong and his quartet hold their weekly symposium of sound at
the Artists Quarter, opening for the prime time gig which this week is Zacc Harris and Friends. Master of the
guitar as well as an accomplished bandleader, Harris and company will weave all
sorts of tales to midnight or beyond. Somewhere in between, head over to the
Black Dog where Dean Magraw and
co-host percussionist Davu Seru work
their First Tuesday magic.
Wednesday,
August 7. Guitarist/composer Todd
Clouser been in and out of town over the summer when not touring with his
Baja-based cohorts. The Twin Cities native has released a series of albums that
bring modern jazz and 70s rock together, and it works. Clouser performs tonight
at Café Maude (on Penn).
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| Retro Swing Sisters |
Thursday,
August 8. AKA the Swing Sisters, Retro
Swing Sisters pairs singers Rhonda Laurie and Maryann Sullivan in a
delightfully entertaining romp through Swing era standards augmented by some of
the swingingest instrumental genies in town—usually Rick Carlson, Steve Pikal
and Doug Haining. Maybe Mac Santiago too, as the venue is Jazz Central!
More Jazz Every Night
Be sure to
check live jazz calendars on Jazz Police
and KBEM sites. Also find a growing
number of events on the Jazz Near
You site, a service of All About
Jazz. TCJS Jazz Notes lists gigs monthly.
A few more gigs of note:
Friday, August 2. Irv Williams Trio, happy hour at
the Dakota; Sophia Shorai at Hell’s Kitchen; Zacc Harris and James Buckley at
the Icehouse
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| Anthony Cox |
Saturday, August 3. Nichola Miller at Hell’s Kitchen;
Paul Harper Trio at Loring Pasta Bar; Benny Weinbeck Trio at Parma; Javier
Santiago and James Buckley, followed by Anthony Cox and Happy Spirits at the
Icehouse; Joel Shapira, solo guitar at Ingredients Café; Electric Quartet (Ted
Olsen, Jake Baldwin, Joe Strachan, Emerson Hunton) at Wild Thymes
Sunday, August 4. Patty and the Buttons, brunch at
the Aster; Robert Everest, brunch at Maria’s; Jazz in the Vineyard at Alexis
Bailey Winery (Hastings) with the Doug Little Quartet; Roseville Big Band at
Centennial Lakes
Monday, August 5. Rhonda Laurie and Denny Malmberg at
Fireside Pizza; JT’s Jazz Implosion at the Icehouse; Steven Hobert Trio at Jazz
Central; Southside Aces at Famous Dave’s (Uptown)
Tuesday, August 6. Bill Simenson Big Band at Jazz
Central; Triosé at Café Maude (Penn Av)
Wednesday, August 7. Steve Kenny and the Bastids
followed by New Sound Underground at the Artists Quarter; Charmin Michelle and
Denny Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; EXECS Big Band at Centennial Lakes
Thursday, August 8. McNally Smith Venue Night at the Artists
Quarter; Connie Dusseau at Pudges (Hudson,
WI); Jon Pemberton at the Red
Stag
Coming Soon!
. August 9,
Nachito Herrera, followed by the Chris Speed Trio at the Dakota
. August
10, Todd Clouser and A Love Electric with Cyro Baptista at the Icehouse
. August
11, PipJazz Sundays Youth Salute at Landmark
Center
. August
12, Charmin and Shapira at the Dakota
. August
14, Jesse Stacken at Jazz Central
. August
14, Vanessa Trouble at the Dakota
. August
15, Chris Lomheim Trio at the Artists Quarter
. August
16-17, Red Five at the Artists Quarter
. August
17, Ginger Commodore and Dennis Spears at the Dakota
. August
19, Jake Baldwin at the Dakota
. August
21, Snowblind at the Artists Quarter
. August
23-24, Dave King Trucking Company at the Artists Quarter
. August
24, Freedom Jazz Festival, Martin
Luther King
Park
. August
27, Adam Meckler Orchestra at the Artists Quarter
. August
27-28, Jeff Lorber at the Dakota
. August
29, Ben Sidran at the Dakota
. August
30-31, JazzMN Orchestra at the Artists Quarter
. September
6-7, Concrete and Grass Festival at Mears
Park
. September
6-7, Graydon Peterson CD Release at the Artists Quarter
. September
14, Selby Ave
Jazz Festival (Milton and Selby Av)
. September
16, Doc Severinsen Big Band at the Dakota
. September
19, Ravi Coltrane Quartet
. September
20-21, Diane Witherspoon at the Artists Quarter
. September
23-24, Bettye LaVette at the Dakota
. September
25, John McLaughlin at the Dakota
. September
27-28, Red Planet at the Artists Quarter
. September
28-29, Prism (Dave Holland, Craig Taborn, Kevin Eubanks, Eric Harland) at the
Dakota
. October
1, Billy Cobham Spectrum 40 at the Dakota
. October
2-3, Gary Burton at the Dakota
. October
15-16, Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion at the Dakota
. November
1, Erik Friedlander and Mitch Epstein at the Walker Art Center
. November
12-13, José James at the Dakota
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| Pippi Ardennia and the PipJazz All-Stars, at Landmark on August 11th |
