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| Kenny Horst, 2006 |
© Andrea Canter
In the wee hours of January 1st, after 18 years in St. Paul, one of the
world's top jazz clubs - and by most definitions, the Twin Cities' only
full-time jazz club--will have its last call. The Artists Quarter has been
special to so many, in so many ways. It's been a haven for jazz musicians from
high school students to 90+ -year-old veterans, from swingers and bebop purists
to avant experimenters. It's been a serious listening room for jazz fans of all ages. If there is a jazz equivalent of "Cheers,"
this is it. Everybody knows your name, your drink, and your jazz preferences.
And everybody knows Kenny Horst, owner, host, house drummer, all-around good
guy who probably charged too little and sacrificed his own well-being too
often. The audience has been loyal if often too small; the rent has been too
high and building management too inflexible. So the doors will close, at least
until someone else comes along willing and able to swim upstream. And probably move.
I intended to post a photo honoring the Artists Quarter
every day for its final month. Today is December 2nd so I am already behind.
And I am starting, and ending, with Kenny Horst.
I probably started bringing my
camera to the AQ around the time of this photo, taken at a gig in September
2006. Kenny's hair still had a bit of blonde throughout, and those fast hands
were hard at work, as always, whenever Kenny sat behind the trapset. Which was,
and still is, at least a few nights per week.
