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| Dean Granros at the AQ (2013) |
© Andrea Canter
I first
saw/heard Dean Granros with How Birds Work, a terrific quartet that used
to play weekly at the AQ in its early years in the Hamm Building.
By then he was one of the Twin Cities' grand veterans of jazz, serving an
apprenticeship back in the 60s at such old local jazz and blues haunts as the
Blue Note, Extraordinaire and Downtowner. I didn't even live here then. In the
70s Dean was leader or co-leader of experimental jazz groups --The Whole Earth
Rainbow Band and Lapis. For nearly a decade from the mid-80s, he played with
Eric Kamau Gravatt in Kamanari, then joined Scott Fultz and Dave King as FKG.
In the new millennium, Dean joined George Cartwright's Curlew, and then of
course How Birds Work with Peter Schimke, Billy Peterson and Kenny Horst. HBW
still plays now and then (with Chris Bates usually on bass) at the AQ, but we
miss their frequent explorations. Occasionally FKG comes together, and Dean has
performed more recently with Starry Eyed Lovelies (with King, Mike Lewis and
Anthony Cox) and with his own AntiGravity improvisation ensemble.
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| Dean Granros and Chris Bates (2013) |
In the last
month, we've gotten a booster shot of Dean Granros, as he came into the AQ with
his own trio (Chris Bates and Kenny Horst); just last night (December 27), Dean
sat in with fellow musicians as part of the AQ Final Weekend Jam, particularly
grooving back and forth with Chris Bates on a couple tunes. His is an art that is
far too rare and too little appreciated. Yet we do have an audience for
experimental improvisation in the Twin Cities. Hopefully there will soon be
another venue to give it a good hearing.
Sanity is over-rated.
