 |
| Adam Meckler Orchestra (2013) |
© Andrea Canter
The Artists Quarter has generally been home to small
ensembles-- trios, quartets, quintets, an occasional larger group as well as
monthly gigs with the 10-piece Pete Whitman X-Tet. After all, the stage will
only handle about 8 musicians with a piano, and the piano is not easily moved!
The X-Tet always takes at least one row of tables out in front of the
stage. Every now and then, a larger
ensemble such as a McNally Smith band or the Minnesota Youth Jazz Band will squeeze
in with 15+, moving the music even closer to the bar.
Trumpeter and bandleader Adam Meckler is a good salesmen as
well as outstanding musician. When the audience for his Adam Meckler Orchestra
outgrew the confines of Jazz Central last spring, Adam convinced Kenny Horst
that the AQ could handle a monthly big band, and the AMO became the regular gig
on the last Tuesday of the month, drawing a good audience from the first
performance. Each time out, Adam brought new tunes, augmenting the band with
wife Jana's vocals at least once per set. The band is largely young up-and-comers,
some still completing degrees at the U of M. Like any big band, there is some
fluidity in membership depending on musician availability, but typically the
"elders" are barely 40.
Just a few months into their new home base, the Artists
Quarter closed. But not before Adam and his crew proved modern big bands can
bring in a crowd mid-week, and that a relatively small space like the AQ (which
is huge compared to Jazz Central) can not only accommodate a big band, but can
provide an exhilarating intimacy for listeners and musicians alike without
blowing out ear drums.
It was a short run, but the Adam Meckler Orchestra added to
the AQ's legacy as a home to new music and new talents that will shape the
future of jazz in the Twin Cities and beyond. And the AMO gave us one more
reason to miss the AQ.
