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Three-bass hit! Mountain King reunites at Jazz Central, July 29 |
© Andrea Canter
It seems like we have a jazz
festival every weekend this summer -- if not an event so named, at least there
are enough concerts and gigs to choose from that it seems like an endless
celebration. This week we celebrate CD releases, homecomings and reunions;
there's at least one "jazz festival" in the region, and Sommerfest
brings jazz to the Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall in the midst of Aquatennial.
You can enjoy music outdoors or indoors, rain or shine. And you can get an
early glimpse of the Lead Sheet on Thursday afternoons, 4:40 pm on KBEM, aka
Jazz 88.5.
Big Gigs This Week
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Jeremy Walker in the Target Atrium |
Friday, July 24. A new addition to Orchestra Hall's Sommerfest this
year, weekends during the music festival include concerts in the Target Atrium
before (at 6 pm) and after (at 10 pm) the regularly scheduled concert in the
main hall. And jazz is a significant part of the schedule. Tonight, the Atrium Jazz Trio (usually Jeremy Walker,
Anthony Cox, JT Bates) performs the late show. Particularly after dark, the
Target Atrium brings a slice of Manhattan and
Jazz at Lincoln Center to the Minneapple. (Note the solo
performance by Chris Lomheim tomorrow at 10!)
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Pete Whitman |
Jazz Central hosts Mississippi, a quartet that grew from the original
Andres Prado Quintet that played the Artists Quarter some years ago when
guitarist Prado spent a couple years here before returning to his native Peru.
He left a fine ensemble to carry on his inventive interpretations of Coltrane,
Coleman, and original works-- Pete Whitman, Peter Schimke, Jeffrey Bailey and
Kevin Washington.
Down a couples miles at The Nicollet, trumpeter Jon Pemberton leads a tribute to the great Lee Morgan. Jon used to hold these tributes more often, at the Artists Quarter, and his talented crew of popular veterans tonight includes Dave Brattain, Mikkel Romstad, Tom Lewis and Jay Epstein.
Down a couples miles at The Nicollet, trumpeter Jon Pemberton leads a tribute to the great Lee Morgan. Jon used to hold these tributes more often, at the Artists Quarter, and his talented crew of popular veterans tonight includes Dave Brattain, Mikkel Romstad, Tom Lewis and Jay Epstein.
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Ginger Commodore |
Vocalist Ginger Commodore makes her Vieux Carré
debut tonight with her long-standing quartet -- pianist Lee Blaske, bassist
Mark Weisburg, and drummer Bobby Commodore, plus special guest, saxophonist Rich Manik. Ginger seems to be the essence of
the new club--classy, accessible, a little sweet and a little sassy. Should be
a perfect fit.
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Maud Hixson with Rick Carlson |
And tonight Parma 8200 hosts
the monthly gig of the sublime Maud
Hixson Trio, with songbird Maud, her husband Rick Carlson on piano, and
Gordy Johnson on bass. You can be sure of several things whenever you hear Maud
-- her voice will win you over before the first tune is done, she'll sing some
songs you have heard before but maybe never really heard before, and she'll sing at least one (probably more) song you
never heard before-- perhaps from an obscure songwriter or perhaps just an
obscure tune from one of the famed writers of the Great American Songbook.
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John Raymond |
Saturday, July 25. This one is really dubbed a "jazz
festival" -- in St. Croix Falls,
WI, the Chateau St. Croix Winery encourages
wine tasting in the midst of some great jazz, starting at noon with the John Raymond Group. Back in Minnesota
briefly with a few gigs to celebrate his spring release, Foreign Territory, trumpet master John performed at the Dakota a
couple nights ago with New York cohorts; today he teams up with old pals Bryan
Nichols, Ted Olsen and Jay Epstein. Later in the afternoon, hear the samba
sounds of Ticket to Brasil and the
original music of the Atlantis Quartet.
That's some pretty hefty jazz --all free, all outdoors.
And another music festival
takes place this afternoon in Bloomington at
Christ the King Church, with jazzers Creole Four, Irv Williams and Ginger
Commodore performing.
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Cory Healey |
Saturday Night Jazz at the
Black Dog has an abbreviated schedule tonight, with just one band playing two
sets, starting at 7 pm due to the Lowertown Blues Festival. But the one band is
a doozie, Cory Healey's Beautiful
Sunshine Band. The music is sunny and mostly original compositions, played
by a highly regarded crew-- saxophonist Brandon Wozniak, trumpeter Jake
Baldwin, guitarist Zacc Harris, bassist Erik Fratzke, and drummer Healey. Note
there is a home Saints game this evening too, so plan ahead to avoid parking
and traffic snags.
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Doug Little |
Doug Little
recently returned from Cuba
where his Charanga Tropical band performed at Havana's
Danson Festival; still in a Cuba
frame of mind, Doug brings his globally connected Seven Steps to Havana ensemble to the Dakota for an evening of
steamy Cuban rhythms and reconsiderations of jazz classics.
Another CD from Reynold Philipsek? It would seem too much to have a new release at least once per year...if they weren't so darn good. This time, with Quintessence, the guitarist/composer goes mostly solo with re-workings of earlier material and some new ones, including the one quartet track inspired by the upcoming documentary about his life and music. Celebrate with Reynold and pals Matt Senjem and Michael Bissonnette at the 318 Cafe in Excelsior. Your ticket ($12) includes the CD.
Another CD from Reynold Philipsek? It would seem too much to have a new release at least once per year...if they weren't so darn good. This time, with Quintessence, the guitarist/composer goes mostly solo with re-workings of earlier material and some new ones, including the one quartet track inspired by the upcoming documentary about his life and music. Celebrate with Reynold and pals Matt Senjem and Michael Bissonnette at the 318 Cafe in Excelsior. Your ticket ($12) includes the CD.
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Andrew Walesch |
Sunday, July 26. Crooners has music six nights per week plus Sunday
jazz brunch. This week, young pianist/vocalist Andrew Walesch lives up to the venue name, with a fine quartet including
Gordy Johnson, Jay Epstein and a guest horn player. Walesch listened well to
the recordings of Frank Sinatra, but has also headed a big band.
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Brian Courage |
Monday, July 27. JT's Jazz Implosion offers the first of several
opportunities to hear former Minnesota resident,
bassist Brian Courage since he moved
to New York a
year ago. Tonight at the Icehouse, Brian joins the cast of the John Raymond Group, along with
octogenarian saxman Dave Karr and drummer JT Bates. Raymond notes that this is
his first time playing with Karr, something he (and we) are looking forward to.
Another visiting native son,
guitarist Luke Polopnik, will be the featured artist at Jazz Central. The
St. Paul native is now based in Omaha but gets back home
now and then to play with old friends.
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Maryann Sullivan and Corner Jazz |
Tuesday, July 28. The Nicollet hosts another swing night with Maryann Sullivan's Corner Jazz ensemble
(usually Doug Haining, Jim Chenoweth, Trevor Haining and perhaps a guitar
and/or horn). Swing dancing is encouraged and usually a major component to the
evening.
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Park Evans (Firebell) |
At Vieux Carré, the edgy trio Firebell
(Park Evans, Graydon Peterson, Jay Epstein) have the night to themselves,
and the $5 cover should encourage a good turnout.
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Jeremy Boettcher (Mountain King) |
Wednesday, July 29. The acoustic bass trio Mountain King reunite
tonight at Jazz Central in honor of Brian Courage's visit. With Graydon
Peterson and Jeremy Boettcher, the trio will bring smiles or even downright
grins to the faces of listeners and, if ears could smile, there would be plenty
as well. Mountain King began about two years ago at the Artists Quarter and was
already a popular act when the club closed at the end of that year. A few gigs
at Jazz Central later, Courage left for New
York and we have been awaiting his return ever since.
As virtuosic as are these musicians, something about three acoustic basses just
makes you smile, and the clever arrangements of standards as well as original
tunes creates a perfect repertoire.
Vocalist Lila
Ammons is on stage at Crooners with her trio (usually featuring Thom
West on piano), and her takes on standards and more modern tunes are always
stunning.
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Kevin Daley (da-ka-broo-da) |
Thursday, July 30. As band names go, dā-ke-brōō-dā is one of the oddest. But the music is original and
highly listenable. This relatively new ensemble (Kevin Daley, Dave Brattain,
Pooch Heinie, Dave Stanoch) brings their "all originals" to the
summer Thursday night series, All Originals, at Studio Z in St. Paul. The
series is in its second season, curated by Steve Kenny.
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Charmin and Shapira |
Not far away at the Black
Dog, Charmin Michelle and Joel Shapira
bring their classy duo to the stage, an ideal blending of voice and guitar that
yields warm standards, bossas and more.
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Zack Lozieer |
And a few blocks west, Vieux
Carré presents a double-header, starting with the no-cover dinner sets with the
Zack Lozier Three, followed by the $5
cover set with Mississippi (see Friday above). It's a
homecoming for Mississippi
which played its first sets at the old Artists Quarter in this space. On the
same stage.
More Jazz!
Keep up with the live jazz
scene in the Twin Cities. The most comprehensive jazz calendar can be found at Jazz
Police, but you will also find jazz listings at KBEM, Rhythm and Grooves and Jazz
Near You. Jazz Police also posts monthly metro jazz highlights. KBEM
and KFAI radio host jazz programs regularly and provide daily notices of jazz
gigs and concerts. Venues and artists are reminded to send information to
online and print calendars (e.g. tc@jazzpolice.com)
Coming Soon!
. July 31, Jeremy Walker Duo/Parisota Hot Club at Vieux
Carre'
. July 31, The Girls ("A Diva Tribute") at Chanhassan Dinner Theater
. July 31, Peter Kogan Group CD Release, Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall (10 pm)
. July 31, The Girls ("A Diva Tribute") at Chanhassan Dinner Theater
. July 31, Peter Kogan Group CD Release, Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall (10 pm)
. August 1, Chris Lomheim solo, Target Atrium at
Orchestra Hall (10 pm)
. August 3, Courageous Endeavors (the original band) at the Icehouse
. August 3, Courageous Endeavors (the original band) at the Icehouse
. August 6,
George Brooks with Larry Coryell and Bombay
Jazz at the Dakota
. August 7, Patty Peterson and Friends at the Icehouse
. August 7, Atlantis Quartet at Vieux Carre'
. August 7, Patty Peterson and Friends at the Icehouse
. August 7, Atlantis Quartet at Vieux Carre'
. August 8,
PipJazz at The Bedlam
. August 13, Michael Janisch Paradigm Shift Quartet at
Studio Z
. August 15, Freedom Jazz Festival (Minneapolis, TBA)
. August 20, Adam Meckler Quintet Live Recording at
Studio Z
. August 20-27, Bridge Chamber Music Festival, Northfield (Laura Caviani
and Dave Milne on 8/21; Dave Hagedorn on 8/24)
. August 22, Jeremy Siskind Trio with Nancy Harms at Vieux Carré
. August
25, Cyrus Chestnut Trio at the Dakota
. August
30, Tootie Heath Trio with Ethan Iverson and Ben Street at the Dakota
. August
31, Terence Blanchard and E-Collective at the Dakota
. September
7-8, Victor Wooten at the Dakota
. September
11, Christian Scott and Stretch Music at the Dakota
. September
17, Patricia Barber at the Dakota
. September
22-23, Lizz Wright at the Dakota
. October
4, Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra at the Dakota
. October
25, Benny Green Trio at the Dakota
. November
16, Regina
Carter's Southern Comfort at the Dakota
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Courageous Endeavors Reunion-- Icehouse on August 3 |