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Steve Kenny's Group 47 (at the Black Dog on November 28) |
© Andrea Canter
We may be facing the darkest
days of the year, but we are also facing one of the most jazz-packed weeks of
the year. There's no intentional festival or organized music conspiracy, yet
making choices, especially Saturday, will make your ears spin. But it's all
good. Without the travel or expense, we can experience what might be normal for
jazz fans in the Big Apple. So rest up on Thanksgiving and have an extra slice
of pie--and let the jazz-a-thon begin!
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Debbie Duncan |
Friday, November 27. Kick-start your Black Friday shopping with brunch at
Hell's Kitchen, music courtesy of smart and sassy vocalist Debbie Duncan. Come back early this evening (5-8 pm) after your
shopping spree to hear East
Side, with Reynold Philipsek, Matt Senjem and Jay Epstein, as
they take you on a journey of 21st century swing.
Sorry if I confused anyone
(other than myself) last week regarding Patty
Peterson's gig at Parma
8200. In truth, it is tonight! Sit back and enjoy one of the area's most
popular singers in the pared-down company of brother Paul (bass) and nephew
Jason DeLaire (keys and perhaps sax?).
Paul Harper's new "Chordless Quartet" launches at The Nicollet, with Paul
on saxes, Steve Kenny on FLUMPET™, Tom Lewis on bass and young Matthew Buckner
on drums. They'll be reinterpreting works by Henderson and Monk, and playing
new works from Paul and Steve.
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Charmin & Shapira |
Vieux Carré 's double header
features pianist Jeremy Walker for
the early show, then the classy pizazz of Charmin
and Shapira and Friends. Both vocalist Charmin and guitarist Joel have
recently returned from global adventures, and due to Paul Harper's new band at
The Nicollet, there will be a couple guests among the "Friends"--
saxophonist Pete Whitman and bassist Pooch Heine.
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Levi Schwartzberg |
There's trouble at Jazz
Central but it's "Good Trouble,"
a band of Appleton, WI musicians currently or formerly enrolled at the Lawrence
Conservatory--Ben Phillips on trumpet, Will
Fraser on alto sax, Carson Caldart on tenor sax, Sam Genualdi on guitar,
Jonathan Fagan on piano, Jakob Heinemann on bass, and Jack Lussenden on drums. Plan to make it a late night as the student
jam (10 pm) kicks off with the new Levi
Schwartzberg Project. Led by U of M student vibes master Levi, the band
includes similarly prodigious young lions--Thomas Strommen on tenor sax,
Jackson Mullett on trumpet, Drew Stinson on bass, Ben Beyene on drums.
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Dave King (Gang Font) |
The
Icehouse hosts a rare local appearance by The
Gang Font, described as "math punk indie jazz noise prog post post
modern contemporary instrumental pop rock," and featuring Dave King
(drums), Erik Fratzke (guitar), Bryan Nichols (piano) and Greg Norton (bass).
Meanwhile,
the usual suspects: Irv Williams
continues to give old age the cold shoulder at happy hour at the Dakota;
bassist James Buckley, this time with
guitar wizard Tim Sparks, keeps
dinner hour on edge at The Icehouse; JoAnn
Funk and Jeff Brueske cover it all from Peggy Lee to Blossom Dearie in the
Lobby Bar of the Saint Paul Hotel (now both Friday and Saturday through the
holidays).
Saturday,
November 28. The gigs tonight could be blocks apart in New York. As is, there's
a lot just blocks apart in St. Paul
alone
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Adam Linz |
You don't even have to wait
til evening for some hot jazz in St
Paul. Bassist Adam
Linz is curating an afternoon of music at his part-time job at Barley
Brothers Records, noon- 5 pm. Surrounded by shelves of vinyl, four bands keep
live music in the air, starting with the Dominican
Crisis Quintet at noon, followed by Ted
King, the "Pony Show Edition" of Le Percheron (Adam, Noah Ophoven-Baldwin and Levi Schwartzberg), and
winding up with the first public performance of the new edition of the Dakota Combo. No cover and lots of
temptations among the record sales.
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Steve Kenny |
Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog bills the two gigs as
"opening" and "headliner" but that's not an accurate
distinction tonight, although median age does distinguish Group 47 and Vector
Families. Steve Kenny's Group 47
opens at 7 pm, a welcome return of the band that played weekly during the final
six months of the Artists Quarter and then found new hosts at Jazz Central, the
Black Dog, The Nicollet, Icehouse, Vieux Carré and the Twin Cities Jazz
Festival. It's a band that veteran trumpeter Kenny pulled together after his
long-running Bastids ensemble completed its five-year tenure at the AQ, holding
over bassist Adam Tucker and pulling in then very-young pianist Will Kjeer and
nearly as young tenor saxophonist Thomas Strommen, along with UW-River Falls
drummer Alex Burgess. Two years later, the band has a vinyl recording (Straight
to Vinyl); Strommen has transferred from River Falls
to the U of M, and Kjeer graduated from high school and is now studying at Cal
Arts. Which means Group 47 gigs are limited to holidays and college breaks.
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Anthony Cox |
The
"headline" band at the Black Dog is indeed a band of headliners.
Formerly known as the PBR Street Gang, Vector
Families features internationally renowned artists who happen to live in
the Twin Cities--drummer Dave King and bassist
Anthony Cox, along with local guitar legend Dean Granros and future legend,
saxophonist Brandon Wozniak.
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Peg Carrothers |
The
stars above St Paul
are certainly casting a wide beam tonight. Two short blocks from the Black Dog,
vocalist Peg Carrothers and her
better-known spouse, pianist Bill Carrothers, celebrate Peg's new recording, Edges of My Mind, as well as the opening
of a new Jazz at Studio Z concert season. Starting at 6 pm with a "master
class" on jazz singing, Peg and Bill then join forces with the artists on
the recording-- Dean Magraw on guitar and mandolin and Billy Peterson on
bass--for a concert that takes us through the ethereal music of the CD, songs
that stretch in time from Stephen Foster to the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith.
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Pat Mallinger |
And
less than a mile away, Vieux Carré hosts an unusual "homecoming" for
saxophonist and St Paul
native Pat Mallinger, a long-time
cohort of Bill Carrothers. For years since he relocated to Chicago, Pat returned for holiday gigs at the
Artists Quarter, playing his last with Carrothers on Thanksgiving weekend 2013.
Now he's back to the same space, new club, and he even has drummer and AQ owner
Kenny Horst in tow to handle the drum duties. With his usual bandmates Bill
Carrothers and Billy Peterson otherwise occupied at Studio Z, he'll be joined
by Chris Lomheim on piano and Andrew Foreman on bass.
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Charmin Michelle and Sam Miltich |
In
South St. Paul, there's a very special evening
planned at the Croation Hall, where vocalist Charmin Michelle teams up with guitarist Sam Miltich for a dinner and music night. Augmenting the buttery
voice of Charmin and the hot club swinging swagger of Sam's guitar will be sax
giant Dave Karr, Sam's dad Matthew Miltich on bass and Nathan Norman on drums.
There's an optional dinner buffet to complete the evening.
Jazz
in the Lobby Bar with JoAnn Funk and Jeff
Brueske, Benny Weinbeck Trio at
Parma 8200, Sophia Shorai at Hell's
Kitchen, Talking Strings at Loring
Pasta Bar, and Tim Sparks (dinner
sets) at the Icehouse offer more choices for Saturday night jazz fever.
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Andrew Walesch |
Sunday,
November 29. In case you
are tired of leftover turkey or managed to wipe it out, you might be up for
jazz brunch -- the Andrew Walesch Trio
at Crooners, Patty and the Buttons at
the Aster Cafe, Robert Everest at Maria's. Or plan an evening away from
leftovers at the Riverview Wine Bar with the Zacc Harris Trio.
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Pat Martino |
Monday,
November 30. It's been a long time since guitar master Pat Martino was in town, but the durable
virtuoso finally returns for one night at the Dakota, bringing in his smoldering
organ trio with B-3 hot-handed Pat Bianchi and sleight-of-hand drummer Carmen
Intorre. Already a star when a brain aneurysm left him unable to play, Martino
famously relearned every lick and returned to star-level performing in one of
the greatest comeback stories in music.
Vocalist
Charmin Michelle is back at Crooners
Lounge, this time in prime time with a quartet of feisty swingers-- Denny
Malmberg on accordion, Steve Pikal on bass, and Jay Epstein on drums.
Jazz Central Studios welcomes Winston-Salem, NC-based keyboard monster Abebi Stafford to the Spotlight series.
A Minnesota native, Stafford
headlined the Twin Cities "Hot Sumer Jazz Festival" back in 2002, and
in 2004 won the Future of Jazz Competition with his band Bayorhythm. He's
toured internationally and is working on his fourth album.
Happy Hour
at Crooners will feature vocalist/pianist Andrew
Walesch all week, starting tonight. That's a cool way to start your
evening, whether you plan to stay on for dinner and more music or just chill
out before heading home.
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JT Bates |
JT's Jazz Implosion at the Icehouse will feature the Bates Brothers (JT on drums, Chris on
bass) "plus guests."Turns out those guests include Mike Lewis (sax) and Cory Wong (guitar). An enviable guest list.
Tuesday, December 1. Vieux Carré hosts two of our finest
jazz women tonight, starting off with Mary
Louise Knutson on solo piano, followed by Maryann Sullivan's Corner Jazz-- Maryann on vocals with Javi Santiago on piano, Steve Pikal on
bass, and Trevor Haining on drums.
It's the First
Tuesday, meaning Dean Magraw and Davu
Seru create guitar/percussion mayhem at The Black Dog, while the Bill
Simenson Orchestra holds its monthly bash at Jazz Central.
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Steven Hobert |
And it's
instrumental jazz night at Crooners, with the Steven Hobert Quartet on stage. Inventive and eclectic, Hobert
appears with strong support from saxophonist Brian Gallagher, bassist Yohannes
Tona and drummer Pete Hennig.
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Diane Schuur |
Wednesday, December 2. It's a long-awaited return of
Grammy-winning vocalist Diane Schuur,
back at the Dakota tonight for two engaging sets. Her voice has covered nearly
every corner of American music, and her sets are as entertaining as they are
musical. And her band will be filled with first-call musicians.
A local songbird with an equally distinguished career, Connie Evingson hosts her monthly Jazz in the Lounge at the Minneapolis Woman's Club, tonight with Mary Louise Knutson, Dave Karr and Chris Bates.
A local songbird with an equally distinguished career, Connie Evingson hosts her monthly Jazz in the Lounge at the Minneapolis Woman's Club, tonight with Mary Louise Knutson, Dave Karr and Chris Bates.
At Hell's
Kitchen, the Wolverines Trio (Rick
Carlson, Steve Pikal, Jendeen Forberg) return with some devilish sets. Meanwhile at Jazz Central, the "new music" series presents a new quartet from Davu Seru, Destruct/Reconstruction, with Anthony Cox, Steve Kenny and Levi Schwartzberg.
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Lila Ammons |
And Lila's Jazz Triangle returns to the
Tangiers for Jazz After Work, now at a new time to attract the after-work crowd
(6-9 pm). Lila Ammons heads this trio, bringing her natural talents and
experience touring in Europe, to say nothing
of her legacy --granddaughter of boogie-woogie master Albert Ammons and niece
of hard bop saxophonist Gene Ammons. Adding pianist Peter Schimke and bassist Jim Chenoweth only up the ante.
Thursday, December 3. Crooners is starting a special duo
series on the First Thursday of the month, dubbed "In the Crook"--
singers and pianists. Tonight enjoy two of the hardest swinging musicians in
town, vocalist Charmin Michelle with
pianist (and every singer's best friend) Rick
Carlson.
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. KBEM and KFAI radio host jazz programs regularly and provide
daily notices of jazz gigs and concerts. The live edition of The Lead Sheet can
be heard at 4:40 pm on Thursdays on KBEM, excerpts rebroadcast at 7:20 am on
Fridays. On December 3, guest Steve Kenny talks about upcoming events at the
Black Dog and Nicollet, including back to back performances by the Atlantis
Quartet. Venues and artists are reminded to send information to online and
print calendars (e.g. tc@jazzpolice.com).
Coming Soon!
. December
4, The Girls at the Dakota
. December
4, "Merry and Bright" with Charles Lazarus, Orchestra Hall
. December
4, Atlantis Quartet at The Nicollet
. December
4, Dean Magraw and Steven Hobert at Hennepin
Avenue United Methodist Church
. December
5, Atlantis Quartet at the Black Dog
. December
5, Connie Evingson, Jazz @ St Barney's
. December
5, PipJazz (Pippi Ardennia) at The Bedlam
. December
6, Capri Big Band at the Capri Theater
. December
7, Lawrence University Faculty Jazz Quartet with
Laura Caviani, Adam Meckler and Mary Louise Knutson at the Dakota
. December
7, Acme Jazz Company at Crooners Lounge
. December
8, Jamison Ross at the Dakota
. December
8, Butch Thompson and Dean Magraw at Crooners Lounge
. December
9, "Feel Good Revolution" at Vieux Carré
. December
9-10, Ramsey Lewis Holiday Show at the Dakota
. December
10, Adam Meckler Orchestra at Vieux Carré
. December
10, Vicky Mountain Jazz Central
. December
10, Debbie Duncan Quartet at Crooners Lounge
. December
11, Laura Caviani Holiday Show at Vieux Carré
. December
12, Fletcher/King/Woods CD release at the Black Dog
. December
12, JT Bates "Grain", Jazz at Studio Z
. December
12, Peter Kogan Quartet at Vieux Carré
. December
13, Fuzzy Math CD Release at the Icehouse
. December
14-15, New York Voices Holiday show at the Dakota
. December
15, Jazz 88 Holiday Party with Mary Louise
Knutson and Katia Cardenas at Vieux Carré
. December
15, Phil Aaron Trio at Crooners Lounge
. December
17, Larry McDonald Holiday Show at the Dakota
. December
18 & 20, "Jingle Bell
Doc," Doc Severinsen and the MN Orchestra at Orchestra Hall
. December
19, Ginger Commodore Holiday Show at Vieux
Carré
. December
20, Peterson Family Christmas at the Dakota
. December 21-22,
Nachito Herrera and the Universals at the Dakota
. December
22, Connie Evingson "Hot Jazz" at Vieux Carré
. December
22, Bill Carrothers Trio (with Billy Peterson and Dave King) at Crooners Lounge
. December
25-28, The Bad Plus at the Dakota
. December
27, Big Band Christmas at Jazz@ St Barneys
. December
31, Artists Quarter New Year's Eve with Carole Martin at Hell's Kitchen
. December
31, New Year's Eve Dinner Show with Jazzland Wonderband at Vieux Carré
. December
31, New Year's Eve Benefit for Feed My Starving Children with The Niskas at
Prince of Peace Lutheran
Church (Burnsville)
. January
9, Andrew Walesch at Jazz @St Barneys
. January
10, Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues at the Dakota
. January
17, John Penny CD release at the Icehouse
. January 22,
Happy Apple at the Icehouse
. January
23, Jeremy Walker's Seven Psalms at
Orchestra Hall
. January
23, Rick Carlson and Steve Pikal at Jazz @St. Barneys
. January
31, Winter Jazz Festival at the Saint Paul Hotel, featuring the Cyrus Chestnut
Trio
. February
2, Charles Lloyd Trio with Bill Frisell at the Dakota
. February
8-9, John Scofield and Joe Lovano at the Dakota
. February
20, Swing Sister (Maryann Sullivan and Rhonda Laurie) at Jazz @ St Barneys
. February
22, Ches Smith Trio with Craig Taborn at the Icehouse
. February
25, Rez Abassi with Rudresh Mahanthappa at Walker Art Center
. February
25, Jazz in the Target Atrium, Atrium Jazz Ensemble with Bryan Nichols at
Orchestra Hall
. March
2-3, Brian Blade Fellowship at the Dakota
. March 5,
Pete Whitman X-Tet at Hopkins
Center for the Arts
. March 13,
JazzMN Orchestra with Tierney Sutton at the Hopkins High School
Auditorium
. April 23,
JazzMN Orchestra with Bob McChesney and Andy Martin at Hopkins High School
Auditorium
. April 28,
Jazz in the Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall
. May 7,
Steve Lehman Octet at the Walker
Art Center