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| Twin Cities Jazz Festival, June 23-25 |
© Andrea Canter
The 2016 Twin Cities Jazz
Festival is in full swing, filling four outdoor stages and 18 club/bar venues
throughout Lowertown and downtown St
Paul and beyond. But there's more music around the
metro even before Jazzfest ends, with some artists who could be (or have been)
headliners at this or any other festival. For complete jazz festival line-up,
schedule, artist info etc., see the festival website.
Big Gigs This Week
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| Sheila Earley |
Friday, June 24. JazzFest dominates! Starting at 4 pm, Mears Park
is the scene of some impressive acts on the festival main stage. Patty Peterson hosts the first Jazz Women All Stars, an ensemble that
celebrates the great women jazz artists in the Twin Cities,
instrumentalists as well as vocalists. With Executive Director Steve Heckler
vowing to make this an annual part of the festival, Patty has organized a
prestigious line-up that includes pianist Mary Louise Knutson,
bassist/guitarist Joan Griffith, drummer Sheila Earley, and former Twin Citian,
Mary Petrich on tenor and soprano saxophone. They're joined by Debbie Duncan,
Linda Peterson and of course Patty Peterson on vocals, with Linda also taking a
turn on piano.
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| Faye Washington |
Another "Women of Jazz" band performs at The
Bedlam under the leadership of Pippi
Ardennia. Pippi has organized all-women ensembles every year around
Mother's Day, and this is her latest edition with veterans Marilyn Parker,
Margo Breivik, and Faye Washington leading the way.
Family patriarch Ellis Marsalis fills the headline slot
at Mears Park, swinging away on piano with a quartet
featuring young New Orleans
saxophonist Derek Douget. In between Jazz Women and Marsalis, young drummer Rodney Ruckus leads his quartet, raising
a ruckus of course.
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| Adam Astrup and Will Schmid Duo |
And youth prevails at Golden's Deli with the duo that
impressed at the Winter Jazz Festival, Will
Schmid and Adam Astrup, two ace teen guitarists who will blow your ears
with their sophisticated arrangements.
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| Adam Linz, Le Percheron |
The Black Dog presents four
bands each night of the festival, and tonight the offerings include Adam Linz's
Le Percheron and Mississippi,
with Pete Whitman, Peter Schimke, Jeff Bailey and Kevin Washington.
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| Patti Austin |
Away from the buzz of the festival, the Duke Ellington Orchestra with vocalist Patti Austin brings Ellington and Ella to the stage at Orchestra Hall. The first half of the program is all instrumental, a salute to Duke Ellington by a band that knows his music best. Austin joins the orchestra for the second part of the program, a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.
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| Rick Carlson and Maud Hixson |
And really away from the
festival, Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson
hold the first of two CD release shows for their new Listening for Your Song, a unique project showcasing songs
referenced by author Maud Hart Lovelace in her series of books about growing up
in the early 20th century in Mankato
-- the Besty-Tacy series. Tonight they're outside Mankato at the Chankaska Winery in Kasota;
they bring the music to the Twin Cities in mid-July at the Dunsmore Room.
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| Dakota Combo |
Saturday, June 25. It's a grand finale day at the Twin Cities Jazz
Festival, starting off early (11 am) with the Dakota Foundation for Jazz
Education Youth Showcase,
highlighting six ensembles including the final set from the Dakota Combo. At Mears Park,
another youth ensemble is on stage, the annual showcase for Walker West
Music Academy.
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| Russell Malone |
It's guitar night at Mears
Park, with Russell Malone and his
quartet (with Rick Germanson on piano, Willie Jones III on drums) followed by
the always-entertaining singing and swinging guitarist John Pizzarelli. Artistic
Director Francisco Mela joins forces with "house" pianist Jon Weber
and "friends" to close down the 6th Street Stage inbetween the Mears Park
sets.
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| Koplant No |
The Iowa
- Minnesota
festival exchange is completed with the return of Koplant No, a very edgy quartet that first hit the Twin Cities
about five years ago at the Artists Quarter and about two years ago on the
festival's 6th Street
Stage. Tonight they perform at Union Depot, followed by the Pete Whitman X-Tet with Lucia Newell providing a rare vocal accompaniment.
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| Phil Hey (Quartet) |
The SW Craft Bar has a
strong line-up tonight, starting with the John
Penny Trio, followed by Cory Wong,
and ending with the Phil Hey Quartet. Meanwhile The Bedlam features another youth
group, the Twin Cities Honors Vocal
Ensemble from McNally Smith College of Music, drawing top high school
vocalists from around the metro in its first year. Also at The Bedlam tonight
will be the Graydon Peterson Quartet followed by two ensembles of Jazz Central
"all stars."
Sunday, June 26. Relax after the hectic fun of jazzfest with
vocalist Judi Vinar and host Dan Chouinard for the Birthday Club in the
Dunsmore Room.
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| Emerson Hunton (Junior Ranger) |
Monday, June 27. Back in the Dunsmore Room, it's the monthly "In
the Crook", tonight with Rick
Carlson on keys and sunny vocalist Charmin
Michelle "in the crook." Whatever they do, it will swing. Nearly
on the opposite of the jazz spectrum, a young quartet from Oberlin fills the
Jazz Implosion slot at the Icehouse. Junior
Ranger came through last winter and now returns with some new music. The
band includes two South High (and now Oberlin) alums, Joe Suihkonen (trumpet)
and Emerson Hunton (drums).
At Jazz Central, one of the
bands performing for the first time at the Jazz Festival, Jazzoneando, sticks around to host 4 sessions of Latin jazz clinics
and an evening performance.
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| Maryann Sullivan and Doug Haining |
Tuesday, June 28. Jazzoneando is in town for one more night, now performing at Jazz Central with the Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra. At
Crooners, it's time for the monthly Twin Cities 7 gig led by Doug Haining with singer Maryann
Sullivan, while Vieux Carré focuses on piano, with Chris Lomheim in a solo set, followed by the Bryan Nichols Trio.
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| Larry McDonough |
Wednesday, June 29. Larry
McDonough brought yet another new show to the Dakota in May, this time in a
sextet format he is "Born to be Kind of Blue" -- yes, the music of
Chet Baker and Miles Davis. Tonight the band reprises the show, the first part
focusing on Chet, and the second set delving into Davis. Steve Kenny takes the trumpet parts on
both ends.
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| Zosha Warpeha |
At the Black Dog, young Zosha Warpeha -- a Minnesotan studying
at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in Manhattan--brings her
unique blend of jazz, improv and folk on violin and voice to the Black Dog,
with a very special guest due to sit in on guitar.
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| Marquis Hill and Christopher McBride |
Thursday, June 30. Last year, Marquis
Hill and his Black-Tet headlined the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. Now the
Thelonious Monk Trumpet Competition winner and band return after the festival
for their debut at the Dakota, warming up for their appearance at the Iowa City
Jazz Festival this coming weekend.
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| Dave Hagedorn, Good Vibes |
Thursday Night Jazz at
Reverie features Chris Bates' Good Vibes
Trio with Dave Hagedorn and Phil Hey, their first performance in several
months.
Summer brings sizzling jazz all around town. See the Live Jazz Calendar posted on the KBEM website, and see more about jazz events at jazzpolice.com --online and on Facebook. And tune into the on-the-air edition of the Lead Sheet every Thursday at 4:40 pm, rebroadcast on Fridays at 8:20 am. My guest next week (June 30) will be Andrew Walesch, providing an update on some new shows coming to the Dunsmore Room.
Coming Soon!
. July 1, Boo-Boos Third Birthday (Edmund Catlin) at Jazz Central
. July 1, Maryann Sullivan and Corner Jazz at Public Kitchen
. July 1-3, Iowa City Jazz Festival (Vijay Iyer Trio, Miguel Zenon, Poncho Sanchez, Allison Miller, David Berkman, Marquis Hill, Edmer Casteneda, Akiko Tsuruga, Phil Hey Quartet, Dakota Combo)
. July 5, Trilogy: Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade at the Dakota
. July 5, Acme Jazz Company at Crooners Lounge
. July 5-8, Charmin Michelle and Denny Malmberg, Happy Hour at Crooners Lounge
. July 6, Levi Schwartzberg at Jazz Central
. July 7, Mindi Abair at the Dakota
. July 8, All Originals, Charlie Lincoln Group at Studio Z
. July 11, Bruce Henry in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge
. July 12, Vanessa Trouble and Charlie Carnicus in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge
. July 13, Maud Hixson with Rick Carlson, CD Release in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge
. July 13, Hoaxer at Jazz Central
. July 14, Le Percheron at Khyber Pass Cafe
. July 15-16, Dave King Trucking Company at Vieux Carré
. July 17, Patty and Linda Peterson with Dan Chouinard in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge
. July 18, John Medeski, Todd Clouser and JT Bates at the Icehouse
. July 20, Connie Evingson with Jon Weber in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge
. July 24, Rochester (MN) Jazz Festival
. July 26-27, Dave King Trio in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge
. July 29, All Originals, Will Kjeer at Studio Z
. July 30, Patty Peterson at Crooners Lounge
. July 31, Vern Sutton with Dan Chouinard in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge
. August 8, Marcus Miller at the Dakota
. August 9-10, Estaire Godinez at the Dakota
. August 13, Rebirth Brass Band at the Dakota
. August 23, Chris Lomheim Trio in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge
. September 1-2, Barbara Morrison and Houston Person at the Dakota
. September 5, José Feliciano at the Dakota
. September 8, Mindy Abair at the Dakota
. September 25-26, Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman Duo at the Dakota
. October 1, Terence Blanchard with JazzMN Orchestra at Ordway
. October 20-21, McCoy Tyner Quartet with Gary Bartz at the Dakota
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| Chick Corea, at the Dakota with Trilogy on July 5 |
