Leave it to Minnesotans to find ways to celebrate winter, be it with ice sculptures, plunges into frozen lakes, or... jazz, of course. This weekend brings two jazz festivals, the annual event at Century College (this year boasting guest artist Randy Brecker) and the more intermittent bash, the Winter Jazz Festival sponsored by the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, held at the Saint Paul Hotel with the Cyrus Chestnut Trio in the headliner slot. And away from the festivals, there's the usual dose of great music throughout the metro, from local heroes like Dave Karr and Kenny Horst at the Black Dog to living legends Charles Lloyd and Bill Frisell, sharing the stage at the Dakota.
Big Gigs This Week
Friday, January 29. Maud Hixson has been performing more out of town than locally lately, but she's singing away the blues, the chills or whatever else ails you at Parma 8200 tonight, with her most able sidekicks, Rick Carlson on keys and Gordy Johnson on bass.
A double sax quartet dubbed Really Big Shoedebuts at Jazz Central, as Joe Mayo and Clay Pufahl take the “stage" with Ted Olsen on bass and Lars- Erik Larson on drums, playing mostly original music. Following their show, it's North Central University's “Collegiate Night," directed by Bobby Peterson protegé Peter Shu, with several sets ending with an open jam.
At The Nicollet (soon to be Reverie), Friday Night Jazz brings in da-ke-broo-da, that weirdly named quartet featuring some well-seasoned post- boppers— Dave Brattain on sax, Kevin Daley on guitar, Bruce Heine on bass and Dave Stanoch on drums.
At Vieux Carré, Jeremy Walker opens the evening with solo piano, followed by Peter Kogan's Monsterful Wonderband, a septet of area titans under the leadership of the Minnesota Orchestra's retired principal timpanist who released Some Monsterful Wonderthing last year. The band includes Pete Whitman, Adam Meckler and Scott Agster on horns, with a rhythm section of Sean Turner, Chris Olsen, Jeff Bailey and of course Kogan.
One-man band Patrick Harison entertains over the dinner hours at the Icehouse; Irv Williams is back at the Dakota for Happy Hour; and Todd Harper's Piano Friday at the Black Dog features the piano/drum/bass trio with Eric Coursen and Keith Yanes.
Saturday, January 30. Kate Lynch and her Most Excellent Fellows take the lounge stage at Crooners. Bassist/vocalist Kate elevates the songs of the 30s and 40s, and her Fellows include Chris Beaty on guitar, Ken Chastain on drums and vocals, Greg Lewis on trumpet and flute, and Micheal Nelson on trombone.
Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog presents a sterling double-header from some of the youngest to one of the oldest of our jazz artists. The 7 pm set features the Next-Tet, and you might see some familiar faces among these teens— Jordan Anderson (piano), Alma Engebretson (bass) and Will Schmid (guitar) have appeared in other configurations at the Black Dog, Nicollet and Jazz Central in recent months, and drummer Luke Westermeyer has been building his reputation at Wayzata High School and beyond. Moving to the other end of the experience spectrum, the 8:30 show brings in the Dave Karr Group, with Steve Kenny, Billy Peterson and Kenny Horst.
At Vieux Carré, the Jana Nyberg Group makes prime time fun, as the popular vocalist brings along pals Adam Meckler on trumpet, Thomas Nordlund on guitar, Matt Peterosn on bass, and Andres Crovetti on drums. Says Jana, “some righteous tunes in a super hip club!"
Benny Goodman is long gone but as long as Julian Bliss is around (and he's still in his 20s), the King of Swing won't be forgotten. The classically trained (and employed) clarinetist, who has been fascinated by Goodman since early childhood, brings his renowned septet to Orchestra Hall.
Saturday-Sunday, January 30-31. The annual Century College Jazz Festival returns for its 27th year this weekend with guest artist, trumpeter Randy Brecker. After the collegiate ensembles and adjudications, Saturday evening features Charmin and Shapira and Friends (Tom Lewis and Nathan Norman), followed by the Century College Jazz Ensemble with Brecker; the concert repeats on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday, January 31. The biggest jazz day of the winter season! The Winter Jazz Fest kicks off at noon with a clinic aimed at middle and high school students (free!) at McNally Smith, featuring festival headliner and dazzling pianist Cyrus Chestnut. The festival launches in full force at 2 pm at the Saint Paul Hotel, with music throughout the afternoon and early evening on three stages plus the Lobby Bar. Unlike the summer festival, this is a ticketed event with proceeds going to support the summer festival as well as the new Leigh Kamman Legacy Project. Top local jazzers are featured— Acme Jazz Company, Patty Peterson with Dave Karr, Debbie Duncan with the Jazz Central All-Stars, the eclectic Ancia Saxophone Quartet, dueling trumpets from Solomon Parham and Steve Kenny, Lobby Bar stalwarts, the JoAnn Funk Trio, and the stars of tomorrow, the Dakota Combo and the Will Schmid/Adam Astrup Guitar Duo. The festival ends with the much-anticipated headliner set, the Cyrus Chestnut Trio with bassist Gerald Cannon (McCoy Tyner) and drummer and Twin Cities Jazz Festival Artistic Director, Francisco Mela (McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano). The Lobby Bar also hosts a special (and sold-out) “afternoon tea" sponsored by the St. Paul Winter Carnival with long-running “tea" pianist Chris Lomheim. Tickets online ($30) or at the door ($35), and a special student ticket ($10) is available.
Vieux Carré hosts an “after party," with the festive talents of the Bryan Nichols Triowith Chris and JT Bates. Only two blocks away from the Saint Paul Hotel, this one seems like a no-brainer for festival patrons.
If you're festivaled-out by early evening, consider a short ride north to the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge where Dan Chouinard hosts another installment of The Birthday Club— featuring music from artists celebrating January birthdays and the vocal talents of our local jazz community. Tonight, Dan welcomes Debbie Duncan as his partner for the evening; Debbie should be warmed up following her appearance at the Winter Jazz Fest. Shows in the Dunsmore Room have been running near full, so be sure to reserve ahead.
At the Dakota, Ginger Commodore and assorted friends— e.g., Yolande Bruce, Tonia Hughes-Kendrick, Ash Smash and Dennis Spears, will pay tribute to the late Natalie Cole, backed by the best—Brian Ziemniak, Deevo Dee, Jay Young and Daryl Boudreaux.
And if you're in the vicinity of Mankato tonight, hear Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson perform some “classic jazz" at Halling Recital Hall on the Minnesota State-Mankato campus.
Monday, February 1. Saxophonist Andrew Schwandt takes the spotlight at Jazz Central, while the Acme Jazz Companyfills the lounge at Crooners; Tommy and the Lieberman entertain at The Dakota, and the antics of JT's Jazz Implosion will bring the night owls in from the cold at the Icehouse.
Tuesday, February 2. It's always an uplifting show when Charles Lloyd is in town, and for one night, he's sharing the Dakota stage with another jazz icon, guitarist Bill Frisell. Their cohorts are just a generation away from similar stature— Lloyd's recent ensemble pals, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland. Both Lloyd and Frisell bring a folkloric, globally inspired meditation quality to their compositions and approach to melody and harmony, ensuring their collaboration will be thoughtful and inspiring.
They won't fit in the Dunsmore Room, so the Pete Whitman X-Tet will take over the lounge at Crooners for the Tuesday Instrumental Jazz Night. Instead of nearly ten feet of piano, they have ten artists of the highest caliber filling the space with original tunes and arrangements of post-bop masters.
First Tuesday regulars— the Bill Simenson Orchestra at Jazz Central, and Dean Magraw/Davu Seru at the Black Dog. And at Vieux Carré, Chris Lomheim offers a solo piano intro to the evening, followed by the “jazz band for people who don't like jazz," Fuzzy Math.
Wednesday, February 3. In the lounge at Crooners, a modern day “crooner" Thomas Bruce takes the stage, putting his own spin on standards and ballads. In another lounge, First Wednesday means Connie Evingson and friends at the Minneapolis Woman's Club for “Jazz in the Lounge," this month featuring Sanford Moore and Dave Karr.
On “loan" from the Saint Paul Hotel Lobby Bar, singer/pianist JoAnn Funk brings her trio (Jeff Brueske, Nathan Norman) to the Dakota for a night of Blossom Dearie, Diana Krall, and more.
Thursday, February 4. Out west in Delano, a new venue, Bonde Bistro, features the veteran Pete Snell Trio, with Pete on sax, Lee Blaske on piano and Jim Chenoweth on bass.
On Thursday Vocal Jazz Night at Jazz Central, eclectic pianist Steven Hobert performs with Twin Cities Cabaret Artist Network member, vocalist Joey Babay, for an evening of stories in song.
Avant-garde music series at Khyber Pass continues tonight with the off-the-edge sax-bass-drum trio of Nathan Hanson, James Buckley and George Marich.
Big Gigs This Week
Friday, January 29. Maud Hixson has been performing more out of town than locally lately, but she's singing away the blues, the chills or whatever else ails you at Parma 8200 tonight, with her most able sidekicks, Rick Carlson on keys and Gordy Johnson on bass.
A double sax quartet dubbed Really Big Shoedebuts at Jazz Central, as Joe Mayo and Clay Pufahl take the “stage" with Ted Olsen on bass and Lars- Erik Larson on drums, playing mostly original music. Following their show, it's North Central University's “Collegiate Night," directed by Bobby Peterson protegé Peter Shu, with several sets ending with an open jam.
At The Nicollet (soon to be Reverie), Friday Night Jazz brings in da-ke-broo-da, that weirdly named quartet featuring some well-seasoned post- boppers— Dave Brattain on sax, Kevin Daley on guitar, Bruce Heine on bass and Dave Stanoch on drums.
At Vieux Carré, Jeremy Walker opens the evening with solo piano, followed by Peter Kogan's Monsterful Wonderband, a septet of area titans under the leadership of the Minnesota Orchestra's retired principal timpanist who released Some Monsterful Wonderthing last year. The band includes Pete Whitman, Adam Meckler and Scott Agster on horns, with a rhythm section of Sean Turner, Chris Olsen, Jeff Bailey and of course Kogan.
One-man band Patrick Harison entertains over the dinner hours at the Icehouse; Irv Williams is back at the Dakota for Happy Hour; and Todd Harper's Piano Friday at the Black Dog features the piano/drum/bass trio with Eric Coursen and Keith Yanes.
Saturday, January 30. Kate Lynch and her Most Excellent Fellows take the lounge stage at Crooners. Bassist/vocalist Kate elevates the songs of the 30s and 40s, and her Fellows include Chris Beaty on guitar, Ken Chastain on drums and vocals, Greg Lewis on trumpet and flute, and Micheal Nelson on trombone.
Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog presents a sterling double-header from some of the youngest to one of the oldest of our jazz artists. The 7 pm set features the Next-Tet, and you might see some familiar faces among these teens— Jordan Anderson (piano), Alma Engebretson (bass) and Will Schmid (guitar) have appeared in other configurations at the Black Dog, Nicollet and Jazz Central in recent months, and drummer Luke Westermeyer has been building his reputation at Wayzata High School and beyond. Moving to the other end of the experience spectrum, the 8:30 show brings in the Dave Karr Group, with Steve Kenny, Billy Peterson and Kenny Horst.
At Vieux Carré, the Jana Nyberg Group makes prime time fun, as the popular vocalist brings along pals Adam Meckler on trumpet, Thomas Nordlund on guitar, Matt Peterosn on bass, and Andres Crovetti on drums. Says Jana, “some righteous tunes in a super hip club!"
Benny Goodman is long gone but as long as Julian Bliss is around (and he's still in his 20s), the King of Swing won't be forgotten. The classically trained (and employed) clarinetist, who has been fascinated by Goodman since early childhood, brings his renowned septet to Orchestra Hall.
Saturday-Sunday, January 30-31. The annual Century College Jazz Festival returns for its 27th year this weekend with guest artist, trumpeter Randy Brecker. After the collegiate ensembles and adjudications, Saturday evening features Charmin and Shapira and Friends (Tom Lewis and Nathan Norman), followed by the Century College Jazz Ensemble with Brecker; the concert repeats on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday, January 31. The biggest jazz day of the winter season! The Winter Jazz Fest kicks off at noon with a clinic aimed at middle and high school students (free!) at McNally Smith, featuring festival headliner and dazzling pianist Cyrus Chestnut. The festival launches in full force at 2 pm at the Saint Paul Hotel, with music throughout the afternoon and early evening on three stages plus the Lobby Bar. Unlike the summer festival, this is a ticketed event with proceeds going to support the summer festival as well as the new Leigh Kamman Legacy Project. Top local jazzers are featured— Acme Jazz Company, Patty Peterson with Dave Karr, Debbie Duncan with the Jazz Central All-Stars, the eclectic Ancia Saxophone Quartet, dueling trumpets from Solomon Parham and Steve Kenny, Lobby Bar stalwarts, the JoAnn Funk Trio, and the stars of tomorrow, the Dakota Combo and the Will Schmid/Adam Astrup Guitar Duo. The festival ends with the much-anticipated headliner set, the Cyrus Chestnut Trio with bassist Gerald Cannon (McCoy Tyner) and drummer and Twin Cities Jazz Festival Artistic Director, Francisco Mela (McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano). The Lobby Bar also hosts a special (and sold-out) “afternoon tea" sponsored by the St. Paul Winter Carnival with long-running “tea" pianist Chris Lomheim. Tickets online ($30) or at the door ($35), and a special student ticket ($10) is available.
Vieux Carré hosts an “after party," with the festive talents of the Bryan Nichols Triowith Chris and JT Bates. Only two blocks away from the Saint Paul Hotel, this one seems like a no-brainer for festival patrons.
If you're festivaled-out by early evening, consider a short ride north to the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge where Dan Chouinard hosts another installment of The Birthday Club— featuring music from artists celebrating January birthdays and the vocal talents of our local jazz community. Tonight, Dan welcomes Debbie Duncan as his partner for the evening; Debbie should be warmed up following her appearance at the Winter Jazz Fest. Shows in the Dunsmore Room have been running near full, so be sure to reserve ahead.
At the Dakota, Ginger Commodore and assorted friends— e.g., Yolande Bruce, Tonia Hughes-Kendrick, Ash Smash and Dennis Spears, will pay tribute to the late Natalie Cole, backed by the best—Brian Ziemniak, Deevo Dee, Jay Young and Daryl Boudreaux.
And if you're in the vicinity of Mankato tonight, hear Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson perform some “classic jazz" at Halling Recital Hall on the Minnesota State-Mankato campus.
Monday, February 1. Saxophonist Andrew Schwandt takes the spotlight at Jazz Central, while the Acme Jazz Companyfills the lounge at Crooners; Tommy and the Lieberman entertain at The Dakota, and the antics of JT's Jazz Implosion will bring the night owls in from the cold at the Icehouse.
Tuesday, February 2. It's always an uplifting show when Charles Lloyd is in town, and for one night, he's sharing the Dakota stage with another jazz icon, guitarist Bill Frisell. Their cohorts are just a generation away from similar stature— Lloyd's recent ensemble pals, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland. Both Lloyd and Frisell bring a folkloric, globally inspired meditation quality to their compositions and approach to melody and harmony, ensuring their collaboration will be thoughtful and inspiring.
They won't fit in the Dunsmore Room, so the Pete Whitman X-Tet will take over the lounge at Crooners for the Tuesday Instrumental Jazz Night. Instead of nearly ten feet of piano, they have ten artists of the highest caliber filling the space with original tunes and arrangements of post-bop masters.
First Tuesday regulars— the Bill Simenson Orchestra at Jazz Central, and Dean Magraw/Davu Seru at the Black Dog. And at Vieux Carré, Chris Lomheim offers a solo piano intro to the evening, followed by the “jazz band for people who don't like jazz," Fuzzy Math.
Wednesday, February 3. In the lounge at Crooners, a modern day “crooner" Thomas Bruce takes the stage, putting his own spin on standards and ballads. In another lounge, First Wednesday means Connie Evingson and friends at the Minneapolis Woman's Club for “Jazz in the Lounge," this month featuring Sanford Moore and Dave Karr.
On “loan" from the Saint Paul Hotel Lobby Bar, singer/pianist JoAnn Funk brings her trio (Jeff Brueske, Nathan Norman) to the Dakota for a night of Blossom Dearie, Diana Krall, and more.
Thursday, February 4. Out west in Delano, a new venue, Bonde Bistro, features the veteran Pete Snell Trio, with Pete on sax, Lee Blaske on piano and Jim Chenoweth on bass.
On Thursday Vocal Jazz Night at Jazz Central, eclectic pianist Steven Hobert performs with Twin Cities Cabaret Artist Network member, vocalist Joey Babay, for an evening of stories in song.
Avant-garde music series at Khyber Pass continues tonight with the off-the-edge sax-bass-drum trio of Nathan Hanson, James Buckley and George Marich.
