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The Lead Sheet: Twin Cities Live Jazz, December 23-29

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Even for Minnesota, our recent weather has created a wild ride, from way below zero to over 40 above, and maybe our music reflects this as well—in this coming week, you can hear it all, from Bourbon Street to Gershwin to the Bad Plus, from our veteran elders to our youngest upstarts. What a way to end the year!

Big Gigs This Week

Friday, Sunday and Monday, December 23, 25-26. The annual Bad Plusholiday residency, which got underway Thursday, returns to the Dakota. The Big Apple gets the trio later for New Year's week at the Village Vanguard, but we always get them first! After all, it all started here. Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson and Dave King are celebrating a new recording dubbed It's Hard ("because it's not easy," says Reid), marking a return to their days of reinventing pop and rock covers. Now they cover Peter Gabriel, Johnny Cash, Cyndi Lauper, even jazz icon Ornette Coleman. And they will thrown in a few of their originals as well. (This gig was sold out Thursday but tickets remain especially for Sunday and Monday... so far. It's definitely one of the highlights of the season!)

Saturday-Sunday, December 24-25. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day— many venues are closed. There is a matinee performance of the Soul of Gershwin at Park Square Theater on Christmas Eve—if you can find tickets, it would make a nice and swinging family gathering.

Monday, December 26. Saxophonist Andrew Schwandt, recently transplanted to New York, back for the holidays, gathering friends for the “Spotlight" gig at Jazz Central.

Tuesday, December 27. The Dunsmore Room brings back one of Minnesota's top jazz success stories of the last decade, New York-based vocalist Nancy Harms, with frequent collaborator, pianist Jeremy Siskind. Nancy's 2016 album Ellington at Nightearned raves from critics—she has a unique style with songs as well known as “Lush Life" and as under-the-radar as “Troubled Waters" (and I don't mean the Simon and Garfunkel hit).

The Black Dog hosts the Charlie Lincoln Quartet, sporting the unusual instrumentation of two alto saxophones (Peter Goggin and Jack Breen), bass (Charlie) and drums (Edmund Catlin). Actually this is three-quarters of Hoaxer, the stunning quartet of college guys that delighted the audience at Reverie last week, and will do so again at the Black Dog on New Year's Eve. Now replacing piano with a second alto, Charlie and company will bring a very different sound as the horns can play off each other. Peter and Jack are up to the task, and Charlie and Edmund will drive the groove in interesting directions.

At Jazz Central, the Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra adds a warm beat to the cool basement, while in another basement, Chris Lomheim opens the evening on solo piano at Vieux Carre'. And at the Amsterdam Bar, the young giants of Sound Skirmish(Patrick Adkins, Levi Schwartzberg, Drew Stinson, Ben Ehrlich) fill downtown St Paul with original works that belie their years.

Tuesday and Wednesday, December 27-28. One of the most popular acts of the 70s, Rio Nido returns to the Dakota—that's Tim Sparks, Prudence Johnson and Tom Lieberman. Revived in the past year after a long hiatus, RN 's crowds have not diminished, and neither has their engaging music.

Wednesday, December 28. Pianist and composer Larry McDonough and his quartet (Richard Terrill, Greg Stinson, Dean White) bring their entertaining “Twisted Holidays" to Vieux Carre'. The first set offers Larry's off-beat arrangements of familiar and less familiar holiday fare, while the second set is an amalgam of the quartet's recent tributes to Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Bill Evans and Tony Bennett.

Wednesday and Thursday, December 28-29. One of our most celebrated songbirds, Connie Evingsonreturns to the Dunsmore Room with her holiday show, surrounded by the best—Mary Louise Knutson, Gordy Johnson and Dave Karr. Likely she will sing some songs from her holiday CD, The Secret of Christmas.

Thursday, December 29. From St Paul to Minneapolis, two bands of mostly young lions roar: At the Black Dog, guitarist Will Schmid (Case Western Reserve U) gathers a quartet of similarly talented young stars of tomorrow—pianist Patrick Adkins (Lawrence U), bassist Alma Engebretson (U of Denver) and drummer Jesse Thorson (Columbia U).

A bit later in the evening, Thursday Night Jazz at Reverie hosts No Exit. Led by drummer Luke Peterson (Northwestern U), the original band included Charlie Lincoln and Peter Goggin, but they are tied up with a Hoaxer recording session. So who can sub? Youthful veterans Brandon Wozniak (saxophones) and Graydon Peterson (bass) collaborate with Peterson, high school senior Adam Astrup (guitar), and college buddies Levi Schwartzberg (vibes, U of M) and Jack Courtright (trombone, Eastman School of Music). In one night, you can really hear the future of jazz!

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