This must be the super-holiday edition of the Lead Sheet, with the “week" extending from Christmas Day to New Year's Eve. And as such, some venues will be closed or have atypical hours, so jazz fans are urged to check calendars and showtimes and plan accordingly. Fortunately, the holidays also bring some special gigs to town, most notably the now-annual four-night run of The Bad Plus at the Dakota, a “Pre-New Year's Eve" party with Connie Evingson in the new Dunsmore Room at Crooners, and an exciting list of options for a jazzy New Year's Eve.
Big Gigs This Week!
December 25-28.Most venues aren't even open Christmas Day, but the Dakota will vibrate for four nights, two sets per night, with the umpteenth holiday residency of The Bad Plus. The trio that has attained rock star status throughout the world with their unique arrangements of pop hits, Stravinsky, and wholly original compositions pays tribute to its Twin Cities origins every holiday. In the past two years, TBP has released three albums— their version of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, their latest collection of mostly originals dubbed Inevitable Western, and their collaboration with saxophonist Joshua Redman. Expect the guys to draw from the recent releases as well as from their 15-year treasure trove and likely some new material.
December 26. The weekly double-header at the Black Dog features strings and things, starting the evening with young guitarist Jon Wood's Iron Chops ensemble (guitarist Jon with saxophonist Dave Brattain, bassist Graydon Peterson and drummer Mac Santiago), followed by the veteran explorers of Framework (guitarist Chris Olson, bassist Chris Bates, drummer Jay Epstein), with special guest, Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog curator Steve Kenny on FLUMPET.
More strings— the weekly gig of the Talking Strings (Pavel Jany, Gary Schulte) at the Loring Pasta Bar. Another weekly filled with magic, the Benny Weinbeck Trio (Weinbeck on piano with Gordy Johnson on bass and Phil Hey on drums) plays in the lounge at Parma 8200; and the weekend's dinner sets at the Icehouse feature regulars Bryan Nichols on piano and Zacc Harris on guitar.
Crooners Lounge cranks up the heat with the Wolverines Quartet(Rick Carlson, Steve Pikal, Jendeen Forberg and Doug Haining), featuring long-time vocal associate Judy Vinar.
Sunday, December 27. Jazz Brunch options: The Mill City Hot Club at Hell's Kitchen; the Andrew Walesch Trio at Crooners Lounge; Patty and the Buttons at the Aster. And for a sublime late afternoon break, Joel Shapira offers solo guitar at the Black Dog (4-6 pm).
Continuing the Jazz @ St. Barney's series, it's the annual Big Band Christmas, this year with the Jazz on the Prairie Big Band at St. Barnabas Church in Plymouth. “They'll rock the joint with holiday favorites done the way only a big band can. A great time to celebrate, after all the pre-Christmas rush is over." And if you like a big band but crave a dance floor as well, head to Cinema Ballroom in St Paul for a night with the Jerry O'Hagan Orchestra with Charmin Michelle singing out front. Jerry's announced his retirement but the music will continue.
Monday, December 28. It's a young cats night at Jazz Central, with three college guys who sound years older — Drummer Edmund Caitlin (McGill University) mixes it up with vibes master Levi Schwartzberg (U of M) and bass ace Charlie Lincoln (Berklee College of Music). Their winter break, our good fortune.
At the Icehouse, JT's Jazz Implosion truly implodes tonight as curator/drummer JT releases his long-awaited mostly solo album, Open Relationships, filled with inventive percussion augmented by some guitar from Jeremy Ylvisaker and electronics courtesy of Mark McGee. “With a focus on manipulated recordings of solo drum arrangements, this instrumental album is a cohesive collection of layered drones, glitched rhythms, and sonic textures that make the idea of a genre tag irrelevant and incomplete." But that is the middle set—there's more. Opening set brings together two of the area's master improvisers, vocalist/spoken word artist Mankwe Ndosi and percussionist Davu Seru; a closing set features Panhandlers (Ryan Olson and James Buckley).
Tuesday, December 29. The new Dunsmore Room at Crooners brings in a younger generation of talents tonight, the first horn ensemble to appear on the new stage that has already seen two sold-out performances during its opening week. Tonight, New England Conservatory grad Jake Baldwin will blow one of the finest, and widest-ranging trumpets, among the area's young lions, leading a quartet with Ted Godbout on the Bosendorfer, Ted Olsen on bass and Andres Crovetti on drums. Each of these artists hones his chops in numerous area bands cutting across genres. Expect some original music, but Jake notes that “we decided as a group to just play tunes that we all like, but don't get to play much. Most of all, we are just trying to have fun!"
Something a little different at Jazz Central for Big Band Night's “5th Tuesday"— the 7-piece Little Big Band, male rhythm section, female horn section, drawing on talents from the upper Midwest and beyond — Mandy Jones (alto sax), Lucia Sarmiento Roccagliata (tenor sax), Elizabeth Stodolka (trumpet), Cody LeDuc (filling in for Lauren Husting on trombone), Zach Sershon (piano), Matt Franke (bass) and Zach Schmidt (drums). Take a time out between the holidays at Vieux Carré, where pianist Mary Louise Knutson opens the evening with some solo musings, followed by fleet-fingered guitarist Paul Renzand his trio.
Tuesday-Wednesday, December 29-30. Always a crowd pleaser, the New Standards(Chan Polling, John Munson, Steve Roehm) celebrate the end of the year at the Dakota.
Wednesday, December 30. Why wait for New Year's Eve? You can enjoy dinner with songbird Connie Evingson tonight in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge (along with Mary Louise Knutson, Chris Bates and Dave Karr). Limited seating remains so call to reserve now!
And come down early for the Wednesday night “new music" gig at Jazz Central, as this band is going to draw a lot of friends and family. The Luke Peterson Quintet features young talents briefly home from college studies, all alums of the Dakota Combo. Leader, drummer Luke Peterson is studying math and jazz at Northwestern University; his cohorts include saxophonist Peter Goggin (University of Michigan), trombonist Jack Courtright (Eastman School of Music), pianist Will Kjeer (California Institute of Arts), and bassist Charlie Lincoln (Berklee College of Music). Close your eyes, and this band will sound like one of our veteran ensembles.
Big Gigs This Week!
December 25-28.Most venues aren't even open Christmas Day, but the Dakota will vibrate for four nights, two sets per night, with the umpteenth holiday residency of The Bad Plus. The trio that has attained rock star status throughout the world with their unique arrangements of pop hits, Stravinsky, and wholly original compositions pays tribute to its Twin Cities origins every holiday. In the past two years, TBP has released three albums— their version of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, their latest collection of mostly originals dubbed Inevitable Western, and their collaboration with saxophonist Joshua Redman. Expect the guys to draw from the recent releases as well as from their 15-year treasure trove and likely some new material.
December 26. The weekly double-header at the Black Dog features strings and things, starting the evening with young guitarist Jon Wood's Iron Chops ensemble (guitarist Jon with saxophonist Dave Brattain, bassist Graydon Peterson and drummer Mac Santiago), followed by the veteran explorers of Framework (guitarist Chris Olson, bassist Chris Bates, drummer Jay Epstein), with special guest, Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog curator Steve Kenny on FLUMPET.
More strings— the weekly gig of the Talking Strings (Pavel Jany, Gary Schulte) at the Loring Pasta Bar. Another weekly filled with magic, the Benny Weinbeck Trio (Weinbeck on piano with Gordy Johnson on bass and Phil Hey on drums) plays in the lounge at Parma 8200; and the weekend's dinner sets at the Icehouse feature regulars Bryan Nichols on piano and Zacc Harris on guitar.
Crooners Lounge cranks up the heat with the Wolverines Quartet(Rick Carlson, Steve Pikal, Jendeen Forberg and Doug Haining), featuring long-time vocal associate Judy Vinar.
Sunday, December 27. Jazz Brunch options: The Mill City Hot Club at Hell's Kitchen; the Andrew Walesch Trio at Crooners Lounge; Patty and the Buttons at the Aster. And for a sublime late afternoon break, Joel Shapira offers solo guitar at the Black Dog (4-6 pm).
Continuing the Jazz @ St. Barney's series, it's the annual Big Band Christmas, this year with the Jazz on the Prairie Big Band at St. Barnabas Church in Plymouth. “They'll rock the joint with holiday favorites done the way only a big band can. A great time to celebrate, after all the pre-Christmas rush is over." And if you like a big band but crave a dance floor as well, head to Cinema Ballroom in St Paul for a night with the Jerry O'Hagan Orchestra with Charmin Michelle singing out front. Jerry's announced his retirement but the music will continue.
Monday, December 28. It's a young cats night at Jazz Central, with three college guys who sound years older — Drummer Edmund Caitlin (McGill University) mixes it up with vibes master Levi Schwartzberg (U of M) and bass ace Charlie Lincoln (Berklee College of Music). Their winter break, our good fortune.
At the Icehouse, JT's Jazz Implosion truly implodes tonight as curator/drummer JT releases his long-awaited mostly solo album, Open Relationships, filled with inventive percussion augmented by some guitar from Jeremy Ylvisaker and electronics courtesy of Mark McGee. “With a focus on manipulated recordings of solo drum arrangements, this instrumental album is a cohesive collection of layered drones, glitched rhythms, and sonic textures that make the idea of a genre tag irrelevant and incomplete." But that is the middle set—there's more. Opening set brings together two of the area's master improvisers, vocalist/spoken word artist Mankwe Ndosi and percussionist Davu Seru; a closing set features Panhandlers (Ryan Olson and James Buckley).
Tuesday, December 29. The new Dunsmore Room at Crooners brings in a younger generation of talents tonight, the first horn ensemble to appear on the new stage that has already seen two sold-out performances during its opening week. Tonight, New England Conservatory grad Jake Baldwin will blow one of the finest, and widest-ranging trumpets, among the area's young lions, leading a quartet with Ted Godbout on the Bosendorfer, Ted Olsen on bass and Andres Crovetti on drums. Each of these artists hones his chops in numerous area bands cutting across genres. Expect some original music, but Jake notes that “we decided as a group to just play tunes that we all like, but don't get to play much. Most of all, we are just trying to have fun!"
Something a little different at Jazz Central for Big Band Night's “5th Tuesday"— the 7-piece Little Big Band, male rhythm section, female horn section, drawing on talents from the upper Midwest and beyond — Mandy Jones (alto sax), Lucia Sarmiento Roccagliata (tenor sax), Elizabeth Stodolka (trumpet), Cody LeDuc (filling in for Lauren Husting on trombone), Zach Sershon (piano), Matt Franke (bass) and Zach Schmidt (drums). Take a time out between the holidays at Vieux Carré, where pianist Mary Louise Knutson opens the evening with some solo musings, followed by fleet-fingered guitarist Paul Renzand his trio.
Tuesday-Wednesday, December 29-30. Always a crowd pleaser, the New Standards(Chan Polling, John Munson, Steve Roehm) celebrate the end of the year at the Dakota.
Wednesday, December 30. Why wait for New Year's Eve? You can enjoy dinner with songbird Connie Evingson tonight in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners Lounge (along with Mary Louise Knutson, Chris Bates and Dave Karr). Limited seating remains so call to reserve now!
And come down early for the Wednesday night “new music" gig at Jazz Central, as this band is going to draw a lot of friends and family. The Luke Peterson Quintet features young talents briefly home from college studies, all alums of the Dakota Combo. Leader, drummer Luke Peterson is studying math and jazz at Northwestern University; his cohorts include saxophonist Peter Goggin (University of Michigan), trombonist Jack Courtright (Eastman School of Music), pianist Will Kjeer (California Institute of Arts), and bassist Charlie Lincoln (Berklee College of Music). Close your eyes, and this band will sound like one of our veteran ensembles.
