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| Pat Mallinger Comes Home to the Artists Quarter |
© Andrea Canter
Had a nice
“Roman Holiday” at Guthrie and ready for my own Twin Cities Jazz Holiday!
Highlights This Week
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| Tanner Taylor at Jazz Central |
August 3. Typically in town for the
Thanksgiving holiday, former St Paul resident Pat
Mallinger is now a major force on the Chicago
jazz scene, leading the organ band Saber Tooth and his own quartet, blowing his
saxophones throughout the Windy
City. Pat gives us a rare
summer visit, coming to the Artists Quarter Friday night. His Home on Richmond was one of my favorite
CDs of 2011. Across town, a B-3
Organ Night at Jazz Central featuring keyboard wonder Tanner Taylor
with Dave Brattain, Tom Krochock and Miguel Hurtado. They start relatively early
(7 pm), making a double header with the AQ really easy.
August 4. Another return visit to the AQ,
this time with our home town heroes the Atlantis Quartet, named Best Jazz
Band by City Pages for 2011. It’s a title well earned, with an ensemble that
boasts four of the busiest, most eclectic jazzers in the area—Zacc Harris (Zacc
Harris Trio and Quartet, Vital Organ, Counterclockwise, Monk in Motian);
Brandon Wozniak (Bryan Nichols Quintet, Dave King Trucking Company); Chris
Bates (Zacc Harris Quartet, How Birds Work, Good Vibes Trio, Chris Bates
Quintet); and Pete Hennig (Zacc Harris Quartet; Fantastic Merlins; Adam Meckler
Orchestra). Music that grabs onto the edge and holds on.
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| Maud Hixson |
Fresh off
her Shanghai Jazz gig with Warren Vaché on the East Coast, songbird Maud
Hixson returns to The Lexington with her favorite pianist Rick Carlson
and first-call bassist Jeff Brueske, on break from his usual Saturday night
with Joann Funk at the St Paul Hotel. Call him the elegant venue bass man! (For
a truly jazzy evening, start with Dinner and Maude at The Lex and have a night
cap at the AQ with Atlantis!)
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| "Beastly" pianist Joe Strachan |
August 6. Hard to resist a gig with an
ensemble dubbed The Young Beasts! And they are young and beastly, at least in a
musical sense. At Jazz Central, hear a new collaboration featuring
trumpeter/NEC student Jake Baldwin; pianist/UM student Joe Strachan;
saxophonist/recent UW-EC grad Tyler Anderson; saxophonist/UW-EC student Jerod Kaszynski;
bassist/Luther College student Ted Olsen; and
percussionist/U of M student Andres Crovetti. Tyler has been heard a lot lately with his
ensemble, The Coriolis Effect and with the Adam Meckler Orchestra. Jake is also
getting more notice with his ensemble on the Dakota Stage for Late Night
several times in the past year and leading the Dakota Combo Alumni Band at the
2012 Twin Cities Jazz Festival. Joe is
often on the bandstand with Jake as well as with U of M Jazz Ensemble I.
Already, these “young beasts” are piling up some impressive credentials.
August 7. Among the regularly rotating big
bands at Jazz Central every Tuesday is the Bill Simonsen Big Band. Simonsen may
have one of the most eclectic resumes in the Twin Cities –from studying and
leading bands in Norway to playing locally with the Wolverines Classic Jazz Orchestra,
JazzMN Orchestra and Cedar Ave Big Band, from leading a band for the North
Stars hockey team to backing such notables as Cab Calloway, Joan Rivers, Mitzi Gaynor, the Temptations, and the Four
Tops. At Jazz Central, you can hear big band charts as never before—from just a
few inches away!
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| Joann Funk |
August 8. Finally Joann Funk has assembled
a full-throttled tribute to one of her favorite muses, Blossom Dearie. With her
trio, she takes the stage at the Artists Quarter for a special evening (note early start at 8 pm) to pay homage
to the singer whose “intelligent and understated blend of jazz and cabaret,
sense of time, dry wit, choice of song material, piano style, and recognizable
sweet voice made her truly a unique musical presence.” Joann brings along her
usual cohorts, bassist Jeff Brueske and drummer Nathan Norman.
August 9. Harriet Brewing is one of several new music venues offering
up some exciting jazz combinations where least expected. Trumpeter Zack
Lozier is back with his trio (pianist Tanner Taylor and bassist Keith
Boyles) to offer a perfect accompaniment to a browse through the microbrews.
More Jazz Every Night (and Day)
The
transition is complete—the live Twin Cities Jazz Calendar has moved from
Bebopified to the Jazz Police site,
easy to find on the right side of the home page. If you have gigs, be sure to
send to Don Berryman at tc@jazzpolice.com.
There’s always multiple options on any given night. And to add even more music
to your planning, don’t forget the current Guthrie Theater production of Roman Holiday, complete with a raft of
Cole Porter tunes. Other recommendations:
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| Lila Ammons |
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Friday, August 3: Lila Ammons with Reuben Ristrom at The Lexington; Arne Fogel at Hell’s
Kitchen; Dan Musselman/Altimar Coelho/Josh Alfaro at Rodizio Grill; James
Buckley and Bryan Nichols at Icehouse; Benny Weinbeck Trio at D’Amico Kitchen; River
Falls Cultural Project with Steve Kenny at Veterans Park (River Falls, WI)
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Saturday, August 4: Adam Linz and Tommy O’Donnell at Icehouse; Jon Pemberton
at Loring Pasta Bar; Benny Weinbeck Trio at D’Amico Kitchen; Glen Helgeson and
Michael Bissonnette at Three Crows Café in Delano
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Sunday, August 5: River Falls Cultural Project at
Veterans Park
(River Falls, WI); Zacc Harris Trio at Riverview Wine Bar;
Alicia Wiley and James Buckley at the Icehouse
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Monday, August 6: Charmin Michelle and Denny Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; Headspace at
the Artists Quarter; Firebell at the Red Stag; Jazz Implosion at the Icehouse
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| Dean Magraw |
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Wednesday, August 8: Charmin Michelle and Denny Malmberg at Fireside Pizza;
Wolverines Trio with Maude Hixson at Hell’s Kitchen; Robb Henry Trio at Barbette; Tommy and the
Liebermans at the Dakota; Sophia Shorai at the Red Stag
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Thursday, August 9: McNally Smith Venue Night at the Artists Quarter; Sophia
Shorai at the Dakota; Jon Pemberton at the Red Stag
Coming Soon!
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August
10-11, Anthony Cox Group at the Artists Quarter
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August
10, Thomas Bruce at The Lexington
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August
11, Dave King Trucking Company at the Dakota
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August
11, Jeanne Arland Peterson and Friends at The Lexington
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August
12, PipJazz Sundays with Yolande Bruce at Landmark Center
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August
13, Dave Hagedorn at Jazz Central
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August
16, Chris Lomheim Tribute to Bill Evans at the Artists Quarter
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August
17-18, Brandon Wozniak, Adam Linz, Eric Gravatt at the Artists Quarter
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August
18, Burnsville Art and All That Jazz Festival (Nicollet Commons Park)
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August
18, Jake Baldwin Quartet at the Dakota (late night)
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August
18, Dorothy Doring at The Lexington
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August
20, Erin Bode at the Dakota
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August
24, Media Addicts CD Release at the Artists Quarter
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August
24, Nichola Miller at The Lexington
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August
24, Boot Camp (Jeremy Walker) at the Dakota (late night)
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August
25, Whitman/Schimke/Lewis/Horst at the Artists Quarter
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August
25, Lucia Newell at The Lexington
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August
30, Birthday Bash with Jeanne Arland Peterson, Irv Williams and Cliff Brunzell
at the Artists Quarter
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August
31, Arne Fogel at The Lexington
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August
31-September 1, Phil Hey Quartet at the Artists Quarter
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September
4-5, Pat Metheny Unity Band at the Dakota
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September
8, Selby Avenue
Jazz Festival
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September
9, Dakota Combo Auditions at MacPhail
Center for Music
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September
9, Ben Sidran at the Dakota
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September
11-12, Marcus Miller at the Dakota
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September
14-15, Chris Bates’ Red 5 CD Release at the Artists Quarter
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September
15, Arne Fogel, Jazz @St. Barney’s (St. Barnabas Arts Center, Plymouth)
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September
18, John Scofield Trio at the Dakota
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September
19, Delfeayo Marsalis at the Dakota
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September
26-27, Chick Corea and Gary Burton at the Dakota
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September
30, Esperanza Spalding’s Radio Society at the State Theater
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September
30, Men With Mics (Gregg Marquardt, Reeves Carey, Dan Ristrom) at the Artists
Quarter (TCJS, Jazz From J to Z)
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October
13, Connie Evingson, Jazz @St. Barney’s (St. Barnabas Arts Center, Plymouth)
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October
14-15, Cassandra Wilson
at the Dakota
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October
30-31, Maria Schneider Orchestra at the Dakota
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November
4, Spiral Visions (Milne, Hagedorn, Aaron, Lewis, Hey) at Landmark Center
(TCJS Jazz From J to Z)
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| Gary Burton, coming with Chick Corea September 26-27 |
