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| John Scofield, at the Dakota September 18th |
© Andrea Canter
I think
these are really the first days of fall. That 90-degree day was a blip. We’re
having great sleeping weather with cooler evenings. Of course sleeping is for
much later in the evening when there’s so much great music around town to keep
us awake well beyond midnight! This weekend, plan to sleep well into the
morning so you can spend the evening hearing new music from Chris Bates’ hot
new quintet, Red 5, or from Patty Peterson and Friends (and family) at the
Dakota, or swing dance with Maryann Sullivan and Rhonda Laurie. And next week,
the Dakota brings us John Scofield’s red hot trio with Steve Swallow and Bill
Stewart, followed the next night by Delfeayo Marsalis’s ensemble featuring Sean
Jones and Winard Harper. This week, Jazz Central boasts a quartet headed by
Steve Kenny and the Adam Meckler Orchestra, while the Icehouse welcomes the
return of the Dave King Trucking Company. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Highlights This Weekend
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| Rhonda and Maryann |
Friday, September 14. Swing dancers and vocalist
disappointed in the demise of Nicollet
Coffee can rejoice in the a special night at the Eagles’ Club with vocalists
(and former Nicollet curators) Maryann Sullivan and Rhonda Laurie (Sister
Swing) accompanied by Rick Carlson on keys and Steve Pikal on bass. Bring
dancing shoes and plan to swing away the evening with a much bigger dance floor
than you found at The Nicollet. Just don’t expect a Chai or Thai wrap.
If you want
more ambience and kicking your feet back rather than kicking up your heels, Connie
Olson will be making her debut at The Lexington with the sublime
support of Mary Louise Knutson and Gordy Johnson. Connie is finally getting out
and gigging more these days, bringing a wide repertoire from Doris Day to some
old pop favorites.
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| Chris Bates rehearsing with Red 5 |
Friday/Saturday, September
14-15. Early in
the spring, Chris Bates brought his new quintet, Red 5, to Jazz Central to try
out some new compositions in preparation for a recording session. Maybe one of
the most anticipated CD releases in a long time, New Hope is shrink-wrapped and ready for
celebration at the Artists Quarter this weekend. Mostly featuring Chris’s works
(plus one from Brandon Wozniak), New Hope
as well as the CD Party brings us Chris, Brandon, brother JT Bates, Chris
Thomson and Zack Lozier, all highly inventive musicians who make chamber jazz
both exciting and accessible. In other words, there’s plenty of reason for “new
hope.”
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| Arne Fogel |
Saturday, September 15. Two of the area’s most popular
vocalists take stages about 20 miles apart tonight. Patty Peterson makes it a
party wherever she goes, and tonight it’s at the Dakota with friends Donnie
DeMarca, Billy Franze, and Rocky Robbins, along with brothers Billy, Paul and
Rick Peterson. Patty has a new recording coming out next month so we can expect
a preview. Out west in Plymouth, the Jazz @St. Barney’s jazz series
gets underway with Arne Fogel and Tanner Taylor doing a concert edition of Fogel’s
Minnesota Voices: Certain Standards, which played on KBEM twice per week during
the past year. Tonight, Fogel offers a sampling of the great songbook standards
that were featured on the radio series, while Taylor provides the keyboard accompaniment as
he did on many of the radio spots. Jazz @ St Barneys is one of the community
jazz treasures of the metro area, a monthly series featuring primarily
vocalists and pianists now in its sixth year at the St Barnabus Lutheran
Church’s art center.
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| Dave King |
Highlights, Jazz Through the Week
Monday, September 17.
Monday always presents some conflicts, with the weekly gig and jam at
Jazz Central overlapping JT’s Jazz Implosion at the Icehouse. Thing start a bit earlier at Jazz Central,
this week featuring a new quartet with Steve Kenny, Phil Aaron, Graydon Peterson
and Phil Hey; while the Dave King Trucking Company is
featured in the two-set implosion at Icehouse. No matter which way you turn,
you will be surrounded by sophisticated, high energy music. Start here, finish
there.
Tuesday, September 18. John Scofield came to the
Dakota last January and it was one of the most enjoyable of Scofield visits I
can remember. Yet here he comes again, and this time the trio brings two more
headliners in their own rights—bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill
Stewart. There should be plenty
of mischief-making.
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| Delfeayo Marsalis |
Wednesday, September
19. Yes, there
really is a lot of jazz at the Dakota this month! Tonight, less than three
months since he headlined at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, Delfeayo
Marsalis returns with his touring ensemble. Tonight, the band features
trumpet master Sean Jones, one of the hottest horns of his generation and a
favorite among local audiences. And personally, I am eager to again see the
antics of drummer Winard Harper, a performer who literally creates visual as
well as aural art at the trapset. Marsalis, one of the premiere trombonists in
jazz, has proven to be at least as skilled at assembling a band as fronting
one.
More Jazz This Week
What’s
going on? Check the live jazz calendar on Jazz
Police.com; visit KBEM and KFAI online and on air. More recommendations:
Friday, September 14. Joel Shapira, solo guitar at
Ingredients Café; Nathan Hanson/Brian
Roessler/Pete Hennig at the Black Dog; Zacc Harris Trio at Hell’s Kitchen;
Charmin Michelle at the House of Pizza (Sartell)
Saturday, September
15. Paula
Lammers at River Bluff Center (Lilydale); Mary Louise Knutson at Eat Street
Social (1-3 pm); Jazz at the Garden, fundraiser at Gesthsemane Lutheran Church
(Laura Caviani, Pete Whitman, Charmin Michelle, and more); Aimee Lee, Kathy
Mueller and Lisa Pallen at The Lexington; Maud Hixson and Jason Richards at the
Greater Lakes Performing Arts Center (Pequoet Lakes); Joann Funk and Jeff
Brueske, Lobby Bar (St Paul Hotel); Connie Olson with Mary Louise Knutson and
Steve Pikal at Parma; Dan Musselman at the Red Stag; Night Owls and Septonics
at the Riverview Wine Bar
Sunday, September 16. Charmin Michelle with the Jerry
O’Hagan Orchestra at Cinema Ballroom; Zacc Harris Trio at the Riverview Wine
Bar; Sounds of Blackness at the Dakota
Monday, September 17. Charmin Michelle and Denny
Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; Headspace at the Artists Quarter
Tuesday, September 18. Cory Wong Quartet followed by Dean
Magraw/Billy Peterson/Kenny Horst at the Artists Quarter; Nick Haas at Hell’s
Kitchen
Wednesday, September
19. Charmin
Michelle and Denny Malmberg at Fireside Pizza; Steve Kenny and the Bastids
followed by the Lucia Newell Quartet at the Artists Quarter; Wolverines at
Hell’s Kitchen
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| Lee Engele and Reynold Philipsek |
Thursday, September 20. Lee Engele and Reynold Philipsek
at Nonna Rosa’s; Joel Shapira at Hell’s Kitchen; Dave Karr Quartet at the
Artists Quarter
Coming Soon!
·
September
21, Saxophone Day at McNally
Smith College
with Bob Sheppard
·
September
21-22, Bob Sheppard at the Artists Quarter
·
September
24, Fat Kid Wednesdays at the Icehouse
·
September
26-27, Chick Corea and Gary Burton at the Dakota
·
September
27-29, Horacio El Negro Hernandez, Anthony Cox, Brandon Ross at the Icehouse
·
September
28-29, Bryan Nichols Quintet at the Artists Quarter
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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)
·
October
4, Larry McDonough/Richard Terrill CD release, Artists Quarter
·
October
6, Wayne Bergeron with the JazzMN Orchestra at the Hopkins
High School Performing Arts Center
·
October
12-13, Ari Honig Trio with Bill Carrothers at the Artists Quarter
·
October
13, Connie Evingson, Jazz @St. Barney’s (St. Barnabas Arts Center, Plymouth)
·
October
14, Steve Faison, PipJazz Sundays at Landmark
Center
·
October
14-15, Cassandra Wilson
at the Dakota
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October
17, Bela Fleck and Marcus Roberts at the Dakota
·
October
23, Kurt Elling at the Dakota
·
October
30-31, Maria Schneider Orchestra at the Dakota
·
November
4, Spiral Visions (Milne, Hagedorn, Aaron, Lewis, Hey) at Landmark Center
(TCJS Jazz From J to Z)
·
November
9, Anat Cohen and Evan Christopher at Minneapolis Convention
Center (MN Orchestra)
·
November
10, Anat Cohen and Klezmatics at Minneapolis
Convention Center (MN
Orchestra)
·
November
11, Duke Ellington Orchestra with Evan Christopher at Minneapolis Convention
Center
·
November
11, PipJazz Sundays Youth Showcase at Landmark Center
·
November
12-13, Bettye LaVette at the Dakota
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November
26-27, Karrin Allyson at the Dakota
·
December
7-8, Manhattan
Transfer at the Dakota
·
December
12-13, John Pizzarelli at the Dakota
·
December
14-15, Reid Anderson, Jeff Ballard, SPCO, Liquid Music at SPCO Music Room
·
December
27-29, Bad Plus at the Dakota
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| Fat Kid Wednesdays returns to the Icehouse, September 24th |
All photos by Andrea Canter
