Bill Frisell©Andrea Canter

Thursday night, I had the opportunity to hear a preview of the musical collaboration of Bill Frisell, Eyvind Kang and Rahim AlHaj when the Walker Art Center sponsored a clinic at the MacPhail Center for Music [click here for a review]. I consequently came to the world premiere of their Baghdad/Seattle Suite with high expectations. I wasn’t disappointed. Not for a minute. Not for 90 minutes. Guitar, viola and oud, East and West, arid desert and misty coastline—contrasts bound together by strings and improvisational finesse shaped the seven segments of the work commissioned by the Walker, performed twice this evening. 

A guitar master known for his wide ranging projects, from electronica to Americana, Bill Frisell first played at the Walker nearly 25 years ago. Expatriate Iraqi Rahim AlHaj, now a U.S. citizen living in Albuquerque, is considered to be among the world’s most gifted oud players, and no stranger to bringing the forces of East and West together in his music. Violist Eyvind King, based in Seattle, is an acclaimed performer and composer who has worked extensively with Frisell. In residency at the Walker for the past four days, the three artists enjoyed time to create and share their music with student musicians before debuting their work. Tonight, it was all about the melding of their own histories, philosophies, and recent musical conversations. 

Chris Lomheim©Andrea Canter

One of the biggest losses to the Twin Cities music community in the past decade was the death of pianist Bobby Peterson in 2002. A mentor, teacher, friend and source of inspiration to many local musicians, Bobby’s loss continues to be felt throughout the local jazz scene. In his honor, this weekend (February 12-13), the Artists Quarter hosts its 4th annual tribute featuring many of the reigning giants of local piano. This is a chance to honor one of the greats of local music and showcase our current stars. Bobby’s legacy is alive and well!  

Leigh Kamman (MPR, The Jazz Image) described Bobby Peterson as “an artist deserving much wider recognition; he was a supreme accompanist and improviser. He was really just a stunning pianist.” A prodigy who joined the Buddy Rich Orchestra at age 21, Bobby was one of Minnesota’s “First Family of Music,” the descendents of his aunt, Jeanne Arland Peterson, including brothers Russ and Tommy Peterson, and cousins Billy, Patty and Linda Peterson.  

Shell Lake Faculty (Clockwise from upper left, Chris Olson, Greg Keel, Graydon Peterson, Jeff Rinear) (Composite by Andrea Canter)

On Thursday February 11th, the Shell Lake Art Center and Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education will team up to present a night of music that highlights of talents of both jazz educators and jazz students. Held at the Dakota Jazz Club during the nearby Minnesota Music Educators Association Convention, state jazz and band directors in particular are encouraged to attend and learn about the programs offered by Shell Lake and the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education while enjoying music performed by the Shell Lake Faculty Ensemble and the Dakota Combo. 

The Shell Lake Arts Center has been providing arts education to a diverse clientele since 1968, and has grown to be one of the most respected and longest-running programs of its kind in the U.S. First known as the Indianhead Art Center affiliated with the University of Wisconsin system, the program under its current name has operated independently since 2004. Located in northwestern Wisconsin in the town of Shell Lake, the Arts Center attracts many metro-area students to its acclaimed summer camp programs, which include Jazz Combo and Jazz Ensemble options, as well as programs for strings, concert band, rock band, wind ensembles, piano, choir, trumpet, guitar, saxophone and more throughout the summer. Dance, film, theater and visual arts programs are also available. 

Bill Frisell©Andrea Canter

Guitarist and composer Bill Frisell has had so many projects that I am not uncomfortable admitting that I have not really enjoyed them all – I couldn’t always “get it” enough to hear that thread of meaning. But more often I have been moved by the music and always intrigued by this one musician with so many voices, so many different collaborators, particularly his recent work with Paul Motian and Joe Lovano, and with fellow guitarist Jim Hall.  

But the project coming to the Walker Art Center this weekend (February 6th) is perhaps the most intriguing yet—music for guitar, viola and oud with a cross-cultural ensemble that includes middle America native Frisell, American born Chinese violist Eyvind Kang, and oud master/ Iraqui native Rahim AlHaj. They’ll be performing a Walker-commissioned work, Baghdad/Seattle Suite. This is Frisell’s second commission from the Walker—he composed Blue Dreams back in 1999. 

“Dan is one of those rare players who is both musically serious and seriously musical!” --Chris Olson (Framework)  

Dan Musselman©Andrea Canter

Few young musicians would be so bold as to make their first release a set of solo, original compositions. But pianist Dan Musselman, shortly after graduating from the McNally Smith College of Music, made this bold move with the release of Ruminations in spring 2008. And he has quickly become a significant player on the Twin Cities jazz scene, releasing a duo recording with Rachel Holder in early 2009 (Save Your Love for Me), joining forces with a quartet of equally young and bold artists to open every Tuesday night for the famed Tuesday Night Band at the Artists Quarter, and finding gigs at various venues for his own quartet projects. This week on February 10th, Dan brings his quartet back to the Artists Quarter, blending talents of relatively new (saxman Brandon Wozniak) and established (bassist Adam Linz and drummer Jay Epstein) artists in an exciting collaboration.