Jazz Police Home arrow Twin Cities, MN       Save on Hotels Hotels and Cruises Cruises
JP
"In my world, the first thing I reach for is the sound. Technique is Ok, but if you got the technique and I got a good sound, I'll beat you every time. You can play a thousand notes and I can play one note and wipe you out. What I reach for is ... a sound." -Dewey Redman
 

Dakota Banner1
Advertisement

Main Menu
Home
CD Reviews
Interviews
SF Bay Area
Chicago
Los Angeles
New York
Twin Cities, MN
More Cities
Festivals
FAQ
News
Contact
Video of the Week
Who's Online
We have 4 guests and 1 member online
Visitors: 12035919
Apple iTunes
Twin Cities
This month's jazz in the Twin Cities:
  • For a Complete Jazz Calendar for the Twin Cities, we rely on and recommend the Twin Cities Jazz Society at www.tcjs.org. See also the Jazz88 Live Music Calendar at www.jazz88fm.com .
  • At the Artists' Quarter in St. Paul
  • At the Dakota in Minneapolis
  • Jazz Vocalist of Minnesota Gig Calendar
  • Click for Twin Cities - Minneapolis and St Paul, MN Forecast


    Songs of Gold: Dianne Reeves, Freda Payne Gild the Twin Cities Jazz Scene Print E-mail
    Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor   
    Sunday, 11 May 2008

    Image
    Freda Payne©Andrea Canter
     

    Sometimes I realize there is no point lamenting that we live in the Midwest rather than New York. True, if I was in or near Manhattan on any given night, I would have at least a dozen top-flight jazz clubs to choose from, and most likely at least 4-5 gigs that would really tempt me. And this does not include Carnegie Hall, Rose Hall, or any of the other major concert halls. Nor am I throwing into the mix Broadway and off-Broadway shows, dance companies, and the rest of the live entertainment scene. The Twin Cities pales in comparison. But as my mother says, you can only go to one thing at a time. And even here in the Twin Cities, conflicts arise almost daily—do I go to the KBEM jazz film series or to the Artists Quarter to hear the Phil Hey Quartet? Do I go to the Dakota for Bruce Henry or to the AQ for the Out to Lunch Quintet? Do I go hear one of my favorite singers at the Times or one of my favorite pianists at Crave? 

    Sometimes the conflicts are irrelevant: the local talent will be around next week but a touring artist may not return for a year, two years, maybe a decade. In the past week, the Twin Cities has welcomed the best voices in the business, if jazz is your business. Or even if jazz is something you rarely notice. First, Karrin Allyson came to town, as she tends to do annually, and gave us what was arguably her best show ever (see Jazz Police review). On May 2nd, Dianne Reeves filled Orchestra Hall. And two nights later, the rarest treat of all, Freda Payne donned her jazz chops for an Ella Fitzgerald tribute at the Dakota. 

    Read more...
     
    VoicesIowa Returns to Minneapolis, May 12th Print E-mail
    Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor   
    Sunday, 11 May 2008

    Image
    VoicesIowa
     

    On May 12th, the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church near downtown Minneapolis will host one of the nation’s premier vocal jazz groups, VoicesIowa. Recently named DownBeat’s Vocal Jazz Group of the Year, the ensemble will present selections from their new recording,  “Songs of Love,” under the direction of Grammy nominee and leading vocal jazz educator Phil Mattson. Twin Cities audiences might recall VoicesIowa from their summer 2007 performance honoring Duke Ellington at HAUM.  

    VoicesIowa includes six students and alumni of the Southwestern Community College School for Music Vocations in Creston, IA. Phil Mattson created the curriculum for the School, and directs the Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and VoicesIowa in addition to classroom teaching. Previsouly, Mattson taught at Pacific Lutheran University (WA), served as Director of Choral Activities at Foothill College (CA) and Gonzaga University (WA), and created the Phil Mattson School for Vocal Musicians in Spokane (WA), leading the Grammy-nominated P.M. Singers. Mr. Mattson has published more than 70 choral and vocal jazz arrangements and compositions and has been nominated twice for Grammy awards for arrangements and performance. Each summer, Mattson directs the Phil Mattson Vocal Jazz/Choral Workshops in the US and Canada, and each February heads the Southwestern Vocal Jazz Festival. He is active as a conductor, pianist, arranger and clinician, and writes for professional vocal groups including the Four Freshmen, the Real Group, Chanticleer, Beachfront Property, the Dale Warland Singers and Manhattan Transfer.


     

    Read more...
     
    Grand Marais Minnesota Jazz Festival May 9-11, 2008 Print E-mail
    Written by Administrator   
    Wednesday, 07 May 2008
    Image
    Tony Monaco
    This year, Cook County Events & Visitors Bureau, in partnership with Cook County Minnesota Tourism Associations and Grand Portage Lodge and Casino, will host a county-wide jazz festival across Cook County Minnesota including performances in Grand Portage, Lutsen-Tofte, and downtown Grand Marias with additional performances at lodges and resorts along the historic Gunflint Trail.

    Top-flight performers include Hammond B-3 Organ Wizard Tony Monaco, Jazz Trumpeter Avishai Cohen from New York, Flutist Gina Todd & Guitarist Brien Morrison, The Erin Bode Group, Axis Mundi World Music Trio with Glen Helgeson, Sam Miltich & the Clearwater Hot Club, Chicago Jazz Vocal / Guitar Duo Typhanie Monique & Neal Alger, New Orleans Jazz Pianist Chris Gillis, Jazz Violinist Max Bichel, Vocalist Carah Thomas, Gypsy Swing Singer Rhonda Laurie and more.
    Read more...
     
    Karrin at the Dakota: Starlight, Star Bright, Everything She Sang Tonight Print E-mail
    Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor   
    Tuesday, 06 May 2008

    Image
    Karrin Allyson courtesy of the Concord Jazz Festival
     

    [May 1, 2008]  Karrin Allyson always gives us a good show. A native Kansan and short-term Twin Cities resident before relocating to Kansas City and then New York a decade ago, Karrin seems to enjoy her return “home” every year, usually on the heels of a new release on Concord, her label throughout her fabled career. (Even her first, self-produced release ended up reissued by Concord when they signed her as a relative newbie back in 1992.)  

    But sometimes the stars and planets are in perfect alignment, and the event not only lives up to its hype but reaches far beyond expectations. There was a nearly sold-out club and dining room, pretty rare for the first of a four-set, two-night booking. And this audience included Karrin’s husband Bill McLaughlin, frequent touring partner/pianist Laura Caviani, and Karrin’s mom (who lives in Minneapolis) and other assorted friends and relatives. But a lot of credit goes to this band, surely the most elegantly supportive ensemble she has brought to the Dakota yet: Long-term collaborator/guitarist/arranger Rod Fleeman; Chicago-based bassist Larry Kohut; acclaimed vibes magician and Dave Holland partner, Steve Nelson; and our own master of percussive eloquence, Phil Hey. Each contributed mightily to the whole and as a soloist, and the vibes provide unique colors and textures seldom heard with a vocalist. This time Karrin is not touring with a keyboardist, handling piano duties on a number of the songs herself. And that’s not dumbing down the accompaniment. Not at all. As Gary Giddens once wrote, “she plays a mean piano.” Actually Karrin plays a lyrical and songful piano.  

    Read more...
     
    Dolphy and More: The Out to Lunch Quintet at the Artists Quarter, May 9-10 Print E-mail
    Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor   
    Monday, 05 May 2008
    Image
    Out to Lunch Quintet © Andera Canter
    We hope to help increase demand for live jazz so, as Dewey Redman said, ‘musicians can keep appearing and stop disappearing.’” –Don Berryman

    One of the top events in local music in 2006—in my opinion—was the release of The Out to Lunch Quintet: Live at the Artists Quarter. Produced by Don Berryman (Jazz Police) and featuring five of the most creative jazzers in the Midwest, the recording took the seminal 1964 work of saxophonist Eric Dolphy and presented it with a 21st century glow. The very fact that this music was performed at all was in itself a major event in jazz. This weekend, May 9-10, the OTLQ returns to the Artists Quarter to continue its mission—honoring the music of Dolphy through recreations of his compositions and original works.

    On his liner notes, Don Berryman provides an informative summary of the short life of Eric Dolphy, a masterful composer, arranger and performer on multiple reeds. He was a favorite of Mingus and Coltrane, but perhaps best known as the composer of avant-garde compositions using odd time signatures further pushed outside by his dissonant and unpredictable blowing style. Notes Berryman, “Out to Lunch influenced a generation of jazz players…and is regarded not only as Dolphy’s finest recording, but as one of the greatest jazz recordings.” Tragically Dolphy died at age 36 in June 1964, a few weeks before Blue Note released his seminal recording.

    Read more...
     
    Erin Bode: Double Header in Minnesota Print E-mail
    Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor   
    Monday, 05 May 2008
    Image
    Erin Bode © Andrea Canter
    Bode is young, staggeringly beautiful and accomplishes the Jonesian feat of appealing to all listeners, from eighteen to eighty, with a voice that is at once all her own and a channel for the great singers of yore. She inspires an abnormal sense of nostalgia …and makes listeners long for the days when men wore fedoras.” – Jess Minnen, River Front Times

     

    The Twin Cities has long been a wellspring of vocal talent. Much of that talent remains in the area, but a few have found success outside the Minneapple. Count Erin Bode among them. Transplanted to St. Louis in her teens, Bode now has two MaxJazz recordings and plenty of accolades to her credit. This week, Erin returns to home territory with a two-night stand at the Dakota Jazz Club (May 7-8) and an appearance at the Grand Marais Jazz Festival this weekend (May 10th).

    Bode spent much of her childhood in the Twin Cities, the youngest of three children of a Lutheran minister and surrounded by music for all occasions, from celebrations to funerals. Encouraged to participate in music

    Read more...
     
    << Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>

    Results 1 - 10 of 1047
     Monday, 12 May 2008
    BOOK TRAVEL WITH JAZZ POLICE AND SAVE! Search for deals here.
    City Arrival Date Nights Adults Rooms
    Today's top ten jazz downloads
    JP Archive
    Add Jazz Police button to your google toolbar
    Latest News





    Lost Password?
    No account yet? Register
    Apple iTunes
    Support our live jazz coverage. Visit our sponsors. If you plan to shop amazon.com or download iTunes, click through here:
    Apple iTunes
     
    Go to top of page  Home | CD Reviews | Interviews | SF Bay Area | Chicago | Los Angeles | New York | Twin Cities, MN | More Cities | Festivals | FAQ | News | Contact | Video of the Week |
    All material protected by copyright. © 2007 Jazz Police and contributing writers & visual artists. All rights reserved. Material may not be reprinted or redistributed without permission of the contributing writers & visual artists.
    Jazz Police makes no warranty, expressed or implied as to the accuracy, completeness or utility of information provided. All information is subject to change without notice.