The life of a fulltime musician can be a precarious juggling act, balancing time for family, performance, composition, career management, and often other work that generates income to feed the creative fire. When a professional musician is also an active Legal Aid attorney, the balancing act is more of an Olympian effort. Somehow, St. Paul pianist/lawyer Larry McDonough manages his dual careers with acclaimed results. Maybe it's his ability to turn time inside out and maintain harmonic integrity. If you have never heard this energetic, innovative composer/improviser, opportunity awaits Thursday night (December 23) at the Dakota in downtown Minneapolis, where Larry and his working quartet will get underway at 7 pm.

Larry McDonough first studied piano in fourth grade, added some vocals and gravitated to neighborhood garage bands in junior high, and was already gigging around town as a high school student in Bloomington, MN. Earning a degree in music education at the University of Minnesota, he had the opportunity to play both piano and trumpet in student ensembles with legends Clark Terry and Thad Jones, and in concerts for President Nixon and the President of Mexico. Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, McDonough worked as a part-time band instructor at Bloomington and Minneapolis high schools, and played in a number of Twin Cities' bands, ranging from jazz to pop and polka. He also performed in his own duos and trios, appearing regularly at the old Night Train club in St. Paul and at Jax Café in Minneapolis. 

"When you hear him play, it's as though there is a direct path from his heart to his hands." (Paul Winger, liner notes,

One of the foremost piano talents on the Twin Cities jazz scene, Chris Lomheim and his trio will brighten the holidays on Wednesday night, December 22, at the Artists' Quarter.

Chris Lomheim's first keyboard was the family organ, and as a child he studied both organ and piano in Minneapolis. He focused on R&B in the 1980s, playing with such bands as Big John Dickerson and Down Right Tight. Gaining a reputation as a composer as well as performer, he was featured at the West Bank School of Music Composer's Forum in 1991.

A rare treat for Minnesota jazz fans is the return of internationally acclaimed pianist Bill Carrothers. The Excelsior, MN native has been garnering rave reviews throughout the U.S. and Europe for his latest recording, Armistice 1918; now he's back for one-night stands at the Dakota in the company of top-gun bassist Gordy Johnson and the maniac of percussion, the Bad Plus' Dave King (December 20),  and at Rossi's with the talented bassist Chris Bates and elegant drummer Jay Epstein (December 21).

One of the Twin Cities' pre-eminent jazz pianists, composers, and educators, Laura Caviani confirms her reputation and raises the ante another notch each time she takes the bandstand. And it wouldn't be December in Minneapolis without her holiday show at the Dakota (Sunday, December 12, 7 pm). But that's not all—a week later you can hear Laura Caviani's Quintet with Lucia Newell along with the trio Soul Café in a holiday concert at the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church (Sunday, December 19^th, 7 pm). Want more? Join Laura when she helps ring in the New Year at Rossi's Blue Star with Prudence Johnson (Saturday, December 31, 9 pm).

Laura Caviani's roots are solidly in the Midwest and music. She tells about her father's barbershop quartet gigs as a student at Grinnell College in Iowa, when the young pianist was a fellow named Herbie Hancock. She received a Bachelor's of Music in Composition from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, and a Masters of Music in Improvisation from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. With a grant from the Atlantic Center for the Arts in 1997, Caviani studied with piano virtuoso JoAnne Brackeen, and the following year was one of four American musicians selected to study in Japan at the Akiyoshidai International Art Village.  Her teaching credits include St. John's University, the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, the University of St. Thomas, the University of Minnesota, and many middle schools in Minneapolis through the "Harman How to Listen Program," an outreach project co-founded by Wynton Marsalis. As a professor at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, she has taught classes in improvisation, composition/arranging, and jazz keyboard techniques.

Ahmad Jamal
During the past month at the Dakota, that glistening jazz gem in downtown Minneapolis, audiences were treated to a seemingly endless line-up of the world's top musicians---from the sublime voice of Madeleine Peyroux to the ethereal futuristic rhythms of Sweden's E.S.T., from the samba sizzling Brazilian piano of Eliane Elias to the Indian/African spirituality of Charles Lloyd's tribute to Billy Higgins, from the clavé beat of Los Hombres Calientes to the bop magic of  the Cannonball Legacy Band and the relaxed swing of Houston Person. And as always, we had our share of the hottest local talents, from Nachito Herrera and his Cuban All-Stars to the cream of the vocalists, Connie Evingson, Bruce Henry, Patty Peterson, T. Mychael Rambo, and The Girls.

Given the month past, what could possibly be in store for December? How about Ahmad Jamal, Barbara Morrison, and the Bad Plus?  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, or the solstice, there will be plenty of music to fuel your soul and set a festive mood. Come downtown early, catch the perennial Holidazzle Parade as it marches right by the Dakota on Nicollet Mall, then come inside for the best in jazz and dining. Reservations are available for the national shows and selected local shows as noted below. Highlights: