Amina Figarova

“Figarova is a pianist, composer and arranger of astonishing freshness and depth--an important new talent on the world jazz stage." -- Thomas Conrad, Jazz Times 
 

Born in Azerbaijan and residing in Rotterdam, classically trained and jazzily inspired—multiple sources of inspiration gild the compositions of pianist/arranger/bandleader Amina Figarova. On Saturday night, June 28th, the Amina Figarova Sextet closes out their U.S. tour on Peavey Plaza, joining a stellar cast at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. Not the most familiar name on the Caribou Coffee Stage this weekend, Figarova’s band nevertheless may be the surprise jewel in the festival’s crown, an ensemble that features smoldering original compositions and exciting harmonies, a disarming balance of European delicacy and good ol’ Amercan swing and bop. It’s a balance that makes perfect sense to Figarova, who says “That’s the beauty of jazz, it is such an international language. It’s born in America, but it has such different roots.”

In her native Baku, the capital city of the Caspian country of Azerbaijan, Amina Figarova discovered the family piano at age two and was hooked, composing her first tunes by age three. She earned a degree in classical piano at the Baku Conservatory, moving into jazz through studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory and the Berklee College of Music in Boston. With various configurations of trio, sextet and septet, Figarova has performed at The North Sea Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival, Capetown International Jazz Festival, Salvador Bahia Jazz Festival, JakArt Festival, and has toured in Indonesia, Israel, Europe, United Arabs Emirates, Mexico, Azerbaijan, and the USA—appearing at Yoshi’s in Oakland and the Blue Note in Manhattan.

Eric Kamau Gravat©Howard Gitelson

Perhaps New York is the epicenter of jazz, no argument. But here in the Twin Cities reside some of the truly international figures of jazz, including Anthony Cox and Eric Kamau Gravatt, to name a distinguished pair. And this weekend at the Artists Quarter (June 27-28), we have the opportunity to hear Gravatt with his stellar ensemble, Source Code.

Charmaine Neville©Andrea Canter

While the stage is still smoldering at Mears Park in St Paul following the first weekend of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, mark your calendars for the remaining events across the river. Starting with Stride Piano Night at the Dakota Jazz Club on Tuesday, June 24th and concluding in the early evening on Sunday, June 29th on Peavey Plaza, there’s an unprecedented amount of music crammed into a few days, and much of it is free and outdoors. Headliners in Minneapolis include singers Charmain Neville, Connie Evingson and Moore By Four; B-3 organist Tony Monaco; and pianists Jon Weber and Amina Figarova. The student stage will be bursting with young talent, featuring several high school jazz bands, all-star ensembles, MacPhail faculty and the winners of the recent jazz piano scholarship competition. The Dakota Jazz Club hosts several special gigs as well, and for one night the festival travels to Bloomington. 

John Raymond©Andrea Canter

“The more I play and the more I think about my role as a performer and composer, the more I genuinely want everyone who hears us to experience something deeper with my music.” –John Raymond 
 

Over the past four years, young trumpeter John Raymond has played with the Jazz Is Now Orchestra, the Yohannes Tona Band, and Nachito Herrera; led his John Raymond Project in gigs at the Bryant Lake Bowl and Dakota Jazz Club; and released his first CD. Not a bad resume for a senior jazz student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. After a series of appearances on the Dakota’s Late Night series, the John Raymond Project debuted in prime time at the Dakota last November. Now he’s back on stage with a new edition of the JRP featuring Javier Santiago, Kevin Washington, and long-time UW-EC collaborators Aaron Hedenstrom and Jeremy Boettcher. 

Leader John Raymond has been studying trumpet since fifth grade, playing in school jazz ensembles since early junior high. The All-State Jazz Band Camp in Duluth during high school introduced him to UW-EC jazz instructor Robert Baca. Recalls John, “After the camp was the first time I really knew I had to practice to become a musician, and I had to practice a lot… so from that point on I was playing 3-5 hours a day on all sorts of classical, jazz, funk music - pretty much anything I could get my hands on.”  Through the summer camp, he also met young saxophonist Kristin Rarick and formed a group that performed as part of the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education “J-Train” series. At UW-EC, John has played in the top band and top jazz ensemble since his first semester, toured China in late 2006, and also had the opportunity to perform with the Jazz Is Now! Orchestra in Minneapolis and with Maria Schneider at the 2005 UW-EC Jazz Festival. While balancing classes and college bands, Raymond also found time to start his own band with cohorts from Eau Claire, The John Raymond Project, releasing a recording in spring 2006. Currently John plays with the UWEC jazz bands, his own ensemble, the Yohannes Tona Band and the Twin Cities Horns, an ensemble that frequently joins Nachito Herrera.  John has also toured with Darnell Davis and the Minneapolis-based gospel group, Remnant.  Says John, “Between playing with Nachito regularly, working with the horn section we've got going (the Twin Cities Horns) and putting together some other shows and gigs, things have been crazy busy for me! However tired I get, putting together my own shows and writing arrangements and tunes always is my most favorite thing to do.” 

Jerry Gonzalez

The 10th Annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival will again feature national and local talent over two June weekends. Officially, the festival begins on Thursday night, June 19th, with the reunion concert of 70s fusion band, Return to Forever, at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Minneapolis (click here for more about this concert). The next night, the free festival gets underway at Mears Park in St. Paul’s Lowertown with headliner Jerry Gonzales and the Fort Apache Band. Music continues Saturday afternoon and evening, ending with the annual festival jam a few blocks west at the Artists Quarter. Festival week continues with special performances in Minneapolis and Bloomington, culminating in the final weekend on Peavy Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, featuring headliners Charmaine Neville, Tony Monoco and the Heatin’ System, and Moore By Four, as well as the always popular student stage on Nicollet Mall. Notes Executive Director Steve Heckler, “Reaching the milestone of the ‘10th Annual’ is an achievement for any music festival, and we plan to celebrate in style with our most exciting line up yet.” Although most of the festival is free and outdoors, there are some significant ticketed events this year, starting with Return to Forever (June 19th) and continuing with special shows at the Artists Quarter and Dakota, and Downbeat’s Rising Stars showcase at Orchestra Hall on June 26th. 

Caribou Coffee (in conjunction with Northwestern Foods) again serves as the primary sponsor of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, along with the Harry and Adeline Silverman Foundation, Summit Brewing, St. Paul Star Program, Mercedes Benz, KBEM Jazz 88, Hot Springs Records (HSR), Sears Auto, Maplewood Imports, St. Paul Port Authority, Sun Country Airlines, Music Connection Pianos, the Minneapolis Downtown Council. Media partners in addition to Jazz 88 include The Rake, City Pages, KFAI radio and Air America Minnesota. The student stage is sponsored again by the MacPhail Center for Music and the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education. Other supporting sponsors include the Twin Cities Jazz Society, Jazz Police, Sky Point Communications, Creation Audio and Shakers Vodka. The Orpheum Theater, Minnesota Orchestra Hall, Dakota Jazz Club and Artists Quarter also serve as community partners, cosponsoring a variety of jazz events throughout the festival.