Eric Marienthal

The JazzMN Orchestra closes out it regular concert season on Saturday, April 27th, with special guest, saxophonist Eric Marienthal. A Grammy Award-winning musician based in Los Angeles, Marienthal is featured in Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. "After seeing Eric Marienthal receive standing ovations and comments like 'that was the best concert I've seen at Minnesota State University’ when Eric was a guest at my MSU Mankato JazzFest, I knew that he would be a hit with JazzMN audiences," said JazzMN Artistic Director Doug Snapp. “I’m delighted he is available for our final concert of the season.”

Miguel Hurtado&Andrea Canter

“Making music should always come from a genuine place, without insecurities or false pretenses.” –Miguel Hurtado

The best measure of the vitality of the Twin Cities jazz scene is the increasing number of young musicians studying in the area and/or coming home or moving to the Twin Cities to launch their careers. Four of these upstarts came together last fall as “Courageous Endeavors” at the Artists Quarter, and since have appeared at the Icehouse in Minnepolis. With saxophonist Nelson Devereaux, pianist Joe Strachan, Brian Courage, and special guest, guitarist Tom Nordlund, drummer  Miguel Hurtado and his “friends” headline the Artists Quarter this week, Apri 24th.

Craig Taborn©Andrea Canter

“Taborn, an unusually matter-of-fact virtuoso, teases out structural affinities among free jazz, postimpressionist classical and electronic music, forging something uniquely his own.” —New York Times

Twin Cities native Craig Taborn makes a rare Twin Cities appearance as bandleader on April 26th when he headlines a far-ranging evening the Walker Art Center under the title “Heroic Frenzies.” With his long-running ensembles, Junk Magic and the Craig Taborn Trio, as well as solo acoustic piano, Taborn will bring together, over four sets, a diversity of talents (e.g., Dave King, Mat Maneri, Erik Fratzke, Chris Speed, Thomas Morgan, Gerald Cleaver) and visions, not the least of which are his own. And it’s in part his American CD release celebration for Chants, the Craig Taborn Trio’s first recording after 8 years of collaboration, released this week on ECM. 

Struttin' Out

Well, it’s about time Denny Malmberg and Charmin Michelle put their long-running Fireside Pizza gig on record. On April 24th, Denny, Charmin and favorite pals will celebrate the release of Struttin’ Out, a studio recording of a dozen favorites featuring bassist Steve Pikal, drummer Nathan Norman, and saxophonist (on three tracks) Doug Haining. Of course the CD Release Party is at Fireside Pizza in Richfield where Denny and Charmin have been swinging in a corner of this neighborhood joint for the past 8 years.

Craig Taborn©Andrea Canter

Golden Valley native Craig Taborn makes a rare Twin Cities appearance on April 26th when he brings three projects to the Walker Art Center under the title “Heroic Frenzies.” With his long-running ensembles, Junk Magic and the Craig Taborn Trio, as well as a set of solo acoustic piano, Taborn will bring together, in one evening, a diversity of talents (e.g., Dave King, Mat Maneri, Erik Fratzke, Chris Speed, Thomas Morgan, Gerald Cleaver) and visions, not the least of which are his own. His first solo recording, Avenging Angel, was released in 2011 on ECM and garnered critical raves fro across the universe. It’s been nearly a decade since the debut release of Junk Magic, with the sequel due out later this year. And after 8 years of collaboration, the Craig Taborn Trio will release its maiden voyage (Chants ) on ECM on April 23rd. 

Dave Hazeltine©Andrea Canter

"A player and writer with great respect for the melody, Hazeltine can be surprisingly inventive with the harmonic and rhythmic possibilities in a tune… his approach makes well-known tunes sound fresh...."  --Aaron Steinberg, Jazz Times

Noted for adventurous arrangements, rhythms, and harmonies, as well as swinging, melodic original compositions, New York pianist David Hazeltine brings both a reverence for tradition and a unique inventive spirit to the bandstand. And that bandstand will be at the Artists Quarter in St. Paul this weekend, April 19-20.

Francisco Mela©Andrea Canter

A charismatic, free-spirited drummer favored by luminaries from McCoy Tyner to Kenny Barron to Joe Lovano, Cuban transplant Francisco Mela has made waves recently in the Twin Cities, with Lovano’s Us Five (2010 Twin Cites Jazz Festival, 2011 at the Dakota, and 2012 at the Hopkins Center for the Arts), with his own Cuban Safari at the 2012 Twin Cities Jazz Festival, and last month with the McCoy Tyner Quartet (Hopkins Center for the Arts).  This week, Mela returns to town solo, presenting clinics and master classes across the metro, and performing with a local supporting cast in Antonello Hall at MacPhail on Saturday evening, April 20th.

Red Planet©Andrea Canter

One of the area’s most innovative musical threesomes, Red Planet has bee described by the Artists Quarter as “creative jazz for the 21st Century, inviting you to put one ear on the launching pad of neo-bop Trane/Hendrix/Monk burn, and your other ear on the celestial weightlessness from the musical cosmos.” Appearing as part of the Twin Cities Jazz Society’s “Jazz From J to Z” concert series,  cosmonauts Dean Magraw, Chris Bates and Jay Epstein return to Earth on April 21st at 4 pm in the Weyerhaeuser Auditorium of Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul, performing in “The Spirit of Trane.”