Randy Brecker©Andrea Canter

The 9th annual Burnsville Art and All That Jazz festival features music, visual art, a special area for kids’ activities (including a musical instrument “petting zoo”), concessions and more. Held from Noon- 10 pm, the festival takes place in Nicollet Commons Park; 126th and Nicollet Av, Burnsville – all free. This year’s special guest artist is Grammy-winning trumpeter Randy Brecker.

The Dakota Combo©Andrea Canter

       Noon, Dakota Combo. Directed by bassist Adam Linz, the Combo this year features 7 high school musicians from around the Metro area. A program of the MacPhail Center for Music sponsored by the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education, these talented teens have rehearsed throughout the year, attended clinics, toured area schools, and performed at the Dakota Jazz Club, Artists Quarter, MacPhail’s Antonello Hall, Jungle Theater, Watertown Performing Arts Center, and Twin Cities Jazz Festival. The band includes four seniors who graduated in spring 2012. This is the 2011-2012 Combo’s final performance.

       2 pm, Hot Swing Combo. Led by swinging hot club guitarist Robert Bell, the Hot Swing Combo features vocalist Erin Schwab, who often lends her versatile voice to numerous musical theater productions. From early American swing to hot gypsy jazz, the group sets out to bring the audience to its feet and challenges dancers to be creative as they slip and slide through solos and genres.

       4 pm, Charanga Tropical. A unique Latin experience, this nine-piece ensemble (three violins, flute and a Latin rhythm section) is led by flautists Doug Little.  One of few such groups in the United States, the “charanga” instrumentation originated in early 20th century Cuba. Charanga Tropical presents rarely heard dansons alongside a sizzling mix of salsa, cha cha and songs from the heady Havana streets.

       6 pm, Super Pilots. Based in Boston, the Super Pilots met as scholarship students at the Berklee College of Music and have played with such artists as Larry Carlton, Bobby McFerrin, Mindi Abair and more. Jazz fusion with a rock sensibility, the Super Pilots return to Burnsville after appearing in the 2011 festival.

       8 pm, Randy Brecker. Trumpeter Randy Brecker has long been associated with an eclectic range of music, from jazz to rock and R&B. Over his 5-decade career, he has performed or recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Billy Cobham, Horace Silver, Clark Terry, the Mel Lewis-Thad Jones Orchestra, Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, Mingus Dynasty, Larry Coryell, Jaco Pastorius, Todd Rundgren, Lou Reed, Frank Zappa, Spyro Gyra, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Frank Sinatra, David Sanborn, Kenny Werner, Lynne Arriale, and more. With his late younger brother Michael, he co-lead Dreams and multi- Grammy nominated and Grammy-winning Brecker Brothers Band. Randy won his first solo Grammy for Into the Sun (1997) and has since received four more Grammies for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

More information at http://www.burnsvilleartjazz.com. Adapted from articles previously posted in TCJS Jazz Notes and on Jazz Police.

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