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Saturday, 18 May 2013

Magraw, Nichols, Peterson and Horst: Steamy Quartet at the Artists Quarter, October 23 & 30

Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor

Sunday, 21 October 2012

Dean Magraw and Billy Peterson©Andrea Canter

What is the sum of Dean Magraw + Bryan Nichols + Billy Peterson + Kenny Horst? Adventurous jazz, of course. This is the formula for musical mischief at the Artists Quarter! First taking the stage together last spring, now the ensemble returns to the AQ for the next two Tuesday nights, October 23 and 30.

Dean Magraw is one of the Twin Cities’ most eclectic musicians, with a thirty+ -year career spanning genres and cultures, from blues to classical to folk and jazz, from Japanese and Indian to Celtic and middle American. He has performed with and/or recorded with Peter Ostrushko, Ruth McKenzie, Claudia Schmidt and Greg Brown, among others; he has explored his Celtic heritage performing with accordionist John Williams. Other collaborations include Japanese shamisen prodigy Nitta Masahiro, classical violinist Nigel Kennedy, South Indian vocalist and vina virtuoso Nirmala Rajasheker, Irish supergroup Altan, Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion, jazz bassist Anthony Cox and avant garde French saxophonist Francois Corneloup. In addition to the Dean Magraw Trio, he leads Red Planet with Chris Bates and Jay Epstein. With Epstein and Brandon Wozniak, he has played with Impulso, and often appears in duo with pianist Bryan Nichols and percussionist Davu Seru –the latter a monthly fixture at the Black Dog Café. His most recent recordings include his duo with tabla player Marcus Wise (When The Light Gets In, 2010) and, with Red Planet, Space Dust (2009).

Bryan Nichols©Andrea Canter

Pianist Bryan Nichols returned to his native Minnesota after studies at Iowa State and gigging in Chicago. A member of the 2004 edition of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead (“Jazz Stars of Tomorrow”), he performed at Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He’s played with Ari Brown, Maurice Brown, Von Freeman, and more, and is currently on the faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Locally Bryan is heard with his own trio, quintet and large ensemble, We Are Many; and has performed with the Kelly Rossum Quartet, vocalist Nancy Harms, drummer Dave King, Todd Clouser’s Love Electric, the Zacc Harris Group, and other cutting-edge artists. Bryan was a 2010 recipient of a McKnight grant which culminated in a solo piano recital at MacPhail last fall. In January, he led a sextet in interpretations of the music of Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet, and lately has been performing in duo with area bassists at the Icehouse.

Billy Peterson©Andrea Canter

From Minnesota’s “First Family of Music,” Billy Peterson sang in commercials with sister Linda at age 9 and played bass and drums in his father’s ensembles while in junior high. He played in a variety of combos and big bands throughout his high school years, including a summer tour with the Righteous Brothers and a stint with the Lawrence Welk All-Stars. After graduation, Billy played three years with Billy Wallace (Clifford Brown’s pianist) and co-founded the band Natural Life with saxman Bob Rockwell. He has recorded with Leo Kottke and performed or recorded with BB King, Johnny Smith, Lenny Breau, and the late Les Paul. In 1975, he appeared on Bob Dylan’s acclaimed Blood on the Tracks, and a few years later began a long-standing collaboration with Ben Sidran, which led to his 20+ year association with the Steve Miller Band. In the past year, Billy has been part of the house band for the PipJazz Sundays concert series at Landmark Center. We're seeing him more often in town these days and the jazz community is all the better for it.

Anyone who has spent more than ten minutes at the AQ has undoubtedly enjoyed the versatile drumming of owner Kenny Horst—he appeared weekly with the Tuesday Night Band through its 15-year run, regularly appears the Dave Karr Quartet and the edgy How Birds Work, and frequently supports the sublime vocals of mother-in-law Carole Martin and savvy bilingual singer Lucia Newell. Earlier in his career, Kenny worked with Bobby Lyle for three years and toured with Mose Allison, Jimmy McGriff and briefly with Al Hirt. At the AQ, Kenny has been keeping time with the likes of Eric Alexander, Lew Tabackin, Lee Konitz and other touring artists, and anchoring some terrific bands like Good Life with Billy Peterson, Peter Schimke and Brandon Wozniak.

This quartet does not have a name yet. But maybe we should just call it The Fab Four?

The Artists Quarter is located at 408 St Peter Street in the lower level of the Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul; sets at 9 pm, $5 cover; www.artistsquarter.com

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