July 29 with the Pete Whitman X-Tet (Artists’ Quarter, St. Paul, 9 pm): Laura Caviani is a long-time collaborator with local sax legend Pete Whitman, who heads this ten-piece band. A performer, composer and arranger for more than 20 years, he has performed with Randy Brecker, Jack McDuff, and the Woody Herman Orchestra in addition to leading his X-Tet and Quintet in the Twin Cities and working regularly with the Jazz MN Big Band. A graduate of jazz studies at North Texas State University, Whitman heads the Woodwind and Brass Department at St Paul’s Music Tech. The X-Tet is a virtual Who’s Who in local jazz, with Whitman, Dave Karr, and Dave Milne (reeds), Steve Wagner and Dave Jensen (trumpets), Jeff Rinear (trombone), Dave Hagedorn (vibes), Gordy Johnson (bass), Phil Hey (drums), and Caviani on piano.

July 30-31 with Departure Point (Artists Quarter, St. Paul, 9 pm): Continuing her collaboration with Pete Whitman, Laura Caviani is outstanding in smaller ensembles that give her more room to stretch out. Departure Point is a pared down X-Tet, with leader Pete Whitman on sax, Jeff Rinear on trombone, Dave Jensen on trumpet, Gordy Johnson on bass, and Phil Hey on drums, and of course Laura Caviani on the piano bench.

August 7 in a quartet with vibist Ben Thomas (Artists’ Quarter, St. Paul, 9 pm): The piano at the AQ will have no chance to cool off next week! A special performance brings together former University of Michigan classmates Laura Caviani and Ben Thomas, now based in Seattle. Playing vibes, drums, and percussion, Thomas has performed since the mid 1980s in a wide variety of formats and genres. Recent appearances include the Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Detroit-Montreaux Jazz Festival, Issaquah Jazz Festival, Anacortes Arts Festival, Ellensburg Jazz in the Valley Festival, Tacoma Maritime Festival, Bellingham Art of Jazz Series, and the Seattle Art Museum. While completing graduate studies at the University of Michigan, he directed the University's Jazz Composers Orchestra and performed with Stephen Rush. Since moving to Seattle, Thomas has been involved in teaching and leading jazz groups, and was awarded a grant for music composition by the Seattle Arts Commission in 1999.

August 7, 8, 12, 14 with Prudence Johnson and the Millay Project (Illusion Theater, Minneapolis): One of the most creative musical collaborations in years, Twin Cities’ chanteuse Prudence Johnson has directed the unlikely merger of the poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay and the jazz idiom, resulting in a multi-instrumental and vocal performance involving a number of local performers and composers, including Michael O’Brien (cello), Joan Griffith (guitar), Kathy Jenson (sax) and Laura Caviani, among others. The debut performance earlier this spring at St. Paul’s O’Shaughnessy Auditorium was a hallmark of contemporary original music.

August 15th with Soul Café (House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St Paul). Also ranking high on the creativity index, Soul Café is a project combining music and often poetry, featuring the jazz talents of Laura Caviani, Steve Blons (guitar) and Brad Holden (sax). Usually a trio format, a recent performance at the Dakota added Lucia Newell, singing Rogers and Hart tunes in tandem with readings of poems by Pablo Neruda. Somehow it worked. Expect something unexpected, original, and musically very satisfying.

For more information about these events, see:
www.lauracaviani.com