From the Local Scene

Bruce Henry, Photo by Andrea Canter
And let’s not forget that the Dakota is a key promoter of a very talented local pool of musicians. Vocalists are the headliners in September: Charmin Michelle (Septmeber 3^rd) delivers “taste and understatement; swing and savoir faire; grace and grooves; intimacy and panache” (TCMusic.net). From touring with Mulgrew Miller to gigs with the Senders, her voice hints of a gentle Billy Holiday. Says Leigh Kamman, “Michelle not only knows how to swing the song, but her care for the mood, the dramatic, and the message is magnetic.”

From clubs in East Dubuque, IL to New York, Cookie Coleman (September 4^th) brings more than 30 years of performance credits to Twin Cities’ stages. Winner of the 2004 Entertainer of the Year Award from Minnesota Meetings and Events Magazine, Cookie has produced and performed in several Cabaret Pops concerts for Minnesota's Orchestra Hall, leads a 12-piece band, Club Lucky, and has released 3 recordings. Says local critic Bob Protzman, “Coleman sings in a very appealing, straightforward manner, remindful of such 1940s-50s vocalists as Jo Stafford.”

Mississippi native Bruce Henry first sang on stage at age five. Furthering his classic music education at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, he eventually fell under the influence of the music of Nina Simone, Al Jarreau, and John Coltrane and was soon singing around the world. Now living in Minneapolis, he maintains a nonstop schedule of performing, recording, and teaching. Says noted educator and historian Mahmoud El-Kati, "At the bottom, the real genius of Bruce Henry's music is his gift for marrying life experiences to musical ideas."

Perhaps the best known local diva, Debbie Duncan "is blessed with a large, full, yet feathery voice and stylistic subtlety ranging from gospel to jazz and pop” (Jazziz). With a background rich in jazz, gospel, and Motown, Duncan has opened for Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and Stephane Grappelli, and won the Minnesota Music Award for “Pepetually Outstanding Performer.” Local gigs include frequent appearances at the Times and Dakota, popular performances with “The Girls,” and teaching at MusicTech.

A charter member of the ever-popular Moore By Four, Ginger Commodore has a long history performing for audiences in the Twin Cities and around the globe. Starting out with the Grammy Award-winning Sounds of Blackness, she is an original member of Women Who Cook and has performed with Yanni, The Minnesota Opera, Twin City Gospel Ensemble, J.D. Steele Singers, and recently on tour with the Chiffons. But she is best known locally for her jazz work with Moore By Four and her own quartet. Says City Pages’ Britt Robson, “Ginger possesses some of the sweetest and most clarion pipes in town.”

And closing the weekend roster for September, as he often does each month, pianist Nachito Herrera and Puro Cubano provide incendiary sets of Cuban rhythms that have made this Havana transplant one of the most popular musicians and educators in the area. Wrote critic Tom Surowicz in the liner notes to Herrera’s Live at the Dakota recording, “Herrera's a piledriver, a barnburner, a wizard… Cha-cha-cha, bolero, salsa, rumba, son, mambo, meringue, guaracha, plena, guajira -- name the beat, and Herrera delivers it with mastery.” Watch for the release of two new recordings tis fall from this local legend.