With the Dakota, Artists Quarter, and Rossi's Blue Star Room hosting live jazz at least six nights per week, along with scores of other clubs that offer jazz on a regular basis, the Twin Cities provides nearly as many choices on any given night as does Chicago, and probably only New York City itself has more simultaneous options for national artists. If St. Paul would activate a smoking ban downtown, the Artists Quarter would surely rival the Village Vanguard as the nation's no-frills choice for jazz purists. And with its own self-imposed smoking ban, consistently creative kitchen, and near-perfect sound and sightlines, I'll go out on a limb and declare that Minneapolis' Dakota surpasses the best of New York. And it may be a blessing that there are few nights in the Twin Cities where we have to decide between five or six venues of jazz superstars. Our options create enough indecision!

Don't let indecision keep you from some of the hottest jazz sets of the season, from Madeleine Peyroux to Toots Thielmans ... all live at the Dakota in November.

Madeleine Peyroux (November 3-4): Georgia native Madeline Peyroux grew up in Paris and New York. After recording Dreamland for Atlantic in 1996, 22-year-old Peyroux was an instant star, leading to appearances at jazz festivals and opening tours for Sarah McLachlan and Cesaria Evora. Although out of the spotlight for the next eight years, she continued performing all over the U.S. and Western Europe before signing with Rounder Records in 2003. Her new release, Careless Love, is a blend of acoustic blues, country ballads, torch songs, and pop, featuring a diverse song list covering W. C. Handy, Hank Leonard Cohen, Edith Piaf, Elliott Smith, and original compositions. Her voice has frequently been compared to Billie Holiday. Wrote Time, "Peyroux has a bittersweet, brokenhearted alto; she lingers and slides off notes, finding emotion in the slow, sad fade rather than the obvious vocal burst." (See www.madeleinepeyroux.com)

Bruce Henry (November 5-6): Bruce Henry "possesses a three and one-half octave range, a pure voice with versatility and depth that few can match" (CD Baby). Studying at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, Mississippi native Henry was inspired by the music of Nina Simone, Al Jarreau, and John Coltrane. Absorbing eclectic styles of vocals and composition while touring the world, Henry has garnered a large following in France and the Far East, and has been heard live on the BBC as well as on movie soundtracks. Now living in Minneapolis, he maintains a nonstop schedule of performing, recording, and teaching. His most recent recording is Connections (2003, Bahlove Productions). 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."  A special treat this weekend--Henry will be "backed" by Cuban monster pianist Nachito Herrera and tenor sax virtuoso Eric Leeds, along with the always poppin' rhythm section of bassist Jay Young, drummer Kevin Washington, and percussionist Daryl Boudraux. (See www.bruceahenry.com)

T. Mychael Rambo (November 7): Twin Cities actor and baritone T. Mychael Rambo -- a master of gospel, r & b and jazz stylings-- maybe be best known locally for his 11-year role in Penumbra Theatre's "Black Nativity." Rambo has performed with Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, Penumbra Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Illusion Theater, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts; with the Minnesota Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; and toured as Porgy with a European production of Porgy and Bess. In 2004, Rambo and Minnesota Public Radio presented Heart of the Man, a tribute to jazz balladeers Johnny Hartman, Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstine, and Joe Williams, and currently he is appearing in the Penumbra Theatre remount of Dinah Was. Rambo's Dakota show is a celebration of the release of his new CD, Simply. Dwight Hobbes (Insight) notes, "Rambo... brandishes flawless technique with a world of feeling--velvet smooth, soul sophisticato to a tee."

Louis Hayes & the Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band (November 8-9): Detroit drummer Louis Hayes has been keeping time with jazz legends since he was a teenager. From his earliest days with Yusef Lateef to his tenure with Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, and Oscar Peterson, Hayes has made countless recordings in the company of such legends as John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, and McCoy Tyner. His own bands have consistently featured his "crisply swinging ride cymbal beat, downhill momentum and hipster's wit" (Detroit Free Press). Now 67, Hayes' current project celebrates the legend of Cannonball Adderley, and features some of the hottest young jazzmen on the planet--trumpet wiz Jeremy Pelt, celestial pianist Rick Germanson, versatile bassist Gerald Cannon, and in the Cannonball chair, alto sax lion Vincent Herring. (See http://louishayes.com)

Vincent Herring played sax at West Point in the U.S. Military Band. Dubbed a "Young Lion" in the early 80s, he toured with the Lionel Hampton Band before his big break with Nat Adderley's band, displaying a style in the vein of Nat's brother, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. Notes International Jazz Productions, "Vincent has developed into a virtuoso with a voice that is uniquely intense and vigorous with the energy and direction."

Still in his 20s, Jeremy Pelt studied jazz and film scoring at Berkelee in Boston before moving to New York. Currently touring with the Mingus Big Band as well as the Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band, Pelt was tapped as a "Rising Star" in the 2003 Down Beat Annual Critics Poll and is "arguably the most important new trumpet talent to emerge since Roy Hargrove and Nicholas Payton" (Tony Hall, Jazzwise).

Pianist Rick Germanson, winner of the 1996 Grand Prize in the American Pianist Association Jazz Piano Competition, has toured with Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb, Wynton Marsalis, Slide Hampton, the Mingus Big Band, and, of course, the Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band. At St. Paul's Artists Quarter last month, Germanson treated the audience to what Jazz Times described as his "tons of technique, taste and a clarity of right-hand runs, an appreciation for complex rhythms and a love for Latin."

Bassist Gerald Cannon may be best known for his years with trumpet lion Roy Hargrove and legendary drummer Elvin Jones' Jazz Machine. Inspired early by Milt Hinton, Cannon played in the house band at the Blue Note before taking off on his career as first-call sideman (including stints with Cedar Walton, Dexter Gordon, and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers) and leader of his own groups. His recording credits include Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Barron, Russell Malone, and Nicholas Payton.