One of the most unique jazz ensembles in the Twin Cities, Soul Café is the imaginative collaboration of three stellar local artists, Laura Caviani (piano), Steve Blons (guitar), and Brad Holden (alto sax). Merging music and poetry, the trio has provided local audiences with some highly enjoyable—and stimulating—evenings, including a “Rogers and Hart Meet Pablo Neruda” set last June at the Dakota (featuring guest vocalist Lucia Newell) and an intriguing mesh of Monk and the beat poets in October at their monthly gig at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church (with Artists Quarter host Davis Wilson).

The November 21^st performance at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church (in their Art Gallery) is specifically geared to families, featuring poems written (and read) by children age 8-18. Drawing musical inspiration from children’s music (nursery rhymes, movie scores, action songs), this inventive trio will play jazz interpretations and plans to create a blues work right there on stage with ideas gathered from the young members of the audience. Adding to the fun will be art materials for young artists to simultaneously listen and create in colors or clay. To better accommodate families with young children, the performance time is an hour earlier than usual—6:00 pm.

And plan ahead to attend Soul Café’s December 19^th holiday show, which adds Laura Caviani’s fabulous quintet—trumpet tornado Joe Cosgrove, sax sensation Pete Whitman, burning bassist Tom Lewis, dynamic drummer Phil Hey, and the lush vocals of Lucia Newell.

Soul Café performs on November 21^st, 6:00 pm, and on December 19^th at 7:00 pm, at the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church (Art Gallery) in Minneapolis, at the intersection of Groveland, Hennepin and Lyndale near Loring Park (call 612-871-5303 for information). You can also catch Laura Caviani’s holiday show at the Dakota on Sunday, December 12, at 7 pm (see www.dakotacooks.com).