Hot Local Jazz

The rest of the AQ December calendar is a who's who of Twin Cities' musicians:

Photo by Andrea Canter
Low Blow, featuring Dave Hagedorn and brothers Chris and J.T. Bates (December 1). Vibist Dave Hagedorn directs the jazz bands and percussion ensemble at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. His performance schedule includes jazz gigs as well as percussion duties with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Opera. Hear his CD, Solid Liquid, released last year on Artegra Records. A former student of jazz theory pioneer George Russell, Hagedorn "brings an integrated knowledge of complex harmony and rhythm that never fails to swing or to move anyone with ears" (Don Berryman, Jazz Police).  Chris and JT Bates grew up with jazz, sons of trumpeter/bandleader Don Bates. Chris began bass studies in 4^th grade and progressed to jazz studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire before returning to the Twin Cities to study with Anthony Cox. A member of the Motion Poets, Chris Bates has focused more on composing (he was a 1999 McKnight Composer Fellow) and playing regularly with Low Blow and the guitar trio, Framework. Chris' brother J.T. Bates is one of the busiest drummers in the Twin Cities, on and off the bandstand. He was a member of Motion Poets, has played and recorded with Doug Little, and recently has worked with a variety of Latin, electronic, and experimental ensembles, including his Fat Kid Wednesdays band. Low Blow will blow you away!

Jon Pemberton Quintet (December 2). Trumpeter Jon Pemberton has an eclectic career, including performing with Skatet, a 7-piece traditional ska band with heavy jazz influences; playing trumpet for the Paul Renz Quintet; private teaching (tuba!) through the Hopkins School District; and his own band, the Pembertones.

The Five, featuring Dave Karr, Mikkel Romstad, Kenny Horst, Tom Lewis, Steve Kenny (December 3-4). This weekend marks the reunion of a 1990s group formerly known as M.A.C. Music V, devoted to promoting jazz as modern American chamber music. Inspired by the Modern Jazz Quartet, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and the early bands of Herbie Hancock, The Five features original compositions, many by drummer/AQ owner Kenny Horst.  In addition to his ownership and management of the Artists Quarter, Horst is one of the most popular drummers in the area. He worked with Bobby Lyle for three years at the Blue Note in New York, toured with Jimmy McGriff, briefly with Al Hirt, and locally has played with many of the national artists booked at the AQ. A trumpeter who "favors smoldering hard-bop inventiveness" (City Pages), Steve Kenny is best known as a founding member of the Illicit Sextet, one of the regions most popular bands of the 1990s. He's also played trumpet and flugelhorn for the Cedar Avenue Big Band. Tom Lewis played bass in Eddie Berger's last band, The Jazz All-Stars, and is a regular member of the Phil Hey Quartet and Phil Aaron Trio. He's a first-call musician who plays with just about everyone in town. Pianist Mikkel Romstad has played and/or recorded with just about every jazz instrumentalist and vocalist in the Twin Cities at one time or another, including Irv Williams, George Avaloz, Christine Rosholt, and Lucia Newell. Master of reeds and flute, Dave Karr (see above) rounds out this exciting quintet. Welcome back to The Five!

Dean Granros Trio (December 8). Guitarist Dean Granros "blends the vocabulary of bebop, acid rock, and delta blues into a delightful and potent cocktail that may leave you shaken or stirred" (Don Berryman, Jazz Police). Granros worked with the band Curlew beginning in the late 1970s; more recent credits include FKG with Scott Fultz and Dave King (of Bad Plus and Happy Apple fame) and Siamese Fighting Fish with King and all-star bassist Anthony Cox.

Phil Hey Quartet (December 9). First call drummer Phil Hey enlists Dave Hagedorn (vibes), Phil Aaron (piano), and Tom Lewis (bass) for one of the hottest quartets in town. A "no-nonsense, uncompromising band of local jazz greats" (Don Berryman, Jazz Police), the quartet's repertoire includes the tunes of Kenny Wheeler, Bobby Hutcherson, John Coltrane, and Wayne Shorter. A former student of Ed Blackwell, Phil Hey can be seen and heard with a long list of area performers and teaches jazz drum at Macalester College. One of the area's best known pianists, Phil Aaron holds forth weekly at the Hotel Sofitel. Drawing inspiration from Bill Evans, Cedar Walton, Tommy Flanagan, and Keith Jarrett, Aaron "can swing hard or wax romantic at the keyboard" (Minneapolis Star Tribune).

Dave Brattain Quartet (December 16). Exciting young tenor sax man Dave Brattain has played with the Cedar Avenue Big Band, the Paul Renz Quintet, and the quintet, "Move." A graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences, Brattain has toured with Troupe America's 1940's Radio Hour, performed with Ben Sidran, and has worked with many local musicians.

Dean Granros, Mikkel Romstad, Chris Bates, & Kenny Horst (December 17-18). This quartet brings together some of the area's finest on guitar, piano, bass, and drums, respectively. Swing into the holidays!

Chris Lomheim Trio (December 22). One of the foremost piano talents on the Twin Cities jazz scene and a regular performer at the AQ and Dakota, Chris Lomheim started organ studies at age 7, moved on to piano and was into R&B in the 1980s. He was featured at the West Bank School of Music Composer's Forum in 1991 and nominated as top pianist in the 1997 Minnesota Music Awards. Jeremy Walker of Brilliant Corners called Lomheim "the most sensitive and romantic player you will hear around the Twin Cities' scene. He has prodigious piano technique and an individual ear for harmony." Often compared to Bill Evans, Lomheim has made two acclaimed trio recordings, And You've Been Waiting? (1994, IGMOD) and The Bridge (2002, Artegra). Lomheim's regular trio includes multi-talented bassist Gordy Johnson and sublime drummer Phil Hey.

Photo by Howard A. Gitelson
Dean Magraw Trio (December 23). Dean Magraw has been wowing audiences with his fleet fingered plucking and creative compositions. Said Steve Tibbetts, "It's guitar, but it's so liquid, lyrical and effortless that it's like listening to a dancer." Starting out on bugle, St. Paul native Magraw studied classical guitar at the University of Minnesota and Berklee College of Music in Boston. For many years, Magraw was half of a popular partnership with mandolin virtuoso Peter Ostroushko. Straddling jazz, folk and bluegrass, he has performed with and/or recorded with Ruth McKenzie, Claudia Schmidt and Greg Brown, among others; he has explored his Celtic heritage performing with Celtic accordionist John Williams. Magraw's first solo recording, Broken Silence, won the NAIRD 1994 Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of the Year. A frequent performer at area festivals and jazz clubs, his group Red Planet (with bassist Chris Bates and drummer Jay Epstein) performed recently at the Dakota. The Dean Magraw Trio usually includes bassist Jim Anton and drummer J.T. Bates. Expect great tunes infused with Magraw's impish humor.

Peter Schimke Trio (December 29). One of the busiest keyboard talents in the Twin Cities today, Peter Schimke appears frequently at the AQ, Dakota, and just about anywhere else that requires first class comping and soloing on piano or Fender Rhodes. Notes Don Berryman (Jazz Police), "When he is comping behind a soloist, he is engaged in a subtle dialog, listening and responding with harmonies and rhythms that sometimes represent a suggestion or even a challenge to the soloist." And when he takes off in a leading role, Schimke blazes new trails and challenges others to keep up. His usual trio compatriots are Billy Peterson (bass) and Kenny Horst (drums).

Gary Berg Quartet (December 30). A standing member of Billy Holloman's Tuesday Night Band, "Gary Berg's solos are masterpieces of wit and charm, bop-driven and infused with soul: Charlie Parker meets old school rhythm-and-blues meets ‘60's hard bop" (Jonathan Francis, The Mac Weekly). A frequently featured performer, Berg has played with vocalists Prudence Johnson and Lucia Newell; performed a popular tribute to Stan Getz; has played with guitarist Clay Moore on Monday nights at Fireside Pizza in Richfield; and was one of the Tenor Titans on the bandstand for the first Burnsville Jazz Festival last summer, dueling with Dave Karr.

The Full AQ Calendar, December 2004

• Mondays—Green (7-9 pm), Open Poetry & Live Jazz (9 pm, no cover).
• Tuesdays—B-3 Organ Night with Billy Holloman (9 pm, $2)
• 12/1—Low Blow (9 pm, $3)
• 12/2—Jon Pemberton Quintet (9 pm, $3)
• 12/3-12/4—The Five (9 pm, $10)
• 12/8—Dean Granos Trio (9 pm, $3)
• 12/9—Phil Hey Quartet (9 pm, $3)
• 12/10-12/12—Dave Hazeltine (9 pm, $10)
• 12/15—How Birds Work (9 pm, $3)
• 12/16—Dave Brittain Quartet (9 pm, $3)
• 12/17-18—Granos, Romstad, Bates, Horst (9 pm, $10)
• 12/22—Chris Lomheim Trio (9 pm, $3)
• 12/23—Dean Magraw Trio (9 pm, $3)
• 12/25—Dave Karr Quartet (9 pm, $10)
• 12/29—Peter Schimke Trio (9 pm, $3)
• 12/30—Gary Berg Quartet (9 pm, $3)
• 12/31—Carole Martin & Irv Williams Quartet (New Year's Eve Party, 9 pm, $25, reservations recommended)
• 1/1—Rick Germanson (9 pm, $10)

The Artists Quarter is located in the lower level of the Hamm Building at 7^th Place and St. Peter in downtown St. Paul; call (651) 292-1359 or visit www.mnjazz.com for information and the jazz calendar. Reservations are rarely needed but highly advisable for the New Year's Eve Party.