Weekday Jazz
The AQ doesn’t save up its hot jazz for the weekend—you can stop in any night, Monday-Thursday, for the best music bargains in town.

Green/Open Poetry (every Monday night): From 7-9 pm, catch the sounds of Green. Featuring Rob Dewey (piano), Paul Kammeyer (bass) and Scotty Schultz (drums), Green has been the Monday night band at the AQ for the past two years. Following their sets, open mic poetry reading gets underway at 9 pm. No cover!

Billy Holloman and the Tuesday Night Band (every Tuesday night, 9 pm). For nine years, organ master Billy Holloman has been the center of a standing gig at the AQ and “a genius at manipulating the sweet sound of the B3” according to Don Berryman. The regular Tuesday Night Band, featuring Holloman, Horst, and multi-saxist Gary Berg recently released its first recording, This is Organ Night. Notes Don Berryman, “Under Holloman’s control, [the organ’s] sound can be sweet and thick as molasses, or it can cut through the room like sharks’ teeth.” If you’re lucky, Holloman might add some vocals!

Brian Grivna Quartet (March 2, 9 pm, $3). A former Young Artist clarinet soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, Brian Grivna joined the Buddy Rich band as the lead alto sax player in 1971. Back in the Twin Cities, he did a ten-year stint in the woodwind chair for the Guthrie Theater and now performs at jazz clubs and with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Children's Theater Company, and touring orchestras for musicals such as The Lion King. Grivna also is a member of the jazz faculties of Macalester College in St. Paul and the University of Minnesota.

The Five (March 3, 9 pm, $3). A group formerly known in the 1990s as M.A.C. Music V, The Five are 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, Kenny 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. Bassist Tom Lewis (see above) performs regularly with Apex, Phil Hey, and Phil Aaron. 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.

How Birds Work (March 9, 9 pm, $3). One of the most popular regular attractions at the AQ, How Birds Work is the collaboration of four well-known area musicians—guitarist Dean Granros, bassist Billy Peterson, pianist Peter Schimke, and drummer Kenny Horst. Playing at least monthly at the AQ, the quartet recently made a live—and lively-- recording here. 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). Bassist Billy Peterson grew up as a member of the legendary Peterson family of musicians, appeared on Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, toured with the Steve Miller Band, and has arranged for Prince and David Sanborn. And drummer Kenny Horst is a “great hard-bop, soul jazz, and fusion chops and the sweetest guy you could meet” (Don Berryman). In his role with How Birds Work, pianist Peter Schimke also displays his skills as a composer and adds vocals to the mix. Sophisticated, often subtle, always working toward the edge from a firm foundation, How Birds Work offers multiple layers of challenge to the listener.

Phil Hey Quartet (March 10, 9 pm). Given AQ owner Kenny Horst’s own talents as a drummer, it is no surprise that Phil Hey and his Quartet are regular features. Joining Hey are Dave Hagedorn (vibes), Phil Aaron (piano), and Tom Lewis (bass). 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 is one of the busiest drummers in town (he plays with everyone!) and teaches jazz drum at Macalester College. Vibist Dave Hagedorn (see above) “brings an integrated knowledge of complex harmony and rhythm that never fails to swing or to move anyone with ears” (Don Berryman, Jazz Police). Tom Lewis is another busy sideman throughout the Twin Cities, a “straight-ahead, hard bop, and bebop bassist and he swings like anything” (Don Berryman). Phil Aaron holds forth weekly at the Hotel Sofitel, drawing inspiration from Bill Evans, Cedar Walton, Tommy Flanagan, and Keith Jarrett, and “can swing hard or wax romantic at the keyboard" (Minneapolis Star Tribune).

Dave Karr Quartet (March 16, 9 pm, $3). Dave Karr has been a fixture on the Twin Cities jazz scene for nearly 50 years, and has appeared on multiple recordings with local artists, ranging from vocalists (Connie Evingson) to small bands (Pete Whitman’s X-Tet). In addition to his tribute band, Mulligan Stew (see above), Karr keeps busy with his quartet and long list of sideman projects. Dave blows a sweet horn and is always in the company of the best area musicians.

Dean Granros Trio (March 17, 9 pm, $3). 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.

Chris Lomheim Trio (March 23, 9 pm, $3). One of the foremost piano talents on the Twin Cities jazz scene and a regular performer at the Artists Quarter 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 elegant drummer Phil Hey.

Peter Schimke Trio (March 30, 9 pm, $3). 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).

Pete Whitman’s X-tet (March 31, 9 pm, $3). The X-Tet is one of several projects led by veteran sax performer, composer, and arranger Pete Whitman. His credits include performing 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 10-piece 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 Laura Caviani (piano).

Coming Soon!
If March isn’t hot enough to melt your snow, stay tuned to the AQ’s April calendar. In addition to Rick Germanson’s lead-off weekend, you can look forward to trumpet master Jim Rotundi (April 8-10) and stunning vocalist Stephanie Nakasian (April 22-23). To quote AQ master of ceremonies Davis Wilson, we’ll all be “pleased and flipped” to welcome these top-flight artists to the Artists Quarter!