 Spring comes late to Minnesota’s
Arrowhead but it won’t be ice jamming the northern shores of Lake
Superior when the annual Grand Marais Jazz Festival gets underway
next weekend (April 28-May 1). With internationally acclaimed
vocalist Karrin Allyson headlining three days of an eclectic mix,
from the Great American Songbook to straight-ahead ensembles, from
smooth jazz to big band and hot club swing, with a potluck, swing
dance, jazz brunch, and clinician-led workshops, it’s a weekend
full of choices and great music in one of the most scenic areas of
the upper Midwest. You might need a sturdy jacket in the evenings but
there will be plenty of hot vibes, day and night.
Presented by the North Shore Music
Association and WTIP North Shore Radio, the festival home is this
charming harbor community along the Superior Hiking Trail. Grand
Marais provides a perfect setting for an early spring festival,
scheduled between the summer season of fishing, camping, hiking and
kayaking, and the winter cross country and snow shoe season. Grand
Marais is about 2 hours north of Duluth—which makes a great
stopping point for a few hours enroute north from the Twin Cities.
This is a great opportunity to catch a national sensation (Allyson)
as well as some of the best artists from the Twin Cities and the
upper Midwest away from the context of an urban club.
The first full day of festival
activities starts with “Jazz in the Schools” with master
marimbist Kevin Lucas; Lucas also performs during the Jazz Buffet at
Naviya's Thai Restaurant (5-7 pm). Other early evening activities
include Briand Morrison at the Betsy Bowen Studio (5 - 7 p.m.).
 Photo by Andrea Canter Opening
for Bruce Henry will be an ensemble that is far more than an opening
act, the Reuben Ristrom Trio
with Keane Sense of Rhythm.
Guitarist Reuben Ristrom, along with Dick
Bortolussi (drums) and Bob Guck (bass) are popular Twin Cities
musicians. With 40 years in the music business, Twin Cities’
native/U of M graduate Ristrom is well known for his studio work and
stage, club, concert, and festival appearances throughout the
continental US and Hawaii. Often in the company of top local and
national artists, his eclectic chops include Dixieland, mainstream
jazz, swing, standards, Latin, and even some vintage rock 'n' roll.
In addition to his ensemble work, Ristrom can be heard on solo guitar
or banjo gigs. A new association with Keane Sense of Rhythm
(founded by sisters Ellen Keane and Cathy Wind) merges this jazz trio
with tap dance.
Deeply rooted in jazz as well as
other genres, KSR’s repertoire includes original and
well-established choreography. Shawn Glidden completes this energetic
ensemble, which will join forces with the Reuben Ristrom Trio for a
high-flying (tappin’!) kick-off for Friday night.
The Dan
Kusz Band (The
Howl'N Wolf Saloon & Grill) will be on stage following
Bruce Henry. Young (21!) saxophonist
Kusz—nicknamed “Little Koz” after smooth sax legend Dave
Koz—plays tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones. With his bandmates
on drums, bass, guitar, and keyboard, Kuz mixes rock, pop, r&b,
and jazz to create an original sound. He’s launched a solo career
but also works as a studio musician and instructor. Kuz and company
will also play for the festival’s Jazz Brunch on Sunday, May 1 (see
below).
Saturday, April 30th
Workshops at the Arrowhead Center for
the Arts fill the daytime hours on Saturday, starting off with an
Ensemble Workshop with the Reuben Ristrom Trio (10-11:30 am); Bruce
Henry presents a vocal workshop from 11 am to 1 pm; the Dan Kuz band
presents instrumental workshops (noon-1:30 pm). Marimbist Kevin Lucas
follows with “How to Achieve Maximum Quality Performace”
(1:30-2:45 pm). Meanwhile, Keane Sense of Rhythm presents tap
workshops for beginners (10-11 am) and advanced (11:15 am-12:15 pm)
dancers at the 4-H Log building.
Early
evening activities for Saturday include a
jazz tap performance by Keane Sense of Rhythm ( 4 pm, Betsy Bowen
Studio); "Jazz Appetizer" with Blue Moon at Sivertson
Gallery (5-7 pm); and again, a Jazz Buffet at Naviya's Thai
Restaurant with music from Kevin Lucas (5-7 pm).
 Karrin
Allyson Quartet (Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 7:30-10 pm).
“One
of the most charismatic figures on tour today.” Thus did
the New York Times describe hot vocalist and Concord recording
artist Karrin Allyson, who will headline this year’s festival. With
a sure and smoky alto, a wide-ranging repertoire from ballad to samba
to blues, and a presence that nearly pulls you onstage beside her,
Allyson is a deservedly popular jazz chanteuse—not to be
confused with a “jazzy” pop singer. Of her distinctive
voice, jazz historian/critic Gary Giddens notes, “she
brings
a timbre that is part ice and part grain...incisive, original, and
emotionally convincing.” She can swing, she can scat, she can croon the
blues—and she plays
one mean piano.”
Firmly rooted in the Midwest (she was born in Kansas, raised in
Omaha, and spent her early career in Kansas City), Allyson
draws a crowd whenever she ventures close to home, including at her
last two appearances in Minneapolis at the Dakota. On
her spring tour, she features her long-time collaborators, including
the Twin Cities’ own Laura Caviani on piano and Kansas City
based-bassist and drummer, Bob Bowman and Todd Strait. Bowman and
Strait have been with Allyson more than ten years, since her first
recording, so expect the interplay among these musicians to be highly
simpatico. (Allyson next heads south to Minneapolis for a two-night
stand, May 1-2, at the Dakota.)
Opening
for Allyson will be Minnesota’s best connection to Rio, Ticket
to Brazil, bringing the Afro-Brazilian sounds of samba, bossa
nova, and jazz to the North Shore. Combining their love for folkloric
and sultry popular sounds with sophisticated compositions, TTB has
appeared at The Winnipeg Jazz Festival, Ordway World Stage Festival,
Minnesota Orchestra MusicFest, and KBEM Winter Jazz Festival, as well
as on Twin Cities club stages and on radio and public television.
 Photo by Andrea Canter Sunday, May 1
Wrap up a great weekend of music with
the Jazz Brunch at Lutsen Lodge, featuring the music of
the Dan Kuz Band (see Friday above), 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
For a full schedule, ticket
information, and directions, visit the festival website at
www.gmjazzfestival.com.
All events take place in and around the town of Grand Marais, about a
5 hour drive north of the Twin Cities, 2 hours north of Duluth.
Venues include: The Arrowhead Center for the Arts (51
W. 5th St, Grand Marais; tickets 218-387-1284 ext.4); Betsy Bowen
Studio (301 W. 1st Ave, Grand Marais); Community Center/4H
Building--log building (W. 4th Ave. & W. 5th St, Grand
Marais); Howl'N Wolf Saloon & Grill (2066 W. Hwy. 61,
Grand Marais); Gun Flint Tavern (111 W. Wisconsin St, Grand
Marais); Lutsen Resort (5700 W. Hwy. 61, Lutsen); Naviya's
Thai Restaurant (Hwy. 61 & Broadway Ave, Grand
Marais); Sivertson Gallery (14 W. Wisconsin St, Grand Marais).
Workshop information is available from Diane at
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Friday, 21 November 2008
