Chris Foreman

Henry Johnson has a connection with Jack McDuff, In 1976, he went on the road with McDuff but left when he was called to work with vocalist, Donny Hathaway in 1977. In 1979, Johnson began playing with jazz pianist, Ramsey Lewis. And in 1985, jazz legend, Joe Williams added Johnson to his regular group. Johnson's musical roots run deep into gospel, blues, and jazz. His strongest and earliest influences were Kenny Burrell, George Benson, and most significantly, Wes Montgomery.

Greg Rockingham has been like a brother to Chris Foreman for decades. Today the two musicians are inseparable. They not only gig together but they rehearse together regularly at Greg's home. Quoted in doodlinlounge.com, Greg states: "All Chris and I have ever wanted to do is perform together and record together. We've got the recording part out of the way. We just need to get the music out there and let the people know how great of a player Chris is and how great a team we are. If the people like it, that's great. Greg is proud of the fact that this team is always prepared and ready to go. "Whatever room we step in", Greg says, "we know that we're prepared. We know each other so well". Chris describes it this way: "To sound rehearsed even though we haven't rehearsed…which means, for lack of a better word, I have to look at him and watch his signals. I feed off him and he feeds off of me".

The Henry Johnson Organ Express will perform on Friday the 24th from 5:30 - 6:45 at the Mercedes-Benz Main Stage on Peavey Plaza, 11th & Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.

Dr. Lonnie Smith has been at the forefront of the jazz scene since 1969 when he was named Top Organist by Downbeat Magazine. He was born in Buffalo, N.Y. into a musical family. His family had a singing group and a radio show. Smith credits his mother as a major influence in his musical career, introducing him to gospel, classical and jazz music.

Dr. Smith also has a Jack McDuff connection. He sat in with Jack's group in th eearly 60's and met George Benson, and shorty after that formed a succesful group with Benson. After recording several albums with George Benson and Lou Donaldson, Lonnie became a solo recording artist and developed a career that has produced over 30 albums under his own name. Several legendary jazz artists have joined Dr. Lonnie Smith on his albums, including Lee Morgan, David "Fat Head" Newman, King Curtis, Blue Mitchell, and Joe Lavano among others.

Catch the Doctor on Saturday the 25th from 2:15 - 3:30 at the Mercedes-Benz Main Stage on Peavey Plaza, 11th & Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.

In other Twin Cities B3 related news, This month the Twin Cities will say farewell to their own 'legend' as organist Billy Holloman moves to Las Vegas. His last performance on Organ Night at the Artist's Quarter will be on Tuesday, June 28th But the groove will live on; Tuesday Organ night is a Twin Cities institution that will continue when organist Bill Brown takes the stand in July. Come to Billy's last stand next Tuesday at the Artists' Quarter in Saint Paul, 9:00PM - 2AM.

ED- To help you catch as much of the great music as you can, Jazz Police offers two great printable tools for festival planning. The Day-At-A-Glance concert calendar (Click here to view) and the intertactive personal calendar generater (Click here to use). This is a great civic event - go out and enjoy it!