Photo by Andea Canter

Laura Caviani’s roots are solidly in the Midwest and music. She tells about her father’s barbershop quartet gigs as a student at Grinnell College in Iowa, when the young pianist was a fellow named Herbie Hancock. She received a Bachelor’s of Music in Composition from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, and a Masters of Music in Improvisation from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. With a grant from the Atlantic Center for the Arts in 1997, Caviani studied with piano virtuoso JoAnne Brackeen, and the following year was one of four American musicians selected to study in Japan at the Akiyoshidai International Art Village. Her teaching credits include St. John's University, the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire,UW at Stevens Point, the University of St. Thomas, the University of Minnesota, and many middle schools in Minneapolis through the "Harman How to Listen Program," an outreach project co-founded by Wynton Marsalis. Current she teaches at Carlton College in Northfield, MN.

Caviani has toured with Toots Theilemans, Bob Mintzer, Dave Liebman, and (currently) Karrin Allyson, and has released four acclaimed recordings as well as appearing on a long list of CDs of local musicians. She’s a regular performer with Pete Whitman’s Departure Point and X-Tet, and is a core component of the trio Soul Café. With her own trio, she has regularly appeared at Rossi’s, the Dakota, and Artist Quarter. Wrote Terry Teachout in the Wall Street Journal, "Laura Caviani could waltz into any New York nightclub and tear up the joint.” Marian McPartland described her playing as “sparkling and inventive." Watch for Caviani’s new recording, a trio date with Karrin Allyson bandmates Bob Bowman and Todd Strait, due out in January.

Scott Steed has been playing bass professionally since he was only 12! A native of Michigan who grew up in San Francisco, Steed has been a first –call bassist on the west coast for such jazz luminaries as Horace Silver, Joe Williams, Joe Pass and Joe Henderson; he’s particularly supported numerous vocalists including the great Mark Murphy (with whom he recorded the Grammy nominated September Ballads), Karrin Allyson, Rebecca Parrish, Rebecca Kilgore Nancy King, Sara Gazarek, and Diane Schuur, for whom he also serves as Musical Director. With Laura Caviani, he toured with the 2004 and 2005 Concord Jazz Festival.

Photo by Andea Canter

Phil Hey rounds out this special trio in fine fashion. A former student of Ed Blackwell, Hey is one of the busiest drummers in town. He has performed with Kenny Barron, Dewey Redman, and Benny Carter, and often is on the bandstand of the Dakota and Artists Quarter, backing touring artists (such as Judi Silvano and Benny Golson), local vocalists (Connie Evingson, Lucia Newell), and small ensembles (Laura Caviani Trio, Chris Lomheim Trio). He also manages percussion duties for the Pete Whitman X-Tet, Departure Point, Apex, and Mulligan Stew, and finds time to teach at the University of Minnesota and Macalester College in St. Paul. His recording credits are legion, including on the Artegra label with the Chris Lomheim Trio (The Bridge) and with the Pete Whitman Quintet (Sound of Water) and X-Tet (Where’s When; Solid Liquid).

Labor Day Weekend is not over yet—give yourself the day off and come down to Rossi’s to hear this rare collaboration among three jazz virtuosos.

Rossi’s Blue Star is located in the lower level at 80 S. 9^th Street in downtown Minneapolis. Sets start at 8 pm, no cover. Visit www.bluestarjazz.com