Nicole Henry

December 1-2, Nicole Henry. Named “Best New Jazz Artist 2004” by HMV/Japan following the release of her debut CD, The Nearness of You, Florida vocalist/songwriter/actress Nicole Henry is on a roll. Teach Me Tonight, a CD collaboration with the Eddie Higgins Trio, was released in March 2005 in Japan (Venus Records) and became a #1-seller, in the Top 10 at all HMV stores for 10 weeks. Based in Miami and a graduate of the University of Miami, Henry started her career singing dance music. Turning to fulltime work singing jazz, blues, pop, and inspirational music, she has toured the US, toured Japan and England this fall, and sang at the 2004 IAJE Conference with Kenny Werner. She appears monthly at the Jazziz Bistro at the Seminole Paradise Casino in Hollywood, FL. (Sets begin at 7 pm).

Photo by Leanard Auslender

December 4, Kate McGarry. Kate McGarry “is a wonder, blessed with sheer lung power and bounteous taste and sensitivity (Jazziz Magazine). A native of Hyannis, MA, McGarry earned a degree in African American Music and Jazz from the University of Massachusetts where she studied with Dr. Horace Boyer and renowned avant-garde saxophonist Archie Shepp. Initially she worked in LA, performing at the famed Catalina’s and Jazz Bakery. Relocating to New York, she signed on with Palmetto Records (releasing Show Me and Mercy Streets), performs with pianist Fred Hersch and Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza, and Eli Yamin’s blues education project. Notes the New York Times, “You'll find shades of folk-pop singers like Suzanne Vega and Rickie Lee Jones in her voice; you'll also find some of the highest refinements of great jazz singing."

Photo by Andea Canter

Patricia Barber, Photo by Andrea Canter

December 11-12, Patricia Barber. The first jazz musician to be awarded a Guggenheim grant, Patricia Barber is one of the most innovative artists on today’s music scene. Switching from classical to jazz while studying music at the University of Iowa, Barber has been based in Chicago for the past decade-plus, a fixture at the Gold Star Sardine Bar and more recently a regular at the Green Mill. Acclaimed as both a unique interpreter of songs as well as a gifted composer, Barber has both vocal and piano chops to burn. Wrote Chicago Magazine, in voting her "Best Torch Singer" in 1999, “You've got to love a singer who can deliver Paul Anka ("She's a Lady"), Jim Morrison ("Light My Fire"), and e.e. cummings ("Love, Put on Your Faces") in a single set... a songwriter who gets Pierre Boulez, Bill Gates, and Karl Marx into the same smart lyric and still manages to give it a sexy groove." A consistent winner of Downbeat’s “Talent Deserving Wider Recognition,” her latest release, Live: A Fortnight in France (Blue Note, 2004), has garnered the raves that might make that crown obsolete. Noted Time, "Cross Diana Krall with Susan Sontag, and you get Patricia Barber, whose throaty, come-hither vocals and coolly incisive piano are displayed to devastating effect.” And while it’s easy to define Barber as a vocalist, don’t be surprised if you find her to be one of the most innovative pianist you’ve heard in years.

December 26-29, The Bad Plus. The Bad Plus is a totally original, daring and—above all—sophisticated melding of high talent and hot combustion. Bringing a surreal yet symphonic approach to an original and “borrowed” repertoire, this acoustic trio features Ethan Iverson’s gorgeous, percussive piano, Reid Anderson’s often-melodious, never laid-back acoustic bass, and the incredible menagerie of rhythm and sound from percussion whiz Dave King, all united in the spirit of true collaboration. Their Midwest roots run deep--Anderson and King grew up in Minneapolis and played together as teenagers; Iverson is a Wisconsin native. While Anderson and Iverson have been finding plenty of outlets in New York, King has maintained a high profile here in the Twin Cities, including holding the drum chair for “youth oriented” Happy Apple.

Riding on another year of packed performances from festivals to concert halls, as well as a hatrick of chart-busting recordings for Columbia (These Are the Vistas, Give, and Suspicious Activity), the Bad Plus returns “home” and settles in for three nights. Playing sets that typically include originals from all three musicians (sometimes including works in progress), as well as covers of tunes from all reaches of the musical universe, from Ornette Coleman to Black Sabbath to the Pixies, The Bad Plus generates plenty of buzz and controversy—Is it jazz? Is it rock? Is it just a lot of volume? In sold-out, whiz-bang shows at the Dakota over the past three Decembers, the trio has demonstrated the elements of playfulness, invention, and surprise that has kept them atop jazz charts nationwide and pulls in a multi-generational audience. “By any standard, jazz or otherwise, it is moving, mighty music—bad in all the right ways”Rolling Stone). Don’t wait to make reservations! There’s no better way to end the year of music.

Locally Splendid Fare

Highlights available at post time:

Jeremy Walker, Photo by Andrea Canter

• Friday, December 2, Jazz Is Now Nonet (11:30 pm). JIN Nonet plays monthly as part of the Later at the Dakota series, late sets of new and experimental music from 11:30-2:00 AM. Under the leadership of Jeremy Walker, the JIN ensembles play original and creative arrangements of small band charts and new compositions. Some of the hottest local musicians will be on stage. Drink more coffee—wake up and feel the music!

• Saturday, December 3, Dennis Spears (9 pm). The male voice of Moore By Four and a popular baritone throughout the region, come here the silky tones of Dennis Spears.

• Wednesday, December 7, Charmin Michelle & Doug Haining, Jazz Standards (7 pm); "A Copeccetic Christmas Carol" (9 pm). . The buttercream voice of Charmin and the soulful sax of Doug combine for a hot double-header.

• Thursday, December 8, Cookie Coleman (7 pm). Always a popular songstress who doesn't perform here nearly enough.

• Friday-Saturday, December 9-10, Nachito Herrera (7:30 pm). The hottest import from Cuba holds his monthly party of son, bolero, cha-cha and more.

• Friday, December 9, Doug Little & Stick Up! (11:30 pm). Another installment of the Later at the Dakota series, sax virtuoso Doug Little performs with a new ensemble. “Stick Up” includes Haralds Bondaris (drums) and Japhlet Attais (chapman stick—a ten-string instrument that sounds like bass and guitar combined!). If it involves Doug Little, you can count on world sounds and inventive compositions.

• Thursday, December 15, Pete Whitman Quartet (7 pm). Sax master,bandleader and composer Pete Whitman (Departure Point, X-Tet)in a smaller ensemble makes for an intimate evening of jazz sophistication.

• Friday/Saturday/Sunday December 16-18, Peterson Family Christmas (7 & 9:30 pm, Sunday 7 pm only). It would not be the holidays without the annual Peterson Family extravaganza. Three (or maybe four?) generations of Minnesota’s First Family of Music perform in varying combinations of instrumental and vocal splendor, from matriarch/pianist Jeanne Arland Peterson through vocalists Patty and Linda, bassist Billy, saxmen Tommy and Russ…. and the list goes on. Reserve now --$20.

• Sunday, December 18, Charlie DeVore-Bill Evans New Orleans Jazz Band, 3:30 pm . "Merry Bells Are Ringing Today", a delta trad salute to Satchmo.

• Tuesday, December 20, Steve Hirsch CD Release Party (7 pm). Bemidji-based drummer Steve Hirsch and Black Ice celebrate a new recording (and moving closer to town) with pianist Larry McDonough, saxman Richard Terrill, and bassist Pat Riley.

• Wednesday, December 21, The Girls (7 pm). It’s always a party when The Girls are on stage. Lori Dokken, Judy Donaghy, Erin Schwab, and “new girl” Patty Peterson will tease, laugh, and most important, sing in perfect harmony.


Lucia Newell and Arne Fogel, Photo by Andrea Canter

• Thursday, December 22, Minnesota Jazz Vocal Coalition Holiday Showcase (7 pm). This group of 15 (and growing) area vocalists have been offering a showcase evening every month since September, usually scheduling three Coalition members at each event. But this is a special holiday show and we can expect one great voice after another and a variety of duo and trio (and more?) combinations throughout the evening. The Coalition includes Arne Fogel, Bruce Henry, Vicky Mountain, Lucia Newell, Sue Tucker, and more.

• Friday, December 23, Connie Evingson and Mary Louise Knutson (7 pm). Two of the area’s finest together for a rare collaboration: Connie Evingson is well known from her work with Moore By Four and for her solo performances of Peggy Lee, Beatles, and hot club music. Mary Louise Knutson, a finalist in the 2005 Mary Lou Williams Piano Competition, recently returned from a tour of Italy with local diva Debbie Duncan.

• Saturday, December 31, Ginger Commodore, Bruce Henry & more, New Year's Eve Celebration. Annual NY Eve party of dinner and music, $95/person. Reserve early.

Happy Hour, 4:30-6:30 pm. Every Tuesday, Travis Anderson (piano); every Wednesday, Sophia Shorai (piano); every Thursday, JoAnn Funk Trio; every Friday, Jazz by Fosse with Irv Williams.

Coming in January

The new year gets off to a great start with the Dakota’s January line-up, which includes the one and only Barbara Morrison (January 3-4); the great Mavis Staples (January 8-9); EST (Esbjorn Svensson Trio, January 15); the dynamic Nicholas Payton (January 16-17), a welcome CD release from Laura Caviani (January 18); the Diry Dozen Brass Band (January 22); and trumpet master Arturo Sandoval (January 29-30). And expect a visit from guitar wizard Bill Frisell in February. And a lot more!

For online reservations and a complete calendar, visit www.dakotacooks.com. The Dakota is located at 1010 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis; (612) 332-1010.