Gloria Rivera (Salsa del Soul)© Andrea Canter

Jazz Night Out

Jazz Night Out returns as a double benefit—for anyone who loves jazz, this is a special opportunity to visit a list of area clubs and hear a sampling of area musicians with transportation provided via trolley. And tonight, Jazz Night Out raises funds for two of the metro’s affordable housing programs, Habitat for Humanity and Project Pride in Living. A $25 donation provides a collectible jazz pin, free trolley ride, and entrance to all of the participating clubs. And there’s eleven participating venues:

Debbie Duncan © Andrea Canter

• Bar Lurcat (1624 Harmon Pl). Tonight hear Paul Cherba

• Dakota (1010 Nicollet Mall). Special performance tonight features nonpareil vocalist Debbie Duncan with a great quartet feautring Adi Yeshaya, Anthony Cox, and Nathan Norman.

• Keegan’s Irish Pub (16 University Av NE)

• Millennium Hotel (1313 Nicollet Mall). One of the HSJF venues, tonight pianist Bill Crutcher entertains from 9-10:15, followed by Tanner Taylor and Doug Haining (see below)

• Nordic Home (219 N. 2^nd St). For their second annual “midsummer jazz festival,” hear Dave Madson’s Mad Jazz Band and enjoy some wine tasting.

• The Shout! House (650 Hennepin, Block E). Rockin’ dueling pianos!

• Sophia (65 SE Main St). Tunes with a view from bedeviling baritone Dennis Spears.

• The Times (201 E. Hennepin). Enjoy (again!) Salsa del Soul. They were smoldering at Mears Park last Saturday afternoon; catch them on their regular Thursday night gig. Dancing shoes recommended.

• Trocaderos (107 N. 3^rd St). Former Prince band members come together as The Truth.

• Vic’s (201 SE Main St). Down Main from Sophia’s, easy to do a double-header for one trolley ride!

• Willie’s Wine Bar (1100 Harmon Pl). A new spot off Loring Park. Sax from Tom Bridell.

Peavy Plaza—Mercedes Benz Main Stage

The apex of jazz this week is Peavy Plaza at 11^th Street and Nicollet Mall, site of the Mercedes Benz Main Stage, concessions, merchandise booths, and of course operation central for the festival. Purchase your Jazz Night Out pins here, and hop on the trolley. But don’t forget that there’s great jazz right here, too. So when you are ready to take a break from the club crawl, grab a chair and enjoy main stage events:

Minnesota Institute Talented Youth Band © Andrea Canter

5-6 pm, Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth Jazz Band. MITY provides a variety of opportunities for the gifted and talented youth of Minnesota. The MITY jazz band has been a popular staple of the Hot Summer Jazz Festival for several years. You’ll never wonder, “is jazz dead?” when you hear the sounds of the next generation!

6:30- 8 pm, Ginger Commodore Quartet. Festival favorite and long-time member of Moore By Four, hear one of the area’s signature voices with husband/drummer Bobby Commodore, pianist Lee Blaske, and bassist Mark Weissberg. Ginger began her career as a member of the Grammy Award-winning Sounds of Blackness, is an original member of Women Who Cook, and has performed with Yanni, The Minnesota Opera Company, the Twin City Gospel Ensemble, the J.D. Steele Singers, and with several local theater productions. She has also toured internationally with the Chiffons. Notes Britt Robson of City Pages, “Ginger possesses some of the sweetest and most clarion pipes in town.”

8:30-9:30 pm, Dan Kusz Band. Smooth sax young lion, Dan Kusz is only in his early 20s but has been shaking the industry since high school, when he won the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award. Named house band for Smooth Jazz 100.3 radio, Dan was a hit at the 2005 Grand Marais Festival as well as last summer’s HSJF, and has played at major Twin Cities venues. Tonight he will be celebrating his new CD, produced by Ricky Peterson. He’ll be joined on stage by his very funky bandmates, Deevo (guitar), Ace Mack (bass guitar), Victor Renyolds (drums), and Russ King (keyboards).

At the Millennium Hotel

It’s part of the HSJF to run between venues to catch it all, and tonight it’s an easy jaunt down the Mall. Less than two blocks down the Mall from Peavy Plaza you’ll find more great jazz at the Millennium:

9-10:15 pm, Bill Crutcher and Works in Progress. Covering straight-ahead jazz, blues, Latin and R&B, this very steamy sextet includes Charley Wyser (piano), Cam Muata (lead guitar), John Newberry (bass guitar), Michael Johnson (drums and percussion), Vasili Kasatkin (tenor sax and trumpet) and leader Bill Crutcher (vibes, flute and congas).

Tanner Taylor © Andrea Cantrer

10:45-midnight, Tanner Taylor and Doug Haining. A special treat—two very talented Twin Cities’ jazz artists sharing the stage for a memorable piano/sax duo. Young Iowa transplant Tanner Taylor has been burning up keyboards since moving here a few years ago. On stage with every vocalist in town, Tanner is one of the “house pianists” when there is a performance by the Twin Cities Vocal Showcase. But his talents as a sympathetic accompanist may obscure the fact that Taylor is a monster soloist, be it as leader of his own trio or in the company of Dave Karr’s Gerry Mulligan tribute band, Mulligan Stew. And notes Pat Courtemanche, “When you consider that Gerry Mulligan didn’t use piano in his classic quartets, now that speaks volumes.” Taylor’s recent performances at the Winter Jazz Fest, Dakota and Artists Quarter, including gigs with sax greats David “Fathead” Newman and Eric Alexander, are proof that this is not just hype. And tonight he will be in the company of a local sax/clarinet legend, Doug Haining. Haining is founder of the popular Twin Cities Seven, channeling the sounds of Ellington and Basie. His resume also includes the Wolverines Classic Jazz Orchestra and orchestra pit assignments for Roberta Flack, Ray Charles, The Temptations and The Four Tops, as well as appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

More Jazz!

Frank Morgan © Andrea Canter

Remember, the Hot Summer Jazz Festival runs through Sunday, June 25^th. Highlights of the upcoming weekend include:

Friday, June 23, from 5 pm—The Air Force Falconaires, Frank Morgan and Barbara Morrison on Peavy Plaza; the Twin Cities Hot Club and Dennis Spears at the Millennium.

Saturday, June 24, from Noon—Trumpet Summit (David Young, Kelly Rossum, Dave Jensen), high school stars, Swing Dance, Norman Simmons with Vicky Mountain at the Nicollet Stage; Kenny Horst, Jim Marentic, Jon Weber & Jerry Weldon, Connie Evingson & Debbie Duncan on the Skyscape Stage; Tom Wegren, Butch Thompson, LarryMcDonough, and Jon Weber & Jerry Weldon (again) at the Millennium; and Norman Simmons, Air Force Falconaires, and Dewey Redman on the Mercedes Benz Main Stage.

Sunday, June 25, from Noon—MacPhail students and faculty combos, Jerry Weldon & Jon Weber, Schubert Club Jazz Piano Scholarship winners on the Nicollet Stage; Alicia Renee, Yohannes Tona, and the Phil Hey Quartet on the Skyscape Stage; the Twin Cities Jazz Vocal Coalition’s annual showcase at the Millennium; and the JazzMN Big Band and Nachito Herrera on the Mercedes Benz Main Stage.

Full schedule and more information about the Hot Summer Jazz Festival are available at www.hotsummerjazz.com. The stages are all on Nicollet Mall: Main Stage on Peavy Plaza at 11^th and Nicollet; Skyscape stage across the street at 11^th and Nicollet; Nicollet Stage down the block at 10^th and Nicollet; and the Millennium Hotel Stage at 1313 Nicollet. Visit Jazz Police for daily updates.