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On the Edge and After Hours: “Later at the Dakota”

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"Music is like a wheel, When you drive a car down a street, you might go down the same street, but you'll run over something today that wasn't there yesterday, so that puts a new look on that tire, and that's the way music is. When it goes over, it picks up something that wasn't there before." - Jimmy McGriff

Friday, 09 January 2009

On the Edge and After Hours: “Later at the Dakota”

Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor

Monday, 18 December 2006

“The late night series is doing a fantastic job in aiding the survival of America's music. For the sake of jazz, I hope that other clubs will take note of what is happening at the Dakota Late Night Series.” –Reid Kennedy, Snowblind

Snowblind © Andrea Canter

About a year ago, the Dakota Jazz Club initiated a bold experiment for downtown’s musical hub of mainstream elegance—a weekend series of “late night” sets of new and cutting edge jazz. Modeled to a degree after the late sets that permeate the club scene in Manhattan, and rooted in the all-night jam sessions of 52^nd Street during the golden age of bop, Later at the Dakota has proven to be a popular alternative to—or extension of—the more conservative weekend bookings that tend to attract audiences moderately drawn to the music and enthusiastically interested in the bar, the menu, and the ambience. And it is proving to be a haven for creative jazz musicians as well as for the serious listeners who fill the club from 11:30 pm – 1:30 am every Friday and Saturday night. One reason for the success of the series is its curator, Jeremy Walker, himself a jazz artist and bandleader (Jazz Is Now!) who operated the ambitious but short-lived Brilliant Corners in St. Paul. Later at the Dakota has allowed Walker to realize some of the goals of Brilliant Corners, and has brought some new respect to the Dakota as a serious home for modern jazz and new talent.

The format of the Late Night series is simple—at 11:30 on Friday and Saturday nights, the cover drops to $3 (from the usual $10-$15 cover for local bands on weekends). There are happy hour-like specials on food and beverages. And the prime time band packs up while a band reflecting more adventurous, new music and often new talent takes the club stage for 2-3 sets that run til 1:30 am. Walker is quick to credit the Dakota’s co-owner, Lowell Pickett, with the idea for a late night series. “He approached me with the idea a little over a year ago. It was definitely something I wanted to do and had thought about it, but big credit goes to the Dakota for committing to this series…I know Lowell wanted new people to experience the Dakota, and I definitely wanted that, too. The Dakota has been a big part of my life since I was a kid. I wanted more people to experience the music and vibe.”

And the series is really all about presenting “music, more interesting music and more listeners,” notes Walker. While there are many venues in the Twin Cities that present jazz at least a few nights per week, the Late series is unique. Trumpeter Kelly Rossum, who has appeared with his quartet and other ensembles, notes that “the late night series at the Dakota is our own New York City. It allows musicians to present their true vision without the threat/need to compromise or water-down their art for commercial gains.”

On a more practical level, Walker notes that the series “is inexpensive, late, and centered on booking music that doesn’t necessarily fit other places, or at least hasn’t found a full audience. But inexpensive is really big – a late night 'happy hour' on the weekend with world class food and great music makes it a singular nightlife experience. But also, the audience is really eclectic, which makes it a diverse experience. There are a lot of college students there, but there are also hard core jazz fans, after-theatre crowd, and out-of-towners surprised to find a scene like it late at night.”

The Late Night audience appeals to musicians as much as the music appeals to the audience. Reid Kennedy is a drummer for Snowblind, a brass quintet that had its club debut through the Late series and has appeared regularly over the past year. Notes Kennedy, “A typical Late Night crowd is composed of true jazz enthusiasts. A casual jazz listener might stop by the Dakota during Happy Hour or possibly even during dinnertime, but an 11:30 PM downbeat will likely occur after most of the early crowd has since gone home. The result is an attentive and supportive audience that is also able to enjoy attractive beverage and appetizer specials. This is an added incentive to the music and candlelit ambience of a late night at the Dakota.” Adds Rossum, “The audiences have responded extremely well to the late night series - primarily because of the high quality adventurous music that is being presented.”

Walker has been pleased with the audience response thus far. “The turnout has been great and is still growing. And people seem to really love the series. The audience is open to try different sounds and have a good time. Frankly, I was skeptical that anyone would come out late in Minneapolis, but they do. I think it will only grow as more people find out about it. And it is worth it.”

Unlike other bookings at the Dakota, which generally are handled by Pickett or soundman/announcer Craig Eichorn, a jazz musician books the Late Night bands. “I do all the bookings,” says Walker, “and I started with people I knew and had worked with. I get a lot of demo recordings and countless phone calls. I try to be open to new bands and keep some nights open for untested musicians.” And musicians like Reid Kennedy are very appreciative of such opportunities. “Snowblind's first performance at the Dakota was through the Late Night Series, and at that time, we were relatively new to the scene…Later at the Dakota offered us an opportunity to perform at one of the most recognizable venues in the area.” In fact, Snowblind released its first recording, Arctic Fury, on the Late Night stage last winter.

What is Walker looking for as he sifts through the potential performers? “My own biases are fairly apparent,” he admits. “I like acoustic jazz that is rhythmically rooted in swing (not the Swing Era) but you know, swing. I definitely have booked a lot of music outside of that orientation – [recently] we presented Electropolis [an electronic improv band featuring Kelly Rossum, more known locally as an acoustic jazz artist]…I pretty much exist on a diet of Monk, Mingus, Duke, Herbie Nichols and all the rest…I know a lot of great music exists outside of those sounds, so I try to be open to other stuff. But it has to give me a feeling of risk, adventure, authenticity, whether it fits with my biases or not. Jazz should never be boring, it should never sound clinical. Because of the late hour and the general mood, Late Night can be edgier than the early show. Really, I am just continuing what I was trying to do with Brilliant Corners.”

The “edgier” quality of the music is only in part due to the selection of the bands. Most important to the Twin Cities jazz community is the opportunity this series affords both performers and listeners to participate in the creation of the music. Notes Kennedy, “Historically, jazz has flourished in the late night hours. Jam sessions with everyone from James P. Johnson and Willie Smith to Charlie Parker and Miles Davis occured after hours and oftentimes lasted until daybreak. This was the vehicle through which many young jazz musicians earned the respect of their elders and elevated themselves in the scene. The Late Night Series at The Dakota operates in similar fashion with respect to today's jazz culture and upbringing. Not only is it a great opportunity to perform, but it is also a fantastic resource for meeting other jazz musicians and supporting their efforts… Because the genre is ever-evolving, creative outlets such as the Late Night Series allow both the music and the musicians to
expand the style one gig at a time.”

And Jeremy Walker predicts that the Later at the Dakota series will not only continue to flourish in weeks ahead, but will expand, both musically and as an audience destination. “There will always be new bands coming in. It will still be diverse in sound. The menu has evolved a bit, but the wings and the fries are still without parallel. I will continue to work to find new sounds that still represent the feeling of Late Night. We will possibly try some spoken word stuff. Some of the regular shows will continue. CT and the Coterie (Chris Thomson, sax, Chris Bates, Bass, and Jay Epstein, drums) still will play regularly as well as people like Bryan Nichols [piano] and Blue Chi [Dean Magraw, Pete Whitman and Jay Epstein]. Electropolis will be back. Mainly, I think it will evolve and become harder to get a table.”

Visit the Dakota website for the Later at the Dakota schedule, www.dakotacooks.com/pages/late_night_jazz.html. Upcoming performances include Fat Kid Wednesdays (December 22-23) and the Tanner Taylor Trio (December 29). And watch for future appearances by Jeremy Walker’s Jazz is Now!, a nine-piece “Nownet” steeped in “swing, a strong blues (the feeling, not necessarily the form) element, freedom, and ensemble dialogue.”

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