Combo at the Dakota © Andrea Canter

Alto sax legend Bobby Watson, fiery Cuban pianist Nachito Herrera, and the elegant Laura Caviani Trio will perform at the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education annual benefit on Sunday, January 28^th from 6:00–9:00 pm at the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant. With generous support from Target Corporation, this popular event raises funds supporting the future of jazz through activities such as scholarships, student clinics, visiting instructors, and informational programs. The Dakota is located at 1010 Nicollet Mall in Downtown Minneapolis, telephone (612) 332-1010.

Along with the pros, a group of seven teenage jazz musicians from Twin Cities area high schools will appear on the famed Dakota Jazz Club stage. Selected in September 2006 through competitive auditions, the Dakota Combo is co-sponsored by the Dakota Foundation and the MacPhail Center for Music, and directed by acclaimed trumpeter Kelly Rossum, head of jazz studies at MacPhail. The Combo rehearsed throughout the fall with Rossum, performed with Bobby Watson at the Dakota on December 1^st, and participated with Watson in an open clinic for student musicians.

Bobby Watson © Andera Canter

Laura Caviani © Andrea Canter

The major support organization for jazz education in the Twin Cities, the Dakota Foundation was formed in 1997 by Dakota co-owner Lowell Pickett and the late Jane Matteson, a jazz lover and benefactor. The annual benefit helps fund the Foundation’s many programs that connect established artists with the next generation of jazz musicians, including the Dakota Foundation/Schubert Club Jazz Piano Scholarships and, most recently, the Dakota Combo. In 2006, nearly 4,000 students benefited from Dakota Foundation programs.

Guest artists at the benefit are all dedicated jazz educators as well as exciting performers. In addition to Rossum, Bobby Watson (University of Missouri-Kansas City), Nachito Herrera (MacPhail) and Laura Caviani (Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges) devote significant time to teaching the next generation of jazz musicians.

T Mychael Rambo © Andrea CAnter

The January 28^th event will be hosted by actor, singer, and educator T. Mychael Rambo, who most recently appeared in the Penumbra Theatre’s Black Nativity: A Homecoming and Ain’t Misbehavin’. MPR’s Leigh Kamman (The Jazz Image™) will receive the second annual “Jane” Award (the Jane Matteson Award for Jazz Education) in a special presentation by local opera legend Vern Sutton.

Leigh Kamman © Andera Canter

The evening’s program also includes appetizers and desserts from the Dakota kitchen, a silent and live auction, and a music store featuring autographed CDs from local and national artists. Among the items available for bid are entertainment packages and music lessons from renowned area jazz musician/educators.

Tickets are $65 ($45 tax-deductible); call the Dakota at 612-332-1010. For information and to reserve corporate and patron tables, call Lisa Meyer at 612-616-5583.

The Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.