 Out to Lunch Quintet © Andera Canter One of the top events in local music in 2006—in my opinion—was the release of The Out to Lunch Quintet: Live at the Artists Quarter. Produced by Don Berryman (Jazz Police) and featuring five of the most creative jazzers in the Midwest, the recording took the seminal 1964 work of saxophonist Eric Dolphy and presented it with a 21st century glow. The very fact that this music was performed at all was in itself a major event in jazz. This weekend, May 9-10, the OTLQ returns to the Artists Quarter to continue its mission—honoring the music of Dolphy through recreations of his compositions and original works. On his liner notes, Don Berryman provides an informative summary of the short life of Eric Dolphy, a masterful composer, arranger and performer on multiple reeds. He was a favorite of Mingus and Coltrane, but perhaps best known as the composer of avant-garde compositions using odd time signatures further pushed outside by his dissonant and unpredictable blowing style. Notes Berryman, “Out to Lunch influenced a generation of jazz players…and is regarded not only as Dolphy’s finest recording, but as one of the greatest jazz recordings.” Tragically Dolphy died at age 36 in June 1964, a few weeks before Blue Note released his seminal recording.
 Eric Dolphy Dolpy’s Out to Lunch Dolphy is not a popular icon of modern jazz, perhaps because musicians find his compositions difficult to play and because audiences find the music challenging to hear. But always up for a challenge, vibraphonist and St. Olaf instructor Dave Hagedorn brought a Dolphy chart to a performance with Eric Kamau Gravatt’s Source Code at the Artists Quarter in early 2005. In the audience, Berryman was intrigued by sound of “Hat and Beard” and suggested to Hagedorn that the entire Out to Lunch set would make an exciting performance, leading to the Northfield concert (“Still Out to Lunch”) sponsored by the Twin Cities Jazz Society. And OTL had special significance for Berryman.  David Milne © Andrea Canter Dolphy was a particular virtuoso on bass clarinet and flute, and his “sidemen” were equally legendary—Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Richard Davis on bass and Tony Williams on drums. But that was then, and this is now. The New OTLQ  Tom Lewis © Andera Canter Artist in Residence in the Music Department at St. Olaf College, Dave Hagedorn’s percussion duties have included the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Opera, and regular jazz gigs with the Phil Hey Quartet, Maintime, and the Pete Whitman X-Tet. Dave has also studied and toured with the great George Russell. Notes Don Berryman, Hagedorn “brings an integrated knowledge of complex harmony and rhythm that never fails to swing or to move anyone with ears.”  Dave Hagadorn © Andrea Canter
A former student of Ed Blackwell and Marv Dahlgren, native Philadelphian Phil Hey spent twenty years touring with the late Dewey Redman. Often on local bandstands backing national artists, local vocalists, and small ensembles, he also manages percussion duties for the Pete Whitman X-Tet, Departure Point, Apex, Mulligan Stew and his own Quartet, has toured this spring with acclaimed vocalist Stacey Kent, and finds time to teach at the University of Minnesota and Macalester College in St. Paul. His CD Subduction was on everyone’s “best” of local releases for 2005, and Hey was named Jazz Musician of the Year for 2006 by City Pages.  Kelly Rossum © Andrea Canter Wisconsin native Kelly Rossum is one of the most lauded jazz innovators in the Twin Cities, and certainly one of the most eclectic--he cites as his primary influences Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, and J.S. Bach! With graduate degrees in Baroque trumpet, Rossum has freelanced in rock, swing, jazz and classical ensembles in the Twin Cities and is on the faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music as a director of jazz studies. He’s also directing the youth jazz ensemble, the Dakota Combo. He has released three stellar recordings to date, with a new quartet release due later in 2008. Kelly regularly performs with the Pete Whitman X-Tet, Ellen Lease/Pat Moriarty Quintet and his own quartet.  Phil Hey © Andrea Canter It is said that jazz is “never played the same way once.” Clearly that fits the original Out to Lunch, and just as clearly, it fits the new Out to Lunch Quintet. You can be sure that at the Artists Quarter this weekend, the music will as fresh as it is hip. “Dolphy was clearly ahead of his time and in some ways timeless…It sounds so fresh it could've been recorded last week, and I think that it will always sound that way.” --Don Berryman, Producer, The Out to Lunch Quintet: Live at the Artists Quarter The Artists Quarter is located at 408 St. Peter Street in the lower level of the Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul. Visit www.artistsquarter.com. You can purchase the CD at the show or online at www.otlq.com. Sets at 9 pm, Friday and Saturday, May 9-10. |
Sunday, 07 September 2008
