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 CHarlie Parker “We will lift the curtain of mystery from the American music known as Jazz. Where did this music come from? Who were the originators and innovators? Why do we still play jazz today? Hopefully, we can begin to answer some of these questions and better understand our own artistic contribution to the world.” –Kelly Rossum One of 50 community programs in the country, the Minneapolis edition of “Looking at Jazz, America’s Art Form” has consistently drawn an enthusiastic audience for the first four of six sessions. Combining film and live music performance, the series began in March with the roots of jazz in New Orleans, progressing through the Harlem Renaissance, the impact of Billie Holiday on the development of jazz singing, and, at the most recent session in late April, the Swing Era. On Thursday evening, May 10th, the fifth session will take us “From Bebop to Hard Bop to Cool and More,” focusing on the music of the 50s and beyond, from Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie to John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk, from Stan Getz to Gerry Mulligan and beyond. Hosted by Kelly Rossum, Twin Cities’ trumpeter and director of jazz at the MacPhail Center for Music, the live music component is unique to the Minneapolis program. Rossum and his own quartet will be the featured performers on May 10th, at the Minneapolis Central Library, 7-9 pm. “Looking at Jazz, America’s Art Form,” is a project for non-profit organizations and libraries from National Video Resources and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Produced in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center and the American Library Association, this program is presented in Minneapolis through a grant to the MacPhail Center for Music and Minneapolis Public Library. Grants to 50 communities, including Minneapolis, provide film clips for each of the six sessions; following film and discussion, live performances illustrate the evolution of jazz; some additional performances at area venues will complement the program. In addition, the national website offers multimedia presentations and other resources (http://nvr.org/lookingatjazz/).
 Dean Brewington © Andea Canter The most recent presentation of the Swing Era (April 21st) took us on tour with the regional and big bands of the 1930s, the purveyors of “pop” music between the wars. The bands typically relied on written arrangements with individual solos, and often gave rise to such stars as Ben Webster and Lionel Hampton under the leadership of the great bandleaders from Benny Goodman to Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Unlike the relatively bland dance bands of the 20s, such as the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, the best of the swing era presented danceable rhythms, more sophisticated harmonies, and individual approaches to improvisation. A generation of great vocalists came to prominence as the singers in front of the big bands. And the saxophone came into prominence as a solo jazz instrument, with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young leading the way with two distinctively different styles that would become the standards for generations to come. With Kelly Rossum providing commentary, the program included film clips from the Ken Burns documentary and another focused on Benny Goodman, the “King of Swing.” The live performance that followed was swinging, indeed, as the Dean Brewington Quartet (with Terry Hughes on piano, Jeff Brueske on bass and Eron Woods on drums) presented a variety of tunes from the era as interpreted by more modern mainstream voices. Highlights included Al Jolson’s “Sonny Boy,” Irving Berlin’s “Who,” George Gershwin’s “Swanne” and an uptempo “Cherokee.” Bop and More, May 10th  Kelly Rossum © Andrea Canter The performers who will illustrate bop and beyond in Minneapolis form Kelly Rossum’s working quartet. Rossum is perhaps more known in the Twin Cities as a 21st century innovator who has taken the music well beyond what is even defined as Post Bop over the course of three CD releases and his recent forays into the music of Eric Dolphy with the Out to Lunch Quintet. With pianist Bryan Nichols, bassist Chris Bates, and drummer JT Bates, bop standards will sound anything but “standard.”  Nachito Herrera © Andrea Canter Coming Up The final installment of “Looking at Jazz” will take place on May 17 at 7 pm at the Central Library, with the topic “Latin Jazz and Jazz as International Music”and featuring Cuban pianist/MacPhail instructor Nachito Herrera. Two jazz club performances will be held this month as complementary events, first the Kelly Rossum Quartet at the Artists Quarter in downtown St. Paul on May 11-12, and Nachito Herrera at the Dakota in downtown Minneapolis May 18-19. Looking at Jazz is offered free to the public, although a $10 donation is suggested. The Minneapolis Central Library is located at 300 Nicollet Mall; parking available in adjacent lots and the ramp below the library. For more information about Looking at Jazz: America’s Art Form, visit the national website at http://nvr.org/lookingatjazz/ or see the press release at http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/features.asp?item=lookingatjazz
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Twin Cities, MN 
Friday, 09 January 2009
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