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Wireless or Plugged In…Versatile Peter Schimke at the Dakota, June 27th

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Thursday, 29 July 2010

Wireless or Plugged In…Versatile Peter Schimke at the Dakota, June 27th

Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor

Sunday, 24 June 2007

“He is a player who is never on ‘auto-pilot’, but is engaged and committed to the music he is participating in creating. No two takes will be the same.” –Don Berryman

Peter Schimke © Andrea Canter

One of the busiest keyboard talents in the Twin Cities today, Peter Schimke is a long-time favorite among Twin Cities’ musicians and fans alike. On Wednesday, June 27^th, Schimke’s diverse tastes and repertoire will be on full display as he takes the stage at the Dakota Jazz Club with two different bands. An all acoustic first set will feature Schimke on piano with mellow bassist Jeff Bailey and the always exciting drummer J.T. Bates. A high tech transformation then takes place, with Jeff switching to electric bass and Dean Granros joining in on guitar. And if that isn’t enough for one evening, Peter will provide a preview his forthcoming CD that features his vocals.

Schimke’s career began in the rock scene of the late 70s / early 80s as a drummer with The New Psychenauts. Today it’s his piano chops that are in high demand, and he’s played and/or recorded with a “Who’s Who” in Twin Cities jazz--Irv Williams, George Avaloz, Dean McGraw, Anthony Cox, Estaire Godinez, Bruce Henry, Lucia Newell, and Leslie Ball, among many others. He provides stellar comping on Carole Martin’s CD, Pieces of Dreams, and with tenor sax legend Irv Williams, he released the much acclaimed Duos this past year.

Peter Schimke © Andrea Canter

He also directed and provided piano support for Mark Murphy’s Latin Porter, recorded live at the old Dakota in St. Paul (Go Jazz, 2000), and has produced for Rita Coolidge. One of his current projects is How Birds Work (with Kenny Horst, Billy Peterson, and Dean Granros), to which he contributes not only his piano and Fender Rhodes chops but his gravely vocals as well. These days Peter is also on the road and in the air, gigging and recording around the country and abroad.

Notes Don Berryman (Jazz Police), "When he is comping behind a soloist, he is engaged in a subtle dialog, listening and responding with harmonies and rhythms that sometimes represent a suggestion or even a challenge to the soloist." And when he takes off in a leading role, Schimke blazes new trails and challenges others to keep up.

Jeff Bailey © Andrea Canter

St. Paul native bassist Jeff Bailey is a long-time member of the Doug Little Quartet. He has played acoustic and electric bass with world-renowned artists including Jack McDuff, Terell Stafford, Bill Carrothers, Eric Garvat, Dave Pietro, Hannibal Peterson, Fred Ho, Craig Taborn and James Carter. A founding member of Motion Poets, Bailey has also released three CDs on the Lifescape label and is a former member of the Jazz Is Now! Orchestra.

Son of trumpeter and bandleader Don Bates, drummer JT Bates has been a leader in local experimental music, hosting the Clown Lounge Jazz Series for 8 years. Held in the basement of the Turf Club, the series gave birth to Fat Kid Wednesdays (JT with Michael Lewis and Adam Linz), one of the leading purveyors of edgy improvised music in the Twin Cities. A frequent performer at the Minnesota Sur Seine festival, JT Bates also holds the drum chair for the Kelly Rossum Quintet.

Dean Granros’s 30-year career encompasses an ecletic range of genres and projects, including several well-known to AQ audiences—FKG with Scott Fultz and Dave King, Siamese Fighting Fish with King and Anthony Cox, and his long-running duo with Brad Bellows. In 2003, he recorded Mercury with the rock/jazz fusion band Curlew, featuring saxist George Cartwright, generating accolades from Jazz Times critic Stuart Nicholson who noted that “Granros’raw guitar explores the tensions between jazz and rock.” Jazz Police administrator Don Berryman adds, “Granros blends the vocabulary of bebop, acid rock, and delta blues into a delightful and potent cocktail that may leave you shaken or stirred.”

It’s Twin Cities Jazz Festival time, and downtown Minneapolis hosts several events this week to help bridge the festival gap between the just completed St Paul weekend at Mears Park and the upcoming Minneapolis weekend on Nicollet Mall. You can hear the United Trombone Summit at the Dakota (Monday and Tuesday), and Delfeayo Marsalis’ “Tribute to Duke Ellington” at Orchestra Hall (Thursday). And on Wednesday, June 27^th, the best of the Twin Cities will be on stage at the Dakota when Peter Schimke puts on a dual show—catch him unplugged, and then tighten your seatbelt—the fireworks start early this year!

The Dakota is located at 1010 Nicollet Mall. Show 7-11 pm, $5 cover; visit www.dakotacooks.com

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