Dakota Combo © Andrea Canter

The Dakota Combo program was initiated following local residencies by the Brubeck Institute in Fall 2004 and the Monk Institute in Spring 2006. Sponsored by the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education, the residency by the Brubeck Institute Fellows featured an ensemble of outstanding college-age jazz musicians who mentored local high school bands and gave a public performance at the Dakota. A similar effort brought high school musicians from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) to the Twin Cities under the Peer to Peer Jazz Education Program of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. With the breadth and depth of jazz talent in the Twin Cities, from student artists to the outstanding performers and educators in our area, it was inevitable that the Dakota Foundation would join forces with a program such as the MacPhail Center for Music to provide a unique educational and performance opportunity for local student musicians. And local trumpet king/educator Kelly Rossum was a logical choice to spearhead this effort.

Bobby Watson with Dakota Combo © Andera Canter

The inaugural edition of the Dakota Combo was selected through auditions in September 2006, rehearsed throughout the fall with director Kelly Rossum, and held a final rehearsal and performance on the Dakota Jazz Club stage with guest artist Bobby Watson on December 1^st. Additional rehearsals and performances took place throughout winter and spring 2007, with another club performance at the Nomad World Pub and a final appearance at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival in June. As the second Combo gets underway in early September, members of the first ensemble—all recent high school graduates—head off to the next phase of their jazz careers, including continuing education at such prestigious music schools as Indiana University, McGill University, the Berklee College of Music and Brubeck Institute.

Student musicians (all instruments) who will be enrolled in high school (grades 9-12) at the time of the Dakota performance (December 1) are invited to participate in the auditions (see below). While the first year’s program was be limited to performance, opportunities to provide outreach programs in area schools are planned for the 2007-2008 year.

Kelly Rossum © Andrea Canter

The Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education is a non-profit organization sponsored by the Minneapolis-based Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant, dedicated to bringing jazz and education together. Originated in 1997 by Dakota co-owner Lowell Pickett and loyal patron, the late Jane Matteson, the Foundation encourages an understanding, appreciation and enthusiasm for jazz among young audiences and blooming musicians through scholarships and programs such as the Dakota Combo and the annual Jazz Piano Competition (co-sponsored with the Schubert Club).

Audition Information

Student selection for this high school jazz combo is based entirely on audition. Open auditions for the Dakota Combo will be held on Saturday, September 8, 2007 from 12:00 noon until 4:00 pm at the MacPhail Center for Music Annex at 1201 LaSalle Av in downtown Minneapolis. Instrumentation is flexible, but advanced musicians playing standard jazz instruments are encouraged to audition. Sorry, there are no vocal positions open again this year.

Each student, including drummers, must prepare two jazz selections to be performed with a professional rhythm section. Most likely, due to time constraints, only a portion of each song will be performed (i.e. head and a chorus or two only). One tune must be selected from the list below:

• Donna Lee
• Just Friends
• Lady Bird
• Alone Together
• Moment’s Notice
• All the Things You Are
• Yes and No

The other tune is of the student’s choice and should contrast the style of the first selection.

Under the direction of Kelly Rossum, the two-hour rehearsals (Thursdays from 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm, every other week) will be held at MacPhail Center for Music (downtown Minneapolis through December, then in the new building near the Guthrie Theater). The program will continue the entire 2007-2008 school year. The fall concert, with a national guest artist, will be at the Dakota on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 8:00 pm. There will also be a clinic with the guest artist and the combo that morning at the Dakota. The spring concert will be at the new MacPhail Center for Music on Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 8:00 pm. All tuition for each selected musician will be covered by the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education.

Information and a downloadable audition sheet is available at www.dakotacombo.com/audition.html. Further information is available from Kelly Rossum at (612) 321-0100, ext. 500 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Information about the programs of the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education, as well as online opportunities to donate to its efforts, is available at www.dfje.org

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