Jazz Police

One of the foremost piano talents on the Twin Cities jazz scene, Chris Lomheim and his sublime trio will take the autumn nip right out of the air on October 11th at the Artists’ Quarter.

Chris Lomheim’s first keyboard was the family organ, and as a child he studied both organ and piano in Minneapolis. He focused on R&B in the 1980s, playing with such bands as Big John Dickerson and Down Right Tight. Gaining a reputation as a composer as well as performer, he was featured at the West Bank School of Music Composer’s Forum in 1991.

Chris Lomheim©Andrea Canter

A member of the acclaimed Illicit Sextet in the 1990s, Lomheim has played and/or recorded with a long list of Twin Cities’ musicians, including Gordy Johnson, Kelly Rossum, and vocalists Debbie Duncan, Christine Rosholt, Patty Peterson, Lucia Newell, and Vicky Mountain. He has also headlined at Chicago’s Green Mill with trumpeter Rex Richardson, and was nominated as top pianist in the 1997 Minnesota Music Awards. Lomheim has made two acclaimed trio recordings, And You’ve Been Waiting? (1994, IGMOD) and The Bridge (2002, Artegra). Jeremy Walker of Brilliant Corners called Lomheim “the most sensitive and romantic player you will hear around the Twin Cities' scene. He has prodigious piano technique and an individual ear for harmony.” Noted Paul Winger, “Chris’ songs are accessible and feel familiar, yet they are neither simplistic nor trite.”

Long compared stylistically to his musical hero, Bill Evans, Lomheim attributes his adolescent transition from organ to piano to Evans’ Affinity recording, and the “Body and Soul” track in particular. “When I first heard Bill Evans it was on a tape that my organ teacher, Herb Wigley, made for me,” recalls Lomheim. “I remember it like it was yesterday… with Toots Thielemans on harmonica and Larry Schneider on tenor and soprano sax. The rich harmonies I heard Bill play along with the haunting melodies drew me inside the music unlike anything I had ever heard before. I felt happiness and sadness all wrapped in one…It made me cry sometimes because of its honesty and beauty.” And from that point on, Chris switched from organ to piano, “except for some R&B and blues stints in the late 80's.”

Gordy Johnson©Andrea Canter

Of the trio format, Lomheim notes, “One of the most important things I noticed and learned from Bill Evans was how he gave his bass player and drummer more freedom to communicate and participate in the music than most other piano trios. There was a sense of complete trust in the music and the musicians he chose to work with.” That sense of trust is apparent in the interplay among Chris Lomheim’s regular trio--multi-talented bassist Gordy Johnson (featured on both Lomheim recordings) and sublime drummer Phil Hey (featured on The Bridge).

Gordy Johnson graduated from the Eastman School of Music where he majored in flute. He toured with Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, and the Paul Winter Consort, has appeared on over 50 recordings, and has kept time for most local and many visiting artists. He has released three albums (so far!) featuring trios with different combinations of pianists and drummers (Trios, Volumes 1, 2 and 3.0). When he is not holding down rhythm sections with his bass lines, Johnson can often be found inside the piano, tuning it up at the top clubs and concert halls in the Twin Cities.

A former student of Ed Blackwell, Phil Hey is one of the busiest drummers in town (he plays with everyone!) and teaches jazz drum at Macalester College and the University of Minnesota. He’s toured with the late Dewey Redman and performed with Kenny Barron, Charlie Rouse, Benny Carter, and Benny Golson. Phil leads his own esteemed quartet, appears with the Eric Dolphy tribute ensemble, the Out to Lunch Quintet and Pete Whitman’s X-Tet, and is frequently on the bandstand with visiting national artists. His 2005 release, Subduction, topped many “best of the year” lists.

The Chris Lomheim Trio performs at the Artists Quarter on Thursday, October 11th, at 9 pm, $5 cover. The Artists Quarter is located downtown St. Paul in the lower level of the Hamm Building at 7^th Place and St. Peter. For information, call (651) 292-1359 or online at www.artistsquarter.com

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