Maud Hixson©Andrea Canter

“…my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine.” – Duke Ellington on Billy Strayhorn

“Beyond Category” was a phrase often used by Duke Ellington to describe others who most impressed him, but it was the Duke’s legacy of compositions and arrangements that defied classification. His collaboration with pianist/composer/arranger Billy Strayhorn is as legendary as the works themselves, to be celebrated on April 12th at the Bloomington Center for the Arts by area vocalists Maud Hixson, Lucia Newell and Dennis Spears. They will have the elegant instrumental support of the Rick Carlson Quartet, featuring Carlson on piano, Keith Boyles on bass, Mac Santiago on drums, and Gary Schulte on violin. The concert is sponsored by the Twin Cities Jazz Society as part of its “Jazz J to Z” season.

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington led esteemed small ensembles and particularly big bands through the early Swing Era into the modern era of jazz, perhaps the most popular bandleader of all time and one of the most acclaimed composers of 20th century music. His bands and compositions launched the careers of many outstanding soloists such as Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonsalves and, alone or in collaboration, Duke provided enough beloved tunes to fill his own Great American Songbook. And he was far more than a songwriter—Ellington composed symphonic masterpieces such as his “Sacred Concerts” and “Black, Brown and Beige.” Already successful, Ellington’s output surged when he joined forces with a shy pianist named Billy Strayhorn in late 1938. From that point on until Strayhorn’s death in 1967, it was often impossible to determine where Strayhorn’s pen left off and Ellington’s began. Strayhorn did provide Ellington’s signature tune, “Take the A Train,” and some of the most beautiful and enduring melodies and lyrics in the Duke’s repertoire, including “Satin Doll,” “Lush Life,” “Day Dream,” “Passion Flower,” and “Chelsea Bridge.” Together, their output included “The Far East Suite,” “Such Sweet Thunder,” and their theatrical work, A Drum Is a Woman.

Lucia Newell©Andrea Canter

Growing up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Maud Hixson “always enjoyed singing… listening to everything around me and making up words to songs I already knew.” Seeing on television the musical films of the 30s and 40s introduced her to such stars as Judy Garland, Doris Day, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra. Eventually she fell in love with the music of the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Rodgers and Hart. Although she did take a few formal voice lessons, Maud notes that “my education has mostly come from studying recordings and live performances.” Listening to Prairie Home Companion was one of those sources of inspiration, as was a performance by Jimmy Scott and her encounters and ultimate collaborations with Arne Fogel (whom she first heard on MPR’s Arne Fogel Presents) and Wolverines’ pianist Rick Carlson—who became her husband. One of the most active singers in the Twin Cities, Maud performs regularly with the Wolverines (big band and trio), performed in a celebrated duo with Arne Fogel; and has appeared at many area music venues, including The Times, Rossi's Blue Star Room, the Dakota, Cue, Dakota County Steakhouse and aboard the Minnesota Zephyr. She’s also become one of the favorites of the area swing dance community. In 2006, Maud was selected to participate in the famed Cabaret Conference at Yale University. Her 2007 release Love’s Refrain appeared on many area “best of the year” lists.

From Los Angeles to Mexico City to Rio de Janeiro, as well as locally at Orchestra Hall, the Artist's Quarter, and the Dakota, Lucia Newell has performed Brazilian samba, French ballads and bop melodies; she’s lent her voice to the poems of Pablo Neruda and the songs of Rogers and Hart as guest vocalist on Soul Café’s recent release (Jazz and Poetry); she has sung with the great Billy Eckstein, the Rio Jazz Orchestra, and Oscar Castro Neves. The Minneapolis native spent her early career singing and studying in Los Angeles, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, returning to the Twin Cities as a backup vocalist for Jimmy Jam Harris, Terry Lewis and Monte Moir of Flyte Time. Over the past two decades, Lucia has been engaged in voice over work, performing, teaching, composing, and pursuing her life-long study of music. A linguist as well as vocalist, she writes lyrics in both English and Portuguese, and has translated many of her favorite Brazilian songs. In addition to her appearances with her quartet, Lucia joined with guitarist Joan Griffith to release Enter You, Enter Love and has performed often with Soul Café, a jazz trio (Laura Caviani, Steve Blons, and Brad Holden) combining poetry and music. Her work with Pete Whitman’s Departure Point sextet, along with her love of Billy Strayhorn, led to her 2005 release, Steeped in Strayhorn.

Dennis Spears©Andrea Canter

The musical talents of the Rick Carlson Quartet help to ensure the success of “Beyond Category” on April 12th. Further, Maud notes that the three singers “collaborate on a couple of things, but the real strength of our combination is in our different approaches to this body of material, so we chose songs according to our personal affinity for them. We are also doing an overview of the treasure trove of classics Ellington wrote before meeting Strayhorn in a special instrumental arrangement that opens the show.”

Whether you “Take the A Train” or cross “Chelsea Bridge,” the road to the Bloomington Center for the Arts is a direct route to an evening of multi-faceted pleasures as Maud Hixson, Lucia Newell and Dennis Spears unfold the Ellington/Strayhorn songbook.

Beyond Category will be performed on April 12th at 7:30 pm at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road in Bloomington. Tickets are $19 ($17 for students/seniors, $16 for TCJS members), and can be reserved by calling (952) 563-8575; www.bloomingtonartcenter.com