Jerry Gonzalez

The 10th Annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival will again feature national and local talent over two June weekends. Officially, the festival begins on Thursday night, June 19th, with the reunion concert of 70s fusion band, Return to Forever, at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Minneapolis (click here for more about this concert). The next night, the free festival gets underway at Mears Park in St. Paul’s Lowertown with headliner Jerry Gonzales and the Fort Apache Band. Music continues Saturday afternoon and evening, ending with the annual festival jam a few blocks west at the Artists Quarter. Festival week continues with special performances in Minneapolis and Bloomington, culminating in the final weekend on Peavy Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, featuring headliners Charmaine Neville, Tony Monoco and the Heatin’ System, and Moore By Four, as well as the always popular student stage on Nicollet Mall. Notes Executive Director Steve Heckler, “Reaching the milestone of the ‘10th Annual’ is an achievement for any music festival, and we plan to celebrate in style with our most exciting line up yet.” Although most of the festival is free and outdoors, there are some significant ticketed events this year, starting with Return to Forever (June 19th) and continuing with special shows at the Artists Quarter and Dakota, and Downbeat’s Rising Stars showcase at Orchestra Hall on June 26th. 

Caribou Coffee (in conjunction with Northwestern Foods) again serves as the primary sponsor of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, along with the Harry and Adeline Silverman Foundation, Summit Brewing, St. Paul Star Program, Mercedes Benz, KBEM Jazz 88, Hot Springs Records (HSR), Sears Auto, Maplewood Imports, St. Paul Port Authority, Sun Country Airlines, Music Connection Pianos, the Minneapolis Downtown Council. Media partners in addition to Jazz 88 include The Rake, City Pages, KFAI radio and Air America Minnesota. The student stage is sponsored again by the MacPhail Center for Music and the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education. Other supporting sponsors include the Twin Cities Jazz Society, Jazz Police, Sky Point Communications, Creation Audio and Shakers Vodka. The Orpheum Theater, Minnesota Orchestra Hall, Dakota Jazz Club and Artists Quarter also serve as community partners, cosponsoring a variety of jazz events throughout the festival.  

Walker West Student ensemble©Andrea Canter

The Line-Up at Mears Park (Summit Brewing Stage), June 20-21 

Friday, June 20. Located near the St. Paul Farmer’s Market at 5th Street East and Sibley, Mears Park offers a family-friendly venue to enjoy jazz, food, and fresh air. This year, free music gets underway on Friday night at 6 pm with a night of Latin sizzle: 

• 6:00 pm, Salsabrosa. Local Latin jazz ensemble, Salsabrosa has been performing since 2005 in the mold of such artists as Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. Native Cuban musicians Frank Rivery (congas) and Viviana Pintado (piano and vocals) are just two reasons why this eight-piece band  will get you up and dancing.

• 8:30 pm, Jerry Gonzales and the Fort Apache Band. A native New Yorker who cut his teeth with Dizzy Gillespie in the early 70s, trumpeter/flugelhorn artist Jerry Gonzales has performed with Eddie Palmieris’ El Son, McCoy Tyner, Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, Tony Williams and more. His own Fort Apache Band had its first big hit in 1989 with Rumba Para Monk. Afro-Caribbean jazz doesn’t get better than this.

Saturday, June 20. Saturday features local favorites and national touring artist Ravi Coltrane and his exciting quartet.

• Noon, Walker West Music Academy Young Artists Showcase.  Every year at the festival we are treated to some of the most talented young jazz musicians in the region, all students at the acclaimed Walker West Academy under the leadership of Felix James and the WW faculty.

• 2 pm, Acme Jazz Company. There’s a new big band in town and they’re quickly establishing themselves as one of the best.  This 19-piece group performs from a wide selection of modern charts, heard monthly at O’Gara’s.

• 4 pm, Bill Crutcher Group. A perennial favorite at the TCJF, the Bill Crutcher Group has released two CDs over its six years with another on the way. Jazz, funk, blues and R&B mix in energetic fashion through the artistry of Douglas “True” Smith on keyboards, Cam Muata on guitar, Anthony Scott on bass, Kevin Washington on drums, Sam Brooks on sax, and leader Bill Crutcher on vibes, flute and congas.

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  Tanner Taylor©Andrea Canter
  6 pm, Tanner Taylor & Friends Tribute to Oscar Peterson. In the seven years since he moved to the Twin Cities from Iowa, Tanner Taylor has turned local jazz on its ear. One of the most in-demand pianists in the area, he leads his own trio, backs a long list of vocalists, and supports many visiting touring artists like Lew Tabackin and Barbara Morrison. Tonight he salutes on of his musical heroes, the late great Oscar Peterson who, like Tanner, was known for his speed, dexterity and never-ending swing.

• 8:30 pm, Ravi Coltrane Quartet. As the son of John and Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane has managed to fight off comparisons to his father even while exploring John Coltrane’s music and making a career playing the same instrument. Now past 40, the younger Coltrane is a major force on tenor and soprano sax and player, an acclaimed bandleader and composer, and founder of an independent record label, RKM. His resume includes work with Elvin Jones, Jack DeJohnette, Rashied Ali, Wallace Roney, Geri Allen, Kenny Barron, Cindy Blackman, Joe Lovano, Joanne Brackeen, and particularly Steve Coleman. His latest release as leader is the acclaimed 2005 CD, In Flux on Savoy Jazz. Featuring Louis Perdamo (piano), Drew Gress (bass) and E.J. Strickland (drums), the quartet will offer the sounds of modern jazz in the context of an ensemble of young lions. Their March 2008 performance at Ted Mann Auditorium was incendiary.

After Hours at the AQ

Ravi Coltrane

Across the River, June 24-29

Festival week continues with a variety of special performances at the Dakota Jazz Club, Minnesota Orchestra Hall, and Christ the King Church in Bloomington before the grand finale weekend on Peavey Plaza and Nicollet Mall. Note the following events:

• Tuesday, June 24, Dakota Jazz Club: Stride Piano Night with Butch Thompson, Paul Asaro and Jon Weber (7 pm, $10)
• Wednesday, June 25, Christ the King Lutheran Church, Bloomington: Connie Evingson, Jon Weber and the George Maurer Group (5 pm, free)
• Wednesday, June 25, Dakota Jazz Club: The John Raymond Project (7 pm, $5)
• Thursday, June 26, Dakota Jazz Club: Jon Weber Trio (7 pm, $5); Tony Monoco and the Heatin’ System (10:30 pm, $5)
• Thursday, June 26, Orchestra Hall: Downbeat’s Rising Stars with Sean Jones (7:30 pm, $45/$65)
• Friday, June 27, Peavey Plaza: Neoterik, Jon Weber, the Tuesday Night Band with Bill Brown, Tony Monaco and The Heatin’ System Tribute to Jack McDuff (4-10:30 pm, free)
• Saturday, June 28, Peavey Plaza: Dave Hagedorn, Skyway Jazz Orchestra, Moore By Four, Amina Figarova Sextet, Charmaine Neville (1-10:30 pm, free)
• Saturday, June 28, MacPhail/Dakota Foundation Stage: MITY, IAJE Mid-Level, Roseville High School, Shell Lake Jazz Camp Faculty, Dakota Combo (12:30-8:30 pm, free)
• Saturday, June 28-Sunday, June 29, Dakota Jazz Club: Sheila E and the E Family (7 & 9:30 pm, $55/$40).
• Sunday, June 29, Peavey Plaza: Dan Musselman, Red Rock Swing Band, Salsa del Soul (2-6:30 pm)
• Sunday, June 29, MacPhail/Dakota Foundation Stage: Jazz Vocalists of Minnesota Showcase, Totino Grace High School, MacPhail Jam Session, MacPhail Faculty and Jazz Piano Scholarship Winners (12:30-6 pm)

Jazz Police will post a full description of the Minneapolis festival events; also visit the festival website and venue sites for more information. 

• Twin Cities Jazz Festival information available at www.twincitiesjazzfestival.com
• Artists Quarter, www.artistsquarter.com; 651-292-1359; 408 St Peter St, St Paul
• Christ the King Lutheran Church, 8600 Fremont Av S, Bloomington (jazz outdoors)
• Dakota Jazz Club, www.dakotacooks.com; 612-332-1010; 1010 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis
• Minnesota Orchestra Hall, www.minnesotaorchestra.com; 612-371-5656; 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis
• Orpheum Theater, www.hennepintheaterdistrict,org; 612-339-7007; 910 Hennepin Av, Minneapolis

Festival Stages:

• Mears Park Summit Brewing Stage: 5th Street East and Sibley St, St Paul
• MacPhail Center for Music/Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education Stage: 10th and Nicollet Mall
• Peavey Plaza, Caribou Stage: 11th and Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis