Charmaine NevilleİAndrea Canter

While the stage is still smoldering at Mears Park in St Paul following the first weekend of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, mark your calendars for the remaining events across the river. Starting with Stride Piano Night at the Dakota Jazz Club on Tuesday, June 24th and concluding in the early evening on Sunday, June 29th on Peavey Plaza, there’s an unprecedented amount of music crammed into a few days, and much of it is free and outdoors. Headliners in Minneapolis include singers Charmain Neville, Connie Evingson and Moore By Four; B-3 organist Tony Monaco; and pianists Jon Weber and Amina Figarova. The student stage will be bursting with young talent, featuring several high school jazz bands, all-star ensembles, MacPhail faculty and the winners of the recent jazz piano scholarship competition. The Dakota Jazz Club hosts several special gigs as well, and for one night the festival travels to Bloomington. 

Tuesday, June 24: Stride Night at the Dakota

Jon WeberİAndrea Canter

The Dakota Jazz Club, which presents a festival of its own throughout June, presents Stride Piano Night at 7 pm ($10) with three masters of the technique pioneered by the likes of James P. Johnson in the 1920s—Butch Thompson, Jon Weber and Paul Asaro.  Butch Thompson is one of the most popular musicians in the Twin Cities, a nationally recognized master of ragtime, stride and trad piano and leader of his New Orleans Jazz Originals band. He appears on the Grammy-winning recording with Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton, and for 12 years performed on Prairie Home Companion. Based in Champaign, IL, Paul Asaro has performed on Broadway in Jelly Roll, aboard the steamboat Delta Queen, and throughout the world at jazz and ragtime festivals. And Jon Weber is unofficially known as the house pianist for the TCJF, having appeared here in a variety of supporting and leading roles for the past four or five years. Splitting his time now between New York and his native Chicago, Weber is known for his encyclopedic wealth of information as well as his bottomless well of musical ideas, quotes and surprises. This threesome will be more than entertaining, they will be downright amazing.

Wednesday, June 25: Jazz in Bloomington

The TCJF typically includes at least one night of jazz in a suburban locale, and this year the front lawn of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Bloomington hosts Twin Cities’ favorite Connie Evingson on vocals, Jon Webwer on piano, the always energetic George Maurer Group, and more, starting at 5 pm—and free! Connie Evingson needs no introduction, having performed at many TCJFs, as a founding member of the acclaimed Moore By Four quartet, and as a perpetually engaging solo performer. Her discography includes salutes to Peggy Lee, the Beatles, and (most recently) Dave Frishberg, as well as two stunning releases of “gypsy hot club” music. Jon Weber (see Tuesday above) is all over this festival, bringing his wide range of stride, swing and bop to the keyboard, infused with numerous tidbits about the music and composers, and stacked high with quotes from whatever is buzzing from brain to finger at the moment. The ever-popular George Maurer Group interprets the music of Ellington, Gershwin and Porter mixed with Maurer’s original compositions. For lovers of straight-ahead jazz, this will be a great evening! 

Dakota ComboİAndrea Canter

Thursday, June 26: Jazzin’ on the Mall

• Jon Weber and Friends, The Dakota Jazz Club, 7 pm ($5). Just can’t get enough of Jon Weber, and tonight the monster pianist leads the band. If you are not heading to Orchestra Hall, come early. If you have tickets for Downbeat’s Rising Stars, remember Jon will be on stage til 10 pm, so come on down the street for the late set, and stick around for Tony Monaco! (See below)

• Downbeat’s Rising Stars, Orchestra Hall, 7:30 pm ($45/$65). If you have not noticed, there has been a significant increase in jazz programming at Orchestra Hall in the past year. In conjunction with TCJF and the Dakota Jazz Club, Orchestra Hall presents Downbeat’s Rising Stars, hosted by Downbeat Magazine Editor Jason Koransky and directed by acclaimed young trumpet king Sean Jones. Jones, an Ohio native trained in classical trumpet at Youngstown University, is known for his  blend of soul, funk and bop and has played with Chico O’Farrill, Gerald Wilson, Charles Fambrough, Joe Lovano,  and John Faddis; and has been a member of the Cannonball Legacy Band as well as his current gig as lead trumpeter with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Joining Jones will be young lions Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Greg Osby (alto sax), Marcus Strickland (tenor sax), Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), Dave Stryker (guitar), Dan Nimmer (piano), Luques Curtis (bass) and Obed Calvaire (drums). This is an unusual opportunity to hear many of the hottest voices in modern jazz on one stage.

• Tony Monaco and the Heatin’ System, Dakota Jazz Club, 10:30 pm ($5). A preview of his headline set on Peavey Plaza Friday night! With Andrew Beal, John Hart and Rudy Petschauer—the band behind legend Jack McDuff, B-3 madman Tony Monaco was mentored by another legend, Jimmy Smith and later Joey DeFrancesco. Now he’s heading a tribute to McDuff with The Heatin’ System, and this late set at $5 is the club bargain of the week! Catch his main stage set tomorrow night (free!) at 9 pm, Peavey Plaza.

Friday, June 27th on Nicollet Mall

Salsa Del SolİAndrea Canter

Topped by the TCJF’s edition of “B-3 Organ Night, catch these free performances on the Caribou Coffee Main Stage, Peavey Plaza: 

• 4:00 pm, Neoterik. Organized by local drummer Miguel Hurtado, currently at student at the Manhattan School for Music, this band provides a good preview of the future of jazz. Joining Miguel will be fellow Minneapolis South High alums, pianist Javier Santiago (currently with the Brubeck Institute), bassist Chris Smith (heading to the New School in Manhattan after two years with the Brubeck Institute), and additional musicians from the Manhattan School for Music and Northern Illinois University. We’ve seen these amazing young artists in various configurations over the past few years and their skills and imagination always impress and engergize.

• 5:30 pm, Jon Weber and Friends. Yet another chance to enjoy the musicianship and entertaining banter of pianist Jon Weber, this time in the company of local talents like bassist Adam Linz.

• 7:30 pm, Tuesday Night Band with Bill Brown. The longest-running regular act at the Artists Quarter in St Paul comes to the main stage of the TCJF! Featuring B-3 organ grinder “Downtown” Bill Brown, the band includes AQ owner Kenny Horst on drums and Billy Franze on guitar. For over ten years, the TNB has held the Tuesday night slot at the AQ, and there have been many surprise guest appearances from guys like Steve Miller and Joey DeFrancesco. Enjoy this rare opportunity to hear “B-3 Organ Night” in a large outdoor venue.

• 9 pm, Tony Monaco and the Heatin’ System Tribute to Brother Jack McDuff. What better way to follow-up the Tuesday Night Band than with the Heatin’ System!  Led by Jimmy Smith protégé Tony Monaco (see above), with McDuff’s bandmates Andrew Beals (sax), John Hart (guitar) and Rudy Petschauer (drums), all chords and quips will be raised in tribute to Minnesota’s own king of the B-3, the late Jack McDuff.

• 11:30 pm, TCJF Live Jam at the Dakota. The Dakota Jazz Club, one block north of Peavey Plaza, hosts festival participants in a wild jam into the wee hours. And if you hussle, you can still make it to the Dakota in time for Bruce Henry’s last set! Henry will sing his last public gig prior to his move to Chicago at the end of June... although he promises to return frequently.

Saturday, June 28th, Nicollet Mall

Two stages provide music throughout the afternoon and evening.

On the Caribou Coffee Main Stage

• 1 pm, Dave Hagedorn. One of the best vibists you’ll ever hear, Dave spends much of his time teaching at St. Olaf in Northfield and playing regularly with the Phil Hey Quartet, Pete Whitman X-Tet, and Out to Lunch Quintet. This is a rare chance to hear Dave leading his own band, the ensemble that released Solid Liquid (Artegra) in 2003.

• 3 pm, Skyway Jazz Orchestra. A relatively new big band with some of the Twin Cities’ best musicians. Guaranteed to elevate your spirits

• 5 pm, Moore By Four. One of the longstanding ensembles in the Midwest, the four voices of Moore by Four, backed by director/pianist Sanford Moore, have been charming audiences for over 20 years. And the voices include the best around town or anywhere else—Dennis Spears, Ginger Commodore, Yolanda Bruce and Connie Evingson. Think Manhattan Transfer with a lot of blues and soul!

• 7 pm, Amina Figarova Sextet. Her name might be unfamiliar around here but Figarova is a highly acclaimed and creative pianist/composer with a big following in Europe. The native of Azerbaijan now living in Rotterdam, she was classically trained in Rotterdam and also attended the Berklee College of Music. Today she is performing some of the most inventive post bop on the scene. And she has a string of fine recordings to boot.

• 9 pm, Charmaine Neville. We don’t often get artists returning two years in a row, which says plenty about Charmaine’s performance at the TCJF in 2007!  Born into the New Orleans based Neville family of musicians, Charmaine is a popular act at festivals throughout the world as well as at home at Snug Harbor. Traditional New Orleans, down and dirty blues, R&B and jazz infuse her very entertaining shows.

On the MacPhail Center for Music/Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education Stage (10th and Nicollet Mall):

• 12:30 pm, MITY Band. The Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth Jazz Band, directed by Scott Carter, is always one of the highlights of the student stage each year. Featuring some of the most amazing high school musicians in the state!
• 2 pm, IAJE Mid Level Jazz Ensemble. Directed by Dave Milne, these middle school students offer plenty of enthusiasm and a surprising load of talent each year.
• 3:30 pm, Roseville High School Jazz Ensemble
• 5 pm, Shell Lake Jazz Camp Faculty
• 6:30 and 7:30 pm, Dakota Combo. In its second year, the Dakota Combo program is a collaboration among the MacPhail Center for Music and Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education. Directed by Kelly Rossum, this year the sextet features outstanding musicians from Minneapolis South High, Apple Valley, Minnetonka and Henry Sibley High Schools. This will be the last performance of this edition of the Combo. 
  

At the Dakota

On Saturday and Sunday nights, check out dynamo drummer Sheila E and the Escovedo Family Musicians, two sets at 7 and 9:30 pm (tickets $55/$40, reservations recommended). Known internationally for their world jazz flavors, this is a rare chance to see the Es in a small club setting. 

Sunday, June 29th, Nicollet Mall

On the Caribou Coffee Main Stage:

• 2 pm, Dan Musselman. Young pianist from Missouri, Dan recently graduated from McNally Smith College where he was the first recipient of the Diana Ross Scholarship. Now he performs weekly at the Artists Quarter with Cory Wong as well as at other local venues.

• 3:30 pm, Red Rock Swing Band. A 17-piece band out of Woodbury, the band specializes in classic big band charts from the 40s. Might want to bring dancing shoes!

• 5 pm, Salsa Del Soul. And keep those dancing shoes on your feet to finish the night with the hot Latin sounds of Salsa Del Soul, one of the perennial favorites of the TCJF.

On the MacPhail/Dakota Foundation Stage:

• 12:30 pm, Jazz Vocalists of Minnesota Showcase. Some of the best singers in the area, both veteran and newly launched, present a set of swinging singing, in various configurations from individuals to ensemble. A great way to sample the best voices in town.

• 2 pm, Totino Grace High School Jazz Ensemble. We have a number of strong jazz programs among metro high schools—here’s a chance to hear why.

• 3:30 pm. MacPhail Jam Session. Always a fun set, MacPhail’s jazz faculty, led by trumpeter Kelly Rossum, includes some of the hottest performers in town.

• 5:00 pm, MacPhail Faculty with Schubert Club/Dakota Foundation Jazz Piano Scholarship Winners. Finalists in the annual scholarship competition held last month at the Dakota, Joe Strachan of Northfield and Jacob Wittenberg of Mendota Heights will show you why the judges had difficulty selecting the ultimate Performance Scholarship winner! (Jacob got the nod.... but Joe has another year of eligibility!)

Full festival information and scheduling at www.twincitiesjazzfestival.com