Dean Magraw©Andrea Canter

“Dissolving the individual ‘I’ in the dynamic liquid of the collective ‘us,’ a new entity is unleashed, capable of seeking ever-higher levels of expressions unavailable to the isolated player. You know...... a band.” –Dean Magraw 

One of the most prolific and popular musicians based in the Twin Cities, guitarist Dean Magraw is also one of the most eclectic, with a thirty-year career spanning genres and cultures, from blues to classical to folk and jazz, from Japanese and Indian to Celtic and middle American.  With his organ trio featuring MIkkel Romstad and Kenny Horst, Dean brings the "dynamic liquid of the collective" to the Artists Quarter for a weekend of molten lava, November 14-15.

Starting out on bugle, St. Paul native Dean Magraw studied classical guitar at the University of Minnesota and Berklee College of Music in Boston. For many years, Magraw was half of a popular partnership with mandolin virtuoso Peter Ostroushko. Straddling jazz, folk, bluegrass and more, he has performed with and/or recorded with Ruth McKenzie, Claudia Schmidt and Greg Brown, among others; he has explored his Celtic heritage performing with Celtic accordionist John Williams.  Other collaborations include Japanese shamisen prodigy Nitta Masahiro, classical violinist Nigel Kennedy, South Indian vocalist and vina virtuoso Nirmala Rajasheker, songstress and storyteller Ruth MacKenzie, Irish supergroup Altan, Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion, and jazz bassist Anthony Cox. Magraw’s first solo recording, Broken Silence, won the NAIRD 1994 Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of the Year. Dean released Seventh One in 1998, the solo album Heavy Meadow in 2004, Raven with John Williams in 2006; and appears on Claudia Schmidt’s 2006 release, Live at the Dakota with his quintet. A year ago, Dean and his regular trio of Jim Anton and JT Bates released the acclaimed Unseen Rain. Of Magraw, Steve Tibbetts wrote, "It's guitar, but it's so liquid, lyrical and effortless that it's like listening to a dancer."

Pianist  and Hammond B-3 specialist Mikkel Romstad has played with a long list of Twin Cities musicians, including the Brad Bellows Sextet, The Five, the Dean Brewington Quarter, George Avaloz and vocalists Lucia Newell and Christine Rosholt. And drummer Kenny Horst needs no introduction to AQ audiences. As owner of the AQ, Kenny serves as house trapsmaster, recording engineer, host, booking agent and more.

Dean Magraw’s ethereal lines, wandering melodies and global influences permeate Unseen Rain as well as his live performances. Live or on disk, the influence of John Coltrane is ever-present, as well as threads of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern roots here and there. For his organ trio, the addition of Mikkel Romstad’s Hammond B-3 grooves and the ever-energetic drumming of Kenny Horst will make this the hot gig of the weekend, November 14-15, 9 pm.

The Artists Quarter is located at 408 St. Peter Street, in the lower level of the Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul. More about Dean Magraw is available at www.deanmagraw.com. See the full AQ schedule at www.artistsquarter.com