Jazz Police - Celebrate Jazz Education at the Dakota: Shell Lake Faculty, Dakota Combo on February 11th

On Thursday February 11th, the Shell Lake Art Center and Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education will team up to present a night of music that highlights of talents of both jazz educators and jazz students. Held at the Dakota Jazz Club during the nearby Minnesota Music Educators Association Convention, state jazz and band directors in particular are encouraged to attend and learn about the programs offered by Shell Lake and the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education while enjoying music performed by the Shell Lake Faculty Ensemble and the Dakota Combo.

The Shell Lake Arts Center has been providing arts education to a diverse clientele since 1968, and has grown to be one of the most respected and longest-running programs of its kind in the U.S. First known as the Indianhead Art Center affiliated with the University of Wisconsin system, the program under its current name has operated independently since 2004. Located in northwestern Wisconsin in the town of Shell Lake, the Arts Center attracts many metro-area students to its acclaimed summer camp programs, which include Jazz Combo and Jazz Ensemble options, as well as programs for strings, concert band, rock band, wind ensembles, piano, choir, trumpet, guitar, saxophone and more throughout the summer. Dance, film, theater and visual arts programs are also available.

The summer jazz camps offer an intense week of jazz playing in small groups. Students learn improvised solo skills, styles, and play timeless jazz standards under the guidance of a nationally recognized teaching-artist faculty. All music students are welcomed, and students grouped by skill level. Alumni of the Shell Lake Jazz Camps include such notable performers as pianists Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus), Geoffrey Keezer (Art Blakey, Jim Hall, Dianne Reeves) and Lyle Mays (Pat Metheny Group); saxophonist Bill Evans (Miles Davis, Randy Brecker); and trumpeter Byron Stripling.

The major support organization for jazz education in the Twin Cities, the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education was formed in 1997 by Dakota co-owner Lowell Pickett and the late Jane Matteson, a jazz lover and benefactor. With generous support from private and corporate donors, the DFJE funds programs that connect established artists with the next generation of jazz musicians, including the Dakota Foundation/Schubert Club Jazz Piano Scholarships, jazz camp scholarships, clinics, a student stage at the summer Twin Cities Jazz Festival and, most recently, the Dakota Combo.

Dakota Combo (with December guest Tia Fuller)©Andrea Canter

The Dakota Combo, now in its fourth year, is a small ensemble of exceptional high school musicians selected each fall by open auditions. A program of the MacPhail Center for Music, initially established by Kelly Rossum and now directed by Adam Linz, the Combo includes biweekly rehearsals throughout the school year, annual performance and clinic with a guest artist at the Dakota Jazz Club, school visits, and performances at MacPhail, the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, and other venues. Many of the Combo students have attended Shell Lake jazz camps! Alumni of the Dakota Combo have gone on to prestigious music programs at Juilliard, Berklee College of Music, The New England Conservatory of Music, New School, Northwestern University, Stanford University, Lawrence Conservatory of Music, William Paterson of New Jersey and more.

At the February 11th performance, the Shell Lake Jazz Faculty Ensemble is expected to include area musicians Greg Keel, Michael Walk, Scott Johnson and David Milne (saxophones), Chris Olson (guitar), Phil Ostrander, Jeff Rinear and Dean Sorenson (trombones), Dan Musselman (piano), Graydon Peterson (bass), Jason Price (drums), and Randy Sabien (violin). The Dakota Combo includes Anna Buchholz and Danny Hupp (saxophones), John Cushing (trombone), Zosha Warpeha (violin), Quentin Tschofen (piano), Caitlin Keliher (bass) and Cameron LeCrone (drums).

The February 11th evening of jazz is open to the public for a $5 cover. Shell Lake Ensemble will play the first two sets, followed by the Dakota Combo. Information about Shell Lake jazz programs, the Dakota Combo, and Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education will be available at the show.

The Dakota is located at 1010 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, about two blocks from the site of the MMEA Convention. MMEA members can stop by the Shell Lake Art Center table at the convention for a free club pass for this evening’s show. Visit www.dakotacooks.com; www.dfje.org; and www.shelllakeartscenter.org