John Scofield©Andrea Canter

The second day of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival kicks off at noon with the youthful exuberance of the Walker West Jazz Ensemble on the main stage and the opening of the Youth Stage at Cray. The afternoon continues on four stages at Mears Park, on Sixth Street, at Cray and at the Hat Trick Lounge, with headliners Bobby Watson, John Ellis and John Scofield expected to draw crowds topping 30,000. 

See the full line-up and schedule online at www.twincitiesjazzfestival.com  

Mears Park Main State (5th and Sibley Streets, St. Paul; free)

Noon – 1 pm, Walker West Music Academy. Most of the student ensembles will be across the street at Cray Plaza, but the Walker West Music Academy Ensembles have long been crowd favorites at Mears Park. Directed by acclaimed educator Felix James, the bands of Walker West feature some of the most talented youth in the region, ages 12 and up through high school. 

2 – 3 pm, McNally Smith Jazz Ensemble. A fitting follow-up act, students from McNally Smith in downtown St Paul offer the best of college jazz. McNally Smith is a rapidly growing music school cutting across all genres of popular and improvised music and boasting a faculty of the best jazz musicians in the area—Pete Whitman, Kevin Washington, Chris Olson, Dave Schmalenberger and more lend their expertise to shaping the stars of jazz to come. 

Bobby Watson©Andrea Canter

6-7:30 pm, John Elllis and Double Wide. Only in his mid-30s, saxophonist John Ellis has worked in New Orleans with Ellis Marsalis and for six years with the great Charlie Hunter. Now he leads his Double Wide band with mostly New Orleans musicians, including Jason Marsalis on drums, Matt Perrine on sousaphone, and Brian Coogan on organ. 

8:30 – 10 pm, John Scofield’s Piety Street Band. One of the working legends of modern jazz guitar, John Scofield has enjoyed an eclectic career since his student days at Berklee in Boston. He first recorded with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, went on to a short stint with the Billy Cobham/George Duke band, recorded with Charles Mingus and joined Gary Burton’s Quartet. In the early-mid 80s, he toured and recorded with Miles Davis, and ever since, has been leading his own internationally acclaimed bands and appearing with a Who’s Who list of jazz and fun-oriented musicians. His Piety Street Band draws on some of the hottest talents of New Orleans. 

Twin Cities Seven with Charmin Michelle©Andrea Canter

Sixth Street Stage (Between Sibley and Wacouta, St Paul; free)

1 – 2 pm, Connie Evingson with the Parisota Hot Club. About three years ago, local songbird Connie Evingson branched out beyond the Great American Songbook and the Beatles to tackle hot club swing, and the results were electrifying. Two gypsy jazz recordings later, Connie is still drawing crowds and raves for her appearances with the best of local, national and international hot club bands. Parisota Hot Club is one of her frequent partners, and features some of the genre’s best practitioners in Robb Henry (guitar), Gary Schulte (violin) and Jim Chenoweth (bass). 

3-4 pm, Twin Cities Seven with Charmin Michelle. A long-time festival favorite, the TC7 led by sax/clarinet star Doug Haining keeps the flame of the swing era alive and well. A frequent partner has been vocalist Charmin Michelle, one of the best interpreters of the Great American Songbook you will hear. Or have heard, as she is also one of the busiest musicians in town and abroad, be it at Fireside Pizza or Crave or Cinema Ballroom, or at clubs and festivals in Spain and beyond. 

5-6 pm, Ronnie Loew. Continuing this fesitvals’s emphasis on saxophone, funky Ronnie Loew has appeared with The Good, The Bad and The Funky, Mick Stirling, TC Jammers, and Casablanca Orchestra. Now he returns to the festival with his “R&B, funk and jazz band with a lead sax player instead of a singer.” 

7:30 – 8:30 pm, Salsa del Soul. Better bring along your dancing shoes, because every time Salsa del Soul appears at the festival, the street becomes a dance floor. Salsa del Soul brings the deep rhythms of Latin street bands to Lowertown, and you won’t want to sit still. 

Youth Stage at Cray, Sponsored by the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education (Cray Plaza, 5th and Sibley, St. Paul; free) 

Noon – 12:30 pm, Minnesota Jazz Educators Association, Mid Level Honors Band. Formerly the IAJE Mid Level band, this group of middle school students is selected through audition and spend a week in intensive study and rehearsal. Directed by John Zimmerman, this year’s guest conductor is Dave Hagedorn. 

1-1:45 pm, BFGS Quartet. Four “veterans” of Minnesota high school honor bands now enrolled in college music programs return home for the summer: Jake Baldwin (trumpet), now studying at the New England Conservatory of Music; Rob Fletcher (drums), now at DePaul University in Chicago; Cory Grindberg (bass), enrolled in the music program at Northwestern University in Chicago, and Joe Strachan (piano), at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. High energy and inventive, the quartet will play original compositions and arrangements. 

2:15 – 2:50 pm, Twin Cities Youth Jazz Camp Ensemble. Bernie Edstrom conducts this intensive jazz camp each summer for students in grades 6-12. A faculty of acclaimed area artists teach students technique, theory, history, and ensemble communication. This band from the south Minneapolis session of TCYJC promises to ripple with youthful joy. 

3:15 – 4:05 pm, Jazz Piano Showcase with Kai Olstad and Quentin Tschofen. For the past six years, the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education has teamed up with the Schubert Club to host a jazz piano scholarship competition for students in grades 9-12. Each spring students submit applications and recordings, and up to three are selected to receive the endowed scholarships of $500 each. These finalists compete in a live competition at the Dakota Jazz Club in mid May, with one additional scholarship provided to the winner of the final round. Two of the 2010 finalists perform with their trios this afternoon, Kai Olstad (Northfield High School, age 17) and Quentin Tschofen (Light House Program of Spring Lake Park, age 16). 

Dakota Combo©Andrea Canter

5:45 – 6:30 pm, St Paul Central High School Jazz Band. Directed by Matt Oyen, the St. Paul Central High School program has one of the area’s most active and accomplished jazz programs. In the past year the jazz band has participated in workshops with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In addition to outstanding instrumentalists, the band boasts a fine vocalist as well. 

7 – 8 pm, Dakota Combo. Now completing its fourth year, the Dakota Combo is a program of the MacPhail Center for Music in partnership with the DFJE. Selected through open auditions each year, high school students study, rehearse and perform throughout the school year under the direction of Adam Linz, MacPhail’s Jazz Coordinator. This year the Combo includes seven students in grades 9-12: Anna Buchholz, saxophones (2010 graduate, Stillwater HS); Danny Hupp, saxophones (junior, Minneapolis Southwest HS); John Cushing, trombone (junior, Minnetonka HS); Zosha Warpeha, violin (freshman, Princeton HS); Quentin Tschofen, piano (sophomore, Spring Lake Park Lighthouse Program); Caitlin Kelliher, bass (junior, Minneapolis Southwest HS); Cameron LeCrone, drums (2010 graduate, Minnetonka HS). 

Hat Trick Lounge (134 E. 5th Street, St. Paul; free)

5:30 – 6:30, Jack Brass Band. The area’s only authentic New Orleans brass band, JBB has performed at the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans and has regular gigs at Famous Dave’s BBQ and other local venues. Another cause for dancing! 

7 – 8 pm, Cory Wong Quartet. Creative young guitarist is a veteran of weekly gigs at the Artists Quarter and has released two recordings. His quartet features piano monster Dan Musselman. 

Dan Frankowski©Andrea Canter

10 pm-12:30 am, Shoop! A jazz quintet backing five vocalists. Fronting the group are five seasoned voices, including sopranos Lou Ann Henderson and Amy Olson, alto Karen Sullivan, tenor John Sturtz and bass Geoff Thompson. Individually, the singers have performed around the Twin Cities in local groups such as Harmonic Relief, 5th Avenue, and the Minnesota Zephyr Cabaret Singers. Now together in Shoop!, they blend their vocal talents in fresh and complex harmonies, with depth and range. 

Artists Quarter (408 St Peter Street, St Paul; $10)

9 pm – 1 am, Jon Weber Trio. Back again as the festival’s “house pianist,” Jon Weber is a good example of an artist living up to his early potential. As a toddler in Milwaukee playing a toy organ, it was soon apparent that he had both perfect pitch and memory; by age 6 Jon had memorized 2,000 songs from his grandmother’s old piano rolls. A self-taught musician, Jon and his quintet opened for Pat Metheny, Buddy Rich, Freddie Hubbard, and Stanley Turrentine at major summer jazz festivals before he made the move to Chicago in 1987. His career has since sent him around the world and into the recording studio. In addition to his remarkable chops, Weber is well known for his incredible music knowledge. He’s been the subject of profiles by CNN, CNBC, Black Entertainment TV, Bravo/Arts, National Public Radio, and Voice of America. After appearing on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, he was commissioned by Warner Brothers to transcribe Portraits, a book of Marian's improvised piano solo compositions. Recently Jon has been splitting his time between Chicago and New York, where he has been a regular performer at the 92nd Street Y jazz series. At the AQ, he will dazzle with his technique and entertain with his encyclopedic recall of musical trivia. 

Black Dog Café  (308 Prince Street, St Paul)

10:30 pm – Midnight, Café Accordion. “World beat music of the Kennedy era,” this band covers Latin, gypsy and French styles. Guaranteed fun. 

McNally Smith College of Music, (19 E. Exchange Street, St Paul; free)

1:30-2:30 pm, Free Clinic with Joe Lovano. After headlining last night at Mears Park, the great tenor saxophonist/composer/bandleader offers this clinic for students and the general public. 

Full festival information and schedules at www.twincitiesjazzfestival.com  

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