Noted AQ owner Kenny Horst, "The thing about Bobby is he could raise the level of everybody in the room. He could swing like crazy. That's what set him apart." Kenny recalls that audiences would often break into applause before Bobby could finish a solo. A composer as well as accomplished on saxophone and trumpet, Peterson was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 1994. He collapsed at the piano following a gig on July 8, 2002. Noted cousin Billy, "He went out on the bandstand, a perfect ending to a musician's life." 

Bobby Peterson’s life and music will be celebrated over two nights of jazz trio performances. On Friday, featured pianists include Bill Carrothers, Laura Caviani and Bryan Nichols. On Saturday night, the keyboards will be in the hands of Carrothers, Chris Lomheim and Peter Schimke. Graydon Peterson (bass) and Kenny Horst (drums) will keep things in time. 

Both Nights, February 10-11:

• Nominated for the French “Grammy” equivalent, Les Victoires du Jazz, Bill Carrothers spends much of his playing time in Europe and most of his down time in Michigan. The Excelsior, MN native started out with lessons from his church organist at age five—and he initially hated the piano. “My mom made me play… She used to set the oven timer for a half-hour and I'd have to just sit there, even if I didn't play, I had to just sit there and stare at the keys and I just hated it. I wanted to play baseball.” But eventually Carrothers was turned on to jazz by his piano teacher, the late Bobby Peterson, who eschewed the academic exercises; instead “it was all sitting down and listening to records, playing along with them, or turning the stereo off and playing duets.” Over his career, Carrothers has garnered rave reviews throughout the U.S. and particularly in Europe, where he has been honored with the 2000 French Diapason d'Or de l'Année, the 2004 Grand Prix de l'Academie Charles Cros, and numerous Top 10 of the Year lists in France. As a sideman, Bill has appeared with Joe Beck, Scott Colley, Buddy DeFranco, Dave Douglas, Curtis Fuller, Billy Higgins, Lee Konitz, James Moody, Dewey Redman, Charlie Rouse, and Toots Thielmans, among others; as a leader he has released 16 recordings in solo, duo, trio and larger contexts. Around the world, he has received accolades for his recent diverse releases, including  Keep Your Sunnyside Up, Home Row and Joy Spring, and his 2011 CDs, Excelsior (solo) and Live at the Village Vanguard (trio).

 

On Friday, February 10th: 

• 

  Laura Caviani©Andrea Canter
  Laura Caviani is a well-respected pianist, composer and educator currently on the faculties of St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges in Northfield. She’s a very active performer, regularly appearing with Pete Whitman’s X-Tet, Soul Café, Joan Griffith, and her own trio, as well as touring nationally with vocalist Karrin Allyson. Her most recent CD, Going There, charted high on jazz radio following its release in 2006. Lately she’s been honoring her muses with special tributes to Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Mary Lou Williams and Alec Wilder, and tapping her classical background with jazz interpretations of Bach, Chopin and more.

 

• Bryan Nichols returned to his native Minnesota after studies at Iowa State and a few years of gigging in Chicago. A member of the 2004 edition of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead (“Jazz Stars of Tomorrow”), he performed at Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He’s played with Ari Brown, Maurice Brown, Von Freeman and more, and is currently on the faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. A 2010 McKnight Fellow, he leads his own trio, quintet and nonet, and released his debut recording, Bright Places, in 2011. Recently his ensemble revisited the works of the Keith Jarrett American Quintet.

 

On Saturday, February 11th:

• 

  Chris Lomheim©Andrea Canter
  Chris Lomheim’s first keyboard was the family organ, and as a child he studied both organ and piano in Minneapolis. Gaining a reputation as a composer as well as performer, he was featured at the West Bank School of Music Composer’s Forum in 1991. A member of the acclaimed Illicit Sextet in the 1990s (and recently reunited), Lomheim has played and/or recorded with a long list of Twin Cities’ musicians, including Gordy Johnson, Reid Kennedy and vocalists Debbie Duncan, Patty Peterson, Lucia Newell, Vicky Mountain and the late Christine Rosholt. As leader, he has made two acclaimed trio recordings, And You’ve Been Waiting? (1994, IGMOD) and The Bridge (2002, Artegra).

 

• Peter Schimke’s reputation extends far beyond the Twin Cities. He cut his teeth with rock bands in the 70s, moved on to studies at William Paterson University and with Manfredo Fest before settling in as one of the leading keyboardists in the Midwest.  In addition to stints with many touring artists, he also plays regularly with the adventuresome How Birds Work, Bruce Henry Sextet, and in duo with Irv Williams, as well as with his own trio.

 

If you never had the opportunity to hear Bobby Peterson live, there is simply no way to compensate for that gap. However, it is never too late to pay tribute to one of the legends and to hear his legacy through the music of those he inspired. This will be a very special weekend honoring a very special Minnesota musician.  

The AQ Tribute to Bobby Peterson takes place February 10-11, Friday and Saturday nights, 9 pm, at 408 St. Peter Street in St. Paul in the lower level of the Hamm Building. Information at www.artistsquarter.com and 651-292-1359. Bobby’s Live at the AQ CD is still available at the club.