Mose Allison

The AQ, in the lower level of the Hamm Building at 7^th Place and St. Peter Street, doesn’t pretend to be the place be and be seen; and if you are looking for fine dining or tony ambience to accompany your music, you’re on the wrong side of the river. But, for those seeking serious music in casual comfort, sans restaurant clatter (and often without the idle chatter), the AQ is a jazz haven. Weeknights the cover seldom exceeds $3; on most weekends $10 cover the night, and the early weekend sets are non-smoking. Sometimes I think of the AQ as the jazz version of “Cheers”—where everybody knows your name, and owner/drummer Kenny Horst and official host Davis Wilson are “pleased and flipped” (to use Davis’ greeting) to welcome you aboard.

September Weekends (9 pm unless otherwise noted)

Photo by Howard A. GItelson

Photo by Andrea Canter

Photo by Don Berryman

September 9-10, The Tuesday Night Band, B-3 Organ Night Weekend Edition. The AQ lost one of its long-time heroes when organist Billy Holloman moved to Las Vegas earlier this summer. The Tuesday Night Band is alive and well, however, now in the good hands of “Downtown” Bill Brown on B-3 and Billy Franze on guitar, along with sax veteran Gary Berg and drummer Kenny Horst. A B-3 repair legend as well as incendiary organ grinder himself, Brown has ably filled Holloman’s chair with his own style and groove. For years Brown has been a popular performer, studio artist, and Hammond instructor. Franze has established his chops with Ben Sidran, Mavis Staples, and Prince, and has been part of Dr. Mambo’s Combo. Multi-instrumentalist Gary Berg swings on tenor, alto, and soprano sax as well as the chromatic harmonica. He has played a supporting role for many area musicians, live and on record. Notes Don Berryman, “He lets the bop riffs ride on the groove in a way that’s true to the music and the feeling.” In addition to his ownership and management of the Artists Quarter, Kenny Horst is one of the most popular drummers in the area. He anchored Bobby Lyle’s Organ Trio for three years at the Blue Note in New York, toured with Jimmy McGriff, briefly with Al Hirt, and locally has played with many of the national artists booked at the AQ. “His musical roots are deep and he swings like nobody’s business” (Don Berryman). You can always hear the Tuesday Night Band on…well, of course on Tuesday nights at the AQ, but this “weekend edition” will be a special celebration its reincarnation.

Photo by Andrea Canter

September 23-25, Mose Allison (sets at 8:30/10:30 pm Friday and Saturday; 7:30 and 9:30 pm on Sunday; cover $18). It’s become an annual event, it seems, to have the great blues and bop singer/pianist/composer Mose Allison on the AQ bandstand. Notes the Village Voice, "For over thirty years, this premier songwriter, singer and pianist has stared down the oncoming doom, peppering his idiosyncratic blend of jazz and blues with mordant wit and unflinching honesty." Born 78 years ago in Tippo, Mississippi, Allison played piano in the back of a local gasoline station. Moving to New York after a stint in the Army, he met Bob Dorough and played with such stars as Stan Getz and Zoot Sims before his reputation as a songwriter earned him the nickname, “The William Faulkner of Jazz.” Recording companies were never sure how to market him, as a jazz artist, pop icon, or blues master, and artists from all genres have been drawn to his songs. As noted on National Public Radio, “musicians everywhere swap Mose's lyrics like punch lines to an inside joke.” A night with Mose Allison is a night of pure entertainment and fun, so don’t miss this great weekend—you have three nights of opportunity.