 Corey WongİAndrea Canter New bands, new recordings, new musicians and old favorites highlight the music action at the Artists Quarter in March. Can spring be far behind? Weekends Were Meant for Jazz (9 pm, $10 unless otherwise noted) March 6, Cory Wong Quartet. He’s become a familiar face at the AQ, as this young guitarist sounds off every Tuesday night as part of the “opening” act for the long-running Tuesday Night Band. Cory Wong, in addition to guitar performance, works as a composer, arranger, producer and teacher. A recent graduate of McNally Smith College, Cory also brings his fusiony jazz chops to the Dan Musselman Quartet. This past summer, he released his debut recording, Even, Uneven, and appeared on the AQ stage in late January as part of the Jazz Guitar Hero Weekend. With Musselman on keys and Cory on strings, there’s no telling where you will end up, but it will be cool!
March 7, Laura Caviani Trio. Think piano in the TWin Cities and you have to think "Laura Caviani." Recently on the AQ stage as part of the Bobby Peterson tribute weekend, Laura fronts her always exciting trio as well as holding the piano chair for Pete Whitman's X-Tet and numerous touring artists, including Karrin Allyson. Her most recent CD, Going There, has a pile of accolades from far and wide, and her interpretations of Monk are among the most exciting in local repertoire. When she isn't busy performing, Laura is ensuring a new generation of musicians at Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges in Northfield.  Dean MagrawİAndrea Canter
March 20-21, Anthony Cox, Phil Hey, Chris Lomheim. If sports fans have Fantasy Football Leagues, why shouldn’t jazz fans have Fantasy Trios? In the Twin Cities, various combinations of local artists come to mind, and surely one combination to intrigue the aural senses would be a collaboration among pianist Chris Lomheim, bassist Anthony Cox and drummer Phil Hey. Presto! Welcome to the jazz version of Fantasy Island. Actually we’ve been here a few times already and each gig, Cox/Hey/Lomheim prove that dreams do come true. Take Anthony Cox, internationally renowned bassist who toured with Stan Getz and includes on his resume such luminaries as Bobby Previte, Dewey Redman, Geri Allen, Arthur Blythe, and Uri Caine. Locally he’s most often heard with Jazz Is Now! Or Phil Hey? Former student of Ed Blackwell and on the percussion faculty at the University of Minnesota, Phil toured with the late Dewey Redman and currently with vocalist Stacey Kent; he leads his own acclaimed quartet and manages the traps for the Out to Lunch Quintet, Pete Whitman X-Tet and more. On keys will be one of the area’s most in-demand pianists, Chris Lomheim, who redefines elegance and lyricism while maintaining a strong grip on bop idiom and original composition.  Jim SnideroİAndrea Canter
School Nights, Jazz Brights (9 pm, $5 unless otherwise noted) There’s jazz at the Artists' Quarter every Monday to Saturday and sometimes Sundays, and weeknights are always a bargain. First Mondays, Poetry Slam (8 pm, $5). The Poetry Slam is open to anyone 18+. Sign up between 7 and 8 pm. Other Mondays, Headspace (7- 9 pm), Open Poetry With Live Jazz (9 pm) (no cover). Replacing the long running Green, some of the faces will look familiar. Headspace features Rob Dewey on piano, Nick Haas on guitar, Rich Casey on bass and Spencer McGinnis on drums. Tuesdays with the Tuesday Night Band (early set—7 pm, no cover with Schmidt/Wong/ Meyer/Mussleman/Pena). B-3 Organ Night with the Tuesday Night Band features “Downtown” Bill Brown on Hammond B-3, along with Billy Franze on guitar and Kenny Horst on drums. A weekly tradition at the AQ, you never know who might sit in—Joey DeFrancesco usually appears whenever he’s in town. In June, the TNB was a featured band at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, performing on a Friday night in Minneapolis for a change! (No cover after 11 pm).Tuesday night expanded last winter with an exciting band featuring Zach Schmidt, Cory Wong, Cassie Meier, Jose Pena and Dan Musselman playing an early show at 7 pm (no cover). These young, talented musicians provide the perfect starter for AQ's longest-standing engagement.  Phil HeyİAndrea Canter
March 5, ROOKAI with Cassie Meier. March 11, How Birds Work. One of the AQ’s most popular creative bands, How Birds Work is the collaboration of four well-known area musicians—guitarist Dean Granros, bassist Chris Bates, pianist Peter Schimke, and drummer Kenny Horst. Guitarist Dean Granros keeps busy with his own trio, FKG, and Starry Eyed Lovelies. Bassist Chris Bates plays regularly with Low Blow, the Atlantis Quartet, Kelly Rossum Quartet and the guitar trios, Framework and Red Planet. In his role with How Birds Work, multi-faceted pianist Peter Schimke also displays his skills as a composer and adds vocals to the mix. And AQ owner/drummer Kenny Horst is a “great hard-bop, soul jazz, and fusion chops and the sweetest guy you could meet” (Don Berryman). March 12, Phil Hey Quartet. Put four eclectic and electrifying musicians on stage—pianist Phil Aaron, bassist Tom Lewis, vibes master Dave Hagedorn and drummer/ leader Phil Hey—and you get volcanic activity. The timekeeper for everyone from Pete Whitman and Mary Louise Knutson to the Out to Lunch Quintet, with his own quartet is where Phil shines most, and the PHQ’s release Subduction garnered Best of the Year awards in 2006.  Reid KennedyİAndrea Canter
March 19, The Alternates (7 pm, no cover). Wonder where some of our acclaimed musicians got their start? Probably a high school band like this one. The Alternates are five brashly talented students who already have accumulated considerable playing time with the likes of the Minnesota Youth Jazz Band, MITY Jazz Band, Dakota Combo and more. For their second AQ appearance, their early set will include tasty originals, fresh arrangements, and standards played from the perspective of the next generation. The musicians: Caleb McMahon (Perpich Center for Arts Education), trumpet; Peter Nyberg (St Paul Central HS), sax; Chris Misa (Perpich Center for Arts Education), piano; Cory Grindberg (Minneapolis South HS), bass; and Rob Fletcher (Eden Prairie HS), drums. Catch them this spring before graduation! And stick around for the Dave Karr Quartet at 9 pm! March 19, Dave Karr Quartet (9 pm). Raised in New York and educated at the U of M, multi-reed veteran Dave Karr shows no signs of slowing down in his 70s—just the opposite! Busy backing such vocal stars as Connie Evingson and Christine Rosholt, holding down the tenor chair for the JazzMn Big Band and Pete Whitman X-Tet, and managing Mulligan Stew, Dave delights us with his big bari, red socks and wisecracks. We love to see Dave bring out the big bari, show off his (always) red socks, and wisecrack his way through a set, but most of all, we just love Dave’s music, a “fluid style [that]is both exciting and elegant” (Don Berryman, Jazz Police).  The AlternatesİAndrea Canter
March 26, Pete Whitman’s X-Tet ($8 cover). Saxophone titan Pete Whitman brought ten musicians together for a single recording session in 2002. Where’s When might be hard to find these days since the demise of Artegra Records, but you can always find the X-Tet, performing nearly monthly at the AQ. Wrote reviewer Bret Rudolph (Music Tap), “The music is something of a puzzle that waits for the listener to put the pieces together…The chords are well defined and exceptionally detailed allowing the listener to not only experience the excitement but hear the synergy between the different instruments and musicians alike.” A night with the X-Tet brings back that special synergy, with a virtual Who’s Who of local jazz. Coming Soon! - April 3–4, Greg Skaff
- April 24–25, Jim Rotondi
The Artists Quarter is located at 408 St. Peter Street (lower level of the Hamm Building) in downtown St. Paul. Visit www.artistsquarter.com for updates and more information.
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Twin Cities, MN 
Thursday, 29 July 2010
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