Following graduation from Northfield High School, Joe began playing around the Twin Cities with other young musicians in the Metropolitan Port Authority (MPA) and BFGS Quartet led by young trumpeter Jake Baldwin, appearing at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, Dakota Late Night series, and Honey Lounge. Joe attended the Lawrence University Conservatory for his freshman year, but decided to transfer to the University of Minnesota in order to become a part of the vibrant jazz scene in the Twin Cities. Gigs were hard to come by in Appleton, WI! In the past year, Joe has served as pianist for the U of M’s Jazz Ensemble I, and has performed with the Aaron Hedenstrom Orchestra at the Dakota, with his own trio and with Remy Taghavi and Friends at the Artists Quarter, and at the 2011 Twin Cities Jazz Festival. 

At Studio Z, Joe will perform a free improvisation set with trumpeter Noah Oppoven-Baldwin. A 2010 graduate of Roseville Area High School, Noah studied with Pat Moriarty, and is currently attending the University of Minnesota. Joe and Noah will also join bassist Cory Grindberg and drummer Miguel Hurtado for a set of original compositions. Cory, an alum of Minneapolis South High School and the Dakota Combo, attends Northwestern University; he has also played with BFGS and MPA. Miguel, also a South High alum, attended the Manhattan School of Music, graduating in 2010, and has been building his reputation in the Twin Cities across diverse genres. He led a quintet at the 2011 Twin Cities Jazz Festival, and will reprise that performance with a weekend at the Artists Quarter, August 19-20. 

Quentin Tschofen is only 17 but he’s already amassing performance and composition credits that belie his youth. A scholarship winner in the 2010 and 2011 Schubert Club/DFJE jazz piano competitions and the pianist for the Dakota Combo for the past two years, Quentin has studied with Bryan Nichols and Adam Linz at MacPhail Center for Music, and has attended MacPhail’s summer jazz camps, played in the Minnesota Youth Jazz Band, and participated in the Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth. In his spare time, he has performed at the Artists’ Quarter in the Twin Cities Jazz Society’s Young Artists Series, at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and Dakota Street Fest in 2010 and 2011, and led his quintet at the recent Midtown Global Market Jazz Festival. He’s also performed with his trio at the Dakota on the Late Night Series and at other venues and private functions. During the past year, Quentin enrolled at the U of M as a Post Secondary Options student, nailing down the piano chair for Jazz Ensemble II. This fall, Quentin will attend the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. 

Quentin’s Quintet at Studio Z will include saxophonist Brad Allen (2011 graduate of Minnetonka High School, heading to Northwestern University); trumpeter Caleb McMahon (alum of the Perpich Center for the Arts, starting his second year at the New School for Jazz in New York); bassist Jordan Jenkins (2011 graduate of Apple Valley High School, heading to UW-Eau Claire); and drummer Matt Buckner (graduate of Interlochen, now attending the University of Miami). 

In one evening at Studio Z, for a mere $5 cover (snacks included!), you can get a great sampling of what’s new on the local modern jazz scene, and who will be the artists to watch in the future. 

Studio Z is located at 275 E. 4th Street, second level of the Northwestern Building, in St. Paul’s Lowertown. More information at http://studiozstpaul.com; http://.quentintschofen.com