Pippi Ardennia©Andrea Canter

Chicago transplant, jazz singer Pippi Ardennia, and drummer Glenn Swanson initiated the PipJazz Sundays concert series at Landmark Center in June 2011. Intended as a family-friendly, monthly presentation of vocal and instrumental jazz, to date the concerts have featured local stars, including Jamecia Bennett, Patty Peterson, Gary Schulte and Irv Williams, as well as the amazing voice of Pippi herself and her all-star house band of (usually) Peter Schimke, Billy Peterson, Jimi Behringer and Glenn Swanson. PipJazz Sundays will initiate its youth program on November 13th with the support of the Twin Cities Jazz Society. The program will feature three student musicians, each soloing with the house band. The following monthly concerts will each feature a student guest artist, sponsored by TCJS and Walker West Music Academy. 

Jordan Anderon, KBEM interview©Andrea Canter

Quentin Tschofen ©' Andrea Canter

The goals for the PipJazz Sundays’ Youth Program include 1) to provide opportunities for youth in the Twin Cities community to attend the concert series and experience world-class musicians; and 2) to provide performance opportunities for talented local jazz students as a priceless learning experience as well as a broader experience for the audience. Toward meeting the first goal, PipJazz provided free tickets to 75 middle and high school  and college students to attend the October 9th concert featuring lifelong performer and educator Irv Williams. A limited number of free tickets will be provided to students for all subsequent PipJazz Sundays concerts. 

Toward meeting the second goal, the first Jazz Youth Concert, cosponsored by TCJS, will be held on November 13th with middle school student pianist Jordan Anderson, high school student trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson, and college student pianist Quentin Tschofen.

• Jordan Anderson (13) is an 8th grader at the Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul and studies piano and jazz at Walker West Music Academy where he is a member of the jazz ensemble, Hit Hard Crew, directed by Solomon Parham. With HHC, Jordan has played at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, for Ella Fitzgerald Day at Midway Stadium, and at the 6th Annual Flow Northside Arts Crawl. Jordan will perform Lee Morgan’s composition, “Ceora,” with the PipJazz band. Jordan appeared on Patty Peterson’s “Playroom” (KBEM radio) in late October to talk about the upcoming PipJazz concert.
  

  DeCarlo Jackson © Andrea Canter

• DeCarlo Jackson (16) attends the St Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts, and studies trumpet with Solomon Parham at Walker West. He plays regularly with the Capri Big Band, co-leads the band Public New Sense, and has performed with the Dakota Combo and Walker West Jazz Ensembles. He’s performed at the Artists Quarter, Twin Cities Jazz Festival, Midtown Global Jazz Festival, Freedom Jazz Festival and more. DeCarlo will perform Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce” with the house band and will team with fellow student performer Quentin Tschofen on “My Funny Valentine.”

• Quentin Tschofen (17) is a 2011 graduate of the Lighthouse Program (Spring Lake Park) and now a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he is continuing piano studies with Bryan Nichols. He’s a past winner of the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education/Schubert Club High School Jazz Piano Competition, an alum of the Dakota Combo and Minnesota Youth Jazz Band, and was pianist for the U of M Jazz Ensemble II as a post-secondary options student. He’s performed at the Dakota, Artists Quarter, Twin Cities Jazz Festival and Studio Z. Quentin will perform the Charles Mingus composition, “Peggy’s Blue Skylight” with the house band and “My Funny Valentine” with DeCarlo.

Glenn Swanson©Andrea Canter

The Twin Cities Jazz Society and Walker West Music Academy are collaborating on a schedule of student guest artists for the upcoming 2012 PipJazz Sundays concert season. Student guest at the December 4th concert (featuring vocalist Esaro Tualo) will be violinist Zosha Warpeha, a student at the Perpich Center for the Arts. 

Concert begins at 5 pm. Tickets for all PipJazz Sundays concerts can be purchases in advance ($15) or at the door ($20). Concerts usually are held on the second Sunday of the month, 5 pm, in the Weyerhauser Auditorium at Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul (75 5th Street). (No concerts in January or February.) Tickets at www.pipjazz.com.

Adapted from Twin Cities Jazz Society Jazz Notes, November 2011. 

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