Jazz Police - JoAnn Funk Gives Us the “Oohlala:: The Music of Blossom Dearie, August 8th

JoAnn Funk Gives Us the “Oohlala:: The Music of Blossom Dearie, August 8th

Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor

Sunday, 05 August 2012

Blossom Dearie

When does a hotel piano bar become a jazz venue? When the talent belongs to musicians who not only soothe bar patrons with refined artistry, but at the same time can engage jazz cognescenti with their interpretive skills and serious repertoire. Pianist/vocalist JoAnn Funk effectively crosses that line most weekends in the Lobby Bar of the venerable St Paul Hotel in downtown St. Paul, usually in the company of bassist Jeff Brueske, and sometimes with the added pulse of drummer Nathan Norman. On August 8th, JoAnn and the trio take it down the street to the Artists Quarter, paying tribute to one of JoAnn’s most significant muses, Blossom Dearie.

JoAnn Funk©Andrea Canter

Long familiar to Twin Cities happy hour and weekend audiences, JoAnn Funk melds her classical training (degree from UW-Madison) and jazz studies (with David Hazeltine and Joan Wildman) to the keyboard and microphone. She toured as a staff musician on the SS Norway after college graduation, then relocated to St. Paul where she has performed in solo, duo and trio formats, with long-term gigs at Orion Room, Dakota, Radisson Hotels (St Paul and University), Wayzata Country Club, and Zander Café in addition to the St Paul Hotel’s Lobby Bar. She’s also in demand as a performer for corporate and private events, casinos, concerts and festivals. Always a pianist, JoAnn began adding vocals to her performances about ten years ago, recognizing the charms of mixing piano and voice. Drawing influences from the likes of Blossom Dearie, Diana Krall and Norah Jones, JoAnn has evolved her own vocal style, to which she adds her own arrangements and a growing repertoire of beloved and less familiar, often quirky songs from the diverse books of Dearie, Krall, Jones, Nat King Cole, Otis Redding, Bob Dorough, Tony Bennett, Patsy Cline, Leonard Cohen and Boz Scaggs. In 2011, her trio put it all together on CD, Pick Yourself Up.

Jeff Brueske©Andrea Canter

Teacher, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Brueske brings his bass chops to the Lobby Bar weekly, as well as working with Sidewalk Café, the Willie August Project and more. After completing a masters in guitar performance and pedagogy, he was inspired to take up the double bass by listening to jazz greats such as Charles Mingus and Charlie Haden. A former student of Anthony Cox, Dennis Irwin and Rodney Whitaker, Jeff has played with Connie Evingson, Laura Caviani, Tanner Taylor, the late Bobby Peterson, David Roos, Reynold Philipsek, and Rhonda Laurie.

Washington, DC native Nathan Norman earned a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music and studied with the Percussion Group Cincinnati at the University of Cincinnati. After teaching at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts back in Washington, he relocated to the Twin Cities in 1988 where he has performed extensively with area artists, including vocalists Debbie Duncan, Connie Evingson and Charmin Michelle. He’s also played and recorded with Bill Banfield, Nancy Bierma, Robert Huntley and more.

Regarding Blossom Dearie, JoAnn notes that she “has had a great influence on my piano playing, singing and choice of songs. In my regular performances for Jazz in The Lobby Bar at The Saint Paul Hotel, I've found that people love, request and recognize her music and so was encouraged to explore it more. I was fortunate to hear her play in 2006. Her musicianship and sense of time is impeccable… Her song choices and interpretations range from wry to witty to heartbreaking but are always deceptively unassuming…Our show spans the length of her career, from the Verve recordings with Ray Brown to her later more pop oriented style.”

The Artists Quarter is located at 408 St. Peter Street in the lower level of the Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul. Note start time this evening is 8 pm with a $10 cover at the door; www.artistsquarter.com

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