One of the busiest musicians throughout his career and one of the most beloved by colleagues and jazz fans alike, saxophone master and Minnesota Jazz Legend Dave Karr passed away July 19th at age 96. He was perhaps best known as a tenor player, but also made his mark on bari, leading his “Mulligan Stew” ensemble for many years; his versatility on many winds (including flute and clarinet) made him indispensible to such groups as the JazzMN Orchestra, Twin Cities Seven and more. Over his career he was associated with such younger talents as vocalists Connie Evingson and Lucia Newell, pianist Tanner Taylor, guitarist Sam Miltich, and saxophonist and bandleader Pete Whitman, as well as such innovators as Adam Linz and JT Bates. Dave was steeped in Bebop but ever-searching for something new—and over a career spanning more than 7 decades, he never lost his desire to move his music ahead.
Born in Canada, the son of well-known saxophonist Harry Karr, Dave emigrated to England as a youngster where his father performed with the BBC in London. Around age 9, his family moved to New York. By his teens, Dave was hanging out on 52nd Street, listening and absorbing the sounds of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, noting “That’s where I got my education. Nobody taught jazz in school,” he said in a 2012 interview for MPR. His father was “old school,” but to young Dave, bebop “was the sound of change…Everything that changes and is different appeals to me…I don’t want to listen to guys that play like me. I can already do that. I want to listen to guys that play different and sort of make me go, ‘wow, what the heck is he doing?’ That’s very stimulating for me.” Dave took up the saxophone after hearing a Stan Kenton recording featuring tenor saxophonist Vido Musso, who had an aggressive style. Yet it was some years later when Lee Konitz introduced him to Lester Young—“ the guy who really changed saxophone playing… made music instead of just stuff for folks to dance to.”
Dave’s first professional stint –after high school graduation–was with the Sonny Durham Orchestra. After serving in the 324th Army Band based in Aberdeen MD during the Korean War, Dave studied at the Manhattan School of Music. A visit with relatives in Minnesota in 1954 prompted his move to the Twin Cities, where he enrolled in music classes at the University of Minnesota. Soon he launched his nearly 70-year career on the Twin Cities jazz scene, playing, composing and producing music for radio and television, writing jingles for advertisements, and even serving as a staff musicians for the newly opened Guthrie Theater. In 1986, he won a Clio advertising industry award for a jingle he wrote for the state zoo that had jazzy sounds coming from different animals. In 1996, Dave formed Mark and Dave Music and Sound Design with Mark Henderson. Throughout his career, he performed with numerous bands, symphony orchestras, Broadway shows, and for a long list of recording sessions. In 2007, he was awarded a McKnight Fellowship for performance excellence.
As a leader he launched the bari-based Mulligan Stew as well as his quartets; appeared live and in numerous recording sessions with the best of the area’s instrumentalists and vocalists, was a fixture at the Artists Quarter and other venues, and always a source of inspiration to his fellow musicians. Noted Pete Whitman, “Whoever plays with him is deeply impacted by him and what a great artist he is… He’s always looking at things anew and experimenting with different approaches to improvisation. ” Frequent partner Connie Evingson noted in a Minneapolis Star Tribune interview that “You can hear influences in his playing of all the great players that came before him. At the same time, he’s developed his own voice, and his tone is very recognizable.” And noted bassist Gary Raynor, “He made me a better player and person whenever we shared a stage.”
Colleagues also remember Dave’s sense of humor, on and off the bandstand. Notes trombonist Dave Graf, “Always a kind, calm presence, but also funny as heck!” “He was a consummate professional and taught me many, many things about music, along with being one of the funniest cats on the bandstand,” recalls bassist Chris Bates.
It seemed that Dave never slowed down, even as he moved into his 80s. In 2016, he was named a Minnesota Jazz Legend by KBEM Jazz 88. And approaching 90, he was still gigging at the Black Dog, Jazz Central and other venues around the Twin Cities. The sounds of his horn, his red socks, and his impish smile won’t disappear.
Quotes included in this article come from Facebook, MPR, and the Star Tribune.
