| 12th Annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival |
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| Written by Administrator | |
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The 2010 Twin Cities Jazz Festival will take place June 17, 18 and 19 in Lowertown St. Paul with free concerts at Mears Park (off 6th Street and Sibley) on two stages (Main Stage and 6th Street Stage), and at the Youth Stage at Cray Plaza. More Festival concerts will be held at participating clubs and venues (cover charges may apply). The Festival will kick off Thursday, June 17 with the return of the popular Jazz Night Out Club Crawl featuring live music in a number of downtown St. Paul clubs, and a concert at Mears Park.
The juried exhibit showcase Visual Jazz, celebrating art inspired by jazz, will once again be on view during the Twin Cities Jazz Festival at the Artist Mercantile, located in the Hamm building above the Artists’ Quarter. The Visual Jazz display will begin June 14 and continue through July 3. The opening reception/party will be held June 17 (6 to 9 p.m.), during Jazz Night Out.
FFI, <www.twincitiesjazzfestival.com> and Facebook. —Press Release
Twin Cities Jazz Festival: A Few Highlights by Andrea Canter
Following are a few of the outstanding jazz performers scheduled to appear at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival in 2010.
THURSDAY, JUNE 17th Jazz Night Out MEARS PARK MAIN STAGE in partnership with Music in Mears (free) 6 to 9 p.m. - Pippi Ardennia Lowertown Entertainment District Clubs Barrio Tequila Bar 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. - Twinkie Jiggles Broken Orchestra Black Dog Café 10 p.m. to Midnight - Nathan Hanson, Rahjta Ren, Peter Hennig Bulldog 9 to Midnight - Erik Christenson Camp Bar 8 to 11 p.m., Jazz Vocalists of Minnesota – Dorothy Doring, Connie Dussl, Lee Engele, Rhonda Laurie, Lucia Newell. Accompanied by Phil Aaron - piano, Jim Chenoweth - bass, Nathan Norman - drums The Hat Trick Lounge 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.- George Avaloz, 7 to 8 p.m.- Larry McDonough, 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. - Globafo, 10 to 12:30 p.m. - Axis Mundi Downtown Saint Paul Clubs Artists’ Quarter 8:30 p.m. to Midnight Stride Piano Night with Jon Weber, Butch Thompson and Paul Asaro Camp Bar 8 to 11 p.m, Jazz Vocalists of MN featuring Dorothy Doring, Connie Duss, Lee Engele, Rhonda Laurie, Lucia Newell with Phil Aaron, Jim Chenoweth and Nathan Norman Mancini’s 8:30 p.m. to Midnight Arne Fogel & Maud Hixson co-starring the Wolverines Trio
Sean Jones Quintet (June 18, 6 p.m., Main Stage). With four acclaimed recordings (including the 2009 release, The Search Within), Ohio native Sean Jones now finds himself atop a growing list of young trumpet titans, recently as lead trumpet for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and a professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. His very able quintet includes master pianist Orrin Evans and young lions Brian Hogans (alto sax), Luques Curtis (bass) and Obed Calvaire (drums).
Joe Lovano and Us Five (June 18, 8:30 p.m., Main Stage). One of the premiere saxophonists of our time, Joe Lovano is known as much for his inventive compositions and eclectic ensembles as for his power and lyricism on the horn. A multiple Grammy winner and nominee, Lovano is on top with his new quintet, Us Five, and their recent release, Folk Art (2009, Blue Note), named CD of the year by Jazz Times. Us Five includes pianist James Weidman and two drummers, Francisco Mela and Otis Brown.
Bobby Watson (June 19, 4 p.m., Main Stage). Bobby Watson served as music director for Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (1977-81) before gaining acclaim as co-founder of the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet and acoustic ensemble, Horizon, recently reformed as Horizon Reassembled. Watson currently serves as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. John Ellis and Double-Wide (June 19, 6 p.m., Main Stage). After more than five years playing with guitar wizard Charlie Hunter, saxophonist John Ellis now regularly tours with the John Patitucci Trio, and played Newport Jazz Festival in 2009 with Mos Def. The core of John Ellis & Double-Wide includes Ellis on saxophone, Jason Marsalis on drums, Matt Perrine on sousaphone and Brian Coogan on organ. John Scofield and the Piety Street Band (June 19, 8:30 p.m., Main Stage). Over his 30-year career, guitar wizard John Scofield has evolved one of the most distinctive sounds of modern jazz. Scofield’s latest group, The Piety Street Band, takes the blues beyond blues. Aakash Mittal Quartet (June 18, 7:30 p.m., 6th Street Stage) Mittal seeks to create music that relates to his diverse background of both American and East Indian heritage, drawing inspiration as much from post-bop as from musical traditions of India and electronic field samples. The Quartet is Aakash Mittal, woodwinds; Matt Fuller, guitar; Jean-Luc Davis, bass; and Josh Moore, drums. Youth Stage at Cray Plaza Atrium The Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education will again sponsor a Youth Stage in the atrium at Cray (formerly Galtier) Plaza (380 Jackson Street, St. Paul), June 19, noon to 8 p.m. Seven bands of middle school through college musicians will perform, including the MNJEA Mid Level Honors Band, directed by Dave Hagedorn; BFGS Quartet (a college ensemble with Jake Baldwin, Rob Fletcher, Cory Grindberg, and Joe Strachan); Twin Cities Youth Jazz Camp Band, directed by Bernie Edstrom; Jazz Piano Showcase (featuring Kai Olstad and Quentin Tschofen, both are winners of this year’s Schubert Club/Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education Jazz Piano Competition); St. Cloud Area All-Stars Jazz Band, directed by Eric Aleckson; St. Paul Central High School Jazz Band, directed by Matthew Oyen; and the Dakota Combo, directed by Adam Linz.
FFI, see the Jazz Fesival’s schedule on page 3 in the June issue of “Jazz Notes” or visit <www.TwinCitiesJazzFestival.com> for updates.
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