What every household needs!
Well, just like the “modern housewife,” as pictured, we have a unique and remarkable set of opportunities to hear revitalizing music. We have three new series taking place: Friday Nights @ The Dunsmore; Illicit Jazz Workshop @ Jazz Central; and the monthly Forge at Bryant Lake Bowl. We also have an all-star jazz group visiting our town, a pioneering Stax musician, and a group from Mali. And there’s a celebration of John Lennon’s birthday, a benefit concert, and some unique combinations of resident musicians. Music lifts the spirit!
Jazz
Wednesday, Oct 4
Dave King Trio @Crooner’s Dunsmore Room, Fridley. 7pm ($20, $25) If you’re a Twin Cities jazz fan, you have undoubtedly heard drummer King in one of his numerous groups. Tonight he’s joined by Bill Carrothers, piano; and Billy Peterson, bass. Here they are doing their unique arrangements of a couple of standards.
Zacc Harris/Katia Cardenas @ Vieux Carré, Saint Paul. 6pm (Harris – No Cover), 8pm ($6) Start out with guitarist Zacc Harris, whose clean lines can often be hear with the Atlantis Quartet, as well as in a trio at the Riverview Wine Bar Sunday nights, Vital Organ and other groups. Then at 8pm it’s Jazz & R&B from vocalist Cardenas who will be joined by Ted Godbout, Graydon Peterson & Zach Schmidt, and “The NoDak Girls” Andrina Brogden & Sheridan Zuther.
Forge: Maryam Ershadi Yusefzadeh & Thomas Nordlund @ Bryant Lake Bowl, Minneapolis. 10pm ($8) Forge is a new series celebrating creative music, performed on the stage at Bryant Lake Bowl. This month, singer Maryam Ershadi Yusefzadeh and guitarist Thomas Nordlund present a view into “Migration”, their debut collaboration. It is a collection of reimagined traditional Persian folk songs and original compositions inspired by that musical language. Vocalist Yusefzadeh had her early musical training in Tehran and received a BFA in Art, Music, and Dance performance from the UofMN. She studied jazz with Roberta Davis. Guitarist Nordland can be found as a sideman with any number of Twin Cities artists in a number of genres. He released his debut full length album Divide Avenue, in 2015
Wednesday, Thursday, Oct 4, 5
Savion Glover & Marcus Gilmore @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm ($50, $65, $75), 9pm ($35, $50, $60) It’s a percussive extravaganza as Glover, perhaps the best tap dancer performing today, partners with drummer Gilmore, who has worked with Chick Corea, Vijay Iyer, Nicholas Payton, and others, and BTW, is the grandson of the great Roy Haynes.
Thursday, Oct 5
Joel Shapira/Maud Hixson @ Vieux Carré, Saint Paul. 6pm (Shapira: no cover), 8pm (Hixson: $6) It’s a double dose of jazz as guitarist Joel Shapira delivers solo numbers before Maud Hixson takes the stage, accompanied by Rick Carlson, piano; and Chris Bates, bass. Expect an evening of cool, yet simmering standards.
Friday, Oct 6
Jazz Women All Stars @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm, 9pm Patty Peterson, Ginger Commodore, Lucia Newell, Linda Peterson, Joan Griffith, Jendeen Forberg, Kathy Jensen. Need I say more
Le Percheron @ Jazz Central, Minneapolis. 8pm ($10?) Trumpeter Steve Kenny is always on the lookout for new places to produce live music. Now, through Illicit Productions, he is curating Friday Nights at Jazz Central. To kick things off, he’s got Adam Linz’s terrific group: Noah Ophoven-Baldwin, Cornet; Levi Schwartzberg, Vibes; Cory Healey, drums; and Linz, bass.
Bryan Nicols Quintet @ Crooner’s Dunsmore Room, Fridley, 9pm ($15) The Dunsmore Room is trying a new tactic – Friday night jazz curated by Zacc Harris, and at the same time as music in the main lounge. The Dunsmore’s quiet acoustics (and audience) should make this work. For the first show they have: Nichols, piano; Mike Lewis & Brandon Wozniak, saxes; Eric Fratzge, bass; JT Bates, drums.
Saturday, October 7
Saturday Night Jazz @ The Black Dog, Saint Paul. 7pm ($10 Suggested Donation) Ahmed & the Creators at 7pm, followed by Jax Revel Gang at 8:30pm: Jax bass; Matt Trice, sax; Javi Santiago, piano; Blake Huebl, drums
MN Hard Bop Collective: Joe Henderson @ Boom Island Brewing, Minneapolis. 7-9pm (Tip Jar) The Collective returns to Boom Island with another of their shows celebrating past masters. Although saxophonist Henderson’s earliest recordings were marked by a strong hard-bop influence, his playing encompassed not only the bebop tradition, but rhythm and blues, latin, and avant-garde as well. Tonight the Collective includes: Dave Brattain, Jeff Rinear, Chris Olson, Kameron Markworth and Jesse Simon
Sunday, Oct 8
Katie Thiroux Trio @ Crooner’s Dunsmore Room, Fridley. 7:30pm ($20) NYC-based Thiroux’s latest album Offbeat (her 2nd) shows the triple threat (bass, vocals, compositions) carrying on the swing tradition of Ray Brown and John Clayton when playing mainstream jazz.
Monday, Tuesday, Oct 9, 10
Connie Evingson & Jon Weber @ Crooner’s Dunsmore Room, Fridley. 7pm ($20) Ms Evingson is celebrating the centennial of Ella Fitzgerald’s birth with a series of concerts from Ella’s Songbook series. This time around it’s the music of Rogers & Hart. She and pianist Jon Weber will be joined by Dave Karr, sax; and Gordy Johnson, bass.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Oct 10, 11
Chick Corea/Steve Gadd Sextet @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm, ($75, $90, $100), 9pm ($65, $80, $90) Holy Buckets, what a group! Besides Corea on keyboards, and Gadd, who has played on hundred of albums, on drums, we have Lionel Louecke, last seen here at the MN Zoo with Herbie Hancock, as well as bassist Carlitos del Puerto, an original member of pioneering cuban group Irakere, saxophonist Steve Wilson, and Argentine percussionist Luisto Quintero.
For more listings, KBEM provides a calendar of jazz and roots music. For further commentary on Twin Cities jazz, check out the blogs, Jazz Ink, and Bebopified
Blues, Roots, Other…
Wednesday, Oct 4
Pushing Chain on KFAI and @ The 331 Club, Minneapolis. 5pm (90.3 & 106.7FM), 7pm (331 Club – Tip Jar) Boyd Blomberg guitar & vocals; and Adam Moe, fiddle & vocals; have been performing together in various configurations since 1997, and as Pushing Chain since 2012. They call their music Folky-Tonk, with stron vocals and melodies.
Thursday, Oct 5
Mikkel Beckmen, Jon Rodine, & Dan Gaardner @ The Dubliner, Saint Paul. 5pm – 7pm (tip jar) Resident percussionist often has only one guest each Thursday, but tonight is special with Jon Rodine, a vocalist who should be better known in town, and guitarist Dan Gaardner of Trailer Trash.
Swamp Poppas @ The Eagles Club #34, Minneapolis. 8pm ($5) Wad’ya get when Cajun teenagers in the 50s and 60s heard rock n’ roll? Swamp Pop – Rock n’ Roll with a Cajun accent. You can hear examples of the genre by listening (and dancing) to the Swamp Poppas.
Butanes @ Shaw’s, NE Minneapolis. 8:30pm (Tip Jar) The Best Blues Band in the Twin Cities continues their weekly residency at Shaw’s, led by guitarist Curt Obeda, and featuring a number of musicians who sit in for a song or two, such as Camille Boudoin, of the Radiators, Jelly Bean Johnson, Maurice Jacox, and Willie Walker.
Friday,Oct 6
Willie Walker @ Crooner’s Lounge & Supper Club, Fridley. 7:30pm (No Cover, or $10 for a reserved seat in front of the stage) Walker’s been doing a lot of recording over the past few years. The Soul Man’s latest is After A While, with the Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra, the group that’s backing him on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise later this month.
Belfast Cowboys @ The Hook & Ladder, Minneapolis. 7:30pm ($7 Advance/$10 Door) The Cowboys are one of the most popular bands in town, delivering sprightly versions of Van Morrison tunes and other gems. This is the first of three monthly gigs at the Hook.
Saturday, Oct 7
Songhoy Blues @ The Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis. 8pm ($20) The Songhoy people were once one of the most prominent ethnic groups in Mali, though the now live on the margins of that West African country. After a number of musicians made their way to Bamako as refugees, they decided to start a band that celebrates the displaced people and their culture, playing desert blues, Malian grooves, and American guitar licks. Opening is Brasszilla, a quartet consisting of Hal Longley, sousaphone; Zach Zins, trombone; Bob DeBoer, trumpet; Andy Deckard, drums.
Sunday, Oct 8
Boom Boom Stevie V & the Knockouts @ Neumann’s Bar, North Saint Paul. 4pm – 6pm (Tip Jar) Spend a Bluesy Autumn afternoon enjoying the sounds of Harpmeister Boom Boom, and his Knockouts.
Doug Otto & Friends @ Dusty’s, NE Minneapolis. 5pm – 8pm (Tip Jar) This tiny, NE dive bar has been bought by the owners of the Nightingale, who are generally happy with the music line-up there. Guitarist/vocalist Doug Otto explores the blues and Americana, with a voice so mournful, you might find yourself crying. He calls upon a number of friends to help him on these “brunch gigs for working musicians.”
General B & The Wiz, The Plott Hounds, & Rlgdppl @ The Hook & Ladder, Minneapolis. 7pm ($7 Advance/$10 Door) The Hook presents an evening of live music to benefit the recovery of hurricane victims in Puerto Rico! $1 Per Ticket will be donated by the bands and matched by The Hook and Ladder to PROJECT HOPE. General B plays psychedelic/IndieBlues; The Plott Hounds like 70s Southern rock as they play alt-country blues, and the music of Rlgdppl is rooted in Rhythm & Blues.
Monday, Oct 9
Curtiss A Celebrates John Lennon’s 77th @ The Schooner Tavern, Minneapolis. 8pm (Tip Jar) It’s not the annual tribute show, but is bend called Return to the Cavern. That’s the Cavern Club in Liverpool where, upon returning for their Hamburg sojourn, the Beatles made 292 appearances between 1961 and 1963, with their last appearance occurring just after they recorded She Loves You. I expect this show will include the rock n’ roll favorites of John Lennon
Sunday, Monday, Oct 8,9
Booker T Jones @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 6pm & 8pm Sunday, 7pm Monday ($35, $40, $50) The pioneering Stax organ star may run through Green Onions a bit quicker than usual, but after all, it’s been 55 years since that grooving piece of funk was laid down by Jones and his compatriots in the MGs. He still manages to deliver the hits and the newer pieces from his last few years as a solo artist.
For a more comprehensive listing of blues (and some roots) events, see the MN Blues Society calendar. For a comprehensive listing of Cajun and Zydeco events, see the Krewe de Walleye calendar.