Out and About. Music: 7.16 – 7.22

Aquatennial Fireworks

Well, the All–Star Game is over, and though temps haven’t been especially high, we do have a semblance of summer. We also have a number of outdoor events taking place throughout the region. Though I’ve included a couple, there will be events at the Aquatennial, and music festivals at the Midtown Global Market, Prior Lake, Chippewa Valley WI, and Canterbury Park, as well as individual performances at area parks and pavilions.

Larry

Jazz…

Wednesday, July 16

Sophia Shorai @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm (No Cover) With a voice that is somewhere between playful, seductive, and charming, Sophia can go from originals to the Great American Songbook, to pop songs with ease.

Thursday, July 17

Paula Lammers & Reeves Carey @ Jazz Central, Minneapolis. 7:30pm ($10 Suggested Donation) Paula and Reeves first sang together on the Minnesota Zephyr some years back, and have performed as a duo from time to time since then. They’ll be joined by Marly Louise Knutson, Chris Bates, and Jay Epstein to perform classic duets from the Great American Songbook.

Courageous Endeavors @ Studio Z, Saint Paul. 8pm ($10) Another one of the fine young groups that we have here in the Twin Cities: Joe Strachan, piano; Nelson Deveraux, sax; Miguel Hurtado, drums. Brian Courage, bass. Here’s a video of theirs.

Milo Fine @ Khyber Pass Cafe, Saint Paul. 9pm ($5) Part of the Khyber Pass’ weekly series of freely improvised music. Milo Fine: drum set, electronics; E flat clarinet; Philip Mann; Saxes, bass clarinet, drum set; Ryan Reber, soprano sax, cello; Rick Ness, drum set, alto sax, B flat clarinet, multi-toned tenor bugle; and Kevin Cosgrove, electric shelf and wave drum.

Friday, July 18

Zacc Harris’ Tribute to Wes Montgomery @ Jazz Central, Minneapolis. 7:30pm ($10 Suggested donation) Though an imaginative guitarist in his own right, Zacc Harris is particularly effective at evoking the chordal playing of Wes Montgomery. Harris is also an entrepreneurial musician who is always finding a new way  to present himself and his colleagues, who tonight include Richard D. Johnson, keys; Chris Bates, bass; & Adrian Suarez on drums.

Saturday, July 19

Jay Young & the Lyric Factory’s Jazz Tribute to Stevie Wonder & Michael Jackson @ Jazz Central, Minneapolis. 8:30pm – 10pm ($10- Suggested Donation) Jay gets out his piccolo bass and is joined by son Ian Young, bass; John Penny, guitars; Kevin Washington, drums, and Scott Fultz on sax. They’ll be joined by a trio of vocalists: Rachel Holder-Hennig, Judi Donaghy Vinar, and Sarah Greer to explore the jazz side of two of the biggest pop stars of the 20th Century.

Monday, July 21

Bryan Nichols Quintet @ The Icehouse, Minneapolis. 9:30pm ($8) Though these Jazz Implosion gigs can start and end late, it’s worth it to hear Nichols’ original creations. The imaginative pianist will be joined by James Buckley, bass; Brandon Wozniak, sax; Mike Lewis, sax; and JT Bates on drums.

Tuesday, July 22

Explosion Big Band @ The Minnesota History Center, Saint Paul. 6:30 – 8:30pm (Free) Scott Agster on Trombone, and Doug Haining on sax lead this 17-piece big band in a swinging set of tunes just right for dancing. Lessons at 6:30.

Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra @ Jazz Central, Minneapolis. 8:30pm ($10 Suggested Donation) Anyone who saw them at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival last month knows what a powerhouse this band has become. Join them for an open rehearsal to hear great music and also get an insight into the creative process for a large band.

For a comprehensive listing of Jazz, go to the Twin Cities Live Jazz Calendar. For further commentary on Twin Cities jazz, check out the blogs Jazz Police, Bebopified, and Jazz Ink.

Blues, Roots, Other

Wednesday, July 16

Michael Monroe @ Landmark Center, Saint Paul. Noon-1pm (Free) It’s another lunchtime concert at the Landmark Center. Monroe is a singer/songwriter from Grand Marais who has been performing for forty years. He’s a self-taught musician who plays guitar, ukelele and glass and bamboo flutes.

Malamanya @ Como Conservatory, Saint Paul. 6pm – 9pm (Free) Malamanya is an acoustic-driven group that celebrates the traditional rhythms and melodies of Cuban son, salsa, samba, as well as the local music of Central and Latin America. They have garnered a large and enthusiastic fan base. BTW, I’ll be spinning some classic salsa and Cuban tunes before and between their sets, beginning about 5:30pm. Here they are doing an original.

Kent Burnside on KFAI and @ the 331 Club, Minneapolis. 5pm (KFAI – 90.3 & 106.7FM), 7pm (331 Club, Tip Jar) Burnside is the grandson of the late RL Burnside, who helped bring the trance-blues music of the Mississippi Hill Country to the attention of the rest of us. Kenthas been in town a number of times and always delivers a blistering set of originals and songs from his grandfather and uncle, Duwayne Burnside.

Thursday, July 17

Paul Metsa & Willie Walker @Shaw’s NE, Minneapolis. 5pm – 7:30pm (No Cover) Willie Walker may have the sweetest soul voice in the nation – certainly the sweetest soul voice in town. He and Metsa on guitar provide acoustic versions of many of your favorite classic soul songs. Plus, Shaw’s has rib and drink specials.

Salsa Del Soul @ Rice Park, Saint Paul. 6pm – 9pm (free) What a way to spend a pleasant summer evening: salsa dancing in Rice Park. If you don’t know how, you can come early and get a dance lesson, or you can just freestyle.

Friday, July 18

100 Years of Cameras & Photography @ MPLS Photo Center, 2400 North Second Street, Minneapolis. 6:30pm – 9:30pm (Free) This is the opening reception for what promises to be a cool exhibit. I’ll be spinning almost 100 years of music, from early jazz to rock n’ roll, soul, disco, Daft Punk, and Pharrell Williams.

Curtiss A & His Blues Band, w/Lone Wolf @ Harriet Brewing Tap Room, Minneapolis. 7pm ($5 or RRDB Ticket)  It’s a Pre-Party for tomorrow’s big festival. Lone Wolf, a one-man-band, opens at 7pm, playing slide banjo, bass drum, and harmonica in a punkish, bluefish, folkish vein. Curtiss A, of course, is the Dean of Scream, a devotee of Little Richard, John Lennon, Bo Diddley, and assorted early rockers, who sings at about 12 out of 10 on every amp he uses. He also displays a wicked, sometimes rambling, stream-of-concious patter between songs.

Funk on First @ First Avenue, Minneapolis. 8:30pm ($10, 18+) It’s a funk festival with four young bands, each of which has a different approach: New Sound Underground, Black Market Brass, Pho, and Grolar Bears, plus, just to add to the fun, HIpshaker & Worldwide Discotheque deejays. Here’s some music from New Sound Underground.

Saturday, July 19 

Roots, Rock, & Deep Blues Festival @ Lake & Minnehaha, Minneapolis. No7 – 11pm (Fri), 11am – 10pm (Sat) ($20) This 4th Annual Festival gets bigger each year as Patrick’s Cabaret, Harriet Brewing, The HUB Bike Co-Op, and the Mosaic Cafe join forces to present over 30 bands on five stages, including bands from Iowa, Texas, and Mississippi. Some of the performers include Sonny Knight & the Lakers; Crankshaft & the Gear Grinders; Kent Burnside, Joe & Vicki Price, Spider John Koerner; Black Diet; Black Market Brass; Nikki & the RueMates; the Dead Pigeons; Molly Maher, and more. After-party at The Eagles Club from 10pm to closing. Whew!

Saturday, July 19

Maurice Jacox @ The Normandy Inn, Minneapolis. 7pm (No Cover) An intimate singer and an intimate band in an intimate setting, though Jacox can sing chill-inducing high notes when he’s got a mind to. It’s a small bar, so call and make reservations if you want to be near the music.

Steve Clarke & the Working Stiffs @ Mendoberri Cafe & Wine Bar, Mendota Heights. 7:30 – 10pm (No Cover) Steve’s swinging sax can boost at R&B song or something much jazzier. At any rate, this relatively small venue with a good wine selection is a fun place to hear him and his mates play.

Monday, Tuesday, July 21, 22

Hot Tuna @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm ($45), 9pm ($35) Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady met as youngsters while growing up in Washington D.C. Years later they would join forces in Jefferson Airplane, for which they were both inducted into the rock n’ roll Hall of Fame. While in the Airplane, they would play the blues and other Americana on the side, and eventually recorded an album. It was so well received, they ended up recording a couple of dozen albums. Fifty years after their first meeting, they are still playing. Here’s a video from a few weeks ago.

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.