Jazz, World Music, and More: 10.21 – 10.27

World music is part of a couple of this week’s jazz offerings, while blues and roots music for the week includes a giant puppet extravaganza, a day of blues, a CD release party, and an 18 minute monologue about the perils of being arrested for littering. As you partake of this week’s night life (and occasional daytime offering), remember, Music Lifts the Spirit.

Jazz

Wednesday, October 21

Chris Lomheim Quintet @ Jazz Central, Minneapolis. 8:30pm ($10 Suggested Donation) As a leader, pianist Lomheim usually heads up a trio, but tonight he’s playing with a couple of horns as well, which will add new layers of sound and creativity to this performance. Jay Young, bass; Dave Schmalenberger, drums; Adam Rossmiller, trumpet, and Pete Whitman, saxophones.

Thursday, October 22

Yohannes Tona Group @ The Icehouse, Minneapolis. 9:30pm (No Cover) Bassist Yohannes Tona hails from Ethiopia, and has become a sought after musician in town, based on his ability to be imaginative in all sorts of musical settings. Tonight, he’ll bring a stellar group of musicians to the Icehouse stage: Brian Gallagher, sax & flute; Brian Zemniak, keyboards; Geeff LeCrone, guitar; Demetrius Mabry, drums; and Daryl Boudreaux, percussion with Jamecia Bennett on vocals, as well as some special guests. Here is Tona with a slightly different group.

Friday, October 23

Will Schmid New Quintet @ The Nicollet Cafe, Minneapolis. 7pm (Tip Jar) The next generation of jazz. This group is led by guitarist Schmid, a senior at Minnetonka HS. Other members are Gerhardt Robinson, sax (SW HS); Jordan Anderson, piano (Nova Classical Academy); Alma Engebretson, bass (Washburn HS); and Simon Petrick, drums (Mainstreet Academy).

Farah Siraj @ Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis. 8pm ($20) This Jordanian songstress is known as Jordan’s “Musical Ambassadress.” Siraj leads an ethnically diverse quintet, whose members hail from the Middle East, Europe, South America, and the United States, playing Arabian Flamenco Jazz. Her music addresses many of the world’s issues, including genocide, and military conflicts. Opening is the Zacc Harris duo, with Harris on guitar, and Chris Bates on bass.

No Room for Squares @ The Nicollet Cafe, Minneapolis. 9pm (Tip Jar) Some veterans who’ve worked together quite a bit get together with a younger bass player to create Blue Note-style Straight Ahead jazz: Bill Stieger, drums; Jon Pemberton, trumpet; James “Jimmyapolis” Wallace, saxes; Mikkel Ramstead, piano; and Adam Tucker, bass.

BDP @ Jazz Central, Minneapolis. 10pm ($10 Suggested Donation) A new group featuring some of the young lions in town: Cameron Kinghorn, vocals; Jake Baldwin Trumpet; Ted Godbout, piano; Andrew Foreman, bass; Andres Crovetti, drums.

Fuzzy Math @ Dakota Late Night, Minneapolis. 11:30pm ($5) Late night jazz for “people who don’t like jazz,” as City Pages quipped. Fuzzy Math is: Mark Vandermyde, piano; Haralds Bondaris on drums, Andrew Schwandt on sax, and Matt Peterson on upright bass. While this isn’t a music video by Fuzzy Math, it certainly is about fuzzy math of a different kind, you might find it humorous.

Saturday, October 24

Jelloslave @ Hosmer Library, 347 East 36th St., Minneapolis. 2pm – 3pm (Free) Jazz for the thinking set, drawing from European classical music, Hindustani rhythms, and a variety of international drumming styles. Jelloslave is: Michelle Kinney and Jacqueline Ultan, cellos; Gary Waryan, tabla, Greg Schutte, drums.

Saturday Night Jazz @ The Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, Saint Paul. 7pm (Tip Jar)  Opening is the Joel Shapira Trio, with Tom Pieper, bass; and Eric Kamau Gravatt, drums. At 8:30pm The Illicit Sextet performs their original music. The Sextet is a composers’ collective, with Steve Kenny, flumpet; Chris Lomheim, piano; Paul Harper, saxes; Tom Pieper, bass; Dave Roos, guitar; and Nathan Norman, drums. Here’s a video from some years back.

Pippi Ardennia Celebrates her Birthday @ Bedlam Lowertown, Saint Paul. 67:30pm – 9:30pm ($20) Ms Ardennia’s “Feel Good” music does just that, doubly so this evening as she celebrates her birthday. A portion of the proceeds ($5) will go to the Bedlam Theater. She’ll be joined by Dennis Landeen, sax; Scott Ives, guitar; Irving Colacci, keys; Tony Guscetti, drums; and Richard Kronick, bass; as well a four members of the PipJazz Youth All stars.

Sunday, October 25

Benny Green Trio @ the Dakota, Minneapolis. 6pm ($20, $30) Though pianist Green is a favorite of Twin Cities jazz fans, we haven’t seen enough of him lately, so this is a treat. He emerged from Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers to record and perform with such legend as Ray Brown (where we first heard him in town), Betty Carter, Freddie Hubbard, Etta Jones and Oscar Peterson. He regularly lectures aft places like Julliard, Berklee, The Brubeck Institute and the Thelonious Monk Institute, and is in town for a piano workshop for high school students.

Monday, October 26

Glimpse Trio @ The Icehouse, Minneapolis. 9:30pm ($10) Guitarist Mike Sopko (Cleveland), and drummer Hamir Atwal (San Francisco), have worked with the Twin Cities’ Dosh to create high-energy music.

Tuesday, October 27

Jane Monheit @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm ($25 – $42) It’s been a dozen or so years since Monheit was “the next big thing.” In the intervening years she’s matured and married, and is fulfilling her promise. She has a wide vocal range, a great ear, and enough sense of restraint to keep from overpowering her material. Here’s a video that displays many of her vocal qualities.

Benny Weinbeck @ Crooner’s Lounge and Supper Club, Fridley. 7pm – 10pm (No Cover) Well, if you don’t get to Parma 8200 on a Saturday night, you can head north instead to this club about a mile north of 494 on Central Avenue to hear pianist Weinbeck  I assume that he’ll have Gordy Johnson on bass and Phil Hey on drums, though they aren’t listed on the club’s calendar.

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

Blues, Roots, Other…

Wednesday, October 21

Charlie Parr on KFAI and @ The 331 Club, Minneapolis. 5pm (90.3 & 106.7FM), 7pm (331 Club – Tip Jar) Parr grew up without a TV, but did have his dad’s recordings of American roots music, including records by Charley Patton, Lightinin’ Hopkins, Woody Guthrie, and Leadbelly. Now he plays original and traditional folk and Piedmont style blues, playing National resonator guitar, a 12-String and the occasional banjo. Listen in, and head over to the 331 afterwards.

Thursday, October 22

Nikki Hill @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm ($20) Those of you who have been lamenting the disappearance of “real rock n’ roll” should hie down to the Dakota tonight, as Ms Hill is a fireball of rock n’ roll energy. This is roots music on steroids – a rockabilly/R&B rave up with touches of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Staples at their most energized. She just released a new CD on Monday, so this is a celebration.

Friday, October 23

Charlie Parr @ The Landmark Center, Saint Paul. 8pm ($25) If you didn’t get to see Parr at the 331 Club on Wednesday (see above), you can catch him while sitting in the comfort of Weyerhauser Auditorium in the Landmark, where the acoustics are great. He released Stump Jumper on Red House Records last Spring, which got a highly positive review in Downbeat, of all places.

Ben Cook-Feltz Album Release @ The 331 Club, Minneapolis. 10 pm (No Cover) Cook-Feltz is celebrating the release of a new CD, She Doesn’t Believe Me. He’s a clever singer/songwriter, with plain spoken (plain-sung?) words and a bit of a pop sensibility. A couple of my faves, Jillian Rae, and Doug Otto & the Getaways, open. Here is Ben at his last CD Release party.

Saturday, October 24

Nikki Roux & Rich Rue @ Vieux Carre, Saint Paul. 6pm – 8:30pm (No Cover) The Vieux’s early evening shows are a delightful addition to our nightlife. Tonight the rich, clear voice of Nikki Roux  and the fleet fingers of her guitar-slinging partner Rich Rue combine to present original folk-rock and blues, with the occasional interesting cover of songs from the 60s.

Kate Lynch & Her Most Excellent Fellows @ Vieux Carre, Saint Paul. 9pm ($8) Bassist/vocalist Lynch plays music for dancers – fox trotters, swing dancers, and those in between. Her repertoire ranges from the 30s to the 60s, but sounds anything but dated.

Saturday, Sunday, October 24, 25

22nd Annual BareBones Halloween Outdoor Puppet Extravaganza @ Hidden Falls Regional Park, Saint Paul. 7pm ($10-$20 suggested Donation at the Gate) This annual production is almost indescribable, though it does involve giant puppets performing outdoors. There’s always a theme, some acrobatics, stilt walkers, dance, fire, and music, as well as a moment where the audience is invited, through a public naming ceremony, to honor friends and relatives who have passed on. Afterwards The Brass Messengers will play their Gypsy Brass Band party music. This is a non-commercial, family-friendly event. If you don’t get to it this weekend, it will also occur next weekend. Here’s a very short clip from last year.

Sunday, October 25

Rico’s Fall Festival @ Wilebski’s Blues Saloon, Saint Paul. 2pm – 9:30pm ($10) A day full of blues for ya, featuring, in order of appearance, The Brian Naughton Band w/Ross William Perry; Steve Clarke & the Working Stiffs; Jack Knife & the Sharps; The Dee Miller Band w/Jimi Primetime Smith and Steve Clarke; Renee Austin, w/Mick Sterling & Bobby Vandell; and the Lamont Cranston Band with Bruce & Larry McCabe and Larry Hayes. Whew!

Katy Vernon “Present” CD Release @ The Icehouse, Minneapolis. 5pm ($10) British-born singer/guitarist/ukelelist Vernon’s  past work has often dealt with life’s challenges, reflecting in part, the loss of her parents when she was a teenager. She characterized that music as “Sad songs on a happy instrument,” in reference to her use of the ukulele. With Present, however, she takes on the here and now, with uplifting results, as revealed on her charming CD single, Pearl/Lilly. With Kevin Bowe opening. Here’s the video for Pearl.

Nosferatu and Live Orchestra @ The Parkway Theater, Minneapolis. 7pm ($10) Okay, here’s the original Vampire movie, from 1922. Since the silents always had live accompaniment, albeit generally an organ or piano player, this showing will be accompanied by the Rats & People Orchestra  featuring Beth Dill, violin & theremin; Seth Hayek, percussion & vibes; Danielle Solheim, violin; Teresa Mayer, Viola; Chelsea Parker, violin; Christine Palmer, piano; trumpet, & trombone; and Travis Lee, on guitar. Their music is contemporary, yet complementary to the film. The last time this troupe played for this film, it sold out. Advance tickets are available through the Parkway.  Here’s a clip of the film, with a completely different score.

Arlo Guthrie: Alice’s Restaurant @ The O’Shaughnessy Auditorium, Saint Katherine’s University, Saint Paul. 7:30pm ($29 – $73) Guthrie  the son of Woody, made lots of friends with his 18 minute plus, satirical counter-culture story of being arrested for littering, and as a result, not being moral enough to join the Army. It’s based on an actual experience of being cited for littering on Thanksgiving, 1965, and in honor of the 50th anniversary of the event, he’s performing it in it’s entirety, along with telling stories and singing other hits of his. He’s a funny storyteller, as you might find in this video.

Monday, October 26

Kat Edmonson @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm ($30) Ms Edmonson is a singer with a sweet sound and expressive voice that’s comfortable in pop, jazz, and even the country music of her native Texas. She’s impressed in previous shows, and her latest CD, The Big Picture, features original songs and a production sensibility that seems inspired by pop music from the 50s and 60s, providing a matured girl-group atmosphere. Milton opens.

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.