Jazz88 celebrates the life and career of drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, who died on April 3rd at the age of 88. Heath was born in Philadelphia to a family of accomplished musicians. His oldest brother Percy was the bassist with the Modern Jazz Quartet for four decades and his other elder sibling Jimmy was a legendary saxophonist and composer. While still in...Read More
Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of legendary bassist Buster Williams, born on this day in Camden, New Jersey. Williams made his first recordings at the age of seventeen, while working with the tenor saxophone duo of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. He became a favorite accompanist for several great jazz singers, including Dakota Staton, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Horn, and Carmen McRae. Williams became...Read More
Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of Alonzo “Lonnie” Johnson, an acclaimed vocalist and a pioneer or jazz and blues guitar. Johnson was born in New Orleans and raised in a family of musicians where he learned to play guitar, violin and other instruments. Tragedy struck Johnson’s household while he was on tour in England, and every member of...Read More
Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of Jim Hall, born this day in 1930 in Buffalo, New York. Hall was widely admired for his harmonic acumen, his understated guitar style and his distinctive compositional voice. While he admired guitar innovators like Charlie Christian and Barney Kessel, he was largely inspired by horn players like Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. After morving to Los Angeles...Read More
Bob Jurek’s Spooky Picks: 1. The Twilight Zone by Golden Earring 2. The Egg Plant That Ate Chicago by Dr. West’s Medicine Show And Junk Band 3. Spiders and Snakes by Jim Stafford 4. Wait Til The Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett 5. I Put a Spell On You by Screaming Jay Hawkins Sean McPherson’s...Read More
Canadian vocalist/pianist Laila Biali is getting ready for a show at Crooner’s on Saturday, July 22. She was nice enough to connect with The Afternoon Cruise to talk about her new record, Your Requests, as well as her collaborations with Sting, Kurt Elling, and embracing her own musical strengths. Listen: This interview originally aired...Read More
Omar Abdulkarim and Anthony Coleman II visited The Afternoon Cruise to discuss their upcoming show at the Dakota. As two of the most exciting trumpet players working in the Twin Cities, they had a lot to say about what they’ll be bringing to the stage. They also talked about the support and encouragement they both...Read More
Virtuosic banjoist, composer, and 15-time Grammy winner, Béla Fleck, connected with Sean from The Afternoon Cruise ahead of a four show run at the Dakota on Thursday and Friday of this week (July 13 and 14) in support of his latest release, 2021’s My Bluegrass Heart. Fleck discussed how his perspective on writing and playing...Read More
Twin Cities vocal legend, Ginger Commodore, visited The Afternoon Cruise before making her way to rehearsal for her upcoming show honoring the legacy of Tina Turner on Sunday, July 9th at the Dakota. Listen:Read More
Local musical polymath and composer Martin Dosh swung through The Afternoon Cruise to discuss some upcoming shows, including an appearance as part of Icehouse and Jazz88’s Outdoor Courtyard Jazz Series on Thursday, July 6. Listen:Read More
