The 4th annual Junior Iron Chef Competition took place at Solar Arts by Chowgirls on Thursday, May 10. Four teams, comprised of two middle-school-aged students and one adult chef, cooked two dishes on the fly in 60 minutes and presented it to the eight celebrity judges. Jazz88’s Emily Reese and Justus Sanchez went to the...Read More

St. Paul Ballet will complete its season in 1920s New York City. Carmen is an original ballet by Artistic Director Zoé Emilie Henrot with music by composer Richard Erickson. The St. Paul Ballet brings audiences at The O’Shaughnessy in St. Paul back to the F. Scott Fitzgerald era with a fresh adaptation on the 1875 opera, Carmen, by French...Read More

Brazilian pianist, singer, composer and arranger Eliane Elias was scheduled to play the Dakota Tuesday night, May 1st with shows at 7:00 and 9:00. Due to a family emergency, Elaine  has had to cancel her May 1 concerts.  Our thoughts are with Eliane at this time, and The Dakota is  working on rescheduling this performance for...Read More

Twin Cities jazz vocal trio Rio Nido came by the Jazz88 studios to perform a handful of tunes on the Morning Show and talk about their upcoming show at the Dakota Friday night, Apr. 27 at 7:00. Rio Nido is Tim Sparks, Tom Lieberman and Prudence Johnson. You’ll hear them perform a Mose Allison tune,...Read More

Singers Debbie Duncan, Charmin Michelle and Dennis Spears talk about their upcoming shows at the Capri Theater. Legends Bouquet brings together the first trio of singers who performed in the very first Legends concert that took place at the Capri 10 years ago. Charmin, Debbie and Dennis will recreate some of the selections from their initial performance as well...Read More

Isla Tuliro is about colonialism in the Philippines. In Marlina Gonzalez‘s new play, the idyllic life of the KAYUMANGGIs, brown-skinned islanders who live by the ocean, is disrupted by the sudden arrival of mythical creatures from the sea and sky, speaking strange languages, claiming the islands as their own and making up rules on how...Read More

The Mississippi River Gorge through the Twin Cities and Kinnickinnic River near Afton appear on the 2018 list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers from AmericanRivers.org. Olivia Dorothy is the Associate Director of the Upper Mississippi River Basin from American Rivers and joined the Morning Show to talk about the list. http://kbem-recast.streamguys1.com/content/u20180410082850169.mp3 Originally aired Apr. 10,...Read More

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter grew up in a jazz family, active in the Twin Cities’ music scene for the majority of the 20th century. We invited him to talk with us about the roll jazz plays in his life, and to share his vision for the city of St. Paul. The State of the...Read More

The Panama Jazz Festival is this week and Jazz88’s Janis Lane-Ewart is there chatting with performers. Following Wednesday night’s concert, she spoke with pianist Danilo Perez and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. You can hear their thoughts below! http://kbem-recast.streamguys1.com/content/u20180118071749153.mp3 Danilo Perez at the Panama Jazz Festival. Originally aired Jan. 18, 2018 on the Morning Show with Emily...Read More

Rio Nido is one of the Twin Cities’ most beloved and enduring vocal jazz ensembles. The group began in the late 1970s, when chanteuse Prudence Johnson joined forces with ace guitarists and singers Tim Sparks and Tom Lieberman.  Their Minneapolis-based group’s debut LP, “I Like to Riff,” is considered by many to be a classic of...Read More