I don’t know what the feel is called when the drummer hits a cross stick on every quarter-note, but I love it. To me it will always be the “Swept Away” feel from the masterful playing of Questlove on The Roots album “Do You Want More?!??” Heck, maybe that’s what leader Joan Hutton called out...Read More

Get Ready for Next Week’s Concerts Now Larry McDonough Quintet featuring Richard Terrill at Dakota Jazz Club-Monday, August 4th at 7pm, tickets start at $25.47 Bill Simenson Orchestra at Jazz Central Studios- Tuesday, August 5th at 830pm, tickets start at $5 Sheila E & the E-Train at Dakota Jazz Club- Tuesday, August 5th and Thursday...Read More

It’s hard to keep up with Dylan Hicks. The man is no spring chicken and he’s still moving around our scene like a wide-eyed, enthusiastic rookie. Hicks is dropping a new album on August 12 called Avian Field Recordings with his group Small Screens and it’s another great set of tunes with inspired support from some of...Read More

There are few things in the music world as joyous as a well-delivered shuffle. A shuffle is a rhythmic feel with swung eighth-notes and a strong and persistent backbeat. In my opinion, a blues shuffle divides the pros from the amateurs in most settings. When a band can really cook over a shuffle beat the...Read More

This week’s hot new local single features music from the Ryan Picone Quartet. Picone is a Minneapolis-based guitarist who lives, eats, and breathes jazz manouche, i.e., music inspired by French/Romani guitar legend Django Reinhardt. Picone grew up in Phoenix and came to the Twin Cities to pursue his doctorate in music from the University of...Read More

Trumpeter Jake Baldwin is back with another great solo effort titled Vanishing Point. The album comes out in full in mid-August but we are excited to feature one of the tunes this week! Baldwin tapped the same supporting cast he used on his 2023 release Misc. Items, to explore a new set of beautifully rendered...Read More

Jazz88 is excited to be a part of Taste of MN again this year! Here is the Saturday Line Up: 12:30 pm – School of Rock 2:15 pm – MacPhail Center for Music 4:00 pm: Connie Evingson with Patty & the Buttons 5:45 pm – Omar AbdulKarim w/Kavyesh Kaviraj 7:30 pm – Lucia Sarmiento Quintet...Read More

I frankly didn’t expect to hear recorded music from the Riffin’ Trio. I knew the Riffin’ Trio held court monthly over at Dusty’s in Northeast Minneapolis and I figured it was a project where A-list players had some fun on the side with no recording technology insight. But I’m so glad the group ended up...Read More

Summer jams don’t come in one variety. There are the romantic/erotic summer jams that prompt you to pull that special somebody a little closer, sweat be blessed. There are the summer songs that function like a musical ice cube, you drop them into the mix on the hottest day imaginable, and you feel like mother...Read More

The Twin Cities Jazz Festival happens in multiple locations and performers range of students to legends. Sam Keenan spoke with musicians we want to highlight. These are great teasers to help you decide all the places you need to listen to jazz during the Twin Cities Jazz. Festival Marimbist Jenny Klukken and her quartet will...Read More