The celebrated bassist and composer Ted Olsen is back with a new set of originals titled Violette. Olsen is no stranger to releasing his own music and this album continues Olsen’s penchant for bringing lush, through-composed moments into conversation with improvisers. Throughout the album, Ted’s compositions and bass playing are buttressed by support from multiple string...Read More
Taiko Arts Midwest presents a concert and dance party called Taiko Groove, Saturday June 7 at the Cedar at 7pm. The event features not only the long-standing Taiko Arts Midwest group, but a rare US performance by Go-koo, visiting from Tokyo. Jennifer Weir is the executive director of Taiko Arts Midwest. When Jennifer talked to...Read More
The Zoo Too Trio is a new recording project from some very big names in the world of modern jazz. Before listening to their new disc, Poetry Legroom, I was most familiar with the work of pianist and keyboard player Michael Cain. Michael Cain is an accomplished pianist who has been popping up in liner-notes of...Read More
Hot New Local Single for Wednesday, May 21 In the Twin Cities we are blessed to have a thriving music scene that features great players at every stage of their career. One sign of a thriving scene can be measured in the ability for new players to arrive to town, land a couple gigs and...Read More
This week’s Hot New Local Single comes to us from the prolific Ned Kantar, who has been a main stay in the Twin Cities Music Scene for fifty years. It’s an arrangement of “Indiana” performed by the Budapest Scoring Big Band. The song was published in January, 1917 by Tin-Pan Alley songwriter James Hanley in collaboration with...Read More
The budding local group Room3 finally has an album out and it’s been a joy to see how warmly Bill’s Garden been received in the Twin Cities scene! Today we are focusing on the third single from the album, “Don’t Forget to Breathe.” The tune features a vocal performance from the soul vocalist, Jada Lynn....Read More
Good Acoustics–the radio show for musical omnivores on KBEM Jazz88—has decided to start a regular showcase for the local artists we feature on our program. Come gather at MetroNOME Brewing in Lowertown St. Paul on Saturday, May 10th from 730-9pm, to hear some of the artists whose music we love. This month we’ll be...Read More
Singer Yazmin Bowers is also a pianist, painter, dancer and teacher. She’s also quite the world traveler spending a lot of her time in Havana, Cuba where she teaches music and culture and eventually incorporating her own experiences into her own music. With her heart and soul ultimately coming from her Midwestern roots, it’s always a...Read More
April is “Jazz Appreciation Month,” and Jazz88 is looking forward to celebrating with a concert honoring our 2025 Minnesota Jazz Legends: drummer Jay Epstein, pianist and Walker West Music Academy founder Grant West, Dixieland trombonist Art Katzman, and the late, award-winning jazz vocalist Debbie Duncan. Presented by Jazz88, this special concert will be held at...Read More
The world is paying enough attention to Cory Wong. . .but is Minnesota? Cory Wong is a bona fide festival headliner all around the world with accolades and ticket sales that match or exceed some of the titans in the world of jazz. But perhaps because he hails from Minnesota and is still based here,...Read More
