Give to the Max Day is this Thursday, November 21st, and your support plays a vital role in this annual day of giving.Why donate during Give to the Max Day? This year, your donation will support our upgrade to a new and improved on-air broadcast system, in addition to helping us better plan out our...Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon speaks with Shawn Lewis, Community Relations Manager with the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, about planned improvements to North Commons Park. At $45 million, the North Commons renovation represents the largest investment ever made in a neighborhood park in the 140-year history of the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board.Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with organist Pat Bianchi about his relationship to the Hammond B-3 organ and the influence of the late organist Joey DeFrancesco. Bianchi will perform at the Crooners Main Stage Thursday, November 14th with drummer Byron Landham and guitarist Paul Bollenback, who served as DeFrancesco’s rhythm section for many years. https://kbem-od.streamguys1.com/kbem/20241111195108-PatBianchi_mixdown.mp3 TRANSCRIPT:...Read More
Warren Wolf is celebrating a birthday today and beyond being one of the most talented musicians working today, he is also a true ambassador for his fellow vibraphone players. His latest record is called History of the Vibraphone and the entire record celebrates songs either penned by or made famous by vibraphone players. It was...Read More
Today, Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of Russell Malone, a technically brilliant jazz guitarist whose tasteful solos and swinging and crisp rhythm accompaniment lent a spark to dozens of great jazz recordings with an impressive list of jazz legends. Malone was a native of Albany, Georgia and was influenced by recordings of B.B. King, the Dixie Hummingbirds and particularly...Read More
Scott Amendola is a bay-area drummer and composer who has had long associations with artists like Charlie Hunter and Nels Cline. He performs with a trio including clarinetist Ben Goldberg and bassist Todd Sickafoose at Jazz Central on Thursday, November 7th. The group just released an album called “Here to There” consisting of music inspired...Read More
Jesse Simon from the MN Hard Bop Collective grew up loving organ jazz out in Denver, Colorado, so when it came time for Collective to add more events to their “sit-in series,” it was no surprise that Simon decided to concentrate on the organ. The MN Hard Bop Collective is launching a new weekly Sit-In...Read More
Vocalist Dane Stauffer visited the Afternoon Cruise to discuss his upcoming Monstrous Melodies Cabaret at the Dakota. The performance features Stauffer, Maria Jette, Prudence Johnson and Dan Chouinard. Though Dane said he wasn’t sure if any of the performance was legitimately “scary” he assured us it was lots of fun. He even brought along a...Read More
Bassist Liz Draper has been running a residency at Berlin for October and she’s wrapping it up on Sunday, October 27 with her friend Ava Mendoza. Mendoza is a celebrated guitarist and composer based in Brooklyn and her friendship with Draper goes back almost 25 years. Liz spoke about her approach to improvising on the bass, her recent experience with...Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with choreographer and master dance instructor Ashi Smythe about the legacy of Katherine Dunham, the woman widely acknowledged as the “Queen Mother and Matriarch of African American Dance.” Smythe is a guest artist and instructor in a two-week Katherine Dunham residency taking place at Lundstrum Performing Arts. Attached photo by Mike...Read More
