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
In the throes of winter, I received a couple new tracks from the budding new Twin Cities group, Society of Chemists. One of the standout tracks was “By Candlelight,” a three-minute tune that captures a great spectrum of emotions. The not-so-secret weapon of Society of Chemists is the writing of their saxophonist Stephanie Wieseler. My...Read More
Keep it simple stupid! It is one of those pieces of advice that is so easy to say and so hard to follow but I feel that Ray Barnard really channels that ethos across his output. The man prioritizes a good groove and when he has something nice to sing into the microphone he does...Read More
Sometimes it takes an outsider to really appreciate what is happening in a musical scene. Though he’s been here since 2005, Scott Agster still holds the thrill of the new kid as he tells the larger world what makes our Minneapolis music scene so special. There’s plenty to celebrate here in the Twin Cities, but...Read More
Pianist Abebi Stafford’s new record, Stolen By Lies, was primarily recorded in piano trio format, with Graydon Peterson on bass and Pete James Johnson on drums. Stafford’s original compositions are at their best when they are subtle. The tune “Kinderglow” is a great example of what makes Stafford’s understated writing so powerful. On the A...Read More
A handful of weeks ago we were highlighting the title track to Hannah Harder’s debut album as a leader The Greatest of These is Love. As I’ve continued to listen to the release, I wanted to write up the tune “I Don’t Know Yet,” another gem. In an interview with Jazz88’s Sam Keenan, Harder explained...Read More
Sean writes: I was overjoyed to get some new music from the fusion friendly group Society of Chemists in my inbox. The members of Society of Chemists are criminally busy with other projects, but they find the time to keep this one going because the band has such tangible passion for the self-described “chamber jazz...Read More
Mike Munson is a Winona-based guitarist and vocalist deeply rooted in the blues. Recently Munson has been charting a new course in his career and put together a trio featuring Twin Cities mainstays featuring Nick Salisbury on bass and Lars-Erik Larson on drums. When I got my hands on the instrumental “Night Flying Birds” it...Read More
This week’s Hot New Local Single is “Battle Ready,” a collab from Black Market Brass and Obi Original. Sean reflects on the single: I remember with great joy a night about twelve years ago where my idea of what was possible in Twin Cities music was recalibrated by seeing Black Market Brass on stage at...Read More
