Jazz88

Gary Hines, the leader of Sounds Blackness, took the time to visit with Sean from the Afternoon Cruise in advance of Sounds of Blackness's show on Friday January 13 at the Ordway, Music for Martin.

When the Twin Cities Flamenco Collective performs, it’s a combination of singing, dancing and guitar playing. To pull it off, the performers have to be monitoring and responding to each other. The group performs Sunday January 15 at 5PM at the Icehouse in Minneapolis. When collective members talked to Phil Nusbaum, guitarist Ross Fellrath addressed how he approaches playing for singing and dance.

There's just about a month left of Enrollment Season at Minneapolis Public Schools, and the time for finding a school for your child to attend next year is now. Jazz88's Manny Hill talks with MPS Interim Supt. Rochelle Cox about what parents and guardians need to know during this final month of the enrollment season, and also how students can find the Career & Technical Education (CTE) class that...

Twin Cities wife and husband team Brianna and Kurt Jorgensen perform and compose music together. Living together makes it oh-so-convenient to work on music details together. The Jorgensens trio performs this Saturday night at the Aster Café in Minneapolis starting at 9 PM. In a conversation with Phil Nusbaum, Brianna and Kurt addressed what it is like writing a song together.

Minnesota musician Keyez Williams paid a visit to the Afternoon Cruise to discuss his run of shows at the Granada in Uptown Minneapolis and to play a bit of his music. 

The show by the Minnesota Jazz Chamber Orchestra at the Chart House in Lakeville has been rescheduled for Tuesday December 27 at 7pm. The performance will feature vocalist Courtney Burton’s interpretations of songs of Ella Fitzgerald. Then the group plays New Year’s Eve at the Masonic Heritage Center in Lakeville at 7. Courtney Burton and Craig Thrane of the group got together with Phil Nusbaum to...

With Enrollment Season in full swing, Minneapolis Public Schools will be participating in the upcoming SchoolFinder Enrollment Fair, hosted by Great MN Schools on January 7 at MCTC. Jazz88's Manny Hill talks with Rosie Lais, Director of Community Resources at Great MN Schools about what parents and students can expect if they attend the Fair.

Daniel Volovets is a local guitarist who composes and also re-imagines the work of others. You can catch him at the Metronome Brewery in Saint Paul this Wednesday, January 4 at 7PM. When Daniel talked to Phil Nusbaum, Daniel first addressed his love of arranging.

Pianist Rick Carlson is known for accompanying singers. He also books Maggie’s Afterglow, a casual spot at Crooners Supper Club in Fridley. At the club, singers sing and Rick stays with them. It’s tons of fun for the artists, and for audiences who are looking to decompress from whatever in a festive atmosphere. When Phil Nusbaum got together with Rick, they first talked about the Maggie’s Afterglo...

A Christmas Carole Petersen portrays a Minnesota family’s Christmas celebration. It has light moments and dark ones, but in the end, family and tradition win out. Tod Petersen plays himself as the son of Carole Petersen. Tod talked to Phil Nusbaum about A Christmas Carole Petersen which is staged at Crooner’s Supper Club in Fridley December 15 through 18 at different times.

With Winter Break on the horizon at Minneapolis Public Schools, there are important dates to remember and programs coming up. Jazz88’s Manny Hill talks with MPS Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox, and they discuss the latest from Enrollment season, a change to the Winter Break schedule, and how students can recover credit for classes over the break.

When pianist Laura Caviani and saxophonist David Milne perform, their shared classical music and jazz backgrounds bring about surprising new treatments. The duet plays at Crooners Lounge in Fridley, Friday December 9 at 6:30 PM. In a conversation with Phil Nusbaum, David talked about how the duet, known as the Tableaux Duo goes about working together.

Twin Cities music icon Wain McFarlane shares the Dakota Stage with his son and granddaughter next Wednesday. It’ll be at the Dakota in Minneapolis from 7 till 9:30. Wain is known as the Dreadlock Cowboy, and in a conversation with Phil Nusbaum, he told how that designation came to be. Then he talks about his musical son and granddaughter.

The first urban public elementary school observatory resides at Hall STEM Academy in Minneapolis! The Observatory launched in mid-November and it's brought plenty of excitment to the MPS community. Jazz88's Manny Hill talks with Hall STEM Coordinator Joel Halvorson about how the idea of the observatory came about, what it all contains, and the next steps to incorporate it into the curriculum for t...

Take That Back is a group that plays the compositions of Joan Hutton and Sue Orfield, and plays Jazz Central Studios in Minneapolis, Saturday December 3 at 8PM. But to Joan and Sue, it’s really much more than their compositions. When Sue and Joan talked to Phil Nusbaum, Joan made clear how important are Ted Godbout on piano, Kameron Markworth on bass and Dave Schmalenberger on drums.

Jenny Klukken takes the marimba into unexpected musical places. In a conversation with Phil Nusbaum, Jenny talked about her distinct musical path.

Charmin Michelle takes the stage at the Dunsmore Room at Crooner’s this Saturday November 26. Charmin will be paying tribute to Jazz legend, singer Billie Holliday. When Charmin sat down with Phil Nusbaum to talk about the show, Charmin told Phil that Billie Holliday has always meant a lot to her.

Charmin Michelle takes the stage at the Dunsmore Room at Crooner’s this Saturday November 26. Charmin will be paying tribute to Jazz legend, singer Billie Holliday. When Charmin sat down with Phil Nusbaum to talk about the show, Charmin told Phil that Billie Holliday has always meant a lot to her.

Monday is the night for the jazz series at the Icehouse in Minneapolis. On Monday November 21, it’s two groups that feature free improvisation. Phil Nusbaum spoke Michelle Kinney of Herbaceous and Alma Engebretson of Creatures of Prometheus. Both are composers. Phil asked Alma, first, how can you compose music that is free and improvised.

Is your child is new to Minneapolis Public Schools? Or are you just looking to enroll your child into a different school in the district next year? Shakur Ali of the MPS Enrollment department talks with Jazz88's Manny Hill about all the information you need to know to get started, and why February 7th will be an important date to remember.

Looking to help a family this holiday season? There's a great opportunity to do so with a really cool event happening at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis starting the weekend after Thanksgiving. Jazz88's Manny Hill talks with Roosevelt Senior Ivy Mills about her role with Operation Holiday Basket, and how the event originated. Ivy also has info on how you can help.

Graydon Peterson leads Thoughtcast into the Icehouse in Minneapolis to celebrate the group’s new CD. Jake Baldwin plays the trumpet, Ben Erlich is the drummer, Joe Strachan is the keyboardist and Graydon Peterson is the bassist. All ten compositions are Peterson’s When Graydon talked to Phil Nusbaum, Graydon addressed his inspiration for the pieces

Early Childhood Screening is underway this month at Minneapolis Public Schools. Jazz88's Manny Hill talks with Wanda Felder, MPS Early Childhood Education Program Facilitator about why now is the time for MPS families to sign their child up for Screening.

For Curtis and Loretta, the Covid Pandemic was a time for reflection and composing new songs. Many of the songs are on the new CD, Lift The World. The duet celebrates the CD at an event at the Ginkgo in Saint Pau Saturday November 19 at 8PM. When Curtis and Loretta talked to Phil Nusbaum, Loretta spoke of the title song, Lift the World.

Aaron Kerr’s new opera captures the spirit of the times of the assassination of President Kennedy and resignation of President Nixon. Inspired by TV news copy saved over the decades, the work is called Kennedy Nixon UPI AP. It’ll be staged at Zion Lutheran Church in St Paul, Friday November 18 at 7PM. When Aaron talked to Phil Nusbaum about this most unusual opera which involves TV news copy, a na...