Jazz88

The River City Jazz Orchestra sports 17 pieces. The number of pieces gives the group the ability to play in many moods, revisit old songs in surprising new ways, and provide space for creative soloing. Roger Grup is co-lead trumpeter for the band, and he talked with Phil Nusbaum about keeping the approach fresh.

The Star of the North Jazz Orchestra performs its monthly show at the Beast Barbecue in Minneapolis, Tuesday January 28. Phil Nusbaum talked with founding member Patrick Gonsalves and singer Jen Burleigh – Bentz, first about the mission of Star of the North.

After years of sessions and casual collaborations, trumpet player Omar Abdul-Karim and pianist Kavyesh Kaviraj have forged a collaborative project. The quartet, which also features Ted Olsen on bass and Kevin Washington on drums, will perform on Tuesday, January 28 at the Dakota. Sean McPherson from the Afternoon Cruise caught up with the duo to get a sense of how this collaboration came about and...

On January 14, Sean McPherson from Jazz88 headed down to Whitey's Old Town Saloon in Northeast Minneapolis to check out a weekly Tuesday jam session helmed by bassist Graydon Peterson. Check out audio of the jam session, details about how to get involved and interviews with key players from the night.

Burning Blue Rain is composed of guitarist / vocalist Louis Tessman Stanoch and keyboardist / vocalist Oliver Osland. The two plus rhythm section celebrates its new EP, “Blue Frame” Wednesday January 29 at Seventh Street Entry in Minneapolis. Showtime is 8pm. Louis and Oliver started their musical careers as young kids.

The Star Tribune has launched a new podcast called "Ghost of a Chance" that tells the story of a black couple named Harry and Clementine Robinson who lived in South Minneapolis in the early twentieth century. The house that they occupied now belongs to Eric Roper, who happens to be the editor of the paper's regular history feature, "Curious Minnesota." Roper purchased the home in March of 2020 and...

7PM on Sunday January 26, Kendra Glenn, Ginger Commodore and Monique Blakey create a special tribute show to influential and inspiring singer, Anita Baker. Kendra Glenn talked to Phil Nusbaum about the show, which at the time of the interview, was in rehearsal. First, Kendra addressed the special qualities of the voice of Anita Baker.

Percussionist Bill Summers described music as a "religious undertaking" when he connected with Jazz88's Sean McPherson to discuss the recent Headhunters record and their upcoming performance at the Dakota. Summers was joined by their drummer Mike Clark and the conversation covered iconic moments from Headhunters history, the group's current lineup and their concern for musicians who are suffering...

Jazz88's Peter Solomon spoke with G. Philip Shoultz, III about the 44th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert taking place Sunday, January 19th at Ted Mann Concert Hall.

The celebrated vocalist Bruce Henry is back in town to perform a concert on Saturday at the Dakota titled "Everyone Under the Sun: A Celebration of Unity and Love." Henry connected with Sean McPherson to discuss how he and the band will use Martin Luther King Jr. as a point of departure to build community with the audience.

Jennifer Grimm the singer and Joe Cruz the guitarist are a couple of experienced Twin Cities musicians. The two team up every Thursday at Ingredients in White Bear, 5:30 till 8pm. How do they do it? Well it’s a mix of planning, and adapting to whatever is going on at the time, as Jennifer explained to Phil Nusbaum

Pop Wagner’s groups entertain for brunch every second Saturday of the month at Icehouse from 11am till 2pm. This Saturday, March 11, Pop performs with the Hampdon Rounders. Pop talked to Phil Nusbaum about the show, and first about the individual Rounders.

Jazz88's Peter Solomon speaks with Sarah Fornace from the Chicago-based performance collective "Manual Cinema." Fornace is the director of "Leonardo: A Wonderful Show about a Terrible Monster," a show based on two stories by Mo Willems. It's running January 8th - March 9th at Children's Theatre.

The American Roots Revue, with a cast that includes Robert Robinson, Billy Steele, Tonia Hughes and Fiddln’ Pete Watercott, returns to the Dakota in Minneapolis with two shows Friday January 3. Larry Long is the curator of the Revue, and after listening to a bit of Robert Robinson’s Everybody’s Chains Came Off, Larry told Phil Nusbaum about the theme for this edition of the American Roots Revue, S...

Kinda country, kinda jazzy, and certainly Americana. Sarah Morris and the Sometimes Guys. Regardless of which genre label you give it, the sound is based on Sarah’s strong songwriting and the musical sensitivity of the boys in the band. Phil Nusbaum caught up with Sarah at her Minneapolis studio. Their conversation started off with Sarah talking about her musical genre.

Sarah Navratil leads her group into jazz Central Studios This Friday night from 8 till 9:30. Sarah plays the tenor sax, and she duets with Sophia Kickofel who plays the alto. The evening’s music pays tribute to jazz composers Lenny Tristano, Warren Marsh and Lee Konitz. When Sarah talked about the show with Phil Nusbaum, she referenced the saxophone duet on the Tristano composition, Background Mus...

Before Stanley Jordan was a household name he was getting his career started with Madison, Wisconsin as his homebase. The young player made routine trips up to the Twin Cities and he credits the Twin Cities as the first major metro area where he built up a fanbase. Even though Jordan can now command a crowd in every corner of the planet he's quick to come back to the Twin Cities, specifically the...

Rose Lewis was a member first of an award winning Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music. She went on to perform with major artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Diane Reeves, teaching school based bands, and has freelanced with a greater number of groups than can be listed here. Way back in 1991, Rose won the Minnesota Composer’s Forum’s Composer Commissioning Project, and that opened the door to...

Pianist Bryan Nichols is embarking on a new chapter in his musical life. On Saturday he launches a new quintet to navigate his original compositions. He'll be joined by Sophia Kickhofel (sax), Jake Baldwin (trumpet), Dan Carpel (bass) and JT Bates (drums). The group premieres at Berlin and he was nice enough to stop by Jazz88 and chat with Sean McPherson about the new lineup and his approach to co...

Jazz88's Patty Peterson talks to sax man, Boney James, about his new CD called "Slow Burn" and his tour, which brings him to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul December 18th, 2024.

Monroe Crossing has been playing its bluegrass music locally, nationally and internationally for almost a quarter-century. The group presents its Christmas show Tuesday and Wednesday December 17 and 18 at Crooner’s, 7:30-p pm. Monroe Crossing’s fiddler and one of its founding members, Lisa Fuglie talked to Phil Nusbaum about the group’s history.

Reid Anderson, the co-founder and the bassist for The Bad Plus, recently connected with Sean McPherson's Jazz88 for a chat. Anderson discussed the new album from The Bad Plus and their upcoming run of shows starting on Christmas Day at the Dakota.

Kathleen Johnson’s Dakota show Wednesday December 11 at the Dakota at 7pm features the voice. The emphasis is because singers can really connect with audiences. Kathleen put across her point of view in a conversation with Phil Nusbaum.

Vocalists Toussaint Morrison and Roz Prickel are deep into the world of holiday music. They are in rehearsals for their Sno Ball event on Saturday at PNA Hall in Northeast. They swung by the Afternoon Cruise to chat about their favorite holiday music, their love of all things pickle and their upcoming show.

Saturday night December 7 at 7PM, Katia Cardenas and trio perform at Walker West Music Academy in Saint Paul. It’ll be a program of Katia’s favorites, so it is It’s slightly ironic that one of Katia’s favorites is the standard “My Favorite Things.” In an interview with Phil Nusbaum Katia first told of the concert series she is part of at Walker.