Jazz88

Leslie Vincent visited the studios of Jazz88 to perform a haunting ukulele version of her song "Bury Her Down" and chat up her upcoming performance at Granada Theater on Saturday October 21.

Back in 2017 Jazz88's Bobby Vandell connected with drum legend David Garibaldi for a long interview covering many aspects of Garibaldi's legendary career going back to the earliest years of Tower of Power. Jazz88 will continue to share portions of this interview throughout the coming months. Enjoy this portion of the conversation, focusing on Garibaldi's formative years.

Roy Hargrove was born October 16, 1969. In his too-short life (Hargrove died in 2018) he became an icon; sharing stages with musicians from across genres, winning Grammys and penning songs with will live on. Minnesota-based trumpet player Omar Abdulkarim had occasion to share stages and conversations with Hargrove during Abdulkarim's time living in New York. Omar was nice enough to visit our studi...

Skarlett Woods, Brainerd singer-songwriter celebrates her new CD, Letters To The West, next Saturday night at Ginkgo’s in Saint Paul. In her writing, Skarlett turns her attention to intimacy as well as big societal issues. When she talked about her work with Phil Nusbaum, Skarlett first talked about one of her romantic songs.

Billy McLaughlin and Simple Gifts celebrate songs of Neil Young, in Harvest at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, 7PM on Sunday October 22. The show reimagines songs from Neil Young’s harvest and Harvest Moon albums. Phil Nusbaum got together with Karen Paurus, Amy Courts and Carin Vagle to talk about the production. When Phil asked about the appeal of presenting Neil Young’s songs.

When Raycurt a.k.a. Fiddla plays for brunch, he often calls it Bach for Breakfast. But it’s really a lot more than that, as at the Harriet Brasserie, Sunday October 15 from 11 till 1:30. The music often reflects a wide range of Raycurt’s musical experiences. When Raycurt spoke with Phil Nusbaum, Raycurt first addressed how he started.

Stablemates is a Twin Cities Piano Trio. The group plays at the Metronome in Saint Paul, Thursday October 12 at 7:00 PM. When Phil Nusbaum met up with the trio, it was running through some repertoire.

Stokley is an internationally acclaimed R&B star, both as a solo act and with his 20+ year career with Mint Condition. Hailing from the Twin Cities, Stokley can keep a low profile in town and he doesn't perform in town too often. But when he does. . .it's an EVENT. This Saturday Stokley is playing at the Uptown Theater alongside Jordan Johnston, Bakarii and LA Buckner and Big Homie. This week Stok...

Peter Solomon spoke with Gary Hines, music director for the Grammy-winning Twin Cities ensemble Sounds of Blackness about their participation in a program called “Behind the Curtain: Ever After in Concert” The story is a developing musical, an extension of the Cinderella Story and incorporates historical figures like The Brothers Grimm and Leonardo Da Vinci. Performances are Friday, October 6th an...

Scott Keever issues his second CD of original guitar music at Celtic Junction in Saint Paul Saturday night October 21. There will be an opening set by guitarist Phil Heywood. Scott has interests in many world music styles, but one of his strongest groundings is the work of fellow Minnesota Leo Kotke. In a conversation with Phil Nusbaum, Scott explains his feeling for the Kotke style.

Joan Hutton plays in many musical settings. We’ve known Joan through her work in the Ancia Saxophone Quartet for example, playing modern classical music. But she’s also a noted jazz musician with a growing catalog of original work representing varied jazz styles. When Joan sat down with Phil Nusbaum, she talked about her jazz funk side.

Grammy award-winning vocalist Kurt Elling took some time out of his touring itinerary to chat with the Afternoon Cruise's Sean McPherson about his new album SuperBlue 2: The Iridescent Spree. Listen to find out how the tour is going and how some of the best songs on the new album came to be.

Celebrated trumpeter, bandleader and composer Randy Brecker is swinging back into town to join the JazzMN Orchestra at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater on Monday night. Jazz88's Peter Solomon caught up with Brecker to find out about the program on Monday and much more!

Looking for a fun way to stay active this fall? Minneapolis Public Schools is once again participating in Walk & Roll to School Day on October 4, followed by it's own local event, "Let's Roll MPS" the following week on October 11. Jazz88's Manny Hill talks with MPS Active Living Coordinator Jenny Borden about what will happen at both events, and how families and community members can get involved.

John Raymond was raised in the Twin Cities but is now based out of Bloomington, Indiana and New York. Raymond will be back in town to kick off a tour supporting his new collaborative album with S. Carey, Shadowlands. Jazz88 caught up with Raymond to find out about how this unique collaboration came to be.

Braxton Haulcey, the Executive Director of Walker-West and Ernest Bisong, a violin instructor at Walker-West as well as the curator of the new season of the Rondo Community Music Series visited Jazz88 to discuss the launch of their Rondo Community Music Series.

Dorothy Doring has added a new chapter to the long story of her life as a musician. In the past couple years Dorothy Doring has started writing songs and she's ready to share them with the world. She'll be playing at Metronome Brewery in St. Paul on Saturday alongside her host and opening act Trish Sisson.

Tjårnblom celebrates its third CD, “Woods,” at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, this Friday at 7PM. But this new project marks big changes to the group. Joining Tjårnblom is a new member, cellist Erin Walsh, joining Val Eng on the harmonium, mandolinist Joe Alfano and nyckelharpa player Cheryl Pashke. When Joe and Cheryl talked to Phil Nusbaum about Tjårnblom, Cheryl first addressed...

Pavielle, celebrated vocalist and bandleader as well as host on Jazz88, has teamed up with vocalist and curator Dennis Spears to kick of season 14 of Legends at the Capri Theater. This weekend the Capri will be transformed into a juke joint in a show titled "Hot Times at Zona's Cabaret and Blues Joint". Listen for how Pavielle and Dennis Spears are bringing their musical histories into an exciting...

Yohannes Tona, an internationally renown bassist, and vocalist Dibekulu have teamed up to bring Ethio-Jazz to the Twin Cities. Listen to the interview to find out how Yohannes discovered the sounds of Ethio-jazz while learning other styles of music. And discover how the notes of the Amharic scales of Ethiopia combining with Latin and jazz rhythms and harmonies brought about a new sound, largely ca...

Veronica Swift, preparing for two shows on Friday at the Dakota, took time to visit with Morning Show host Peter Solomon and discuss her new eponymous record.

Cuban and American piano phenom Alfredo Rodriguez is coming to the Turf Club for a show on Sunday night with his trio. He's celebrating the release of his new Mack Avenue recording "Coral Way". Listen to the conversation between Alfredo Rodriguez and Sean McPherson and prepare for Rodriguez's trio first visit to the Twin Cities at the Turf Club Sunday, September 24.

David Feily, Greg Byers and Ernest Bisong are all first call players in the Twin Cities music world. As members of the small world of string players working in improvised settings they might've been destined to cross paths regardless, but it was the urging of violin master Randy Sabien that initially brought them together. After a couple days of free recording time at the Institute for Production...

Kavyesh Kaviraj is in demand in the Twin Cities as a phenomenal piano player. That means that in his ten years in the Twin Cities he's developed quite the network of players to call on when he's the leader. So as Kavyesh Kaviraj took on the duty of curating a Jazzclectic Concert, he knew the right people to call. Listen to the conversation between Kavyesh Kaviraj and Sean McPherson to hear about K...

Marcus Kar, the Northside program director at Youth Farm and co-chair of the Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council came to visit Jazz88 and brought along Jesse Miller, a Youth Farm lead. This Saturday they are celebrating the season with Playing For the Plants 2023. A concert featuring free food while supplies last and music from Lady Midnight, LA Buckner and Friends, Hastings 3000 and more.