Mark your jazz calendars for Theo Bleckmann

I've been dying to see Theo Bleckmann live, and here he comes.

From the Macalester College (St. Paul) Events Calendar:

Friday, September 23

New Music Series: Theo Bleckmann, voice

Jazz singer and new music composer Theo Bleckmann will perform. The Grammy nominated Bleckmann makes music that is accessibly sophisticated, unsentimentally emotional, and seriously playful. His work provokes the mind to wonder, but connects immediately with the heart. The Village Voice called him “Transcendent”; The New York Times wrote, “From another planet”; and All About Jazz said he is “Magical, futuristic.” New Music Series guest artists work with Macalester students in classes and master classes and give free concerts, which are open to the public. Sponsored by the Rivendell Foundation.

Macalester-Plymouth United Church

1658 Lincoln Ave.

St. Paul, Minn. 55105

8 p.m. FREE 651-696-6808

This event is likely to be under the radar. If you don't know who Theo Bleckmann is, neither do a lot of people--yet. He's one of Kurt Elling's five favorite jazz singers.

Jazz tubist leaves town: Interview with Stefan Kac

Stefan Kac by John Whiting 2011

It’s a good move for him, sad news for Twin Cities jazz fans and musicians: On Labor Day weekend, after a final performance at the Nomad on Wednesday, Stefan Kac will pack his tuba and head to CalArts to pursue his master’s degree.

I mean it about the sad news part. Since I first saw Kac lug his instrument on stage at the AQ during a rare jam session, I’ve been watching him with great interest. At first, mainly because he plays jazz on the tuba. But it wasn’t long before the novelty ceded to the musicality, freshness, imagination, and depth (literal and figurative) he brings to each performance.

He gives jazz, especially free jazz, new layers, colors, and sonorities. If jazz is like a sand painting, he’s the dark layer at the bottom. If jazz has colors, he’s the indigo blue and burnished bronze. A tuba changes the physical experience of hearing jazz. Those low notes get you where others can’t reach.

Soon, other musicians were playing with him, and those who weren’t were talking about him and wanting to play with him. I saw him with his groups Pan-Metropolitan Trio and Ingo Bethke, with BronkowVision and AntiGravity, with the Milo Fine Free Jazz Ensemble, with Bryan Nichols’ We Are Many, with Ann Millikan’s “House of Mirrors” project, and with his own ensembles small and large: trios, quartets, and the Consortium of Symphonic Transients (CoST), often performing his original compositions. I regret that I never heard him with his classical group, the Copper Street Brass Quintet.

On Wednesday at 10 p.m., the Stefan Kac Octet will play the Nomad as part of the weekly jazz series being curated by bassist James Buckley. The octet features Scott Fultz, Chris Kauffman, Shilad Sen, and Chris Thomson on saxes, Geoff Sen on trumpet, Pat O’Keefe on bass clarinet, Kac on tuba, and Nick Zielinski on drums.

How to write about the arts, for the Schubert Club's new Theoroi group

Last night, I spoke to the members of Theoroi, a group of young Twin Cities professionals ages 21–35 who have committed to attending a series of arts events over the coming season and spreading the word through interactive social media outlets.

Theoroi is a new initiative of the Schubert Club, Minnesota's first performing arts organization and the place you go when you want to see recitals by people like Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, and Alison Balsam.

We met in the Schubert Club Museum at the Landmark Center in St. Paul (where there's a piano signed by Liszt and a letter signed by Mozart), drank wine, and sat in Ghost Louis chairs. I was asked to speak on "how to write about the arts" and came prepared with a few suggestions. I thought it might be helpful to post them here, with light embellishments.

Thanks to Tessa Rettarath and Paul Olson of the Schubert Club, Matt Zumwalt of the board, and everyone at Theoroi for making me feel so welcome. I look forward to reading what you Theoroi-ists have to say about Cosi and Phantom, plays and ballets and recitals.

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Learn a little something before you go to an event. Find out about the play, the dance, the choreographer, the performers. Read the play, if you can, or the story of the opera. (Trust me, enjoying opera does not depend on being surprised by plot twists.) Watch some clips of a singer on YouTube. Check the venue’s website and visit the links included there. Even a little knowledge can give you confidence and help you feel prepared for what you're about to experience.

This week's jazz picks for Minneapolis-St. Paul

Tonight and tomorrow (Friday–Saturday, August 26–27) at the Artists’ Quarter: Jeanne Arland Peterson and Cliff Brunzell will celebrate their 90th birthdays. It’s rumored that Jeanne, pianist extraordinaire and mother of the musical Peterson clan, and Cliff, the superb violinist and maestro of the Golden Strings, will be joined by Irv Williams, saxophonist supreme, a.k.a. Mr. Smooth, who has a couple of years on Jeanne and Cliff; he’s 92. Irv played with Ben Sidran at the Dakota earlier this week and I hear it was a fabulous night. 9 p.m. ($15)

Tonight (Friday) at the Black Dog in St. Paul’s Lowertown: guitarist Jef Lee Johnson with Johannas Tona and Michael Bland. A recent addition to the Black Dog’s calendar and well worth going out for. Fans of the sorely missed Minnesota Sur Seine festival will remember the amazing and adventuresome Johnson. Bassist Tona has made his mark in the Twin Cities performing with Nachito Herrera and Stokely Williams. Michael Bland has been Prince’s drummer. It will be awesome; it will likely be loud. 8 p.m. ($8 suggested door)

Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues concert film showings announced

From Jazz at Lincoln Center:

US Movie Theater Event: Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues
One night only
Wednesday, Sept. 7, 7:30 pm (local time)
This intimate performance, captured live from Lincoln Center this past spring, brought together an unrivaled cross-generational, cross-cultural collaboration as the pair of musical virtuosos showcased a repertoire of songs selected by Clapton and arranged by Marsalis. The concert film also features a special appearance by blues musician Taj Mahal, who joined the duo for two songs, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage.
Click here for info/tickets.

When you can't go to a live concert, seeing the concert film at a cushy state-of-the-art movie theater is the next best thing--sometimes even better because the cameras go in much closer than you ever could. Plus there's popcorn.

If you click on the link above, enter your ZIP code, and pick your theater, you may discover that tickets aren't yet on sale for that venue. But you can ask Fandango to send you an email when they are. Just don't let Fandango pick your seats for you, if your theater is one with reserved seating (like the Showplace Icon in St. Louis Park, MN). Fandango will pick terrible seats.

This week's jazz picks for Minneapolis-St. Paul

Tonight and tomorrow (Friday–Saturday, August 19–20) at the Artists' Quarter: the Miguel Hurtado Group. Miguel is an exciting young drummer and a recent graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. His band will include Marquis Hill on trumpet and Christopher McBride on saxophone, both Miguel’s friends from Chicago, and Twin Cities musicians Zacc Harris (guitar), James Buckley (bass), and Joe Strachan (piano; Friday only). Everyone will contribute original compositions. Playing the AQ is a big deal for any young jazz musician—a weekend especially so. 9 p.m. ($12)

On Saturday at Hell’s Kitchen, the Jana Nyberg Group is having their CD release for Fever. I like how Jana sings a song—she’s not at all shy about it, she just steps up and grabs it. And I like how her husband, Adam Meckler, plays the trumpet. The combination of voice and trumpet is one of many reasons to hear this new CD.  Meckler’s arrangement of the title track gives an evergreen a good shake, and Jana's sassy run at “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” tickles and swings. Hell’s Kitchen, 6 p.m. Saturday. No cover.

Take me there

If I had a transporter, tonight I'd go to the Hollywood Bowl, where a jaw-dropping lineup of jazz greats will perform "Joni's Jazz," a program of jazz-based songs by Joni Mitchell.

I've been in love with Joni since I first heard "Chelsea Morning," or maybe it was "Blue Boy" or "Big Yellow Taxi" or "Woodstock" or "Conversation" or "River" (so sad!) or "A Case of You," one of the greatest love songs of all time ("I could drink a case of you/And still be on my feet"--check out Prince's version sometime).

That floating, ethereal voice. Those otherworldly guitar tunings.

And then there's "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" from the Mingus album she credits with "kicking her out of the game."

Imagine a concert of Joni's music, arranged by Brian Blade and Jon Cowherd, performed by Herbie Hancock, Kurt Elling, Aimee Mann, Chaka Khan, Wayne Shorter, Cassandra Wilson, Tom Scott, Mark Isham, Blade, Cowherd, Glen Hansard (The Frames), and more. Tonight, 7:30 p.m. To include The Hissing of Summer Lawns in its entirety.

Joni will not perform. Will she be in the house? What will Kurt sing?

Amina Figarova: Setting stories to music

Originally published at MinnPost.com on September 2, 2009

The lyrical, expressive, passionate pianist/composer Amina Figarova has just been booked at the Dakota for one night only—Thursday, September 1. I interviewed her two years ago, shortly before she played her first Dakota date. Her current tour of eight US cities will begin at the Dakota and go from there to the Fox Jazz Festival in Menasha, WI (Sept. 3), the Detroit Jazz Festival (Sept. 4), the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago (Sept. 7), the WDCB Jazz Salon in Oak Brook (Sept. 8), Trio's in South Bend, IN (Sept. 9), the Puffin Foundation in Teaneck, NJ (Sept. 10), and the Metropolitan Room in NYC (Sept. 11). In Teaneck and NYC, Figarova and her band will perform September Suite, her musical response to the events of September 11, 2001. She travels with a telepathic band: husband Bart Platteau on flutes, Ernie Hammes on trumpet, Mark Mommaas on tenor saxophone (three wind instruments!), Jeroen Vierdag on bass, and Chris "Buckshot" Strik on drums. Catch them if you can.

This interview was originally published at MinnPost.com on September 2, 2009.

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Amina Figarova: Setting stories to music

Visit pianist/composer Amina Figarova’s website and you’ll find the words “Music is a natural not a national language.” This must include jazz, or Figarova’s own life is hard to explain. How else could a girl born in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan grow up trained as a classical musician, start a career as a classical concert pianist, and then, in her mid-20s, switch to jazz?

“My mother loved jazz, and she was always telling me, ‘You have that in you,’” Figarova said by phone earlier this week from her home in the Netherlands. “I was writing and playing classical music, so I never took seriously what she was saying. Every time I went to a jazz concert or festival, I was wishing I could do it but never felt I could.