State of the Arts Category Archive: Music

Minnesota Orchestra presents from the sublime to "The Matrix" in 2012-2013 seasons

Posted at 10:13 AM on February 3, 2012 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, News and reviews

The Minnesota Orchestra isn't letting a little thing like having to move out of Orchestra Hall for a year cramp its style. Details of the Classical and Pops seasons released today include a boatload of top name solo performers, three movies with live orchestra accompaniment, and a two week clarinet festival.

The Orchestra's 10th season with Osmo Vanska at the helm runs from October 2012 to June 2013, mainly in the Minneapolis Convention Center's auditorium while Orchestra hall is expanded and refurbished. Other concerts will be presented at the Ted Mann Hall on the U of M campus and Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

Guests include violinists Leila Josefowicz and Karen Gomyo; violist Roberto Díaz; cellist Alban Gerhardt; clarinetists Martin Fröst, Anat Cohen and Evan Christopher; pianists Garrick Ohlsson, Michael McHale, Simon Trpčeski, Jonathan Biss and Yevgeny Sudbin; organist Mark Sedio and soprano Susan Bullock.

There are concerts featuring newly appointed Concertmaster Erin Keefe and the first Minnesota Orchestra appearance of former Concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis since she retired from the position.

The Pops season also brings in a hoard of popular guests ranging from Bobby McFerrin and Bill Cosby to Natalie Merchant and Cuban music ensemble Tiempo Libre. The Klezmatics will perform, as will Nicole Parker and Alli Mauzey from the hit musical "Wicked" who will do a program named "The Wicked Divas of Broadway."

The Pops series will take advantage of the overhead projection system at the Convention Center to present no fewer than three feature film with live musical accompaniment: "West Side Story," "Casablanca" and "The Matrix."

The orchestra will also continue its Common Chords project with a week-long festival in Bemidji in April 2013.

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Fargo-Moorhead Symphony violist dies at 100, played at 99

Posted at 8:53 AM on January 23, 2012 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arts around the state, Music, People

The Fargo-Moorhead Symphony has lost a gem of a performer - one who had real staying power.

Mary King Osterfield
Photo: InForum.com

Violist Mary King Osterfield played with the orchestra for 46 years, up until a fall combined with kidney failure forced her to retire at age 99. She had hoped to perform at least once at age 100, but that wasn't to be.

I had the pleasure of meeting Osterfield while on a visit to the Fargo-Moorhead area just over a year ago. I was attending a rehearsal of the FMSO, and watched Osterfield's bow fly just as fast as those of the young musicians next to her. Many of them were her former students.

Afterward we chatted, which is when she really charmed me. Born in Northern Ireland, Osterfield had a lilting accent and a sparkle in her eye that was absolutely infectious.

An obituary on inforum.com quotes Osterfield as having stated "when I get that viola under my chin I feel like I'm 21."

This past weekend the FMSO performed a work in Osterfield's memory, leaving a chair empty where she would have sat. She'll be deeply missed.

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Minnesota Orchestra to perform work by 20-year-old McNally Smith student

Posted at 2:37 PM on January 5, 2012 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Tomorrow night the Minnesota Orchestra will perform six works by young talents deemed to be "future classics."

One of those works is Rhythm: Theta Beta Theta by 20-year-old Michael Holloway.

Holloway, a native of Illinois, is pursuing a bachelor's degree in composition at the McNally Smith College of Music in downtown St. Paul. He's among the youngest ever chosen for this event, and was chosen from a nationwide seletion process.

In addition to having his work performed by a professional orchestra, Holloway, along with the five other selected composers, has been taking part in the Minnesota Orchestra's week-long professional training program.

So what does Holloway think of this opportunity?

As a composer you spend many months alone with a pencil and paper working on a piece of this length and the unfortunate reality is that you may never hear your work realized in its entirety. I am fortunate that I have The Minnesota Orchestra to finish this piece with me and give it a world premiere.

Holloway's chosen piece, Rhythm: Theta Beta Theta, was inspired by different types of brainwaves. Another recent work, Cantor, explores the mathematical theorems of Georg Cantor with a string quartet.

The Minnesota Orchestra's 11th annual Composer Institute is directed by composer Aaron Jay Kernis. 153 candidates applied.

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Three for the New Year

Posted at 1:40 PM on January 3, 2012 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Poetry

The first days back after the New Year are always a mixed bag: we have the post holiday letdown mixed with the resolve and resolution for the upcoming months.

There's also the flotsam and jetsam of the internet to sort through, to see what treasures may have washed up in the electronic tide.

Here are three items that washed up in the State of the Arts inlet;

A classical jig while you jog. Our colleagues over at Classical Minnesota Public Radio launch a new on-line series today of playlists to accompany everyday activities. Performance Today producer Suzanne Schaffer hits the ground running for 2012 with a playlist designed for joggers, with 40 minutes of music tailored to the highs of setting off (Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man "Definitely feeding Olympic dreams. I CAN do this..." ) to the lows of getting through that tough final mile Ludwig von Beethoven: Movement III from Symphony No. 5 "Tired. This music pushes you through!" Other playlists in the works: music for cooking, and for yoga.

A review of 2011 from a conductors point of view (with snark) Conductor Bill Eddins is Music Director of the Edmonton Symphony, but as a long time Minneapolis resident, and artistic director of the sadly defunct Prospect Park Players chamber ensemble, he's known as a man with strong views. He shares some of them in the Sticks and Drones blog, which he writes with Ron Spigelman, Music Director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Missouri and principal Pops Conductor for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. In his 2011 Report Card Eddins delivers a stinging report card for many of the nations top orchestras. His reviews are based on overall performance, melding both artistic and business operation. Interestingly he predicts upheaval at the Minnesota Orchestra, which just posted an operating loss.

And finally, A poetic flight of fancy. Electric Literature just released its latest Single Sentence Animation. Carmichael Lynch Creative Director Brock Davis' animation and music set Matt Sumell's words alight. It may not be the best 35 seconds of your day, but it could well be in the top 10.

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Twin Cities jazz fans shocked at passing of Christine Rosholt

Posted at 3:46 PM on December 29, 2011 by Euan Kerr (3 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Twin Cities jazz fans have been left reeling by the news of the unexpected death of singer Christine Rosholt earlier this week. She was just 46.

No cause of death has been released so far.

In an obituary on the Jazz Police blog contributing editor Andrea Canter writes about Rosholt's way of talking and joking with her audience, making a performance almost seem like a cocktail party.

"She grew substantially as a musician," Canter continues, "In recent years charming as much with her melodies, her phrasing, her interpretations, her song choices as with her banter and perky smile. She brought her own character, comedy and drama into her music, not just her show. She could pull your heart out with an achingly slow "Smile" or make you smirk at her interpretation of Dave Frishberg's "I'm Hip." But still, no matter what or how she sang, no matter how "hip" her band, we always expected to have a good time with Christine, the person, the actress, the comedienne, the friend... and oh yes, the singer. And we will miss all of her."

The Dakota Jazz Club's Lowell Pickett described Rosholt as "Effervescent and always so positive. Positive in a quirky, sparkling way."

"People liked her because she was fresh," he said, "A very rare quality."

A regular presence on Twin Cities stages Rosholt was recognized as a hard worker.

Pickett says that work ethic was allied with great professionalism, and attention to detail, before and during a show. By the time she took the stage, everything was in place, and he says that's another reason she was a great performer.

Rosholt just released a new CD called "Pazz," a collaboration with British songwriter and musician Kevin Hall.

A memorial event is in the works for January 10th at the Dakota. Pickett says he is talking with Rosholt's family to work out the details now.

Christine Rosholt appeared recently on Classical MPR's "Music Mith Minnesotans" program hosted by Alison Young which you can find here. She also talked with Jazz Connection host Marianne Sullivan in December 2008 which you can find here.

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Mixing hip-hop with holiness

Posted at 4:28 PM on December 28, 2011 by Marianne Combs (2 Comments)
Filed under: Culture, Music

Editor's Note: This piece by Nikki Tundel is part of a series called Minnesota Mix. Minnesota Mix is a project Minnesota Public Radio News that examines the way youth and ethnic diversity are influencing Minnesota arts. Enjoy...

Pastor Stacey Jones preaches in front of a graffiti mural of an angel at Urban Jerusalem in Minneapolis, Minn., on December 3, 2011. Jones and his wife founded the hip-hop church in 2006. MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel

Minneapolis -- Many urban churches are finding it increasingly difficult to get young adults through their doors.

But one Minneapolis minister is engaging religion-wary teens and twenty-somethings by mixing a little hip-hop in with the holiness.

On a recent Saturday night, disco lights blasted colored rays around the room at Urban Jerusalem, a Pentecostal church in north Minneapolis. The DJ settled in behind a stack of vinyl. Stacey Jones, the senior pastor at Urban Jerusalem, commanded the microphone.

"Every time the religious leaders came to Jesus to try to catch him," he told the congregation, "Jesus would just blow their mind. Jesus would just throw one or two lines and they were like, 'Oh, snap.' "

Teens and twenty-somethings make up the majority of the congregation at Urban Jerusalem in Minneapolis, Minn.
MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel

Here, turntables stand in place of a pulpit. Graffiti art, rather than stained glass, frames the sanctuary. And the hymns are the kind which can, and do, move congregants to breakdance.

Stacey and his wife, Tryenyse, launched this Twin Cities church five years ago, with the goal of connecting urban youth with Christ. The best way to do that, they figured, was to incorporate a culture many kids already worshipped -- hip-hop.

"Drop the track, man," the preacher calls. "Praise God! Yeah!"

In many ways, the Jones' are just like generations of pastors before them -- they're using modern music to make religion more relatable.

"We still bring the word," Gerald Shepherd said. He's the evening's emcee, or minister of music, as he likes to be called. But he's just one of the worshippers who bring their faith to the dance floor.

"We still believe Jesus died, he rose, everything like that," Shepherd said. "We bring a different style to worship."

Hip-hop churches, like Urban Jerusalem in Minneapolis, Minn., incorporate everything from strobe lights to break dancing into the worship service.
MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel

About 30 twenty-somethings in baseball caps and baggy jeans supplement the sermon with their own songs and poems -- anything that expresses their spiritual side.

"The king of angels, the messiah, the sacrifice," raps a singer. "Why in this whole universe was he willing to pay this price?"

One of the rappers introduces himself as Brad Peglow. "My rap name is B.P. the Preacher Man," he said. "I had some secular hip-hop artists ask me one time, 'How can you flow for a whole song and not curse and keep it clean?' And I tell 'em, 'Well, I don't listen to any of that other stuff.

"Therefore it's not hard for me at all. I put the word in me and surround myself with godly influences so when the beat drops that's what comes out.' " Jones can't help but tap his Bible to the beat. But the way he sees it, hip-hop worship requires more than just spinning records to the scriptures.

"Our mission statement is to present the word of God in relevant form," Jones said. "Relevancy is not just the musical aspect. Relevancy is dealing with everyday life issues. You have drugs. You have people struggling with depression. Those are real life things. And one thing about hip-hop: hip-hop deals with everyday issues."

Josiah Lee is one of the many churchgoers moved to pray during hip-hop worship services at Urban Jerusalem in Minneapolis, Minn.
MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel

"Say hello to my little friend," sings a congregant. "The one who washed away my little sins, the one who kept from sipping a little gin."

"If there is any place you can talk about issues of struggle, why not the church?" Jones asks.

Since Pastor Jones hit the scene, at least five new hip-hop churches have popped up the in Twin Cities.

There are traditionalists who find beat boxing akin to blasphemy. But for the worshippers at Urban Jerusalem, spirituality just seems to go better with strobe lights.

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The Bad Plus performs live on Midmorning

Posted at 1:34 PM on December 23, 2011 by Marianne Combs (4 Comments)
Filed under: Music

I feel like I've already received my Christmas present this year.

The Bad Plus
Photo: Cameron Wittig

This morning I - along with Midmorning listeners - was treated to an in-studio performance of The Bad Plus, the Midwestern jazz trio that's made a name for itself in New York and around the world for its distinct style. Reid Anderson, Ethan Iverson and Dave King name musical influences as diverse as Ornette Coleman, Black Sabbath, David Bowie and Jelly Roll Morton.

After ten years together the band released "Never Stop" - today they played music from that album and others as they looked back at a decade of confounding musical expectations.

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89.3 The Current hires City Pages' music writer Andrea Swensson

Posted at 1:00 PM on December 22, 2011 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Writing

89.3 The Current has named Andrea Swensson, long-time music editor and critic for City Pages, to serve as primary author for a new music blog about the Minnesota music scene. The blog will launch the week of January 9, 2012, on thecurrent.org.

Program Director Jim McGuinn says 89.3 The Current's website is already a hub for local music fans, but he wants to "turn it up to 11" by adding more depth and information about the local music scene.

Andrea has a track record for being a champion of local music and an excellent writer and editor, not to mention a guru in the social networking world. She's a great addition to our scrappy group of local music junkies.

Swensson founded the popular Gimme Noise blog for City Pages as a way to extend the weekly's music coverage.

The new local music blog will include reviews, updates and news from the Minnesota music scene. Swensson will also discuss significant events on the radio with The Current hosts.

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89.3 The Current celebrates its 7th birthday with two nights of music

Posted at 3:28 PM on December 19, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Has it been seven years already?! My, time flies.

89.3 The Current announced today that it will celebrate its seventh year in the radio biz with a two-day birthday bash January 27 and 28, 2012, at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

Haley Bonar is one of the Minnesota acts who will be performing as part of 89.3 The Current's 7th birthday bash

According to program director Jim McGuinn, the lineup features some of the best bands from Minnesota.

We're really excited to showcase some of the best up and coming and legendary bands from our music scene. Over the past few years the Current's Birthday Party show has really become a chance to meet up and share in the great music produced in the Twin Cities all year long. We're really looking forward to it.

The January 27 show lineup: Tapes 'N Tapes, Dead Man Winter, Low and Night Moves.

The January 28 show lineup: Poliça, Suicide Commandos, Sims, Haley Bonar.

Both nights of the party will also feature music spun by The Current DJs.

You can find out more about tickets here.

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Abbie Burt Betinis composes new Christmas carols

Posted at 10:25 AM on December 19, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Editor's note: Thanks to MPR Classical's John Birge for this post.

"This song more or less is
The way one expresses
The spirit that blesses
Our Jesus today."

The Reverend Bates Burt wrote those words for "Let Christmas Be Merry," a carol he composed for Christmas 1933. For the 2011 holiday, Burt's great-granddaughter, Abbie Burt Betinis, is still writing songs that express "the spirit that blesses" at Christmas.

Betinis carries on a family tradition begun in 1922 by her great-grandfather Bates Burt, and continued by Betinis's great-uncle, Alfred Burt. Some of Alfred Burt's carols, such as "Caroling, Caroling" and "The Star Carol" have become a part of the standard Christmas repertoire.

In the first video the "MPR Carolers" sing Betinis' latest, "Come in, Come in, Come in Ye" -- a fun and complex canon. In the second video the group sings last year's carol -- "Carol of the Snow" -- based on a poem by Longfellow called "Snow-Flakes."

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Harriet Island home to new music festival

Posted at 5:17 PM on December 16, 2011 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Editor's note: this report comes from MPR's Chris Roberts:

The City of St. Paul has landed what's being described as a 'national destination' music festival. St. Paul's Harriet Island will be the site of the as yet unnamed event this summer. The global promotions company "Live Nation" is partnering with the city of St. Paul to produce the weekend festival, slated for June 23rd and 24th. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman says the city hopes to attract as many as 40-thousand people to the festival.

We haven't gotten a headliner yet but it's gonna be a first class music festival. It could be some rock, it could be some country, it could be a combination of things but Live Nation has an incredible reputation for being among the best in the industry, great producers, and I'm sure it's going to be an incredible event.

At least as we stand right now there'll be a couple stages, so we think that there'll be opportunities for local music to be part of it and we hope that that actually will be a critical piece of it.

This year St. Paul went without a summer festival for the first time in nearly three decades after it dropped the financially struggling "Taste of Minnesota" in 2010. It will add to an already busy summer of live outdoor music events, including "Rock the Garden," the "Basilica Block Party," and an outdoor festival at Parade Athletic Fields in Minneapolis, organized by the nightclub First Avenue.

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Davina and the Vagabonds in studio

Posted at 2:05 PM on December 15, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Davina and the Vagabonds fuse New Orleans jazz, blues, soul and swing into a mix that has been called a 'musical time machine.' Today they joined guest host Tom Weber on Midmorning to talk about their music and perform songs from their CD Black Cloud.

Davina Sower says this about her unique voice:

I hate listening to it - I sound a lot different in my head than I do on recordings. I definitely try to be as diverse with my vocal instrument as I possibly can - I feel like if you can sing you need to be able to tell a story completely with the tone, the way you approach it, and your rhythm - instead of just singing you need to tell a story with your voice.

...I remember someone saying to me 'it just seems like you're forcing it so much.' I don't sing like Sarah McLaughlin, I can't sing as sweetly. I've tried, but this is who I am and it's what comes out of my mug.

You can listen to their conversation/performance here:

Or watch part of a gig at the Dakota here:

Like what you hear? Then check out Chris Roberts' story about the band here:

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Three not-so-traditional ways to bring on the holiday cheer

Posted at 11:22 AM on December 15, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Storytelling, Television, Video

1. Grab the kids and head over to The Cedar in Minneapolis on Sunday at noon for Trailer Trash's Trashy Little Xmas Family Matinee. Watch the kids dance to honky tonk holiday tunes and realize that yes, you are that old.

2. Tired from all the holiday shopping? Pay a visit to the Walker Art Center, where you can pay money to watch advertisements for products you can't buy in the U-S. That's right, it's the British Arrows Awards, featuring rapping dairy farmers touting the quality of their yogurt.

3. Wishing there was more snow? Rockstar Storytellers presents "Rockstar Snow Emergency," featuring the spoken word talents of Allegra Lingo, Joseph Scrimshaw and phillip andrew bennet low, among others.

If you prefer more traditional holiday fare, tune in tomorrow for a list of Nutcrackers on Twin Cities stages...

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Music for a gloomy day

Posted at 12:44 PM on December 12, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

It's been a long time since the Cure first released "A Forest" but as a new live video of the band's performance of the song at Bestival on the Isle of Wight earlier this year proves, it still carries its moody weight well.

The track is from the Cure's new live album "The Cure: Bestival Live 2011"

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Holiday cheer abounds on college campuses

Posted at 2:01 PM on November 30, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Education, Music

Most colleges and universities celebrate the season by bringing out their choirs for special seasonal concerts. And the next couple of weeks are filled with programs across the state as students get ready to head home for the holidays.

But if you're not already on campus, it can be hard to find out when the events are taking place.

Some 500 St. Olaf College students sing in five choirs and play in the orchestra during the annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival

The Minnesota Private College Council has created a handy-dandy calendar for people interested in ringing in the holidays with festive music - you can peruse it here.

The calendar lists 20 concerts on private campuses, from Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato to the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.

Happy Holidays!

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Ancient Yuletide Carols

Posted at 10:14 AM on November 25, 2011 by Luke Taylor (0 Comments)
Filed under: Events, Music

He lives in New York, but Geoffrey Williams, countertenor with the four-piece male vocal ensemble New York Polyphony, is no stranger to Minnesota's choral traditions. "[It's] the land of all these great, cool, choir programs at St. Olaf and Luther and Concordia," he effuses.

Williams and the rest of New York Polyphony made their Minnesota debut in September 2010, conducting workshops and performing a concert at St. Olaf College in Northfield. A video of that entire concert can be viewed using this link to St. Olaf's website or by clicking the image below.

Screen grab of New York Polyphony's concert at St. Olaf College (thanks to David Gonnerman at St. Olaf for providing the link).

Cathy Rodland, an artist-in-residence and lecturer in St. Olaf's music department, organized NYP's 2010 visit to the campus. "They really are fantastic singers," she says. "Plus, they are such great, nice guys and good conversationalists in front of an audience -- and they have to be, because their music is not heard a lot, so they are really good at bringing the audience into it."

Perhaps the reason NYP's music is not heard often is because much of it is outside living memory; the ensemble's repertoire is rooted in medieval and Renaissance music.

On Dec. 9, New York Polyphony will make its Twin Cities premiere at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis (full disclosure: the concert is presented by Classical MPR). Although this debut concert will have a Christmas theme -- coincidentally, the ensemble formed over Christmas music -- the mainstream concept of Christmas music is not on the bill.

According to Williams, New York Polyphony will sing selections from its 2007 debut album I Sing the Birth and from its 2010 release Tudor City. Bearing in mind the sophistication of Minnesota's choral audiences, Williams is also planning some surprises. "We'll have some things that generally we might not do," he says, "some choral repertoire we're choosing to give a chamber flavor to."

Vocal ensemble New York Polyphony (photo by Joanne Bouknight).

Williams describes New York Polyphony's sound as a "vocal string quartet," but concedes the space in which the group sings acts as a fifth instrument. Notably, I Sing the Birth was recorded inside New York's St. George's Church; Tudor City was recorded in New York's Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. The effect of those spaces is palpable in the recordings; one can almost picture the music wafting up through the vaulted transept of a Gothic cathedral, resounding off stone walls and arches.

"You're not going to be hearing a lot of 'Silent Night' or 'Frosty the Snowman' in any of our shows," Williams says, "but we think this music is a very beautiful expression of the season. In fact, for me, a lot of these medieval carols evoke just as warm, fuzzy memories of Christmas as anything. That's the music that speaks to me, and hopefully we're able to express that in our performance."

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Video break: Bon Iver's 'Holocene'

Posted at 9:28 AM on November 11, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Video

For today's video break, an escape from the urban jungle:

Bon Iver's frontman Justin Vernon was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In an interview with NPR he said this of his song Holocene:

Holocene is a bar in Portland, Ore., but it's also the name of a geologic era, an epoch if you will. It's a good example of how all the songs are all meant to come together as this idea that places are times and people are places and times are... people? [Laughs.] They can all be different and the same at the same time. Most of our lives feel like these epochs. That's kind of what that song's about. "Once I knew I was not magnificent." Our lives feel like these epochs, but really we are dust in the wind. But I think there's a significance in that insignificance that I was trying to look at in that song.

Did you get that?

Regardless, the music is beautiful and the Icelandic scenery is haunting. Enjoy... and check out Justin Vernon's in-studio performance for 89.3 The Current here.

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St. Olaf concert to be broadcast live in movie theaters

Posted at 12:57 PM on November 8, 2011 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Education, Events, Film, Music

One of Minnesota's musical traditions for the holidays is going national.

Some 500 St. Olaf College students sing in five choirs and play in the orchestra during the annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival

The St. Olaf Christmas Festival will present "Rejoice, Give Thanks, and Sing" live in movie theaters across the country, as part of its 100th anniversary celebration.

The concert will be broadcast on Sunday, December 4 at 2:30pm CT from Skoglund Center Auditorium on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield, as per usual. But now people will be able to hear - and see - the concert in such widespread locations as Anchorage, Alaska and Honolulu, Hawaii.

The two-hour program of hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections will be performed by St. Olaf Choir, the Viking Chorus and Chapel Choir, the Cantorei, and Manitou Singers, along with the St. Olaf Orchestra.T the event will begin with a special half-hour retrospective focusing on the 100-year history of the Christmas Festival.

You can see the complete list of participating venues here.

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Tom Keith

Posted at 5:31 PM on October 31, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, People, Theater

There is a pallor of sadness around MPR today as we process the loss of our friend Tom Keith who died Sunday night. We will have a story about him on All Things Considered tonight, more on Morning Edition, and an hour of the Midday program tomorrow dedicated to him and his art.

Tom was a man of many parts, and his generosity and quiet good humor were a hallmark of this place. We will miss him.

Garrison Keillor worked with Tom for thirty years or so and this afternoon released this statement.

Tom Keith

He was an ex-Marine (who could do a fine drill instructor), a good golfer, a sturdy, reliable, can-do colleague, a gifted performer with the unassuming demeanor of a stagehand. Whenever Tom came onstage for a sketch, I could see the audience's heads turn in his direction. They could hear me but they wanted to see Tom, same as you'd watch any magician. Boys watched him closely to see how he did the shotgun volleys, the singing walrus, the siren, the helicopter, the water drips. His effects were graceful, precise, understated, like the man himself. All of us at the show are shocked by his passing and send our sincere condolences to hisfamily and also to the listeners who enjoyed his work so much. -- GK

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Pat Metheny's vision for new standards

Posted at 5:15 PM on October 18, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

For more than four decades, the guitarist Pat Metheny has left an indelible mark on the jazz world, with a string of contemporary jazz and other albums that defied conventional boundaries.

From Bright Size Life in 1975, a brilliant recording that fused jazz sensibilities with the sound of the American heartland and a modern vision, his records have pushed listeners to open their minds to new approaches and sounds. His large fusion groups deliver sweeping musical scores filled with vibrant melodies, percussion and electronic wizardry, while his small jazz ensembles allow him to focus on jazz improvisation in a more-traditional setting.

Much like his greatest influence, the truly legendary jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, Metheny has redefined how jazz is played on the guitar. He thrives on telling stories, a technique that has led to three gold records: Still Life (Talking), Letter from Home and Secret Story. He also can deliver excellent straight-ahead jazz, as he does on Trio 99>00 with Larry Grenadier on acoustic bass and Bill Stewart on drums.

Indeed, Metheny is a songwriter at heart. Perhaps that's what led him to record his latest CD, What's It All About, solo versions of 10 classic pop songs from the 1960s and 70s, from Alfie by Burt Bacharach and Hal David to Betcha by Golly Wow by the Stylistics.

Like his 2003 solo recording, One Quiet Night, Metheny recorded his latest at home in between his busy touring schedule. But the new recording contains songs from an earlier era, before he starting writing music and in some cases before he began playing.

Instead of the huge amount of electronic gear he normally uses, on his latest CD Metheny largely plays a baritone guitar, a cross between a conventional guitar and a bass guitar.

The few exceptions include Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence, on which he plays a Pikasso 42-string guitar. From the song's opening series of notes, Metheny delivers a version that is light and airy with harp-like sounds and bass notes that give the impression of movement.

On That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be, by Carly Simon, Metheny's playing on baritone guitar opens a window into his moments of solitude. A listener can hear how the guitarist's fingers glide between chords, how he breathes between notes. His expert use of space adds a thoughtful quality to the song.

For And I love Her, by the Beatles, Metheny picks up a nylon-string guitar and builds a nicely improvised story from the simple melody. In his hands, the song is sweet and expressive.

Though all of the songs are recognizable tunes, Metheny delivers them in his voice. His playing is inescapable and distinctive: a bright and clear sound that reflects his roots in Missouri, his grounding in the work of the masters that came before him and his modern vision.

Some jazz fans may find his approach too contemporary. But if you judge Metheny's compositions and his playing by the standards that make for good jazz - a blend of rhythm that owes much to the blues, strong melodies and a sense of swing - he is definitely a jazz artist. Even on an album of pop tunes.

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The Jayhawks pitch a public radio show

Posted at 8:00 AM on October 17, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

This weekend on All Things Considered, Rebecca Roberts interviewed Mark Olson and Gary Louris of the Jayhawks about their new album, Mockingbird Time.

The Jayhawks
Image courtey of the artist

The interview covers everything from the inspiration for their song "Mr. Man" to harmonizing, to their relative lack of fame:

"I certainly wanted to be bigger; I think Mark just wanted to be good. That shows you how shallow I am," Louris jokes. "[But] the fact that we were never part of any particular scene, or had the one big radio hit or whatever, has kind of worked to our advantage. We have that thing called longevity going for us."

Gary Louris went on to pitch a public radio show for the Jayhawks, all about songwriting:

"We need some funding, but I think it's going to happen. We'll have people call in, and we'll start a song and they can call in and tell us which way they think it's going to go."

"And they can witness it in process," added Olson, "how we turn the ideas up or turn them down. It's not pretty sometimes - their's some laughter but it's laughter with pain. 'Tears of a clown' you know."

"With live ideas from the audience?" asked Roberts.

"Yeah, but they have to sign something at the end of the day so that we can use it" laughed Olson.

Here at MPR we've got lots more on The Jayhawks; you can read a review of their latest album here or listen to them perform and talk about getting back together with Kerri Miller here.

As for a radio show about the songwriting process, my colleague Chris Roberts happens to have started a series of features talking about songwriting with a variety of musicians, including Haley Bonar, Ben Weaver and rapper Sims.

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Using music to build trust

Posted at 3:35 PM on October 10, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

"Where there is trust there is music, and by extension, life. Where there is no trust, the music quite simply withers away."

Such is the premise of conductor Charles Hazlewood's TED Talk. Hazlewood , with help from the Scottish Ensemble, demonstrates how a successful orchestra is built on trust, and how making music together can build trust between such unlikely partners as black South Africans and white authorities who participated in the crimes of Apartheid.

Check out this video not only for the gorgeous live performance, but also for clips from two of Hazlewood's projects empowering people of all backgrounds to make beautiful music together.

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Cactus Blossoms: old-style country crooners

Posted at 8:13 AM on October 10, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

At the heart of some of the finest country music there are two brothers making beautiful harmonies.

The Delmore Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, the Everly Brothers...and now, the Cactus Blossoms, featuring brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum.

Jack Torrey and Page Burkum of the Minneapolis band "The Cactus Blossoms."
Photo courtesy Quillan Roe

MPR's Chris Roberts met up with the brothers, who talked about their harmonizing:

"Your voice is the most expressive thing that you have, if you let it be," Torrey said. "It can also be the most contrived thing you have, if you choose to use it that way."

Creating immaculate harmonies comes easily. The two brothers come from a musical family, where a rendition of "Happy Birthday" sounds like a choir. But Burkum says that's not the only reason they've chosen to be old-style country crooners.

"There's a lot more sentimentality in old music, and that is another thing I like," he said. "There aren't songs like that now on the radio."

You can hear the rest of the story, and the music of the Cactus Blossoms, by clicking on the link below:

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Haley Bonar on music without words

Posted at 8:01 AM on October 3, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, People

Haley Bonar

Some days I'm just in awe of my colleague Chris Roberts. He's been an arts reporter for countless years, yet he's always looking for fresh ways to talk about the arts, especially music.

His most recent series involves sitting down with artists and asking them to talk about a song in detail. As a result listeners get a backstage pass into the creative process.

In his latest report, Roberts sat down with Haley Bonar and talked about two tracks on her album "Golder" Both tracks are instrumentals, but that doesn't keep them from conveying strong feelings.

Bonar, who's days away from giving birth to a baby, says both songs remind her of her childhood.

Give a listen to Bonar as she talks her way through "Sad Baby" and "Leo" while sitting at a baby grand piano in MPR's recording studios.

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Jeremy Messersmith stops by NPR's "tiny desk"

Posted at 3:09 PM on September 28, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

If you haven't checked it out yet, NPR has a delightful low-tech concert series called the "tiny desk concerts" in which musicians stop by and perform at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen in the NPR Music office.

Last week Twin Cities music talent Jeremy Messersmith stopped by NPR HQ and performed a few songs in the unlikely setting - see for yourself:

P.S. The larger version of the video was too big for this blog's format - I encourage you to click here to increase your viewing pleasure.

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Learn to listen with MPR Classical

Posted at 12:23 PM on September 28, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: How To, Music

Have you ever wondered whether some people hear music differently than you do? Or whether you're missing out on something important as you take in a complex orchestral work? Or do you simply want to learn more about classical music?

Our colleagues over at Classical MPR have brought back their music appreciation and discussion series "Learning to Listen," and are kicking of the 2011-2012 season with a conversation about symphonies.

Hosted by Emily Reese and John Birge, the conversation will look at the history of the symphony, and how it's evolved. Their guest, conductor Bill Eddins, will then talk about the current climate in the world of orchestras.

This event takes place Monday, October 10, from 7 - 8:30PM in MPR's UBS Forum. Details on how to reserve your free tickets will be available soon at classicalmpr.org.

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Flower Pickin' with Mary Flower

Posted at 4:45 PM on September 26, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

If you don't stream MPR's Radio Heartland, you missed Mike Pengra's recent interview with blues guitarist Mary Flower.

Mary Flower
Image courtesy of the artist

Mary Flower's new album is titled "Misery Loves Company." In it she stripped down the production and tried to return to the basics: just her, a guitar, and a neighbor. In this case, the neighbors are literally just that - all musician friends from the Portland, Oregon area who took turns playing duos with Mary throughout the album.

Flower is an expert at finger picking on guitar, particularly the "Piedmont" style of finger picking. She says it's a style that isn't being held up by the new performers of today.

You can check out Flower's interview - and her in-studio performance - by clicking on the link below:

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Minnesota Orchestra names Erin Keefe as Concertmaster

Posted at 10:00 AM on September 22, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, People

The Minnesota Orchestra today announced violinist Erin Keefe will be its new concertmaster.

Keefe succeeds succeeds Jorja Fleezanis, who departed the Orchestra in 2009. Keefe is an accomplished chamber musician, who most recently was a member of the the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Featured on Live from Lincoln Center three times with the Society, she has performed regularly with both the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society and Boston Chamber Music Society.

During the search for a new concertmaster Keefe played with the Minnesota Orchestra a number of times.

In a release this morning Minnesota Orchestra Music Director Osmo Vanska declared "I look forward to welcoming Erin to the Orchestra and to making extraordinary music."

For her part, Keefe says she is honored to accept her new position.

"I am thrilled to become a member of such a world-class ensemble, and I am looking forward to an exciting season working with the musicians and Maestro Vänskä," she said.

She said she's looking forward to the challenges of a new orchestra and a new repertoire.

"I still have to lead and follow, which is what I do in chamber music. It's just sort of on a larger scale," she said. "But I am excited to tackle this whole new massive repertoire."

Keefe will appear as concertmaster for the first time at the Orchestra's season-opening concerts September 29 to October 1.

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Bomba Estereo blows up the floor

Posted at 11:55 AM on September 21, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Ask the average person in North America about Latin Dance music and they might mention tropical salsa or merengue, or regional Mexican music.

The uninitiated likely would be surprised by the blend of folkloric music, electronica and international beats employed by some of Latin America's most innovative bands.

But in recent years, such creative fusion has become prevalent in Latin alternative music, as musicians infuse the traditional rhythms of their homelands with international influences.

The result is infectious and description-defying music that is certain to lure dancers to the floor, a mix the Colombian group Bomba Estereo brings to The Cedar cultural center tonight.

In Bomba Estereo, fans will encounter a forward-looking group that fuses cumbia and other Colombian rhythms with DJ Wizardry, guitar echoes, reggae beats and rap. The group includes DJ and bassist Simon Mejia, guitarist Julian Salazar, drummer Kike Egurrola and singer and rapper Liliana Saumet.

After a successful tour a couple of years ago to promote Blow Up, a spectacular recording of multiple rhythms, the group is now performing numbers from its latest CD, Pajaros.

The secret of its success lies in the African and indigenous rhythms from Colombia's Atlantic and Caribbean coasts -- a mixture that captures the simplicity and depth of rich folkloric music with enough modern hooks and thumping beats to captivate young fans.

It makes you want to listen, and dance.

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Malamanya moves to Cuban son

Posted at 1:08 PM on September 16, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Malamanya plays tonight at the Cedar Cultural Center. The group also will perform Saturday during the CD release party by for the hip-hop group Villa Rosa (Maria Isa and Muja Messiah) at First Avenue.

A visitor to Havana is overwhelmed by airborne melodies. From the water's never-ending slap against the city's famed sea wall to the murmur of crowds, there is a call to listen -- and move.

For more than a century, such inspiring earthy melodies and the pulse of daily life have been delivered by bands that play Afro-Cuban son, a homegrown musical style that owes much to the island's fusion of cultures.

Although son is the root of modern salsa, most people outside of Cuba and international cities with large numbers of Cubans seldom have an opportunity to see a traditional ensemble. But Latin music lovers in the Twin Cities have a great opportunity to hear musicians who aim to capture the music in Malamanya, an intriguing group.

Minneapolis has more-authentic Cuban bands, particularly in Charanga Tropical led by Viviana Pintado, a dynamite pianist who once played with singer Albita Rodriguez.

Indeed, none of the members of Malmanya are Cuban. The band includes Tony Schriener on upright bass and guitar; Luis Ortega on congas; Jesse Marks on timbales; Trevor May on tres and guitar; Jason Marks on trumpet; and Adriana Rimpel on lead vocals.

But the six-member ensemble does an inspiring job of playing to the genre's roots. At the band's final concert at the Driftwood Char Bar in south Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago, Malamanya played to a devoted following of local fans in a vibrant set of traditional sones and originals.

The musicians are comfortable with the music, occasionally expanding the tunes with expressive solos. But the group revolves around the 27-year-old Rimpel, who brings heart and feeling to the songs.

A singer of Mexican and Haitian heritage, Rimpel grew up in West St. Paul. She revels in the genre's expressions of joy and pain - and the space that it allows for performers.

"I have a connection and because of that complex mixture it excites me," she said. "The words are pure and distilled emotion. That's how I see the music. It's been really exiting to learn."

On stage, Rimpel uses her voice to offer celebratory or soothing interpretations of songs. But she and the band know when to switch tempos mid-stream, as they do on Dimelo, an original tune. Their repertoire also includes a version of the song El Dia de Suerte, famously sung Puerto Rican sonero Hector Lavoe during the salsa music explosion of the 1970s in New York.

Lavoe was among the Puerto Ricans and others who built on Cuban musical traditions that North American fans lost touch with after the United States isolated the island following its 1959 revolution. Malamanya's use of that tune would seem to point it toward more-contemporary salsa, if the band can adopt music written for large orchestras to a small ensemble.

While they experiment, they'll continue to show a sincere passion for Cuban son and try to keep dancers on the floor.

"Regardless of who they are, I hope what they walk away with is an experience where they've let themselves come out of their shell," Rimpel said, "that somehow, they're given permission to express what they feel."

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Eddie Gomez: rhythm and swing

Posted at 2:00 PM on September 8, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Photo by Claudio Casanova

There's been a lot of talk in the jazz world of late about the quality of the music, with musicians and critics alike complaining that some players are nothing more than wannabe rock stars masquerading as jazz musicians.

Jazz enthusiasts with eclectic tastes surely know that the concept of art depends in part on the listener. But for music to be jazz, it needs rhythm, melody and swing.

The secret of the music also lies in its roots. As the trumpeter Nicholas Payton puts it, "the cure is the same as it's always been - the blues."

That concept isn't lost among the music's elder statesmen, among them bassist Eddie Gomez, a graceful, versatile and creative performer perhaps best known for his role in the Bill Evans trio. The bassist performs tonight at the Artists' Quarter in St. Paul.

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Gomez grew up in New York City, where he studied at Julliard and performed with a long list of influential performers, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Gerry Mulligan.

During the 1960s and 70s, he was the bassist for Evans, one of the most influential jazz musicians of the last century. A prolific performer, he has also played with pianist Chick Corea and worked as a studio musician for a variety of pop musicians.

Gomez also has led a number of his own groups, showcasing his ability to play traditional, modern and Latin jazz. He can play a mean blues and push the tempo.

But although Gomez often displays bursts of power and dominates the stage he can play with quiet and intense artistry, as he did with guitarist Jim Hall on the Bill Evans composition Very Early. It's a beautiful tune featured on the bassist's 1988 CD Power Play, largely a foray into modern music.

On stage and in recordings, the bassist delivers a varied technique of plucking and bowing, displaying his skill at melodic solos, increasingly a lost art in jazz. He appeared recently on the NPR show Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz.

He will be joined onstage by Stefan Karlsson on piano and Rodrigo Villanueva on drums.

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Gretchen Seichrist: "People don't like artists"

Posted at 10:16 AM on September 6, 2011 by Marianne Combs (10 Comments)
Filed under: Music, People, Theater

Some artists are happy staying in their own niche, whether it's musician, painter or dancer.

Then there are those who defy categorization, who see everything as potential tools for artistic expression.

Poster for Patches and Gretchen's new variety show

Gretchen Seichrist falls into the latter category. As the creative engine behind the band Patches and Gretchen, she's now taking the music and combining it with theater in a new variety show called "Headquarters and Dime" at the Loring.

MPR's Chris Roberts reports "As a performer, Seichrist is like an absurdist incarnation of Lucille Ball. As a singer, she's Marlene Dietrich's bluesy, drawling, American cousin."

She's viewed by some, including writer and musician Jim Walsh, as one of the most interesting, poetic, provocative performers in the Minnesota art scene.

Walsh remembers one Patches and Gretchen show, in which Seichrist carried around an oversized water bottle. Walsh laughed when he realized it was a comment on the ubiquity of water bottles, and the commercialization of water.

"You could take that right now and put that in the Walker, that water bottle," he said. "Whether or not that is a validation of art, it's really funny. And that's the other thing that Gretchen is. She is really funny, and a very wry observer."

As a songwriter, Seichrist doesn't provoke mild responses. Those who are drawn to her claim they've never seen anything like her. Seichrist is aware others may not like her style. But she also suspects they're put off by her devotion to being an artist.

"People don't like artists," she said. "They're suspicious of artists. They resent them, if you've figured out that the people saying that they want to be an artist because they're going to their job every day, and they're resentful about it. I understand that. 'Well how come she gets to do that?'"

Do you think Seichrist is right? Do people resent artists? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

You can listen to the entire story by clicking on the link below:

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Marc Anthony brings salsa to State Fair

Posted at 2:37 PM on September 1, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Editor's note: Carolina Astrain is a newsroom coordinator for MPR News who loves Latino arts and culture. She will occasionally contribute to State of the Arts.

By Carolina Astrain

When singer Marc Anthony takes the Grandstand stage at the Minnesota State Fair tonight, he'll be greeted as a superstar by salsa music fans, and an adored favorite son by Puerto Ricans.

Though many people in the Twin Cities likely have never heard of him, Anthony is a big name in Latin America and Latino communities in the United States.

Anthony, who has sold more than 11 million albums worldwide, earned his shot to fame. For the last two decades he has been a standard bearer for contemporary salsa, giving younger fans contemporary versions of the music their parents came to love in the 1970s, when Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican and other performers in New York infused Latin dance music with streetwise sensibilities.

The salsero's music is a big hit among salsa fans in the Twin Cities, where local Latino performers count him among their influences.

Local hip-hop star Maria Isa used to sing Anthony's tunes to the mirror, dreaming of her own music career. She's seen the salsa singer perform twice in Minneapolis and thinks his show at the State Fair will be his best Twin Cities gig yet.

"He's just been taking over the world as one of the biggest salsa artists for my generation who's carried the torch tremendously," she said.

Born Marco Antonio Muñiz in East Harlem, Anthony grew up listening to rock and rhythm and blues. He began his career in dance music in the 80s, but converted to salsa. His big break came when he was the opening act for Latin jazz and salsa legend Tito Puente at Madison Square Garden.

In the late 1990s, the singer helped lead a Latin music boom in the United States by fusing traditional Latin rhythms with rhythms and blues. He also was among a number of Latin performers with crossover appeal, recording albums in English that were well-received by critics and fans. His single, "I Need to Know," (Dimelo) was a huge hit.

Anthony's music often explores themes of desire, love and heartbreak -- set to powerful salsa of accomplished musicians, with plenty of percussion and blaring horns. He has also recorded albums of Spanish pop.

His music is a big hit with dancers, said Cuban dancer Rene Thompson, a salsa instructor in the Twin Cities who has appeared the singer's music videos.

For Thompson, Anthony's hit pop crossover track, "I Need to Know," is a favorite track because of its cha-cha-cha beat.

"The song speaks about needing to know about the people you love," Thompson said. "As an immigrant who left Cuba, 'I needed to know,' and he does an amazingly well-done modern rendition of cha-cha-cha."

Anthony also is an actor who has appeared several Hollywood films, including: "Man On Fire," "Big Night" and "Bringing Out the Dead."

He starred with his wife Jennifer Lopez in "El Cantante," a biopoic about Puerto Rican salsa great Hector Lavoe.

Isa, whose family once had one of the few salsa collections in the Twin Cities, said the singer's show tonight is another sign her community has arrived.

"I'm very proud that the Minnesota State Fair brought Marc Anthony, to make Latinos feel that this is just as much as our State Fair, as it is to anyone else who's been here -- whether you're first generation or fifth," she said. "Expect to see a lot of Puerto Rican flags and a lot of people not sitting at the Grandstands, but dancing."

Listen to Maria Isa talk about Marc Anthony's show this afternoon on All Things Considered.

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Return To Forever's inventive jazz-rock

Posted at 10:13 AM on August 24, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

For many jazz traditionalists, the electronic experiments of the early 1970s that fused the music with rock and roll damaged a storied genre. To hear some tell it, the wired intrusions replaced sophisticated melodies and earthy rhythms with rambling noise.

But musicians and fans who came of age during that era celebrate those years for the creativity and improvisational prowess that linked jazz and rock audiences, lured younger fans -- and produced some of the world's most innovative bands.

Among the leaders was Return to Forever, an ensemble of musicians led by pianist Chick Corea that combined sophisticated jazz composition and improvisation with funky rhythms and electrified energy. The latest incarnation of the group, which includes longtime members Stanley Clarke on bass and Lenny White on drums, performs today at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis.

In my view, Return to Forever was rivaled by only by two other elite bands -- the jazz fusion group Weather Report and guitarist John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra. It took the music of European-based compositional music of progressive rock groups like Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer a step further by adding a structured yet agile jazz approach that the band's members didn't hesitate to show off. Indeed, they put other groups in their sights.

"If we were at a concert with another band they'd better have their stuff together because we came to deal," White told me a few years ago. "It was a healthy competition. It raised the bar, so you had to be on your toes. It wasn't about who could write the biggest hit dong. It was about what band could play the best."

Like other groups during the jazz-rock heyday, Return to Forever owes its direction to Bitches Brew, the revolutionary recording built on rock, funk and jazz that trumpeter Miles Davis released in 1970, backed by musicians who would go on to form the decade's three elite fusion groups.

Return to Forever didn't start out intending to be a jazz-rock powerhouse. Early on, the band featured percussionist Airto Moreira and vocalist Flora Purim on Brazilian and Latin-inspired numbers.

All that changed with Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy in 1973, a jazzy record with rock n' roll influences that included guitarist Bill Connors. The band featured Corea on the Fender Rhodes piano - he would add the synthesizer later -- and Clarke on acoustic and electric bass.

The group's musicians separated in the late 70s. But three years ago, its most popular lineup -- Corea, Clarke, White and guitarist Al DiMeola -- toured following the release of Return to Forever: The Anthology. The two CD-set of remixed and remastered music came from four influential albums the musicians released from 1973-1976: Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, Where Have I Known You Before, No Mystery and Romantic Warrior.

When DiMeola joined the band in 1973, he added rapid-fire playing and flamenco rhythms, helping the band produce highly electrified music, particularly on Romantic Warrior, a concept album based on a medieval theme. The compositions had movements, much like classical music, but with a funky driving beat underneath the tunes and extended solos. It was roaring and imaginative music that told instrumental stories.

White, the drummer, could play rock beats, but also gave Corea and Clark a foundation for creative exploration, at times a mystical journey, at others a thunderous ride. In the days before computers, sequencers and drum machines replaced great musicians, the band's artistic and musical virtuosity set a standard -- even though some jazz critics derided the music as too much like rock, and rock critics called it jazz.

On the current tour, DiMeola is replaced by guitarist Frank Gambale, who has played with Corea's Elektric Band. Also joining the group is violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, who played with Frank Zappa and the Mahivishnu Orchestra before leading his own successful fusion groups.

A special guest will be Zappa Plays Zappa, the guitarist Dweezil Zappa's band, which plays the music of his father.

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So you think you know your composers?

Posted at 12:31 PM on August 23, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Media, Music, Technology

A couple of weeks ago "Top Score" presenter Emily Reese presented MPR staff with a very compelling arguement on why many contemporary classical composers are now looking to video games as a source not only of income, but creative challenge.

Composing the the theme and incidental music for a major game allows a composer to explore and develop motifs while creating the atmosphere for an interactive experience. Reese led a lunchtime session for MPR staff to explore some of the new approaches being taken by composers and game creators, which gave many of us a new appreciation for the myriad creative aspects of the work.

This is the material Reese presents in every edition of the Top Score podcast.

To celebrate the upcoming second season of Top Score Reese has created a prize challenge for listeners to identify the composers behind seven musical selections. The winner gets a $60 giftcard to Gamestop.

You can find details here. Good luck!

Self-referential derivative art can be fun

Posted at 9:45 AM on August 23, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Sometimes there's a lot to be said for putting a box within a box within a box. Just ask the Muppets and OK Go.

if you don't get all the references, just enter OK Go in YouTube, and watch any Muppet Show. This video is from the new album "Muppets: The Green Album" where various artists cover songs from the Muppet archive.

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Chinese students to study hip-hop at McNally Smith

Posted at 2:18 PM on August 16, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Education, Music

As I write this, a delegation of 14 administrators from one of the largest music conservatories in China are signing off on the final details of a hip-hip exchange program at the McNally Smith College of Music.

Representatives from McNally Smith in China last winter, including Toki Wright, Hip-Hop Studies Diploma Coordinator (bottom left), and Sean McPherson (of Heiruspecs), also on the Hip-Hop faculty (top left).
Photo: McNally Smith

Harry Chalmiers, President of McNally Smith College of Music, says this is only one of many cultural exchange efforts underway.

"The partnership's exciting potential for our students and our campus is matched by the enthusiasm of the Chinese officials coming to visit and the students back in Shenyang eager to study here," said Chalmiers. "It could be a major development not only for the Hip-Hop Diploma program but also for partnerships in our Business, Production, Composition, and Performance programs in the future."

McNally Smith describes itself as offering the only Hip Hop Diploma Program in the U.S.

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So you think you know movie music......

Posted at 4:59 PM on August 9, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Film, Music

Dial-jumpers will be aware that our colleagues on Classical MPR Lynn Warfel and Bill Morelock have a new show featuring the delights of movie music.

Roll Credits which runs on Monday evenings (and all the time on the webpage) has explored the music of comedy films, science fiction, the year 1939, and a host of others.

Now to add to the fun they've launched a quiz, based on the most recent show. Let me tell you it's no pushover - but every answer is accompanied by a chance to enjoy a little musical film clip.

This is one of them (and it's not a spoiler as it won't really help you to answer the question,) so enjoy!

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MPR Classical names violinist Chad Hoopes artist-in-residence

Posted at 10:55 AM on August 2, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arts around the state, Music, People

MPR Classical has chosen its latest "artist-in-residence," and he's only 17.

Chad Hoopes
Photo: Donna Wheatley

Youth hasn't prevented violinist Chad Hoopes from racking up a remarkable resume.
He's performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony and more. He's also appeared at several European festivals and received substantial media attention.

Hoopes first began his violin studies at age four in Minneapolis, and continued his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music after moving with his family to Shaker Heights, Ohio.

You can read more about Hoopes and his remarkable career here.

Classical MPR's Artists-in-Residence program began two years ago with the residency of the Parker Quartet, and continued last year with the local choral ensemble Cantus. The Artists-in-Residence participate in performances, interviews and other interactive projects in collaboration with Classical MPR.

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Cantus vocal ensemble makes national news, part 1

Posted at 11:15 AM on August 1, 2011 by Marianne Combs (2 Comments)
Filed under: Criticism, Media, Music

Cantus
Photo credit: Curtis Johnson

In this Sunday's New York Times, James Oestreich reviewed Twin Cities vocal ensemble Cantus' latest CD, "That Eternal Day." Oestreich compares and contrasts the album with two other releases by Ensemble Phoenix Munich and Apollo's Fire.

While Oestreich had some positive things to say about "That Eternal Day," overall he found it lacking. Here's what he had to say:

When the male chorus Cantus of Minnesota takes up "Simple Gifts" on its new CD, "That Eternal Day" (Cantus Recordings CTS-1210), in an arrangement by Stephen Caracciolo, tenors alternate lines, distending each sentimentally and pausing distractedly, over a backdrop of drones. Then in the chorus ("When true simplicity is gained") things get really complicated, with soupy harmonies that occasionally curdle; busy counterpoint; more stops and starts; more drones; repeated changes of direction. It's exhausting.

...Cantus fares better in William Walker's foursquare hymn "Wondrous Love," from "The Southern Harmony," with a vigorous, mostly straightforward a cappella.

...Individual comparisons aside, the Cantus recording offers many satisfactions, none greater than a touching, ineffably simple performance of "The 23rd Psalm (Dedicated to My Mother)" by Bobby McFerrin. But this is also the most problematic disc over all. From its opening -- the spiritual "There's a Meeting Here Tonight," in an arrangement full of finger snapping, hand clapping and humming -- the group is prone to a certain peppy slickness. The vocalization is typically polished, but there are lapses in the discipline essential to a cappella performance, notably in enunciation (on one occasion, "true zimplizity").

You can read the full review here.

Well, as you might imagine, some folks over at MPR Classical (where the members of Cantus have been "artists in residence" for the past year) were not in agreement with Oestreich's review. Check back later today for a rebuttal from MPR's Brian Newhouse.

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A last chance to tickle the parading ivories

Posted at 11:57 AM on July 29, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Public Art, Street Art

It's hard to believe that the Pianos on Parade have graced the streets of St Paul (and one place in Minneapolis and at the airport) for almost two months. This weekend the grand experiment in public music-making ends as Keys 4/4 Kids roll the boxes back to their warehouse and repair shop in St Paul.

For Project Manager Kelsey Shanesy, it's been a learning experience.

"We have learned many things!" she laughed when I tracked her down this morning. "We have learned that the pianos under overhangs fare far better than the ones that do not have overhands, that just have tarps."

Part of the experiment was seeing how the 20 pianos dotted around the city would survive the elements, and it turns out that Mother Nature chose June and July 2011 as a time to set all sorts of record-breaking weather, none of it piano-friendly.

"We had a very tough summer for them," says Shanesy. "If it wasn't pouring down with rain it was, you know 98 degrees and humid, neither of which is very good for a piano. But many of them fared very well and they are going to continue to be working pianos." She paused briefly before adding "And a few of them are now completely done. They have reached the end of their lifecycle with this project," she laughed again.

Despite the odd piano corpse here and there Shanesy says the project appears to have been a big success.

"I'm really sad that we couldn't leave it out longer," she said, "Because it really seemed like at the end it really seemed to take off."

Shanesy (below) says while the weather didn't co-operate there was no human vandalism. Earlier in the summer she said she hoped the instruments would create moments of spontaneous community, and that seems to have happened time and again.

She says last weekend she attended a charity fundraiser where a young man played all 20 of the pianos, and also a concert at the Landmark Center piano where people gathered to "send good energy" to the victims of the Japanese tsunami.

Nothing is set yet, but the idea was always to continue Pianos on Parade in the future. Shanesy would like to see more programming around the instruments, and maybe spreading them into other communities.

One of the remarkable things about the program has been the experience of unexpectedly hearing someone playing beautifully at one of the pianos. Shanesy says that it wasn't that long ago that a piano was the entertainment center in many homes, and there are many people with great keyboard skills.

Piano music is really in our blood as a culture," she said. "And having these pianos so accessible and out on the streets reminds people that this is a great way to connect with your fellow human beings, even if you don't know that person."

Movers will retrieve most of the pianos by Sunday. They will be examined, repaired and possibly sold to support the Keys 4/4 Kids mission of raising money for arts programs. Arrangements have been made for a few of the instruments to remain in place however for a few more weeks so you can get in you last few spontaneous concerts.

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Joey Ryan and the Inks: sunny melancholy

Posted at 9:01 AM on July 25, 2011 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music

This weekend local band Joey Ryan and the Inks dropped by The Local Show to perform some songs from their new album "Dennis Lane." The band is known for mixing its midwestern musical roots with a decidedly California feel. Here they are performing "Jester in the Wind:"

You can hear their full studio session and interview by clicking on the link below:

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Der Rosenkavalier explained

Posted at 5:00 PM on July 22, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Opera

Tomorrow night our colleagues at Classical MPR will broadcast the Minnesota Orchestra performing the Richard Strauss opera Der Rosenkavalier .

It's a complicated plot, and when it comes to matters operatic we at MPR often turn to Classical MPR Music Director Rex Levang for wisdom. Now he's sharing with a larger audience, explaining everything with a few deft strokes of a marker on a whiteboard.

If you'd like much more detail, you can find it on the Classical MPR blog. Happy listening!

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A little beat to beat the heat

Posted at 12:11 PM on July 18, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Video

Yes, it's hot, and it's going to remain hot for a few days, but there is always a certain amount to be said for beating the heat with a hot beat.

For the last decade new York-based Balkan Beat Box has melded modern rhythms and the traditional music of Balkan (and other) cultures. Tomorrow they bring their mix back to the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis and as you can see from the video above, it promises to be sweaty, loud, inventive, and fun.

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Creating a dramatic, operatic score for the Harry Potter finale

Posted at 9:24 AM on July 13, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Film, Music

While the Harry Potter series of books is an international phenomenon because of J.K. Rowling's writing and imagination, the movies have had to add great acting, filming, and of course, a compelling film score.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Recently MPR Classical's Julie Amacher spoke with composer Alexandre Desplat, who created the score for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, parts 1 and 2. He said the first thing he did with part 2 was find a central musical theme to tie the score together.

The thread that we decided to have was Harry Potter's mother, Lily, who's connected to another character in the film. I wanted to find a theme that had a lullaby quality to it, something very gentle and tender. A bit ancient, maybe Celtic, but with no Celtic reference in terms of instrumentation. It is of the first hearing, a haunting melody sung by a female voice with no lyrics.

This pure crystal clear voice, that to us was the echo, the mist of Lily's presence which has been near Harry all around the years, and maybe also near another character that we discover near the end of the film. Lily is not only the reason he is fighting, he wants to know why his parents died. He also knows he's been protected by his mother's benevolence.

Later in the film you will hear it played by full orchestra in a very epic moment when a dragon is flying with the three heroes on his back. It has both qualities of being very gentle and being very wide and large.

You can hear more about Desplat's score, and listen to some of the music, by clicking on the audio link below, or you can read the text version here.

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Toots and the Maytals, a joyful show

Posted at 5:55 PM on July 11, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

A common denominator in the careers of countless performers, from soul music divas to reggae's biggest ambassadors is an early immersion in the black church, a fountain of rhythm, spirituality and artistic collaboration.

Toots Hibbert, one of the pioneers of Jamaican ska and reggae, left no doubt of his musical roots Saturday night during a vigorous and youthful one-hour show at the Minnesota Zoo. Backed by the latest version of the Maytals, which include his daughter Leba as one of two backup singers, he took fans on a whirlwind tour of hits from a half century of performing.

The band's show likely would not surprise anyone familiar with its repertoire, or anyone who has seen the Maytals before. But it was a great show, in no small part because Toots, who is now in his 60s, came ready to jam.

He bounced on to the stage for Pressure Drop, a vibrant number that pushed his audience to rise from their wooden bench seats to dance and sway -- as well as they could at least -- to his island beat. The band followed with an innovative rendition of Louie Louie, a song that owes its opening rhythm to neighboring Cuba.

Though he had the crowd from the start, the singer made it clear that he wanted to hear from their voices and he did throughout the show, engaging them with call and response. At times celebratory, at other times spiritual, he spoke of peace and love, telling is audience on Never Get Weary, "all you've got to do is believe in yourself."

He repeatedly played with the beat, pushing the tempo on Reggae Got Soul, which spoke to the interplay between Jamaica's musical genres and African-American music. Bam Bam and Funky Kingston were just as soulful.

Hibbert sung with emotion and grace, deftly adding solos on guitar - all while engaging the crowd, shaking hands and fist-bumping members of the audience.

His performance was a reminder of how Jamaican's have remade North American songs, often improving them, as he did on the John Denver tune, Take Me Home, Country Roads, which he dedicated to the few Jamaicans in the audience, singing "Take me back to the place I belong, west Jamaica, mountain mama, take me home country road." For me, that's a lot more alluring than the original.

On Monkey Man, for which the Maytals employed a ska beat, the bandleader briefly echoed Bob Marley, singing "Oh yo! Oh yo! Oh yo, yo, yo!"

For the encore, the band played Broadway Jungle, a jam session, before turning to the singer's signature tune 54-56, Was My Number. As he had throughout the show, Hibbert upped the tempo at the end of the song, sliding into the thumping and repetitive bass line the singer must have heard on Sundays.

Though it may have been lost on some, he took his audience to church, where it all started.

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MnOrch aims to fulfill some musical fantasies

Posted at 12:43 PM on July 7, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

If you have ever dreamed of playing with the Minnesota Orchestra, now may be your chance.

The Orchestra today announced its first ever fantasy camp. In September up to 50 amateur musicians will rehearse side by side with orchestra members, and then play Alexander Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances" in the finale of a season sampler concert.

The Orchestra's Director of Education Jim Bartsch describes it this way: "Backstage, on-stage, fantasy camp!"

Bartsch says the orchestra tossed around fantasy camp idea for quite a while, particularly since the Baltimore Symphony launched a hugely successful program a couple of years ago.

Fantasy campers will pay $500 for the experience, but as in Baltimore Bartsch says the real value for the Minnesota Orchestra is in community outreach.

He says when they ask regular patrons what they would like to add to their orchestral experience, they almost always say have more contact with musicians.

"For music fans, those folks are the same as Twins players are to Twins fans. They follow them, they see them week after week performing, so to build that connection in a personal way is what we wanted to do."

The Minnesota Orchestra fantasy camp will include rehearsals with whatever section the camper will perform within, full rehearsals under the baton of Pops conductor Sarah Hicks (left), and also classes on the inner workings of the orchestra like how staff build a season.

The program is also aimed specifically at people over the age of 18 as the orchestra already provides so many opportunities for younger players. Bartsch says they program is designed for people who may have studied music in the past, but have had to set it aside for any number of reason.

There are no auditions. but applicants have to fill out a questionnaire about their experience.

"Then there's an essay question on why would you like to participate, and what would this mean to you?" says Bartsch.

Campers will be selected depending on their answers, and on their instruments.

"Obviously we have more violin chairs than tuba chairs," Bartsch says.

The Orchestra has already posted the various parts on-line, and Bartsch says that may have an influence on who decides to apply.

"People will look at the music ahead of time and think, 'I could play this,' or 'Maybe I'll wait till next time,'" he laughs.

The whole fantasy camp idea is a bit of an experiment, but Bartsch says if it's a success the plan is to build the program in coming years.

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Maraca powerful at The Cedar

Posted at 2:29 PM on July 7, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Maraca

The enduring brilliance of Cuba's elite jazz musicians lies not just in their ability to fuse jazz with the island's multiple rhythms. It's their ability to lure dancers to the floor that keeps the music fresh and relevant - and a participatory experience for concert-goers.

Cuban flutist Orlando "Maraca" Valle brought that dual sense of purpose to the stage Wednesday night at The Cedar cultural center in Minneapolis with an energetic and masterful concert.

Valles blends the sophistication of jazz with the popularity and streetwise flavor of the island's Afro-Cuban dance music -- traditional son and folkloric rumba, mambo, modern salsa and timba, the island's fiery contemporary dance music.

As with a number of modern Cuban ensembles, what's intriguing about Valle's 13-member band is the way it overwhelms an audience in so many ways. With a powerful rhythm section of drums, timbales and congas and roaring horns, it captivated the audience continuously during a nearly two-hour set, in varied tempos and moods.

That wasn't surprising, given Valle's strong musical formation. The bandleader, who began playing flute at 10, was a member of Irakere, the Grammy-winning group led by pianist Jesus "Chucho" Valdes. For more than 15 year's he's led his own bands with both listeners and dancers in mind.

The bandleader doesn't play maracas, but flute. He gets his nickname from the appearance his huge Afro gave him as a teenager. These days, the virtuoso performer keeps his hair short. But he still has an incredibly quick sense of hearing and the ability to deliver a flood of melodies, as he did through 10 rhythmic and melodic tunes that fused jazz sensibilities with Cuban sabor, or flavor.

The band opened the show with Obatala Ayacuna, a Latin jazz composition that shows how Valle has been able to expand the range of the Cuban flute within complicated musical forms. Santeria-inspired vocals led to solos on flute and tenor sax, followed by a flurry on timbales and a vocalist's call that dancers take the floor.

On the up-tempo Castigala, the band had the crowd singing: "Ella no te quiere, ella no te ama" (She doesn't want you; she doesn't love you.) Valles followed that with Danzon Siglo 21, in which he used a sextet to infuse the courtly genre with 21st Century Latin jazz.

On El Tren, Valle gave a nod to his Irakere roots in a booming number that at first seemed to overtake the sound system with distortion. After he took off on a flute solo with a rapid-fire series of notes, a timbale solo prompted Rene Thompson, a Cuban dancer who lives in Minneapolis, to lead the crowd in a line dance.

The bandleader consistently returned to dance music, as he did on Suspendan los comentarios. Joining him on stage were young Cubans now living in Minnesota who demonstrated the hip-shaking moves now popular on the island. As one of the vocalists draped a Cuban flag on his shoulders, he sang of his devotion to his homeland: "Este es tabaco, este es ron," (This is tobacco, this rum), appearing to borrow a verse from a song by Orishas, the popular Cuban rap group now based in France.

In a traditional number, the band also played Tumba Tumbador, a mambo-son by Beny More, the Cuban great of half a century ago, and Te lo llevaste to!, a timba-laced composition that inspired modern moves on the floor.

For jazz festivals, Valles has put together tremendous ensembles that appeal to the jazz aficionado. But he knows that his touring band must keep its connection to dancers. He succeeds by delivering intense music that doesn't head in too complicated a musical direction, thereby avoiding a disconnect with dancers that has plagued American jazz bands for generations.

The band uses no special effects or electronic wizardry -- just instruments and voices. Its pure musicianship would blow away bands led by today's pop superstars.

Nothing beats a real band playing timeless and stimulating music.

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Streetside pianos inspire, trigger emotions

Posted at 10:46 AM on July 7, 2011 by Marianne Combs (2 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Public Art

One of the decorated pianos on St. Paul streets this summer
MPR Photo/Euan Kerr

Once in a while a story comes along that reminds you why you got into radio in the first place.

For me, Chris Roberts' report on "Pianos on Parade", a project that's bringing pianos to St. Paul's sidewalks this summer, was just such a story. Here's an excerpt:

...A man slowly makes his way across the nearby Barnes & Noble parking lot. He sits down on the piano bench and stares out at the stores across the street. William Manuel stops by this corner often. When Manuel saw the piano for the first time, he felt a rush of memories.

"It brung me back to sitting in my mother's living room, and looking at her piano and playing it," he said. "It just made my mind just roam."

"It made me just think about what I'm going to be going through today, and kind of eased my fears," Manuel continued. "To see a piano sitting on the corner, letting me know that the area is not so wicked, so bad, you know what I'm saying?

"It made me want to close my eyes and make a wish, you know?"

Manuel is an unemployed furniture upholsterer, originally from Indiana. He's lived in St. Paul for 13 years. He says his days are like pulling a lawn mower cord; they go up and down. Today, Manuel stopped by the Barnes & Noble Starbucks for a glass of milk. He fiddles with a crumpled styrofoam cup and rubs his eyes, then puts his hands on the keys and starts to pick out some notes he says describe his day so far.

For Manuel, stopping by the piano is like going to church. He says it puts sympathy in him, gives him hope, and makes him feel like people care. It triggers a lot of pent up emotions.

You can listen to the whole story, and hear a series of people play the piano, by clicking on the link below:

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Director of Schubert Club moves to Florida philharmonic

Posted at 8:32 AM on July 1, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arts management, Music

Kathleen van Bergen

Kathleen van Bergen has been named CEO of the The Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples, Florida.

Since January 2008, van Bergen has served as the Executive Director of the Schubert Club, replacing it's founder, Bruce Carlson.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the philharmonic is a rising regional star:

The Naples Philharmonic is the youngest of Florida's four major regional orchestras, yet in less than 30 years its annual budget has become roughly comparable to those of the 62-year-old Sarasota Orchestra, the 61-year-old Jacksonville Symphony and the 42-year-old Florida Orchestra in Tampa Bay...."The Phil" opened its doors in 1989, added the 30,000-square-foot Naples Museum of Art to its complex in 2000, and now presents about 450 events annually in music, theater, dance and education. It also established a youth orchestra and two chorales.

34-year-old Van Bergen starts her new job on September 1. Among her first duties will be the selection of a music director for the Naples Philharmonic to succeed current director Jorge Mester, who steps down at the end of the 2011-12 season, and the hiring of a museum director.

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Good vibrations: a cymbal strike in slow motion

Posted at 11:51 AM on June 28, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

One of my colleagues at MPR Classical passed this along, and I couldn't help but share. Watch and learn as the striking of a cymbal is caught in slow motion, revealing just how much we miss when things move at high speed.

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The reviews are in for "Rock The Garden"

Posted at 4:02 PM on June 22, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Criticism, Music

Many Minnesota souls put on brave faces and plastic slickers this weekend for "Rock the Garden," the annual summer music event hosted by 89.3 The Current and the Walker Art Center.

This year's line-up featured Tapes 'n Tapes, Booker T. Jones, Neko Case and My Morning Jacket.

By all accounts, My Morning Jacket's set was a unanimous hit, and made the event a success despite wet weather. Feeling like you missed out? Not to worry, 89.3 The Current will air highlights from the show this Sunday at 9pm.

Meanwhile, check out these reviews from local media:

Tapes 'n Tapes

From Jay Gabler at TC Daily Planet:

Tapes 'N Tapes played a spirited set in the RTG opening slot that's the next signifier of national prominence for a local act after they headline First Ave--but the poncho-clad crowd were in resolute mode, fully expecting to be standing knee-deep in mud within the next couple of hours, and were not about to dance their pants off.

The rain had largely abated by the time Booker T. Jones took the stage, and hot damn! At 67, the living legend is looking good and sounding even better. Grinning widely and introducing his songs to an audience he was fully aware would hardly recognize many of them, Booker T. played with the balance of flourish and restraint that have made him one of the most respected instrumentalists and highly-sought sidemen in rock history. His three-piece backing band were tight, with guitarist Vernon "Ice" Black playing fiery licks that nearly stole the show. What seemed to most enthuse the crowd, embarrassingly, was drummer Darian Grey's rapping, which reminded me why you don't hear Us3 cited very widely as an influence by up-and-coming MCs. Diggy diggy flop, y'all.

Booker T. Jones

From Cakein15.com

When Case took the stage at about 6:45, the crowd appeared pretty well settled in for the night, having finished their beer/food run(s), and surviving the worst of the rainy weather. Unfortunately, her set was underwhelming. A portion of the blame has to go to the volume of her set being awfully low overall, and maybe more importantly her vocals were tough to discern. For an artist that relies on the intelligence of the lyrics, and the quirkiness of her on-stage banter, low vocals can be a killer.

From Chris Riemenschneider at the Star Tribune:

My Morning Jacket was about 85 percent the reason it became one of the best Rock the Gardens of late, but there were other grounds for declaring it a good year -- despite rain spilling down for the first half of the concert. Among the other memorable moments...

• Tapes 'n Tapes revisited "The Loon." In the opening slot, the kinetic chop-rock quartet weaved between each of its three albums but landed often on its breakthrough 2006 debut. The hometown crowd loved it, and so did anyone who remembered that frontman Josh Grier wrote those songs just across the street while living near Loring Park.

*Urban paradise found. Like the Basilica Block Party, one of the things that makes RTG such an inviting event is its downtown setting outside one of our local cathedrals. It's too bad the Walker hillside site can't be more of a full-time concert venue (the neighbors wouldn't have it). The rain really put the site to the test Saturday, too. Aside from a wimpy sound system (blame those neighbors again), the production was strong. And aside from several unlucky, mucky tumbles down the hill, fans got out relatively unscathed compared to the usual middle-of-the-road (or field, rather) festival site.

*Junior lost. Before MMJ's set, Mary Lucia made one of the more memorable announcements ever by a jockey from the Current 89.3, the event's co-curator: "There's a lost child," she declared in a keep-away-from-the-brown-acid tone. "You can claim him at -- ironically enough -- the vodka tent."

My Morning Jacket

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A perfect day for the BBC

Posted at 10:29 AM on June 13, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Funding, Music

How do you thank thousand, if not millions, of people for their support of public broadcasting?

If you're the BBC, you serenade them, while featuring some of the best musical talent you know.

Of course, the method of payment for the BBC is quite different from that of public radio stations in the United States...

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Twin Cities Jazz Festival: Danilo Perez

Posted at 8:17 AM on June 20, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Pianist Danilo Perez and bassist John Patitucci performing with saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

The pianist Danilo Perez once told me that his music is all about opening doors. With true pan-American vision, he wanted to give people a chance to hear another part of Latin America.

For more than two decades, Perez has done that remarkably, fusing rhythms from his native Panama and elsewhere with jazz, creating new and expansive music by breaking artificial boundaries between genres.

He won wide acclaim with PanaMonk, a brilliant 1996 recording of originals and Thelonious Monk tunes that showed how the North American jazz master's percussive compositions presented an ideal canvas for Latin American embellishments. With Motherland in 2000, he delivered an expansive work that explored the African and indigenous elements that have long enriched the music of the Americas.

Since then, Perez has been playing in saxophonist Wayne Shorter's quartet. Perez, who performs Saturday at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival has thrived in the ensemble, which isn't wed to traditional orthodoxy. Joining him will be bassist John Patitucci.

That couldn't be more clear on the pianist's latest release, Providencia on Mack Avenue records. An inventive recording, it explores the future, aiming for the kind of uplifting world Perez would like to leave for his two daughters. With intricate storytelling, the pianist and his 11-member ensemble fuse jazz with classical music, Latin and other beats in a broad and modern space that includes ample improvisation. At times soaring and at others tranquil, the music takes listeners on moving journey.

The pianist's own journey began in Panama, where he began studying music at age 3, when his father, a band leader and singer, gave him a set of bongos. By 5, he was studying European classical piano at the National Conservatory in Panama. His father also taught him to hear the music in the world around him, lessons the pianist recalled in an interview with journalist Maria Hinojosa.

Years later, he came to the United States to study electronics at Indiana University, but after hearing Chick Corea in concert, he switched to piano, studying at Berklee College of Music.

A huge influence was the late great Dizzy Gillespie, who loved Afro-Latin rhythms. The trumpeter included Perez in his United Nations Jazz Orchestra.

Like many Latin American musicians, Perez was attracted to immense musical possibilities of jazz, which he employed in his own global vision.

Not weighed down by the past, he doesn't simply repackage traditional compositions. Instead, he looks for opportunities to change direction and explore new ideas.

The jazz is still there, but it's not always easy to tell what he's doing in his complex fusions. The boundaries are gone.

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League of American Orchestras is on red alert

Posted at 10:00 AM on June 8, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Funding, Music

Minnesota Orchestra
Photo by Greg Helgeson

The Detroit Orchestra went on strike for six months.

The Philadelphia Orchestra declared bankruptcy.

Such stories of orchestras under financial stress are on the minds of close to a thousand people in the Twin Cities this week for the annual League of American Orchestras conference.

In fact, this morning's plenary session is titled "Red Alert!" Here's the description:

The warning signals have been there for years: persistent deficits, less-than-packed houses; concerned patrons and funders questioning continued support, communities that are changing and asking more of us than we ably deliver; and too many concerts that are not aligned with the changing nature of demand.

Despite great sacrifices from musicians and staffs, and stepped up giving from boards and volunteers, too many orchestras--though not all, for sure--are in critical condition. We can and must act--first by speaking openly and frankly about our challenges, and next, by looking deeply at how we operate.

You can find out more about the conference, and about the challenges orchestras face, by listening to Euan Kerr's report:

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From Brainerd to Broadway

Posted at 9:20 AM on June 7, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arts around the state, Music, People, Theater

Linda Eder

Last night high school students from around the state performed on stage at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis as part of the annual Spotlight Showcase Awards.

There to present the awards was Broadway star Linda Eder. Eder says she got her start in musical theater playing Mother Abbess in "The Sound of Music" at her high school in Brainerd. She says she was instantly hooked.

It's the oddest thing in the world and the most wonderful thing in the world because it's like playing. Remember how when you were young and your parents would take you over to someone's house and the kids would always go to the basement and we would just be playing non-stop for hours until they called down and said "we're going home," and we'd all be "aaawhhh!" Everything was fun - no matter what you did, it was fun. And that's kind of what theater is like/ It's an isolated world - small, confined, intimate...and the fact that you have a living breathing audience there. It just all adds into this thing that is surreal and magical and if you have that in you at all - the minute I step foot on a stage I knew that was what I wanted.

You can hear Eder's interview with MPR's Euan Kerr by clicking on the audio link below:

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Walker Art Center announces Summer Music and Movies line-up

Posted at 4:10 PM on June 3, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Film, Museums, Music

James Stewart in Hitchcock's "Rear Window," 1954

After a one-year hiatus, the Walker Art Center has announced the line-up for its Summer Music and Movies. This year's theme is "I've Got My Eye on You" in conjunction with its exhibition "Exposed."

Co-presented by 89.3 The Current, the program runs the first four Mondays in August (August 1, 8, 15, and 22). Music begins at 7 pm, films begin at dusk (approximately 8:30 pm).

Monday, August 1
Music: Haley Bonar
Movie: Rear Window
Current DJ: Bill DeVille

Monday, August 8
Music: No Bird Sing
Movie: 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Current DJ: Mary Lucia

Monday, August 15
Music: Buffalo Moon
Movie: Blow-Up
Current DJs: Steve Seel and Jill Riley

Monday, August 22 (Open Field, Walker Art Center)
Music: Dark Dark Dark and the Modern Times Spychestra
Movie: Spies
Current DJ: TBA

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Can good music be made in a canoe?

Posted at 4:06 PM on May 31, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Longtime friends Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing are heading down the Mississippi River tomorrow, embarking on what they hope will be both a geographical and a musical journey.

The two perform together as The Okee Dokee Brothers, creating songs that are geared toward kids, but parent-friendly, too.

Mailander and Lansing plan to paddle from Minneapolis to the St. Louis Gateway Arch over the course of 30 days, accompanied by a good friend/naturalist guide. The duo say this trip will serve as the raw material for the first in a series of "adventure albums."

The Okee Dokee Brothers performed for Radio Heartland and chatted with host Mike Pengra. You can listen to their music, and their plans for their trip, by clicking on the link below:

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Yellowjackets have 30 years of rhythm

Posted at 8:04 AM on May 31, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Far too often in the last decade or so, I've found myself sitting amid the faithful at sparsely attended concerts. In clubs and concert halls, the jazz audience can be oh so small - even when invigorating performers take the stage.

In such moments I wonder if the nation's best musicians have forever lost their once tight connection to popular culture -- or if too many young people have bought the lie that jazz is only for the pretentious, or those lost in the past.

In part, the disconnect between jazz and the masses owes to the propensity of some musicians -- and many of us in the audience -- to favor harmony and flurries of notes over rhythm. Or perhaps, it's the preference of many purists for acoustic music.

I love jazz in all its forms. But I want to hear those beats. For years, I've listened to not just to bebop and swing but also to jazz rock, Latin jazz and fusion of all kinds.

A generation ago, the search for contemporary rhythms, accessible beats and a broader understanding of jazz led me to the Crusaders, Return to Forever and Weather Report.

Another group to emerge during that era was the Yellowjackets, a terrific ensemble since the late 1970s. The modern jazz quartet, which has produced more than 20 recordings, performs tonight at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis.

Originally known as the Robben Ford Group, the Yellowjackets first included Ford on guitar, Russell Ferrante on Keyboards, Jimmy Haslip on bass and Ricky Lawson on drums. After Ford left the band, alto saxophonist Marc Russo replaced him and the band went more in a jazz direction. Its 1986 release Shades was a defining album.

The band's membership changed again that year when drummer William Kennedy joined the band and added African, Brazilian and world music rhythms. The Yellowjackets quickly delivered three great records: Four Corners, Politics and The Spin.

Blending melody and rhythm, the musicians' contemporary compositions told stories that appealed to a broad audience while leaving room for improvisation.

Saxophonist Bob Mintzer replaced Russo in 1991, and on Greenhouse the Yellowjackets added his big band influences.

Since then, the band's membership changed a couple of more times, most notably with Kennedy's departure 10 years ago. But he's back with the band, which recently returned to the studio to record "Timeline."

For 30 years, the Yellowjackets have been a strong presence in contemporary jazz - with lively tunes and accessible beats. Their collaborative playing is inspired by acoustic and electric jazz and by a variety of genres, from classical music to rhythm and blues and funk.

The band can swing.

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Beautiful and scary: music for video games

Posted at 3:45 PM on May 26, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Technology

Over on the classical side of MPR, Emily Reese has been having a bit of fun.

Reese has been interviewing composers about their work creating scores for video games. So far the series - called Top Score - has featured such games as Dragon Age II, Stacking, Dead Space and Bioshock.

Reese admits, she had a motivated self-interest in producing these interviews:

I love classical music, I'm a classically-trained musician with a masters in music theory - but I'm also a serious gamer. I began to notice an upward trend in the quality of video game scores and knew that if someone like ME loved the music in games that other people would too. I wanted to share the insights of composers with listeners, and give gamers who love game music the opportunity to hear a conversation between composers and someone who knows a bit about music.

Composers of game music are often also composers of other music, but Reese says composing for video games presents its own set of unique challenges:

Music in games is responsive, far more often than not, to what the player is doing in a particular environment, and since individual people control the player on the screen, the music will often respond differently for every player. Video game composers often are involved in the development process long before composers for film or television, simply because the music is one of many components of the interactivity of the game. What happens musically if I pick up this wrench? What will happen if I move toward the door? What will happen if I move toward the door, but then decide not to go inside? Music can change depending on the slightest action of a player, so composers spend a great deal of time thinking about how their music can achieve that type of interaction.

Here's an excerpt from Bioshock that gives you a sense of just how the music is incorporated into game-play - it really comes to the fore at about four minutes in:

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What Dessa was listening to when she was 14

Posted at 3:10 PM on May 25, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, People

So my post yesterday on the formative listening age of 14 drew at least one reader to ask what Dessa was listening to when she was 14.

Without any prompting, Dessa herself offered up the answer:

To save you the effort of that extra click, here's the video in question:

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Fans create moving tribute to Johnny Cash

Posted at 9:54 AM on May 25, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, People, Video

How do you pay tribute to one of the most revered musicians of all time?

Evidently, you make him a music video.

But in the case of Johnny Cash, it's not just any music video. The Johnny Cash Project takes artwork inspired by actual images of the Man in Black, and then strings them together to the song "Ain't No Grave" to create a massive tribute by thousands of his fans.

The Johnny Cash Project Documentary by Radical Media from Livio Rajh on Vimeo.

The video already has more than enough stills for every frame of the song, but the submissions keep rolling in; now viewers can choose which stills they want to see, using various criteria (most popular, most realistic, most brushstrokes, etc).

Interested in submitting a frame? You can, right here.

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What are future music legends listening to now?

Posted at 2:41 PM on May 24, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Bob Dylan listened to Elvis; Bruce Springsteen listened to Dylan. So which musicians of today will shape our music legends of tomorrow? How about Dessa?

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, David Hajdu argues that while everyone is talking about the number 70 today, 14 is really the magic number.

Why 14?

Fourteen is a formative age, especially for people growing up in social contexts framed by pop culture. You're in the ninth grade, confronting the tyrannies of sex and adulthood, struggling to figure out what kind of adult you'd like to be, and you turn to the cultural products most important in your day as sources of cool -- the capital of young life.

Hajdu says great musicians are most influenced by those people they were listening to when they were 14. For Dylan, it was Elvis; for Springsteen it was Dylan.

So, I wondered, what are today's 14 year olds going to remember as the most influential music of their youth?

I turned to my colleagues at 89.3 The Current for their best bets, and Jim McGuinn responded with this:

I think the artists who are having the biggest impact today that might be felt in the next generation are those that are bringing something unique to their presentations - Florence and the Machine comes to mind immediately, as an artist that brings in a lot of musical and performance elements and creates something new (though vaguely familiar). We are in such a fragmented pop culture arena - with many artists excelling within a small circle, but few reaching the masses. I could see kids growing up and 'borrowing' a bit from Cee-Lo, Arcade Fire, Gaga, and James Blake at the same time, and not thinking it's weird or contradictory.

I know I was about 15 when I was 'radicalized' by hearing Elvis Costello, The Clash, and the Jam, and not only did it prompt me to banish my Bob Seger records forever, but it literally changed my life - leading me closer to music, which would become my lifelong passion and career. Maybe some kid is being similarly motivated by Dessa today.

Speaking of Dessa, there's certain to be a group of teens influenced by her work very soon. They're the attendees of a Teen Writing Conference at the Loft Literary Center on June 8, where she will be the keynote speaker.

So which names do you think we'll look back on as having defined today's music?

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SPCO, Dawn Upshaw and Maria Schneider earn accolades

Posted at 11:06 AM on May 16, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Criticism, Music

Dawn Upshaw and Maria Schneider with the SPCO
MPR Photo/Melanie Burford

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra performed Friday night in the first Spring for Music Festival at Carnegie Hall on Friday night.

Anthony Tommasini reviewed the concert for the New York Times as part of a larger piece on the Festival. Here's what he had to say:

On Friday night, for the sixth of the festival's seven concerts, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra offered a program that had no title and no discernible theme. Yet the four pieces presented made sense as a group. It opened with Stravinsky's Concerto in D for string orchestra, a 1946 work from the composer's Neo-Classical period, and ended with Haydn's "London" Symphony, a landmark of the Viennese Classical era. These works framed a recent piece for voice and chamber orchestra by Maria Schneider, the jazz composer and big-band leader, and a group of five folk songs for soprano and string orchestra by Bartok, both featuring Dawn Upshaw.

Instead of relying on a music director, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra collaborates with five artistic partners, including Ms. Upshaw, who had asked Ms. Schneider to write her a piece. The resulting work, "Carlos Drummond de Andrade Stories," is a setting of poems by a revered Brazilian poet translated into English by the poet Mark Strand. Written in 2008, this was Ms. Schneider's "first classical venture," as she put it in a program note. She conducted it here.

The dark and vivid first poem describes a group of people making fun of photos in a dusty old album of "the dead in frock coats." The settings of all four poems, which include a wry romantic roundelay ("Quadrille"), flow together in this organic 25-minute work. Ms. Schneider sets the words to sultry music lightly touched with jazz in the style of Gil Evans.

The harmonic writing is piercing and precise; the mood ambiguous, at once pensive and restless. The vocal writing deftly blends quasi-conversational phrases with soaring lyricism. The only miscalculation may have been the stretches, including a Prologue, in which the soprano sings wordless phrases on "ah" and "da-dee" sounds, which came across as generic, even though Ms. Upshaw sang alluringly, like a jazz vocalist leading an orchestra.

She was in better, more penetrating voice for the Bartok folk songs. Richard Tognetti's string orchestra arrangements lent depth to the accompaniments, while still retaining some of the bite of the original piano parts.

The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra often plays without a conductor, as it did here in the Stravinsky and Haydn works. These impressive musicians gave vibrant, natural performances of both pieces. Still, the playing might have been a little crisper with a conductor leading the way.

The SPCO performance was broadcast live on Minnesota Public Radio's classical station. Did you miss it? No worries, you can find it here.

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U of M Professor snags prestigious classical music honor

Posted at 3:34 PM on May 11, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

One of the oldest music societies in the world, the Royal Philharmonic Society, has bestowed its Large-Scale Composition on University of Minnesota composition professor James Dillon.

Dillon's piece "Nine Rivers" got its premiere in Glasgow last November by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and is a whopping four hours long (I'm thinking the musicians deserve some awards, too!).

This isn't Dillon's first accolade, by far. In fact it's his fourth RPS award, making him the most celebrated winner in RPS Music Awards history.

Just for reference, the Royal Philharmonic Society is the same society that commissioned Beethoven's 9th.

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Bruce Coppock to take Cleveland Orch. job in Miami

Posted at 5:32 PM on May 6, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arts management, Music

Bruce Coppock, former president of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra who left his position in 2008 to undergo cancer treatment, has found work in a more southern clime.

Coppock will become the Managing Director of the Cleveland Orchestra's Miami Residency.

The Cleveland Orchestra's Miami Residency, now in its sixth year, features a series of subscription concerts the orchestra performs in the Miami-Dade area.

Coppock considers himself nearly fully recovered from his bout with cancer and will assume his position on a full time basis on June 27.

"The Miami Residency is one of the most compelling and creative initiatives ever undertaken by an American orchestra. It is an honor to be given the opportunity to serve Miami's growing and vibrant cultural life, and to work with The Cleveland Orchestra, which has long had my deepest admiration," Coppock said.

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MN Orchestra covers Guns N' Roses

Posted at 9:53 AM on May 6, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

So is this how the MN Orchestra musicians will be dressed tonight?

This weekend the Minnesota Orchestra takes us back, but not as far back as it usually does. Instead, it will focus on the more recent classical hits... from the '80s. Some highlights from the program:

"Welcome to the Jungle"

"Like A Virgin"

"In Your Eyes"

"Total Eclipse of the Heart"

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

"Come on, Eileen"

"Every Breath You Take"

"Time After Time"

and, of course - "Thriller"

So will the musicians be wearing tuxes and ties, or legwarmers and acid wash jeans?

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Tonight's Jackson Browne concert postponed

Posted at 4:26 PM on May 4, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Jackson Browne in concert, March 2008
Photo by Craig O'Neal, Wikimedia Commons

Jackson Browne fans looking forward to hearing perform an acoustic set tonight at the State Theatre in Minneapolis will have to wait a little bit longer. The longtime rockstar has called in sick, and so ticket-holders are being issued rainchecks for Sunday May 29.

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89.3 The Current's local music stream, now HD

Posted at 10:08 PM on May 3, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Technology

If you have an HD-capable radio, you can now listen to Local Current on the air at 89.3 KCMP HD2.

For those of you who don't own HD-capable radios, not to worry - Local Current is still also a web stream.

So have you given Local Current a listen? What do you think? >

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St Olaf jazz band floats on news of DownBeat honor

Posted at 4:31 PM on May 2, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Education, Music

Dave Hagedorn says there's been a new intensity at rehearsals for Jazz One, the St Olaf ensemble.

"Because they know they've got something to live up to in our concerts coming up next weekend," he says.

Hagedorn is the jazz band director and artist in residence at St Olaf, but to his students he may be currently known as the guy who entered them in the annual DownBeat Magazine awards - which they then won as best undergraduate large ensemble.

"When I told them they were pretty blown away," Hagedorn told me. "They kind of went 'Us?' Which was kind of cool," he laughed, "Because first of all they didn't even know I had entered a recording."

DownBeat has been making its jazz awards for three decades, and some awards have floated Minnesota's way in the past.

However Hagedorn saw the award-winning bands at Lawrence in Appleton WI and at UW-Eau Claire as the models. He says winning the award will allow the St Olaf program to build.

"We have been telling people our program is growing and getting better, and we haven't really had any outside evaluation of it."

With a slight sense of understatement Hagedorn says this award tells prospective students things are going well. He has high praise for the students currently in the band, and he looks forward to using them as a basis on which to grow the band in the future.

The St Olaf award is getting special attention from the magazine itself.

"DownBeat actually did an article on the band because I think we just kind of came out of nowhere. For a small college like this that people haven't heard of so far as jazz goes, they are kind of tickled by this," he said. He says the June issue will ship in about a week.

Meanwhile Jazz One has its final concert of the year coming up on Friday at 8.15pm and it's likely to be quite a celebration. Hagedorn says he hasn't slept properly for a couple of months since he learned of the award.

"Like I told a bunch of people, this is by far the peak of my teaching career so far."

You can hear more from Hagedorn and his students in a video put together by St Olaf. You can also listen to "Transit" one of the three pieces Hagedorn sent to Downbeat from the ensemble's fall concert by clicking on the button below.

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Omar Sosa's African journey

Posted at 6:04 PM on April 26, 2011 by David Cazares (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Omar Sosa performs Wednesday and Thursday night at the Dakota Jazz Club

We were headed to a salsa club one night and the driver, an African, joined the conversation about music.

"Oh, you like salsa?" my surprised colleague asked.

"Salsa is a derivative of our music!" the driver replied.

Indeed it is, as are many of the world's richest genres. Cuban rumba, Brazilian samba, the blues, jazz, and hip-hop all owe their origins to Africa.

However classically trained, many musicians continue to look to the motherland. That's what draws listeners to pianist Omar Sosa, who is booked for shows Wednesday and Thursday at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis.

Sosa, 46, has long explored the common musical ground between African musicians and their international counterparts. Though that comes naturally to many musicians in his native Cuba, where generations of artists have fused European, African and other influences, Sosa's exploration has been deeper than most.

Influenced by Cuban master Ruben Gonzalez - the pianist featured on the Buena Vista Social Club recordings - and by North American jazz legends, Sosa's music is hard to classify. But his trips to Africa and throughout Latin America in the 1980s have led him to embrace the musical spirit present throughout the African diaspora.

After working with Cuban bands and the remarkable percussionist John Santos in the San Francisco bay area, Sosa has produced a string of stirring recordings on Ota Records. A practitioner of Santeria and a Catholic, he allows the spirits of his Afro-Cuban ancestors and the earth itself to take him on a spiritual journey.

That musical path can take him to Cuba, Africa, India or South America in a search for reflection, tranquility and peace. That's the mindset that inspired Sosa on Mulatos, a 2004 release that featured touches of North African oud, Indian tabla drums and electronic elements.

On the 2008 recording Afreecanos, Sosa offers an ancestral and modern take on Africa's inspiring musical heritage, using jazz to explore the connections between musicians from Africa, Cuba, Brazil and France.

Sosa can also be cerebral, as he is on his latest release, Calma. The solo recording offers listeners the pianist's quiet and introspective meditations.

In concert, he is a virtuoso and lively performer who expresses a variety of moods, as he did on his stellar 2006 recording Live a FIP, which featured the late Cuban percussionist Miguel "Anga" Diaz. Unlike other bandleaders whose playing can overwhelm, Sosa takes a collaborative approach with his musicians, delivering lush and orchestral African suites that draw heavily on improvisation.

Their conversational theme is simple: We are all children of the same musical mother.

Sosa will be joined on stage by Marque Gilmore on drums, Childo Tomas on electric bass and Peter Apfelbaum on saxophone.

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Cancelled Southern show to be webcast from Brooklyn

Posted at 6:25 PM on April 25, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arts management, Music

One of the casualties of the Southern Theater's financial meltdown will go ahead in a different form (and a couple of days later.)

Tomorrow's International Contemporary Ensemble show was cancelled five days ago, but ICE has decided to perform the concert in its Brooklyn studio instead, and then provide the show as a webcast for ticketholders on April 29th.

The release from ICE, sent out this afternoon continued: We are saddened to have this performance canceled so suddenly, and want to do everything we can to follow through on our commitment to perform for our loyal Minnesota audience, said Claire Chase, executive director of ICE, This webcast will give ticketholders in Minnesota and new music lovers everywhere a taste for what they would have seen and heard at The Southern on Tuesday.

The program features hot-off-the-press works commissioned through ICElab, a new program that places the ensemble in close collaboration with emerging composers and multimedia artists to develop boundary-pushing new work. Among the pieces included on the webcast are the would-be Minnesota Premieres of Aurum II (2010) and The Flesh Needs Fire (2009) by Mario Diaz de Len, Manifold (2011) by Steve Lehman, and the World Premieres of Glass Clouds We Have Known (2011) and Beneath a Trace of Vapor (2011) by Phyllis Chen.

Details for viewing the concert will be released through the ICE website on Thursday.

Other shows also cancelled are:

Shara Worden with yMusic - May 4 & 5
Mx. Justin Vivian Bond - May 6
Tandem - June 2-4
Johannes Wieland - June 10 & 11

However Southern staff are seeking an alternate venue for the Tandem show

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Barnstormer Tour hits Wrenshall

Posted at 4:20 PM on April 21, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arts around the state, Music

Editor's Note: This post comes to you courtesy of MPR colleague Marc Sanchez - thanks Marc!

Some of you may have driven to Wrenshall, Minn. for the annual, summer Free Range Film Festival. Well, the barn doors are opening early this year. Next Tuesday owners, Annie Dugan and her husband Janaki Fisher-Merrit, are hosting their first concert. The show is part of the Barnstorming tour sponsored by the website Daytrotter, which shares live recordings of bands that stop by their Rock Island, Ill. studio.

Daytrotter mastermind, Sean Moeller dreamed up the tour in the summer of 2009, when he asked, then unknown, Local Natives to play a few shows in Midwestern barns. Moeller says it was pretty apparent, in those first shows, that the audience behavior was strikingly different compared to seeing a show in a bar or club. He thinks having bands play in barns "forces attention a little bit, or maybe people come already willing to give their attention. People are quiet and they're there to listen... the bands appreciate that and feed off it."

The bands love it too. Moeller says that being able to play in a place where everybody is respectful of the music and not having to kowtow to promoters or club owners makes the bands want to never go back to the club circuit.

This is Daytrotter's fourth Barnstormer Tour, but the first that's ventured into Minnesota. On the bill for the evening: Sondre Lerche, Guards, The Romany Rye, Hellogoodbye, and Keegan DeWitt. The barn only holds about 100 people, and as of this posting there are still tickets available.

Here's a clip of Dawes performing in the Barnstormer Tour last year:

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Works for Words now online

Posted at 1:53 PM on April 21, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Writing

Did you miss Jeremy Messersmith's "Works for Words" show on April 9th?

Evidently it was quite the event, featuring performances by Dessa, Chris Koza, Lucy Michelle, Brian Tighe, and others.

Now you can listen back to the entire show, at your leisure:

Click here to go to the show's homepage on 89.3 The Current's website

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Rock the Garden line-up announced

Posted at 5:52 PM on April 19, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music

Image courtesy of Walker Art Center

It's one of the hottest parties of the summer - thousands gather on the lawn of the Walker Art Center and enjoy the fabulous summer weather (knock on wood) while taking in great tunes and a loving-life community atmosphere. Here's this year's official roundup, just released:

June 18th:

3:00PM Gates open
4:15PM Tapes 'n Tapes
5:15PM Booker T. Jones
6:45PM Neko Case
8:30PM My Morning Jacket
10:00PM Gates close

What I want to know is - where's the after-party?

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89.3 The Current to stream local music

Posted at 2:04 PM on April 11, 2011 by Marianne Combs (2 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Technology

It sounds too good to be true - all your favorite local bands, playing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

89.3 The Current (also known in the MPR newsroom as "those hipsters upstairs") has announced it will launch "Local Current Music Stream" on April 14.

The 24-hour stream will be dedicated entirely to local music, new and old.

"The Local Current music stream is another way we can share the music and culture of Minnesota with the world," says program director Jim McGuinn. "We are excited to offer the best local music 24/7."

Of course, 89.3 The Current's stream already does expose the world to quite a bit of Minnesota music. I was on vacation in New Zealand last year, and had an animated conversation with a "Kiwi" about Atmosphere and P.O.S. - he streamed The Current on his computer.

I've put in call to McGuinn to see if he'll divulge what the first song will be on the new stream... back in 2005 89.3 The Current launched with "Shhh" by Atmosphere.

The Local Current music stream is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund

Starting Thursdays, listeners can tune in to the Local Current music stream at thecurrent.org/local.

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Video break: Atmosphere's "She's enough"

Posted at 3:38 PM on April 12, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Video

Atmosphere's video for its song "She's enough" came out today, and it's just a bundle of kindergarten cuteness. Enjoy!

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Jeremy Messersmith on misunderstood lyrics

Posted at 11:08 AM on April 4, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Video, Writing

So on Saturday, Jeremy Messersmith is presenting an evening celebrating songwriters and the craft of writing for music at the Fitzgerald Theater. It's titled "Works for Words."

Sounds like it could be a little earnest in tone, but fear not - the above video is proof that Messersmith plans to have more than a little fun. Enjoy!

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Los Van Van still inspires

Posted at 10:50 AM on March 30, 2011 by David Cazares (2 Comments)
Filed under: Culture, Music

"We are... timba with rumba and rock, mambo with conga and pop."

In a lyric to one of his songs, that's how Juan Formell - one of the biggest musical names in Cuba -- explains the multiple rhythms and beats played by Los Van Van, the powerhouse of contemporary music he has led for 35 years.

His music reflects the hectic and sensual rumble of Havana's busy streets: the hum of traffic, lines of people in stores and markets, hustlers rushing after tourists, flocks of pedestrians flagging down drivers for rides, and men of all ages whistling come-ons called "piropos" to women passing by.

The polyrhythmic pulse of daily life in Cuba and the joys and pains of its people make for a good soundtrack. That isn't lost on Formell, a composer and bassist who has kept up with the times, infusing the band's music with modern touches of rap, hip-hop and timba, a fiery contemporary genre popular on the island.

The band will be featured in Eso que Anda, an award-winning documentary by Ian Padron to be shown at 7:30 p.m. Thursday during the Second annual Cuban Film Festival at St. Anthony Main Theatre, 115 SE Main Street, Minneapolis
Admission is $7.

Los Van Van emerged on the scene in 1969, when Formell, pianist Cesar "Pupy" Pedroso and drummer Jose Luis "Changuito" Quintana combined traditional Afro-Cuban son (the root of modern salsa) with soul, funk, pop and rock. They created a new rhythm called songo that has captivated audiences on the island and worldwide, an army of "vanvaneros."

Formell later added Puerto Rican, Colombian, African and other influences to his songs. His musicians call Cubans to party.

"Dance now and forget your troubles," they sing. "Enjoy yourself."

That's not always an easy proposition in the island nation where a common refrain is "life isn't easy," especially since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Cuba's former benefactor.

Through good times and bad, Los Van Van has been an ensemble of traveling musical ambassadors for Cuba, especially in Europe, where the band has many fans. Despite the five-decades-old U.S. embargo of Cuba and various periods in which Cuban musicians have been barred from the United States, the group also has toured here, receiving warm welcomes in San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

The band's visits to Miami, the city with the second largest Cuban population outside of Havana, have been less successful. I'll never forget the 1999 concert that drew a hostile reception from hardline members of the Cuban exile community.

Some 70 police officers ringed the Miami Arena that night, many of them in riot gear. More than 3,500 protestors taunted concert-goers, yelling "Communists! Traitors! Prostitutes!" Some threw eggs and soft drink cans as people went inside.

On its latest visit to Miami, in January, the band returned for a show that had minimal protests. But some Cuban Americans still consider the group the "official" band of the island's communist government, a charge Formell denies.

"We don't do politics," he repeatedly has said. "We make music."

The band also makes fans, so many that it has changed popular music in Latin America and elsewhere. Its longevity owes both to Formell's willingness to change direction and his adherence to strong musicianship.

Much like the African-American funk bands of the 1970s, Los Van Van delivers musical suites. Formell's tunes are tales of the street and of ordinary life, often employing the Cuban propensity for double entendre. A song about a man in a fruit store is really about his pursuit of a woman.

Even in Cuba, there is social commentary. "You say you want to be king," the lyric of another song goes. "Show me your crown." Who the singer is talking about is left to the listener's interpretation.

Though still Cuba's biggest contemporary band, Los Van Van doesn't command the attention it once had on the island.

Anyone walking down a Havana street these days is just as likely to hear hip-hop or reggaeton -- the fusion of Jamaican dancehall, rap and Puerto Rican slang that has soared in popularity.

Formell knows the market is tough.

"Its' very complicated," he said during a press conference in Havana a few years ago. "There are a lot of young people making music. This is a big competition."

But even though the new genres with their simpler beats and catchy phrases are easier to dance to, people on the island still love to dance salsa and timba. The dancers still respond to the singer's call to get down with Los Van Van.

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Dessa: Live at the Cedar

Posted at 11:47 AM on March 28, 2011 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Television

Have a hard time staying up past ten on a weeknight? So do I. Thankfully, MN Original's special on local singer/rapper Dessa (which aired on TPT late last night) is available for viewing, in it's entirety, at a more reasonable hour.

A little background: the concert in question was taped on January 23 at The Cedar in Minneapolis. It was part of The Cedar's "416 Club," which commissions local artists to compose, practice, and perform new music pieces in collaboration with other local musicians.

Dessa performed her project "Laws and Appetites" in collaboration with bassist Sean McPherson (of Heiruspecs), pianist Kahlil Queen, and a flamenco percussionist quartet.

Enjoy!

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Brad Mehldau bridges a jazz divide

Posted at 4:34 PM on March 24, 2011 by David Cazares (1 Comments)
Filed under: Criticism, Music

Brad Mehldau's live performance at the Marciac Jazz Festival in southwest France is captured in his new album "Live in Marciac," put out by Nonesuch Records. David Cazares has this review.

We all live to our own soundtrack. From the politics we follow, to the books we read and the music we listen to, many of us seem to be pursuing a singular course, sticking to what's comfortable.

Breaking the boundaries that we impose on ourselves and listening to the other - while incorporating different perspectives into our own point of view - is rare. That's just as unusual in music.

It's refreshing to encounter a musician who explores other genres and styles as the pianist Brad Mehldau does on Live in Marciac. The album, released last month by Nonesuch Records, is his third solo recording.

Mehldau, a classically trained jazz pianist who usually plays with a trio, plays with precision and imagination on the CD, recorded at Marciac Jazz Festival in southwest France.

It's a rare musician who shines in a solo performance, even on piano an instrument that offers the broadest pallet. But the 40-year-old does so remarkably on a diverse collection of tunes that include his original compositions, jazz standards and rock tunes. From Cole Porter's It's All Right With Me to the Lennon/McCartney tune Martha My Dear and Radiohead's Exit Music (for a film), he takes the listener on a ride that spans several decades, telling stories along the way.

In a virtuoso performance, Mehldau builds on architecture and melody, delivering intimate, complex and intense interpretations of each song. He employs abrupt changes in tempo, gradual mood shifts, thunderous runs and repeated notes.

On some tunes, among them his composition Unrequited, Mehldau uses the structure as a base of creative exploration, powering through the numbers with a percussive left hand and multi-layered melodic lines with his right.

On others, he plays a short mini essay before touching on the melody, as he does on the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic My Favorite Things. But instead of evoking John Coltrane's masterful interpretation, Mehldau gives the tune a light and airy touch.

He can also be lively, as he is on an intricate rendition of the Kurt Cobain song Lithium, pairing a rolling base line with an improvised theme. Though not a traditional jazz artist by any means, Mehldau is faithful to its roots, particularly on Dat Dere by Bobby Timmons, first recorded by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. It is a bluesy finale to a fine performance.

I first listened to Mehldau on his two dynamic recordings with guitarist Pat Metheny. On both, it seemed to me that Metheny brought out the best in Mehldau by expanding the pianist's orbit -- sometimes electrically so.

Though I think his playing still is a bit restrained, Mehldau clearly is turning up the juice. In bringing different influences to his work, he is evolving as a player and adding something to jazz, an art form rooted in improvisation that sometimes needs a push.

The music has its gatekeepers, purists who insist on allegiance to bebop, a style born of experimentation that is loved only by the most devoted fans.

Ironically, art that is meant to set our minds free so often relegates artists -- and listeners -- to categories. We are rock n' rollers, country music buffs, pop music fans, practitioners of hip-hop's lifestyle and salseros. We make only occasional attempts to integrate our musical tastes.

We bebop fans are guilty too.

As the trumpeter Nicholas Payton wrote on Twitter, "those fast tempos and flurries of notes alienated listeners and what was once American pop music became jazz."

Mehldau shows that jazz need not be just for the artist and the connoisseur. By offering a varied palate, he's opening the door for the curious to enter -- and listen.

Editor's Note: David Cazares is an editor for MPR News who happens to love both jazz and reading; he occasionally contributes his thoughts to State of the Arts. Brad Mehldau performs at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on April 10.

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Minnesota Orchestra musicians support Detroit strike

Posted at 1:49 PM on March 3, 2011 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Funding, Music

According to an Associated Press report, the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra will wear blue wristbands during performances this weekend to show their support for their striking colleagues in Detroit. The members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra walked off the job on October 4; five months later there is still no sign of resolution to contract negotiations.

Other orchestras participating in this weekend's show of solidarity include the Colorado Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.

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SPCO explores 500 years of music in 2011-2012 season

Posted at 12:06 AM on March 1, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Events, Music, People

Patrick Castillo is very proud of his band.

"This is a very good Baroque band," he said the other morning. "And so we're going to have those muscles of the orchestra flexed with the music by Bach and the music by Handel."

His band, by the way, is the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and he's the artistic planning director. He was talking about the SPCO's 2011-2012 season which is released this morning.

"We are also going to have five world premieres so showing a very broad spectrum of music that I think the SPCO excels at," he said.

The new season samples works from half a millenium, but really highlights new music. The season opens with a new oratorio by New York composing phenom Nico Muhly, who has been playing regularly at the Southern Theater over the past few years.

Castillo says if the season has a theme it's simply to explore great music.

"We have the music of Bach and Handel, but we also have five world premieres and a lot of other living composers represented in our 11-12 season," he said.

He singles out a string symphony by Lara Auerbach which will also premier in the fall.

"She is a very dynamic composer, pianist, poet. Really kind of a consummate artist," he said. "A little bit of a throwback to the comprehensive artistry that we saw with the composers of the late 19th century. You know, these piano virtuosos who took the stage in their own piano concerti. So she'll be performing her works as well during a week-long residency with us."

Castillo says the artistic partner model which the SPCO has been using for several years now continues to work well, with both the commissioning of new work and the deeper exploration of the music of the past. He points to a series of concerts planned for Dawn Upshaw.

"If you want to play Bach, you don't just play Bach, but you play Bach with the best Bach people and I think our artistic partner roster allows us to do things like that."

The SPCO will also revamp its website, and build up the availability of archived concerts online.

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Downbeat annoints Twin Cities as a global jazz center

Posted at 4:54 PM on February 18, 2011 by Euan Kerr (1 Comments)
Filed under: Media, Museums, Music

Downbeat Magazine, the must-read publication for jazz fans just published its list of the 150 best jazz rooms in the world, and named three in Minnesota: The Artists Quarter in St Paul, the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant in Minneapolis, and, perhaps most unexpectedly, the Walker Art Center.

The Walker's Performing Arts Curator Phillip Bither says the listing came completely out of the blue, but he knows it carries weight. He says it's a recognition of the growing reputation of the Maguire Theater.

"The world is taking notice of what an exquisite concert venue and performing arts space it is, and I think musicians are spreading the word that it is a fantastic place to play music and to be heard" Bither said this afternoon.

"They cover dozens of countries and the Midwest only had a handful of sites so it's an acknowledgement that Minneapolis is a great center for great music and great jazz," he continued. "I think the correspondents for Downbeat really know what's going on in jazz all over the country and I'm sure they feed in what their favorite spots are."

The article points out the key aspects of each of the three venues: the intimacy of the Artists Quarter, the upscale nature of the Dakota, and the Walker's "original and daring live programming."

Bither believes it will make a difference because it "puts the word out to people who regularly travel that if you are going to be in Minneapolis, here are the places that you need to check out."

He believes not only will it build international recognition, it will build tourist traffic.

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A taste of Sims and Lazerbeak

Posted at 3:00 PM on February 18, 2011 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, People

Even as I write Chris Roberts is putting together a great piece deconstructing one of the tracks on Sims' new "Bad Time Zoo" album. Sims and his Doomtree collaborator Lazerbeak will mark the albums release with a party tomorrow night at the Fine Line in Minneapolis, with Dessa, POS, Cecil Otter, and Mike Mictlan all lending a hand. You can hear Chris grill Sims and Lazerbeak on Monday morning, but in the meantime here's a cracking video they put together with the folks at MPLS.TV, featuring the album's title track.

City of Music: SIMS from MPLS.TV on Vimeo.

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The news from Lake Wobegon: more guest hosts likely

Posted at 11:20 PM on January 15, 2011 by Euan Kerr (24 Comments)
Filed under: Media, Music, Storytelling

"You've got scripts here and everything," Garrison Keillor said to Sara Watkins during a pre-broadcast warm-up just moments before A Prairie Home Companion hit the air this evening.

"They never put these out for me," he continued drawing a laugh from the capacity crowd in the Fitzgerald Theater.

There was a lot of curiosity about what Keillor had described as an experiment, having Watkins, a bluegrass fiddler with a soulful voice be the first guest host on APHC in decades.

Prairie Home staff said when the arrangement was announced that it was just a one-off effort to try something new, and to allow Keillor the chance to actually watch the broadcast live.

When it was all done, and the enthusiastic applause had died down, Keillor described the experiment as a success.

She did great. She got everything in," he said after the show. "It's such a huge asset to have a musician host it."

""I think she'll do even better the next time," he said. "I hope so. Why wouldn't she?"

Next time?

With those words Garrison Keillor may well have revealed the future of A Prairie Home Companion.

"I may be let free from this prison," he continued. "These prison bars may be about to open."

Keillor has been talking about the future of A Prairie Home Companion for some time. At 68 he says there are other things he'd like to do, but he feels a responsibility to the show.

"It was the result of the hard work of a lot of people and I don't think I should let it go into dry dock just because the captain gets old. There are other captains," he said.

He said no decisions have been made, but this is the first time he has talked about having a number of people step into the host role. He said show staff is beginning to book the 2011-2012 season, and that might be a good place to start with some guest hosts.

He says what's important is to maintain what he sees as the three essential elements of APHC: live music, comedy, and a midwestern identity.

"The midwest, that's the tough part," he said.

However with those three elements he can see the show going in any number of directions.

However it also rules out Watkins as a possible longterm host as she is a Californian.

He said if they do decide to try more guest hosts in the future, it would likely mean more shows at the Fitzgerald, and fewer on the road.

"We could do it in a couple, two, three, years, maybe less," Keillor said. "And I could retreat to a comfortable position backstage. I could become a radio actor."

Or an executive producer someone suggested

Keillor's eyes popped open. "I like the sound of that," he said, continuing that he had never been an executive of any kind before.

From a listening point of view the show that precipitated all this was actually a pretty typical program, with the exception of the guest host.

Watkins sang the opening song, and personalized it a little to explain how being from San Diego she was trying to get used to St Paul snow. Backstage Keillor was the first to applaud as the song drew to a close.

She introduced the guests, sang the Powdermilk Biscuit song, and vamped along with sound effects wizard Tom Keith as they described a snowmobile trip along the frozen Mississippi which involved a man-eating fish and snow monkeys.

Keillor appeared as a guest performer, acting, and delivering the news from Lake Wobegon, where perhaps as a nod to the media interest in his own story, he mentioned Clint Bunsen's belief that "nothing in this town gores unnoticed."

Keillor also appeared in a skit where he hinted that Watkins might be back.

"You're not going to take the show off in some other direction?" he asked her.

"Not this week," she replied.

A few moments later backstage Keillor told watching journalists "This is very easy work," not mentioning he had written the scripts. A few moments later came back to tell them careers were changing before their very eyes.

The only two minor mishaps were when Watkins announced that the news from Lake Wobegon would be coming up in the second half of the show, just moments after Keillor had done the segment.

"Kid had a defective script," Keillor said later, "My fault."

Then as the show entered its final half hour, producers realized they were ahead of schedule. Watkins quickly told her brother Sean they were going to do two extra songs together, even though he had not actually played one of them in several years. The extra songs went off perfectly.

When he was not on stage, Keillor generally kept a low profile, and actually listened more to the show than watched it. When the show wrapped up he did not come onstage until after the broadcast was off the air. He walked to the middle of the stage and led the audience in applauding Watkins.

"It was an interesting experiment, and we had to do it to prove it can be done," he said.

"I just enjoyed it," he said. "And I didn't even have a good seat."

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