Sunday, March 2-  Twin Cities Winter Jazz Fest!

The 16th Annual Twin Cities Winter Jazz Fest will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2008, at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. Sonny Fortune, an alto saxophonist and flutist known for his work with Miles Davis and McCoy Tyner, headlines a roster covering three stages with styles ranging from big bands to vocal standards to bebop. The festival marks its first year at the MacPhail Center for Music’s brand new, state-of-the-art, performance spaces. The Festival runs from Noon to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, 2008. 

Day passes to the festival (which do not include Sonny Fortune's performance) are $15 and will be available at the door.
$25 advance tickets are available which include  guaranteed seating for either the 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. Sonny Fortune sets.  Seating is limited to 200 tickets for each of these performances.

MacPhail Center for Music is located at 2nd St. and 5th Ave. So. in Downtown Minneapolis. For more information, call (612) 343-5943 or visit www.myspace.com/tcfestival.

In addition to two sets by Sonny Fortune (5:00 pm & 7:00 pm), the Main Stage will feature Southern Minnesota’s Real Big Band and the Bellagala Big Band. On the Upper Stage, music will include the excellent horn-driven bop quintet Snowblind, the adventurous Bells & Whistles and more. The Jazz Vocalists of Minnesota, a coalition of some of the area’s top singers, will perform throughout the day on the Atrium Stage. MacPhail Center for Music will host two clinic stages, with a spotlight on youth performers and workshops.

Proceeds from the Twin Cities Winter Jazz Fest benefit the 10th Annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival, which returns in June 2008
Here is a link to the Festival’s website:

http://www.hotsummerjazz.com/winterfest2008.html

Jazz Thursdays At MacPhail Center for Music

Jazz Thursdays - A new evening concert series here at MacPhail. Each concert is designed to present jazz chamber music in a comfortable, family oriented environment.

Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007 8 p.m.
Tom Pletscher Trio
Featuring Tom Pletscher (piano), Jim Bierma (bass) and Nathan Norma (drums)
FREE ADMISSION -- MacPhail Center for Music 4th Floor Auditorium, 1128 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis

Pletscher has been teaching and performing jazz in the Twin Cities for the past 20 years. As a jazz pianist/ keyboard player, he has been heard at virtually every jazz club in the Twin Cities performing everything from mainstream acoustic jazz to accompanying singers to original electric jazz. His recordings and live performances (“Live from the Dakota,” “Jazz at the G”) have been played regularly on area jazz radio stations.

Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008 8 p.m.
Kelly Rossum Quartet
Featuring Bryan Nichols (piano), Chris Bates (bass) and JT Bates (drums)
Co-sponsored by the Twin Cities Jazz Society’s
J-Z Concert series
ADMISSION ($5 & $10) - MacPhail Center for Music Antonello Hall, 501 2nd Street S, Minneapolis

Rossum is a jazz trumpet player and composer currently residing in Minneapolis. His most recent album, Line, was released in 2006. He has a unique style, combining the traditions of swing, bop and free jazz with the innovations of electronica, ambient and trance music

Thursday, April 10, 2008 8 p.m.
Dave Karr and the Mulligan Stew Band
Dave Karr (Baritone Saxophone), Dave Graf (Trombone), Gordy Johnson (bass),
Phil Hey (drums), Tanner Taylor (piano)
ADMISSION ($5 & $10) -- MacPhail Center for Music, Antonello Hall, 501 2nd Street S, Minneapolis

Mulligan Stew, a jazz quintet led by saxophonist Dave Karr, will feature the music of Gerry Mulligan's famous quartet with trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. A live CD was recorded during a recent performance and was later released by the Twin Cities Jazz Society. Karr is a recent winner of the McKnight Artist Fellowship Award for Performing Musicians.

Thursday, May 22, 2008 8 p.m.
Dakota Combo Final Concert
FREE ADMISSION -- MacPhail Center for Music Antonello Hall, 501 2nd Street S, Minneapolis

In the fall of 2006, the combined efforts of the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education and MacPhail Center for Music led to the inaugural edition of the Dakota Combo, an ensemble of the Twin Cities’ top high school jazz musicians. The musicians in this year’s Dakota Combo are Jake Baldwin, Stephanie Wieseler, Geoff LeCrone, Jacob Wittenberg, Corey Grindberg and Mathew Roberts.