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© 2012 The Artists' Quarter Jazz Club: Live Music in Downtown Saint Paul, MN,
Thumbnail photos © Howard A. Gitelson
Additional AQ images © Howard A. Gitelson Don Berryman and Andrea Canter as indicated. Special thanks to Al Iverson, the original AQ webmaster. We apologize for any errors that may occur. In the event of discrepancies Davis Wilson, your host at the door, is always the final authority. |
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The Artists' Quarter's hottest night opens with the Cory Wong Quartet featuring Zachary Schmidt on drums, Cory J. Wong on guitar, Andy Schuster on bass and Dan M. Musselman or Kevin Gastonguay on piano starting at 7:00 P.M. Cory Wong has been called one of the most versatile and exciting musicians in the Twin Cities, and has been featured in several publications and websites, including NPR, MPR, and Mpls/St. Paul magazine. His song “Upstream” was the first solo guitar recording to be in the video game “Rock Band”. Cory has also recently taken over as the Production Manager for Innovative Multiemedia Studios, and Secret Stash Records. Check this recent video of the Cory Wong Quartet playing "Pass the Plate" 
Media Addicts is a modern jazz quartet that got together in the summer of 2006 while its members (Billy Graczyk – guitar, David Hirsch – sax, Eric Miller – drums, Brent Wallace – bass) were attending McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. 
Media Addicts is no different here. But what makes them “modern” are influences like Metallica, Tool, Chris Potter, Youssou N'Dour, Thomas Mapfumo, and Jan Garbarek. An eclectic set, yes, and Media Addicts cleverly finds ways to mix it all into their songs in a cohesive manner. 
up had one simple goal when they first came together; to create the music they wanted to hear. Their first CD “Elsewhere” was released in the summer of 2008 and right from the start, judging from their gigs in the Mpls/St Paul area, it is also what their audiences wanted to hear. A friend of the band overheard this verbal exchange at one such performance: “What is this...is this jazz?” The other answered, “Yes. And I like it.”
Match come in like a lion with the mighty roar of the Phil Hey Quartet. A City Pages review of the PHQ’s CD Subduction: Live at the Artists’ Quarter proclaimed, “Phil Hey's first CD as a bandleader reflects the creative passion, refined taste, and ensemble-oriented empathy that have, over the past two decades, made Hey the area's best jazz drummer.” Performing a book that includes tunes by Bobby Hutcherson, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and more, the interplay displayed by this fantastic group is nothing short of telepathy. Phil Hey (drums), Phil Aaron (piano), Dave Hagedorn (vibes) & Tom Lewis (bass). 
Phil Hey studied privately with jazz drumming giant Ed Blackwell beginning in the mid-1970s. Since the mid-1970s, Hey has been one of the busiest and most respected drummers in the Twin Cities music scene. Over the years, Phil has played drums with virtually every active Twin Cities jazz musician, including membership in groups like Eddie Berger's Jazz All Stars, Departure Point, the Chris Lomheim Trio and countless others. Whether keeping the beat on standards with vocalists like Lucia Newell, burning through be bop in groups like Mulligan Stew or breaking down free jazz with folks like sax-man Pat Moriarty, Hey's sense of swing and versatility are welcome additions to any rhythm section. (He has even been found applying his talent in Klezmer bands and once toured with the late blues icon Lazy Bill Lucas. In addition to working with virtually every active Twin Cities jazz musician, Hey has hit the road with internationally known artists like Benny Golson, Dewey Redman, Jay McShann and Stacey Kent. As a recording artist, Phil has appeared on over 60 albums as sideman.