There will be an early show at 7 with the Alternates, an amalgam of talented high school jazz musicians from the Twin Cities.  They all have rich musical backgrounds and are prime players in their age group.  Their set includes tasty originals, fresh arrangements, and standards played from the perspective of the next generation. The players: Caleb McMahon (Perpich Center for Arts Education), trumpet; Peter Nyberg (St Paul Central HS), sax; Chris Misa (Perpich Center for Arts Education), piano; Cory Grindberg (Minneapolis South HS), bass; and Rob Fletcher (Eden Prairie HS), drums.

For over 50 years, saxophonist/flutist/clarinetist/composer Dave Karr has been performing with many of the best national and Twin Cities jazz artists.  The NYC native grew up seeing the great jazz legends like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and he got the bug.  Karr moved to the Twin Cities in his twenties, and has long established himself as one of the best-loved characters in the jazz scene.  Whether he’s in the orchestra of a touring Broadway hit, providing flourishes to the shows of top Twin Cities singers, leading his Gerry Mulligan tribute band on baritone sax or fronting his own quartet, Karr is a standout.  “[Dave's] fluid style is both exciting and elegant,”  JazzPolice.com. Check out these videos

• Dave Karr Quartet, "Scrapple From The Apple"11/26/08 www.youtube.com/watch?v=P84v5YFPDCk
  
• Dave Karr Quartet, "Tangerine"11/26/08 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieb4TLK68oY

An early set at 7 p.m. features "The Tesfa Quintet" with Dejen Tesfagiorgis on Saxophones, Adam Meckler on Trumpet, Jesse Mueller on Piano, Adam Tucker on Bass, and Jaky Nyberg on Drums. Check out this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4khzBPcgo24

OZ Presents at 9 pm

 The Artists' Quarter's hottest night opens with an great band featuring Zach W. Schmidt, Cory J. Wong, Cassie Meyer, Andy Schuster and Dan M. Musselman starting at 7:00 P.M. These young, talented musicians provide the perfect prelude to the AQ's longest standing engagement. Check this video www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqdCItgxmAY

Then, for the main event sample some 'organic cookin' with the Tuesday Night Band. Hammond B-3 organ lovers have been flocking to the AQ on Tuesday nights for over a decade to get a soulful dose of funky jazz.   The Tuesday Night Band features "Downtown" Bill Brown (Hammond B-3), Billy Franze (guitar), and Kenny Horst (drums) + guests!  Anything can happen - and frequently does.  Check out these videos:  "Soulful Drums" www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGnLyYYPspE  and  "Rock Candy":   www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcoIeG7RkAM  - then come on down and join the fun. It's nothing but a party every Tuesday night. There's no stopping the groove.

The Grand Slam marks the end of the official Slam season nationwide. Hosted by St. Paul’s Slammaster, Matthew Rucker. Get there early, it will sell out.This is the ONE Slam that no one should miss.

All season long, Minnesota Slam poets have been fighting for one thing - a place in the top eight. Because only they can compete in the GRAND SLAM, which will determine who gets to represent St. Paul at the 2009 ‘National Poetry Slam’ in West Palm Beach, Florida this August.

The eight best spoken word artists in MN (including some of the top world and nationally ranked poets) will be bringing their absolute best to the stage, because there are only four spaces on the team, so it’s do or die.
The competition will be ugly – the poetry will be amazing.

Get there early for a special pre-Slam musical performance by Matt Riehle. Matt has regularly blown folks away at the Artists’ Quarter and throughout the Twin Cities. Matt’s music, writing and performance reveal an amazing talent made edible by a winning sense of humor. Just seeing Matt alone on stage with a piano and a guitar playing stunning originals and lighthearted folksy covers of popular hip hop tunes is worth the $5, never mind getting to see a Slam to boot.