Q: “I don’t know much about jazz, but I’m interested.  What’s the first album I should buy?”  A:  Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Discuss:  That’s the answer many have been given over the 50 years since Kind of Blue’s release, and it’s a good answer at that. There’s just something about this record – many point to the mood evoked by the modal pieces.  Maybe it’s because it’s just so damn Miles-y, right when he was at the top of his game and adorned by the likes of Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderley.  Whatever the reason, it is one of the most influential recordings of all time. Perfect for interpretation by top players, given that Miles provided his group with only sketches of scales and melody lines to improvise upon. It remains the top selling jazz recording of all time and tops the list of jazz digital downloads.

The tribute band features Steve Kenny (trumpet), Dave Karr (sax), Mikkel Romstad (piano), Tom Lewis (bass) and Kenny Horst (drums).

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.

Peter Schimke is a world class jazz pianist with plenty of musical ideas and the finely honed skills to express them expertly.Jazz Police says: "Peter is a player who who isn't afraid to push the music in new directions. When he is comping behind a soloist he is engaged in a subtle dialog, listening and responding with harmonies and rhythms that sometimes represent a suggestion or invitation to the soloist. He is a player who is never on 'autopilot' but is engaged and committed to the music he is participating in creating".

Kenny Horst is the heartbeat of the AQ both on and off the stage and a master of the trap set.He has played with mnay of the finest jazz musicians in the world. Chris Bates is a solid musician and versatile bassist who provides the ample bottom to many of the areas greatest jazz ensembles, as well as joining the rhythm section for visiting jazz luminaries.   

Brandon Wozniak is a saxophonist and composer who lived in New York City from 1999 to 2005 and then went to Shanghai, China to work in a Jazz Club for six months.  He is a member of the Atlantis Quartet (Pete Hennig-drums, Zacc Harris-Guitar, Travis Schilling-Bass and Chris Bates-Bass) and also performs with with many other localg groups.  He has also toured with The Tommy Dorsey Jazz Orchestra and lived in Berlin for 7 months playing with German rock group Zwiebel Zwiebel Hurr.

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

Valve trombonist and euphoniumist Brad Bellows attended  Berklee School of Music in Boston and has been a professional musician for  over 30 years. He is probably best known as the founder of the Locally Damaging  Winds, the Midwest's preeminent jazz trombone  quartet, which brings together the finest trombone talent in town. Brad has also released a duo CD with guitarist Dean Granros called “Bear's  Delight” .

Brad is joined by Jeff Rinear on slide trombone, Chris Lomheim on piano, Chris Bates on bass and Mac Santiago drums

Check out this video of the Valves meet Slide or this video with Lucia Newell.