The Artists' Quarter

Fat Kid Wednesdays (FKW) features Mike Lewis on saxophones, Adam Linz on bass and JT Bates on drums. Their latest release, SINGLES, on the French label Hope Streets, features some of FKW's original compositions.

The group's previous release, THE ART OF CHERRY, was devoted to the music of free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, also on Hope Streets label. FKW emerged from the music underground after spending the last ten years developing their music in small edgy clubs, and more recently on the road in France where their spontaneous and spirited sound is celebrated. Come down to the AQ, you'll enjoy this inventive music.

Tuesday, April 29, SWMP&M (7 pm)/ The Tuesday Night Band & Special Guest Margaret Cox (9 pm, $5)

The Artists' Quarter's hottest night opens with an exciting band featuring Zach W. Schmidt, Cory J. Wong, Cassie Meyer, Patricio Toledo 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 out the video

Then, for the main event Margaret Cox is Guest Vocalist on B-3 Organ Night. From rock to R&B to the blues to jazz, Margaret Cox is one of the Twin Cities great vocalists – and we just don’t see enough of her these days. As for the 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 this video TNB "Shotgun" - then come on down and join the fun. It's nothing but a party every Tuesday night. There's no stopping the groove.

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Monday, April 28, Green (7:30 pm)/Open Poetry (9 pm)

Green, featuring Rob Dewey on piano, Rich Casey on bass and Spencer McGinnis on drums, has been holding down early Monday nights at the AQ for over five years.

Open mic is really open. Come do your thing - read your poetry, sing, tell jokes whatever. Your 15 minutes of fame awaits. No cover charge.

Friday, April 25 - Sunday, April 27, Happy Apple (9 pm Friday and Saturday, 8 pm Sunday, $12)

This weekend brings the Art Crawl to St. Paul, after a day of feasting your eyes on the art in Lowertown, come uphill a few blocks and feast your ears to the sound of Happy Apple! And if it's too chilly to walk, the free Art Crawl Shuttle stops right at the Artists' Quarter (stop 16)!

The first of a new genre, Happy Apple planted the seed of post-modern raucous free jazz - and over the past decade nurtured it to maturity. Before he formed the Bad Plus, Dave King with Micheal Lewis and Erik Fratzke was bringing a new vision of serious musicianship presented with casual good humor to the youthful masses in jazz and rock clubs in Twin Cities. In 1996 the Artists' Quarter in Saint Paul (then at its 5th & Jackson location) was the first jazz club to present them. They remain a favorite at the AQ.

Recently our own Happy Apple wowed them in the Big Apple - The New York Times said: "... if their intent seemed confusing — irony attaches naturally to them, like a shadow — the energy level of the music completely erased the issue. The trio's set was a hard scrimmage; the band mates looked as if they had nothing left by the end of the show. In "Lefse Los Cubanos," a long, lively two-beat song over a bass vamp — sort of like their version of a Sonny Rollins calypso — they played hard and ecstatically. But even in the slow ballad "He's O.K." — written, Mr. King explained, after his son burned his hand on the tailpipe of Mr. Fratzke's car — they poured it on. They made the soft notes and the silences count. Funny as the men were to watch, this was one of the most serious groups I've seen."

Check out this video of Happy Apple live at the AQ . Them come see them at the AQ this weekend - you won't regret it. Plan to arrive early to get a good seat.

Thursday, April 24, Pete Whitman’s X-Tet (9 pm, $8)

Saxophone maestro Pete Whitman gathers nine of his most talented friends for a monthly Thursday performance at the AQ. This month, the “little big band” moves in for a weekend of dazzling charts and musical telepathy.

Even with ten members performing, you find yourself pondering where all those perfectly-placed, sonorous pearls are coming from. When you review the roster of first-call pros on stand, you answer your own question. Their 2002 release Where’s When? received a 4-star salute from Downbeat. The all-star cast includes Laura Caviani on piano, Phil Hey on drums,Gordy Johnson on bass, Dave Hagedorn on vibes, a horn section roll call of Dave Karr, Dave Milne & Pete Whitman (saxes), Dave Jensen & Kelly Rossum (trumpets), and Jeff Rinear (trombone). Check out his video of the Xtet , or this one of them playing "Hmm" .

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Thursday, 24 July 2008 20:47

© 2008 The Artists' Quarter, 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.

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