The Afternoon Cruise

Michael Bland is a musical powerhouse who calls the Twin Cities home. He is best known for his tenure as the drummer for Prince, but he has been a part of so many great moments in Twin Cities music. This Saturday, Bland will be diving back into the music of Prince for a show titled “New Power Generation – A Tribute To Prince." The show is this Saturday at the Hopkins Center For the Arts at 8pm. Bland connected with Jazz88's Sean McPherson to talk about his approach to Prince's music and his familial connection to his fellow New Power Generation bandmates.

Friends of the station Thomas and Alex Streitz are celebrating the launch of their new non-profit, The Minnesota Poets Collective. The group celebrates the art of poetry in all its forms and seeks to bring together diverse voices from all around the state of Minnesota. The father/son duo were nice enough to stop by the Jazz88 studios to talk about their upcoming publications and their mission to connect with Minnesota poets.

Grammy-nominated drummer, vocalist and producer Kassa Overall is bringing his approach full circle with a performance at The Dakota on Wednesday night. Some of Overall's earliest professional experiences were traveling with Geri Allen, Wallace Roney and others in very formal jazz bandstand settings. On Wednesday, Overall will bring all the enthusiasm and adventurousness that he's known for into a seated nightclub performance. Kassa Overall will also be premiering some new sounds that will be part of his next release and will be joined by the celebrated musician, and recent Twin Cities transplant, Melvin Gibbs.

Somali blues & American gospel have a conversation in a show coming to the St. Thomas University campus (St. Paul) Sunday, April 6 and Saint John's University (Collegeville) April 27. Bobby Vandell spoke with the organizers JD Steele, Ahmed Yusuf and Beck Lee. Details at https://culturalfluencyinitiative.org/events/

Judi Vinar is a singer's singer. Her skills and her collaborative spirit have made her an in-demand vocalist and vocal instructor nationwide. She dropped by Jazz88 to discuss her upcoming shows with Dennis Spears and the Wolverines Jazz Trio at The Capri Theater on Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6. Vinar talked about maintaining her calm, her longtime collaborators the Wolverines and more.

Trombonist Ryan Keberle is making his way back through town for a performance at Berlin on April 11 with his group Reverso. Keberle was nice enough to catch up with Jazz88 and talk about Reverso as well as his other projects, Colectivo De Brasil and Catharsis. Keberle also shared his thoughts about writing memorable melodies and introduced us to his sleepy dog Stitch.

Singer Yazmin Bowers is also a pianist, painter, dancer and teacher. She's also quite the World traveler spending a lot of her time in Havana, Cuba where she teaches music and culture and eventually incorporating her own experiences into her own music. With her heart and soul ultimately coming from her Midwestern roots, it's always a delight to hear what she's up to musically and how her recent collaborations with the Twin Cities' own, Havana Quartet beart fruit. We were lucky enough to have Yazmin along with Alvaro and Andrew from her group join us on the Afternoon Cruise to tell us more about what they've been up to and what to expect from her show at Crooners.

Shabaka is one of the most vital voices working in music today. For the past decade he has been heralded as one of the strongest and most imaginative saxophonists and bandleaders in jazz. The past handful of years have seen Shabaka turn his focus towards the flute. But his mission of creating "the best music possible" remains unchanged. Shabaka caught up with Sean McPherson to discuss his approach in advance of his appearance at The Walker on Thursday, March 20.

Black Market Brass and Obi Original are two of the most respected names in Minnesota music and now they have teamed up for a collaborative release. Obi is the featured vocalists on the new single "Battle Ready" from Black Market Brass. Vocalist Obi Original along with Mitch Sigurdson (guitar) and David Tullis (congas) swung by the Jazz88 studios to talk about the new music and the release show on Saturday, March 22 at the Turf Club.

Adrian Younge is a prolific and gifted musician, producer, performer and curator who has been at the helm of the Jazz is Dead project alongside his partner Ali Shaheed Mohammed since 2017, releasing collaborative albums with legends like Brian Jackson, Azymuth, Jean Carne, Tony Allen and more. Younge is on the road for his Something About April Tour with a stop at the Turf Club in Saint Paul on Friday March 14. Younge connected with Sean from Jazz88 to discuss the tour and the Jazz is Dead project.

Bobby Commodore has been an indispensable part of the Twin Cities music scene since he sat behind the kit with Sounds of Blackness in 1974. During tenures with Sounds of Blackness, Moore by Four and many other great groups, Commodore served the Twin Cities. Beyond his work behind the kit, Bobby Commodore has served as a business manager, a live sound engineer and, most importantly, as a supportive voice to generations of Twin Cities players. As Commodore prepares to hang up his cymbal bag and retire from live performances, he was nice enough to visit with Sean McPherson from Jazz88 to discuss his farewell concert on Tuesday, March 4 at the Dakota as well as his storied career.

Bobby Commodore has been an indispensable part of the Twin Cities music scene since he sat behind the kit with Sounds of Blackness in 1974. During tenures with Sounds of Blackness, Moore by Four and many other great groups, Commodore served the Twin Cities. Beyond his work behind the kit, Bobby Commodore has served as a business manager, a live sound engineer and, most importantly, as a supportive voice to generations of Twin Cities players. As Commodore prepares to hang up his cymbal bag and retire from live performances, he was nice enough to visit with Sean McPherson from Jazz88 to discuss his farewell concert on Tuesday, March 4 at the Dakota as well as his storied career.

Drummer and composer Emma Garau is performing on Monday, March 3 at Berlin in Minneapolis with Bryan Nichols (piano) and Chris Bates (bass). Garau recently moved to town from North Carolina and she discussed how she is enjoying the Twin Cities so far. She also explained her approach to making music and connecting her love of classic jazz to her more avant-garde side.

Gabe Terraciano is one of the most celebrated violinists from the jazz world and tonight he's stepping on stage at Berlin with Minneapolis players Greg Byers on cello and Geoff LeCrone on guitar. Tarraciano and Byers stopped by the Jazz88 studios to talk about the show and the importance of rhythm for string players.

In addition to being a stellar leader, saxophonist and vocalist Lucia Sarmiento has also toured with Pitbull and Karol G. and collaborated with many of the biggest names in music. This weekend, Sarmiento is celebrating the release of her debut album as a leader, Escape. Lucia stopped by to visit Jazz88 to talk about the new album and her process.

Terrell X, the improvisational jazz human beatboxer, is preparing to perform selections from his most recent album, Transformation to Terrell X, with a live band on Saturday at Antonello Hall at MacPhail. In addition to being an in-demand performer, X also serves as an instructor in Electronic Music Recording Arts Program at MacPhail. Terrell X, also known as Carnage the Executioner, discussed his personal journey, his connection to jazz music and his advice for anyone who is struggling to tell their own story.

The players in Room3 are keeping busy. After building up a reputation in the past handful of years for electrifying live shows the band has finally released some recorded material and they're preparing for a performance on Friday, January 31 at First Ave as part of the Best New Bands concert. Keyboardist Eli Awada and bassist Beck Madson stopped by our studios to chat about their new single, Moqueca, and about the big show coming up this weekend.

After years of sessions and casual collaborations, trumpet player Omar Abdul-Karim and pianist Kavyesh Kaviraj have forged a collaborative project. The quartet, which also features Ted Olsen on bass and Kevin Washington on drums, will perform on Tuesday, January 28 at the Dakota. Sean McPherson from the Afternoon Cruise caught up with the duo to get a sense of how this collaboration came about and how they're enjoying it!

On January 14, Sean McPherson from Jazz88 headed down to Whitey's Old Town Saloon in Northeast Minneapolis to check out a weekly Tuesday jam session helmed by bassist Graydon Peterson. Check out audio of the jam session, details about how to get involved and interviews with key players from the night.

Percussionist Bill Summers described music as a "religious undertaking" when he connected with Jazz88's Sean McPherson to discuss the recent Headhunters record and their upcoming performance at the Dakota. Summers was joined by their drummer Mike Clark and the conversation covered iconic moments from Headhunters history, the group's current lineup and their concern for musicians who are suffering after the Los Angeles fires.

The celebrated vocalist Bruce Henry is back in town to perform a concert on Saturday at the Dakota titled "Everyone Under the Sun: A Celebration of Unity and Love." Henry connected with Sean McPherson to discuss how he and the band will use Martin Luther King Jr. as a point of departure to build community with the audience.

Before Stanley Jordan was a household name he was getting his career started with Madison, Wisconsin as his homebase. The young player made routine trips up to the Twin Cities and he credits the Twin Cities as the first major metro area where he built up a fanbase. Even though Jordan can now command a crowd in every corner of the planet he's quick to come back to the Twin Cities, specifically the Dakota. He's holding court there on Thursday and he took the time to chat with Sean McPherson about his love of the Twin Cities, his approach to playing solo and his celebrated and unorthodox guitar technique.

Pianist Bryan Nichols is embarking on a new chapter in his musical life. On Saturday he launches a new quintet to navigate his original compositions. He'll be joined by Sophia Kickhofel (sax), Jake Baldwin (trumpet), Dan Carpel (bass) and JT Bates (drums). The group premieres at Berlin and he was nice enough to stop by Jazz88 and chat with Sean McPherson about the new lineup and his approach to collaborating with new players and how to stay committed to being a lifelong student of music.

Reid Anderson, the co-founder and the bassist for The Bad Plus, recently connected with Sean McPherson's Jazz88 for a chat. Anderson discussed the new album from The Bad Plus and their upcoming run of shows starting on Christmas Day at the Dakota.

Vocalists Toussaint Morrison and Roz Prickel are deep into the world of holiday music. They are in rehearsals for their Sno Ball event on Saturday at PNA Hall in Northeast. They swung by the Afternoon Cruise to chat about their favorite holiday music, their love of all things pickle and their upcoming show.

Vocalist Bruce A. Henry is back in town for a holiday performance with the JazzMN Orchestra. Though Henry didn't sing holiday music for the first half of his career, he reconnected with the canon during a holiday show at a shopping mall in Colorado and hasn't looked back since. In the interview Henry shared how he navigates the big band setting and the holiday songbook. The JazzMN Orchestra presents "Swingin' in the Season" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre on Monday December 9 with Henry and vocalist Connie Evingson.

Jazz88 connected with Windom, Minnesota's own Maria Schneider on her birthday to celebrate her Grammy-laden career and her continued connection to Minnesota but Schneider wanted to talk about was the new anthem she's written for her hometown team, the Vikings. Supported by her orchestra's trombone section and the beefiest baritones Julliard has to offer, Schneider's tune is bound to secure the Vikes the top slot in the NFC North. Check out the conversation and the tune here and SKOL VIKINGS.

The New Standards are a jazz-adjacent trio featuring John Munson (bass and vocals), Chan Poling (piano and vocals), and Steve Roehm (vibes). Though the group has plenty of rock'n'roll pedigrees on their resume, all the members have a deep love and knowledge of jazz. The New Standards rely on that love of jazz and the song suggestions they receive from their musical guests to craft a celebrated annual holiday show. This year the concerts are at the State Theatre on December 6 and 7th, including a matinee on the 7th.

This month Crooners Supper Club celebrates their ten year anniversary. Jazz88 caught up with their Music Director, Jennifer Grimm, to talk about the club's history, it's triumphant series of outdoor concerts during the pandemic and the importance of having clubs that serve as a listening rooms. This weekend on Sunday Jazz88's own Patty Peterson will revisit the Crooners stage after having served as the first performer at the venue on November 20, 2014.

Guitarist Zacc Harris is back with Chasing Shadows, the follow-up to his well-received 2021 effort Small Wonders. In the summer of 2022 Harris took an opportunity to get away to a cabin for five days sans family and with nothing specific on the agenda. During the retreat Harris found his way into about twenty new songs, eight of which can be heard on this new record. The resulting performance exude some of the curious and patient spirit so many find when they spend a couple days away from the grind. Harris discussed the writing and recording of the album with Jazz88's Sean McPherson. Harris and company will be celebrating the release of the new album on Friday November 15 at Berlin in Minneapolis.

Oogie_Push is from the Meskwaki Nation and is currently creating on Dakota territory, aka the Twin Cities. She's an actor, writer, storyteller, dancer, a Meskwaki twine bag weaver, a production assistant and an award-winning documentarian. She is the playwright and lead performer for the Full Circle Production “The Adventures of a Traveling Meskwaki”. The show opens this evening (Friday November 8) at the Park Square Theatre in downtown Saint Paul and it runs through November 24th.

Broadcaster and Grammy-nominated performer Judy Carmichael is coming back to the Twin Cities for a performance at the O'Shaugnessy in Saint Paul on Saturday, November 16. She's no stranger to listeners of Jazz88 as we carry her show "Judy Carmichael's Jazz Inspired" on Monday nights at 10pm. She connected with Sean McPherson from Jazz88 to discuss her development as a piano player and how vital her connections with originators in the world of jazz like Count Basie were in the early years of her career.

Bassist Erik Fratzke from Happy Apple was nice enough to stop by the Jazz88 studio to discuss the group's new studio album New York CD. It's the group's first release in 17 years and Fratzke talked about the life cycle of the band and the beautiful rapport and camaraderie the group is enjoying as they hit the 25 year mark. Happy Apple is celebrating the vinyl release of New York CD this weekend with shows on Friday and Saturday November 8 and 9 at the Dakota in Minneapolis.

On the week of the release of MaLLy and Last Word's new album "The Sweetest of It All" MaLLy took some time to connect with Jazz88 to discuss his love of jazz. MaLLy's artform is hip-hop but his sources for inspiration run way deeper. He discussed how jazz can invite him to listen deeply, to relax and to celebrate Black culture in general. Listen in as MaLLy discusses some of his personal favorite jazz tracks with Sean McPherson.

Jesse Simon from the MN Hard Bop Collective grew up loving organ jazz out in Denver, Colorado so when it came to for the MN Hard Bop Collective to add more events to their sit-in series it was no surprise that Simon decided to concentrate on the organ. The series will draw inspiration from the legendary organist Shirley Scott. The MN Hard Bop Collective is launching a new weekly Sit-In Series event on Wednesdays from 4:30-5:30 at Metronome in Saint Paul. The group already holds court for their original Sit In Series at Metronome on Mondays at 7pm. Both events give jazz players of every age and ability level the opportunity to play with professional musicians and experience the exhilaration of 'sitting in' on a tune.

Vocalist Dane Stauffer visited the Afternoon Cruise to discuss his upcoming Monstrous Melodies Cabaret at the Dakota. Though Dane said he wasn't sure if any of the performance was legitimately "scary" he assured us it was lots of fun. He even brought along a rehearsal recording which sounded like a lot of fun. The Monstrous Melodies Cabaret event happens on Halloween night at the Dakota.

Bassist Liz Draper has been running a residency at Berlin for October and she's wrapping it up on Sunday, October 27 with her friend Ava Mendoza. Mendoza is a celebrated guitarist and composer based in Brooklyn and her friendship with Draper goes back almost 25 years. Liz spoke about her approach to improvising on the bass, her recent experience with playing through-composed music. Mendoza spoke about her forthcoming solo guitar and voice record, The Circular Train, and discussed her approach to composing on the guitar.

Mike Lewis, the celebrated multi-instrumentalist known for his work with Happy Apple, Fat Kid Wednesdays and Alpha Consumer, connected with Jazz88 to discuss the run of shows he'll be doing in November at Icehouse. Lewis highlighted some of the artists he'll be collaborating with like Anthony Cox, S. Carey and Jeremy Yvilsaker. He also discussed his approach to choosing his musical opportunities wisely.

Mere days away from releasing their sophomore album "NORFSIDE" drummer L.A. Buckner and his bandmates from BiG HOMiE are ready to celebrate an album that's been years in the making. Buckner, alongside David Smith and percussionist Jamani Buckner, spoke about the songwriting process, the importance of releasing the album at an iconic venue (the Capri Theater) in an iconic part of Minneapolis (the Northside) and the importance of celebrating the release in the heart of Black Minnesota. The release show is on Friday October 18 at the Capri Theater in Minneapolis.

Celebrated Danish vocalist Sinne Eeg is making her way to the Twin Cities for a show at Crooners on Thursday, October 17. Eeg was nice enough to hop on the phone with Sean from the Afternoon Cruise to talk about her upcoming performance at Crooners and about how she approaches singing with different size groups!

Obi Original is an accomplished musician/composer and vocalist. Obi agreed to come by to discuss one of his musical heroes, Fela Kuti. Fela was born October 15, 1938 and he, alongside his drummer Tony Allen, is recognized as one of the architects of the Afrobeat genre. Listen in to hear Obi Original's reflections on Fela's influence and importance.

The internationally acclaimed vocalist Samarth Nagarkar is bringing his Khayal Ensemble to MacPhail for a performance on Saturday October 12. In advance of the concert Mr. Nagarkar and Michael Cain, the Director of Electronic Music Recording Arts at MacPhail connected with Jazz88 via ZOOM to discuss the concert, the improvisational traditions of North Hindustani music and the connections to jazz and other aural/oral traditions around the globe.

Joel Shapira is always out there playing. He's out playing in town four or five times a week. But behind the scenes Shapira is always working on his own material. Joel came through the Jazz88 studios to discuss his new record "Sleepless Montage" and the release party coming up on Thursday, October 3 at Berlin in Minneapolis.

Violinist Ernest Bisong from Walker-West visited Jazz88 to talk about the new season of the Rondo Community Music Series. The series launches this Saturday (9/28) and rolls through to May with concerts from Kavyesh Kaviraj, Kevin Washington and RA Spirit, Katia Cardenas, Trio Zenia and more. Bisong shared his philosophy for recruiting the right artists, keeping the series accessible and involving workshops and panel discussions into the offerings.

Drummer and bandleader L.A. Buckner lovingly describes fellow drummer/bandleader Brandon Commodore as the "big homie". These two great drummers and bandleaders have years of history and the love will come through loud and clear on Saturday at Crooners when they share a bill. In their visit with Jazz88 Commodore pointed out that not only is it great to see two drummer/bandleaders sharing a bill but also pointed out that seeing two Black drummers who both hail from Minneapolis sharing a bill together is a beautiful thing. Listen to hear more about these dynamic players, their bass drum preferences and the range of emotions they share on stage with their groups BiG HoMiE (Buckner) and NRG (Commodore).

Voz En Punto, the wildly talented acapella group out of Mexico City visited Jazz88 on Monday September 16. It was a beautiful coincidence that the group was visiting on Mexican Independence Day. Voz En Punto is visiting the Twin Cities in partnership with VocalEssence. The group talked about their thirty plus year history and performed two songs: Tilingolingo and La Negra.

Trombonist Dave Graf has been a fixture in the Twin Cities jazz scene for decades but he spends most of his time behind the scenes. That changes on Sunday when he steps out on the Crooners Main Stage leading a band that includes Jennifer Grimm (voice), Phil Hey (drums), Doug Haining (sax), Mary Louise Knutson (piano) and Matt Peterson (bass). Graf took the time to connect with Jazz88 to discuss his lengthy career and his approach to presenting his own music. Dave even stuck around to play a little jazz trivia!

Vocalist extraordinaire Samara Joy is coming to the Ordway on Saturday September 14. During a break in her schedule Samara Joy connected with Sean McPherson to discuss her technique for picking songs, her quick rise to become one of the biggest names in the world of jazz and her love of ensemble singing.

Celebrated vocalist Ashley DuBose took some time out of her day to chat about her songs, her love of jazz and her upcoming performance at the Selby Ave JazzFest on Saturday, September 14 in Saint Paul.

There are no names bigger in jazz than Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis. And for aspiring trumpet players it is essential learning to understand the careers and influences of these two icons. For Solomon Parham and Omar Abdulkarim the invitation to pay tribute to these icons at the Capri Theater in North Minneapolis gave them the opportunity to revisit two of the heroes they grew up studying. The duo visited Jazz88's Afternoon Cruise to talk about the show and Armstrong and Davis's oversized influence in the world of music.

The Marcin Wasilewski piano trio has been going for thirty years and their chemistry shines on and off stage. Tonight they're preparing for two shows at Berlin in the North Loop of Minneapolis. Sean McPherson connected with Marcin Wasilewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz and Michal Miskiewicz to find out about their staying power, the Polish jazz scene and their love of Prince.