Hey, friends! Al Iverson here. It's jazz fest time again. If you're looking for something fun to do just ahead of the festival, Steve Kenny's got a great show lined up for you!
This Thursday, June 23rd come to KJ's Hideaway in downtown St. Paul to kick off the Twin Cities' Jazz Fest featuring three great bands for one cover! The fun starts at 6:30 pm with the Steve Kenny Quintet, continues at 8:00 pm with Supercell, followed by Lucia Sarmiento at 9:30 pm. Get your tickets here (or at the door, if they're not sold out).
First up: The music begins at 6:30pm with the Steve Kenny Quintet.
The Steve Kenny Quintet is a group mostly devoted to playing Jazz Standards, usually heavily influenced by the concepts and performance practices of John Coltrane. Steve Kenny is active in the Minnesota Jazz community as a Performer, Composer, and Curator. Steve is a founding member of ‘the illicit sextet’, “Group 47”, “What Would Monk Do?” and his own “Quartets”, and he curates and produces a weekly Saturday Jazz series at kj’s hideaway. His latest recording, “Quartets”, includes original compositions played by 4 separate ensembles of Twin Cities Jazz musicians, including a Live version of Steve Kenny’s Ghost Suite. in 2019 the national Jazz Journalists Association named Steve as a “Minnesota Jazz Hero” for his work in the Jazz community and lifelong devotion to the Idiom.
And it continues at 8:00pm with Supercell.
Supercell is Adam Meckler (trumpet), Brian Courage (bass), and Andrew Green (drums). The band met as students in the 2000s and performed together in a variety of contexts. They joined together to form Supercell in 2020, leaning on chemistry built over a decade of friendship and music making. Supercell thrives on organic, exploratory interaction, performing a mix of original compositions and deconstructed standards. Music that is beautiful and wild, probing and introspective.
And then at 9:30pm, it's time for Lucia Sarmiento!
Lucia Sarmiento is a young Peruvian saxophonist, with a huge sound and effervescent personality. Growing up in South America and living in the US for the past 9 years, Lucia has been exposed to a broad variety of rhythms and styles of music, but her passion has always been jazz and 80’s fusion. Her music is the expression of a diverse musical upbringing, fused with her own sensibility for angular, yet beautiful melodies. Currently Lucia Sarmiento tours with international pop star Pitbull, has a single out called “Escape” and is working on her debut full-length album coming out 2022.
Here's hoping you all have a great summer and hope you're able to get out and enjoy some live music. Take care and thank you for supporting jazz!