Jazz88

Other Country Ensemble hosts World Music Mondays at the Eagles in Minneapolis every fourth Monday of every month at 7:30pm. The next one is this Monday, January 22. At these shows, Other Country Ensemble performs, but also showcases other world music groups. When Scott Nieman talked to Phil Nusbaum Scott first told about Other Country Ensemble members.

Jazz88's Peter Solomon spoke with drummers Abinnet Berhanu and Kevin Washington about an upcoming show at Icehouse, Friday evening, January 19th. Berhanu will be showcasing music that draws on his Ethiopian heritage and his band Ahndenet will feature the singer Genet Abate. Washington will perform with RA Spirit. Photo of Abinnet Berhanu by Beza Tuga.

Jazz88 is getting ready to launch their newest show, "The Jazz Impulse". Danny Sigelman will host the new show on Saturdays 7-10pm. This show will be about the "now". The artists stepping on stage that night, the music that's making this great jazz scene go strong. Sigelman joined Sean McPherson to talk about the show and the inaugural episode!

Saint Paul Peterson is a funk ambassador, gifted vocalist, bassist and a curator of the Funk Friday series. He’s been a member of the Family and The Time and he’s been a recognized fixture in the music world on an international level for decades. Saint Paul is bringing his online series, Funk Friday, onto the stage on Friday at the Green Room in Minneapolis. Jazz88 is sponsoring the event and broadcasting portions of it on the air. Check out this interview to get an overview of the Funk Friday series and learn what's happening on stage on Friday.

The First annual STEAM Fest is coming to Franklin STEAM Middle School on January 25. MPSVoices' own DJ DIME talks with Franklin Teacher Michael "Mr. B" Bratsch for more information on the event, and what familes, students and community members can expect!

Rabeca formed to play at a cabaret in 2019. Group members enjoyed the experience and decided to form a group. Though keeping a group together was not easy during the pandemic Rabeca persevered and drew together for inspiration. Phil Nusbaum talked to band members about the new Rabeca CD, Junk. Colleen Dolde said that Rabeca was playing most of the songs during the pandemic.

Jenny Klukken has been bridging the gap between her classical background and her passion for jazz on her primary instrument, the marimba, for years. She's back at it on Thursday night over at Crooners with an all-star band of Chris Olson (g), Chris Bates (b) and non-Chris Dave Schmalenberger (d). Klukken caught up with Sean from Jazz88 to discuss how marimba fits into the world of jazz and how her marimba fits into her minivan.

Sousaphonist Erik Jacobson’s romance with New Orleans brass bands started when we was in high school and was exposed to the Dirty Dozen Brass Band record “My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now.” After sharing the album with fellow University of Wisconsin-Madison music student Christopher “Roc” Ohly, he started up Mama Digdown’s Brass Band. They’ve kept it going for thirty years and have toured all over, including making more than fifty trips to New Orleans. It’s become a kind of family band, as both Ohly and Jacobson each have children that regularly sit in with the group (see attached picture in which Ohly is towing his four-year old son with a rope tied around his waist and attached to a wagon in which his son plays trombone). Friday, January 12th, Mama Digdown’s Brass Band plays a concert at the Parkway Theatre, sharing a billing with the Akie Berniss Trio and comedian Trish Cook. Erik Jacobson spoke with Jazz88’s Peter Solomon about the history behind the band and what makes him so passionate about New Orleans brass band music.

Minneapolis-based pianist and composer spoke with Jazz88's Peter Solomon ahead of his December 30th birthday celebration at KJ's Hideaway in St. Paul. (Photo by Evin Rodriguez-Sosa)

Chris Speed, saxophonist for The Bad Plus, recently connected with Sean McPherson to discuss The Bad Plus's upcoming residency at the Dakota, which starts on December 25 and runs until December 28.