Continued: Jazz in the Heartland

Rose also pays tribute to one his old, deceased pals in "When Kid Bastien Plays His Horn" which reads in part:  "We loved him unconditionally -- a love returned/as he/taught us/the holy scriptures/from the Book of Kid Thomas."

Rose, Towers and The Happy Pals will dispense jazz and poetry Nov. 14 in Toronto; ticket , book orders and other info from Rose at arose@rogers.com; (416) 661-5900 x. 251.

Congratulations to Chicago record mogul Bob Koester, head of Delmark Records and operator of The World's Largest Jazz and Blues Shop, celebrating 55 years in music and still going strong.

Mark Your Calendar! The 2009 Great River Fest, LaCrosse, Wisc., sponsored by the LaCrosse Area Jazz Society, will be held Aug. 14-16, talent and ticket info TBA. FFI (608) 791-1190. The Society held its annual meeting Oct. 26.

The Eagles and Ivories Ragtime Weekend Jan. 23-25, Muscatine, Iowa, offers Ivory and Gold, the Jazz Incredibles, Brent Watkins, Adam Swanson, Mad Creek Mudcats, Just for Fun, and Anne and Jeff Barnhart. FFI (563) 263-8895.

The second Annual Roseville, Minn. Winter Jazz Blast for bands at Northwestern College is set for Jan. 17. Deadline for registration is Dec.12. FFI www.visitroseville.com; (877) 980-3002.

Eau Claire, Wisc.'s 10th annual Ragtime Festival Jan. 9-11---a benefit for the Chippewa Valley Free Clinic for low-income citizens---features Mimi Blais, Brian Holland and The St. Louis Stompers, www.ecragtimew.org.   

Minnesota's fabled Peterson Family will conduct a Minnesota holiday tour, "The Spirit of the Season": Dec. 12, Willmar; Dec. 13, Hopkins Center for the Arts and Dec. 16, St. Cloud, info@thepetersonfamily.info (When he called jazz station KBEM (see above) to make his pledge, Russ Peterson suggested more musicians become members and volunteer to take pledges.) 

Attention, readers in the New York City area and-or those planning to go there soon: thanks to a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, one of Minnesota's best jazz singers, Maud Hixson, will make her New York debut Dec. 2 and Dec. 9 at The Duplex, Greenwich Village with a tribute to composer Mickey Leonard. Hixson then will return to Minnesota for holiday concerts Dec. 13-14 at the (Columbia) Heights Theatre and a New Year's Eve gig at The Times Bar & Café, Minneapolis. FFI maudhixson@maudhixson.pmailus.com

A monument to Art Tatum is being planned in his home town of Toledo, Ohio. Leading the fund-raising campaign is the great jazz vocalist and group leader, Jon Hendricks. If you wish to contribute or get further information, www.thearttatummemorial.org or publicist Mary Chris Skeldon, mcskledon@flsmarketing.com

We bid farewell and thank you to Chicago drummer-vibist Jack Manre; Minnesota saxophonist Eddie Berger; Minnesota record business pioneer Amos Heilicher and Illiana Club Of Traditional Jazz members Lucille Marsell and Edward Tandaric, all of whom died recently. Also, the October issue of The Dixieland Hot Sheet, newsletter of the Central Ohio Hot Jazz Society, paid tribute to pianist John Ulrich who died in May, www.cohjs.org.

More Media Matters: The latest (always undated) issue of the newsletter of the Catfish (Iowa-Illinois) Jazz Society showed me it's my kind of organization. It urged its members to attend concerts by the Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra. I could not agree more with author Alpha Dog that jazz fans often like more than one genre of music. (The founder/publisher/editor of this RAG is an opera nut and maven.) And who knows, maybe some of the classicists will show up at Catfish and other Quad Cities jazz gigs.

The October issue of The EarlyJas Rag (Northeast Ohio) began a  series on Duke Ellington and reviewed numerous CDs, www.EARLYJAS.org. 

The November-December edition of The Force in Jazz, newsletter of the Madison, Wis. Jazz Society, carried an assessment of the future of jazz and other musics; reported that Forest Whitaker will portray Louis Armstrong in a biographical film; listed its Spring (?) concert dates as Jan. 25, Feb. 22 and March 22 and previewed its November 23 "Stars of the Future" concert, www.madisonjazz.com. 

I need your news by the fifth of the month preceding publication: Will  Shapira, 5644 Morgan Av. S., Minneapolis MN 55419; wshapira@aol.com, no attachments. Thanks, later.

November 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.