Jazz Central Thursday Night Jazz Vocal Series Presents
“Chet - The Beautiful Music and Tragic Life of Singing Trumpeter Chet Baker”
Thursday, January 15, 2015
7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
$10 suggested donation
Jazz Central
407 Central Avenue Southeast
Minneapolis, MN 55414 (Lower Level)
(612) 729-1799
Larry McDonough Quintet
Larry McDonough, Piano and Vocals
Steve Kenny, Trumpet
Richard Terrill, Saxes and Poetry
Greg Stinson, Bass
Dean White, Drums
Guest Rosie McDonough, African Drum
Pianist, singer, and composer
Larry McDonough’s trademarks are
unique harmonies and rhythms in both
arrangements and compositions, often
in the uncommon meters of 3, 5, 7, 9, 11,
and 13. He usually features the other
musicians, with only a handful of vocals
in his recordings and performances. For
years, his quiet singing style has been
compared to legendary singer and
trumpeter Chet Baker.
Now Larry turns the tables on himself,
putting his vocals in the spotlight in
“Chet - The Beautiful Music and Tragic
Life of Singing Trumpeter Chet Baker.”
Joining Larry to complete the Chet Baker
sound is Steve Kinney on trumpet,
saxman Richard Terrill, bassist Greg
Stinson, drummer Dean White, and
Larry’s daughter Rosie on African drum.
In the first set, “Chet” will cover the range
of the Chet Baker catalog, performing
pieces from the 1950s, including My
Funny Valentine, Autumn Leaves, When
I Fall in Love, You Don’t Know What
Love Is, There Will Never Be Another You, and Angel Eyes, as well as songs from the end of Chet’s life, such as All Blues (the rare vocal version), Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, and Moon and Sand. In the second set, Larry will add pieces from his catalog sung in Chet’s style, including My Romance, How Insensitive, Night and Day (from his “Solitude, poetry in jazz” CD), Lady Day (an original from his “Simple Gifts” CD), and Summertime in 7/4 time.
Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker, Jr., was born on December 23, 1929, and by the mid-1950s he was a popular singer and trumpeter. His hip, cool style of singing and playing jazz standards made him a peaceful alternative to the hectic quality of bebop. Even a movie career awaited, based in part on his leading-man good looks and bad-boy persona. But there was a detour ahead when his drug addiction dominated the 1960s, leading to incarcerations, deportations, and ultimately a drug deal beating that broke his teeth and scarred his movie star looks. With dentures and a new embouchure for playing trumpet—but without the face and voice that had made him a star—he resurfaced in the 1970s and 1980s, again producing recordings at the pace he did in the 1950s. At approximately 3:00 a.m. on May 13, 1988, he was found dead in Amsterdam on the street below his second-story room with serious wounds to his head. The death was ruled an accident, but speculation continues.
* * *
Larry McDonough is a St. Paul jazz
pianist and singer, performing around
the world and recording with his group
the Larry McDonough Quartet as well
as solo, and in duos and trios. He has
performed with legendary saxophonist
and composer Benny Golson,
Trombonist Fred Wesley, and trumpeter
Duane Eubanks, as well as a who’s who
of local jazz artists, and was inducted
into the Minnesota Rock Country Hall
of Fame for his work in the group
Danny’s Reasons. He has released eight CDs and DVDs as a leader, including “Simple Gifts,” which reached number 29 on the CMJ Jazz Chart and has been played on hundreds of stations around the country and throughout the world. He also is a lawyer and law professor selected by William Mitchell College of Law as one of “100 Who Made a Difference” over the 100-year history of the school. Larry directs pro bono legal services for the poor at Dorsey & Whitney.
Steve Kenny studied at the University
of Wisconsin-River Falls. Among many
projects, he has performed with Pete
Whitman’s Departure Point, The Five
with Dave Karr, What Would Monk Do?,
and the Cedar Avenue Big Band. He
is best known as co-founder of the
Illicit Sextet, an ensemble popular in
the 1990s before taking a long hiatus
and now back in action with a new
CD released in 2013 and a Mainstage
appearance at the Twin Cities Jazz festival. In addition to heading the Wednesday night early show at the Artists’ Quarter for five years, Steve has received a Minnesota Music Award, West Bank School of Music Jazz Composer award, and multiple honors as Best Jazz Trumpet at the Eau Claire Jazz Festival. With support from a state arts board grant, he curated the 10-week “All Originals” jazz series at Studio Z in Summer 2014, and in Fall 2014 launched the weekly Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog series, which will run at least through 2015. In 2014, Steve’s production company, Illicit Productions, released a vinyl LP debut recording for Group 47, and a first ever “Twin Cities Jazz Sampler Volume One” CD that included tracks from 13 recently released recordings from originals-focused Twin Cities ensembles. In the early 1990s, Steve produced a multi-media concert/tribute to Chet Baker presented by the Twin Cities Jazz Society’s main concert series. The core Baker tribute band, dubbed “Let’s get Lost” from that project, went on to perform a long sequence of late-night gigs at the now defunct Café Solo in downtown Minneapolis.
Richard Terrill, sax player and Minnesota State
University Mankato English Professor, received
the Minnesota Book Award for Poetry for his poetry
compilation “Coming Late to Rachmaninoff”
(University of Tampa Press, 2003). Richard has
been performing with Larry McDonough since
December 2001. He also has performed with
guitarist Jim McGuire and with Chaz Draper’s
Uptown Jazz Quartet. As a college student,
Richard was a member of the award-winning
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Jazz Ensemble
and performed with later-to-be Pat Metheny
keyboardist Lyle Mays in the Lyle Mays Quartet,
winner of small group honors at the Midwest
College Jazz Festival. He has also worked with
pianist Geoff Keezer. Richard teaches creative
writing at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Bassist Greg Stinson plays in several bands around the Twin Cities. He has been the bass player in the Century College Jazz Ensemble for more than 25
years. He also plays in the CC Septet, Shorn Hortz Quintet, Paul Berger Trio, the St. Croix Jazz Ensemble, and regularly subs with the Nova Contemporary
Jazz Orchestra, Classic Big Band, and Cedar Avenue Big Band. Greg spent many years playing saxophones, guitar, bass, and vocals in jazz/rock and variety bands in the area. He is an active composer/arranger with jazz charts in the books of the Century Band, Nova, CC Septet,
and others. He has also written a number of
choral arrangements and compositions for
school and church groups. Greg was a band
and choir director in public and private schools
before changing to his current career in
telecommunications technology. LMQ performs
Greg Stinson compositions from the Nova
Contemporary Jazz Orchestra recording
A Dance to Be-bop.
Dean White grew up in Superior, Wisconsin,
and played in various working bands while
attending the University of Wisconsin, Superior.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in
percussion performance, he moved to
Hollywood, California, to attend Musicians
Institute College of Contemporary Music. Half-way through the first year, Dean was offered a main showroom gig at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. He was the first drummer in the Legends In Concert Show that still performs in various incarnations across the country today. He left Las Vegas to join Tony Axtell and Toshi Hinata in Tokyo to write and play original music. Since settling back in the Twin Cities, Dean has performed with many groups, including Good, the Bad and the Funky; the Autobody Experience; Century Big Band; Nova Jazz; Big Time Jazz Orchestra; the Shorn Hortz jazz quintet; Power of 10; Jack Knife and the Sharps; Tubby Esquire; Hennessy
Brothers jazz; and many others. He has also
studied privately with Gordy Knudtson and his
Open/Close hand technique. Dean feels blessed
to be part of the rich music scene in the Twin Cities.
Rosie McDonough has performed music since
her early years both with her father, Larry
McDonough, as well as with Highland Friendship
Club, a social group she attends for adults and
children with disabilities, and the St. Paul Bridge
View and Focus Beyond public schools she
attended for persons with disabilities. She now
works at TSE, a nonprofit company that supports
people with developmental and other intellectual
disabilities. Her present musical focus is on
African drum.
Contact information:
Larry McDonough
651-398-8053
