Wednesday, May 25, 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant
1010 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, 612-332-1010
The Larry McDonough Sextet
Larry McDonough, piano and vocals
Steve Kenny, flumpet
Paul Peterson, tenor
Doug Haining, alto
Jim Bierma, bass
Dean White, drums
Families and students are welcome. $10 cover.
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Group Picture by Andrea Canter, JazzInk
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It is rare the Hollywood covers real jazz. April 2016 saw the unprecedented release of two movies not only about jazz, but featuring two jazz trumpeters. On April 8, “Born to Be Blue,” a Canadian drama film directed by Robert Budreau and starring Ethan Hawke as Chet Baker, premiered at Edina Cinema. One week later,“Miles Ahead,” an American movie directed and co-written by and starring Don Cheadle about the Miles Davis, premiered at the Uptown Theatre. Larry McDonough’s group appeared at both premiers to provide live music of these legendary musicians.
Singer and trumpeter Chet Baker died in 1988 at age 58. Trumpeter and composer Miles Davis died in 1991 at age 65. Neither ever played the Dakota. Some called Chet the white Miles. Others called Miles the black Chet. Both were wrong. On May 25, the music of both of them will fill the Dakota. Come, hear and understand the music of Chet and Miles.
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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.
In 2015, Larry created “Chet - The Beautiful Music and Tragic Life of Singing Trumpeter Chet Baker,” featuring Steve Kinney on flumpet. The show filled the Dakota twice as well as other clubs around the Twin Cities and the state. In 2016 Larry created “Kind of Blue” to celebrate the Miles Davis album that many regard as the greatest jazz album of all time.
“Born to Be Kind of Blue” combines the music of Chet Baker and Miles Davis in adjoining sets, allowing the audience to compare and contrast their music.
In the first set, “Chet” will cover the range of the Chet Baker catalog, including My Funny Valentine, The Thrill Is Gone, When I Fall in Love, You Don’t Know What Love Is, There Will Never Be Another You, Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, Autumn Leaves, and Born to Be Blue (the title of the movie about Chet).
The second set, “Miles” will focus on music from “Kind of Blue” with the Larry McDonough Sextet playing the entire recording: So What, Freddie Freeloader, Blue in Green, All Blues, and the rarely performed Flamenco Sketches. To put the recording in context, they will perform pieces from before and after “Kind of Blue”: Bye Bye Blackbird (1957) and Footprints (1967).
Larry and Steve also will discuss the lives and music of Chet and Miles and their impact on jazz as well as themselves. Larry will add poems about Chet and Miles written by Minnesota Book Award winner and sax player Richard Terrill.
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Contact information:
Larry McDonough
651-398-8053
