Peabody and Emmy Award winner and former WCCO Television and Radio news anchor and reporter Don Shelby will join the Larry McDonough Quintet to read poems about Chet Baker and Bill Evans written by Minnesota Book Award winner and sax player Richard Terrill.
“Chet - The Beautiful Music and Tragic Life of Singing Trumpeter Chet Baker”
Come See the Show that Filled the Dakota in April!
Tuesday, May 26, 2015, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant
1010 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis
612-332-1010
Families and students are welcome.
$5 cover
Larry McDonough Quintet
Larry McDonough, Piano and Vocals
Steve Kenny, Trumpet
Paul Peterson, Saxes
Greg Stinson, Bass
Dean White, Drums
Don Shelby, Poetry Reading
(except Chet Baker and Don Shelby)
Singer and trumpeter Chet Baker died
in 1988 at age 58, and never played the
Dakota. On Thursday, April 9, 2015,
“Chet - The Beautiful Music and Tragic
Life of Singing Trumpeter Chet Baker”
played at the Dakota to a full house.
Come to the Dakota for the return of
“Chet” and see and hear why.
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.
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 Paul Peterson, bassist Greg
Stinson, and drummer Dean White.
In the first set, “Chet” will cover the range of the Chet Baker catalog, performing pieces from the 1950s, including My Funny Valentine, The Thrill Is Gone, When I Fall in Love, You Don’t Know What Love Is, and There Will Never Be Another You, 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.
Larry and Steve also will discuss Chet’s life and music and their impact on jazz as well as themselves, and Peabody and Emmy Award winner and former WCCO Television and Radio news anchor and reporter Don Shelby will read poems about Chet Baker and Bill Evans written by Minnesota Book Award winner and sax player Richard Terrill.
* * *
Recommended by Andrea Canter, JazzInk and Jazz Police; Pamela Espeland, Minn Post; Chris Bates and David Cazares, Minnesota Public Radio; Larry Englund, Rhythm and Grooves, KFAI Radio; Dan Emerson, St. Paul Pioneer Press; Maryann Sullivan, Corner Jazz; Kevin O’Connor, KBEM Jazz88 Radio; Jackie Renzetti, Minnesota Daily
“What a show!” - Maryann Sullivan, Corner Jazz
“Pianist/composer Larry McDonough can sing like Chet, quiet and cool, and he’s asked Steve Kenny to play the trumpet for an evening of exploring Baker’s catalog, something that hardly ever happens.” - Pamela Espeland, Minn Post
“It’s rare that anyone tackles Baker’s catalog, especially his singing, so if you’re a fan of jazz singing, you will want to make your way [there].” - Larry Englund, Rhythm and Grooves, KFAI Radio
* * *
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.
* * *
Contact information:
Larry McDonough
651-398-8053
