The Bill Simenson Orchestra is a 17 piece big band (5 saxes, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, guitar, piano, bass, and drums). Since June of 2012 the band has performed the first Tuesday of every month at Jazz Central Studios.

You’ve likely seen this guitar guy named Toivo playing around town. You might’ve asked yourself, “When is he gonna book his own band?” Well, it happens once a year, and it’s usually really fun. It features Tarek Abdelqader on drums, Alma Engebretsen on bass, Jake Baldwin on trumpet, and Peter Goggin on alto saxophone. Sonically, […]

The Cherry Pit presents an open jam for musicians and music lovers in the Twin Cities. It’s a social hub for Twin Cities creatives, a training ground to refine musicianship, and a vehicle for high-vibrational improvisation. This is not a free-form basement jam or strictly a jazz jam. Our goal is to find an equilibrium […]

Legendary jazz vocalist Carmen McRae’s famous tribute recording of all Thelonious Monk tunes is brought to life by local chanteuse extraordinaire Charmin Michelle. Joining her are two acclaimed Twin Cities veterans: Joel Shapira guitar, and Larry McDonough piano. Shapira and McDonough open the show with selections from their Bill Evans/Jim Hall tribute “Intermodulating Undercurrents”. Charmin […]

The Legendary Cornbread Harris! James Samuel Cornbread Harris Jr- or just plain Cornbread; pianist, local legend and a founder of the “Minneapolis Sound” returns with his brand of blues, jazz and original music on the Main Stage of Crooners. He brings with him his six piece backup band of “friends” who have supported him these many years for a […]

On her remarkable debut album, 2025’s Escape, Peruvian-American saxophonist/composer Lucia Sarmiento emerges as a rising star in modern jazz. Here, she delivers playful yet intricate melodies. “When I play the saxophone, I love that feeling of danger,” says Sarmiento. With a powerful tenor sound and an effervescent personality, she explains, “I’m drawn to music filled with […]

Beloved Twin Cities jazz singer Thomasina Petrus is proud to present the work of NOAMZ, a rising alt-soul talent from southern Wisconsin. Petrus will perform with her band, then pass the stage to NOAMZ. Thomasina Petrus is a professional jazz singer, songwriter, and Equity actor who has cultivated her many talents through study, mentorships, and […]

Dean Magraw and Suwal Singh bring their music to the Dunsmore Jazz Room! This fortuitous collaboration presents a fresh expression of the dramatically playful interplay between strings & percussion - featuring the sonic cornucopia of tabla weaving into the colorful vibrations of guitar - melodies, grooves, laughter, tears, heart - hear it, heal it. Dean […]

Ahmed Abdulkarim has been performing music his entire life. He began on the piano, then moved to the bugle to the trombone before finally settling on the trumpet in 1956. Trumpet jazz is where he truly found his voice. Abdulkarim studied under Manny Laureano of the Minnesota Symphony and has performed at legendary venues including […]

Aaron O’Connor is a trumpet player and composer from the Twin Cities area. He moved to Duluth to continue his education and quickly became a part of the growing jazz scene in the Twin Ports area.    His sextet includes some of the best jazz musicians in Duluth, and they will be performing all original […]

Django meets Djimir