Musicians

Dick & Jane’s Big Brass Band

There’s a taste of New Orleans in the air, and it’s being supplied by Dick and Jane’s Big Brass Band. For 14 years this group has brought the Twin Cities it’s own brand of New Orleans street, or Second Line, Music. The group also finds it’s way into the areas of dixieland, samba, mambo, klezmer, funk, or any other style they can fit into their mold, making this one of the more versatile groups around.

Founded by Dick Danaher (saxophone) and his wife, Jane (percussion), the group has found its way into all kinds of venues, from May Day celebrations to catered affairs, from bars to corporate events. Wherever they go, the fun and the funk is infectious. People can’t help but get up and dance, march, or do whatever the music moves them to do.
www.dickandjanesbbb.com

The Lex-Ham Community Band

 
The Lex-Ham Community Band is a volunteer musical ensemble composed of residents and students who live in the Lexington-Hamline and surrounding neighborhoods of St. Paul, Minnesota. The group is directed by Jeremy Carvell. The ensemble is open to anyone, young or old, who wants to come to the practices and play in the concerts. The band plays Sousa marches, show tunes, classical concert band pieces, swing jazz, and Dixieland arrangements.

 
This is the group’s second time performing at the Selby Ave JazzFest.
 
www.lexhamarts.org
    
    
    

Walker West Music Academy

 
Walker West Music Academy, a Minnesota, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, was conceived from the life experiences of its founders, Reverend Carl Walker and Grant West, and born as the expression of their hope for the future.
 
The Academy stands as a bridge in the community bonding the present with a rich blend of the founders’ pasts, and the community’s future. The school is known for its artistic excellence in all styles of music ranging from classical to its particular specialties of gospel and jazz.
 
2012 marks the 10th year that the talented staff and students have performed at the Selby Ave JazzFest
 
www.walkerwestmusicacademy.org
    
    
    

Salsa del Soul

 
Salsa del Soul is a Twin Cities-based, nine-piece orchestra performing various styles of dance music from the Spanish-speaking regions of the Caribbean. Salsa del Soul was formed with the purpose to provide great dance music for Twin Cities Salsa fans. The musicians of Salsa del Soul represent some of the finest musicians in the Twin Cities Latin music scene. The styles of musict hey perform include Son, Son Montuno, Plena, Cha-cha-cha, Bachata, Timba, and, of course, Salsa! Salsa del Soul performs locally at restaurants and bars, jazz and Latin festivals, private engagements, and other locations and events.

2011 marks Salsa Del Sol’s third time performing at the Selby Ave JazzFest.

www.salsadelsoul.com
     
    

Jazz Heritage Showcase

“We needed a little history and soul to get back to the basics…and I’m excited,” stated Fest Founder Mychael Wright about bringing back the Jazz Heritage Showcase. The Jazz Heritage Showcase is a collection of Penumbra Theater regulars who get together to bring back the genre’s golden age—Vaughn, Holliday, Eckstein, Cole and others. Each entertainer is dressed in period specific outfits. “It’s like you’ve gone back sixty years,” added Mychael.

This year marks the Jazz Heritage Showcase’s fourth JazzFest appearance.

Gerald Albright

 
  
A native Californian, Gerald Albright grew up in South Central Los Angeles. After high school, he attended the University of Redlands where he received a B.S. degree in Business Management, minoring in Music.
    
Immediately after college, Albright began to master his talent by working extensively in the studio with such artists as Patrice Rushen, Anita Baker, Ray Parker, Jr., Lola Folana, Atlantic Starr, The Winans, Olivia Newton-John, The Temptations, and Maurice White. He also toured with Les McCann, Rodney Franklin, Jeff Lorber, Teena Marie, Marlene Shaw, Debra and Eloise Laws, Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, and many others. In addition to numerous appearances at clubs and jazz festivals, Albright had also been a part of the popular Jazz Explosion tours, which saw him teaming up with contemporary jazz stars like Will Downing, Jonathan Butler, Hugh Masekela, Chaka Khan, and Rachelle Ferrell, to name a few.
 
Albright’s contemporary and straight-ahead collections have established the Los Angeles-based musician as one of the most prominent artists. Indeed, Albright was one of the ten featured saxophonists who performed at President Clinton’s inauguration. He was also featured at the Presidential Summit, as well as several private functions for the President.
 
Albright had sold over 1,000,000 albums in the U.S. alone. His self-
produced music features him on bass guitar, keyboards, flutes, drum
programming, and background vocals. Gerald has definitely earned the
reputation as the “musician’s musician.”
 
www.geraldalbright.com

Past Musicians