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The Artists' Quarter (a.k.a. the AQ) was a well-known, musician-owned and operated
''Jazz Police'' Artists' Quarter Club Review
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Artists' Quarter Page
on Myspace {{Music venues of Minnesota Arts organizations based in Saint Paul, Minnesota Jazz clubs in the United States Music venues in Minnesota 1970s establishments in Minnesota
The Artists' Quarter (a.k.a. the AQ) was a well-known, musician-owned and operated jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
club in the Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...
. The club opened in the early 1970s in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 26th street and Nicollet Avenue south.RIEMENSCHNEIDER, CHRIS. "Artists’ Quarter to close at year’s end - St. Paul’s revered jazz haven fell victim to higher rents in a downtown that it helped revive.." ''Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, MN)'' 8 Oct. 2013, METRO, NEWS: 02B. ''NewsBank.'' Web. 19 Nov. 2013. After the original club closed in 1990, drummer Kenny Horst opened a new location at the corner of Fifth and Jackson streets in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
in 1995. The club moved to the basement of the historic Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul in 2001.Tad Vezner. "Artists' Quarter will close at year's end." ''St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)'' 8 Oct. 2013, St. Paul, Local: A2. ''NewsBank.'' Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
The club featured both local and touring musicians. Many famous musicians played at the AQ, including Pepper Adams
Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...
, Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jaz ...
, Mose Allison
Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to N ...
, Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...
, Sweets Edison
Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard back ...
, Lew Tabackin
Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s.
Biography
Tabackin started learning flute at age ...
, Eric Alexander, Jack McDuff, Dewey Redman
Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett.
Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played al ...
, Curtis Fuller
Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings.
Early life
Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 1932. ...
, Benny Golson, Wallace Roney
Wallace Roney (May 25, 1960 – March 31, 2020) was an American jazz ( hard bop and post-bop) trumpeter. He has won 1 Grammy award and has two nominations.
Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis fr ...
, and others. Lee Konitz, Roy Haynes, David Hazeltine
David Perry Hazeltine (born October 27, 1958) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and educator.
Early life
Hazeltine was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 27, 1958. He began studying the piano at the age of nine, and first pe ...
, Ira Sullivan, Bill Carrothers, Dean Granros, Phil Hey Quartet, Atlantis Quartet, Bobby Peterson, Bob Malach, Andrés Prado, and Billy Holloman have all recorded live albums at the Artists' Quarter. The club was voted one of the top 100 jazz clubs in the world in 2009 by Down Beat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
magazine,"DownBeat's International Jazz Club Guide: 100 Great Jazz Club." Down Beat February 2009.
Additionally, the AQ hosted the Soapboxing Poetry Slam
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...
, home of the 2009 and 2010 National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year an ...
Championship Teams.
On October 7, 2013, owner Kenny Horst announced that he would be closing the club on January 1, 2014, due to rising costs since his landlord died in 2012. On October 28, 2013, St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman pledged to keep the AQ open, though no details were shared at that time.DUCHSCHERE, KEVIN. "on the beat - ST. PAUL - A Palace that’s fit for a mayor." ''Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, MN)'' 1 Nov. 2013, METRO, NEWS: 03B. ''NewsBank.'' Web. 19 Nov. 2013. As of January 1, 2014, the club is closed.
Notable performances
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jaz ...
earned a Grammy nomination for his drum solo, “Hippidy Hop,” from the live album ''Whereas,'' recorded at the club over the weekend of January 20, 2006 (which mayor Chris Coleman officially proclaimed “Roy Haynes Weekend”).
See also
*List of jazz clubs
This is a list of notable venues where jazz music is played. It includes jazz clubs, clubs, dancehalls and historic venues such as theatres. A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music. Jazz cl ...
References
External links
''Jazz Police'' Artists' Quarter Club Review
*
Artists' Quarter Page
on Myspace {{Music venues of Minnesota Arts organizations based in Saint Paul, Minnesota Jazz clubs in the United States Music venues in Minnesota 1970s establishments in Minnesota