The Artists' Quarter is a well known musician owned and operated
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
club in Twin Cities. The club opened in the early 1970s in South
Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
and moved to
Saint Paul, MinnesotaSaint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
in 1995. The club is in the basement of the historic
Hamm BuildingThe Hamm Building is a 1915 limestone, terra cotta, and brick commercial building in Saint Paul, Minnesota; its ornamentation is exceptional. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Being in the heart of Saint Paul's theatre district, the Capitol Theatre was built into the Hamm...
in downtown St. Paul.
The club features both local and touring musicians. Many famous musicians have and continue to play at the AQ on tour, including
Roy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
,
Mose AllisonMose John Allison, Jr. is an American jazz blues pianist and singer.-Biography:...
,
Joey DeFrancescoJoey DeFrancesco is an American jazz organist, trumpeter, and vocalist. Down Beat's Critics and Readers Poll selected him as the top jazz organist every year since 2003.DeFrancesco was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania...
,
Sweets EdisonHarry "Sweets" Edison , born in Columbus, Ohio, was an American jazz trumpeter and member of the Count Basie Orchestra.-Biography:He spent his early childhood in Kentucky, where he was introduced to music by an uncle...
,
Lew TabackinLew Tabackin is a jazz flautist and a tenor saxophonist. He is married to Toshiko Akiyoshi, who is a jazz pianist and a composer/arranger.-Biography:...
,
Eric AlexanderEric Alexander is an American jazz saxophonist, known for his sophisticated hard bop and post-bop style.Alexander began as a classical musician, studying alto saxophone at Indiana University with Eugene Rousseau in 1986...
,
Jack McDuff"Brother" Jack McDuff was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era of the 1960s, often performing with an organ trio.-Career:...
,
Dewey RedmanDewey Redman was an American jazz saxophonist, known for performing free jazz as a bandleader, and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett....
,
Curtis FullerCurtis DuBois Fuller is an American jazz trombonist, known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributor to many classic jazz recordings.-Biography:...
,
Benny GolsonBenny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
and others.
Roy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
, Bill Carrothers, Dean Granros,
David HazeltineDavid Hazeltine is an American jazz pianist.Today a major pianist in the New York and Japan scenes, David Hazeltine has been playing gigs since he was thirteen. He did not seriously consider going into music until right before college. Once he entered into the jazz world he was encouraged by Chet...
and
Lee KonitzLee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
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 BeatDown Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine,
Additionally, the AQ hosts the Soapboxing Poetry Slam, home of the 2009
National Poetry SlamThe National Poetry Slam is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and France participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year and takes place in a different US city....
Championship Team.
Notable performances
Roy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
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
Chris ColemanChristopher "Chris" B. Coleman is a Minnesota politician and the mayor of St. Paul. He defeated incumbent mayor Randy Kelly in 2005 and took office on January 3, 2006.- Family and early career :...
, mayor of
Saint Paul, MinnesotaSaint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, officially proclaimed as the “Roy Haynes Weekend”. )
External links