Feeling the vibe: A storied art with new voices

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An impeccable voice on the saxophone, a tribute to a classic interpreter, a guitar community gathering and an amazing modern presence are among the highlights of upcoming shows in the Twin Cities.

Leading the way is saxophonist Donald Washington, who bassist Chris Bates calls a powerful force of great music.

Washington performs tonight at the Khyber Pass Cafe and on Friday at the Black Dog Cafe, both in St. Paul.

"He just generates such a beautiful sound and such a great energy about himself that I think it will be really infectious and really beautiful," Bates says.

Also tonight, the Larry McDonough Quintet will perform a tribute to trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker, who rose to fame playing jazz standards in the 1950s. His cool style of singing made him a rising star, but a detour into drug addiction led to his downfall, including a beating that broke his teeth. Baker, who made a comeback in the 1970s, died in 1988.

"He was a brilliant improviser and a brilliant interpreter of melody and style," Bates says. "His vocal style emerged a little bit into his career and he became really famous for that. He had this soft understated thing that was really lush and people got into it. He had a great career. It was unfortunately just one of those classic downfalls from drug abuse. But he's a brilliant cat and a brilliant musician."

Besides Washington's second show, also on tap for Friday is trumpeter Steve Kenny's quartet, at the Nicollet in Minneapolis.

One of the best shows so far this year likely will take place on Saturday, when Bottomless Pit takes the stage at the Black Dog. It features guitarist Joel Shapira, sax player Pete Whitman, bassist Tom Lewis and drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt.

Gravatt is coming off a great album with guitarist Dean Magraw, one of the best jazz albums by Minnesota musicians in 2014.

On Sunday, guitar lovers won't want to miss the Minnesota Jazz Guitar Summit. At Jazz Central, 10 stellar players will demonstrate different approaches to the instrument. They include Joan Griffith, David Singley, Reuben Ristrom, Jon Wood, David Feily, Dean Granros, Chris Olson,Zacc Harris, Geoff LeCrone and Ben Abrahamson.

A couple of entertaining shows will take place Monday at the Icehouse restaurant in Minneapolis. The first features drummers Dave King and J.T. Bates. They'll be followed by the PBR Street Gang: bassist Anthony Cox, drummer Dave King, guitarist Dean Granros and sax player Brandon Wozniak.

"They're just going to do their thing," Bates says. "I'm not even sure what it is. It's going to be awesome."

But on the top of many lists will be singer Jose James, who performs Saturday at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester and Tuesday and Wednesday at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis.

James blends hip-hop and jazz, bringing new people to an old art in an innovative and confident way that connects different audiences and also shows a tremendous respect for where the music he draws on came from.

"He's just coming into his own as an artist in a really amazing way," Bates said. "Jose grew up here and has blossomed into one of the most interesting voices on the jazz scene today and he's really blending a lot of different styles and still presenting himself so honestly. He's just a really fascinating and fantastic performer."