AJW Staff Report
The jazz collaboration called James Farm will play two nights, Sept. 20 and 21, at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis.
The group, which came together in 2009, features Joshua Redman, one of the most popular and critically acclaimed tenor sax players; piano wunderkind Aaron Parks; bassist Matt Penman, a native of New Zealand; and esteemed drummer Eric Harland.
Redman is the son of the late African American saxophonist Dewey Redman and Jewish American dancer Renee Shedroff. Parks, who played for five years with trumpeter Terence Blanchard, also is Jewish.
The group of virtuoso musicians played earlier this year at the Portland (Ore.) Jazz Festival, as part of a program called “Bridges and Boundaries: Jewish and African Americans Playing Jazz Together.”
The group’s self-titled new album came out this year on the Nonesuch label, and features 10 songs written by the band members. All About Jazz calls the album “as contemporary and provocative as anything in mainstream jazz today,” with “moments of palpable spirituality.”
James Farm will play shows at 7 p.m. ($40) and 9 p.m. ($30) on Tuesday, Sept. 20 and Wednesday, Sept. 21. The Dakota is at 1010 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis. For tickets, call 612-332-1010, or go to: dakotacooks.com.
(American Jewish World, 9.16.11)
