The Juli Wood Quartet at UMD’s Weber Music Hall. 

If jazz is your thing and you didn’t make it to Weber Music Hall on the UMD campus Wednesday, Sept. 18, you missed a fine show by the Juli Wood Quartet. This Chicago-based group happened to be on tour in the Northland, with gigs at Jazz Central Studios in Minneapolis, UW-La Crosse, Fargo and Moorhead and the Salolampi Finnish Language Village (!) in Bemidji. Thus, our own Gordy Lewis (bassist extraordinaire and jazz instructor at UMD) was able to snag them for our listening pleasure. 

Lewis, who grew up in Evanston, Illinois, spoke of his personal connection to Wood from the time he played with her in Chicago in the late 90s. 

The other members of the Juli Wood quartet are Paul Silbergleit (electric guitar), Clay Schaub (standup bass) and Mike Schlick (drums). Though the group is based in Chicago, members Silbergleit and Schaub actually live in nearby Milwaukee. 

The 10 selections they played covered a good selection of jazz numbers, beginning with a rendition of Dexter Gordon’s “Fried Bananas.” I’m not sure how those old jazz guys came up with these song titles, but I wasn’t able to relate that one to the music. 

No matter, they continued with an outstanding version of “Cryin’ Blues” by Eddie Harris, followed by a very cool “Ask Me Now” by Thelonious Monk on which Wood sang. 

Something about her singing gave me the feeling of being back in time listening to Ella Fitzgerald. 

Other tunes were “Close Your Eyes” by Gene Hammond, the nice jazz standard “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” and the Wes Montgomery number “Full House,” which highlighted a particularly enjoyable bass solo. 

“When We Were One,” a Johnny Griffin ballad, preceded “What A Difference A Day Makes” on which Wood again sang – so nice! 

Wrapping up the concert was another Thelonious Monk piece plus “Pent Up House” by Sonny Rollins. 

The audience showed its appreciation with a standing ovation and with purchases of CDs by the group afterwards. I myself couldn’t resist buying the quartet’s Suomen Salossa album of jazzed up Finnish folk songs. It reminded me of my earlier exposure to Finnish music at this summer’s Finn Fest, and it was cool to hear Wood singing in Finnish. 

While I am on the subject of jazz, I want to suggest you put Oct. 16 on your calendars to attend a second candlelit session of classic jazz at the West Theatre. You may recall my review of the candlelit Kind of Blue concert there earlier this summer (June 27 issue of the Reader), in which the numbers on the iconic Miles Davis album of the same name were performed. 

The organizer, drummer Rick Bruner (who also plays guitar), has put together another program of great jazz tunes that were recorded on the Blue Note jazz label. The same group of musicians (sans Paul Peterson) who performed in Kind of Blue will be back in action. 

In case you might want to listen to the numbers to be performed beforehand, here’s the playlist: “Blue Train” by John Coltrane, “Song For My Father” by Horace Silver, “Moanin’” by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, “Infant Eyes” by Wayne Shorter, “This I Dig of You” by Hank Mobley, “The Sidewinder” by Lee Morgan, “Crisis” by Freddie Hubbard, “Recorda Me” by Joe Henderson, “Search for Peace” by McCoy Tyner and “Cantaloupe Island” by Herbie Hancock. 

It promises to be a standout concert that, unfortunately, I will miss. I hope you don’t!

Music from the old country – Sweden that is – came to us at Sacred Heart Music Center on Thursday, Sept. 19, with a concert by Väsen. 

But before that duo took the stage, we were treated to the music of Ponyfolk, the opener. You may recall that Clifton Nesseth (fiddle) and Paul Sauey (acoustic guitar) were the two musicians who first performed together as “Pony.” Their name needed to be amended to “Ponyfolk” a while back. 

Ponyfolk

On this evening, Ponyfolk included two others: Alex Jacob Nelson on a portable pump organ and Mikey Marget on cello. Playing both traditional Nordic songs and original compositions, the group’s harmonies resonated perfectly in this space and each instrument was clearly differentiated. 

In particular, Sauey’s original number “Sing Me To Sleep” was very moving as he modulated the volume between soft and loud to give emphasis to the lyrics.

One of the more upbeat numbers played was “Polka number 650.” Nesseth said they stopped naming their polkas after so many and just went with numbering them. A sudden rainstorm, complete with thunder and lightning, rolled through just as the group was playing “Tune From the Dark Island” that shifted to a minor key. So fitting!

Nesseth stated that the group was a bit nervous about opening for Väsen since that duo was an early and important influence on Ponyfolk’s music. No need for worries though; this group shined as a wonderful prelude to the headliner.

Väsen

Väsen is the name of the Swedish duo of Olov Johansson and Mikael Marin. The two Swedes have played together since 1983. This was the second time they played here in Duluth, the first being something like 15 years ago at Weber Music Hall. 

Together they gave us a magical concert that demonstrated why they are considered a Swedish treasure and were so influential for Ponyfolk. It was amazing how full and fantastic their sound was with only two instruments. 

We wondered what that instrument was that Mikael was playing – it looked to be an oversized viola. It was a violoncello da spalla or shoulder cello. 

On some numbers he also played a “basviola” (bass viola), a unique instrument he developed himself. It’s an electric viola outfitted with strings that sound an octave lower. 

As for Olov, he was playing a nyckelharpa, the Swedish national instrument, that has evolved over six centuries and looks like a cross between an autoharp and violin. It is played with a special bow that looks like you could shoot small arrows with it. 

The tunes were all instrumentals, no vocals. Olov introduced most of the numbers, the first of which was “Ridmarsch.” He explained that many traditional Swedish tunes were marches that expressed the rhythms of horses riding up to the castle, many carrying musicians. 

With dry humor, Olov stated that while it was clear that the horses enjoyed these tunes, it was discovered that humans found them enjoyable too. 

A waltz followed and then a tune called “Vandringen” (translation: “The Long Walk”). What I found interesting is that this tune evoked a feeling exactly like that of being on a very long walk, in the most pleasant way possible. (In contrast with the jazz tunes I heard the night before.)

The variety of distinctive tunes was striking for just the few instruments played, from bright polkas and waltzes to somber ballads. One in particular (I didn’t catch the name) put me in mind of some early tunes by the band Low. 

These melodic pieces were mostly original yet they had the same timeless qualities as the several traditional tunes performed. Various plucking and bowing techniques contributed to differentiating the tunes. 

Mikael told of going to visit Olov and rarely finding him at home; rather he had to be tracked down in his workshop, where, as we later found out, he builds nyckelharpas (a pastime instigated during the COVID pandemic). 

This was the introduction to the number “Verkstad” (“Workshop”), which was an ethereal yet earthy tune enhanced by Mikael’s resonant and judicious plucking on his violoncello da spalla. 

Another story told was of the two of them biking to music festivals around Sweden a part of each summer, something that has become a tradition for them. It’s fun to imagine these two musicians, instruments strapped to their backs, bicycling from place to place across the Swedish countryside.

Each number had a brief story to accompany it, which enriched one’s feeling for the piece being played and somehow made one forget there were no lyrics. One was a tune composed by Olov for Mikael’s wedding, another was a celebration of a 60th birthday where one enters “the no man’s land of age.” 

The audience was rapt and not willing to let the concert end. So Olov responded, “It sounds like you want to hear another.” Indeed we did. 

Their encore was a suite with two more lovely tunes. This was a really special performance by the two Svenska men. Let’s hope they will return to grace the SHMC stage or Weber Hall again before too long. 

In the meantime I have been thoroughly enjoying their CD, Melliken, which I purchased that evening.

Squash Fest pickup band

The official first day was Friday, with a second full day of music on Saturday. This is the first Squash Fest I attended, though I wrote about the annual event last year (Sept. 7, 2023 Reader). 

Since I could only be there on Friday, I arrived early and got to see all the setup work involved in this Woodstock-like festival (complete with rain!). With 11 acts scheduled for each day, I certainly got a good taste of what the scene was all about even if I did not attend Saturday’s performances. Many attendees camped out for the duration and I think I just might do that myself next year.

I have previously heard and reviewed many of the artists and groups involved in this year’s event but there were also a few groups new to me. 

One was the Red Rattletrap Pickup Band, whose members included friends of Lee and Sonja Martin (of Feeding Leroy) and who traveled here all the way from Austin, Texas. They were great fun and I became an instant fan when they played one of my favorite songs of all time, “The Galaxy Song” from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. 

Others were the duo New Grass; a bluegrass group, Kind Country; and a seven-piece brass band from Ashland comprised of talented young musicians who played a mix of jazz and other genres, including an original, “Through the Floor.” 

But my favorite discovery was Adam Staube singing lead on a classic blues tune. Though I’m familiar with him as the standup bass player in Feeding Leroy and also the Side String Band, I’d never heard him sing lead before, only harmony. 

His rendition of that blues number blew me away – what a distinctive and captivating voice! Who knew? I can only hope that in the future he will more fully exhibit his singing talent (one of many talents he displayed as he set up and directed this entire event).

As we move into the autumnal season, I hope you’ll all find time to get out and enjoy the many opportunities to hear live music in our locale.