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Home > Author : Brian Bix (Page 6)

Author: Brian Bix

Brian H. Bix (Guest Contributor) grew up in the Twin Cities and is currently a Professor of Law and Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. He has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues.

REVIEW: Moving Solo Songbook Show by Kenny Barrons (Crooners)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - October 3, 2018October 3, 2018

A publicity photo of jazz master Kenny Barron. Photo by Philippe Lévy-Stab. It has been a great week in the area for jazz piano, with Cyrus Chestnut leading a trio last week at Vieux Carre and Kenny Barron giving a magnificent solo performance last night at Crooners Lounge and Supper Club's Dunsmore

REVIEW: A Sweet, Sweet Spirit with the Cyrus Chestnut Trio (Vieux Carré)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - September 27, 2018September 29, 2018

The Cyrus Chestnut Trio featuring Buster Williams and Lenny White. Photo courtesy of the AMI Agency. Some consider Cyrus Chestnut the finest jazz pianist of this generation. Without a doubt, he is one of the most entertaining; last evening at Vieux Carré, he arrived boosted by two excellent recent albums (2017's There’s

REVIEW: Jerry Lee Lewis and Balls of Country Fire (Treasure Island Resort & Casino)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - July 22, 2018July 22, 2018

A promotional photo of Jerry Lee Lewis in concert. Jerry Lee Lewis, nicknamed “The Killer,” is – without question – one of the most important figures in rock-and-roll history. He was inducted in the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. His rockabilly sound, combined with

REVIEW: Little River Band and Transit Authority’s Tributes to Fondly Remembered Hits (Buck Hill)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - July 14, 2018July 14, 2018

A promotional photo for Little River Band, which performed at Buck Hill in Burnsville, MN on July 13, 2018. The opening act of last evening’s concert at Buck Hill was “Transit Authority – Tribute to Chicago.” (For those of us old enough to remember, the band Chicago’s original full name was “Chicago

REVIEW: John Fogerty & ZZ Top (Treasure Island)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - June 30, 2018July 1, 2018

A promotional photo of ZZ Top sporting their trademark beards. For a few years at the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), was the most popular rock band in the United States. With John Fogerty as lead singer and primary songwriter, CCR was a band

REVIEW: Arturo Sandoval, Trumpet Grandmaster (Dakota)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - May 15, 2018May 15, 2018

A promotional photo of jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. Last night, the trumpeter Arturo Sandoval played at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. Over the course of the evening, he showcased his versatility in a performance filled with the charisma that attracts top-quality stars to his recording albums. Sandoval's new album Ultimate Duets!

REVIEW: The First Family of Twin Cities Music: The Steeles (Crooners Lounge and Supper Club)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - March 24, 2018March 25, 2018

A promotional photo of The Steeles, one of the Twin Cities' most legendary music families. The Steeles – J.D., Fred, Jearlyn, Jevetta, and Billy Steele – are a musical family ensemble of five (of six) siblings who grew up in Gary, Indiana. Each made their eventual way to Minnesota; having grown

REVIEW: Steve Winwood – Back in the High Life Again (State Theatre/Hennepin Theatre Trust)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - February 24, 2018February 25, 2018

Steve Winwood at the piano. Fifty-five years ago, Steve Winwood joined Spencer Davis and Steve’s brother Muff to form the Spencer Davis Group. Word soon spread, and established musicians from London like Eric Clapton traveled up to see this Birmingham teenager who had a voice like Ray Charles. The Spencer Davis group

REVIEW: Jordan Rocks: Stanley Jordan at the Dakota Jazz Club

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - February 20, 2018February 20, 2018

A photo collage of jazz musician Stanley Jordan and his recent album covers. No one sounds like Stanley Jordan. He famously plays with both hands on the guitar fretboard, as though he were playing piano keys. As he explains it, this “touch tapping” or “touch technique” allows him to bring the

REVIEW: The Ramsey Lewis Time Capsule (Dakota Jazz Club)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - October 27, 2017October 27, 2017

A publicity photo showing jazz master Ramsey Lewis. Ramsey Lewis comes from a different time. It was a time when musicians produced record albums. He has had something like 80 of them (that is not a misprint: 80), going back to “Ramsey Lewis and the Gentlemen of Swing,” over 60 years

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