This summer St. Barnabas Center for the Arts will once again present its popular summer jazz series, Jazz in July - five Thursday evenings of great jazz under the summer sky.

The programs are single-set offerings by some of the finest jazz artists in the Twin Cities. Thanks to a generous grant from the Crossroads Group of Thrivent for Lutherans, admission is free. All programs begin at 7 pm and last 60-75 minutes.

We'll have a grill fired up out back, so feel free to bring something to toss on it and have picnic. A blanket or a lawn chair will be just perfect to set up around our beautiful Rain Garden while you listen to some of the finest professional jazz musicians in the Twin Cities.

The 2010 series:

Thursday, July 1: REUBEN RISTROM FAMILY. One of our biggest draws ever, Reuben Ristrom’s several decades of experience include night clubs, jazz festivals, concerts, shows, recording sessions, strolling ensembles, solo guitar or banjo, wedding music, funerals (incl. Jazz funerals) leading sing-alongs and more. If they can’t play it, it’s just not worth hearing! One of the most versatile, engaging, all-round entertaining groups in the entire Metro area!

Thursday, July 8: LEE ENGELE. Lee is a wonderful vocalist who never fails to move her audiences with her passionate delivery of well thought musical arrangements. Her repertoire contains classic jazz songs as well as lesser known gems.

Thursday, July 15: AXIS MUNDI. Axis Mundi plays an alluring mixture of world-beat grooves combined with elements of modern and traditional jazz. This savvy quintet featuring guitar, violin, percussion, bass and drums plays a rich mixture of jazz, infused with Latin rhythms, Caribbean and Middle Eastern sounds.

Thursday, July 22: JENNIFER ECKES. A star of many local stage musical productions, Jennifer’s voice will dazzle you with this evening of Broadway tunes that have become jazz classics.

Thursday, July 29: CLASSIC BIG BAND. The 17-piece Classic Big Band are all professional musicians dedicated to preserving the original sounds of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Harry James and other great big bands from the Swing Era as well as the sounds and music of today.

All concerts will be at St. Barnabas Lutheran Church, 15600 Old Rockford Road in Plymouth. Here's a map.

For more information, please call SBCA Director Jeff Whitmill at (763) 553-3083.

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