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Solomon Witherspoon and Alan DelVecchio perform at Snively Lounge. Photo by Jill Fisher.

Getting back into the swing of things after a few weeks of missing way too much music, including the first couple of its scheduled gigs, JAM Duluth was top of my to get-to list.

But before that I got out to see Solomon Witherspoon on Wednesday, April 8, at Snively’s Lounge, located in the historic Duluth City Hall in downtown Duluth.

This was the first time I got to this venue although it opened last summer. It’s a small, intimate bar with an expansive raised stage located by the large windows in front facing Superior Street. The furnishings have a shabby chic vibe on the order of the Rathskeller in the basement of the building.

Witherspoon is a native Duluthian who has worked with Prince and Kip Blackshire of the New Power Generation.

The first time I encountered Solomon was in 2024 when he participated in a theatrical production at Zeitgeist commemorating the 30th anniversary of the death of his brother Sam, who was one of the victims of a triple homicide in Duluth’s Central Hillside neighborhood. It was a powerful, heartrending performance that both honored the life of Sam and sought to foster healing from that tragic event.

Last year he won first place at the 3rd Annual Sing With the Stars event produced by the Duluth Playhouse. This is testimony to his singing ability, which I witnessed on this evening. He has a voice as big as himself with a large range. He played keys and had Alan DelVecchio accompanying him on electric guitar.

Though not on the official JAM schedule, I found it to be a jazz performance. The duo played original music that was free-form and improvisational with a slow sensuous sound at times. Solomon’s keys included a fair amount of glissando and trills that contrasted with his soulful vocals.

When a request was made, they covered “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers, as well as “Welcome To My World” and “Stand By Me,” all of which received their own distinctive treatment.

Witherspoon and his compatriot DelVecchio are two to keep a lookout for. Unfortunately they are not included amongst the many performers slated for the upcoming Homegrown Music Festival.

On Thursday, April 9, I made my way to Duluth Cider for my first taste of this year’s JAM sessions.
First up was the College of St. Scholastica Jazz Band, an 18-member group made up of both music and non-music majors at the school.

College of St. Scholastica Jazz Band at Duluth Cider

Conducting was Derek Bromme, assistant professor of music and director of bands at CSS. All of them were in the mood to play some hot big band jazz numbers, such as “Fat Cats,” “Azalea Town,” “Bandstand Boogie” and “Rocket.”

“Haitian Fight Song” by Charles Mingus featured Mel Richards on bass guitar. Guitarist Oliver Heck soloed nicely on another tune, “Head in the Ceiling Fan” by the band Title Fight.

Bromme explained that several of the selected numbers are soundtracks for video games which just happen to be fine jazz pieces.

Wow, what an ear-opener they were! The first was “Don’t Mess With the Devil” from the Cup Head game, the second was “Bomb Bomb Battlefield” from Super Mario 64.

CSS Jazz Band

Later in the set they played “DK Island Swing” by David Wise from Donkey Kong, a Mario Brothers franchise. Brianna Hendren did justice to a clarinet solo on that one. 

Another was a composition by Tiny Tim (remember him?), “Living In the Sunlight,” which was used as the soundtrack for a Sponge Bob video. It was band members Hannah and Connor who arranged that piece. This was really fun stuff and great jazz to boot.

The second set that evening was performed by the Thomas Woytko Collective. Woytko plays trombone and is the primary organizer of JAM Duluth. Others joining Woytko were Emily Annis (vocals), Jacob Burkhart (trumpet), Matt TenBroek (saxophone), Marshall Dillon (electric guitar), Grant Carl (bass guitar) and Ian Hopp (drums).

Thomas Woytko Collective

The seven musicians played more modern jazz than the previous group, with some real funk in the mix. Emily was wonderful singing “Over the Moon,” the sax was hot and watching Ian on drums was very entertaining. This kind of jazz can stretch the boundaries of what we are used to or what we prefer, which is why it can be both challenging and exhilarating to experience.

If you haven’t taken advantage of these free concerts, you are missing a lot. This next week there are several shows to take in: three bands will be back at Duluth Cider on Thursday, April 16; on Sunday, April 19, an open jam session will be at Northern Waters Smokehouse in the DeWitt-Seitz building beginning at 4 pm.

Also, you won’t want to miss the McNasty Brass Band at Bent Paddle on Monday, April 20. The Curmudgeon and I saw them during last year’s JAM and were duly impressed! In fact, the C thought these performances ought to be videotaped for posterity.

With sufficient exposure to jazz for one week, I was intrigued by a posting of the Shades of Africa Festival put on by UMD’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences together with the Department of Music. Although it is an annual event, this is the first I’ve heard of it.

So with only short notice, I made my way to Weber Music Hall on Friday evening, April 10, to hear the Havana Quartet perform.

Havana Quartet

The group is a string quartet comprised of Hansel Pérez Carrero (director, violin), Ana Caridad Frómeta (violin), Amaya Fuentes Sarria (viola) and Denise Hernández Rabeiro (cello). All four are graduates of the University of the Arts in Havana, Cuba, who came together in 2017 to form the Havana Quartet.

In less than a decade it has made its mark in the world of classical and contemporary music playing with renowned orchestras and at prestigious music festivals. One of the honors the quartet achieved was the Cubadisco Award in 2022, the highest accolade of the Cuban music industry.

Amazingly enough, the group is now based in the Twin Cities as the quartet-in-residence at CAYO — Cuban American Youth Orchestra — which is an organization dedicated to arts diplomacy through professional-level music.

The program this evening included three classical-sounding pieces at the very beginning. But before the first set was over the music included some singing, as in “Lagrimas negras” and slapping of their instruments. The number “Collage” incorporated some musical quotations, such as George Gershwin’s “I’ve Got Rhythm.”

The second half of the concert included arrangements of popular Cuban tunes that expressed more of the exotic sounds one would expect from this group. One piece, “Samba Son” was a lively piece with lots of pizzicato. Another, “Rumba para 4,” was particularly wonderful due in large part to the emotive playing by celloist Rabeiro. Her face revealed feelings that swung between despondency and exuberance and that were fully expressed in the music.

Our Twin Ports community is so fortunate to have opportunities to experience these wide ranges of musical expression. And in this case, the concert was free! Now that I am aware of this annual festival, I hope to experience more unusual and uplifting music next year at this time.

And speaking of wide-ranging music, I couldn’t resist getting out to the Powerhouse in Proctor on Saturday evening, April 11, to indulge in some dancing to the Lake City Smokin’ Section. This time it was rock and roll all the way with heavy emphasis on songs by the band Chicago what with its three-man horn section. They also played a great rendition of Randy Newman’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On.” Those of you who’ve seen me can imagine why this is a favorite song of mine!) The attractive thing about this gig was the timeframe: 5-8 pm, which left plenty of time to take in more music later on a Saturday evening, if one had any energy left!

CORRECTION: In last week’s column I got the title wrong of Rich Mattson’s song that he wrote while camping. It wasn’t “Wild Hatches Grudge” but “Wild Hutch’s Crutch.” It was a compelling song even with the wrong title. My apologies to Rich.

UPCOMING: Besides three shows coming up in the week ahead at the West Theatre (Trace Bundy on April 17, Ellis Paul on the 19th and Fred Eaglesmith on the 22nd), I’m looking forward to seeing Grand Holler at Earth Rider’s Cedar Lounge on Saturday, April 18. The music starts at 8. See you out there!