© Andrea Canter
Some years back, saxophonist Doug Haining pulled together a tribute to the great Cannonball Adderley, bringing his “Cannonball Collective” to the Artists Quarter. The group reconvened in 2015 at the closest thing we now have to the old AQ, Jazz Central Studios. Nearly two years later, the Cannonball Collective led by Doug Haining is back at Jazz Central on Friday, March 10 (8 pm) to celebrate the music of the legendary saxophonist. Joining Haining will be Adam Meckler, Ted Godbout, Chris Bates and Mac Santiago.
Julian “Cannonball” Adderley was a jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s, remembered for his 1966 single “Mercy Mercy Mercy”, a crossover hit on the pop charts. He also worked with Miles Davis, including on the epochal album Kind of Blue (1959). He was the brother of jazz cornetist Nat Adderley, a longtime member of his band.
Saxophonist/ clarinetist Doug Haining is well known throughout the metro area for his septet, the Twin Cities Seven, and the big band he co-leads with Scott Agster–Explosion. Both bands have performed at area jazz festivals and clubs; Explosion appears at Jazz Central monthly. A graduate of the music program at St. Olaf College where he studied classical clarinet, Haining has performed professionally for nearly 40 years. His resume includes performing with Steve Allen, Don Rickles, Bob Hope and more, and with the orchestras for such touring shows as West Side Story, Cats, and A Chorus Line. Doug founded the Twin Cities Seven in 1999, for which he writes compositions and arrangements. In addition to his long tenure with the Wolverines Classic Jazz Orchestra, he played short stints with Red Wolfe’s Ellington Echoes and the Hall Brothers. Doug has also played with the BellaGala Big Band, Three Flights Up, and Jazz Central All-Stars, and is often on the bandstand with wife, vocalist Maryann Sullivan as part of Retro Swing Sister and Corner Jazz. And if there is a special touring show in town, good chance you will find Doug in the orchestra pit. The Doug Haining Quintet released Last Man Swinging in 2011.
A performer, composer and educator, Adam Meckler received his undergraduate degree in trumpet performance with a jazz studies emphasis from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI and his Master’s Degree at the University of Minnesota. He tours and records with Youngblood Brass Band and Nooky Jones, and plays regularly with a host of bands around the Twin Cities including The Jana Nyberg Group, Jack Brass Band, The Graydon Peterson Quartet, and The Pete Whitman X-Tet. He also leads his Adam Meckler Quintet, Lulu’s Playground, and Adam Meckler Orchestra. Adam released his debut recording, For Dad, in 2010; in 2014 the AMO released When Clouds Look Like This; in 2016, he released Wander (Shifting Paradigms Records), recorded with his quintet live at three different area venues. Adam further keeps himself busy as a jazz educator, coordinating jazz for the MacPhail Center for Music’s Chanhassan campus and also serving on the trumpet faculty at McNally Smith College of Music.
Pianist Ted Godbout has been building a reputation as a sympathetic accompanist for area vocalists as well as a creative composer and bandleader. He holds a B.A. in Music – Piano Performance from St. John’s University and an M.M. in Jazz Studies from the University of Oregon. A versatile and active musician, Ted performs frequently as a jazz pianist and classical accompanist, as well as in funk, R&B, and rock bands. He has performed with such notable artists and groups as Ron Miles, Mark Colby, and the Harry James Orchestra. Currently on faculty at Chaska Music Studios and Augsburg College, Ted leads his own trio and appears regularly with PaviElle, Katia Cardenas, BDP, Nick Syman, and the Bill Simenson Orchestra. Ted also serves as Director of Music at Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska, MN.
Bassist Chris Bates is one of the busiest musicians in the metro, performing with the Atlantis Quartet. Red Planet, Framework, How Birds Work, Tall Tales, Bill Simenson Orchestra, Adam Meckler Orchestra, and many other cutting edge ensembles in addition to Atlantis. In the past few years he has stepped out front as leader of the Good Vibes Trio and Red Five, and curates a monthly improvisation series at Jazz Central, one Wednesday night per month. Chris studied at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and later with Anthony Cox, was an original member of the Motion Poets, and a 1999 McKnight Composer Fellow. He was one of four jazz artists to be awarded a composition commission from Zeitgeist, which was premiered at the 2014 Twin Cities Jazz Festival.
Jazz Central co-founder Mac Santiago (drums/percussion) toured during the 1980s with British rock band Badfinger. Since settling in Minnesota, he has performed with the area’s best jazz, salsa, country and R & B groups; in pit orchestras of the Guthrie and Minnesota Opera; and with such stars as Grover Washington, Jr., Doc Severinsen, Savion Glover, Jack McDuff, Paul Bollenback, Dick Oatts and more. He co-leads the Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra and heads the Jazz Central All-Stars.
The Cannonball Collective performs at the nonprofit Jazz Central Studios, 407 Central Av SE (Minneapolis); http://jazzcentralstudios.org. $10 donation requested ($5 students).
