Twin Cities Jazz Fest makes its return
Twin Cities Jazz Festival
Courtesy of Chris McDuffie
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
It’s the end of June, which means the Twin Cities Jazz Festival is making its yearly return to Downtown St. Paul.
This Friday and Saturday a diverse array of talented musicians will take the stage at Mears Park and over 25 indoor venues across town. The whole festival is free giving jazz fans old and new the chance to experience some of the scene’s top musicians from around the country and here in the Twin Cities. Steve Heckler, the executive director of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, joined Cathy to talk about what’s new.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Audio transcript
[MUSIC - ZACC HARRIS GROUP, "OMINOUS SKIES"] CATHY WURZER: That is "Ominous Skies" from the local Zacc Harris group. They'll be playing this weekend at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival in downtown St. Paul. In fact, this Friday and Saturday, a whole lineup of talented musicians will be playing at Mears Park and at more than 25 venues across town. The whole festival is free. It's a chance to experience some of the scene's top musicians from around the country and here in the Twin Cities.
Steve Heckler is the Executive Director of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. I understand he's in Mears Park setting up for the festival. He joins us on the line. Hey, Steve, how are you doing?
STEVE HECKLER: Hi, good, how are you? Thanks for having me.
CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. How's the setup going?
STEVE HECKLER: Good, we have forklifts running everywhere. I'm trying to get out of the way of those as I'm talking to you. And I'm getting the stage and everything ready for a great weekend.
CATHY WURZER: It sounds as though everything's full speed ahead. You're going to have a full Jazz Festival this year following all the setbacks that you had during the pandemic.
STEVE HECKLER: Oh, yeah, well, of course, we didn't have any festivals during the last couple years. But this year, we're going back. In fact, I think we're bigger and better than we've ever been. We have more stages than ever. It's amazing how many venues in town want to host live jazz and be part of the Jazz Festival. And as you're saying, on Friday and Saturday, we're downtown at Mears Park. And we have two stages down here, and then we have stages throughout the entire city. And we're playing Zacc Harris, who's here on Saturday at 2 o'clock. And followed-- leading the headliner, we have the Treme band from New Orleans. So you get a good blast of New Orleans kind of stuff.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, I love that. I love that. I also know you have Emmet Cohen and Matthew Whitaker taking the main stage this year. I want to play a little bit of "Journey Uptown" by Matthew Whitaker.
[MUSIC - MATTHEW WHITAKER, "JOURNEY UPTOWN"]
Of course, I love jazz piano. He's great. He is just great. So how did you get Matthew Whitaker?
STEVE HECKLER: Well, we actually had him booked for 2020. And unfortunately, we had to cancel because of COVID. And we felt bad about not just him, but all the musicians. Matthew is now 20 years old. He's blind from birth. And he is probably one of the better B3 organ players and piano players and drummer and everything out there. One of the up-and-coming rising stars. And as you probably heard, he's been playing with Stevie Wonder, pretty quickly. And he is going to be a-- well, he is right now, just an amazing player. So I was thrilled to be able to get him here.
CATHY WURZER: Tell me a little bit about the people you've picked in terms of the national artists as headliners.
STEVE HECKLER: Well, Cathy, I mean, I've been a jazz fan, freak, since I was 14, 15 years old. And part of it is picking musicians that I've always idolized kind of thing. And that's always been kind of a thrill. So that's part of it. The other part is, on our main stage, we want jazz to be approachable and enjoyable by the people coming down to Mears Park.
So we go through many different-- each committee. We have a booking committee. And we go through different-- look at different festivals around the country. We look at DownBeat magazine. We listen to Jazz88 radio, of course, who's our main stage sponsor this year. And who is coming in, who would be a good fit, what do we like, what would be good?
And it's a process, it really is. When you book something, it's got to work from many levels that actually work for the audience participation and understanding, as well as amazing players. So you have to-- I wish it was an easy-- you don't know. Because we're a free festival, so it's not like a ticket sale where we're worried about. We want to bring the best music we can to St. Paul. We want to bring people down here to see some great jazz. So it's kind of multifaceted. I know if I answered that question very well.
CATHY WURZER: No.
STEVE HECKLER: But it's kind of a multifaceted way to do it.
CATHY WURZER: Yeah, I know. You did answer the question. And what a good-- what a fun job you have, for goodness' sake. Now, I also want to-- I don't want to leave out that we've got some really talented jazz musicians here on the local scene. Tell me a little bit about them.
STEVE HECKLER: Oh, my gosh. Well, first of all, it's been underrated, in my humble opinion, the knowledge that we underrated the level of talent and musicians in this city, including jazz musicians. So the fact that we have so many of them here, and these venues. And the way we get people and musicians here to participate, it's all these venues. And keep in mind, when you come to the Jazz Festival, basically, it's a free event, like I said. You can walk around. You can walk around to the different stages, check out the different jazz. And there are jazz musicians playing all over the city at the different venues, different clubs, like Dakota, Crooners, and also got kj's Hideaway. And they're coming out of the woodwork. They just are everywhere around the city. And the level of talent in these players is amazing. And the only way-- I could talk on here on the radio all day, but the best way for me to prove myself is to come down here, right?
CATHY WURZER: Right.
STEVE HECKLER: And to check it out for yourself. And you will be astounded. And a big shout-out to all the folks that come down, support us. The AARP of Minnesota, of course, Jazz88, that excel and step up and make this happen. So a big thank-you.
CATHY WURZER: Now, for folks-- we have a big listenership in greater Minnesota. And maybe some folks can't make it down to the Twin Cities. Are you going to be livestreaming some of the performances?
STEVE HECKLER: Yes, so if you go to the website, it's pretty easy. twincitiesjazzfestival.com. twincitiesjazzfestival.com. You could do it right now. If you scroll down, you'll see both nights, on Friday and Saturday, are virtual. So you can watch a live festival on our main stage at Mears Park starting at 6:00 PM to 10:00 You can see Matthew Whitaker, Emmet Cohen, Treme, all the headliners. And it's free. Just sign up. It's on the Crowdcast platform. And it's [INAUDIBLE]. So anyone in rural Minnesota, you can come down or watch it on livestreaming. Watch it streaming.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, fun. Steve, I always love talking to you. Thank you, and I wish you all the best. Have a great festival.
STEVE HECKLER: Well, thanks for having me, Cathy. I appreciate it.
CATHY WURZER: Take care of yourselves as you set up there. Steve Heckler is executive director of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. Again, it takes place at Mears Park and downtown St. Paul this weekend, but at other locations all around the Twin Cities metro area. So check it out. And it is a very fun event. Some amazing talent that'll take the stage.
Steve Heckler is the Executive Director of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. I understand he's in Mears Park setting up for the festival. He joins us on the line. Hey, Steve, how are you doing?
STEVE HECKLER: Hi, good, how are you? Thanks for having me.
CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. How's the setup going?
STEVE HECKLER: Good, we have forklifts running everywhere. I'm trying to get out of the way of those as I'm talking to you. And I'm getting the stage and everything ready for a great weekend.
CATHY WURZER: It sounds as though everything's full speed ahead. You're going to have a full Jazz Festival this year following all the setbacks that you had during the pandemic.
STEVE HECKLER: Oh, yeah, well, of course, we didn't have any festivals during the last couple years. But this year, we're going back. In fact, I think we're bigger and better than we've ever been. We have more stages than ever. It's amazing how many venues in town want to host live jazz and be part of the Jazz Festival. And as you're saying, on Friday and Saturday, we're downtown at Mears Park. And we have two stages down here, and then we have stages throughout the entire city. And we're playing Zacc Harris, who's here on Saturday at 2 o'clock. And followed-- leading the headliner, we have the Treme band from New Orleans. So you get a good blast of New Orleans kind of stuff.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, I love that. I love that. I also know you have Emmet Cohen and Matthew Whitaker taking the main stage this year. I want to play a little bit of "Journey Uptown" by Matthew Whitaker.
[MUSIC - MATTHEW WHITAKER, "JOURNEY UPTOWN"]
Of course, I love jazz piano. He's great. He is just great. So how did you get Matthew Whitaker?
STEVE HECKLER: Well, we actually had him booked for 2020. And unfortunately, we had to cancel because of COVID. And we felt bad about not just him, but all the musicians. Matthew is now 20 years old. He's blind from birth. And he is probably one of the better B3 organ players and piano players and drummer and everything out there. One of the up-and-coming rising stars. And as you probably heard, he's been playing with Stevie Wonder, pretty quickly. And he is going to be a-- well, he is right now, just an amazing player. So I was thrilled to be able to get him here.
CATHY WURZER: Tell me a little bit about the people you've picked in terms of the national artists as headliners.
STEVE HECKLER: Well, Cathy, I mean, I've been a jazz fan, freak, since I was 14, 15 years old. And part of it is picking musicians that I've always idolized kind of thing. And that's always been kind of a thrill. So that's part of it. The other part is, on our main stage, we want jazz to be approachable and enjoyable by the people coming down to Mears Park.
So we go through many different-- each committee. We have a booking committee. And we go through different-- look at different festivals around the country. We look at DownBeat magazine. We listen to Jazz88 radio, of course, who's our main stage sponsor this year. And who is coming in, who would be a good fit, what do we like, what would be good?
And it's a process, it really is. When you book something, it's got to work from many levels that actually work for the audience participation and understanding, as well as amazing players. So you have to-- I wish it was an easy-- you don't know. Because we're a free festival, so it's not like a ticket sale where we're worried about. We want to bring the best music we can to St. Paul. We want to bring people down here to see some great jazz. So it's kind of multifaceted. I know if I answered that question very well.
CATHY WURZER: No.
STEVE HECKLER: But it's kind of a multifaceted way to do it.
CATHY WURZER: Yeah, I know. You did answer the question. And what a good-- what a fun job you have, for goodness' sake. Now, I also want to-- I don't want to leave out that we've got some really talented jazz musicians here on the local scene. Tell me a little bit about them.
STEVE HECKLER: Oh, my gosh. Well, first of all, it's been underrated, in my humble opinion, the knowledge that we underrated the level of talent and musicians in this city, including jazz musicians. So the fact that we have so many of them here, and these venues. And the way we get people and musicians here to participate, it's all these venues. And keep in mind, when you come to the Jazz Festival, basically, it's a free event, like I said. You can walk around. You can walk around to the different stages, check out the different jazz. And there are jazz musicians playing all over the city at the different venues, different clubs, like Dakota, Crooners, and also got kj's Hideaway. And they're coming out of the woodwork. They just are everywhere around the city. And the level of talent in these players is amazing. And the only way-- I could talk on here on the radio all day, but the best way for me to prove myself is to come down here, right?
CATHY WURZER: Right.
STEVE HECKLER: And to check it out for yourself. And you will be astounded. And a big shout-out to all the folks that come down, support us. The AARP of Minnesota, of course, Jazz88, that excel and step up and make this happen. So a big thank-you.
CATHY WURZER: Now, for folks-- we have a big listenership in greater Minnesota. And maybe some folks can't make it down to the Twin Cities. Are you going to be livestreaming some of the performances?
STEVE HECKLER: Yes, so if you go to the website, it's pretty easy. twincitiesjazzfestival.com. twincitiesjazzfestival.com. You could do it right now. If you scroll down, you'll see both nights, on Friday and Saturday, are virtual. So you can watch a live festival on our main stage at Mears Park starting at 6:00 PM to 10:00 You can see Matthew Whitaker, Emmet Cohen, Treme, all the headliners. And it's free. Just sign up. It's on the Crowdcast platform. And it's [INAUDIBLE]. So anyone in rural Minnesota, you can come down or watch it on livestreaming. Watch it streaming.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, fun. Steve, I always love talking to you. Thank you, and I wish you all the best. Have a great festival.
STEVE HECKLER: Well, thanks for having me, Cathy. I appreciate it.
CATHY WURZER: Take care of yourselves as you set up there. Steve Heckler is executive director of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. Again, it takes place at Mears Park and downtown St. Paul this weekend, but at other locations all around the Twin Cities metro area. So check it out. And it is a very fun event. Some amazing talent that'll take the stage.
Download transcript (PDF)
Transcription services provided by 3Play Media.
