Dakota Combo

The Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education Announces:
A Night With Irvin Mayfield

The third edition of the elite high school jazz ensemble, the Dakota Combo, announces their annual performance at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis, December 6th at 8 pm, featuring guest artist Irvin Mayfield. This edition of the Combo is a septet of exceptional student musicians who rehearse and perform throughout the school year under the direction of Kelly Rossum, through funding from the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education and collaboration with the MacPhail Center for Music. The Dakota Combo held its first auditions and performances in fall 2006. Graduates of the program have moved on to study music at the nation’s top programs, including the Berklee College of Music, Brubeck Institute, and New England Conservatory of Music. This year’s ensemble was selected following open auditions and began rehearsals in October. Each year a guest artist rehearses and performs with the Combo at the Dakota Jazz Club, and presents an open clinic for student musicians. The clinic this year will be held at the Dakota on Saturday morning, December 6th, from 10:30 am – Noon. Any middle or high school students are invited to participate, no pre-registration needed.

On Saturday evening, the Dakota Combo with Irvin Mayfield will perform on the club stage. Their
repertoire will include classic jazz standards as well as original compositions and arrangements. This is always a well-attended event and seating will be limited, so call the Dakota for reservations as soon as possible. The Dakota Combo for 2008-09 includes: Ryan Freitas, saxophones, Willmar High School; Tony Pistilli, tenor saxophone, Providence Academy; Jake Baldwin, trumpet, Minnetonka High School; Carson King-Fournier, trombone, Apple Valley High School; Joe Strachan, piano, Northfield High School; Corey Grindberg, bass, Minneapolis South High School; and Cameron LaCrone, drums,
Minnetonka High School.

Guest artist Irvin Mayfield is one of the most acclaimed trumpeters on the national jazz scene, and a
leader of the resurgence of interest in the music of his native New Orleans. Recently named the first
Artistic Director for Jazz of the Minnesota Orchestra, Mayfield has performed at the Dakota with his
quintet and at Orchestra Hall with his New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.

For more information about the student clinic, contact Kelly Rossum at rossum.kelly@macphail.org.
More information about the Dakota Combo is available at www.dakotacombo.org. For reservations for
the evening performance at the Dakota, call 612-332-1010. The Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education is a 501c (3) organization dedicated to the promotion of jazz education and student performance. Visit
www.dfje.org