Evan Christopher and Henry Butler

Two special nights with two dynamic performers!

The Dakota has had a long-standing love affair with the music from New Orleans. We think it has something to do with the river we share. These two fantastic musicians hail from the same city, yet have never played together, which should make these evenings all the more special.

Clarinetist Evan Christopher is turning a lot of people’s heads, in New Orleans and in the jazz world. After he stole the show last year at the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra’s Orchestra Hall show, it was clear that his star was rising. He played to a packed room at the Dakota’s A-Train Member’s Party two weeks ago, and stunned everyone in attendance, most of who had not heard of him. A lot more people will be hearing of him soon, especially after he co-headlines a show at Orchestra Hall next July with Dee Dee Bridgewater.

A great interview with Evan on MinnPost

A review of Evan’s dazzling Oct 25 performance here

Pianist Henry Butler has a musical vision that knows no bounds. Combining the percussive sounds of McCoy Tyner with the verve of Professor Longhair, this 8-time W.C. Handy Award winner (Best Instrumentalist-Piano) has created a sound that is uniquely his. To add to the unlikely story, this classically trained vocalist (his Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance is from Michigan State University) has been blind since birth, yet enjoys a successful career as a photographer. While he has studied German lieder and played modern jazz with the likes of Ron Carter and Billy Higgins, his recent projects have focused on the blues, which we can expect to hear a lot of in these two special nights.

“One of the prodigiously gifted musicians of our time, New Orleans native Henry Butler has a way of infusing his native city’s soul and pulse into whatever he’s playing…” -David McGee, TheBluegrassspecial.com