Timeline of Selected Performances,
1963–2019
Jill Vuchetich, “Creative Black Music at the Walker: Timeline of Selected Performances, 1963–2019,” in Creative Black Music at the Walker: Selections from the Archives, ed. Danielle A. Jackson and Simone Austin, Vol. IV of the Living Collections Catalogue (Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2020). https://walkerart.org/collections/publications/jazz/timeline-of-selected-performances/
For decades the Walker Art Center’s presentations have featured generations of artists whose works expand the possibilities of art through the merging of disciplines. Jazz and the broader worlds of creative black music have been part of the Walker’s performing arts program since the 1960s.
This timeline focuses particularly on avant-garde and experimental jazz as well as a selection of blues, hip-hop, folk, reggae, R&B/soul, classical, gospel, and spoken word events by leading artists over six decades. While all performances listed were programmed by the Walker, many were presented at other venues around the Twin Cities, including the Guthrie Theater, Northrop Auditorium, the Children’s Theatre Company, and Cedar Cultural Center (all in Minneapolis). Unless otherwise noted, events featured in the timeline were held at the Walker and were presented in the Auditorium (from 1971 to 2003) or in the McGuire Theater, which opened with the building expansion designed by Herzog & de Meuron in 2005. When a program was part of a series, these are also included. Unless otherwise noted, performances listed as part of the outdoor music festival Rock the Garden were held on the Walker campus and in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
Researched in conjunction with the publication Creative Black Music at the Walker: Selections from the Archives, the timeline was compiled from a selection of archival materials, past event records, press reviews, and public lists collected by jazz enthusiasts. The intention of this document is to bring to the fore information on presentations by experimental, avant-garde, and creative performers outside of the mainstream. The list is not complete, nor is it intended to be comprehensive; it functions to give a sense of the variety of events curated and presented by the Walker within the context of creative black music.
Text by Jill Vuchetich
May 27, 1963
Modern Jazz Quartet, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
June 24, 1963
Sonny Rollins, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
July 22, 1963
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
February 8, 1964
Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers, Mississippi John Hurt, and Sleepy John Estes, part of American Negro Folk Songs and Blues, Guthrie Theater
June 14, 1964
Thelonious Monk with Charlie Rouse, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
July 19, 1964
Coleman Hawkins with Eddie Locke, Paul Neves, and Major (Mule) Holly, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
August 9, 1964
Dizzy Gillespie with James Moody, Christopher White, Kenny Baron, and Rudy Collins, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
September 27, 1964
Dave Bailey with Gerry Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, and Bill Crow in the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
October 18, 1964
Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Sweet Emma Barrett, Percy and Willie Humphrey, Jim Robinson, and (Josiah) Cie Frazier, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
March 23, 1965
Duke Ellington with Sam Woodyard, Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown, Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Ray Nance, Cat Anderson, Paul Gonsalves, Milt Grayson, and Mercer Ellington, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
April 3, 1965
Reverend Gary Davis, Elizabeth Cotten, and Jesse Fuller, part of American Folk Music, Guthrie Theater
May 30, 1965
Charles Mingus, with Dannie Richmond, Lonnie Hillyer, and Jaki Byard, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
June 20, 1965
John Coltrane with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, and James Garrison, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
November 7, 1965
Odetta, Guthrie Theater
January 21, 1966
Modern Jazz Quartet, Guthrie Theater
April 21–22, 1966
Ella Fitzgerald, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
May 22, 1966
Charles Lloyd Quartet, Guthrie Theater
July 24, 1966
Oscar Peterson Trio, Guthrie Theater
September 12, 1966
Miriam Makeba, Guthrie Theater
October 2, 1966
Ahmad Jamal, Guthrie Theater
October 31, 1966
Don Shirley Trio with Juri Taht and Kenneth Fricker, Guthrie Theater
April 30, 1967
Ornette Coleman with David Izenzon and Charlie Moffett, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
May 21, 1967
Cannonball Adderley with Nat Adderley, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
June 18, 1967
Nina Simone, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
July 30, 1967
Horace Silver, Guthrie Theater
September 24, 1967
Ramsey Lewis Trio, Guthrie Theater
November 5, 1967
Babatunde Olatunji, Guthrie Theater
April 7, 1968
Charles Lloyd Quartet, Guthrie Theater
May 26, 1968
Miles Davis with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, part of Jazz at the Guthrie
July 14, 1968
Muddy Waters, Guthrie Theater
November 17, 1968
Odetta, Guthrie Theater
July 27, 1969
Elvin Jones, Guthrie Theater
September 7, 1969
Chuck Berry, Guthrie Theater
October 19, 1969
B.B. King, Guthrie Theater
February 5, 1970
Bobby “Blue” Bland, Guthrie Theater
February 15, 1970
Sam and Dave, Guthrie Theater
March 22, 1970
Reverend John Wilkins, Guthrie Theater
April 2, 1970
Howlin’ Wolf, Cedar Village Theater, Minneapolis
June 30, 1970
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Cedar Village Theater
February 4, 1971
Taj Mahal, Guthrie Theater
March 19, 1971
Miles Davis with Jack DeJohnette, Keith Jarrett, Michael Henderson, Airto Moriera, and Gary Bartz, Guthrie Theater
November 19, 1972
Taj Mahal, Guthrie Theater
January 28, 1973
Miles Davis, Guthrie Theater
February 11, 1973
Weather Report, Guthrie Theater
May 2, 1973
Aliza Ngono and Abadingi, Guthrie Theater
September 23, 1973
Charles Mingus Quintet, Guthrie Theater
February 5, 1974
Miles Davis, Guthrie Theater
May 6, 1974
Herbie Hancock, Guthrie Theater
August 18, 1974
Sarah Vaughn and the Wolverines, Guthrie Theater
December 20, 1974
Roy McBride, poetry reading
February 8, 1976
Sarah Vaughn, Guthrie Theater
May 13, 1976
Bob Marley and the Wailers, Orchestra Hall
May 13, 1976
Aliza Ngono and Abadingi, Orchestra Hall
July 31, 1976
Aliza Ngono and Abadingi, Guthrie Theater
October 28, 1976
ECM Jazz Festival, featuring Jack DeJohnette, Gary Burton Quartet, John Abercrombie, Ralph Towner, Eberhard Weber, and Enrico Rava, Orchestra Hall
Nov 27, 1977
Joan Armatrading, Guthrie Theater
April 1, 1978
McCoy Tyner, Guthrie Theater
May 28, 1978
Garland Jeffreys
March 7, 1979
Woody Shaw, part of the series Jazz Alive, Children’s Theatre Company
March 8, 1979
Ishmael Reed, lecture at Coffman Union, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
March 23, 1979
Air, featuring Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall
April 3, 1979
Old and New Dreams, part of the series Jazz Alive, Children’s Theatre Company
April 29, 1979
Carei Thomas
May 3, 1979
Cecil Taylor, part of the series Jazz Alive, Children’s Theatre Company
January 23, 1980
Richard Teitelbaum and Anthony Braxton
February 19, 1980
Traditional and Contemporary African music, featuring Bourama Soumaono and Kélétigui Diabaté
February 28, 1980
Leroy Jenkins
April 10, 1980
Roberta Davis and Reginald Buckner
April 21, 1980
Sonny Rollins, Children’s Theatre Company
May 27, 1980
Charlie Parker Memorial Concert, featuring Dizzy Gillespie with Ray Brown, Al Haig, Milt Jackson, James Moody, and Max Roach, Children’s Theatre Company
June 12, 1980
Leroy Jenkins and Oliver Lake, part of New Music America Festival
June 13, 1980
Anthony Braxton, part of New Music America Festival
June 13, 1980
Julius Eastman, part of New Music America Festival
June 14, 1980
Art Ensemble of Chicago, part of New Music America Festival
September 19, 1980
Randy Weston
September 30, 1980
Sonny Rollins, Children’s Theatre Company
October 8, 1980
Amiri Baraka, poetry reading
October 20, 1980
Sun Ra and His Arkestra
November 2, 1980
Art Ensemble of Chicago, Orchestra Hall
November 19, 1980
Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society
December 8, 1980
Max Roach, Children’s Theatre Company
January 11, 1981
Lester Bowie, part of Blue Mondays/Fat Tuesdays
February 8, 1981
Sam Rivers Trio
February 16, 1981
Archie Shepp Quartet, Children’s Theatre Company
March 2, 1981
Arthur Blythe, part of the series Jazz Alive, Children’s Theatre Company
March 14, 1981
Muhal Richard Abrams
May 3, 1981
Leroy Jenkins and Oliver Lake
September 13, 1981
Morris Wilson
November 19, 1981
George Lewis with Douglas Ewart, Rae Imamura, and Ray Anderson
November 24, 1981
Lucille Clifton, poetry reading
January 13, 1982
James Blood Ulmer, First Avenue, Minneapolis
February 14, 1982
Ornette Coleman and Prime Time with Bern Nix, Charles Ellerbee, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and Denardo Coleman, Guthrie Theater
February 17, 1982
Ntozake Shange, reading
March 2, 1982
Toni Morrison, reading
March 14, 1982
Carei Thomas and Jazz Axiom V
April 11, 1982
Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society
April 23, 1982
Walter Zuber Armstrong
May 20, 1982
Old and New Dreams
June 9–10, 1982
The Kitchen Tour, featuring Fab Five Freddy, Oliver Lake, and Jump-Up, Walker Art Center and First Avenue, Minneapolis
September 3, 1982
Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron
October 1, 1982
Derek Walcott, reading
October 21–23, 1983
Lee Breuer and Bob Telson with J.D. Steele, The Gospel at Colonus, O’Shaughnessy Auditorium, St. Catherine University, St. Paul
October 30, 1982
Jack DeJohnette
November 11, 1982
Anthony Davis, Episteme, part of Perspectives Series
November 17, 1982
Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society, First Avenue, Minneapolis
January 12, 1983
Roy McBride, reading
January 26, 1983
Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, part of Black on Black series salute to the AACM, cosponsored by the Neighborhood Media Project
January 27, 1983
Air, featuring Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins, and Pheeroan akLaff, part of Black on Black series salute to the AACM, cosponsored by the Neighborhood Media Project
January 28, 1983
Anthony Braxton Trio with Anthony Braxton, Marilyn Crispell, and Baikida Carroll, part of Black on Black series salute to the AACM, cosponsored by the Neighborhood Media Project
February 12, 1983
Sojourner and the Sam Davis Gospel Ensemble, part of Black on Black series salute to the AACM, cosponsored by the Neighborhood Media Project, Sabathani Community Center, Minneapolis
February 21, 1983
King Sunny Ade and the Beats, part of Black on Black series salute to the AACM, cosponsored by the Neighborhood Media Project, First Avenue, Minneapolis
February 25, 1983
Pieces of a Dream, part of Black History Month, cosponsored by the Neighborhood Media Project, Riverview Supper Club, Minneapolis
March 1, 1983
Alice Walker, part of Writer’s Reading
April 13, 1983
Sting! featuring Leroy Jenkins
May 18, 1983
Betty Carter and her Trio
June 12, 1983
14 Karat Soul and J.D. Steele Singers
September 30, 1983
Ntozake Shange, reading, part of Word Works, copresented with Minneapolis College of Art and Design
October 6, 1983
Roy McBride, poetry reading, part of Word Works, copresented with Minneapolis College of Art and Design
October 27, 1983
Amiri Baraka, reading, part of Word Works, copresented with Minneapolis College of Art and Design
October 31, 1983
Fab Five Freddy and Graffiti Rock, part of Word Works, First Avenue, Minneapolis, copresented with Minneapolis College of Art and Design
February 6, 1984
Von and Chico Freeman
March 17, 1984
Odean Pope Trio
March 29, 1984
World Saxophone Quartet
May 12, 1984
Billy Bang
September 8, 1984
David Murray Octet
September 23, 1984
J.D. Steele Quintet
November 26, 1984
Ornette Coleman and Prime Time, featuring Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Bern Nix, and Charles Ellerbe, Guthrie Theater
December 8, 1984
Bobby McFerrin
February 19, 1985
Horace Tapscott
May 25, 1985
George Russell and the Living Time Orchestra
December 13–14, 1985
Bobby McFerrin
January 13, 1986
Dizzy Gillespie, lecture, part of Bop Echoes
January 20, 1986
Tommy Flanagan, part of Bop Echoes
January 30, 1986
Jamaica Kincaid, reading
February 3, 1986
Out of the Blue, part of Bop Echoes
March 8, 1986
Douglas Ewart and Inventions Clarinet Choir, part of Special Delivery
September 27, 1986
Last Exit, featuring Sonny Sharrock, Bill Laswell, Peter Brotzmann, and Ronald Shannon Jackson
October 2, 1986
Women of the Calabash
October 29–30, November 1, 1986
J.D. Steele and the J.D. Steele Singers, Body and Soul, with Minnesota Jazz Dance Company and Danny Buraczeski, Ordway Studio Theater, St. Paul
January 17, 1987
Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand)
March 7, 1987
Geri Allen
June 4, 1987
Butch Morris with IMP ORK
October 24, 1987
Roscoe Mitchell Group, part of Twin Cities Jazz Festival
October 24, 1987
Craig Harris and Tailgater’s Tail, part of Twin Cities Jazz Festival
July 30, 1988
Vernard Johnson, part of Soul Searchers
August 13, 1988
Big John Patton with John Zorn, Bill Frisell, and Bobby Previte, part of Soul Searchers
March 11, 1989
Greg Osby and Sound Theatre
April 29, 1989
Women of the Calabash
July 22, 1989
Sonny Sharrock Band
August 19, 1989
James Blood Ulmer, featuring Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Calvin Weston
September 9–10, 1989
Rufus Harley, part of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden First Anniversary Celebration
October 11, 1989
Thomas Mapfumo and Blacks Unlimited, part of the International Festival series, Afropop, Orpheum Theater, Minneapolis
October 11, 1989
Sékou Diabaté and Bembeya Jazz National, part of the International Festival series, Afropop, Orpheum Theater, Minneapolis
April 21, 1990
Julius Hemphill and World Saxophone Quartet with Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zane Dance Company, The Promised Land/52 Handsome Nudes, part of Discover Series, Northrop Auditorium
June 2, 1990
Julius Hemphill with IMP ORK
June 16, 1990
Edward Wilkerson Jr.’s 8 Bold Souls
July 28, 1990
Blackgirls, part of Meet the Composer
July 30, 1990
Sankofa
August 11, 1990
Don Byron Quartet
September 22, 1990
Geri Allen Trio, featuring Anthony Cox and Pheeroan akLaff
February 16, 1991
Odean Pope Trio
May 11, 1991
Sun Ra and His Arkestra
July 27, 1991
Jolly Boys
September 14, 1991
The Jazz Passengers with Curtis Fowlkes
September 29, 1991
Douglas Ewart, part of West Bank School of Music Jazz Composers
December 19, 1991
Donald Washington and the New Day Blues Band
January 4, 1992
Quincy Troupe and Hamiet Bluiett, Poetry and Music in Dialogue, part of Writers Reading
March 7, 1992
Ethnic Heritage Ensemble
April 12, 1992
Don Byron and Semaphore, part of New Vistas in Contemporary Music: Classicism Reaffirmed
June 12, 1992
Tribute to Paul Robeson with Susan Robeson, featuring films by Paul Robeson
July 18, 1992
Odean Pope Saxophone Choir
July 20, 1992
Les Exodus, part of the series Music and Movies in the Park, Loring Park, Minneapolis
December 12, 1992
Anthony Davis and Thulanie Davis, X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X, part of the Discover Series
March 14, 1992
Douglas Ewart, part of Meet the Composer
August 1, 1992
Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
August 7, 1993
Craig Harris
December 18, 1993
Donald Washington New Day Blues Band
January 22, 1994
Alexs Pate with David Mura and music by Douglas Ewart, The Colors of Desire, part of Out There, Southern Theater, Minneapolis
August 11–14, 1994
Craig Harris and Sekou Sundiata, The Circle Unbroken Is a Hard Bop, Penumbra Theater, Minneapolis
August 20, 1994
Archie Shepp Quartet
October 29, 1994
Ed Wilkerson Jr. and Shadow Vignettes, part of the Discover Series
December 7, 1994
Julius Hemphill, A Bitter Glory, part of the Discover Series, Ted Mann Concert Hall, Minneapolis
February 25, 1995
Henry Threadgill and Very Very Circus, featuring Henry Threadgill, Mark Taylor, Brandon Ross, Ed Cherry, Edwin Rodriquez, and Pheeroan akLaff, copresented with MacPhail Center for the Arts, Minneapolis
April 13, 1995
Drummers of Burundi
June 2, 1995
Carei Thomas and Douglas Ewart, part of Late Night in Gallery 8
February 18, 1996
Toshi Reagon, Northrop Auditorium
August 24, 1996
Amiri Baraka and the University of Minnesota Faculty Jazz Quartet
September 30, 1997
Susana Baca, part of New World Voices
November 1, 1997
Sun Ra Arkestra, presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Architecture of Reassurance: Designing the Disney Theme Parks
November 7, 1997
Oumou Sangaré, part of New World Voices
November 11, 1997
Tracie Morris, reading
February 18–19, 1998
Don Byron, original score for the silent film Scar of Shame (1927), part of the Discover Series
March 9–16, 1998
Butch Morris and IMP ORK, Japan Skyscraper
April 16, 1998
Bluiett/Jackson/Mor Thiam Trio
October 7, 1998
Afro-Cuban All Stars, First Avenue, Minneapolis
October 24, 1998
David S. Ware Quartet
March 6, 1999
Lester Bowie and the Brass Fantasy with Dianne McIntyre, Invincible Flower, part of Common Time: New Jazz and Dance, O’Shaughnessy Auditorium, St. Catherine University, St. Paul
April 3, 1999
Leon Parker Collective, featuring Elisabeth Kontomanou, Kazi Oliver, and Alonzo Undly, with choreographer and dancer Maia Claire Garrison, part of Common Time: Jazz and Dance
April 16–17, 1999
Live soundscape by Paul D. Miller (aka D.J. Spooky that Subliminal Kid), Harry Smith: A Re-Creation, orchestration by M. Henry Jones, part of Live Music/SilentFilm
May 8, 1999
David Murray Octet
May 11, 1999
Urban Bush Women with David Murray Octet, Soul Deep, part of Common Time: Jazz and Dance
September 8–11, 1999
Bobby McFerrin
November 4, 1999
Buena Vista Social Club, Northrop Auditorium
February 19, 2000
Cecil Taylor Trio, Ted Mann Concert Hall, Minneapolis
June 8, 2000
James Newton and Jon Jang, When Sorrow Turns to Joy
October 10, 2000
Omara Portuondo and Barbarito Torres, Northrop Auditorium
November 16, 2000
Muhal Richard Abrams Quartet and Carei Thomas, part of Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians 35th Anniversary Celebration
November 17–18, 2000
Fred Anderson, Douglas Ewart, Joseph Jarman, Wadada Leo Smith, Carei Thomas, Ann Ward and Maia of Ye’Bindu, part of Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians 35th Anniversary Celebration
December 1–3, 2000
Sekou Sundiata and Craig Harris, Udu, Penumbra Theatre, St. Paul
October 6, 2001
Sam Rivers and Jason Moran Trio
April 27, 2002
Greg Osby Quartet and Strings
July 22, 2002
Super Rail Band, part of Summer Music and Movies, Loring Park, Minneapolis
September 19, 2002
Harryette Mullen, reading
September 20, 2002
Omar Sosa Septet
December 7, 2002
Andrew Hill Quartet, featuring Andrew Hill, Greg Tardy, Nasheet Waits, and John Herbert
2003–2005
Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran, Walker artists-in-residence
June 14, 2003
Cassandra Wilson with Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zane Dance Company, part of the 15th Anniversary Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Celebration
October 3, 2003
Matthew Shipp Trio
December 4, 2004
Burnt Sugar-The Arkestra Chamber, Cedar Cultural Center
April 22, 2005
The Festival Dancing in Your Head, featuring the Ornette Coleman Quartet: Ornette Coleman, Denardo Coleman, Greg Cohen, and Tony Falanga
April 23, 2005
The Festival Dancing in Your Head, featuring Bang on a Can All-Stars, the Bad Plus, Dean Granros with the Antigravity Ensemble, Dosh, Zebulon Pike, Douglas Ewart/Gao Hong/Steve Goldstein/Mankwe Ndosi, Fat Kid Wednesdays, Fernando Meza and Erik Barsness, George Cartwright’s Gloryland Ponycat, Happy Apple, Nachito Herrera, Nirmala Rajasekar and Anthony Cox Ensemble, Rehobot Oromo Choir, Patrick Crossland, Tom Chiu, Zeitgeist, and the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet
May 5–21, 2005
Jason Moran and the Bandwagon, Milestone, featuring Nasheet Waits and Tarus Mateen, with special guests Marvin Sewell and Alicia Hall Moran
March 4, 2006
Douglas Ewart, William Parker, and Hamid Drake Duo
March 31, 2006
Sekou Sundiata, the (51st) dream State
July 25, 2005
Doomtree, featuring P.O.S and others, part of Summer Music and Movies, Loring Park, Minneapolis
November 2, 2006
Putumayo’s Acoustic Africa, featuring Vusi Mahlasela, Habib Koité, and Dobet Gnahoré, part of the series AfricaNOW, copresented with Cedar Cultural Center
March 10, 2007
World Saxophone Quartet Plays Hendrix with David Murray, Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett, and Greg Osby
April 14, 2007
Gangbé Brass Band, Cedar Cultural Center
September 27, 2007
Dhafer Youssef
March 28, 2008
Prezens Quartet, featuring Craig Taborn, David Torn, Tom Rainey, and Tim Berne
December 6, 2008
Yusef Lateef with Douglas Ewart, Roscoe Mitchell, and Adam Rudolph
May 3, 2009
Dobet Gnahoré, Cedar Cultural Center
May 9, 2009
Jason Moran and the Big Bandwagon, In My Mind, Monk at Townhall 1959, featuring Ralph Alessi, Logan Richardson III, Aaron Stewart, Isaac Smith, Howard Johnson, Tarus Mateen, and Nasheet Waits
June 19, 2010
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
March 4, 2011
Tyondai Braxton with the Wordless Music Orchestra, Central Market
April 23, 2011
Tony Allen, Cedar Cultural Center
June 18, 2011
Booker T. Jones, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
March 1–2, 2012
The Sound of Surprise: A Vijay Iyer Mini-Festival, featuring Wadada Leo Smith, Marcus Gilmore, Mike Ladd, Vijay Iyer Trio, Tirtha, Stephen Crump, Nitin Mitta, and Prasanna
April 14, 2012
Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, Cedar Cultural Center
June 16, 2012
Doomtree, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
April 12, 2013
Fatoumata Diawara, Cedar Cultural Center
April 26, 2013
Craig Taborn, part of Heroic Frenzies: The Music of Craig Taborn
August 12, 2013
The Chalice (featuring Lizzo), part of Summer Music and Movies, Loring Park, Minneapolis
November 21, 2013
DJ /rupture (Jace Clayton) performs in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition Album: Cinematheque Tangier, a project by Yto Barrada
March 20, 2014
LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, reading, part of the series Free Verse, copresented by Rain Taxi Review of Books
April 26, 2014
Burnt Sugar-The Arkestra Chamber, Any World That I’m Welcome To: The Steely Dan Conductions, curated and conducted by Vernon Reid of Living Color
May 8, 2014
Kevin Beasley, part of the series Sound Horizon
June 21, 2014
Lizzo, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
June 21, 2014
De La Soul, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
June 22, 2014
Valerie June, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
February 26, 2015
The Campbell Brothers, John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, copresented with the Cedar Cultural Center
March 12, 2015
Jack DeJohnette’s Made in Chicago project, a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), featuring Muhal Richard Abrams, Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell, and Larry Gray
May 2, 2015
Robert Glasper and Jason Moran
June 20, 2015
thestand4rd, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
June 21, 2015
Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
June 18, 2016
GRRRL PRTY, part of Rock the Garden, Boom Island, Minneapolis, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
June 18, 2016
Chance the Rapper, part of Rock the Garden, Boom Island, Minneapolis, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
October 15, 2016
Amir ElSaffar’s Rivers of Sound, with Nasheet Waits and others
March 3, 2017
Mbongwana Star with ZULUZULUU, Cedar Cultural Center
May 12, 2017
Steve Coleman’s Natal Eclipse, featuring Matt Mitchell, Greg Chudzik, Román Filiú, Rane Moore, Jonathan Finlayson, Kristin Lee, and Jen Shyu
May 18–20, 2017
Tunde Adebimpe, A Warm Weather Ghost, featuring Money Mark, Mia Doi Todd, Aaron Steele, Sean Okaguchi, Morgan Sorne, and Tracy Wannomae, copresented with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series and the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
July 22, 2017
Dwynell Roland, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
July 22, 2017
Benjamin Booker, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
March 3, 2018
Sonic Universe Project featuring Douglas Ewart, Wadada Leo Smith, Roscoe Mitchell, Hamid Drake, Oliver Lake, and Anthony Cox
May 3, 2018
Daymé Arocena, Cedar Cultural Center
May 18–19, 2018
Jason Moran, The Last Jazz Fest, with the Bandwagon, featuring Tarus Mateen and Nasheet Waits, and Ashland Mines, Lizzie Fitch, and Ryan Trecartin, presented in conjunction with the exhibition Jason Moran
May 31–June 1, 2018
Teju Cole and Vijay Iyer, Blind Spot, copresented with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series
June 16, 2018
Kamasi Washington, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
June 16, 2018
P.O.S, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
June 16, 2018
Chastity Brown, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
June 21, 2018
Douglas Ewart with Ananya Chatterjea, Stephen Goldstein, Mankwe Ndosi, and Carei Thomas, part of the series Sound Horizon: Curated by Jason Moran
July 19, 2018
Jason Moran and the Bandwagon, part of the series Sound Horizon: Curated by Jason Moran
October 26, 2018
Hailu Mergia and Yonathan’s Cultural Show, Cedar Cultural Center
February 15, 2019
Celebrating Henry: A Henry Threadgill Festival, featuring Tarek Abdelqader, Noah Ophoven-Baldwin, George Cartwright, Anthony Cox, Chris Cunningham, Ivan Cunningham, Douglas Ewart, Milo Fine, Nathan Hanson, Laura Harada, Eric Jensen, Michelle Kinney, Babatunde Lea, Charlie Lincoln, Mankwe Ndosi, Pat O’Keefe, Carley Olson Kokal, Cole Pulice, Davu Seru, Joseph Strachan, Dameun Strange, Donald Washington, Faye Washington, and Adam Zahller
February 16, 2019
Celebrating Henry: A Henry Threadgill Festival, with Harriet Tubman (Melvin Gibbs, Brandon Ross, and J.T. Lewis) and Zooid (Liberty Ellman, Elliot Humberto Kavee, José Davila, and Chris Hoffman)
March 30, 2019
Wadada Leo Smith and his Golden Quintet, America’s National Parks, with Pheeroan akLaff, Sylvie Courvoisier, John Lindberg, Ashley Waby, and Jesse Gilbert Liters, with special guest Andrew Cyrille
May 18, 2019
Resonance: A Sound Art Marathon, with Tarek Atoui, Heather Barringer, Philip Blackburn, Jules Gimbrone, Walter Kitundu, Haroon Mirza, Mankwe Ndosi, Camille Norment, Matana Roberts, Christine Sun Kim, Craig Taborn, and Preston Wright
June 29, 2019
Adia Victoria, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
June 29, 2019
deM atlaS, part of Rock the Garden, copresented with the Current, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul
August 15, 2019
Astralblak, part of Sound for Silents
October 5, 2019
Lonnie Holley
October 18, 2019
Makaya McCraven, In These Times, with Marquis Hill, Jeff Parker, Jeremiah Hunt, Greg Ward, Greg Spero, Macie Stweart, Lia Kohl, and Brandee Younger (Moses Sumney); and openers Astralblak, presented in association with First Avenue, Minneapolis