Jazz Ensemble to perform July 11 at ACA

Above: There will be a wonderful collaboration at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Saturday, July 11. Above: The Sky Blue Jazz Ensemble (L-R) Erik Hahn, Mike Roth, Mike DeBevec, and Brett Jones are taking the stage with the talented Sam Miltich.

With their recent fiveyear jazz history project, A Century of Jazz, Grand Marais’s Sky Blue Jazz Ensemble has carried out its mission to serve as ambassadors of jazz music and history in rural Minnesota communities, particularly on the North Shore.

It’s therefore with great excitement that virtuoso Sam Miltich of Grand Rapids will collaborate in a concert and dance at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. July 11 at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts. The entire repertoire will be previously recorded gypsy jazz tunes by Miltich, chosen for their listening and dancing appeal. The band will play on a thrust stage adjacent to the dance floor, with seating for at least 200 in the concert hall.

Miltich is a jazz guitarist born and raised in the woods of northern Minnesota. He is a musician by profession and plays regularly in the Upper Midwest, as a soloist and with his band, the Clearwater Hot Club. In addition to gypsy swing and traditional jazz, his musical interests include Brazilian choro, French musette, Eastern European tamburitza, and other forms of traditional folk music. Miltich’s recent musical collaborators have included mandolin virtuoso Peter Ostroushko, Twin Cities saxophonist Dave Karr, jazz and classical guitarist Joan Griffith, and Dutch jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis.

Right: Miltich, perhaps best known for his appearances with the Clearwater Hot Club, is an amazing performer.

Members of the Sky Blue Jazz Quartet are Mike Debevec, music direction and piano; Erik Hahn, saxophone; Mike Roth, bass; and Brett Jones, percussion. Together, these four bring decades of experience and excellence as jazz musicians into their performances. They have been performing, recording, and teaching jazz together for the past six years.

Call the Arrowhead Center for the Arts at (218) 387-1284 for ticket information and availability.