Chris Riemenschneider: The many keys to Laura Caviani

Maybe it's because they don't crave the limelight the way rock stars do, or it could simply be that they don't often write lyrics. But Minnesota jazz musicians can be hard to get to know.

Take Laura Caviani. Most people in the local jazz community have known of her for 15 years, as long as she has been playing piano with many of the scene's biggest talents and releasing her own well-received albums. But what do we really know about her?

Over the course of lunch at the Dakota -- where she's hosting a release party Wednesday for her latest CD, "Going There" -- I learned a lot of curious little bits about the St. Cloud native, some of which I never would have guessed.

Things like ...

• She served in the Air Force for four years after graduating from the University of Kansas in the early 1980s. Her stint in the Air Force Band was her first real taste of touring, which she has since done aplenty.

• Her dad was friends with Herbie Hancock at Grinnell College. The jazz legend even wrote a song for Caviani's parents, Dave and Catharine, when they got engaged (alas, it was never recorded).

• Laura herself has been romantically linked for about 10 years to saxophonist Pete Whitman, whom she calls her "guiding light" and "soul mate" in the liner notes to "Going There." She also records and performs in his acclaimed Pete Whitman X-tet.

• She played the trumpet, not piano, throughout high school and college, but she doesn't even own one anymore, nor does she miss it. "It's hard to go back from the piano," she said. "It's just the best instrument. It's like an orchestra at your fingertips."

• She can sing, too. I actually learned that from "Between the Lines," a bright and bluesy track on the new CD. Upon hearing the deep and affectionate voice on the track, I had the same reaction as renowned jazz vocalist Karrin Allyson: "I had to look to see who the singer was!"

Caviani made a name for herself nationally playing in Allyson's band in the late 1990s, after the singer left the Twin Cities for Kansas City. She's still close enough to Karrin to have co-opted her rhythm section, Bob Bowman and Todd Strait, to play on "Going There." The duo is also coming to town this week for Caviani's three CD parties.

"There are plenty of great local drummers and bassists I could've used, but Bob and Todd have that Kansas City groove thing that I just got hooked on," Caviani explained.

"Going There" is full of that groove, especially in tracks like "In the Interim" and "Tobacco Blues," the latter written by Caviani about the pitfalls of touring for someone trying to give up smoking. Hey, there are worse vices that a musician can pick up on the road.

Caviani writes almost all of her own music, a trait that grew out of her classical training. In fact, she says, "I composed jazz before I could really play it."

Two of the tracks on "Going There" grew out of special seminars/fellowships that Caviani enrolled in. "The Gilded Cage," a mid-tempo highlight on the disc, came out of a three-week study with pianist JoAnne Brackeen in which participants had to write one song every day. The eloquent "Paper Cranes" was written during a stay at the Akiyoshidai International Art Village in Japan after Caviani visited a Hiroshima museum.

The most personal track on the disc, though, is "In His Hands," which she wrote the day after jazz veteran Bobby Peterson's funeral in 2002.

"He was such a mentor to me musically, but he was also a very spiritual person," she said.

Caviani is quite the mentor, too, through her teaching roles at both Carleton and St. Olaf colleges. She believes wholeheartedly in music education. In fact, she says she's still learning herself.

"I learn things from my students, the people I play with, everyone," she said.

It's about time we all learned a little more about her, too.

Laura Caviani CD parties

St. Cloud: 7:30 p.m. Sat., Paramount Theatre, 913 St. Germain St. $20. 320-259-5463.

Northfield: 3 p.m. Sun., Carleton College Recital Hall, 1 N. College St. Free. 507-646-4350.

Minneapolis: 7 and 9 p.m. Wed., Dakota Bar & Grill, 1010 Nicollet Mall. $10. 612-332-1010.

Just duo it

Two more veteran musicians it's time we learned more about: Dan Neale and Rex Haberman perform at the Fine Line tonight to promote their new CD, "Neale & Haberman." Rex, more the frontman of the group, has been kicking around the scene by night for years and -- perhaps most notably -- has been poking around other musicians' ears and throats by day for even longer (he's actually a doctor). Neale is a longtime sideman best known as Martin Zellar's regular guitarist.

Together, the duo made a decidedly heavy and retro CD. Haberman's classic, Lennon-copped songwriting style shows throughout while Neale stretches out on everything from twangy, Byrdsy licks to a Hendrix-like, feedback-drenched solo in the finale, "Your Time, My Time."

Jail breakup

What were a bunch of local music fans doing in prison-issue jumpsuits at the old Scott County jail in Shakopee last Saturday? They were there for a Brother and Sister gig, of course.

For its final show before Sis heads off to Ireland, the adventurous metal duo held a daylong scavenger hunt that included mock arrests and a trip in the paddywagon to the concert site.

"I was looking for a jail for over a year," said "Brother" Michael Gaughan, who finally found out this one is about to be demolished. Perfect. That led to "kids moshing in the cells and hanging from the bars," he excitedly recounted. Sounds like an old Scorpions video I remember. Gaughan is planning a similar stunt in the summer, and his query about Star Tribune sponsorship led me to believe it'll be another doozy.

Random mix

The Artists' Quarter might have found the perfect happy medium in the ongoing smoking-ban debate/debacle: Most of its weekend shows are now nonsmoking during the first set, with cigs allowed after the break. There's still only one cover charge for those who want to see both sets (e.g., $10 for this weekend's Debbie Duncan gigs). ...

New but old-timey bluegrass quartet Long Time Gone is playing the Dunn Bros in Apple Valley tonight to promote its CD "Leavin' Home." The disc, charming if unoriginal, includes tunes by Bill Monroe, Charlie Poole and the Stanleys. ...

Spymob members John Ostby and Christian Twigg have gone from backing rap/funk innovators N.E.R.D. to playing in a new country-rock band. Their group Kentucky Air is at Lee's on Thursday. ... Lee's, by the way, is being booked now by Greg Huff, a k a the Ike of Lazy Ike & the Daredevils, who took over the reins a few months ago. ...

Former Lee's booker and Cabooze mainstay Taco Martin is one of the promoters in town who has figured out that January and February -- off months for the touring business -- present a great opportunity for local bands. The Cabooze's "Last Waltz" redux last Saturday seemed more crowded than the original one, and you can expect as many people at the bar's upcoming Johnny Cash and Bob Marley tributes. First Ave also has its new-bands showcase on Wednesday and the cover-bands contest on Jan. 25.

I think even more of these special events are in order, especially when the Vikings, Wild and Wolves are sucking wind ... maybe even something along the lines of a winter rock fest. Anyone?

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER