Local Music: Between rock and a jazz gig

Chris Morrissey remembers sitting in front of the stage at the Artists' Quarter for Happy Apple gigs, munching on popcorn and sipping cherry Cokes because he was underage.

"I'm sure they thought, 'Who's this weird kid always in the front row?'" recalled Morrissey, who now has two of the Apple guys in his band.

James Buckley remembers a light bulb going off when he heard Happy Apple's 1998 album, "Part of the Solutionproblem."

"I thought, 'There's a Midwest jazz group doing jazz like this?'" said Buckley, who then lived in Eau Claire, Wis. "That's when I knew I'd be moving to Minneapolis.' "

More than a decade on, the Twin Cities scene is reaping the benefits of Happy Apple's influence, that of a group of scruffy young guys who look like they should be playing in rock bands (which they all do), but are making inventive, not-your-grandfather's kind of jazz.

Buckley and Morrissey are two young guys better known from rock gigs making inroads into the jazz world with strong new CDs. By coincidence, both happen to be bassists schooled in the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's music program (Morrissey for just a year). They both have Bryan Nichols playing piano on their CDs (he's a permanent part of Buckley's trio). And they've both played bass with gritty folk-rock band the Pines.

The most common trait, though, is Buckley and Morrissey are straddling the line between rock gigs and what they cite as their true love when it comes to making music -- jazz.

"I'm a little more aware of the jazz world now after living here," he said by phone from NYC. "One of the things I've learned is just how well-respected Minnesota is as a jazz scene."

His rock gigs: Morrissey is best known as a singer/songwriters' bassist. Texas indie-rocker Ben Kweller keeps him on the road half the year. Off and on, he has played with local faves Haley Bonar and Mason Jennings, the latter of whom he will rejoin this fall. He also rocks out more in Wishbook and (playing tonight at the Turf Club) the Bill Mike Band.

"I feel very personally connected to the gigs I have," he said. "I don't care any less when I'm playing someone else's music, but there are definitely more nerves involved when it's your thing."

His jazz CD: After years of writing original jazz pieces, Morrissey finally set aside time to record them last year at Pachyderm Studio with "friends," the same guys playing gigs with him next week. They happen to be local jazz fixtures, including Happy Apple sax man Mike Lewis (actually an old family friend from way back), Apple/Bad Plus drummer David King and pianists Peter Schimke and Nichols. The disc, "The Morning World," came out in June on Sunnyside Records.

"I didn't have to say much to those guys to tell them what to do, nor would I have been comfortable with that," Morrissey said. "I had carefully crafted forms, but jazz compositions should be vehicles for improvisation to a certain degree. We did a lot of rehearsing, but then we sort of just let it happen naturally in the studio."

His rock gigs: Buckley's big coming-out was in the innovative dub/electronic trio Poor Line Condition. He currently plays in the electro-fried static-rock trio Mystery Palace with ex-12 Rods frontman Ryan Olcott, and he's still part of the Pines rhythm section along with the drummer in his jazz trio, J.T. Bates (look for a new disc by the Pines next month). Buckley also regularly backs jazzy singer Alicia Wiley and even gigged recently with country gals the Dollys.

"It's advantageous to play in a variety of acts and have all these different mentalities and disciplines to draw from," he said. "I would love to be in eight jazz bands and have it just be that. But if someone calls me up to play an R&B gig or whatever, I'll take it if I can, and I'll spend an entire day just drilling away to be ready for it."

His jazz CD: "Knowing and Losing" is the second disc by Buckley's trio following 2007's well-received "Stitches." It was recorded over a week at the Terrarium, and it demonstrates how tight the trio has become since Nichols returned from a four-year stint in Chicago. Buckley, 30, wrote many of the 11 songs when he worked for St. Cloud's Pioneer Place theater and would stay there in a house with a baby grand piano, so Nichols gets to shine.

"I wanted this to be a record that would stick for a while," Buckley said. "I think we've been murdering some of these songs the way we play them, so we went in with a lot of momentum. It's the first jazz record I've been on that I'm really, really proud of."

B-Sides & A-game blues Hard to believe it, but Saturday's Minnesota Zoo gig will be Tina Schlieske's first official gig with Tina & the B-Sides since their final hurrah in 2000. The show will feature the group's heyday lineup of Jeremy Plumb, Troy Norton, Ron Caron and Tina's sister Laura Schlieske. We'll see if they can keep their flaming soul-rock sound burning for 2 1/2 hours like before; with no opening act, it looks like they're going to try (7:30 p.m., $33).

Random mix After hearing she was behind on the bar's bills, Minnesota Music Café owner Karen Palm was surprised to learn a battle of the bands event had been turned into a fundraiser for her St. Paul venue last Sunday, led by veteran bands Westside, Jay Bee & the Routine and Soul Tight Committee. "I think we probably bought her at least another two to three months," said Soul Tight singer Maurice Jacox, "but now people need to go there and show their support on a more regular basis." ...

A couple more block parties to look forward to in Minneapolis: The seventh annual Pizza Lucé bash is happening again outside the Lyndale Avenue location Aug. 8 with Maria Isa, Kid Dakota, MC/VL, Me & My Arrow and more. The Red Stag Supperclub will then take it outside Aug. 22 with its most impressive lineup yet, including Heiruspecs, Black Blondie, Mark Mallman, Romantica, Chooglin' and E.L.nO. ...

Like last weekend's Deep Blues Festival, the White Iron Band's annual Log Jam Festival is moving from a rural location to the indoor/outdoor setup at the Cabooze on Aug. 8. ... While the turnout was disappointing, the Deep Blues Fest did provide a good platform for lots of local bands, including Chooglin' (the closing band on Saturday and loudest of the fest), HUD (a little-known vintage rockabilly/blues trio led by ex-Blue Shadow Javier Matos) and Spider John Koerner (who was smartly sandwiched between Mississippi Robert Cage's and Elmo Williams' sets). Maybe the biggest beneficiary, though, was A Night in the Box, which won over the crowd of blues purists with its showmanship and played the same Leadbelly song as Koerner, "Midnight Special," albeit in a completely different way. Overall, I'd say the blues is alive and well in this town -- if you know where to look for it.