The Academy Awards aren't important enough to draw Woody Allen out of his beloved New York, but a good gig in Minnesota with his jazz band apparently will do it. The filmmaking legend will perform at the State Theatre on Aug. 2 with his reputable Dixieland-style ensemble, Woody Allen & His New Orleans Jazz Band. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster or the State Theatre box office for $53.50-$104.
Allen, 79, has been playing clarinet with this ensemble for 35 years, and his love for their old-school sounds is well known. Most of his movies open with one ragtime tune or another, and the music especially played a central role in his 1999 Oscar-nom generator "Sweet and Lowdown."
His dedication to the band was nicely chronicled in the 1996 documentary "Wild Man Blues," when their tour served as solace from Allen's highly publicized break-up with Mia Farrow and unproven allegations of sexual abuse. He continues to play with the group almost every Monday night when he's not out making a movie at the Carlyle hotel in New York, where they're billed under bandleader Eddy Davis's name.
This will be his first time performing in Minnesota with the band, and it may even be his first time here since his days as a touring comic in the 1960s. He will arrive in Minneapolis just a few weeks after the release of his latest film, "Irrational Man," which appropriately enough stars Joaquin Phoenix with Emma Stone.
