Helge Lien

My new favorite Nextbop.com has a profile on Norwegian artist Helge Lien. The clips of music available for free play have me hooked. It also supports my view that the Scandinavian countries are on jazz's cutting edge.

The Jazz Police

No. they aren't out to put bad performers in jail. The Jazz Police is a website with links to Twin Cities' jazz venues like the Dakota and The Artists' Quarter. I discovered this great new website while perusing the AQ site this morning and thought I would bring it to your attention. I will be adding a link to the site as well.

Back and Better Than Ever!

I have returned from a job transition during which I was focused on the more concrete aspects of life and living. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time off with my children and wife but it is good to be back in the land of the living/working. Most of my energies have been turned toward professional development, including the Minnesota Health IT Blog which although somewhat light on content was not completely ignored.

I have found an excellent new source for the latest on jazz for the newbie. Check out Nextbop.com for the traditional and the avant garde. I am a little disappointed in my inability to access some of the content via the new iPhone 3GS but what the site has to offer via my laptop more than makes up for this shortfall (which may be entirely Apple's or my fault).

Also, since my new work digs will be in St. Paul, MN I plan to update readers on jazz happenings there (see The Artists' Quarter!) as well as continue to provide you with the latest goings on at the Dakota and other venues.

Twin Cities Jazz Festival

This weekend marks the return of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. Although recent changes have prevented me from attending many events in the local jazz scene, I am hopeful that the upcoming year will result in a change in that lack of involvement. In addition, I am conflicted about attending events this evening as a friend and hockey teammate will be performing live with The Walleyes tonight at the Wild Tymes Cafe in St. Paul at 8:30. Check them out!

Barristers Cup International Hockey Tournament - 3rd Place Finish

The Barristers Cup International Hockey Tournament was held this past weekend. I played with the Ramsey County Bar Association team. Other teams compete from Hennepin County, Duluth, and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Thunder Bay fielded an excellent team again this year and won the Cup for the second year in a row. My RCBA team lost to Thunder Bay in the first game 3-0. However, we came back and beat Duluth for 3rd Place. The Duluth game was extremely close and went into sudden death overtime tied 1-1. After 10 minutes of overtime play, with the score still tied at 1-1, we went into a 3 player shootout. We scored on our first and second attempts and I was able to stop both of their chances for our victory.

Here are some photographs of the team and the game.