[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 129 (Friday, September 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING THE DAKOTA JAZZ CLUB

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KEITH ELLISON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 21, 2012

  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Dakota Jazz 
Club for its contribution to the music industry and musical development 
of the great state of Minnesota.
  The Dakota Jazz Club opened in 1985 at Bandana Square in St. Paul as 
a bar and restaurant for local jazz performers. Since then it has grown 
to a well-recognized institution featuring performances by a range of 
national artists. In 2003, the Club moved to its current home in 
Nicollet Mall in Downtown Minneapolis. Its stage has hosted a multitude 
of nationally famous jazz musicians, including: Ray Brown, McCoy Tyner, 
Toots Thielemans, Joey DeFrancesco, Ahmad Jamal, Chucho Valdes, Benny 
Green, Joe Williams, Bobby Hutcherson, Roy Haynes, Arturo Sandoval, 
Wallace Roney, Charles Lloyd, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Larry 
Coryell, Pat Martino, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Sonny Fortune, Frank 
Morgan, Zakir Hussain, Kurt Elling, Joshua Redman, James Carter, 
Madeleine Peyroux, Regina Carter, Patricia Barber, Von Freeman, Billy 
Higgins and Charles Brown.
  The Dakota Jazz Club also operates the Dakota Live Record Label, a 
label dedicated to capturing and distributing world class jazz from 
their legendary stage in Minnesota. Some of the noted artists that have 
recorded for the label are legendary jazz musicians Von Freeman, 
Nachito Herrera, and Barvara Morrison.
  The Dakota Jazz Club's passion for jazz extends beyond hosting 
musical performances and contributing to the history of jazz at large. 
The Dakota Jazz Club has also taken it upon itself to ensure the future 
of jazz in Minnesota through their Dakota Foundation for Jazz 
Education. Started in 1997, the Foundation's purpose is: ``Introducing 
young people to jazz and helping them understand--and care about--what 
they are hearing. We want to help young people use jazz for self-
expression and communication, and to experience the sheer pleasure that 
comes from responding to its challenges.'' The Dakota Foundation for 
Jazz Education supports a variety of services including offering 
scholarships for a year of serious extra-curricular jazz study and 
performance in partnership with the MacPhail Center for Music, helping 
young musicians develop and hone their skills in jazz appreciation, 
promoting a wide variety of workshops, funding the Youth Stage at the 
Twin Cities Jazz Festival held each June in St. Paul, and recognizing 
outstanding educators in honor of Jane Matteson, the benefactor and 
cofounder of the Foundation.
  I commend the Dakota Jazz Club for all it has done for the Twin 
Cities, and I thank them for their dedication and service to music and 
the community.

                          ____________________