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Original compositions, adventurous interpretations, and a fiercely interactive modern jazz quintet.
Led by trumpeter and composer Steve Kenny, the quintet brings together leading Twin Cities improvisers for original music, album-release concerts and creative tributes to jazz greats. Personnel vary by engagement.
Berlin Jazz Club · Minneapolis · December 31, 2026 (planned)
The quintet is preparing a New Year's Eve celebration of John Coltrane's music at Berlin. Details about performance times, musicians, and ticket availability have not yet been confirmed publicly.
Check Berlin's event calendarA fresh, improvisation-centered exploration of the music and legacy of Chuck Mangione at Crooners Main Stage. Rather than recreating recordings note for note, the band treated Mangione's compositions as living jazz repertoire.
Personnel: Steve Kenny, trumpet; Dave Brattain, saxophones; Bryan Nichols, keyboards; Dan Carpel, bass; Miguel Hurtado, drums.
Concert details · Read the Jazz Police featureThe Blue Chunks project builds larger, suite-like compositions from short musical ideas. The album was celebrated with a release show at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, with performances of this material also presented at Berlin, Crooners, the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and metroNOME Brewery.
Dakota album-release personnel: Steve Kenny, trumpet; Dave Brattain, saxophone; Kavyesh Kaviraj, piano; Ted Olsen, bass; Miguel Hurtado, drums.
Jazz recordings and releases from illicit-productions
Browse the label's catalog and release history on Discogs.
View All Official Releases on Discogs| # | Artist / track / original release | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Bates' Red 5This Is TonightFrom: Chris Bates' Red 5 — New Hope | 6:03 |
| 2 | Zacc Harris GroupMaple Grove Two StepFrom: Zacc Harris Group — The Garden | 8:16 |
| 3 | Adam Meckler OrchestraWhen The Clouds Look Like ThisFrom: Adam Meckler Orchestra — When The Clouds Look Like This | 10:43 |
| 4 | Foreign MotionIn FlightFrom: Foreign Motion — In Flight | 2:23 |
| 5 | Chris Bates Good Vibes TrioHidden PlaceFrom: Chris Bates Good Vibes Trio Featuring David Hagedorn & Phil Hey — Chris Bates Good Vibes Trio | 4:40 |
| 6 | Bryan Nichols QuintetBrand New InternetsFrom: Bryan Nichols Quintet — Bright Places | 5:26 |
| 7 | Graydon Peterson QuartetFlying Fish FlyingFrom: Graydon Peterson Quartet — Graydon Peterson Quartet | 4:17 |
| 8 | Courageous EndeavorsLegendsFrom: Courageous Endeavors — Prototype | 5:32 |
| 9 | The Illicit SextetChapter ElevenFrom: The Illicit Sextet — Chapter Eleven | 5:34 |
| 10 | Jana Nyberg GroupThe Nearness Of YouFrom: Jana Nyberg Group — Winter Song | 7:21 |
| 11 | Atlantis QuartetShadow PuppetsFrom: Atlantis Quartet — Expansion | 4:39 |
| 12 | Chris Lomheim TrioInto The HillsFrom: Chris Lomheim — Timeline | 6:43 |
| 13 | Steve Kenny's Group 47Time WarnerFrom: Group 47 — Straight To Vinyl | 6:02 |
Discographical details transcribed from the Discogs release entry. Original-release notes identify the source album for each selection.
| # | Artist / track / original release | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cory Healey's Beautiful Sunshine BandAragonFrom: Cory Healey's Beautiful Sunshine Band — Beautiful Sunshine | 4:03 |
| 2 | MississippiMyth MakersFrom: Mississippi (14) — Mississippi | 6:57 |
| 3 | New Sound UndergroundTop DrawerFrom: New Sound Underground — Push | 5:54 |
| 4 | Dean Sorenson SextetOzark MoonFrom: Dean Sorenson Sextet — Colors Of The Soul | 5:29 |
| 5 | JT BatesLast MorningFrom: JT Bates — Open Relationships | 1:24 |
| 6 | MancrushThey Call Me Friend Of The Golden DogsFrom: Mancrush (2) — Authentic Midwestern | 6:06 |
| 7 | The Illicit SextetEarly ElyFrom: The Illicit Sextet — Addendum | 3:03 |
| 8 | Adam Meckler QuintetOne Creaking Birch TreeFrom: Adam Meckler Quintet — Wander | 6:37 |
| 9 | Atlantis QuartetStargazer ShoegazerFrom: Atlantis Quartet — X | 5:53 |
| 10 | King, Fletcher, WoodsJokersFrom: Jeff King (7), Charles Fletcher (4), Eron Woods — Jokers | 5:20 |
| 11 | Bryan NicholsLake ViewFrom: Bryan Nichols (2) — Looking North | 4:43 |
| 12 | Peter VircksGravity PillFrom: Peter Vircks — What You Believe Is True | 3:10 |
| 13 | Tall TalesChinese OrangeFrom: Dean Granros, Zacc Harris, Chris Bates (4), Jay Epstein — Tall Tales | 6:08 |
| 14 | Le PercheronSquigglesFrom: Le Percheron — Le Percheron | 4:47 |
Discographical details transcribed from the Discogs release entry. Original-release notes identify the source album for each selection.
| # | Artist / track / original release | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Kenny QuartetAir MonkFrom: Steve Kenny — Quartets | 2:15 |
| 2 | SpaceMayfield RisingFrom: Space — Non-Trivial Problem | 7:21 |
| 3 | HoaxerOctagonFrom: Hoaxer (2) — Crash Test | 4:03 |
| 4 | Adam Meckler OrchestraJennsongFrom: Adam Meckler Orchestra — Magnificent Madness | 8:24 |
| 5 | Fuzzy MathDreamers DriveFrom: Fuzzy Math — Dreamers Drive | 3:48 |
| 6 | Lila AmmonsMonk's DreamFrom: Lila Ammons — Genealogy | 4:42 |
| 7 | Ted OlsenIntermezzo (Aquarelles)From: Ted Olsen — Joyfire | 3:02 |
| 8 | Red PlanetBig NickFrom: Dean Magraw's Red Planet With Bill Carrothers — Red Planet With Bill Carrothers | 5:24 |
| 9 | Javier SantiagoAliveFrom: Javier Santiago — Phoenix | 5:29 |
| 10 | Atlantis QuartetFive CornersFrom: Atlantis Quartet — Hello Human | 7:12 |
| 11 | Jana Nyberg GroupLazy AfternoonFrom: The Jana Nyberg 5 — Set On You | 2:42 |
| 12 | Larry McDonough QuartetFunkabilityFrom: Larry McDonough Quartet — Alice In Stonehenge And Other Acoustelectric Adventures | 2:23 |
| 13 | Peter KoganDon't Stop Lovin' Me BabeFrom: Peter Kogan — The Green Album | 4:15 |
| 14 | Lomheim, O'Brien And EpsteinHappy AntsFrom: Chris Lomheim, Michael O'Brien (22), Jay Epstein — Triage | 5:41 |
| 15 | Sarah M. GreerTwo DimensionalFrom: Sarah M. Greer — What the Music Says Do | 3:16 |
| 16 | JC Sanford QuartetBates Brothers Boy BandFrom: JC Sanford Quartet — Keratoconus | 4:50 |
Discographical details transcribed from the Discogs release entry. Original-release notes identify the source album for each selection.
| # | Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Si Tu Vois Ma Mère | 5:36 |
| 2 | Souvenirs | 4:04 |
| 3 | Till There Was You | 6:48 |
| Amor | ||
| 4 | Take Five | 3:45 |
| 5 | Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don’t Tease Me) | 4:16 |
| 6 | Georgia Grind | 3:50 |
| 7 | Bossa Dorado | 5:47 |
| Denouement | ||
| 8 | ’Round Midnight | 4:55 |
| 9 | Ni Queue, Ni Tête (Apple Blues) | 6:49 |
| 10 | My Romance | 6:08 |
“Amor” and “Denouement” appear as unnumbered entries in the supplied listing.
Barcode: 8 88295 32385 7
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From the newest Saturday Night Jazz home to the series that came before it — explore the live music presentations of illicit Productions.
A weekly Saturday-night jazz presentation in Fingal’s Cave, featuring an opening ensemble followed by a headline performance.
A weekly Saturday-night jazz presentation in Fingal’s Cave, featuring an opening ensemble followed by a headline performance.
Saturday evenings at metroNOME Brewery feature a 7:00 PM opening set and an 8:30 PM headline performance in Fingal’s Cave.
A chapter in the Saturday Night Jazz concert series, bringing artists and audiences together for live jazz.
A chapter in the Saturday Night Jazz concert series, bringing artists and audiences together for live jazz.
Additional history, featured artists, photographs, and archival show listings can be added here.
An earlier home of Saturday Night Jazz and its double-header performances.
An earlier home of Saturday Night Jazz and its double-header performances.
Additional history, featured artists, photographs, and archival show listings can be added here.
A jazz workshop series presented under the illicit Productions banner.
A jazz workshop series presented under the illicit Productions banner.
Additional history, featured artists, photographs, and archival show listings can be added here.
Friday-night jazz performances at Nicollet.
Friday-night jazz performances at Nicollet.
Additional history, featured artists, photographs, and archival show listings can be added here.
Thursday-night jazz performances at Reverie.
Thursday-night jazz performances at Reverie.
Additional history, featured artists, photographs, and archival show listings can be added here.
Explore the historical event archive →
A jazz series focused on original music.
A jazz series focused on original music.
Additional history, featured artists, photographs, and archival show listings can be added here.
Live jazz performances around the Twin Cities, courtesy of Jazz Police.
Selected automatically from the public Jazz Police calendar. Events are listed chronologically.
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Calendar not displaying? View the Twin Cities Jazz Calendar on Jazz Police.
Calendar listings are maintained by Jazz Police. Event details are subject to change.
Steve Kenny is available for select speaking engagements centered on the experience, fellowship, and continuing journey of 12-step recovery.
Explore speaking invitationsRecovery is not a polished success story or a set of easy answers. It is a lived experience shaped by honesty, connection, humility, and the work of showing up one day at a time.
Steve's talks are intended to offer a thoughtful, personal perspective on 12-step recovery—its challenges, its possibilities, and the importance of community. The focus is on sharing experience rather than prescribing anyone else's path.
Reflections on the realities of recovery and the value of telling our stories.
How shared experience and mutual support can make a meaningful difference.
Honesty, perseverance, and the ongoing practice of personal growth.
For recovery gatherings, 12-step speaker meetings, and community conversations, you're welcome to reach out about availability and the format of your event. Invitations can be considered individually, with an emphasis on a good fit for the audience.
Get in touchA personal recovery perspective, not professional counseling or treatment advice. Speaking arrangements and availability are confirmed individually.
Steve Kenny brings more than three decades of hands-on engineering and architectural leadership to enterprise software, integrations, modernization, and difficult technical challenges.
From architecture reviews to hands-on implementation, with an emphasis on reliable systems that work in real production environments.
Application architecture, service boundaries, distributed systems, design reviews, and pragmatic technical planning.
REST APIs, vendor SDKs, web services, authentication, data exchange, and complex third-party compatibility.
Extend established systems, navigate legacy code, plan incremental improvements, and preserve mission-critical behavior.
C#/.NET Framework, Windows desktop and web applications, SQL Server, data modeling, and deployment.
Physical access control and visitor management integrations for healthcare networks and other enterprise customers.
Mentoring, engineering team guidance, technical assessments, and bridging stakeholder needs with working software.
At HID Global, I served as technical lead for EasyLobby Secure Visitor Management and maintained more than 20 integrations connecting visitor management to physical access control platforms.
That work has included vendor API and SDK upgrades, compatibility across changing releases, complex production diagnostics, and enhancements supporting large hospital systems and enterprise deployments.
Enterprise visitor management, PACS integrations, mobile access and BLE location services, commercial desktop products, and IoT prototypes.
Client engagements spanning insurance, warehouse systems, healthcare, transportation, factory automation, financial services, and library technologies.
Built an object-oriented software consulting firm that grew to 77 employees and $10 million in annual revenue before merging with Key-Tech. Led engineering teams of up to 17.
Research and engineering at Honeywell and NCR; later work in independent consulting, internet services, Java application platforms, and large commercial software systems.
Languages & frameworks C#, .NET Framework, VB.NET, C++, Java, Python, Flask, ASP.NET, WPF, WinForms
Integration & data REST, web services, XML, SQL Server, Oracle, Entity Framework, APIs and SDKs
Engineering & delivery Visual Studio, Git, Bitbucket, CI, NUnit, WiX, Agile/Scrum, deployment and troubleshooting
I'm open to conversations about select consulting, architectural review, integration, modernization, and technical advisory work.
Email Steve Kenny Connect on LinkedInILLICIT PRODUCTIONS
For live performances, recordings, public speaking, and creative collaborations, I'd be glad to hear from you.
Send an email, text, or message through Facebook or LinkedIn. No forms to fill out — just reach out directly.
Independent jazz concerts and productions thrive with the help of people who love the music. If you'd like to support the shows, please visit Jazz Tip Jar.
Visit JazzTipJar.com
Thank you for supporting live music.
From a traveler's guide to live jazz to an enduring chronicle of the Twin Cities music scene.
For more than two decades, Jazz Police has documented the people, performances, venues and recordings that give the Minneapolis–Saint Paul jazz scene its character. Founded by Don Berryman in April 2004, the publication grew from an ambitious jazz-and-travel guide into an extraordinary local resource, sustained by dedicated writers, photographers, musicians and technologists.
A software engineer and frequent traveler, Don Berryman knew how difficult it could be to discover great live jazz in an unfamiliar city. He launched Jazz Police in April 2004 to help listeners find performances in Minneapolis–Saint Paul and other major American jazz destinations. Travel information, city guides and concert coverage were all part of the original vision.
Andrea Canter joined almost immediately, becoming a driving editorial voice and an indispensable photographer. The site evolved into a deeply informed guide to local artists, visiting performers, clubs, festivals, new recordings and the musicians behind the music. Don continued to contribute, alongside writers and photographers who helped preserve an evolving scene.
When the aging site's technology threatened its future, trumpeter, producer and software engineer Steve Kenny took over its technical and business stewardship. He rebuilt Jazz Police on WordPress and launched the new site in February 2016, maintaining continuity with the publication's past while establishing a more sustainable platform.
Now part of the illicit Productions family, Jazz Police continues under Steve Kenny's technical stewardship. Its modern implementation runs in Microsoft Azure on a Bitnami virtual machine hosting a WordPress codebase—combining the flexibility of open-source publishing with cloud infrastructure. The site remains a destination for concert previews, reviews, artist stories and the Twin Cities jazz calendar.
LIVE JAZZ · TWIN CITIESFew individuals have documented Twin Cities jazz as consistently and intimately as Andrea Canter. Her concert photography, musician portraits and reporting capture moments that might otherwise have disappeared when the music stopped.
Her images and articles helped make Jazz Police not merely a listings site, but a lasting visual and written record of artists, stages and audiences across generations.
Explore Andrea Canter's work on Jazz Police Illustrative concert image from the illicit Productions collection; not credited to Andrea Canter.Open-source publishing infrastructure supporting a large body of articles and an evolving editorial workflow.
Cloud-hosted virtual machine infrastructure for the modern Jazz Police deployment.
A Bitnami-based WordPress environment maintained under Steve Kenny's technical stewardship.
The 2016 WordPress relaunch is documented in Andrea Canter's contemporary account. Azure and Bitnami deployment details are supplied by Steve Kenny.
