Hot Summer Jazz Fest

Mourn all you want for the dearly departed Cedarfest, but really, it doesn’t take much to find an outdoor rock stage and a pack of domesticated drunkards pretty much any night of the summer. Meanwhile, it’s an encouraging sign that the Hot Summer Jazz Fest, now in its fourth year, has grown in rep and in scope. It’s still heavier on usual suspects and rising local talent than on visiting jazz giants, but for a scene as under-explored as the Twin Cities’, we ought to welcome the opportunity to see such a wide range of hometown heavies in one week. Folks with a jones for funky, danceable workouts of the Maceo Parker variety are advised to check out the Ronny Loew Band, a saxophone-led groove unit that counts keyboardist Tommy Barbarella (ex-Prince collaborator and current commercial-music kingpin) and red-hot percussionist Esther Godinez as members. Anyone trying to keep up with local next-big-things might want to catch Alicia Reneé, a teenage songbird whose prodigious way with vocal standards has area club owners touting her as jazz’s answer to Shannon Curfman. The schedule is generally light on the experimental flavors favored at venues like the Turf Club and Bryant-Lake Bowl, but as a non-profit venture benefiting Habitat for Humanity and the Project for Pride in Living, its big heart stands out all the more in the absence of hipster pretensions. Hot Summer Jazz Fest, www.hotsummerjazz.com