NO COVER 5:00pm Show
Pianist Mary Louise Knutson and bassist Steve Pikal will team up for an early show.
Steve Pikal has been playing music professionally for many years and is highly regarded as a first-call bass player in the Twin Cities jazz scene. He has had the pleasure of backing legendary performers such as Cab Calloway, Bob Hope, and Margaret Whiting. He enjoys keeping very active playing locally and nationally touring, recording, plus on many music festival circuits working with top bands and artists from all around the country. Some of his additional playing credits include the Jim Cullum Jazz Band, Butch Miles, Artie Shaw Orchestra, the Barbary Coast Dixieland Show Band, Dick Hyman, Delfeayo Marsalis, Harry Allen, Jon Weber, the Wolverines Big Band, Butch Thompson, Hal Smith, and the Bill Evans New Orleans Jazz Band.
Jazz pianist-composer Mary Louise Knutson has been called “one of the most exciting artists to happen to jazz piano in quite some time.” Her warm, inviting tone; broad range of emotional expression; and distinctive compositions have earned her much recognition on the national music scene. Knutson performs, records, and tours with her group, the Mary Louise Knutson Trio, and freelances with area vocalists, notably Connie Evingson and Patty Peterson (and formerly with the late Debbie Duncan). She also performs with a variety of instrumental groups, including the JazzMN Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra. From 2010 to 2018, Knutson toured with trumpeter Doc Severinsen, who is the former bandleader for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Check out her albums on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, or Amazon Music.
