$10 at the door 7:00pm Show
SunShip is composed of the unique musicians Dean Magraw (guitar), Patrick Adkins (piano), Dan Carpel (bass), and Jay Epstein (drums). The quartet focuses on familiar jazz material, with their compass pointing to the polestar of melodic strength meshed with the sensitivity of acute interactivity. SunShip creates an enchanting sonic journey for its listeners.
Jazz drummer Jay Epstein has an extensive career as a performer, a recording artist, and a touring artist. He has been on seven European tours with pianists Bill Carrothers and Giacomo Aula. He has performed with the rock band gypsy and jazz artists Barney Kessel, Richie Cole, Manfredo Fest, Sheila Jordan, Karrin Allyson, Kenny Werner, Howard Levy, Toots Thielemans, Bob Dorough, and Sarah Vaughan. His CDs featuring bassist Anthony Cox and pianist Bill Carrothers have garnered luminous reviews in the international press. His current bands include Red Planet, Framework, StableMates, Firebell, Gypsy Mania, and BluLuna.
Dean Magraw studied at the University of Minnesota and Berklee College of Music in Boston. He spent five years in Beantown, playing professionally and teaching. After returning to his hometown St. Paul, he's had a life of music—playing, composing, arranging, producing, and recording. Magraw’s music is impossible to pigeonhole. For 15 years, he was half of a duo with mandolinist Peter Ostroushko. He has collaborated with Masahiro Nitta, who plays the traditional Japanese shamisen; with Nigel Kennedy, Britain’s bad boy of the classical violin; with Nirmala Rajasekar, South Indian vocalist and player of the vina; with the singers Bruce Henry, Ruth MacKenzie, and Claudia Schmidt; with the Irish supergroup Altan. As a jazz cat, he leads his own trio; performs with Chris Bates and Jay Epstein as Red Planet; and, more recently, has formed BluLuna and SunShip.
Dan Carpel is an upright and electric bass player based in the Twin Cities who has worked with local artists such as Javier Santiago, Zacc Harris, Omar Abdulkarim, Pete James Johnson, Jake Baldwin, Bryan Nichols, JC Sanford, Abinnet Berhanu, Steve Kenny, and Matt Jennings. He frequently performed with singer/guitarist Mary Cutrufello as well as Sonny Knight and the Lakers and recently became a part of Dylan Hicks’ Small Screens. Dan attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he was in the school’s Monterey Quartet. He was a member of Jason Palmer’s band throughout his time in town, and he was a mainstay in their residency at Wally’s Jazz Cafe. His time out east also saw him play in groups led by Godwin Louis, Ilan Bar-Lavi, and Melissa Aldana.
Patrick Adkins is a Twin Cities-based pianist and composer who specializes in jazz and improvised music and is well versed in a variety of musical styles and settings. His classical training serves as the foundation for his versatility and adaptability.
