By Katherine Bergman, Studio Z Studio Z, operated by the new music group Zeitgeist, opened in 2009 and serves as a gathering place for the composers, performers, and audiences that make up our Twin Cities new music community. Designed with chamber music in mind, Studio Z provides our community with an intimate and affordable environment in which to enjoy and present adventurous musical programming. Studio Z has become an incubator for new music entrepreneurs and has given rise to two new musical series: Jazz at Studio Z and the crow with no mouth concert series.

Jazz at Studio Z is a monthly concert series featuring a diverse lineup of Minnesota’s greatest jazz musicians, providing the community with greater access to the music and the opportunity to learn directly from the musicians through concert performances and educational workshops. On one Saturday each month, the artists offer an open rehearsal and workshop, free to the public, prior to their concert performance that evening. This month’s Jazz at Studio Z event on March 9 spotlights one of Minnesota’s most championed groups, Fat Kid Wednesdays, featuring a powerhouse lineup of saxophonist Mike Lewis, bassist Adam Linz, and drummer JT Bates. Their performance and free master class will dig deep into the music of jazz icon Ornette Coleman.

Another ongoing project taking place at Studio Z is the crow with no mouth concert series. crow with no mouth promotions was started in early 2010 to bring emerging electro-acoustic composers and improvisers to Twin Cities audiences. The series presents genre-bending artists who explore uncharacteristic sounds and unconventional techniques in new music. The next crow with no mouth event on March 23 features music from drummer Jon Mueller’s recent album “Death Blues” and a solo set for modular synthesizer and electronics by Jason Soliday.

Jazz at Studio Z: Fat Kid Wednesdays – the Music of Ornette Coleman March 9, 2013 5 p.m. workshop, free 7 p.m. concert, $10 Studio Z, 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200 St. Paul

crow with no mouth: Jason Soliday/Jon Mueller March 23, 2013 8 p.m. Studio Z, 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200 St. Paul $10