Courtesy of the Artists CollectiveThe atrium in the Artists Collective in Hartford, Conn.

Courtesy of the Artists CollectiveDolly McLean at the Artists Collective.

In 1968, Jackie was invited to teach part time at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, which until then had offered no classes in African-American music and jazz. At first he commuted between Hartford and New York City, where Dollie and the children still lived. She had been accepted as an actress in the Negro Ensemble Company and planned to stay. When Jackie’s teaching load increased, the family moved to Hartford.

Jackie and Dollie became one of the city’s power couples. The Hartt School established a department of African-American music and named Jackie its director; in 2001, the department was renamed the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz. Dollie took a part-time job in community outreach for the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, organized its first-ever exhibit of West African artifacts, and persuaded the directors to show more works by contemporary African-American artists. They networked and befriended other movers and shakers.

Jackie died in 2006. Dollie had long been the collective’s executive director and continues in that role. She’s trying to cut back on the time she spends at the collective, but the week before we met she had come in all seven days. The current economic climate is tough on nonprofits. The collective has had to raise the costs of some offerings and discontinue the buses that brought kids in for after-school programs.

Some of the original plans for the center, including a state-of-the-art recording studio, are still on hold, but banisters were recently added to stairways in the theater and the steel drums were tuned.

A collective gathering to watch Obama
On the day of our visit, a new satellite dish was being installed on the roof in preparation for a Convention Watch Party today (Aug. 28). Congressman John B. Larson, D-Conn., area Democrats and community members will gather to watch as Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois gives his acceptance speech.

While the dish was going up, auditions were taking place in the second-floor dance studio. We stood in a corner and the dancers, graceful as gazelles, stuck to business and ignored us. Dollie pointed to one and said, “See the girl with glasses? She’s been coming to the collective for years. Her mother was carrying her when we first met.”

On the way out, we met the mother. She was filling out a form for yet another class.

Upcoming picks

The Artists’ Quarter During the RNC: I planned to stay as far away from St. Paul as possible all next week. Then AQ owner Kenny Horst announced his club would remain “open and swinging” -- with no cover charges to area residents and students. So brave the traffic and the delays, pray for a parking space, try not to get arrested, and bring your ID. Monday, Sept. 1: Dean Magraw with Mikkel Romstead and Kenny Horst. The garrulous and opinionated Magraw will likely have plenty to say about the convention. 9 p.m. ($5). Tuesday, Sept. 2: SWMT&M (Zach Schmidt. Cory Wong, Cassie Meyer, Patricio Toledo and Dan Musselman) followed by the Tuesday Night Band and B-3 goodness. 7 p.m. ($5). Wednesday, Sept. 3: Jon Weber Trio. Piano man Weber is always a must-see. Read more about him here. 9 p.m. ($5). Thursday, Sept. 4: Tanner Taylor and Friends. Piano fans love Tanner, too. Read more here. 9 p.m. ($5). All shows at The Artists’ Quarter.

Jazz88’s REEL Jazz Film Series: Launched last fall, this series of seldom-aired jazz films resumes with “Wild Man Blues,” Barbara Kopple’s documentary about filmmaker and jazzer Woody Allen. Nicely timed to coincide with the opening of “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” or just a lucky break? The Isaac Zuckerman Quartet (students from South High School, Minnetonka High School, and Northfield High School) opens. Doors at 6 p.m., music at 6:30, film at 7. Bryant Lake Bowl Cabaret Theater, Thursday, Sept. 4 ($10 suggested donation). Seating limited to 80. Reservations: email Kevin Barnes at KevinB [at] Jazz88fm [dot] com. Mark your calendar for future REEL dates: Thursday, Oct. 2 and Thursday, Nov. 6.

Note: As reported in the Downtown Journal, Rossi’s Steakhouse in Minneapolis is closing. Hell’s Kitchen will take over the space at 80 S. Ninth, with plans to reopen in early October. I can’t say I’ll miss Rossi’s Blue Star jazz club, but it was a paying gig for a lot of area musicians, and for that reason I’m sorry to see it go. Maud Hixson performs tonight (Thursday, Aug. 28), Nancy Harms on Friday and Saturday.

Find jazz calendars online at Jazz Police. Click on Twin Cities, MN in the black menu bar at the top.