In preparing this week’s Jazz Setlist, I dropped a line to guitarist Rodney Richardson, the co-leader and co-mastermind (with trumpeter Joe Herrera) behind Sunday Jazz Lounge at Twins Jazz. Since March, the weekly program presented Herrera and Richarson’s quartet along with a solo opener, who usually later joined the quartet onstage. “Who’s the soloist this week?” I asked.

“Well, no one,” he replied. “The SJL is now defunct.”

Richardson and Herrera have been out of town for a month, touring the west coast with The Funk Ark in support of their album From the Rooftops. For the first two weeks, tenor saxophonist Brian Settles filled the Sunday slot at Twins; however, scheduling conflicts for all involved ended the gig.

The Sunday Jazz Lounge was designed specifically for Twins; while it traveled around to substitute venues for a couple months this spring, Richardson says there’s no feasible permanent substitute.

While nothing is yet set in stone, says Richardson, “Joe and I are working to continue putting on similar events in the near future.” Meantime, Twins has not yet updated their listings to exclude the Sunday Jazz Lounge.

Photo by Allie Carroll