Dave Graf: Up Front

Crooners’ Up Front Series

Dave Graf, trombonist for Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Harry Connick Jr., Julie Andrews, and many others, comes ‘Up Front’ for the first time in his own concert, sharing stories from his career and playing the songs that brought him there.

Dave Graf: Trombone
Jennifer Grimm: Vocals
Matt Peterson: Bass
Phil Hey: Drums
Mary Louise Knutson: Piano

Dave Graf started playing trombone in the 4th grade and just kept going with it. One of the most versatile and in-demand trombonists in the Twin Cities, Dave has worked in a wide range of musical settings. His jazz resume includes performances with Slide Hampton, Herbie Lewis, Jack McDuff, Charli Persip and Superband, the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Orchestra, and the Woody Herman Orchestra. As a member of local show orchestras, he has backed stars like Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Harry Connick Jr., Julie Andrews, and many others.

Dave has been a fixture on the Twin Cities big band scene for decades. He played in the JazzMN Orchestra almost from its inception and performs frequently with many other area big bands. He has over four decades of experience playing in local pit orchestras for Broadway shows at the Ordway and other Twin Cities theaters.

In the jazz realm, Dave was a member of Eric Kamau Gravatt’s group Source Code for several years until Eric’s relocation to his native Philadelphia, has been a long-time member of Doug Haining’s Twin Cities 7, percussionist Peter Kogan’s Monsterful Wonderband, and with his own group, Bone Chance, featuring his own compositions.