Live jazz calendar ends August 1

On August 1, 2012, the Live Jazz in the Twin Cities calendar will go dark. For more than three years, it has been my time-sucking labor of love, a term I once used affectionately, then wryly, and lately in a kind of cranky way. Maintaining the calendar consumes an insane number of hours that I want to use for other things.

It's been illuminating to discover how much live jazz happens every day in the Twin Cities (way more than most people realize), entertaining to correspond with so many jazz musicians (some have been surprised to learn they're double-booked), and fascinating to track the movement of live jazz as venues come and go, like flocks of birds flying from tree to tree. Just last week we lost the Nicollet, which was for some people a replacement for the Times, which closed in February 2009, which seems like forever ago. When one door shuts, another opens somewhere, eventually, sometimes. We thought the Clown Lounge would last forever. It didn't. But look, now we have Mondays at Icehouse.

To those who rely on the jazz calendar, my apologies. The Twin Cities Jazz Society may have a calendar in the works. City Pages and Vita.mn list jazz events on their calendars. Certain venues will send you emails about coming events if you sign up. Many venues and artists have online calendars, though few are current or very detailed.

I'll add July events until July 15. If you have July gigs you want added to the calendar, send me your info ASAP. This is last call.