• Jazzy country and country-ish jazz •

Nice Work with Heidi Schmidt returns to Caffè Sole — sort of. The line-up and song list for this date are different enough that it’s not really the Nice Work Combo, so we’re calling it the High Plains Combo.

Heidi Schmidt – vocals & guitar • Jane Uitti – violin
Jason Malmberg – vocals & bass • Victor Mestas – piano
Travis Daudert – guitar • Brian Kauffman -drums

The High Plains Combo explores jazz standards with a country flair and jazz arrangements of country standards. Distinctive guitar and violin voices help set the tone for this jazz/country fusion. In the songbook are Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce” played as Texas swing, a jazz arrangement of “Shenandoah,” and “How High the Moon” and “Sweet Georgia Brown,” which have long lived in both the jazz and country repertoire. Also John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery,” a swing version of Bob Dylan’s “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You’re Gone,” a jazz rendition of “Surrey With the Fringe on the Top,” and the classic “Sitting On Top of the World” set to a NOLA groove. You might want to bring your dancing shoes.