Connie Evingson with Parisota Hot Club

Minnesota born-and-raised, Connie Evingson has a catalog of acclaimed albums that run a wide spectrum of genres. From jazz to Broadway standards, to covering Peggy Lee or The Beatles, the Twin Cities-based singer has an adventurous spirit that, like her music, knows no boundaries. Her ten albums released through Minnehaha Music have all charted in the Top 50 in the United States and Canada, and can be heard on radio stations around the globe.

Evingson has toured worldwide, with appearances at concert halls, theaters and festivals in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Memorable performances include being a guest artist at Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, Michael Feinstein, and Vince Giordano; multiple performances on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion; collaborations with the Minnesota Orchestra and Toronto Symphony conducted by Doc Severinsen; performances with the JazzMN Orchestra and Vocalessence, and a standing invitation at the renowned Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. Evingson is a two-time recipient of both the McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians as well as the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist’s Initiative Grant.

She has been featured in the Smithsonian Jazz Singers radio series, on NPR’s Fresh Air and Weekend Edition, and appears on numerous compilation discs. Her latest album, “All the Cats Join In,” featuring John Jorgenson and his Quintet playing in the “jazz manouche” style popularized by Django Reinhardt, was released in 2014 to critical acclaim. No matter the genre, from bebop to Bossa nova, from big-band swing to ballads, her voice is pitch-perfect; a bit smoky in texture, with articulation as clear as midnight on a starry Minnesota winter night.

Minnesota born-and-raised, Connie Evingson has a catalog of acclaimed albums that run a wide spectrum of genres. From jazz to Broadway standards, to covering Peggy Lee or The Beatles, the Twin Cities-based singer has an adventurous spirit that, like her music, knows no boundaries. Her ten albums released through Minnehaha Music have all charted in the Top 50 in the United States and Canada, and can be heard on radio stations around the globe.

Evingson has toured worldwide, with appearances at concert halls, theaters and festivals in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Memorable performances include being a guest artist at Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, Michael Feinstein, and Vince Giordano; multiple performances on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion; collaborations with the Minnesota Orchestra and Toronto Symphony conducted by Doc Severinsen; performances with the JazzMN Orchestra and Vocalessence, and a standing invitation at the renowned Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. Evingson is a two-time recipient of both the McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians as well as the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist’s Initiative Grant.

She has been featured in the Smithsonian Jazz Singers radio series, on NPR’s Fresh Air and Weekend Edition, and appears on numerous compilation discs. Her latest album, “All the Cats Join In,” featuring John Jorgenson and his Quintet playing in the “jazz manouche” style popularized by Django Reinhardt, was released in 2014 to critical acclaim. No matter the genre, from bebop to Bossa nova, from big-band swing to ballads, her voice is pitch-perfect; a bit smoky in texture, with articulation as clear as midnight on a starry Minnesota winter night.

Guitarist Robb Henry is introduced to French expatriate violinist Raphaël Fraisse in December 2001 and voila! Parisota Hot Club. Left to right Raphaël, Bobby E. Ekstrand, Bill Grenke, Robb Henry. Photo by Claire Boswell - 02.07.02

Formed in 2001...Original intention in getting together to explore the music of Django Reinhardt... First official date as Parisota Hot Club at Brasserie Zinc in Minneapolis Feb. 7 2002... At this time, it was the first Hot Club of the 2000's devoted to the jazz stylings of Reinhardt and violinist Stephan Grappelli to appear on the Mpls./St. Paul music scene. It has since become the longest running Hot Club locally in the Twin Cities. The current Parisota lineup has been performing as a trio since 2015 with Robb Henry - guitar, Jim Plattes - violin and Matt Senjem - bass.

The name Parisota is a blend of two locations; Paris, hometown of original PHC violinist and founding member Raphaël Fraisse and the group's home base, Minnesota.