The First Friday of Every Month.

What better way to start each month, than an evening of jazz at the Opus Concert Café. Offering an eclectic mix of the Corridor’s best jazz soloists and ensembles, each month features a new musical talent and their tribute to the genre that has defied the eras.

December features the “Mike Conrad Trio”

Mike Conrad is a composer and improviser from Bettendorf, Iowa. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Jazz Studies & Music Education at the University of Northern Iowa. His compositions have earned him four ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards, a SONIC Award from the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers, the 2023 Sammy Nestico Award, and many other accolades. Conrad’s music has been performed all over the world by ensembles including the Metropole Orkest (Netherlands), the United States Air Force Airmen of Note, the Count Basie Orchestra, and the Chris Washburne Octet at Carnegie Hall.

Conrad’s wide-ranging creative projects include a a suite of four Iowa-inspired big band pieces recorded by the Iowa Jazz Composers Orchestra, an ambitious reimagination of Beethoven’s 3rd symphony in collaboration with the Berlin-based Stegreif Orchester, and his mixed chamber jazz ensemble the All Angles Orchestra, which released an album of original music featuring Alex Sipiagin in 2017.

Mike Conrad regularly performs regionally on piano and trombone with Chris Merz’s Quartet, the Bob Washut ‘Emeritet,’ the Max Wellman Big Band, as well as several other groups, and has also performed and recorded with musicians such as Louis Hayes, Alexa Tarantino, and Greg Gisbert. His jazz festival appearances include the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Rockport Jazz Festival, the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, and the Iowa City Jazz Festival.

After releasing Reconnect (2022), an album featuring eight Conrad originals brought to life by Katie Ernst (bass) and Cassius Goens III (drums), the Mike Conrad Trio won a Jazz Road Tours Grant from Arts Midwest, taking them to venues across Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa in 2023. Conrad plans to follow up his debut trio album with a 2025 release full of pieces inspired by his father, mother, brothers, sisters, wife, and daughter.

Bassist/vocalist Katie Ernst is described by the Chicago Tribune as “a versatile young bassist who plays in far-flung bands and sings with uncommon delicacy and authenticity.” She is co-leader of the adventurous Chicago-based jazz trio Twin Talk and has received widespread critical acclaim for her Dorothy Parker poetry song cycle Little Words, which premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in 2015.

Katie is an active sidewoman in the jazz and improvised music communities of Chicago and surrounding areas. Some recent notable performances and awards include performing in Mexico City, MX for a Chicago/CDMX Improvised Music Exchange in 2020; multiple performances at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival and Chicago Jazz Festival; performing with MacArthur Fellow and renown pianist/composer Jason Moran at the Chicago Symphony Center and the Kennedy Center; receiving a composing residency at the Ragdale Foundation; and representing the USA as bassist and vocalist for the 2018 EuroRadio Jazz Orchestra in Riga, Latvia. She is currently touring with Iron & Wine (Light Verse Tour) and Shadowlands (John Raymond & S. Carey).

A native of Muncie, Indiana, Cassius Goens III began playing percussion at age 11. He has toured throughout the Midwest, New York, Brazil, and Europe where he performed at the Montreux, Vienne, and Perugia Jazz Festivals. In April 2011, he released his debut album Transition that features his original compositions as well as his quintet Groove Theory. Cassius regularly plays throughout the Midwest with a host of jazz artists, and has performed with world-renowned musicians like Chuck Finley, Buddy Defranco, Andy Martin, Marcus Printup, Karyn Allison, Don Aliquo, Wayne Bergeron, Dennis DiBlasio, Ted Nash, Michael Davis, Matt Harris, Rodrigo Ursaia, Jimmy Greene, Andy Milne, and Charlie Ballantine. Cassius has also been a sub for the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra.

In the Mike Conrad Trio, the unique musical personality of each player shines through while somehow simultaneously uniting to create a cohesive and exciting group sound. Conrad’s tunes are engaging and well-crafted with tons of space for improvisation, interaction, and expression. The group is proud to bring a set of brand-new music to Cedar Rapids for the First Friday Jazz series at Opus Concert Cafe.

Jazz & Drinks. Friends & Fun.

At First Friday Jazz, we want you to have a good time, celebrate with friends, and unwind into your weekend. The Opus Concert Café serves a wide array of liquid libations that are the perfect pairing to your jazz infused musical entrée of the evening.

Health & Safety

Beginning March 8, 2022 masks will not be required to be worn in our facilities or at our concerts. If, as a member of our audience, you feel more comfortable wearing a mask, please feel free to do so. Orchestra Iowa reserves the right to change this masking policy in response to changes in public health conditions, CDC recommendations, and updated policies by federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Additional Details