The Line will take a post-Labor Day break next week--we'll see you again on September 14. In the interim, by all means check out a couple of very different, mostly unhyped, bound-to-be-great cultural events between now and then:

Tradition on Canvas

On the Training of Painters: The Atelier's Past and Present opens on Thursday, September 1 at the Bloomington Theatre and Art Center. It's a showcase of work by students and graduates of The Atelier, a Minneapolis art school that teaches realistic painting literally "old-school"--in a manner inherited from the French academies of the 19th century (and ultimately from the Italian workshops of the Renaissance). The educational exhibition will show viewers the steps that classically trained artists go through in rendering subjects and crafting finished paintings. Come for the opening reception on September 1 from 8 to 10 PM; a number of talks and other events are scheduled during the show's six-week run.

Jazz on Selby

Fans (like me) of the friendly Selby Avenue coffee shop Golden Thyme know that owner Mychael Wright is a community leader and a jazz fan; he's been putting the two passions together for ten years now with the Selby Avenue Jazz Fest, a showcase of some of the Cities' finest jazz talent--plus a nationally prominent headliner. (It's a street fair too, with a kids' play area and food and art vendors filling the street.) This year it's happening on September 10, and the out-of-town guest is twice- Grammy-nominated sax hero Gerald Albright, who's played and toured with scores of A-list musicians, including Anita Baker. the Temptations, Quincy Jones, and Whitney Houston. The local lineup offers a bit of everything, from the all-amateur Lex-Ham Community Band to Salsa del Sol, one of our busiest Latin ensembles.

Photos, top to bottom:

Sweeper, an oil painting by Doug Kingsbury that will appear in the Training of Painters show (courtesy The Atelier and the Blommington Art and Theatre Center)

Street scene from the 2010 Jazz Fest (courtesy Selby Avenue Jazz Fest)

2011 headliner Gerald Albright (courtesy Selby Avenue Jazz Fest)