{"id":299896,"date":"2025-10-13T12:26:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T12:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/299896\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T12:26:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T12:26:13","slug":"jazz-musician-john-difiore-left-new-york-for-fargo-50-years-ago-and-now-hes-playing-an-encore-inforum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/299896\/","title":{"rendered":"Jazz musician John DiFiore left New York for Fargo 50 years ago and now he’s playing an encore – InForum"},"content":{"rendered":"

FARGO \u2014 You may think a working jazz musician moving from New York City to Fargo in 1972 would be a step or two in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n

When John DiFiore got settled into the Red River Valley, the saxophonist realized just how right the move was.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not a name in New York, you don\u2019t play jazz,\u201d he said last week. \u201cIt gave me a chance to play more jazz than in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"101425.F.FF.JOHNDIFIORE.3\"<\/p>\n

John DiFiore performs with the New York Tenors jazz group on Monday, Sept. 16, 2025, at Sidestreet Grille and Pub in Fargo.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Goelzer \/ The Forum<\/p>\n

For more than 50 years he not only played jazz regularly, but taught music around the region, making an indelible impact on young musicians and music fans alike.<\/p>\n

The Kicks Band of Fargo Moorhead \u2014 in which the tenor saxophonist has been playing since the outfit started in 1975 \u2014 honors the musician with a toast concert Wednesday night at TAK Music Venue in Dilworth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess because I\u2019m old,\u201d DiFiore said when asked how the program came about.<\/p>\n

\"101425.F.FF.JOHNDIFIORE\"<\/p>\n

John DiFiore performs with the New York Tenors jazz group on Monday, Sept. 16, 2025, at Sidestreet Grille and Pub in Fargo.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Goelzer \/ The Forum<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t feel old when he plays and aging hasn\u2019t affected his performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t change. You just keep practicing and keep getting better and get more mature in your playing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to playing tenor sax, he also plays clarinet and flute.<\/p>\n

\"101425.F.FF.JOHNDIFIORE.4\"<\/p>\n

Pianist David Ferreira performs with the New York Tenors jazz group on Monday, Sept. 16, 2025, at Sidestreet Grille and Pub in Fargo.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Goelzer \/ The Forum<\/p>\n

After graduating from studying clarinet 1965 at the Manhattan School of Music, he would tour with \u201cghost bands,\u201d acts that carried on under the name and style of the former leader. He played with Lee Castle & The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and Buddy DeFranco & The Glenn Miller Orchestra.<\/p>\n

On a 1965 tour with the Jimmy Dorsey Band, playing a residency at Breezy Point Resort in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, he met a woman, Susan who would become his wife. The couple lived in New York for a few years, but decided to settle down in the Midwest and moved to Fargo in 1972.<\/p>\n

The music scene wasn\u2019t as diverse as in New York, but he found musicians like trumpeter Dick Shook, pianist David Ferreira, bassist Bill Law and drummer Mike Blake, and they would play regularly at the Old Broadway. He would also share the stage with the late guitarist James Condell and play in the R&B band Mike and the Monsters for 11 years and the Jazz Arts Group under Kyle Mack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was different than it is now,” he said. “Now we have so many great players who\u2019ve come to town like Russell Peterson, Matt Patnnode and Tom Strait. They\u2019ve changed the scene quite a bit. It\u2019s more exciting than it was in 1972.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"101425.F.FF.JOHNDIFIORE.7\"<\/p>\n

Matthew Patnode performs with the New York Tenors jazz group on Monday, Sept. 16, 2025, at Sidestreet Grille and Pub in Fargo.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Goelzer \/ The Forum<\/p>\n

DiFiore also taught at Minnesota State University of Moorhead, Mayville State University and Valley City State University, as well as holding residencies and workshops in high schools around the area.<\/p>\n

Patnode met DiFiore in 1999 when he joined the Jazz Arts Group as a baritone saxophonist. The two would jokingly bond about being from New York \u2014 DiFiore from the city and Patnode from upstate \u2014 and later form their own group, New York Tenors.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn is, in jazz parlance, a Tenor man. He\u2019s the quintessential jazz man from old school swing bands,\u201d Patnode said. \u201cHe\u2019s a great soloist in the great swing style, like Dexter Gordon, Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"101425.F.FF.JOHNDIFIORE.5\"<\/p>\n

Ryan Livdahl plays bass with the New York Tenors jazz group on Monday, Sept. 16, 2025, at Sidestreet Grille and Pub in Fargo.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Goelzer \/ The Forum<\/p>\n

At Wednesday\u2019s concert, DiFiore will be featured on a swing, shuffle take on The Rolling Stones\u2019 \u201cHonky Tonk Woman,\u201d Duke Ellington\u2019s \u201cIn a Sentimental Mood\u201d and Cole Porter\u2019s\u201dI Concentrate on You.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis playing is always very soulful,\u201d said Tim Johnson, the music director and executive director for Kicks Band of Fargo Moorhead. \u201cHe likes to use a lot of interesting patterns. He says a whole lot when he plays. He\u2019s really down to earth. You don\u2019t get a lot of frills or bells and whistles.\u201d<\/p>\n

DiFiore is looking forward to playing with old friends, but he\u2019s not looking forward to hearing speeches about himself, which he said may be, \u201cawkward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to celebrate these older musicians who have traveled and played gigs their whole lives,\u201d Patnode said.<\/p>\n

\"101425.F.FF.JOHNDIFIORE.6\"<\/p>\n

Mark Demull plays drums with the New York Tenors jazz group on Monday, Sept. 16, 2025, at Sidestreet Grille and Pub in Fargo.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Goelzer \/ The Forum<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always celebrate people after they pass. He\u2019s playing up a storm now. I want to toast him so he can enjoy it,\u201d Johnson said, adding that he\u2019d like to celebrate more of the area\u2019s great living musicians.<\/p>\n

While he may not be looking forward to people singing his praise, DiFiore appreciates the sentiment, especially coming from his musical peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice, I feel honored,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m no longer a big fish in a small pond.\u201d<\/p>\n

What:<\/b> John DiFiore toast concert<\/p>\n

When:<\/b> 7:30 p.m. Wednesday<\/p>\n

Where:<\/b> TAK Music Venue, Dilworth<\/p>\n

Info:<\/b> Tickets are $23.18 for this all-ages show.<\/p>\n

fmkicksband.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"John<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

For almost 30 years John Lamb has been covering arts and entertainment in the Red River Valley. He started writing for the High Plains Reader in 1997 and moved to The Forum in 2002. He is an Annenberg fellow, an occasional judge for talent shows and food contestants and co-hosts the weekly \u201cGardening Together: The Podcast<\/a>.\u201d He’s rubbed shoulders with Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, drank with National Book Award winner Colm McCann, had coffee with Grammy-winning classical musician Peter Schickele and interviewed countless other artists, actors, musicians, writers and assorted interesting people. Contact John at jlamb@forumcomm.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FARGO \u2014 You may think a working jazz musician moving from New York City to Fargo in 1972…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":299897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,152676,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,152677,152678,152679,152680,152681,152682,152683,152684,152685],"class_list":{"0":"post-299896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-did-the-rolling-stones-do-jazz-version-of-honky-tonk-woman","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkcity","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa","22":"tag-what-are-glenn-miller-songs","23":"tag-what-are-jimmy-dorsey-songs","24":"tag-what-is-kicks-band-of-fargo-moorhead","25":"tag-where-is-tak-music-venue","26":"tag-who-is-bill-law","27":"tag-who-is-david-ferreira","28":"tag-who-is-john-difiore","29":"tag-who-is-matt-patnode","30":"tag-who-is-tim-johnson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}