Cadillac vs. Cornbread

Nate Patrin

Don't let that "vs." fool you: eighty-something local music vet James Samuel "Cornbread" Harris isn't so much a rival to rockabilly revivalist Cadillac Kolstad as he is a mentor. The two pianists have been sharing double-bills in a number of local music hot-spots, including their regular Sunday gig at the beloved West Bank dive Palmer's, and you couldn't ask for a more fascinating '50s-tinged duo. Harris is a WWII vet who joined Augie Garcia to record the Twin Cities' first rock'n'roll record (1955's "Hi Ho Silver"), but also has roots in country, blues and jazz, giving him the repertoire and background that stretches all the way back to the very roots of rock and soul music. Kolstad's been spending years carrying the torch for that heritage, and the revivalism he's cultivated with his rockabilly band the Flats has carried over to a tight, ivories-based rapport with Harris, making them the must-see dueling-piano act in town.