My Irish grandmother used to believe that bad things came in threes. However, she never had the pleasure of hearing TRIPLICATE, a Twin Cities trio of experienced, savvy and hip young jazz pros. Their sound is a decidedly good thing.

TRIPLICATE is composed of guitarist Joel Shapira of Merriam Park, bass player Bruce "Pooch" Heine of Minneapolis' Longfellow neighborhood and drummer Dave Stanoch of Minnetonka. Together, the three men have enough credits for two movies. They have worked with garage rock and blues bands, toured with Broadway musicals and performed on Caribbean cruise ships. They all teach music, perform in other combos, do private parties and weddings, and accompany singers.

Stanoch and his wife, singer-songwriter Katy Tessman, run their own CD label, Rhythmelodic Records. Stanoch has also taught at Music Tech in downtown Minneapolis for the past decade.

The band had three members, so it was called Triplicate. Pretty unoriginal. But the bebop-based, progressive jazz trio tries to ensure that everything else about it is unique. Its members write their own music, make their own arrangements of jazz standards and aren't afraid of fusing other music genres into their jazz sound.

"Jazz is personality. Whatever the three of us come up with sounds like us,'' said Dave Stanoch, Triplicate's drummer. "We're not trying to imitate anything. We draw on the best and move forward.''

The Minneapolis band will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday in Beaner's Central Inc., 324 N. Central Ave. Though its members have played Duluth individually, this will be the trio's Duluth debut.

And as far as they can tell, Duluth audiences haven't heard anything like Triplicate, says bassist Bruce Heine.

On the Regional Scene: Triplicate is world class trio with a self-titled release for Rhythmelodic records.

"Triplicate" has eleven stellar tracks and a guitar and rhythm-driven sound that surpasses like-minded national outings I receive by the bakers-dozen.

Guitarist Joel Shapira, bassist Bruce "Pooch" Heine and drummer Dave Stanoch, (who provides a couple of powerful originals, the other from "Pooch"), make for a highly compatible combo who are gaining enough notoriety to land a spot on the local televised coverage during Ken Burn's Jazz. Check Jazz events on our site for gigs featuring these guys, and by all means, explore the cd!

"Triplicate", Triplicate, Rhythmelodic * * * 1/2 (out of a possible 4 stars)

The past year was perhaps the most productive and rewarding in some time for jazz recordings by Twin Cities musicians.

Add to those these fine recent releases from the trio Triplicate (Joel Shapira, guitar; Bruce "Pooch" Heine, bass; Dave Stanoch, drums) and the duo of valve trombonist Brad Bellows and guitarist Dean Granros.

Triplicate is deceptively excellent. A band for some five years (you can hear it in their in-sync and interactive playing), its members have varied and extensive resumes as students, players and teachers, evident in the choice of material, incorporation of various idioms, and high level of musicianship.

There's an appealing deliberateness, spareness and relaxed feeling with Triplicate, reflected in some pieces played at a slower-than-usual tempo and the breathing room in the group's ensemble arrangements, as well as in solos by each player.

After five years of fruitful collaboration -- and gigs at every bar, bookshop and public park that let them plug in -- this hometown jazz trio was plenty ready to record its first CD. Empathy abounds on Triplicate's untitled new release for Rhythmelodic Records. This polished band more than capably covers a lot of hip turf: hard bop, jazz-rock, Monk, Mingus, New Orleans funk, even a snatch of Led Zeppelin. Guitarist Joel Shapira, bassist Bruce (Pooch) Heine and drummer Dave Stanoch make all the disparate elements fit into a refined and personalized jazz trio travelin' bag. Heine's eloquence is palpable on the J.J. Johnson ballad classic, "Lament." Stanoch brews up a trap set storm on "Third Wind," an original tune. Shapira goes acoustic when you least expect it ("Crescent City Strut"), then plays pretty for all the parents in earshot on "Sweet and Lovely." Triplicate's debut album is a tres hip trip. (9 p.m. Fri., Dakota Bar & Grill, Bandana Square, St. Paul. $8. 651-642-1442.)