TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Chris Stover and More Zero
JAZZ ALLEY: Karrin Allyson
NEW ORLEANS: Ham Carson Quintet
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Jennifer Derrick Adams with Darin Clendenin (piano) and Clipper Anderson (bass)
9pm – Anne Weiss with Sarah Allen Pella and Radio Antionette
THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson and Tad Britton
LO-FI: The Teaching
LUCID: Steve Alboucq Jazz Quartet
Around this time of year, posters for the JVC Jazz Festival would be appearing on the streets of New York, and jazz tourists would be finalizing plans to arrive in the middle of June for two weeks of bragworthy shows.
But for the first time in 37 years, there will be no major summer jazz festival in New York. Nor will there be related series in Miami or Chicago, as the concert company behind them is suffering a financial crisis.
At stake is one of the most celebrated legacies in American music. Two years ago the impresario George Wein sold his company, Festival Productions, to a group led by Chris Shields, a charismatic entrepreneur who planned to transform Mr. Wein’s empire through aggressive growth. Now that plan has all but collapsed, as Mr. Shields’s company, Festival Network, has lost its top sponsor, as well as several signature festivals, delivering what many call a painful blow to jazz.
In an interview Mr. Shields, 38, largely blamed the economy for his company’s woes. “I’ll certainly take criticism for the robust growth plan,” he said. “It may have been too robust for the time. I think if we weren’t faced with this economy, we would have been just fine.”
But business associates and former employees, many of whom would not comment publicly because the company still owes them money, say that Festival Network overspent on booking talent and took unnecessary risks, including opening four new festivals last summer without securing sufficient sponsorship.
Continue reading at The New York Times
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Katy Bourne Quartet
NEW ORLEANS: Legacy Quartet w/Clarence Acox
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Cindy Phillips with Darin Clendenin (piano)
9pm – Vocal Jam hosted by Marti MacEwan, with Darin Clendenin (piano), Joe Casalini (bass) and Robert Rushing (drums)
TUTTA BELLA: Djangomatics
THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio
JAZZ ALLEY: Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project
WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce
THOMAS MARRIOTT AT THE CELLAR (Set 2) – mp3 clip
Thomas Marriott – trumpet
Mark Taylor – saxophones
Brad Turner – piano and fender rhodes
Paul Rushka – bass
Matt Jorgensen – drums
Bellevue Jazz Festival Preview
May 22 – 24
for information: http://bellevuejazz.com
The new, old Bellevue Jazz Festival reconvenes for the second year in a row in its current incarnation, a full-blown, three-tiered, weekend-long, diverse offering of artists, both well-known and novices, all within walking distance (a vigorous one perhaps, but a walk nonetheless) in a maturing, downtown Bellevue.
Originally started in 1978 at Bellevue Community College as a grass-roots, local event, the current festival aims to compete with the likes of the jazz festivals of Portland and San Francisco. That means corporate dollars (Microsoft), grant money (4 Culture), and nationally-recognized musicians like Dianne Reeves, the Mingus Big Band, Kurt Elling, Danilo Perez, Mose Allison and Patricia Barber.
The BJF starts the Friday before Memorial Day and runs through Sunday, competing with one of Seattle’s most popular and longest-running musical events, the Northwest Folklife Festival. The BJF has committed itself to a three-year run. It has yet to make money but is convinced it is on the right track to becoming a viable event.
“We’re fortunate this year to have major sponsors,” said festival director Leslie Lloyd. “We are way ahead of the game compared to last year. Ticket sales are always a challenge…The economy trickles through all aspects of every business. We’re hoping people will choose to stay home over Memorial Day weekend and choose one more rich offering close to home.” Read More
from The Ballard Jazz Festival. Photos by Jim Levitt
Joe Locke Group
Joe Locke – vibes; Darrell Grant – piano; Thomas Marriott – trumpet; Jeff Johnson – bass; John Bishop – drums
Corey Christiansen Quartet
Mark Taylor – saxophone; Corey Christiansen – guitar; Paul Gabrielson – bass; Matt Jorgensen – drums
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Roadside Attraction
NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Ron Peters (guitar), Cary Black (bass) and Paul Elliott (violin)
9pm – Tom Collier Trio with Tom Collier (vibraphone), Chris Lennard (bass) and Peter Schmeeckle (drums)
DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio
MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita
MIX: Don Mock
TRACTOR TAVERN: Happy Apple w/ Dave King of Bad Plus
from The Seattle Times:
NEW YORK CITY — Another year at Essentially Ellington, another triumph for Seattle bands.
Garfield High School won here and Roosevelt placed second in the 2009 festival, the top high-school jazz-band contest in the country, which wrapped up here last Sunday.
“We kind of chuckle that people are going to get tired of seeing Garfield and Roosevelt all the time,” said Scott Brown, the band director at Roosevelt High School, which is located within five miles of Garfield.
It’s been quite a decade for Seattle-area schools. In 2000, the fifth year of the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, Roosevelt placed third and Garfield received an honorable mention. Entrance into the competition had only been opened to schools in the West the year before, and the talent was already weighted toward the Northwest.
How much talent? Also in 2000, Mountlake Terrace and Shorewood were among the finalists. And so began a the decade of dominance by high schools from familiar ZIP codes. Newport, Kentlake, Edmonds-Woodway, Shoreline, even tiny South Whidbey have all taken turns going to New York — and many went more than once.
But it would be Roosevelt and Garfield that emerged as the standard-bearers.
Continue reading at The Seattle Times.
NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Quintet
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Jazz Jam with the Darin Clendenin Trio
JAZZ ALLEY: Cocoa Martini
from Earshot Jazz: Cocoa Martini is a dynamic and elegant jazz ensemble featuring three exceptional vocalists – Karen Shivers, Kimberly Reason, and Kay Bailey – backed by the crackling band of Bill Anschell on piano, Bernie Jacobs on saxophone and flute, Chris Clark on bass, and Greg Williamson on drums. Together, the ensemble presents a repertoire of straight-ahead jazz, R&B and pop music in a fresh and emotionally resonant style. Formed out of a desire to pay homage to the creative genius of the African American community and the lasting presence of jazz in the world, Cocoa Martini has treated many audiences to powerful, witty, and irresistibly honest live performances, often featuring personal and entertaining stories to accompany each song.
TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Booker T.
TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder
JAZZ ALLEY: Keiko Matsui
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
3pm – Jay Thomas Big Band
8pm – Jim Cutler Orchestra
SERAFINA:
11:00 – Jazz Brunch: Conlin Roser Duo
6:30pm – Ann Reynolds / Tobi Stone Duo
MARTINS OFF MADISON: Tim Kennedy
TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: The SPU Jazz Ensemble
CONCERT: KPLU School of Jazz CD release w/ Thomas Marriott
Museum of History & Industry (2700 24th Ave E), 3pm
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Hadley Caliman w/ Thomas Marriott
JAZZ ALLEY: Keiko Matsui
TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Blue Street Voices
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Caffeine Trio
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Confluence (formerly RiverPeople), with Casey Garland (guitar, vocals), Elaine Skeffington (vocals), Ivan Lee (guitar), and Jerry Fleet (bass, vocals).
9pm – Julia Massey CD Release
LOCAL COLOR: Benjamin Doerr
BAKE’S PLACE: Kelley Harland Quartet
SERAFINA: Leo Raymundo w/Sue Nixon
LUCID: Hard Coretet
ST. CLOUD’S: James Bernhard and Friends
GRAZIE: Greg Shroeder Quartet
GALLERY 1412: Improvisation Workshop w/ Evan Flory-Barnes, noon
EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio
from CNN.com:
Wayman Tisdale, who became a successful jazz musician after retiring from pro basketball, died Friday morning following a two-year battle with cancer, his agent said.
Tisdale, 44, died in a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital, where his wife took him when he had trouble breathing early Friday, agent Scott Pang said.
Tisdale’s death was “a complete shock” and came as he prepared to return to the recording studio next week to work on a project with jazz guitarist Norman Brown, Pang said.
“He was a real testament to the power of positive thinking,” said Pang. “Even after the cancer and amputating his leg above his knee, he never lost that smile on his face.”
Doctors discovered Tisdale’s bone cancer after he broke his leg in a fall down a flight of stairs, according to the official biography on his Web site.
“It really showed me what’s important in life, man,” he said in his bio. “It’s not getting as many houses as I can, not driving the biggest cars. What’s important is family and being healthy.”
Continue reading at CNN.com
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: from New York, Tim Armacost Quintet with Jay Thomas & Chris Fagan
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: PGM Trio (5:30pm)
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Vampirates with Elsa Nilsson (flute), Mike Owcharuk (piano), Burt Boice (bass) and Cody Rahn (drums) ($7 cover)
9pm – Leif Totusek’s Freestyle Candela with Leif Totusek (composer/guitar/vocals), Mahamid Shiabo (bass/talking drum) and Branden Harper (trap set)
11pm – Peter Schmeeckle Quintet with Neil Welch (tenor sax), R. Scott Morning (trumpet), Josh Hou (piano), Andy Short (bass) and Peter Schmeeckle (drums)
LOCAL COLOR: Katy Bourne
SERAFINA: Kiko de Freitas
LUCID: Barrett Martin Group
GALLERY 1412: Bonnie Whiting Smith and Richard Johnson
RENDEZVOUS JEWELBOX THEATER: SOMF w/ At Head of Woods, Holy Experiment
2322 2nd Ave, Seattle, 10:00pm
EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio
NORTH CITY BISTRO: David George Trio
HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Sushi Trio featuring John Hansen, Jon Hamar and Greg Williamson
LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM: Byron Vannoy’s Meridian
Rooted in jazz and fueled by rock and popular music, Byron Vannoy’s Meridian ignores no influence. Performing original compositions which feature odd meters, unique harmonies, and powerful vamps, Meridian is a forceful vehicle for such impressive improvisation. Meridian features Vannoy on drums, Chris Symer on bass, Kacey Evans on keyboards, Chris Spencer on guitar, and Eric Barber on Saxophones. Recently, Meridian won the Earshot Golden Ear award for 2008 Recording of the Year. Music begins at 5:30 in the Brotman Forum of the Seattle Art Museum (SE), and entry to the concert is free with museum admission.
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Coalescence featuring Chris Amemiya, Jay Thomas, Alexey Nikolaev, John Hansen, Phil Parisot and Phil Sparks
NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Clave Nagila, with Jason Parker (trumpet), Tobi Stone (clarinet), Brian Bermudez (bari sax), Adrian Witherspoon (trombone), Nate Omdal (bass), Adam Kessler (drums) and Lalo Bello (percussion)
9pm – Kent/Grasso Duo, with Brian Kent and Tony Grasso
LO-FI: The Teaching
GALLERY 1412: SOMF w/ Wayne Horvitz, Gust Burns & Tyler Wilcox, Michal Szostalo
THAIKU: Jeff Alberts, Jeff Johnson & Tad Britton
JAZZ ALLEY: Eric Alexander Quartet with Dave Hazeltine, Chuck Deardorf and Matt Jorgensen (7:30pm, All Ages)
from The Seattle Weekly: Museum pieces are no good for jazz. But then there are players who speak a vocabulary of the past with so much power and conviction that they make it a living tongue, and Eric Alexander is one of the most valuable of these. The Olympia-reared saxophonist is fully planted in the Blue Note hard-bop tradition, but he never sounds like an homage act; he’s got too many surprising ideas, too many sparks flying off the bell of his horn. With his regular New York pianist, David Hazeltine, and Seattle support from Chuck Deardorf and Matt Jorgensen, Alexander will make his persuasive case that the muscle-swing format of the ’50s and ’60s can yet reach the hearts and minds of the Twittering class. – MARK D. FEFER
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: BCC Jazz Orchestra
NEW ORLEANS: The Legacy Band w/Clarence Acox
THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio
WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce
Download a free track from Mark Taylor’s new CD, Spectre
THE TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Thomas Marriott CD Release Party
Make your reservation: 206-838-4333
EASTSIDE JAZZ CLUB: Jon Hamar Quartet
Sherman Clay Piano Store, 1000 Bellevue Way NE, 7:30pm-9:30pm
JAZZ ALLEY: Eric Alexander Quartet
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Emerald City Jazz Orchestra
NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Small Jazz Orchestra, with Scott Small (drums) and Sammamish HS jazz students Hana Shin (piano), Nick Rogstad (trombone) and Jon Small (bass)
9pm – Ballard Jazz Combo with Liam Fitzgerald (drums), Peter Ossewald (piano), Andy Frodsham (bass), Tony Jijina (trumpet), Morgan Ramsey (trombone), Elliot Ransom (alto sax) and Kevin Vitz-Wong (tenor sax)
DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio
MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita
MIX: Don Mock
In advance of Thomas Marriott’s CD Release Party tomorrow (Tuesday, May 12), download the entire first set from his performance Saturday night at The Cellar in Vancouver, BC.
THOMAS MARRIOTT AT THE CELLAR (Set 1) – mp3 clip
Thomas Marriott – trumpet
Mark Taylor – saxophones
Brad Turner – piano and fender rhodes
Paul Rushka – bass
Matt Jorgensen – drums
Thomas will be performing in Seattle on Tuesday, May 12
TUESDAY, MAY 12 – THE TRIPLE DOOR
216 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101
Tickets: 206-838-4333
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Dorthy Rodes Quartet featuring Bill Anschell, Jeff Johnson, D’Vonne Lewis and special guest Andy Shaw
NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet
TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder
