Monday Jazz

TRIPLE DOOR: Charles Lloyd Quintet w/Reuben Rogers, Jason Moran, Eric Harland

SEATTLE DRUM SCHOOL: Last Mondays with Geoff Harper
12510 15th Ave NE, Seattle, 8pm

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: JAZZ JAM with the Darin Clendenin Trio

NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet

LA SPIGA: Ray Baldwin

Let us know if we missed something by posting a comment!

Tonight: Charles Lloyd at The Triple Door

EARSHOT JAZZ presents the CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET
MONDAY, MARCH 31
THE TRIPLE DOOR
Shows at 7:00 at 9:30pm

Buy tickets at The Triple Door website

At 68 when most individuals are thinking of ways to slow down and kick back, Charles Lloyd has shifted to a higher gear. His concerts and recordings are events of pristine beauty and elegance, full of intensely felt emotion and passion that touches deep inside the heart. This not entertainment, but the powerful uncorrupted expression of beauty through music. When music vibrates, the soul vibrates and touches the spirit within. “Charles Lloyd was the highlight of the Berlin Jazz Festival…Lloyd, tabla master Zakir Hussain and stunning young drummer, Eric Harland – shimmied with palpable synchronicity and flashes of mystical beauty,” stated award winning writer, Joe Woodard in the Santa Barbara Independent.

Credited by many musicians with anticipating the World Music movement by incorporating cadences of many cultures in his compositions as early as the late 1950s, Charles Lloyd describes his music as having always “danced on many shores.” As Peter Watrous wrote in The New York Times, “Mr. Lloyd has come up with a strange and beautiful distillation of the American experience, part abandoned and wild, part immensely controlled and sophisticated.” From the moment he first came to prominence as the young music director of the Chico Hamilton Quintet in 1960, Lloyd began to take audiences on journeys that traversed enormous distances. Over nearly four decades, his compositions have punctuated the post-bop period, embraced the traditional music of a host of world cultures and ciphered the psychedelic 1960s with avant-garde improvisation. Lloyd was one of the first jazz artists to sell a million copies of a recording ( ‘Forest Flower’) and then he surprised us by walking away from performing just at the point that he was dubbed a jazz superstar. Actually he was just following a trajectory that was taking him closer to the essence of the music he was hearing.

Seattle Times: Lloyd’s music springs from heartfelt influences

From Paul de Barros’ column today in The Seattle Times:

Many jazz fans dismiss saxophonist and flutist Charles Lloyd as a poseur, a “Coltrane lite” flower child who capitalized on an aura of spiritualism when it was fashionable in the ’60s but never acquired the chops or individuality of the master he was imitating.

In some ways these people have it right. Lloyd can definitely sound like a noodler, and he uses a number of Coltrane gestures. There is the metallically shimmering cry on tenor, the Middle Eastern exoticism on taragato (a Hungarian double reed) that mimics Trane’s keening soprano saxophone and the habit of running up to an accented melody note with a dramatic flourish. There’s also a lot of Eric Dolphy in Lloyd’s flute playing, particularly his sudden flurries and use of odd intervals.

But Lloyd’s quartet connects with audiences in a way that somehow makes such purist objections seem merely petulant. His upcoming appearance in Seattle with a new quartet featuring pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland, courtesy of Earshot Jazz, is most welcome. Lloyd’s quartet performs Monday at the Triple Door.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

Saturday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Das Vibenbass

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Susan Pascal Quartet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Karen Shivers (vocals), with Karin Kajita (piano), Phil Sparks (bass) and Brian Kirk (drums)
9pm – Scandalmonger, with Evan Flory-Barnes (bass), Michele Khazak (vocals) and Adam Kessler (drums)
11pm – Electric Blue Sun, with Bob Dickey (drums), Jeff Wittekind (guitar), and Buzz Rogowski (keyboards)

BAKE’S PLACE: Karin Plato Quartet

TUTTA BELLA: Michael Gotz Trio

SERAFINA: Jose Gonzales Trio

LA SPIGA: Fred Hoadley Trio

GRAZIE: Michael Powers Group

GALLERY 1412: Nathan Hubbard, with Bill Horist and Paul Kikuchi

SORRENTO HOTEL: Julie Cascioppo

WORLD CUP ESPRESSO: Rik Wright Trio
5200 Roosevelt NE, 7:30pm

Friday Jazz

The start of another weekend is here. What are you going to hear tonight?

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: The Bill Anschell Trio ** SJS Recommended **

JAZZ ALLEY: Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM:
5:30pm: The Jason Parker/Josh Rawlings Duo
9:00pm: Pocket Change

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Momentum Jazz Quartet
9pm – Andy Shaw Ensemble, with Andy Shaw (vocals), John Hansen (piano), Phil Sparks (bass) and Matt Jorgensen (drums)
11pm – Free World Jazz, with bassist Keith Judelman

BAKE’S PLACE: Kat Parra Quartet

SERAFINA: Fred Hoadley Trio

LA SPIGA: Charlie Heisstand Quartet

GALLERY 1412: Marc Smason and Free World

GRAZIE: Michael Powers Group

HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Todd Hymas CD Release

LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio (4:30 – 6:30pm)

VERTIGO: Neal Golden & Guest

Bellevue Jazz Festival tickets on sale today

Bellevue Jazz Festival tickets for the Branford Marsalis Quartet and Spanish Harlem Orchestra will go on sale today, Friday, March 28, 2008, at 10 a.m.

Three-time Grammy Award winning saxophonist and Marsalis Music label founder Branford Marsalis will lead the quartet in a Friday, May 23, performance at Meydenbauer Center. The Spanish Harlem Orchestra (SHO), a 13-member Latin jazz ensemble and Grammy winner directed by musician and producer Oscar Hernández, will perform Saturday, May 24, at Meydenbauer Center.

Tickets for both performances will be available online through TicketsWest (http://www.ticketswest.com) and at participating QFC and Rudy’s Barbershop stores. A complete line up of Bellevue Jazz Festival events is also online at http://www.bellevuejazz.com.

Tickets for the Branford Marsalis Quartet will range from $20 for reserved seating to $75 for Golden Circle table seating near the stage. Spanish Harlem Orchestra tickets will run from $30 for general admission to $60 Golden Circle table seating near the stage.

The Bellevue Jazz Festival, produced by the Bellevue Downtown Association, begins April 9 with an all-star line-up of regional artists performing free Wednesday night concerts throughout Downtown Bellevue. Audiences will hear vocalists Greta Matassa and Gail Pettis, trumpeter Thomas Marriott, percussionist Ben Thomas, Gypsy jazz band Pearl Django and the Brazilian jazz trio of Jovino Santos Neto.

This Friday at Bake’s Place

San Francisco vocalist Kat Parra is in town this weekend performing at Bake’s Place.

FRIDAY, MARCH 28
KAT PARRA QUARTET

BAKE’S PLACE
Dinner Time: 7:00pm
Performance Time: 8:00 – 10:30pm
Reservations: 425-391-3335
http://bakesplace.org

SF Bay Area based vocalist Kat Parra has leapt beyond the boundaries of the typical latin jazz singer. With her thirst for the exploration of world rhythms and tonalities, she has developed a style of music that encompasses sounds that both transcend and bend the stereotypical definition of latin jazz. She has incorporated not only afro-cuban music, but also added afro-peruvian, middle eastern, south american folklore as well as nueva trova. Most interestingly, she has also been developing, along with her musical director Murray Low, new arrangements of Sephardic music–the music of the Spanish Jews sung in the dying language of Ladino.

Thursday Jazz

THE TRIPLE DOOR:
MATT JORGENSEN +451 CD RELEASE PARTY

216 Union Street
7:30pm

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Andrienne Wilson Vocal Showcase

JAZZ ALLEY: Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band

THE NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet

THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson, Tad Britton

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Dave Anderson Quartet, with Dave Anderson (saxophone), Chuck Kistler (bass), Adam Kessler (drums), and John Hansen (piano)
9pm – Helen Chance

ASTEROID CAFE: Tim Kennedy Jam Session

VERTIGO LOUNGE: Trish Hatley

LO-FI: The Hang

Buds Jazz Records is going out of business

From James Rasmussen:

After 25 years, almost 26 Bud’s Jazz Records is going out of business…. I’ve done my best to keep it going but don’t want to go into debt any more than I already am.. If there is anyone interested in taking over (buying) a jazz icon in Seattle let us know.. Otherwise we will start sales in the 2nd week in April to sell all the stock… 2nd week 10% 3rd week 20% 4th week 50% till everything is sold…. What ever is left will be donated to the Seattle public schools…The store will be on regular hours till the end of April … Open 7 days a week…If you have consignments with us they will need to be picked up.

For more info Call James Rasmussen
206-628-0445
or E-mail [email protected]

From today’s Seattle Times:

After nearly 26 years as the homey basement hub and hangout for Seattle jazz musicians and fans, Bud’s Jazz Records is going out of business.

“I just can’t keep it going anymore,” said James Rasmussen, a Seattle trumpet player and leader of the band the Jazz Police; Rasmussen bought the store from founder Bud Young in 2001.

Bud’s Jazz Records, at 102 S. Jackson St. in Pioneer Square, will be sorely missed by the local jazz community. Known for its unstinting support of local musicians, the store consistently plugged discs by Seattle artists — often unknown — and piles of their CDs crowded the counter.

Wednesday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band

TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: The Bobs with Bob Malone
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: James Baumgart Trio

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Jazz Workshop

THE NEW ORLEANS: The Legend Band w/ Clarence Acox

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
6pm – Alyse Rhys (vocals) with Darin Clendenin (piano)
8pm – Vocal Jam with Carrie Wicks

TUTTA BELLA: Marco deCarvalho

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

Matt Jorgensen +451 CD Release

Matt Jorgensen +451 will be celebrating the release of their new CD, Another Morning, at the Triple Door Mainstage on Thursday, March 27 at 7:30pm.

All About Jazz just said of the new recording, “The group is a rhythm section and saxophone, but it sounds like no other. No one playing in this format—with the exception of perhaps Vijay Iyer—has crafted a more distinctive jazz identity.”

THURSDAY, MARCH 27
THE TRIPLE DOOR
216 Union Street
Seattle, WA
Tickets: 206-838-4333

7:30pm, All Ages

featuring:
Mark Taylor – saxophone
Ryan Burns – keyboards
Phil Sparks – bass
Matt Jorgensen – drums

with guests:
Thomas Marriott – trumpet
Jason Goessl – guitar

Hadley Caliman at Tula’s: another review

By Cynthia Mullis

Yes, Bill Barton said it: this was a do-not-miss event! This sold-out CD release party for Hadley Caliman’s Origin release, Gratitude, was a fine representation of the richness of the Seattle jazz scene infused with lots of New York energy. Everyone in the band was on their toes and it showed in creative soloing, interesting arrangements and a wonderful ensemble dynamic. Here is my version of the night as experienced from the big round table at the back of Tula’s (which was also the locus of a cool between-set hang).

Hadley Caliman is a Northwest treasure because he is a great musician with a creative voice on the saxophone. To my ears, he is grounded in the post-bop ‘60s sound of Joe Henderson and John Coltrane, which for me, is the benchmark of modern tenor saxophone. He veers towards Coltrane on the up-tempo tunes, while his phrasing and tone are more Henderson-esque.

The first set consisted of selections from Caliman’s new CD and included: “Back for More,” a 6/8 blues by Marriott; “Invitation”; “Linda” by Caliman; “If,” a Joe Henderson blues; and ending with the first tune Caliman ever wrote, entitled “Comencio.” The set was marked by concise, energetic playing and there were, in fact, no long-winded solos all night.

By the second set, the groove and credentials of the band had been established. Caliman’s tone, subdued and hindered by an unsympathetic sound system in the first set, was full, resonant and well-mic’ed in the second set. The moment that I got Hadley’s playing was in the second set on his version of “Lush Life.” This is a tune with famous recordings by both Coltrane and Henderson–it’s hard to get away from these definitive versions–but Caliman asserted his voice with langorous phrases full of creativity, originality, and a lifetime of experience. It was the best of Hadley Caliman’s saxophone playing and one of the more memorable moments of the evening. Read More

Tuesday Jazz

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Jump Ensemble

JAZZ ALLEY: Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Jubilee

THE NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

DEXTER & HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

OWN ‘N THISTLE: Tuesday Jam Session

Monday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Seattle-Kobe Female Jazz Vocalist Audition

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: JAZZ JAM with the Darin Clendenin Trio

NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet

LA SPIGA: Darliene & Ryan

It’s a quiet Monday night for jazz, but let us know if we missed something by posting a comment!

Review: Hadley Caliman Quintet at Tula’s

by Bill Barton

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB, FRIDAY, MARCH 21

Some performances transcend the whole concept of music as art or entertainment and reach an entirely different level. Love, trust, respect, communication and joy in the act of creation can touch the heart in ways that can’t be described in words. In over 30 years of attending concerts, there aren’t too many that have moved this listener that deeply. Friday night’s CD release party for Hadley Caliman’s Gratitude at Tula’s in Seattle is one of them. One doesn’t go to a concert, theatrical production or dance performance for something mundane. One should leave transformed, renewed, healed, seeing the world through new eyes, hearing harmony and consonance everywhere, feeling like a newborn baby who’s experienced beauty for the first time. Every once in awhile this ideal is met.

At age 76, Caliman is a Pacific Northwest treasure, a master of his craft who exudes humility and humanity. Now retired from teaching at Cornish College of the Arts, he has by no means retired from sharing his muse. An inspiration to several generations of players, he ranks among the living giants of the tenor saxophone in the world of jazz. There aren’t too many other cats out there with a track record comparable to his. He’s in the rarefied company of Chicago legends Von Freeman and Fred Anderson in this regard.

One of the reasons that this was a do-not-miss event hinged on the appearance of vibraphonist Joe Locke, who has a sizeable following in the Seattle area. He’s no stranger to the Pacific Northwest, having performed at the Ballard Jazz Festival with Geoffrey Keezer and in Port Townsend. His visits are rare enough that this was an occasion. Locke is a true virtuoso on his chosen instrument. Sometimes a prolix improviser, he can spin off dizzying flights packed with so many audacious ideas that a comparison to Art Tatum or Cecil Taylor might be in order. Everything has a clarity and pinpoint articulation that can boggle the mind. Dazzling technique doesn’t amount to a hill of coffee beans in the bigger picture though. It’s what he does with it. There is deep spirituality, rhythmic intensity and true story telling in his playing. He’s fun to watch as well as to hear. It’s obvious that he is in that famous “zone” whenever he’s onstage. An animated, physical, constantly moving presence, his facial expressions continually mirroring the process of spontaneous creation, mouthing along with labyrinthine passages, once in awhile scatting along sotto voce, he doesn’t just play the music, he inhabits it. The man’s a perpetual motion machine. Those 12-hour days playing on the streets of New York City with George Braith definitely paid off when it comes to stamina and focus.

All of the musicians who played at Tula’s are on Gratitude, with the exception of Seattle’s ubiquitous Matt Jorgensen on drums, replacing Joe La Barbera. Jorgensen is an aggressive, polyrhythmic drummer, and his entrainment with Locke was a joy to behold. They were Locked in, if you’ll pardon the expression. Thomas Marriott produced the session for Origin and his brother David provided the superb arrangements. Particularly during the second and third sets this evening, the former’s trumpet and flügelhorn playing was packed with joie de vivre and a sense of adventure. There was no holding back. Marriott can be a very subtle player, on occasion appearing to backpedal and eschew grandstanding. This is one of his strengths. Better that than the effusive bravura of someone like James Carter, who tends to play everything he knows in the first ten minutes and then tries to figure out the next step. This evening’s music found Marriott more willing to teeter on the edge of the abyss than he had been at other live performances I’ve heard. He never fell over. Bassist Phil Sparks is a long-time Caliman associate, and their simpatico communication is obvious. His time is rock-solid, an essential ingredient in a music that takes as many rhythmic twists and turns as the arrangements on Gratitude do. He also has a full, deep, rich sound and beautiful intonation; no slipping and sliding to reach the “right” note here.

Attempts at a play-by-play would be pointless. It was the experience in total that made such a strong impression on me. I have to single out Caliman’s infectious composition “Joe Joe Dancer Bossa Nova” though, which included some of the most memorable solo work from all hands and his radiant interpretation of “Lush Life” in quartet format. Caliman obviously knows the lyrics to this heartbreakingly beautiful Billy Strayhorn classic, and his tenor saxophone exuded saudade in an emotional solo that juggled the world-weary sentiments of the song with a life-affirming optimism.

Looking back on the experience, I’m reminded of something that the late pianist Andrew Hill once said: “I’m trying to make music a sensual expression, not an academic experiment.”

Sunday Jazz

Easter Sunday…a good day for some cozy rainy day jazz, in and out of the house.

JAZZ ALLEY: New York Voices

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
3:00 – 7:00pm: Fairly Honest Jazz Band
8:00pm: Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra

GRAZIE: no Jam Session tonight

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Ma-Ta-bo, Sunday Night Salsa

LA SPIGA: Tor Dietrichson

TUTTA BELLA STONE WAY: Casey McGill and the Blue 4 Trio

SERAFINA:
11am – 1:30pm: Jazz Brunch with the Conlin Roser / Cynthia Mullis Duo
6:30 – 9pm: Ann Reynolds / Tobi Stone Duo

Saturday Jazz

Now that you’re warmed up from last night, head on out for more great jazz!

CORNISH COLLEGE: Jim Knapp Orchestra, (see article below)

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Quartet

JAZZ ALLEY: New York Voices

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Speak
9pm – Ben Fowler Quintet
11pm – The Way Downs

BAKE’S PLACE: Bake and Friends Quartet

TRIPLE DOOR MUSIQUARIUM: Das Viben Bass

HENDRIX LOUNGE: David White Trio w/Doug Miller and John Bishop

TUTTA BELLA: Primo Basso

SERAFINA: Voodoo Trio

BERKSHIRE GRILL: David Little

LA SPIGA: Aham Oluo Trio

GRAZIE: Scott Lindamuth Trio

Know of anything else tonight? Send it our way by posting a comment.

Building Bridges with the Jim Knapp Orchestra

SATURDAY, MARCH 22
PONCHO THEATER
CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS
710 E Roy St, Seattle
8:00pm

The Cornish Music Series is proud to present Building Bridges with the Jim Knapp Orchestra, featuring the premiere of “Movements for Flute and Jazz Orchestra,” commissioned by Cornish College of the Arts to honor Knapp’s role in the founding of Cornish’s jazz program 35 years ago.

When Jim Knapp joined the Cornish faculty in the early seventies, the Music Department had a curriculum that included some jazz classes, but only as a supplement to the basic conservatory-type curriculum. Recognizing a need, Knapp spearheaded an effort to enhance the presence of jazz music at Cornish. Gradually, the increased class offerings developed into a full program. New faculty such as Gary Peacock, Chuck Deardorf, Don Mock, Dave Peterson, Denney Goodhew, Phil Snyder, Julian Priester, Art Lande, Jerry Granelli, Jay Clayton, and many others were brought on board, and a jazz curriculum was established which remains essentially intact to this day. In honor of his efforts to propagate the Cornish College jazz program, composer Jim Knapp was commissioned to write a piece celebrating his rich history with the college. “Movements for Flute and Jazz Orchestra” will be performed by faculty member Paul Taub and the Jim Knapp Orchestra.

Friday Jazz

The weekend is here! Big night tonight at Tula’s and beyond so make your plans now for a night out.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Hadley Caliman CD Release Party
featuring Joe Locke, Thomas Marriott, Phil Sparks and Matt Jorgensen
2214 2nd Ave, Seattle, 8:30pm, 206-443-4221

BAKE’S PLACE: Isabella Du Graf Quartet

JAZZ ALLEY: New York Voices

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM:
5:30pm: Two pedal steel guitar players: Dave Easley (Brian Blade Fellowship) and Dan Tyack

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Don Berman Quartet, with Gregg Robinson (piano), Sylvia Rollins (bass), Jim Knodle (trumpet), Mikel Rollins (sax) and Don Berman (drums)
9pm – Yellow Hat Band and Peace Bandits
10:30pm – Black Bear Combo and Peace Bandits

SERAFINA: Kiko de Freitas, Brazilian trio

BERKSHIRE GRILL: Milo Peterson

LA SPIGA: Mark Bullis

GRAZIE: James Bernhard

KIRKLAND PERFORMANCE CENTER: Bluestreet Jazz Voices

HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Monkstone Theocracy

VERTIGO LOUNGE: Randy Halberstadt Trio

LO-FI: Water Babies