Saturday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Mark Sherman Quartet

JAZZ ALLEY: Al Di Meola World Sinfonia 2009

TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Type A
TRIPLE DOOR MUSIQUARIUM: How Now Brown Cow

BAKE’S PLACE: Gail Pettis Quartet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Dorothy Rodes (vocals) with Jeff Johnson (bass), Victor Noriega (piano)
9pm – Steve Korn Group, with Steve Korn (drums), Dan Kramlich (piano), Mark Taylor (sax) and Jon Hamar (bass)
11pm – Sam Friend with Cinnamon In It

PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet

LOCAL COLOR: Maggie Laird

SERAFINA: Kiko de Freitas

GRAZIE: Michael Matthews Trio

Seattle Times: Mark Sherman brings his vibraphone (and quartet) to Tula’s

from The Seattle Times:

Vibraphone players are something of a rare breed in jazz music, sometimes a happy accident, Mark Sherman being one of them.

Serendipity is known to take its time, so perhaps it is no surprise that Sherman, 51, was well into middle age before he really hit his stride. Named the “Rising Star” among vibraphonists for the past two years in the Downbeat magazine critics poll, Sherman is quickly catching attention for his muscular and deeply melodic style.

Sherman’s quartet — he is playing with a local rhythm section — plays tonight and Saturday at Tula’s jazz club in Belltown. Joining Sherman is pianist John Hansen, bassist Paul Gabrielson and drummer Jose [Martinez]. Sherman, a member of the music faculty at New Jersey City University, will also teach an open clinic Saturday afternoon at Tula’s from 3 to 5 p.m. with drummer Greg Williamson and singer Karen Shivers.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

Friday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Mark Sherman Quartet

LOCAL COLOR: Rochelle House

JAZZ ALLEY: Al Di Meola World Sinfonia 2009

BAKE’S PLACE: Butch Harrison Quartet featuring vocalist Josephine Howell

HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Bill Ramsay & Tracy Knoop

LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio (5-7pm)

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Blue Moon Daughter, with Elizabeth Dawson (vocals), Michael Cosgrove (guitar), Rod Backman (bass), Henry Seiler (keys) and Bob Chesler (drums)
9pm – Helen Chance [and Andrew Heringer
11pm – Elsa Nilsson – Brazilian/Swedish jazz quartet, with Michael Owcharuk (piano), Burt Boice (bass) and Cody Rahn (drums)

PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet

Wayne Horvitz and Sweeter Than The Day at Tula’s

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB

2214 2nd Ave, Seattle, 7:30pm
206-443-4221

Wayne Horvitz and Sweeter Than The Day kick off a west coast tour tonight at Tula’s Jazz Club.

Formed in 1999, Sweeter Than the Day began simply as the acoustic incarnation of Zony Mash, and Wayne Horvitz’s first piano-based ensemble in over 10 years. Despite the shared personnel, the ensemble is quite distinct from the electric Zony Mash and the repertoire is almost entirely different. The band has toured throughout the US, Canada and Europe, and will be headed down the west coast at the end of January.

Sweeter Than the Day recorded 2 CDs for the Songlines label: American Bandstand (now re-titled Forever) (2000) and Sweeter Than the Day (2002), in addition to a live double CD on the Kufala label, entitled Live at the Rendezvous (2004). Their latest record, A Walk in the Dark, was self-released spring 2008.

… a great showcase for Horvitz’s beautiful compositions, his really strange angular chord progressions.
– Ned Wharton, NPR’s Weekend Edition

Thursday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Wayne Horvitz and Sweeter Than The Day

JAZZ ALLEY: Al Di Meola World Sinfonia 2009

NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Fathia Atallah and Jazz Renouveau, with Charley Hiestand (piano), Bruce Barnard (guitar), Joe Casalini (bass), Hans Bremer (piano), Chris Jaquin (percussion) and Andy Roth (drums)
9pm – Nelda Swiggett Trio, with Nelda Swiggett (piano), Chris Symer (bass) and Byron Vannoy (drums)

THAIKU: Jon Alberts / Jeff Johnson / Tad Britton

LO-FI: The Teaching

MAY: Hans Teuber Trio

SORRENTO HOTEL: Katy Bourne w/ Nick Moore & Doug Miller

This Sunday on Jazz Northwest


Bruce Forman, Matt Wilson, Jiggs Whigham, Chuck Deardorf, Gilbert Castellanos, Gary Versace

International trombonist Jiggs Whigham leads an all-star bi-coastal jam session on Jazz Northwest on 88-5 KPLU on Sunday, February 1, 2009. Joining Jiggs are Gilbert Castellanos, Bruce Forman, Gary Versace, Chuck Deardorf and Matt Wilson, recorded at The Public House during last Summer’s Jazz Port Townsend. Pull up a chair and join us for a Sunday afternoon jam at 1 on Jazz Northwest from 88-5, KPLU.

Listen to the audio preview below …

The Value Of What We Do

Over the coming weeks we are going to run a series of posts relating to the value of live music, jazz, culture and the importance of what we as musicians do and how it effects others.

This has been something that SJS has been thinking about doing for a while and we are not entirely sure where it will go, but we invite you the reader to ponder these questions as well. Better yet, if you have some comments to pass along we will be glad to add them to future posts. (email [email protected] with your comments – names will not be published if you would like your comments to remain anonymous)

We’ve started this series with two recent posts:

Seattle Times: At Tula’s, the last stand of the jazz open jam
The static popularity of jazz, the economics of hosting live music, the current recession — all have taken their toll on places like Tula’s, and in particular, on the open jam, a timeless ritual of jazz. Starting in February, Tula’s will have only two open jams per month instead of one every week. Once upon a time, Tula’s hosted two a week … “The people are wonderful,” said Waldron, who makes ends meet because of his Navy pension. “I’d like to keep it going. But I can only do what the general public wants.”

The Jazz Hang: 2009 – The Year of Live Music
Throughout all of history with wars and economic downturns, as well as men landing on the moon and people dancing in the streets, music has been there in one fashion or another. No matter what we or our ancestors have been through, we have always had a sound track. Musicians have always been around to shoot us to the heavens, funk us to the low down, swing us into delirium and soothe our wounded hearts. Musicians are the constant of history, and music is the one sure thing … So I propose that we make this the Year of Live Music. I’m standing on my chair (OK, home alone at my desk….You can’t see me, but still…conjure up an image.) and asking you to commit to going out and supporting live music, whenever or wherever you can.

The Jazz Hang: 2009 – The Year of Live Music

by Katy Bourne

Well, here it is the New Year again. It seems I should have some inspiring personal missive or perhaps a bold, optimistic profundity to share. But the truth is people: I got nothing. Oh sure, I’m plenty excited for the January 20th inauguration. Even though the election was back in November, I still grapple to find the words to express how it feels to be alive during such an unprecedented moment in history. Trust me, it’s big stuff for me….for all of us. However in regards to 2009 overall, I don’t have much commentary, personal, political or otherwise.

But I’m here and you’re here, so I feel like I should come up with something. So, I am going to make a short but heartfelt plea to encourage you to make 2009 the Year of Live Music in our community.

Yes, times are hard, and there’s plenty to be gloomy about, especially on the economic front. This is precisely why, however, that we need live music.

Music is a living, breathing, burning entity. It is bigger than the cosmos but affects us on a cellular level. It is the tried and true magic that lifts us up and energizes us. It is the enduring comfort that reaches down to our most desolate places. It is everything in between.

Throughout all of history with wars and economic downturns, as well as men landing on the moon and people dancing in the streets, music has been there in one fashion or another. No matter what we or our ancestors have been through, we have always had a sound track. Musicians have always been around to shoot us to the heavens, funk us to the low down, swing us into delirium and soothe our wounded hearts. Musicians are the constant of history, and music is the one sure thing.

So I propose that we make this the Year of Live Music. I’m standing on my chair (OK, home alone at my desk….You can’t see me, but still…conjure up an image.) and asking you to commit to going out and supporting live music, whenever or wherever you can.

Drop into shows. Support restaurants and cafes that have live music. Better yet, ask your local noodle shack or pizza joint to start booking bands and musicians.

If you’re a musician, go out and hear your friends play. If you’re driving home from work, drop into your neighborhood coffee shop and throw a buck or two into the hat of the guy playing acoustic guitar. If you’re low on cash, there are plenty of places to catch music for free. If you have some bread, then squirrel a few bucks away to spend on a cover charge or two.

Think of this, for one month of basic cable, you could catch two or three really great live jazz performances. Make music part of your New Year’s resolution effort and reward yourself for putting down that donut with two or three (or five or ten or nineteen) nights a month out listening to music. Take your friends. Invite your mom. Get up your nerve and finally ask that special someone out on a date. Ride your bike. Hop on a bus. Saddle up a donkey. Carpool with your neighbors. Just go out and listen to live music! It’s not just about keeping musicians working, although that’s very important. It’s about keeping our collective selves alive, engaged and energized. It’s about making the place we live hip and wonderful.

Yes, things suck right now, but they don’t have to suck as badly. Live music can make the difference. So how about it? “2009-The Year of Live Music”. C’mon, let’s do it, people! As the Ellington tune so eloquently put it, “It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing.”

Wednesday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Jazz Workshop Lionel Hampton Festival Preview

JAZZ ALLEY: Frank Vignola featuring Gary Mazzaroppi and Vinny Raniolo

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

NEW ORLEANS: The Legend Band w/ Clarence Acox

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Mark Taylor/Jason Goessl – Tenor sax and guitar duo!
9pm – Vocal Jam, hosted by Marti MacEwan

TUTTA BELLA: Djangomatics

WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce

Seattle Times: At Tula’s, the last stand of the jazz open jam

from The Seattle Times:

About six months ago, Mack Waldron had the contract in his hand. Sign it and the club he had owned for 15 years, Tula’s, would belong to someone else. All he had to do was sign his name.

His lease was ending. His rent was going up. He was 67. His knees and his feet ached (that was the gout and the arthritis). Still, he’d always told himself he could do any of the jobs in his club if he had to, the cooking, the cleaning, the serving.

He decided to tear up the contract.

“I just couldn’t go through with it,” Waldron said. “I couldn’t part with it.”

And so Waldron continued for at least another three years what has become both his love and his burden.

The static popularity of jazz, the economics of hosting live music, the current recession — all have taken their toll on places like Tula’s, and in particular, on the open jam, a timeless ritual of jazz. Starting in February, Tula’s will have only two open jams per month instead of one every week. Once upon a time, Tula’s hosted two a week.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

Tuesday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Frank Vignola featuring Gary Mazzaroppi and Vinny Raniolo

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: MusicWorks Big Band

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Jump Ensemble, with Gregg Robinson (piano), Marty Hasegawa (bass) and Mark Filler (drums)
9pm – Rainy City Jazz, with Annie Eastwood (vocals,percussion), Mike Fernandez (drums), Ken Mingeaud (bass), Kimball Conant (guitar), Dave Fischer (sax), Tom Buffington (sax) and Eric Kehoe (trombone)

OWN ‘N THISTLE: Jam Session

MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

MIX: Don Mock, Steve Kim & Charlie Nordstrom

DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

Sunday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Najee

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Tor Dietrichson and Mambo Cadillac
TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Nearly Dan

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
3pm- Fairly Honest Jazz Band
8pm- Jim Cutler Big Band

SERAFINA:
11am-1:30pm Jazz Brunch: Conlin Roser / Cynthia Mullis Duo
6:30-9pm: Piper Olson Duo

LA SPIGA: Eric Friedrich Duo

Drop us a line and let us know what else is happening tonight!

Saturday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Quartet

JAZZ ALLEY: Najee

BAKE’S PLACE: Sandy Cressman w/ Jovino Santos Neto

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Kimberly Reason (vocals), with Eric Verlinde (piano), Doug Miller (bass) and Brian Kirk (drums)
9pm – The Stanley Wicks Band, with Stanley Wicks (piano/vocals), Jim Davis (guitar), Larry Greenleaf (bass) and Chris Leighton (drums)
11pm – Jim Knodle and the Distract Band

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICIQUARIUM: Caffeine Trio
TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Omar Torrez

LOCAL COLOR: Valerie White Williams / Dennis Moss Trio

SERAFINA: Voodoo Trio

GRAZIE: Blues Union

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hadley
555 110th Ave NE, Bellevue, 425-455-2734

PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet

Seattle Times: New Orleans Jazz Orchestra captures heartbeat of the city

from The Seattle Times:

The stage in Benaroya Hall was an ocean, vast and endless, the 16-piece New Orleans Jazz Orchestra an island. To encourage intimacy and interaction among the musicians, the men faced one another in a shape that resembled a horseshoe, the way a choir might arrange itself.

Early in Thursday night’s performance, the first of five through Sunday afternoon at Benaroya, trumpeter and bandleader Irvin Mayfield announced they were going to turn the symphony hall into their own little jazz club.

“The first thing we’re going to do is put two bars on stage,” he joked.

The booze never materialized, but the effect he promised did. It was no easy feat in the cavernous hall. But the group overcame the room’s scale by playing with oversized emotion, one that shifted frequently from joy to anguish and all the subtle attitudes in between — sarcasm, surprise, solemnity and wistfulness.

The NOJO is a real, New Orleans band, with real New Orleans musicians and all that comes with that musical breeding: an innate connection to the blues and to the Christian church; a love of the beat; engagement of the audience; and true respect for the notion that the music is just an extension for how you live. You cry, you laugh, you dance, you mourn. That is life and that is the music.

Without taking an intermission, the band moved through seven songs, all of them fiercely traditional, in that they were firmly rooted in the blues, or gospel, or Cuban son. Strong, disciplined arrangements allowed individual musicians to solo, seemingly without tether. It made for moments of beautiful chaos, which also helped to transport the audience a bit from the austere setting of the symphony hall.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

Friday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Bill Anschell / Chuck Deardorf / Dean Hodges

JAZZ ALLEY: Najee

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Andrew Oliver Kora Ensemble, with Andrew Oliver (piano/keyboard), Kane Mathis (kora/guitar), Jim Knodle (trumpet), Brady Millard-Kish (bass) and Mark DiFlorio (drums)
9pm – Katy Bourne Quartet, with Randy Halberstadt (piano), Doug Miller (bass) and Steve Korn (drums)
11pm – Hejira – Don Baragiano and George Sadak (dumbek player extraordinaire) will be performing as Hejira & bringing their original brand of World Music Alchemy to Egans. Katrina and the “Skin Deep Dance Troupe” will be performing with us & Cosmo Damian will be on 6 string bass. We’re coming to shake you guys up!

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICIQUARIUM:
5:30pm: Leif Totusek
9:00pm: How Now Brown Cow

LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio

LOCAL COLOR: Sue Bell

GALLERY 1412: Sunship

NORTH CITY WINE BISTRO: Doug Reid
1520 NE 177th, Shoreline 206-365-4447

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hadley
555 110th Ave NE, Bellevue, 425-455-2734

PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet

MIX: Reptet
6006 12th Ave South, Seattle, WA 98108, 206-767-0280

Jazz singer Sandy Cressman’s love affair with the sounds of Brazil

SATURDAY, JAN 24 – BAKE’S PLACE
Sandy Cressman with the Jovino Santos Neto Quarteto: A musical tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim

from The Seattle Times:

The insinuating rhythms and alluring melodies of Brazil have seduced many a jazz musician, but few have fallen as deeply as vocalist Sandy Cressman.

Born in the Bronx but raised from childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area, she spent years working as a jazz singer before fully succumbing to the ravishing charms of musica popular brasileira, or MPB. These days Cressman’s repertoire features a treasure trove of tunes by Brazil’s best contemporary composers, from Milton Nascimento and Djavan to Gilberto Gil and Ivan Lins.

“Sandy has really studied Brazilian music and created something unique, a sound that’s not like other Brazilian singers or American singers,” said the Seattle-based pianist and composer Jovino Santos Neto, who accompanies Cressman at Bake’s Place on Saturday with bassist Chuck Deardorf and drummer Jeff Busch.

“There are a lot of singers out there who approach Brazilian music as a variation of jazz or pop music,” Santos Neto continued. “I’m not saying that’s bad. You can get good results. But very few can look at it as its own language and understand the basics and essence. It’s not just singing in Portuguese, which Sandy does beautifully — it’s really knowing the music inside and out.”

For Cressman, the transition from straight-ahead jazz to the Brazilian songbook didn’t entail just a change of styles, it meant an entirely different approach to the music. “The art of jazz singing is about turning a song inside out,” Cressman said from her home in San Francisco, where she lives with her husband, Jeff Cressman, a sound engineer and trombonist with Santana, and their two teenage daughters. “These compositions are so rich in their original nature. Why change a beautiful melody by Ivan Lins?”

Friday at Tula’s – Bill Anschell, Chuck Deardorf and Dean Hodges

Friday, January 23rd
Tula’s Jazz Club

2214 2nd Ave, Seattle,
206-443-4221
8:00 – midnight, $15 cover

Bill Anschell/Chuck Deardorf/Dean Hodges Trio

Pianist Bill Anschell is joined by Chuck Deardorf and Dean Hodges, the storied team that was Jazz Alley’s house rhythm section for many years; together, they backed some of the world’s greatest touring jazz pianists and horn players.

Thursday Jazz

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Third Hemisphere w/ Cynthia Mullis (saxophones), Ben Verdier (piano), Dean Schmidt (bass) and Steve Korn (drums). Performing Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and North American jazz in a unique exploration of music from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa presents Katie Voss & Jennier Adams  

JAZZ ALLEY: Najee

NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet

THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson, Tad Britton

CHAPEL PERFORMANCE SPACE: Is that Jazz? w/ Triptet & Elliot Sharp

MAY: Hans Teuber Trio

Origin Records at MIDEM

John Bishop and Matt Jorgensen just finished attending the 2009 MIDEM show in Cannes, France. The annual convention consists of over 9,000 music industry professionals gathering for meetings, showcases and lectures.

Origin Records spent three days meeting with foreign distributors from Asia and Europe. “For our first trip to MIDEM I think things couldn’t have gone better,” said Bishop. “It was great to see all the international interest in Seattle musicians and we’re looking forward to finalizing a few of these deals.”

Wednesday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Andre Thomas and Quiet Fire

JAZZ ALLEY: Janiva Magness

NEW ORLEANS: The Legend Band w/ Clarence Acox

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Mattress Tag Police, with Charlie Philips (alto sax), Emmett Akeley (guitar), Ellie Lightfoot (drums) and Andrew Nguyen (bass)
9pm – Vocal Jam with Fathia Atallah and the Bruce Barnard Trio

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Bonnie Birch

WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce Jam Session