SWOJO at Jazz Alley Tonight

The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley presents for one night SWOJO with special guest Greta Matassa. Set time on Monday is at 7:30pm with doors opening at 6pm.

Click here for tickets and more information.

Band members are Musical Director Dr. Daniel Barry, Lisa Gordanier, Stephanie Dupuis, Cynthia Mullis, Jenny Ziefel and Ann Babb (saxophones), Carolyn Caster, Mariah Ralston, Jenny Brown, Erin Easley (trombones), Dennis Haldane, Marge Rosen, Debby Meyer, Kristen Rasmussen (trumpets), Ann Reynolds (piano) Rachael Contorer (bass) and Maria Joyner (drums).

Join SWOJO and very special guest artist Greta Matassa for an evening of fine food and dynamic big band jazz. This special concert event is co-sponsored by KBCS 91.3 FM. Proceeds to support the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Monday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Seattle Womens Jazz Orchestra with Special Guest Greta Matassa

SEATTLE DRUM SCHOOL: Jim Knapp Orchestra
12510 15th Ave, NE, 8:00pm

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Vocal Jazz Jam

NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet

MEANY STUDIO THEATER: UW Percussion Ensemble w/ Marc Seales
University of Washington, 7:30

TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder

Kelly Harland at Bake’s Place this Saturday


SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29
KELLEY HARLAND QUARTET

Bake’s Place
4135 Providence Point Dr. SE,
Issaquah, WA 98029
reservations: 425-391-3335

With the release of her new CD “Long Ago and Far Away: Kelly Harland Sings Jerome Kern“, Origin recording artist Kelly Harland brings her sweet and sensual vocal sound to the great melodies of Kern. With stellar players Nick Moore on piano, Chuck Deardorf on bass and Mark Ivester on drums, Kelly will celebrate the music of Jerome Kern as well as other great composers of the American Songbook.

As one of the top studio and background vocalists in Seattle, Kelly made a name for herself in the Northwest singing behind such great stars as Ray Charles and Etta James. After that whirlwind of success, she embarked on a career of interpreting standards, performing with a number of jazz luminaries including Don Lanphere, James Williams and Bill Mays. Her two previous CDs, produced by her husband Chuck Deardorf, have garnered airplay and glowing reviews around the world.

For more information, visit http://kellyharland.com

This Sunday on Jazz Northwest

This Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm on Jazz Northwest, we’ll hear a new CD by Vancouver singer Joani Taylor, The Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, Greta Matassa, some songs for the season by Don Lanphere, and David Friesen and Jeannie Hoffman and more.

Next week: tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds from Vancouver and the Joe Doria organ trio from Seattle cookin’ together at the Lock and Keel during the Ballard Jazz Walk. Jazz Northwest airs every Sunday at 1:00pm from 88.5fm, KPLU and kplu.org .

Friday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Hadley Caliman Quintet featuring Thomas Marriott

JAZZ ALLEY: Taj Mahal Trio

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Grupo Amoroso
9pm – Red Dress
11pm – Michael Owcharuk Trio, with Mike Owcharuk (piano), Nate Omdal (bass) and Cody Rahn (drums)

SERAFINA: Fred Hoadley Trio

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

SERAFINA: Michael Powers Group

EL GAUCHOS (Bellevue): Trish Hatley Trio
110th Ave NE & NE 6th St, Bellevue, 9pm

anything else happening tonight? Post it in the comment section.

Wednesday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Taj Mahal Trio

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Jazz Workshop

NEW ORLEANS: The Legend Band w/ Clarence Acox

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Far Corner
9pm – Egan’s Vocal Jam, hosted by Dina Blade, with the Dan Sales Trio

WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

Class Tonight on Web 2.0 for Musicians at Seattle Drum School Georgetown

From Dave Marriott:

In case you haven’t heard about this via their advertising, I’ll be teaching my first class at the Seattle Drum School Georgetown about this content called, not surprisingly, “Web 2.0 for Musicians and Other Artists”. It’s only 15 dollars for this session, and if you make it tonight you’ll get a discount on all future sessions. From the advertisement:

Want to get the most exposure for your YouTube videos?

Unsure how to tackle Facebook and MySpace?

Interested in learning how to use Flickr to promote yourself?

Did you know there are hundreds of new tools online for communicating with your audience and attracting new fans?

Come to “Web 2.0 for Musicians and Other Artists” on November 25th at 7pm for a two-hour in-depth introductory session teaching you how to use these new Web 2.0 tools to promote, publicize, and sell your music, writing, film or art. Only $15, plus a discount on all future sessions! Whether you are a teenage musician or a veteran professional, this is for you, so sign up now! Call today!

If you can’t make it tonight, no problem! Just e-mail me and let me know you are interested in future sessions so I can keep you informed. Tonight is some basics on the big sites, but in the future we will focus on less-common Web 2.0 sites and more musician-specific applications online. If you get a chance – come by! Only 15 bucks!

Tuesday Jazz

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Hardcoretet

DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

JAZZ ALLEY: Taj Mahal Trio

MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

MIX: Don Mock, Steve Kim & Charlie Nordstrom

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Music Works Big Band

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Jump Ensemble
9pm – Ani J Quartet, with Ani Johnson (vocals), with Scott Lyle (piano), Nate Omdal (bass) and Adam Kessler (drums)

Monday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Taj Mahal Trio

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

NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet

TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder

HOTWIFE CAFE: Marc Smason Trio
17551 15th NE, Shoreline, 7:30

Taj Mahal is still doing it his way after 40 years

from The Seattle Times:

When Taj Mahal released his first album under his own name 40 years ago, he was swimming furiously against the cultural current, refusing to relinquish the blues tradition to the rock bands riding the charts.

“It was pretty simple — the next generation of bluesmen were mostly white,” says the vocalist, guitarist and promiscuous multi-instrumentalist. “But there was still a generation of young black players with no access to the national radar screen, no visibility whatsoever. Many of the songs that I brought out would never have been part of the blues or roots canon if I hadn’t recorded them, because they missed out on the transition, on moving up to Chicago from the country.”

Four decades later, Taj Mahal can rest assured that his work has provided a creative lifeline for myriad artists, from the old-time string-band sound of the Carolina Chocolate Drops to blues troubadours like Eric Bibb and Corey Harris.

Part of his enduring influence rests on his refusal to limit himself in any way, as he demonstrates on his recent release “Maestro” (Heads Up), a gloriously eclectic album featuring guest appearances by the likes of Angelique Kidjo, Ben Harper, Ziggy Marley, Los Lobos and Jack Johnson.

“What I wanted to do was make a really good dance album,” says Taj Mahal, 66, who opens his annual Thanksgiving residency at Jazz Alley today with his longtime trio featuring drummer Bill Rich and bassist Kester Smith, a tradition dating back to the mid-’90s. He plays through Nov. 30, with Monday and Thanksgiving Day off.

“It’s 40 years I’ve been doing it in my own way, following my muse, loving the music that I love,” he continues. “I’m part of all these cultures. It’s not like I go to Jamaica and steal from the Jamaicans and bring to the Americans. This is what I grew up with, jazz and gospel, reggae and bebop.”

In many ways, Taj Mahal is the closest thing we have to an American griot. His music embraces the raw energy of field hollers, the rent-party gumption of early jazz, the wit and sensuality of American songbook standards, the urbane grooves of rhythm and blues, the church-derived cadences of soul music and the rhythms of West Africa, via New Orleans and the Caribbean.

In recent years he’s often found himself sharing the bill with contemporary bands like Uncle Tupelo and Wilco, introducing the blues to a generation weaned on hip-hop and alternative rock. Part preservationist and part visionary, he uses his expressive growl of a voice to conjure an era when socializing and dancing were indistinguishable.

“What I like about a lot of the younger jam bands is that they make room for the kids to dance,” he says. “I like the feeling of not having to tell people to get up, they just find their way to the dance floor. You tell people who are coming to Jazz Alley to bring their dancing shoes.”

Nancy Kelly and Houston Person to record live at Bake’s Place

Bake’s Place is proud to announce that vocalist Nancy Kelly and guest artist tenor saxophonist Houston Person will be recording a live CD on November 22 and 23.

Accompanying them are three of Seattle’s finest musicians; Randy Halberstadt (piano) Jeff Johnson (bass), and Gary Hobbs (drums).

“Nancy Kelly is the consummate entertainer and the ultimate jazz vocalist, she scats properly and with authority. I will say without the slightest degree of hesitation, that Miss Kelly is the best female jazz singer that I have ever heard, bar none….I repeat, bar none.” – John GIlbert, JazzReview.com

Wrote Gary Giddens in the Village Voice, “I have always admired Houston Person for his huge tone, bluff humor, and pointed obbligato…Person lucidly rides the beat with figures you think you’ve heard but haven’t. These are not recycled licks or clichés; they simply seem familiar, like family… gray hair aside, Person is unchanged, an unmoved mover of certain jazz essentials.”

This formidable duo combined their considerable forces once before on Kelly’s CD “Born To Swing” (Amherst, 2006), with Person proving to ” the perfect foil for [Kelly’s] sassy vocals.”

For more information, visit http://bakesplace.org or call 425-391-3335.

Friday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Taj Mahal Trio

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Randy Halberstadt Quartet w/ Mark Taylor

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

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Student Loan
9pm – Paul Harding and the JuJu Detective Agency, with Eric Barber (sax), Geoff Harper (bass), Stephen Fandrich (piano), Marc Ostrowski (drums) and Ben Hunter (violin)
11pm – Osmosis, with Daryl Bond (guitar), Mack Grout (keyboards) and Ian Borak (drums)

SERAFINA: Kiko de Freitas

GRAZIE: Sue Bell Quartet

LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio (5:00pm)

EL GAUCHOS: Trish Hatley Trio
110th Ave NE & NE 6th St, Bellevue, 9:00pm

NORTH CITY WINE AND BISTRO: Dave George
1520 NE 177th, Shoreline 206-365-4447

Thursday Jazz

BALLARD JAZZ WALK IS TONIGHT!

BAD ALBERT’S: Greta Matassa Quartet

CONOR BYRNE: Hadley Caliman Quintet; Matt Jorgensen Quartet feat. Thomas Marriott

LOCK ‘N KEEL: Cory Weeds with The Joe Doria Trio

NY FASHION ACADEMY: Geof Bradfield Quartet; Brent Jensen Quartet

THE COLLECTIVE: Ben Thomas Trio

SUNSET TAVERN: Wayne Horvitz Quartet; Speak

SONIC BOOM RECORDS: Todd Bishop’s Pop Art 4

RESOLUTION AUDIO: Jay Thomas Quartet

BOP STREET RECORDS: Chad McCullough Quartet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE: Andy Clausen Group; Bridge Quartet

THAIKU: Fu Kun Wu + 1


TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Sonando

JAZZ ALLEY: Tuck and Patti

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM:
5:30pm: Picante Piano and Percussion
9:00pm: Das Vibenbass

NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet

CAFE PALOMA: Sheryl Diane

LO-FI: The Teaching

MARTIN ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

MAY: Hans Teuber and Steve Moore

Tonight – Ballard Jazz Walk


Note: Today is the last day to buy discounted advance tickets.

Jazz will take over the streets of downtown Ballard again on Thursday, November 20th, beginning at 6:30pm as The Ballard Jazz returns featuring 15 groups in 11 venues for a single ticket ($18 advance / $25 day-of).

This edition of the jazz walk will feature performances by a stellar roster of Northwest jazz musicians including: Hadley Caliman, Greta Matassa, Thomas Marriott, Wayne Horvitz, Matt Jorgensen and Jay Thomas.

Cities from the north, south and east are represented by The Bridge Quartet (Portland), Cory Weeds (Vancouver), Brent Jensen (Boise) and Geof Bradfield (Chicago).

With a earlier start time than previous years – 7:00pm – this year’s Jazz Walk is the perfect after-work event.

Visit the Ballard Jazz Walk website for more information and to buy tickets.

BALLARD JAZZ WALK LINEUP:

Wayne Horvitz Quartet (8:00pm); Speak (11:00pm)
THE SUNSET TAVERN (21+)
5433 Ballard Avenue NW

Andy Clausen Group (6:30pm); The Bridge Quartet (8:00 – Midnight)
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE (All Ages)
1707 NW Market Street

Todd Bishop’s Pop Art 4 (7:00 – 10:00pm)
SONIC BOOM RECORDS – BALLARD (All Ages)
2209 NW Market St.

Fu Kun Wu (8:00 – 11:00pm)
THAIKU (21+)
5410 Ballard Ave NW

Jay Thomas Quartet (7:30 – 11:30pm)
RESOLUTION AUDIO AND VIDEO (All Ages)
5459 Leary Avenue NW

Greta Matassa Quartet (8:00 – 11:00pm)
BAD ALBERT’S TAP & GRILL (21+)
5100 Ballard Ave NW

Hadley Caliman Quintet (8:00pm); Matt Jorgensen Quartet (9:30 – 12:00)
CONOR BYRNE PUB (21+)
5140 Ballard Ave NW

Cory Weeds with the Joe Doria Trio
(8:00 – 12:00)
LOCK & KEEL TAVERN (21+)
5144 Ballard Ave NW

Ben Thomas Trio (7:00 – 10:00pm)
THE COLLECTIVE (All Ages)
5323 Ballard Ave NW

Brent Jensen Quartet (7:30pm); Geof Bradfield Quartet (9:00pm)
NEW YORK FASHION ACADEMY (All Ages)
5201 Ballard Ave NW

Chad McCullough Quartet (7:30 – 10:30)
BOP STREET RECORDS (All Ages)
5219 Ballard Ave NW

Wednesday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Tuck and Patti

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Kelley Johnson Showcase

NEW ORLEANS: The Legend Band w/ Clarence Acox

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – University Prep Combos
9pm – Egan’s Vocal Jam, hosted by Jennifer Derrick Adams, with the Bruce Barnard Trio

WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

Tuesday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Tuck and Patti

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Roadside Attraction

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Jeni Wren (vocals), with Michael Owcharuk (piano), Nate Omdal (bass) and Adam Kessler (drums) ($6 cover)
9pm – Steve Treseler Trio, with Steve Treseler (tenor sax), Chris Symer (bass) and Steve Korn (drums)

DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

MARTIN ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

MIX: Don Mock, Steve Kim & Charlie Nordstrom

Monday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: JAZZ JAM with the Bill Anschell Trio

NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet

LA SPIGA: Leif Totusek Duo

TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder

SEATTLE DRUM SCHOOL: Cornish Jazz Composers Ensemble
from Earshot Jazz: Just about every jazz composer in Seattle has studied with, or worked with someone who has studied with, or lead bands with somebody who has studied with Jim Knapp. Knapp developed the revered jazz program at Cornish that releases bright doe-eyed young musicians into local clubs every year, and his signature chord structures and distinct harmonies are emulated throughout the Puget Sound. Tonight, Knapp brings his newest batch of young Monks, Minguses, and Ellingtons to the Seattle Drum School (North Seattle) to present their works. Featured performers include Courtney Cutchins, Clark Gibson, Gabriel Burbano, Jacob Stickney, Dick Valentine, Evan McPherson, Joshua Halbert and Joe Mascorella. Seattle Drum School (12510 15th Ave NE), 8:00 pm: $10.

The Ballard Jazz Walk: a tailor-made musical, sociable stroll

from The Seattle Times:

As much a civic exercise as musical event, the Ballard Jazz Walk commences Thursday night on the streets of downtown Ballard, less than two weeks after the end of the city’s largest and longest jazz festival, Earshot.

If the timing seems curious, it might be helpful to remember that way back in the history of the event — as in five years ago — the jazz walk was part of the Earshot event and known as the Ballard Jazz Festival. Organizers presold only 28 tickets and waited anxiously, wondering if anyone would show up.

To their relief all the shows sold out. Five years later, the Ballard Jazz Walk has become its own event — the Ballard Jazz Festival was spun off into a five-day event in April — growing from five venues to 11, from five performers to 15. And it operates on its own without the aid of Earshot or the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, which initially helped sponsor the event.

The jazz walk is both a complement and antidote to Earshot. If the latter is a fine wine sipped slowly, the jazz walk is a raucous cocktail downed in a gulp. The local businesses welcome and try to capitalize on the increased foot traffic in a neighborhood already known for it.

“This could only happen in Ballard,” said co-artistic director and drummer Matt Jorgensen of the density of bars and restaurants. “It just works here.”

Already, the festival is routinely mentioned in the marketing materials of the many condominiums sprouting around Market Street.

Musicians (some of whom were also on the Earshot lineup) will play all night in pubs, lounges, record stores, even a furniture store and a Thai restaurant, all within walking distance of one another. One ticket covers admission to all shows, a mix of traditional and modern. Most of the artists live in the region, making the jazz walk a distinctly local event. Jorgensen admitted that can be a double-edged sword.

“Being a local musician can have a negative connotation,” he said, “like you’re somehow not as good. A lot of us play all over the country. We just happen to live here.”

From which comes the strength of the schedule. Many of the area’s top musicians will lead their own groups and share the stage with one another: Hadley Caliman, Greta Matassa, Jay Thomas, Mark Taylor, Thomas Marriott, Cuong Vu, Wayne Horvitz, John Hansen and Phil Sparks among others.

The jazz walk is in part a marketing tool, along with the spring jazz festival, of the independent jazz label Origin Records, started by Jorgensen and his former drum teacher John Bishop (both are also performing in the jazz walk) in the Ballard apartment building they both used to live in. Origin endeavors to do for jazz what Sub Pop did for rock in the 1980s and ’90s, cultivating local talent for universal consumption.