Sunday Jazz

One, two, you know what to do:

JAZZ ALLEY: guitarist Peter White

TRIPLE DOOR MUSIQUARIUM: Tor Dietrichson & Mambo Cadillac

TUTTA BELLA STONE WAY: Casey MacGill and Blue 4, 5:30pm

GRAZIE: Reuel Lubag Jam Session, 6pm

SERAFINA:
11-1:30am Conlin Roser/Cynthia Mullis duo
6:30 Michael Owcharuk solo piano

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: 
3-7pm Jazz Police Big Band
8pm Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra

NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANT: John Holt Radio Rhythm Orchestra w/Pete Leinnonen

MARTINS OFF MADISON: Tim Kennedy, 8pm (1413 14th Ave)

Anything else happening tonight? Post a gig notice in the comments section.

The Jazz Hang: Verrazano’s

By Katy Bourne

VENUE PREVIEW: VERRAZANO’S

For south end jazz fans looking for somewhere to hear live music and enjoy a wonderful dinner, Verrazano’s is the place to be.

Tucked away on a stretch of Pacific Highway South in Federal Way, this Italian restaurant is a hidden gem. Although some might consider the location nondescript, Verrazano’s couldn’t be lovelier with its lush interiors, popping fireplace and wonderful view of Puget Sound.

Every Wednesday night, Verrazano’s has live jazz from 7-10pm. Music is in the lounge, which is large and comfortable. The bands set up on the far end of the room and enjoy a spacious playing area. On Wednesday nights, the bar is fairly busy with diners, friends meeting for drinks and jazz fans there to listen to music. Some purists may be annoyed by the televisions in the bar, which are on throughout the evening and are usually tuned to some kind of sporting event. However, the volume is always muted, and the televisions do not distract from the music at all.

Verrazano’s has an ample wine list, and the food is delicious. The staff couldn’t be friendlier, and the scene is very jazz positive. For south enders with a hankering for some hump day jazz, Verrazano’s is the place to be. For Seattleites, the drive to Federal Way is well worth it.

Verrazano’s is located at 28835 Pacific Highway South, Federal Way, WA 98003. The phone is 253-946-4122. For the live music schedule, visit the website at www.verrazanos.com.

Up-Coming Monday: The Willie Nelson Project and Matt Jorgensen +451

This Monday, The Sunset Tavern hosts an exciting double-bill with some of Seattle’s most creative jazz musicians.

MONDAY, JANUARY 14 – 9:00PM – $10

THOMAS MARRIOTT’S WILLIE NELSON PROJECT
Thomas Marriott – trumpet
Mark Taylor – saxophones
Ryan Burns – keyboards
Goeff Harper – bass
Matt Jorgensen – drums

MATT JORGENSEN +451
Mark Taylor – saxophone
Ryan Burns – keyboards
Phil Sparks – bass
Matt Jorgensen – drums

Both groups will be performing music from their new CDs which are being released on Origin Records.

THE SUNSET TAVERN
5433 Ballard Avenue NW
Seattle, WA 98107
9:00pm, 21+

Saturday Jazz

It’s only the second Saturday of the year…no slacking off those New Year’s resolutions yet. Get off the couch and go hear some music!

BAKE’S PLACE: Josh Nelson Quintet with Greta Matassa, 8pm
Josh Nelson (piano), Mark Ivester (drums), Clipper Anderson (bass) and Dylan Heaney (saxophone). Josh is a wonderful pianist and arranger from Los Angeles celebrating the release of his new cd Let It Go. He is currently musical director for, and tours with former Seattleite, and national touring singer, Sara Gazarek.
More info at: www.joshnelsonmusic.com and at www.bakesplace.org

JAZZ ALLEY: guitarist Peter White

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Bill Anschell Trio

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Nick Allison Trio featuring Katie Walter
9:30 & 11pm – Pontius Pilots, experimental nu-jazz w/Victor Noriega and Robert Nelson

TUTTA BELLA: Greg Rub, 7pm

SERAFINA: Jazzukha, Michael Gotz (guitar), Farko Dosumov (electric bass), 9pm

GRAZIE: Trish, Hans and Phil, 7:30pm

CHAPEL PERFORMANCE SPACE: Seattle Improvised Music Benefit, 8pm (4649 Sunnyside ave N)

…and while we’re on the subject of Josh Nelson and Sara Gazarek, check out this humorous YouTube clip. That’s Josh at there at the piano (and hopefully you’ve never met a dude like that drummer.)

Friday Jazz

Here is what’s happening tonight:

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Josh Nelson Quartet with Greta Matassa. Josh Nelson (piano), Dylan Heaney (sax), Clipper Anderson (bass) and Steve Korn (drums).

JAZZ ALLEY: guitarist Peter White

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Nick AllisonTrio featuring Katie Walter
9pm – Nelda Swiggett Trio

SERAFINA: The Djangomatics, 9pm

GRAZIE: Trish, Hans and Phil, 7:30pm

HIROSHI’S: Monkstone Theocracy: Bill Anschell (piano), Chuck Kistler (bass), Greg Williamson (drums), Jay Thomas (horns), 7:30pm

Also tonight, for you Northenders:
THE REPP: Jason Parker/George Stone Duo.
Join trumpeter Parker and 7-string guitarist Stone for 3 sets of Jazz standards and originals. The Repp in Snohomish (formerly Sebastian’s) is under new management and is becoming a great home for live jazz in the northend.  6:30-10:30pm

Thursday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY: Peter White

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Ziggurat Quartet

TRIPLE DOOR: Dylan Healey Quartet (Musiquarium), NW Blues Piano Panorama (Mainstage)

THE NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
6pm – Logan Strosahl Quartet
9pm – Dave Anderson Quartet

THE ASTEROID: Tim Kennedy Jam Session

THAIKU: Tad Britton Trio

WASABI BISTRO: Brazilian Jazz

Anything else happening tonight? Post a gig notice in the Comments section.

This Sunday on Jazz Northwest

A concert by The Alma College Percussion Ensemble was a surprise hit at Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend last July. Highlights from the concert will air Sunday 1/13 at 1:00 pm on Jazz Northwest. Playing vibes, marimbas, steel pans, bells, Latin percussion and all kinds of drums, the thirty outstanding young musicians earned a standing ovation. Traveling from Alma, Michigan to play at Port Townsend for a large and very appreciative crowd was a highlight of their summer and the festival! The Alma College Percussion Ensemble is directed by David Zerbe, and vibist Joe Locke was a special guest.

Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke and heard every Sunday on 88.5 KPLU and kplu.org. Made possible by The Boeing Company, Jazz Northwest streams live to the web and is also available on demand as a podcast after the broadcast at www.kplu.org.

Wednesday Jazz

Lots of great local jazz happening tonight…

NEW ORLEANS: The Legend Band w/Clarence Acox

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Michael Emswiler/John Hansen

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
6pm – Damon Buxton,
8pm – Vocal Jam with Carrie Wicks

VICTORY LOUNGE: Joe Doria Trio

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

TUTTA BELLA: Tarantellas, 6:30pm

WHISKEY BAR: Eric Verlinde & Friends, 10pm

JAZZ ALLEY: Sara Gazarek

The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley welcomes the return of Seattle-native, vocalist Sara Gazarek. Band members include new band members Zach Harmon (drums) and Sam Minaie (bass) as well as Josh Nelson (piano). Set time on Wednesday is 7:30pm. Doors open at 5:30pm Wednesday.

Born and raised in Seattle, she was exposed to a variety of art forms at a very early age. Gazarek attended Roosevelt High School where she fell in love with its award-winning jazz program instantly. Under the influence of jazz educator and trombonist Scott Brown, Gazarek traveled as a soloist with the school’s jazz orchestra to NYC to compete in the nationally acclaimed Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival in 2000. Presented at the Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, Gazarek was awarded the first ever Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Vocalist Award.

Championed by some of music’s most celebrated figures, Sara Gazarek has emerged as a strikingly original artist with limitless potential. In follow up to Yours, her widely hailed 2005 debut focusing on American Songbook standards, the 25-year old Gazarek delivers sensational follow-up on her sophomore album Return To You (6/06), seamlessly combining the intimacy of singer/songwriter stylings with the musical and improvisational elements of jazz. Blessed with a gorgeous, translucent voice, excellent pitch and supple sense of time, Gazarek is steeped in the jazz tradition, but is not afraid to embrace the music that moves her generation.

Tuesday Jazz

It’s a good night for vocal jazz…and big  bands…and trios…and jam sessions.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Emerald City Jazz Orchestra

JAZZ ALLEY: Sara Gazarek (vocalist)

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

TRIPLE DOOR: Mambo Cadillac, Jubillee on the Mainstage, Jake Shaw Trio in the Musiquarium

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE: Isabella du Graff (vocalist), Dave Peterson (guitar), Clipper Anderson (bass), 7pm

RENTON IKEA: Bill Anschell Trio, Bill Anschell (piano), Jose Martinez (drums), Doug Miller (bass). 5-8pm.

EAST SIDE JAZZ CLUB: Trish, Hans and Phil, (Sherman Clay, 1000 Bellevue way, Bellevue), 7:30pm

OWL ‘N THISTLE: Bebop and Destruction Jam Session

Going to IAJE

The International Association of Jazz Educators conference starts this Wednesday in Toronto. Seattle Jazz Scene will be in attendance and blogging daily about the goings-on. Are there any readers out there planning on attending? Post a Comment or send an email to [email protected]. And check the site daily for updates and interviews with attendees.

See you at IAJE!

The Jazz Hang: 2008 – What I Want

THE JAZZ HANG with Katy Bourne

It’s January again. It’s the time of year when we take down the Christmas decorations, go on diets and give some thought to our hopes and goals for the year ahead. As a jazz fan and working vocalist, I’m wishing hard and thinking big. What I want for 2008 is nothing short of a complete jazz renaissance in Seattle.

On any given night in any Seattle neighborhood, I want live jazz to be coming out of the windows of every club and restaurant. I want to be able to hear it as I walk down the sidewalk. I want to see droves of jazz fans coming out to hear live music and to support their favorite bands and musicians. If I am playing at one club, I want to be able to walk down the street to the next club or restaurant on my break and listen to other groups playing. I want Seattle jazz fans to be constantly overwhelmed by too many great choices.

I want the scene to be all encompassing and inclusive. I want there to be room and support for all kinds of jazz from original modern and hard bop to Dixieland jazz and vocal standards. For the musicians, I want things to be easier. I want plenty of work for everyone, with fair and livable wages. I want us to hold up and encourage each other in any way we can. I want us to remember that we’re all on the same page.

For the club and restaurant owners who treat musicians well and value live music, I want their businesses to boom. I want them to have long lines out their doors, deep with patrons willing to spend money in their establishments. For the less than enlightened club owner, I want them to gain heart and vision. I want them to see that live music adds not only to the ambiance of their business but that it also gives life and energy to the very fiber of our culture. I want them to understand that live music is more than an expenditure on a ledger sheet and to act accordingly.

I want for local jazz festivals to be even more successful in ’08. I want to see them draw bigger and bigger crowds and to enjoy broader and deeper fiscal support. I would like heavy hitting corporations and small businesses to throw their money behind local music festivals. I want the powers that be to understand how jazz builds community. I want to see the birth of more jazz festivals across the city. I want festivals that give both local favorites and visiting artists a chance to play. I want every single festival to be a wild jazz party.

I want for music education to be available to each and every child in Seattle. I want our outstanding school jazz programs to continue to get the support they need to do the important work that they do: Teaching kids about jazz and providing them with hands-on playing experience. I want for every child who is interested, to have the chance to learn to play the instrument of his or her choice. Call me crazy, but I want every student to be just as familiar with Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Billie Holiday as they are with Nintendo, Britney Spears and 50 Cent.

I want to hear jazz in elevators, at the dentist’s office and anytime I’m “on hold”. I want the knuckleheads at Nordstrom’s to get a clue. I want every piano at every Nordstrom’s throughout the region to have a jazz pianist sitting at it. I want to hear live jazz when I shop for shoes or lingerie.

Finally, I want for all the people who work so hard on behalf of the Seattle jazz scene to be successful in 2008. I want for their dreams to be realized and for their efforts to pay off. I want for all of us to dive in and help. There are so many ways to lend some muscle to the cause: volunteering at a jazz walk, sending emails to neighborhood restaurants that have live jazz to thank them for doing so, buying CD’s from local artists and most of all, going out to see the shows. I want jazz to be everywhere. I want us all to take that giant leap together and to make it happen.

This is what I want for 2008. Nothing less will do.

Editor note: What do you want for 2008? Let’s get a discussion going by posting your ideas and comments in the Comments section.

Jim Wilke’s Top 10 NW CDs of 2007

Jazz Northwest and Jazz After Hours host Jim Wikle has posted his Top 10 of 2007 …

Thomas Marriott, Both Sides of The Fence, Origin
Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, Meeting of the Waters, OA 2
Stan Bock Ensemble, Your Check’s In the Mail, OA2
Various HS Bands, KPLU School of Jazz, KPLU
Ian McDougall Big Band, No Passport Required, Barbarian
Greg Williamson, Pony Boy Large Ensemble – Jazz Traditions, Pony Boy
Vern Sielert Dektet, From There to Here, Pony Boy
Dee Daniels, Jazzinit, Origin
Greta Matassa, The Smiling Hour, Origin
Gail Pettis, May I Come In?, OA 2
PJ Perry / Campbell Ryga, Joined at The Hip, Cellar Live
Brent Jensen, One More Mile, Origin
Thomas Marriott, The Cool Season, Origin
Jon Hamar, Hereafter
Tony Grasso, saxophone? Quartet!

Upcoming: Sara Gazarek at Jazz Alley

JANUARY 8-9, 2008
JAZZ ALLEY

Call for reservations: 206-441-9729

The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley welcomes the return of Seattle-native, vocalist Sara Gazarek. Band members include new band members Zach Harmon (drums) and Sam Minaie (bass) as well as Josh Nelson (piano). Set times on Tuesday and Wednesday are at 7:30pm. Doors will open at 6:00pm on Tuesday and 5:30pm on Wednesday.

Born and raised in Seattle, she was exposed to a variety of art forms at a very early age. Gazarek attended Roosevelt High School where she fell in love with its award-winning jazz program instantly. Under the influence of jazz educator and trombonist Scott Brown, Gazarek traveled as a soloist with the school’s jazz orchestra to NYC to compete in the nationally acclaimed Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival in 2000. Presented at the Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, Gazarek was awarded the first ever Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Vocalist Award.

Championed by some of music’s most celebrated figures, Sara Gazarek has emerged as a strikingly original artist with limitless potential. In follow up to Yours, her widely hailed 2005 debut focusing on American Songbook standards, the 25-year old Gazarek delivers sensational follow-up on her sophomore album Return To You (6/06), seamlessly combining the intimacy of singer/songwriter stylings with the musical and improvisational elements of jazz. Blessed with a gorgeous, translucent voice, excellent pitch and supple sense of time, Gazarek is steeped in the jazz tradition, but is not afraid to embrace the music that moves her generation.

Monday Jazz

Kind of a quiet night for jazz but it makes the decision easier doesn’t it?

TULA’S: Vocal Jam with Greta Matassa

THE SEATTLE DRUM SCHOOL: The Jim Knapp Orchestra plays tonight… make sure and catch this Earshot Golden Ear nominated group. 8pm, $10,  (12510 15th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA)

Know of any other gigs happening tonight? Send us an email or post a message in the Comments section.

Sunday Jazz

Go out for brunch, lunch, or dinner today and you’re certain to hear some good music:

JAZZ ALLEY: Pearl Django with guest Andreas Oberg

TUTTA BELLA STONE WAY: Casey MacGill and Blue 4, 5:30pm

GRAZIE: Reuel Lubag Jam Session, 6pm

SERAFINA: Conlin Roser/Cynthia Mullis duo, 11am, Jerry Frank solo piano, 6:30pm

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Reggie Goings/ Hadley Caliman (3-7pm), Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra, 8pm

NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANT: Jay Thomas Big Band

MARTINS OFF MADISON: Tim Kennedy, 8pm (1413 14th Ave)

JAZZ VESPERS-SEATTLE FIRST BAPTIST: Randy Oxford Band, 6pm (1111 Harvard Ave)

BAINBRIDGE COMMONS: Bill Anschell Trio, 4pm (370 Brien Drive, Bainbridge)

Saturday Jazz

OK, if  you stay home tonight, you can’t really call yourself a jazz fan!
Look at all the great stuff happening around town tonight:

JAZZ ALLEY: Pearl Django with guest Andreas Oberg

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Susan Pascal Quartet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – And How! Quintet Jeff Ellsworth (sax), Harvey Kramer-Hawks (trumpet), Lionel Kramer (drums), Steve Sanders (bass), Ann Merryfield (piano)
9pm – Old Dockton Roots
11pm – Elliott Bay Music Group

TUTTA BELLA: Steve Mason, 7pm

SERAFINA: Leo Raymundo Quartet with Sue Nixon, 9pm

THIRD PLACE COMMONS: Jim Knapp Orchestra, 7pm (17171 Bothell Way, Lake Forrest Park)

BAKE’S PLACE: Jay Roberts and Don Mock Duo, 8pm

BERKSHIRE GRILL: Sidecar Jazz, 8pm

GRAZIE: Billy Poindexter Quartet, 7:30pm

ARTEMIS CAFE: Nate Omdal Big Band, 10pm (757 Bellevue Ave. E, Seattle)

LA SPIGA: Gail Pettis Trio, 10pm (1429 12th Ave)

HOUSE CONCERT: MAXJAZZ Recording Artist John Proulx
with Seattle’s own fantastic bassist Chuck Kistler
7pm

Nich Anderson is opening up his condo to 30 guests each night for a house concert series that starts tonight with a performance by MaxxJazz recording artist John Proulx. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit http://jazzvox.com.
Says Nich Anderson: I heard John last year for the first time and was amazed by his many talents – an equally great pianist and vocalist, a wonderful scatter, and a great writer of tunes (featured on albums by Nancy Wilson and Mary Stallings). I’m thrilled that John will be the artist to kick-off the series! Check out his debut album “Moon and Sand” on his website(http://www.johnproulx.com>) and visit his myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/johnmproulx)

Two Up-Coming Shows for the Jim Knapp Orchestra

The Jim Knapp Orchestra has two up-coming shows … make sure and catch this Earshot Golden Ear nominated group.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 5
Third Place Commons

17171 Bothell Way NE.
Lake Forest Park, WA
7:00 – 9:45pm
Free

MONDAY, JANUARY 7
The Seattle Drum School

12510 15th Ave. NE
Seattle, WA
8:00pm
$10

Friday Jazz

Jazz is alive and well in the New Year! Here is what’s happening tonight on the first Friday of 2008:

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Richard Cole Shade CD Release Party
from Friday’s Seattle Times: And over at Tula’s tonight, hard-working Seattle sax man Rich Cole celebrates the release of “Shade,” his fine new disc on Origin (8:30 p.m. at Tula’s, 2214 Second Ave., Seattle; $15; 206-443-4221 or www.tulas.com). Cole has a big, bluff tenor tone, commanding chops and an explosive energy that sometimes recalls Chris Potter. The band features “Shade” musicians Bill Anschell (piano), Chuck Deardorf (bass) and Gary Hobbs (bass), with “special guests” promised.

JAZZ ALLEY: Pearl Django with guest Andreas Oberg

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Jack Hunden Trio
9pm – Kristin Woodbury (vocals), Paul Fischer (guitar), Ty Bailie (keyboards), Brad Gibson, (drums).

SERAFINA: Javier Anderson Duo, 9pm

GRAZIE: Billy Poindexter Quartet, 7:30pm

JAMBALAYA: Gail Pettis Trio, 7pm (508 Garfield St. S, Tacoma)

HIROSHI’S: Friday Night Jazz and Sushi, 7:30pm

CHAPEL PERFROMANCE SPACE: Tom Baker Quartet w/Beth Graczyk, 8pm (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N)

LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio, 5:30 – 7:30pm (6423 Latona Ave NE)

Cynthia Mullis at The Hendrix Lounge

Photos from the last Origin Wednesday at the Hendrix Lounge on December 26th, 2007. Starting the end of January, jazz will be on Saturday nights.

Cynthia Mullis, saxophone; Nate Omdal, bass; Matt Jorgensen, drums;
Photos by Carolyn Caster

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