Seattle Jazz Scene

Note: Mark Taylor is performing tonight at the Triple Door

From The Seattle Times:

By taking his time and letting his music develop at its own pace, Mark Taylor has become one of the essential players on the Seattle jazz scene.

While steadily pursuing his own musical vision, the alto saxophonist has toiled fruitfully as a sideman, contributing to more than half a dozen excellent ensembles. From long-running institutions like the Jim Knapp Orchestra (which plays the first Monday of every month at the Seattle Drum School) to short-lived projects such as the Wayne Horvitz quartet (that just finished a two-month run at Café Paloma) Taylor provides a jolt of passionate lyricism to every situation in which he’s involved.

Six years after the release of his impressive debut CD “After Hours” (Origin), Taylor once again steps into the foreground with a consistently compelling quartet session: “Spectre,” which alternates between spontaneously generated quicksilver improvisations and sinuous compositions.

“I’m not a very prolific writer, but I spend a ton of time on the tunes,” says Taylor, 36, who celebrates the release of “Spectre” on Thursday as part of Earshot’s Art of Jazz Series at the Seattle Art Museum and then April 13 at the Triple Door. Both gigs feature the same cast as the CD, with the dynamic young drummer Byron Vannoy, veteran bassist Jeff Johnson and Los Angeles-based Gary Fukushima on piano and Fender Rhodes.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Bruce Staelens Quintet featuring Richard Cole

BAKE’S PLACE: Jackie Ryan

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Tom Boros
9pm – Red Dress
11pm – Peter Schmeeckle Quintet, with Neil Welch (tenor sax), R. Scott Morning (trumpet), Josh Hou (piano), Andy Short (bass) and Peter Schmeeckle (drums)

SERAFINA: The Djangomatics

LUCID: Tim Kennedy: Ahmad Jamal Tribute

HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Thomas Marriott & Alexey Nikolaev w/ Monsktone Theocracy

JAZZ ALLEY: Joshua Redman Trio

LOCAL COLOR: Katy Bourne w/ Chris Spencer & Doug Miller

NORTH CITY BISTRO: Arturo Rodriguez & Friends

PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks and Hadley Caliman

Pianist Dawn Clement will perform tonight with some special guests from New York.

Dawn Clement – Piano
Dean Johnson – Bass
Tony Moreno – Drums

with “droogs of eidetia” opening

Thursday, April 9th 7:30pm
Seattle Drum School “LAB”
12510 15th Ave. NE, Seattle
Cost: $10

Lots of good music tonight!

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM: Mark Taylor Quartet

SEATTLE DRUM SCHOOL: Dawn Clement Trio featuring Dean Johnson and Tony Moreno

TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Jessica Williams

JAZZ ALLEY: Joshua Redman Trio

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Sonando

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Ethan Thomas Quartet, with Ethan Thomas (saxophone), Michael Owcharuk (piano), Mike Catts (bass) and Lynn Roberson (drums)

NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet

THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson, Tad Britton

CAFE PALOMA: Wayne Horvitz Quartet
93 Yesler Way, 7:30pm

BARCA: Clark Gibson Trio
1510 11th Ave, 9:00pm

LUCID: The Druids

SEAMONSTER: Hardcoretet

LO-FI: The Teaching

SORRENTO HOTEL: Katy Bourne & Randy Halberstadt

JAZZ ALLEY: Kendra Shank Quartet featuring Frank Kimbrough, Dean Johnson and Tony Moreno

TULA’S: Al Keith Quintet

NEW ORLEANS: The Legacy Band with Clarence Acox

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Gary Fukushima (piano), with Eric Eagle (drums), Geoff Harper (bass) and special guests.
9pm – Vocal Showcase hosted by Marti MacEwan, featuring Penelope Donado, Cara Francis and Susan Robinson. Accompanied by Darin Clendenin (piano), Joe Casalini (bass) and Robert Rushing (drums)

LUCID: Chemical Clock

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Jay Thomas Big Band

JAZZ ALLEY: Kendra Shank Quartet featuring Frank Kimbrough, Dean Johnson and Tony Moreno

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – David Guilbault, Kate Graves and Sean Bendickson
9pm – Jovino Santos Neto Trio, with Jovino Santos Neto (keys) Tim Carey (bass) and Jeff Busch (drums)

DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

MIX: Don Mock

LUCID: Reagan Kee & Friends

Note: Kendra Shank performs at Jazz Alley Tues-Wed, April 7-8, in support of her new CD, Mosaic. Click here to view the Jazz Alley website.

from The Seattle Times:

Of the many accomplished singers to come out of Seattle lately and long ago, few have taken as circuitous a path as Kendra Shank, the former folk singer and French chanteuse who will headline Jazz Alley this week.

What started as a second career as a jazz singer has reached maturity in time for Shank’s 50th birthday. She will perform with her quartet of 10 years at Jazz Alley in a homecoming of sorts.

“In terms of my musical development, Seattle is where I grew up,” said Shank, who was raised in San Diego and worked here from 1979 to 1997.

She was a folk singer in college — Shank attended both Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma and the University of Washington. In her early 20s, she accompanied herself on guitar, a regular on the open-mic circuit, in the style of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, shifting into country and bluegrass now and then, occasionally playing with a banjo player.

Having earned a degree in art and French, she shifted styles further, performing old, French popular songs at various French restaurants in Seattle (including La Rive Gauche, the restaurant that would become Tula’s). Those gigs were hugely popular and financially rewarding, but more importantly, served as her transition into jazz.

In 1989, then in her 30s, Shank also began to study at Cornish College of the Arts with jazz vocalist Jay Clayton. When La Rive Gauche became Tula’s jazz club, Shank was the first singer scheduled to perform.

She played regularly with some of the best musicians in Seattle, including John Hansen, Randy Halberstadt, Hans Teuber, Jeff Johnson and Bill Anschell. She also found a receptive audience in Paris.

from JazzTimes.com

Bud Shank, an alto saxophonist and flutist whose career spanned more than a half century, died April 2 at his home in Tucson, Ariz. The cause pulmonary failure. A day earlier Shank had been in San Diego recording a new album. Shank was 82.

Born May 27, 1926 in Dayton, Ohio, Clifford Everett “Bud” Shank tried his hand at a variety of woodwinds before settling on the saxophone. He attended college in North Carolina and worked with saxophonist Charlie Barnet before moving to California in the late 1940s, where he played with trumpeter Shorty Rogers and then pianist Stan Kenton. Working with guitarist Laurindo Almeida, Shank was also one of the first jazz musicians to explore Brazilian music. Shank cut a number of albums for the world music label World Pacific from the ’50s to the ’70s.

Shank first recorded as a leader in the mid-’50s, for the Pacific Jazz label. He is considered part of the emerging West Coast cool school, but he continued to develop beyond that sound as the years went on. In those early years, he also played with Maynard Ferguson, Bob Brookmeyer, Bob Cooper and, in 1962, with Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar on the latter’s Improvisations album. In the ’60s, Shank also aligned with artists as diverse as Sergio Mendes, the Mamas and the Papas—that’s his flute on the classic hit “California Dreamin’”—and Chet Baker, who appeared on Shank’s 1966 album Michelle, a collection of covers of then-contemporary pop hits. The latter became Shank’s only album to reach the Billboard charts.

Shank continued to evolve during the ’70s and ’80s, eventually giving up the flute to concentrate on his alto work. He put together a band called the L.A. Four with Almeida, bassist Ray Brown and a revolving cast of drummers, and recorded a number of albums for such labels as Concord, Contemporary and Candid. In 2004 Mosaic released Mosaic Select 10, a three-disc collection of Shank’s Pacific Jazz collaborations with Cooper. In 2005 Shank formed the Bud Shank Big Band and in 2007 he released Beyond the Red Door, with pianist Bill Mays.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Vocal Jam hosted by Greta Matassa

NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Quintet

TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder

LUCID: Datura

from The Seattle Times:

In his classic 1973 book “The Anxiety of Influence,” the prodigious literary critic Harold Bloom argues that great poets define themselves through an Oedipal struggle in which they misread the work of their predecessors to find their own distinctive voice.

Maybe the collaborative nature of jazz serves as an antidote to anxiety, because the most creative improvisers embrace and build on their influences rather than symbolically killing them. And no jazz artist better embodies the way a powerful musical personality can nourish widely divergent approaches than alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, who performs with his band Five Elements on Sunday at the Triple Door.

Few of the players inspired by Coleman sound anything like him, but his conceptual rigor connects with Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto, pianist Vijay Iyer and altoist Miguel Zenon (who recently became the youngest jazz musician ever awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship).

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

Word has started coming in that alto saxophonist and jazz legend Bud Shank passed away at his home in Arizona on Thursday, April 2.

The saxophonist had strong ties to the Northwest as a resident of Port Townsend and founder of the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop which was held at Centrum every summer.

We will post more details as they come in.

EARSHOT JAZZ PRESENTS
SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM: Ab Baars Trio w/ Ken Vandermark
1400 E Prospect St, Seattle, 8:00pm

JAZZ ALLEY: Stanley Clarke

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Katie King Quartet

BAKE’S PLACE: Tingstad and Rumbel

LATONA PUB: Leif Todasek

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Impressions Guitar Duo, with Wayne Bliss and Frank Seeberger
9pm – Billy Brandt (vocals), with Hans Brehmer (piano), Chris Smith (guitar), Brad Boal (drums) and Geoff Cooke (bass)
11pm – S!ide Panther!, with Juan DeShawn (guitar/vocals), Cambajamba (jug/banjo), Justin Case (washboard/riddims) and Avey Normal (vocals/kazoo)

EDMONDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS: THE SRJO PERFORMING BENNY CARTER’S
“KANSAS CITY SUITE”

LUCID: Jason Chambliss Quartet

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Carolyn Graye & Friends

GALLERY 1412: Amy Denio’s Mood Organ

PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet

NORTH CITY BISTRO: Bassic Saxx

SOUTHPORT CAFE: Brooks Giles Group
1083 Lake Washington Blvd. N, Renton, WA

from The Seattle Times:

There’s an argument raging in jazz.

Spurred largely by the controversial 2005 book, “Is Jazz Dead?” by British writer Stuart Nicholson, the argument suggests that jazz is being advanced to a greater degree outside America — the country of its birth.

However you come down on that issue, most everyone can agree that audiences are created by the debate itself. Some of that music will cross the shores to America this month in a series of four April concerts presented by Earshot Jazz.

Its Spring Series 2009, which puts together prominent, avant-garde, European and American musicians, begins tonight with a performance at the Seattle Asian Art Museum by the Dutch saxophonist Ab Baars and his trio. Joining him will be Chicago saxophonist Ken Vandermark, known for his intricate compositions and multilayered improvisation.

Reagan Kee & Company @ BLUE DOG CAFÉ
5247 University Way NE
All Ages , 6:00pm – 8:00pm

To Do Es @ LA CASA DEL MOJITO RESTAURANT
5253 University Way NE
All Ages, 8:30 – 10:30

Wanderlust @ CASPIAN GRILL PERSIAN CUISINE
5517 University Way NE
All Ages, 6:00 – 8:00

Jason Parker @ HERKIMER COFFEE
5611 University Way NE
All Ages, 6:00 – 8:00

Chemical Clock @ KNARR BAR
5633 University Way NE
21 +, 8:30 – 10:30

Pink Carpet @ A PIZZA MART
5026 University Way NE
21 +, 10:00 – 12:30

Swedish Brazilian Punk @ GAUL WAY ARMS
5257 University Way NE
21 +, 9:00pm – 12:00am

Operation Id Trio @ LOUNJIN CAFÉ & SAKE BAR
4527 University Way NE
All Ages, 6:00 – 8:00pm

Lee Redfield Trio @ THE DISTRICT LOUNGE
4507 Brooklyn Ave
21 +, 8:00 – 10:00pm

Melodious Thunk @ KAI’S BISTRO & LOUNGE
1312 NE 43rd St.
21 +, 11:00 – 1:00

Datura @ CAFÉ SOLSTICE
4116 University Way NE
All Ages, 8:00 – 10:00

Earshot Jazz presents:
Ab Baars Trio w/ Ken Vandermark

Friday, April 3, 8 pm

Amsterdam’s top improvisers with Chicago’s MacArthur-winning sax titan.

Seattle Asian Art Museum, Volunteer Park, 1430 Prospect Ave, Seattle

:: $15 general ($13 for Earshot Members, Senior Citizens and Students)
:: $7.50 youth ticket (18 and under)

JAZZ ALLEY: Stanley Clarke

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Kelley Johnson Vocal Showcase

NEW ORLEANS: The Bob Jackson Quintet

THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson, Tad Britton

CAFE PALOMA: Wayne Horvitz Quartet
from Earshot Jazz: The perpetually effervescent Wayne Horvitz takes to a small local stage with a handful of well known sideman – Mark Taylor, Geoff Harper and Eric Eagle. Most jazz aficionados in town know the biography and credits of this New York City ex-patriot, as he used to be one of the highest profile musicians in town. Lately he’s been quite a bit stealthier, all the while maintaining a healthy stream of increasingly compelling recordings. Last year he even received a NEA American Masterpieces grant for his recent work with a string quartet. How many chances do you get to see such a high caliber performer in such an intimate setting?

LO-FI: Tai Shan And The Teaching

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – All 4 Blues & New Trixx – Kenny Mandell jazz workshop performance
9pm – Stay Tuned, with Alan Ehrlich (banjo/guitar), Mary Sackmann (acoustic bass), Terry O’Brien (mandolin/guitar) and Pete Goodall (guitar/mandolin)

SORRENTO HOTEL: Katy Bourne w/ Randy Halberstadt

NEW ORLEANS: The Legacy Band w/Clarence Acox

JAZZ ALLEY: Dave Frishberg

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Bert Gulhaugen / John Hansen Vocal Showcase

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Blue Lamas & New Trixx – Kenny Mandell jazz workshop performance
9pm – Vocal Jam hosted by Julie Cascioppo, with the Bruce Barnard Trio

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

LUCID: Jose Gonzales Trio

WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce