Sunday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY:  Stanley Jordan Trio

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

MARTINS OFF MADISON: Tim Kennedy

SERAFINA:
11am – Park Olson Duo
6:30pm – Ann Reynolds / Tobi Stone

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Sunday Night Salsa: Rumbeggae

LE PICHET: Le Trio w/ Dodge, Omdal, Owcharuk
1933 1st Ave, 2:30pm

Saturday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Dave Peck Trio

JAZZ ALLEY: Stanley Jordan Trio

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Marti MacEwan, w/ Darin Clendenin (piano), Joe Casalini (bass) and Robert Rushing (drums)
9pm – Susan Harper Conspiracy
11pm – Zach Para Group

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

NORTH CITY BISTRO: Stephanie Porter w/Brian Nova
1520 NE 177th, Shoreline 206-365-4447

LOCAL COLOR: A La Carte w/ Julie Olson, Pat Johnston, Dee Brown

LUCID: Victor Noriega

PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet

COMET: Michael Owcharuk Trio, Vampirates, Nate Omdal Quintet
922 E Pike St.

SERAFINA: Jose Gonzales Trio

Acclaimed British vocalist at Jazz Alley in Seattle for four nights

from The Seattle Times:

Is there another art form in which longevity offers as many creative dividends as jazz? While the gruesome pantheon of players cut down in their prime dominates the music’s mythos, consider the honor roll of remarkably productive autumnal improvisers. Among tenor saxophonists alone, the octogenarian club includes James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Red Holloway, Benny Golson, Von Freeman, Sam Rivers, Frank Foster and Frank Wess.

Jazz singers, however, rarely reach their later years with voice intact, which is what makes Cleo Laine’s resilient pipes and enduring creative drive such a miraculous phenomenon. At 81, the British vocalist still possesses one of the most glorious instruments on the scene, and she hasn’t lost a step on the bandstand (though she’s recently recovered from a broken leg sustained last December).

Laine opens a four-night run at Jazz Alley on Thursday with her longtime West Coast band featuring pianist Larry Dunlap, bassist Seward McCain, drummer Jim Zimmerman and trombonist Ed Neumeister.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

Friday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Dave Peck Trio

JAZZ ALLEY: Stanley Jordan Trio

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Confluence (formerly RiverPeople), with Casey Garland (guitar, vocals), Elaine Skeffington (vocals), Ivan Lee (guitar) and Jerry Fleet (bass, vocals)
9pm – Katy Bourne with Randy Halberstadt (piano), Doug Miller (bass) and Steve Korn (drums)
11pm – Peter Schmeeckle Quintet, with Peter Schmeeckle (drums), Andy Short (bass), R. Scott Morning (trumpet), Aaron Jenkins (tenor sax) and Rich Pellegrin (piano)

RIVER ROCK GRILL: Sue Bell Quintet
4050 Maple Valley Highway, Renton, 6pm

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

HIROSHI’S: Jazz & Sushi

LOCAL COLOR: Cheryl McLin

PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet

SERAFINA: Kiko de Freitas

The Music of Horace Silver at The New Orleans

PREVIEW: SUNDAY, SEPT 6
THE MUSIC OF HORACE SILVER
THE NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANT
114 1st Avenue South
8:00pm
Reservations: 206-622-2563

Trumpeter Thomas Marriott leads an all-star lineup of musicians in a musical tribute to pianist and composer Horace Silver on Sunday, September 6th, 2009 at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant, one of Seattle’s longest-running jazz venues. The band will perform some of the best-loved songs by the jazz icon in what is certain to be one of the year’s most outstanding jazz performances. Featured on the bill alongside Marriott are Cory Weeds (Vancouver, B.C.), Travis Shook (New York City), Matt Jorgensen and Phil Sparks (Seattle).

Tenor Saxophonist Cory Weeds is considered the life-blood of the Vancouver jazz scene acting as musician, producer, club-owner, radio host and owner of a first rate jazz record label. Pianist Travis Shook is a veteran of the New York jazz scene having recorded and performed with the likes Tony Williams, Benny Golson, Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano and Toots Theilemans among many others. Drummer Matt Jorgensen and bassist Phil Sparks are the busiest in the northwest and beyond, performing regularly at international and national jazz festivals and clubs. Bandleader Thomas Marriott is a six-time Golden Ear Award winner who has produced two top-ten albums and has toured the world with some of the biggest names in jazz.

This all-star lineup will perform works by pianist Horace Silver, a founding member of the Jazz Messengers who was instrumental in creating the “Blue Note” sound of the 1950’s and 60’s. He has recorded more than 25 albums for Blue Note Records alone and his compositions are some of the best-loved songs in the jazz lexicon. At 80 years old, Silver is well known for his humorous and funky playing style tinged with gospel, Latin and African musical elements.

This amazing night of music takes place on Sunday, September 6th, at 8:00 pm at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square (114 1st Avenue South). The New Orleans features traditional Creole cuisine and full bar in a casual atmosphere. All ages are welcome. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 206-622-2563. Cover charge is $10.00. Set times are 8:00pm and 9:30pm.

Wednesday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Jazz Workshop

JAZZ ALLEY: Terence Blanchard

NEW ORLEANS: Legacy Quartet w/Clarence Acox

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – #it quartet, with Max Williams (guitar), Corey Dansereau (trumpet), Nolan Woodle (bass) and Max Holmberg (drums)
9pm – Vocal Jam hosted by Marti MacEwan, with Charlie Hiestand (piano), Joe Casalini (bass) and Jamal Nance (drums)

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

Tuesday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: The Little Big Band

JAZZ ALLEY: Terence Blanchard

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Trevor Larkin
9pm – Slant Quartet, with Devon Yesberger (piano), Max Graydon (drums), Xavier del Castillo (tenor sax) and Marina Christopher (bass)

DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

MIX: Don Mock

Pony Boy Jazz Picnic – September 13

Pony Boy Records is very proud, once again, to announce the date for the Sixth Annual Jazz Picnic. Returning to Magnuson Park on Sunday afternoon, September 13, by overwhelming popular demand, the label is bringing another great line-up for this years’ Jazz Picnic featuring some of the Northwest’s finest jazz from the Pony Boy Records stable or artists. There will be CDs for sale and info from our sponsors, and hot dogs for sale.

For the sixth straight year, join us for an entire afternoon of great jazz at Sand Point Magnuson Park’s Garden Amphitheatre. Pack a picnic or grab a gourmet dog from one our favorite food vendors and groove to performances by some of the Northwest’s top jazz artists in the lovely setting of the Garden Amphiteatre.

The 2009 JAZZ PICNIC line-up included the following artists…

PONY BOY ALL-STAR BIG BAND… sponsored by Varlamo’s Pizzeria
jazz orchestra music of PBASBB, Jim Cutler J.O. and Emerald City J.O.
VOCAL ROUND-UP… sponsored by Hiroshi’s
GREG WILLIAMSON QUARTET… sponsored by Bosphorus Cymbals
JAY THOMAS/BILL RAMSAY SEPTET… sponsored by Ann Babb/Chuck Cady RE/MAX NW
VERN SIELERT DEKTET… sponsored by Northwest Pianos and Pro Piano Move
TRUMPET TITANS… terrifying trump-tacular tessiturians

with VICTOR NORIEGA, PETE PETERSEN, CAROLYN GRAYE, KAREN SHIVERS, GREG SCHROEDER, LEAH STILLWELL, TODD HYMAS, DARIN CLENDENIN and the superlicious talents of Alexey Nikolaev, John Hansen, Jon Hamar, Gary Shutes, Travis Ranney, Chuck Deardorf, Mark Taylor, Kevin Seeley, Greg Lyons, Thomas Marriott, Al Keith, Mike Mines, Jim Sisko, Reuel Lubag, Kobe Jazz Queen Whoopin, Chris Symer, Matso Limtiaco, Rich Cole, Susan Pascal, Tom Varner, Vanessa Sielert, Dan Kramlich, Ron Cole, Clark Gibson, Chris Amemiya, Dave Marriott, Dave Bentley, Chuck Kistler, Michael Marcus, Mark Ivester, Clipper Anderson, Marty Tuttle, Janette West, Dan Marcus, Craig Hoyer, Tracy Knoop, Mike West, Bryan Dickerson, Dante’s Inferno Dogs, more!

This years’ sponsors include: Varlamos Pizzeria, Bosphorus Cymbals, Hiroshi’s Restaurant & Catering, Ann Babb/Chuck Cady RE/MAX NW, Northwest Pianos, Pro Piano Move, Silver Platters, Keep Posted, Sand Point Grill, KPLU 88.5FM, KBCS 91.3 FM, The Stranger, Earshot Jazz, Seattle Jazz Scene, Belltown Messenger, The Duchess Tavern , Magnolia Audio-Video, Real Time, Donn Bennett Drum Studio, Innervisions Posters & Frames, Great Harvest Bakery

A suggested tip-jar donation of $10 gets a discount on festival merchandise.

For information, photo albums, venue info, directions, please visit: http://www.ponyboyrecords.com/files/festival/jazz_picnic.html

Terence Blanchard explores democratic themes through jazz

from The Seattle Times:

It’s no coincidence that Terence Blanchard’s new album “Choices” arrives at a moment when the nation is in the midst of a roiling debate over how to reform the health-care system.

That’s not to say the trumpeter and film composer offers an opinion on whether we should adopt a “public option” for health insurance. But his latest release for Concord Music is very concerned with notions of national dialogue, and questions about how we make decisions as a people.

At its best, jazz embodies a form of radical democracy with every participant shaping the music’s flow in real time. On this recording, however, Blanchard wanted to explore democratic ideas in theme as well as in form.

While most of the tracks on “Choices” are instrumentals, Blanchard programmed the album around spoken-word interludes by Cornel West, the prolific public intellectual, activist and Princeton University professor, while several pieces feature lyrics delivered by neo-soul singer Bilal.

West won’t be on hand at Jazz Alley on Tuesday and Wednesday when Blanchard performs with his blazing young band featuring saxophonist Brice Winston, drummer Kendrick Scott, Cuban-born pianist Fabian Almazan, and Nigerian bassist Michael Olatuja, but his voice will be present via samples triggered by the trumpeter.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times:

Monday Jazz

TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: The Teaching DVD Release Party

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Tim Huling Jazz Composers Showcase

NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Quintet

TOST: Michael Shieve’s Spellbinder

Sunday Jazz

JAZZ ALLEY:  Dr. John and the Lower 911

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
3pm – Easy Street
8pm – Jim Cutler Orchestra

MARTINS OFF MADISON: Tim Kennedy

SERAFINA: Alex Guilbert Duo, 11am

CONCERT: Jovino Santos Neto Quintet
Teahouse Concerts Series, 939 25th Ave S, 5pm

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Sunday Night Salsa: Tor Dietrichson and Mambo Cadillac

Saturday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Quartet

JAZZ ALLEY: Dr. John and the Lower 911

BAKE’S PLACE: David Lanz

LOCAL COLOR: Hillary Harris

LUCID: Joe Doria Trio

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Manghis Khan, w/ Yaw Amponsah (West African Ashanti drums/djembe), Tony Grasso (trumpet), Viren Kamdar (cajon/congas) and Tim Carey (bass)
9pm – Jess Klein – Austin based singer-songwriter
11pm – Jim Knodle and the Distract Band

SORRENTO: Sue Bell Quartet

JAZZVOX: Cathy Segal-Garcia w/ John Stowell
http://jazzvox.com, Auburn, 7:30pm

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

Seattle Jazz Composers’ Ensemble: The birth of something cool

from The Seattle Times:

For a high-school junior in the grips of a jones for jazz and sourdough pizza, the road trip made perfect sense.

Growing up on the Olympic Peninsula in the late 1990s, aspiring jazz bassist Nate Omdal had to drive 50 miles to find Miles Davis’ seminal album “Birth of the Cool.”

“I’d get paid from my job and I’d drive to Port Townsend to buy some records at Quimper Sound,” recalls Omdal, 27. “I had started a 10-piece band the year before, so I was really motivated to get a copy of ‘Birth of the Cool’ and a piece of Waterfront Pizza.”

Omdal’s latest project, the Seattle Jazz Composers’ Ensemble (SJCE), was born on a similar quest. On the way from Seattle to a Port Townsend gig with pianist Mike Owcharuk several months ago, they came up with the concept of assembling an ensemble with the same expanded brass instrumentation as “Birth of the Cool.” The SJCE makes its debut tonight at Lucid Jazz Lounge, just north of the U District.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

Friday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Kelley Johnson Quartet

JAZZ ALLEY: Dr. John and the Lower 911

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Karin Blaine
9pm – Zazou
11pm – Nikki & Kiko

JAZZVOX: Cathy Segal-Garcia w/ John Stowell
http://jazzvox.com

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

LUCID JAZZ LOUNGE: Birth of the Cool Nonet w/ Jason Parker, Michael Owcharuk

HIROSHI’S: Monkstone Theocracy Creamery

PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet

LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio

SERAFINA: Fred Hoadley

Rashied Ali, Jazz Drummer, Dies

from the New York Times:

Rashied Ali, whose expressionistic, free-jazz drumming helped define the experimental style of John Coltrane’s final years, died Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 76.

The cause of his death was a heart attack, his wife, Patricia Ali, said.

Mr. Ali, who first encountered Coltrane in their Philadelphia neighborhood in the late 1950s, made the leap from admiration to participation in the mid-1960s, when he joined Elvin Jones as a second drummer with Coltrane’s ensemble at the Village Gate in November 1965 He recorded with Coltrane and Jones on the 1965 album “Meditations” and, after replacing Jones as Coltrane’s drummer, on the duet album “Interstellar Space” (1967), one of the purest expressions of the free-jazz movement. On Mr. Ali’s Web site, his playing is described as “a multi-rhythmic, polytonal propellant, helping fuel Coltrane’s flights of free-jazz fancy.”

Mr. Ali was born Robert Patterson into a musical family in Philadelphia. He started out on piano and dabbled with trombone and trumpet before finding his way to the drums, which he began to play seriously while serving in the Army.

Continue reading at the New York Times:

NY Times: Doomsayers May Be Playing Taps, but Jazz Isn’t Ready to Sing the Blues

from The New York Times:

The crowd was robust, lively and engaged at a recent jazz gig in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and by the looks of it most people were in their early 20s to mid-30s — about the same age as the band members. It could have been almost any given night on the New York club scene, though you might not have had that impression, depending on your sources.

Over the last week or so, as Woodstock commemoration reached its happy zenith, the jazz world has been rumbling with a more panicked sort of nostalgia. What set it off was an Aug. 9 column by the critic Terry Teachout — headlined “Can Jazz Be Saved?” — in The Wall Street Journal. A longtime advocate of jazz, Mr. Teachout weighed its cultural advances against its popular decline, reaching the conclusion that “it’s no longer possible for head-in-the-sand types to pretend that the great American art form is economically healthy or that its future looks anything other than bleak.”

Jazz has had more than its share of hand-wringers, and so this Chicken Little lament felt wearily familiar. But Mr. Teachout came armed with data from Arts Participation 2008, a recent survey by the National Endowment for the Arts. Conducted in partnership with the United States Census Bureau, it found that only 7.8 percent of adults in this country claimed to have attended a jazz performance last year. The figure reported in previous years — 1982, 1992 and 2002 — was closer to 10 percent. A demographic breakdown showed steady upticks among respondents 55 and over, and a downward trend for everyone else. (Attendance also slipped for art museums, classical concerts, the ballet and the theater.)

Mr. Teachout wasn’t the first to sound an alarm: the jazz historian Ted Gioia weighed in last month at the Web site Jazz.com. “The most likely — indeed the only plausible — explanation for these numbers is that very few new fans have discovered jazz since the 1980s,” Mr. Gioia wrote. “The old fans continue to follow the music, but teenagers and 20-somethings have very little interest in jazz.”

But there’s a wealth of anecdotal evidence to the contrary, as many jazz bloggers and commentators, responding mainly to Mr. Teachout, have been quick to point out. Try dropping in one night this week at the Village Vanguard, where Jason Moran and the Bandwagon are appearing. Or head to the Stone in the East Village, which is likely to hit sweaty capacity for each set programmed by the young drummer-composer Tyshawn Sorey. Or stop by the Highline Ballroom in Chelsea on Friday night for a show by the Bad Plus. Scratch anywhere past the surface and you might begin to wonder whether the likes of Mr. Teachout and Mr. Gioia don’t see young people listening because they don’t know where to look.

Continue reading at The New York Times.

Thursday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Isabella Du Graf Quartet

JAZZ ALLEY: Dr. John and the Lower 911

NEW ORLEANS: Ham Carson Quintet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – JC and his BFF’s, with John Cheadle (sax), Colin Pulkrabek (trombone), Zach Para (drums), Gus Carns (piano) and Birch Periera (bass)
9pm – Brian Heaney Group, with Brian Heaney (guitar), Greg Campell (drums), Bill Jones (trumpet), and John Seman (bass)

LO-FI: Gravity w/ Tim Kennedy, Ian Sheridan, & Claudio Rochat Felix

LUCID JAZZ LOUNGE: The Hang w/ The Teaching

The Teaching DVD Release Concert

August 24th at the Triple Door
The Teaching DVD Release Concert

J&J Music & The Teaching are proud to announce the release of The Teaching’s premier DVD. The release concert is set for Monday, August 24th at the beautiful Triple Door music venue across the street from Benaroya Hall.

During the concert scenes from the new DVD will be projected on the big screen behind the band. The DVD features footage captured from The Teaching’s CD release concert at the Triple Door last January, interviews with the band members about their weekly jam session called The Hang, and other special footage from performances, studio hangs and more.

Please mark your calendars and join The Teaching as they play new music they’ve created over the past year. The concert will feature a special guest, saxophonist Serafin Sanchez, who they had the chance to work with last winter in Colorado.

Make a reservation by calling Triple Door at (206) 838-4333 or click here.

August 24th, 2009 at 7:30pm
Triple Door
216 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 838-4333
www.tripledoor.com

Wednesday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Kate King Vocal Showcase

JAZZ ALLEY: Dr. John and the Lower 911

TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Larry Carlton

NEW ORLEANS: Legacy Quartet w/Clarence Acox

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Eli Meisner Trio with Xavier McHugh (drums), Nathan Parker (bass) and Eli Meisner (guitar) ($7 cover)
9pm – Vocal Jam hosted by Cara Francis

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

Monday Jazz

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Jazz Jam with Darin Clendenin

JAZZ ALLEY: Kent Meridian Jazz Ensemble Tribute to Hal Sherman with special guest Danny Gottlieb

NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Quintet

TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder

HIGH DIVE: Owcharuk 5