TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: SCCC Jazz Orchestra with Lonnie Mardis
THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio
BOXLEY’S: Jim Cutler Quartet
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Chip Parker with Randy Halberstadt (piano) and Geoff Cooke (bass)
9pm – Vocal Showcase featuring Deborah Shelton, Meg Roberts and Eleanor Fye – Hosted by Robert Parks, with Randy Halberstadt (piano), Dan O’Brien (bass) and Robert Rushing (drums)
NEW ORLEANS: Legacy Quartet w/Clarence Acox
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Bellevue CC Jazz Orchestra w/ Hal Sherman
TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder
NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Quintet
POGGIE TAVERN: Falingo Machaz w/ Marc Smason & Pavel Shepp
photos by Jim Levitt
Reuel Lubag – piano; Michael Marcus – bass; Clarence Acox – bass
Make sure the volume is up to get the full effect …
Sketchy Santa from Coty Gonzales on Vimeo.
from The Guardian:
Jazzman Larry Ochs has seen many things during 40 years playing his saxophone around the world but, until this week, nobody had ever called the police on him.
That changed on Monday night however, when’s Spain’s pistol-carrying Civil Guard police force descended on the Sigüenza Jazz festival to investigate allegations that Ochs’s music was not, well, jazz.
Police decided to investigate after an angry jazz buff complained that the Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core group was on the wrong side of a line dividing jazz from contemporary music.
The jazz purist claimed his doctor had warned it was “psychologically inadvisable” for him to listen to anything that could be mistaken for mere contemporary music.
According to a report in El País newspaper yesterday, the khaki-clad police officers listened to the saxophone-playing and drumming coming from the festival stage before agreeing that the purist might, indeed, have a case.
Continue reading at The Guardian.
from The Olympian:
TRAVIS SHOOK TRIO – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12
The United Churches
110 11th Ave. S.E.
Olympia, 7:30pm, $15
After being signed to a major-label record deal at age 23, jazz pianist Travis Shook took some career detours.
But the winding road is leading uphill these days. This weekend, it’s brings the award-winning musician back to his boyhood home in Olympia.
His concert Saturday – with drummer Matt Jorgensen and bassist Phil Sparks, both of Seattle – is his first time playing here in seven years.
A California native who moved to Olympia at age 10, Shook played piano from the time he was 5, but it was at Olympia High School that he was first exposed to jazz.
“I joined the jazz band at the age of 16,” said Shook, whose mother, Belva Shook, still lives in Olympia. “I’d always taken classical lessons but did not really want to become a classical musician.
“When I started playing jazz, I said, ‘Oh, well, this is actually perfect.’ I pulled out a Duke Ellington album we had at home. I’d never heard it; it was still in the plastic.
“There was no question about what I wanted to do after that.”
What captured his attention was the energy of jazz.
“Jazz is composing on the spur of the moment,” Shook said. “There’s something magical that happens. Say there are four of us playing at once; we’re all listening to what the others are playing but we’re all saying what we want to say at the same time.
Continue reading at The Olympian.
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Susan Pascal’s Modern Jazz Quartet Revisited
BAKE’S PLACE: Jackie Ryan
BOXLEY’S: Milo Petersen Trio
LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio
LOMBARDI’S: Travis Ranney Trio
SOUTHPORT CAFE: Karen Shivers
CHAPEL PERFORMANCE SPACE: Seattle Phonographers Union CD Release
EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio
HIROSHI’S: Tracy Knoop w/Greg Williamson Quartet
LOCAL COLOR: Oghale
NORTH CITY BISTRO: Gail Pettis & Friends
SERAFINA: Tim Kennedy Trio
PAMPAS ROOM: Brian Nova Quartet
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Perry Robinson
9pm – Joey the Saint and the A-men
11pm – Spekulation, with Nate Omdal, Absolutemadman and Spekulation
from The Seattle Times:
The concept behind the vocal jazz group Cocoa Martini seems both familiar and novel, three women who sing songs that most of us know well, backed by a quartet.
When performing, the three singers, who straddle age 50, dress in elegant, evening dresses and take turns singing most of the songs, harmonizing on about a third of them, taking care in between to joke, address the audience and talk about their experience with the music.
Familiar, because the formula is tried and true and the songs easy to connect with. Novel, because it seems jazz is seldom presented this way anymore.
The members of Cocoa Martini, who will perform Sunday night at 7 at the Triple Door for the third time in three years, admit to tapping into a nostalgia for the kind of songs they sing and the way they sing them.
Continue reading at The Seattle Times.
photos by Jim Levitt
Thomas Marriott – trumpet; Mark Taylor – saxophone; John McLean – guitar; Devin Lowe – bass; Matt Jorgensen – drums
JAZZ ALLEY: Charlie Hunter w/ Eric Kalb, Alan Ferber, Thomas Marriott & Chris Stover
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Smith/Staelens Big Band
BOXLEY’S: Jay Thomas Trio
MEANEY THEATER: UW Music: Studio Jazz Ensemble
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Deluge, with Garfield High jazz musicians Riley Mulherkar (trumpet), Charlie Phillips (saxophones), James Squires (drums), Julian Garvue (piano), and Carmen Rothwell (bass)
9pm – Vocal Jam hosted by Fathia Atallah, with Beth Wulff (piano), Clipper Anderson (bass) and Ed Littlefield (drums)
NEW ORLEANS: Legacy Band w/ Clarence Acox
THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio
TRACTOR TAVERN: Garage a Trois
(also performing at Easy Street Records [20 Mercer St.] at 6:00pm)
SHERMAN CLAY PIANO (Bellevue): Susan Pascal Quartet
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Emerald City Jazz Orchestra
NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband
MIX: Don Mock
JAZZ ALLEY: Charlie Hunter w/ Eric Kalb, Alan Ferber, Thomas Marriott & Chris Stover
MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita
DEXTER & HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio
TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder
SEATTLE DRUM SCHOOL: Jim Knapp Orchestra
MEANEY THEATER: UW Percussion Ensemble
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Vocal Jam
NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Quintet
from Donn Bennett’s Drum Studio:
STANTON MOORE MASTER CLASS
There are a few spaces left for Stanton Moore’s master class this Monday, 12/07 at 7:00 PM. Stanton is one of today’s most influential drummers. Ronn Dunnett from the DUNNETT Drum Company will be at the class with his new Stanton Moore Signature snare drum. Ronn is a great guy and makes some of the most innovative and high quality drums ever made. Check it out. Reply or call Kris at 425-747-6145 to reserve your spot.
Los Angeles composer Tim Davies was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for the tune “Counting To Infinity” off his Origin Records release, Dialmentia. This is Origin Records seventh Grammy nomination.
Best Instrumental Composition
(A Composer’s Award for an original composition (not an adaptation) first released during the Eligibility Year. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Borat In Syracuse
Paquito D’Rivera, composer (Paquito D’Rivera Quintet)
Track from: Jazz-Clazz
[Timba Records]
* Counting To Infinity
Tim Davies, composer (Tim Davies Big Band)
Track from: Dialmentia
[Origin Records]
* Fluffy
Bob Florence, composer (Bob Florence Limited Edition)
Track from: Legendary
[MAMA Records]
* Ice-Nine
Steve Wiest, composer (University Of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band)
Track from: Lab 2009
[North Texas Jazz]
* Married Life (From Up)
Michael Giacchino, composer (Michael Giacchino)
Track from: Up — Soundtrack
[Walt Disney Records]
Other Jazz Grammy nominations:
Best Contemporary Jazz Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.)
* Urbanus
Stefon Harris & Blackout
[Concord Jazz]
* Sounding Point
Julian Lage
[Emarcy/Decca]
* At World’s Edge
Philippe Saisse
[E1 Music]
* Big Neighborhood
Mike Stern
[Heads Up International]
* 75
Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate
[Heads Up International]
Best Jazz Vocal Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.)
* No Regrets
Randy Crawford (& Joe Sample)
[PRA Records]
* Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music Of Coltrane And Hartman
Kurt Elling
[Concord Jazz]
* So In Love
Roberta Gambarini
[Groovin’ High/Emarcy]
* Tide
Luciana Souza
[Verve]
* Desire
Tierney Sutton (Band)
[Telarc Jazz]
Read More
from The Seattle Times:
… [Charlie Hunter] introduces his latest project on Tuesday when he opens a two-night run at Jazz Alley with a quintet featuring slyly funky drummer Eric Kalb and three horns. Kalb is featured on Hunter’s upcoming release, “Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid” (Spire Artist Media), but as the title suggests, recessionary times require Hunter to hire local players for his West Coast gigs.
“As long as you’ve got the killing drummer, you can take care of business,” says Hunter, 42, from his home in Brooklyn. “Eric and I do the lion’s share of playing. We could do all this music as a duo, but it’s the difference between an awesome line drawing and a painting. The horns add the color.”
For Jazz Alley, Hunter’s regular trombonist, Alan Ferber, has assembled a tough Seattle crew featuring trombonist Chris Stover, an expert in Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian forms, and the supremely versatile trumpeter Thomas Marriott, whose recent album “Flexicon” is likely to be named among the best releases of 2009.
Continue reading at The Seattle Times:
photos by Jim Levitt
Andrew Oliver Kora Band 8pm
Seattle African All-Stars 10pm
December 3rd, 8-11pm
Columbia City Theater
4916 Ranier Ave. South
Seattle, 21+, $10
from Earshot Jazz:
The Andrew Oliver Kora Band and Seattle African All-Stars will team up on December 3, 2009 to present a unique night of African music at the Columbia City Theater. The Andrew Oliver Kora Band, led by Portland-based pianist Andrew Oliver and featuring Seattle-based virtuoso Kane Mathis on the kora, a 21-string traditional harp from West Africa, will open the evening with their unique mix of jazz and West African music. As the Oregonian has noted, the band “blends the swing and intellect of American jazz with the divine poetry of West African music.” The Seattle African All-Stars, featuring five well-traveled and respected musicians from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia, will then take the stage with their high-energy dance music in a variety of styles from all over the continent. The evening promises a diversity of musical styles from two groups of talented musicians at the top of their game. The historic Columbia City Theater offers a warm, intimate atmosphere, conducive to both listening and dancing.
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Kelley Johnson Showcase
NEW ORLEANS: Ray Skelbred/Bob Jackson Quintet
THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson and Tad Britton
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Larry Murante and Halelupe
9pm – Randall O’Dowd with Darin Clendenin (piano)
COLUMBIA CITY THEATER: Andrew Oliver Kora Band & Seattle African All-Stars
4916 Rainier Ave, 8:00pm
LUCID: The Hang w/ Teaching
photo by Jim Levitt
Tenor saxophonists Hadley Caliman and Pete Christlieb first played together in LA in the 60s and have remained friends ever since. They reunited in Seattle last month to record a CD together for Origin Records and to play at The Ballard Jazz Walk. Highlights from their reunion (with Bill Anschell, Chuck Deardorf and John Bishop) will air Sunday, December 6 at 1 PM Pacific on Jazz Northwest from 88-5, KPLU. The program will also stream live to the internet at kplu.org.
Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for KPLU and kplu.org. A podcast will be available at kplu.org after the airdate.
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Jay Thomas Big Band and Edmonds/ Woodway Jazz Band
DEXTER & HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio
MR. SPOT’S CHAI HOUSE: Brown Cloud & Operation I.D.
MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita
MIX: Don Mock
NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Extention Jazz Duo
9pm – OWCHARUK 5, with Jim Knodle (trumpet), Beth Fleenor (clarinet), Cody Rahn (drums), Nate Omdal (bass) and Mike Owcharuk (piano)