Tula’s Jazz Club is hosting two International jazz groups back-to-back this week.
On Wednesday, June 20, the US-Canada group Tunnel Six performs on their final stop of their North American Tour. The group, which features Seattle trumpeter Chad McCullough and Portland pianist Andrew Oliver will be recording the show for an up-coming CD. The group also features Ben Dietschi (saxophones; Toronto), Brian Seligman (guitar; Toronto), Ron Hynes (bass; Halifax) and Tyson Stubelek (drums; New York).
The next night, Thursday, June 21, Earshot Jazz welcomes Icelandic pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs with bassist Thorgrimur Jonsson and drummer Scott McLemore performing in support of Gunnlaugs’ latest release, Long Pair Bond (2011).
As a child on the small Seltjarnarnes peninsula not far from Reykjavik, Gunnlaugs began taking lessons on the organ. It was the gift of a Bill Evans trio record, You’re Gonna Hear from Me, that brought her to modern jazz. Not long after, in Brooklyn, fresh from the William Patterson University jazz program in New Jersey, Gunnlaugs featured connections with Tony Malaby, Drew Gress and drummer-cum-husband McLemore on the 1999 recordings Mindful and Songs from Iceland. Mindful was chosen as one of the top ten CDs of the year by the Virginian Pilot; Songs from Iceland, released a decade later, features Gunnlaugs’ special relationship with the material – five Icelandic folk songs that Gunnlaugs grew up with. “These were tunes that we were playing on concerts … it seemed important to document,” she says.
Gunnlaugs enjoys touring and has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. Seven releases as a leader have consistently met critical praise. Now living in Iceland, she frequently performs with her Iceland trio featuring bassist Jonsson and drummer McLemore.
For reservations for each of these shows, call Tula’s Jazz Club at 206-443-4221.