Ballard Jazz Festival
May 6-9
Various venues
View Ballard Jazz Festival Website | Buy Tickets
Thirteen is a lucky number for local jazz fans: The 13th annual Ballard Jazz Festival is just around the corner. Hitting on multiple stages from May 6-9, Seattle’s uniquely homegrown jazz fest has developed into an eagerly anticipated annual event that hasn’t lost touch with the intimate and collaborative atmosphere that made it special in the first place. Since its early days as the Ballard Jazz Walk, the reputation and reach of the festival have grown while the vibe has remained welcoming and accessible.
“I want to make sure it’s a local festival, so it sounds like Seattle,” says festival organizer and Seattle jazz impresario John Bishop. “It will be a celebration of that.”
Rather than putting the focus solely on individual marquee gigs, Bishop’s approach is to bring in carefully selected out-of-town talent and pair them up with local musicians for a variety of performances. This gives everyone a chance to mix and mingle, to have a good time over a period of a few days. As Bishop says, invoking a sage perception of what makes a jazz scene vital, “It’s about the hang.”
I want to make sure it’s a local festival, so it sounds like Seattle
– JOHN BISHOPAnother key piece of Bishop’s goal is to present the full range of jazz-related activity in town, mixing old and new, traditional and cutting-edge. To achieve your balanced jazz diet, for example, you could sample some renegade experimentalism at the Table & Chairs showcase and then drop in for classic jazz trio sounds from legendary pianist Overton Berry – “Two massively different experiences within a half block of each other,” says Bishop.
Bishop has also wisely retained festival elements that have proven popular over the years, including the opening night’s Brotherhood of the Drum and night two’s Guitar Summit concerts (both at Conor Byrne Pub), as well as the Ballard Jazz Walk, where you can take in 17 artists in eight venues for the price of a single ticket.
Every minute of the Ballard Jazz Festival is packed with great music, so selecting highlights can be an exercise in frustration. Just a few to consider: Brotherhood of the Drum will no doubt be special, as this year’s edition features Michael Shrieve, Gene Coye, and Julian MacDonough each leading their own bands. Shrieve is well-known to audiences locally and around the world as the original drummer for Santana. He has a staggering resume, which includes a wide range of music in many genres from rock and jazz to electronic and global experimentalism. Coincidentally, one of Los Angeles-based Gene Coye’s first gigs after high school was also with Santana, and he has since toured with guitarists Larry Carlton and Robben Ford. Julian MacDonough is a fixture on the West Coast scene, well-known for his work with saxophonist Mike Allen’s quartet and pianist Aaron Parks.
This is an especially notable year for guitar fans, with three legendary axe men taking the stage at the Guitar Summit. Peter Bernstein is internationally acclaimed for his mastery and taste as a thoughtful straight-ahead maestro. The NYC stalwart has toured with Diana Krall and Joshua Redman, and the legendary icon Jim Hall sang his praises. John Stowell is also revered as a guitarist’s guitarist, an original voice with a uniquely cliché-free take on the jazz tradition, informed by a modern harmonic sense. Jerry Hahn was one of the first to occupy the guitar chair in Gary Burton’s pivotal groups starting at the close of the 60s, and was a key figure in laying the groundwork and establishing a musical vocabulary for later eclectic innovators such as Pat Metheny.
This is only scratching the surface: Other appearances include bassist David Friesen, saxophonists Eric Alexander and Lucas Pino, plus a cross-section of supremely talented local luminaries that will make you glad to call the Pacific Northwest home. Don’t miss it!
Tickets and information available at ballardjazzfestival.com.
–Andrew Luthringer
Ballard Jazz Fest Schedule
Wednesday, May 6
Conor Byrne Pub, 5140 Ballard Avenue NW
Brotherhood of the Drum, 8pm
Michael Shrieve, Gene Coye, and Julian MacDonough
Tickets $15 / $13 advance. Ages 21+.
Thursday, May 7
Conor Byrne Pub, 5140 Ballard Avenue NW
Guitar Summit, 8pm
Peter Bernstein, John Stowell, and Jerry Hahn
Tickets $15 / $13 advance. Ages 21+.
Friday, May 8
Various venues, downtown Ballard
Ballard Jazz Walk, 6:30pm
17 groups in eight venues for a single ticket price
Jazz Walk Only, $30 / $26 advance. Tickets available day-of at New York Fashion Academy, 5201 Ballard Ave NW. Most venues all ages, with some 21+.
Nordic Heritage Museum, 3014 NW 67th St
Friday Night Concert, 7:30pm
The Peter Bernstein Trio and David Friesen Circle 3 Trio
Friday Night Concert + Jazz Walk, $30 / $26 advance. All ages.
Saturday, May 9
Nordic Heritage Museum, 3014 NW 67th St
Swedish Pancake Jazz Brunch, 11am & 12:30pm
Thomas Marriott Quartet
Tickets $15 non-museum members, $12 museum members, $40 families of four. All ages.
Mainstage Concert, 7:30pm
Eric Alexander w/ the Peter Bernstein Trio
Lucas Pino No Net Nonet
Tickets $35 general, $55 reserved, $18 students. All ages.