Tuesday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Emerald City Jazz Orchestra
JAZZ ALLEY: Joey DeFrancesco Trio
NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband
MIX: Don Mock
MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita
OWL ‘N THISTLE: Jam w/ Eric Verlinde & Jose Martinez
Garfield High jazz band takes first place at Essentially Ellington
from The Seattle Times:
Performing in perhaps the strongest field of bands in the history of the event, Garfield won the Essentially Ellington high-school jazz-band competition for an unprecedented fourth time Monday night at New York’s Lincoln Center.
Led by director Clarence Acox, the Garfield band played with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in Alice Tully Hall with other top-placing bands (Foxborough High School, from Foxborough, Mass., and Dillard Center for the Arts, from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) before the winning school was announced. Garfield also won Essentially Ellington last year, in 2004 and in 2003, making it the most successful and consistent band in the competition, considered the most prestigious of its kind. Bands from two other schools in the Seattle area, Roosevelt and Edmonds-Woodway high schools, also competed, but did not place among the top three.
Contest judges reported that they deliberated longer than they ever have and that the level of competition was never higher, said Edmonds-Woodway band director Jake Bergevin.
Continue reading at The Seattle Times.
Review: Carrie Wicks, I’ll Get Around to It
from All About Jazz:
In the crowded and talent-filled lady jazz vocalist field, standing apart is no small feat. Some natural vocal chops, combined with a bunch of hard work and a good backing band, can make for a very viable artistic effort, and there are a lot of those around. But a very workable artistic effort is not enough. The singer has to connect on a personal level by telling the stories of her songs in a convincing fashion—in her own vulnerable or tough and world-weary, or sweet, or rough-and-tumble way. That’s what Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Blossom Dearie and Anita O’Day did. On her debut release, I’ll Get Around to It, Seattle-based jazz vocalist Carrie Wicks proves herself a very convincing storyteller.
With a wonderful feel for the beat, adept phrasing and a bit of a Tony Bennett hush in her voice, Wicks can make you fall for her on “I’m Old Fashioned,” or she can, sweet-voiced on the Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers gem “Everything I’ve Got,” give a grown man a good scare and make him check the room for an escape route. She can also exude a laidback, no-nonsense, Carmen McCrae toughness on “Baby, Get Lost,” or sing with a beautiful, horn-like delivery on Elvis Costello’s hauntingly surreal “Almost Blue.”
The songs come mostly from yesteryear, way back from the thirties and forties, and for the most part are not from the overly-covered side of the old fashioned tunes. Exceptions are Costello’s “Almost Blue” (1982) and the Ken Nottingham/Carrie Wicks-penned title cut, both of which slip smoothly into mix.
The first-rate backing band—headed by pianist/composer Bill Anschell, who produced and arranged the disc—sets a vibrant background for Wicks’ storytelling, featuring Jeff Johnson’s big bass bounce on “I’m Old Fashioned,” Hans Teuber’s tangy New Orleans-esque clarinet on the title tune, drummer Byron Vannoy’s shuffling caresses with the brushes on “Everything I’ve Got,” and Anschell’s always exquisite accompaniment and deft embellishments.
I’ll Get Around To It is an extraordinary debut, a first-rate jazz vocal effort.
Lena Horne Dead: Singer Dies At 92
From The Huffington Post:
NEW YORK — Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress who reviled the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, slowing her rise to Broadway superstardom, has died. She was 92.
Horne died Sunday at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, according to hospital spokeswoman Gloria Chin. Chin would not release any other details.
Horne, whose striking beauty and magnetic sex appeal often overshadowed her sultry voice, was remarkably candid about the underlying reason for her success.
“I was unique in that I was a kind of black that white people could accept,” she once said. “I was their daydream. I had the worst kind of acceptance because it was never for how great I was or what I contributed. It was because of the way I looked.”
In the 1940s, she was one of the first black performers hired to sing with a major white band, the first to play the Copacabana nightclub and among a handful with a Hollywood contract.
Continue reading at The Huffington Post.
Monday Jazz
PARAMOUNT THEATER: Sonny Rollins
from Earshot Jazz: Born Theodore Walter Rollins, Sonny is one of the great tenor saxophonists of jazz history. This special performance at the Paramount Theatre marks Rollins’ first visit to Seattle in nearly 15 years, last performing at the sold-out Moore Theatre in 1996. As a teenager Rollins recorded with Bud Powell and J.J. Johnson, and later with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, before a two year engagement in Max Roach’s band. Two famous sabbaticals from public appearances (1959-61, 1968-71) have been the only breaks in a long and inspirational lifetime in jazz. Rollins’ Olympian efforts in the 1950s stands among the very finest jazz recordings in history, and he is one of the few surviving jazz giants from the era. Though Rollins has constantly renewed his approach towards the music, the individuality and power of his towering tenor improvisations has remained constant.
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Cornish Jazz Composers Ensemble
NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Quintet
AMORE: Ronnie Pierce Jazz Ensemble
TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder
Seattle area again well represented in Essentially Ellington jazz contest
from The Seattle Times:
Because Andy Clausen does not drive, his age is a point of confusion to some of the older, professional jazz musicians with whom he frequently plays.
At 17, the Roosevelt High School senior is old enough to get his license but hasn’t. His father, Curt, also an avid musician in his youth, sometimes drops him off or picks him up at gigs.
“I take the bus. I can walk to clubs,” Clausen said. He lives a short walk from Cafe Racer in the University District, where he plays once a week. “I haven’t really had time to get my license; I’ve been so busy.”
Clausen is bound for Juilliard on scholarship in the fall. A rangy youth, with the kind of long, loose arms that are useful to a trombone player, he has a boyish, earnest face and still wears orthodontia.
Yet his skills belie his age. He often is called to sub in professional bands led by jazz pros Jim Knapp, Jay Thomas and Jim Cutler. Clausen also writes music for and performs with his own combos, made up of other high-school and college musicians.
This weekend, he and the Roosevelt High jazz band will compete in the prestigious Essentially Ellington jazz contest in New York for the sixth consecutive year. Two other local schools, Garfield and Edmonds-Woodway, also made the field of 15 finalists.
Continue reading at The Seattle Times.
Friday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Stephanie Porter Quartet
NEW ORLEANS: Thomas Marriott Flexicon Quartet
JAZZ ALLEY: Stanley Clarke Band featuring Hiromi
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Gravity
LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks and Hadley Caliman
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE: David Marriott Group (9:00pm)
BAKE’S PLACE: Jay Roberts & Don Mock
AMORE: Lonnie Williams
SORRENTO HOTEL: Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators
LUCID: Joie Tet
EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio
HIROSHI’S: Jazz & Sushi
Thursday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Beth Winter / Dawn Clement Quartet
JAZZ ALLEY: Stanley Clarke Band featuring Hiromi
NEW ORLEANS: Ray Skelbred/Bob Jackson Quintet
THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson and Tad Britton
BARCA: Clark Gibson Trio
SORRENTO HOTEL: Melina Kastle
Free Alexander Technique Class
All Seattle area music teachers and their students are invited to attend free of charge a lecture by Christie Johnson on Form, Function and Flow: The Alexander Technique, presented by the Seattle Music Teachers Assn. at the Sherman Clay piano store in downtown Seattle, Tuesday, May 18, 2010, from 9:30 to approximately 11 a.m.
Brian Lynch at Tula’s this weekend
New York trumpeter Brian Lynch will be in Seattle this weekend performing for two night and in two different formats at Tula’s Jazz Club.
Saturday, May 8 – Brian Lynch Quartet
featuring Marc Seales (piano), Jeff Johnson (bass) and Matt Jorgensen (drums)
Sunday, May 9 – guest soloist with The Jim Cutler Orchestra
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB
2214 2nd Ave
Seattle
http://www.tulas.com
Call 206-443-4421 for reservations and showtimes
ABOUT BRIAN LYNCH:
“This is the end of the century, and a lot of music has gone down,” Brian Lynch said several years ago. “I think that to be a straight-ahead jazz musician now means drawing on a wider variety of things than 30 or 40 years ago. Not to play a little bit of this or a little bit of that, but to blend everything together into something that sounds good. It doesn’t sound like pastiche or shifting styles; it’s people with a lot of knowledge.”
Few musicians embody this 21st century credo as profoundly as the 48-year-old trumpet master. A respected insider within both the hardcore bebop and Latin communities, he’s as comfortable negotiating the complexities of clave with Afro-Caribbean pioneer Eddie Palmieri as swinging through advanced harmony with bebop maestro Phil Woods. He’s worked in recent years with Buena Vista Social Club alumnus Barbarito Torres, dance remixer Joe Clausell, and the members of the influential Latin alternative group Yerba Buena. He arranges for Japanese pop star Mika Nakashima and producer Shinichi Osawa, has written string charts for Phil Woods, and has played with such pop luminaries as Maxwell, Prince, and Sheila E.
Wednesday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Rich Pellegrin Quintet
NEW ORLEANS: Legacy Quartet w/Clarence Acox
THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio
HIGHWAY 99 CLUB: Sam Marshall Trio
LUCID JAZZ LOUNGE: Manghis Khan
DULCES LATIN BISTRO: Eric Verlinde
Photos: Dr. Lonnie Smith at Jimmy Mak’s in Portland
Seattle drummer Matt Jorgensen was in Portland last week performing with Dr. Lonnie Smith’s Trio at the Soul’d Out Music Festival.
Dr. Lonnie Smith (Hammond B3 Organ), Jonathan Kreisberg (guitar) and Matt Jorgensen (drums).
Photos by Kevin Tomanka; Read a review by Mark Niemann-Ross here.
Tuesday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Jay Thomas Big Band
NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE: Dina Blade Student Showcase
THE MIX: Don Mock
MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita
OWL ‘N THISTLE: Jam w/ Eric Verlinde & Jose Martinez
Today on Jazz Northwest
photo by Jim Levitt
Claudio Roditi and Jovino Santos Neto, both born in Rio and now living in the US, were featured on the mainstage concert at the Ballard Jazz Festival last weekend and that concert will air on Jazz Northwest Sunday, May 2 at 1 PM PDT on 88-5 KPLU and kplu.org. Claudio Roditi, trumpet and Jovino Santos Neto, piano have crossed paths before, but this was their first opportunity to perform together in public and they did so for an enthusiastic overflow audience at the 2010 Ballard Jazz Festival mainstage concert at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle.
The Claudio Roditi Quartet ranges through Brazilian music, blues and bebop in this concert with Chuck Deardorf, bass and Mark Ivester, drums and percussion, They were also joined on stage by guest trumpeters Thomas Marriott and Chad McCullough for the finale.
Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for 88-5, KPLU and kplu.org. The program is broadcast on Sundays at 1 PM PDT and is also available as a podcast on Monday following the airdate at kplu.org/wilke.
(listen to audio preview below)
Photos: Claudio Roditi at the Ballard Jazz Festival
photos by Jim Levitt
Claudio Roditi (trumpet); Jovino Santos Neto (piano); Chuck Deardorf (bass) and Mark Ivester (drums)
Friday Jazz
NEW ORLEANS: Thomas Marriott’s Flexicon
JAZZ ALLEY: Rachelle Ferrell
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Michael Blake & Hellbent
TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Leon Redbone
LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Vinyl Logic with Peter Tutak (bass), Jon Goneau (keys), Jason Graczyk (guitar), Kelly Paletta (drums) and Matt Reid (trumpet/flugelhorn)
9pm – Clave Gringa featuring Ann-ita Reynolds (piano), Daniel Barry (trumpet), Dan O’Brien (bass), Marty Tuttle (timbales), Edsson Otero (congas)
BAKE’S PLACE: Greta Matassa with special guest Jovon Miller (Tap Dancer)
BOXLEY’S: Jay Thomas Trio
THE CHAPEL: Rachel Matthews
EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio
NORTH CITY BISTRO: Fred Hoadley Trio
LUCID JAZZ LOUNGE: Susan Carr Ensemble
HIROSHI’S: Karen Shivers Quartet
Review: Nelda Swiggett, This Time
from All About Jazz:
Comparisons with Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner notwithstanding, Seattle- native Nelda Swiggett summons the influence of a piano talent closer to home, that of the late Gene Harris. Both pianists’ styles are characterized by a bright palette, a sinewy execution and a powerful, assertive command. Swiggett’s atonal tendencies echo Monk and her percussive nature, Tyner. Taken as a whole, the sound is all Swiggett’s: refined and confident, open and inviting.
This Time is Swiggett’s first recording for the OA2 label, and third release overall. No Time for Daydreams (1993), with the Room to Move Sextet, and Hands On (1999) were released on her own Moving Room imprint. This Time features 11 original Swiggett compositions that all reveal a keen ear for memorable and unique jazz composition. Swiggett favors rhythmic archetypes such as the punctuated “Jack and Key Boo Ba,” the closely chaotic “Mere Madness,” and the Latinesque “Beyond That.”
Swiggett is very much a double fisted pianist, like Harris, who is able to coax much from her piano. The orchestral expanse of her playing would enable Swiggett to easily produce a full-bodied solo recital. Bassist Chris Symer shares a close empathy with the pianist, fully able to duplicate and sustain her craggy rhythms. His arco playing on “The Time Being” is beautifully appropriate. Drummer Byron Vannoy is the anchor that keeps this trio grounded, his playing never too loud of overbearing. Swiggitt’s singing is also very fine, though closely guarded as she sings on only three of the disc’s compositions. This Time is a strong and elegant jazz showing.
Friday: Michael Blake and Hellbent
Earshot Jazz presents:
Michael Blake and Hellbent
Friday, April 30, 7:30pm
Tula’s Nightclub and Restaurant
2214 Second Ave (Belltown)
Seattle
Blake teams with fellow Lounge Lizard Alumni and Ornette Coleman drummer Calvin Weston, tuba virtuoso Marcus Rojas, and string innovator Charlie Burnham on violin. Hellbent is best experienced live, where the band’s passion and urgency fills the room and its inhabitants with unrestrained excitement. As one All About Jazz author commented: “They are hell bent on having fun and creating music that speaks to the heart and soul as well to the body and the mind.” more info
For reservations call 206-443-4221
$18 general, $16 Earshot members and seniors, $10 student
Photos: Hadley Caliman at Nordic Heritage Museum
Photos from Hadley Caliman’s Quintet performance at the 2010 Ballard Jazz Festival.
photos by Jim Levitt
Hadley Caliman (saxophone), Thomas Marriott (trumpet), Eric Verlinde (piano), Phil Sparks (bass) and Matt Jorgensen (drums)
Thursday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Blue Street Voices
JAZZ ALLEY: Rachelle Ferrell
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Andrew Oliver Kora Band
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE: Rik Wright’s Zen Tornado, with Rik Wright (guitar), James DeJoie (reeds), Walter White (bass) and Jim Parsons (drums)
BARCA: Clark Gibson Trio
THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson and Tad Britton
NEW ORLEANS: Ham Carson Quintet
LUCID: The Hang with The Teaching