Seattle Jazz Scene

Dianne Reeves headlines the
2009 Bellevue Jazz Festival

Bellevue Jazz Festival Preview
May 22 – 24
for information: http://bellevuejazz.com

The new, old Bellevue Jazz Festival reconvenes for the second year in a row in its current incarnation, a full-blown, three-tiered, weekend-long, diverse offering of artists, both well-known and novices, all within walking distance (a vigorous one perhaps, but a walk nonetheless) in a maturing, downtown Bellevue.

Originally started in 1978 at Bellevue Community College as a grass-roots, local event, the current festival aims to compete with the likes of the jazz festivals of Portland and San Francisco. That means corporate dollars (Microsoft), grant money (4 Culture), and nationally-recognized musicians like Dianne Reeves, the Mingus Big Band, Kurt Elling, Danilo Perez, Mose Allison and Patricia Barber.

The BJF starts the Friday before Memorial Day and runs through Sunday, competing with one of Seattle’s most popular and longest-running musical events, the Northwest Folklife Festival. The BJF has committed itself to a three-year run. It has yet to make money but is convinced it is on the right track to becoming a viable event.

“We’re fortunate this year to have major sponsors,” said festival director Leslie Lloyd. “We are way ahead of the game compared to last year. Ticket sales are always a challenge…The economy trickles through all aspects of every business. We’re hoping people will choose to stay home over Memorial Day weekend and choose one more rich offering close to home.” Read More

from The Ballard Jazz Festival. Photos by Jim Levitt

Joe Locke Group
Joe Locke – vibes; Darrell Grant – piano; Thomas Marriott – trumpet; Jeff Johnson – bass; John Bishop – drums

Corey Christiansen Quartet
Mark Taylor – saxophone; Corey Christiansen – guitar; Paul Gabrielson – bass; Matt Jorgensen – drums

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Roadside Attraction

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Ron Peters (guitar), Cary Black (bass) and Paul Elliott (violin)
9pm – Tom Collier Trio with Tom Collier (vibraphone), Chris Lennard (bass) and Peter Schmeeckle (drums)

DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

MIX: Don Mock

TRACTOR TAVERN: Happy Apple w/ Dave King of Bad Plus

from The Seattle Times:

NEW YORK CITY — Another year at Essentially Ellington, another triumph for Seattle bands.

Garfield High School won here and Roosevelt placed second in the 2009 festival, the top high-school jazz-band contest in the country, which wrapped up here last Sunday.

“We kind of chuckle that people are going to get tired of seeing Garfield and Roosevelt all the time,” said Scott Brown, the band director at Roosevelt High School, which is located within five miles of Garfield.

It’s been quite a decade for Seattle-area schools. In 2000, the fifth year of the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, Roosevelt placed third and Garfield received an honorable mention. Entrance into the competition had only been opened to schools in the West the year before, and the talent was already weighted toward the Northwest.

How much talent? Also in 2000, Mountlake Terrace and Shorewood were among the finalists. And so began a the decade of dominance by high schools from familiar ZIP codes. Newport, Kentlake, Edmonds-Woodway, Shoreline, even tiny South Whidbey have all taken turns going to New York — and many went more than once.

But it would be Roosevelt and Garfield that emerged as the standard-bearers.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Quintet

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Jazz Jam with the Darin Clendenin Trio

JAZZ ALLEY: Cocoa Martini
from Earshot Jazz: Cocoa Martini is a dynamic and elegant jazz ensemble featuring three exceptional vocalists – Karen Shivers, Kimberly Reason, and Kay Bailey – backed by the crackling band of Bill Anschell on piano, Bernie Jacobs on saxophone and flute, Chris Clark on bass, and Greg Williamson on drums. Together, the ensemble presents a repertoire of straight-ahead jazz, R&B and pop music in a fresh and emotionally resonant style. Formed out of a desire to pay homage to the creative genius of the African American community and the lasting presence of jazz in the world, Cocoa Martini has treated many audiences to powerful, witty, and irresistibly honest live performances, often featuring personal and entertaining stories to accompany each song.

TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Booker T.

TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder

photos by Jim Levitt

Read More

from CNN.com:

Wayman Tisdale, who became a successful jazz musician after retiring from pro basketball, died Friday morning following a two-year battle with cancer, his agent said.

Tisdale, 44, died in a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital, where his wife took him when he had trouble breathing early Friday, agent Scott Pang said.

Tisdale’s death was “a complete shock” and came as he prepared to return to the recording studio next week to work on a project with jazz guitarist Norman Brown, Pang said.

“He was a real testament to the power of positive thinking,” said Pang. “Even after the cancer and amputating his leg above his knee, he never lost that smile on his face.”

Doctors discovered Tisdale’s bone cancer after he broke his leg in a fall down a flight of stairs, according to the official biography on his Web site.

“It really showed me what’s important in life, man,” he said in his bio. “It’s not getting as many houses as I can, not driving the biggest cars. What’s important is family and being healthy.”

Continue reading at CNN.com

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: from New York, Tim Armacost Quintet with Jay Thomas & Chris Fagan

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: PGM Trio (5:30pm)

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Vampirates with Elsa Nilsson (flute), Mike Owcharuk (piano), Burt Boice (bass) and Cody Rahn (drums) ($7 cover)
9pm – Leif Totusek’s Freestyle Candela with Leif Totusek (composer/guitar/vocals), Mahamid Shiabo (bass/talking drum) and Branden Harper (trap set)
11pm – Peter Schmeeckle Quintet with Neil Welch (tenor sax), R. Scott Morning (trumpet), Josh Hou (piano), Andy Short (bass) and Peter Schmeeckle (drums)

LOCAL COLOR: Katy Bourne

SERAFINA: Kiko de Freitas

LUCID: Barrett Martin Group

GALLERY 1412: Bonnie Whiting Smith and Richard Johnson

RENDEZVOUS JEWELBOX THEATER: SOMF w/ At Head of Woods, Holy Experiment
2322 2nd Ave, Seattle, 10:00pm

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

NORTH CITY BISTRO: David George Trio

HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Sushi Trio featuring John Hansen, Jon Hamar and Greg Williamson

LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM: Byron Vannoy’s Meridian
Rooted in jazz and fueled by rock and popular music, Byron Vannoy’s Meridian ignores no influence. Performing original compositions which feature odd meters, unique harmonies, and powerful vamps, Meridian is a forceful vehicle for such impressive improvisation. Meridian features Vannoy on drums, Chris Symer on bass, Kacey Evans on keyboards, Chris Spencer on guitar, and Eric Barber on Saxophones. Recently, Meridian won the Earshot Golden Ear award for 2008 Recording of the Year. Music begins at 5:30 in the Brotman Forum of the Seattle Art Museum (SE), and entry to the concert is free with museum admission.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Coalescence featuring Chris Amemiya, Jay Thomas, Alexey Nikolaev, John Hansen, Phil Parisot and Phil Sparks

NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Clave Nagila, with Jason Parker (trumpet), Tobi Stone (clarinet), Brian Bermudez (bari sax), Adrian Witherspoon (trombone), Nate Omdal (bass), Adam Kessler (drums) and Lalo Bello (percussion)
9pm – Kent/Grasso Duo, with Brian Kent and Tony Grasso

LO-FI: The Teaching

GALLERY 1412: SOMF w/ Wayne Horvitz, Gust Burns & Tyler Wilcox, Michal Szostalo

THAIKU: Jeff Alberts, Jeff Johnson & Tad Britton

JAZZ ALLEY: Eric Alexander Quartet with Dave Hazeltine, Chuck Deardorf and Matt Jorgensen (7:30pm, All Ages)
from The Seattle Weekly: Museum pieces are no good for jazz. But then there are players who speak a vocabulary of the past with so much power and conviction that they make it a living tongue, and Eric Alexander is one of the most valuable of these. The Olympia-reared saxophonist is fully planted in the Blue Note hard-bop tradition, but he never sounds like an homage act; he’s got too many surprising ideas, too many sparks flying off the bell of his horn. With his regular New York pianist, David Hazeltine, and Seattle support from Chuck Deardorf and Matt Jorgensen, Alexander will make his persuasive case that the muscle-swing format of the ’50s and ’60s can yet reach the hearts and minds of the Twittering class. – MARK D. FEFER

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: BCC Jazz Orchestra

NEW ORLEANS: The Legacy Band w/Clarence Acox

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce

Download a free track from Mark Taylor’s new CD, Spectre

Click here to download “Spectre”

THE TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Thomas Marriott CD Release Party
Make your reservation: 206-838-4333

EASTSIDE JAZZ CLUB: Jon Hamar Quartet
Sherman Clay Piano Store, 1000 Bellevue Way NE, 7:30pm-9:30pm

JAZZ ALLEY: Eric Alexander Quartet

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Emerald City Jazz Orchestra

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Small Jazz Orchestra, with Scott Small (drums) and Sammamish HS jazz students Hana Shin (piano), Nick Rogstad (trombone) and Jon Small (bass)
9pm – Ballard Jazz Combo with Liam Fitzgerald (drums), Peter Ossewald (piano), Andy Frodsham (bass), Tony Jijina (trumpet), Morgan Ramsey (trombone), Elliot Ransom (alto sax) and Kevin Vitz-Wong (tenor sax)

DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

MIX: Don Mock

In advance of Thomas Marriott’s CD Release Party tomorrow (Tuesday, May 12), download the entire first set from his performance Saturday night at The Cellar in Vancouver, BC.

THOMAS MARRIOTT AT THE CELLAR (Set 1) – mp3 clip

Thomas Marriott – trumpet
Mark Taylor – saxophones
Brad Turner – piano and fender rhodes
Paul Rushka – bass
Matt Jorgensen – drums

Thomas will be performing in Seattle on Tuesday, May 12

TUESDAY, MAY 12 – THE TRIPLE DOOR
216 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101
Tickets: 206-838-4333

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Dorthy Rodes Quartet featuring Bill Anschell, Jeff Johnson, D’Vonne Lewis and special guest Andy Shaw

NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet

TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder

Trumpeter Thomas Marriott hits the road this weekend performing for two nights at The Cellar in Vancouver, BC, before returning home for his CD Release Party next Tuesday, May 12, at The Triple Door.

TUESDAY, MAY 12 – THE TRIPLE DOOR
216 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101
Tickets: 206-838-4333

featuring:
Thomas Marriott – trumpet
Mark Taylor – saxophone
Bill Anschell – piano
Jeff Johnson – bass
John Bishop – drums

From Freddie Hubbard’s burner “Take it to the Ozone,” to the moody and spare reading of Elvis Costello’s “Almost Blue,” Flexicon‘s unified yet eclectic mix further solidifies Marriott’s standing as one of the finer voices in jazz today both as a trumpeter and producer. Along with his band of saxophonist Mark Taylor, pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Jeff Johnson, drummer Matt Jorgensen and special guest Joe Locke on vibes, Marriott visits jazz classics such as Spring Is Here and Detour Ahead, pop tunes from Costello and John Barry, and a trio of thoughtful originals.

from AllAboutJazz.com: Marriott’s first solo suggests he should be mentioned in the same breath with Wynton Marsalis and Terence Blanchard in terms of purity of tone and control of his instrument.

from The Seattle Times:

For the second consecutive year, Seattle high schools claimed the top-two spots at this weekend’s Essentially Ellington Festival in New York, the nation’s premier high-school jazz-band contest.

Seattle’s Garfield High School placed first and Roosevelt High School was second. The 1-2 order was reversed last year, with Roosevelt on top.

Garfield’s victory was its third, tying a record that Roosevelt set in 2008 and furthering the Seattle schools’ dominance at Ellington. West Coast schools began going to Ellington in 1999. Roosevelt and Garfield have each won three times since then; no other school has won twice.

“It’s very exciting,” said Clarence Acox, the longtime band director at Garfield. “No matter how many times it happens, it never loses its luster and we are very thrilled to be here.”

Acox was talking about simply being in the top three, which was the extent of what he knew when reached late Sunday in New York. On Sunday afternoon, Essentially Ellington-presenter Jazz at Lincoln Center invited the top-three bands — based on judging of their performances earlier in the weekend — to take the stage with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Joining Garfield and Roosevelt in the festival-closing concert at Avery Fisher Hall was Eau Claire Memorial High School, from Eau Claire, Wis., which finished third. New World School of the Arts, a prior Ellington champion from Miami, was named honorable mention.

Bellevue’s Newport High School also was among the 15 schools in the Ellington finals. At least three Washington state schools have been invited to the Ellington finals every year since the contest was opened to schools in the West 11 years ago.

Roosevelt High School’s Ellington record is right at the top, with 10 trips to the Ellington finals out of a possible 11, and three wins. Those statistics now are matched by Garfield (or bettered; Garfield’s current finals streak is eight years).

Two-time defending champion Roosevelt was going for the one record that Garfield doesn’t have: three consecutive victories.

But Scott Brown, director at Roosevelt, also reached when he knew only that his band had finished in the top three, said his band wasn’t feeling any pressure. Commenting just before the Sunday-night concert, he noted that the winner already was decided. “Tonight is just playing for the enjoyment of it — as we do all the time.”

With one bonus: “We get to play with Wynton!”

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

The Seattle Times’ reporter Hugo Kugiya is covering the Essentially Ellington competition in New York City.

From The Seattle Times:

NEW YORK CITY — Newport High School sophomore Ariel Pocock was just one of about 400 student jazz musicians who filled the Frederick P. Rose Hall Friday afternoon for the official start of the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival.

As a way of saying welcome, Wynton Marsalis, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, took questions from two lines of students, who queried him about music, about life, and even about basketball — Garfield’s pianist Ben Hamaji challenged Marsalis to a game of one-on-one; after a jocular exchange, Marsalis committed to a “maybe.”

If this weekend is a lot to take in for most of the young musicians — there are celebrity judges and instructors and a high-stakes performance in perhaps the most heralded jazz venue in the world — it could be overwhelming for Pocock, 16-year-old who until one year ago had sung only in the shower. But come Saturday afternoon, Pocock, who is the band’s piano player, will sing Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” as part of Newport’s competition performance.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Dave Marriott Group

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Lucy’s Large Lovefest, with Elise Kloter, Hans Brehmer (piano), Rick Leppanen (bass), Patty Padden (drums) and backup vocalists Ruby Garnet and Sapphire Sadie!
9pm – Susan Harper Conspiracy
11pm – Old Earth Party

BAKE’S PLACE: Primo Kim

SERAFINA: The Djangomatics

LUCID: New Architects

BAKE’S PLACE: Primo Kim

NORTH CITY WINE BISTRO: Stephanie Porter & Friends
1520 NE 177th, Shoreline 206-365-4447

13 COINS: Al Miller
125 Boren Ave N, 206-382-1313

from The Seattle Times:

Essentially Ellington, the nation’s premier high-school jazz band competition, begins in New York City today, and once again, Seattle-area schools are there. The 2009 field includes Seattle’s Garfield and Roosevelt high schools, plus Bellevue’s Newport High School.

Roosevelt won the 2008 contest, with Garfield finishing second, showing Seattle’s continued dominance of the competition. Seattle-area schools have been so successful at Essentially Ellington (EE), it’s easy to forget that when the jazz-band competition first convened in 1996, entrance was extended only to schools on the East Coast.

Since schools from West were allowed in starting in 1999, jazz bands from Washington state have been wildly successful, in particular Roosevelt and Garfield, perennial contenders that must be considered the favorites at EE, which starts this afternoon at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Roosevelt, Garfield and Newport make up one-fifth of the field of 15, which also has three schools from California and Wisconsin, plus two from Massachusetts and one each from New York, Florida, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Photos by Jim Levitt

The Ballard Jazz Walk, Friday, April 24, 2009

Hadley Caliman Quartet at Conor Bryne

Operation ID at Egan’s

The crowd at Conor Bryne
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