Seattle Jazz Scene

Ziggurat, a new Seattle Quartet which takes its name from the ancient pyramids of Mesopotamia, is featured in an Art of Jazz Concert on the next Jazz Northwest on KPLU, 88.5. Eric Barber, Bill Anschell, Doug Miller and Byron Vannoy play a program of rhythmically fascinating music composed by members of the group. Excerpts from the concert will Sunday, June 22 at 1PM PDT on 88-5, KPLU, and stream live to the web at www.kplu.org . The program will also be available as a podcast after the airdate.

Jazz Northwest is produced exclusively for KPLU by Jim Wilke.

Listen to a preview below

Pianist Lynne Arriale’s Trio is featured in performance on Jazz Northwest on 88.5 KPLU on Sunday June 15 at 1 PM PDT. The Trio was recorded at The Upstage during last July’s Jazz Port Townsend. The Lynne Arriale Trio has recorded ten CDs, the most recent of which (“Live”) won numerous awards and was among Top Ten lists for the year.

Also on this week’s Jazz Northwest is news of current live jazz around Seattle and upcoming festivals in Vancouver and Victoria in June and Port Townsend in July.

Jazz Northwest is produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for KPLU 88.5 and is streamed live to the internet and available as a podcast after the airdate.

Listen to a preview below …

Pianist Joe Baque at a Celebration of Life for Jack Perciful in Olympia.

Selections from a tribute to the late Olympia pianist Jack Perciful played by BeBop Revisited, Joe Baque, Pete Christlieb & Bill Ramsay will be featured on this week’s Jazz Northwest, Sunday June 1 at 1 PM on 88.5 KPLU. Also, songs by Roberta Gambarini and Hank Jones not heard on the earlier broadcast of their performance at Jazz Alley will air on this week’s show.

Jazz Northwest is produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for KPLU 88.5. The program is also streamed to the internet and is available as a podcast after the airdate at kplu.org

Listen to the audio clip below.

The Kendra Shank Quartet was in Seattle to play the Art of Jazz Series at The Seattle Art Museum this month. Highlights from the concert will air on Jazz Northwest Sunday May 18 at 1 PM PDT, 4 PM EDT on KPLU 88.5 in Western Washington. The program also streams to an international audience via kplu.org .

Kendra was born in California, played guitar and sang folk music in Paris and Seattle and migrated to jazz in Seattle where she attended the UW and became part of the Seattle jazz scene. A New York resident for the past ten years, she’s a regular presence on the NY club scene with her regular band including pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist Dean Johnson (another former Seattleite) and drummer Tony Moreno. More than a singer with a back-up group, the Kendra Shank Quartet is an ensemble whose members share solo and supporting roles, and share the risk when the music takes them to the edge of free improvisation.

Jazz Northwest is produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for KPLU each Sunday afternoon at 1. It is also available as a podcast at kplu.org after the airdate.

(Click the soundclip below to preview this episode)

The Joe Doria Trio is a classic-style jazz organ trio … with a Hammond B3, guitar and drums, and a hard- swinging approach to everything they play. The trio played this month’s Art of Jazz concert at the Seattle Art Museum and if you missed it or want to hear it again, listen Sunday afternoon at 1 for The Joe Doria Trio in concert on Jazz Northwest from 88-5, KPLU.

The Art of Jazz concerts are presented on the second Thursday of each month by Earshot Jazz, KPLU, and the Seattle Art Museum and are free and open to the public. The next concert will feature the Tom Varner Dektet on April 10 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

featuring:
Joe Doria – organ
Chris Spencer – guitar
Byron Vannoy – drums

listen to an audio preview below

Coming up on Jazz Northwest this Sunday afternoon…. new CDs by Hadley Caliman, Trish Hatley, Matt Jorgensen, unissued concert recordings by Jim Knapp and the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and more, plus we’ll bring you up to date on best locations for live jazz.

Jazz Northwest airs on 88-5, KPLU Sunday afternoons at 1. The program is also streamed at kplu.org and available as a podcast after the air date.

Next week (March 23): Joe Doria Organ Trio in concert at SAM

April 6: Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra plays Benny Carter’s “Kansas City Suite” at Kirkland Performance Center.

photo by Steve Robinson

NEA Jazz Master Hank Jones and Roberta Gambarini, the singer he calls “the best I’ve heard since Ella Fitzgerald”, are featured on Jazz Northwest on Sunday March 9 at 1 pm Pacific Time on 88.5, KPLU. Their recent performance at Dimitrou’s Jazz Alley was recorded especially for Jazz Northwest. Joining Hank Jones and Roberta Gambarini in this performance are Neil Swainson on bass, and Willie Jones III on drums.

Hank Jones will celebrate his 90th birthday this year and has had many honors come his way including the highest honor in Jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award bestowed on Mr.Jones in 1989. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) honored him with the Jazz Living Legend Award in 2003. In a career spanning six decades he has recorded over 60 albums as a leader and participated in hundreds of others with dozens of jazz legends including Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald, to name a few.

Roberta Gambarini was born in a music-loving family in Torino, Italy and began her professional singing career in Europe. She moved to the US in 1998 where her extraordinary talent was first noted by musicians she performed with including the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. The DownBeat Critics’ Poll in 2007 named her No.1 talent deserving wider recognition. She has developed a world-wide following and has appeared at most of the world’s great jazz festivals and concert halls.

Roberta Gambarini and Hank Jones first performed together at The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival a few years ago and immediately established a mutual admiration society. Their duo CD “You Are There” has recently been issued and they have been recording for a second CD with trio.

Dimitirou’s Jazz Alley is one of the world’s great jazz clubs. It provided a perfect setting for our recording, with a Steinway concert grand, great house sound and an attentive, appreciative capacity audience. This program will also be available as a podcast from kplu.org after the airdate.

Listen to the Audio Preview below.

This week, Jazz Northwest previews two major upcoming jazz events – The Hot Java Cool Jazz benefit concert at the Paramount on February 8, and the Portland Jazz Festival February 15-24.

Starbucks presents the 12th annual Hot Java Cool Jazz with support from KPLU, featuring 5 top area high school jazz bands (Shorewood, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds/Woodway, Rooseveltl and Garfield), and 2 middle school bands (Eckstein and Washington). Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the music programs of the participating schools. Jim Wilke will emcee the concert.

The Portland Jazz Festival is one of the largest annual jazz festivals in the Northwest. The festival includes over 150 events over ten days. Many international stars will perform, ranging from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones to Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, and there are many free and educational events as well. KPLU is sponsoring special Amtrak “jazz trains” transporting Seattle fans to Portland both weekends.

Jazz Northwest is produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for KPLU and airs Sundays at 1 pm Pacific Time on 88.5, KPLU and steams to the internet at www.kplu.org.

Next week (2/10): Rising jazz stars Ben Roseth, alto sax, and Julian Lage, guitar play an intimate duet set recorded live at Egan’s Jam House in Ballard. Ben Roseth (23) is a former star of the Garfield Jazz Band who recently graduated with two degrees, from Tufts University and New England Conservatory. Julian Lage, who’ll be twenty this year, grew up in the San Francisco area, attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and has recorded and toured with Gary Burton among others. Roseth and Lage began playing duets in Boston and this set is notable for the astonishing maturity and sophistication of their music.

LISTEN TO THE PREVIEW BELOW

Victor Noriega‘s explosive trio playing in the Brotman Forum of the Seattle Art Museum in the January Art of Jazz Concert. An hour of highlights from the concert will air on KPLU (88.5) and stream on www.kplu.org on Sunday, January 27 at 1 PM Pacific Time.

Pianist Victor Noriega is a fast rising star on the Seattle jazz scene and beyond. After graduation from the University of Washington School of Music, his CD debut was “Stone’s Throw” in 2004. The following year he was voted NW Emerging Artist of the Year by Earshot readers. In 2006 he produced his second CD “Alay” which received an Earshot Golden Ear Award for Northwest Recording of the year and a second award for Northwest Instrumentalist of the Year.

Victor Noriega’s cross-cultural style is distinctly his own, blending elements of Filipino traditional music and classical music with jazz. He was recently featured in the 2007 Philippine International Jazz and Arts Festival playing in Seattle and Hollywood, and has performed in Asia as well, notably in Shanghai. He’s currently preparing a third CD and we’ll hear some new music on this concert that will be included on the new CD.

Joining him in this concert at the Seattle Art Museum are an exciting young bassist, Evan Flory-Barnes, and drummer Greg Campbell . The Art of Jazz concerts are presented by Earshot Jazz on the second Thursday of each month at The Seattle Art Museum.

Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for 88.5 KPLU. It is also available as a podcast after broadcast from www.kplu.org

A concert by The Alma College Percussion Ensemble was a surprise hit at Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend last July. Highlights from the concert will air Sunday 1/13 at 1:00 pm on Jazz Northwest. Playing vibes, marimbas, steel pans, bells, Latin percussion and all kinds of drums, the thirty outstanding young musicians earned a standing ovation. Traveling from Alma, Michigan to play at Port Townsend for a large and very appreciative crowd was a highlight of their summer and the festival! The Alma College Percussion Ensemble is directed by David Zerbe, and vibist Joe Locke was a special guest.

Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke and heard every Sunday on 88.5 KPLU and kplu.org. Made possible by The Boeing Company, Jazz Northwest streams live to the web and is also available on demand as a podcast after the broadcast at www.kplu.org.

Three different groups are featured on this Sunday’s Jazz Northwest (December 16) – First is the Brent Jensen-John Stowell Quartet, followed by the Hadley Caliman Quintet with Thomas Marriott recorded during the recent Ballard Jazz Walk. Then we’ll go downtown to hear Jay Thomas’ Collateral Damage Big Band playing at The New Orleans Creole Restaurant in Pioneer Square. Musicians in this band span an age range of six decades!

Jazz Northwest airs Sunday afternoons at 1 on 88-5, KPLU and streams live to the web at www.kplu.org – made possible by The Boeing Company. The program is also available as a podcast from kplu.org .

KPLU, November 27, 2007 – When I first heard Seattle jazz pianist Dave Peck in the 1980s, he was the first-call pianist for almost every internationally known jazz musician who came to town and needed a pick-up band. That being the case, I had the opportunity to hear him a lot — and I loved what I heard. It was amazing to see him adapt his skills to the needs of a wide variety of visiting musicians and still maintain his own strong musical personality.

As much as I admired him, though, I was scared to tell him so. He had (and has) a somewhat brooding and mysterious physical presence that kept me from approaching him. When I finally did, however, I was pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved. In addition to being a fine composer and pianist, Peck is a gracious man with a wonderfully wicked wit. These characteristics come through loud and clear in this interview with KPLU’s Jazz Northwest host, Jim Wilke.

Click here to read the entire article.

Today (Sunday, Nov 18) on KPLU 88.5fm at 1:00pm

Raymond Scott’s music of the Thirties renounced swing era convention with zippy, programatic music played with abandon by his “Quintette”. Hear his music played by The Raymond Scott Project of the Monktail Creative Music Concern in a concert recorded at The Seattle Art Museum, Sunday, November 18 on Jazz Northwest at 1 pm on 88-5, KPLU.

http://www.kplu.org/wilke.html

Jim Wilke has been in broadcasting for 50 years … this weekend on his show he is looking back. Listen to KPLU tonight on 88.5fm.

From the Jazz After Hours website:

SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY SHOW NOV 17-18
A triple celebration – beginning the 24th year of Jazz After Hours on Public Radio International, Jim’s 50th year in radio, and music from one of the greatest years of jazz recording, 1957. Hear the “new sides” of ’57 by Miles, Coltrane, Basie, Ellington, Billie, Ella, Sarah, Brubeck, Hawkins, Dizzy, Mingus, Quincy, Rollins, Monk, Louis, Nat Cole, Gil Evans and more!

JAZZ NORTHWEST FOR OCTOBER 14, 2007 – 1PM
– Fall Fund Drive Edition –

Jim features his unique location recordings of the Lynne Arriale Trio, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Vic Juris & Corey Christiansen, and the Marc Seales Quintet playing festivals, concerts and club dates at various locations. Guests on this show include Clarence Acox, John Bishop, Matt Jorgensen, Gregg Miller and John Gilbreath, who tell us about upcoming jazz events and urge listeners to support Jazz Northwest and KPLU by calling in their pledges.

Pledge Online: http://www.kplu.org/