Seattle Jazz Fellowship | Seattle Jazz Scene

Seattle Jazz Scene: Live Jazz Previews for Seattle

March 19, 2024 / Paul Rauch / No Comments

Seattle Jazz Beat: A Weekly Look at the Seattle Jazz Scene

Seattle Jazz Beat is a weekly Substack column from Jazz Journalist Association writer, Paul Rauch. It is a narrative covering news and events, providing musician profiles, reviews and gathering community resources in support of jazz music in Seattle. To read and subscribe, follow this link-https://substack.com/@seattlejazzbeat

Kerry Politzer

Sat Oct 31, 7:30 PM / Seattle Jazz Fellowship- 103 S. Main St.

Pianist Kerry Politzer returns to Seattle Jazz Fellowship, arriving from Portland with something a little different. In her past appearances, she has featured a jazz quartet performing original compositions, including those on her excellent 2025 release, Alternate Route. This time she teams up with Seattle stalwarts Milo Petersen (guitar) and Michael Glynn (bass) to present a selection of Brazilian and Bossa Nova tunes. George Colligan joins on drums.

Politzer has a Brazilian ensemble in Portland, Bossa PDX, and brings those tunes to share with her Seattle friends. A brilliant pianist with beautiful touch and feel, the interest here is applying her high end jazz skills to the music of Bossa masters. Petersen and Glynn are jazz cats as well, and like Politzer, have been first call musicians long enough to have delved into the whole spectrum of the jazz lexicon. Drummer Colligan is an iconic jazz pianist, and unknown to many, a great percussionist as well. Make you way through the ghosts and goblins on Halloween to Pioneer Square for this one. http://seattlejazzfellowship.org

Monday Night Jam at the Fellowship

Monday Nights, 7:30 PM / Seattle Jazz Fellowship- 103 S. Main St.

The Monday night jam in Pioneer Square has been quite the thing since the third Monday in January 2025. The session has been a gathering spot for some of the best musicians in town, from seasoned professionals to ascending high school and college players. It has also become a focal point for gen z to gather socially outside of the shadow of technology and screen life. Each week the club is full, and a line ascends up the stairs, around the corner and down First Avenue. These young people arrived via a Tic Tok video with the idea of an all ages, cover free experience with new music performed honestly, in the moment. They became a jazz audience with much more reverence for the music than most sessions. They listen, applaud solos, cheer on their favorites and deeply enjoy the idea of musicians creating on the spot jam style. We long-time patrons of the art are right there alongside them and it is a true joy. The musicians, both in house band led by Thomas Marriott, and the jammers feel the vibe as well. The early start and end allows for those who have school and work the next day. If you are looking for a ray of hope in our city, this may be your gig. Show up by 7 PM and you should have a seat. Musicians enter at will as long as they sign up to play. https://seattlejazzfellowship.org/

Kenny Garrett and Sounds From the Ancestors

Tue & Wed Nov 3-4, 7:30 PM / Jazz Alley

Another musician in the long line of great players to emerge from Detroit, alto saxophone master Kenny Garrett is a once in a generation talent that has roots not only in his hometown, but in the 1980s band of Miles Davis. He cites the sounds he heard growing up in the Motor City as his prime influence in forming this band, remembering Detroiters Donald Byrd, Aretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye in his recitations. John Coltrane has always had a musical and spiritual hold on his playing as well. Simply put, Garrett is one of the true living masters of jazz and a must – see artist for every jazz fan at least once. https://www.jazzalley.com/www-home/artist.jsp?shownum=8831

Tuesday Night Jam at the Owl

Tuesday Nights 9:30 PM / Owl ‘n Thistle

The Tuesday night jam at the Owl has a colorful 30 year legacy, and is one of the few late-night gatherings left in town. The result is that musicians show up, and often, touring artists drop in as well. The jam has welcomed in Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Emmet Cohen and a host of others. The jam began in the late 90s, hosted by the neo-bop ensemble, Bebop & Destruction. After a long-run by pianist Eric Verlinde, pianist /mallet artist Matt Williams has taken the reins of this important community event. For many years, it has been a gathering spot for the Seattle jazz community, and a space where musical ties are formed. I interviewed the founders in 2021 for an article outlining the jam’s wild and interesting history for All About Jazz. To read, follow this link https://www.allaboutjazz.com/tuesday-night-jams-at-the-owl-a-25-year-legacy-in-seattle

Nicole Yvette

Fri Nov 6, 7:30 PM / Seattle Jazz Fellowship- 103 S. Main St.

Seattle vocalist Nicole Yvette performs tunes from her new album, Say Yes, and more, teaming with an all-star gathering of Seattle talent to do so. She is accompanied by pianist Shawn Schlogel, along with first call musicians in bassist Michael Glynn and drummer D’Vonne Lewis. Tenor giant Cliff Colon joins as the second voice on the front line. Yvette’s calling in jazz life came later than most, and she is determined to make the most of it with her ambitious recording project and front line band. This one will draw a party-ready crowd (speaking in mature terms, of course). Come ready for a fun evening and a bit of a homecoming for Nicole. http://seattlejazzfellowship.org

Chris Icasiano

Fri Nov 6, 7:30 PM / Kenyon Hall

Drummer and composer Chris Icasiano hits Kenyon Hall, a unique grange hall type setting in West Seattle operated by the non-profit, Seattle Artists. Icasiano is joined by pianist Matt Williams, bassist Abbey Blackwell and songwriter Tomo Nakayama. He plays drums in a very melodic fashion, resulting in a highly original sound. As a bandleader, Icasiano has an open-minded approach, often landing in new and exciting places. Blackwell is a unique player as well, and a proper fit with Icasiano, creating a rhythm section that is open-ended and capable of melodic contributions at any point in time. Williams is one of the finest players in town- a first-rate jazz pianist with an adventurous soul on both keyboards and mallet instruments. Nakayama is a multi-genre musicians and artist who has featured both Icasiano and Blackwell on his live performances and recording projects that have resulted in four albums. https://www.kenyonhall.org/events

Ray Larsen

Sat Nov 7, 7:30 PM / Seattle Jazz Fellowship- 103 S. Main St.

Trumpeter Ray Larsen has always resided musically somewhere in that vacuitous space stylistically that surrounds jazz and embraces it. He has a clear, highly original trumpet sound. I’ve told the story here where I heard a trumpet sound floating through Pioneer Square one day, and followed it to a private gig on Occidental. I knew the sound as Ray’s, and sure enough, it was indeed him! Here he is joined by drummer Mike Gebhart– a former Seattleite who moved to NYC and is now in LA. Mike is a textural player who fits into this trio format with Geoff Harper on bass, like a glove. Geoff is an explansive and intrepid player himself, giving Larsen the melodic freedom to really dig into his vast vocabulary and create spontaneous magic. Update: Eclectic saxophonist has been added to the lineup. This makes this the perfect quartet for Larsen’s music. http://seattlejazzfellowship.org

Thomas Marriott Quartet

Thu Nov 12, 7:30 PM / Seattle Jazz Fellowship- 103 S. Main St.

Trumpeter Thomas Marriott has been so busy curating SJF, that aside from the Monday night house band, performances featuring his music have been all-too-rare in recent times. For this performance he brings in mates Tim Kennedy (piano) and Trevor Ford (bass), along with swingin’ Philadelphia based drummer Maria Marmarou. Of course, there are a few years of playing creating a group mind between the trumpeter and half of this quartet- but the fresh energy provided by Marmarou should elevate this evening into something really special. The trumpeter has fifteen albums as a leader or co-leader, with another soon to come, enabling the band to choose a variety of directions to explore. Marriott has worked tirelessly on this vision that has materialized near the corner of First and Main in Pioneer Square. I’m hoping we as a community show our appreciation by treating ourselves to a performance of this caliber, and creating some ruckus in the room to embrace this assemblage of fine musicians. http://seattlejazzfellowship.org

Ben Black

Sat Nov 14, 7:30 PM / Seattle Jazz Fellowship- 103 S. Main St.

Vocalist Ben Black offers an intimate evening of music accompanied by pianist Josh Rawlings and percussionist Anil Prasad. The trio will craft sonic landscapes. Black describes it in part as “an exploration of vocal improvisation, energy, vibration, and the deeper mysticism of the ‘Coltrane Code.” They will use jazz standards, original material and inspiration from artists such as John and Alice Coltrane. One thing to add is that Black never just plays a gig- he has shown a propensity for deeply immersing himself in the process and the actual moment of performance. He has a special chemistry with Rawlings that should add to the ease in which magic moments appear. http://seattlejazzfellowship.org

Opinion/Editorial: The Time to Act is Now to Support Local Seattle Jazz

November 24, 2023 / Paul Rauch / No Comments

“Our mission is to build community, provide access to the mentorship cycle, incentivize excellence and to lower the barriers to access jazz for both performers and listeners.”

This quote from the original mission statement of the Seattle Jazz Fellowship states in no uncertain terms, the focus of the Seattle 401(c) 3 non-profit that has guided its journey from its point of inception in October 2021. This was when the fellowship initiated its “Fellowship Wednesdays” weekly affair at Vermillion Art Bar on Capitol Hill. While the non-profit has engaged in a variety of special events, the Wednesday series has presented live jazz featuring Seattle resident musicians with occasional out of town guests now for more than two years. It has provided a stage for Seattle jazz musicians to perform original music for an appreciative listening audience and be paid respectfully. While only one night a week, it has been a beacon of hope for the Seattle jazz scene that has lost its collective mainstages largely due to gentrification. The business model that guided jazz dinner clubs like the New Orleans Creole Restaurant in Pioneer Square and the iconic Tula’s Jazz Club in Belltown became obsolete. The price tag for the consumer became sky high, while the numbers needed to manage a successful business became impossible. An alternative was needed if the resident jazz scene in Seattle was to survive.

On Tuesday November 21, SJF founder Thomas Marriott announced that the December 6 edition of Fellowship Wednesdays would be the last staged at Vermillion, as the fellowship would be moving into its own space in Pioneer Square beginning in late January of 2024. The venue will be a pop-up affair in the historic Globe building near the intersection of First Avenue and Main St., smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood that not long ago was the heartbeat of Seattle nightlife. Programming will increase to “several” nights a week according to Marriott, increasing employment opportunities for musicians, and live jazz access for listeners. The non-profit’s logical next step is a large one, and will require a significant increase in support from the Seattle music community at large. Most importantly, it will require an “all in” support network from Seattle jazz musicians themselves. In an interview I conducted with Marriott that culminated in an All About Jazz article in February 2022, he stated, “It takes everybody showing up. It takes people getting off the bench and off the sidelines and saying,’I’m going to show up to this person’s gig because it’s good for all of us.’”

In essence, this is a calling to step up to the plate and hit it out of the park. The time is NOW. What is required is not a burden, but an act of love and respect for jazz music in Seattle, and the artists that provide the sounds. It is a call to the jazz audience to not only support the music with your dollars, but to show up and join in the fellowship and broad sense of community this music provides.

You can purchase a membership using the link below. If your personal income allows you to make a donation beyond standard membership, now is the time to do so. If your working life puts you in contact with personal and/or corporate entities that are possibly willing to support this venture, now is the time to begin that conversation. We can create something beautiful and long-lasting if we so wish–it’s up to us as a community. Do we want local, fair paying gigs in an inclusive environment that welcomes the public without typical financial barriers to access? The answer is definitely yes. It is now officially in our hands.

Buy a membership, volunteer your time, make a donation, show up–this is what is required of you. The exploding moment we have all been waiting for is here. Nobody is going to show up and be the savior of the local Seattle jazz scene–we are collectively just that. Marriott has set the foundation. It’s “go time” to take it from there and build our community. https://seattlejazzfellowship.org/membership

Seattle Jazz Fellowship Presents: Orrin Evans & The Captain Black Big Band

June 30, 2022 / Paul Rauch / No Comments

“While the nonprofit has been acknowledged for providing a place for the resident Seattle jazz to thrive, it is equally important to note the Fellowship’s work in caring for the music itself.”

The Seattle Jazz Fellowship, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by trumpeter Thomas Marriott, was created in response to the loss of viable jazz stages showcasing the vibrant resident jazz scene in Seattle. While local jazz musicians and fans alike mourned the downfall of longtime resident haunts such as the New Orleans club and Tula’s Jazz Club, Marriott and a supportive group of like-minded community members sought an alternative to the traditional jazz supper club personified by the aforementioned institutions. Gentrification of the downtown core of the city had driven rents to such a level that sustaining a club that could also serve as a community hub had become difficult at best. Food and liquor sales became the life blood of these attempts, driving up the price of access to jazz fans, while wages for musicians hung at early 1980’s levels. Worse yet, musicians had to rely on the door or ticket receipts to be paid at all. Like many jazz scenes around the country not based in New York City, the best musicians had to leave town to have any hope of earning a living as a professional jazz musician. The story of the Seattle Jazz Fellowship (SJF) and its guiding principles first appeared in All About Jazz in February, 2022, in the article Seattle Jazz Fellowship: A New Beginning For Live Resident Jazz . To continue reading, click here https://www.allaboutjazz.com/seattle-jazz-fellowship-presents-orrin-evans-and-the-captain-black-big-band-captain-black-big-band

Seattle Jazz Fellowship Photo Gallery: Alex Claffy Quintet and The Fellowship ‘Ceptet at the Royal Room

February 9, 2022 / Paul Rauch / No Comments

The Seattle Jazz Fellowship, the city’s 501 (c) (3) jazz non-profit, has taken a hiatus from their weekly dates at Vermillion until April 20, when the Wednesday night program will re-ignite for another six week run. In the meantime, the organization founded by Thomas Marriott has turned its focus to presenting performances featuring the Fellowship ‘Ceptet, a rotating gathering of the best of the Seattle jazz scene. The seven piece ensemble opened for New York based bassist Alex Claffy and his quintet on Tuesday, February 8 at the Royal Room in Columbia City.

The ‘Ceptet performed compositions by trumpeter Marriott, along with a Thelonious Monk classic. Marriott was joined by a front line of altoist Alex Dugdale, tenorist Jackson Cotugno and trombonist David Marriott, Jr.. Pianist Marina Albero, bassist Trevor Ford and drummer D’Vonne Lewis held down the rhythm section.

Claffy’s quintet featured Portland born and raised tenorist Nicole Glover, and trumpeter Benny Benack III. The New York based band was all in on the hang in Seattle as well, attending both the Monday night jam at the Royal Room, and the Tuesday night jam at the Owl ‘n Thistle.

Photographers Jim Levitt and Lisa Hagen Glynn were there to document the event with their stellar photographic skill sets. Enjoy the results! To further explore the goings on with the Seattle Jazz Fellowship, visit their website at https://seattlejazzfellowship.org/