Seattle Jazz Scene

Photos by Chad McCullough

Matt Jorgensen

Thomas Marriott and Chris Spencer

Mark Ivester

Chuck Deardorf

Alan Jones

Tarik Abouzied

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Vocal Workshop

TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Darius Willrich

NEW ORLEANS: The Legacy Band w/Clarence Acox

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Identity Crisis, with Jean Mishler (vocals), Charlie Hiestand (piano), Nate Parker (bass), Brian Kent (sax) and Jamael Nance (drums).
9pm – Vocal Jam, hosted by Cara Francis, with Eric Verlinde (piano), Joe Casalini (bass) and Ed Littlefield

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce

EARSHOT SPRING SERIES: Peter Brotzmann w/ Nasheet Waits and Eric Revis
Poncho Concert Hall (710 E Roy St), 8:00pm

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: The Little Big Band

JAZZ ALLEY: Pinetop Perkins with Willie Big Eyes Smith

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

LUCID: Ryan Parrish Trio

DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

MIX: Don Mock

from the Sunday New York Times:

Mr. Fuller, a trim man with a shaved head whose stubby fingers fly deftly over the keyboard, smiled graciously. A needy ego is of no use to a sideman, who makes a living in another artist’s shadow and gets only parenthetical billing, usually with his instrument appended to his name (“Larry Fuller on piano”). But it is always nice to know that people are tuning in to him, Mr. Fuller said, as it reaffirms his core belief that “you can never underestimate what people hear even if you are just backing somebody up.”

The quiet history of jazz sidemen is long and storied, and Mr. Fuller, at 43, has already earned a place there. He started his career as a baby-faced accompanist for the veteran jazz singer Ernestine Anderson and reached a personal peak in the final trio of the great bassist Ray Brown. Like many a sideman with considerable talent, Mr. Fuller, who also composes and arranges, worries about maintaining his musical identity and aspires to lead his own trio someday. But for now, he said, especially after a difficult period in his personal life, it is enough to “serve the music” that he has revered since he was 13, when a colorful saxophonist named Candy Johnson took him under wing in Toledo, Ohio.

To make a steady living as a jazz musician is in itself no mean feat, and Mr. Fuller has done so his whole life. His experience offers some insight into the requirements for survival as a working artist, especially in a specialty like jazz where fame and fortune are not realistic goals. Talent most certainly helps, but single-mindedness, passion, humility and the ability to live modestly seem critical too. For Mr. Fuller his upbringing in a blue-collar neighborhood in Toledo, where his father supported five kids by toiling on the assembly line at a sweltering glass factory, provides the context to appreciate the musician’s life as a reward unto itself.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: BCC Jazz Orchestra w/ Hal Sherman

NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet

LUCID: Wanderlust

TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder

WATERFRONT SEAFOOD GRILL: Darrius Willrich
2801 Alaskan Way Pier 70, Seattle WA, 6pm

THE BALLARD JAZZ FESTIVAL:
Swedish Pancake Jazz Brunch w/ Brent Jensen and the Bill Anschell Trio
Brent Jensen (sax), Bill Anschell (piano), Doug Miller (bass), Jose Martinez (drums)
Nordic Heritage Museum, , 11am- 2pm.
For more information visit: BALLARD JAZZ FESTIVAL: Jazz Brunch

JAZZ ALLEY: Bobby Caldwell

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
3pm – Overlake School Jazz Band
4pm – Fairly Honest Big Band
8pm – Jim Cutler Big Band

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Sunday Night Salsa: Rhythm Syndicate
TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Ronnie Laws

SERAFINA:
11am – Alex Guilbert, solo piano
6:30pm – Jerry Frank, solo piano

LUCID: Richelle Gay

MARTINS OFF MADISON: Tim Kennedy

DOCKSIDE BISTRO: Gail Pettis Quartet
501 Columbia St NW, Olympia, 6pm

TOST: Washington Composers Orchestra (WACO)
ToST, 513 N 36th St, 547-0240, 8pm

From Earshot Jazz:
Wayne Horvitz and Robin Holcomb, our internationally known, resident keyboardists, composers, and creative spark plugs, have used their long-standing New York Composers Orchestra project to launch the new Washington Composers Orchestra (WACO), a 15-piece ensemble made up of top-flight Seattle performers and composers. WACO takes over ToST in Fremont on the last Sunday nights of April, May, and June. The compositions are unique, the ensemble work and solos are world-class, and the band carries forward a wonderful and long-standing jazz tradition of a big band in a small room, where there could very well be more people on the stage than in the audience. But if you’re lucky enough to be one of them, there is nothing quite like it.

Tonight makes a strong case for having a clone…

THE BALLARD JAZZ FESTIVAL – MAINSTAGE CONCERT – 7:30pm:
Joe Locke Quintet:
Joe Locke (vibes), Darrell Grant (piano), Thomas Marriott (trumpet), Jeff Johnson (bass) and John Bishop (drums);
Corey Christiansen Quartet:
Corey Christiansen (guitar), Mark Taylor (sax), Paul Gabrielson (bass), Matt Jorgensen (drums).
For more information visit: BALLARD JAZZ FESTIVAL: Mainstage Concert

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
4pm – Julie Olson
8pm – Hadley Caliman

BAKE’S PLACE: Patti Wicks and Greta Matassa

JAZZ ALLEY: Bobby Caldwell

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Vunt Foom

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Susan Carr Ensemble
9pm – Hejira

LOCAL COLOR: Fathia Atallah

LUCID: Jose Gonzales Trio

SERAFINA: Voodoo Trio

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

ST. CLOUD’S: A Soul Band

GRAZIE: Blues Union

GALLERY 1412: Jim Knodle and the Distract Band

CHAPEL PERFORMANCE SPACE: Fred Frith
Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 8pm

CONCERT: Jazz Jam for Chamwino w/ Murl Allen Sanders & Susan Pascal
Quest Church, 3223 15th Ave W, 7:30pm

From The Seattle Times:

The Ballard Jazz Festival is in full swing, unleashing its full lineup of music tonight during the festival’s marquee event, the Ballard Jazz Walk.

One $25 ticket buys entrance to 12 different venues on or near Ballard Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street. Virtually all the musicians associated with the festival will be playing tonight in small-group settings, including guitarist Corey Christiansen, who co-headlines Saturday’s mainstage concert at the Nordic Heritage Museum with the Joe Locke Quintet.

Tonight, guitarist Christiansen will perform with saxophonist Hadley Caliman’s group at Conor Byrne Pub. Most of the festival musicians have recorded albums with Origin Records, whose founders John Bishop and Matt Jorgensen organized the Ballard Jazz Festival. Bishop and Jorgensen are also among the performers tonight.

Familiar local musicians such as Thomas Marriott, Mark Taylor, Bill Anschell, Kelly Johnson, Hans Teuber, and Bill Ramsay will lead or join groups on the Jazz Walk. One of the more unique groups performing tonight is Tumbao, a six-piece Latin ensemble with a late set at the Lock & Keel Tavern.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

THE BALLARD JAZZ WALK:
Tonight, starting at 6:30pm
Where? In Ballard, of course!
18 groups in 12 venues for a single ticket price … there is no better deal in jazz!
For complete schedule and venue information visit:
BALLARD JAZZ FESTIVAL: Ballard Jazz Walk

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Milo Petersen and the Jazz Disciples

BAKE’S PLACE: Patti Wicks and Greta Matassa

JAZZ ALLEY: Bobby Caldwell

HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Jim Cutler Quartet

LOCAL COLOR: Kiranda Shaune

SERAFINA: Fred Hoadley Trio

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

ST. CLOUD’S: No Jive Five

GRAZIE: Blues Union

NORTH CITY BISTRO: Scott Lindenmuth Trio

LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio, 5pm
Latona and 65th

MONA’S: Michael Stegner, Dvonne Lewis and Thione Diop
6421 Latona Ave NE

BALLARD JAZZ FESTIVAL: The Guitar Summit
8pm – John Stowell & Dave Peterson
9pm – Jay Roberts & Don Mock;
10pm – Corey Christiansen
The Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Avenue NW.
More info: Ballard Jazz Festival: Guitar Summit

THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Tad Britton, Jeff Johnson

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Belltown Bop-Tet w/ Dave Marriott, Tom Marriott, Travis Rainey

NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Dan Czaran (cabaret/jazz vocalist), with Karin Kajita (piano), Kevin McCarthy (bass) and Larry Bergman (drums)
9pm – Danny Godinez, solo guitar

LO-FI: The Teaching

LUCID: How Now Brown Cow

ASTEROID: Tim Kennedy and Friends

BALLARD JAZZ FESTIVAL:
Brotherhood of the Drum:
Alan Jones / Tarik Abouzied and Hardcoretet /
Mark Ivester feat. Jovino Santos Neto / Matt Jorgensen
The Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Avenue NW.
More info: Ballard Jazz Festival: Brotherhood of the Drum

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Smith Staelins Big Band

NEW ORLEANS: The Legacy Band w/Clarence Acox

THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – University Prep Combo Night
9pm – Vocal Jam, hosted by Marti MacEwan, with Darin Clendenin (piano), Joe Casalini (bass) and Robert Rushing (drums)

WHISKEY BAR: Ronnie Pierce

LUCID: Melodious Thunk (Monk Tribute)

JAZZ ALLEY: Fly w/Larry Grenadier, Mark Turner, Jeff Ballard

from The Seattle Times:

In hindsight, Mark Turner agrees that power saws and horn players should probably avoid close proximity.

He came by this insight the hard way. when a home-maintenance project suddenly turned into a potentially career-ending accident. One of jazz’s most eloquent and widely admired tenor and soprano saxophonists, Turner severed the tendons in his left-hand middle and index fingers last November.

“It’s never going to be the same,” says Turner, 42, who opens a two-day run on Tuesday with the collective trio Fly at Jazz Alley. “There are some issues with the left hand that I have to work around. There’s lack of sensation in the second digit. I’m getting used to it slowly.”

While he’s still working to recover some finger flexibility after surgery to reconnect nerves, arteries and tendons, Turner returned to the bandstand at the end of February, resuming a brilliant career marked by a series of near-telepathic collaborations.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Roadside Attraction

NEW ORLEANS: Holotradband

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Clay Giberson Trio, with Clay Giberson (piano), David Ambrosio (bass) and Matt Garrity (drums)
9pm – Rainy City Jazz Band, with Mike Fernandes (drums), Eric Kehoe (trombone), Tom Buffington (sax), Dave Fisher (sax), Thomas Stratmann (sax), Kimball Conant (guitar), Patric McDanel (bass), Sean McGee (trumpet) and Annie Eastwood (vocals/percussion)

DEXTER AND HAYES: Tim Kennedy Trio

JAZZ ALLEY: Fly w/Larry Grenadier, Mark Turner, Jeff Ballard

MARTIN’S ON MADISON: Karin Kajita

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Jazz Jam w/ Darin Clendenin

NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet

LUCID: Tim Kennedy

TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder

JAZZ ALLEY: Oleta Adams

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
4pm – Jay Thomas Big Band
8pm – Jim Cutler Big Band

TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Sunday Night Salsa: Rumbeggae

SERAFINA:
11am – Conlin Roser  Duo
6:30pm – Ann Reynolds / Tobi Stone Duo

LUCID: Sasha Herschberg

EGAN’S:
6pm and 8pm – Tom Baker Quartet CD Release Party

GALLERY 1412:
5pm – Call and Response: Dottie Grossman, Michael Vlatkovich, Jim Knodle

MARTINS OFF MADISON: Tim Kennedy

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Kelley Johnson Quartet

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Nick Allison Trio, featuring Katie Walter
9pm – Victor Noriega Trio+2
11pm – Pontius Pilots, with Victor Noriega (piano) and e.R.Don (MPC/midi sequencing/sampler)

JAZZ ALLEY: Oleta Adams

LOCAL COLOR: Leah Natale and Ambience

SERAFINA: Leo Raymundo w/ Sue Nixon

BAKE’S PLACE: Butch Harrison Quartet

LUCID: Marc Smason w/ Alfonse Somebody & the Jr. Detectives

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

GRAZIE: Michael Powers Group

From The Seattle Times:

Changes were coming to Ballard, Bishop and Jorgensen among them. Condominiums, gourmet dog biscuits, indoor-plant boutiques, panko breadcrumbs and all the trappings of yuppie-hood were making their way to old Ballard, the changes literally visible from Bishop’s and Jorgensen’s apartment windows.

The density of bars and restaurants, the foot traffic and the changing demographics of their neighborhood made it easy to decide to start the Ballard Jazz Festival in 2003.

Now in its sixth season, the five-day festival has grown, but not to enormous size. It starts Wednesday at the Sunset Tavern with the first of two themed nights of music, the Brotherhood of the Drum, at least three sets and three different groups led by drummers. The Guitar Summit commences at the Sunset on Thursday night, with three groups led by guitarists.

The festival’s Friday-night jazz walk — next Friday — features 19 groups performing in 12 venues on or around Ballard Avenue; guitarist Corey Christiansen’s trio and New York vibraphonist Joe Locke and his quintet play the big-stage concert April 25 at the Nordic Heritage Museum; the festival ends April 26 with a Swedish-pancake jazz brunch, also at the museum.

What sets the festival apart from others in the area is its organic, homegrown quality. Most of the musicians scheduled to perform (Hadley Caliman, Thomas Marriott, Bill Anschell, Kelley Johnson, Bill Ramsay, Jay Thomas, Hans Teuber, Mark Taylor, Jeff Johnson, among many others) are top-shelf, local musicians. The Ballard festival does not receive funding from arts organizations or corporate sponsors, like the festivals in Bellevue or Port Townsend, or the Earshot festival.

As such, the budget is in the modest range of $35,000. The money comes mostly from local businesses — meaning Ballard, not Seattle. Some of the budget is made in barter, bottles of wine or printing services.

“It’s 100 percent artist- produced and community-funded,” Jorgensen said. “And the money goes back into the neighborhood and to local musicians.

“[Sponsor] Ann Babb sold me my first house,” he continued. “At first we just went to people we knew and asked if they could contribute.”

The festival is a distillation of the jazz scene in Seattle, without the leverage of corporate dollars or national brand names and their built-in audiences — a tightly knit, relatively small circle of talented musicians who are neighbors, friends and, sometimes, even housemates.

Continue reading at The Seattle Times.

TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Quartet w/ Alexey Nikolaev

LATONA PUB: Victor Noriega Trio (5-7pm)

EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Eric Miller Trio, with Eric Miller (guitar/vocals), Sabu (bass) and Mrs. Miller (vocals). Special guests include Mike & Anna Lisa Notter
9pm – Tim Lerch and John Stowell
11pm – Sam Friend with Cinnamon On It

HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Karen Shivers

LOCAL COLOR: Shelly Rudolph

SERAFINA: Kiko de Freitas

LUCID: Evan Flory-Barnes: Mingus Tribute

JAZZ VOX CONCERT: John Proulx w/ Thomas Marriott & Chuck Kistler

EL GAUCHO BELLEVUE: Trish Hatley Trio

MONA’S: Michael Stegner, Byron Vannoy and Thione Diop

THE DISTRICT LOUNGE: Ron Weinstein Trio

GRAZIE: Michael Powers Group

The 2nd Annual Seattle Occultural Music Festival is a three-weekend celebration of new & experimental music in the Pacific Northwest of psychic, ecological or otherwise deeply resonant importance. This diverse program incorporates performers & composers spanning the regions genres & generations, mixing established artists, new talent, and important work & influence not from the immediate Seattle area.

For more information, visit www.somf.info

Friday, May 1 @ 8pm – All ages
The Art Church
2051 NW 61st St @ 22nd
Soriah [Portland]
Stuart Dempster
Vox Vespertinus
Seattle Harmonic Voices
Hanna Benn

Saturday, May 2 @ 8pm – All ages
Gallery 1412
1412 18th Ave
Robin Holcomb
Amy Denio
Sokai Stilhed
Christopher Greenchild

Thursday, May 7 @ 8pm – All ages
Good Shepherd Center Chapel Performance Space
4649 Sunnyside N
Seattle Phonographer’s Union
Jason Kopec
Graham Banfield

Friday, May 8 @ 10pm – 21+ w/ID
Rendezvous Jewelbox Theatre
2322 2nd Ave
Voodoo Israel [San Francisco]
Joy Von Spain
Matt Shoemaker
Midday Veil

Saturday, May 9 @ 10pm – 21+ w/ID
Rendezvous Jewelbox Theatre
2322 2nd Ave
Barn Owl [San Francisco]
Bill Horist
Dr. Jones
Riding the Slow Wave of Death

Thursday, May 14 @ 8pm – All ages
Gallery 1412
1412 18th Ave
Wayne Horvitz
Gust Burns & Tyler Wilcox
Michal Szostalo

Friday, May 15 @ 10pm – 21+ w/ID
Rendezvous Jewelbox Theartre
2322 2nd Ave
Holy Experiment [New York]
At the Head of the Woods [Portland]
(a) Story of Rats
Paintings for Animals

Advance tickets (at discount prices) are still available for all events at The Ballard Jazz Festival which starts next Wednesday, April 22. For more information, visit http://ballardjazzfestival.com

Wednesday, April 22 – Brotherhood of the Drum
performances by groups led by Matt Jorgensen, Alan Jones, Tarik Abouzied and Mark Ivester.

Thursday, April 23 – Guitar Summit
performances by Corey Christiansen, John Stowell, Dave Peterson, Don Mock and Jay Roberts

Friday, April 24 – Ballard Jazz Walk
19 groups in 12 venues for a single ticket … the best deal in jazz!

Saturday, April 25 – Nordic Heritage Museum Concert
Concert with the Joe Locke Group (featuring Darrell Grant and Thomas Marriott) and the Corey Christiansen Quartet

Sunday, April 26 – Swedish Pancake Jazz Brunch
Finish off the jazz festival with swedish pancakes and the Brent Jensen Quartet