Seattle Jazz Scene

Let’s get the Comments section going this weekend!

Give us your list of what’s in your CD player or iPod at the moment … what’s your Top 10 for 2007 … Desert Island Picks?

Comment Away!

Bake’s Place Visiting Songbirds Series continues this weekend.

Friday January 25, 2008
Crossing Borders featuring Jennifer Scott and Kristen Strom

Dinner Time: 7:00 – 8:00pm
Performance Time: 8:00 – 10:30pm

Crossing Borders is a new international jazz group led by the heralded Canadian jazz vocalist/pianist Jennifer Scott and S.F. Bay Area saxophonist Kristen Strom who is well–known for her melodic, engaging style. The band also includes guitarist Scott Sorkin (Novo Tempo), bassist Rene Worst (Ernestine Anderson, Joe Pass, Jon Faddis), and drummer Mark Ivester (Freddie Hubbard, Mose Allison, Diane Schuur).

Saturday January 26, 2008
Madeline Eastman Quartet with Randy Porter, piano; Chuck Deardorf, bass; and John Bishop, drums

Dinner Time: 7:00 – 8:00pm
Performance Time: 8:00 – 10:30pm

Often referred to as a “singer’s singer”, Madeline Eastman has been lauded for her original, “hip” take on the music prompting CD Review to write, “She doesn’t tinker aimlessly, she reconstructs with purpose. She lays depth charges right from the beginning.” Don Heckman of the LA Times called Madeline “a consummate, inventive, endlessly entertaining artist at work.” Eastman was recognized twice as one of the “Top Female Vocalists” in DownBeat Readers Poll. She has recorded five CDs featuring such luminaries as Tony Williams, Cedar Walton, Phil Woods, and Kenny Barron. Barron also joined Madeline on a soon-to-be-released album they recorded with Amsterdam’s famed 50-piece Metropole Orchestra under the direction of Vince Mendoza. In addition, her new “live” recording will be released in the Spring.

BAKE’S PLACE
4135 Providence Point Dr. SE
Issaquah, WA 98029
phone: 425-391-3335
http://bakesplace.org

Bake’s Place Visiting Songbird Series kicks off this weekend with a performance by Portland vocalist Nancy King.

Says owner Craig Baker about the series, “Well, Bake’s Place has always specialized in vocalists, but, with a few exceptions, like Freddy Cole and Rebecca Parris, we’ve had singers from the Northwest. But now with our increased seating capacity, we’re able to bring in national artists. We’re bringing vocalists from New York, San Francisco, and Montana, just to name a few places.”

Visit the Bakes Place website for a complete schedule of up-coming shows and the Visiting Songbird series.

Saturday January 19, 2008
Nancy King with Steve Christofferson
Bake’s Place
4135 Providence Point Dr. SE
Issaquah, WA 98029
phone: 425-391-3335

By Katy Bourne

VENUE PREVIEW: VERRAZANO’S

For south end jazz fans looking for somewhere to hear live music and enjoy a wonderful dinner, Verrazano’s is the place to be.

Tucked away on a stretch of Pacific Highway South in Federal Way, this Italian restaurant is a hidden gem. Although some might consider the location nondescript, Verrazano’s couldn’t be lovelier with its lush interiors, popping fireplace and wonderful view of Puget Sound.

Every Wednesday night, Verrazano’s has live jazz from 7-10pm. Music is in the lounge, which is large and comfortable. The bands set up on the far end of the room and enjoy a spacious playing area. On Wednesday nights, the bar is fairly busy with diners, friends meeting for drinks and jazz fans there to listen to music. Some purists may be annoyed by the televisions in the bar, which are on throughout the evening and are usually tuned to some kind of sporting event. However, the volume is always muted, and the televisions do not distract from the music at all.

Verrazano’s has an ample wine list, and the food is delicious. The staff couldn’t be friendlier, and the scene is very jazz positive. For south enders with a hankering for some hump day jazz, Verrazano’s is the place to be. For Seattleites, the drive to Federal Way is well worth it.

Verrazano’s is located at 28835 Pacific Highway South, Federal Way, WA 98003. The phone is 253-946-4122. For the live music schedule, visit the website at www.verrazanos.com.

The International Association of Jazz Educators conference starts this Wednesday in Toronto. Seattle Jazz Scene will be in attendance and blogging daily about the goings-on. Are there any readers out there planning on attending? Post a Comment or send an email to [email protected]. And check the site daily for updates and interviews with attendees.

See you at IAJE!

Jazz Northwest and Jazz After Hours host Jim Wikle has posted his Top 10 of 2007 …

Thomas Marriott, Both Sides of The Fence, Origin
Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, Meeting of the Waters, OA 2
Stan Bock Ensemble, Your Check’s In the Mail, OA2
Various HS Bands, KPLU School of Jazz, KPLU
Ian McDougall Big Band, No Passport Required, Barbarian
Greg Williamson, Pony Boy Large Ensemble – Jazz Traditions, Pony Boy
Vern Sielert Dektet, From There to Here, Pony Boy
Dee Daniels, Jazzinit, Origin
Greta Matassa, The Smiling Hour, Origin
Gail Pettis, May I Come In?, OA 2
PJ Perry / Campbell Ryga, Joined at The Hip, Cellar Live
Brent Jensen, One More Mile, Origin
Thomas Marriott, The Cool Season, Origin
Jon Hamar, Hereafter
Tony Grasso, saxophone? Quartet!

Grammy Award nominee Nancy King, Downbeat readers’ poll winner Nancy Kelly and world-renowned Rebecca Parris are among several jazz vocalists who will perform at Issaquah’s Bake’s Place as part of the club’s Visiting Songbirds series that launches in January and runs through summer.

Portland’s King will perform Jan. 19 and May 24, New York’s Kelly will perform May 9-10 and Boston-based Parris will have a return engagement Feb. 14-16.

Other singers in the series include pianist/vocalist Jennifer Scott and saxophonist Kirsten Strom (Crossing Borders) from Canada/San Francisco (Jan. 25); “Singers’ singer” Madeline Eastman (Jan. 26), Latin songbird Kat Parra (March 28), and rising star Jackie Ryan (April 11-12), all from San Francisco; versatile Linda Ciofalo from New York, (April 18-19); Karin Plato from Vancouver, Canada; (March 29, June 14), Bassist/vocalist Belinda Underwood and Master Pianist Benny Green from Portland/New York (May 3); Jeni Fleming from Montana (July 5); and Amandah Jantzen (August 23) and Denise Perrier, both from San Francisco (TBD).

“We’re thrilled to be able to bring in these wonderful singers.” says Craig Baker, who owns and operates Bake’s Place. “For some of them, it will be their first time performing in the Seattle area.”

Baker and his wife Laura recently completed extensive remodeling of the club — located near to Interstate 90 in Issaquah – by expanding the stage and increasing seating capacity to 74. New leather chairs and upgraded lighting and sound systems have transformed Bake’s into the Seattle area’s premier spot for an intimate evening of dining and some of the best jazz in the nation.

Longtime Seattle Times jazz critic Paul de Barros has called Bake’s “a sweet little Issaquah supper club” and Bake’s was included in DownBeat’s list of 100 Best Jazz Clubs.

“We wanted to live up to our listing in DownBeat,” explains Baker with a smile, “and now we can accommodate out of town artists who need this size audience to make it financially worthwhile to play here.”

Thanks to an 180-degree view of the mountains and Lake Sammamish, gourmet food and excellent wines, a living-room atmosphere and thrilling music like the Visiting Songbird series, Bake’s will soon lose its reputation as the “best kept secret” of music venues.

“I’ve performed all over the world,” says esteemed pianist Benny Green, “and Bake’s Place is by far one of my favorite places.” This sentiment is echoed by other international artists who’ve played at Bake’s, such as pianist/singer Freddy Cole and Parris, among others.

We are taking the day off at Seattle Jazz Scene … but there is plenty of news to catch up on!

Happy New Year!

Nich Anderson is opening up his condo to 30 guests each night for a house concert series that starts January 5 with a performance by MaxxJazz recording artist John Proulx.

The Northwest has a fine tradition of house concerts, from the original Bake’s Place which was located in the basement of Craig Baker’s home to the Our House series in the Woodland Park neighborhood, and the JazzVox series promises not to disappoint.

Says Nich Anderson:

January 5, 2008 – (Federal Way Location Only)
MAXJAZZ Recording Artist John Proulx
with Seattle’s own fantastic bassist Chuck Kistler
I heard John last year for the first time and was amazed by his many talents – an equally great pianist and vocalist, a wonderful scatter, and a great writer of tunes (featured on albums by Nancy Wilson and Mary Stallings). I’m thrilled that John will be the artist to kick-off the series! Check out his debut album “Moon and Sand” on his website (http://www.johnproulx.com) and visit his myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/johnmproulx).

For more information and to reserve tickets, visit http://jazzvox.com.

From The Seattle Times/Washington Post:

Oscar Peterson at the piano? Oscar Peterson was the piano.

His touch could be light and feathery, as ethereal as a memory. It could operate with blinding speed, releasing liquid lines that felt like a river bursting a dam. Or it could release rumbling cascades of notes, pounding out a stratagem of confidence and assurance.

Sometimes Peterson didn’t move much, his body swaying slowly on ballads, head bowed in reverie. At other times, constant piston motion — hands working the keys, arms sweeping up and down the keyboard — gave Peterson a supple bounce, as if that bench was hot. When he got into a particularly pleasing groove, or when his sidemen spurred him on with their own invention, Peterson would smile, and get just a little more fired up.

Continue Reading at The Seattle Times.com