Norm Bobrow
I’m very sorry to pass on the news from Paul West that Norm Bobrow passed last night. Paul said he owed whatever success he had in the music business to Norm, who first started promoting jazz concerts when he was a student at The UW in the late 30s. He was also a conga player, a fellow broadcaster, and a sweet man who had many friends and dearly loved jazz and everyone associated with it.
When I introduced him at his induction into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame in 1996, I told him “When I grow up, Norm, I want to be just like you!” He got a big kick out of that and recalled it again when I saw him at The New Orleans just a couple of months ago when we were both there listening to Jay Thomas’ Big Band.
I’m sure there will be many remembrances of Norm Bobrow in the next few days and information about a memorial. He was a major contributor to the Seattle Jazz Scene. There are numerous references to him in Paul DeBarros’ “Jackson Street After Hours”.
– Jim Wilke
Monday Jazz
Well … the first signs of Spring came and went. Here is a list of what’s happening tonight …
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: JAZZ JAM with the Darin Clendenin Trio
THE NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet
WASABI BISTRO: Brazilian Jazz
LA SPIGA: Ray Baldwin
Sunday Jazz
JAZZ ALLEY: Diane Schuur
THE TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Sunday Night Salsa: Mango Son
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
3:00pm: Franklin HS Alumni/Jazz Police Big Band
8:00pm: Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra
THE NEW ORLEANS: South Sound Youth Jazz featuring Bill Englehart
TUTTA BELLA WALLINGFORD: Casey MacGill’s Blue 4 Trio
LA SPIGA: Mark Bullis
BENAROYA HALL: Les Brown Band of Renown
Saturday Jazz
JAZZ ALLEY: Diane Schuur
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Kelley Johnson Quartet
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm and 9pm – Overton Berry Trio, with Overton Berry (piano), Mike Eytcheson (bass) and Rick Spano (drums). Come celebrate Overton’s Birthday!
11pm – Kenny Mandell Monk Group, with Kenny Mandell (sax), Ed Petry (guitar) and Don Berman (drums)
BAKE’S PLACE: Jackie Ryan Quartet
SORRENTO HOTEL: Gail Pettis
BERKSHIRE GRILL: Black Lab Trio
GALLERY 1412: Dusty York Trio
GRAZIE: Quite Fire
BENAROYA HALL: Les Brown Band of Renown
HENDRIX LOUNGE: Chris Fagen, Joe Doria, John Bishop
Friday Jazz
JAZZ ALLEY: Diane Schuur
THE TRIPLE DOOR
MAINSTAGE: China Forbes (the voice of PINK MARTINI)
MUSICQUARIUM: James Baumgart Trio (5:30pm); Waterbabies (9:00pm)
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Hadley Caliman Quintet w/ Thomas Marriott
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – The Yoginis, with Yogi McCaw (keyoards), Bob Antolin (flute, sax), Eric Hullander (bass) and Ed Mays (drums)
9pm – Blue Cranes, with Reed Wallsmith (alto sax), Sly Pig (tenor sax), Keith Brush (bass), Rebecca Sanborn (keys) and Ji Tanzer (drums)
11pm – Deal’s Number, with Bill Monto (saxophones), John Seman (bass) and Mark Ostrowski (drums)
BAKE’S PLACE: Jackie Ryan Quartet
BERKSHIRE GRILL: Kevin McCarthy
LATONA PUB: Mark Taylor, Russ Johnson, Phil Sparks, Matt Jorgensen (4:30 – 6:30pm)
HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Greg Williamson Quartet
Jazz at 13 Coins
13 is your lucky number on Thursdays!
HB Radke & the Jet City Swingers
Thursday Evenings
8:00pm – 12:00am
The 13 Coins Restaurant
“Seattle’s Only 24-hour Gourmet Restaurant”
125 Boren Ave N, Seattle
(just off Denny Way, three blocks from I-5)
ph: (206)682-2513
The newly renovated 13 Coins Restaurant & Lounge is an old-style cornerstone of metropolitan character serving up a hearty-fare 24 hours a day. The lounge is classic space for lounging. Cocktails, old photos, fireplace and ultra comfortable seating. This is the perfect spot for a dry martini and some classic rat-pack music.
Earshot Art of Jazz at SAM: Tom Varner Tentet
SAM Art of Jazz Concert Series:
Tom Varner Tentet: world premiere of Tom Varner’s “heaven and hell,” a new work for tentet.
Thursday, April 10, 2008, 5:30 p.m., Seattle Art Museum
1st Ave and Union St. Free with museum admission. All ages. www.seattleartmuseum.org
Tom Varner is a composer and jazz French hornist with 11 CD’s out as a leader, and he plays on over 70 others. After 26 years in NYC, he moved with his family to Seattle in fall 2005. About his new work, Tom Varner tells SJS:
Finally, my tentet piece that I’ve been working on and obsessing about for over 5 years now, will be premiered at 5:30 p.m., Thursday April 10, as part of the Earshot monthly series at the Seattle Art Museum. The work was begun in earnest at a wonderful three-week stay at the MacDowell Arts Colony in winter 2003, and I’ve been working on it ever since. (I was in the same snow-covered cabin where Leonard Bernstein worked on his “Mass,” as well as fellow composers Meredith Monk, Fred Hersch, Bobby Previte, and Aaron Copland).
The title of this 13-part cd-length piece is “heaven and hell” –as in the “heaven” of being in the moment with my two kids, especially enjoying my time with them here in Seattle, and the “hell” of our planet’s last 6½ years—especially the hell of parents (and kids) of soldiers, whether in Iraq or elsewhere. The older we get, life seems have more and more of that “combo platter,” and this piece is a kind of musical reflection on that duality. The piece is also a look back the “extreme emotional state juxtaposition” of being NY’ers on 9/11/01, while preparing to go to Hanoi in nine days to adopt our beautiful son, Jack. (In the end, it all worked out, and we adopted our daughter Hope in ’04, and having moved to Seattle in ’05, here we are, a Seattle family now.) Read More
New Stories performing this Tuesday
It is a rare and special occasion when New Stories performs in the Northwest. Made up of Marc Seales on piano, Doug Miller on bass and John Bishop on drums, the group will perform Tuesday night at the Eastside Jazz Series at the Bellevue Sherman Clay store.
TUESDAY, APRIL 8
NEW STORIES AT SHERMAN-CLAY
7:30 – 9:30pm
1000 Bellevue Way N.E.,
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 454-0633
Tom Varner’s “heaven and hell” premier at SAM
From Paul de Barros’ Friday column in The Seattle Times:
Musician-composer Tom Varner’s “heaven and hell”: life’s highs and lows set to music
by Paul de Barros
Seattle Times Jazz Critic
“Heaven and Hell,” a major new work by French horn player Tom Varner, premieres Thursday as part of the Earshot Art of Jazz series at the Seattle Art Museum.
The title, said Varner in a phone interview, refers to the “hell” of having experienced Sept. 11 while living in New York, and the “heaven” of becoming a father, in particular when he and his wife flew to Vietnam nine days after Sept. 11 to adopt their son.
Easily the most highly regarded jazz French horn player in the world, Varner moved to Seattle two years ago and has been a wonderful addition to the scene.
“The older we get, we know life is more of a combo platter of heavens and hells we live through,” he said.
Varner started writing “Heaven and Hell” in 2003, during a three-week residency at the prestigious MacDowell Arts Colony.
“I sat there where Leonard Bernstein worked on his mass,” said the effusive Varner. “It was just a few cabins away from where [Aaron] Copland worked on “Appalachian Spring.”
The new, 13-movement piece is written for tentet — five reeds, three brass, bass and drums (no piano) — the largest ensemble he has written for and also his most ambitiously through-composed work.
In addition to Varner, the lineup features Jesse Canterbury, clarinet; Saul Cline, soprano sax; Mark Taylor, alto sax; Eric Barber, tenor sax; Jim DeJoie, baritone sax; Russ Johnson, trumpet (from New York); Chris Stover, trombone; Phil Sparks, bass; and Byron Vannoy, drums.
SAM Art of Jazz Concert Series:
The world premiere of Tom Varner’s “Heaven and Hell,” a new work for tentet
Thursday, April 10, 2008, 5:30 p.m., Seattle Art Museum, 1st Ave and Union St. Free with museum admission. All ages.
www.seattleartmuseum.org
Monday Jazz
SEATTLE DRUM SCHOOL: First Mondays with Jim Knapp Orchestra 12510 15th Ave NE, Seattle, 8pm
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Vocal Jazz Jam with the Kelley Johnson
NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Quintet
LA SPIGA: Ray Baldwin
Let us know if we missed something by posting a comment!
Thank You Cynthia!
A big thank you to Cynthia Mullis who has been handling the duties of Seattle Jazz Scene this past week while I’ve been on tour.
And, of course, thank you to all of our readers!
– Matt Jorgensen
April is National Jazz Appreciation Month
A Great Day in Seattle: A Jazz Legacy Photo Project
Did you know that April is National Jazz Appreciation Month, as legislated by the U.S. Congress in August of 2003? In April of 2007, a group of local musicians began to organize a project to help Seattle celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month. On May 6th, 2007, they gathered more than 250 local professional jazz musicians to create a Seattle version of the now famous “Great Day in Harlem” photograph taken by Art Kane for Esquire magazine in 1958. The photograph was shot by Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Daniel Sheehan on the steps of City Hall in downtown Seattle – a historic moment in Seattle’s jazz history.
In addition to celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month, the organizers designed the project as a means to give back to the music community. Sales of posters and prints of the photograph benefit the MusiCares Foundation, which provides a safety net of critical assistance for music professionals in times of need.
The results of the Great Day in Seattle project are now available just in time for Jazz Appreciation Month. Limited edition posters are being sold at Bud’s Jazz Records, Tula’s Restaurant and Nightclub, Silver Platters, the New Orleans Creole Restaurant, and at the “A Great Day in Seattle” website – www.agreatdayinseattle.com. The posters are being sold for $20.00 each. Also for sale are 20 original framed prints, signed and numbered by Daniel Sheehan, and autographed by the more than 250 musicians depicted in the photo. These rare prints are going for $2,500 each and can be purchased through the project website. Again, all proceeds from the purchases go to the MusiCares Foundation. Ten additional original prints will be donated to local non-profits for their fund-raising events. Read More
Sunday Jazz
April is Jazz Appreciation Month. Tonight’s a good night to start appreciatin’…
JAZZ ALLEY: David Sanborn
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
4:00 : Reggie Goings / Hadley Caliman
8:00pm: Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra
GRAZIE: Ruel Lubag Jam Session
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Salsariba, Sunday Night Salsa
LA SPIGA: Marco de Carvahlo
TUTTA BELLA STONE WAY: Casey McGill and the Blue 4 Trio
SERAFINA:
11am – 1:30pm: Jazz Brunch with the Conlin Roser Duo
6:30 – 9pm: The Piper Olson Duo
Saturday Jazz
JAZZ ALLEY: David Sanborn
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Das Vibenbass
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Greta Matassa Quintet w/ Alexy Nikolaev
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – The Julie Olson Trio, with Julie Olson (vocals), Josh Rawlings (piano), Geoff Cook (bass) and Adam Kessler (drums)
9pm – Caryn Kupferman and Eileen Cuba
BAKE’S PLACE: Gail Pettis Quartet
TUTTA BELLA: Marcos De Carvahlo
SERAFINA: Leo Rayomundo w/ sue Nixon
GRAZIE: Lee Pence Trio
BERKSHIRE GRILL: Sidecar Jazz
Don’t hold out on us now…we know there’s more that we should know about. Post a comment and let know!
JazzVox House Concert: an interview with Stephanie Nakasian
Vocalist Stepahnie Nakasian will be performing at Nich Anderson’s JazzVox House Concerts tonight on Camano Island and in Federal Way/Auburn tomorrow. Stepanie will be accompanied by Bill Anschell (piano) and Doug Miller (bass) . For more information about these house concerts, visit http://www.jazzvox.com and for more information about Stephanie Nakasian, visit her on the web at http://www.stephanienakasian.com
Acclaimed jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian took some time with Nich Anderson of JazzVox for a phone interview:
JazzVox: Tell us a little about yourself, your background and how you got started with jazz singing.
Stephanie Nakasian: I was working on Wall Street and I lived on the upper east side in New York on 54th Street and had heard a friend of mine who said ‘you gotta go hear my uncle, he’s a jazz piano player’. I didn’t know anything about jazz. She said he’s on 63rd and 1st – he plays at Gregory’s (that was really down the street from me). I was kind of getting tired of hanging around just bankers and brokers so I decided to go by and see what it was all about and saw Hod (O’Brien) and heard him and just you know, really loved the whole feeling of the music. I knew the songs because I’d heard of Rodgers & Hart and Gershwin songs, but I’d never heard them done in a swinging, exciting style all improvised and everything. And he was cute… and I said people think I have a good voice, would you mind listening to me sing? I was kind of at a place in my career where I just I wasn’t that happy with being in the business world and didn’t really know which way to go and was looking for something else. Hod listened to me and liked my singing and we fell for each other. He had me sit in with him at gigs and then I started to get gigs Read More
Friday Jazz
Whew! How do you choose on a night like tonight?
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Milo Peterson and the Jazz Desciples
JAZZ ALLEY: David Sanborn
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM:
5:30pm: Tor Dietrichson Duo
9:00pm: Tor Dietrichson Blues Machine
TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Coco Montoya (Modern Electric Blues)
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Michael Cosgrove CD release party
9pm – Portrait Sextet, with Greg Larson (trombone), Mack Grout (piano), Brendan O’Donell (guitar), Nigel Goss (bass), Tony Falteisek (drums) and Neil Welch (sax)
BAKE’S PLACE: Trish, Hans and Phil
JAZZ VOX HOUSE CONCERT: Stephanie Nakasian, Spirit Ridge Inn, Camano Island.
She will also be playing tomorrow night at the Federal Way/Auburn hosue concert. Check back later today for an interview with Stephanie. More info at www.jazzvox.com
ORIGIN FIRST FRIDAYS: Richard Cole Quartet, Crossroads Market, Bellevue
SERAFINA: Fred Hoadley Trio
GRAZIE: Karin Kajita
HIROSHI’S JAZZ AND SUSHI: Christopher Woitach Trio w/ Greg Wlliamson, Larry Holloway
LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio (4:30 – 6:30pm)
BERSHIRE GRILL: Scott Lindemuth Group
MARSON’S: Katy Bourne w/ Randy Halberstadt, 620 SE Everett Mall Way, Everett, 425-212-2266
Thursday Jazz
Gettin’ revved up for the weekend!
THE TRIPLE DOOR: Elspeth Savani with Jovino Santos Neto and Friends
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Dave Anderson w/John Hansen, Chuck Kistler, Adam Kessler
JAZZ ALLEY: David Sanborn
THE NEW ORLEANS: The Ham Carson Quintet
THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson, Tad Britton
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Cyrille Gosselin – solo guitar and quartet w/ Bob Frazier (trumpet), Joe Casalini (bass) and Bob Merrihew (drums).
9pm – Black Math Quartet, nu-jazz jam band with Brian Heaney (guitar), Liam O’Connor (drums), Tony Sodano (bass) and Matt Reid (trumpet)
ASTEROID CAFE: Tim Kennedy Jam Session
LO-FI: The Hang
As always, let us know if there’s something else going on by posting a comment.
Wednesday Jazz
JAZZ ALLEY: Pinetop Perkins with Big Eyes smith Band
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Tor Dietrichson/Leif Totusek Duo
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: SCCC Jazz Orchestra w/Lonnie MArdis
THE NEW ORLEANS: The Legend Band w/Clarence Acox
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
6pm – Eileen Neff (vocals), with Nate Omdal (bass), Josh Rawlings (piano) and Cody Rahn (drums)
8pm – Vocal Jam with Carrie Wicks
TUTTA BELLA: Primo Basso
THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio
Anything else? Let us know in the comments section.
Tuesday Jazz
JAZZ ALLEY: Pinetop Perkins with the Willie Big Eyes Smith Band
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Jay Thomas Big Band
NEW ORLEAN’S: Holotradband
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE: Dorothy Rodes (vocals) with Darin Clendenin (piano)
OWL ‘N THISTLE: Jam Session