Photos: East-West Trumpet Summit Release
from Daniel Sheehan at eyeshotjazz.com
Thomas Marriott celebrated the release of his new CD, “East-West Trumpet Summit“, which is currently #1 on the JazzWeek National Airplay Chart and was recently featured on NPR’s Morning Edition. The “East” portion of the Trumpet Summit is usually Ray Vega, but because of family commitments Vega wasn’t able to make this performance. In his absence, Vern Sielert (still “East” of Seattle as Sielert is now teaching in Idaho), joined the band which also featured Bill Anschell on piano, Phil Sparks on bass and Matt Jorgensen on drums. A great sound on a summer evening.





The Count Basie Orchestra is announcing that trombonist Benny Powell has died at age 80. Powell is best known for his role in the Basie band of the 1950s and early ’60s — he took a brief solo on the hit recording of “April In Paris” — but he also held spots in the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and many, many other top ensembles. He was busy as a recording studio, Broadway and television musician, and also worked with high modernist jazzmen like pianist Randy Weston and clarinetist John Carter.
This week Tula’s Jazz Club features two CD Release Parties featuring groups with Seattle and national connections.
Thursday night, June 24, Thomas Marriott celebrates the release of his new CD, “
The Seattle-based quintet Speak explores a multitude of musical moods with their eponymous recording debut. An exemplary model of genre-defying music, the disc features original compositions that delve into odd-metered progressive rock grooves and spontaneous bursts of improvised sound that are at times explosive.