Friday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Susan Pascal Quartet
JAZZ ALLEY: Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman & Eric Harland as JAMES FARM
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Peter Schmeeckle Sextet (5:30pm)
NEW ORLEANS: Thomas Marriott’s Flexicon
BAKE’S PLACE: Gail Pettis with special guest Darren Motamedy
LATONA PUB: Phil Sparks Trio
AMORE: Lonnie Williams
THE CHAPEL: Seattle Pianist Collective
from Earshot Jazz: The Seattle Pianist Collective performs an eclectic and dynamic program of works by only living composers. The program will include works by Henryk Gorecki, Wayne Horvitz, and Peter V Stevens, featuring new pieces for piano and Buddha Machine. Seattle Pianist Collective members performing at this concert include local stars Dawn Clement, Julie Ives, Michael Owcharuk, Peter V Stevens, and Kelly Wyse. The Seattle Pianist Collective’s mission is to present engaging and open programs of new and used music for piano. For more information about the collective and to hear them in action, visit myspace.com/seattlepianocollective. Night of the Living composers is Friday, June 18 at the Chapel Performance Space in the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford at 8pm.
SERAFINA: Karin Kajita
HIROSHI’S: Jazz & Sushi
Jazz pianist Aaron Parks is back on the farm — the James Farm
from The Seattle Times:
When exactly the jazz pianist Aaron Parks became a prodigy is unclear, although he fit the description by the time he enrolled, at age 14, in the University of Washington to study music.
Now 26, what Parks remembers more clearly is the day, about four years later, that it seemed his time was up, when someone much younger than he sat in front of him and played the piano.
“I remember hearing Eldar (Djangirov) when he was 12 years old,” said Parks, who was then 16. “He came to the Lionel Hampton festival (in Moscow, Idaho) where I was playing. Here was this kid who could hear a solo and play it right back to you, Oscar Peterson stuff with both hands … I was never like that.
“The youth worship is such a funny thing, just in general, and in any type of music, but this type (jazz) in particular. I don’t know why people even care how young they are. I just want to hear some music that’s emotionally compelling.”
Despite his early start and success in the business of jazz — he joined Terence Blanchard’s band at age 18, and two years ago recorded his own album, “Invisible Cinema,” with Blue Note Records — Parks has remained grounded and secure in his creative priorities, perhaps because he has had accommodating teachers, or perhaps because he was more concerned with what he could learn as a sideman than leading his own groups.
Continue reading at The Seattle Times.
Thursday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB:
1:00pm: Memorial Reception for Manuel “Michael” Orias
8:00pm: Sonando
JAZZ ALLEY: Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman & Eric Harland as JAMES FARM
BARCA: Clark Gibson Trio
THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson and Tad Britton
NEW ORLEANS: Ham Carson Quintet
LUCID: The Hang w/ The Teaching
BAD MONKEY: Gail Pettis
400 Boren Ave N
Wednesday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Kelley Johnson Showcase
JAZZ ALLEY: Pearl Django CD Release
NEW ORLEANS: Legacy Quartet w/Clarence Acox
LUCID: Kelly Ash & Galen Green
THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Dawn Clement Student Showcase! Backed by Chris Symer (bass) and Brad Gibson (drums) ($5 cover)
9pm – Kenny Mandell Jazzworks student showcase
Thomas Marriott & Ray Vega reaches #1 on JazzWeek
Thomas Marriott and Ray Vega’s new CD, East-West Trumpet Summit, just reached the #1 spot on JazzWeek’s National Airplay Chart. This is the first Origin title to reach the top spot. Earlier this year Hadley Caliman’s Straight Ahead (which also features Thomas Marriott) spent two weeks at #2.
You can hear samples and buy East-West Trumpet Summit at Origin Records’ website.
JAZZWEEK TOP 10:
1 RAY VEGA & THOMAS MARRIOTT East-West Trumpet Summit (Origin)
2 TROMBONE SHORTY Backatown (Verve Forecast)
3 DR. LONNIE SMITH Spiral (Palmetto)
4 JOE CHAMBERS Horace To Max (Savant)
5 ONE FOR ALL Incorrigible (JLP)
6 BRAD MEHLDAU Highway Rider (Nonesuch)
7 KEITH JARRETT & CHARLIE HADEN Jasmine (ECM)
8 BILL CHARLAP & RENEE ROSNES Double Portrait (Blue Note)
8 NNENNA FREELON Homefree (Concord)
10 JOHN FEDCHOCK Live At The Red Sea Jazz Festival (Capri)
Memorial for Manuel “Michael” Orias
On Thursday afternoon, June 17, 2010, at 1:00pm, Tula’s Jazz Club will host a reception to celebrate and remember the life of Manuel “Michael” Orias.
This reception will follow a funeral mass to be held at 10am at Our Lady of the Lake, 8900 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115.
As additional information becomes available it will be posted at http://www.tulas.com/artists/orias.html
Tula’s Jazz Club is located at 2214 2nd Ave.
Monday Jazz
TULA’S: Sax Attack
AMORE: Ronnie Pierce Jazz Ensemble
NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Quintet
TOST: Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder
JAZZ ALLEY: Dave Peck Trio “Modern Romance” CD Release
From Earshot Jazz: Supported by Joe La Barbera on drums and Jeff Johnson on bass, Seattle-based pianist Dave Peck debuts his newest recording Modern Romance at Jazz Alley. Recorded at the same venue in the fall of 2007, Modern Romance takes standards from the Great American Songbook and showcases Peck’s interest in the reinvention of the classic jazz piano trio. Peck grew up outside of Portland, Oregon, playing both the piano and trumpet. Peck moved to Seattle in 1978 where he soon made a name for himself working as a sideman for Ernestine Anderson and Bud Shank. As Paul de Barros has written, Peck’s playing captures the natural beauty and intimacy of Seattle – his music is “lyrical and pastel, swinging and bluesy, with a ringing, crystalline touch.” Deeply personal though Peck’s music is, his vision is only enhanced by his all-star bandmates. Together they create stirring improvisations that are at once effortlessly enjoyable and thought provoking. Strongly recommended to fans of the piano trio and its continued development.
Review: Wellstone Conspiracy
This recording is just a good old-fashioned blowing session. Seven of the straight-ahead tunes are originals by members of the group, with the only standard being Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing.” All of the music is in the hard-bop and post-bop jazz language, and all of the members of the ensemble are accomplished musicians in their own right. Johnson and Bishop, who have worked together frequently, have a real simpatico relationship. You can tell that just by the slightest nod of the head or rhythmic figuration they are able to change feel on a dime. Their actions are always in coordination with each other, and instantaneous. They exhibit this most especially on “Portrait” and “Doop Dee Doop.”
Anschell can be a fiery pianist, as on his own self-penned “Turbulator,” as well as be commanding when laying back and just playing in the groove. Jensen, who plays just soprano on this recording, sometimes will thin his sound for effect, as on “Turbulator,” or play with a warm reedy sound full of thick overtones, as on “Stories We Hold.”
If there is a flaw with this recording, and this is a minor one, is that the compositions don’t show off the abilities of the group to the fullest extent possible. While one wouldn’t want to hear these incredible musicians just play standards, perhaps ripping up some thicker harmonic material and neglected chestnuts by Duke Pearson, as well as others, might play perfectly into their hands. That small negativism aside, this group plays with a heart and soul lacking in many working jazz bands.
Dave Peck: If I Should Lose You
A preview for his up-coming show at Jazz Alley.
Dave Peck at Jazz Alley – Monday, June 14
MONDAY, JUNE 14, 7:30PM
JAZZ ALLEY
2033 6th Avenue
Seattle WA 98121
Reservations: 206-441-9729
Dave Peck – piano
Jeff Johnson – bass
Joe La Barbera – drums
Pacific Northwest pianist Dave Peck returns to Jazz Alley to debut his newest recording Modern Romance. Recorded live at Jazz Alley in the fall of 2007 this set of standard songs from the Great American Songbook continues the trio’s exploration into the reinvention of the jazz piano trio. Both rhythmic and romantic, the trio uses the standard repertoire as a framework for new composition and form. Their work is rich, intuitive, and harmonically complex with a unique and signature sound. Peck who is known for his deeply introspective and passionate style and for his focus on the profound beauty he finds in the narrative of this music has been lauded by the jazz press for his award winning CD’s.
The trio brings to this set of familiar standards a modern and fresh approach. Peck and Johnson have each discovered creative ways of playing. They have conceived their own dialect which they speak at every moment with true and pure improvisation. With the addition of Joe La Barbera the trio becomes grounded but not contained. Three original voices thoroughly influenced by the past and by their experience and yet newly invented at each performance. This is jazz.
Modern Romance is surprising and beautiful and comes to the listener in a swinging and easy way. The songs are love songs, old love songs but the interpretation is distinctly contemporary.
Sunday Jazz
JAZZ ALLEY: The Rippingtons
TULAS JAZZ CLUB:
3pm – Jazz Police
8pm – Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra
BOXLEY’S: Dave Peck Trio
BAKE’S PLACE: Tribute to the Rat Pack
CAFE RACER: Racer Sessions
5828 Roosevelt Way NE, 8pm
Michael Orias
We received word that Michael Orias, the manager and doorman at Tula’s Jazz Club, passed away on Friday June 11. He was surrounded by his extended family and friends.
Our thoughts are with his family and the staff at Tula’s.
Saturday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Brian NovaTrio
JAZZ ALLEY: The Rippingtons
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Kim Rushing Quartet
w/ Kim Rushing (vocals), Eric Verlinde (piano), Robert Rushing (drums), Geoff Cooke (bass)
9pm – Sonny Clark Memorial Sextet
11pm – Sonny Clark Memorial Sextet
BOXLEY’S: Karen Shivers Quartet
BAKE’S PLACE: Loraine Feather
LUCID: Emily McIntosh
SERAFINA: Alex Guilbert
TRIPLE DOOR MAINSTAGE: Blue Street Voices
TRIPLE DOOR MUSICQUARIUM: Snug Harbor
Review: East-West Trumpet Summit
Note: Thomas Marriott is heading out-of-town this weekend to perform at the Denver Jazz Festival with Ray Vega. Travis Shook, Phil Sparks and Matt Jorgensen round out the group.
via All About Jazz.com:
East-West Trumpet Summit is a rollicking showcase for longtime friends Ray Vega and Thomas Marriott. Vega, a New York native and the elder of the two, has served for many years as a mentor to Seattle’s Marriott. The two first met when Marriott was a student at the University of Washington in Seattle, and Vega was in town touring with the late Tito Puente. Friends ever since, the two trumpeters share an affinity for hard-blowing, grounded-in-bebop jazz. New York pianist Travis Shook and the Seattle rhythm team of bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer Matt Jorgensen round out this exceptional set of standards and original compositions.
A whirling rendition of “It’s You or No One,” featuring solo turns by the entire cast, gets the disc off to a feverish start. A faithful-to-the-original take on Horace Silver’s medium bouncer “Juicy Lucy” swings along nicely, with Vega paying homage to the spirit of Blue Mitchell. Two Marriott originals follow: the rocket-propelled “Pelham Gardens,” delivering an inspired back and forth between the two leaders; and “Bishop Island,” a free-flowing waltz with a matter-of-fact melody and lyrical turn by Johnson.
Vega contributes as a composer as well, with two strong pieces. The pensive “Only of a Season” and the energetic modal workout “It’s a New York Thing” are both disc highlights, the latter a vehicle for frenetic displays from Shook and Jorgensen. Following a straightforward ballad medley of “Round Midnight” and “In a Sentimental Mood,” featuring Vega and Marriott respectively, the disc winds down with “Big Brother,” Marriott’s Latin-tinged tribute to Vega.
With evident camaraderie, East-West Trumpet Summit is a joyful celebration of friendship and music from two heavyweights of jazz trumpet.
Friday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Donny McCaslin Trio
JAZZ ALLEY: The Rippingtons
NEW ORLEANS: Mark Taylor
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE: Grupo Amoroso
BAKE’S PLACE: Jake Bergevin with vibraphonist Susan Pascal
CYPRES LOUNGE: Geoffrey Castle
LAKESIDE BISTRO: Sandra Locklear
EL DIABLO COFFEEHOUSE: Jon Sheckler Group
1811 Queen Anne Ave N
THE CHAPEL: Bill Horist
LUCID: Tom Baker Quartet
SERAFINA: Djangomatics
Leading Questions: Greta Matassa
Note: Greta Matassa will be performing in Portland tonight through Saturday. Thursday, June 10 at Brasserie Montmartre and Friday-Saturday at Wilf’s Resaurant and Bar.
Interview and Photo by Steve Korn
Someone once told me, Success is getting what you want, but happiness is wanting what you get. I’ve based my career decisions on this advice
When I was 14 I knew I wanted to make music my life and become a professional singer. now, with 2 teenage daughters going through the trials and tribulations of high school, I realize how lucky I was to have discovered who I was at such an early age.
My voice is my vehicle of expression. My voice is me.
Some of my best ideas come to me while walking at Alki and talking to my friend Susan Pascal.
When I look at where I’m at right now, I couldn’t be happier or luckier. I have a career in the Pacific Northwest (a place I’m coming to realize is one of the most beautiful in the world). The opportunity to travel on small outings. A nice recording contract. A great teaching practice, a very wonderful man who loves me and great kids. I wouldn’t ask for more.
I’m happy whenever I’m listening to Blossom Dearie.
Teaching has been an education. As a self taught singer I’ve re-examined how I know what I know and am always finding that my students can often teach me to teach them if I listen closely and with empathy.
If I could play another instrument it would most likely be drums. I’m a very rhythm oriented singer and find watching and listening to drummers fascinating.
Improvisation is like my father described abstract expressionism. A uniquely in-the-moment experience based on years of experience and knowing when to “take the brush away from the canvas”
My parents were very supportive. My mother was a scientist and my father an artist. They are still a big part of my life.
People ask me, why aren’t you famous, living in New York or touring or on Letterman or something. I refer them to question #1 for the answer.
Music has taught me the best things in life are free!
Less is more because of Shirley Horn.
More is more because of Ella Fitzgerald.
Being a woman in jazz has meant nothing in particular. I am treated and in turn treat my fellow musicians as human beings and this seems to be a nice arrangement.
In my view my greatest achievement has been Gina and Franny Matassa
Trust is easy when you’ve been practicing, both in music and life.
Thursday Jazz
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Nelda Swiggett Trio
JAZZ ALLEY: The Rippingtons
NEW ORLEANS: Ham Carson Quintet
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE: Chad McCullough Group, with Chad McCullough (trumpet), Bram Weijters (piano), Chuck Deardorf (bass) and John Bishop (drums)
BOXLEY’S: Dave Anderson and John Bishop
SHADOWLAND: Jose Gonzales Trio
THAIKU: Jon Alberts, Jeff Johnson and Tad Britton
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM: Art of Jazz: The Donny McCaslin Trio
BARCA: Clark Gibson Trio
LUCID: The Teaching
SORRENTO: Karin Kajita
WILD GINGER BELLEVUE: Jason Parker Trio
Earshot Jazz hosting JJA satellite party on June 14, 12:30pm
JJA Jazz Awards: Seattle Satellite Party
Monday, June 14, 12:30pm
The Triple Door, Musicquarium
216 Union Street, Seattle WA 98101
Free and open to the public
If you’re interested in jazz, and can join us in downtown Seattle Monday afternoon, June 14th, then we have a deal for you! Earshot Jazz will host a live screening the national Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) beginning at 12:30pm, Monday, June 14th. Come celebrate with other local jazz fans at a satellite party being held simultaneously with the Jazz Awards ceremony and reception in New York City. Video of the entire awards ceremony will be steamed live and will include performances by Ayako Shirasaki, guitarist Rale Micic’s trio, pianist Marc Cary’s Focus Trio, the Tia Fuller Quartet and the Bobby Sanabria Big Band.
The international cast includes these Pacific NW folks nominated this year:
Paul de Barros: nominated for a Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism award
Jim Wilke: nominated for the The Willis Conover^Marian McPartland Award for Broadcasting
Doug Ramsey’s Rifftides: nominated for Blog of the Year
Bill Frisell: nominated for Guitarist of the Year
Wednesday Jazz
JAZZ ALLEY: The Jack DeJohnette Group
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB: Katie King Vocal Showcase
NEW ORLEANS: Legacy Quartet w/Clarence Acox
EGAN’S BALLARD JAM HOUSE:
7pm – Vocal Jam
9pm – Vocal Showcase featuring Susan Robinson, Mercedes Nicole and Ellen Marx
THAIKU: Ron Weinstein Trio
LUCID: Nick Sandy
COMET TAVERN: Owcharuk 5, Reptet, Inzinzac