Update: Help For Jim Knapp
from Doug Ramsey’s Rifftides:
The fund-raising effort to aid composer, arranger, trumpeter and bandleader Jim Knapp is progressing slowly. Knapp recently lost his right foot and part of his lower leg in an operation to combat diabetes. In a message, he writes, “My recovery is going well. I have a prosthesis now, so I am bipedal again.” His financial recuperation is less stable. Friends and fellow musicians headed by saxophonist Steve Griggs have set a goal of $30,000 to defray Knapp’s medical expenses, which far exceed his insurance coverage. A performance of Knapp’s music earlier this month helped, but Griggs reports that the total is $4,485, more than $25,000 short of the target. He and his group have set up a donation website here.
The benefit concert November 2 at Seattle’s Triple Door included this performance of “Secular Breathing,” the title piece of a 2003 Knapp album. The soloists are Mark Taylor, Steve Treseler and Stuart MacDonald, tenor saxophones; John Hansen, piano; and Jon Hamar, bass.
The other members of the Knapp Orchestra were Jim Dejoie, baritone saxophone; Jay Thomas, Brad Allison and Vern Sielert, trumpets; Tom Varner, French horn; Jeff Hay and Chris Stover, trombones; and Matt Jorgensen, drums.
Seattle bassist extraordinaire and Cornish jazz professor Chuck Deardorf, equally at home on acoustic and electric models, celebrates the release of his splendid, swinging and thoughtful album, “Transparence” (Origin), one of the top local releases of the year. Deardorf, who recently had a successful kidney transplant, is back in action, much to the relief of the Seattle jazz community. He is joined by Seattle saxophonist Mark Taylor and Los Angeles-based guitarist Bruce Forman.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2011
Bad Luck is a sonic outlet to be reckoned with. Over half a decade after their first performance, drummer Chris Icasiano and saxophonist Neil Welch continue to develop a unique musical voice together. In the highly trodden medium of drums and saxophone, Bad Luck proves that there is much left to be said. Performing all original compositions, the pair use live loops and pedals to create an astounding range of sound, quickly shifting into fierce improvisations, sound art, and carefully constructed harmonic palettes.
Two-time Grammy Award winner and one of contemporary jazz’s leading vocalist/pianists, Diane Schuur brings her distinctive jazz styling to the Northshore Performing Arts Center (18125 92nd Ave. NE, Bothell). Schuur and her band will perform in concert Saturday, November 12 at 7:30 PM.
