Recent Stories with tag jazz

Kickstarter is turning out to be a godsend for artists who need seed money to get a project rolling. The concept is simple enough: The project comes with a time-sensitive funding goal, and if you reach it, the pledges are processed. If not, then not. Try, try, again. Kickstarter is both a testament to how little it takes to create art, and to big things growing from small seeds. 

I'm a fan of the neo-big jazz band The Zubatto Syndicate, but unless you could hoof it across town on a particular night to Town Hall or the Comet, you were out of luck. They don't play that often because scheduling twelve jazz musicians requires logistical resources normally reserved for the operations of the North Fleet. But Zubatto composer Andrew Boscardin has just finished camping out in a recording studio, mastering the group's new album, after his Kickstarter project surpassed his initial funding goal. 

Zilphia Horton

No Depression's Kim Ruehl (and former Seattlest editor), just moved to North Carolina from Seattle to write a book-length biography of Zilphia Horton. That project's about 70 percent funded with about a week to go. Ruehl, a terrific writer and an aficionado of Americana, is redressing a blind spot when it comes to Horton's many contributions. Writes Ruehl:

She was a musicologist, accordion player, teacher, labor organizer, activist, and path-forger born in rural Arkansas in 1910. She's also one of a small handful of activists during the 1930s who had the idea that the songs people already knew and enjoyed singing, could be used to empower them and inspire them to work toward social change (a somewhat novel idea at the time).

She was fiercely dedicated to the labor movement, but passed many of the songs she discovered on to young folksingers like Guy Carawan and Pete Seeger, who later used them to embolden the Civil Rights Movement. Her most popular discovery--"We Shall Overcome"--to this day hands all its proceeds back to the poor African-American communities in the south, for example. 

Here in Seattle, the Jason Parker Quartet is engaged in a musical form of tribute, to Nick Drake. Their CD will be called "Five Leaves Left: A Jazz Tribute to Nick Drake." Their funding deadline is December 23; on the 26th, they enter the studio for three days of recording. The quartet is bandleader Jason Parker (an occasional writer on jazz for The SunBreak) Josh Rawlings, Evan Flory-Barnes, and D'Vonne Lewis. For this project, they're joined by Cynthia Mullis (sax) and Michele Khazak (vocals). ... (more)

For fans of jazz music, fall in Seattle means one thing: the Earshot Jazz Festival! Now in its 22nd year, the festival is hailed as one of the most adventurous and all-encompassing in the nation. Over the course of three weeks (October 15-November 7), there will be more than 50 concerts and events throughout the city that touch on just about every corner of the diffuse jazz scene.

With so many shows and events to choose from it can be daunting and downright paralyzing to figure out what to see and hear. But never fear--I'm here to help! As a working jazz musician myself, I thought it might be helpful to hip you to the shows I'm most excited about. Some of these artists might be familiar to you already, but there are some names on the schedule that are known only to the jazz cognoscenti (a group I humbly and rather geekily put myself in). Either way these are must-see shows that will be talked about all year.

With that I give you One Working Musician's Top 10 Guide to the Earshot Jazz Festival (in chronological order):

1. Friday, Oct. 15th - Kora Band at Tula's

The Kora band is the brainchild of Portland pianist Andrew Oliver. Not your typical jazz band, the group is built around the playing of Kane Mathis on the 21-string Kora, a traditional harp from West Africa. The group is rounded out by some of Seattle's finest young musicians, including Chad McCullough on trumpet, Brady Millard-Kish on bass and Mark DiFlorio on drums. The group's combination of West African rhythms and melodies and its members' formidable improvising chops has left me breathless when I've seen them perform.

Here's a video of the band from their recent CD Release Party:

... (more)

Poet Robert Pinsky's reading for Seattle Arts and Lectures this Friday will come with a side of jazz, with local musicians Marc Seales on piano and Paul Gabrielson on bass. "In American culture," Pinsky says, "poetry and jazz are kind of advance scouts, making discoveries and innovations that are incorporated into other forms, sometimes softened or diluted a little. Poetry is the most vocal and musical verbal art, short of actual song."

But okay, jazz and poetry go together, even if it feels like they're a couple you used to know from way back and then something happened and now they're not together, really, but sometimes you do seem them together and aren't sure what's up. Monday night, jazz and funk and rock got together, and the result was one of those evenings where you hear the future's ultrasound, and have to look around to see if anyone else noticed.

Jason Parker

Jazz in Seattle, as our jazz correspondent Jason Parker mentioned a while ago, is springing up all over the place, not just at Benaroya Hall, and in all kinds of interesting evolutionary varieties. That's just what you'd expect a jazz trumpeter to say, though, isn't it? Exactly.

I exercised my editorial oversight on Monday, and dropped into Capitol Hill's venerable Comet Tavern for a bill that ranged from jazz-inflected funk to funk-inflected jazz. First up was Hi-Fi Reset, a drums, bass, and sax combo with Troy Jagan on keyboard and lead vocals, occasionally showing off an R&B voice living in a funk world. The set was an up-tempo party, with more hits than misses, and once they locked into a groove, they got all they could out of it, including on an anti-war song that grabbed a line from "When Johnny Comes Marching Home."

Water Babies is one of Parker's projects, "spontaneously created funk improvisations." Candidly, a thrill of fear shot down my spine at hearing this, but the boys know that you're a little nervous. You just relax, they're gonna make this a night you won't forget.

Water Babies are Parker on trumpet and flugelhorn, Josh Rawlings on Fender Rhodes piano and Hammond organ, Aaron Kassover on upright and electric bass, and Brad Gibson on drums. The way it works out, Kassover and Gibson bring the funk, keeping the improvisations strutting on down the street, while Parker and Rawlings hang out on top of the rhythm, trading solos.

One moment Parker was easing the sound out of his muted trumpet in liquid drops of notes, his fingers dancing on the valves, while Kassover fed our fever for more cowbell; the next Kassover was improvising a song about Dig Dug (which you can play at the Comet), and Parker was on triangle.... (more)

Wednesday, September 22nd

• If you've got any friends into techno/electronic music, you aren't going to see them for the next five days, cuz through Sunday, they'll all be @ Decibel Festival
• Vampire Weekend make it up to Seattle for canceling on Redmond. With the Head & the Heart @ the Paramount
• John Vaillant reads from the Tiger, a nonfiction account of a tiger conservationist hunting a vengeful, man-killing, giant Russian tiger @ Elliott Bay
• Geri Allen is one of the modern jazz piano masters, and brings a crack band with her (Oliver Lake, sax; Don Byron, clarinet; Dwayne Dolphin, bass; the incomparable Jeff "Tain" Watts, drums). Might be one of the shows of the year @ Jazz Alley

Thursday, September 23rd

• Sustainable Industries Economic Forum (keynote: Cameron Sinclair) this morning @ Hyatt at Olive 8
• Institute for Systems Biology hosts a science-in-schools panel (Mary Alice Heusche, Superintendent, Renton Schools; Ed Lazowska, UW Computer Science & Engineering; George Nelson, WWU Professor and Director of Science, Mathematics & Technology Education; Scott Silver, Google Site Director) @ Town Hall
• Really, Vampire Weekend are super-sorry about Marymoor. So much so that they're back for another night @ the Paramount
• Fences CD release party @ the Crocodile
• Tower of Power's new-ish singer is the best they've had since the early days, and they still have one of the tightest horn sections around (through Saturday) @ Jazz Alley

Mary Anne Hobbs, at last year's Decibel, care of perpetual SunBreak Flickr pool contributor +Russ

Friday, September 24th

• The world-leaning folk of Local Natives teams up with shimmery indie pop of The Love Language @ Showbox
• Primus and Portugal. The Man [Ed.: For real? How did these bands end up on the same lineup?] @ WaMu Theater
• The last weekend of Project Orpheus @ ACT Theatre
• The Blakes and Mal de Mer rock your Friday night @ the Sunset Tavern
• The second installation of It doesn't matter if it has been said before some things bear repeating, Marissa Rae Niederhauser's ongoing installation project @ Project: Space Available
• Hardcoretet's UW-grown jazz musicians play jazz influenced by funk, soul and rock @ Cafe Racer...

Andy Clausen, Corey Dansereau, Riley Mulherkar and Willem De Koch at the Racer Sessions (Photo: Jim Levitt)

Seattle music is no stranger to the national press. From Jimi Hendrix to Nirvana, to Death Cab for Cutie, to Fleet Foxes, to...ahem...Sanjaya, Seattle has been and continues to be an incubator for music and a force on the national scene.

Seattle's jazz scene, on the other hand, is rarely thought of as world-class or particularly influential. Beyond Ray Charles and Quincy Jones, not too many people can name any other jazz musicians from Seattle...even Seattleites! [Ed.: What about the frizzy-haired guy? With the sax!] But it turns out we are blessed with a vibrant and forward-thinking community of jazz musicians, young and old, who have been cultivating and celebrating a scene that is now starting to make some noise.

Recently, jazz writer Nate Chinen wrote an in-depth article in the New York Times that shines a spotlight on Seattle jazz. In it, you learn that,

A growing number of young musicians have been focused on building an autonomous scene, something distinctive and homegrown. The acclaimed trumpeter Cuong Vu, who left Seattle in the late 1980s and recently made his way back, said he was reminded of the energy of New York’s 1990s downtown scene, the tail end of which he experienced firsthand. “Seattle could be a model for all the other places in the U.S. that need a scene like this,” he said.

Cuong Vu's return to Seattle to join the faculty at University of Washington has had a profound effect on the jazz program at the school and by extension on the city as a whole. Vu's approach to jazz is not the typical "learn your standards" and "play this scale over this chord" pedagogy.... (more)

The Columbia City Theater (Facebook) is a music club to fall in love with. It re-re-re-re-opened (the old vaudeville hall has been around since 1917, in various guises) in June of this year, and vaulted into the Seattle Weekly's "Best of Seattle" list less than two months later.

Before we go behind-the-scenes, here's the lowdown. You'll find the Theater at 4916 Rainier Avenue South, which is just beyond the Columbia City Cinema. (Take the #7 or #8 bus or light rail--the last light rail train leaves SeaTac for downtown at 12:10 a.m., Monday through Saturday.) It's adjacent to the award-winning pizzeria Tutta Bella, who serve up the eats in The Bourbon, Columbia City Theater's bar. The bar is open seven days a week, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The bourbon-heavy cocktail list ($8-$10) features pre-Prohibition favorites (Mint Julep, Derby, Commodore), as well as some rye (Red Hook; Fratelli Cocktail, with Fernet Branca; Diamondback). Bar entertainment ranges from djs to karaoke to live music, and on nights when there's a show in the theatre, you can watch the show projected live on a screen. Happy Hour most of the week is 4-7 p.m., and all day Monday, and brings you such wonders as $5 pitchers of High Life and $3 wells.

Past the bar, on your left, is the entrance to the theater, which has a bar of its own. It's an intimate shoebox space, though it holds over 200, and the acoustics require no over-amplification. The ambiance--the curtained stage and brass lighting fixtures and brick walls--makes this unlike any other music club you're likely to step into in town.... (more)

15th Ave Coffee & Tea has its own rain table.

I'm not too proud to admit I've been in 15th Ave Coffee & Tea a few times, drawn like a hapless mariner by the siren song of the Clover machine. But it wasn't until I read this Reuters story on Starbucks' experiment with "indie" stores in Seattle that I learned how good we really have it.

First of all, the wine and beer are Seattle options. You're not going to find that elsewhere. Why? Because we're adults, in Seattle. We can have nice things. The rest of the country--pfft. Scrubs. Also, Howard Schultz lives here. You know Howard, he likes a glass of wine now and then.

(Luckily, he can still afford the nice stuff. The New York Times reports:

Howard Schultz of Starbucks requested last year that his base salary be reduced from $1.19 million to $6,900 as "a personal contribution to cost-control efforts," according to a company statement. However, the company later gave him a $1 million "discretionary bonus" that nearly made up for his sacrifice.)

The alcohol is an interesting "experiment," because Starbucks tells Reuters: "We have no plans at this time to offer these beverages in other locations."

Secondly, we get movie night. I hadn't realized this, either. At Roy St. Coffee & Tea (not on Roy Street, so don't get lost) at the north end of Broadway, they've been showing independent films, with a preference for shorts. And they're participating in Capitol Hill's Blitz Art Walk this Thursday with a jazz/modern dance combo--speaking of things that won't play in Peoria. (The 15th location is also doing jazz CD release parties.)

I know that in some circles it is not permitted to admit that you go to Starbucks, let alone an appropriated-hipster Starbucks, but I have to say: Seattle, we're getting a pretty sweet deal with this experiment. Now, we're owed--a lot--because of the Sonics. But I blame the NBA more than Howard, and I'm willing to let him try to make amends.

The beer and wine and jazz and movies and fireworks are nice. Let's keep this ball rolling. If you have suggestions, I'll collect them and forward to Starbucks.

Monday

• Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs & Steel) talks about not Collapse-ing @ Benaroya Hall
• Thomas Goetz (from Wired) talks about healthcare 2.0 @ Town Hall

Tuesday

• If you missed it Monday, Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs & Steel) talks about not Collapse-ing @ Benaroya Hall

Wednesday

• Journalist Shane Harris unveils government surveillance @ Town Hall
• Opening: the musical Chicago with John Hurley as Billy Flynn @ the Paramount
• Opening: Solo Performance Festival 4 @ Theatre off Jackson
• Ongoing: Seattle Opera's production of Verdi's Falstaff @ McCaw Hall

Thursday

• Opening: Songs of Wars I Have Seen, a collaboration between Seattle Chamber Players and Pacific Musicworks @ On the Boards

Friday

• Before-it-was-cool stand-up lesbian Kate Clinton gets political @ the Triple Door
• UW professor David Shields reads from his book Reality Hunger: A Manifesto @ Elliott Bay Book Co., FREE

Saturday 

• Northwest Girlchoir presents a world music family concert @ Town Hall
• Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra plays "Big Band Monk and Mingus" @ Benaroya Hall
• Grand Hallway joins the Seattle Rock Orchestra for a night of "lush, baroque pop" @ the Triple Door
• Chappelle Show alumnus Charlie Murphy does a one-night stand-up gig @ the Moore Theatre
• Here/Now, a quarterly program of improvisation between dancers and musicians @ Open Flight Studio

"Oh -- Seattle" by Paul Swortz from The SunBreak Flickr pool.

Okay, Seattle, this is it: You have roughly 60 hours in which to complete your shopping before Christmas is all over you. We know there's someone you haven't figured out what to get yet, and there's surely someone who's slipped off your list that you're going to remember Wednesday at 8 p.m. and freak out. So The SunBreak--with the help of some knowledgeable friends--is here to help: this is our desperate, last-minute gift guide of the more or less local variety. Support local businesses and take all that pesky thinking out of holiday shopping!

A Cinematic Gift That Keeps on Giving Plenty of films are made in the Great Northwest these days, and plenty of them suck. The easiest way to become familiar with what's worthwhile and what's best forgotten in terms of local (and non-local) cinema is by becoming a member of the Northwest Film Forum. NWFF is a member driven collective that does more than pretty much anyone else to support film in the Northwest, as well as bringing the best independent films to town. Membership starts at $40 a person (or $70 for a couple), and gets you great discounts to shows, as well as lets you help support the cinematic arts in the region. (Jeremy M. Barker)

Just Plain Nuts Holmquist Hazelnuts are absolutely delicious hazelnuts grown in Lynden, Washington. Available at the Pike Place Market and several Farmers' Markets. (Rachael Coyle)

Mariners Merch After a few years in the wilderness of mediocrity (or worse), the Mariners are looking like contenders again. Hit Safeway or a  Mariners Team Store for Mariner gift cards your M's fan friend can buy tickets and gear with; or go balls out and put a deposit down on a 16-game plan. (Seth Kolloen)

Chocolates Falling in the delicious territory between completely useless and entirely practical (you do need calories, even if they're near-empty), chocolate makes a good gift for just about everyone on your list. An obvious and elegant choice is the Obama-endorsed Fran's, where the gray and smoked salt caramels is a classic minimalist delight. At this point, their website looks overloaded; so last minute purchases will need to be made in person. For the more ecologically conscious sweet tooth, look no further than Theo the country's only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory. They have single origin bars, inspired artistic truffles, chipotle sipping chocolate, and even a vegan option or two. Order online or sample the goods in their Fremont factory. (Josh C. Bis)

Rock Musics I'd happily recommend any of my favorite albums of 2009: Curse Your Branches by David Bazan (questions about the reason for the season); Listen to the Thunder by The Maldives (best paired with The Moondoggies Don't Be A Stranger and a bottle of whiskey); and a personal favorite, one of the most underrated local albums of 2009: Space Between The Maps by The Ironclads (for fans of complex character-driven pop songs). (Abbey Simmons, SoundontheSound.com)... (more)

Don't forget to email jeremy(at)sunbreakmagazine.com for your chance to win tix to Zubatto Syndicate this Thursday night at Town Hall. Winners announced tomorrow afternoon!

Andrew Boscardin, a local jazz guitarist and composer, is trying to break down musical barriers with his newest project, Zubatto Syndicate, a 12-piece almost-Big Band that's drawing its musical inspiration as much from contemporary rock and pop as from Glenn Miller.

The idea's pretty simple: jazz music, no matter how technically brilliant, has a much lower appeal than a three-piece punk outfit. But Boscardin was energized seeing the success of more orchestral-minded bands ranging from locals like Hey Marseilles! to international touring acts like Gogol Bordello, so he set out to try to bridge the gap with danceable, rocking tunes. Zubatto Syndicate may borrow from funk and rock and maybe even hiphop, but it's executed with the skill and talent of trained jazz musicians.

So the band's debut this Thursday, Nov. 5, at Town Hall, is well worth the drive to First Hill. And just to sweeten the deal, The SunBreak is giving away three pairs of tickets.

Just send an email to jeremy(at)sunbreakmagazine.com for your chance to win, and we'll let you know by four o'clock on Wednesday if you're going.

I walked into the rehearsal space next to Tougo Coffee and there were four musicians setting up, which was not quite the ensemble size I was expecting. "It looks like we're gonna start at jazz two o'clock," said Andrew Boscardin, checking his watch and grinning. In a few minutes, eight more musicians filtered in and sat down, and there it was: a big band. I thought these things were extinct.

Actually, there's a coast-and-coast flowering of big jazz bands that prize innovation, excitement, and new compositional voices. A recent New Yorker listing mentions three exemplars: the steampunk jazz of Secret Society, not-industrial "avant-garde party music" of Industrial Jazz Group, and Bjork-inspired concoctions of Bjorkestra. Secret Society is led by Darcy James Argue, who lives in New York. Portland's Andrew Durkin composes for the Industrial Jazz Orchestra. Another New Yorker, Travis Sullivan, leads Bjorkestra, with arrangements also from Kevin Schmidt, and Kelly Pratt.

Seattle is not lagging. WACO (Washington Composers... (more)