EyeShotJazz | Jazz Photography

As the 2013 Bellevue Jazz Festival  continues, bassist and composer Evan Flory-Barnes opened for Kendrick Scott last night at the Theatre at Meydenbauer Center with a wonderful group of artists and played some beautiful  new compositions.  Evan Flory-Barnes played on Bass, Dawn Clement on Piano, Craig Flory on Winds, Art Brown on Winds, Ahamefule J. Oluo on Trumpet, Josiah Boothby on French Horn, Nathan Vetter on Trombone, Jon Hansen on Tuba, Jeremy Jones on Drums

Flory-Barnes cultivation in music started early on at Garfield High School where he was a member of an award-winning symphony orchestra. The young Seattle native envisions the creation of music with no barriers— he strives to compose music that reflects beauty, stirs emotions and enlightens the soul. Flory-Barnes’ musical span reaches across many genres having written music for the hip hop group Maroon Colony and collaborated with many renowned jazz musicians nationally and internationally.

The headline act of Earshot Jazz Festival presentation last night at Poncho Concert Hall was the sensational New York trio of Tamarindo, with Tony Malaby (tenor), the great William Parker (bass) and Mark Ferber (drums).

Strictly original – no covers or American songbook standards: “Twisting triumvirate coursing to the finish line,” bassist Mark Helias writes poetically in the liner notes of Tamarindo, the trio’s self-titled debut on Clean Feed, 2007. Five years later, Tucson-born tenor and soprano saxophonist Tony Malaby brings the project here.

Malaby is a frequent flyer to Earshot events, appearing on stages here since the late 1990s. He’s been a member of many notable jazz groups, including Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra, Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band, Fred Hersch’s Walt Whitman project. Malaby also has led several projects of his own, including his Apparitions projects with Drew Gress and Tom Rainey, Michael Sarin and John Hollenbeck.

Bronx-native bassist William Parker anchors the harmony for Tamarindo. Parker studied with bassists Richard Davis, Art Davis, Milt Hinton, Wilbur Ware and Jimmy Garrison. A legendary and powerful collaborator in the U.S. and European avant-garde, Parker’s work includes a decade-long stint with pianist Cecil Taylor, collaborations with drummers Hamid Drake, Milford Graves and Rashied Ali, and work on New York’s Vision Festival. He has taught at Bennington College, NYU, the New England Conservatory of Music, Cal Arts, New School University and Rotterdam Conservatory of Music. Parker is also a composer, playwright and poet.

The original incarnation of Tamarindo included drummer Nasheet Waits. This time around, Mark Ferber occupies the drum throne. Ferber studied with Billy Higgins and Joe LaBarbara. Now living in Brooklyn, Ferber is an auxiliary faculty member at City College of New York.

Amazing bassist Evan Flory-Barnes with his group Threat of Beauty had a great set  at the Twisted Cork Lounge at Hyatt Regency Bellevue as part of  the 2011 Bellevue Jazz Festival last Thursday. Also in the group is Jason Holt on drums and and Jacques Willis on Vibes. Here are a few images from their performance which I throughly enjoyed.

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Rufus Reid at Tula’s with Steve Allee, piano and Duduka Da Fronseca on drums. What a great classic jazz sound. An accomplished sideman, a visionary educator, and a composer of note, bassist Rufus Reid possesses one of the richest and most generous tones in jazz today. Having been the bassist of choice for dozens of major artists, including Dexter Gordon, Thad Jones, and Nancy Wilson, Rufus Reid here leads his own trio. They will be at Tula’s through November 2nd.
Born in Atlanta, GA in 1944, Rufus Reid came of age in Sacramento, California where he played the trumpet in junior high and high school. Upon graduation Reid entered the United States Air Force as a trumpet player, where he first became seriously interested in the bass. After completing his term in the Air Force, Reid moved to Seattle to study bass with James Harnett of the Seattle Symphony, and he went on to study bass performance at Northwestern University.

Reid himself became, of course, one of the premiere bass educators of the last thirty years. His commitment to education and communicating the history of jazz is second to none. Indeed, it is hardly possible to separate his exuberance on the bandstand from his work as an educator, and his performances and lectures serve this common goal. As Dr. Billy Taylor has noted: “Look at who he’s taught, now stars in their own right, and other instrumentalists who’ve benefited from the wealth of information he communicates as second nature. As a leader, he knows just how to pace a program to satisfy an audience and musicians. He reaches out and touches people – his playing is infectious. The fun starts with him on the bandstand and spills over to the audience.”

Continue reading at: EarshotJazz Festival

Click here for the complete schedule for the rest of the upcoming shows at the 2010 Earshot Jazz Festival

Jazz Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan creating portraits for publications and a Seattle Wedding Photographer with a photojournalist style.

Josh Rawlings, Fender Rhodes, Evan Flory-Barnes, double bass, Ahamefule J. Oluo, trumpet, and D’Vonne Lewis, drums performed at the CD release party at Electric Tea Garden Saturday night, up on Capital Hill. It was a great scens and the music was smokin.

All photographs on this website are by Daniel Sheehan © 2010. All Rights Reserved. Please inquire for permission to use.