EyeShotJazz | Jazz Photography

Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra Here are some more images form The Bellevue Jazz Festival 2009 this past weekend starting with the SRJO.

 

Jay Thomas on trumpet.

 

Hadley Caliman on saxophone.

Randy Halberstadt on piano.

About The SRJO
The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra (SRJO) is the Northwest’s premier big band jazz ensemble. Founded in 1995, the 17-piece big band is made up of the most prominent jazz soloists and band leaders in the greater Seattle area.
The SRJO is co-directed by drummer Clarence Acox, nationally recognized director of bands at Seattle’s Garfield High School, and saxophonist/arranger Michael Brockman, long-time faculty member at the University of Washington School of Music.

The SRJO’s extensive and growing repertoire is drawn from the 100-year history of jazz, from turn-of-the-20th century ragtime to turn-of-the-21st century avant-garde. This includes works by America’s most famous jazz composers, among them Fletcher Henderson, Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Thad Jones, and of course, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. In addition, the SRJO’s repertoire grows each year as the ensemble adds previously unpublished works to its library.

Recovering jazz classics for performance by the ensemble is accomplished by co-director Michael Brockman, our region’s outstanding practitioner of the art of transcribing lost-to-print composition and arrangement, note for note, from vintage recordings.

The Players

The SRJO is made up of the Seattle area’s leading jazz instrumentalists, comprising an ethnically diverse group of young and veteran performers.
Trumpeter Jay Thomas has repeatedly been named best instrumentalist at Earshot’s annual Golden Ear awards and has recorded with Cedar Walton and Herb Ellis. Saxophonist Bill Ramsay is a touring veteran of the Count Basie Orchestra and the Benny Goodman bands. Saxophonist Hadley Caliman is a jazz faculty member at the Cornish College of the Arts, and a veteran of the bands of Freddie Hubbard and Earl Hines. Phil Sparks, named Earshot Musician of the Year in 1996, is the busiest bass player in Seattle. Saxophonist Mark Taylor is among the most in-demand young players in Seattle. Pianist Randy Halberstadt, another local headliner, serves on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts.

A Great History

The SRJO has brought internationally known guest soloists to join in its concerts, including trumpeters Clark Terry and Arturo Sandoval, saxophonists James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster, Frank Wess and Kenny Hing, trombonist Slide Hampton, and singers Marlena Shaw, Ernie Andrews and Dee Daniels. In 2001, Quincy Jones conducted the SRJO at the Seattle Opera House in a performance of works he wrote for the Basie band and his own groups. The SRJO has played tribute concerts to Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, and Thelonious Monk.

Awards and Recognition

Named in “Best Jazz Concerts of 2006” by the Seattle Times
Named in “Best Recordings of 2006” by AudiophileAudition.com
Winner of 2005 Earshot Jazz Society Golden Ear Award for “NW Best Acoustic Jazz Ensemble”
Named in “Best Jazz Concerts of 2005” by the Seattle Times
Named in “Best of 2005” by Public Radio International�s Jazz After Hours
Winner of 1998 Earshot Jazz Society Golden Ear Award for “Concert of the Year”
Winner of 1999 and 2000 Starlight Award from the Kirkland Performance Center