EyeShotJazz | Jazz Photography

Bill Frisell and Russell play at the Triple Door on Weds Feb 25th.

This was a fantastic show. The interplay of the guitar voices was fabulous. It was wonderful to hear the two of them when they each played a solo but mostly when they played so well together, whether on some old classic by  T. Monk or the old Monkey’s tune “Last Train to Clarksville” or a Hank Williams tune. A delightful mix to the set.
“It’s hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell. Mixing rock and country with jazz and blues, he’s found what connects them: improvisation and a sense of play. Unlike other pastichists, who tend to duck passion, Mr. Frisell plays up the pleasure in the music and also takes on another often-avoided subject, tenderness.” – The New York Times.

Over the years, Frisell has contributed to the work of such collaborators as Elvis Costello, Ginger Baker, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright III, Van Dyke Parks, Vic Chesnutt, Rickie Lee Jones, Ron Sexsmith, Marianne Faithful, John Scofield, film director Gus Van Sant, David Sanborn, David Sylvian, Petra Haden and numerous others, including Bono, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Daniel Lanois on the soundtrack for Wim Wenders’ film Million Dollar Hotel. This work has established Frisell as one of the most sought-after guitar voices in contemporary music. The breadth of such performing and recording situations is a testament not only to his singular guitar conception, but his musical versatility as well. This, however, is old news by now. In recent years, it is Frisell’s role as composer and band leader which has garnered him increasing notoriety.

Ever since Charlie “Bird” Parker recorded his (first) Charlie Parker With Strings sessions in 1949 and 1950, jazz artists have celebrated their romantic sides by employing lush string sections. Everyone from Chet Baker to Clifford Brown to Wes Montgomery did some of their best work in the presence of string sections, and on Heartstrings (Verve), Russell Malone puts his own spin on the jazz-with-strings tradition. Those who think that they’ve heard it all when it comes to strings projects are in for a surprise; Heartstrings, the swinging yet lyrical guitarist’s sixth album, is full of gems that jazzmen often overlook. Typically, a jazz-with-strings project will emphasize what has often been called “The Great American Songbook”—namely, well-known standards of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. But on Heartstrings, which was produced by the GRAMMY®-winning Verve Music Group Chairman Tommy LiPuma, Malone doesn’t limit himself to the George Gershwin and Cole Porter standards that jazz artists have recorded time and time again. Employing a solid rhythm section (pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts) and three different string arrangers (pianist Alan Broadbent, Brazilian great Dori Caymmi, and the famous Mandel), Malone lends his unmistakable sound to everything from an Anne Murray hit (“You Needed Me”) to a gospel favorite (“What A Friend We Have in Jesus”) to the Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne gem “Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry.”

More pictures to follow over the next couple of days as I edit the take.

Photograph by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan, a photojournalist specializing in photojournalism and portrait photography for publications and corporations and a Seattle wedding photographer with an unobtrusive, story-telling approach creating award winning Seattle wedding photography and wedding photojournalism ranked among the best Seattle wedding photographers.

Hadley leads his quintet opening up the Golden Ear Awards night.

Hadley, Phil Sparks on bass and Thomas Marriott on trumpet.

Phil Sparks on bass.

Photograph by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan, a photojournalist specializing in photojournalism and portrait photography for publications and corporations and a Seattle wedding photographer with an unobtrusive, story-telling approach creating award winning Seattle wedding photography and wedding photojournalism ranked among the best Seattle wedding photographers.

Monday night was the annual Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Awards evening held this year at The Triple Door. Hadley Caliman here playing in the set before the award announcements were made, won two of the coveted prizes, the award for the best Acoustic Jazz Ensemble and for the Best Northwest Concert of the Year.
The veteran tenor saxophonist Hadley Caliman performed with his new quintet of Thomas Marriott on trumpet, Marc Seales, piano, Phil Sparks on bass and Matt Jorgensen on drums.
Those who have heard him play were not too surprised when the awards were announced. Tenor saxophonist Hadley Caliman is part of the living history of jazz music in America. He has performed, recorded and toured with Freddie Hubbard, Gerald Wilson, Carlos Santana, Dexter Gordon and The Grateful Dead. At 77 years old, Caliman continues to tour, teach and perform throughout the world.

Photograph by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan, a photojournalist specializing in photojournalism and portrait photography for publications and corporations and a Seattle wedding photographer with an unobtrusive, story-telling approach creating award winning Seattle wedding photography and wedding photojournalism ranked among the best Seattle wedding photographers.

I shot this photo of Robert Knatt last year and it appeared on the cover of the first issue of Earshot Jazz magazine for 2009. It is Volume 25 Number 1. A pretty good milestone for any publication. Robert Knatt has an outstanding reputation as a jazz educator. Here are a couple of excerpts from the profile Molly Conant wrote for Earshot. Read the whole story at Earshot Jazz.org

September 3, 2008, marked the beginning of yet another school year at Washington Middle School, but in Room 8, this was also the start of a new era, for legendary teacher and jazz band director, Robert Knatt, retired last June after a 36-year career.
Bob Knatt is nationally recognized as the director of one of the country’s best middle school jazz programs. During his 18 years at Washington his ensembles have earned that reputation, claiming top honors at local, regional, and national
competitions. They have consistently dominated the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and Reno Jazz Festival. Appropriately,
Knatt ended his career on a high note, so to speak, as the Washington Jazz Band captured first place at the 2008 Reno Jazz Festival in April.
Knatt has, in his teaching career, had many honors bestowed upon him. For three years in a row, 1994-1996, he was named “Outstanding Music Educator” by the Metro Region of the Washington Music Educators’ Association. In 2000, he became the first recipient of Earshot’s Jazz Award for jazz educators, and in 2004, Earshot honored him again, presenting him with a Golden Ear Award for his “dedication to excellence in jazz education.” The following year, he was inducted into the Seattle Hall of Jazz Fame, and in 2007, he was the first middle school band director ever given an Achievement Award for Jazz Education from Down Beat.

“I think he was the first person to really show me that the only thing keeping any of us from accomplishing what we are really capable of accomplishing is ourselves. We all make excuses for ourselves. Bob calls us out on that…always.”
– Darin Faul

“There were so many students so excited about playing and listening to jazz, that it was infectious, and before long it had become my primary focus.”
-Josh Deutsch

Photograph by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan, a photojournalist specializing in photojournalism and portrait photography for publications and corporations and a Seattle wedding photographer with an unobtrusive, story-telling approach creating award winning Seattle wedding photography and wedding photojournalism ranked among the best Seattle wedding photographers.