Last night, Oct 15, the 2015 Earshot Jazz Festival presented UW artist-in-residence Ted Poor, on drums, was joined by New-York based musicians Bill McHenry, tenor saxophone; Josh Roseman, trombone; and the great Eric Revis on bass in a concert devoted to Our Man in Jazz, the 1962 album by Sonny Rollins.

Jazz Review writes, “Ted has an uncanny ability to shape the music and a refreshingly unique, organic approach to playing the drums.” This unique approach has caught the ears of many of jazz’s most established musicians.

Poor graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 2003 and subsequently became a significant force in New York’s improvised music scene. Described by Modern Drummer as an “adventurous, truly dynamic, and forward-thinking” drummer, he is in high demand as a player and has performed and recorded with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Bill Frisell, Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Kenny Werner, Maria Schneider, Aaron Parks, and Ralph Alessi.

McHenry has been heralded by the New York Times as a “fresh new voice: He can play with un-orthodox structure and get as free as you want, but he maintains a ripe, lovely tone straight out of the 1950’s.”

Roseman is well-known in the New York jazz scene as a participant in the Knitting Factory heyday of the early ‘90s. Roseman was acclimated quickly as a co-founder of the acid-jazz dance band the Groove Collective and the less appreciated Giant Step. A born experimentalist, Roseman also plays tuba, euphonium, bass, drums, piano, and his Mac.

Revis, Grammy Award-winning bassist and distinguished bandleader of experimental group Tarbaby, is an exciting new addition to the group. A veteran to large jazz stages, he has been a solid member of Branford Marsalis’ ensemble since 1997.

On June 11, 2015, an important innovator of the music world passed away. Ornette Coleman changed the way we hear, play, and think about music forever, and as a celebration in this year to his life, two talented groups of inspired musicians will perform various works and music influenced from the late, great provocateur’s legacy.

Two exciting Seattle ensembles saluted the late, great provocateur. Bassist Birch Pereira’s Action Figure, with Seth Alexander and Dave Abramson, performs the music of the early Ornette small groups, while electric bassist Ryan Berg looks to the Prime Time years with his Focus on Sanity. They are comprised of James DeJoie (alto saxophone), Jim Knodle (trumpet), Dennis Rea (guitar), Ken Masters (guitar), Ryan Berg (bass), John Seman (bass), Stephen Thomas Cavit (drums), Don Berman (drums), and Matt McCluskey (keyboards).

Action Figure is comprised of Seth Alexander (alto saxophone), Birch Pereira (bass), and Dave Abramson(drums). The trio will be focused on the earlier stages of the early Ornette Coleman small groups, where harmonic instruments, such as the guitar and piano, were excluded to leave more room for melodic and compositional freedom. Action Figure was featured in Earshot’s “Jazz: The Second Century” juried series earlier this year.

Focus on Sanity, below, named after the Ornette Coleman tune from the masterpiece The Shape of Jazz to Come, is a nine-piece double-quartet format, albeit with different instrumentation, with an extra voice. The group’s instrumentation follows a similar path found on such records as Coleman’s Free Jazz. Focus on Sanity’s performance looked to Coleman’s Prime Time years where he began featuring electric guitars in his ensembles and frequently performed through group improvisational methods.

Danilo Pérez, Wayne Shorter,  John Patitucci and Brian Blade.

Sunday night the 2015 Earshot Jazz Festival presented one of the best performances of the year at Benaroya Hall, the Wayne Shorter Quartet.

One of the most influential saxophonists and composers in the pantheon of modern music, let alone jazz, Wayne Shorter has an outstanding record of professional achievement in his historic career as a musician. Regarded as a pioneer since his emergence in the 1950s, his trajectory has restlessly embodied continual exploration and unencumbered momentum. A generation of musicians and fans see and hear him as a humble master who created a timeless vocabulary – as vital as it is unbound.

His long-running quartet features pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade. Reviews of the group’s live performances are exercises in superlative overload. Calling it “the most skillful, mutually attuned and fearlessly adventurous small jazz group on the planet,” The Guardian said that the quartet “celebrates humanity’s hope for harmony.”

Shorter won in three categories of the 2014 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, taking honors for Musician of the Year; Record of the Year for his quartet’s searing Blue Note release, Without A Net; and the Wayne Shorter Quartet was named top Midsize Ensemble of the Year.

If the prolific composer had never written a single tune, his signature sound and choice of notes, sense of economy and unparalleled expression on both tenor and soprano saxes would have earmarked him for greatness. Combine the writing prowess with the fragmented, probing solos and the enigmatic Buddhist philosopher presence and you have the makings of a jazz immortal.

Last night at Cornish College 2015 Earshot Jazz Festival presented Wayne Horvitz’s Some Places are Forever Afternoon (11 Places for Richard Hugo), the first of three events marking Horvitz’s 60th birthday and his considerable contributions to Seattle jazz culture. I loved this set of music.
In Seattle for more than 20 years, the keyboardist/composer has led and inspired a host of groundbreaking musical projects, and mentored a generation of innovators.

In the summer of 2014, Horvitz traveled throughout the Pacific Northwest to places where the poet Richard Hugo, who was born in White Center, had created his verse. Hugo lived throughout the Northwest before settling in Missoula, where he taught poetry at the University of Montana until his death in 1982. He cherished small towns and odd places, from West Marginal Way to La Push to the Union Bar Grill in rural Montana. He sat in cafés and bars for hours before going home to write. And he was a great lover of jazz.

Horvitz has taken 11 of Hugo’s poems inspired by place as inspiration for 11 musical pieces. Each poem is read following the performance of the corresponding composition.

Horvitz is on piano with members of his Gravitas Quartet and Sweeter Than The Day groups: Ron Miles(trumpet), Peggy Lee (cello), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon), Timothy Young (guitar), Keith Lowe (bass), Eric Eagle (drums), with Robin Holcomb and Francis McCue reading the poems.

Saturday night 2015 Earshot Jazz Festival presented Somi at the Seattle Art Museum in beautiful concert.

An emerging artist with a fresh musical vision and a steadily growing fan base, Somi has been described as having “the earthy gutsiness of Nina Simone blended with the vocal beauty of Dianne Reeves” (JazzTimes). Her band features Liberty Ellman (guitar), Toru Dodo (piano/keyboard), Ben Williams (bass), and Otis Brown III (drums).

Born in Illinois to parents from Rwanda and Uganda, Somi grew up surrounded by a multitude of musical styles. She “combines the sounds of jazz and soul with the musical depth of her African heritage” (SoulTrain.com). This blend of styles creates a new genre she refers to as New African Jazz.

After an 18-month sabbatical in Lagos, Nigeria, Somi created the music that makes up her most recent album, The Lagos Music Salon. Released in August 2014, her Sony Music/Okeh debut reached #1 on the US jazz charts. According to her website, the album takes “material from the tropical city’s boastful cosmopolitanism, urgent inspiration, and giant spirit – straddling the worlds of African jazz, soul, and pop with a newfound ease.” It also features contemporary luminaries such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Common, and Angelique Kidjo. New York Times writer Jon Pareles says, “Somi’s songs gracefully fuse African-tinged grooves, supple jazz singing, and compassionate social consciousness; they’re both serious and seductive!”

Last night, the Earshot Jazz Festival 2015 kicked things off with Thomas Marriott with McTuff at Tula’s. They are playing there again tonight. Looking forward to six weeks of Festival coverage.

Tough, sinewy funk-rock-soul-jazz: Hammond organist Joe Doria, guitarist Dan Heck, and drummer Byron Vannoy join trumpeter Thomas Marriott for two nights of downhome Seattle jazz.

Seattleite trumpeter Marriott relocated to New York in 1999 after winning the prestigious Carmine Caruso Jazz Trumpet Competition. From there, he embarked on three world tours with Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band and worked in New York and on the road with the likes of Rosemary Clooney, The Tito Puente Orchestra, The Chico O’Farrill Orchestra, Eddie Palmieri, and many others. Since his return to Seattle in 2004, Marriott has been the featured trumpet soloist with the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and has been a catalyst on the Seattle jazz scene. Marriott records on local label Origin Records.

Organist Doria learned piano from Randy Halberstadt and Dave Peck at Cornish College, plus some select lessons from Jerome Grey. Generally, he taught himself Hammond organ from listening to Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff. Uplifted by a regular gig with Heck and drummer John Wicks at the erstwhile Art Bar in downtown Seattle, Doria developed his Hammond mastery. He’s been a regular feature in Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder, a first-call local organist, and gigging mentor to local drummers D’Vonne Lewis and Tarik Abouzied, guitarist Andy Coe, and many others, in his weekly Tuesday hang with band McTuff at the Seamonster in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood.

Drummer Vannoy has performed and recorded with Julian Priester, Jovino Santos Neto, Wayne Horvitz, Ernestine Anderson, and Hadley Caliman. He holds an Associate Certificate in Professional Music from Berklee College of Music, a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance from Cornish College, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Jazz and African American Music Performance from California Institute of the Arts.

Guitarist/composer Heck currently lives and works in Naples, Florida. He was born in Philadelphia and raised in eastern Long Island, NY. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, he has performed in Boston, New York, Paris, and Seattle, where he co-founded the award-winning ensemble Bebop and Destruction, of Seattle’s turn-of-this-millennium Owl n’ Thistle jam sessions.

Last night, the Earshot Jazz Festival 2015 kicked things into high gear with a party at the famed Seattle Center all-ages club, The Vera Project. Seattle saxophonist, composer, and educator Jacob Zimmerman lead an ensemble of the city’s youngest crop of jazz educators as they hand over the keys to Seattle’s newest blast of top school-aged players. Jacob Zimmerman and friends (Steve Treseler, sax; Michael Van Bebber, trumpet; Dawn Clement, piano; Carmen Rothwell, bass; Julian MacDonough, drums) took the stage at 7pm and burned through a set of music before inviting an all-school amalgam of new and experienced Seattle jazz players to the jam.

Above, Anton Schwartz played last year’s Festival with Thomas Marriott.

I am looking forward to Friday and the opening of the 2015 EARSHOT JAZZ FESTIVAL which runs from October 9 through November 18, 2015

The Earshot Jazz Festival swings into its 27th edition on October 9 and includes more than 50 distinctive concerts and events in venues all around the city through November 18.

Tickets for the Earshot Jazz Festival are on sale through Earshot Jazz.
Schedule subject to change.
Check this web site for updates,
or call 206-547-6763.

Earshot Jazz Festival Upcoming Shows

• October 10 @ 8:00 pmSeattle Art Museum (Downtown)
  

  Somi

  This “utterly captivating” (Billboard) singer of Rwandan and Ugandan immigrant parentage has been mentored by Hugh Masekela to become a “modern-day Miriam Makeba” who has “the earthy gutsiness of Nina Simone blended with the vocal beauty of Dianne Reeves” (JazzTimes)….

• October 10 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Thomas Marriott with McTuff

  Tough, sinewy funk-rock-soul-jazz: Hammond organist Joe Doria, guitarist Dan Heck, and drummer Byron Vannoy in a special edition super-boosted by trumpeter Thomas Marriott,whose mastery has earned seven Earshot Golden Ear Awards….

• October 10 @ 8:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Wayne Horvitz: Some Places Are Forever Afternoon

  In this first of three events marking Wayne Horvitz’s 60th birthday and his considerable contributions to Seattle jazz culture, he presents 11 pieces inspired by poems by a Northwest legend, Richard Hugo. Horvitz is on piano with members of his Gravitas Quartet and Sweeter Than The Day groups: Ron Miles, Peggy Lee, Sara Schoenbeck, Timothy Young, Keith Lowe, and Eric Eagle….

• October 11 @ 6:00 pmWhite Center Fieldhouse (Steve Cox Memorial Park)
  

  Wayne Horvitz: Some Places Are Forever Afternoon

  In this first of three events marking Wayne Horvitz’s 60th birthday and his considerable contributions to Seattle jazz culture, he presents 11 pieces inspired by poems by a Northwest legend, Richard Hugo. Horvitz is on piano with members of his Gravitas Quartet and Sweeter Than The Day groups: Ron Miles, Peggy Lee, Sara Schoenbeck, Timothy Young, Keith Lowe, and Eric Eagle….

• October 11 @ 8:00 pmBenaroya Hall
  

  Wayne Shorter Quartet

  One of the most influential saxophonists and composers in the pantheon of modern music, let alone jazz, Wayne Shorter remains an intriguing creative force. He continues to make history with the brilliant quartet of pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade….

• October 13 @ 7:30 pmEdmonds-Woodway High School Little Theater
  

  Edmonds-Woodway High School w/ Kathy Kosins

  One of the swingingest jazz vocalists visits the perennially strong high school jazz program, a four-time finalist in the Essentially Ellington Competition at the Lincoln Center in New York under director Jake Bergevin….

• October 13 @ 7:30 pmThe Royal Room
  

  Ornette Coleman Tribute: Action Figure / Focus on Sanity

  Two exciting Seattle ensembles salute the late, great provocateur. Bassist Birch Pereira’s Action Figure, with Seth Alexander and Dave Abramson, performs the music of the early Ornette small groups, while electric bassist Ryan Berg looks to the Prime Time years with his Focus on Sanity….

• October 15 @ 7:30 pmMEANY STUDIO THEATER (UW Campus)
  

  Ted Poor Quartet / Gregg Belisle- Chi

  UW artist-in-residence Ted Poor, on drums, is joined by New-York based musicians Bill McHenry, tenor saxophone; Josh Roseman, trombone; and the great Eric Revis on bass in a concert devoted to Our Man in Jazz, the 1962 album by Sonny Rollins. An ensemble of top UW jazz students opens the program….

• October 16 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Kareem Kandi Trio

  The Tacoma-based saxophonist’s funk- and blues-drenched style is showcased to fine effect in this trio with Hammond B3 favorite Delvon Lamar and drummer Adam Kessler….

• October 16 @ 8:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Edmar Castañeda / Jovino Santos Neto

  In a rare solo performance, the “hippest harpist” (Wall Street Journal), from Colombia, demonstrates the virtuosic command that explains his growing acclaim. He produces symphonic, rapid-fire, melodic Latin American rhythms. Opening, also in distilled solo performance, is Seattle’s brilliant Brazilian pianist….

• October 17 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Mark Taylor & Dawn Clement Group

  Saxophonist Mark Taylor launches a new ensemble with the ebullient pianist and Cornish instructor, Dawn Clement. Noted NYC trumpeter, Russ Johnson, and top-shelf Seattleites Phil Sparks (bass) and Byron Vannoy (drums) join them….

• October 17 @ 8:00 pmTown Hall Seattle
  

  Charles Lloyd, Wild Man Dance

  The multi-horn mystic returns, promising another riveting séance. His newest quartet calls on brilliant contemporaries Gerald Clayton (piano) and Kendrick Scott (drums) along with veteran bassist Reuben Rogers….

• October 18 @ 8:00 pmSeattle Art Museum (Downtown)
  

  Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret

  The singular pianist formed this group in 2012 to perform pieces she wrote for its towering talents: Ron Miles (trumpet), Liberty Ellman (guitar), Stomu Takeishi (bass), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums)….

• October 19 @ 8:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Kris Davis Trio

  The Vancouver-raised pianist, who has just won a prestigious Doris Duke Impact Award, appears with drummer Tom Rainey and bassist John Hébert, performing her darkly energetic, nuanced compositions….

• October 20 @ 7:30 pmThe Royal Room
  

  The Big Band Music of George Stone

  George Stone, one of the world’s premier jazz composers and arrangers, travels from California to direct a performance of his exciting big band music by 17 of Seattle’s finest jazz musicians, including Dennis Haldane and Doug Reid….

• October 21 @ 8:00 pmChapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center
  

  Gary Stroutsos: Tribute to Paul Horn

  The “world flute artist and cultural folklorist” is steeped in Native American and other cultures’ music. In the pristine acoustics of The Chapel, he pays homage to his mentor and idol, Paul Horn, in particular to his 1960s album Inside, inspired by the Taj Mahal….

• October 22 @ 8:30 pmNectar Lounge
  

  Pedrito Martinez Quartet / Picoso

  “The real thing,” Quincy Jones says of this stellar percussionist. “A genius,” says Wynton Marsalis. Martinez melds a mastery of traditional Cuban forms with hard-driving sensibilities of hip-hop and contemporary Latin music. Opening the evening is Picoso, an ensemble with one foot in the Son Montuno of Eastern Cuba, and one in Seattle’s fertile jazz-groove scene….

• October 23 @ 8:00 pmChapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center
  

  Tomeka Reid, Nicole Mitchell, & Mike Reed

  From Chicago come three key figures of the new generation of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians collective: versatile cello experimenter, Tomeka Reid; frequent jazz-flute poll winner Nicole Mitchell; and drummer Mike Reed….

• October 23 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Frank Catalano Quartet

  Back by popular demand, the multi-genre, repeat Grammy Award-winning saxophonist excels whether accompanying the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Destiny’s Child, or in straight jazz settings such as his riveting quartet….

• October 23 @ 8:00 pmThe Royal Room
  

  Seales Brothers Band

  A rare, festival-only opportunity to see Marc and Jesse Seales, brothers and leading figures of separate Seattle scenes. Jesse Seales, a blues- and rock-drenched jazzer, takes the stage with distinguished pianist Marc Seales, an inductee into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame….

• October 24 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Frank Catalano Quartet

  Back by popular demand, the multi-genre, repeat Grammy Award-winning saxophonist excels whether accompanying the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Destiny’s Child, or in straight jazz settings such as his riveting quartet….

• October 24 @ 8:00 pmThe Royal Room
  

  Being John McLaughlin

  Six Seattle mavericks brilliantly reprise the timeless music of Mahavishnu Orchestra, the astounding 1970s project of the legendary English guitarist. Guitarist Tristan Gianola stokes the inner mounting flame with Eric Verlinde (keys), Alicia DeJoie (violin), Geoff Harper (bass), and John Bishop (drums), with special guest, saxophonist Mark Taylor….

• October 24 @ 8:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Julian Priester 80th Birthday Celebration

  The trombone legend’s many Seattle-area friends pay tribute to his long career, which has seen him in the company of Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and many more. His own quartet will be on hand, as will such friends as fellow trombonist Stuart Dempster, with a trombone choir!…

• October 25 @ 8:00 pmTula’s
  

  Jessica Lurie Ensemble

  One of the greats of Seattle jazz over the last 20 years with Living Daylights and the Tiptons, the saxophonist Jessica Lurie returns from New York to present her propulsive compositions with a power-packed lineup that includes bassist, Rene Hart….

• October 25 @ 8:00 pmSeattle Art Museum (Downtown)
  

  The Westerlies / Skerik

  New York barnstormers from Seattle — Riley Mulherkar and Zubin Hensler (trumpets) and Willem de Koch and Andy Clausen (trombones) — execute their captivating amalgam of chamber music, North American folk forms, and jazz. To start the evening, a solo set from the one-of-a-kind sax monster, Skerik….

• October 26 @ 7:30 pmThe Royal Room
  

  Monktail Creative Music Concern 15th Anniversary

  The Northwest collective has fostered the expansive projects of many of the region’s leading voices in adventurous and entertaining jazz, and at 15 years is going strong, as the Non Grata big band will show on this evening….

• October 27 @ 8:00 pmChapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center
  

  Nate Wooley & Paul Lytton

  The improvising duo of Paul Lytton, a first-rank premier European percussionist, and Nate Wooley, an extended-technique trumpeter on the booming Brooklyn improv scene….

• October 28 @ 7:30 pmTeatro ZinZanni
  

  Chano Domínguez Trio

  Reared in Cadiz, and remarkably fluent in a number of styles, this flamenco-jazz pianist has become a favorite of European audiences for his earthy, flamenco and bolero-infused style. Now a Seattle-area resident, Domínguez debuts a new ensemble featuring percussionist Jose Martinez, bassist Jeff Johnson, and saxophonist Hans Teuber….

• October 28 @ 8:00 pmChapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center
  

  Mimi Fox

  The guitarist demonstrates her heralded mastery and style in a solo performance of interpretations, ranging through swinging, sophisticated, lush,and tender jazz favorites….

• October 29 @ 7:30 pmBenaroya Hall
  

  Sonic Evolution: Seattle Symphony Orchestra w/ Bill Frisell, Shaprece, & Derek Bermel w/ Roosevelt High School Jazz Band

  A not-to-miss collaboration: The Seattle Symphony Orchestra, with director Ludovic Morlot, premieres a new work by Wayne Horvitz with a stellar soloist: guitar icon Bill Frisell. Plus: Derek Bermel’s composition inspired by Jacob Lawrence’s depictions of the Great Migration of African Americans from the South, performed by the SSO, the Roosevelt High School Jazz Band, and Bermel on clarinet. And then a set from Seattle-raised vocalist, Shaprece….

• October 30 @ 8:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Joel M. Ross Quartet

  To recast expectations of jazz vibes is no mean feat, and to do it while still a teenager is truly remarkable. In the spirit of Thelonious Monk, Chicago newcomer Joel M. Ross, a stand-out at the last two years’ Seattle Jazz Experiences, plays with an edgy, surprising, hugely likable style….

• October 30 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Jacob Zimmerman Sextet

  In a lineup that includes trumpeter Raymond Larsen, pianist Jake Svendson, bassist Nate Parker, drummer Evan Woodle, and the vocalist Katie Jacobson, the startlingly talented saxophonist breathes exciting new life into spirited bebop repertoire….

• October 31 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Joel M. Ross Quartet

  To recast expectations of jazz vibes is no mean feat, and to do it while still a teenager is truly remarkable. In the spirit of Thelonious Monk, Chicago newcomer Joel M. Ross, a stand-out at the last two years’ Seattle Jazz Experiences, plays with an edgy, surprising, hugely likable style….

• November 1 @ 8:00 pmSeattle Art Museum (Downtown)
  

  Andy Clausen’s Shutter Project

  The outstanding Seattle-raised trombonist’s chamber ensemble specializes in multi-media installations that combine his compositions – quirky and amiable – with improvisation and photography….

• November 2 @ 8:00 pmChapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center
  

  Brad Linde’s straightHORN / Brockman & Halberstadt Duo: Strayhorn Favorites

  A soprano saxophone quartet celebrates the centenary of Duke Ellington’s longtime collaborator, Billy Strayhorn. Two greats of edgy Seattle jazz, Kate Olson and Jessica Lurie (Tiptons), join DC’s Brad Linde and Traverse City’s Patrick Booth….

• November 3 @ 7:30 pmTriple Door
  

  Garfield High School Jazz Band

  One of the region’s finest school jazz programs has long shone at the prestigious Essentially Ellington competition in New York. With three wins and three second- or third-place finishes, it has raised the bar for the whole country. Its legacy is assured under the longtime leadership of Clarence Acox, who makes it a perennially swinging, polished big band….

• November 4 @ 8:00 pmTriple Door
  

  Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra w/ Mimi Fox

  SWOJO has been showcasing our region’s talented female jazz artists for 15 years. This year it welcomes outstanding guitarist Mimi Fox as well as the winners of the organization’s composing competition….

• November 5 @ 6:00 pmPanama Hotel
  

  Paul Kikuchi: Songs of Nihonmachi

  The percussionist, composer, and instrument deviser, who was named 2010 Emerging Artist of the Year in Earshot’s Golden Ear Awards, premieres his reimagined versions of popular songs of Seattle’s vibrant Nihonmachi (pre-WW2) Japantown of the 1920s and 1930s….

• November 5 @ 8:00 pmThe Royal Room
  

  Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey & Skerik

  The ever-evolving, singular Tulsa/Santa Fe outfit has just released The Battle For Earth, a psychedelic musical comic book, and it’s as thrilling as everything else the trio has created. Brian Haas (keyboards), Chris Combs (guitars), and Josh Raymer (drums) perform here as a quartet with the one-of-a-kind sax shredder, Skerik….

• November 5 @ 9:00 pmNectar Lounge
  

  Blades/Ciotti/Coe w/ DJ Logic / Industrial Revelation

  Wil Blades, the San Francisco-based Hammond B3 organist, a Rising Star in DownBeat critics polls every year since 2006, performs here with Pete Ciotti, drums; Andy Coe, guitar; and DJ Logic, turntables. Opening: the genre-expanding Industrial Revelation….

• November 6 @ 8:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Art Lande Quartet

  It’s a major Seattle jazz event: a one-off reunion of the veteran, world-traveling, singular pianist with his great Seattle postbop band of the early 1980s, with Dean Johnson, bass; Dave Coleman, drums; and Dave Peterson, guitar….

• November 6 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Ed Reed & Anton Schwartz play Hartman and Coltrane

  The DownBeat Editors Poll named this late-blooming vocalist a “rising star” in 2014 after his I’m a Shy Guy album debut at age 78. He salutes one of the great vocal jazz albums of all time — John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman — with saxophonist Anton Schwartz….

• November 6 @ 8:00 pmThe Royal Room
  

  Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey & Skerik

  The ever-evolving, singular Tulsa/Santa Fe outfit has just released The Battle For Earth, a psychedelic musical comic book, and it’s as thrilling as everything else the trio has created. Brian Haas (keyboards), Chris Combs (guitars), and Josh Raymer (drums) perform here as a quartet with the one-of-a-kind sax shredder, Skerik….

• November 7 @ 2:00 pmElliot Bay Book Company
  

  Book Reading & Panel with David Hajdu

  David Hajdu presents his books and a panel discussion at Elliott Bay Books, Saturday, 2PM….

• November 7 @ 7:30 pmBenaroya Hall
  

  Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra presents Lush Life: Celebrating Billy Strayhorn’s 100th Birthday

  Seattle’s top big band salutes Duke Ellington’s brilliant right-hand man, composer and pianist Billy Strayhorn, with performances of classics like “Lush Life,” “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing,” and, of course, “Take the ‘A’ Train.” With readings by David Hajdu, author of the seminal 1996 Strayhorn biography, Lush Life…

• November 7 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Ed Reed & Anton Schwartz play Hartman and Coltrane

  The DownBeat Editors Poll named this late-blooming vocalist a “rising star” in 2014 after his I’m a Shy Guy album debut at age 78. He salutes one of the great vocal jazz albums of all time — John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman — with saxophonist Anton Schwartz….

• November 7 @ 8:00 pmChapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center
  

  Torsten Mueller & Phil Minton

  Two giants of the improvising scene, Vancouver-based German bassist Mueller and the inimitable English vocal shaman, as compellingly idiosyncratic as any musician you’re likely to hear….

• November 8 @ 2:00 pmKirkland Performance Center
  

  Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra presents Lush Life: Celebrating Billy Strayhorn’s 100th Birthday

  Seattle’s top big band salutes Duke Ellington’s brilliant right-hand man, composer and pianist Billy Strayhorn, with performances of classics like “Lush Life,” “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing,” and, of course, “Take the ‘A’ Train.” With readings by David Hajdu, author of the seminal 1996 Strayhorn biography, Lush Life….

• November 8 @ 8:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Jay Clayton in and out

  Now a New York fixture, Clayton perennially topped vocals polls while teaching at Cornish. She returns to perform with friends like Julian Priester and Dawn Clement: originals, standards, electronics, poetry… plus a tribute to Ornette Coleman….

• November 9 @ 12:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Master Class: Jay Clayton

  Open to the general public for musicians and non-musicians alike….

• November 9 @ 7:30 pmTown Hall Seattle
  

  James McBride and The Good Lord Bird Band

  The celebrated author of The Color of Water has long been a professional saxophonist, and here presents music and song related to his National Book Award-winning novel set around abolitionist John Brown, Good Lord Bird. Joining him are Show Tyme Brooks, Keith Robinson, Trevor Exter, Adam Faulk….

• November 9 @ 7:30 pmEdmonds Center for the Arts
  

  Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra presents Lush Life: Celebrating Billy Strayhorn’s 100th Birthday

  Seattle’s top big band salutes Duke Ellington’s brilliant right-hand man, composer and pianist Billy Strayhorn, with performances of classics like “Lush Life,” “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing,” and of course “Take the ‘A’ Train.” With readings by David Hajdu, author of the seminal, 1996 Strayhorn biography, Lush Life….

• November 10 @ 1:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Master Class: Anat Cohen

  Master classes are open to the public and are appropriate for musicians AND non-musicians….

• November 10 @ 8:00 pmPONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, Cornish College of the Arts
  

  Anat Cohen Quartet

  Conversant with jazz, classical music, Brazilian choro, and Argentine tango, the Israeli clarinetist, a Seattle favorite most recently featured here with the SRJO, has established herself as a leading voice in the art form….

• November 12 @ 5:30 pmSeattle Art Museum – Brotman Forum (Downtown)
  

  Art of Jazz: Billy Strayhorn Project

  Vocalist Tyrone Brown hails the music of William Thomas “Billy” Strayhorn, the composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who is celebrated for his almost-30-year collaboration with Duke Ellington. Brown, Nate Omdal (director/bass), Michael Owcharuk (piano), and Jacques Willis (drums) play arrangements of classics like “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Chelsea Bridge,” and “Lush Life.”…

• November 12 @ 8:00 pmThe Royal Room
  

  Wayne Horvitz @ 60

  In a fascinating triple bill, the renowned keyboardist/composer plays in three settings: solo piano with electronics; his Snowghost trio, where drummer Eric Eagle and bassist Geoff Harper complement Horvitz’s processed piano and synthesizer; and his new Seattle sextet….

• November 13 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Larry Fuller Trio

  The always-in-demand New York pianist who “swings like a beast” returns to Seattle, where from 1988 to 1993 he was Ernestine Anderson’s music director. He excels in the hard-driving traditions of mainstream jazz, as he demonstrated with legendary bassist Ray Brown’s Trio, and John Pizzarelli….

• November 13 @ 8:00 pmTown Hall Seattle
  

  Brad Mehldau Trio

  One of the greatest of modern jazz pianists, prodigiously inventive, equally riveting whether exploring formal structures or improvising with abandon, has for more than two decades excelled in trio performance, since 2005 with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums….

• November 14 @ 7:30 pmTula’s
  

  Larry Fuller Trio

  The always-in-demand New York pianist who “swings like a beast” returns to Seattle, where from 1988 to 1993 he was Ernestine Anderson’s music director. He excels in the hard-driving traditions of mainstream jazz, as he demonstrated with legendary bassist Ray Brown’s Trio, and John Pizzarelli….

• November 14 @ 7:30 pmTriple Door
  

  Scott Amendola Band w/ Nels Cline & Jenny Scheinman

  Powerhouse drummer Scott Amendola, a jewel of the San Francisco progressive scene (Nels Cline Singers, TJ Kirk) with a top-deck combo: guitar icon Nels Cline (Wilco), violinist Jenny Scheinman (Bill Frisell band), Chicago guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise), and versatile bassist John Shifflett….

• November 15 @ 7:30 pmTriple Door
  

  Chris Potter Trio

  “One of the most studied (and copied) saxophonists on the planet” (DownBeat) and “one of the best musicians around” (Dave Liebman) is technically astonishing and artistically brilliant, whether in the bands of Dave Holland or other greats, or heading his own driving, burning trio with Drew Gress on bass and Adam Cruz on drums….

• November 16 @ 7:30 pmTriple Door
  

  Sara Gazarek & New West Guitar Group

  Equally engaged with the jazz tradition and the music of her own generation, this Seattle-reared rising vocal star appears with the “sharp and refined” (Seattle Times) New West Guitar Trio: Perry Smith, John Storie, and Will Brahm….

• November 17 @ 7:30 pmTriple Door
  

  Hugh Masekela

  The legendary South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, bandleader, composer, and singer has enjoyed world renown for almost 50 years after rising to prominence as a voice of opposition to apartheid rule in his homeland….

• November 18 @ 7:30 pmTriple Door
  

  Hugh Masekela

  The legendary South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, bandleader, composer, and singer has enjoyed world renown for almost 50 years after rising to prominence as a voice of opposition to apartheid rule in his homeland….