Jazz NW

The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, co-directed by Clarence Acox and Michael Brockman is featured on Jazz Northwest. The program highlights a concert of Jazz of the Harlem Renaissance with guests Meschiya Lake, a New Orleans-based singer of traditional jazz,  and narrator Robin Lloyd of KPLU, who describes scenes at the Apollo Ballroom where this music was first heard in the Twenties and Thirties.

Seattle’s biggest jazz event of the year begins this weekend. The wide-ranging Earshot Jazz Festival runs over three weeks and includes over 50 concerts by international and regional musicians who perform in many combinations and locations.

High on any list of all-time classic jazz albums is the 1949-50 Miles Davis album "Birth of The Cool" which grew out of an informal composers/ arrangers workshop with Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan and John Lewis among others.  That album continues to be influential among jazz musicians today, one of them being trombonist Andy Clausen who has studied these recordings and arrangements extensively.  Last summer, he organized a concert of this music which was presented by Earshot Jazz at The Chapel performance space in Seattle. 

With the audience on three sides of the musicians, this performance was truly "up close and personal".  Three world-class musicians, Tamir Hendelman, Martin Wind and Matt Wilson provided an evening of spontaneous musical magic for a capacity audience in a cozy  Port Townsend club, The Upstage.  Recorded during this year's Jazz Port Townsend, the trio plays two standards, a Jobim tune and an original by each member of the group.  Each of the three musicians has toured and recorded widely, but this performance was unique, as Tamir Hendelman tells the audience after the first tune of the set.  

Sunday afternoons we savor some of the many tastes of jazz available to you on Jazz Northwest. This week, Clarence Acox and Jay Thomas from Seattle, Dave Frishberg from Portland, Karin Plato from Vancouver and many more. We'll also tell you about the best places to go for live jazz.

On the next Jazz Northwest from 88.5 KPLU, The Dena DeRose Trio plays a concert recorded at Jazz Port Townsend in July.  With Martin Wind on bass and Matt Wilson on drums, Dena DeRose sings from the piano, swinging hard on up tempo tunes, and deliciously slow on the ballads with fresh takes on some familiar songs. 

Gaye Anderson was owner and proprietor of the New Orleans Creole Restaurant from 1985 until her death on August 29.  Widely known as a staunch supporter of live music, she presided over thousands of nights of jazz and blues performances at her Pioneer Square restaurant.  Its fame spread all over the country as visitors remarked "I wish we had something like this back home."   The music ranged from traditional New Orleans and Chicago style jazz, through Swing, Bop and modern jazz on weeknights with blues on weekends.

On Jazz Northwest from 88.5 KPLU, the Benny Green Trio with special guest Gary Smulyan on baritone saxophone is heard in concert at Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend.  The concert was recorded in McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden on July 28, and consists of original music by Benny Green.  

Sunday afternoons we check out the regional jazz scene with CDs and location recordings of jazz you can hear around here from Portland to Vancouver, including the very lively Seattle jazz scene.  This Sunday we’ll hear new CDs by a Seattle trio of Bill Anschell, Brent Jensen & Chris Symer, the Rob Scheps Big Band from Portland,  Vancouver saxophonist Cory Weeds playing in Edmonton, Human Spirit at last Fall’s Earshot Festival and more. 

Carlos Cascante and Tumbao played this month’s Seattle Art Museum Art of Jazz concert outdoors at the Olympic Sculpture Park by Elliott Bay.  A large crowd and lots of dancers joined the celebration in the Seattle sunshine.  Highlights from the concert will air on Jazz Northwest on 88.5, KPLU on Sunday, August 19 at 1 PM PDT.   

Johnny Mandel has enjoyed a seven-decade musical career that began in the 40s as a trombonist and arranger in big bands of Woody Herman, Count Basie and others.  He went on to greater fame as a film composer after settling in LA in the 50s, where he penned scores for “I Want To Live,” “The Sandpiper,” “The Americanization of Emily,” “Mash” and many others including popular songs “Close Enough for Love” and “A Time for Love”.  

The first in a series of concert broadcasts from Centrum's Jazz Port Townsend features "Dynamic Duos" on KPLU's Jazz Northwest on Sunday, August 5 at 1 PM PDT.   The three duos selected by Artistic Director John Clayton for this unique concert are trombonists Wycliffe Gordon and Jiggs Whigham, guitarists Graham Dechter and Bruce Forman and drummers (drummists?) Jeff Hamilton and Matt Wilson.  

This week on Jazz Northwest we'll feature some songs for Summer including the Summer movement from Phil Dwyer's Changing Seasons suite for orchestra.  Pete Christlieb and Linda Small are visiting after Jazz Port Townsend and playing some great Bill Holman charts.  Something new from Pearl Django and other music from Portland to Vancouver BC as well as suggestions for live jazz around Seattle in the coming week.

Eduardo Mendonça and Show Brazil dancers at Olympic Sculpture Park.

  Exuberant Brazilian music and dance made for a perfect summer concert at the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park earlier this month when Earshot Jazz presented Eduardo Mendonça and Show Brazil for this Month's Art of Jazz concert.  Seven musicians and three dancers, plus audience participation provided additional reasons to celebrate summer in Seattle at the park on Elliot Bay.

 It's not often the bass player steps from the back of the band to front his own group but there are notable exceptions.... Charles Mingus, Ray Brown, and Ron Carter among others come to mind.  There are three with strong Seattle connections on Jazz Northwest this Sunday: Chuck Deardorf, the late Chuck Metcalf and Clipper Anderson.   We'll also hear an outstanding young alto saxophonist from Portland, Hailey Niswanger who recently graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston. She's playing two gigs in the area next week.