KPLU-FM: Jazz NW : NPR

Several new and forthcoming releases will be highlighted on Jazz Northwest this Sunday, October 23 on 88.5 knkx. Two are bi-coastal sessions, one with Bremerton resident Mark Lewis and a top New York rhythm section, and one with Vancouver BC saxophonist Cory Weeds in a live session at Smoke in New York. Mark Lewis' CD will be released early next year and the Cory Weeds disc is out now. NY pianist David Hazeltine is in Vancouver to launch Cory Weeds' CD this weekend at Frankies. Also new this week, Samantha Boshnack's B'shnorkestra plays a Concerto for Jazz Trumpet featuring Thomas Marriott, the orchestra plays original music at The Earshot Festival Monday night. Steve Messick's Endemic Ensemble plays at Tula's on Tuesday and has a new release featuring saxophonists Travis Ranney and Matso Limtiaco. Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for 88.5 knkx and knkx.org. The program airs Sundays at 2 PM Pacific and after broadcast may be streamed on demand at jazznw

Highlights from the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra's season opening concert will air on Jazz Northwest on 88.5 knkx on Sunday, October 16 at 2 PM. Following a tradition established in recent years, the music of the Count Basie Orchestra was featured, this time with a focus on the band's first years in New York and some of its earliest hit recordings c.1937. It was a big band that played with the loose informality of a small group and featured many outstanding improvising soloists. The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra is co-directed by Clarence Acox and Michael Brockman and presents an annual season series of five pairs of concerts in Seattle and Kirkland, In addition to music by the early Count Basie Orchestra, this concert also included a complete performance of The Endless Search Suite which the SRJO commissioned of NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath ten years ago. The SRJO premiered the extended work in concert and recorded it with Mr.Heath for a CD on the Origin label. Jazz Northwest

This Sunday afternoon on Jazz Northwest, host Jim Wilke samples music by some of the artists playing during the first week of the Earshot Jazz Festival including Fred Hersch, Freddy Cole, and Thomas Marriott. Also featured is a new release by alto saxophonist Ben Roseth, former Garfield HS standout who now lives in Washington DC. The program also highlights best bets for live jazz in the coming week. Jazz Northwest airs each Sunday at 2 PM Pacific on 88.5 KNKX, and streams at knkx.org. The program is also available for streaming on demand after the broadcast at jazznw.org. Next week (10/16), the program will highlight music from the opening concert of the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra season, a Basie Bash which also includes Jimmy Heath's The Endless Search Suite which was commissioned by the SRJO. Several Earshot Jazz Festival concerts are being recorded for future broadcasts. More info: Earshot Jazz

Three pianists in the prime of their careers were featured in one concert at the 2016 Jazz Port Townsend. Gerald Clayton, George Colligan and Taylor Eigsti each took a turn to play two tunes, a ballad and a burner with Harish Raghavan on bass an Matt Wilson on drums round out the trio in each case. The concert was recorded for Jazz Northwest on 88.5 KNKX and will stream at knkx.org at 2 p.m. Pacific this Sunday, October 2. Though not wildly divergent in styles, the three pianists demonstrate a range of contemporary jazz piano styles. The first two provide fresh interpretations of mostly familiar music by Ellington, Strayhorn and Wayne Shorter, and Taylor Eigsti contributes an original composition. All three pianists have many CDs as sideman and as leaders of their own groups and all three were members of the faculty of the week-long Jazz Workshop that precedes Jazz Port Townsend on the last week of July annually. Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced for knkx by Jim Wilke. The

The Oregon Coast Jazz Party takes place next weekend, September 30 through October 2 in Newport Oregon, and a week later the Earshot Jazz Festival begins in Seattle and runs October 7 through November 11. Some musical highlights from both festivals will be heard on Jazz Northwest this Sunday (9/25) at 2 p.m. Pacific on 88.5 knkx and streaming at knkx.org. The Oregon Coast Jazz Party is an annual informal gathering of top pro musicians who perform in various combinations in concerts and jam sessions at the Newport Performing Arts Center and the Shilo Inn Suites Hotel in Newport on the central Oregon coast. Among the featured artists are The Jeff Hamilton Trio, Terell Stafford, Ken Peplowski, Grace Kelly and others. Performances are day and night, Friday through Sunday. The Earshot Jazz Festival runs October 7 through November 11 and includes over 50 events at various venues around the Seattle area. Earshot director John Gilbreath joins Jim Wilke to suggest some highlights to Jazz

Between the small combo and the big band there exists the little big band. Eight to ten musicians provide composers and arrangers a palate of instrumental color and voices to explore and combine in non-traditional fashion. Among notable examples are the Miles Davis Nonet with music by Gil Evans, John Lewis, and Gerry Mulligan. Later examples include The Dave Pell Octet, the Marty Paich Dektet, Gerry Mulligan Tentette, Phil Woods Little Big Band and others. Oliver Groenewald's NewNet is a nine-piece ensemble that continues the tradition here in the Pacific Northwest. This edition of the NewNet has played only a few concerts so far, including the Orcas Island Jazz Festival and an Art of Jazz Concert at the Seattle Art Museum this month. The Art of Jazz concert was recorded for Jazz Northwest and highlights will air Sunday, September 18 at 2 PM Pacific on 88.5 KNKX. Included are original arrangements by Oliver Groenewald of his compositions as well as music by Horace Silver, Lee Morgan

Two outstanding rising jazz stars were featured together in concert at Jazz Port Townsend this summer. Trumpeter Sean Jones and tenor saxophonist JD Allen already have a wealth of experience and several CDs each. Their concert was recorded for radio and will air on Jazz Northwest, exclusively on 88.5 knkx on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 2 p.m. Pacific. Joining them in this quintet are pianist George Colligan, Harish Raghavan on bass and Matt Wilson on drums. They play jazz standards by Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Duke Ellington, Tadd Dameron and Benny Golson. Sean Jones was lead trumpet in Wynon Marsalis' Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra until 2010, and more recently chair of the brass department at Berklee College of Music and artistic director of the Pittsburgh and Cleveland Jazz Orchestras. JD Allen is a New York based saxophonist who has been a member of many outstanding groups. He got his start with the late Betty Carter and eventually went on to lead his own ensemble. He has six CDs as a

An all-star big band tribute to Woody Herman was one of the features of the Saturday matinee concert at this year's Jazz Port Townsend, presented annually by Centrum on the last weekend of July. The concert was recorded for radio and will air on Jazz Northwest on 88.5 on Sunday August 28 at 2 p.m. Pacific. The band was co-led by two drummers who played in Woody Herman's band at different times. Jeff Hamilton and Joe LaBarbera take turns at the drumset and introducing the music which samples the band's 50-year history. Woody Herman was known as "The Road Father" for his mentoring of many young musicians who later became stars on their own after establishing themselves in Herman's Herd. In addition to the two drummers, another alum in this tribute band is baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan. The all-star band contains many established soloists and leaders who were also on the faculty at the week-long jazz workshop which precedes the weekend concerts each year. This concert was recorded in

We like examining the continuum of jazz (thank you, John Gilbreath!) on Jazz Northwest. The students become the rising stars, and the rising stars become the teachers of the next generation and so it goes. Don Lanphere and Larry Coryell were major figures in Seattle jazz, and Roxy Coss was one of Don's students and played in the Garfield Jazz Band under Clarence Acox. Today, Roxy is active on the New York Jazz Scene. We'll sample her newest CD and also one by pianist Ariel Pocock who was a product of Newport High School and has also gone on to national prominence. Also on this week's show are recent releases from The Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra, Victoria-based singer Miranda Sage, Seattle singer Dina Blade's new CD recorded in Brazil, and a bi-coastal meet-up with Seattle's Jay Thomas and New York-based Gary Smulyan and more. Jazz Northwest airs every Sunday afternoon at 2 PM Pacific on 88.5 and streams at kplu.org. The program is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke and is available for

Singers don't often pair up in concert and three together is extremely rare. Egos and voices might clash, but nothing of the sort happened when Dee Daniels, René Marie and Dena DeRose teamed up for a vocal extravaganza at the 42nd annual Jazz Port Townsend presented by Centrum. The well planned and executed program featured each of the singers in a solo performance and in duets with the other two, with a finale bringing all three together in the classic blues "Centerpiece". The singers were backed throughout by Dena DeRose at the piano, Chuck Deardorf on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums. Dee Daniels, René Marie and Dena DeRose are also highly regarded educators as well as performers and taught a vocal jazz workshop during the week preceding the festival. Together they represent a wide range of styles and all three are songwriters as well as performers. Their concert earned a standing ovation from the near-capacity audience in McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden where Jazz Port Townsend

Centrum's Jazz Port Townsend takes place the last weekend of July each year and the Festival's 42nd year included seven groups over three concerts: Friday, Saturday matinee and evening performances. The relaxed presentations and informality are hallmarks of the festival, this year including singers, composers, small groups and an all-star big band. Performers are internationally renown and also make up the faculty for the Jazz Workshop which precedes the festival. Opening the radio series on August 7 is The Clayton Brothers Quintet performance from the matinee concert. The group is co-led by bassist John Clayton (who is also Artistic Director of Jazz Port Townsend) and alto saxophonist Jeff Clayton. Terell Stafford is on trumpet, Gerald Clayton (John's son) is pianist and Kendrick Scott is the drummer. The Claytons each contributed an original piece and there's a hauntingly tender treatment of "Close Enough for Love". Next in the series are three singers, Dee Daniels, René Marie and

This week's Jazz Northwest highlights music from three jazz concerts in Seattle, ranging from 1951 to last fall. Selections not previously broadcast from concerts last fall by the Art Lande Quartet at Cornish College and The Marc Seales Trio at The Seattle Art Museum open the show, followed by The Cecil Young Quartet featuring Gerald Brasher at the Metropolitan Theatre in Seattle in 1951. Both the Art Lande Quartet and the Marc Seales Trio feature original music in concerts presented by Earshot Jazz, and the Cecil Young Quartet is a fine example of one of Seattle's first genuine home-grown bop combos playing in concert. Jazz Northwest airs Sundays at 2 p.m. Pacific on 88.5 KPLU and kplu.org. Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for 88.5 KPLU. After each Sunday's broadcast programs may be streamed on demand at jazznw.org .

This Sunday, Jazz Northwest will preview The 42nd Annual Jazz Port Townsend presented by Centrum on the last weekend of July. Three mainstage concerts at the 1200 seat McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden will feature seven performances on Friday and Saturday, July 29 and 30, and there will be 3 nights of jazz in the clubs Thursday through Saturday in downtown Port Townsend. Jazz Northwest will preview the concerts and some of the artists on this week's show, Sunday, July 24 at 2 PM Pacific on 88.5 KPLU. Among the artists featured on the preview and at the festival are The Clayton Brothers, Akiko Tsuruga, Sean Jones, Dena DeRose, René Marie, Grace Kelly and a Tribute to Woody Herman will be played by an all-star Festival Big Band led by Jeff Hamilton and Joe LaBarbera. Most of the artists are also on the faculty of the Jazz Workshop which precedes the festival. Jazz Northwest host and producer Jim Wilke will record the mainstage concerts for later broadcast and will share mc honors on

Pianist Larry Fuller brought his trio to Tula's for the final weekend of last Fall's Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle. The evening was recorded for Jazz Northwest and the second set will air on Sunday, July 17 at 2 PM Pacific on 88.5 KPLU and stream at kplu.org. Now a New York resident and a touring musician, Larry Fuller was Ernestine Anderson's music director from 1988 to 1993 and was also active on the Seattle jazz scene. He later toured with the Jeff Hamilton Trio, was Ray Brown's pianist until his death in 2002, and pianist with the John Pizzarelli quartet. He has two CDs under his own name in addition to sideman credits with others. Joining Larry Fuller in this performance recorded at Tula's are New York bassist David Wong and L.A. drummer Matt Witek. The Larry Fuller Trio swings with a bluesy, deep groove that is reminiscent of his work with the last Ray Brown Trio. Whether playing ballads, blues or standards, the trio is deeply satisfying music and this location recording

Jazz Northwest samples the regional jazz scene every Sunday afternoon. This week's show also takes note of the increasing variety and quality of the...

Brazil's Bossa Nova music swept the US and much of the world in the 1960s. Singers, small groups and big bands embraced the subtle and lyrical songs of...

Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, Renton - great jazz is available around the Pacific Northwest this first weekend of Summer. Sunday, June 26, Jazz...

The Ballard Jazz Walk is a very popular part of the annual Ballard Jazz Festival. This year, 22 bands played in 10 venues around Old Ballard. LineUp,...

There's an easy interplay between New York and Seattle musicians and several recent releases illustrate this. Trumpet players Ray Vega and Thomas...

Spanish pianist Marina Albero brought a new quartet and two sets of new music to the Ballard Jazz Walk in May as part of the 14th annual Ballard Jazz...