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Articles by Paul Rauch
Brittany Anjou: Visionary Soul
I began a series of interviews with jny: Seattle-based musicians in the summer of 2016, with half being dedicated to female instrumentalists. After my last interview with bassist Chuck Deardorf, I was given a new piano trio release on the Seattle based Origin Records label by New York based, Seattle born and bred musician Brittany Anjou. Named Enamigo Reciprokataj, meaning reciprocal love in the international language Esperanto, the album is her unique take on the traditional jazz piano trio. While ...
read moreRoxy Coss: Quintet
At times, saxophonist Roxy Coss can appear to be a whirlwind. Over the past decade, Coss has firmly established herself as a saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and activist. She has toured extensively, most notably with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. She founded Women In Jazz Organization (WIJO) to combat misogyny in jazz culture, and create gender equity in terms of opportunity and community. With the release of her new album, Quintet (Outside In Music, 2019), she has now authored five recordings under her ...
read moreTula's Jazz Club: Soliloquy to a Seattle Jazz Institution
It was the tail end of a long weekend. Temperatures had risen to 80 degrees under a sunny only-in-Seattle blue sky, the waterways and markets humming with a sea of humanity. It was not a night one would expect many to venture into the quiet, dark solitude of Tula's Jazz Club, where for nearly 26 years the best of Seattle's vibrant jazz scene had come to roost. The scene up and down Second Avenue in Belltown was its usual interesting ...
read moreGreta Matassa: Portrait
Greta Matassa has made choices in her career that have sacrificed some visibility in exchange for lifestyle. Yet the Seattle based vocal artist has established herself firmly as one of America's finest singers, and one of the best that jazz has to offer in the new century. To this point, the jazz public at large had not heard from Matassa in 11 years, since her last solo Origin release, The Smiling Hour (Origin, 2008). With Portrait (Origin, 2019), ...
read moreAlexa Tarantino: Winds of Change
It is time we stop referring to saxophonist Alexa Tarantino as one of the “on the rise" young stars in jazz. She has arrived, and by the sound of things, she is here to stay. Sure, her new release Winds of Change is her debut solo recording as a leader, but her playing is well documented on her duo release Crossing Paths (Infinite, 2015) with pianist Dariusz Terefenko, as well as Posi-Tone releases with Lauren Sevian and Lioness. She has ...
read moreXavier Lecouturier: Carrier
21 year old drummer and composer Xavier Lecouturier seems like he's been around for a while. There is a maturity about his playing one witnesses on the bandstand, a lack of fear of moving and directing flow, of steering time in waves of variance. The fact of the matter is, he hasn't been here long at all, he has just utilized his strand of opportunity wisely while in Seattle. His time outside the classroom saw him at late night jam ...
read moreNaomi Moon Siegel: Live at Earshot
Trombonist and composer Naomi Moon Siegel burst onto the national scene through eight formative and enlightening years in Seattle. Steeped in the explorative jazz and improvised music scene there, she discovered her unique voice playing in projects such as Wayne Horvitz's Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble, and the folk/jazz duo Syrinx Effect with saxophonist Kate Olson. In 2016 she released her debut album Shoebox View (self produced, 2016), showcasing her compositional talents as well as a trombone style ...
read moreSomething Blue: Maximum Enjoyment
Maximum Enjoyment is a curated effort by Posi-Tone producer Marc Free to feature the label's artists individually and collectively. The recording features a talented front-line of alto saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, trombonist Nick Finzer, and tenor saxophonist Sam Dillon, backed by an uber rhythm section featuring pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Rudy Royston. The compositions chosen for the project are reminiscent of modern jazz in the 1960s, most notably from the Blue Note catalog, something that ...
read moreChuck Deardorf: Perception
Before the tech revolution that has ushered in an era of unprecedented growth and global recognition, the city of Seattle was a bit of an outpost in the world of jazz. Since the 1920s, the city has enjoyed a vibrant and innovative jazz scene, often resulting in local musicians backing major international touring artists. The emerald city has spawned such renowned jazz icons as Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Larry Coryell and Ernestine Anderson as well. In the 1970s ...
read moreElsa Nilsson & Jon Cowherd: After Us
The music of Swedish/American flutist and composer Elsa Nilsson is widely influenced, interconnecting and transcending cultural boundaries from Sweden, to northern Europe, through the heart of American jazz, and stretching south to the sounds of Rio de Janeiro. She willfully takes the leap from one musical outpost to another without compromise, along the way finding interesting and original space to be uniquely herself. This leads to some unconventional aspects of her approach and where the music ultimately travels. She dares ...
read moreChuck Deardorf: Hanging On To The Groove
Bassist Chuck Deardorf has gained a reputation for virtuosity and professionalism over a career that has thus far spanned 40 years. He has been the first call bassist in Seattle for most of his career, playing with some of the most renowned musicians in the history of jazz. For many years, despite having a prolific local jazz scene, the now burgeoning city of Seattle was considered a remote outpost in the jazz world. Many touring musicians would arrive on the ...
read moreJovino Santos Neto Quinteto: Por Causa De Voce
Brazilian pianist/composer Jovino Santos Neto came to the United Startes in 1993, and settled in the city of Seattle. He had visited the city while on tour with the legendary Brazilian musician/composer Hermeto Pascoal, and identified with the physical beauty and cultural landscape of the Pacific Northwest. No matter his global location, Santos Neto is not only a remarkable musician and composer, he is as well the caretaker, or curator of the compositions of the visionary Pascoal. Through his own ...
read moreShowcase
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Playing The Room by Avishai Cohen - Trumpet
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Roma by Enrico Rava
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A Moment of You by Daniela Soledade
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It's Morning by Led Bib
