Results for "Seattle"

Origin Records: Creating Opportunities and Community

by Jakob Baekgaard
July 30, 2018

Being a jazz musician sometimes seems like a life ruled by jungle law. Everyone fights for gigs and puts out music on “labels" with only one artist. However, it doesn't have to be this way. Origin Records is an example of a modern artist driven label that has grown through collaboration and community. As Matt Jorgensen, ...

Bad Luck

Over half a decade after their first performance, drummer Chris Icasiano and saxophonist Neil Welch continue to develop a unique musical voice together. Bad Luck has become a sonic outlet to be reckoned with. In the highly trodden medium of drums and saxophone, Bad Luck proves that there is much left to be said. Called “One of the best Seattle jazz recordings in years” (Earshot Jazz) Bad Luck was awarded the “Best Outside Jazz Group” of 2009 by Earshot Magazine, and a finalist for “Best Avant Group” in the 2009 Inside Out awards. Performing all original compositions, the pair use live loops and pedals to create an astounding range of sound

Christopher Icasiano

Born: January 23, 1986

Chris Icasiano is quickly establishing himself as a force in Seattle's new music and avant-garge jazz scene. He performs regularly in the co-led duo Bad Luck with long-time friend and collaborator, saxophonist Neil Welch, which was recently awarded the 2009 Alternative Jazz Group of the Year by Earshot Jazz. Bad Luck's self-titled debut album was received with much critical acclaim and has been described as, "...one of the finest Seattle Jazz recordings in years - fresh, assured, mature way beyond it's players' ages." (Peter Monaghan, Earshot Jazz). Icasiano is also a member of the progressive avant-jazz group Speak, which features many of Seattle's most forward-looking, innovative, and creative musicians, focusing predominantly on original composition and collective improvisation

Sidney Hauser: Justice and Jubilation

by Paul Rauch
July 17, 2018

The hiring of young saxophonist Sidney Hauser, to fill the second alto saxophone chair with the prestigious Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra may seem like a musical sidenote to the history of this 17 piece ensemble that was formed in 1995. But considering the marginalization of women instrumentalists in jazz over the course of the genre's history, ...

Sidney Hauser

Born: April 5, 1994

Hailing from Whidbey Idland, Sidney received her BA in Fine Arts and a minor in Music Performance from the University of Washington. She has studied under local artists such as Neil Welch, Michael Brockman and Steve Treseler. She now plays lead alto in the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, second alto in the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and second alto in The Jazz Police. Additionally she plays in a prog rock group, a folk rock band and leads her own fusion group SmackTalk. When she’s not playing music or working full-time, she does commissioned artwork on the side.

2018 Ballard Jazz Festival in Seattle

May 3, 2018

The Ballard Jazz Festival returns with its 16th edition, May 16-19, in Seattle's historic Ballard neighborhood. Clarence Penn & Penn Station, a New York ensemble that includes pianist Geoffrey Keezer, saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, and bassist Yasushi Nakamura, will headline the festival's Mainstage Concert. Swedish trumpeter Oskar Stenmark will open the concert, which in turn celebrates the ...

Jared Hall

Born: May 1, 1985

 Trumpeter, composer and educator Jared Hall hails from Spokane, Washington. He studied at Whitworth University, the Indiana University Jacobs School Of Music and the University Of Miami’s Frost School Of Music, where he received the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in 2015. His primary teachers include Terence Blanchard, Joey Tartell, Dan Keberle, Whit Sidener, David Baker and Brian Lynch, under whom he pursued his doctoral studies. Hall is the winner of the 2013 National Trumpet Competition – Jazz Division, and has performed and recorded with Paquito D’Rivera, Bob Hurst, John Daversa, Arturo Sandoval, Maria Schneider, Vincent Herring, Peter Erskine, Dave Liebman, Alan Pasqua, Brian Lynch, Ira Sullivan, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Terence Blanchard, Rick Margitza, Wycliffe Gordon, David Binney, Johnny Mathis, George Benson, Gloria Estefan, Fred Hersch, Shelly Berg, the South Florida Jazz Orchestra, and the Frost Concert Jazz Band.

Dawn Clement: Here In The Moment

by Paul Rauch
January 23, 2018

Dawn Clement is like a primal force of nature. From being the mother of three young children, to her professorship at Cornish College of the Arts, to her performing career as a touring and recording artist, she maintains a musical standard of excellence achieved by very few. Her piano style is strong and versatile, whether she ...

Jessica Lurie: In It For The Long Haul

by Paul Rauch
January 9, 2018

Jazz music, in all its forms, spread throughout world culture, is deeply embedded in the American experience. It is a culture based phenomena uniquely reflecting that experience in such a personal and expressive way as to embrace the myriad of crosscurrents that express new interpretations of the form. It is deep as the physicality ...

Julian Priester: Reflections in Positivity

by Paul Rauch
December 8, 2017

My task for the day was to interview legendary trombonist/composer, and jazz icon, Julian Priester. We had met a few times over my 35 years of frequenting the jazz scene in Seattle, coinciding with Priester's years teaching at the esteemed Cornish College of the Arts. In anticipation, I had spent nearly two months preparing, reacquainting myself ...