At this year’s TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, KNKX jazz host Abe Beeson had an opportunity to speak with the great jazz pianist Kenny Barron. Now in his 70s, Mr Barron was generous in telling us about his long, exciting career in jazz. From following his older brother from Philadelphia to New York City where he met and worked with James Moody and Dizzy Gillespie, to his own career as a leader beginning in the '70s, to his famous work in Stan Getz last bands, and the young dynamos in

The energy in the KNKX studios was evident just days from graduation for three of the Shorecrest High School Jazz Band's Allstar quintet. With their mentor, saxophonist Mark Taylor's guidance, the fellows found the groove and wouldn't let go. Swinging rhythm met thoughtful solos and wide smiles from the band and our audience, as the bands director, Vince Caruso - in his 7th year at Shorecrest High, beamed with pride. Modern jazz is surely familiar to these musicians, as they showed on Roy

Everett High School seniors Paul Jaton and Ethan Schmidt are KNKX's guest student DJs for June.

Eighteen year-old Shelby Archer goes to Newport High School in Bellevue and plays saxophone in the jazz band. She shares an hour of her favorite jazz with Abe Beeson on Evening Jazz , May 4 from 8-9 p.m. More about Shelby: Which instrument do you play and why? My main instrument is alto saxophone, and I have played that in almost every ensemble I’ve been in up until this year. This year, I play alto in my school’s wind ensemble and I now play tenor in my jazz band. I also play percussion for my

When the teenage all-stars of Five Feet Up came to play live on 88.5 recently, we were excited to see three old/young friends: Bell Thompson and Margaux Bouchegnies on trumpet and bass had performed in our studios as half of the 10 O'Clock Quartet. Guitarist Julia Tanner had played live on 88.5 with her bandmates from the Melba Liston All-Star Combo. Both groups were comprised entirely of female musicians, but for this visit the ladies brought a pair of talented young men. Drummer Henry Mohr

Since she was 14, Seattle jazz singer Greta Matassa has been drawn to the music of Ella Fitzgerald. She considers Ella a major influence and uses her singing as a teaching tool for her voice students. Tuesday is Ella's 100th birthday . To celebrate, Matassa sat down with KNKX to talk about her life with Ella. Matassa and her band will be performing a birthday tribute to Ella Tuesday night at Bake's Place in Bellevue.

In his fourth visit to the KNKX Studio Sessions, we finally put saxman Anton Schwartz together with one of our School of Jazz all-star combos. Lynnwood High School was the beneficiary of Anton's mentoring, and his advice to the teenage musicians sounded just as applicable to life: "You gotta be where you are, not where you want to be. By perfecting where you are, you'll get to where you want to go." The jazz students at Lynnwood High are well on their way, with terrific chemistry within the

This month's guest student DJ, Drew Thomas, plays trumpet in the Lynnwood High School jazz band.

The all-star combo from Juanita High School's jazz band made their studio session on 88.5 with young trumpeter and educator Jared Hall featured on trumpet, and proved they're ready to take their place among the promising teen jazz ensembles around the Northwest. Mr. Hall, himself a native of Spokane, has only recently relocated to the Seattle area after his own jazz education segued into teaching opportunities at the University of Miami. He was impressed with the young eastside swingers, noting

Sixteen year-old Mairead Rising plays tenor saxophone and sings with the Glacier Peak High School Jazz Band in Snohomish, Wash. She shares an hour of her favorite jazz with Abe Beeson on March 2 from 8-9 p.m. on KNKX's Evening Jazz . Check out Mairead's killer version of The Jazz Messengers' "Moanin'" from Glacier Peak's School Of Jazz studio performance from January. Which instrument do you play and why? I play guitar, ukulele, flute and I love to sing but my main instrument is the tenor