Jazz Northwest

Portland's outstanding jazz singer Nancy King has been nominated in the jazz vocal category of the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. An underground favorite for decades, Nancy King has played international festivals and small jazz clubs, with orchestras and in duos in every type of venue imaginable. A skilled improvising jazz vocalist who can be favorably compared to Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter and Sheila Jordan, she's always gone her own way with her extraordinary ability to bridge the vocal

Three great singers with roots in black church music were featured in concert singly and together at Centrum's Jazz Port Townsend last July. "Raising Voices" featured Dee Daniels, Cedric Dent and Niki Haris each singing a pair of songs and joining for the finale in the concert which brings together spirituals, blues and jazz and demonstrates their common heritage. Accompanying the singers were Sullivan Fortner, piano, Jon Hamar, bass and Joe LaBarbera. Dee Daniels began singing in her stepfather

This week's show samples upcoming performances by the Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra, Duende Libre, Kareem Kandi, Greta Matassa and others, plus a new Christmas album with Eugene, Oregon trumpet and flugelhorn player Tony Glausi. Also this week, The Garfield Jazz Ensemble in part of their 2017 Essentially Ellington performance in NYC, and The Three Sounds at The Penthouse in Seattle in the Sixties.

Among the many holiday musical traditions is The Roosevelt Jazz Band's "Jazz Nutcracker" which has been presented annually in Seattle since 2000.

Hear highlights from a concert by The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra with special guest Wycliffe Gordon recorded last weekend at The Kirkland Performance center. Wycliffe Gordon is a multi award and poll-winning trombonist, in addition to playing the trumpet and singing, he also conducted SRJO. Wycliffe Gordon also composed most of the music in this hour of highlights.

With an outstanding jazz faculty assembled for its annual Jazz Workshop, Centrum's Jazz Port Townsend has a ready all-star big band to play the festival on the last weekend of July each year. With soloists in every chair, this becomes one of the best bands on the planet for one weekend. This year was no exception. Led by Jazz Port Townsend Artistic Director John Clayton, this year's Festival Big Band featured many outstanding soloists, including Matt Wilson, Dan Marcus, Alex Dugdale, Sean Jones,

Jazz Northwest marks the Buddy Rich and Dizzy Gillespie centennials in 2017 with radio aircheck recordings produced in the 60s by host Jim Wilke. The Buddy Rich Big Band played a live broadcast from D.J.'s on Fourth Avenue in 1968, The Dizzy Gillespie Quintet played a live broadcast from The Penthouse in 1966. Also included on this program are samples of some upcoming Earshot Jazz Festival performers - Edward Simon, Gregory Porter, and Amina Figarova.

John Gilbreath, Executive Director of Earshot Jazz will talk about some of the international artists including Afro-Cuban pianist and band leader Omar Sosa (October 15), and Azerbaijan-born pianist and composer Amina Figarova (November 4) who studied in the Netherlands and now lives in New York . Drummer Matt Wilson will celebrate poet Carl Sandburg who was born in Illinois near where Matt Wilson was born. Matt Wilson will make 3 appearances with three different ensembles including the Roosevelt

New faces and fresh talent at Centrum's Jazz Port Townsend in 2017 included alto saxophonist Tia Fuller and pianist Sullivan Fortner who fronted a quartet with bassist Doug Weis and drummer Kendrick Scott. The performance in McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden was recorded for radio and will air on Jazz Northwest on Sunday, October 8 at 2 PM Pacific on 88.5 KNKX. All four musicians also served on the faculty of the Jazz Workshop during the week before the festival. Tia Fuller was recently featured

The 29th annual Earshot Jazz Festival (October 8-November 12) will be sampled and previewed this week on Jazz Northwest. Earshot Jazz Executive Director John Gilbreath joins us to sample and discuss some of the more than 50 events during the five-week festival. Included will be several events in a centennial salute to pianist-composer Thelonious Monk. Seattle pianists Overton Berry and Dawn Clement will be featured along with many international and regional artists and rising stars. Learn more