Jazz Northwest

Continuing a series of concerts recorded at this year's Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle, Jazz Northwest presents highlights from "Night Of The Cookers" featuring trumpet players Brian Lynch and Thomas Marriott recorded in concert at Tula's in Seattle.

One of our favorite themes on Jazz Northwest is exploring jazz with a Pacific Northwest connection from then 'til now. This week, we debut two new releases separated by some 50 years. From the 1960s, The Three Sounds led by pianist Gene Harris are heard at Seattle's legendary Penthouse jazz club, and from 2016, The Westerlies, four brass players from Seattle now New York-based, who seem to have created an entirely new genre of music somewhere between chamber music and jazz with surprises along

One of the most admired and celebrated improvising pianists of his generation; Fred Hersch played a solo concert on the opening weekend of the 2016 Earshot Festival. Playing the Steinway concert grand at Cornish College, he delighted a full house at Poncho Concert Hall. Included were several of his own compositions as well as unique arrangements of a few standards. The concert was recorded for broadcast and an hour of highlights will air on Sunday, November 6 at 2 PM Pacific on Jazz Northwest on

The Kareem Kandi Band was presented this month by Earshot Jazz as part of the Art of Jazz Series at the Seattle Art Museum, and the current Earshot Jazz Festival. The deep groove and soulful swing of the trio recalls the organ trios of the '60s in Philadelphia, Detroit and other urban centers, and took the chill off the blustery October night outside SAM's First Avenue windows. The group consists of Kareem Kandi, tenor sax, Delvon Lamarr, Hammond B3 Organ, and Max Wood on drums. The concert was

Several new and forthcoming releases will be highlighted on Jazz Northwest this Sunday, October 23 on 88.5 knkx. Two are bicoastal 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

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 p.m. 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

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, D.C. The program also highlights best bets for live jazz in the coming week. Jazz Northwest airs each Sunday at 2 p.m. Pacific on 88.5 knkx, and streams at knkx.org . The

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

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

Between the small combo and the big band there exists the little big band. Eight to 10 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