KNKX Studio Sessions

In early September, KNKX connected to listeners and supporters at The Coda in Victoria, B.C. for a first-ever studio session recorded in Canada. The session featured their hometown modern jazz group Astrocolor.

The event was also a 10th anniversary celebration for KNKX. IN 2016, KNKX, previously KPLU, received new call letters and became community-owned. Listeners in Victoria, B.C. tune into KNKX through the Port Angeles transmitter at 89.3 FM.

Astrocolor formed 11 years ago as a collaboration between DJ and producer Neil James Cook-Dallin and the instrumental jazz-funk group Weird Party.

After Cook-Dallin recorded a Weird Party album, they got an idea to combine their projects.

“I’d been hearing people in the late-'90s sampling old jazz records. Rather than chase down the licensing for old samples, we came up with the idea, ‘what if we were our own samples?’" Dallin said.

The Astrocolor project has explored different ways to combine the electronic and improvisational sides of their music over the years, touching on several genres while cementing their own sound.

The production on Astrocolor’s recordings is pristine, and this live performance showed the organic energy of jazz-informed musicians that makes this band so compelling.

“Virtually everybody in the band is a multi-instrumentalist, also producers and engineers in their own right, so there’s a really diverse palate in this band and we try to make the most of it," Cook-Dallin said.

Singer Lindsay Bryan brings added versatility to Astrocolor’s music. Her ability to work in multiple genres makes her a perfect fit for this ever-evolving ensemble. Bryan’s dreamy, slightly melancholy delivery on the new single “Planted a Flag” is layered beautifully in the arrangement.

The packed house at The Coda was a mix of longtime KNKX listeners and devoted Astrocolor fans. The event was a wonderful way to connect lovers of this public radio station and one of Canada’s finest modern bands.

Musicians:

• Neil James Cook-Dallin - keyboards, percussion
• Piers Henwood - keyboards
• Anand Greenwell - saxophone
• Andrew Poirier - guitar
• Dave Hyldig - bass
• Amrit Basi - drums
• Lindsay Bryan - vocals

Songs:

1. Star Swing
2. Nightflight
3. Planted a Flag
4. Hard Yes

The KNKX studios were shaking to the sounds of The Rumble, the seven-piece Grammy-nominated Mardi Gras Indian band that blends New Orleans brass bands, funk, jazz, and hip-hop.

The Rumble just released their new album, Ain't No Dying. Fronted by Big Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr., The Rumble carries forward the legacy of Mardi Gras Indian funk; a genre pioneered in the 1970s by Joseph’s father Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Wild Magnolias.

The Rumble come from the Black Masking Indian tradition, which has been a part of New Orleans culture since the 1800s. At that time, Black people were not allowed to be part of official Mardi Gras celebrations. So, they created their own traditions that paid homage to the Native Americans who helped escaped slaves to freedom.

During the visit to KNKX, Boudreaux also celebrated the garb of this Black Masking tradition, wearing a magnificent, handmade suit of beads and feathers.

The band takes their name from the sound of the Mardi Gras parade as it gets closer: the distant rumble of drums, tambourines and chants of parade marchers.

New Orleans funk music is frequently referred to as “second line” music. Boudreaux explained that second line is part of the city's tradition of musical funeral parades, which escort the body of the deceased from church to cemetery.

The first line of the parade is people from the family and close friends, accompanied by slow hymns and dirges. The second line represents the rest of the community, who are invited to come out and dance. The deceased is not just mourned; they also are celebrated.

Celebrate the evolution of New Orleans music with The Rumble and Chief Joseph Boudreaux, Jr., and feel the energy of this long, beautiful tradition.

Musicians:

• Big Chief Joseph Boudreaux, Jr. - vocals and percussion
• Aurélien Barnes - trumpet
• José Maize Jr. - trombone
• Ari Teitel - guitar
• Andriu Yanovski - keyboards
• T.J. Norris - bass
• Trenton O'Neal - drums

Songs:

1. What They Say
2. No Dying
3. Second Line for Me

John Primer is one of the last traditional blues players with a direct link to the original world of Chicago blues. He played guitar with some of the city’s best-known musicians, including Willie Dixon, Magic Slim and Muddy Waters, for whom he served as guitarist and bandleader from 1980 to 1983.

Primer has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. He’s made 17 albums of his own and has played on hundreds more.

His new album, Tribute to Theresa’s Lounge, honors the legendary Chicago blues club where he was bandleader for seven years during the 1970s, backing up virtually every blues artist in the city, including Junior Wells and James Cotton.

After delivering a romping four-song set, Primer said he feels like he was born to play the blues. He grew up in a family where virtually everyone played an instrument and sang. After studying recordings of Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters and other early blues stars, he developed his own blues sound.

Primer came to Chicago in 1963 at the age of 18, determined to break into the blues scene. He started playing for tips on the city's historic Maxwell Street, quickly earning the respect of the city’s blues community.

Dixon, a legendary blues producer and songwriter, hired Primer for his band, Chicago Blues All-Stars, and following his time with Muddy Waters, he toured the world with award-winning blues band Magic Slim and the Teardrops.

Primer learned many lessons working with these blues giants. Dixon, one of the most prolific songwriters in the blues, told him to always write down his song lyrics. Primer has written down over 200 songs.

Waters told him to keep it simple and to play with feeling, which is exactly what Primer did in this rousing electric blues session for KNKX.

Musicians:

• John Primer - vocals, guitar
• Steve Bell - harmonica
• Brady Kish - bass
• David Hudson - drums

Songs:

1. Hard Working Woman
2. 7 Nights for 7 Years
3. Hard Times
4. I Called My Baby

Guitarist Amani Burnham is one of the bright young stars of the blues world. His debut record, Roots and Wings, just came out on one of the world's leading blues labels, Blind Pig Records.

On the heels of that release, KNKX caught up with the guitarist to record a studio session and talk about his blossoming career.

Burnham grew up listening to rock music at home. Eventually, he started his own musical journey by learning how to play the drums, inspired in part by Ringo Starr of The Beatles. Two years later he switched to guitar, citing Chuck Berry as his first guitar hero.

He was in high school during the pandemic lockdown and took that opportunity to develop his guitar skills. Burnham's guitar technique is unusual. He gets a warmer sound by using his extended thumb, rather than a pick, to strike the strings. And, unlike many lead guitarists, he simply plays through one overdrive pedal.

Burnham is currently employing the power trio format favored by Cream, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix. It’s natural to compare his blues-rock to Hendrix's, but it’s something Burnham seems careful not to overplay.

Burnham's talent was discovered last year on Instagram by Blind Pig’s Jeff Schroedl, who also helped steer the 21-year-old through the process of recording his first album. His next record is already in the works.

The other members of Burnham’s band are around his age. He thinks it’s important for young people to see live music played by their contemporaries. The shows that have been his favorite to play were for college crowds, who likely didn’t know anything about blues, but loved the energy.

Musicians:

• Amani Burnham - guitar, vocals
• Garret Lutzo - bass
• Henry Maass - drums

Songs:

1. Bluejay
2. I Wanna Know
3. Sideways Thru Time
4. Muffin Man (Frank Zappa)

After over a decade, pianist-composer Ann Reynolds returned to KNKX with more music celebrating the vibrancy of Afro-Cuban music.

Since her last session, Reynolds has released two albums: Joy (2019), recorded partly in Havana with Cuban jazz luminaries, and the trio album Inspired by Women Composers (2021), which won the Earshot Golden Ear Award for Best NW Jazz Recording.

In conversation with KNKX, Reynolds reflected on how her relationship with Cuban music has evolved over the last decade.

While she used to visit Cuba annually, she hasn't been back since 2020 due to the pandemic and because she's not convinced that traveling there and sharing in the limited resources Cubans have is the most “helpful” action at the moment.

So, Reynolds continues to spread the joy and history of Afro-Cuban music around the Pacific Northwest, respecting its originators while also adding her own flair.

Her band Clave Gringa brought warmth and focus to the room as they moved fluidly through each song. Nathaniel Schleimer gave character and depth to the music on flute and tenor sax, Mike Mines shone bright and powerfully on trumpet, and Andy Zadrozny performed with polish on bass.

Percussionist Willie Garza, who local Latin jazz fans might recognize from his work with The Rumba Kings and Todo Es, kept the whole thing together with his sensitive approach to the clave, a foundational percussion instrument and rhythmic pattern that defines Afro-Cuban music.

The band took the room through the many sounds of Afro-Cuban jazz.

The quasi-invocational opener “Trickster," inspired by the orisha, or deity, Elègua, unfolded slowly and reflected the deity's playful, trickster spirit.

In “Dancing with Your Shadow,” an evocative bolero-son, a type of Cuban song that combines the lyricism of bolero with the rhythmic groove of the son cubano, Schleimer's flute played emotionally opposite Reynolds’ bittersweet melodies.

The final tune, conjured sonic images of Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk's bebop and the big band sounds of Latin jazz innovators Mario Bauzà, Machito, and Chico O'Farill.

Reynolds' deep respect for the Afro-Cuban jazz tradition and her ability to adapt it through her own voice with joy and care was palpable throughout the session. She may not be traveling to Cuba as she once did, but the music she makes in the Pacific Northwest with Clave Gringa carries the same spirit of connection and celebration that first drew her to the island over 25 years ago.

This summer, catch Reynolds and the band perform as the Clave Gringa Sextet on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 3 PM at Edmonds City Park for a free concert of Afro-Cuban jazz on the lawn.

Musicians:

• Ann Reynolds - piano
• Nathaniel Schleimer - sax, flute
• Mike Mines - trumpet
• Andy Zadrozny - bass
• Willie Garza - congas, percussion

Songs:

1. Trickster
2. Dancing with Your Shadow
3. On the Run

Recently, Judith Hill made a return trip to KNKX, following her last visit from 2023. Once again, her backing band included her father Robert Lee “Pee Wee” Hill on bass and her mother Michiko Hill on keyboards. Hill was in town for an exclusive performance at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.

In this three-song set, Hill proved to be a remarkably fluid guitarist, shifting between syncopated funk and stinging blues, while the band executed her complex arrangements seamlessly. She also gave a taste of the vocal pyrotechnics that got her on the television show "The Voice" in 2013.

With both parents well-known funk and jazz musicians in Los Angeles, California, Hill grew up in a house full of music-makers including singer-keyboardists Billy Preston and Sly and the Family Stone's Rose Stone, who was also a mentor.

Beyond her time on "The Voice," Hill has sung with Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Prince, who produced her 2015 album Back in Time. She was featured in the 2013 documentary "20 Feet From Stardom," which won both a Grammy and an Oscar.

Hill's most recent release, her fifth, was the autobiographical Letters from a Black Widow from 2024.

In the KNKX studios, Hill's band was tight yet relaxed in a way that only comes from years of playing together. Drummer Shadrack Oppong is the “new guy” who’s been with them for 2 years. He displayed remarkable ensemble and solo playing, utilizing a non-traditional set of cymbals, some of which were bent out of shape.

In our brief conversation that followed the set, Hill said that blues is the foundation of every song she does. She also explained her move from keyboards to guitar, which Hill finds to be more expressive. In her words: “You can’t bend a string on the piano."

Finally, Hill teased her next release, which brought cheers of anticipation from the studio audience.

Musicians:

• Judith Hill - guitar, vocals
• Michiko Hill - keyboards
• Robert "Peewee" Hill - bass
• Shadrack Oppong - drums

Songs:

1. Runaway Train
2. Flame
3. I Can Only Love You by Fire

Just a few weeks before graduation, four talented seniors with the jazz band at the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences strode confidently into the KNKX Seattle studios to perform.

Sebastian Huang (piano, keys, vocals), Zach Fringer (guitar), Trammell Whitfield (bass) and Jack Matson (drums) performed a pair of original tunes and an early-'70s jazz fusion classic—proof that this quartet take a modern view of the jazz world.

Their mentor, guitarist Andy Coe, recalled his own education at Roosevelt High School, the transition to a premiere jazz department at the University of North Texas, and a brief stay in New York City. Coe says those experiences connected him with countless musicians around the world. He encouraged his mentees to expect the same.

Stuart MacDonald, a saxophonist and fellow graduate of Roosevelt, has been directing the jazz band at S.A.A.S. for six years. He acknowledged his fellow arts educators for setting these musicians up for success.

MacDonald's generation of jazz students didn’t have the opportunities his students have to see and play live jazz in the Northwest. He called the jazz scene today an “embarrassment of riches.”

With Coe lending the support of his experience and a few tasty guitar solos, the musicians in this Seattle Academy jazz band showed an affinity for modern grooves.

A bouncy cover of the Billy Cobham hit “Red Baron” showed the band’s cohesion, with each player listening and reacting to their bandmates.

Coe explained that the band’s opening number, tentatively titled “The Whole Enchilada,” was arranged at one of just two practices leading up to this KNKX session. Modern pop and soul elements give this song a fresh sound.

Huang switched between acoustic piano and electric keyboards throughout the performance and sang an original called “Riptide.” He said the song was written at Matson’s house for another funk-forward band he, Matson, and Fringer are in called Paper Cuts.

Each of these seniors has big plans for next year. Huang is headed to New York University, Matson will also be in New York at the New School, Fringer’s off to Drexler University in Philadelphia, and Trammell said he’ll be studying engineering in the Bay Area.

Their sound is remarkably mature. Odds are we’ll hear more music from these cats down the road.

Musicians:

• Sebastian Huang - piano/keys/vocals
• Zach Fringer - guitar
• Trammell Whitfield - bass
• Jack Matson - drums
• Andy Coe (mentor) - guitar

Songs:

1. The Whole Enchilada (Huang/Fringer/Whitfield/Matson/Coe)
2. Red Baron (Billy Cobham)
3. Riptide (Huang/Fringer/Whitfield/Matson)

Martin Taylor and Bruce Forman brought their musical camaraderie to the KNKX studios for a wonderful session featuring their guitars in swinging conversation. Taylor and Forman were in town for an exclusive performance at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.

Each musician's accent places them on opposite sides of the world. Taylor is an Englishman who launched his career in violinist Stephane Grappelli’s hot swing band, meanwhile Forman is a so-called “jazz cowboy” from Texas and accomplished cross-genre player now living in California.

While supporting a solo from Taylor, Forman laughed at his friend's impressive playing. He later explained, “that’s what jazz is. We’re always listening to each other. When you’re in a conversation, you can always… everything from support it, to comment on it, to just blurt something out! We all react to it and deal with it.”

These two have known each other since the early '80s, but have recently taken the opportunity to collaborate. It’s a friendship built on their love of music and archtop guitars, a distinctive type of guitar with a curved top that's typically played in jazz and swing settings.

In 2022, Jazz Guitar Today documented Forman’s acquisition of a very special archtop; the well-loved axe of jazz legend Barney Kessel. Both Forman and Taylor have shared videos playing the antique instrument, smiling broadly as they strummed chords Kessel made famous on recordings with Julie London, Oscar Peterson and others.

As young musicians, both Forman and Taylor were able to play with Kessel. They love sharing stories about their hero and the only guitar he played for more than 50 years.

“Guitar players are not generally monogamous...with guitars," Forman said.

“You got me worried there!," Taylor said, with a laugh.

As Taylor and Forman swung through three standards and an improvised blues, the mood in the room was jovial and worry-free.

Musicians:

• Martin Taylor - guitar
• Bruce Forman - guitar

Songs:

1. Stompin' at the Savoy
2. Bluesette
3. Broadway
4. Blues Improvisation

Pianist Lynne Arriale is a master of making her audience feel something when she plays. For more than 30 years, Arriale has explored the emotional possibilities of the piano trio.

“Emotion through sound, that’s a very, very deep subject,” she said.

Along with a busy career as an educator, Arriale has released 17 albums as bandleader. Almost all of them feature the classic line-up of piano, bass, and drums.

This was Arriale’s third KNKX studio session, and her trio played three songs from her 2024 album Being Human, exploring the emotional states that we all share.

She dedicated the lovely, urgent tune “Passion” to young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Her song “Love” is a tender ballad with hints of melancholy. “Joy” concluded the performance with a thrilling Caribbean beat that had the studio audience smiling and moving in their seats.

Arriale had arrived early to the KNKX studios to rehearse with bassist Ethan Philion and drummer Tanner Guss. She’d worked with both musicians, but they hadn’t played with each other until this studio session performance.

Both young rhythm section players fit Arriale’s music nicely while also making impressive solo statements. Philion and Guss seemed to enjoy their first musical interaction with playing beautifully both melodically and rhythmically.

For her part, Arriale found this new trio exciting, calling the experience “kind of magical when you think about it. The shape of the music can change with different energies interpreting it.”

Enjoy this energetic and emotional adventure with the Lynne Arriale trio in the KNKX studios.

Musicians:

• Lynne Arriale - piano
• Ethan Philion - bass
• Tanner Guss - drums

Songs:

1. Passion
2. Love
3. Joy

Fantastic Negrito’s life has been a series of reinventions.

In the '90s, he signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Interscope Records as the R&B singer Xavier. He then was in a near-fatal car wreck that crippled his right hand and left him in a coma for four weeks. Following his recovery, he left the music business and invested in a cannabis farm in Oakland, Calif.

After starting a family, he felt drawn back to music, but this time he would do it on his own terms. He started by busking at Bay Area train stations. It was there that he met the person who convinced him to apply for the first ever NPR Tiny Desk contest in 2015, which he won, and it was then that he chose his new persona: Fantastic Negrito.

Since then, he has released seven albums and won three Grammy awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album. His most recent release Son of a Broken Man came in 2024, and he has a live album scheduled for release in the summer of 2026.

Listen to this remarkable five-song performance from the KNKX studios and enjoy a Fantastic Negrito mini-album created on the spot and in the moment.

Musicians:

• Xavier Dphrepaulezz - vocals, piano
• Bryan Simmons - keyboards, backing vocals
• Vincent Maclauchlan - guitar
• Uriah Duffy - bass, backing vocals
• Brian Braziel - drums

Songs:

1. Beat Salad
2. Your Sex is Overrated
3. California Loner
4. Computers
5. Plastic Hamburgers