KNKX Studio Sessions

Bria Skonberg and her quartet treated KNKX to a wonderful studio performance filled with original tunes back in September. The group featured Mathis Picard on piano, Devin Starks bass and Darrian Douglas on drums. The group began with an original song called “Time to Go,” which Skonberg said felt fitting since she’s been traveling and touring and always feels on the go as she moves from place to place. It was a fun lively piece. The group was asked about how they started their musical journey.

Chris Icasiano and Neil Welch were both studying jazz at the University of Washington when they formed Bad Luck. Now, after more than a decade of thinking beyond the limits of genre classifications, the band and their fans have no need to define this music. Mixing free jazz with folk, metal and electronic styles, Bad Luck are a band in pursuit. Icasiano and Welch both mentioned feeling better about their music than they ever have, now four albums and ten years along. Performing live in our

When great musicians push themselves to do something different, it can be an exciting prospect. Christian McBride's New Jawn is a great example of that. And when those musicians really enjoy that challenge, that's when the magic of jazz happens. After a pair of successful trio albums and a Grammy-winning big band release a year ago, McBride's latest outfit is pianoless. In the tradition of similar bands, such as Ornette Coleman's two-horns-bass-and-drums quartet, the lack of chordal instruments

Nancy stopped by our Seattle studios for a Live Studio Session to promote her new album “Here & Now.” Joining her was the 200 Trio with Cole Schuster on guitar, Greg Feingold on bass and Max Holmberg on drums and Saxophonist Alex Dugdale. Erickson’s delightful warm and wise voice filled our studios as she began singing her own composition ‘Let Love Begin.’ The song inspired by a budding relationship where there was some reluctance from the other party, the song actually worked to win her

You could tell by the smiles on the musicians backing singer Johnaye Kendrick in the KNKX studios, they really enjoy working with her. Since her arrival teaching at Cornish College nearly a decade ago, Kendrick is proving to be a musician's singer. When it comes down to it, though, Kendrick is a musician. She's spent years studying jazz, including the Thelonious Monk Institute and Loyola University. Now a Professor of Music in Seattle, her bio at Cornish refers exclusively to her jazz bona fides

Victor Wooten's trio is a powerhouse outfit, even when it's just a duo. A saxophonist working with just bass and drums usually has a lot of work to do, but sax/flute player Bob Franceschini told me that working with Wooten and Dennis Chambers on bass and drums is a different story. Even without Chambers' drumming, Victor Wooten was more than able to provide a fat rhythm section on his own live in the KNKX studios. Franceschini did provide some rhythm on sax, in tight collaboration with Wooten's

Dmitri Matheny is one of the country's preeminent flugelhorn players, and a serious movie lover. In his second performance in the KNKX studios, Dmitri returned to a pair of film melodies and gave us a look at an upcoming project with a pair of top Seattle jazz musicians and two more from out of town. Singer Holly Pyle is a friend of Dmitri's from the Phoenix area, an exciting vocalist who's known to push beyond the limits of jazz. She's an expert in looping vocal effects and also has experience

Cary Morin is simply one of the best acoustic guitarists you are likely to hear, and a master storyteller as well. His 2017 album Cradle to the Grave was on my Top 10 List for the year in Blues, and also received rave reviews from the Bluegrass and Folk communities. A Crow tribal member from Montana, he now makes his home in Northern Colorado, where he has won numerous awards from the Colorado Blues Society. Prior to his career as a solo artist, Cary worked with a world-beat band called The

Eric ‘Two Scoops’ Moore is a singer/songwriter/pianist/poet/artist. He has a joyous, honky-tonk heart and lots of songs about food. Also songs about love, busted-down cars, having two left hands and whatever else comes to his unique mind. In this studio session, accompanied by Kevin ‘Muscle Mouth’ Buster on alto saxophone, Scoops served up a few of his classic numbers: Big Buffet, Tip Well, Left-Handed, Hamburger Time, You Don’t Have To Be Good Lookin’, and Make Me Some Time To Go Home . His

Seattle native Kassa Overall came up drumming in the celebrated Garfield High School jazz band, but he's always been exploring the action behind the scenes in music. Early opportunities with samplers and keyboards led Overall to a passion for not just making music, but producing music for himself and others. Settling in New York about a decade ago, he's been busy in both rolls, and then some. Kassa Overall found employment and educational opportunities with brilliant pianist Geri Allen's band,