KNKX Studio Sessions

For her third appearance in the KNKX studios, Anat Cohen brought along Trio Brasileiro, the group that presents the very popular spring choro workshops at Centrum in Port Townsend. Brazilian choro music is a cousin of jazz, mixing European melodic and harmonic traditions with African rhythms and sensibilities. The word choro means “cry” or “lament,” but much of the music sounds bright and peppy. There’s a very subtle touch of sadness and longing, which Brazilians call “saudade.” There was no

Growing up in upstate New York, you might expect a young jazz talent to head for the Big Apple, the legendary "jazz center of the world," but trumpeter Samantha Boshnack came to Seattle. She'll tell you it was a great decision. Sam is a dedicated composer as well as player, and she told us about working with her large ensemble, the B'shnorchestra, that working with those she admires as players and people is what she loves about jazz. Live in the KNKX studios, it was obvious that her band loves

In 2013, Juan de Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All-Stars performed at KCTS9 television for our first “remote” Studio Session. This time, KNKX took over the Moore Theatre in Seattle for the afternoon with this multi-faceted and most talented band. The Afro-Cuban All-Stars include Juan de Marcos’ accomplished daughters Gliceria (vibes and keyboards) and Laura (clarinets), as well as his wife and band manager Gliceria on percussion. Juan de Marcos directs the band with tremendous energy, and plays the

On her debut album as a leader, trombone player, composer and producer Naomi Moon Siegel utilizes the talents of 13 of her musical friends, but live in the KNKX studios, she treated us to an intimate version with her trombone and sparse electric keys alongside guitarist Sean Woolstenhulme's delicate and ethereal playing. The result was a distillation, a close-up, of the beautiful music on "Shoebox View." The mellow tone of her trombone spoke like a human voice to our studio audience, with

If you were to take a look at Grace Kelly’s resume, you might assume she’s in her fifties or sixties. To her credit, she has 10 album releases (including the recently released "Trying To Figure It Out"), several awards, performances with the Boston Pops, a performance for President Obama, and collaborations with dozens of top flight musicians. But she has done all of this by age 24. Grace spent much of 2016 with television bands, including the house band for "Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Jazz fans talk often about the need to introduce the music to younger fans. Live in the KNKX studios, drummer Sammy Miller and his band of 20-somethings are getting their attention by having fun. Their just-released debut "The Mixtape" is a solid document, but the real fun is in seeing this group in action live. Working a few originals into their energized versions of classic jazz and vaudeville-era pop tunes, this is a band determined to entertain you, in the tradition of scarf-waving Louis

Goodness knows how he finds the time - Robert Glasper has released three albums over the past couple of years, toured the world with his band, produced records for others, and still made it out to mentor a select group of young Northwest musicians for the 16th annual More Music @ the Moore concert, March 25. After a few days of auditions, a select group of musicians from 14 to 21 were chosen to participate in this unique mentoring opportunity. Live on 88.5, our studio audience was charmed by the

When The James Hunter 6 invaded the KNKX studios, we surrendered without a fight. We surrendered to their high spirits, their musicianship and their great R&B grooves. British singer/guitarist, James Hunter became known to American blues lovers in 2006 with his release, “People Gonna Talk.” People certainly did talk and word quickly got around that James and his band were the real deal, playing wall-to-wall soul music and putting on great shows. On tour with their latest release, “Hold On,”

It was a little early for guitarist Jimmy James, and he told his band mates he was feeling cranky. But having just come off a pair of road trip Northwest tours, it was all in the family with Delvon Lamarr and drummer David McGraw (co-founder with James of the hot Seattle soul group The True Loves) pushing their friend's buttons until everyone was laughing. This good-time feeling filled our studios as the DLO3 gave us three cool groovers soaked in the '60s and '70s traditions of funky organ,

We were delighted to welcome pianist Jovino Santos Neto back to our studios for a live Jazz Caliente studio session, this time with his Quarteto: Chuck Deardorff on bass, Jeff Busch on drums and percussion, and Ben Thomas on vibes and bandoneon (aka “squeezebox”). This collection of outstanding musicians and respected music educators gave us a glimpse of beautiful Brazil, and we discussed, among other things, the diversity of musical styles in that country. Jovino radiates a positive energy when