KNKX Studio Sessions

Seattle drummer, D’Vonne Lewis is probably the most frequently heard musicians on the knkx Studio Sessions. He’s involved in a number of groups and projects, but we were lucky enough to get his Limited Edition band in for a performance. Along with D’Vonne, you’ll hear Eric Verlinde (piano), Andy Coe (guitar), Farko Dusomov (bass), Cliff Colon (sax), and Jacques Willis (vibes). https://youtu.be/XwzzZgso7zU

A product of Mountlake Terrace High School and Central Washington University's strong jazz programs, Marina Christopher has developed into a multi-talentend, highly in-demand artist on the Seattle jazz scene. She's worked with singers Eugenie Jones, Jacqueline Tabor and Billy Brandt. She leads a soul group called Marina and the Dreamboats. You'll find her playing bass and singing at Sea-Tac Airport now and again, and she brought in five terrific musicians with her to celebrate her latest album,

Mark O'Connor is a flexible master of the violin, or fiddle - depending on the music, earning awards playing classical, jazz, and bluegrass. It's this last style that dominates on his latest album, "Coming Home," which finds Mark joined by his musical family: wife Maggie on violin and vocals, son Forrest on mandolin and vocals, and Forrest's wife Kate Lee also playing violin and on vocals. It was a down-home departure from the usual knkx jazz session, and our studio audience embraced this

The 56th Army Band's jazz group visited our studios for a second time, but with the constant turnover in the military, only bass player Sgt. Nicholas Cressotti remained from the first group. This 5 Man Trio, a name further noting their ever-shifting personnel, brought a fresh look and a fresh sound with them. They talked about the Army's recent emphasis on performance for their musicians, and with Spc. Jessica Hall's magnetic vocal presence pushed to the fore, the 5 Man Trio were here to

Chicago native saxophonist Chico Freeman has spent the last decade being a citizen of the world. Now back in New York City as his home base, he's taken to the road to promote his latest recording, "Spoken Into Existence." We were delighted to welcome Freeman to Seattle, along with bassist Kenny Davis, Luke Carlos O'Reilly at the piano and Michael Baker on drums. Legendary drummer Elvin Jones was a good friend and mentor to Freeman, and the first tune played on this session, "Elvin" is a tribute

We popped up some popcorn for Tony Foster's Project Paradiso - the pianist's tribute to the film music of Ennio Morricone ("Once Upon a Time in America", "Cinema Paradiso" etc.) and Henry Mancini ("Pink Panther", "The Party", etc.). Along with three songs from the new release, we heard from Tony how film scores inspire him and provide rich territory for jazz improvisation. Tony is no stranger to the Northwest, though he's only recently relocated from Vancouver, B.C. to the Seattle area. He told

The Portlanders of Trio Subtonic made a second appearance in our studios armed with material from their new album "Fiction," their first for the ultra-hip Ropeadope record label. It features a pair of cool contemporary covers of songs by Elliott Smith and Sia, and live in our studios the band played the Black Keys' "Little Black Submarines", but it's their original songs that really shine. Along with Galen Clark's fluid playing on keys, bassist/songwriter Bill Athens and drummer Russ Kleiner

Back in 1999, and out of nowhere, the KNKX (then ‘KPLU’) music department received a CD called "About Time" by a mandolin player named Don Stiernberg. Frankly, it didn’t look all that promising but, of course, we gave it a listen. To our collective surprise, it was delightful and we began playing it on the air, much to the delight of our listeners. That was the first (and almost the last) time we heard from the guy. Fast forward 16 or 17 years and, lo and behold, we find out that Don Stiernberg

Singer Duffy Bishop has been active (often overactive!) for years on the Northwest blues and R&B scene. Several years ago, she expanded her audience when she began doing cabaret shows at venues including Seattle’s Tiatro Zinzani. In this studio session, Duffy and her ace band play three smokin’ tunes. She also talks to KPLU (KNKX?) All Blues host, John Kessler, about her cabaret work. https://youtu.be/zufg3XkqEfQ

Janis Siegel, Alan Paul and Cheryl Bentyne have been plenty busy working on their own solo projects, as well as working with countless bands around the world. But the passing of their collaborator (and the group's founder) Tim Hauser in October of 2014 had many of their fans thinking the Manhattan Transfer may have rolled into the station for the last time. Happily, there's no stopping the world's premier vocal group. They've permanently added Trist Curless, longtime member of the vocal group "m