Seattle Jazz at the JEN Conference
Seattle jazz educators fly to Dallas in the first week of January to perform and teach at the Jazz Education Network Conference. The Bellevue College Vocal Jazz Ensemble, with Jim Sisko (trumpet), and the Jovino Santos Neto Quinteto, with Johnaye Kendrick (vocals), Ben Thomas (vibraphone), Chuck Deardorf (bass), Mark Ivester (drums) and Jeff Busch (percussion) perform, Santos Neto teaches “Ginga: The Rhythmic Language of Brazilian Music,” and pianist Randy Halberstadt teaches “Wrapping Your Ears Around a Tune.” More about the JEN conference, January 8-11, at jazzednet.org.
Seattle High School Jazz at the Savannah Music Festival
Twelve of the country’s top high school jazz bands have been selected to participate in the ninth annual Swing Central Jazz High School Jazz Band Competition & Workshop, produced by the Savannah Music Festival (SMF), March 26-28. Pianist and composer Marcus Roberts leads 23 musicians/educators as the Associate Artistic Director. Participating students work with jazz masters across three days, perform in showcases on Savannah’s River Street and Reynolds Square and play in competition rounds for up to $13,000 in cash awards. From the Seattle area, Ballard High School Jazz Band, Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz Ensemble I, and Newport High School Jazz I will attend. More at www.savannahmusicfestival.org.
Steve Griggs, CMA/ASCAP Award
Writer and saxophonist Steve Griggs is among the 2014 recipients of a CMA/ASCAP award for adventurous programming. The annual awards recognize U.S.-based professional ensembles and presenters for distinctive programming of music composed within the past 25 years. The recipients were evaluated on the basis of their programming and innovations in attracting audiences to performances of new music. Three ensembles and five presenters have been selected, and the awards will be presented at the Chamber Music America National Conference on Sunday, January 19, in New York. Congratualtions, Steve Griggs
Jazz Radio
88.5 KPLU hosts Saturday Jazz Matinee, Jazz Sunday Side Up, Ken Wiley’s the Art of Jazz and Jim Wilke’s Jazz After Hours and Jazz Northwest, in addition to its weekday NPR and late-night and prime-time jazz programs. For KPLU’s full jazz schedule, see kplu.org/schedule.
Jim Wilke’s Jazz Northwest, Sundays, 2pm, features the artists and events of the regional jazz scene. For JazzNW podcasts of archived programs, see jazznw.org.
90.3 KEXP, late-night Sundays, features Jazz Theater with John Gilbreath, 1am, and Sonarchy, midnight, a live-performance broadcast from the Jack Straw Productions studio, produced by Doug Haire. Full schedule information is available at kexp.org and jackstraw.org.
Sonarchy’s January lineup: January 5, Wind Burial, 70s rock by Kat Terran (vocals, synth), Derek Terran (drums), Alan Gutierrez (guitars) and Justin McCormick (bass and guitar); January 12, Gust Burns Quartet, radical new interpretations of jazz standards through the technique of erasure, with Gust Burns (piano), Jacob Zimmerman (alto sax), Carmen Rothwell (bass) and Paul Kikuchi (percussion); January 19, Brother Raven, duo of Jason E. Anderson and Jamie Potter (analog synth and tapes); January 26, D’Vonne Lewis’ Limited Edition, Cliff Colon (sax), Farko Dosumov (electric bass) and D’Vonne Lewis (drums).
91.3 KBCS, on late Sundays and prime-time Mondays, features Floatation Device with John Seman and Jonathan Lawson; Straight, No Chaser with David Utevsky; Giant Steps with John Pai. More about jazz on KBCS at kbcs.fm.
94.9 KUOW, Saturdays, 7pm, features Amanda Wilde’s the Swing Years and Beyond, popular music from the 1920s to the 1950s. More at kuow.org/swing_years.php.
In One Ear News
Email news about Seattle-area jazz artists, for In One Ear, to editor@earshot.org.
