Ballard High School Jazz Band Performs at Monterey

The Ballard High School Jazz Band was selected to perform at the 11th Annual Next Generation Jazz Festival, held on March 27-29 at the Monterey Conference Center in California. Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival, the event features performances by big bands, combos, vocal ensembles, and individual musicians, as well as clinics and workshops, all free and open to the public. The Ballard High School Jazz Band, which was selected to perform in the big band category, joined more than 1,200 students participating in the Next Generation Jazz Festival.

Robin Lloyd Joins JJA Board of Directors

Robin Lloyd, KPLU’s jazz and blues program host and a member of the Jazz Education Network, has joined the Jazz Journalists Association’s board of directors. Lloyd, a longtime and active member of JJA, joins Carolyn McClair, Neil Tesser, Don Palmer, and the association’s president Howard Mandel on the board.

Seattle-Kobe Female Jazz Vocalists Selected

The winners of the 11th annual Seattle-Kobe Female Jazz Vocalist competition have been selected, out of the 11 vocalists who auditioned. Taylor Zickefoose (winner of the adult division) and Alexandra Mountsier (winner of the high school division) will perform at the Kobe Jazz Vocal Queen Contest on May 9 in Kobe, Japan. 

Jackson Street Jazz Walk

The Jackson Commons and Isola Homes presented a one-day, free jazz walk on Jackson Street on March 28. The second annual Jackson Street Jazz Walk: Bringing Jazz Back to Jackson Street honored the legacy of the street’s historic music scene and showcased acts including Industrial Revelation, the Grace Love Band, Gail Pettis, Reggie Goings, Danny Quintero, Syrinx Effect, and many more in free performances at eight venues.

Jazz Radio

88.5 KPLU, kplu.org, hosts Saturday Jazz Matinee, Jazz Sunday Side Up, Ken Wiley’s the Art of Jazz, 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, kexp.org, 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, now into its 20th year on air. Full schedule information is available at kexp.org and jackstraw.org.

Sonarchy’s April schedule: April 5, Kelly Wyse, Pacific Northwest piano explorer starts with Aphex Twin covers and moves into some very exotic territory for solo piano; April 12, David Marriott’s Pop Culture, exploring the themes of popular culture through original compositions and arrangements, with David Marriott (trombone), Marc Fendel (alto sax), Geoff Harper (bass), and Brad Gibson (drums); April 19, Garek Druss, an electronic music experience exploring time, space, and ecstatic states; April 26, a superb hour of improvisation from 1999, this archive performance features Matt Sperry, Paul Hoskin, Tari Nelson-Zagar, and Matt Ingalls.

91.3 KBCS, kbcs.fm 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.

91.7 KSVR, ksvr.org, Skagit Valley Community Radio, broadcast from the Skagit Valley College Campus, features jazz host Dr. D, Mondays, 10pm-midnight.

94.9 KUOW, kuow.org, 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.