Compose Yourself: The Joy of Writing Original Jazz
So yes, there are plenty of jazz songs to play, and the standards certainly aren’t going anywhere. But to write your own music, to dare to put your spirit on the staff, is a virtue in itself.
Ben Black: Your Voice Is Power
Black has acquired a new goal for his fifties. “I want to thrive,” he shares. He’s lighting up – the excitement is palpable in his voice. “I want to be connected. I want to co-create. I want to focus on interdependency and community and use my voice – this precious gift that I’ve been given that I lose touch with sometimes. It’s like, use it to be a benefit in the world because the world is on fire.”
Freddy “Fuego” Gonzalez: Earshot Jazz Festival Commission
It also gave him a rich bank of compositional starting points, many of which have served as seeds for the set of original music he’s presenting during the Earshot Jazz Festival this year. Fuego’s performance will feature the 20-piece Freddy Fuego Orchestra performing ten to twelve original and stylistically diverse compositions, chosen on-the-fly based on Fuego’s feel on the audience and ensemble.
A New Works Cocktail
The article writer Dylan Koa, interviews musician and Royal Room co-owner, Wayne Horvitz about the New Music Ensemble. The New Music Ensemble is a group for young musicians who want to explore avant garde music by groundbreaking jazz musicians and also the modern technique known as conduction.
KEXP’s New Indigenous Radio Show Sounds of Survivance
There’s a new show on local Seattle radio station KEXP called “Sounds of Survivance” that features two indigenous DJ’s Kevin Sur and Tory J.“ Sur explains that “we’re continuing a tradition of reclaiming sonic space through accompaniment and empathy for each other…
Behind the Kit with Ehssan Karimi
Some Seattle jazz fans may not be aware of the percussionist, drummer, and Hang player Ehssan Karimi. A Berklee graduate, Karimi not only composes and performs his own music but has worked with such bands as McTuff and the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, and Digable Planets among others
Conor Byrne Pub Moving to Innovative Co-op Model
The Conor Byrne Pub, recently closed in March 2024, has plants moving to reopen in a new co-op format under the Conor Byrne Cooperative non-profit. Learn more about the history of the pub and Conor Byrne himself.
Meet the 2024 NonSeq Curators
An introduction of the Curators for the NonSeq Community Curators Series 2024 – Beth Fleenor, Connie Fu, Kole Galbraith, and Naeim Rahmani. Written by Nathan Bluford.
In the Workshop with Jazz Quartet Type 85
Introduction to jazz quartet Type 85, their group formation, music philosophies, and upcoming LP. Written by Eric Olson.
