History
For over 30 years, Earshot Jazz’s year-round programming, magazine and annual festival celebrate Seattle’s place in the global jazz community while featuring local and emerging artists alongside international jazz musicians.
1984
Once upon a time…
A mirror and focus was needed for the jazz community of Seattle, paving the way for the inception of Earshot Jazz to become the rainy city’s jazz support non-profit organization. Volume 1 of what is now the magazine, Earshot Jazz, was issued in December 1984. Formerly framed as a monthly jazz newsletter, the stories were produced out of pocket by Gary Bannister, Paul de Barros and Allen Youngblood.
1985
Early days
From its creation around the famous dining room table, Earshot Jazz found its own life, began to gather momentum and attract a committed core group that included Sandra Burlingame, Bob Mariano, Jeff Ferguson, Bruce Kochis and others.
1986
It’s official…
In August Earshot Jazz becomes a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts and culture organization. Thank you Judy de Barros for doing all that paperwork! Official incorporation and non-profit status achieved with founding board members Gary Bannister, Paul de Barros, Judy de Barros, Jeff Ferguson, Bruce Kochis, and Mark Solomon. The amazing Lola Pedrini joined the board in early 1987.
First concerts
In 1986 Earshot began producing concerts, under Gary Bannister’s artistic vision…
1987
New Jazz, New City
In April, May, and June Earshot presents it’s first concert series — New Jazz, New City. The series featured 12 resident artist ensembles performing original music. For this series Earshot takes jazz out of the night club so that young musicians and young audiences can participate.
Festival seed…
In June Earshot is approached by promoter John Bauer and asked, “is Earshot interested in participating in a two-day jazz festival at the Seattle Center?” The festival took place in August of that year and Earshot Jazz was instrumental in having resident artists included in the line up as well as “a modicum of non-mainstream programming.”
1988
Scholarships
Starting in 1988 Earshot jazz and Centrum joined together to offer scholarship support for young inner-city jazz students to attend the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop at Port Townsend. The program ran through the mid 2000’s.
1989
The first Earshot Jazz Festival
June 23 – July 1. This was the first official Earshot Jazz Festival. Earshot was now presenting the resident artists in concert that they had been writing about for years.
Concert of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music
Presented by Zenith institute with support from Earshot Jazz, the first performance in Seattle took place in 1989 and featured Don Lanphere, Roadside Attraction and the Total Experience Gospel Choir. By 1995 Earshot Jazz became the presenter and the featured artists became the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra.
1990
National Recognition
Earshot Jazz was recognized as one of 20 primary sites in the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest National Jazz Network.
Help Wanted
In March Earshot Jazz posts a notice that we are looking for an executive director. Salary of $15,000 for 80% FTE. Sue Fawver was Earshot’s first ED from ~March through November of 1991. John Gilbreath took over the reigns in December of 1991.
1991
Golden Ear Awards
In January, Earshot Jazz and the community celebrated the first Golden Ear Awards ceremony at Lofurno’s. Artist Director and Earshot co-founder Gary Bannister’s opened the awards ceremony by expressing the hope that recognition of these special Northwest musicians would draw more people into the jazz community. The first inductees into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame: Floyd Standifer, Chuck Metcalf, Al Hood, and Ernestine Anderson.
1992
Hands on Jazz
Earshot Jazz participates in the first year of the Seattle Center Academy’s summer youth programs teaching jazz to middle-school students from all over the city. Earshot continued producing the program for 16 years. Shout out to Clarence Acox and Bill Anthony the two instructors who lead the 2-week summer program.
Roots of Jazz
Developed for grades 1-8. The Roots of Jazz program introduced students to one of America’s most important artistic forces. Throughout the assembly, the musicians provide a basic explanation of jazz, present its beginnings in America, and introduce some of its major contributors. For years the program was lead by Floyd Standifer and the Local 493 Reunion Band and then the torch was passed to Bernie Jacobs Band. More than 40,000 elementary students were served in Earshot’s “Roots of Jazz” concerts over the 17 year run of the program.
Crossroads
Earshot launches the Eastside Jazz Showcase at Crossroads Center in Bellevue.
1993
The Living Spirit of Jazz
In March, the weekly Living Spirit of Jazz series begins a six year run at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley focusing on the presentation of resident artists. The program runs through 1999.
1994
Art of Jazz Series
This long-term collaboration with the good people at the Seattle Art Museum started in 1994 and continued through 2019. The after-work concerts were offered free with museum admission — a great bargain given the two-for-one line up of fine jazz and art exhibits. Special thanks go to the Seattle Asian Art Museum for hosting the series during the downtown SAM remodeling.
1995
World Wide Web
Earshot Jazz gets a website… “the technology will allow us to provide stories and calendar information on the Internet.”
1997
Music Lessons
The Earshot Jazz magazine premieres a new column “Music Lesson” to present basic and engaging information about key aspects of jazz musicology. The articles aim to be useful both to student musicians and to those of us who received patchy music educations. In June, Lynette Westendorf, the pianist, composer, teacher, and Earshot board member, explains what “modal” means, and how modes are used in jazz.
1998
WJPN
Earshot is a founding member of the Western Jazz Presenters Network. In 1998, after four years of operating under the auspices of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), the WJPN was incorporated as an independent non-profit 501 (c)3 organization. The Network is dedicated to mutual support through collective block-booking of touring jazz artists, professional development, and advancement of the full diversity of the jazz field.
2000
JazzNet
Earshot joined 11 other key organizations in the US to comprise JazzNet, a significant jazz support initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Fund. The grant helped Earshot get to the next level, providing program funding for 5 years and a matching fund that will help us build a $500,000 endowment.
Voice and Vision
In January, Earshot Jazz launches a new series of monthly performances featuring work that would be difficult to book in a club. The series highlights our dedication to the jazz tradition of progression and expansion.
Employee #2
In August, Earshot Jazz hires a full-time programs manager. Bryce Montgomery answered the call and stayed with Earshot till April of 2004.
2001
Jazz Instructors
Earshot Jazz magazine compiles and prints a list of jazz instructors in the region. The resource is updated and available through the late 2010’s.
2003
Festival’s 15th Birthday
The Earshot Jazz Festival celebrates 15 years! In the words of co-founder Gary Bannister, “Over the years, the Earshot festivals have amaz ingly withstood the best and the worst of public funding and marginal fiscal policies. For a home spun event to progress to the stage the festival is in today has been a rewarding experience for everyone involved with the early years of Earshot. There are very few festivals like it anywhere in the world.”
2004
Endowment Goal
Completing the five-year program in just four years, Earshot Jazz raised $200,000 from our community, which was matched by $300,000 from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to create a half-million dollar endowment fund. That fund is “earmarked” to support jazz programming and education in Seattle in perpetuity.
Earshot turns 20
The Earshot Jazz organization turns 20 in December. In preparation the organization convenes a series of focus groups and conducts online surveys that the board of directors and staff use for planning the next 20 years.
2005
NEA Jazz Masters on Tour
Earshot Jazz is selected to participate in the NEA Jazz Masters Initiative. NEA Jazz Masters on Tour is a series of presentations featuring NEA Jazz Masters in performances, educational activities, and/or speaking engagements.
2007
Jazz: The Second Century
In the summer of 2006, Earshot Jazz began a comprehensive project entitled “Jazz: The Second Century,” an initiative intended to address jazz’s progressive transition into the future. The result of that initiative was this series, launched in 2007 with artistic selection by peer-review panel, the series brought the discussion into creative motion where it matters most – on the stage, with an attentive audience. The series continued through 2022.
2009
CMA/ASCAP Award
Earshot Jazz was awarded the 2009 CMA/ASCAP Award for adventurous programming in the Large-scale Jazz Presenter category
2010
This is the time period when lots began to happen behind the scenes including a variety of important projects, such as the magazine archives, educational programs, and commissioning began to actualize. We also had a steady pulse on the various programs we had already been hosting for decades, and those programs continued to grow. So did our staffing, which evolved from mainly supporting magazine publication to streamlining all aspects of the nonprofit.
Roots of Jazz
Developed for grades 1-8. The Roots of Jazz program introduced students to one of America’s most important artistic forces. Throughout the assembly, the musicians provide a basic explanation of jazz, present its beginnings in America, and introduce some of its major contributors. For years the program was lead by Floyd Standifer and the Local 493 Reunion Band.
2020
The COVID-19 pandemic hit and Earshot had to learn how to do our programming an entirely new way—virtually. Through working with our peer organizations, we rallied together to make sure artists were cared for, the annual festival continued online, and we conducted surveys to make sure we were responding to the needs of those in our community. We also released our first anti-racist statement and look forward to releasing our second statement sharing the progress we have made on that original statement in 2024.
Now
Earshot Jazz is entering 39 years of existence. The Earshot Jazz Festival is now the biggest it has ever been, now featuring a resident artist and commissions every year, bringing in musicians from Seattle to as far as from across the world, requiring seasonal hiring of an entire production crew to help us carry the events out from October through November. We have kept long-running programs like the festival, magazine, the Golden Ear Awards, the annual concert of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music, Jazz Around the Sound (our community calendar), and so much more going. Our collaborations, partnerships, opportunities, presentations and communications have gotten even more strategic, intentional, and comprehensive. We still do all that we can do to proudly support Seattle jazz.
