Garfield High School Jazz Band photo by Daniel Sheehan
Garfield High School at Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival
Garfield High School, under Clarence Acox, recently appeared at the University of Idaho’s Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, one of the world’s largest and oldest educational jazz festivals. Several ensembles and students received recognition for their performances, including: Band 1, Outstanding Ensemble; Band 2, Noteworthy Ensemble; Isaac Poole, Outstanding Instrumental Soloist (trombone); and Fedor Paretsky, Outstanding Instrumental Soloist (alto sax).
Essentially Ellington Competition Results
Jazz bands from Garfield, Roosevelt, and Mount Si high schools are finalists for the 2016 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival in New York, May 5-7 at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Nearly 100 schools entered the competition, with 15 finalists selected.
All three schools have previously appeared at Essentially Ellington, with both Garfield and Roosevelt placing first several times. This will be Mount Si’s third appearance as a finalist.
Save KPLU Campaign Launches
A fundraising campaign, led by KPLU, has launched, after Pacific Lutheran University announced it was selling the radio station to KUOW back in November. In order to “Save KPLU,” the community needs to raise $7 million by June 30. To date, the campaign has raised nearly $2.5 million. Visit kplu.org/save-kplu to learn more information or to make your pledge today.
The community group ‘Friends of 88-5 FM’ is now a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, so all donations made to the Save KPLU campaign are tax-deductible and eligible for employer matching programs.
Jazz Radio
88.5 KPLU 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, 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 April schedule: April 3, Francis, computer music derived from randomly generated automatic musical phrases; April 10, Congress, new music for a modern jazz trio, with Tim Kennedy (keys and compositions), Ian Sheridan (bass), and Brad Gibson (drums); April 17, Threat of Beauty, first heard in May 2005, this quintet project from bassist and composer Evan Flory-Barnes features unique settings for strings, vibes, and rhythm section; April 24, Christian Pincock, composer and performer using trombone and electronics to create a cinematic experience.
91.3 KBCS, 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. A rotation of programmers Gordon Todd, John Midgley, and Megan Sullivan host “The Sound of Modern Jazz,” Mondays at 7pm. 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.
Hollow Earth Radio, hollowearthradio.org, Fridays at 6pm, biweekly, Black Roots Radio, hosted by Jordan Leonard, promotes jazz as a dynamic genre rooted in the Black American experience. Hollow Earth Radio is Seattle’s freeform online radio station that supports the local music communities in the greater Pacific Northwest and tries to create an open, encouraging stage for underrepresented voices. More at facebook.com/blackrootsradiojl and hollowearthradio.org.
In One Ear News
Email news about Seattle-area jazz artists, for In One Ear, to editor@earshot.org.
