Sound In Motion: Bright Moments for Dark Nights

Henry Cole, Miguel Zenón, Hans Glawischnig, Luis Perdomo photo by Jimmy Katz

Earshot Jazz is pleased to bring you Sound in Motion, an extraordinary concert series that also promises to be a series of truly extraordinary concerts. Over the coming weeks, we are delighted to host many of the brightest creative spirits in today’s jazz: some old friends, some new friends, and a couple of extraordinary returning heroes.

Sound in Motion could also be subtitled “The Rising Tide,” because of the discernible elevation each artist delivers to the progression of the art form. This series is a great opportunity, at a great point in our collective history, to spend some time of an entirely separate quality, in the company of accomplished artists who move this uniquely American art form ever-forward through collective commitments to creative, individual expression. This is a clear-eyed showcase of the energy and expansion, heart and heartache, magic and momentum, truth and beauty of jazz, now.

Miguel Zenón Quartet
with Luis Perdomo, Hans Glawischnig & Henry Cole

Wednesday, March 1, 8pm
PONCHO Concert Hall
Co-presented with Cornish Presents

Internationally acclaimed saxophonist/composer Miguel Zenón celebrates the release of his new recording, Típico, his tenth as a leader. Joining Zenón are his long-time bandmates who are also featured on the recording: pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Henry Cole.

A multiple Grammy nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, Zenón is one of a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often-contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists of his generation, Zenón has also developed a unique voice as a composer and as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between Latin American folkloric music and jazz. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Zenón has recorded and toured with a wide variety of musicians including Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, and Kenny Werner, and is a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective.

Típico is above all a celebration of Zenón’s longstanding quartet. Its focus stays closer to home, with nods to Zenón’s own personal and professional life as it zeroes in on what makes his band unique.

“I was thinking about what this band and the guys in the band mean to me as I was writing the music,” he explains. “I kept going back to this idea of us developing this common language that identifies us as a band.”

That language has been developing for more than a decade. Perdomo and Glawischnig have been with Zenón since the turn of the millennium; Cole joined the band in 2005. Their language is thoroughly fluent modern jazz, with all the instrumental prowess and rhythmic and harmonic complexity which that implies.

But the dialect they’ve created together through the years is distinctive.

Tickets $18 general / $16 Earshot members & seniors (60+) / $10 students & veterans/military. Tickets are available at earshot.org.

Ben Allison + Think Free

Wednesday, March 8, 8pm
PONCHO Concert Hall
Co-presented with Cornish Presents

New York-based Ben Allison has gained international renown in a career spanning three decades, and has established himself as a leading voice of his generation. As a bassist and composer, he has developed a distinct style of jazz that incorporates rock, folk, and funk conventions. His own work spans 11 albums, seven of which have reached the top of the CMJ jazz radio charts, and he has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, often from backgrounds outside jazz. Allison is also a notable activist for the cause of musicians as the founder of the musician-run, non-profit organization Jazz Composers Collective and as President of the New York chapter of the Recording Academy.

Allison performs in Seattle with his group Think Free, with guitarist Steve Cardenas, trumpeter Kirk Knuffke, and drummer Allan Mednard. Steve Cardenas has spent over 20 years as a guitarist in New York, demonstrating his skill in his craft through works such as his 2014 album Melody in a Dream. Kirk Knuffke, who recently performed with Michael Bisio at the 2016 Earshot Jazz Festival, has also become a fixture in New York, and has been nominated Trumpeter of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. Allan Mednard has played with many jazz greats in his time, including Aaron Parks and Kurt Rosenwinkel. The quartet will be playing new music from its recently recorded album, as well as tunes from previous albums.

Tickets $18 general / $16 Earshot members & seniors (60+) / $10 students & veterans/military. Tickets are available at earshot.org.

Ryan Keberle’s Catharsis

Monday, March 13, 8:30pm
The Royal Room

Here is a decidedly original band you will not want to miss. Pacific Northwest native, New York-based trombonist/composer Ryan Keberle leads his bold, piano-less quintet, Catharsis, featuring music from their current, Grammy-nominated record Azul Infinito, which was listed as one of “5 New Jazz Albums You Need to Check Out” by Billboard magazine. Keberle has played alongside masters of a multitude of forms, from jazz greats Maria Schneider and Wynton Marsalis to indie rock groundbreakers Sufjan Stevens and St. Vincent, R&B superstars Beyoncé and Alicia Keys, and classical virtuosos.

Keberle’s compositions on Azul Infinito were inspired by time spent performing with brilliant South American composers Pedro Giraudo, Sebastian Cruz, Samuel Torres, Ivan Lins, and Emilio Solla.

His work is rich in captivating grooves, melodic invention, and group interaction, expressing conscious awareness of the universal language of music, and the emotional power that great music holds on its listeners.

Catharsis is comprised of the primarily word-less vocals of Chilean singer Camila Meza, which mesh seamlessly with the tenor sax of Scott Robinson, bass of Peruvian-born Jorge Roeder, and drums of Eric Doob. The band brings an impressive wealth of experience and musicianship, playing an integral role in many of the top jazz and Latin jazz ensembles, including the bands of Charlie Haden, Gary Burton, Julian Lage, Christian Scott, Paquito D’Rivera, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. As an ensemble, they create a unique continuity resulting from their constant collaboration over the past four years. Described by the Los Angeles Times as “a potent blend of cinematic sweep and lush, ear-grabbing melodies,” the band will impress with their compelling chemistry and singular sound.

Tickets $15 general / $13 Earshot members & seniors (60+) / $7 students & veterans/military. Tickets are available at StrangerTickets.com.

Coming up in the Spring…

Saturday, April 22

Town Hall Seattle
Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares

Tuesday, May 2, 8pm

PONCHO Concert Hall
Gerald Clayton Group

Thursday, May 4, 8pm

PONCHO Concert Hall
Helen Sung Quartet

Tickets available soon at earshot.org.