Upcoming Studio Sessions and Concerts

Upcoming studio sessions May 13 marks the release date of our KPLU School of Jazz -Volume 4 CD, and we're celebrating by inviting four students from Tacoma's Stadium High School Jazz Band and jazz trumpeter Lance Buller to perform live at 12:20 p.m., hosted by Nick Morrison.  More info on the CD is available here. Friday, May 30 at 12:20 p.m. - Hammond B-3 jazz master Dr. Lonnie Smith performs live with saxophonist Donald Harrison and guitarist Peter Bernstein, hosted by Nick Morrison.  They'll join Christian Scott and Herlin Riley for an evening of "Crescent Boogaloo" at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, May 29 through June 1.  Get more info here.    Click here to Podcast KPLU's Studio Sessions    Past Studio Sessions and Concerts     Connie Evingson: The Gypsy In Her Soul Hear the Concert On a recent visit to Seattle, Minneapolis-based jazz singer, Connie Evingson, stopped by the KPLU studios for a delightful performance/interview, accompanied by three members of the gypsy-jazz group, Pearl Django.  A few years ago Connie noticed that singers were conspicuously absent in the gypsy-jazz genre so she set about changing that by recording with Pearl Django and other groups influenced by the wonderful music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli.  The result was one of Connie’s finest CDs, ‘Gypsy In My Soul.’  In the mini-concert you’re about to hear, Connie will treat you to her interpretation of ‘Nature Boy,’ ‘Nuages,’ and ‘Gypsy In My Soul.’  Wrap a scarf around your head, put a rose between your teeth and enjoy!        Tierney Sutton Band Hear the Concert If you hear some sniffling during this interview, it's vocalist Tierney Sutton. When she and her band came to KPLU, she was battling a nasty cold. But, discounting the occasional sniffle between songs, you'd never know it. In my opinion, Tierney possesses one of the loveliest, most supple voices in jazz, and on the day of this performance, it was every bit as good as I've ever heard it — this, in spite of the fact that during her bandmates' solos, she frequently had to haul out a hankie and dab at her nose. But that's Tierney, who's nothing if not game.        Jazz NW 4-6 Hear the Concert The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra plays Benny Carter's "Kansas City Suite" in a concert recorded at the Kirkland Performance Center March 9, 2008      Jazz NW 3-23 Hear the Concert The Joe Doria Trio is a classic-style jazz organ trio ... with a Hammond B3, guitar and drums, and a hard- swinging approach to everything they play. The trio played this month's Art of Jazz concert at the Seattle Art Museum.       Holly Cole Hear the Concert On Monday, March 3rd, Canadian jazz vocalist, Holly Cole, officially began her first U.S. tour in 6 years with a sold-out, one-night stand at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in Seattle. However, on the afternoon preceding that show, Holly and her band dropped by the KPLU studios for a 3-song performance and an interview with KPLU Music Director, Nick Francis.       Rebecca Parris Hear the Concert While Rebecca Parris was in the Puget Sound area, she paid a visit to the KPLU Seattle studios. In this performance/interview, hosted by Nick Morrison, Rebecca talks about the art of singing jazz ballads and gives us her interpretation of three jazz classics: 'Darn That Dream', 'My Funny Valentine' and 'Weaver Of Dreams.'       Jazz NW 3-10 Hear the Concert NEA Jazz Master Hank Jones and Roberta Gambarini, the singer he calls "the best I've heard since Ella Fitzgerald",  are featured on Jazz Northwest.  Their recent performance at Dimitrou's Jazz Alley was recorded especially for Jazz Northwest.  Joining Hank Jones and Roberta Gambarini in this performance are Neil Swainson on bass, and Willie Jones III on drums.       Jazz NW 3-3 Hear the Concert On this edition of Jazz Northwest, we’ll remember veteran tenor saxophonist and band leader Charlie May, listen to new releases by Hadley Caliman and Thomas Marriott and hear a piece by International Songwriting Competition finalist Jeff Busch.       Jazz NW 2-24 Hear the Concert Three singers took turns singing love songs on Valentine's Day at the Art of Jazz Concert at Seattle Art Museum.  Beth Winter, Katy Bourne and Gail Pettis are all active jazz singers in the Seattle area and shared the bill on this special concert presented by Earshot Jazz at SAM on February 14.       Jazz NW 2-17 Hear the Concert Excerpts from an April, 1961 concert at the Roxy Theatre in Tacoma open this show with the Bob Winn Quintet and Bill Ramsay Big Band.  Bob Winn was an alto saxophonist and flutist who came to Seattle from Detroit and enlivened the scene here in the late 50s and 60s before moving to Hawaii.  He continued as an active musician there until his death in November.  Bill Ramsay has arranged and led big bands and played in them most of his life.  The big band he leads in this 1961 concert includes Corky Corcoran, Bill Hobarth, Dick Palombi, Bill Richardson and Dave Tuttle among others.  Bill Ramsay is still very active with his own groups as well as in the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra.       Jazz NW 2-11 Hear the Concert Rising jazz stars Ben Roseth, alto sax, and Julian Lage, guitar, play an intimate duet set recorded live at Egan's Jam House in Ballard on this edition of Jazz Northwest       Jazz NW 2-4 Hear the Concert This Jazz Northwest concert previews two major upcoming jazz events - The Hot Java Cool Jazz benefit concert at the Paramount on February 8, and the Portland Jazz Festival.       Jazz NW 1-28 Hear the Concert This Jazz NW concert features Victor Noriega's explosive trio playing in the Brotman Forum of the Seattle Art Museum in the January Art of Jazz Concert.   The show features an hour of highlights from the concert.       Joey DeFrancesco Hear the Concert Joey DeFrancesco is generally acknowledged to be the reigning king of the Hammond B-3 organ.  He’s also a great guy to hang out with.  So naturally, when he recently visited Seattle, we invited him to KPLU’s Seattle studios for an in-studio performance and interview.  However, nobody wanted to lug a massive B-3 from the nightclub to the studio, so we set Joey up with a Hammond XK-3, a keyboard that synthesizes that terrific B-3 sound very nicely.  Also, since Joey actually worked with the Hammond company on the development of the XK-3, we figured he could adapt his chops to it with ease.  And did he ever! In addition to playing three solo pieces on the XK-3, Joey talked about the history of the organ in jazz music, his musical upbringing in the rich Philadelphia jazz scene and his great admiration for the all-time boss of the B-3, Jimmy Smith.  He also talked about his recent involvement with the Diversi Organ Company and the launch of his brand new line of organ synthesizers.  What’s new about ‘em?  Well, according to Joey, they’ll have the ability to clone the sound of any organ.  And why is that important?  Well, we’ll let Joey tell you….       Jazz NW 1-13 Hear the Concert Playing vibes, marimbas, steel pans, bells, Latin percussion and all kinds of drums, the thirty outstanding young musicians earned a standing ovation. Traveling from Alma, Michigan to play at Port Townsend for a large and very appreciative crowd was a highlight of their summer and the festival!     Jazz NW 12-30 Hear the Concert The all-star Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra Dektet played the December Art of Jazz Concert at The Seattle Art Museum.       KPLU Christmas Jam Hear the Concert Hi, Nick Morrison here.  This year I once again had the pleasure to host a program that has become a holiday tradition for Seattle jazz fans: The Annual KPLU Christmas Jam.  The Christmas Jam is a live broadcast from Pacific Lutheran University’s Mary Baker Russell Music Center, featuring the PLU Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. David Joyner, and special guests from our vibrant regional jazz community.  This year’s guests were trumpeter, Lance Buller, and vocalist, Stephanie Porter.  Lance and Stephanie have worked together for over ten years and have earned a reputation for putting on great live shows in the tradition of Louis Prima and Keely Smith.  So if you’re in the mood for a live—and lively—hour of holiday favorites performed by an ensemble of talented college students and a couple of guest artists who know how to have a good time, just click on the appropriate icon, sit back, and have yourself a merry little Christmas……Jam.        Jazz NW 12-14 Hear the Concert Three different groups are featured on Jazz Northwest  -  First is the Brent Jensen-John Stowell Quartet, followed by the Hadley Caliman Quintet with Thomas Marriott  recorded during the recent Ballard Jazz Walk. Then we’ll go downtown to hear Jay Thomas' Collateral Damage Big Band playing at The New Orleans Creole Restaurant in Pioneer Square. Musicians in this band span an age range of six decades!        Jazz NW 11-18 Hear the Concert Raymond Scott's music of the Thirties renounced swing era convention with zippy, programatic music played with abandon by his "Quintette".Hear his music played by The Raymond Scott Project of the Monktail Creative Music Concern in a concert recorded at The Seattle Art Museum, Sunday, November 18.       Karrin Allyson Hear the Session One of the most impressive jazz singers to emerge from the '90s, Karrin Allyson continues to wow audiences with her expressive voice. Her latest album, Footprints, earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Hear an interview and performance recorded by KPLU.       Jazz NW 11-5 Hear the Session Pianist Lynne Arriale led her trio on opening night at Centrum's Jazz Port Townsend. The concert was recorded last July at The Upstage in Port Townsend and you can listen to highlights of the concert here.       Brian Broomberg and Jeff Lorber Hear the Session Out of all the interviews done in the KPLU studios, the meeting with Jeff and Brian has one of the most casual vibes in recent memory. It's almost as if we get to listen in as two old friends... two extremely talented old friends...get together in someone's living room to play a little music and talk about old times. Hear the complete interview and performance.        Jazz NW 10-21 Hear the Session The Tiptons - four saxophonists and a drummer - cook up an international jazz stew spiced with Latin, Italian, Balkan,  Klezmer and Asian music.  We recorded the all-female group's energetic performance at the October Art of Jazz concert at The Seattle Art Museum.  Enjoy their rhythmic drive and blend .       Clark Terry Hear the Session Interviewer: Kevin Kniestedt Trumpeter and flugelhornist, Clark Terry is truly a living legend in the jazz world.  Over the course of a career that began in the early 1940’s, Clark has played with everyone from Count Basie and Duke Ellington to Cecil Taylor and Dianne Reeves.  During a recent visit to Seattle, Clark dropped in on KPLU jazz host, Kevin Kneistedt, for a little conversation and some great playing.  Along with a version of the old standard, Eliza, Clark treated us to a delightful version of his signature song, Mumbles.        Jazz NW 10-15 Hear the Concert Jim features his location recordings of the Lynne Arriale Trio, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Vic Juris & Corey Christiansen, and the Marc Seales Quintet playing festivals, concerts, and club dates at various locations. Guests on this show include Clarence Acox, John Bishop, Matt Jorgensen, Gregt Miller, and John Gilbreath       The Dave Peck Trio Hear the Session This interview took place the day before the Dave Peck Trio (with bassist, Jeff Johnson and drummer, Joe LaBarbera) was to go into a Seattle nightclub to record a live CD. And, though it doesn't come up in the interview, the recording date was also a sort of quiet comeback for Dave. Hear the complete interview and performance       Jazz NW 10-7 Hear the Concert The Roy Hargrove Quintet in concert at Centrum's Jazz Port Townsend, July 28, 2007. Roy Hargrove, trumpet and flugelhorn. Justin Robinson, alto sax. Gerald Clayton, piano. Danton Boller, Bass. Montez Coleman, Drum       Jane Monheit Hear the Session Jazz Singer Jane Monheit visited the KPLU Seattle studios recently. KPLU’s On-air host Kevin Kniestedt chatted with her about her new album called "Surrender", her career and other music related topics. Oh, and Jane also sang a few songs of course. Enjoy!       Jazz NW 9-23 Hear the Concert The Marc Seales Group plays a medley in tribute to the late composer-keyboard player Joe Zawinul, and the premiere of a brand new four movement suite by Marc Seales, "The Paris Suite". Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for KPLU.       Michel Camillo Hear the Session Interviewer: Nick Francis When critics write about the playing of Latin-jazz pianist, Michel Camilo, they often use the word ‘fiery’ to describe his performances.  In a trio setting, his interaction with the bassist and drummer is something that needs to be seen to be believed.  However, when Michel visited KPLU’s Seattle studios for a solo piano performance, he showed us another side of his musical personality.  Yes, that ‘fiery’ playing was in evidence but he also presented his lyrical, introspective side on the songs My Secret Place and From Within.  And, although Michel has won numerous awards for his Latin jazz recordings, he ended his solo performance not with a Latin number but with Frim Fram Sauce, a bluesy tribute to one of his heroes, Nat ‘King’ Cole.       Jazz NW 9-18 Hear the Concert The Joe Locke is joined by Thomas Marriott on trumpet, Bruce Forman, guitar, Chuck Deardorf on bass and Jon Wikan at the drums in this concert. This performance is made possible by The Boeing Company.       Tab Benoit Hear the Session Tab Benoit visited the KPLU to chat and play some of his music     Jazz Guitarist Mimi Fox Hear the Session Interviewer: Nick Morrison When guitarist, Mimi Fox, visits KPLU, the energy level at the radio station always goes up about 150%...and we love it!  There’s no doubting the fact that she’s serious about her music, but she’s also serious about having fun with it and she makes sure that her listeners have fun, as well.  For the performance you’re about to hear, Mimi was using a brand new guitar for the first time but that didn’t stop her from giving us great interpretations of three classic songs: Cry Me A River, When The Saints Go Marching In and Night And Day.       Jazz Singer Sara Gazarek Hear the Session Interviewer: Nick Francis Seattle’s Sara Gazarek is one of the fastest rising young jazz singers in America.  She became a serious student of jazz as a member of the excellent Roosevelt High School jazz program. After high school, she continued her studies at UCLA, earning high praise from her instructor, Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist, Tierney Sutton. Now, with three excellent CDs to her credit, Sara tours the world with her music but always loves bringing it back home to Seattle. In this performance/interview with KPLU music director, Nick Francis, Sara and her band treat us to their arrangement of Joni Mitchell’s Carey, as well as refreshing updates of jazz standards, Biding My Time and I’m Old Fashioned.       Ann Hampton Callaway Hear the Session Ann Hampton Callaway talked with Dick Stein at KPLU’s Seattle studios on November 2 and performed three songs, including a tune she made up on the spot  Click here if you would like to podcast these KPLU In-Studio Performances

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